“That the extra-chromosomal species would kill to keep their secret. I mean, if humans knew about them, they’d be hunted and studied. We all want to be immortal.” Yet she wasn’t going to give up her story, because no doubt an advanced species would be able to cure human diseases. It was time they shared such knowledge. “Do you know any of them?” she asked.
He exhaled heavily and shook his head. “You are crazy, you know that?”
“I am not.” For goodness sakes. She’d listened to Helen detail the science perfectly, she’d done her research, and then she’d read the proof in black and white. “I saw the studies and the results.”
“Yet somehow the rest of the world hasn’t?”
She nodded. “Yes. I saw copies of research from a couple of labs that no longer even exist. The labs themselves have been destroyed.”
“Somebody is lying to you,” he murmured. “This is about drugs and patents. Not a new species on earth.”
Interesting. She couldn’t detect a lie, but she wasn’t getting a feeling of truth, either. So he might believe his story but have doubts, or he might be a phenomenal liar. Earlier she could tell, so now he might be shielding his lie better. Either way, intrigue kept her studying him. “You know what I think?”
“God, no.”
She bit back a snarl. “I think you know the truth and that you work for this species that’s immortal.”
“I think you’re nuts.” He glanced her way. “Beautiful and spunky...but insane.”
Warmth flushed through her followed by a welcomed temper. “If you take me back to the airport, or to a commercial airport, I won’t turn you in to the FBI. I promise.”
He grinned and swerved down a barely there driveway. “No.”
Alone in the middle of nowhere with a sexy soldier hacker who might have kill orders on her? There had to be a way for her to get to safety. She studied the tall stalks flying by outside, snowy leaves glimmering in the moonlight. If she jumped out of the vehicle, she could surely hide in there, but what then?
“I wouldn’t.”
She jerked back toward him. “Excuse me?”
“The cornfields are dangerous at night. Creatures and all of that.” Amusement deepened his voice.
“Jerk,” she said, eying his fit form. “Why don’t you have a gun?”
Tension emanated from him, filling the Jeep. “Don’t like them and don’t need them.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Interesting. Was there a time you did use guns?”
“Yes, and that’s all I’m saying about guns.” He leaned forward to squint out of the front windshield at the moon. “We’ll be at the farmhouse in about five minutes.”
Good. Then she’d come up with a plan to get home. Hopefully Helen hadn’t been scared off and would arrange to meet with the final proof again.
Chalton stilled.
Her heart rate rose out of instinct. “What?” she whispered.
He drew in air, his head not moving, his eyes roaming. “Shhh.”
She pushed back in her seat, looking outside. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Chalton drew a phone from his back pocket, hit a button, and held it to his ear. “Dage? I think I might have a problem.”
Dage? Who was Dage? And what problem? Olivia swallowed, her breath heated. What was out there?
Suddenly, lights rammed into focus behind them.
“Shit.” Chalton muttered. “How far is backup?” he said to the mysterious Dage. Then, “Not good. Get the word out as soon as possible.”
Olivia grabbed the dash and half-turned to see a lifted truck rapidly gaining on them. “Who is that?”
“Don’t know.” Chalton pressed the gas pedal, and the Jeep lurched forward.
A truck suddenly blocked the way ahead, and he slammed on the brakes. The vehicle skidded and then stopped. With a snap of his wrist, he flipped off the headlights.
Three men strode out of the cornfield to stand in front of the truck.
The vehicle behind the Jeep stopped, with the lights still glaring through the back window.
A lump settled in Olivia’s stomach, and her hands shook. “Friends of yours?” She squinted through the front, trying to see better. The men looked...odd. Even in the soft moonlight, they looked incredibly tall and pale. Two had really dark hair with what appeared to be red tips, and the other man had red hair with dark tips. Some type of cult?
“Stay here.” Chalton jumped from the Jeep and slammed the door. “You’re trespassing, assholes.”
The guy in the middle moved forward just a foot, spraying slush. “We don’t want a problem with the Realm. Just give us the journalist, and we’ll go.”
“You take her and you have a definite problem with the Realm,” Chalton said evenly, his stance widening.
What the heck was the Realm? Olivia moved to open the door, but Chalton shook his head, still facing the men. She stilled. Should she get out of the Jeep and help him? Or maybe she should let him deal with the men using the threat of the Realm, whatever that meant.
“Who’s her source for the articles?” the tall guy asked.
“We’ve taken care of the source,” Chalton responded. “Now leave. You can’t afford another war right now, and you know it.”
War? What war?
“We had her first, and we’re taking her to headquarters,” the guy said as his buddies fanned out.
Had her first? Did these guys work with the ones in the van?
“Thought you stopped hiring jobs out,” Chalton said.
“It was daylight. No choice,” the guy said. “Now hand her over.”
So the guys in the van worked for these guys? Why couldn’t they go out in daylight? Olivia quickly released her seatbelt.
“I’ve called for backup,” Chalton said. “Leave now.”
“No.” With a battle cry that echoed over the cornfields, the lead guy charged Chalton.
CHAPTER SIX
Chalton pivoted and tossed the Kurjan over the Jeep. The soldier’s elbows hit as he bounced to the other side. Holy hell. It was three to one, and that wasn’t counting the force in the truck behind the Jeep.
How had the Kurjans tracked him to his safe house? He held his hands out to the men now angling toward each side of him. They’d worn dark clothing instead of uniforms, no doubt wanting to blend in as much as a Kurjan could. “Listen, guys. We want the story quashed as badly as you do, and I’ll make sure it happens. Time to leave.” If they didn’t listen to reason, he was screwed. Backup was at least an hour away.
“No.” The guy to the left drew out a green gun.
A laser-shooting gun that could take down an immortal. “That’s not necessary.” Chalton shifted his feet so he could attack.
“Sure, it is.” The soldier pointed it at Chalton’s head. “Olivia Roberts? Get out of the vehicle.”
The door opened behind Chalton, and he could hear Olivia dropping out of the Jeep. She maneuvered up by his side, her heels sinking into the snow with soft plops. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll remain with Chalton.”
The soldier brandishing the weapon straightened. “Chalton? Reese?”
Damn it. Chalton partially moved in front of Olivia. A bullet from the green gun could easily kill her. “Nope. Not me.”
The soldier he’d thrown over the Jeep crossed around the other side, blood covering half of his face. “This changes everything. I say we kill him.”
“We’re at peace, dumbass,” Chalton drawled, his mind skidding into attack mode. If they killed him, they’d take Olivia, and she wouldn’t last minutes before they figured out she was enhanced. The Kurjans had no problem forcing enhanced human females to mate with them. They were male only, just like vampires. “So time to go.”
The leader smiled, revealing sharp canines that glowed yellow in the night. “We’re not at peace, not really. We’re just all regrouping. So you dying won’t have much of an effect.”
“Yes. Let’s kill him.” The guy with the gun took aim.
Olivia shoved in front of him, her hands waving. “No, no, no. Okay. Let’s stop this.” Then she stopped moving. “What’s wrong with your teeth?”
Chalton grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him again.
She peered around his side. “Are your eyes...purple?” Her voice rose on the last. “Oh my goodness. Can you fly?”
The Kurjan frowned. “No.” Then he pulled the trigger.
The laser impacted Chalton in the right shoulder, quickly forming a bullet and lodging in his flesh. He stumbled back and Olivia braced him with both hands. Pain exploded throughout his chest. “Get in the Jeep and drive through the cornfield,” he grunted, keeping her covered.
“No,” she whispered back, sliding out from behind him. “Don’t kill him, and I’ll come with you.”
The Kurjan chuckled. “How about I kill him and you come with me?”
Stalk leaves rustled next to him, and a large body stepped out from the darkness. “I don’t think so, asshole.” Green lasers fired quickly, impacting both soldiers in front of Chalton.
“Theo?” Chalton said, shaking his head. What was his younger brother doing there?
The Kurjan to his left moved. Chalton drew the knife from his boot, dropped and rolled, slicing both Achilles tendons. The Kurjan screamed, fangs dropping, and fell to the ground.
Chalton levered up and punched the soldier several times in the face, hard as possible, until the guy passed out.
Grunting, Chalton shoved to his feet and turned, surveying the area. “There are—”
More bullets pierced his back, and he fell forward, rolling and trying to stand back up. Theo calmly aimed over him, impacting another Kurjan in the face, firing until the guy went down. “Came from the truck behind you.” Theo craned his neck. “Looks like he was alone.”
The bullets firmed inside Chalton, and he tried to remain standing and keep control. But pain ripped through him, and he growled, his fangs dropping low.
Olivia’s eyes widened and she screamed, backing away against the Jeep.
Tingles detonated behind Chalton’s eyes, and he could feel them change from black to a sizzling gold.
Olivia gasped and pressed her hand to her chest.
He smiled, blood gurgling out of his mouth. “Guess you were right. We do exist.” Then he pitched face first toward the freezing snow, darkness slamming through him.
Fear tasted like copper in her mouth. Olivia leaned against the Jeep, her chest heaving, her brain misfiring. Fangs. Chalton had actual fangs, as had the pale-faced guy. Her knees shook, and she tried to lock them in place.
On the ground, Chalton breathed heavily, out cold.
Run. She had to run.
Theo sighed. He had Chalton’s size and dark eyes, but his hair was a shaggy brown around his collar. “There’s nowhere to go,” Theo murmured, tucking his gun in the back of his waistband.
Not true. If she could make it to the truck behind the Jeep, she could steal it.
“Listen, Olivia.” Theo strode forward and grasped Chalton beneath the armpits. “The guys on the ground are Kurjans, and they’ll torture you in ways you can’t even imagine if they capture you. More backup is surely on the way, and if you take their truck, they will get you. Come with me and you’ll be safe.” He ducked and tugged Chalton up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, grunting with the effort.
She swallowed. “Ku-Kurjans?” The fangs could only mean one thing.
“Yep. Enemy of most vampires.” Theo turned to stride toward a slight opening in the snowy cornfield. “I can’t carry my brother and force you to come with me, so it’s your choice. Kurjans or vampires? Up to you.”
Vampires. Freakin vampires. And brother? So this was the younger brother. “Chalton is a vampire, and he’s your brother,” she said slowly, her brain just not working right. Shock? Yep. That was it. She was totally in shock.
“Yes. We’re vampires, we won’t hurt you, and we can’t make you one of us. Everything you think you know is just silly legend. Pretty much.” He crossed into the field. “Come or not,” he called back.
She glanced frantically around. The Kurjan Chalton had punched was beginning to stir. Was backup really coming? How could there be real vampires? Advanced species, sure. But legends were correct?
The guy on the ground groaned.
Her feet launched into motion before her brain could even make a decision, running after Theo. She had to get away from the Kurjans, and now, more than ever, she had to know more about the species. Vampires. The only way to follow the story and stay safe, for the time being, was to run after Chalton.
Leaves slapped her, but she caught up to Theo. “So he won’t die from the bullets?”
“No. He’s strong enough to push them out of his body within an hour, probably.” Theo didn’t turn around.
A relief she probably shouldn’t be feeling washed through her.
Her heels sank into moist earth, and small rocks tried to trip her up, but she scrambled after Theo, her heart thundering. How could it be true? Vampires. Real vampires. She’d been kissed by one.
Theo’s face was longer and a bit leaner...but no less handsome than Chalton’s. He moved with predatory grace as well. Maybe it was a genetic thing.
The smell of dirt and plants filtered around her, and the wind whistled somewhere in the distance. Strong moonlight allowed her to see the path, and when Theo took a sharp turn, she followed, stopping with a gasp at seeing a dark helicopter waiting quietly.
Theo turned and grinned. “I was going to make a bunch of crop circles to mess with Chalton but didn’t have time.” He shifted his weight, slightly jostling his brother. “Would you please look through your purse and pockets for a tracker? The Kurjans found you somehow.”
She blinked and rummaged through her purse. “There’s no way they could’ve gotten a track—” Her fingers brushed a smooth metal disk the size of a small battery, and she drew it out. “Well, hell.” One of the guys in the van must’ve shoved it in there. Smart bastards.
“Throw it,” Theo said.
She nodded and chucked it over several bare stalks. Life had gotten way too weird.
Theo reached forward and opened the back of the helicopter. “Get in.”
She inched across uneven ground. Was this a good idea? Probably not. But waiting for more of the pale monsters seemed like a worse idea. So she lumbered inside and scooted to the far end on the plush leather seat.
Theo hefted Chalton in, allowing his head to drop onto Olivia’s lap.
She gasped and then settled back. Chalton had to weigh over two hundred pounds of solid muscle, and yet his brother had just carried him without losing breath. Vampires must be wicked strong.
The door banged shut, and within a minute, Theo was in the pilot’s seat starting the engines.
Quiet. The interior remained quiet. She frowned. “I’ve toured many areas in different helicopters, and we’ve always had to use headsets to talk. Why, or rather how, is it so quiet in here?”
“Technology. We have our own,” Theo responded, lifting back on what looked like a small steering wheel.
Exactly. That was why she had to expose the species...to gain that technology and save Ronni. “I bet your scientific knowledge is impressive,” she muttered.
The copter rose smoothly into the air. “We like to think so.”
“Um, where are we going?” she asked.
He didn’t even bother to shrug.
Chalton stirred, and his eyelids flipped open. “Olivia.” Said as a statement, not even a hint of a question.
“You’re a vampire,” she said, looking down at his angled face.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Humph.” Wincing, he reached for the hem of his shirt and began to tug the material up.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Need room,” he grunted.
Geez. She reached down and helped him, drawing the bloody material over his head.
He settled back down with a satisfied sigh. “T
hanks.”
Moonlight cascaded in from the front, and instruments glowed around, illuminating the space well enough for her to see several bullet holes in his torso. His ripped, predatory, hard as a rock chest. As she watched, a bullet spit out near his right rib cage to clatter to the ground. The hole slowly closed.
“Holy crap,” she whispered.
He turned his head to the front. “Theo? We have a problem.”
Theo glanced over his shoulder. “One beyond the Kurjans?”
“Yes. What the hell are you doing here?” Chalton remained in place, his head rather heavy on Olivia’s thighs.
Theo turned the wheel a bit. “I was hired to find Olivia and put an end to the articles she’s writing about a species that has extra chromosomal pairs. Figured the Realm would have you on it since you’re the computer hacker, so I, ah, traced your movements and was planning to take the woman at your vacation home in the middle of corn.”
So it was actually Chalton’s place? Weird. A vampire growing corn. Olivia frowned. “Wait a minute. Add in Jared, and that’s quite a coincidence, right?”
“No,” Chalton said grimly, shoving up to sit next to her. “That can’t be.”
“What are you talking about?” Theo asked.
“Jared was also hired to get her,” Chalton said.
Theo looked over his shoulder, his face hardening. “Well, hell. All three of us on the same case? You’re right. No coincidence.”
“Call Jared and have him meet us at Benny’s,” Chalton said. “Nobody can trace the place to us, and we’ll have time to figure out who wants us all on the same case in the same place. What common enemy do we have?”
“Just Peter Libscombe’s kids, Petey and Saul,” Theo said.
Tension wound through the luxurious craft, heavy and dark.
Olivia shivered.
Theo reached forward and typed something with one hand into an odd machine in the dash. “Sent the message, and I let him know we’re being set up.”
“Who is Peter Libscombe?” Olivia asked.
“Enemy as long as we can remember. Peter killed our father; our uncle killed him and then died in battle recently. Peter had two sons, although I didn’t think they’d want to continue to fight,” Chalton muttered as another bullet pinged out of his sternum.
Teased Page 5