by Tia Didmon
“I know you will, my dove.” Her voice faded away.
The king screamed, but only those at the mansion heard his sorrow. Blood tears rolled down his face as Valen returned to his former size.
Dante rose from the ground. His face matching the pain of his brother. “We will find her.”
Kiki looked at Laura. “Who is Hannah?”
Laura wiped away a tear. “She was Carina’s best friend. Valen would sit on her lap as a child while Carina cooked. She called him her little dove.”
Valen looked at Kiki, wiping the blood from his face. “Hannah was my mother’s chosen sister. Since she is alive, my mother asked her to do the worst possible thing.”
“What?”
“She asked Hannah to let her die.”
Kiki looked at Laura. Her own chosen sister. “No.”
Kiki picked up the broken mug as Maddie came up the steps to the patio with Blam in her hands. Her tiny face creased with worry. “Are you okay, honey?”
“Hi, Kiki. I was hoping Chad was here. Blam is having trouble breathing again,” Maddie said.
Kiki pet the frail cat, listening to the wheezing breaths. “Maybe Dante can...”
Dante approached them. “I gave Blam blood this morning. It does not appear to be helping him much anymore.”
“I thought your blood healed any injury?”
“It does. Blam no longer has injuries, his organs are breaking down. I assume it is old age. I don’t possess the power to grant immortality.”
Kiki looked at the frail cat. Fear and anguish clutching her heart. “Does Valen?”
Dante shook his head. “Only the king’s blood can do that.” He touched Maddie’s cheek. “Laura has given Blam the best life she could in his final years. He wasn’t born immortal. You understand the balance we must maintain. We can’t ask this of the king.”
Maddie burst into tears. She put the frail cat on the chair and ran from the patio into the woods.
Dante cursed under his breath and began to follow his distraught daughter.
Kiki put her hand on his arm. “Let me. I feel the same way she does but I understand that asking the king to immortalize a cat is... unreasonable.”
Valen put a hand on Kiki’s arm. “I’m sorry. The king won’t...”
“I know.” She proceeded down the path Maddie had taken, calling the little girl’s name. Kiki was behind a pink Mimosa tree when the tears began to fall. She stopped, giving herself a moment to accept the pain and grief. It took her back to the moment she’d watched her own cat murdered, feeling the inadequacy. The same sense of failure as she had when her first pet had died. After getting her tears under control, she began to wander the grounds, calling Maddie’s name. She headed toward the new barn, hoping Maddie was consoling herself with the recovering calf.
She was about to open the white gate when Santon Lopez, stepped from the dense bush with his handgun aimed at her head. “Hello, Maria.”
Kiki whirled. Fear. Shock. Shame. All mixed to stun her into a shocked silence. “How?”
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment. Cultivated some questionable business relationships, all so I could savor your death.”
She had a moment of regret before she went for her weapon.
Santon pulled the trigger before Kiki could pull her gun from its holster. The bullet ripped her esophagus apart.
She dropped to the ground with her hands wrapped around her bleeding throat as Santon smiled down at her.
Kiki clutched the wound at her throat. Pain radiated through her as blood bubbled between her fingers.
Santon loomed over her with his gun pointed at the ground. He sneered as he put his boot on her stomach. “You must have known it would come to this, Maria. It took years of planning, time and money to establish the contacts and the weapons needed to infiltrate the PIA but you knew the night you attacked my father that it would end this way, didn’t you?” He pressed down on her chest. “Answer me.”
“Your father was a monster.” She croaked, barely able to form the painful words.
Santon took a cloth from his pocket and began to clean his gun. “You made yourself practically untouchable. It was more difficult and took me far longer than expected to track you down and get myself into position close to you. When you joined the death squad, I thought I had lost my chance at you, but you made a powerful enemy. I admit I’m curious what you did to the Ladon syndicate to make them hate you so. They wanted to use you like the whore you are. I had to bribe them with something more valuable than your life.
“What’s a whore worth these days,” she whispered with crackling breath.
Stanton ground his boot into her. “You are worth nothing. My father purchased you. You belonged to him. You ruined my father’s health that night. Worse, you made him impotent. I had to hide his disability for years before his health failed.”
Kiki tried to form words but they wouldn’t come. She choked on her own blood as the sounds and smells around her began to fade.
Santon huffed. “My father could never admit a small girl like you got the best of him. He reported you dead, that you died in the attack on him. He blamed a rival syndicate and used the attack as a ruse to assassinate the rival and take over his operation. Despite his turning your insolence into a business advantage, I made sure I kept up on your whereabouts. I promised my father on his deathbed that I would track you down and kill you, but that I would wait until you believed yourself safe. That you believed you’d found happiness. I saw how you looked at your man. You actually thought you had a future. That you had escaped your past. That is when you destroy an enemy.”
Kiki vision blurred. She hated that he was right. She’d believed she had a future with Jordane and was sorry for the pain this would cause him. Kiki brought nothing but pain and death wherever she went. It was careless of her to allow anyone close to her. She had never told them how much she loved them. It was something she couldn’t admit to herself. Jordane and her friends had turned her life into something she hadn’t expected. Something meaningful. The blur of gray caught the corner of her vision before she heard the angry growl.
Blam launched from a log, exhibiting grace and agility of a much younger cat. His high pitch screams and hisses, echoed in the night as he scratched and bit Santon.
Santon swore before flinging the frail cat to the ground. He pulled his gun, aiming it at the wheezing cat, fighting for air. Shouts from the house pierced the night as Santon ran off.
Kiki stared at the tiny cat fighting for air. She had heard the crack as he hit the ground and knew she had assisted in yet another death. This was the fate for anyone near her. This was her namesake. There was only one way to protect her family. She let her hands fall from her neck. Warm blood watered the green grass surrounding her.
Chapter 11
Jordane felt Kiki’s sadness. The unfamiliar weight of regret cinched his heart in a vise. How had she survived with such emotions? He scratched his chest, as if he could rub the invisible threads of their growing bond away. The connection between them was strengthening but would not be complete without her acceptance. He took a deep breath before he got the alert from one of his hidden warriors. He was striding toward the door when Zane burst into the mansion, flanked by his squad.
“Where is she?” Zane demanded.
Jordane’s eyes flared. “You barge into the Moretti home and make demands on... me?” Several warriors materialized and snatched the squad’s weapons from them.
Zane took a deep breath. “I apologize for the intrusion but Kiki isn’t answering her phone. We are under orders.”
“She is comforting the child. We gave Maddie some unfavorable news, and she’s distraught.”
Zane lowered his weapon as the other warriors returned the squad members theirs. “LAPD spotted Santon Chavez an hour ago. Jenner set a security alert for him. If we identify him in the city, then we have to escort Kiki back to PIA headquarters. It’s for her protection.”
Jordane’s e
yes went wide. “How did Jenner know Santon is a threat to her?”
Zane shook his head. “Ask him. All I can tell you is the alert is a high priority. She has to come with us now. Where is she?”
Jordane turned. “She is in the backyard. We will...”
Blam’s angry scream was cut short. The sick silence had them all running toward the forest.
Jordane’s demon surfaced, searching for its mate. He’d retreated from the paralyzing pain of regret coming from Kiki, assuming it was attributed to the feline’s health. His error had cost him. He felt her pain now but it wasn’t the regret of losing a pet. This was an all-encompassing pain of letting down her family. Her loved ones. She was dying. He heard Zane gasp as his warrior emerged enraged, bolting past the other warriors and PIA agents.
He smelled her blood before he saw her small body bleeding out in the grass, her throat all but gone. Her broken body barely clung to life. He signaled the pack to hunt the aggressor. To kill the man who would do such a monstrous thing to a woman that had been through so much in her life. His woman.
Jordane screamed in his mind for the only person who could save her. DANTE!
I am right behind you Jordane. Stem the bleeding. I will save her.
He put his hand over her wound as the blood prince arrived. Dante cut his wrist and willed Kiki to drink. Chad bounded up in German Shepherd form, shifting to a human before his light entered Kiki’s body. Jordane watched in awe as the tissue in her neck began to glow. Sinew reached out, attaching itself to its fallen partners, growing, building anew. Blood surged inside the newly formed vessels. He’d never witnessed the combined power of the healer and prince before and he’d never been so thankful. While they worked on her body. He connected with her soul. She had accepted her death, and that bothered him. Death was always a possibility for a warrior but her acceptance seemed personal. Like she didn’t deserve to live. She hadn’t thought to use her crystal to assist with healing or protection and that was on him. He had trusted her skills as an agent which were admirable but nothing compared to her power as a warrior. He had been lax in his duty as the leader of the warriors and she had paid the price.
Once he felt her soul connection to him strengthen, he began to talk to her. “I was so taken with you I was remiss in starting your training as a warrior. I won’t fail you like that again. Don’t leave me for my ignorance... I beg you.”
Laura approached the scene alone, proceeding to put a blanket around Chad’s naked form.
Jordane looked up. “Where is Valen?”
Laura eyes pulsed. “I have instructed him to take a nap. Dante will have the full power of the king.” She glanced at her dying cat. “Dante, I need you to help Blam as soon as Kiki is stable.”
Dante moved over and picked up the frail cat. His voice held the undertone of the king. “Kiki needs a moment before I give her more. I will see to your pet now.”
Jordane looked at the queen, seeing her true power. She wasn’t weeping or distraught. There would be one outcome only, and it guaranteed his mate’s survival. “Valen shouldn’t be alone.”
“He isn’t, I instructed Tovan and Demitri to watch him while he slept. I won’t allow anyone near my family again.”
“How did Santon infiltrate the property without detection?” Jordane asked.
“We have a psychic net around our home at all times. Yet, he slipped through. Though we are at the boundaries of my net, it is a question I would like answered.”
Dante finished with the feline then handed the small cat to Laura. He returned to Kiki. “She does not require more blood. Chad is finishing up now.”
Chad swayed from exhaustion. A warrior supported him as he stood, pulling up the blanket. “I think I will take a quick nap. In case she needs me later.”
Jordane stood with Kiki in his arms. “Is she whole?”
He nodded. “I’ve repaired the tissue damage and Dante has replaced the blood loss. Valen will give Dante what he needs to recuperate but...”
“I know about her past,” Jordane said.
“Do you understand the ongoing effects of such a trauma? I don’t know how she survived such an ordeal at that age.”
Jordane kissed Kiki's forehead. “Because she’s a warrior, and she is mine.”
Chad nodded. “She needs you now more than ever.”
“We will destroy her enemies.”
“Kiki’s past can’t prepare her for what is coming.”
“You mean the bonding?” Jordane asked.
“That’s part of it.” Chad dropped his blanket as he shifted to his German Shepherd form and jogged to the house.
Jordane ran to the house with Kiki cradled to his chest. He took her to her room in the Moretti mansion. Fire and anger burned in his blood as he lay her on the bed. Heat rolled off his body in waves. When the lacquer finish on the dresser warped, he reigned his power in. Burning down his mate’s room would not help the situation. His eyes were closed and his fists clenched when she spoke.
“You need to relax. While I feel like I was run over by a freight train, it appears I will live.”
His eyes flared. “You are alive because Laura would not allow any other outcome. She invoked the power of the king, Dante and Chad all to save you and that frail cat.”
Kiki smiled wanly. “She got Dante to save Blam?”
“Yes, he was infused with the power of the king so I imagine you will get some extra time with that feline.”
“I didn’t even think he could jump like that. He screamed and launched himself at Santon. Scratched him in the face before Santon threw him to the ground. I thought he was dead.”
“His screams alerted us. If he hadn’t, I’m unsure we would’ve gotten to you in time.”
Kiki stared at the ceiling, tears forming in her eyes. “After all my training. I am saved by a cat that barely weighs in at two pounds.”
Jordane knelt beside the bed. “You of all people should realize it is not the size of a warrior’s body that makes them strong. It’s the size of their heart. The strength of their conviction.”
The tear trickled down her face. “I fucked up. I’m sorry.”
He climbed in the bed, nestling her beside him. “I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. Not even when Tovan was a babe in my arms.”
“I won’t screw up like that again.”
Jordane tipped her head back. “You did nothing but try to comfort a wounded child.”
Kiki shook her head. “There’s so many things I could’ve done. I am trained for those situations. I let my past obliterate my training.”
He growled. “You were at the demon king’s home, surrounded by nine fucking warriors, including your mate. You should have been safe.”
She shook her head. “Not from the cartel. I’ll never be safe now. My father will be obligated to hunt me down when he finds out I’m alive. In his eyes I shamed him.”
“I have no authority over human criminals but I will execute anyone who touches you. Human or demon.”
“They will come.”
“Jenner has the contacts needed to look into the cartels. I will have Laura...”
Kiki sat up. “No.”
Jordane ran a finger over her stricken face. “I know this is a lot to ask of you but I need you to tell Jenner of your origins.”
Kiki pushed Jordane away and flipped out of bed. She grabbed the side table when the room blurred. “Shit.”
Jordane steadied her. “Stop.”
She tried to shove him away with no avail. She clutched his wrist, pushing down the familiar feeling of betrayal. “You can’t dictate to me just because I got hurt. It isn’t the first time and won’t be the last.”
“You are mad at me. Why?”
She turned away. “You told Zane.”
He was silent for a long time. “You think I told that overbearing human about you. Your past?”
“Yes.”
His anger spiked like a living flame. Her distrust hurt him. “I did no such thing.
”
“How did he know to come here? How did he know about Santon?”
“He said Jenner put an alert out for Santon. That if they spotted him in the city, they were to escort you to headquarters under guard.”
Kiki’s throat went dry. “What?”
“I don’t know the details but it seems to be a standing order,” Jordane said.
“When was the alert put in place?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll talk to him.” Her world was crumbling. The shame and horror of her past eroded the life she had built for herself. Her safety net was made of cellophane.
Jordane pulled her against his warm body, allowing his warmth to seep into her cold soul. He ran a hand through her blue spiked hair. “Tell me why you’re in pain. It is not from your wound.”
She allowed the silent sobs to rack her body. With anyone else she would have been embarrassed but Jordane saw her. Every dark corner. The despicable things she had done to survive. He didn’t judge her. He respected her. She knew it was a rare gift. “I don’t want the team... Jenner to look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“A whore.”
Jordane tipped her head up and growled into her mouth as he kissed her. Love, anger and compassion mixed into a heady cocktail of emotion. She clutched his biceps, drunk on his acceptance. His devotion. It was minutes before he released her mouth. “Despite my distaste for your squad leader, he has nothing but respect for you. He... cares for you. So does Jenner but his emotions toward you are maternal. He considers you family.”
Kiki sighed. “Jenner trained me. Pushed me to be better. He told me I was the best agent he’d ever had the pleasure of training. When I doubted myself, he pushed me harder, I would be dead ten times over if it wasn’t for Jenner.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No. Everything he did made me better. He gave me a cause to believe in. It’s ironic that our cause turned into protecting the thing we trained so hard to fight against.”
“Fighting the demon race. It changed you?”
