Seducing Eve (Guardians of Atlantis)

by Miles, Michelle

  “What did you do, Eve?” he asked.

  She refused to answer. Because it was clear what she’d tried to do and he knew it. She hated him.

  “Your wounds will have to be tended. You didn’t try to get free, did you, Eve?”

  Scumbag. He knew she did. Still she didn’t answer. She kept her eyes fixed on the overhead lighting. The overhead lighting that buzzed like a wasp.

  “Escape attempts will be severely punished,” he said. “That is your only warning.”

  In her peripheral vision she saw the pissed off look he gave her. She didn’t care. She wanted to tell him to screw off but instead clamped her jaw tightly shut until her teeth ached.

  He freed one wrist then the other. When the air met her abrasions, her skin stung. But she wasn’t going to flinch or show her pain. Oh, no. She was going to remain strong.

  She swung her legs off the side of the table and sat up. She did a quick scan of the room looking for something to use as a weapon. There were various instruments on a nearby table, a couple of empty syringes, rubber gloves. Everything that would be found in any normal doctor’s office.

  But this place wasn’t normal, was it?

  Franco stood to her right and wrapped a hand around her upper arm to help her off the table. Her feet hit the cold tile floor sending a shiver up her spine. Gooseflesh bloomed over her exposed skin. Her nipples peaked underneath the thin material of her bathing suit. She didn’t want this guy seeing her like that. Across the room was the other exam table, complete with stirrups.

  No way in hell she was getting on that thing. No way.

  Franco nudged her another step toward the table of doom but her mind raced with all the possibilities of getting out of this scenario. Her gaze landed on one of the syringes on the nearby countertop. Time to act. She could do this.

  She lunged for it. Franco’s reaction was quicker than she anticipated and his fingers bit into her arm. Realizing her intent, he tried to jerk her back but she threw all her weight into that lunge. She managed to reach one of the syringes and snatched it. Her hand closed around it as Franco yanked her into him. One of his arms went around her neck while the other circled her waist as he held her close to him.

  With his arm against her upper body, she opened her mouth and clamped down on his arm as hard as she could. Her teeth sunk into his salty skin and she immediately tasted the metallic tang of blood. He yelled his pain but still held tight. The bastard was stronger than he looked. She kicked backward and her heel connected with his shin. When he didn’t immediately release her, she kicked again and again and again. He grunted, his hold on her slackening enough for her to wiggle out of his grasp.

  Using her teeth, she stripped off the cap of the needle and spun around to face him.

  “You bitch. I’ll kill you.”

  “Go ahead and try.”

  She didn’t know where that confidence sprang from but she was grateful for it. Her adrenaline pumped wildly through her, sending strength to all her muscles. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

  She sprang toward him and jammed the needle into his shoulder as hard as he could. She resisted pumping air into his veins—that was just cruel—though that’s exactly what she wanted to do. He yelled again. With all the noise he was making she knew she had to make her escape quickly. There would be others here any minute.

  Eve spun around ready to dash and ran into a brick wall. Strong hands gripped her to steady her. When she looked up, she met Lucian’s gaze. Oh, he felt as good as he looked but still, he was the enemy. And she had to get away.

  “What are you—?”

  She kneed him in the balls as hard as she could. And then guilt immediately washed over her. He grunted, doubled over and released her. She skittered around him while he was incapacitated and made it into the hallway. She heard Franco shout for him to go after her but she hoped he was in too much pain not to obey immediately. Which way was out? None of the exits were marked. She dashed down the hallway toward a door. But Dr. Brice stepped in her path, blocking her way. And he held a gun pointed directly at her chest.

  An alarm screeched through the lab. The sound was so deafening it nearly made her ears bleed.

  She came to a jarring halt and turned back the other way. Lucian stumbled out of the exam room and blocked her other escape path. Boy, did he look pissed. His face creased in anger and pain. Their gazes meet and they stared at each other for a split second. Then he pulled his gun and pointed it toward Eve.

  “Get down,” he growled.

  She gasped and reacted at the same time, crouching to the floor as he fired off round after round. She covered her head hoping no stray bullets made it her way. A quick glance up and she saw the guns were not ones with bullets but some sort of ray gun. Green light flashed overhead. Lucian dove back into the exam room she’d just come from.

  She stood, trying to decide which way to run.

  Coward. He’d left her.

  Shots exploded next to her, shattering the window. Glass rained down all around her. She squealed and jumped against the opposite wall, covering her face and head as glass tinkled to the tile floor. Somewhere in the lab, women screamed.

  Brice had fired back at Lucian. And now she heard the booted footsteps running down the hall. A quick peek over her shoulder verified her suspicions. Brice headed right for her, gun in hand. He held it up, pointed it at her, ready to fire.

  Lucian erupted from the exam room, his feet crunching on glass. He stood between her and Brice, firing off several rapid shots. The doctor ducked into a nearby room.

  More glass shattered around her. And she was barefoot. Great. How was she going to get out of this one?

  “Bring her to me, guardian,” Franco said. “So she can be dealt with accordingly.” He stood in the doorway of the exam room looking fierce and thoroughly unhappy. The syringe was gone from his shoulder.

  Shit. She was going to die. This was it. And she hadn’t really lived yet. She hadn’t really done anything yet. She’d played it safe all her life and look where that got her. Nowhere.

  Lucian glanced from Franco to her. She could see the indecision in his eyes. Brice had re-emerged from his hiding place in one of the rooms. Lucian looked at him now and then back at Eve.

  “Please, don’t,” she whispered.

  Please don’t give me to him was what she wanted to say but those two words were the only ones that came out. Lucian was her last hope. Maybe she could bat her eyelashes and use her feminine wiles to get him to help her. Did she have feminine wiles?

  “Don’t let her run,” Franco warned.

  She wanted to snort. Like where would she go? She was barefoot and had no desire to have glass shoved under her skin. Escape or no escape. She never took her gaze off Lucian and she prayed he could see the pleading in her eyes. He raked a hand through his hair and snuck a glance at Franco, then Brice.

  “Damn it.” He swore so only she could hear.

  He turned back to Franco and fired off several shots at him then aimed the gun at Brice, firing more shots. The doctor disappeared from view again and, she supposed, Brice, too. Lucian wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her against his side. She picked up her feet to keep from stepping on shattered glass and wrapped them snuggly around his waist and, damn, didn’t that feel nice. He ran down the hallway toward a door but the alarms would bring more men toward the lab.

  “Put your arms around my neck,” he said. “And don’t let go no matter what happens.”

  She did as he commanded and buried her face against his neck, saw his pulse jumping at a rapid speed. Her heart matched it. He was taking her out of here. And maybe, just maybe, he could get her back home. She braved a peek and saw the door ahead still closed.

  Lucian used the gun again to blast it but the door held fast.

  “For fuck’s sake,” he grumbled.

  “Stop them!”

  Eve recognized Franco’s frenzied voice. Running footsteps behind them. And the door was still closed. Luc
ian came to a halt.

  “End of the line, sweetheart.”

  She wanted to shout at him, to tell him to keep going. But instead he turned to face whoever was coming toward them down the hallway. Franco appeared in the doorway of her exam room holding a hand to his shoulder. Blood seeped through his fingers. Lucian had shot him. For her.

  He wasn’t going to give her back to them. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. And he confirmed that when his arm gripped tighter around her waist.

  “Let her go, Lucian,” Franco said. “You’re cornered. And not only will she be dealt with, so will you.”

  “I volunteer to take care of her myself,” Brice said. And he licked his lips.

  Disgusting bastard. Eve wiggled closer to Lucian.

  Lucian growled low in his throat.

  “If you want her,” Lucian said slowly, deliberately, “you’ll have to go through me.”

  “With pleasure,” Brice said and he raised his gun.

  Before he could get a shot away, an explosion on the other side of the door rocked the entire lab. It shattered every glass window in the place, raining shards. Brice and Franco both ducked, covering their heads. Behind Lucian, the door slid open and a man filled up the entire space of the doorway behind them.

  Eve had never seen anyone so big and scary. Bigger and scarier than the one who’d kidnapped her on the beach. He had a wicked tattoo of a bird on the side of his face, a scowl and dark glittering eyes that were far from warm and welcoming.

  “About time,” Lucian snapped. “What took you so long?”

  “Come on,” he growled.

  “Eve, Raven. Raven, Eve. You’ve been properly introduced.”

  But Raven made no response as Lucian turned to follow him through the open door. Eve peered over his shoulder, saw Brice straightening to a standing position and raising his gun.

  “Lucian!”

  Her warning wasn’t in time. Brice got several shots off, hitting Lucian once in the back and once in the back of his leg. Lucian stumbled, his grip loosening on Eve. She held on tight like he’d said but Raven was there in an instant. As he returned fire, he grabbed Lucian by the arm and steadied him. Lucian limped as he hurried through the door and down the corridor, Raven behind them. They rounded a corner, the alarm still blaring.

  “We’re being followed,” Raven said.

  “No shit!” Lucian shouted.

  He grunted as he tried to hurry through the corridors to get as far from the lab as possible.

  “All you all right?” Eve asked.

  “I’ll live,” he said through gritted teeth.

  “You’ve been shot.”

  “I’ll be fine,” he assured.

  More guards entered the hallway blocking their path. Behind them more followed. Lucian fired his gun at the group in front. Raven fired at the group behind.

  “Can’t you shut off that damn alarm?” Lucian snapped.

  “One thing at a time,” Raven snarled. His voice was deep, dark and steady with no hint of worry or excitement whatsoever.

  “How are we going to get out here?” Eve asked. “You need medical attention.”

  “Here,” Raven said and shoved open a panel on the wall.

  The panel opened a hole in the wall. The wall led toward a dark corridor. A secret passage?

  “Great. Now they’ll follow us here,” Lucian grumbled.

  “Patience,” Raven said. “I’ll cover you. Get inside.”

  He stood in front of the opening, firing his gun right and left as Lucian and Eve dove into blackness.

  Chapter Four

  Raven didn’t follow. Instead he closed the wall, sealing them inside. She could hear shots fired on the other side of the panel. Men screaming.

  “What about him?” she asked.

  “He’ll be fine. He can take care of himself.”

  It was pitch black. All Eve could hear was his labored breathing and feel the sweat trickling down his neck and back. She slipped her legs down the length of him. Her feet landed on the cold floor. It wasn’t smooth like tile but felt more like concrete.

  “What about us?” she asked.

  Lucian released her and she felt empty and alone. But she could still sense him next to her. She could hear him fumbling around by the panel Raven closed and a moment later a click and then the corridor flooded in pale yellow light.

  She blinked against the sudden harsh light and glanced around the secret passage. Dust covered the floor. She glanced down at her bare feet, naked arms and legs and wished she wore something more covering than a red bikini and a gauzy cover-up.

  “Us? I’m taking you someplace safe.”

  “So you’re…not taking me back there?”

  He didn’t respond as he took her hand. But her feet refused to move. She wasn’t going back there. She would do whatever she had to do to get out of here but she wasn’t going back to that monster, Franco. Or Brice. A part of her hoped Lucian or Raven killed him. It would be justice after what he’d done to her.

  “I won’t go, Lucian!” she said, her voice frantic and high-pitched.

  “Calm down, sweetheart. You’re safe with me. I’m not taking you back there.”

  “Oh. Thank you.” She blew out a heated breath. “How did Raven know you were in trouble?”

  “I told him.”

  “You told him? How?”

  “You sure ask a lot of questions, sweetheart. Some of us have the ability to mind speak.”

  “And that’s how you told him? How does that work exactly?”

  He sighed, clearly annoyed with her inquisition. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  She shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you until I know where that place is.”

  He sighed again, released her hand. He started to reply when his face blanched and he bent over, groaning. She saw the damp red splotch on the back of his shoulder and knew he must be in terrible pain. And here she was being a bitch while he was hurting.

  He backed into the wall and slid down it.

  “Give me a minute.”

  She squatted next to him. “You’re hurt. Where can I find bandages?”

  His gaze raked her up and down and he grinned. “Don’t suppose you have any hidden in that get up of yours?”

  She blushed to the roots of her hair. “No.”

  “I’ll be all right. There’s an abandoned medical station not far from here. I can patch myself up there.”

  She bit her bottom lip. She could help him. She could heal him right here. It was her gift. She rested her palm on his shoulder, contemplating. If she helped him, would he help her? Would he get her out of here and back home?

  “I’m…sorry.”

  “For what?” he asked. He leaned his head against the wall, his eyes closed.

  “For causing such hell,” she said. “You got shot because of me.”

  He snickered. “Well, the damage is done. Franco won’t stop until he finds you.” His eyes blinked open and he focused on her. “And don’t worry about me. I’ve been worse.”

  She’d never seen more brilliant green eyes as she did looking into Lucian’s. “If he won’t stop looking for me, what am I going to do?”

  He shoved himself up the wall, getting back to his feet. “Let’s worry about that later.”

  “I can help you,” she said, thinking she would heal him. And then she immediately regretted that. She backpedaled. “I mean…when we get to the medical station. I can…clean your wounds for you. Bandage them.”

  “That’d be nice. Especially since I can’t reach them.” He flashed a confident grin.

  They heard pounding on the other side of the panel. Eve’s heart tripped in her chest. The men were trying to get to them. Lucian grabbed her hand.

  “Come on. We’ve lingered here long enough.”

  * * * * *

  The lighted hallways only went so far. These tunnels were part of the old city before the Atlantean forefathers built the new city to make it less like an underwater bunker and more l
ike a real city.

  Lucian wasn’t exactly sure what he intended to do with Eve now that he had her. All he really knew was Franco and his band of men would be hunting them down. He, like Eve, was a fugitive now.

  Damn the luck.

  Sabre would be hacked off when he found out.

  He hoped Raven made it back to northside unscathed. But knowing Raven, the man wouldn’t let anything get in his way. He’d fight his way through any blockade Franco and the others set up. The thought made Lucian smile.

  “Are you sure you know where you’re going?” Eve asked.

  He still held her hand as he limped through the corridor dusty from neglect. Here the walls had started to rust. When this part of the city was first built, the forefathers thought it would be great to have a view of the sea. However, they didn’t account for the pressure and in some places it had started to leak. There were many airlocks in the old city. In case of a breach, it would keep all of Atlantis from flooding.

  “Yes,” he said. “I know where I’m going.”

  “It seems like a maze to me,” she said.

  It was a maze. But Lucian was aware of every turn, keeping the map in his head as they made their way. He was trying to get to northside via the old tunnels. He wasn’t sure what he was thinking by taking Eve there. Maybe she could stay with Eden. Sabre probably wouldn’t like having another female hanging around, though.

  He stumbled and nearly lost his footing. Waves of heat emanated off his skin and he knew he was in bad shape. He just didn’t want to admit it.

  “Lucian?” Eve wrapped a hand around his arm and came to a halt.

  “I’m all right.” He said it through clenched teeth.

  “You don’t look all right. You look pale. And you’re sweating.”

  He refused to let the pain get to him. “Let’s keep moving.”

  She steered him toward a wall where she pushed him against it. “You need to rest.”

  “Can’t.”

  As he fell against the wall, his knees gave out and he melted to the floor. She kneeled next to him.