Nazerel arched his brows at her choice of adjectives. “You’ve never seen me passionate. Would you like a demonstration?”
“That will be all, Marat.” She waited until the other man left before she said, “This project has been years in the planning. I know you’re all anxious to begin, but there are details yet to be finalized. Which female did you contact and how far did it go?”
His hands gradually released and he lowered his arms, but he remained close, towering over her. “Are you disappointed that I’m investigating my options? I’ve seen the way you look at me. Everyone has. Do you have personal plans for my future or will I be free to choose like everyone else?”
“I haven’t decided yet.” She wasn’t sure why she was being so honest, evasion was the wiser course.
“But one of us will be your mate and the choice is yours?” His expression was openly challenging.
“Is it so high a price to pay?” She licked her lips, wishing he’d do more than stare. “My mate will gain access to all the power of Rodymia.”
“Why is that?” He leaned down, bringing his lips within a hair’s breadth of hers. His breath was warm and inviting. She could almost taste his urgent kiss. “Who are you really? You’re no mere scientist. This operation has to be costing you a fortune.”
“I have connections.” She was so breathless she could barely speak and her heart pounded with excitement. Would he force her back over her desk or take her roughly from behind? She didn’t care how he did it as long as he filled her aching emptiness. “My resources are nearly limitless.”
His hand suddenly tangled in her hair and he pulled her head farther back. “Too bad I’m not for sale.” He laughed then and moved back, leaving her humiliated and angry.
“It doesn’t have to be you,” she snapped. “I told you I haven’t decided. Now stop avoiding the issue. Which female did you contact and how far did it go?”
“I’d only intended to watch her, but an opportunity arose for a quick conversation and I took advantage of it. The exchange was fast and superficial. She knows nothing about me, not even my real name.”
Still reeling from his rejection, she scrambled to regain her composure. “You’re talking about Angie Logan. Correct?” It was time he learned exactly how much she knew and the true scope of her power. He might not be for sale, but he was helpless without her.
“Yes, but why does it matter? No harm was done.”
“I’m not so sure. Allenton and Lor dar Joon were asking questions about darling Angie. That sounds like harm to me.”
His expression froze then shock and hostility burned through his momentary pause. “Allenton is on Earth? When did that happen?”
“Six days ago. I’ve been littering their path with false leads, but you might have created a real problem with your unapproved antics.”
“I’m not afraid of Allenton,” he growled, literally growled.
The reaction was so pointless it made her laugh. “You should be far more concerned about Lor dar Joon. He’s a Master Level mage trained by the most powerful Mystic on Ontariese.”
Nazerel shook his head, clearly surprised by the revelation. “How did they learn where we’d gone? We were so careful to cover our tracks.”
“Don’t panic. I knew they’d send someone after you. I’d hoped they would all be Shadow Assassins, but we can still work with this.”
He didn’t seem nearly as convinced or as arrogant. “Allenton is as sanctimonious as Varrik. They both make me sick.”
“As long as we stay a step ahead of them, we’ll be fine. But we must know what they know.”
“If they’re trying to use Angie to find me, I can probably use her to find them. Besides, I wouldn’t mind seeing her again.”
“You better hope to the five hells they haven’t found her or it will be the end of you.” Allowing his rejection to fuel her anger, she glared into his eyes. “The Mystics cannot be allowed to find any of my facilities.”
“Angie doesn’t know the location of any of your facilities, so how is she a danger to us?”
“She came in contact with you, so they could scan her memory and isolate your energy pattern. Many Mystics can track energy patterns. That’s likely why Lor is here.”
“If that’s true. Finding Angie won’t stop them. Allenton has known me for years.”
“When was the last time you connected on an emotional level with Allenton?”
“I’m not into men.” He looked genuinely horrified by the suggestion.
She laughed. “Why do you immediately make my question sexual? Anger is an emotion. So is joy. Have you and Allenton ever hunted together or fought side by side?”
Nazerel shook his head. “We each led our own team with our own missions.”
“Then we’re back to Angie. Find her and bring her here. I guess whether I like it or not, the hunt begins tonight.”
* * * * *
Lor slipped into Tori’s mind with the effortless grace of a dancer. Allenton had been brute strength and clumsy power, shoving the images at her with rough determination. She didn’t think Allenton had been intentionally hurtful. He just lacked Lor’s control.
“What did you want to see more clearly?” Lor’s fingers slipped up into her hair then returned to the nape of her neck, his touch so light tingles slid down her spine.
She was still trying to process the fact that they were transmitting information directly into her mind. Were they…psychic? The word had always brought to mind tarot card readers and cheesy helplines. But this was undeniably real. They were communicating telepathically. Or was this science rather than mysticism? Maybe they were part of some experimental project that was testing neurotransmitters and bio-integrated technologies.
Focusing on the lingering scene, she forced her rambling speculation to the back of her mind. “I need to see their faces.” Her voice sounded breathy and hoarse. She was tempted to open her eyes and see if he was affected by her nearness, but dismissed the impulse with a self-recriminating sigh. He was an investigator. As soon as he learned what he needed to know he’d be on his way.
She pressed her lips together and concentrated on the image of the female. Though the scene was animated, she couldn’t hear what they were saying. The woman fiddled with her hair and titled her face as if she wanted to be kissed. All very Angie-like motions. The man moved to her side as someone shouldered their way past them and the woman shifted as well. Tori couldn’t see her face now, but she could see the upper portion of her shoulder blade. An angel’s face and upswept wings peeked out from beneath the woman’s blouse.
“It’s Angie,” she whispered, dread accompanying the simple statement.
“Are you sure,” Lor persisted.
“I recognize the tattoo. She got it on her eighteenth birthday. It’s Angie.”
Allenton pulled out with the same care he’d entered and Tori gasped. The room around her spun and she swayed. Lor wrapped his arm around her waist, steadying her. “Take a deep breath. The dizziness will pass.”
“He wouldn’t have risked contact unless he was seriously interested in her. He’ll come for her in the next day or two.” Allenton began to pace the small living room. His anxious energy was palpable.
“Luckily, she’s not here so he’ll have no choice but to move on.” Lor’s hand flexed against her side.
The spinning gradually stopped, but Tori remained tucked against Lor’s side. “Can you set a trap for him? Use this opportunity to take him out of commission?”
Both men looked at her. Lor’s disapproval was obvious, but Allenton seemed interested. “He’ll only return if he thinks she’s here. We need someone to bait the trap, someone who looks enough—”
“No,” Lor snapped. “You are not putting Tori in danger.”
“He’s right. Angie and I get confused for each other all the time. My hair is darker, but if he saw me through the window or something, he’d probably think I was her.”
“It’s too dangerous. I will not al
low you to—”
“It’s not your choice to make.” She squared her shoulders, refusing to be browbeaten by a stranger. “If this man is a danger to Angie, then I’ll help catch him in any way I can.”
“She must appear to be alone.” Allenton shot Lor a look full of meaning she didn’t quite understand.
“I hate everything about this plan.”
Allenton acknowledged the complaint with a solemn nod. “It might be our only opportunity.”
It took much longer for Lor to accept the inevitable. He blew out a frustrated sigh and reached into his ear. “Take my audiocom. We will be nearby, but we’ll need to stay out of sight.”
“I understand.” She took the tiny device from him and rubbed the tip with her finger. Sharing headphones always made her squeamish. A nice long French kiss would be far more intimate, yet the thought didn’t tighten her stomach. She smiled at the inconsistency of her hang-ups and slipped the audiocom into her ear. “Can you hear me?”
“Perfectly,” Lor offered her a reassuring smile. “Now try it without speaking the words out loud.”
She hesitated. Did he mean this thing would transmit her thoughts?
That’s exactly what I mean. His deep voice sounded within her mind, the words so clear she gasped.
She caught Allenton rolling his eyes in her peripheral vision. What had caused his reaction? Or was he just a snide asshole?
Lor chuckled, obviously hearing her rambling thoughts.
“It’s a prop,” Allenton told her. Lor anchored a comlink in your mind before he withdrew.
“Do you not comprehend the concept of discretion?” Lor turned on the other man and Tori took an automatic step back. “Our mission guidelines are clear. No unnecessary exposure.”
“I don’t give a damn. We don’t have time to break it to her gently or concoct a plausible excuse. You might think I’m being cruel, but she needs to understand what sort of person is coming for her.”
Lor paused and rubbed his chin. Did that help him think? She’d seen him do it before. It was kind of cute on someone so utterly masculine.
Not waiting for Lor’s permission, Allenton turned back to her. “We have technology that allows us to disappear. We will walk out the front door and pretend to leave, but we’ll return. You just won’t be able to see us.”
Something in the way he’d said “technology” made her suspect it was another prop. A shiver dropped down her spine as possibilities exploded in her mind. She took the audiocom out of her ear and looked at it. The device didn’t look that different from the wireless headsets in use on Earth, just much smaller. Were they from the future? A parallel universe where magic was real? Another planet?
“You’re not from Eastern Europe, are you?” Her voice quieted as her anxiety mounted.
“The details are not important,” Lor insisted. “But Allenton is right. You need to know that Nazerel has powers similar to ours. He can flash into a room without warning or…” He looked at Allenton and asked, “Can he form compulsions?”
“I don’t think so. It’s not like we posted a list of our abilities. Alpha hunters can be competitive, but we bragged about results not techniques.”
“What is an ‘alpha hunter’?” Tension coiled inside her belly and their silence only made her more uncomfortable. She slipped the audiocom into her pocket, hoping Lor wouldn’t notice. She needed some sort of tangible proof that this was really happening. “Who are you? Where did you come from?” Fear rippled through her confusion and her gaze moved toward the door. If she made a run for it, would they let her go? But where did that leave Angie? If Tori didn’t help these two catch Nazerel, what would he do with Angie. “What does this man want with her anyway?”
Allenton took a step toward her and Lor grabbed his arm. “Don’t.”
“She needs to know.”
“No she doesn’t.” Finality made Lor’s tone sharp. “We can protect her without full disclosure.”
“I’d rather know the truth,” she stressed. “No matter how unpleasant or bizarre.”
Lor shook his head, but Allenton twisted free from his grasp and moved in front of her. “Our world is very different from yours.”
“Your ‘world’? You’re from a different planet?”
“We’re from a different galaxy,” Lor muttered, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation’s turn. “And not all of it is that different from Earth. Allenton and Nazerel belong to a group of criminals called the Shadow Assassins.”
“We were exonerated of all wrong doing,” Allenton snapped.
“Only because your leader brainwashed Echo into championing your cause!” Lor took a deep breath, his face averted as he regained his composure. “Fifteen of the most dangerous Shadow Assassins escaped from the military complex where they’d been contained and slinked away to Earth.” Only when his features were completely calm again did he return his gaze to Tori. “Nazerel is the leader of these rebels and he must be found as quickly as possible.”
They still hadn’t answered the most important question. “What does he want with Angie?”
“Shadow Assassins hunt for their mates and hold them prisoner until they’re impregnated.”
Allenton bristled. “She doesn’t need to know—”
“You’re the one who insisted on full disclosure.” Lor was shouting again. “So by the gods we’ll tell her everything. Nazerel has set his sights on your sister. He intends to capture her and seduce her over and over until she is carrying his child. If the child is a girl, she’ll be released. If she bears a boy, Nazerel will keep his son and your sister will never see the child again.”
What he described sounded so barbaric, so inhuman that—inhuman. But they weren’t human. If what they said was true, they had escaped to Earth from somewhere out there among the stars. Her mind was paralyzed by the possibilities. She couldn’t even form a coherent question.
“We’re not going to allow any of that to happen.” Allenton glared at Lor. “Protecting human females is why we’ve come. We will find every last rebel and return them to our world. There will be no captive mates and no stolen children.”
“But it’s true? That’s how it’s done on your world?” Just the possibility that any woman had been subjected to that cycle of events made Tori physically ill.
“The old ways have been abolished and the hunt outlawed,” Allenton assured.
“Which is why they came here,” Lor muttered, then heaved a ragged sigh. “Allenton is correct. We will protect you and prevent any of the rebels from claiming mates. The practice was intolerable on Ontariese and we won’t allow it to spread to Earth.”
“Ontariese. That’s the name of your planet?” Had she really just asked that question? This was so unbelievable.
“I am Lor dar Joon, Master Level mage of the planet Ontariese.” He punctuated the statement with a sweeping bow then motioned to his companion.
“I am Allenton descended from the North, leader of the Mystic Militia.”
“I don’t think either of those titles is going to fit on a business card.” She allowed herself a nervous laugh then took a long, calming breath. “Victoria Logan, set designer.” After a stunned pause she added, “Welcome to Earth.”
* * * * *
Meticulously cloaked in Shadow magic, Nazerel stood in the clearing across from Angie’s apartment. Greenbelt. His language infusion provided the proper word for the grassy space on which he stood. Every word in the English language had been implanted in his brain, but many required context for complete assimilation. It was as if he had an invisible translator following him around whispering words in his ear as they became appropriate.
Beautiful, desirable, female, mate. Those words had popped into his mind the first time he looked at Angie. Unlike the Ontarian peasants, a hunter’s usual prey, Angie had been self-assured and unafraid. Her bright blue gaze met his with obvious interest and he’d never seen hair like hers before. Every color of the harvest threaded through the golden strands, dar
ing him to bury his fingers and anchor her head in place as he ravaged her mouth.
His long-neglected cock stirred at the thought of touching, seducing and finally claiming her. The pleasure givers that Rodyte bitch arranged to service his men had held no appeal for Nazerel. He wanted Angie, a female who was his and his alone.
His obsession had begun even before their brief meeting in the noisy gambling hall. Casino. He’d spent hours reading every detail compiled in Sevrin’s… What had she called them? Dossiers, his internal translator whispered. Many of the females had been beautiful. They were all young and healthy, but there had been something about Angie that spoke to him, attracted and tempted him. And tonight she would be his. Well, she’d be within his grasp, maybe even in his bed, but the battle for her surrender would be long and difficult. He smiled as anticipation swept through him like a drug. He loved nothing better than a good challenge.
Horizontal slats—blinds—partly obscured the front window. He could see someone moving about inside, but they were little more than a shadowed outline. He crossed the parking lot and approached the front door, but he had no intention of announcing his presence. To disperse his corporeal body, he had to release the Shadow shield that concealed him from view. If he didn’t time it just right, he would become visible as he sank through the privacy panel. The same would be true in reverse as he materialized inside the dwelling. It had taken many cycles to master simultaneous transition.
He placed his hands against the privacy panel and gradually released his physical form, allowing his energy to slowly pass through the wood. As he immerged on the inside of her apartment, he manifested a Shadow shield, expanding the field gradually as each centimeter of his body reformed. He took his time, ensuring that nothing he did alerted the occupant to his presence.
The front room was dark, the television’s screen vacant. Light in the sleeping area drew him toward the back of the dwelling, but he paused. Ever cautious, he activated his integrated scanners and analyzed the results reflected on the inside of his right cornea. Environmental statistics scrolled first, followed by energy readings. A familiar energy pattern appeared and he tensed. Deactivating the system so he could focus on his external sensors, he quickly confirmed his suspicion. Allenton had been here, might be here still.
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