by Amanda Vyne
It was so familiar, yet her mind shied away from the recognition. But the third scent…that scent was unmistakable. Leaning down she pulled a deep draft of air through her nose again, isolating it. She let the anger burn away the lingering unease from that unknown scent. This third scent she did know. It had been burned into her memory. Literally.
Kel jerked back with a curse. Gabe shifted in agitation behind her, and she cast him a look. His brows were drawn together and his intense green eyes were focused on her. Still searching.
“Gloves,” she snapped to the simpering medical examiner. If Gabe noticed how the unmated female postured for him it didn’t show. His attention was centered completely on Kel. As much as she hated to acknowledge it, it was oddly satisfying.
When the examiner finally pulled her eyes from Gabe, she dropped the gloves into Kel’s outstretched hand. Once Kel pulled them on, she reached down and carefully lifted the girl’s arm, pushing her sleeve back. There were ligature marks around her wrist, evidence that she’d been tied up, but that wasn’t what she was looking for. Pushing the worn sleeve farther up, she found it.
“What the hell?” The examiner gasped as she leaned closer. “Is that a burn?”
Kel closed her eyes. Fury and disgust cartwheeled crazily through her and the air burned through her nose as she struggled to maintain control. If she opened her eyes they would be glittering obsidian. Most of the people working the site were Sanguen, with a few trusted humans. She doubted many of them had ever had much contact with a feral Guardian.
And the feral was riding Kel pretty hard right now. She wanted to just unleash, let the bubble of fury burst, let it stream from her and give her some relief. She wanted to sink her claws into something and feel it reduce to thin ribbons in her hands.
She wanted to believe that no other little girl had been abused this way. But she knew better. Life didn’t work that way. Kel accepted that. She accepted that she could only play a small part. She accepted that. Damn it all!
A large warm hand settled lightly around the back of her neck, and she felt Gabe there with her, piercing the cloying darkness that settled over her, centering her and easing her.
“Yes. It is a burn,” Kel said harshly, feeling her subsiding reaction heating her cheeks. The medical examiner stepped back involuntarily from her. Turning her head slightly back to Gabe she gave him a vague nod to let him know she was in control once again.
“You recognize it.” Gabe’s voice was pitched low. Dangerous. “This is familiar to you.” It wasn’t a question. He knew. He’d felt her shared knowledge.
Carefully resettling the sheet over the girl she turned to look up at him. The centers of his eyes were shot through with red again, writhing. She was beginning to realize they did that when he was very angry. Other than the way his hands caressed those wickedly intriguing blades strapped to his thighs, his eyes were the only indication of it. His face seemed so cool.
“Yeah.” Kel rose to her feet. She knew where their next stop would be. Only one woman she knew left marks like this. There was only one woman who left burns in the perfect shape of a hand.
GABE STOOD NEXT to Kel’s small form, unable to determine any of the emotions roiling through her. She had herself controlled in the time it took to drive to the crumbling brownstone and carefully shut off from him. After only the briefest of hesitations she gave two curt raps on the door and stepped back a step. The hesitation was telling.
Turning his head he threw a glance around the neighborhood, eyes carefully measuring every square foot of space in that brief look. There was loose garbage littering the broken sidewalks, and he could easily see the lines were neatly drawn between the inhabitants. There were only predators and prey here. On this street with its few available resources there was no room for any middle ground. Was this where the Triumvirate set up homes for the crossbreeds they demanded live in segregation?
“Well, Kelly,” came the coarse, slithering hiss. “The prodigal daughter returns. To what do I owe this visit? Did you miss us?”
Gabe stepped closer to Kel. Something about the tall, painfully thin woman seemed threatening and the cold, liquid instinct to defend his mate slithered through his body. He controlled the extension of his lethally sharp canines. The woman carefully measured him in one quick glance; the flicker of understanding was there when he flashed her a bit of fang.
“I see you have done well for yourself,” she said in that rough voice as she slid the door open for them to enter, her eyes appraising Gabe with a more than female appreciation. Then a sly smile lifted the corners of her mouth, her eyes still on him. “Does he know about you?”
“Yeah, I already showed him my webbed feet.” Kel’s tone was sarcastic and light, but he could see that she didn’t feel it. There was something here that she connected strongly to. He already suspected she’d been raised in one of these homes. Was this the one? He scanned the room with new interest.
The thin woman walked to the mantel of the fireplace and slid a cigarette from a pack. “Still have a dangerous mouth on you, I see,” she mumbled around the filter of the cigarette. The tip of the cigarette ignited, and she pulled a long drag to blow the smoke out with a sly smile. “Always did get you in trouble.”
A Fire Elemental.
Gabe wasn’t overly fond of Elementals, species of the Arcane that controlled one of the elements and similar to the mythic witches, but he had a specific dislike for Fire Elementals. They were sneaky and often violent.
“Showing off, Aggie?” Kel smiled, but he could see it didn’t even come close to her eyes. “Let me introduce my friend to you. Aggie, this is House Marshal Gabrial Ferrar. Now, why don’t we skip the bullshit and get down to business. We found one of your girls in the park. Drained. You wouldn’t happen to know how she got there.”
Aggie shrugged and drew deeply on the cigarette again, then blew a plume of smoke into the room. Her pale blue eyes appraised Gabe for a minute but then she shrugged as she rolled them back to Kel. “Why not? The Triumvirate won’t do anything about a dirty little crossbreed anyway.” There was a smirk on her face as she shot a smug look to Gabe, dull blue eyes slithering over him. “And House elders only concern themselves with their own. Blood rules, you know. One of the dealers came by a few days ago looking for a Guardian-Sanguen breed to use as a source. Sometimes it’s hard to tell before they go into their first heat, you know, but them Guardian boys took a real liking to her so I figured as much.” Her eyes raked over Kel. “You little strays can sniff out your own. So I gave him a sample. Yesterday, he wanted the whole thing. She was turning out to be more trouble than she was worth so I handed her over.”
Gabe could feel the fury radiating off of Kel although she maintained that cold half smile she’d come in with. He wanted to touch her, but he didn’t think she’d accept him. Although their bond was tenuous without a full blood exchange, her pain made him raw and angry. He wanted to do something, punish the Elemental, but if he interfered he’d lose the little ground he’d gained with her. He would wait, let her respond in her own way. Besides, now that he’d been in the Elemental’s house he could come back whenever he chose.
Kel cocked her head to the side, that little smile making her seem young and innocent. She had such a youthful face. It was a mask. Something dangerous seethed beneath the surface, and Gabe suspected this thin woman didn’t have a clue how strong it was.
Circling her fingers over the smooth corner of the leather couch positioned in front of the fireplace, Kel looked down to watch a long claw extend from her index finger into the leather. She looked up at the woman coyly through her lashes, the fury seething in her dark eyes as the other three claws slid out and punctured the leather. She slowly walked behind the couch, dragging her claws over the back of it, shredding it, white stuffing pushing up as the material parted.
“I’m sure you turned a tidy little profit. Peddling innocent young girls.” When she reached the end of the couch she flicked her wrist, sending bits of leath
er, stuffing, and wood scattering over the floor. Lifting her hand, she inspected her claws, calmly blowing a piece of stuffing from the one razor-sharp edge. When she stood before the woman the Fire Elemental was no longer smirking.
A dangerous glint of blue flickered in the depths of the Elemental’s eyes. She’d dropped the cigarette and an iridescent blue flame encased her hands as she held them in from of her, palms facing outward.
“Kelly.” The Elemental tsked. “Do you really want to have that particular lesson again?” Her voice was a raw hiss, her flickering blue eyes wary.
Kel brought her other hand up to waist level and glanced down at it as the claws shot forward from her fingertips, razor sharp. When she looked at the woman her eyes were flooded completely black, the color of a fully matured Guardian on the hunt. She cocked her head to the side, blinking her eerie, glittering obsidian eyes. “Only if I can be the teacher this time.”
Gabe should have been disgusted by the animalistic ferocity in her. He was paired with a female who had the capacity to tear someone apart with her own hands, but it sent a little excited thrill through him. He couldn’t prevent his own feral smile as the Elemental stumbled back a step, fear plain on her face, eyes darting from claws to eyes.
It was obvious the woman had not yet met this Kel. “It was Jimmy Centrone. He gave me two grand, blabbering something about moving up to the big time with some new House connection. Told me if I could score him any more Guardian-Sanguen breed girls there would be big money in it.”
“Did he say who he was delivering the little girl to?” Gabe stepped forward, positioning himself next to Kel.
“No.” The woman slid another cigarette out of the pack with trembling fingers, carefully keeping Kel in sight. “But he did say that he was going to get his fingers into a bigger score by opening up a local House for his business.”
“Where’s good old Jimmy now?” Kel sneered.
“I don’t know.”
“Bull.” Kel advanced another step toward the Elemental. Although he suspected Kel owed this woman more than a few slashes, he couldn’t let her do it. She would regret it. He stepped forward, nearly aligning himself against her back, struggling to project a calm he didn’t feel. In his mind he recited a soothing mantra he’d been taught as an adolescent to control his hunger. It spilled into her through their bond.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, the blackness receding, leaving the natural chocolate depths as she searched his eyes. A quick flash of surprise illuminated hers but was quickly lost as she turned back to the Elemental.
“I’ll be back, Aggie,” Kel said sweetly, retracting her claws. “If I even smell fear in one of your girls.”
Kel and Gabe started for the door.
“They’ll stop you, Kelly girl. The Triumvirate won’t stand for the interference of a little crossbreed whore,” the Elemental called after them, gaining a little courage in the face of their retreating backs.
Gabe’s threadbare grip on his control slipped. The thought of Kel living in a place like this when she was no better than a child was eating away at him. Kel had known exactly what she would find on that young girl’s arm, had known who had put it there. Her knowledge of the abuse alone made Gabe want to rip the Elemental’s throat out.
Did the woman think because he was a House marshal he would stop Kel from shredding her? Perhaps she was right, but not for the reason she believed. Beneath Kel’s tough facade there was something vulnerable. She would relive every hurt she visited on the Elemental over and over again, mourning the loss of her control. He would not allow that destruction of her. But he, on the other hand, was a different matter. The Elemental couldn’t imagine the threat he could be if he thought for one moment this woman posed a risk to his mate. Thousands of years of evolution had instilled in his kind a deeply imbedded instinct to protect their mates because it was, in essence, protecting the future of their race itself. Not even the Triumvirate would get involved with that.
He turned to the woman, watching the fear leap into her faded eyes as she recognized his intent. He let her absorb it until the knowledge saturated her every pore and her fear permeated the air between them. She would know the pain she’d caused his woman. When he was done her blood would wash clean the atrocities that this place had visited on innocent girls.
Suddenly Kel’s hand wrapped around the bare skin of his wrist just below his jacket sleeve, stopping him in mid-reach for his blade. The contact of skin to skin froze him into place, and he looked down at her with a dark frown. The beast inside of him was nearly in control, demanding the Elemental’s death. Kel gave a small shake of her head, those liquid eyes melting into his, pulling him to her.
His rage eased at the feel of her skin against his, calming under the influence of their sudden mental connection. He wanted the Elemental to pay, but he would not sacrifice this moment to assuage his anger toward the fire bitch. He could feel the tentative touch of Kel inside him, bright and vital yet hesitant. It was the first time she actually made a move to explore their bond.
With his eyes deeply connected to hers, he lifted her small hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, brushing a fang against the thin flesh in a caress. Not wanting to spend one more moment in that house he shimmered them to his rental car.
PEERING THROUGH THE window Aggie watched the feral little bitch get into the car. She leaned away from the window when the Sanguen closed the passenger door and turned to stare up at the brownstone as though he knew she’d be there. For a long moment he stood there, his fiery eyes fixed on the window. He couldn’t possibly see her there but the impact was the same. A little shiver of fear made her hand tremble as she slid another cigarette into her mouth, the tip igniting.
She lifted the receiver of the phone as she watched him walk around the car and slide in. Punching the numbers she finally felt the tension drain away as the car disappeared down the road.
Aggie let the curtains drop as she turned.
“Did she show up?”
“Yes,” Aggie said. “Do you know what you’re doing? She had a House marshal with her.”
“Yes, I do. I was hoping she was the agent the marshal was working with. I knew leaving that dead girl out in the open would send her to you.”
Aggie pushed a trembling plume of smoke from her lips. “And you did that because?”
“I have to get rid of the marshal before I can deal within the House.”
Aggie pulled the curtain back a little and glanced out into the empty street. “They’re bonded.”
There was a slight pause. “You’re sure?”
“Of course, dear. I’ve dealt enough with all breeds to recognize the signs. That changes things.”
“It changes nothing. The marshal dies and we move into the big time.”
Aggie smiled, the blue flames flickering in her eyes as she pulled the cigarette up to her mouth and took a long drag. “I think you’re missing it, dear. Our little agent is Guardian.”
“Half Guardian.”
“Half or whole, love, the result is the same. Guardians mate for life and cannot live without their mates.”
There was an oily laugh. “Yes, I see. Get rid of the marshal and we get rid of that little crossbreed, as well. Brilliant. We’ll kill two birds with one stone.”
KEL SAT SILENTLY in the dark interior of the car, her skin tingling all up and down her body. She felt heated, from the inside out. She could still feel him. He hadn’t left her or she hadn’t left him. Whatever. The bottom line was he was still hovering inside her, his presence beneath her skin, burning her. Okay, maybe she had initiated the contact but she’d done it on instinct when it seemed he wanted to chop old Aggie to bits. Not that she cared anything for the bitch but she didn’t want the Triumvirate involved. Her boss would kick her ass if the Triumvirate came sniffing around Incog’s back door. That was the only reason she intervened. The man was volatile, at least when it came to her. She’d had to do something.
S
he cast a quick look at his profile to find his eyes crashing into hers, that gold and red still seething around his dark wide pupils. His emotions still seethed. She could fucking feel them inside her. And here she’d always thought Sanguen were silent stoics.
And oh God, he was aroused. The scent of his heat was choking her, filling her lungs and throat until she could almost taste him in her mouth. Taking a short breath through her mouth, she gazed up at the reflective panel of the moon roof. The freaking heat was pooling between her legs, her body’s reaction dampening her panties.
Shifting in the leather seat with a curse, she slapped at the button that made the moon roof slide silently away. A rush of cool night air rolled heavily over her, sending the sharp sensation of raised bumps over her flesh. The scent of his arousal wasn’t nearly as strong but the chill in the air battled the heat in her body for possession of her flesh and it seemed to make that terrible hunger only get worse.
It had been a close call in that café, and that had been in a public place. The intensity with which her body craved him was nearly beyond her control. He was a fucking Ferrar for God’s sake, and she was a damn crossbreed. Could there be a bigger mistake in the making? Yet her body wasn’t listening. A sudden swell of heat washed through her as the night air caught his scent and spun it around her, pressing her back against the seat. Her nipples peaked so hard that it was painful and she had to clench her fists to keep herself from pressing her hands against them.
This was insane.
Then he mentally shifted inside her; the dark velvet of his presence in her mind seemed to stretch against her, brush against her, possess her. It was the most erotic sensation, and she barely noticed the sharp turn he took into the parking garage of her apartment building.
The tires squealed as he jerked the sleek sports car into a lined space and killed the engine with one flick of his wrist.