by Raven Steele
She tapped my forehead. "It's like a bank vault in here. We may have to do something different with this one. I’d love to break her down. I bet her mind is chock full of beautiful secrets.”
"Move on," Dominic ordered from the front. “We’ll deal with her later.”
Luke was staring at me now, his phone still in his hand, but his lips were open, just a little bit. Like he was surprised.
Ignoring him, I called up to Dominic. “There’s nothing to deal with, Sir. I just don’t like witchy fingers banging my brain. Makes me feel sleazy.”
Silas’ eyes bore into mine. “When we’re finished, don’t leave. We will question you further later.”
Ryder glanced at me nervously, just as they stepped in front of him. I ground my teeth. There’s no way he would be able to withstand her powers. I glanced across the row at my uncle. It was the same with him. They’d be tortured. Probably killed. I swallowed, nearly choking on the lump lodged in my throat.
The sun had long set, and my shadow was gone, abandoning me to the darkness. It only took me a second to make my decision. I couldn’t let Ryder or my uncle take the fall. It was my revenge that had brought us here.
I turned toward Silas. “Stop, I—”
"Hey, boss!" Luke called out. Dominic looked back at him. Silas and Maera also paused.
He held up his phone. “I just got a message from Brenda. She said two Greybacks just walked into her restaurant. What do you want me to do?"
My eyebrows lifted in surprise. What the hell were Greybacks doing in town? Jackson and I had a deal.
Dominic didn’t hesitate. “I want them captured and questioned.” He looked over the pack. “I want ten men to leave right now. As for the rest of you, stay close. If we find the Greybacks’ location, we fight them tonight.”
I inhaled a shaky breath at how close I had come to confessing. I eyed Luke. His timing was highly suspicious. Silas called out several names to go with him. I was one of them. Dominic also ordered Fire Ridge’s security team to go with him, which included Luke, along with his own personal bodyguards.
When I walked past Silas, he grabbed my arm.
“I want you close to me,” he breathed, his breath smelling of garlic and green olives.
My stomach tightened, and I resisted the urge to yank free from his grip. He kept a hold on my arm, practically dragging me to his SUV. He opened the door to the driver’s seat and waved me inside.
I guess I was driving.
Samantha, Jerry, and Maera crowded into the back seat while Silas slid into the passenger seat.
“Drive to Antonio’s on Fifth Street,” Silas barked, his hands gripping the dash. I thought he might be anxious for a fight with the Greybacks, but he kept glancing at me as if I had pissed on his shoes. Could he be upset that he wouldn’t be able to question me later now that Greybacks were found? Maybe he wanted another naked whipping session. Fuck that. If he ever tried it again, I’d cut his balls and prick off and have them shoved down his throat so fast, he’d choke before he could cry.
“Speed up.” Silas’ voice snapped through my thoughts.
I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel and pressed harder on the accelerator. When we arrived at the restaurant, Dominic ordered Silas to block all the exits and to wait until we were called in.
Following orders, I posted myself at the front door with Silas while Samantha and Jerry rounded the back, in case anyone tried to escape. Maera stood to the side of me, adjusting her dress. She had no intention of getting involved if a fight broke out.
While we waited, I thought about the two Greybacks. I doubted Jackson had approved them coming into the city. What if these shifters knew about my arrangement with him?
The front door flew open, startling me. Luke saw me first and opened his mouth as if to say something, but when he saw Silas, he shut it again.
“What?” Silas snapped.
Luke motioned us forward. “You can come in.”
Silas brushed by him, but when I passed Luke, his hand rested on my hip. I looked up, surprised. His gaze burned into mine as he pushed me forward, closing the door behind us.
His hand left my hip as soon as we were inside, and he rushed to move in front of me. The dining room was clear of customers and wooden tables had been pushed up against red booths. The staff huddled together in the corner, frightened, and whispering softly to each other. They probably imagined this to be some kind of disagreement between rival gangs. If only they knew who we really were. They’d be wishing for a gang fight.
Two Greybacks, one female and one male, sat tied to chairs in the center of the room. Both had already been beaten, their faces bruised and bloody. The man had a knife wound in his shoulder, and his blood ran down his large bicep and dripped to the floor. Dominic stood over them, his mouth twisted into a scowl. Silas stood shoulder-to-shoulder to him, opening and closing his hands as if he couldn’t wait to get in on the action.
Luke settled in just a step behind them. I joined Jerry and Samantha, who were coming in through the back door.
“Again,” Dominic said over his shoulder to Terrence. He moved out of the way so Terrence could step forward away from the other shifters.
Terrence slammed his fist into the woman’s face. Her head snapped back and blood sprayed from her nose. She whimpered, but gave no other reaction.
I narrowed my eyes, looking closer. They both stared into the distance, their eyes glazed over. The woman wasn’t even looking at Terrence. I nervously played with my ring. Something was wrong.
Terrence growled, rubbing his knuckles. He looked at Dominic expectantly.
“What’s the problem?” Silas asked Dominic.
“We can't get them to talk.”
Maera pushed through them, licking her lips. “Let me try.”
“I’ll do it.” Silas was already unscrewing the top part of his cane. He unsheathed a dagger from the long tube and squatted in front of the woman. "You have one chance. Tell me the location of your pack and your Alpha.”
He barely waited a second for the woman to respond before he rammed the dagger into her kneecap. I flinched as did several others. She didn’t respond, not even cry out, but her eyelids fluttered several times.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Samantha over by the humans. She was calming them down, while also trying to block their view of the vicious beating.
Silas scowled and dug the knife in deeper, intent on causing more harm but she didn’t waiver in her resolve. He snarled and yanked back the dagger. “What's wrong with her?"
“Let me see.” Luke leaned down and peered into each of their eyes. He snapped his fingers, but they didn’t react. He focused on the male, pulling his eyelids up. The male’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. Huffing, Luke let them go. "It's like they've been brainwashed into silence.”
"Brainwashed? But why?" Dominic leaned closer, studying them.
Luke grabbed the man’s arm and shoved up his sleeve. “Or drugged. There are track marks.”
Dominic cursed.
Luke straightened and moved closer to me as if he sensed a storm brewing.
Silas poked the tip of his dagger into the woman’s cheek until he drew blood. "I think it's more than that. I've worked with plenty of druggies, and this is not a normal reaction. If I didn't know any better, I would say they've been compelled."
He backed away, as if they were contagious.
Terrence drew closer, trying to get a better look at their eyes. "That would take a mighty powerful vampire to compel a shifter.”
“A powerful vampire.” Dominic looked at Silas meaningfully.
“I’m on it,” Silas responded and left the restaurant alone.
I leaned toward Luke, whispering under my breath, "What does that mean?”
Luke stared after Silas, his jaw a straight line. Ignoring me, he turned his body away from Dominic and quickly typed into his phone.
Dominic turned toward the employees who were still huddled together. "Did an
yone see these two with anyone else?"
A dark-haired woman came forward, her eyes stern. “They came in alone.”
Luke pocketed his phone. "I already questioned them, and they all say the same thing. Those two walked in on their own and announced publicly they were Greybacks. They weren’t trying to hide. It's like they wanted us to know they were here."
Out of nowhere, Dominic kicked forward, shattering a table in front of him. Everyone jumped and stepped back, staring wide-eyed.
But Dominic wasn’t finished, not even close.
Chapter 42
Dominic bent over and jerked the leg of the table clean off, then pounded the holy hell out of the rest of the wood. Splinters flew in all directions, and we had to move away to keep from getting hit. He screamed at the table, a string of profanities that made several of the employees burst into tears. His dark hair flopped around, covering his dark, rage-filled eyes.
I slowly moved forward, inching my way toward Samantha and the humans in case they needed protection from the psychotic demon who was in desperate need of some Lithium.
But just as quickly as the fit came on, Dominic straightened, and his expression fell flat. He calmly smoothed back his hair as if he was in front of a mirror preparing for a date. After adjusting his jacket, he walked out of the restaurant, all without looking at us.
Luke didn’t miss a beat and followed after. “Pack them up, boys.”
The rest of us looked at each other as if to say, “Did that really just happen?”
Jerry looked especially upset, like someone had just broken his favorite superhero action figure. He shook his head sadly and forced the male shifter to his feet. I grabbed the girl’s arm gently and helped her up too. She didn’t protest, even as we led them outside and into our vehicles to be questioned later.
The air had cooled considerably as the moon rose into the star kissed night. Normally I drew comfort from the millions of sparkles that refused to be swallowed by the darkness, but after what I just witnessed, the void inside me would last awhile.
Silas had left with the SUV we had come in, so we all had to crowd into Dominic’s vehicle. Dominic sat behind the wheel, another uncharacteristic move. Luke slid into the passenger seat and motioned for me to sit on his lap. I hesitated, but when I saw everyone else crowd into the back of the small space, I agreed. He wrapped his warm arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. I leaned into him, surprised by how well we fit together. I might’ve enjoyed it more, but the heat of everyone crammed into the vehicle was making my chest tighten.
As if sensing my sudden anxiety, Luke reached over and rolled down the window just as Dominic pulled the car onto the road. The cool air rushed into my lungs, and I relaxed more fully into Luke, even sweeping my hand up his arm to his chest.
Why did this feel so natural? It was as if he was an extension of me.
If it weren’t for Luke, the ride back to Fire Ridge would’ve been uncomfortably silent and stuffy. It didn’t help that we had two eerily quiet enemy shifters shoved in the back. It was difficult to look at them without shivering. They had no reaction to anything, not to what Dominic did, nor to being shoved into the back of the SUV. They were like zombies, but without the slobber and the whole brain eating thing, thank goodness.
Luke’s fingers began to stroke my side, sending shots of pleasurable electricity throughout my body, but he didn’t seem to realize he was doing it. He stared out the window, brooding.
As soon as we pulled up to the mansion, Dominic threw the SUV into park and jumped out. “Lock the shifters up.” He slammed his door behind him.
Maera climbed over Jerry and rushed to get out of the car, running after Dominic.
“Jerry and Terrence,” Luke said, “take them downstairs.” His phone buzzed from within his pocket. Keeping his arm around my waist, he yanked it out of his pocket and read the message away from where I could see.
“See you inside,” Samantha said, eyeing me curiously. She was probably wondering the same thing as me—why the hell weren’t Luke and I getting out of the car?
I shuffled in his lap, opening the door to climb out, but, without looking up from his phone, Luke placed his hand on my thigh, holding me still. I waited until everyone had gone into the house, then shut the door.
I turned to face him. “Tell me what’s going on. Everything.”
Luke slipped the phone into his pocket. When he looked up at me, his gaze seemed more relaxed somehow. The tight lines in his face were gone.
He settled his hands on my thighs and laid back, looking comfortable. “What do you want to know?”
“What happened earlier, when you stopped Maera from mind-reading Ryder? I know that wasn’t a coincidence.”
The edges of his lips tugged upwards and his thumbs edged their way under my shirt, making goosebumps break out on my arms.
“Why don’t you tell me how you blocked the witch?”
I frowned, huffing a breath through my teeth. He wasn’t going to tell me unless I told him my secret, which I obviously couldn’t do. So I changed the subject. “Does Maera often invade pack member’s brains?”
His smile disappeared. “Never on the scale that was done today. You need to be more careful. You could’ve been caught and they would’ve killed you.”
I poked at his hard pec. “Good thing a tough, sexy man was there to save me from the big, bad wolf.”
“Damn straight.” He grinned, running his thumbs higher. He stroked my sides, burning a line of fire into my skin. He leaned in to whisper. “Next time, you’ll have to beg me for help first.”
Heat rushed through my veins, but I put my hand on his chest and pushed away. “There won’t be a next time. Do I look like a helpless maiden? I can take care of myself.”
“It didn’t seem like that to me.”
“I was doing just fine.” I needed to clear my head from his scent, from the way he was making me melt into him. I scrambled to get away from him by opening the car door and climbing out. The fresh autumn air breathed across my flesh, cooling the heat plaguing my body. I slammed the door shut, trying to make some space between us, but he followed quickly behind me. He placed his hand on my arm. “And Ryder? He was involved somehow, wasn’t he? That’s why you looked so worried earlier.”
I swiveled around. “What?”
“Did Ryder help you steal that briefcase?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because, Ryder is different. You shouldn’t get him involved in your shit.”
“I’m being careful.”
He eyed me, letting his gaze slide over my face. He stepped into my space. “I’ve never seen anyone block Maera. Never. Until today. Until you.” He grabbed my arms and pushed my back against the car. “You may be able to take care of yourself, but if you’ve gotten Ryder involved, and they found out, they would’ve killed him. Probably tortured him first. Especially about this. Dominic’s never wanted something so badly in his life.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
“Then you’d better watch his back better so he doesn’t get killed trying to help you.”
I growled. “I had it handled. I don’t need you to save me.”
He pushed his body flush against mine and my heart rate spiked at the contact. “I disagree.”
“Think again. I will protect those I care about at all costs.”
“What is it about you, Briar? What makes you think you can take on the world all by yourself?” He leaned in, his eyes searching for something I hoped he wouldn’t see. “Why won’t you let me in?”
“You have no room to talk. You’re a vault, just like me.”
He groaned. “I try, Briar. You have no idea.”
“I don’t see it. All I see is Dominic with your balls in his vice. What the hell does he have over you?”
He glanced away. “I can’t tell you.”
“It must be something big to keep an Alpha male like you in line. Such a good little soldier, you are. It seems
you only care about Dominic.”
He pulled back, his blue eyes darkening. “That’s not true.”
“Then what do you care about?”
“Shit, Briar. You have no idea.”
“Then tell me, Luke,” I said, softening my voice. “Help me understand.”
His phone buzzed again. He stepped away from me, leaving me cold to check it. After a few seconds of reading whatever was on the phone, his brow furrowed, and he slowly looked up at me.
A moment later, he shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Fuck this. I’m tired of fighting you, Briar.”
Moving faster than I’d ever seen him move, he grabbed my shirt and yanked me forward, slamming his lips against mine. His lips were harsh, an inexorable force against mine as his tongue pried at my lips, commanding me to open myself to him.
I wanted to beat him over the head. I wanted to force him to tell me everything about him and his secrets.
I wanted to give in to him.
I moaned, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaned into his hard body.
Our lips fought against each other, each unwilling to give up control to the other. He wrapped his hand around the back of my hair and fisted it, forcing my head back. “You will open yourself to me. I will be the one to smash down your walls, to make you mine.”
Then he kissed me again, and I growled, finally opening my mouth to let his tongue slide in. It was silky soft and stroked mine possessively. It was heaven’s temptation, and I wanted to taste it forever.
But I only gave him a moment before I bit down, and he yelped. I wrapped my hand in his shirt, clutching it, staring fiercely into his eyes. “No one forces me to do anything.”
Instead of pulling away from me like I expected him to, he chuckled, let go of my hair, and swiped a drop of blood from his lip off with his tongue. He whispered into my ear. “A little pain doesn’t scare me.”
I shuddered, feeling his words shoot right through me. At my response, his eyes glazed as he stared into mine. “I’ll never force you to be mine, Briar.” He slowly lowered his lips to my neck, raking his teeth softly down to the space where it met my shoulder, while his fingers slid up to cup my nape. “Instead, I will make you beg for it.”
