by Cynthia Eden
He stared at her through those bars. “Why?”
Garrick had found her too fast. “Because I need that Eye. I told you already that I need it.”
“The Eye hurts. It destroys. If you wanted it, then you had your sights set on killing someone.”
She shook her head. “It isn’t like that.”
His jaw clenched. “Agent McAdams had your picture. He wanted to know if I’d seen you.”
No, no, no. “What did you tell him?” She held her breath.
He gave her that slow smile. One that made her stomach clench. “That I’d never had the pleasure.”
The dizziness was back. Maybe it was from relief again.
Or fear.
Or the damn hunger that had hollowed out her stomach. She’d been so desperate and so scared for such a long time. Running, always running and looking over her shoulder for threats. She’d barely slept. Barely ate as she closed in on Luke.
“I don’t think he believed me, though,” Luke added. “Can you imagine…someone thinking that I would lie?”
And she wasn’t feeling relief any longer. “He would have followed you.”
“Um.” Luke didn’t seem particularly concerned.
She was terrified. “Garrick would have followed you. Probably in the air, on a chopper. He would have tracked you back to the island. He’ll…he’ll come searching for me.”
“No doubt. He seemed to want you very badly.”
The handcuffs banged against the bars. “I have to get away! You have to let me go.”
And once more, the air seemed to heat around her. “I warned you about trying to use your power on me.”
“I’m not!” Her voice was breaking. “I’m scared, okay? Scared and desperate and when I get scared, I can’t control myself!” Her power leaked out.
“Who were you going to use the Eye on?” His demand was driving, relentless. “Your ex-lover? Were you going to try and kill him again?”
“No! It wasn’t like that! I’m not the one who tried—oh, dammit, I was just fighting to survive that day! He told me that if I walked away, if I left him, it would be like cutting his heart out.” She shook her head. Her breath was ragged. “You don’t know what he did to me. What Garrick and his agency made me do…”
“The FBI? I thought they were the human version of good guys.”
Mina blinked at him. “Garrick isn’t with the FBI. If he told you that, he’s lying.”
“Or you are.”
She slammed the handcuffs against the bars. “He’s coming! We don’t have time for this. Garrick could be bringing his chopper over us at any moment.”
“Then tell me who you want to use the Eye on. Convince me that I should trust you, and not the FBI agent.”
“He’s not an FBI Agent!” How many times did she have to say that? “Garrick works for a different group in the government—a group that captures paranormals. That uses them—that uses us.” Because she’d been used. “They want to fight wars with the best weapons out there, and those weapons are the paranormals.”
His expression hadn’t altered. He didn’t believe her.
And was it her imagination? Or could she hear the whir of helicopter blades?
“Time’s running out,” Luke said. “Tell me the truth or I’ll give you to him.”
She blinked away tears.
“Not the tears.” Luke’s voice held distinct bite. “I don’t like them from you.”
“I don’t like them either!” Mina yelled back. “I don’t like being with you! I don’t like being in a cage! I don’t like being used as a weapon! I don’t like anything that has happened to me. This isn’t what I wanted!” And it was as if a dam had burst inside of her. She couldn’t hold the words back any longer. “I didn’t want to track you down. Every story I’d heard about you terrified me. And at first, I thought you were just a myth. A story that people tell in the dark. Then I found out you were the dark. I found out about the Eye and what it could do and I knew I had to have it.”
“Because you wanted to punish the ones who’d used you…”
“Because I want to use it on myself!” The words blasted from her. Then they hung in the air, stark and terrible and she couldn’t take them back. “I wanted to use it on myself,” she said, her voice softer. “The Eye of Hell is supposed to take away the powers of the dark paranormals. I wanted it to take away my power.”
“Stealing power is just one of its perks,” he said, his eyes never leaving hers. “It can steal life, too.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “I have lived with this curse since my thirteenth birthday. I don’t want this. I have to turn it off…that’s all I want. To just stop it. If I don’t have my power any longer, then Garrick and his team can’t use me. I can’t hurt anyone.”
“How noble.”
She banged her cuffed hands against the bars. “It’s true! I’m telling you the truth.” And she definitely heard the whir, whir, whir of a helicopter. “He’s here.” Fear knifed into her insides. “Please, help me. Don’t let him take me away.”
His hand shoved into his pocket. He pulled out a key. A moment later, she heard the snick of the lock as it opened.
Her eyes squeezed shut. “Thank you.” She was so damn grateful that the guy had been carrying a backup key.
“Don’t thank me yet.” His hands had curled around her wrists. His fingers smoothed over her skin. “The cuffs bruised you.”
Her eyes opened. She looked down and saw the dark circle of skin beneath the handcuffs.
“I thought I was very explicit when I talked to Julian. You weren’t to get so much as a bruise.”
“I—”
He grabbed the cuffs. Shattered them with his touch. They fell to the stone beneath their feet.
Oh, he is definitely strong.
But then Luke lifted her wrists. First he brought her right wrist to his mouth and he pressed a soft, tender kiss there, just above her pulse point. “I’m sorry.”
He’d just apologized? The Lord of the Dark?
“I will take more care with you.”
He brought her left wrist to his mouth. Kissed the dark skin.
Her heart slammed into her chest. This time, that mad racing wasn’t from fear or anger. It was from lust. Because when his mouth pressed to her skin, when his dark head bent and she saw his lips feather over her…
Arousal sparked in her blood. It was wrong. She was in his cell. Garrick was hunting her. “How are you doing this to me?” Her voice was husky, confused. “How can you make me want you like this?”
His lashes—dark and thick—lifted. His stare held hers. “We’re only getting started.” The words were a promise.
“Luke—”
He kissed her. His lips were soft, gentle, feathering over hers. She found herself leaning in toward him, wanting that softness, wanting the care that he was giving to her. Her lips parted for him and he licked her lower lip. A sensual caress. His tongue thrust into her mouth. Not taking. Not dominating this time but…seducing.
Whoop. Whoop. Whoop. The sound of the helicopter had changed because it was so close now. Not a whir, too loud for that. It sounded as if the helicopter was right above them.
He eased back and stared into her eyes. “I don’t like it when you cry.” His hand lifted and brushed across her cheek. She hadn’t realized that another tear had escaped. “Don’t do it again.”
Despite everything, a little laugh broke from her. “Can’t guarantee that. In case you missed it, I’m having a pretty bad day.”
“It will get better.”
She wished he was still kissing her. “There’s a helicopter over us.”
“Yes. Sounds like it.”
“We’re not in international waters. They’ll come to search the island. They’ll come to take me.”
His expression was very serious. “I’d like to see them try.” He started to back away from her.
She grabbed him, her fingers tightening around his arms. “I don’t want y
ou hurt.”
“Watch it, sweetheart, or you’ll make me think you care.”
The problem was…she did. And she’d just met the guy.
His lips hitched into a half-smile. “They won’t take you. Don’t worry.”
Easier said than done.
“I need you to stay here,” Luke said. “No, wait,” he added, when she started to protest. “I won’t lock you in the cell. The door will stay open, but I don’t want you to leave this area. I have safeguards in place. The humans can search the rest of the island, but they won’t ever find this chamber. If you stay here, you’ll be safe.”
“Or I’ll be a sitting duck.” If he was lying to her, if he was setting her up, if he believed Garrick and not her…
“Guess you have to trust me.”
Yes, she did. “And what will I owe you in return?”
“We’ll start with a night…one night to do anything I want…”
Her hands pulled from him, as if she’d been burned. “I told you before, I’m not a whore. I get that I gave you the wrong first impression. That’s on me. I wore the fuck-me-shoes, I tricked you, but I am not—”
“You won’t sleep with me as payback. You’ll sleep with me because you need me more than breath. That’s what the one night is about. It’s about my chance to show you what we’d be like together.”
Seduction. He wanted to seduce her.
He was also offering to keep her safe. And right then, she was not about to refuse a safe haven. “I’ll stay here.”
She wouldn’t promise more than that. The idea of seduction—his seduction—scared her.
“I’ll come back for you when it’s clear.”
He stepped back. Turned away. Walked determinedly out of the cell.
“Wait!” Mina called.
He stilled.
“If he thinks you’re human, you’re safe from Garrick. But if he thinks you’re… something else, he may try to take you into his custody.”
“I’d like to see him try…”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
He looked back at her.
“He has special bullets. More like tranquilizers. They can take down paranormals. I’ve seen it happen. Strong paranormals—like vamps and shifters—go down in an instant. They’re knocked out and then they wake up…” She gestured around her. “They wake up in a place pretty much like this.” Which was why she hated that cell.
“Did they do that to you? Did they drug you?” Anger tightened his jaw.
“Yes.”
“They won’t do it again. I won’t let them.”
He sounded so certain. Her head tilted. “Luke, just how strong are you?”
“You should probably hope that you never find out.” Then he turned away. She watched him leave and when he was gone, when he’d sealed up the tunnel, she bent and touched the shattered handcuffs.
Very, very strong.
Chapter Eight
Luke had a helipad on the island, but that was for his personal use, not so that some dick with the government could bring his chopper in and storm the place.
Rayce stalked to his side, with Julian trailing just a few steps behind him. “What’s the plan?” Rayce asked, lifting his hand to show that claws had already sprouted from his fingertips. “Do we teach these boys that uninvited guests aren’t welcome here?”
Luke didn’t respond to that, mostly because he was still considering his options. He glanced over at Julian. “You okay?”
“No.” His face was grim, as grim as his voice. “I messed up. You were counting on me, and I let you down. If she hadn’t ordered me away…”
Luke moved to stand in front of him, ignoring the blast of wind that came from that landing chopper. “You’ll be better prepared next time.”
“I owe you so fucking much,” Julian rasped. “I’d be dead without you. My family abandoned me, the pack turned, if it hadn’t been for you—”
“How about we save the feel good moment for a time when a chopper isn’t landing?” Rayce cut in. “You two can have a bromance later.”
Julian glared at the wolf. “Keep pushing…”
Luke locked one hand on Julian’s shoulder and he curled his other around Rayce’s. “Before those agents get out of that chopper, we need to be clear on a few very important things.”
Both Rayce and Julian had gone dead silent.
“One, Mina doesn’t leave. They don’t find out that she’s here. You haven’t seen her, you don’t know her. Got it?”
They nodded.
“Two, they don’t get near the cell chamber. I have safeguards in place, so that shouldn’t be an issue. If there’s a fuck-up, though, you keep them away, understand?”
“Yes.” Julian exhaled slowly. “They won’t get her.”
They’d better not. “Three.” He forced his jaw to unclench. “Neither of you ever fucking thinks about touching Mina, got it? Because friends or no friends…debts or no debts…I will destroy the fool who tries to come between me and her. I want her. She’s going to be mine.” He hadn’t had anyone of his own in a very long time.
Maybe…ever.
Silence. No, not silence. That chopper’s whoop, whoop, whoop was overwhelming. The gusts of wind beat at him, shoving his clothes against his body. Luke just locked his legs and didn’t move.
“Is it…safe to want her that way? That much?” Rayce asked.
Luke laughed. “Since when have I worried about safe?”
The chopper was on the ground. Time to cover point four. “Mina said they’re packing tranqs that can knock both of you out. The agents on that helicopter are not to know that you’re paranormals. You’re my human guards, nothing more, nothing less.”
“Why aren’t we attacking them?” Julian wanted to know. “We could totally take them out.”
“They aren’t the leaders. They’re the followers. Mina said there is a government agency in place. If they’re going after the paranormals the way she says…” He thrust back his shoulders. “Then you don’t kill a snake by chopping off its tail. You take the beast’s head.” The agents would lead him back to the head.
He just had to wait. And Luke had to not lose his control and attack Garrick McAdams.
The chopper’s blades stilled.
Luke crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the helicopter. Garrick was the first one to emerge. He was sure the bastard made a point of flashing his holster. Again.
Because I’m supposed to be scared of him?
The redhead that Luke had spotted at the crime scene exited next. Then an African American male, wearing a slightly more stylish suit than the others, climbed out. He had on dark glasses and his body was tenser than the others.
He’s afraid.
Interesting.
“Three on three,” Rayce murmured. “Easiest odds we’ve ever had. They must be freaking idiots to come this way.”
Maybe. Maybe not. Luke noticed that the pilot seemed particularly watchful. He still had his headset on. Just who was he in radio contact with?
“Mr. Thorne!” Garrick called, flashing him a wide smile. “Your island is definitely—”
“You weren’t invited here, and I seriously doubt that you were able to get a court order to search my home so quickly.” He kept his legs braced apart. Rayce and Julian were with him, their bodies tense, but not too aggressive, not yet.
Garrick’s hand went toward his holster.
Don’t even think it.
“We’re here for your safety, Mr. Thorne.” It was the woman who spoke. Her voice was low, probably in an effort to be soothing. Only he wasn’t in the mood to be soothed. “If you’re under Mina’s control, then you aren’t responsible for your actions. You can’t—”
“I can do just about anything, and I usually do.”
Her eyes narrowed. Anger flashed on her face. Ah, that agent has a temper.
“And, trust me,” Luke added, just so they were all clear. “I’m responsible for my actions. No one is controlling me.
” He was standing in the middle of the path that led to the house, and since Julian and Rayce were with him…we make for one very interesting wall.
“Agent Lang,” Garrick snapped to the now sweating younger agent in the slightly more stylish suit. “Show these men our authorization.”
Agent Lang stepped forward. He pulled a thick envelope from his suit pocket. The guy’s forehead was covered in moisture.
“Little warm for that suit, don’t you think, mate?” Julian asked.
“Something tells me it’s just gonna get hotter,” Rayce added, ever helpful.
Lang’s fingers were trembling as he handed the envelope to Luke. Luke pulled out the folded papers inside, scanning the typed text there. “Oh, wow, signed by the governor…and the Director of the FBI. That is exciting.” He was tempted to burn the paper right then and there. It would pretty much just take one stray thought. “I guess I’m supposed to be extra impressed? I would be except nowhere in there does it say you have the right to search my private property.”
Garrick’s glare twisted his face. “That gives me the authority to conduct any necessary search in the hunt for Mina James, I can enter this facility, I can search every building on this island, and any other as long as I have just cause—”
“That would be the thing,” Luke interrupted silkily. “You don’t have just cause. I’ve already told you, I don’t know Mina James. Never had the pleasure.” But I will.
Garrick marched forward, stopping only when he was toe-to-toe with Luke. Then, voice low and cutting, he said, “I know you’re lying.”
“He just insulted you,” Rayce said. “First he arrived uninvited, then he insults you. That is ballsy.”
“Wanker,” Julian threw in, nodding.
Garrick’s gaze cut first to Rayce, then to Julian. “Who the hell are you two?”
“They’re my personal security team,” Luke said, his voice perfectly smooth. “They monitor all of the activity on the island, and I assure you, if Mina James was here, they’d know it.”