by Cecy Robson
I stared at his chest. It was easier than meeting his eyes. My reaction seemed justified at the time—and I won’t lie, I didn’t regret fighting those weres. The way they disrespected my relationship with Aric, and how they spoke of him was inexcusable. But how I’d torn the were’s lips from her face, my desire to kill them, and how I’d treated and embarrassed Aric wasn’t me.
Misha had tempted me to bed more than once, but despite his incredible beauty, I’d always turned him down. Why? Because Aric was who I loved and wanted.
I knew he felt the same. So why did I react so irrationally? I should have confronted him privately….
Guilt and shame caused my eyes to sting with tears as I lifted my chin. “Aric…I’m so sorry, love.”
“I am, too,” he said. “About everything.”
He bent to meet my lips. The awfulness of the day melted as he swept his mouth over mine. The heat between us surged and welded our bodies closer. But when his tongue flicked and teased mine, only the fire of passion remained.
I ran my hands through his hair, smearing the remains of splattered mud, but I didn’t care. I needed to feel close to him.
Our kiss became more frantic and sensual. His hand slid over my breasts and I inched closer. I mewed when he pinched the centers and bucked hard against him.
Aric’s growl vibrated against me. He was aroused, and knowing sent me into a tailspin of yearning. I grunted as my feminine regions throbbed, demanding his touch.
He slipped his hand beneath my skirt, skimming my inner thigh. I broke our kiss and clasped his wrist before it was too late. “Not here, wolf,” I gasped.
Oh God, I wanted him. But although my tigress insisted that sex in a vehicle was no big deal, I had to remind her we were on the main road that led to the Den.
Aric glanced out the window while he worked to catch his breath. “Right,” he said slowly. He pulled away slightly and rubbed his face. “For a minute there, I forgot where we were.” His stare grew smoky. “I don’t think I would have stopped if you hadn’t told me to. It’s been a lonely week without you.”
“I know.” Trickles of my loneliness found their way into my voice. Aric and I were typically all over each other and at times spent the day making love. That wasn’t the case lately. In fact, we’d only had sex once that week. I missed his touch and the way his body moved inside of mine.
My hand slid across his chest to clasp his shoulder. “It was hard not to let you keep going. But it’s just not the right place, wolf.”
His focus trailed from my hand to my face. “I know. I’d rather be in our bed…or in the woods, up against a tree, leaves raining down on us when I take you—” He cleared his throat when my jaw dropped, but then chuckled. “As you can see, I’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“Apparently so.” I laughed, too, but my face remained heated.
My heart panged the longer I took him in, knowing we couldn’t stay here. “I guess I should take you back.”
Aric shook his head. “I wish you didn’t have to, but I have a lot that needs my attention. Gem and I are meeting with the coven. Genevieve’s had to take in more witches, since we lost too many head witches to the war with the Tribe. It’s been a lot for her. I asked her to bring in Delilah and Betty Sue to help her, seeing how they used to head their own covens. It sounded like a good idea at the time.”
I raised my brows. Head witches didn’t play nice. “How’s it sound now?”
“In some ways still good. In other ways…not as good as I’d hoped. I’ve known Delilah forever; she’s smart, spunky, and a good leader. She and Genevieve were getting along fine until Betty Sue and Genevieve started clashing. Betty Sue isn’t impressed with Genevieve’s ability to lead and has told her as much. But given the number of witches who are now a part of her coven, Genevieve needs her, and Betty Sue knows it. Gemini and I are serving as arbitrators. We can’t have the lower witches unsupervised. Too much can go wrong if they’re left on their own.”
“Like what?”
Aric passed his hand through his muddy hair. “They can go dark for one. And the last thing I need on my watch is another psycho witch running around starting shit.”
I huffed. “No kidding.”
Aric pulled me closer and I let my head fall against his shoulder. For all he had to do, he didn’t seem anxious to leave. “I really am sorry about today, wolf. I don’t know why I lost it the way that I did.”
He kissed the tip of my nose, making me smile. “I can say the same about my behavior. Everything has been setting me off lately. The only time I can settle is when I’m with you, but with all this shit revolving around Shah and my duties here, it limits the time I can spend with you.”
He didn’t need to remind me. Aric had been coming home close to midnight every night and leaving as early as dawn. He was beyond exhausted. I’d never seen him so drained.
His fingers trailed along the ridge of my spine. “We’ve been through a lot to get where we are, sweetness. My best guess is that we’re both more affected than we realize.”
“I hope that’s all it is.”
He stroked my chin. “Even if it’s not, it will be. You are my world. Nothing means anything to me without you.”
His words made me teary. Aric kissed my eyelids before a single drop could fall. We held each other a little longer before I drove him back to the Den.
Heidi now stood on guard duty. Another were was filling in the hole where they must have dug out the idiot I’d buried. She waved to me and added a wink. Yeah, she knew what I’d done and didn’t seem to mind one bit.
I pulled up to the main building and idled at the curb. Aric paused before getting out, appearing lost in his thoughts.
“What is it?” I asked.
Aric drummed his fingers on the armrest. “We picked up a lead on Shah’s whereabouts today. We have wolves investigating now. If it proves valid, they’re heading in. But if they fail, I’ll have to leave for Malaysia tonight and take over the mission.”
Okay…so not expecting that bombshell. “You’ll leave for Malaysia, tonight?”
“If it’s a dead lead, or if I can send someone in my place, I won’t have to go. The problem is, the compound where we suspect Shah is hidden will require a more experienced team to infiltrate. I don’t know if the team that’s covering can handle it.”
Which meant it was dangerous and required the most capable weres serving the Alliance. That would be Aric and his Warriors. “If I go, I promise to be careful and not take any unnecessary chances,” he said, managing to smile. “After all, I have a fiancée to return to.”
I didn’t want him to go. Not only because of the danger factor, but because of everything that had been happening. Aric and I weren’t at the top of our game. Our erratic behavior proved as much.
I groaned. This was the part of fighting evil that sucked. Evil didn’t care if we were tired, fighting, or emotionally unavailable. In fact, it counted on it.
“All right. Just be safe and hurry back.” I tried not to tear up, but it was hard. “I need you with me.”
He waited a moment to see if I’d say anything more. When I didn’t, he kissed me goodbye. “Don’t worry, okay?”
But I would.
I considered what he said, then drove straight to Misha’s house.
Chapter 8
I tried calling Misha on his secret bat line, but no one answered. It seemed strange. He always took my calls whether he answered them directly or someone else did it for him. It wasn’t a good sign when I pulled up to the main gate of his estate and found one of his vampire snipers holding a giant assault rifle…and dressed like a giant Teletubbie.
“What?” he asked me defensively when I continued to gawk at him.
“I take it Misha is still in Europe?”
“How did you know?”
Instead of answering him, I drove onto the massive estate, over the small bridge and around the fountain. Specks of memories from the day continued to prod me during t
he drive, but I couldn’t seem to focus on any one event for too long. My interaction with Makawee seemed especially clouded.
I rubbed at my sternum, wondering why I was having such a hard time concentrating when I caught Tim waving at me from the front of the house. I slipped out of my SUV, debating if I was making a huge mistake in the Aric department by coming to Misha’s home without telling him. It wasn’t as if I wanted to keep it a secret. I’d just forgotten to mention…I rubbed my sternum again. Had I mentioned it?
“Celia, what the hell?” Tim hollered.
I tried not to roll my eyes when I saw what he was wearing. My first clue that things were batshit crazy at vamp camp should have been the sniper dressed like a giant stuffed toy. But I wasn’t as familiar with him and decided to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt.
Ha, ha. Silly me.
Tim shot me an impatient look before urging me forward again. I sighed and conceded, despite that he was dressed like a firefighter. A half-naked firefighter.
Sure, he had the hat, the boots, the pants, and the suspenders, but nothing else. I wasn’t up to speed on what firefighters wore beneath their firefighting gear, but I was pretty damn sure it included a shirt and some underwear. And I was absolutely positive it didn’t include a naked girl covered in soot strapped to their backs.
“The master has grown anxious about finding Shah. He apologizes about not being able to brief you directly, but he’s busy and— What the hell’s your problem?”
He was pissed that I was covering my eyes. What did he expect? The girl on his back was getting more adventurous with her feet. They fiddled beneath his loose-fitting pants in disturbing, jerking motions.
Did I mention he wasn’t wearing underwear? “Tim, I’m not really comfortable with your food fondling you while we’re trying to have a conversation.”
“For someone mounting a werewolf every night, you’re a real prude, you know that?” He motioned to his soot-covered good time. “Sunny, go to my room and wait there.” I didn’t look up until I heard Sunny skip up the steps. “Anyway,” he said. “The master and the grandmaster want Shah found, and we believe we finally have a good lead.”
“Okay, and where might he be?”
“The master?”
“No. Shah.”
“It’s not a real thing. It’s a rock, Celia,” he said slowly.
“I know, but this whole personality of his—”
“It’s a rock,” Tim repeated, growing more impatient. He turned to the house. “Just get your ass inside. I’ll have Agnes tell you everything she knows.”
On our way in, I spotted a couple of vampires dressed as Captain Hook, Papa Smurf, and Colonel Sanders. It took everything I had to keep my face neutral. A bored vampire is a naughty vampire, I supposed.
We entered the colossal estate Misha called his house and headed straight to the library. It was my favorite room in the ginormous Mountain Craftsman. Beautiful hand-carved cherry bookcases lined the back wall, and an immense fireplace at its center added to the old-world charm. But it wasn’t its elegance that drew me in. It was the memories I had there with Misha. We’d had some of our best talks here, and it was the room where he and I became friends.
As soon as we entered, Agnes glanced up from the pile of old scrolls rolled out in front of her. Her lacey black bra protruded through the white shirt of her naughty Catholic schoolgirl uniform. Unlike the other vampires I’d passed, this wasn’t a costume, but rather her choice of everyday wear.
She adjusted her tiny librarian glasses when she saw me. Her almond-shaped eyes had supernatural vision. She didn’t need the damn things. But her meals found them sexy and I supposed that was good enough for Agnes. “We think we’ve found Shah—or at the very least what country it’s in,” she said.
“Cool. And where might he be?”
“He?” she asked.
Tim laughed and motioned to me. “Our freakier-than-hell mistress here thinks Shah should be referred to as ‘he’ because of his personality, right, Celia?” He returned his focus to Agnes, laughing harder. “Can you believe that shit?”
I grinned.
And emptied a pitcher of ice water down his loose-fitting pants.
Tim jerked away from me. “What the fuck?”
“Quit being a prick,” I hissed at him. I turned back to Agnes while Tim did his best to empty his pants. “You were saying?”
She leaned back in her high-back leather seat. “First answer me this: Do the mongrels know where he is?”
I tried not to grumble. The Alliance had picked the name more for show it seemed. “They have a lead and are tracking him now.”
She smiled. “Where?”
“I’m not sure.”
Her smile widened and she exchanged glances with Tim. Like weres, vamps could sniff lies. “Where?” she asked again.
This time I couldn’t hold back my grumbling. “Malaysia.”
My news seemed to please her. She swiveled in her seat and smirked at Tim. “Told you I was right. Alert the team. We leave in an hour.”
Ordinarily, her smugness would have annoyed me. But who was I kidding? We needed to find Shah. If I had to confirm suspicions in the process, I’d do it.
Tim left like a passing breeze. If not for the squeak squeak of his boots and the chunks of ice he tossed over his shoulder, I wouldn’t have even heard him.
This time, it was my turn to smile. “Now, tell me what you know.”
Agnes adjusted her glasses, annoyed. She didn’t like being ordered around unless it was by Misha specifically. But Misha had given me the title of Mistress of the House. And that title came with power. Power over his undead. Mwahahaha.
“He’s being held by Dilip Singh, the lead geek who created the videogame based on Shah’s legend. Dilip was raised in India and frequently returns to visit family.” She clicked her tongue. “One of his last few trips was to Ajanur village—nowhere near any of his relatives, but coincidentally the same village where the Madiyan Kulom temple is located.”
“Shah’s last known home sweet home.”
“Correct,” Agnes said.
My tigress perked up. “How do you know Dilip’s the one who has him for sure? Weren’t there three other programmers who helped develop the game?”
Agnes played with one of her long thick braids. “He took eight people with him to Ajanur. Three were his fellow programmers like you said, one was his girlfriend, two were young archaeologists, and the two others were locals familiar with the area. Five have died since the profits from Shah’s videogame started rolling in.” She lifted her phone when it buzzed in a text and checked the screen. “Make that six. The first was Dilip’s girlfriend, the next were his programmers. Guess who died next?”
“The archaeologists.” Unlike Agnes, I didn’t see this as a fun game of Clue.
“You’re right,” she said, barely batting an eye. “The female died first. It took Dilip longer to find the male.” She tapped the screen of her phone. “But now he has. If the locals he hired aren’t dead yet, they soon will be.”
“What about the police?”
“What about them?” she asked.
I held out my hand. “Millions at stake. Nine people involved—eight dead—or on the to-die list. It doesn’t take much to narrow down Dilip as a suspect.”
Agnes leaned forward and glared at me like I was too stupid to breathe. “He has Shah, and therefore all the power he needs to keep suspicion off him, or send the police after the kid who pushed him off the swing in second grade if he wanted to.” She laughed without humor. “The thing is, this fool doesn’t know everything he’s in for with Shah.”
I crossed my arms. Agnes was having too much fun. “What’s Shah going to do to him, Agnes?”
“Whatever he wants now,” she sang. “Dilip’s his holder, but not his master. To think he ruled over Shah was his first mistake.”
“Just tell me what he’s going to do,” I said, growling as a result of my mounting impatience.
“An asshole?” I asked slowly.
“That’s right. Basically, once Shah feels he’s made a fair trade, he starts to fuck with his holder.”
Okay. This wasn’t necessarily a good thing for us. “In what way?”
“Any way he pleases. Let’s say Dilip wants world domination now, riches beyond his wildest dreams.” She giggled. “Or say an ice cream sandwich. Shah could choose to fill his entire house with ice cream sandwiches and nothing more.”
I considered what she told me. “Shah has reached notoriety and fame because of the game Dilip created for him.” Agnes nodded. “In exchange, he’s given Dilip money, power, protection, and exoneration from possible murder.”
“Again you’re correct,” Agnes agreed.
“And now that he’s fulfilled his duties, it’s time for him to have fun with Dilip.”
Agnes’s wicked grin was confirmation enough.
A thought occurred to me. “Tell me this, does Shah have to be with Dilip at all times?”
“No. Dilip just has to be the last one to touch him to still be considered his holder.”
“If that’s the case, Shah could be anywhere.”
“Technically yes, but Dilip’s too greedy and too paranoid to leave him behind.” She frowned when her laptop swooshed, announcing she had an email. I watched her scroll down her screen, her eyes taking in everything quickly. When she finished, she leaned back in her chair, scrutinizing me closely. “A were team invaded Dilip’s Malaysian compound tonight. It seems they failed,” she said when I didn’t respond. “Their bodies were just found in a nearby river, riddled with cursed gold bullets.”