Not to be told off, Kira tried again. "Come out, and we won't hurt you."
Sure, I'll believe that…never.
Pandora smiled. This was entertaining. And the more time they spent talking, the more a new plan filled Pandora's thoughts. These conduits had been hired by Tatsuya—they’d spent time with him, and they’d probably seen things that could help her. Maybe if she gave herself up, maybe if she came out and played nice, they’d let something slip. Pandora still needed to find out the location of Tatsuya’s dungeon, the level of security it had, how powerful he truly was—maybe these conduits had information that could help her.
And if not? Well, they were only protector conduits. Their fire couldn’t kill her, just trap her. Even if they doused her in flames, she’d be able to edge her way to the door or maybe jump through the glass sunroof—she’d bested protector conduits before. Somehow, she’d be able to wriggle her way free and escape into the night, same as always.
Pandora pinched the tracker and attached it to the wall of the tomb. Without that, they'd never be able to find her. In a few minutes, she'd be free and maybe armed with a little more information than she’d started with.
The plan was perfect.
Well, maybe not perfect, but it would do.
High on the anticipation, Pandora pressed her hands against the lid, lifting it just enough to slide it over a few inches. Immediately, the black air around her was flooded with a fiery orange glow that prickled her skin, hot enough to suffocate her frozen body.
Come out, and you won't hurt me?
Pandora scoffed.
Yeah, right.
And though she knew she should ask politely, give a little please and thank-you to snuff out the vampire-crisping flames, she couldn't help but unleash a snappy, taunting retort instead. "I'd believe that a little more if this place didn’t resemble an inferno right now."
"You're a woman," the guy blurted.
Pandora frowned, narrowing her eyes. Why did everyone always think she was a boy? It was infuriating. "And?" she couldn't help but call out. "A master thief can't be a girl?"
Safe to say that the whole be nice plan had gone out the window.
But that was okay.
It was much easier for her to be a jerk.
And apparently, this conduit Kira liked her style, because instead of siding with her accomplice, she backed Pandora up, teasing the boy. "Yeah, what did you mean by that, Luke?"
Okay, Luke—he had a name.
Kira and Luke.
Kira and Luke.
Why did they sound so freaking familiar?
The answer was on the tip of her tongue…
"Um, nothing," the guy, Luke, responded hesitantly. Clearly, he was in retreat mode. "I just—wait, how'd this get turned on me? We're supposed to be trapping a vampire, not debating feminism."
"Oh, it's not a debate," Pandora called out again, unable to keep her big mouth shut. But she was smiling from ear to ear—really, the poor boy was making it too easy to tease him. And all she was doing was speaking the truth. "Women are obviously the superior sex. It's just so much easier to manipulate men when they think they're in control."
"Well, lucky me then," Luke said, tone utterly sincere. "Because I learned a long time ago that I'm never in control."
Kira laughed softly, trying to cover it up with a cough, but Pandora heard the mirth in her tone. I never thought I'd like conduits this much, she thought, mentally shrugging. Tonight was without a doubt one of the most bizarre nights of her life.
"Wait," Luke said a second later, realizing his mistake. "I mean—"
"No, that was accurate," Kira interrupted jokingly, eliciting another bout of respect from Pandora. Until her tone shifted just enough for Pandora to realize they were getting back to business—getting back to being mortal enemies. "But as much as I like your style, he has a point. We have a job to do, so come out. Or, actually, stay in—it doesn't really matter much to us."
Hmm, getting them to talk was going to be more difficult than Pandora had initially thought. And then those last few words registered. Why didn’t they care if she came out to face them or remained hidden in the shadows?
"Why?" Pandora asked, almost to herself.
"Because," Kira responded, voice completely in control of the situation, "in a few minutes, we won't be alone anymore and—"
"Hate to break it to you," a deep voice cut in, "but you already have company."
Oh, for the love of god!
Pandora recognized the tone.
She'd know it anywhere.
Jax.
Never-listens-to-a-word-she-says Jax.
Sneaking up on her again.
Why is he here?
Why won’t he just leave me alone?
How does he keep frigging finding me?
Ugh.
She knew he was going to be insufferable. No one on the planet was more annoying (or more annoyingly adorable) than Jax when he went all macho trying to protect her. She'd seen it before. And she was undoubtedly about to see it again. But she wasn't that meek girl she used to be.
This time, she didn’t need saving.
In fact, all he'd managed to do was make her chances of surviving even slimmer. Because getting out of here on her own would have been hard enough. But getting out of here without killing Jax would be even tougher. And getting out of here without killing Jax, but instead saving his annoying little ass, would be nearly impossible.
A shift in the light caught her attention.
The flames seeping in through the open crack of the lid dimmed, not so hot, almost dull.
Is she trying to contain him with her fire? Does she think he's a vampire? Pandora questioned, confused. Conduits and titans were on the same side—both slaying bad guys who needed to be taken down. They should have been able to recognize each other. The conduit should have known that her fire wouldn’t have any effect on a titan—after all, conduit flames burned vamps and vamps alone. They couldn’t even light a stack of wood on fire, let alone a titan.
"Who are you?" Kira asked, voice laced with the smallest bit of fear, as though she'd never seen a titan in the flesh before, as though she had no idea who or what he was.
But Jax had gone into full protection mode. He wasn't bothering to answer the girl’s question. In fact, his tone had just gone even more threatening. And dammit, that aggressive edge just made him sound sexier. Pandora hated herself for melting just a little. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't leave now."
"In case you hadn't noticed, it's two against one," Kira fired back, all strength again. Pandora winced—not the right move to push his buttons right now. Did she really not know he had superstrength? Did she really not understand that Jax could crush her if he wasn't one of the good guys at heart?
Obviously not.
Jax just grunted. "I'll take my chances."
"Don't come any closer," the male conduit ordered.
Pandora envisioned Jax's cocky grin as he took in the man standing before him, trying to hand him commands. Sure, they were both tall and of a similar height. For humans, that would make a difference, but not when the fight was between a titan and a conduit. And Jax knew it.
"Or what?" he asked smugly.
Pandora pressed her hands and knees against the stone, ready to throw the lid to the ground and join the conversation, but a sound stopped her. The sound of a fist smacking into a palm that was harder than the rock above her head. The sound of the conduit Luke trying to stand up to someone he had no hope of besting.
Pandora sighed, cringing, waiting for what she knew would come next.
And there it was.
A body slammed into stone and dropped like dead weight to the ground.
Jax, you idiot. That wasn't even a fair fight.
He didn't seem to care when he nonchalantly spoke. "Looks like it’s one against one now."
Not quite.
Because Pandora had listened to enough.
"I don't need yo
u to save me!" she fumed. In fact, what she needed was for him to finally leave, so she could make her grand exit and ditch him for good.
"Could've fooled me," Jax shot back immediately.
Grr!
Pandora pushed, moving the lid far enough over that she could stand up and leave the dark behind. But the second the stone moved, the flames came surging back over the lid of the tomb, hot enough to burn where they touched her skin.
"Ow!" she yelped. Wasn't this chick a protector conduit? Her fire wasn't supposed to sting quite so much, but dang, Pandora felt her skin boil after only a few seconds. It didn’t make any sense. "Could you put those freaking things out?"
Instead of disappearing, the flames only intensified, pouring out of the conduit's palms, dousing Pandora completely in scorching air, a blaze so hot she gasped.
Bitch!
Jax must have thought so too, because he grabbed the hem of the conduit's dress and spun her around with a venomous look in his eyes. "I don't like hitting girls but that doesn’t mean I won't. Put them out. Now."
For a moment, Pandora didn’t think the conduit would listen. But after a second, her face softened, as though she'd seen something deep in Jax's eyes that she for some reason trusted.
The fire vanished.
Pandora sighed, shaking the lingering heat off. She'd never thought she'd feel comforted by the frozen presence creeping across her limbs, the icy pull of death, but against that raging inferno, it was a relief.
"Look, I was telling the truth," Kira said, speaking to Jax, ignoring Pandora since she still stood out of sight, wrapped in shadows and hidden from the world. The conduit's voice had shifted to something kinder, something almost caring. "Any minute, the head vampire of New York is going to be here, and you probably want to be gone before that happens."
"I'm not afraid of a vampire," Jax responded immediately, all bravado.
Pandora shook her head. Idiot. Titans weren't immortal, and a head vampire was nothing to turn his nose up at, especially one as powerful as Tatsuya, especially one—
Wait.
Pandora snapped her gaze to the conduit, tone no longer snarky but dead serious. "Tatsuya is coming?"
For some reason, she thought the conduits would bring her to him. That they were the only thing she still needed to be running from tonight. If Tatsuya was coming, that whole question-the-conduits-for-information plan was out the window. If he was on his way, then she was seriously running out of time.
Stupid, stupid mistake!
Pandora glanced at Jax, torn. His chest was puffed out, his heartbeat was utterly calm, and he wasn’t the least bit concerned. All of that just made her more nervous. Because if Tatsuya was coming, he'd take her alive. But he had no reason to be so merciful with Jax.
That boy is going to be the death of me.
Literally.
But there was no time to stall. Pandora released the shadows, letting the moonlight touch her skin, returning to the world of light.
She had to get Jax out of here.
And knowing him, she was going to need to do it the hard way.
Chapter Six
The conduit stared at Pandora, noticing her the second she reappeared. But she kept her fired trapped beneath her skin, remembering Jax’s previous threat, and instead gave Pandora an annoyed once-over. Then she sighed.
"He hired us to find you," Kira admitted, shocking Pandora a little bit by revealing the truth—something she was sure Tatsuya had wanted to keep secret. After all, it was a touch embarrassing that an incredibly powerful head vamp had needed the help of his enemies to track down little old her. Before Pandora could mentally gloat, the conduit added, "Guess you pissed off the wrong people."
"Story of my freaking life." Pandora rolled her eyes, unable to contain her frustration. And then she turned to her first love and now constant source of aggravation. "Jax, you have to go, and I'm not joking."
"I'm not leaving unless you come with me," he responded immediately, just as strong and rigid as the muscles coiled tight beneath his shirt.
Obviously, Pandora thought, because nothing in my life is ever easy.
Crossing her arms, she held her ground, not backing down. It was time for Jax to finally understand she wasn't the girl he remembered—he was chasing a fantasy. "What part of leave me the hell alone do you not understand?"
"The part where I leave you the hell alone," Jax replied smoothly, lifting the corner of one lip in an undeniably sexy lopsided grin.
Pandora’s fingers itched to remove the smile from his face, if only to stop the sudden tightness in her own chest.
"I'm not going back," she said roughly, giving him one last chance to just take a hint and leave. "Not ever."
Unsurprisingly, he didn't listen.
Instead, Jax stepped closer, reaching his hand forward, stretching for her skin, stopping short. Pandora glanced at the space between them, fighting the electric yearning for his touch. Her whole body ached to close the distance. Against her will, she felt her eyes spark with the uncontrollable desire to go with him, to just give in, to stop running, and to go home.
The wish was always there.
Always lingering in the pit of her stomach.
Always aching longingly.
But she'd perfected the art of ignoring the homesickness, ignoring the broken heart, ignoring the dreams.
"I've been chasing you for four years," Jax said softly, the love he still felt undeniable in the gentleness of his tone, so different from the strong, hard man he seemed to have become. "And I'm not going to stop until you come home. We need you. I need you."
Pandora extended her hand, slumping her shoulders as she bowed her head, seemingly falling under the spell of his words. Their skin touched, sparking, sending a bolt down her spine. His eyes brightened as though sensing her reaction. She paused, holding still for a moment, reluctant to make her next move.
She felt a little guilty for tricking him like this.
A little.
But really, Jax had left her no choice.
He'd practically forced her into it.
Before she lost her nerve, Pandora latched her fingers around his, then clenched all of her muscles as she yanked him forward and crouched down, flipping him up and over her head before he could do anything more than widen his eyes in shock. Pandora bit her lip to keep from grinning as he sailed backward and slammed into the wall behind her almost in slow motion, everything about him growing more and more pissed by the second. But before he could retaliate, she leapt for him, landing heavy on his chest to keep him anchored down as she punched his perfectly sculpted cheekbones once—twice—three times.
And he's out, she thought smugly, not at all concerned. Titans didn’t stay injured for long—he’d be healed in a matter of minutes. And hopefully by then she’d be gone, along with any threat to his life.
Leaning over him, she couldn’t help but think that he was so much cuter when he was out cold, eyes closed, jaw slack, black hair falling over his forehead—so much cuter when he was quiet, when those eyes weren't looking at her as though he wanted to kiss her and throttle her at the same time.
Pandora brushed the backs of her fingers against his cheek. Even unconscious, his body radiated life, was charged with it in a way hers would never be again. She found his lip, tracing it with her thumb.
If she'd had the time, if she'd been alone, Pandora would have done the one thing she regretted not doing before. She would have kissed him good-bye.
But the conduits were watching.
And Tatsuya was coming.
So Pandora snatched her hand back, hating how her icy heart hung like a dead weight in her chest, and lifted Jax from the ground, then turned around and faced the open tomb.
He'll kill me for this, she thought for a moment and then shrugged. He'll have to find me first…which, apparently, he's become annoyingly great at. So typical.
With a sigh, she dropped him into the shadows and slid the lid back over, locking him inside. Oh,
when he woke up lying on a dead body and surrounded by black, he was going to be the definition of rage. But one way or another—free or as Tatsuya's prisoner—she'd be far away when that happened. And he'd be safe, which, when it came down to it, was all that mattered to her.
Dusting off her hands, she turned back to Kira, who was watching with her mouth slightly agape. "Like I said before," Pandora commented, shrugging, trying to put on a braver face than she felt. "Men are so much easier to manipulate when they think they're in control."
She met the conduit's eyes, green and full of dancing fire—completely alive. Completely different from the frigid-blue vampire eyes Pandora had now.
They stared at each other.
Neither moving.
Just watching each other.
Waiting.
But there was no more time to waste.
The conduit hadn't brought her fire back out, which meant Pandora had exactly one second to make her move and get out while she still had the chance. Moving as slowly as possible, she reached back and gripped the bottom of the sword to keep it steady as she started to bend her knees. One strong push was all it would take to launch herself through the glass dome overhead and out into the night. One more minute.
Pandora leapt.
But it was too late.
The conduit reacted faster than she'd thought possible. Fire flooded from the girl's hands, slamming into Pandora's chest before her feet had even made it a foot off the ground. Instantly, she was thrown back as though hit by a freight train at full speed, totally pummeled. Her back hit the wall so hard she heard stone crack as she bounced off, ricocheted by the impact, and dropped to the floor.
The sword clanged uselessly to the ground.
Pandora gritted her teeth as the inferno strengthened, sending her stumbling back until she was pressed tightly to the wall with nowhere to escape, not even an inch to move. There was no chance she’d be able to edge her way to the door. The fire held her stock still, a bug squished under a swatter, totally outmatched. Protector fire wasn’t supposed to be like this, not this powerful, not this all-consuming. Kira was different somehow, stronger than should be possible, like nothing Pandora could have anticipated. The flames sank into the pale skin of her arms, burning it red, scorching her every nerve, making her wince as the pain dug deep.
Frost (Midnight Ice Book One) Page 7