“Rome?” Styx lifted a brow. “He took a risk choosing a city so heavily populated by demons.”
She gave a sharp laugh as she remembered Sergei’s panicked flight from his lair.
“I think his choice was made in haste rather than a well thought out escape plan.” She shivered. “And I can’t say that I blame him if it was my charming Aunt Marika on his tail. That woman would make anyone flee in horror.”
Tane nodded in grim agreement, but Styx remained focused on his interrogation.
No doubt he was trained during the Spanish Inquisition.
“Did he have a private lair in Rome?”
Laylah shook her head. Her brief time in Rome hadn’t been any more pleasant than being held hostage in the Siberian lair. She’d traded an iron cell for a spellbound closet and silver shackles that had come close to driving her over the edge.
“No, we stayed with the local witches,” she said, her voice thick with remembered pain.
Styx’s expression tightened as Tane moved to place a protective arm around Laylah’s shoulders.
She didn’t know if he disapproved of Tane touching a nasty mongrel, or if he didn’t like public displays of affection.
And she didn’t care. It felt good to have a little support. “They allowed a forbidden demon into the coven?” the older vampire asked, indifferent to her feelings. Hey, what was new?
“Sergei was careful to keep me hidden in his private rooms. Besides they were terrified of him. If it wasn’t for Caine I would no doubt still be locked in that damned closet.”
Tane shot her a startled frown. “The cur rescued you?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sure if rescue is the proper word. Let’s say that we made a mutually beneficial bargain.”
Tane’s finger brushed her cheek, his touch comforting. “How did he find you?”
“One of the witches was his lover and she hoped to impress him with the ‘Jeannie in the Closet.’ Caine returned the next morning to offer me the chance to escape Sergei if I would agree to be his …” Her lips twisted as she remembered the handsome cur’s description. “Secret weapon.”
“Arrogant dog.” Tane growled.
She tilted back her head, startled by the raw fury that glowed in the honey eyes.
“I thought you didn’t know Caine?”
It was Styx who answered. “The vampires have yet to claim the pleasure, but I’m confident he will soon be my guest.”
Eek.
“Why do I suspect that’s not a good thing for Caine?” Laylah muttered.
“The dog held my mate’s sister as a prisoner.” Styx’s dark tone warned of pain for anyone stupid enough to hurt his mate. Ridiculously, Laylah briefly wondered what it must feel like to be loved by such an overwhelming demon. Darcy must feel … what? Cherished? Empowered? Smothered? Perhaps a combination of all three? “A crime he will eventually pay for,” Styx continued, unaware of her inane thoughts. “But for now I think we have more important matters to discuss. How did Caine manage to get you away from the mage?”
“Caine has a talent for creating pharmaceuticals,” she admitted. Over the years the cur had made a fortune off his ability to create designer drugs that humans craved. “He slipped Sergei a rophy in his orange juice and while he was knocked unconscious we slipped away.”
Styx looked surprised. “The mage was done in by a rophy?”
“Trust me, it was supercharged.”
Tane narrowed his eyes. “Did you stay with Caine in
Rome?”
“No, Caine sent me to his lair in America so his private witches could keep me hidden.” She smiled. When she’d arrived in Caine’s lair outside of St. Louis it had seemed almost paradise. Sure she had to live in an outbuilding that was heavily wrapped in disguise spells, and she often went years without speaking to another. But her rooms were comfortable enough, and best of all, she and the baby were safely hidden from the world.
Oh, and a wide screen TV and five hundred channels of free cable.
Not bad.
“I didn’t see him again until he arrived in St. Louis with a baby Were.” “Harley,” Styx said.
“Yes, but he refused to speak of where she came from or why he was so protective of her,” Laylah hastily informed him. Darcy had already spent the past hour grilling her on any information on how Caine had gotten his hands on Harley and if he’d said anything that involved Darcy’s other sisters. Apparently one of the quadruplets was still missing. “I’m sorry, I don’t know any more.”
Styx studied her in silence, weighing the truth of her words.
“Tell me about the child,” he at last said abruptly. She swallowed a sigh. The King of Vampires was nothing if not relentless. Like Chinese water torture.
“There’s nothing to tell. The baby’s wrapped in a stasis spell that I can’t penetrate. I’m not even truly sure if it’s a boy or a girl.”
Tane tilted her chin back to study her with an unreadable expression.
“Are you sure it’s alive?”
Ah, he thought her loneliness had driven her to carrying around the magical equivalent of an empty shell.
She might have been insulted if there wasn’t a real possibility she would have gone stark raving mad without the baby to concentrate on instead of her miserable existence.
“I can sense its essence, but it’s not conscious,” she said, her tone firm enough to warn she wasn’t going to debate what she knew in her heart.
The child was alive and it belonged to her.
Styx stepped forward. “And it hasn’t altered over the years?”
“No.”
“Where is the child now?”
The abrupt question came without warning, but Laylah was prepared. Folding her arms over her chest, she met Styx’s dark gaze without flinching.
“Safely hidden.”
“You must …”
“No.”
“Perhaps it would be better if I spoke with Laylah in private,” Tane interrupted, wisely preventing Laylah from provoking the most dangerous demon on the face of the earth.
Tane waited until Styx had left the room and closed the door behind him before turning to meet Laylah’s mulish expression.
She lifted a hand and pointed a finger in his face. “Don’t even think it.” “Think what?”
“That just because you’ve gotten into my pants you can manipulate me.”
A flare of anger seared through him. Gotten into her pants?
She made him sound like a frat boy anxious for an easy lay. The truth of the matter was that he’d had the most beautiful and powerful women in the world beg to share his bed.
But it wasn’t male pride that made him yank her hard against his body, or glare down at her wide eyes.
“Don’t ever dismiss what burns between us,” he rasped.
Her pulse hammered at the base of her throat, but she stubbornly refused to yield.
“Nothing burns between us. We had sex. End of story.”
He leaned down, scraping a fully extended fang down the line of her jugular, his gut twisting with a primitive need to taste the rich nectar of her blood.
“If I truly thought you believed that I would take you right here and prove just how wrong you are,” he said, his lips moving against the satin of her skin.
“Tane.” She shivered, the scent of her excitement teasing at his senses, but her hands lifted to press against his chest. “Stop.”
He pulled back to study the flush of arousal staining her cheeks with smug satisfaction.
“You belong to me.”
Her eyes flashed, but she was wise enough not to try and continue the ridiculous argument.
“I thought you wanted to discuss the baby?”
His lips twitched. “And I thought you didn’t.”
Without warning, she twisted out of his arms, shaking her head as she backed away.
“You’re not going to trick me.”
Ignoring the urge to tug her back into his embrace,
Tane instead allowed his gaze to skim over her pale face and stiffly held body.
She was as beautiful as ever.
The crimson hair that shimmered like fire in the overhead light. The ivory features carved with a delicate perfection. The slender body that was a tantalizing combination of hard muscles and feminine curves.
But, his searching eyes didn’t miss the shadows in the dark eyes and the tension that hummed around her.
She was anxious to return to her child and suspicious he intended to halt her.
A well-founded suspicion, unfortunately.
Every damned demon in the world would soon be on the hunt for the latest, greatest hope to return the Dark Lord. Either for the glory of returning their god, or to destroy the potential threat.
Tane wouldn’t allow Laylah to be standing in the firing line.
“Trick you?” he said with a stab at innocence.
Her chin jutted, not buying his pretense for a minute. “I’m not handing over the child.”
He swore in frustration. He’d hoped to avoid an outright confrontation.
“What choice do you have, Laylah?” He planted his hands on his hips. “You aren’t a fool.”
“That’s open to debate.”
He ignored her muttered sidebar.
“You’ve been outed, my sweet. Far too many demons now know that there’s a mongrel Jinn on the loose with a child that has the potential to resurrect the Dark Lord.” He cupped her face in his hands, holding her gaze as he sought to make his point. No matter how ruthless he had to be. “There’s nowhere you can hide the baby that it will be safe.”
Fear flashed through her eyes before she was stubbornly hiding it behind her ready temper.
“If there’s nowhere safe then why would the vampires want to get involved? Or can I guess?” Her eyes narrowed. “As soon as I’m stupid enough to reveal where the baby is hidden you’ll turn the both of us over to the Commission. Tell me, Tane, do you get a bonus for a package deal?”
“You must have an addiction for playing with fire,” he warned, his voice soft.
“Just the opposite.” She knocked away his hands. “All I want is peace and quiet and a place where I can keep the baby safe.”
He clenched his teeth. He wouldn’t let that hint of wistful yearning tug at his heart. “An impossible dream.”
“Perhaps for the moment, but eventually I’ll manage to provide us with a home. I’m not helpless.”
His lips twisted in a humorless smile. “I’m painfully aware of your powers, but I’m not willing to turn a blind eye to the dangers that stalk you. I’ll bet my favorite Rolex that Marika and her mage are in search of the child.”
Without warning she turned on her heel and paced across the office, her beautiful features set in lines of grim determination.
“No, they’re looking for me,” she corrected. “I’m the only one who can touch the baby. They need me.”
Fear feathered down his spine.
“Stop right there, Laylah.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “What?”
“I’m beginning to recognize that expression.”
She abruptly returned to her pacing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
With a blinding speed he was across the room, yanking her around so she wouldn’t miss his don’t-screw-with-me frown.
“You’re hatching some insane scheme and I won’t allow it.”
“Won’t allow it?” The air filled with dangerous prickles. “I ought to fry you just for being an arrogant ass.”
“And I ought to lock you in the nearest dungeon.” With an effort he loosened his grip on her arm, leashing his Neanderthal urges. “Laylah, you aren’t going to make yourself bait.”
She paused. Perhaps weighing the pleasure of zapping him with lightning against the less lethal, yet more terrifying delight of trapping him in the mists between worlds.
“It will only be long enough to lead Marika and Sergei away,” she at last broke the silence. “Once they’ve lost my trail I can return to collect the baby and disappear for good.”
His power blasted through the room, knocking priceless first editions off the shelves and making the lights flicker.
“Is that supposed to be a joke?”
She paled, but held her ground. “I’ll admit it’s not the best plan …”
“It’s a suicide mission and you know it,” he snapped.
“There’s no need to be so melodramatic. I’ve survived on my own for a long time.”
“Shit ass luck that’s bound to run out eventually.”
She sucked in a furious breath as she surged onto her tiptoes and stabbed a finger into the center of his chest.
“I wasn’t asking your permission, He-man.”
He grasped her arms and lifted her until they were nose to nose. Glare to glare.
“Then obviously you’ve forgotten you’re my prisoner. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Don’t you have that backward?” she ground out, drowning him in the delicious sensation of heat and furious woman. Even when she was frustrating the hell out of him the image of spreading her across Styx’s desk and thrusting deep into her body was searing into his brain. “You’re in my power and I command that you let me go.”
He claimed her lips in a kiss of blatant ownership. “Checkmate.”
Her lips softened in a brief moment of madness, then she was pressing her hands against his chest.
“Tane …”
“No Laylah, you won’t be charging off alone.” He returned her feet to the fancy carpet, but he held onto her arms, unable to let go. Dammit. There weren’t any good choices. Not so long as the Commission considered her a danger. What he needed was time to convince the damned Oracles this female was not a threat. And more importantly, the ability to keep her from getting herself killed before he could do it. “There’s nowhere you can go that I won’t follow.”
She frowned at the harsh warning in his voice. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Chapter 12
It was his simple honesty that stole her breath.
Along with her higher brain functions.
I don’t know …
She could return the sentiment.
The damned vampire had her so twisted in knots she didn’t know if she was coming or going.
One minute she wanted to zap him into a little pile of dust and the next she wanted to back him against the nearest wall and do wicked things to his hard, perfect body.
Lost in the honey gaze, Laylah nearly came out of her skin when Styx’s voice boomed through the intercom.
“Tane. I need you upstairs.”
Tane stiffened, his grip tightening on her arms.
“Not now,” he growled.
“Now,” the ancient vampire snapped back.
“Damn.” Tane abruptly stepped back, his expression tight with frustration. “I won’t be long.”
“I’ll come with …”
“No, my sweet.” Tane firmly overrode her words, folding his arms over his chest. “If Styx wanted you to join us then he would have asked for you.”
She frowned, her mood tilting toward the whole turning him into toast rather than licking him from head to toe.
“So I’m supposed to wait here like a good girl while you decide my future?”
“It’s much more likely that this has nothing to do with you, Laylah.”
Her hands clenched at her sides. “Yeah, right.”
“Have you forgotten that Styx is the King of Vampires and I’m his Charon?” He held her gaze, his painfully beautiful face impossible to read. “Stay here.”
Her heart forgot to beat.
Shit. Did he think that made things better?
“Tane,” she said as he headed toward the door.
He halted and turned to meet her worried gaze. “Yes?”
“What if this is vampire business?”
He shrugged. “Then I’ll do my duty.”
She was standing directly in front of him without knowing how she got there.
“A Charon’s duty?”
Another shrug. “Yes.”
Let him go, a voice whispered in the back of her mind.
With Styx and Tane distracted she would have the perfect opportunity to escape. Perhaps the only opportunity.
But instead she grabbed his arm, her gaze glued to his face as if she were desperate to memorize every elegant line and curve.
“What does that mean?”
“Now is not the time …”
“Please, I need to know.” She tightened her grip until her nails dug into his flesh, already suspecting that his position among vampires not only was one of power, but of intense danger. “What exactly does a Charon do?”
She felt him tense, as if he were startled by her fierce reaction.
Hell, he couldn’t be any more startled than she was.
Minutes ticked by until at last he brushed his fingers through her spiked hair.
“It’s not common knowledge, but there are vampires who become addicted to the blood of alcoholics and drug users,” he said, his voice instinctively lowering as he shared the private weakness of vampires. “It eventually drives them mad. If I don’t track them down and kill them before it’s too late they will go into complete bloodlust.”
A ball of ice formed in the pit of her stomach. “What happens?”
“They will go on a mindless rampage and they will destroy everything and everyone in their path.” She sucked in a shocked breath. She was prepared for dangerous. Not for mindless rampages.
“And it’s your job to stop them?” Her voice was thick.
“There’s no choice.” His fingers absently outlined the shell of her ear. “Once a vampire’s crossed the threshold into madness they won’t stop the massacre until they run out of victims or they’re decapitated.”
His touch held its usual magic, sending tiny jolts of pleasure through her, but she was consumed by the terror at the insane risks this vampire took with his life.
“Why you?”
His honey gaze bored deep into her wide eyes, seeming to seek the truth of her tangled emotions. Yeah, good luck on that. “Me?” he rasped.
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