Darkness Taunts

by Susan Illene

  “I almost didn’t see that coming until too late,” Lucas said in a low voice, drawing my attention back to him.

  “See what coming?”

  He pulled away and crouched on his knees between me and the car door. I couldn’t see his face with his head bowed, but his clenched hands revealed something of his turbulent mood. A full minute passed before he looked up. His face was carefully blank.

  “I always know when you’re about to die.”

  My jaw dropped. “Since when?”

  He rocked back on his heels and stared up at the night. “For a long time.”

  “I don’t suppose you’re going to get more specific than that?” I asked.

  “No.”

  He moved away, closing the car door with an audible click. A moment later he settled into the other side. I sat in stunned silence, trying to think of something to say—to understand what his statement meant. As he drove from the parking lot and headed out onto the street, I kept opening my mouth to say something only to close it again.

  “How?” I finally managed to say. “Can you at least tell me that much?

  His face remained an impenetrable mask. “There are forces at work far more powerful than you and I, Melena.”

  “The angels,” I said. Something about that rang true because I couldn’t think of anything else that had the ability to make Lucas do something he didn’t want to.

  He didn’t respond, but his jaw ticked as if I’d hit a nerve.

  I mulled that over, examining the pieces of our past now that I had this new information. Then it hit me. “You have to protect me don’t you?” I asked.

  He glanced over before turning his attention back to the road. “Yes.”

  It was as if my blinders had just been taken off. He’d never saved me because of any altruistic notions or real concern. It had been an obligation. My whole world shifted at the realization that every act he’d committed was influenced by his duty to protect me. I’d only thought my life was dark and ugly before.

  A laugh rumbled up from my chest. “No wonder you’ve always hated me so much. It must kill you to have to protect a sensor.”

  His shoulders stiffened. “I don’t hate you, Melena. Perhaps at one time, but not now.”

  It suddenly horrified me to think I’d given myself to a man who saw me as nothing more than an obligation. A thing to protect. But there had always been an attraction between us. Maybe he’d decided using that would make me more amenable to him, make his job easier. I’d be damned if I’d let him think it worked.

  “What?” I sneered. “Did spreading my legs for you tonight change your opinion?”

  He jerked the steering wheel and swung the car into a nearby parking lot. Thankfully no one was nearby at this time of night to take note of the screeching tires. As soon as the vehicle came to a stop, Lucas got out. I undid my seatbelt and started to get out as well, but he got to me first. Before I could blink he had me pressed up against the side of the car.

  His heavy breathing brushed my face. “Do not reduce what we did with each other to some vulgar and repulsive act.”

  I could feel my face turning red. “Then what was it, Lucas? You fucked me in a public bathroom. Let’s not pretend it was some romantic gesture on your part.”

  He gripped the sides of my head. “You’re a fool if you think I’d take you—a sensor—for any reason less than wanting you so badly nothing else mattered. We expected a horde of demons to attack any minute, but all I could think about was burying myself so far inside of you I couldn’t find my way out. I wanted everyone in that place to know you were the only woman I wanted.”

  He wrapped me in his arms. “Stop listening to your damned woman’s intuition for once and use that cursed gift of yours to see I’m telling you the truth.”

  I closed my eyes. His musky scent, his nearness, the things he said—it all made it hard for me to think. The one thing I did know was he hadn’t lied. Lucas wanted me, but it went deeper than that. The passion and desperation in his voice revealed so much more. They teased at the loneliness inside and made me yearn for things that I shouldn’t.

  We were at the opposite ends of a line that had been drawn a long time ago. Taking that risky step to meet him in the middle meant I’d have to look past our history and all the other things that kept us at odds. Enemies to lovers. I didn’t even know if that was possible outside of books and movies.

  “Did you know what might happen between us when you brought me to Juneau?” I asked, pulling my head away to look up at him.

  “I’d suspected,” he said, running his fingers through my hair. “I’d hoped to avoid it, but knew it might not be possible with you nearby all the time.”

  The thought he’d wanted me before Juneau filled my mind with guilty pleasure. That he’d been as attracted to me all this time as I’d been to him put us on an equal footing for once. But that wasn’t why he brought me here.

  “If your job is to keep me alive, why risk involving me with the demons?”

  His lips lifted in a self-deprecating smile. “I owe Aeson my life. If not for him, I’d have been killed off the same way as other nephilim centuries ago. He needed help to save his city and this was a way to repay him. You were the only sensor we believed could be relied upon. I thought if I put enough protective measures in place I could keep you safe. Stupid, perhaps, but I’d thought it possible.”

  “Now you regret that decision?” My arms tightened around him of their own volition. I didn’t want him to regret it.

  His eyes turned heated. “In an ideal world, you’d let me chain you to my bed where the only danger you’d be in is me fucking you too much.”

  Moisture pooled between my legs. He had a way with words tonight that could get me furious one minute and turned on in the next. Then again, maybe it had always been that way and I was just now realizing it.

  “Let you?” I asked.

  Lucas took a step back and undid the fasteners in my coat before pulling it open. Cool air hit my heated skin as he looked me up and down. “I’m forbidden from taking your free will away unless you’re in immediate danger.”

  “As if that ever stopped you,” I said.

  “It does more often than you know,” he said. “Every time I interfere with your life I’m forced to pay for it.”

  I didn’t get a chance to ponder on that further. He snaked his hands inside my coat and slid them under my skirt. His fingertips were cold as they gripped the bare skin of my ass and lifted me up. My legs automatically wrapped around his waist. With my skirt bunched up, it left me open to feeling the erection hard in his pants.

  I should have been embarrassed, considering we were in an open parking lot, even if only one car had driven by on the street since we’d parked. The fact we were bloody and recovering from injuries didn’t matter either. Lucas had a way of making lustful acts seem natural no matter the conditions. Maybe Micah was right and I would end up corrupted by his brother.

  His lips met mine even as one of his hands crept closer to the opening between my legs. I moaned as a finger slipped inside. My body rocked against it, wanting more. Nothing short of all of him would be enough. He deepened the kiss and I knew I’d gladly let him take me right here.

  “Please, Lucas. Don’t wait.”

  He leaned me back against the car and switched one of his hands to the front. Two fingers slid inside this time and they pumped hard enough to have me panting for breath. I clung to his arms, though I knew he wouldn’t let me fall. It was all I could do not to scream as he brought me closer to the edge. I was totally open to him under the night sky and I didn’t care.

  “I enjoy watching you like this,” he said. “I’ve wondered for some time what it would be like with you.”

  “Oh, and how is it?” I gasped out.

  He rubbed his thumb across my clitoris, sending that spark I needed to explode. I came in his hands as he kept moving them to draw out the orgasm as long as possible. My body jerked over and over, but somehow I
contained my scream. He withdrew his fingers and pressed up close again after I started to relax. This time I kissed him, needing an anchor in the storm.

  It didn’t last for more than a few seconds before I stiffened and pulled away. We weren’t going to be alone for long. “Shit,” I said under my breath.

  “What?” he asked, looking down at me with concern in his gaze. I’d never get used to seeing that.

  I unwrapped my legs and slid back to the ground. “That group of sensors…they’re heading this way.”

  They were moving toward us fast. With shaking fingers I closed my jacket and refastened the buttons. Lucas stepped back. “Which direction?” he asked.

  “From the north,” I said. “They’ve sped up and should be coming up the road any moment.”

  He turned around and gripped my arms. “Stay by the car and don’t go near them. Do you understand?”

  The independent woman in me bristled at his order, but I’d play along for now. He’d gone into protective mode. I’d seen him do it before, though I hadn’t realized what it was at the time. “Just don’t kill them, okay?”

  His face hardened. “I won’t—if they don’t attack.”

  I figured that was the best I’d get out of him. “Fine.”

  We turned to face the threat together. A blue panel van pulled into the parking lot a minute later and stopped just past the entrance, blocking anyone from getting in or out. I could sense four sensors inside the vehicle, plus a human. Their emotions were a mix of excitement and anger. I had the feeling this meeting would not go well—as if we hadn’t had enough to deal with tonight. All I wanted at that moment was to go crawl in bed and sleep for a week.

  Two of the sensors got out of the front and a third hopped out from the side, sliding the door closed behind him. They walked about ten feet forward and stopped. I recognized the middle guy as the leader, Jerome.

  “I’m disappointed in you, Melena,” he said loudly enough to reach me. “I’d had such high hopes for you until my scout saw you with him.” He nodded at Lucas.

  I crossed my arms. “What? Are you spying on me?”

  The damn man had thought to use humans to do his dirty work. I should have considered that.

  “Did I not say we had to check you out first? This goes to show why we can’t take the word of a stranger, even if she is supposed to be one of us.”

  So he’d busted me. I’d hoped to maybe learn a trick or two from them when I could get out from under Lucas’ watchful eye, but it looked like that opportunity had closed.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  He thrust his chin out. “To speak with him.”

  Lucas started to move forward, but I grabbed his arm. “I don’t trust them,” I whispered. “They seem a little too confident facing you.”

  “They can’t kill me, Melena. I’ll be fine.”

  I gave him an imploring look. “As someone once said to me, there are worse things than death. Be careful.”

  He squeezed my hand. “Stay here.”

  Jerome’s face had turned furious. If his eyes could have shot daggers at Lucas, they would have. The nephilim walked up to them with his usual confidence, not showing an ounce of the weakness he must have felt. Damn those demons. The timing of this meeting couldn’t have been worse.

  “I know you, nephilim,” Jerome said. “You killed my brother.”

  Lucas stopped a few paces in front of them and spread his feet apart. “I’ve killed many men’s brothers over the years, but I’m sure yours deserved it.”

  Jerome’s fist clenched. “Thirty years ago you killed him. We weren’t even after you for that mission, but you stepped into the fight anyway. Ripped my brother’s head clean off and tossed it away like trash. I’ve never forgotten.”

  Oh, hell. The method of the brother’s death wouldn’t help him remember. I wasn’t even sure if the time frame would narrow it down.

  Lucas studied his nails. “I’m sure he made a nice notch in my proverbial bed post, but is there a point to all this?”

  Jerome’s hand jerked. I imagined the only reason he didn’t hit the nephilim was he knew it would hurt him more than his opponent.

  “You’re gonna hand over the woman all nice and quiet like,” he said. “She obviously don’t know what she’s getting herself into and needs to be guided by her own kind. If you give her up, maybe I’ll forget what you did to my brother.”

  Lucas laughed. The rich baritone of it reached me and I felt a chill. He was toying with Jerome.

  “No deal, sensor,” he said, glancing back at me. Our eyes met. “She’s mine.”

  Movement from behind the van drew my attention. The back doors popped open and two guys hopped out. They each had double tanks strapped to their backs with hose lines running to some kind of long-barreled shooting mechanism. It took me a moment to realize what they were.

  “Lucas, watch out!” I shouted.

  He turned back around only to be blasted with some kind of clear spray. It ignited a moment later in a long stream of fire. One of the two guys had lit their flame thrower and aimed it directly at him. Lucas pushed out with his power to repel the blast, but he didn’t have much left. The fire licked at his skin until he was engulfed.

  Pain and rage emanated from him as he fought to dredge up what little magic he had remaining to put it out. It wasn’t enough. The full effect of the flames soaked into his skin as he twisted around trying to throw it off. The intensity of his suffering hit my senses like needles in my skull.

  “Nooo,” I screamed, running forward.

  Jerome and another sensor grabbed me, pulling me away from the line of fire. I struggled as a human guy stepped forward with his flame thrower and let loose. Lucas wavered, stumbling around until he fell. Still the guy kept going at him until he’d used up his tanks. I elbowed Jerome in the gut and kicked the other guy in the knee. They let go and I dashed forward, but another man came from behind and clobbered me.

  I went crashing to the ground as he wrapped his arms around my body. My wrist cracked hard upon impact. I screamed and tried to roll off of it, but couldn’t get enough leverage. The guy had me pinned down. Tears of pain streamed down my cheeks as more men moved in to hold my flailing legs.

  “Get the tranquilizer,” I heard Jerome call out.

  A set of black boots stepped into my vision. The man sitting astride my back grabbed my good arm and laid it out straight. I felt the sharp prick of a needle at it was stabbed into it. Curses flew from my lips. Someone gripped my head and ground my cheek into the cement, shutting me up.

  My breath came out shallow and fast as I lay there. No one seemed inclined to move off of me. My wrist hurt, but worse than that was the blackened shell of Lucas’ body across the parking lot. He wasn’t moving anymore, though I could still sense his pain coming from somewhere deep inside that mess. I blinked my eyes against the tears, knowing I couldn’t help him. The fight went out of my body with each passing moment as the tranquilizer took hold.

  “He’ll kill you all for this,” I mumbled.

  “By the looks of him, he’ll be out for at least a day,” Jerome said from somewhere above me. “We’ll have you well hidden by the time he wakes up.”

  I couldn’t reply. The darkness came and took me away.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Of all the types of magic I’d sensed in my life, the one thing I’d never come across was someone who could become intangible. Charlie could turn into mist, but you could still see the moisture in the air. It wasn’t the same thing as being invisible and untouchable. I’d have traded every one of my sensor abilities in that moment for the chance to become nothing. Nothing anyone could hurt or take captive.

  My eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times against the bright overhead light. I turned my head to follow my shoulder up to my right arm. It was strung up above my head with an IV attached to it. I looked down to find I still wore my dress, but my boots were gone and my ankles were bound together.

  They�
�d taken one end of the rope and attached it to something past the edge of the bed. Maybe the frame underneath. It pulled taut when I lifted my feet a few inches. My left arm rested on my stomach with my wrist splinted. Pain radiated from it, but I suspected the drugs running through my system kept it from being worse. I had to turn my face away when I realized it was bent at an irregular angle. It needed to be set.

  I forced myself to focus on my surroundings. Things seemed to blur the farther away I looked, but with effort I could make them out. The ordinary bedroom they’d put me in didn’t have anything in it except the full size bed I lay on, a wooden nightstand, and a folding chair. There was a window across the room, but the heavy red curtains covering it kept me from seeing outside. Only the slight glow of light at the edges let me know it must have been daytime. Where had they taken me? Why hadn’t Lucas come for me yet?

  Then the memories came flooding back. Images of him burning up in the flames and me trying to save him. I’d failed. He’d fallen to the ground, writhing back and forth until nothing had been left but a charred carcass. My throat closed up and a heavy weight pushed down on my chest. My breath came in short bursts. He couldn’t be dead. I had to believe that, but I didn’t know how he could have survived it either.

  What if he still lay there with no one to help him? I yanked at the rope binding my right arm, but couldn’t get it loose. A scream almost escaped my lips when I tried to lift my broken wrist to grasp the knot. Even moving it hurt. They’d left it free knowing it wouldn’t be of any use to me. I took several calming breaths. They couldn’t keep me like this forever. I’d get free and God help them when I did.

  The sound of the doorknob turning drew my attention. Elden walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He moved to stand next to the bed. His eyes lingered on my splinted arm and sympathy filled his gaze. “Sorry about your wrist,” he said. “Our medic looked it over, but he was afraid to set it without seeing x-rays first.”