by Lara Adrian
Marina faced him and held out her hand. “I need to call my uncle.” Emotion threatened to clog her throat, but she held fast to her anger instead. “You don’t own me, Cain Hunter. No man does. Now, give me the phone so I can call and make sure nothing’s happened to my uncle. For all I know, his enemies could have killed him just as they tried to kill me.”
“He’s alive.” Cain’s low voice was practically a growl. “As of last night, he was living large at a black-tie soiree in Moscow along with Boris Karamenko and a bunch of other Kremlin boot-lickers.”
Uncle Anatoly was all right? She didn’t know whether to feel relieved or suspicious that Cain sounded so certain. “How do you know that?”
“Raze and I did some internet recon. I can’t say we found anything that improved my opinion of your uncle. He’s a career criminal, one who made a fortune washing the blood off Karamenko’s dirty money. He’s also a fucking coward, since he’s willing to put your neck on the line while he’s out drinking champagne and sucking on cigars. That makes him worse than a coward in my book.”
She wanted to fire back in defense, but the words wouldn’t come. Maybe she was too weary. Or maybe Cain was saying something she didn’t want to acknowledge, not even by refuting it with a hot retort. “You don’t have to like him. He’s my family and I would die for him.”
Cain’s eyes darkened. “Not if I have anything to say about that.”
Marina reached for the phone and he let her take it, although he made no move to leave and let her make the call. “You don’t expect to stand there and listen, do you?”
His expression left no doubt of that. “Nothing you do is private now, Marina. Not while you’re here. Make your call. I’ll wait.”
She glared at him, but the need to reach her uncle was stronger than the pride that made her want to throw the phone at Cain and refuse to let him handle her as though she were his prisoner. He didn’t trust her. She saw that truth in his eyes as he watched her enter her uncle’s private number on the satellite phone.
He answered with a single word. “Marina?”
“Uncle.” She sagged onto the bed, awash in relief to hear his raspy voice. Oh, thank God he was all right. She whispered those same words to him in Russian, unable to hold back her relief.
Cain scowled as she spoke, giving a grim shake of his head. “In English. I know he’s as fluent as you are. And keep it short. No mention of where you are or anyone besides me.”
She hugged the phone to her ear. “Uncle Anatoly, I can’t talk for very long. I just . . . needed to hear your voice.”
“Marina, who was that speaking to you?” He followed her lead, switching seamlessly from Russian to English. It was barely six in the morning in Saint Petersburg, but he was instantly alert. Alarm bled into his tone. “Something is wrong. What’s happened? Are you okay? Who are you with? Are you still in Miami?”
She didn’t know which of his rapid-fire questions to answer first. “I’m . . . I’m fine, uncle. There were some problems earlier tonight. I was attacked, but I’m okay. Everything is under control, so please don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry? Moya radost.” His endearment gusted out of him, ripe with concern. “What do you mean you were attacked? Goddamn it, put Yury on the phone at once, Marina.”
“I can’t. Yury is dead. He is the one who attacked me tonight. He betrayed us, uncle. He shot Viktor and Ivan, then he came after me.” She glanced at Cain. “Fortunately, I was able to escape. I’m fine, and I have the briefcase with me.”
He went silent for a moment, and she knew that he had picked up on her cautiously worded statement. “The briefcase. And the contents?”
“Yes, Uncle Anatoly. It’s safe with me. All two million dollars are right here.”
“Good,” he said slowly. “That is very good to hear.” They both understood that she was also talking about the data file, the true item of value he had entrusted to her. “But you are . . . not alone, Marina? There is a man with you. I heard his voice. It is not Kirill.”
“No. Kirill is dead too. He was shot earlier tonight by a sniper who had evidently been working with Yury. They both failed because another man helped me.” She let out a shallow sigh. “The man I’m with saved my life. He helped me get away from Miami to somewhere safe.”
The answering silence was heavy with skepticism, even suspicion. “Tell me his name, this man who saved your life.”
She glanced at Cain. He inclined his head in permission, those stormy gray eyes leaving her no place to hide. “His name is Cain Hunter.”
“Hunter.” He uttered the word in an airless, toneless murmur. A low curse, spoken in vivid Russian, spilled into her ear. “That’s a Breed name, Marina.”
“Yes.” If he hadn’t been so horrified by all the rest that she’d told him, she knew her uncle would be livid to hear this further detail. “I’d be dead if not for him, Uncle Anatoly. I am safe with him.”
“Safe?” He scoffed, a brittle scrape in his throat. “You couldn’t be less safe, girl. A woman like you, with the mark? I’ve warned you about them, Marina. They are animals. Lower than animals—base, blood-drinking monsters.”
She flicked a glance at Cain, knowing he could hear every word. Marina had grown up with her uncle’s fear and loathing of the Breed. Sometimes she wondered if having a niece born with the Breedmate symbol on her had only made his animosity deepen. She had never liked hearing him say awful things about the Breed, but standing there now while Cain listened to such unwarranted denigration made her feel small and ashamed.
“I am fine, Uncle. I’m a grown woman. You raised me to be strong. I can handle myself.”
He didn’t argue that point, which was a small victory. But he was far from reassured. “Tell me where you are. I will send someone to retrieve you at once.”
“I can’t tell you that, and it’s a long story. Just know that I’m okay.” She glanced at Cain, whose steely silver eyes refused to release her. He gestured for her to wrap up the call. “I have to go. I will explain everything when I see you next. For now, just know that I am all right and everything is still on course. I won’t let you down.”
“No. I don’t like this, Marina.”
Panic was beginning to override his anger and suspicion. Her uncle was a man who did not tolerate anything less than full control. She could practically see him on the other end of the line, his cheeks turning red with anger for what he’d just learned, his palm most likely skimming over the top of his balding head as he weighed the situation.
“Everything has changed now. The risks are too great. I’m going to call it all off. I want you to come home.”
“Give up now, after everything I’ve just been through? No, Uncle Anatoly. I won’t do that. Please, don’t ask me to.” Marina shook her head, balking at the idea of running home to Russia in a panic. Especially when her meeting with Ernesto Fuentes could be no more than a couple of days away. “If I come home now and something terrible happens to you, I will never forgive myself. You entrusted me to help you, so let me do that. Let me finish this for you. For both of us.”
He was silent for a long moment. Then he heaved a short sigh. “You always were a determined girl.”
“You didn’t raise me to be anything less.”
“You have more courage than many of the Vory soldiers I know, Marina. I couldn’t have trusted anyone else to do this for me. You were the only one.”
His praise warmed her. She heard it from him so infrequently that on those occasions when he did give it, she clutched every word close like a treasure. Did he realize how she pushed herself to excel in everything she undertook simply for the possibility of winning his acknowledgment, of earning his love?
This mission to secure his freedom was no different. No risk was too great if it meant the difference between life and death for the only person who had ever cared for her.
“So, let me finish it, Uncle Anatoly. You say you trust me, so trust me.”
Silence stretched, and Cain’s stormy gaze
edged toward impatience. “It’s time, Marina. You need to hang up.”
She turned away from him, not ready to sever the connection. “Uncle Anatoly, tell me you won’t give up. My future depends on this too.”
And there it was, the truth she had not spoken to him until now. She wanted to be free of the fear and violence too. She needed his freedom so she could have hers too.
“Very well.” It took him a moment to say the words. “You’re right. We have set the wheels in motion and we should not slow them down. I will do what I can to expedite the exchange.”
“Thank you, uncle.” She closed her eyes, feeling both relieved and imbued with new resolve. “I will not let you down.”
“I know you won’t, moya radost. Stay safe. Wait for the call.”
“Yes, uncle.” She ended the call and pivoted back to look at Cain. “He’s worried.”
He grunted. “For you, or for himself?”
Marina frowned as he reached out and took the phone from her grasp. It disappeared into his pocket once more. “What are you doing? I need to keep it with me. My uncle’s contact may be calling at any time.”
“We already went over that. No communications in or out of this Darkhaven without my knowledge. For the duration you’re here, you talk to no one unless I’m present.”
“You make it sound as if I’m your prisoner.”
His broad mouth thinned into a cold smile. “What else would you expect from a base, blood-drinking monster?”
She winced. “I’m sorry you heard that.”
“It’s the truth.” He shrugged, his face rigid and devoid of emotion. “You know what I am, and what I was trained to be. So, you should also know that I’m not someone you should piss off or try to play for a fool.”
“I’m not trying to do any of those things. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
“Lies, Marina. And half-truths. You’ve been feeding them to me since the moment you opened your pretty mouth.”
She shook her head, feeling cornered. “I’ve told you everything.”
“Like hell you have. I realize your loyalty is with your uncle, though fuck if I can figure out why.”
“Because he’s my family. Because I love him like a father, one I never had.”
“He’s using you, Marina. I’ve known men like him. I used to work for one in Las Vegas. Nothing truly matters to them except their own skin.”
“No, you’re wrong.”
“Then tell me what you’re really using as collateral for dear old Uncle Anatoly’s freedom. Because I know damn well it’s not a paltry two million dollars.” Cain stepped closer, until all of the air seemed to evaporate between them, leaving only the heat of his powerful body and the vibrating pulse of his escalating fury. “You’re keeping secrets, Marina, and if you’re not careful they could get you killed.”
She wanted to come back at him with a sharp denial, but for some reason she found it difficult to lie to him when his thunderous silver eyes were boring into her, his handsome, accusing face barely an inch from her now. She swallowed, hating that she couldn’t simply disregard him as an obstacle in the way of her goal.
She couldn’t look him in the eye and lie now, but if he thought she was going to cower under his glare and dominating size, he was sorely mistaken.
“I’m not the only one keeping secrets, Cain.”
His scowl furrowed deeper on his brow. “What the fuck does that mean?”
She glanced pointedly at the whimsical painting on the wall near the bed. When she swiveled her gaze back to Cain, his expression had darkened to a fury that made her heart skid in her breast. “Lana told me about Abbie. About the car accident and the rift that opened up between you and Knox afterward.”
Silent, he reeled back. A hundred emotions played over his face in the matter of an instant. But the one that stuck was rage. And pain. More than she had expected to see.
“You had feelings for her. You loved her.”
He uttered a tight, vicious curse. “Is that what Lana thinks? Is that what she fucking told you?”
“No. You did, Cain. Out on the path when I asked you if you lost someone you cared for. Someone your vision failed to save. It was Abbie, wasn’t it? You were in love with another man’s woman. Did Knox know, Cain? Did she?”
“Enough.” Amber light shot into his irises, crackling like fire. “Knox is my brother. Abbie is dead. End of story.”
No, she didn’t think so at all. Cain had been carrying his anguish—and his guilt—for eight long years. If he wanted to lecture her about secrets and their power to harm someone, all he had to do was look in a mirror.
He stalked away from her, heading toward the door. But then he raked his hand over his ebony hair and swung back around. Moving faster than her eyes could track him, he was suddenly in front of her, a dark force of nature.
Menacing and lethal.
Terrifying in his unearthly rage.
His silver eyes turned as dark as thunder clouds, but lit with flashing sparks of amber light. His pupils had transformed too. Narrowed to slim, catlike slivers that only made the fire in his Breed irises all the more searing.
Good lord, she half expected him to reach out and strangle her. But touching her seemed to be the last thing he intended to do. His hands remained fisted at his sides, the muscles in his thick biceps bulging as he struggled to rein in his fury.
He bore down on her until his face was not even an inch away from hers, his lips peeled back from the enormous, razor-sharp points of his fangs.
“Be careful, Marina. Do not think you have me fooled. If any of your secrets—or your uncle’s—end up putting this Darkhaven in danger, there will be no saving you. Breedmate mark or not, if your presence jeopardizes anyone here, there you will have hell to pay. And I’ll be the one coming to collect.”
CHAPTER 10
Cain stood outside the glass door of the indoor lap pool and watched Marina’s lean, strong arms and fluttering legs propel her through the water. It was the first he’d seen of her since their clash in her guest room almost twenty-four hours ago.
He wasn’t sure which of them had been more deliberate in avoiding the other, but the break had done him some good. Helped put his head on straight again so he could focus on something other than the woman who had managed to turn his entire world upside down in the course of a single day. Dragging him back to a place he thought he’d never see again. Making him relive the mistakes of his past and the shame he would carry with him as long as he lived.
Abbie’s death would stain his hands forever.
He’d be damned if he would make the same mistakes with Marina.
Keeping her alive meant keeping her at arm’s length, emotionally and otherwise. Especially otherwise, because whenever he was near her, everything male in him already responded to her as though she belonged to him . . . or would, sooner than later.
“Fuck.” He muttered the curse and shook his head, eyes still glued to her tattooed body and the tiny black bikini that had gotten him into this whole unwanted situation in the first place.
Christ, she was beautiful. She swam with determination and power, and a sleek grace that made Cain’s blood turn molten in his veins. Arousal flared inside him, coiling tighter and hotter every second he watched her.
It was hard to regret jumping off that hotel balcony to save her when the alternative was the certainty that she would be dead. Yet for what wasn’t the first time, he had to tamp down the urge to get in his car and speed away as fast as it could take him.
He had plenty of experience walking away, after all. No one here would be surprised to discover he’d simply packed up and split again, this time for good. He could carry on with his life, such as it was, and never look back.
But where would that leave Marina?
Still determined to help her uncle, no matter the risk. Still marked for death by whomever had tried to take her out from that rooftop in Miami.
He was surprised she hadn’t tr
ied to leave the Darkhaven, particularly after the way he’d left things with her last night. But she had little choice other than to stay. So long as he was holding the satellite phone linking her to her uncle’s contact, she was as good as shackled to him.
Cain scowled at the thought. He knew too well what it felt like to have his freedom—and his humanity—stripped away by someone. He’d spent sixteen years hating the ones who enslaved him and his brothers to the Hunter program. How long would it take before Marina began to regard him as the same kind of monster?
Cain raked his hand over his dark hair on a low growl and backed away from the door. He was about to head back to his quarters, but before he could take the first step, Logan and Razor rounded the corner and saw him standing there. Damn it.
“What’s up?” Raze asked, even though his slow smirk said he knew full well. “Admiring your captive mermaid? She’s been in there for the past hour, swimming laps like she’s training to cross the English Channel.”
Cain didn’t like the surge of possessiveness that washed over him at his brother’s remark. Nor did he appreciate the reminder that she was staying with Cain even remotely against her will.
Logan broke the tension. “We’re going out for a blood run. You want to ride along?”
Cain shook his head. “No. I’m good.”
Raze chuckled. “You sure about that? You don’t look so good to me, brother.”
His shrewd golden-brown eyes flicked to the dermaglyphs that wrapped Cain’s arms beneath the sleeves of his black T-shirt. The Breed skin markings pulsed, their changing colors betraying the desire—and the hunger—that had churned to life inside him while he watched Marina in the pool.
As much as he wanted to deny it, Razor was right. Cain had fed from the blood Host in Miami only last night, but it might as well have been a week ago for the way his thirst was pounding through him right now.
“She’s off-limits,” he ground out, seeing no reason to pretend in front of the Breed males who had once known him better than anyone. And he supposed the warning was as much for them as it was for himself.