by Susan Illene
“Okay.” Her blue eyes met mine.
“Now tell me. Has she ever given up on me for even a moment?”
“No,” Emily replied.
“Then if you and Hunter truly love each other you must believe he’ll fight to live—for you. Am I clear?”
A resigned look came over her eyes. “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He hung up.
She handed the phone back to me. “Can we stay the night here?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Kerbasi will have half the patients thinking suicidal thoughts if we stick around too long, but we can stay for another hour and then come back in the morning.”
She sighed. “Okay.”
I swung the door open and nearly toppled the guardian to the floor. Damn. I was so close. He straightened and attempted to paste an imperious look on his face.
“I would not have half the patients attempting to commit suicide. I’d offer to help them.”
I punched him in the nose.
“Ow.” He pressed his hands to his face, attempting to stem the flow of blood. “What was that for?”
“Being annoying.”
Chapter Sixteen
It wasn’t often I got to ride on Lucas’ plane, but I enjoyed it when I did. The seats were wide and comfortable with extra leg room and it was stocked with plenty of food and drinks. Lucas and I sat in the front seats of the passenger area and the others farther back.
We’d left early that afternoon, a couple hours before sunset. The vampires had to come onboard inside body bags, but as soon as it was safe we let them out. Kariann had been having a lively argument with Kerbasi about the merits—or lack of merits—of abstinence ever since.
Derrick was reading and Fallon sat in stoic silence. In short, it was boring enough I managed to get a nap and caught Lucas doing the same. His attempts at healing lately must have drained him because his energy levels weren’t at their highest, though he was still powerful enough for what we were about to do.
He turned in his seat. “Did Emily decide what she would do about Hunter?”
“Yeah. She went online as soon as we got home and started researching the plans you proposed. After about an hour, she gave up.” I smiled. “Thanks for that.”
He nodded. “She’s gotten used to everyone doing everything for her. It was time she learned that even in the supernatural world things don’t just magically happen without some effort.”
“No kidding.” I rubbed my face.
For most of the night and morning, I’d been on the phone coordinating between DHS and Yerik. The raid seemed to grow more complicated by the moment. I’d been out of the military for too long and forgotten all the red tape and extra provisions that had to be in place when dealing with human elements.
“Think you’ll ever ask to lead a raid again?” Lucas asked, giving me an amused look.
“You better shoot me if I do.”
His chest rumbled with laughter.
***
Agent O’Connell stood waiting for us in the hotel lobby. Yerik and two of his people—a vampire and a werewolf—were also there. We checked in at the front desk and Fallon took the bags up to our rooms. Kariann, Derrick, and Kerbasi followed the rest of us to a large conference room DHS had reserved. With all the tech equipment set up it was more like a command center.
There were more than twenty humans tapping away at laptops, talking on phones, or checking equipment. A large screen on the wall showed live video feed of the entrance to the warehouse facility where Jerome and his people were hiding out. No supernatural could have gotten that close without the sensors detecting them. We could have sent in human spies, but they couldn’t have pulled it off as well on such short notice.
“They set all this up for you?” Kerbasi asked, gazing around as we made our way across the room.
“For the mission, guardian.” I gave him a stern look. “And you are not going to cause a disruption while we’re in here. Do you understand?”
Kariann took hold of his arm. “Don’t worry. I already told him I’m popping his cherry if he misbehaves.”
With any other man that would have never worked. The guardian was one of a kind.
“And I’ll give her the chains to keep him in place,” Lucas added.
Kerbasi shuddered. “The angels have no idea what they’ve done, leaving me at the mercy of unconscionable people.”
O’Connell led us to a rectangular table where several humans were already seated. We met reps from a bomb disposal unit, the CDC, and the DHS raid team leader. Their emotions were nervous, but outwardly they appeared professional.
“We’ve already notified the local police department that we’ll be conducting the raid,” O’Connell informed me. “They’ll be close by in case we need backup, but they won’t interfere.”
“Good.” I took a seat at the end of the table with Lucas and Yerik settling on either side of me. “What kind of activity have you seen so far?”
Mr. Brown set a laptop in front of me. “We’ve had a team watching since yesterday morning. Not much movement until late last night when a steady flow of vehicles began coming in with one or two passengers in each of them. It didn’t stop until this afternoon.”
He clicked through a range of still photos. All of them showed the vehicles pulling up to the gate and a guard in plain clothes standing next to the driver’s side windows. The faces weren’t clear, but you could definitely make out the guard’s sidearm in a couple of shots.
“Do you think they’re all back?” I looked at Yerik.
He nodded. “Honor said they were all supposed to return by tonight. That should be it.”
“Did you give a picture of Honor to O’Connell?”
“Yes,” the agent replied. “We’ll do our best to keep her out of the line of fire when we go in.”
“How many gate guards are there now?” I asked.
“Just two,” Brown answered. “But there’s a couple more who patrol inside the fence.”
That didn’t sound too bad. “Satellite imagery?”
He turned the laptop around and clicked a few keys. When he spun it back, I could see an aerial shot of the place from above. It was taken during the daytime and gave a good view of the grouping of five warehouses. Most of them were close together, but one was apart from the others—at least forty meters if I went by the scale on the photo.
I pointed at it. “If they have the plague bacteria it’s probably stored in that building. Otherwise, our girl on the inside would have picked up on it.”
“How far can your kind…” His brows furrowed. “Detect it?”
“The bacteria with the demon magic? I don’t know for sure. I’ve never been around it in its pure form, but I’d guess at least fifty feet, maybe more.”
Demon magic had always been tricky. I was almost embarrassed that my abilities weren’t as reliable with it compared to spells with Earth origins. I wasn’t even entirely certain how far my abilities went with angel magic. My senses seemed to work with them, but there was no way to know if they masked certain things from me. Ariel could track and observe me from a distance without me even knowing it. That alone said my abilities weren’t foolproof.
“As soon as things go hot,” I addressed the daimoun, “I want you and Derrick to flash into that warehouse. They may try to destroy the evidence and you guys will need to find any bombs if they’re in there.”
“We have dogs to locate bombs and several EOD guys who can dismantle them,” Brown interjected. “I’d feel more comfortable if they went in there as well.”
“The dogs can handle the other buildings.” I glanced over at Derrick. “A werewolf’s sense of smell is just as good as theirs, if not better. But I agree having an EOD specialist on hand is a good idea. Yerik can flash one of your guys in there after he’s got the alpha in position.”
“I can flash them both inside at the same time,” the daimoun replied.
That was news to me, considering Lucas could only do one, but
now wasn’t the time to act surprised. “Then take them both. While they’re checking for bombs, you can round up any of Jerome’s guys who are in there. Try not to kill them if you can. The people in that building will probably know the most about the plague strain they concocted.”
“How certain are you that this is the group spreading it?” Brown asked.
I gave him a serious look. “Not one hundred percent, but this is the only group I know of with enough motivation and the capability to do something like this. They’ve already pulled several other stunts that were nearly as dangerous.”
“She’s right.” Lucas leaned forward in his seat. “I’ve been watching them for decades. They’ve steadily escalated their operations since they formed. They’ve also worked with demon magic before. If there’s another group out there with the same resources, they’ve done a damn good job hiding it under my watch.”
“How old are you?” the CDC rep asked, frowning at him.
Lucas’ expression turned fathomless. “Older than your Christian calendar.”
“But that can’t be…”
“Let’s talk about the first phase of the raid,” Brown interrupted.
“Shock and awe,” I said, looking at everyone around the table. “We can’t let them have any time to react or they’ll use it against us and people will die. The humans will lead with their vehicles and bust the gates open. The sups will bring up the rear or flash inside. Everyone will have specific areas to target.”
I began pointing at the various buildings from the aerial shot and designating who I wanted to go into each one. We discussed contingencies and what everyone should do after they completed their primary mission. A lot of it had been worked out before I’d come to Indianapolis, but it was important to finalize the details face-to-face with visual aids.
Brown looked at his watch. “We’ll hit them at three in the morning when most of them should be asleep. That’s only a few hours away.”
“Everyone should check their gear one last time and get suited up,” I said, standing. “It will take about twenty minutes to get there from here, but I’d like to be on the road forty minutes prior. We’ll stop at the holding point that’s a half-mile out for one last commo check before moving in.”
I got a murmur of agreements and everyone left the table.
“Let’s go upstairs.” Lucas put a hand on my lower back. “You need to clear your head before this begins.”
He knew me well. My head was aching from all the high emotions in the room as well as the stress of taking on so many responsibilities. I needed to get away from it all for a few minutes and recharge.
“Good idea.”
“What about me?” Kerbasi asked.
I pulled out my wallet and handed him a couple twenties. “There’s a restaurant in the hotel. Get something to eat.”
“This is a bribery to keep me away isn’t it?” He fingered the cash.
I lifted my brow. “Is it working?”
“Of course it is.” He strutted off.
“I have no idea how you put up with him,” Lucas said, his tone dark.
“One day at a time.” We left the room.
Chapter Seventeen
Lucas
He watched Melena pace the length of the hotel suite. She’d hid it well in front of the others, but their bond gave him a little more insight into her true feelings. The sensor was nervous and worried. He might not be able to read her mind, but now that they were alone and she’d let her guard down he could almost see the myriad of thoughts running around in her head.
“You’ve done well,” he said, stepping forward to block her path. “I couldn’t have planned it better myself.”
Her blue eyes met his. “Do you think there’s anything I’ve missed? This is the first time humans and supernaturals have worked together. I want this to go right—for no one to die.”
He took hold of her shoulders. “If anyone dies it will be Jerome’s fault. He is the orchestrator of all this.”
“Of course. You’re right.”
She blinked and all her emotions shut off. Not many people her age could do that, but she’d mastered the ability early in life. The only difference was he knew what she was doing—putting up a brave front. Melena still didn’t like letting him seeing her weak.
“Don’t.”
She stiffened. “What?”
“We are alone. You need to take this opportunity to work out all the worries I know are running around in your head so that we can be rid of them before the start of the raid.”
“I’m fine.” Melena scowled at him. “There’s nothing to discuss.”
He didn’t believe her for a moment. Lucas knew of only one other way to get her to relax and let her worries go. He began unbuttoning her blouse.
“What are you doing?” She snatched at his hands.
He brushed them away and continued loosening her shirt. “If you don’t want to talk then we’ll do something else.”
“We don’t have time,” she argued.
“Yes, we do.”
He didn’t give her a chance to stop him. Moving at a speed no mortal could follow he had her clothes off and her naked body sprawled face down on the bed in seconds.
“Lucas!”
He pulled her hips up and caressed the curves of her ass. “Tell me you truly don’t want this and I’ll stop.”
She groaned. “But we’ve got to get ready.”
He tore off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants. “We are getting ready.”
Lucas slid his fingers along her clit and found her soaking wet.
“That’s not what I meant.” She spread her legs farther for him.
It always amused him when she said one thing but did another. Melena could get wound so tight that she had a difficult time letting go.
“Tell me what you’re thinking right now,” he demanded.
She dug her fingers into the bedspread. “That your fingers should be outlawed.”
“Anything else?”
He kept working at her, drawing more moans as he waited for an answer.
“I want you inside of me now.” She angled her head around to look at him.
“Soon,” he said.
“We don’t have time to go slow.”
He pressed two fingers into her. She was so damn wet he wanted to fuck her right then, but he wouldn’t.
“Still worried about time? Then I must work harder to distract you.”
“Argh.” She pushed her head into the mattress. “You’re killing me.”
“Am I?” He pulled away to remove his shoes and pants.
Melena tried to flip around, but he grabbed her hips and put her back in place. She needed to give up control. Part of what had made her so tense at the moment was the pressure of making all the decisions. For the next hour, he planned to take that from her. Only then would she be ready to take all the responsibilities back when the time came.
“Lucas, please!” She bucked against his hold.
He pushed his cock between her legs and rubbed it against her clit.
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes…no. Dammit, I’m going to get you back for this someday.”
“We’ll see.” He continued to rub against her.
It was killing him just as much as her. They hadn’t been intimate in weeks. Usually he took her fast and hard the first time and slower the next, but tonight he had to do things differently.
“I want you in me now.” She tried to readjust so he’d slip inside—and failed. “I’ve never been more ready.”
Lucas snaked an arm around her waist to hold her still and reached out with his other one to caress one of her breasts. He tweaked the nipple, teasing it until he earned another moan from her. Melena might not admit it often, but she responded well when he took control. Where his dick rested against her pussy, he could feel her getting even wetter.
“You win, dammit. Will you just fuck me now?”
How he wished he could, but she st
ill wasn’t ready.
He flipped her onto her back and crawled over her until his cock was almost level with her head. “Take it.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Take it.” He took hold of his dick and rubbed it against her lips. “Show me how much you want it.”
She gazed at him questioningly. This was new for her and not something he’d done before. Usually Lucas let her decide when to suck him, but this time he wanted her to give in to his every demand. Lose all control. Forget every worry and let the rest of the world fade away until it was only him and her.
“Are you afraid?” he asked. “I can stop right now if that is what you wish.”
She stared at him. He couldn’t begin to fathom what was going on inside her head. Did she not trust him? Did she not realize he would never hurt her? Hell, he’d hurt himself first.
He caressed her cheek. “Let go of your fears, Melena.”
She exhaled a breath and let her gaze drop down. For a moment, he wasn’t sure what she’d do and worried she might decide to bite him. With this woman anything was possible. Ironically, that was part of what attracted him to her. It would have bored him to death if she did everything exactly as he predicted.
He saw the pink tip of her tongue slide out. It slid across the head of his dick in what could only be described as the most exquisite touch. He didn’t dare move. When she ran her tongue over him again, he thought he’d lose it. The damn woman could possess him even when he was the one pinning her down.
She opened her mouth and took an inch of him inside. Just one inch. He wanted more, but he would wait. She locked her lips around him and sucked hard. Lucas fisted his hands in her hair, groaning. He’d lived for thousands of years and no woman had ever affected him this way. Not even close.
She grabbed his hips, pulling at him. He fell forward and pushed his cock farther into her mouth. Lucas was nearly at her throat. Melena relaxed and let him work himself in and out. With each stroke he tested her, checking to see how far she’d let him go. Only when he was fully confident did he take that last step.
He slid in until he couldn’t go any farther. Her fingernails dug into his hips and he used them as a guide for when to move and how much. In and out he fucked her mouth. Their bond told him she’d become a blank slate with only need and lust controlling her. It was animalistic and basic. He wanted to join her, revel in the pure primal power of it, but tonight was all about Melena. She was the one who needed this.