Movement sounded down the tunnel, and she stiffened.
Benjamin tensed and set his jaw. “Get ready, darlin’. We’re about to escape this place.”
Chapter Two
Benny fought to send healing cells to the base of his skull while his body rioted at finally being this close to her. Karma. The name fit her. Her energy was soft and hesitant with a thread of diamonds through it—the world’s strongest and most sparkly stone. Yeah, her strength was banked, and he had to wonder if she even knew it was there.
Her scent was sweetly natural. Like wildflowers lining an untouched river.
She scrambled away from him and stood as heavy footsteps sounded on the dirt floor of the makeshift tunnel.
He didn’t much care who was coming—her draw was that strong. She looked as if she was in her twenties with smooth skin and long blond hair in a tight bun, but her deep topaz eyes showed a couple centuries of living. In fact, she looked just right in the long skirt and ruffled blouse that covered her from neck to wrists.
Like a lady out of the eighteen hundreds.
He wasn’t sure how to act around a real lady. Not that his brothers’ mates weren’t ladies, but they were all from modern times. Not this female. Her eyes darted around, landing anywhere but on him.
Heat washed through the cell bars as two males approached on the other side.
The female pivoted and put her back to the wall, watching them. She held still, trying to make herself unobtrusive, looking as if she wanted to flee or vanish into the darkest corner. He continued to watch her, clocking the soldiers with his peripheral vision.
“Benjamin Reese,” the Kurjan on the other side of the bar drawled, his voice low and rough.
Benny cocked his head and watched Karma. “I appreciate the help. I’m feeling much better now.”
She jolted, and her gaze slashed up to him, her eyes widening.
He tried for his most charming grin, but with his size and current bruises, he probably looked anything but reassuring. “Honest. You’re a great healer, and you did a good job. I’m so much better.”
Confusion drifted across her face, and he noted several adorable freckles scattered on her nose. Her mouth lightly, barely, gaped open, and she looked toward the two males outside the cell and then back to him. Man, her bewilderment was cute…and sexy. Her tongue flicked out nervously to lick her bottom lip.
He groaned.
Concern appeared in her eyes, and she studied the wound on his neck, but she didn’t speak. One of the soldiers smacked the bars, and she jumped.
Irritation clawed through him, and Benny turned just his head to view the two outside the cell. The first was a Kurjan, his white skin nearly glowing in the darkness of the tunnel, a stark contrast to his black hair tipped with red. His purple eyes looked intelligent, and he wore the standard black uniform of a Kurjan soldier, but he had several silver medals pinned to his wide chest. The guy was maybe six seven or eight. The male next to him was a Cyst, one of the Kurjans’ elite soldiers and religious leaders. He was even taller and broader than the Kurjan and had one strip of white hair braided in the middle of his otherwise bald skull. He was pale as well, and his eyes were a purplish red. Many silver medals lined his chest.
So they’d sent the top dogs to deal with him. Well, a guy could get an ego from that. “Do you mind?” Benny growled, turning back to study Karma. His voice softened. “Sweetheart? Do you often help heal people?”
Her chin dropped, and she gave up any pretense of not being shocked. She faltered, and then her shoulders went back. “Benjamin Reese, this is Terre, one of our Kurjan leaders, and Jaydon, commander of the Cyst soldiers.” The female sounded as if she were introducing guests at a formal gathering.
He grinned and waved a hand in the air. “Right. So, where were you born? Where did you grow up?” He had so many questions for her, and he’d spent three years wondering.
She shook her head, her jaw slack. “Mr. Reese? The soldiers are here to see you.”
He lifted one shoulder and hid a wince at the pain that went through his chest. The beating had been a good one. “I’m not interested in them. I’d rather hear about you.”
“How hard did you hit your head?” she whispered, taking one step toward him.
Good. He had a feeling she rarely approached anybody, and that was significant. Just what had she endured living with the Kurjans for centuries? They weren’t known to treat females very well, and she definitely had a faded mating mark on her neck. But he had a theory about that, which might explain why his mark had appeared on his hand when he’d first touched her. It was unheard of, but still, it was there. “When did your mate die?”
She blinked. Once and then again. “Two centuries ago.”
The triumph that filled him must’ve shown in his eyes, because she took a step back. Darn it. Though he could tell she hadn’t been treated well based on her behavior in the presence of the soldiers, at least she’d been spared any sort of sexual abuse. A mated female couldn’t be touched by another male, even if her mate was dead. He cleared his throat. “Is there anybody here you want me to kill before we go?” He’d gladly do it.
She just stared at him as if he’d frozen her in place.
He tried to smile to reassure her, and she turned even paler. “Has anybody harmed you, sweetheart? I’ll take care of them before we blow this place.” It was more than possible she’d been slapped around, and he’d gladly rip off the arms of anybody who’d hurt her.
“You’re crazy,” she whispered.
He nodded. “That has been said more than once, and often by my family.” Probably because he said what he thought all the time, but tomato, tomahto.
“Damn it.” The Kurjan soldier drew a firearm from his shoulder harness and pointed it at Benny.
Benny immediately put himself between the weapon and the female. “If you’d wanted my attention, you should’ve just said so.”
The soldier fired.
* * * *
Karma’s nerves were strung so tight she could barely breathe. It had been hours since she’d seen the prisoner, and she couldn’t get his smile out of her mind. Even after Terre had shot him in the neck, he’d smiled at her as she’d exited his cell. What was wrong with her? The male was their enemy as well as being a vampire-demon hybrid. They were notoriously deadly and evil. She was not up to the job with which she’d been tasked.
Not that she had a choice. She’d never had one.
She deftly served supper to the five males in the dining room of the temporary headquarters, careful not to brush Dayne’s arm as she did so. A tablet sat in his large hands, and he read through reports, ignoring everyone. He was the head of the Kurjan nation, and he was also Terre’s older brother. Terre sat at the other end of the table, watching her as he always did. The look in his eyes sent chills through her, but she kept her face placid, sliding a plate in front of Drake, Dayne’s son.
Drake didn’t look up from the game he was furiously playing on a small console. His hair had grown long, and with his odd green eyes, the child looked almost human. “Thank you, Karma,” he murmured, twisting his arm to press a button.
She paused. “You’re welcome.” The young teenager had always thanked her, almost automatically. It was silly to think his mother had had time to teach him manners before she’d died, but he had them nonetheless. Even now, at around sixteen years old, built strong and tall, he was absentmindedly polite.
Where had he come from?
She set the second plate in front of Drake’s cousin Vero, who was a year younger than Drake.
“Thank you, Karma,” Vero said, looking at her and smiling. His father had been killed, and his uncles had taken him in, although it appeared that Terre was acting as his guardian. Vero was a sweet lamb in a flock of lions.
She hustled to place a plate in front of Jaydon, the scary Cyst who had s
tarted taking his meals with the family. He was wiping off his bruised and cut knuckles, and he hadn’t bothered to clean away the blood that saturated one sleeve.
Her stomach lurched. Jaydon and Terre had injured their hands by torturing Benjamin, no doubt. Was the hybrid even still alive?
She took the last plate off the tray and quickly tried to place it in front of Terre. He grabbed her skirt before she could draw away and jerked her to a stop. His knuckles were bloody and damaged. She sucked in a breath and settled herself.
“How was your day?” he asked.
“Fine.” She knew better than to draw away. Once she’d attempted to evade him, and he’d held on to the material so tightly, her skirt ripped. He couldn’t touch her skin or the mating allergy would attack them both, but he had found ways to torture her just by taking hold of her clothing.
He smiled, showing sharp canines. Oh, Terre was probably handsome to some, but she saw the darkness in his purple eyes. “What did you think of the prisoner?”
“I didn’t think anything about him.” She kept her eyes averted.
“I almost killed him this afternoon, but he’ll survive,” Terre bragged. “He does have a purpose, doesn’t he?”
She nodded, wanting to edge away.
He forced her closer, wrapping his fist in the fabric, his hand right above her mound but not touching. “Our day is coming, female. You know not to disappoint me, right?”
The steak knife was so close. How shocked he’d be if she grabbed it and stabbed him through the eye. He’d kill her, but it’d be worth it. Except for the girls she’d leave behind. If nothing else, she had to save them before she left this world. The idea of being mated to Terre was too much to bear, and she had had enough of living in hell. “I’m not strong enough to take the virus that will undo my mating,” she whispered.
He released her. “You don’t have a choice. Be strong enough, or I’ll break those girls of yours for amusement.” He turned to his steak, obviously finished with her for now.
She turned and hurried out of the room and into the small kitchen, struggling to keep her calm facade in place. Her heart thundered and her ears rang, and trembling shot down her arms. The cook, busy stirring something in a pot, didn’t look over his shoulder at her.
“Mama,” Belle said happily from a blanket in the corner, where she and her stuffed animals were having tea with her twin sister.
Karma forced a smile and moved toward the three-year-old girls, her heart bursting. They were adorable children with light brown eyes, flowing black hair, and cute button noses. There was no doubt they were enhanced humans, although Karma couldn’t pinpoint their enhancements. She had a feeling Belle might be psychic and Boone empathic, but she could be dead wrong about that. They’d been hers since they’d been kidnapped two years ago. A weapon to use against her. “Hi, girls. Are you being good?”
Boone, her hair in a braid, nodded seriously. “Of course. It’s teatime.” She craned her neck to look beyond Karma. “Is Other Mama here?”
Karma’s stomach dropped. “No, baby. Your other mama isn’t here right now.” She pressed a finger to her lips.
Boone’s eyes widened. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Forgot the secret.”
“It’s okay.” Karma tucked her skirts and perched on her knees by the teacups. “Your mama is in heaven, and sometimes she checks in with you, but she needs to be an angel now.” Karma’s human enhancement had been channeling, and she tried to use the gift to help the women and children in the camps.
When the Kurjans had kidnapped the twins in their search for enhanced females, they’d killed the girls’ parents. The girls hadn’t seen any violence, but they knew their parents were in heaven, and Karma had been helping to keep their memories alive as best she could. The twins didn’t remember their life before, and perhaps that was good. Their mother, a pretty woman named Linda, had checked in several times, whether Karma had been open to her or not.
She had to get those girls free somehow. Their best chance here would be mating one of the Kurjans when they were of age, but that was no way for these bright lights to live. Their worst chance was one Karma couldn’t think about—and didn’t understand: Jaydon had a plan for a ritual that would kill them, and she had to stop him.
Cele stepped inside the kitchen, her chin up and her gaze regal. She’d been mated to a Cyst general for nearly a century, and she enjoyed her status. The female appeared to be in her early thirties with red hair and brown eyes. “Girls? Let’s go.”
Karma stood. “They can stay here—”
“No. Now.” Cele gave a haughty smile. “We have to pack. It’s time to move.”
Then she really had no choice. Karma helped the girls pick up the tea set, determination settling hard on her shoulders. To prevent their deaths, she’d do anything. Even align herself with her enemy, Benjamin Reese.
It was almost time.
Chapter Three
Getting stabbed in the ear was so annoying. Benny sent healing cells to his inner ear, wincing as the ruptured tissue stitched itself back together. He’d gotten some information from the Kurjan during the torture session but not nearly enough. Terre had been very graphic about what he planned to do with the female, and Benny had tuned him out at that point. Then his eardrum had been pierced, and going temporarily deaf had helped.
Darkness had fallen, and above him, he could now hear movement. Maybe even a helicopter outside. Were they leaving? He couldn’t let that happen until he had Karma in his hands.
The door at the end of the tunnel opened, and he stiffened, feeling her energy. There she was. Light exploded inside him, and he relaxed into it. How the female gave him a sense of peace, even from down the corridor, was a mystery he’d explore later.
A Cyst soldier accompanied her and opened the cell door, locking her inside with him again. Thus far, she seemed to be irrelevant to the Kurjans.
How little they knew. He wiped blood off his face and smoothed back his thick hair, trying to look presentable. “How are you?”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Yeah, he’d seen that look before…often. “How can you be standing?”
He popped his cheekbone back into place and went to work on his ribs. “I already healed my legs.” Then he glanced down at the tray in her hands. “What did you bring?”
She removed a cloth napkin to show a steak on a plate. “I brought you something to eat.”
“Protein will help. Thank you.” He took the meat with his still-working hand and munched happily, letting the food energize him much faster than it would a normal immortal. Being a hybrid gave him extra skills.
She set the tray down and took the pack off her shoulder. “I have medical supplies.”
He shook his head, finishing the meal. “I don’t need anything.” His other hand began to mend. Blood would help him more than anything, but he couldn’t take hers yet. Not while she still held another male’s mating mark. “I appreciate your help.”
She kept her gaze averted. “Very well.” Then she backed up until her rear hit the bars. She glanced over her shoulder and down the hallway before turning back to face him. She’d gone pale, and her hand trembled. “They’re going to move you in about ten minutes, and I don’t know where they plan to take you.”
His clavicle popped loudly back into place. Man, she was pretty. Small and light in a big, dark world. “I thought I heard helicopters.”
She swallowed, and her chin firmed. “Half of the camp has already flown away.” While her tone remained neutral and her expression blank, he sensed an underlying thread of anger.
He stretched his hands out, making sure his fingers had healed from the many breaks Terre had inflicted with a hammer. “You’re unhappy that they left without you?” When she didn’t answer, he searched for another reason. “You’re angry they took, well, friends of yours?” It made sense that she had fri
ends in the Kurjan nation, since she’d been with them for so long.
She grew still. “Angry? I don’t get angry.”
Yet he felt that anger. “I’m empathic. Well, somewhat. Usually I don’t take notice of people, to be honest. But you? I want to know you, and I’m tuned in.” He cocked his head, studying her suddenly defensive posture. Just what was he dealing with here? He was a bull in a china shop usually. Today, he had to learn gentle. “There’s nothing wrong with getting angry.”
Her already straight spine straightened even more. “I am not angry.”
Well then. “All right.” Another helicopter took off. That had to be at least half of the camp. “How many soldiers are still here?” he asked.
“Plenty,” she returned.
He studied her. “I’m going to make an escape. You’re coming with me.”
Hope flared and then quickly died in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
Why? What was keeping her here? He didn’t have time to ask because three Cyst soldiers strode down the hallway. Two kept weapons pointed at him, while the third opened the door and gestured Karma out. The female left the tray but grasped her pack and walked out into the tunnel, casting a quick look over her shoulder as if to say goodbye.
Not likely.
The largest Cyst, the one at the door, motioned him forward. “Let’s go, Hybrid. It’s time to see your new home.”
The soldier on the left snorted. “This is a palace compared to where you’re going, Reese.”
“Looking forward to it.” Benny strode into the tunnel, his limbs loose and healed. The soldiers backed away, and he appreciated that fact, but his main focus was the female. She strode ahead toward roughly cut stairs. He didn’t have much time.
The soldier behind him prodded him in the back with his weapon. In one smooth motion, Benny turned, grabbed it, and shot the other guy in the head. He went down instantly. The largest bastard manacled his arms around Benny from behind, partially lifting him off the ground.
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