Her heart thundered in her chest. What was he saying? “Marex—”
“It’s my job to protect you. This I know I can handle because I’ve been doing it all my life, for others, for my employers, their families, my friends, and I’m good at it. What lies ahead is so dangerous, Nadine, and my thoughts are consumed only by you, loving you, protecting you, sheltering you…” He reached up and cupped her cheek. “I can think of little else. And it scares me. Every time I think about going anywhere with you by my side, my heart stops, and I panic. Something I’m—frankly not used to. What if I’m not watching and someone takes you from me? What if we’re betrayed and the UCC kills you for helping me? What if we’re in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by shifters who hate my cause? All these scenarios and more keep manifesting in my imagination, because I’m constantly formulating a plan for each of them, so that I’m prepared, so that I’m never caught off guard. It’s nonstop and frustrating and maddening, because I know no matter how many I think of, there’s always going to be one I haven’t.”
Sensing he was about to tell her the one thing she never wanted to hear, she strove to keep from getting hysterical, denying her instincts. “I’m not scared! Why are you driving yourself crazy with what-ifs? We’ll be prepared as much as we can be, but you shouldn’t worry so much, my love. I never feel safer than when I’m with you—”
“I know. Because you’re my fated. You’re brave and bold like no woman I have ever known. But you’ve already taken too many risks. It’s amazing you got as far as you have without getting caught and eventually, everyone’s luck runs out. Even an immortal’s.” He stood up, grasping her arms. “Listen to me. If anything happened to you, that would be the end of me. I would be nothing. And my fight for uniting shifters and vampires would mean nothing. I have to know you’re safe.”
Frustrated, knees weakening, she begged him, “What are saying, Marex?”
“You have to go,” he cried out, as if it was torn from him. “I’m arranging you to be taken somewhere far and secluded next week, away from me and the darkness that is sure to follow me wherever I go from now until the Centurias. If making a case there doesn’t work, I don’t know what will happen to me. But whatever does, I’ll be at peace knowing you won’t be affected—”
“How dare you!” She pushed him and he dropped his hold. “Won’t be affected? You think if anything happened to you I’d be able to go on?”
This wasn’t happening. He wasn’t actually standing there telling her he was sending her away just when he needed her the most. Tears filling her eyes, she shook her head, in denial. “No. No! I’m not going anywhere. My place is by your side. Nowhere else. Don’t do this!” As tears slipped down her cheeks, she was seized in his hands, and kissed with hard devotion, instantly soothed by his affection.
He made a helpless noise, broke away and hugged her tight, so tight she could hardly breathe.
“Oh, my gods, what I’m doing?” he uttered softly.
“I don’t know,” she replied, tears flowing to his shirt as she clung to him. “Just don’t do it. Don’t send me away. Once you have the key, we’ll be protected until then. No one can touch you. Not even the UCC.”
“There’s no guarantee I’ll get sponsored. In fact, the chances Fitz will help me are slim. I used to work for his father, but he might not care now that I’m a fugitive. What if I can’t find a way to it? What then?”
She didn’t know, but she really wished she did, to prove her value to him. “We’ll figure it out from there.”
The rest of the week was a series of extreme highs and paranoid lows for Nadine.
Her every mood was determined by the look on Marex’s face. At times he seemed relaxed, at others, pensive. He’d talk with Kane for hours while she went for long walks in the dark tunnel with whoever was on first guard, talking to the wolf as though he was her counselor. She’d learned when shifters were in wolf form, they were all animal, and unable to comprehend human conversation, only sense moods and interpret commands. Chase would rub his head and body on her leg to show he knew she was sad; Reed would just walk beside her and huff at times when she expressed her frustration.
Nevertheless, it felt good to talk out her worries, even if she was essentially just talking to herself.
Every day, every night, Marex made love to her at every available opportunity if they even had a few minutes alone. He’d pull her to him with desperation, as though he hadn’t been intimate with her in days. They’d have sex wherever she happened to be: kitchen counter, living room sofa, even the weight bench.
In the morning when they went to bed, before she could even get a word out, he’d silence her with his mouth, and have her panting and biting the pillow to keep from screaming while he mastered her body’s desires. A couple of times, he took her to the tunnel, heedless of the wolf guard. He would spontaneously force her against the wall, touch her, lick her, until she begged. Only then would he fill her with his cock and give the both of them relief.
Afterwards, she often wondered if he wanted her often because that was how it was supposed to be for them, or because he was mentally counting down their time together and trying to make up for it. She felt closest to him when they made love, always giving him her all.
But they fought, too.
Every time she asked him what the plan was once they left Kane’s protection, he never had a clear answer for her, saying he was working on it. She’d insist she had the right to know. His only response was that she’d know when he had it all worked out. His vagueness drove her crazy.
Being cooped up underground was getting under her skin as well. Knowing it was going to be a full moon on Saturday, she craved to feel its soothing, healing power and relish the invigoration, but Marex was against going above ground.
And then, early Saturday morning when they went to bed, she asked again, and, to her surprise, he said yes.
“We’ll have eyes on you the entire time,” Kane assured him as they got ready to leave that evening. “Just don’t venture too far.”
“We won’t,” Marex replied, his apprehension clear. “I’ll just take her to the nearest rooftop.”
Kane nodded. “And be careful.”
It was the first time Nadine heard veritable concern in the alpha male’s voice. She glanced back at him as Marex tugged her past the steel door. Perhaps he truly cared about Marex as he would a brother. Men could bond so quickly when their lives were on tentative terms.
He took her to a rooftop of a museum only a few blocks away.
It was the first breath of fresh, outside air either had taken in almost a week. The night sky had been clear of clouds, the full moon bright and at its most powerful. Her worries seemed so much smaller under it, a world of possibilities outweighing the frightful ones.
He held her from behind, kissed her neck, and drew in a deep breath, taking in her sweet sensa. “You are my peace. You know that, don’t you?”
She reached back and raked her fingers through his hair. Feeling so much better after seeing the moon, getting outside, and breathing fresh air, she turned around in his arms. “And you’re mine.”
He whispered, “Forever,” before coming down to kiss her, putting some of her doubts and fears at ease, but not all of them.
Mr. McEvoy had yet to return Marex’s phone call, which had worried her more than it worried Marex. She feared this Fitz guy would go to the authorities and tell them Marex had reached out, which he told her was an unnecessary fear, since they had to be well aware of his escape. Even though he used a burner phone, there was always a chance their enemies were savvy enough to find them. If Fitz ever returned his call and agreed to meet with him, odds were, it would be only to set him up. Nevertheless, she kept worry from showing too often, as negative only begets negative. She had to think positive.
After an hour, they made their way back to the subway tunnel, holding hands.
“Ready to bid this place adieu?” he asked, bringing her hand up to k
iss the back of it.
“I don’t really need to answer that, do I?”
“Because we’re leaving tomorrow.”
“We are?” she exclaimed, her voice echoing.
He chuckled. “We are. Jean-Luc managed to secure a place through a friend of a friend of an ally in Canada. A house. Above ground. Only an hour from the border, so we won’t be too far from the US if we need to come back. We’ll also have new identities and documents of course.”
Sounded like fugitive bliss. “And you do mean ‘we’?”
He squeezed her hand. “Oui, we.”
She giggled, then sighed, finally unburdened that he hadn’t decided to ship her off without him. Not that she would’ve tolerated it for a second.
He stopped and cupped her jaw. “As anxious as it makes me to take you with me, I can’t bear to go on without you. And I think I’d probably fall apart very quickly, without you there to piece me together, without these eyes to look into night after night. I don’t even want to try to test my sanity if I’m away from you. I’m pretty sure I’d lose it.”
Desperately relieved, she linked her arms around him and kissed him, relieved beyond measure. “Every step I’ve taken, since the day I started looking for you, has been alone. Now that I’ve found you, now that we’re together, I want only to take steps beside you. Whether it’s a long or short life, Marex. I’m not afraid of anything except being apart. Don’t ever torture me like that again.”
He swallowed, exhaling. “I won’t. I promise.”
After another deep kiss to seal that promise, they resumed their walk back to the sanctuary.
Two barks from Tony sounded before he bounded up to them, wagging his big, furry tail.
“Good gods,” Marex remarked as she bent down to thoroughly scratch the wolf’s head. “You have them practically acting like they’re your pets now.”
“That’s not true! He just recognizes we’re friendlies. Don’t you, Tony?”
A short, happy bark from the wolf indicated he understood and answered. She straightened with a grin, then laughed when she saw the astonishment on Marex’s handsome face. “Is it really that much of a surprise, my love? We’ve been here a week. He knows our smell. Knows we’re not the enemy.”
“So different than our first encounter, right?” He reached out to take her hand and resume their walk, glancing back a couple more times in disbelief. “It’s just…no matter what. It’s a fucking wolf, Nadine. You shouldn’t pet him.”
Tony’s whine indicated he might’ve sensed Marex’s disapproval.
She looked over her shoulder and winked at the shifter, who barked, and trotted off the other way.
The main door opened, they greeted Seth, and he opened the steel door.
As soon as they stepped in, Kane approached him with a smile. “How was it?”
“Exactly what we needed,” she said.
“Good.” He slapped a large hand on Marex’s shoulder. “I have exciting news, but we need to act fast if we’re going to take advantage of it.”
“What is it?” Marex asked eagerly.
“J.R. Blackmore wants to meet. He’s in the area. I just got word.”
Marex looked to her, eyes wide with excitement she hadn’t seen in days. “Blackmore is the leader of a large northeast pack. He ignored me when I reached out to him a few months ago.”
Kane smirked. “He’s also a frenemy of mine, in a way. Can’t stand it when I do unpopular actions that turn out to give me any modicum of notoriety or respect among our communities. So obviously he wants to meet Marex so he can exclaim how much better it would be to have him as an ally. Trust me, with us both, a few others are bound to follow.”
She half laughed, surprised that in less than a week, her beloved could have not one, but two shifter friendlies. “You have to meet with him, Marex.”
Her fated gave a sharp nod, and called to Brogan and Jean-Luc, who seemed anxious to be invited. “Let’s go.”
Kane shot out his arm to check his watch. “Reed will stay here with you, Nadine. And of course, Tony is still on first guard until morning. It’s a little after nine now, I’m thinking we should return by midnight.”
With the other three walking to the door, Marex stopped, grasping her arms.
“Can you believe this?” He smacked a kiss on her lips, then went after them.
Six
Reed wasn’t much of a conversationalist, and he was the one she knew least about compared to the rest of the shifters that were assigned to the tunnel. His long dark hair was always neatly brushed back in a ponytail or in a man bun atop his head. The jagged scar that ran from his nostril down to his jaw didn’t hide his attractiveness, with his imposing size and steely gray eyes. She was sure he had a very interesting past and would love to talk to him to fill these anxious minutes with Marex gone, but, no, he wasn’t a talker.
But he did brood very well, and seemed content sitting in a chair with his booted feet up on a stool, his arms crossed, his gaze empty and non-engaging. The dark denim shirt he wore strained his shoulders, but was loose around the waist, telling her he was built like a stallion, born to fight, and probably wasn’t used to “babysitting” duty.
“Do you mind if I watch a movie?” she asked, rifling through their DVD collection.
“Knock yourself out.”
Her choices were either action movie, brutal action movie, or loud, brutal, graphic action movie. She settled for what seemed to be a “light” choice: a mixed martial arts film about revenge and redemption. Though the storyline was predictable, the action was well-choreographed, and she was entertained for the most part. And when she glanced at Reed once the credits start to roll, he had the same expression on his face that he did two hours ago.
“Good movie,” was all he said.
She smiled, shook her head, and checked the time, anticipating their return, restless to hear how it went. For the following forty-five minutes, she cleaned, knowing they were going to walk through the door soon. Then, five minutes after midnight, she went out to the tunnel, gave Tony a little scratch, hoping she’d hear Marex and Kane’s voices heading that way.
Nothing.
Back inside, she saw Reed flipping through the DVD collection.
“Um…” She hesitated to ask. “Have you heard from Kane?”
He didn’t look up as he responded. “Nope.”
Drawing in a long breath, she nodded, telling herself worrying was nonsensical. Not only was Marex with two of his most loyal friends, but he was also with a powerful pack leader who he’d sincerely bonded with the past week.
Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine.
An hour past midnight, however, and she wasn’t fine. With no cell phone to contact Marex—which wouldn’t work anyway this far underground—she was beginning to let her imagination get the best of her. And quick. Reed, meanwhile, took down a couple of beers, seemingly nonchalant. She tried to feed of that fantastic ability and chill out, but she just couldn’t with every minute that passed by.
“Can you get on the radio and check on them?” she asked, her voice carrying a bit of hysteria in it.
“They’re fine. Besides, they’re too far out for the radio.”
His calmness only served to irate her more. Pacing, heart hammering, she prayed that any second the wheel to the steer door would turn, and pretty soon they’d all be laughing about her overreaction to them being nearly two hours late.
She rubbed her hands on her jeans. “I just think they would be back by now…”
Just then, a long howl, then two short howls.
Reed shot out of his seat like his ass was on fire. He glanced at her, brows drawn, the first glimpse of any emotion in him. He marched to the table, stuffing a glock in the back of his jeans. “We have to go. Now.”
Alarm dropped her stomach. “Why?”
“Now!”
The way he yelled it told her only a fool would argue. She nodded quickly that she understood and grabbed the only long-sleeve j
acket she could find: an oversized zipped hoodie with angel wings on the back. One of the women had left it after their grand feast.
As he turned the wheel and unlocked the door, she asked, “Something’s wrong. Why would Tony howl like that? Does it mean something?”
Reed grunted while he yanked the steel door open then marched to the code on the wall, and opened the main door. It moved sluggish as usual, and it freaked her out they were leaving.
What did that mean?
He put on leather gloves, aware of her sensitivity, grabbed her hand, and said one word. “Run.”
She didn’t even spot Tony as they booked it down the long tunnel to the door. She didn’t ask any questions as Reed pushed through the crowds of people once they were in the subway. And she didn’t know what to think when Reed brought her to the streets to a parked motorcycle.
“Put this on,” he told her, handing her a helmet.
She accepted it, but not his lack of an explanation. “No. Not until you tell me what the hell is going on, Reed!”
He shoved on his helmet and slammed the visor down. “My orders are to get you to safety if I ever hear Tony howl in that sequence. If you feel like dying, then don’t listen to me.”
Dying?! But what about Marex? Kane? Were they okay? Obviously, she wouldn’t get those answers right now. Marex would want her to comply. Hastily, she stuffed the tight helmet on her head and secured it. Would it make a difference if she told Reed she was terrified of motorcycles?
She gasped as he took off, squeezing her eyes shut. He expertly meandered through the congested New York City traffic, disobeying a few vital laws, and leaving a trail of pissed-off motorists in their wake. Though his shoulders and back were huge, his waist was cut and slim, and she was able to hold on, gripping one wrist in a death lock with her other hand.
Marex: Immortal Forsaken Series #1 (Paranormal Romance Novella) Page 8