by Melody Raven
“You what?”
“I’m not going to apologize. He stole me away from my home. He kept me his prisoner. I wanted to make sure he’d never have a chance to hurt me or anyone else ever again.”
He stared at her, and she wished she could read his thoughts. He shouldn’t be suspicious of her. She hadn’t done anything so far to raise suspicions. But she couldn’t help but feel paranoid.
“I hope that doesn’t make you think less of me. I know that when I was promised to you, you wanted an obedient wife. But you have to understand that I did what I could.”
Scragg shook his head. “No. How could I think less of you?”
He reached out and put his palm against her cheek. Once again, all she could think of was what it felt like when Aidan had his hands against her face.
Everything about this felt wrong. But before she could even think of what to say to Scragg, he followed up his nice sentiment with, “Did Jackson touch you?”
That was how he could think less of her. If she was no longer “pure.”
“He didn’t,” she assured him as she stepped away from him and away from his touch. “He didn’t want a captive—he wanted a bond mate. Arm candy to show off his status even in this new world. I know you’re above such things. I know you’re better.” She said the last bit with a little edge. She was sure Scragg would want arm candy just as much as Jackson. But at least he had enough pride to pretend he wasn’t as desperate.
“Jackson was weak,” spat out Scragg. “So was Mikel. I’m here to clean up their messes.”
“I didn’t know you even came over. If I had known you were in Seattle, I would’ve found you as soon as I was free.”
“I’m sorry, darling. I wasn’t here to begin with. I only came over... recently.”
She blinked innocently. “Recently? I thought the humans have the gate under guard. How did you get past them?”
“We don’t need to talk about that. The point is that you’re here now and you don’t have to worry anymore. I’m going to take care of you.”
She clenched her fists and forced them to relax again. This was what she expected. So far, everything was going well. “I—”
A knock on the door cut her off. She jumped at the sudden noise. Even though it played up the image of her being scared and delicate, she hated that she actually felt scared and delicate.
“I’m sorry about this,” said Scragg. “They wouldn’t interrupt us if it wasn’t important.” He pulled open the door and said harshly, “What?”
“There’s a warlock here,” said the Vopura on the other side.
Lina stiffened. No. It couldn’t be....
“What do they want? We don’t have anything set up tonight.”
“It’s not one of them. A new guy. He said he’s here to help you.”
No, no, no, no....
“He calls himself Aidan Masters.”
Aidan had done a lot of crazy things in his life, but this one was a whole other level. But Talia had finally pushed him too far.
It was one thing for her to take his powers and render him absolutely useless. But for her to throw Lina to the wolves, literally the exact thing she never wanted, had caused something to snap in him. He might not be able to stop this, but he didn’t have to sit back and just let it happen either.
Which was how he’d found himself showing up at the enemy’s doorstep in the middle of the night. He had no idea how this was going to go, but at least he’d be doing something.
Maybe Lina had a point. He did have a problem with letting go of control. He’d be sure to tell her she was right the next time he saw her.
It only took a moment for Scragg and a handful of his backup to show up in the front room to surround him. The last time he’d dealt with Scragg’s guys, they’d tried to kill him. But then, he wasn’t offering them anything. So let’s see if he couldn’t get this meeting to go a little bit better.
“Hey,” he said casually. “Long time no see.”
“I heard you were still alive. Are you here to exact your revenge?”
He raised a brow and pointed at himself. “Little old me? What am I going to do? I’m still rendered powerless by my own flesh and blood. Even if I wanted to hurt you—which, okay, yes, I do—I couldn’t.”
“And so you’re here so I can kill you easier?”
“Not at all. I’m here because I’m angry. You tried to kill me just days ago, and my grandmother hasn’t done a damn thing. She hasn’t given me back my powers. She hasn’t given me a protective detail. She just wants to let me die. You told me you were going to attack, and you attacked. Can’t really fault you for that. She’s my own flesh and blood, and she betrayed me. Guess which one pisses me off more.”
Scragg frowned.
At least Aidan could be very sure that he’d succeeded in confusing him. A door opened, and all of a sudden Lina was there. Aidan sucked in a breath at the sight of her. She looked just as amazing as usual, with a tight black tank top and jeggings that showed off every delectable curve. But most importantly, she looked safe. He wanted to look away from her, but he found himself entranced. He was just too grateful that she was safe. Besides, she was beautiful. It wasn’t abnormal for him to enjoy looking at her.
“Get back,” snapped Scragg to Lina.
Aidan bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from screaming at Scragg to leave her alone.
Lina stared at him with wide eyes. He was sure she would be furious at him, but he supposed they could both be mad at each other now. He didn’t want her to put herself in danger, and she didn’t want him in danger either. Weren’t they just peas in a pod?
“I don’t want to hide.” Lina moved to stand behind Scragg as though she were relying on him to protect her from Aidan. “I’m done with sticking to the shadows. What’s going on?”
“When I know, I’ll tell you.”
“I’m a warlock with no powers,” said Aidan, telling Lina what she already knew. “I’m here to volunteer my services to the Vopura, however they need me.”
“You have no powers. What could we possibly need?”
“Information. I’m the grandson of the most powerful witch on the continent. Talia is out for your blood. If there’s anyone who can help you defeat her, it’s me.”
“We already have a plan in place to deal with her.”
“Then kill me now and get it over with.”
Lina sucked in a breath and immediately looked down at the ground. Probably the only way she knew to keep others from seeing her emotions.
“Do you have a death wish?” asked Scragg.
“No. I have a life wish. I very much would like to stay alive. But a friend of mine recently pointed out that I have a control problem. I like being in control, and Talia has been taking each and every piece of control from me recently. So I’m here to take back power whatever way I can. I’m not going to let her boss me around any longer. I call the shots in my life.”
“And you don’t have anything you want in return?”
“I figure this is a day-by-day arrangement. I wait to see if you kill me, and you wait to see if I can be of any help to you.”
Scragg looked him up and down. “I don’t trust you.”
He shrugged. “So? What am I going to do if you let me stay? Attack you in your sleep? Besides, you can’t throw me out without giving me at least one chance to prove myself.”
“Prove yourself how?”
Aidan reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it over to Scragg, who snatched it so fast that Aidan didn’t even see him move.
He read over the contents and then looked back at Aidan. “What is this?”
“It’s an address of a vampire hideout. They’re working on moving in on a nest of Vopura down on the east side. If you hit them first, you can save your guys a lot of trouble.”
“How do I know this isn’t a trap?”
“I suggest you send some of your guys who you really don’t care about. And when I’m
proved right, you come back to me and we can figure out what else I can give you. I work closely with the vampires and Special Unit 4. I have plenty that you can use in your fight.”
Scragg finally went quiet as he seemed to contemplate what Aidan was offering.
He could understand the guy’s hesitance. But he wasn’t playing games here. That was a real vampire hideout. He had faith that whoever was there would be fast enough and smart enough to survive any Vopura attack. But he knew he’d need to give something to get a small measure of trust from this son of a bitch.
And he needed a small amount of trust if he was going to stay close to Lina.
She was staying quiet as her eyes bounced between the two men. He wanted to give her some kind of reassurance, but he knew that was out of the question. Instead, he kept his focus squarely on Scragg.
Scragg was obviously split on how to proceed. If Aidan was legit, the offer would be too good to pass up. And if he was lying, he’d be welcoming a spy into his midst.
Scragg handed the paper off to one of his guys. “Get a team together. Your best guys,” he added, in opposition to what Aidan had recommended. “Check it out and tell me what you find.”
The guy immediately left the house, and Scragg turned his attention to Aidan. “If you’ve lied to me, you know you’re not going to make it out of here alive.”
Aidan nodded. “I figured.”
“And until I have verification of what you’re offering, you’re going to have to stay here.”
“I figured,” he repeated. “Is there a room for me? Or maybe a nice cozy dungeon?”
He smiled with a not-so-subtle hint of malice in his eyes. “Go upstairs and take any of the rooms. Run if you want. You won’t get far.”
He didn’t seem too concerned with Aidan getting away at all. That concerned him. Were there cameras set up outside? Something supernatural to keep him inside?
But he’d come in and successfully got an invitation, if only temporarily for now. He couldn’t push his luck much longer.
He wanted to give one more look to Lina but forced his gaze to remain forward as he took the steps upstairs. He’d dropped his bomb for the night. Now it was time for him to wait to see where the remnants fell.
Lina kept her gaze squarely on the marble floor. She couldn’t look at Aidan. If she did, it was too likely that her anger would boil over.
He’d begged her not to put herself in danger. Pleaded with her even. And what he was doing was so much worse in so many ways. At least she had some measure of safety with these Vopura. They had no reason not to believe that she was there as a friend. If anything, him showing up had put her in more danger than she ever had been before. Stupid, foolish, stubborn, arrogant—
“Are you okay, love?” asked Scragg.
He always had been so sweet with her. Odd, considering he barely knew her. They’d never even gone out on a date. That wasn’t how things were done back on Vora. In fact, she’d probably spent more time with Aidan than she ever had with Scragg.
“Of course. I know you didn’t want me here, but I don’t want to be hidden away. I want to know what’s happening. Especially since we’re going to have a possible enemy in the same building.”
“He’s harmless. A witch with his hands tied behind his back.”
“You have to understand that things have changed. We’re not back on Vora any longer. I’m not a precious resource that needs to be protected. I’m a threat here too. And I’ve proved myself.”
Scragg nodded but she could see the disappointment on his face. “You have been changed, haven’t you?”
She’d pushed him too far. She could tell immediately. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to offend you. I just—”
“No more. It’s late, and I have to deal with the fallout of our warlock guest. I’ll have you shown to a room.”
Shown to a room? Not his room? Not that she was complaining. But it wasn’t how she expected this to go. One of Scragg’s guys came to collect her and lead her upstairs. They led her to a bedroom that was just as plain as the rest of the house. Very square, rectangular furniture. Instead of beige and brown, this room was beige and green. She wasn’t sure that was much of an improvement. Even the bed seemed too firm and hard. She had a feeling a woman had never lived in this place.
“And I’m supposed to sit here and wait until I’m needed?” she asked Scragg’s man, who gave her a wordless shrug. It wasn’t as if he were a shot caller here.
She sighed as he left her and shut the door behind him. And here she was, locked in another room. Great. She fell back on the bed and let out a deep sigh. She didn’t need to stay long. All she had to do was get a location of the gate. Not a general location, but a specific address. It shouldn’t be impossible. It might not be easy, but not impossible. And from there she could figure out how to get away.
Staying away would be another matter. Before, she had the advantage that Scragg didn’t know anything about her whereabouts. He didn’t know what name she was going by or what she even looked like in this human habitat. If she went running now, he’d want to catch her just to prove a point. And she didn’t want to be that point.
To get the information she needed, she would need to spend more time with Scragg. It was the last thing she wanted, but now that she’d gotten the first meeting out of the way, it had to go easier from here. Right?
The door creaked open and she bolted up. Her mouth dropped in shock when she saw Aidan walking inside.
But before she could even think of all the things she wanted to scream at him, he held a finger over his mouth, warning her to be quiet.
Figures he’d see her when she wasn’t even able to yell at him like he deserved. She tried to communicate all of her anger through her gaze when Aidan pulled out a trinket from his back pocket. She frowned when she realized what it was. Mrs. Anders had had a few boxes like that. After they were opened and the little knob was turned, they would play music. Aidan’s was much smaller, about the size of a full wallet, and after he turned the knob, no music played.
His mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear anything he was saying. It was almost a black hole of sound.
Tricky magic. She’d never get used to it. Aidan held out a hand to her and she slowly took it. The second she touched him, he pulled her forward and she slid into his chest before his mouth captured hers in a quick, thorough kiss.
“I missed you,” he breathed.
“You fool,” she whispered against his lips. “You’re going to get us both—”
He reached up and covered her mouth with his hand. It was then that she realized that when she was touching him, the music box wasn’t silent. It let out a low ticking noise, almost like a timer waiting to go off. It was quiet but enough to let them know if the box was still working.
Aidan turned the knob again. So this was enough to give them a few moments of peace, but it was only short-term.
She grabbed his arm once the box was working again. “You have thirty seconds to explain yourself and get the hell out of my room,” she said softly. Even though the box was supposed to mask them, she wasn’t about to put all of her faith in the piece of magic.
“I’m sorry. Are you mad at me? I came here to help you! You came here all alone with no backup. You couldn’t even bring a cell phone?”
“If Scragg got hold of my phone, he could find out who I’ve been talking to. I need to make sure he knows I’ve been sad and alone, not out living my best life.”
Aidan snorted. “Your best life? You’ve been cowering in an apartment with an old woman. You’ve barely been living any life at all.” The music box ran out, and they glared at each other in silence as Aidan turned it once more. Once it was finally ticking away again, he continued, “When this is all over, I’m going to show you things you only dreamed of. I’m going to give you the kind of freedom that not even humans get to experience. You’re going to have money, looks, and whatever else you want.”
“As long as I’m with you,” she shot
back.
“No. You don’t even have to be with me. I’m just going to give you whatever you want. Because you’re not going to need to be bribed to be with me. You’re going to be with me just because you can’t imagine not being with me.”
The music box ran out once more, but this time Aidan didn’t wind it again. He simply walked out, not even giving Lina the chance to get the last word in.
“I’m in trouble,” she finally said to herself once he was gone. And she didn’t care whether anyone was listening in. Besides, it wasn’t like it was news. Everyone would know she was in trouble by now.
The door opened once more, and Lina bolted up to see Scragg standing there. She’d been terrified that Aidan was stopping by unannounced again, but she couldn’t say she was relieved to see Scragg there.
She pushed herself up gingerly as he stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “I’m sorry about the delay,” he said politely in perfect English. “It seems like I never get a moment to myself.”
Lina looked him up and down, trying to think of the easiest way to get out if she needed to. Not that she should need to. He couldn’t suspect her of anything, could he? She hadn’t even done anything that could be construed as suspicious yet.
Well, except for her little chat with Aidan. And that he’d kissed her. Hell, she’d kissed him back. She was totally incapable of control around that man, which made it even stranger that he was here when she so needed to be on her game.
“I understand you’re busy,” she said demurely. “I’m not trying to interrupt you.” She just needed enough of his time for him to tell her where that fancy new gate of his was.
He slowly walked across the room and then sat on the bed next to her. The mattress shifted down with his weight, and everything in Lina screamed at her to move away. But she forced herself to stay her ground. “And yet here you are. And I have to admit I’m intrigued. What adventures you must’ve had here all on your own. That kind of experience can change a girl.”
