Before she could object again, she heard a loud crash. “Victoria!” Reece screamed so loud that if there were any neighbors within ten miles, they could hear.
Jonas pulled her by one arm off the porch.
“No!” she screamed, pulling away from him, scratching at his arms, but his grip only tightened. She tried to sweep out his legs from beneath him, but his arms were long, holding her away from him. He pulled her off her feet, dragging her across the lawn. She dug her bare heels into the ground, attempting to slow him, but she only carved a trench through the lawn.
Another crash from the basement had Jonas stopping and looking, pulling her up, but still keeping her at arm’s length. “I heard he was strong, but—”
Reece slammed through the French doors without opening them, shards of wood bursting ahead of him. “Let her go!”
Jonas pulled her in front of him, wrapping her in a headlock. “Well, well, it looks as though we have another half-breed.”
Reece narrowed his eyes until they were almost slits. His jaw tightened and his fist, though still at his sides, clenched until his knuckles were pale white against his bronzed skin. The man who’d been funny and charming for the last three weeks suddenly looked like the killer he obviously was. The killer he’d hidden from her, from everyone. “Last chance, Jonas, I won’t repeat myself.”
Jonas relinquished his grip, shoved her to the ground, and disappeared around the side of the house.
Reece chased after him before Vic could get to her feet.
“No!” She charged around the house too, but only found Reece standing in the front yard, staring into the dust from the gravel driveway that Jonas had stirred up as he’d fled. She couldn’t help but smile behind his back. Reece had protected her. Clearly, he could have hurt any of them at any time in the last three weeks, but he hadn’t.
Reece turned around and stared at her, his hazel eyes were bright in the daylight, the gold flecks shimmering. He crossed his arms, though; his mood obviously wasn’t as sparkly. “Ready to talk?”
Vic turned and walked back to the house, but instead of going inside, she stopped on the front stoop and sat.
Reece walked toward her, coming to a standstill in front of her. “No more games, Victoria. What are we?”
“Creatus,” she answered plainly. “You really don’t know, do you?”
He shook his head and climbed the steps, sitting beside her. “I’ve always had to hide my strength. My father made me. He knew we were different, but he didn’t know why.”
Vic couldn’t help but smile. “Have you traced your heritage?”
“Repeatedly. Nothing. My father was left on the doorstep of an orphanage.”
Vic sighed. Where to begin. “For some reason, half-human half-creatus are stronger than even full-blooded creatus. Derrick, Michael, Jonas, and Ry, Jonas’ brother, all have one human parent and one creatus parent. None of us can eat cooked food, though.” She stared at him. “But you can…”
“I get sick sometimes…only certain things don’t bother me, popcorn, potatoes. People tend to freak out when I eat my steak raw, though, so I’ve learned to hide it.”
She laughed. “So, I guess you won’t be turning us into the government?”
“I didn’t say that.” But he smiled again. “As soon as the government approached me, insisting there were superior beings, I had to join. It was my chance to figure out why I was different.”
Vic shook her head. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why did you let us keep you as a hostage? Derrick would have freed you. He likes you.”
Reece shrugged. “I wasn’t sure, and I do feel like a traitor. So at first, I had to keep my identity from you. But now, I’d feel like a traitor if I betrayed you.” He reached out and touched her cheek. “I really am crazy about you, Victoria—I’m sorry…Vic.”
She nervously rubbed her temple. “It’s okay,” she offered, though she refused to admit that she rather liked it. Reveled in the warmth that coursed through her every time he said her name with that sexy southern drawl. But what the heck could she do with these feelings? What if he’d lied about not betraying her—all of her family? Of course, Reece had saved her. “I can’t believe Jonas would have forced me to go with him.”
Reece shrugged. “I can understand why. You’re strong, caring, and beautiful.”
She sighed. “Please don’t do that, Reece. I’m already so confused.” It was one thing when he was teasing her with his sexual innuendos; she could handle that. But she didn’t know how she’d contend with him expressing his feelings as though they were real.
Reece pulled his hand away from her face. “Bad timing. Sorry.”
Vic nodded and just stared out at the driveway, hating that the warmth had disappeared the moment he removed his hand. She asked him to stop, and he did. Is that what she wanted? She laughed without humor at her messed up emotions. Holding him hostage was easy. Now what was she going to do with him?
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Well…since we apparently can’t hold you hostage...”
He cut off her words with a sheepish grin. “Sorry…I sort of destroyed your cellar doors.”
“Don’t be. I feel horrible. I really hated doing that to you.”
“I know…”
“I need to call Derrick.” Vic stood and Reece stood beside her, stepping down a step so they were eye to eye. She inhaled a deep breath. “You will stay while we sort this out, right? You won’t turn us in?”
“Is that Jonas guy responsible for those deaths? The beating of that girl, Beth?”
She swallowed hard. “We think so…none of my family would ever hurt an innocent person. We were trying to stop him.”
“Then, no, I won’t turn you in, but I need to be brought inside.”
Vic bit down on her lip. “Not sure Mike will go for that, but I’ll get them out here.”
Reece nodded as if they should carry on, so she turned her back to him, knowing she was safe, and walked inside the house. She pushed through the patio door that now swung freely on its hinges, the latch area nothing but shattered wood.
She picked up her phone and pushed the missed call notification.
“Victoria,” Derrick answered with a huff. “I was just getting ready to come out there. Are you okay?”
“Yeah…I was ignoring you, but there’s been a change of plans.”
“As in…” he ventured.
“Jonas showed up,” she answered calmly, even though she felt a chill roll down her arms. What would have happened if Reece hadn’t shown up? Although Jonas was too strong to fight, she wouldn’t have allowed him to get her in a vehicle. So, would he have killed her?
“That’s why I was calling you. He killed again last night. Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” She glanced down at Reece, who’d taken a seat in a chair beside the table. She sat down beside him. “Reece saved me.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Reece stared across the table at Derrick and Michael. Victoria had taken the seat beside him. “I have to go back.”
“I knew it,” Mike bellowed. “We can’t trust him. Even if he has creatus blood in his veins, it doesn’t mean he’s one of us.”
“Settle down, Michael,” Derrick ordered. “I understand what Reece is saying. At least I think I do.” Derrick shot a glance at Reece. “If you don’t show up, they’ll continue to search, and you won’t ever be able to live a normal life and neither will we.”
“Exactly.” Reece stared at Mike for confirmation that he understood, but the man obviously hated him. Victoria probably felt like a wounded seal surrounded by hungry sharks. Every one of them had staked their claim on her. Even he’d wanted part of that claim, but he’d pulled back when he realized how confused she must feel. He didn’t understand what this ‘falling’ was that they kept talking about, but he knew it’d never happened to him.
He’d never had an interest in any woman really. He’d dated plenty, but he’d never wanted more, even
the woman he’d loved since he was a child. His career had always been his first love. As a SEAL, he certainly didn’t have time for a family, and then when he’d worked for Miami PD and started working with the DEA, having a family was dangerous. But Victoria…she was different. He knew it from the first moment he’d seen her.
Mike jumped up again. Third time by Reece’s count. The man looked like a caged animal. And that trapped animal had about two inches and twenty pounds on him, Reece estimated. Mike paced back and forth, shaking his head. “No…uh-uh… I don’t like it.”
Derrick calmly stood and crossed the room, blocking his brother’s path. “Listen, Michael. We work diligently to place our kind into these high-level positions, but even you’ve never been able to get someone inside the National Security Council.”
Mike glared at Reece again. “But how do we know we can trust him?”
“We don’t.” Derrick glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Reece. “But I do. Obviously, Reece could have left any time he wanted, and he’d tried to prove that to us repeatedly.”
“What if he’s just trying to get deeper into our fold so he can bring the Feds everyone in the family?”
“I’m still in the room, Mike,” Reece grumbled.
Mike looked over Derrick’s shoulder and narrowed his eyes. “I know exactly where you are, Reece.”
Quietly sitting beside Reece, which had probably infuriated Mike further, Victoria sighed. “Mike, we don’t have a choice.”
Mike stepped out from under his brother’s hand and walked off. “Do what you want. I gotta go. I have work to do.” He shoved open the front door and slammed it behind him.
Derrick let out a long breath and took his place at the head of the table again. “For lack of a better term, we’re good people, Reece. We just want to live in peace, and we take care of our own—good and bad. We’ve never had a rogue, but I assure you, we’ll catch him—them.” He lowered his head and stared Reece in the eyes. “Can we trust you? Will you keep our secret?”
Reece smiled at Derrick. He liked him. “It’s my secret too, Derrick. I’ve lived with it my entire life.” He glanced at Victoria. She had released a heavy breath when Mike left. The man upset her, but for some reason, she seemed as if she owed him something. “There’s just one problem,” he continued, “I can’t go back to work. The first thing that’s gonna happen is they’ll interrogate me. There’s only one thing I can do that will avoid that, but it also means that I won’t be reinstated.”
Derrick and Victoria remained quiet.
“I’ll have to have an excuse for disappearing for weeks on end with no explanation. I’ve been thinking about this for days. I knew this was coming, knew I’d want to stay,” Reece couldn’t resist looking at Victoria again, “with you. So the only explanation I could come up with so that they won’t interrogate me…is to say that I went on a binge.”
Derrick laughed. “You’d do that?”
“I don’t have a choice. Frank Cooper won’t accept any excuse, and he probably won’t accept that, but he’ll have to. Even the government has to abide by ADA rules. So if I admit to an alcohol problem, they’ll have to offer me rehabilitation, which I’ll refuse. Which, in turn, will get me fired. But…it’s the only excuse I can come up with that won’t land me in an interrogation room with Frank Cooper. Believe me…that man won’t play by US or international laws against torture. He’ll do whatever it takes to get a confession.”
After Reece explained that they couldn’t contact him, but that he knew how to get in touch with them, Derrick offered him a ride back into the city. Reece turned down his offer. He had one more issue to take care of before he left for God only knows how long.
Derrick left, only glancing back at them once. “Maybe I’ll find my sullen baby brother on the way.”
Reece stood on the porch, waiting until Derrick’s Navigator disappeared. He turned to Victoria. “Will you do me a favor?”
She smiled, a sweet smile, something she didn’t do nearly enough. “I sort of owe you, so I guess I can’t say no.”
He laughed. He didn’t want her to feel as though she owed him. She was an intriguing woman, a woman he wanted to get to know better. Somehow, he had to figure out how he could make it work. But right now, he couldn’t. No way would Frank Cooper accept that he was having contact with the people he was investigating. The people that he’d seen proof were different, his ‘Missing Link’, as he’d called them.
Even though Victoria had asked him nicely to back off, Reece took a step forward and brushed his fingers under her chin. Her heart beat faster in response, so she wasn’t completely oblivious to him. “Would you not make any decisions until I get back?”
Victoria swallowed loud enough that he could hear her. “What decisions?”
“You know what decisions…”
She licked her lips. “What if you can’t come back?”
He brushed his fingers against her jaw. “I promise I’ll come back.” He gazed down into her eyes that looked as warm and deep as melted chocolate, searching for consent, any chance that she’d let him... And then her head lifted ever so slightly, and her heart raced again. He didn’t want to take without requesting permission, but if he asked, she might come to her senses and say no, and he wanted this.
A kiss, just a kiss. He’d never wanted anything this much. Every square inch of his body tingled, and without warning, his heart started beating so fast that he knew she could hear it too.
He dropped his head a fraction, nudged her head up a notch, and then lightly touched his lips to hers. Warmth rushed through his veins the moment they made contact. He gently requested access, and she opened up to him, allowing him to taste her.
Lemon, spices he couldn’t name, and a surprisingly sweet flavor he’d never tasted, sweeter than honey, had him craving more of her. He moved his hands to the back of her neck and pulled her against him, savoring the kiss. She groaned and opened up further, letting him kiss her deeper, permitting him to consume her, giving him passage to her soul.
Heat radiated from his heart, engulfing his body, almost painful, but he couldn’t stop. At the moment, he wouldn’t care if he burst into flames—
Without warning, she pushed him away and the fiery emotion stopped. She shook her head and tottered backward. “No, Reece. Not now. We can’t.”
His name coming off those delicious lips pulled him up fast, reminding him of his manners. It didn’t matter that they were consenting adults; he wouldn’t disrespect a woman by expecting sex when they’d only just met. Even though after listening to every word she’d spoken, after watching every move of her body over the last few weeks, he felt as though he knew her, but still.
He reached for her hand, not wanting their last moments to be like this. “Victoria, I would never. I wasn’t trying to go further. I swear.”
She shook her head wildly. “No…you don’t understand. You didn’t feel that?”
He smiled. “Oh, I felt it, all right. It was wonderful, but I understand it’s not the best time—”
“Reece…” She cut him off, gasping in a breath, and then he watched as her eyes glassed over with unshed tears. “We were…falling…” She shook her head again. “I wanted it…” Her statement sounded like a question. “But you can’t stay… We couldn’t… They’d come after us.”
Reece stepped toward her again, pulling her against him, but kept his lips to himself. “Please wait for me.”
Victoria rested her head on his chest. “I don’t think I have a choice.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
He watched…again…and then he ran. It was early, too early. He’d have to hold onto this anger, curb his fury.
Everyone wanted Victoria, but she was his. She’d be his one way or another.
He went in the opposite direction of the city, toward the hills.
Yes, that’d mess up their serial killer profile, make them take a second look. Serial killers were notorious for remaining within their circle, killing the
identical way, taking trophies. He didn’t need trophies. He didn’t want anything from the scumbags other than their death.
He needed to find a perfect victim, though. He wasn’t crazy; he only killed when they deserved it. He’d find someone. Humans were repulsive.
He darted under the brush, stayed within the tree line, watching, listening, focusing on his prey. He was a superior hunter. When his family gathered their army, after he trained them, they’d be invincible. Even nukes wouldn’t stop them, because they’d be in the political positions to control the men who pushed the buttons. Creatus would infiltrate every branch of every government across the world, so government officials wouldn’t know which of their confidants to trust, where to turn, who would kill them.
Creatus assassins would be deadly, and so the bureaucrats would be scared, would do what creatus told them to do.
He heard a cry, a child.
Who cared about heathens who’d hurt their own children. A creatus wouldn’t hurt their child; rather, they’d kill or die to protect it.
The little girl continued to whimper, so he edged his way to a window of the old decrepit house. He’d seen all he needed to. He walked around the back of the shack and opened the screen door. If the child had a mother, she probably wasn’t home. If she was, and she allowed this, she’d die too.
He didn’t worry about being quiet; the girl wouldn’t come out. Instead, he knocked pots and pans off the stove, flicked a half-filled glass jar of some purplish-blue gunk and other food-crusted plates off the card table functioning as an eating surface. Finally, the worthless excuse for a human came crashing down the hallway and into the kitchen.
Reeking of sweat and stale beer, the loser took one long look through bloodshot eyes at him and then reached for a ball bat resting in the corner.
The piece of garbage came up swinging, but he deflected the blow, seized the obviously drunk man by the hair, and then dragged him outside to the shed he’d seen in the backyard. The degenerate would pay for what he’d been doing to the young girl and act as a substitute for all worthless humans as he administered his own justice.
Creatus Series Boxed Set Page 37