by Raven Steele
“I’m so sorry, Briar. I did all I could to get you free! I even offered Dominic every last penny I owned. I begged, even threatened.”
I blinked, trying to keep my eyes open. I noted the fading yellow around his eyes of what must’ve been a bad black eye once. Dominic’s handiwork? I smiled, the motion taking great effort, to let him know it was okay.
Ryder, standing just on the other side of my uncle, nervously glanced over his shoulder back toward the mansion as if he expected someone to come after us. I was too tired to worry about it. My eyes fluttered closed again.
Luke lowered me into the back seat of the car and swiped the hair away from my face with gentle, warm fingers. “Stay with me, Briar.”
My lips parted to respond, but before a word could escape, darkness overtook me.
Chapter 4
Darkness greeted me when I woke. I blinked a few times, trying to orient myself to my surroundings. I was lying on a soft mattress. By the smell of it, sweat mixed with cherry blossom body spray, I was in my own bed. My left side burned hot, a warmth that reached my toes. Luke’s familiar scent coated my insides. I smiled and turned to my side. He slept next to me with his hand wrapped around my stomach. His mess of dark black hair covered his eyes.
Damn, he was so gorgeous. How the hell did I get so lucky to have a guy like him care about me? Maybe he was brain damaged. Or desperate. No one wanted a troublemaker like me around, especially right now. Maybe he turned a blind eye to the danger I seemed to seek out. Either that, or he was drawn to the damaged side of me, to the dark shadows of my soul I barely kept contained. Some men were like that.
In his sleep, he appeared innocent, practically angelic. No one would ever know how working for Dominic had hardened him, or the painful secrets he kept locked away. All of it could weigh a person down into suffocating darkness. He was no different. It was time I helped him, but first I had to uncover what he was hiding, if he’d let me in. I owed it to him for everything he’d done for me.
Luke groaned, mumbling something in his sleep. I slowly checked the time. It was almost nine o’clock at night, which meant I’d slept a full twenty-four hours, assuming it was the next day. Luke still wore the same clothing as the night before, but I had a fresh pair of clothes on, and by the smell of my hair, someone had washed it and my body. I blanched at the thought of Luke giving me a sponge bath, touching my flesh, running his hands across my naked body …
I shivered and lifted my arm, but flinched when a tug of something stung the crook of my arm. Someone had hooked me up to an IV. An empty bag hung above me. That explained why I felt so much better, physically anyway. My only pain now was intense hunger, knotting my stomach in ways it wasn’t meant to be. Must have all the food.
Jerking the tubing out, I slowly slid out from under Luke’s arm and turned on my bedside lamp.
Luke’s eyes popped open, and he jumped to his feet. His eyes darted around frantically as if looking for danger. When he realized there was none, his gaze lowered to mine.
Relaxing, he smiled and ran his hand through his tangled hair. “You’re awake.”
Nodding, I met his gaze, and a spark of heat stirred in my chest. “How long have you been here?”
“I never left. You’ve been out for two days.” He opened a drawer in the nightstand and grabbed several granola bars. “Eat these. I’ll have Ryder bring up something.” He slipped his cell phone out of his pocket and began texting while I tore the wrapper off one of the bars.
“Listen, Luke.” I wanted to tell him how much everything he did meant to me, but I was also starving. I shoved the bar into my mouth. “I want to …” I chewed quickly. “Thank you. For everything.” Those words didn’t seem to cut it. “I’ll make it up to you. Maybe wash your bike naked or something.” More rapid chewing.
Once I figured out what pained him, I’d move mountains to take it away.
He lowered onto the bed next to me. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything, only stared at me with his dark blue eyes that could challenge any storm in intensity and ferocity. It made me stop chewing to stare back at him.
He reached up to touch my hair gingerly. “For every day you were locked up, a part of me died.”
I swallowed the bite in my mouth. “You felt that way?”
He lowered his hand. “I want you to know I did all I could, even crossing lines I swore I would never cross to save you.”
I frowned and squirmed on the bed, not liking those dark shadows inside me that were beginning to whisper. Of course he did. It was easy for people close to me to become tarnished, almost as if my darkness was contagious. “I didn’t ask you to.”
He reached for me and tugged me closer. “I know that, but I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t bear the thought of you suffering in there.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
He gripped my hand and pressed it to his lips. “I know you didn’t.”
Hot embers ignited my stomach when his mouth parted, his breath warming the tips of my fingers. He reached up with his other hand and slid it around the nape at my neck. “Briar, I—”
The door opened and Ryder hurried in, carrying a tray of food. “I hope you like it. It’s been cooking all day.”
I tore my eyes away from Luke at the smell of barbecued pulled pork. I moaned at the aroma as its smoky tendrils curled around me. Luke scooted back and leaned against the headboard. He pulled me in between his legs and let me lean against him while I ate.
Before the tray was all the way on my lap, I had the pork sandwich in my hands. I tore into it and groaned. “Better than sex.”
“Then you’re doing it wrong,” Luke said, then his voice dropped. “Or with the wrong people.”
So many comebacks flooded my mind, but I was too hungry to say any of them.
When I was halfway finished, which was literally three seconds later, and tired of Ryder staring at me like I was a ravenous dog (I was), I said, “Tell me. What happened while I was locked up?”
While I crammed the rest of my sandwich into my mouth, Ryder told me everything he and the others had done to try and get me free. They gave money, promised favors and made plenty of threats. Suddenly the food didn’t taste so good. A pang of guilt ate at me. They had done so much for me. Someone who wasn’t entirely innocent. I had killed Silas, and willingly, too. They all thought he had kidnapped me and held me against my will. Would they still have tried as hard to save me had they known I had been gunning for him this whole time?
When I finished the third sandwich, Samira walked into my room. Her gaze flickered from my arm to the empty IV bag. “You shouldn’t have pulled that out. You could use another bag.”
I looked from the tubing to her. “Did you do that?”
She nodded and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “You were severely dehydrated. Another few hours and you might’ve died.”
“Thank you. I owe you big time.”
“Yes, you do. And Lynx, too. It cost her quite a price to convince her mom to intervene on your behalf.”
I expelled a long breath. “I don’t know how I will ever repay you all.”
Luke squeezed my knee. “Just stay alive and don’t get kidnapped again.”
“I agree,” Ryder added. “That’s payment enough.”
“Not for me.” Samira glided in her undead way to the end of my bed. “I will expect something from you when the time is right.”
“Samira,” Luke warned, but I stopped him.
“No, I …” I swallowed and nodded. How could I tell her no after what she did? I just hoped whatever it was wouldn’t be too big of a price. “I agree.”
“Lynx is coming.” Samira didn’t turn around. “I warn you, she’s a little emotional.”
A few seconds later, Lynx burst into the room and rushed me. I had to throw my tray out of the way before she wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re okay! I was worried sick!”
Instead of pushing her awa
y like usual, I gripped her back, surprised by how comforting it was. My breath hitched. Who knew hugs could feel so … squishy?
Something about the motion lowered my defenses, and without warning, the memory of me shoving the knife into Silas’ stomach overwhelmed me. It had been so violent. So horrifying. I had no idea I was capable of such brutality. Sure, I had thought about killing him all my life, but to actually do it, was an entirely different experience.
My body tensed, and I gasped for air. I quickly shoved the memory away, locking that shit up tight.
I held Lynx for a moment longer to give the impression that my sudden emotions were from seeing my friends and not from the trauma of killing Silas.
Lynx released me and glanced down. She had a spot of barbecue sauce on her shirt. Probably from my face.
She shrugged through a tight smile. “Don’t worry about it. This is an old shirt.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Really? Looks fancy, all silk and lacy.”
“Do you know what lace is?” Samira asked.
I chuckled. “You know, I’ve missed this.”
“Me too,” Lynx said and stepped back. She smiled at me sadly, black mascara bleeding onto the skin beneath her eyes. I thought about her mother, how much it must have pained Lynx to do what she did. Her hair was messy, and she had dark circles under her eyes. It contrasted with her fancy shirt that, despite what Samira said, had lace on it. I thought, anyway.
“How are you doing?” I asked her. It was completely out of character for her to look so disheveled.
“In desperate need of a pedicure and a massage, but otherwise okay.”
“Well, thank you for what you did.” I placed my hand to my mouth as more emotions surfaced. “Whatever you did, I’m alive because of you. If your mother hadn’t shown up when she did, I wouldn’t be here.”
Her eyes welled with tears, and her bottom lip trembled. “Then it was worth it.”
“What was worth it?”
“It doesn’t matter right now.” She blinked, spilling tears onto her cheeks. “I’m just happy you’re alive.”
Samira cleared her throat. “You need to tell us what happened. How did you end up with Silas?”
I touched at my head, trying to think beyond the image of me tearing open Silas’ guts. Luke tightened his grip on me.
“Silas figured out it was me who broke into his secret room, or …” I shook my head. Hadn’t Silas said it was Dominic’s room? “When I disposed of some nasty stuff he had in there, some of it had spilled onto my pant leg. I didn’t have time to change before Silas showed up and took me away. He smelled the stank on me and knew. We ended up in that secret bunker where he whipped and shot me.”
Luke’s body tensed, and a low growl rumbled in this throat.
“What else?” Samira asked.
“He also injected me with Scorpion's Breath.” My hand traveled to my neck where the needle had punctured my skin. “He said it was to get me to tell the truth, which it did, but it also messed with my system.”
And not entirely in a bad way. It was the first time in a long time I hadn’t felt the scars of my past.
Samira’s brow wrinkled, and her gaze flashed to Luke. She looked more concerned than I’d expected her to be. “How many injections did he give you?”
“Just one. Why?”
“It’s an extremely potent drug for supernaturals. I worry what effects it might have on you.”
“You’re worried about what it might have done to me? How about what Silas did, or Dominic? I think that is a little more serious than one injection of some new drug.” I didn’t mean for my tone to come across hard, but her concern seemed severely misplaced.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through,” Lynx said to break the tension. “I, for one, am glad Silas is dead. He deserved it.”
“I heard you gutted him,” Samira said, no emotion in her voice. “Why such a brutal death? Why not an easy kill and be done with it?”
The energy in the room changed, and I stared hard at her while Ryder grabbed the tray up off the bed. Maybe he thought I’d throw it at her.
“I don’t think that is important—” Luke began.
“But it is,” she interrupted. “It was an emotional kill that went beyond self-defense. Sure, he may have beat her, but that’s not the first time he’s done that. Getting naked? She doesn’t care about that. Having fought her, I also know she is extremely strong, more powerful than Silas. So why kill him that way?”
“What are you getting at?” I said the words with bite I hope she felt.
“There is something more going on with you. Something you’re not telling us.”
“And what if there was?”
“I worry it may affect what we’re trying to do here.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, fuming. Luke’s thumb traced circles on my lower back, trying to calm me.
“What is it exactly we’re trying to do?” I wished she would move, pace, scratch her face. I hated her unnatural stillness. It was unnerving, as if I was speaking to an angry statue.
“Like I said before, something or someone powerful is in Rouen, and it’s after the Abydos. It’s a sacred blood that must be protected at all costs. If we don’t find it, then the world as we know it could be destroyed. I need to know you’re emotionally on board.”
“Can you give her a break, Samira?” Luke said, his voice holding its own edge. “She just woke up.”
I lowered my gaze to the bedspread, trying to avoid her eye contact while Luke and she argued. She was right. The blood must be protected, and I was its sole protector, which meant I had to keep it secret even from my friends. And if someone was out there searching for it … a memory tugged at my thoughts. “Silas said something. When we were down there.”
“What did you say?” Lynx asked me, silencing Luke and Samira.
“Silas said something just before I killed him,” I said, my voice louder. “He said there was someone more powerful than Dominic, more powerful than anyone he had ever encountered. He said we should be very worried. He also said Dominic was obsessed with this person and their power.”
Finally, Samira moved, appearing before me so suddenly I jumped. “What else did he say? Did he give a name?”
“That’s all he said.” I shook my head and lightly pushed her back.
She took the hint and leaned away from me. “Then we must get close to Dominic. We must know what he knows.”
“Finally,” I huffed. “We’re on the same page. That’s what I’ve been trying to do this whole time.”
“But you need to do it for the right reasons, not some personal vendetta you have against him,” Samira countered.
Luke rubbed his brow, smoothing the deep creases. “I don’t like this idea at all. Dominic almost killed her a couple of days ago. The last place she should be is near him.”
“I agree with Luke,” Lynx said. “I’m all out of favors with my mother.”
I scooted forward and swung my legs to the side. The motion took a little effort. “I think we can kill two birds with one stone. We all agree Dominic is scum. One way or another, I will kill him.”
Luke bristled, and Samira opened her mouth to cut me off, but I blurted, “For reasons only I need to know.”
I looked at her pointedly. My mind wasn’t going to change. “But, I will also get closer to him to find out what he knows about this new player in town. Our goals, Samira, can align, and once we figure out who this big bad wolf is, we’ll kill him.”
“It won’t be that easy,” Samira said.
“Can I say something?” Ryder asked. He glanced at each of us, his expression oddly cheerful. “Look at us. We are a strong group. Together, we can’t be beat.”
Samira snorted. “You’re a fool if you believe that. I’ve encountered beings in my lifetime that could snap us all like twigs if they wished it. I fear this force invading Rouen is ten times more powerful. We must not underestimate it, or we will all end up dead.”
Chapter 5
The next few weeks were a mess. The bruises on my face disappeared. The cuts and bullet wound from Silas had healed, leaving no trace of their existence. No physical signs remained to tell my violent story, but there were plenty of emotional scars etched deep into my soul. I had nightmares every night, and I was convinced every time I woke I’d find my hands drenched in Silas’s blood. Dread plagued me because I knew when sleep came again, the traumatic process would begin all over again.
Distraction became key. I should’ve talked to Eddie to try and get my job back. I really needed the money, but I couldn’t bring myself to go in. If nighttime was a rush of emotions, daytime was the antithesis. I felt nothing. No fear. No joy. No sadness. I shoved all the angst from my nightmares into a small box in my heart, and bricked it up with thick, strong walls. TV was good. I watched plenty of it and ate lots of shit food. When the sun set, I’d burn it off by releasing my wolf in the forest. She’d run for hours. Her, more than anything else, kept me from being swallowed into that dark pit of horror and despair.
The Scorpion’s Breath Silas had injected into me had unleashed a torrent of painful memories. They flashed through my mind at random times, sometimes so powerful I’d drop to my knees gasping for air. Yes, it had made me relive the worst day of my life, but it had also allowed me to see my family again. The sweet was far too entangled within the bitter. But I’d take it, if only to remember the innocence, the joy of a feeling long since gone from my life.
I still had the briefcase I’d stolen from Silas in my attic. One night I’d actually opened it and fingered the small vials. One dose would make the nightmares go away and refocus me. I should’ve returned to the pack by now, especially if I wanted to get onto Dominic’s special team. He needed to see that I was strong, unbreakable. Scorpion's Breath would give me that.
In the end, I locked the vials away, but I brought the briefcase downstairs, leaving the box of Silas’ belongings in the attic, and stuffed it under my bed. It was comforting having help so close, should I need it.
