I do. But I can’t hold on.
You don’t have to. I always have you. I will hold you to me.
She knew what he was doing. Yes. He was giving her an awesome experience, but that wasn’t his
entire motive for taking her flying. He was showing her that he would always hold her to him. It seemed
strange. She had never had any doubt in his ability or willingness to protect her, regardless of what was
going on around her.
What if I was the one doing something that made you feel threatened? Would you be so willing to
trust me to keep you, to hold you to me?
She laughed out loud. Like when I was with Demetri and felt you so very enraged and began tearing
the atmosphere apart to get to me?
I supposed that’s a good example. Did you fear I would harm you?
Not at all. I felt horrible for upsetting you. I knew your rage was with him not me. You were afraid
for me.
His body heat radiating through her clothing kept her warm. She felt exhilarated watching the waves
go by as he took them along the coast.
***
“I have been waiting for you for hours. What the hell took you so long to get here?” Mary glared across
the bar at Demetri. As usual his face revealed no emotion whatsoever. He actually appeared to be bored.
“Don’t stand there and stare at me! Answer me!”
“What do you want?”
“You know the rules.” She leaned across the bar and pointed her finger in his face. “You’re supposed
to respect me. People are going to start noticing if you continue to treat me like a piece of shit. I won’t
tolerate it anymore. If you keep it up you will be sorry.”
Demetri pushed her hand aside. “Stop with the dramatics. No one is here to see how I treat you or
how I despise you. Again, what do you want?”
“An explanation that won’t result in me ending the little pact we have.”
“Do you think I want to sit here and look at you any longer? Spit it out! An explanation for what?”
Carrying her laptop she walked out from behind the bar to stand next to him. Setting the laptop on
the bar she played the video of Demetri helping Kara Terrick escape from the hospital several months
earlier. Once the video ended she slammed her fist on the keyboard. “What the hell were you doing there
helping her?”
Further pissing her off, he shrugged his shoulders in a laid-back manner. He was the most
infuriatingly arrogant son of a bitch she had ever known. She had him at her mercy. He couldn’t do a
damn thing to hurt her. “I decided that I like her. Are you jealous?”
“You knew how important her death was to me. I promised her father I would make sure she was
killed that night. You made me look like a fool.”
“I made you look like a fool?” He laughed at her. “How is that possible? You normally do not hide
the fact that you have below average intelligence. You never needed my help to prove it.” She pulled her
arm back and swung to slap him. He caught her wrist and gripped it with enough force to cause her to
yelp. “Hitting me is not a good idea,” he growled.
“Defying me was not a good idea. Your ignorance has made poor little Sara’s suffering a thousand
times greater. I am sure you want proof of it. Here’s a tiny sample to make it real to you.”
She created a small opening in the tangled network of spells that concealed Sara’s whereabouts from
him. He was instantaneously bombarded with the terrible physical and mental torture the little bitch was
suffering because of his insubordination. She always knew how to set the bastard straight. A taste of the
agony she could and would happily cause Sara to endure always got him under control.
Demetri’s eyes went black with tiny red flickering flames illuminating them as she ripped his mask
of calm from his face. His deadly gazed collided with hers as his rage erupted and unsettled the
atmosphere. He could have killed her with a thought, but he ached to rip her to pieces with his hands. He
would never do it. He knew it would be Sara’s death.
The floor and walls shook so violently that the décor, hanging light fixtures and ceiling fans, dishes,
tables and chairs vibrated as every barstool toppled over. Mary grabbed the bar with both hands to remain
on her feet. Flashes of lightning in the window lit up every dark corner in the building as thunder crashed
overhead. A heavy mixture of rain and hail pelted the exterior walls and roof.
It was one hell of a storm, but she was not alarmed by the intensity of it. Knowing his anger fueled it
amused her. It was nothing more than another tantrum. She had witnessed many over the years. Every
now and then she needed to make him crawl back under her feet. Being a demon meant that he was
innately stubborn. At times he tried to test and challenge her. Giving him a reality check was as necessary
as it was comical.
The hatred and the promise of death in his eyes would have caused any powerhouse male warrior to
piss his pants, drop to his knees and beg for mercy. In theory, as long as rage remained his dominate
emotion, she was in grave danger. She knew better. Presumptions had not allowed her to take control of a
ten thousand year old demon. She knew what she was doing. The reality of his nature had empowered her
to become his dictator. His makeup demanded him to do whatever it took to end Sara’s agonizing pain.
He would always put his mate above all else. His infinite love for Sara would never fail to conquer his
indignation before he unleashed it on her or any other enemy.
All of the sudden, his expression turning from outraged to grief-stricken, he dropped to his knees. A
few seconds later the atmosphere outside went silent and still. Clenching his jaw and his fists, he lifted his
head and glared up at her. “Stop hurting her.”
Pleased, Mary smiled. “I will, just as soon as you agree to take care of something for me.”
“Anything,” he whispered.
Knowing she’d won, she immediately closed the connection to prevent him from using it to find
Sara. That would be disastrous as he would no longer be under her thumb. “Thanks to you getting caught
defying me, I am being blackmailed by Phillip Wicks. He will show the video around to anyone willing to
watch it if I fail to kill Haden Drake’s woman and child. I cannot afford for anyone to doubt your loyalty
to me.”
“Why kill a woman and a toddler?” he asked. “It would be easier and make more sense to kill the
man blackmailing you. If he does it once, he will do it again.”
“I agree. You will kill Phillip as well, but not until I have possession of all the videos. He has agreed
to give me all the copies as soon as you’ve killed Caylee and Megan.” Without saying another word, he
turned to leave. “Wait.”
He stopped, but didn’t face her. “What?”
“You have two days to get it done. Every second after that, I promise the pain you felt Sara enduring
today will be intensified a hundred times over. I want proof. Not just your word that it is done. You will
bring their bodies to me.”
***
It was a miracle of monumental proportions that Demetri left the fucking bitch alive when he shifted
away from her. In the middle of a barren region far away from any form of civilization he took his dragon
form and lifted his face to the blazing heat of the sun. He roared in an attempt to vent even a small
fraction of the fury
burning in his gut. He was so close to losing control. Too damn close.
One wrong move on his part would be Sara’s demise. Somehow he had to find the strength to keep
going even though the walls of his chest seemed to be caving in and crushing his heart. He was so very
tired. How much more agony could he endure before he exploded? Was it possible to simply self-destruct
like an atom bomb? Could he explode from the inside out and be blown into sweet oblivion?
Was the heat of the sun enough to incinerate him? He opened his wings and shot up into the sky with
his focus locked in on the sun. The thought of one day being free to get revenge had kept him going, but it
no longer appealed to him. He had not simply failed to protect his mate. He had dangled her in front of his
enemies.
He picked up his speed. He was determined to end his existence. Don’t leave me here, Demetri! The
sound of Sara’s voice stopped him.
Sara! He searched his mind, but couldn’t find a trace of her presence. Was it his imagination? It
didn’t matter. He would never again seek his own destruction to stop his pain. As long as Sara was alive
and suffering it was not option. If there was a way to save her he had to find it. He would do anything to
have her there with him safe in his arms. Would she even want to stay? He doubted it. Not after he had
recklessly failed to protect her. It did not matter as long as she was free.
He had another problem to deal with. He needed to warn Haden about Phillip Wicks without telling
him. The best method was to put the other demon on high alert. That would be easy. Haden was naturally
hot-tempered. In addition to his short fuse, he questioned his ability to protect Caylee and Megan. He
would never fully recover from the memory of being present and unable to prevent a tainted vampire
from forcing Caylee to ingest its blood. Getting him worked up wouldn’t take much effort. He planned to
push him hard enough to convince him to force his family into seclusion again.
It would not permanently solve the problem, but it would buy Demetri some time to figure out how
to kill Phillip without killing him. Mary would throw a huge fit over the delay, but she wouldn’t expect
Demetri to nab a demon’s mate and child if they were not around. He should be quicker at figuring out
how to get anything done without doing it. He hated stalling. But then again, covertly killing someone
acquainted with Mary was a particularly complicated task. She was able to monitor and sometimes
control tainted vampires and humans as soon as she received their blood. He didn’t know if she took
Phillip’s blood. He couldn’t risk killing him. If she was keeping track of Phillip’s thoughts she would
know. It was highly likely. He had approached her as an enemy. She would have naturally taken his blood
to gain leverage over him. It would give her access to his mind. Sooner or later she would figure out
where he hid the original and every backup video he made.
~Twelve~
THE INSTANT JOSEPH walked into the boutique Mia rushed over to him. “What took you so long?”
He looked down as his watch. “It’s only been two minutes and forty five seconds. I needed two
minutes and forty four of those seconds to explain why I was rushing out of the meeting I made
mandatory to get the hotel ready for your meat auction.”
“Never mind. I do not have time to stand here and listen to you make up excuses! Do you know if
Nikolas ever made it back from where ever Demetri had taken him to?”
“I wasn’t trying to make up excuses. And yes, he was back within an hour or so.”
“You have to go now. You have to find him.”
Giving her a look of concern, he tried to take her into his arms. “I will go but I want a kiss first.”
She shoved him away from her. “Stop screwing around, Joseph. You have to go find him now. Right
now!”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he tilted his head to the side. “You are acting strange. I am not
going anywhere until you tell me what is going on.”
“Do you remember when Julie called this morning?” she asked.
“Yeah. I sure do. She has terrible timing. You were just about to…”
“Shut up. We are not talking about sex right now. And I am never going to do it again if you do not
go right now and find Nikolas.”
“Did something happen to Julie?”
“Besides the fact she is being stalked by a creepy blood sucking vampire?” she asked.
“Caleb is not stalking her. She is perfectly safe with him. If I thought she was in any…”
“Whatever,” she interrupted. “I do not want to discuss vampires right now. Julie asked me to pick
Brianna up. Brianna’s apartment was entirely trashed. It was torn up. There was broken glass everywhere.
There was blood in her room. And her purse and her phone were still there. She would not leave without
them.”
Indicating that he understood the severity of the situation, Joseph uncrossed his arms and
straightened his stance. “It is going to be okay. Whatever happened, I am sure Nikolas dealt with it
immediately. She is probably with him right now, but I will go and make sure.”
Julie walked in through the front door. “Sorry I’m late, Mia. Caleb came over last night. We stayed
up late.”
“What were you doing?” Mia asked.
“Don’t bother wasting your time lecturing me. I am not seeing him again.” Taking a deep breath and
releasing it slowly, Julie sighed. “Where is Brianna? I need to talk to her.”
“Brianna was not at her apartment this morning.” Mia immediately got the image of Julie discussing
Caleb with Brianna. Joseph started to leave. Mia grabbed his arm. “Wait.” She looked at Julie. “Did you
already talk to her this morning?”
“After I asked you to pick her up because I was running late, she called me to tell me that she didn’t
need a ride. I’m so sorry. She spent Saturday night and Sunday in Astoria with Nikolas. He’s bringing her
in to work this morning. They should be here any minute.”
“That’s good.” Mia’s heart finally stopped racing. She looked up at Joseph. He wrapped his strong
arm around her and she leaned against his steely muscular frame. He kissed the top of her head. “What
happened with Caleb?”
“Look.” Julie ignored Mia’s question as she pointed toward the front window. “They’re here.
Caylee, Haden and Megan are with them.”
Mia had already stepped away from Joseph and was headed toward the entrance. She grabbed
Brianna and hugged her. “I am so happy to see you.”
“What about me?” Megan reached out for Mia.
Mia took Megan from Haden. “I’m even happier to see you.” Megan wrapped her arms around Mia’s
neck and gave her a kiss. Megan was a few months shy of three, but being an immortal she was far more
advanced in her language skills and understanding than a human child the same age. “Uncle Joseph has a
special surprise for you.”
Megan nearly jumped right out Mia’s arms to get to Joseph. Mia put Megan down and watched her
run to Joseph. He scooped her up and twirled her around. She gave him the same kiss she’d given Mia,
and then held out her hand. “I want it now.”
“Megan, that’s not the way we ask for things,” Caylee said.
Frowning, Megan looked at Caylee and then back at Joseph. “I want it right now...please.” She
grinned. “Thank you
.”
“You don’t even know what it is. What if you don’t like it?” Joseph teased.
“I will love it.” Megan wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as he carried her to the
back of the store.
Once Mia was certain Megan was too distracted by whatever Joseph had come up with to give her,
she turned to Brianna. “I stopped by your apartment. It was trashed. What happened?”
“Demetri showed up. He wanted me to lead him to Sara,” Brianna explained. “I really believe she’s
still alive.”
“I believe you’re right. If she is alive we’ll find her one way or another.” Mia glared at Nikolas.
“How did he get past your safeguards?’ She shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” She took
Brianna’s hand. “All that matters is that Demetri doesn’t get to you again. I want you to stay with Joseph
and me.”
Brianna pulled her hand away. “It’s very nice of you to offer, but it isn’t necessary.”
“I insist. I know you love being independent. And we all know you are more than capable of getting
along on your own, but with Demetri targeting you living alone is just too dangerous.”
“I won’t be alone.” Brianna looked up at Nikolas. “I’ll be staying at Nikolas’ house.”
Nikolas lifted Brianna’s hand to his lips. “Our house, little one. We will be staying together at our
house.”
Mia was a bit shocked, but she was pleased. She’d come to the point of believing Nikolas would
never come around. Changing the subject she asked, “Did either of you girls talk to the guys about the
auction?”
“Caleb won’t be doing it,” Julie answered.
Mia noted Julie’s quick response. Something bad had happened between her and Caleb. She would
talk to her later.
“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I do it,” Haden said.
“You’re doing it,” Caylee said.
“No. I’m not.”
“What auction are you talking about?” Nikolas asked.
“They want to sell us off like hunks of meat to the highest bidder,” Haden said.
“Stop it. It’s not that bad. Joseph is doing it.” Mia leaned back on the counter.
Haden laughed. “Joseph is an idiot.”
“Daddy!” All eyes shot to Megan cradling a new doll as she stood at Joseph’s side. She gave Haden
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