Lowering her head, she let her powers rise fully. Her eyes tingled and she knew they were now a vibrant green. And she knew the second her skin began to shimmer as his did, from the round of gasps that went through the room.
When she lifted her head, she found Elm staring wide-eyed at her. “Neither am I.”
“Brooke?” he asked, his voice a whisper. “How?”
Her jaw set as her powers moved out and over the room, lifting chairs and tables. She thrust them at Elm and the others with him. Johnson and the other men were all struck hard, falling to the floor.
Elm lifted a hand and parted the objects flying at him, as if parting the Red Sea. He then sent a table flying at her. He stared at her and sniffed the air. His eyes lit with excitement. “I recognize the smell of that power.”
She dropped the items she was making fly. He was right, she’d not been taught from birth to use her powers and was burning through them too fast. Her skin stopped shimmering and her eyes returned to normal.
“This changes everything,” he said. “A female royal has not been in our line since your mother died. And even before that, she had been the only one for centuries.” He stiffened. “Had she not run off with that dirty shifter she called a mate, she would have been mine. I’m willing to accept the fact you have animal blood in you because you are of royal lineage.”
He came at her again and she leapt up and onto a chair, balancing on it before leaping and throwing it into the air. She caught it and then struck him in the side of the head. He went to one knee. He then grabbed her leg and yanked it out from under her. She landed on her back and he was on her in a heartbeat, pinning her to the floor with his body. He inhaled deeply. “Princess, you have no idea how good you smell.”
“Do not pet-name me, jerkoff.” She glared at him.
He laughed. “Brooke, have you any idea who your mother was?”
She didn’t reply.
“She was a queen.”
Brooke stared at him. “You expect me to believe my mother was a queen? Try another one. She cut cute shapes out of my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and she baked cookies with me. You got the wrong info on me.”
He ground against her, his erection pressing to her stomach.
Brooke saw the way he looked at her with nothing short of rapture on his face.
“I cannot believe she had a child,” he said. “I see it now. You have her classic beauty and her body. But your skin coloring is more like your father’s. As is your hair coloring. How did I not sense this on you years ago?”
She glared at him. “Get off me!”
“Get the fuck off her,” Tut ground out.
Elm started to look in Tut’s direction and Brooke panicked, knowing the monster could and would kill the men.
She grabbed Elm’s cheek, directing his attention back to her before letting her power rise slightly, knowing she was tapping into the side of herself that exuded and demanded sexual lust.
He licked his lips. She felt his power drawing upon hers, trying to feed his need for sex.
She stared up at him. “Well, are you going to do this or not?”
He tipped his head, appearing confused. “Brooke.”
She let more of her power up to greet his, and he instantly began to grind against her. She nipped at his jaw without actually making contact with him.
He gasped, loosening his hold on her.
She flipped him over and straddled him, lowering her body, coming just shy of kissing him, her power riding high. He looked enraptured. So much so that he didn’t notice her going for the last of the knives she had on her. She drew them out and bit his lower lip, making him moan.
Brooke sat up quickly and plunged the knives into his chest. She rolled off him fast, and thrust power at him, sending him sliding across the floor and into his men.
She knew it wouldn’t kill him, but it would hurt him for a moment. Enough time to possibly slow his responses. Putting out her hands, she drew upon the energy around her and her hair lifted as wind circled. And she swayed, burning through her power at too high a rate. She spun around and thrust it at the men behind her, breaking her hold on them. She nearly tipped over from exhaustion.
Suddenly the man in the mask was in front of her, grabbing and holding her to his powerful frame. He lifted her and ran with her in the direction of the back exit. Auberi followed close behind them, tossing his mask along the way. They made it to the fire escape, but instead of going down the stairs, the man holding her went up and over the railing.
Brooke held tight to him, expecting pain to come. None did. The man landed almost catlike before standing tall with her still over his shoulder. Auberi landed next to them without so much as a hint of pain.
Somehow, she managed to squirm free of the masked man’s grasp. She fell out of his hold and came up fast, bursting into a run, knowing she had to get to Edee.
She made it to the end of the alley and bolted out and into the street. Dark vehicles were parked at all angles in it. She knew what that meant. More men from The Corporation. She made a move to run in the other direction but the side door of the van nearest her opened and large arms yanked her off her feet and into the van.
Chapter Fourteen
Malik tried to run after Brooke, only to find his friend ripping him back. “No!”
“Asshole,” snapped Auberi from the right, drawing Malik’s attention before grabbing him. “We have men shooting at us from above and more coming from the front and you want to chase a stripper? Granted, she’s a powerful stripper, but a stripper all the same. Admit it. The stripper kicked ass.”
“Never call her that again,” he returned before thinking too hard on it. He inhaled deeply as the words fell from his mouth.
He could barely think straight. Brooke was not only alive but she was a supernatural? That couldn’t be. Could it? His irrational behavior all those years ago had been caused by the medication PSI had been testing, hadn’t it?
He’d never had another dose of the meds, yet he still reacted the same way to the woman. And it was more than obvious that she wasn’t human after all. That could only mean one thing.
She really was his mate, and he’d not only chased her away all those years ago, he’d done so again the minute they were together again. And now The Corporation was after her.
Auberi pointed to the end of the alley, which was filling with more bad guys. “Oh look, the evening just got more interesting. Happy birthday, non-birthday, Tut.”
Malik’s lion pushed up fast, wanting to be free. It took all of him to stay in control enough to think. He charged at the men and felt Auberi there, close at his heels.
Two men in partially shifted form rushed at him. He could smell the mix of supernatural on them. They were functioning hybrids, unlike the ones who smelled like death and were basically rotting from the inside out. Apparently, the enemy was getting better at perfecting their creations.
Malik collided with the men, roaring, the fierce need to get to Brooke all-consuming. The men lifted him off the ground, a true testament to their strength. He flipped, rotating his arms, breaking their hold on him. The second his feet touched the ground, he struck out at the man nearest him, connecting. The man’s head snapped back but he kept coming. So did the other.
Auberi’s curses in French reached Malik, and he knew his friend was figuring out they were up against super powered supernaturals. The knowledge that something as lethal as the hybrids were after his woman did something to Malik, giving him the added boost he needed to strike with a vengeance. Claws emerged from his fingertips and he slashed out, catching one of the men by the throat. Malik pushed hard, cutting through the man’s neck fully. He then set his sights on the other male. He made short work of the man and raced down the alley to the street.
He was just in time to see a dark van speeding away, its tires squealing, the scent of honey and lotus coming from it. They had Brooke. They had his woman.
Auberi rushed up next to him. “We really n
eed to see about the vitamin regimen Dr. Franken-Krauss has those assholes on. I want some. Do you think it would be like the little blue pill? Best invention ever.”
Malik’s mouth burned with the need to change at the thought of Brooke with the men. He took off running after the van as if he had a chance of catching up with them. He was fast, but even he couldn’t run at the speed they were going. The knowledge that he’d never catch them on foot did nothing to deter him. He had to get to her. He had to protect her.
As the red taillights drew farther away, a profound sense of loss hit Malik. If they got away, the chances of him ever finding Brooke again were nearly zero. That simply was not an option.
“No!” he roared.
Auberi caught him by the shoulders and spun Malik to face him fully. “Tut! Focus. Take a deep breath.”
He did but it didn’t help. “Auberi, I have to find Brooke.”
Auberi stiffened. “As in the same Brooke you mentioned spending time with several years back? The one you lost control of your beast with and bit, trying to claim? The human?”
Malik nodded, still trying to home in on his senses to figure out what direction the enemy had taken Brooke. “It was her. The girl from the club. They have her.”
“It’s clear she’s anything but human.” Auberi sighed. “We’ll call for backup and request satellite footage of the area. We will find out where they went with her.”
Malik knew that wasn’t likely. The Corporation had moles and traitors working for them within PSI. They also had their own technology that was leaps and bounds above that of humans.
Knowing it was hopeless, Malik fell to his knees, his entire body aching. He wanted to scream, to shout, to kill, anything to get the hurt out of his system. He knew it wouldn’t help, but still it was what he wanted to do. He lowered his head, emotions welling in him. He wasn’t the type of man who cried. His mother had been fierce, as had his father. Crying was something that simply was not tolerated.
Auberi pulled out his cell phone and put a hand to Malik’s shoulder. “James, by chance is your mate still a hacking genius? Can she reposition a satellite for us and grab any imagery it has? The Corporation has struck again and they’ve taken a young woman.”
Auberi gave their coordinates and stayed on the line with James. The man had only just been freed from nearly a year of being a prisoner in one of The Corporation’s facilities. James knew better than anyone what horrors the place could and would inflict on those it took.
Malik fought to keep from shedding tears that desperately wanted to come. He’d been so close to her again. He’d touched her, caressed her, inhaled her glorious scent, had her lips on his skin, all to have her ripped away at the last second. Fate couldn’t be that cruel, could it?
Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Malik growled loudly and punched the concrete as if that would solve anything. All it did was hurt his hand.
“Yes, that is just three blocks from here if memory serves,” said Auberi, surprise in his voice.
Malik perked. “What? Laney got the satellite repositioned already?” Even for Laney, an expert hacktivist, that was impressive. “Where are they taking Brooke?”
Auberi had the nerve to shush him. “If they had her, they would not be tearing up the area looking for her. Call me back if anything changes. We’re headed in that direction. Send backup. Only the most trusted. And equip them with tranquilizers. I believe my furry friend here may have a repeat plaza performance if this ends poorly.”
Malik didn’t even bother to object. It was true. He would lose control if he didn’t find her or if she was hurt. There would be no way he could keep it together.
Auberi yanked him off the ground and then brushed Malik’s open shirt, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. It was such an Auberi thing to do that it actually helped Malik to gather his wits about him. His friend disconnected the call.
“James and Laney are patched into the police frequencies. Reports of armed men in black SUVs are coming in three blocks from here. They wouldn’t stop for takeout if they had what they wanted—your woman.”
Auberi cupped Malik’s cheek in a manly way. “I believe she lives, and she has managed to escape them, at least for now.”
Chapter Fifteen
Brooke ran down a side street, trying to lose the men who were after her. While she’d managed to break free from the van, she was far from out of the woods. Elm and his men from the club wouldn’t be out of commission for long. She’d basically stunned them and it would wear off. And Elm would heal his wounds quickly.
And most of them could track her scent. She’d learned that years ago. Being held by sick bastards had taught her a lot about things she’d never dreamed were real. She’d gotten a crash course in the paranormal and supernatural. And she’d had to learn the rest on her own.
She went up and over a set of trash cans by a backdoor to what smelled like a restaurant. Clearing them with room to spare, Brooke landed on her feet and looked back, needing to know if she’d lost them yet.
As men poured in from around the end of the building, each wearing earpieces and openly carrying weapons, her entire body tensed as cold began to form in her hands. She couldn’t lose it now. Not yet. She needed to get away, and if she couldn’t avoid capture, she needed to be sure she didn’t live to be able to give them any information.
There was simply too much at stake.
Brooke turned and started to run again. The side street was a dead end, but she wouldn’t let that stop her. In seconds, she’d already soaked in her surroundings, knowing the best route to take—it went up.
She leapt up and seized hold of a metal fire escape ladder and swung herself up and onto it, drawing on the speed and strength the very people chasing her had ensured she had.
A bullet whizzed by her, going through her hair, narrowly missing her neck. The sounds of sirens grew nearer and she knew local law enforcement wouldn’t help. The people chasing her were widely connected. The odds of the police being diverted by The Corporation and its affiliates were great. That was also something she’d learned long ago.
Trust no one.
She climbed higher and dodged another bullet.
“Aim for the torso!” shouted one of the men. “Elm wants her alive. No fatal shots!”
Brooke kept going higher and higher. One of the men fired at her again and this one ricocheted off the metal railing, near her hand.
There was snarling and then more gunfire, but no bullets came near her. She’d been hunted for too long by The Corporation to think for a minute the men had missed that wide. No. They were trained killers who were more than human.
She slowed enough to look down. The entire end of the street was blocked off by SUVs now. Something was happening down there. The men who had been after her had turned and were converging on something or someone else.
Her head told her to keep running. To put as much distance between herself and the bad guys as she could. Her body refused to move. It was as if she were frozen in place, the overwhelming urge to see who or what had caught the men’s attention was great. Whatever it was, it was pissed.
Her jaw dropped as she watched one of the men in the suits get tossed in the air like a ragdoll. He fell back into the mass of men. Blood splattered onto the building across the street in such an amount that there was no doubt the owner was dead.
“Move,” she said out loud, hoping her body would obey. It didn’t. Her hand tightened around the railing as she remained locked in place.
Half the men splintered off, their attention coming back to her. Two lifted their weapons and aimed. Even with the threat of being shot, she couldn’t get her body to respond.
Another man in a suit flew into the air and then landed with a thud that echoed loudly. A man with shoulder-length black, wavy hair emerged from the crowd of men, his back to her. This one wasn’t in a suit. He was wearing exactly what the man in the Egyptian mask had been wearing at the club.
He had a handgun held
up like he more than knew his way around one. He popped off a shot and one of the men who were aiming at her went down fast. The man shot another in a fraction of a second. He stepped partially under one of the lights from the building and turned around.
She saw his face and thought for sure her mind was playing tricks on her.
“Malik?” she whispered, and his gaze snapped up to her.
He was dead. That was what she’d been told. What she’d believed for years.
It was him, but his hair was shorter than it had been five years back.
He’d been the man she’d rubbed all over at the club? The man she’d wanted to give herself to the same way she’d given herself to him all those years ago?
Another shot rang out, this one coming from above. Brooke glanced up to find men in suits descending from the roof on the very same fire escape she was on. They opened fire on her and she jolted back fast. Too fast. The railing gave out behind her and she reached out, trying to catch hold of anything to keep her up, but she missed.
Vaguely, she heard Malik shouting her name, sounding frantic. She shut off, focusing on twisting in preparation for landing on her feet. Shots came from above and one hit her in the arm and another hit her in the upper leg, the pain and impact throwing her off. The ground met her, and it wasn’t with open arms.
Pain raced through her and she lay there on her stomach, the wind knocked out of her. There was a huge roar not far from her and then an explosion of gunfire around her. She waited, expecting to be shot again. The Corporation was very aware of her healing abilities. After all, they’d given them to her. They’d have no issue filling her with bullet wounds they knew would heal if it meant they got their clutches on her again.
No bullets struck her.
Confused and disoriented from the fall, she lifted her head slightly. It took a second for her vision to clear.
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