Eternal Prey

by Nina Bangs

  Jude raised his hand to push at the door, but someone opened it before he had a chance to touch it.

  A woman stood in the doorway. Framed by the brick archway and backlit by the glow of distant light, she looked beautiful and otherworldly. Okay, undead. Utah knew a vampire when he saw one. No amount of long dark hair, big brown eyes, soft mouth, and killer figure could hide it. The long white dress that floated around her did not make her look innocent.

  She didn’t even glance at Jude or Lia. “I’m Tania. And you’re Utah. Adam said to expect you.” She widened her eyes and parted her lips to show exactly how much she expected him.

  And from the hungry gleam in her eyes, she was evidently not disappointed. But Utah didn’t fool himself. That gleam meant she wouldn’t mind fucking him right before she drained him to the last drop.

  Personally, he thought Lia was a lot sexier. He almost grinned. She’d hate that. All she wanted from him was respect for her fighting skills and almighty toughness. But the urge to grin died an inglorious death. She’d soon be vampire, and he never wanted to find a vampire tempting. All he wanted to do was kill them. Except for Jude. He was okay. He’d proven himself.

  “Adam has me walking around in case some dumb human wanders down here. Like that’s going to happen at this time of night.” Tania was a great pouter. “There’s this story about the ghost of a woman in a white dress haunting the tunnels. I’m supposed to scare everyone away.” She shrugged. “But I’m bored. Tours don’t go where we are, so I don’t know why I have to do this.”

  “What if someone does go into the tunnels? And what if they don’t scare?” Lia peered around Tania.

  “Then I eat them.” She looked excited by the thought.

  “Way to get rid of a problem.” Lia edged past Tania, but stopped to allow Jude to take the lead.

  Utah brought up the rear as they walked toward the distant light. Only the mesmerizing sight of Lia’s small round behind swaying ahead of him kept him from feeling claustrophobic in the musty tunnel.

  Finally, they reached the light source. A vampire sat in a folding chair in the middle of the tunnel. Must be Adam. He was about Utah’s height, with black hair and weird-looking gold eyes.

  About ten of his people lounged around him. To his left and right were what looked like small cells. There were no doors on the cells, so the space felt a little more open than the rest of the tunnel. The vampires stopped talking and stared at him. Not friendly stares. Probably hadn’t liked his keep-Portland-vampire-free campaign. Tough.

  Adam smiled. Utah didn’t.

  “So, my newest employee has arrived. Welcome.” Adam’s eyes didn’t say welcome.

  “Why are you down here? Seems to me you could afford somewhere classier.” Fin wouldn’t like him poking at the bloodsucker, but right now Utah didn’t give a damn.

  Adam’s smile never slipped. “Ah, but these tunnels offer something a fancy condo never could.” He swept his hand to encompass the tunnels that branched off in many directions. “They have exits into all kinds of basements. Sure, most of them are closed off, but that wouldn’t stop one of us. Easy ins and outs can be important.”

  “Fine, I get that, but this is pretty primitive.” Lia glanced around at the cots that had been set up in the small cell areas.

  “We won’t be here long. Now that I’ve brought Utah to heel, I only need one more job completed before I head back to California. You, my beast, and your new partner will take care of that.”

  Brought him to heel? My beast? Utah wanted to rip the jerk’s head off. Adam was enjoying Utah’s humiliation in the same way he’d probably enjoyed Jude’s. That kind of attitude deserved payback. Utah glanced at Jude. Yeah, they had the same thought.

  It wasn’t Adam’s leash that kept Utah from exploding into violence. It was the still-fresh memory of what his previous loss of control had almost caused, along with the realization that it would be tough to free his soul in these tunnels. No maneuvering room.

  “Besides, I have another reason for setting up camp in the tunnels.”

  Utah was barely listening. He’d just digested the second part of Adam’s message. New partner? What partner? Wasn’t Lia shadowing his every footstep enough? Apparently not. He already hated this new person. Lia’s expression assured him she was on the same page where new partners were concerned.

  Adam blabbed on, uncaring that he was the focus of some totally pissed-off “employees.” “When I was newly made, I hired wizards to do any magic that needed doing. That became counterproductive because I kept losing my temper when they failed to produce the desired results. I tended to express my displeasure with violence. I got tired of replacing wizards, so I decided to learn what needed learning so that I could do things myself.”

  “Umm, about this new partner.” Lia was staying focused.

  Adam paused to glare at her. Damn, he was good. That stare raised the hairs on Utah’s arms. He’d make sure never to underestimate this guy. A vampire with a variety of skills had lots of options when it came to killing. Utah didn’t think Adam would resort to brutality just because Lia had interrupted him. He’d count on intimidation to cow her.

  She calmly returned Adam’s stare. Utah tensed, ready to act if he had to. But Adam simply continued his spiel, ignoring her comment.

  “So why are we in these tunnels? Down here we’re surrounded by stone, close to water, and in a place that saw lots of death and misery. All elements that make for strong paranormal activity. Perfect for my summoning spells.”

  “Summoning spells?” Utah couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “What would you need to summon?”

  Adam’s smile was slyly triumphant. “Your new partner.”

  Chapter Three

  Utah felt a slow cold creep up his spine and knew something was standing behind him. He forced the tension from his body and pasted a neutral expression on his face as he turned. Utah didn’t want his new partner to think he was anything special.

  Utah didn’t by so much as a blink show his surprise. Lia had turned with him. She tensed, but nothing more.

  The face was familiar. Hell, no one would ever forget that face. He’d seen it a month ago in Philly.

  “Don’t react. Pretend you don’t know me. I’ll explain later.”

  The face might be familiar, but the voice in his head wasn’t. He’d never talked to the guy. But he did know one thing. Kione, unseelie fae prince, would make a lousy partner on many different levels. He turned to face Adam again without saying anything to the prince.

  First, Utah didn’t trust Kione. Yeah, so he didn’t trust many people outside of the Eleven. And even the Eleven were iffy except for Tor. Utah was too close to his past to trust anyone but pack. Besides, he sensed that Kione was a loner. No pack would ever hold him.

  Second, Lia’s glazed expression bothered him. She was staring at the guy with unblinking intensity. Utah didn’t like that. And he refused to analyze his dislike.

  Finally, the fae prince made him . . . feel things. Not things he had time to examine right now.

  Adam laughed. “Once I knew you’d be joining us, Utah, I decided to give you a worthy partner.”

  Lia dragged her attention away from the dark fairy long enough to protest. “A worthy partner? What am I, day-old blood?” It seemed to take an effort of will for her to turn her back on Kione.

  “Face it, you’re human, Lia.” Left unsaid was: therefore useless. “I wanted someone with Utah who’d complement his physical power, someone with supernatural skills.”

  Utah drew in a deep calming breath. Keep your mouth shut. Strange how much more he hated Lia’s humiliation at Adam’s hands than he had his own. In the end, he had to say something.

  “Lia will make a great partner.” Where had that come from?

  “I will?”

  It was worth the lie to see her lips tip up in a grateful smile. Utah realized he wouldn’t mind seeing those lips do any number of interesting things.

  “Not a doubt in my mind. If
we’re hunting vampires, then I want someone with me who can tell me how they think.” He grinned. “And someone who can drive like hellfire is singeing her ass.”

  Adam frowned. “You work for me, Utah, so Kione is your official partner. Lia is just there to keep this Seven guy from finding you. I went to a lot of trouble to get him. The summoning spell was . . . troublesome.”

  For the first time, Utah noticed the circle drawn in the dirt behind Adam, along with the candles and the blood.

  Adam saw the direction of his gaze. “Human blood. Only the best to get the best.” His expression was shadowed for a moment. “I was summoning a demon.” He shrugged. “Just as good.”

  Utah wasn’t sure. He’d felt the wash of power coming from Kione. Pretty heavy stuff. Could Adam control that?

  Lia jumped in with a question. “What’re you hunting? You wouldn’t need all this firepower just to go after one of our own.” She tried to concentrate on Adam’s answer, tried to ignore the man behind her.

  Fine, so calling Kione a man understated what he was by a few light-years. He was over six feet, but she couldn’t tell much about his body because he’d wrapped himself in a dark cloak. But that was okay, because Kione was all about his face. And his face was all about sex. From the perfect lines of his jaw and cheekbones, to the curve of sensual male lips, to intense forest green eyes framed by thick dark lashes, he oozed erotic promises. A woman might die from the pleasure of what he did to her body, but she’d die happy. And if he chose to trail his smoke-dark hair across her bared flesh, he’d leave first-degree burns behind.

  But his danger wasn’t in his fae beauty. He made her want. Beyond her power to resist. Her instinct was screaming for her to turn and run, because to get any closer to him was to become nothing more than a panting, heated lump of female dough ready for him to mold into any sexual position he chose. As if that weren’t bad enough, she wanted to jump whoever was closest to her. That would be Utah. If she wasn’t holding on to her control with fingers, toes, and teeth, she’d leap on him with a primal scream and take him right in front of every vampire here.

  Because . . . Lia tried to look like she wasn’t staring at Utah. God, if she wasn’t determined to become vampire, and he didn’t hate vampires, she’d think he was the hottest thing with a heartbeat, all smoldering threats and dangerous promises.

  No, those weren’t her thoughts. Kione had generated them. She pushed them away.

  Yeah, she knew exactly what Kione could do, because she’d stood next to him in Philly while Eight played deadly games with all their lives. She’d felt this before, although not quite so strongly. She didn’t take time to wonder about that.

  Kione could not be their partner. But whom could she tell? Not Adam. He’d love it if she complained that she couldn’t be around the unseelie prince without wanting to have sex. He’d think she was weak, afraid of a little temptation. But it wasn’t fear, it was common sense. How could she help anyone while sexual need pounded at her every moment that Kione was around?

  She’d have to confront the fae prince once they left here. For now, she tried to concentrate on Adam’s answer.

  “When I want a threat eliminated, I don’t do it half-ass. I don’t want even the memory of an enemy left when I’m finished.” He took a second to stare at Utah.

  Utah nodded. Message received.

  Adam didn’t do things half-ass even for a perceived threat. She thought of Jude. If he treated his other vampires the way he’d treated Jude, then he must have some powerful enemies.

  “Ben here”—Adam nodded toward the leader of the Northwest vampires—“tells me that a competitor is luring a lot of our people away. No one knows who he is, but someone has to stop him. Permanently.”

  “A vampire?” Utah’s interest looked sincere.

  But then it would, since killing them was his favorite pastime. Bitter? You bet. Lia pushed the thought aside. What Utah thought of her people didn’t matter.

  “Definitely.” Adam smiled. And all kinds of cruel enjoyment lived in that smile. “We found one of our lost sheep and convinced him that dying quickly was a lot easier than drawing the whole tiresome process out. He confirmed that he’d switched his allegiance to another vampire. Unfortunately, I lost my temper and tore him apart before he could give a description.” He shrugged. “I still have anger issues.”

  No kidding. She was surprised he’d held it together while he was with Fin. But then he was wary of Fin’s power. Wouldn’t want to lose it with someone who might be able to kick your ass.

  Utah appeared surprised. Lia figured he’d thought the poacher was Seven.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you need both Utah and Kione. Seems like overkill to me.” Lia shifted restlessly. She wanted out of here and away from Adam. And even with her back to Kione, she could feel his thrum of power vibrating low in her stomach, tempting her to clench around the pleasure. Her need to slip her hand under Utah’s shirt and smooth her fingers across all that warm male flesh was too strong, too disturbing.

  Adam glanced away. “I lost my temper with our lost sheep because he couldn’t answer some of my questions.”

  She was puzzled. “You mean he didn’t know the answers?”

  “No. He knew the answers, but every time he opened his mouth to tell me, nothing came out. I have a bad feeling about this new bastard. He’s strong enough to bend the minds of ordinary vampires, so I’m sending him something he might not be ready for.” He nodded at Utah. “I know you’re right for the job because I saw the results of your work here in Portland. I decided to throw in Kione for insurance.”

  Utah looked thoughtful. “Just wondering, but if you’re the leader of the whole damn vampire nation, you must have a shitload of power. Why don’t you eliminate this problem yourself?”

  Uh-oh. Lia tensed. Utah looked relaxed as he asked his question, but he was tracking a little too close to major criticism. He was either very brave or very stupid. Adam had a short fuse coupled with his tons of power. And he’d use it on Utah in a second if he lost his temper.

  But Adam was evidently in a good mood tonight. “Great question. I delegate. I have other things to do besides put myself on the front line for every little skirmish. It’s how I’ve survived so long. I’m the vampires’ last line of defense.”

  “Do you have any idea where this enemy might be?” Kione spoke for the first time.

  Lia wanted to stick her fingers in her ears. His voice was a soft glide of sexual sensation across already raw nerves. She took a step away from Utah. It didn’t seem to lessen the compulsion of Kione’s voice.

  Adam looked impatient. “No. I’ve had my people scouring the city, but nothing so far.”

  “Guess we’d better start looking then.” Utah’s expression said he couldn’t get out of here fast enough.

  Adam nodded his permission for them to leave. “Take Jude’s car.”

  He motioned at Jude, and the vampire handed Lia his keys. She didn’t miss the frustrated anger in Jude’s eyes. Adam was stripping away his pride, figuratively grounding him. Not a good thing to do if you wanted to keep one of your most powerful leaders loyal.

  But then she shifted her gaze to Adam in time to catch a fleeting expression of satisfaction. Maybe he didn’t want Jude’s loyalty. If Jude rebelled, it would give Adam a legitimate reason to destroy him.

  Lia turned to leave, but Utah held up his hand.

  “I’m a little surprised you didn’t take more time to think about hiring me.” Utah sounded only mildly interested.

  “I have a useful skill. I can see the short-term future. I saw just far enough ahead to realize you’d be helpful.” Adam looked smug.

  “Interesting talent.” Utah seemed impressed. “So I suppose I’m forgiven for all those vampires I made permanently dead?” His eyes had a wicked gleam.

  “Of course not. Why would you think that? What would my people think if I didn’t avenge those deaths? My reputation would suffer if I didn’t kill you.” Adam smile
d a bad-boy smile that said, Hey, what’s a little death between friends?

  Lia had a fleeting thought. Adam was really a spectacular-looking man, but she’d never really noticed because he was such a jerk. Strange that Kione’s nearness didn’t make her want to put her hands on him.

  Utah leaned against the tunnel wall and smiled back. A real smile. “See, that’s what I like about you, vampire. You don’t mess around with fake friendliness.”

  Adam nodded. “Don’t worry, though. I won’t do it until you’re no longer an employee. Oh, and I never got a chance to explain company benefits: full health and paid funeral expenses. No retirement plan. You won’t need it.”

  “I wouldn’t count on that. I have a few years on you. I think I can make a couple of more decades.”

  Utah straightened and began to retrace his steps through the tunnel. Kione followed close behind. But Adam put his hand on her shoulder before she could leave.

  “I have every reason to believe Utah will satisfactorily complete his job. And when he’s finished, I’ll have a special assignment for you.”

  She thought she knew what was coming.

  “You’ll kill him.”

  She didn’t ask why he didn’t do it himself. He’d lay some lie on her like it would be easier if she did it because Utah wouldn’t be expecting it. A bunch of crap. Adam was all about protecting himself. Given a choice, he’d always have someone else do the dirty work.

  Sighing, Lia turned away and hurried to catch up with the others. When she reached Utah, she leaned close. “Be careful or you won’t last long under Adam’s rule. Tick him off and you’ll end up like his wizards. He’s into disposable parts as long as those parts don’t belong to him.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” His voice was a husky murmur that slid over her body and coiled low in her stomach. She dropped back a few feet, but the sensation didn’t go away.

  Once outside again, she drew in a deep breath of night air. Free. Sort of. Now to deal with the dark fairy. She turned to Kione. “We need to talk.”