Ember & Flame (Bloodlust Book 2)

by J. M. Adele

  His steps halted, his shoulders dropping. The euphoric wave she’d been riding since his return seemed to ebb. Slowly turning, he smiled. “Of course.” Hooking his elbows under her armpits, he dragged her backwards and into the small bathroom, lifting her into the bath. “Yell when you’re done. I’ll have your pills ready.” He shut the door behind him, the snap restoring the percussion section in her head.

  She groaned and sneered at her wet pants and rubber legs. Pathetic. Crippled. Why would a guy like him want to be with her?

  Grinding her teeth, she ordered herself to stop as something in her clicked. Her eyes narrowed at the door. Why was he with her? Shiloh loved him. There was no way Lanie would betray her sister by stealing her boyfriend away. What were the two of them doing holed up in this shoebox? Why was he so insistent on the pills?

  Lanie managed to strip off her pants, leaving her top on in case he barged in. She put the towel off to the side for later. Sucking in a breath as cold water spurted from the faucet, she shivered. The liquid level rose along with her anger, wiping away the illusion she’d been under. Every time he was near, it was like he’d drugged her. The words of love he spouted didn’t match his actions. Seth was full of shit. She’d always thought that, hadn’t she?

  What am I going to do now?

  Passing the soap over her arm, she froze. In the crook of her elbow there was a small bruise surrounding a tiny puncture wound.

  What. The. Fuck?

  It could have been from when she was in hospital. No, it looked too fresh. Goosebumps paraded in the wake of the suds as her throat constricted.

  Jesus, I think I’m in big trouble. Is he drugging me?

  One thing was for sure: she wouldn’t be swallowing any more of his brand of medicine.

  “Hey, baby, are you done?”

  Shit. “Just a sec.”

  After pulling out the plug, she grabbed the towel and covered herself as best she could, waiting for the water to drain completely. Calling him in, she put on a grateful smile despite the dread simmering in her gut.

  He grinned at her, his eyes trailing over her towel. Something crawled along her skin, poking and prodding in a bid to get beneath her guard. Its sweet flavor teased her lips. She recognized it as the blissful rush he always induced in her. She glued her smile in place, determined not to let it slip, and hoping she could stop whatever he was doing by sheer will alone.

  He scooped her out of the tub. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

  “Um, do you mind if I try sitting up on the sofa for a change?” She forced herself to look him in the eyes. “Do we have a sofa?”

  “But baby, you’re not well enough, and you need to have your pills.”

  “But—”

  “Nope. Doctor’s orders.”

  “Is the doctor coming any time soon?”

  “The doc knows you’re in good hands. I’m looking after you, aren’t I?”

  “Yeah, baby . . .” Ugh, she imagined cutting out her tongue after its misuse of the endearment. “. . . you’re doing a great job. I’d be lost without you.” That was the sort of shit Shiloh used to say to him, wasn’t it? Lanie hoped her act would pass. She could always blame her behavior on the headache that continued to pummel her brain.

  “Yes, you would.” His eyes flared, his smile tainted with a sinister but subtle curl of his lip.

  She held back a shiver. Whatever juju he was putting out still teased along her skin, its sweetness no longer a flavor she craved. It didn’t sink under her defenses. Maybe because she was aware of it now. Did he know that she knew? She glanced at his eyes, but he was focused on where they were going.

  Placing her back on the bed, he gathered some clothes from the dresser. “Here, you can put these on.” After dropping the garments beside her, he took the glass of water and pills, and waved them under her nose. “Swallow. You know how to do that, don’t you, baby?”

  His laugh made her want to punch him in the cock.

  Fucker.

  Throwing the pills in her mouth, she grabbed the glass, took a swig, and tossed her head back.

  “Good girl.”

  She sneered at his back, waiting until he’d locked the door before spitting the medicine out. Crushing it under the weight of the glass of water, she then sprinkled it on the carpet under the bed. After dressing in the shorts and shirt he’d given her, she rearranged her legs until she was comfortable.

  Blinking back tears, she stared at the ceiling, absorbing the realization that she might be trapped. And if so, her body was in no shape to perform an escape. She only hoped that clearing the drugs from her system would get everything back to normal.

  What the hell had happened to her family? Where was Shiloh?

  What was Seth planning?

  For the first time in her life, Lanie prayed.

  Please help me.

  _____

  “How’s your head?” Myles took the ice pack from Shiloh’s temple, repositioning it as the blood pressure machine squeezed her bicep until the blood flow cut off.

  “Myles?” The scent of hospital-strength disinfectant lingered in the exam room. She squinted, adjusting to the bright light reflecting off the white tiles. “What happened this time?”

  “You had some sort of an episode brought on by stress and exhaustion. I’m keeping you in for observation for a few hours. I’ll give you a mild sedative later tonight so you can catch up on much-needed sleep.”

  All she heard was “blah, blah, blah” as everything came flooding back. Knocking Evren down. The curtains. Devlin casting her out. “Lanie!” She wrenched her body upright. “Have they found her?”

  “Whoa, lie down.” He tried to place his palms on her shoulders, but only managed to hover above her, brow furrowed and arms straining. “Uh, can you try to relax?”

  She pulled back the sheet, kicking her legs off the side of the gurney, ready to leap. “Have they found her?”

  “No. Not yet.” He shook his head.

  After jumping down, she swayed on her feet for a second before grabbing onto Myles to steady herself. Her head and neck felt like they’d been replaced with a watermelon on a bendy straw. “Ugh. I feel weird.”

  “You need to rest. Lie down.”

  She plonked her butt back on the mattress and laid down before Myles adjusted the sheet over her bare legs. Shiloh’s eyes were drawn to the corner of the room, finding Zain sleeping in a chair, his body slumped to one side. “Has he been there the whole time?” Devlin sent a minder?

  “Yes.”

  “What about Devlin? Where is he?”

  Myles adjusted his glasses. “Out looking for your sister.”

  “Hmph.” She ground her teeth, still pissed that she’d been ordered out. Why couldn’t she help? What was Devlin hiding?

  “Zain.” The doctor tapped the boy on the knee.

  Flailing, Zain slid off the chair. “What, what?” He pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes before squinting at Shiloh. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” Her tone was flat. “Are you on babysitting duty?”

  “Nah. I’m just hangin’ out.”

  Uh-huh. “Don’t let me keep you up.”

  “You weren’t. I was asleep.”

  “Right.”

  Stretching, with a yawn, he looked at Myles. “Is she good to go, Doc?”

  “No. She’ll be here for a little while longer.”

  “Oh.” His brow scrunched as he looked her over before turning back to Myles. “Okay if I stick around?”

  Shiloh answered, “Don’t you have to? Isn’t that what babysitters do?”

  The doctor cleared his throat before sitting at the bench to scribble something in a file.

  Zain’s mouth twisted, his eyes darting to the door and back. “Myles is the one looking after you. I just thought you might want some company when you woke up, that’s all. If you don’t want me here, I’ve got plenty of other things I can be doing.”

  Oh, God. He’d been nothing but nice to her and she was snapp
ing like a bitch. She was turning into Lanie. A rueful smile touched her lips. Damn, I miss her. Understanding her sister was like descending a staircase, one step after another, deeper under the ornery surface. Lanie must’ve felt cornered, misunderstood, out of control. Shiloh got it. She got why Lanie had put up walls. Why she bared her teeth and spat profanities, warning the world to back the fuck up.

  But Shiloh also knew that there was never a good excuse for being an asshole. Whatever the world hurled in your direction, you had the power to rise above it. If you started slinging shit around, it would always boomerang back to you. Sometimes you had to be the bigger person. Walk away. Make the choice to break the cycle. And sometimes it was necessary to trust. It was okay to accept help.

  And Zain . . . there was something about him.

  One thing was for sure: she needed to apologize. Heat flared across her face. “Sorry, Zain. It has been a big night.”

  “It’s okay. I get it.” He scratched his nose and sat back in his chair. “So, you’ve got a fierce haymaker punch, huh?” His lip ring glinted in the light as he grinned.

  “I hit her, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, you did.” He sang his answer as if he relished the taste of it on his tongue.

  “She’s going to kick my ass now, isn’t she?”

  “First chance she gets.” He nodded slowly. “But I’d like to see her try. I don’t know what happened in there, but something changed—” Chewing on his lip ring, he stopped speaking. His gaze flicked to Myles who was still scribbling. “I got a feeling she’s no match for you anymore.”

  The doc cleared his throat again.

  Zain raised his eyebrows before continuing. “So how you feeling?”

  “Super.” She exaggerated the ‘S’, her face reflecting her disbelief in her own bullshit.

  Zain choked on a laugh, his eyes widening. “Okay then.” He scratched his head, looking over at Myles for a second. “I guess you’re stuck here for a while. Lucky I’m available to entertain you, because this place is as boring as shit.” He took his phone from the bench, sliding his thumb across the screen. “Check this out. People tryna drive on icy roads.” He could barely get the words out past his laughter. “Oh, man, I’m gonna split my intestine. It’s so fucking funny.” Dragging his chair closer, he positioned the screen so she could see.

  She’d expected to see YouTube, but he had his memo app open. He’d written her a note:

  Myles listening. Shh.

  A couple of swipes later the video played, showing a group of people impersonating bowling pins. She had to pry her laughter through gritted teeth, her gaze piercing Zain’s reflection in the phone’s screen. What was he insinuating? Was something happening to her that they didn’t want her to know?

  She risked a glance at Myles. He didn’t appear to be paying them any attention, but how could she believe appearances? How could she believe any of what was happening? Her throat cramped as her breath shortened. I want off this crazy train.

  Keeping her eyes glued to the screen and her attention on the doctor, she willed him to leave the room. In her mind, she watched him walk out over and over. In each scenario, he ended up somewhere different: in the kitchen, eating a bagel; taking a Maserati for a spin down the winding driveway; writing a research paper; setting a mouse trap; painting a self-portrait. She had no idea what he normally did with his time, but she wished he’d go and do anything other than sucking the oxygen out of the room.

  Her eyelids burned with the need to blink, but her stare refused to budge. If she shifted her gaze, she’d fasten it on the doctor and tip him off to her suspicion. Or worse, harm him like she’d done to Ren.

  Shock loosened her jaw as a fine crack appeared in the corner of the screen. Zain’s eyes shot to hers before he yanked the phone away. She snapped her eyelids shut. Fuck.

  “You’re tired. Get some sleep.” Zain pushed his chair back to where it had been and hooked his headphones over his ears, once again smiling at the screen. But she knew he wasn’t watching the video. He didn’t laugh. As she peered at him through narrowed eyes, his plastic grin remained pinned in place, his absent stare not moving a millimeter. Nope. His thoughts had been sucked into a black hole inside his head. The same place she feared she was headed.

  There wasn’t any chance of getting answers any time soon. She closed her eyes again. She’d just have to wait it out. Sooner or later, the doc would have to let her go.

  Wouldn’t he?

  _____

  “I want to speak to every fucking person he’s ever had contact with and tear apart every place he’s been. I wanna know what paper he uses to wipe his ass. Get the kid to tap into all the fucking satellites if that’s what it takes. And if that motherfucker is hiding in a hole, I’m gonna need a shitload of explosives.” Devlin grunted as he strapped a pair of Glocks into holsters under each arm.

  A pendant light hung low above a table covered in a buffet of assault weapons, while racks of them hugged the rock walls of the room. Automatic and semi-automatic guns, daggers, grenades—he even had access to chemical weapons. The black market provided them with everything they could want except the motherfucker they were after and his prisoner.

  “What are you going to do? Blow the sister to smithereens, as well?” Sienna cocked a dark brow.

  “Nah. I’m gonna find her first and let her light the fuse. If she’s anything like her ancestors, she ain’t gonna need a match or an invitation.” He tested the feel of his hunting knife in his grip, the blade throwing light across his features.

  “Who else knows about them?”

  Sliding the knife back into its sheath, he cracked his neck. “Nobody.”

  “Keep it that way.”

  Was that a fucking order? Devlin ensnared his teammate with a stone-cold stare, her throat bobbing with a swallow. She’d been his ‘inside man’ in the LAPD for decades, and warmed his body with hers whenever he’d needed for even longer.

  But she regularly forgot her place.

  He’d gotten a kick out of putting her back in it, behind closed doors. But now her smell was sickly sweet, her skin like cracked glass, marred with sharp edges that’d catch him out and leave a scar. He hadn’t gone to her room since Shiloh had been reborn. He hadn’t had anyone. He couldn’t. And fuck him, it was screwing with his brain and his cock in the shittiest way.

  Slipping the knife back out, he aimed the sharp point at Sienna’s mouth, looking down the length of its blade. “If word gets out, it ain’t gonna be from my tongue.” He waited a second before lifting his gaze to hers, holding the warning until he saw a flicker of red in her eyes and a twitch of her lips.

  Sienna should know how important this was. Shiloh couldn’t know what she was.

  Because if she did, she’d leave.

  “We need more vampires. If he’s got himself an army, I gotta match him fang for fang.”

  “That can be arranged.”

  “Just like that, huh? You think the vampires are gonna jump at the chance to fight for me? Their prophesied destroyer?”

  “There’s more support for you than you think. The word about Jax is getting around. He’s killing fangs by the dozen every day and controlling many more. You’re considered the lesser of two evils. They know he’s out for power and blood control. People are scared. They want protection. We can give it to them.”

  “How many of ’em are willing to fight for it? To die?”

  “More than you know.”

  “I want ’em vetted. They don’t pass all the tests—they don’t get near us. Snap on a glove if ya gotta. If there’s a whiff of Jax’s shit up their asses, you know what to do.”

  “Yes, I do. Leave it to me.”

  He nodded and pulled a pack of smokes from his pocket, listening to the click of her heels as she marched away. “Sienna?”

  She paused, pivoting on the spot. “Mm?”

  “Thanks.”

  Her brows jumped, her mouth parting, but no words came. She clamped her lips shut and no
dded, leaving the room.

  Lighting up his cigarette, he took a deep drag and held it in for an endless minute. “Yeah, I’m an asshole.” Smoke billowed around him as he released the statement of fact.

  He was an asshole.

  It’s how I survive.

  Fuckery

  “Make sure she gets back to her room safely.” Handing Shiloh a small bottle, Myles focused his stern gaze on her. “Here. Take this before bed. It should settle you for the night. Come back and see me in the morning; I’d like to check you over again. If you don’t come to me by nine, I’ll come to you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Scooting off the gurney, she couldn’t get to the exit fast enough.

  Zain held the door open. “After you.”

  She rolled her eyes as she past him.

  “Nice hospital gown. Um, you might want to hold the back closed or something.”

  Under the gown, she still wore the T-shirt she’d thrown on after her swim, although it was now dry. Cool air bit at the backs of her bare legs. She absentmindedly reached behind her to fix the problem, distracted by the thrill of energy coursing through her body. The soles of her feet hovered on a cushion of air that seemed to lift her higher with each step. Purposely planting each foot, she managed to ground herself. Holy shit. I can float? It was so tempting to test her newfound powers, but she somehow knew it was better to keep things under wraps.

  What did this mean? Were Devlin’s powers somehow transferring through their connection? But they weren’t even bonded. Or was it something Jax was doing to her? Maybe the changes were some sort of evil voodoo and he was setting her up to be his weapon of destruction. Oh, my God. What if he’s still controlling me?

  I need to know more about Jax.

  Zain sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Gross. She pushed her disgust aside, tilting her head to watch him as a plan formed.

  Shiloh lowered her voice. “Do you have a computer somewhere, apart from the control room?”

  “Yeah, I have several. Why?”

  She couldn’t stop the grimace as she paused on the stairs.

  Do I really want to drag him into this?