by Bianca D’Arc
When that happened, they had choices—they could choose to leave entirely, or they could stay and watch the rest of the players compete for increasingly large pots. They could also move to one of the side rooms, where those who had been eliminated from tournament play had started a few more casual games of their own. Some of the hardcore gamblers who weren’t good enough, or had been dealt bad hands, opted to continue playing that way, rather than scrap the rest of their long weekend.
Jeff and Marlon had already planned that when one of them got a particularly bad hand, they’d take the elimination with good grace. Better to have one of them out there, with the eliminated gamblers, and one still playing. They could cover more ground that way.
Like the night before, Maya stayed mostly with Shelly and Sullivan. Their husbands were also still in the game, playing nearby. The ladies watched from the observation area for a while, but then, the women took off, as they had the night before. Marlon knew Maya was making contacts for her jewelry business, and he wished her well, but he would have preferred to be able to see her. Just to be sure she was safe.
Jeff was eliminated in the next round, leaving Marlon at the tournament tables while Jeff sauntered off with good grace to see what everyone else was getting up to. The rest of the night passed without much excitement. Marlon surprised himself by staying in the tournament right up to the very end, which meant that he would be playing in the championship round the next day.
It was late by the time his last game wrapped up and he was able to seek his bed. Jeff had been in almost constant contact most of the night, but he’d gone silent the past hour after reporting that the casual games had all broken up for the night. Marlon felt a little bit of disappointment as he mounted the stairs heading for his room. He hadn’t seen Maya since she left the card room earlier that evening. He hoped she’d had a good night and had made solid contacts for her business, but he couldn’t help wanting to see her.
It was just after two in the morning when Marlon returned to the suite. Jeff was sitting on the couch, his arm around Maya. Both looked sleepy, but it was clear they had waited up for him. Marlon felt something shift in his chest, as if a door had opened in his heart, never to be closed again. This might just be what it felt like to come home. Truly home. The place didn’t matter, really. It was the people that made any place they happened to be home. The people that filled his heart and made him feel truly blessed.
In this case, Jeff’s longtime friendship had been half of the equation. The other half, Marlon was growing to suspect, was Maya. She completed the circle. Her presence made Marlon—and Jeff, too—whole.
Maya stood from the couch and went over to Marlon, walking right into his arms. His breath caught in his throat as he folded her into his embrace. Her golden gown felt hot and silky against his fingers and the golden jewelry she wore flashed with ruby fire around her neck and ears. Like the fire in his soul that burned just for her.
“We waited up for you,” she murmured against his neck, her hot breath making gooseflesh rise on his delighted skin.
“I’m glad,” he rasped, lifting her in his arms and carrying her straight past the couch and into his bedroom. He paused in the doorway to look back at Jeff. “You coming?”
“Right behind you, partner.”
The lovemaking this time was slower, more planned, but no less intense. Maya took them both, one at a time, and together, following where they led and experimenting a bit on her own. She liked being the center of attention for her two hot studs. She loved the way they looked at her as if she was the Goddess, Herself.
Maya had never participated in a threesome. She’d never felt the inclination and had doubted her inner bear would put up with anything like the arrangement she now found herself in, but she’d been wrong. Her inner bear was cheering her on and…hoping?
Maya thought about that as Jeff and Marlon took turns pleasuring her. Her bear felt hopeful, which puzzled her a bit. The bear was clear—its instincts had led Maya to both of these special men. It wanted them both in her life, strange as that seemed.
Every other shifter she knew who was mated had only one mate. Oh, there were special cases, like the Lords—twin males who always mated one very special priestess and led the rest of the shifter population. That was something that was ordained by the Mother of All. A way to mark out their leaders and give them a mate that could help in every way. A woman dedicated to the Light who would balance their shifter dominance and make them happy and stable.
There were other trios, but not among anyone she knew personally. She wasn’t sure how this could work long-term, but for right now, the decadent feel of having two men who made her feel like their personal queen was too heady to resist. She was very much afraid that her fragile human heart had already fallen for them both. Where this would lead, she had no idea, but she hoped it wouldn’t end in heartache.
She had wanted to find her mate for a very long time. She’d followed her brother to Grizzly Cove, specifically hoping that one of his guys, or someone else attracted by the new community, would prove to be her one and only. But that hadn’t happened. She hadn’t felt even a remote tug of attraction toward anybody in the town, though they were all handsome brutes and stand-up guys.
Maya had despaired of ever finding her true mate, which was why she’d been eager to take a little time away from the cove, and all the newly mated couples, including her brother. Not that she wasn’t happy for them, but it was hard to stomach all that joy when she felt as if she might never be so blessed. So, she’d taken the job with Hiram, and then, this had happened.
As she lay between Marlon and Jeff, her breathing slowly returning to normal after their latest amorous adventure, she wanted to think things through, but the night had caught up with her. She fell asleep, securely nestled between her two men, vowing to enjoy every last minute she had with them…before it all disappeared in a puff of regret. Possibly.
Or possibly not. She had no way of knowing, just then, and frankly, no energy left to devote to thinking any more about her puzzling predicament.
CHAPTER NINE
Maya had just fallen into a languid doze when there was a pop, and the lights went out. Maya heard a hissing sound, and her bear roused from its lethargy to roar a warning.
“Gas!” she whispered urgently, trying not to breathe.
Jeff and Marlon had melted out of the bed and were both retrieving items they had apparently stashed around the room. Her natural night vision allowed her to see them clearly. Both were heavily armed within moments, and then…they had gas masks.
They were both already wearing theirs, and Marlon was approaching the bed, holding out a square packet to her.
“It’s a spare mask,” he told her, his voice muffled from within the plastic mask that fit tight over his entire head.
She’d seen this sort of mask before. It was an emergency thing, not a full-fledged hard-shelled mask with canister filters. This was good for quick donning and had built-in filters on a flexible plastic bag-like thing that went over your entire head. It had a tight-fitting rubbery seal around the neck. Uncomfortable, but good for emergencies because it folded down to the size of something a woman could carry in her purse.
Marlon had already taken it out of its pouch and was unfolding it. He gripped the neck opening and held it for her. He probably didn’t realize she could see as well as she could in the dark, so he was helping, bless him. As it was, she needed her hands free to corral her hair, which had to go inside the mask. She looped it into a messy bun at the back of her head and allowed Marlon to slide the mask over her head.
He made sure the seal was secure before picking up his handgun again. While they’d been working on her mask, Jeff had been guarding the door, but he’d also thrown on a pair of dark cargo pants with a bunch of pockets. He had a gear belt and several weapons. Maya was impressed. She’d seen her brother’s arsenal in his home, but she’d only rarely seen him fully decked out in his gear. This was all the more impressive be
cause these guys had gone from naked and half-asleep to instant alertness and armed to the teeth in no time at all.
She put her hand on Marlon’s arm as he dressed quickly in similar dark cargo pants and a stretchy black shirt. A webbing vest went over it that bristled with knives and other equipment. Damn. These guys were making her hot. They weren’t just humans. No, they were highly trained warriors who didn’t mess around. Her inner bear loved that about them. And respected it, down to her core.
“I have to get to Hiram. Only…” She didn’t know quite how to say this, but they needed at least some sort of warning. “Don’t be surprised by anything you might see. I expect there will be some large ferocious animals prowling around here shortly. Whatever you do, don’t shoot the white lion, the jaguars, or any bear you might see. Not without checking with me first, okay?”
Marlon gave her a puzzled look but nodded.
“If there’s time to check, we’ll check,” Jeff promised. “Right now, we need to get out of this room. We’re sitting ducks here. We need to see if everyone else is affected, or if it’s just us who were the lucky recipients of an extra-special air cocktail tonight.”
“I have to get to Hiram,” she insisted. “It’s my duty to protect him.”
This time, Jeff gave her an odd look, but she ignored it as she pulled on a T-shirt she stole out of his open bag at the foot of the bed. It hung long on her, which suited her just fine. She didn’t want to be encumbered by a lot of fabric if she had to go grizzly, but she also didn’t want to streak through the halls naked. The T-shirt covered enough, and the transparent mask was probably not all that visible in the dark, unless someone was really close. It would do.
“We’ll go up to Abernathy’s suite first,” Marlon promised her, coming up alongside. “Then, we’ll see what we find.”
“We can clear the building from the top down, that way,” Jeff agreed.
“Just be careful when we get to Hiram’s. He’s… Well… He’s not what you might expect, and he’ll likely be on full alert if he hasn’t already succumbed to the gas. Though, I suspect he isn’t very vulnerable to that sort of thing,” she whispered as they headed to the main door of the suite.
Marlon went first, opening the door and peeking out from a low position. He held up his hand and gave Jeff some sort of signal, and then, Jeff advanced, leapfrogging Marlon’s position and moving into the hallway. Marlon took Maya by the hand and brought her out into the hall with Jeff covering them.
“It’s okay,” she told Marlon. “I can see pretty well in the dark.”
“You sure?” he asked.
Both men had donned small eyepieces over one eye that had to be some sort of night vision device. She’d never seen tech like it, but it seemed to work like a charm. Otherwise, she would’ve insisted on leading them, instead of allowing them to continue to think she was ill prepared for danger.
“Positive,” she told him, releasing his hand. “Keep your hands free for weapons,” she told him, earning a marveling grin from him before he turned back to Jeff.
“Big John must’ve taught you well,” Marlon murmured, allowing her to precede him to Jeff’s position a few yards down the hall.
“Marlon, Johnny is my little brother. I was the one who taught him,” she said, knowing the thought would shock him. She couldn’t help it if she was a shifter who had lived a lot longer than they had, though she would never look it.
“Hot damn,” Jeff said, as Maya came up beside him. “I don’t understand it at all, but I’m glad you’re on our side, sweetheart.” Marlon just looked confused, but that faded as they made their way cautiously upward toward Hiram’s penthouse suite.
Encountering no resistance on the way up to the penthouse, Maya began to worry. She hadn’t thought anything could take out a Master as ancient and well-versed as Hiram appeared to be, during his waking hours…but, maybe she’d been wrong. Maya approached the door to his suite, touching Jeff on the shoulder to get his attention and indicate he should let her go first. He acquiesced, though not happily.
Maya paid him no mind for now. She had bigger fish to fry. She carefully tapped out a sequence that sounded random, but wasn’t, on the doorframe, down low, about bear-height. She didn’t do it loudly. Hiram’s hearing was as good as hers, if not better. When she heard the faint countersign from inside the room, she felt a blast of relief—until the code was followed up with a call for assistance.
Maya turned to Marlon and Jeff. “He’s alive but needs help,” she told them. “Just remember. Don’t freak out about anything weird you might see,” she cautioned them again, in a low, urgent whisper. “He’s on our side.”
They both nodded and held their weapons at the ready, though not pointed at any particular thing. She figured that was about as good as it was going to get. She tapped another sequence on the doorframe and then turned the knob, which Hiram had unlocked for her. She stood to the side, looking into the room.
“Hiram?” she whispered. He wasn’t in the main room, but she thought she heard some soft thuds from the next room over, which had been given to one of his assistants. “This way,” she said to the men following her, as she led them into the adjoining room.
Hiram was there, in fully fanged glory, hefting an unconscious person in his arms. She stopped in the doorway, hoping to block Marlon and Jeff’s view, but it was no good. They’d seen. She’d heard their indrawn breaths.
“The gas got them all,” Hiram said, the fangs not interfering with his speech. She’d never seen him like this before, and it was…impressive. “I’m moving them into the safe room. I rekeyed everything when I got here. Nobody will be able to get to them in there while they sleep it off.”
“Are you sure it’s just a sleeping agent?” Jeff asked, stepping into the room with seemingly little fear of the fanged demon facing them. Maya was impressed all over again by his calm demeanor.
“Yes,” Hiram said. “It made me sneeze, but nothing worse. It wasn’t meant to kill. Only incapacitate. But to what end? I’m not sure, yet. First, I want to make certain my people will be safe. Then, I go on the hunt.”
“We’ll hunt with you,” Maya pledged immediately. “I’m just sorry I wasn’t here to alert them before they breathed too much of it in.”
“It wouldn’t have helped, my dear,” Hiram said, even as he took his precious burden into the other room. He returned in a moment. “I didn’t think to pack masks. I will not make the same mistake again.”
His voice turned hard and cold, but she wasn’t afraid of him. Even though he looked as scary as anything she’d ever seen, he was demonstrating gentle care of the people who served him so well.
“Are there others?” Marlon asked, all business now. “Where are they?”
“There are at least two in each bedroom,” Hiram said. “I brought a staff of seven, not including Maya. I’ve got three already into the safe room. Help me get the other four, and then, we can see who has wrought such evil upon us this night.”
Hiram was slipping into old time speech, Maya thought. Perhaps he did so when under stress. Marlon and Jeff didn’t seem to mind, but they were men of action. They’d do what they needed to do, in the moment, then ask questions later. She was sure of it. This night was going to bring up a lot of questions for them both, and she’d have to figure out a way to answer them, without betraying any of her previous oaths.
Maya went with Marlon and Jeff to search the other two bedrooms. The men split up, and she went to the farther room with Jeff. There was a man and a woman there, both on the floor as if they’d gotten up to see what was wrong and been overcome in the effort. Maya went to the woman. It was Jesamine. She had a strong pulse, but she was definitely down for the count.
Jesamine was a petite thing, and Maya had bear strength. She lifted Jesamine while Jeff took the male in his arms and carried him out of the room. Maybe Jeff didn’t realize, at first, that Maya was right behind him carrying Jesamine, but when they reached Hiram and the safe room, Jeff’s eyes widen
ed to see Maya carrying her burden so easily. Another thing she’d have to find a way to explain, but she couldn’t worry about that now.
Marlon had arrived with another woman in his arms as Hiram went out to get the last man. Maya peered into the safe room, knowing already that it was Hiram’s bedroom. He’d laid out his staff on the giant bed, one next to the other, as comfortably as he could. Once the locks were engaged, they would come to no harm unless the entire building burned down.
Jeff had gone to the door of the suite and set himself up to guard it. Marlon seemed to be sticking with Maya and keeping his head on a swivel, watching for possible danger.
“So, Hiram’s…” Marlon asked the open-ended question that she had to answer.
“A vampire,” she filled in the blank. “Yes, but he’s one of the good guys. Not all of them are, so be careful if you see anybody else with fangs tonight. We don’t know what this is, but if it’s some bloodletter power play, they’re here to mix it up with Hiram, not you. Don’t get in the middle.”
Hiram arrived with his final staff member, which stopped that conversation in its tracks, thankfully. Maya helped Hiram arrange the unconscious man on the last little sliver of bed and then put a blanket over them all so they wouldn’t get cold.
“Do you have everything you need?” she asked the master as she headed for the steel door of the safe room.
“Everything except the heads of whoever did this,” Hiram replied, his voice ice cold, and his eyes burning with red lights in their depths. He was pissed.
“No problem,” Maya told him, hoping to lighten his mood a bit. “I can sniff them out for you, and the boys seem okay with helping us.”
“Odd, that,” Hiram said as he gestured for her to precede him out the door. “But I don’t mind a bit.”