Bound by Darkness (The Alliance, Book 3)
Page 31
“There’s no way of knowing what they’ll do,” Ronan answered. All his burns were already healed. “Joseph led them out here, but it sounds as if the creature you and Killean encountered is the one pulling the strings. We don’t know what its next move will be; either way, it’s not safe here anymore.”
She knew it was true, but she hated leaving the place where she and Killean were cocooned in so much happiness for such a short time. Killean would never get the chance to bring this place back to beautiful life, and she would never see her garden again.
“Where will we go?” she whispered.
“You’re coming to the compound,” Ronan said.
“But the hunters—”
“Killean almost sacrificed himself to bring down Joseph. The hunters will have to accept him.” Ronan shot Nathan a pointed look as he said this. “Despite what he’s done, Killean’s proven he’s still one of us this past month and especially last night.”
Simone couldn’t argue with that, and if any hunter had an issue with this decision, they would have to come through her to get at Killean. “How do you think they found us?”
Ronan’s jaw clenched before he spoke again. “I don’t know. We should go.”
Simone curled up beside Killean and draped her arm tenderly around him while Ronan and Nathan shut the back doors. If anyone tried to harm him while he was in such a vulnerable state, she’d tear off their heads.
CHAPTER 51
Simone lifted her head when Killean stirred beside her. This small movement was the most life he’d shown in the past two days. Hope surged through her as she sat up to stare at his face. His hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows were still gone, but the rest of his skin had healed enough that all his muscles were covered. The scar running down the center of his cheek remained, but no marks blemished his skin from the burns.
Behind his closed lids, his eyes darted side to side. She rested her fingers against his cheek as she leaned closer to him. “Killean?” she whispered.
When his eyes opened, she found herself gazing into them. It was then she realized she’d feared never seeing those beautiful, golden eyes again. “Killean,” she breathed.
Gripping her shoulders to push her back, he bolted upright, and his gaze flashed around the room where Ronan placed them. Ronan had said this was Killean’s room when he was here before, but it seemed to take Killean a couple of seconds to recognize it as his body remained tensed beside her. Then his shoulders slumped, he released her, and a ragged breath issued from him.
“We’re at the compound,” he said.
“Yes.”
His gaze raked her from head to toe. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him with a smile. “Completely healed and much better now that you’re awake.”
He grasped the ends of her sleek auburn hair, now cut to just beneath her ears.
“It was badly singed, and Kadence had to cut it,” she said. “But I kind of like this.” She gave her head a small shake. “It’s much cooler and easier to take care of.”
“You look beautiful,” he said. The short cut emphasized the loveliness of her sculpted features, porcelain skin, and green eyes.
She rubbed his bald head. “It’s much better than yours.”
Killean reached up and laughed when he felt the smooth skin against his palm. “Much better,” he agreed. “Ronan brought us here?”
“Yes. He said you’ve more than proved yourself, and the hunters would have to accept his decision. I agree.”
“And have the hunters accepted it?”
Simone shrugged. “I haven’t left the room since we got here, but everything seems okay; Ronan hasn’t mentioned any unrest when he comes to visit, but he probably wouldn’t tell me if there was.”
“Probably not,” Killean agreed.
“But the hunters won’t pull out of this Alliance, not anymore. They’re committed.”
“They are. What happened to Joseph?”
“He’s dead. Nathan finished what you started.” Simone bit her lip as she studied him. She’d just gotten him back, but still… “You shouldn’t have done that! You could have died!”
Killean clasped her hand, and lifting it to his mouth, he kissed the back of it. “I’m sorry I scared you, but it wasn’t planned. I’m never going to leave you.”
“You can’t say that! We have no idea what the future holds for us.”
“Simone—”
“You were so badly burned.” Tears filled her eyes as she recalled the terror of the past couple of days.
“Shh,” he whispered and drew her close to kiss her forehead. He despised the tremor in her body as she bowed her head and her fingers encircled his forearms. “I’m okay, and Joseph is dead. He’ll never hurt you again.”
“Dead,” she whispered and for the first time allowed herself to savor that wonderful knowledge. They still had that other thing and plenty of Savages to contend with, but that murderous, sick monster was dead.
Smiling, she breathed in the resin scent of Killean, tinted with the faint hint of smoke and the taint of a Savage. Simone realized that even after enough time passed for the smell of a Savage to fade, he would always be more Savage than not. There was something inherently wild and dark about Killean, and she loved him for it.
“That other thing is still out there,” she whispered.
“But we took out one of its main puppets, and we will destroy it too. I do not doubt that. You shouldn’t have thrown yourself on top of me to put out the flames.”
Simone snorted. “You’re in no position to lecture me, Baldy.”
Killean laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her close. Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her as he pushed her back on the bed.
“I love you, Simone,” he whispered against her mouth.
“And I love you.”
• • •
A few hours later, Killean found Ronan and the others gathered in the barroom. Nathan, Asher, and Logan were with them.
“Would you like a drink?” Declan inquired of him. He was seated at one of the stools lining the bar with a glass of amber liquid before him.
“Yes.” Killean settled himself onto one of the leather chairs between Saxon and Lucien.
“How are you feeling?” Lucien asked.
For the first time, Killean didn’t sense any anger in his friend’s voice. “Much better,” Killean answered before turning to Ronan. “If the hunters have a problem with me being here, I’ll leave,” he said, striking right at the heart of the matter. “I didn’t like it in the beginning, but I understand how important this Alliance is, and I won’t jeopardize it by being here.”
“You’re here to stay,” Ronan stated.
“They’re a little nervous,” Nathan said, “but they’re accepting it. Joseph’s demise helped them adjust faster.” Nathan grinned as he lifted his glass in salute to him. “I’ve never seen a vampire barbeque before, but you pulled it off nicely.”
Killean scowled at him, but it didn’t last long before he gave a small chuckle. “I hope never to pull it off again.”
“I would be fine with that,” Ronan said.
Killean met his gaze. Simone had told him Ronan gave him his blood, and that’s what helped pull him through the worst of his burns, but he had no idea what to say about it. The sharing of blood between vampires was rare. Until Simone, he’d never shared his before, and he’d wager Ronan hadn’t before Kadence. None of the Defenders had ever shared blood between them, until now.
“Ronan—”
“Don’t mention it,” Ronan said as he sipped his drink.
Killean nodded; that was the most they’d ever say about it, he knew.
Declan walked over and placed a glass of whiskey in front of him. “Thank you,” Killean said as he lifted it and took a sip. “I still feel stable,” he said when he set the glass down. He didn’t want to say the rest, but he had to. “But that could change.”
“And if it does, we’ll take
care of it,” Ronan said. “You’re back with us, and we will stop you from killing any innocents here or on the outside.”
Ronan sharing his blood with him had been the act of love between friends, but Ronan would kill him if he believed it necessary.
“Good,” Killean said. “So what do we do now?”
“Now we find that thing that was working with Joseph, and we destroy it,” Ronan stated. “We also find the mole we have here.”
Killean almost choked on the whiskey sliding down his throat. “Mole?”
“Yes,” Ronan said and gazed pointedly at everyone in the room. “Someone let Joseph know where you were.”
“You don’t think we could have been spotted after a hunt and trailed back to the asylum?”
“Do you?”
Killean pondered this before responding. “We were too careful for that to happen. What about Simone’s guards? Maybe they messed up.”
“It is possible,” Ronan said. “They were newer, young, and not as highly trained, but I find it unlikely. Joseph would have to know what to look for with them, and the vehicle they were in looked just like any other SUV on the road. No, I think someone working with us might have alerted him. It might also explain how Joseph knew we’re working with the hunters now. Yes, one of the hunters he captured could have revealed this, or he could have seen us hunting together one night without us being aware, but it also could have been someone on the inside.”
“But who?” Killean asked.
“That is the question. Is it a new vampire trainee? A hunter? We don’t know, but we’ll find out.”
“And they’ll regret it when we do,” Lucien murmured.
“They can’t be a Savage, or we would smell them,” Killean said.
“That doesn’t mean they’re not corrupt,” Declan said.
And that, Killean knew, was very true.
“Are we going to move?” Killean asked.
“No. If there is a mole, we’ll just be bringing them with us,” Ronan said. “And a new place would be more vulnerable. Few know the extent of the security systems we have here, and I trust them all. If this place was attacked, it would not fall easily, if at all, and many of our enemy would be destroyed before they ever reached the more vulnerable residents here.”
“Good,” Killean said as he thought of Simone. She would be safe here; he was sure of it.
Killean sipped at his drink as they discussed how to discover the answer to who could be the possible mole. After a couple of hours, Kadence and Simone strolled into the room. Ronan rose from his chair, and walking over to her, he clasped Kadence’s hand before leaving the room.
Simone came to stand beside him, but Killean pulled her into his lap and held her close. He had no idea what they would uncover in their hunt for the creature he’d seen in the bunker, or how far they would have to go to destroy it, but with Simone at his side, Killean was certain he could keep the darkness in him at bay.
He’d seen himself as so strong before she walked into his life, but he’d actually been weak. She made him stronger by forcing him to face his past and accepting him for who and what he was. He’d never believed himself capable of loving another or envisioning a future beyond the next fight, but he looked forward to every day of their eternity together, and the family they would one day have.
THE END
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Brenda K. Davies is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Vampire Awakening Series, Alliance Series, Road to Hell Series, Hell on Earth Series, and historical romantic fiction. She also writes under the pen name, Erica Stevens. When not out with friends and family, she can be found at home with her husband, son, dog, cat, and horse.