Protector

by Lisa Renee Jones

  Mason’s voice was low. Calm. Too calm. Threatening. “If you put Holly in danger, I’ll kill you. No hesitation.”

  “I…I swear. I would never hurt Holly.” Roger was trembling. He looked like he might cry.

  Mason gave the man a pity look. “You’re pathetic.”

  Exchanging a look with Sterling, Mason knew he understood the risk Roger represented. Mason moved with impatience toward the elevator, edgy from his power, now racing through his veins like some sort of liquid heat. Michael had been right. Accepting his Arion genetics allowed him to bring his skills to life.

  Controlling them was now his concern. His mind was powerful, as was his body. In anger, it could be deadly. Control was critical.

  Mason found Holly facing the kitchen counter, one foot propped on top of the other, writing on a notepad. He watched her for several seconds, just soaking in her presence. It was said the female in an Arion mating had the power to keep the male calm and focused. Now he believed it. She wrapped around him like a second skin, holding him together and making him complete.

  Just being near her made him relax.

  Holly looked up, as if she sensed his presence, and smiled at him. “Everything okay?”

  He walked toward her as she sat her pad and pencil on the counter and turned to face him. He rested his back against the counter and pulled her with him, her thighs resting against his.

  Settling his hands around her waist, he said, “They are now.”

  Holly’s hands settled on his chest. “I was worried about you tonight. It’s going to be hard for me to get used to you always being in danger.”

  “We, Holly,” he said. “We are both always in danger.”

  Her connection to him, as his mate, actually could offer her some extra protection but she would always be in danger, with or without him. David had made her a target. That was a fact that wouldn’t change.

  “I know,” Holly said in a barely audible voice. Then, in a normal voice, “You know I’m not blind. I see the writing on the wall. That’s why I asked Sterling to teach me to shoot a gun.”

  He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I think that’s a good thing. I’d like you to learn every possible way to defend yourself. I know you don’t like violence but protecting yourself is critical. There are skills you can learn, things I can teach you if you allow me to.”

  Holly nodded. “Arions don’t seem to die easily. How can I defend myself against something like that?”

  “A gun will kill an Arion. It just has to be at the right spot, which means catching them off guard. Their mental ability allows them to deflect a bullet if they know it’s coming.”

  Holly gave him an odd look. “You’re talking about Arions like you aren’t one.”

  He sighed. “I know. Arion is the name David gave his people. As in, Hitler’s better race. He wants the same thing. To rule the world with his new race. I will always be a Black Knight, Arion blood or not, and so will our people. Anyone who joins us becomes a Knight, with or without alien enhancements.”

  “Our people?”

  He traced the line of her jaw with his thumb. If he was to be the leader, as his mate, the Knights would be their people. But she didn’t know that. “I consider you part of this. I hope you do as well.”

  Her voice was soft, her green eyes, bright and compelling as they locked with his. “Of course, I do. You know I do.”

  He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. The touch made his body surge with awareness, only it wasn’t merely physical; it was much more intense and utterly consuming. He felt her tremble slightly and knew she felt it as well.

  Whatever it was.

  She searched his face. “I don’t understand what you make me feel.” Her voice was a barely-there whisper.

  “This is new to me, too,” he told her in complete honesty. “When I am with you, Holly, I feel stronger, more able to face what’s before me. For that, I can’t thank you enough.”

  Her eyelashes fluttered, settling against her ivory skin like half moons and, for a minute he thought she was blocking him out.

  But then she looked up at him, raw emotions in her eyes. “I’ve only loved two people in my life, my mother and my father, and they both died on me.”

  He slipped his hand to the side of her face. “I don’t die easily, angel. I’m far more worried about you than me.”

  Her expression was completely serious. “I don’t die easily, either. I want to learn to fight. Teach me what you can teach me.”

  Mason smiled. He couldn’t help it. “You never stop amazing me, Holly Heart. You hate fighting but now you’re determined to learn to fight.”

  She frowned. “I hate death and, as I told Sterling, mine in particular.” She paused. “And yours. I don’t want you to die.”

  A mate could join minds with his partner. He was only beginning to understand how it worked. But he was certain it was a benefit he would be thankful for. As he became stronger, and so did their mental bond, he could lend her some of his power. It would be far more effective, however, if she knew about their mating. He couldn’t wait too long to tell her.

  He had to make everything that might impact her safety available to her as quickly as possible. “As I said, there are many things I can teach you. Just using a gun will not be overly effective. Not for you. It might buy you seconds but that won’t be enough.”

  Holly nodded. “Thank you for rescuing Roger.”

  He didn’t say anything. What could he say? At this point he wished like hell he had left the man with the Arions.

  She responded when he didn’t. “You don’t trust Roger.”

  His expression was grim. “I’m afraid I don’t, Holly. I think they got to him.”

  Her voice held a hint of hurt. “I don’t want to believe that.”

  “I know you don’t.”

  “He didn’t want to give me his blood. Why?”

  “I suspect they promised him Arion power and gave him the first injections toward gaining his transformation, to win his loyalty. It is a common manipulation tool for David.”

  “But they held him as if captive.” She frowned. “Didn’t they?”

  “They did but that isn’t uncommon either. He hadn’t been with them long enough to prove could be trusted.” He thought a minute. “Then again, it could have been a setup. We might have been meant to rescue him.”

  “But you weren’t injured.”

  “No,” Mason said thoughtfully. “But…”

  “What?”

  “Something’s not right. I hope like hell Michael isn’t walking into a trap.”

  “Where exactly is he?”

  “He went back to the Arion base to coordinate a take over of 51.”

  “Which means what?”

  “He will gather several key people, bring them to fight by my side, from the outside in. He will lead a group from the inside out.”

  She swallowed. “When?”

  “Soon,” he said, wanting to change the subject. “Enough talk for tonight. Right now, I just want you to come to bed with me.”

  Holly leaned into him, pressing her forehead against his chest. He ran his hand down her hair and her back, understanding her silent need for comfort.

  Finally, she looked up at him. “I just want to pretend all of this doesn’t really exist.” She stared at him and then added, “For just tonight.”

  A soft smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “I can think of many ways to take your mind off things. Come to bed and let me show you.”

  Mason took her hand and started moving toward the door. He was all for getting lost in Holly and forgetting everything else. If only morning wouldn’t hold the grim truth. Life was changing forever. They could never go back. And the only good part about the new version of life, at least to Mason, was Holly.

  A few minutes later, Mason pulled Holly onto the bed and into his arms. He simply held her for long moments, loving how perfectly she fit in his arms.

  Moving to h
is side, he raised up on one elbow, looking down at her. She rested on her back, her eyes wide as they searched his face. Her delicate little fingers traced his bottom lip.

  “You’re beautiful,” she said softly.

  Taking her hand in his, he brought her fingers to his lips and then smiled at her. “Isn’t that my line?”

  “I like it when you smile. You should do it more often.”

  His expression became serious as he moved one hand to rest on her stomach. “I spent a lot of time hating what I am. You make me think it’s not all bad. It brought me to you.”

  “And you to me,” she said, turning to her side to face him and sliding her elbow under her.

  “I traveled with the wind today. I simply became a part of it. It was amazing,” he told her. The need to share his experience with her was unique, almost necessary.

  She blinked. “Like, as in, part of the air?”

  He nodded. “Something like that, yes.”

  She pressed her hand to his chest. “That makes you safer, right? It’s easier to escape an attack like that?”

  He heard the worry in her voice. “I’m not going to die on you, Holly.”

  She looked at him, wide-eyed, her lips parted as if in invitation. He leaned forward, bringing their mouths close and then brushing his lips over hers.

  Her arm wrapped around his neck. She looked into his eyes, not hiding the depth of her emotions. “I am really not used to worrying about someone so much. It tears me up thinking about you getting hurt.”

  “Ah, Angel, I feel the same.” He whispered his response as he lowered his mouth, kissing her as the last word left his lips. As he pulled her closer, savoring how well she fit him, his head swam with the perfection of their bond.

  She was his woman and his mate. He would die for her.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Mason’s eyes opened as his arms tightened around Holly, instinctively ensuring her safety. She snuggled closer, cuddling up to him like a sweet little kitten. He wanted to enjoy the moment but he couldn’t.

  Something had woken him. Another sign his senses were getting stronger. To wake him from his sleep when nothing obvious was happening indicated as much. Gently, he started to set Holly away from him but she wouldn’t budge.

  “Mason?”

  “Yeah, Angel, I just need to go check out the security cameras.”

  She sat straight up. “What? Why?”

  He sighed and reached over and turned on the light. “It’s just a feeling. Go back to sleep.”

  She sat up in the bed, naked to the waist, frowning. “No way. Toss me your shirt.”

  Despite the circumstances, he almost grinned. He had a gorgeous blond, his Holly, naked and sated from his loving, in his bed.

  It was hard to ignore.

  He reached for his shirt, scooped it up and handed it to her. While she pulled it over her head, he stuffed his feet into his jeans, not bothering to button them, and padded across the carpet to the camera room.

  As he expected, Holly followed. Mason sat down in front of the monitors. There were six, all showing different angles of the caverns. Nothing obviously seemed wrong. Holly sat down in a chair next to him as he signed on to the computer.

  After a few keystrokes, he started maneuvering the angle of the cameras. A camera outside the lab brought Sterling into focus. He was clearly on alert.

  “What’s he doing?” Holly asked.

  Mason clicked to the surrounding areas. And there was Roger, just as he expected, opening the lab refrigerator. “Stealing his own blood.”

  Holly gasped. “I can’t believe it.”

  Mason leaned back in his chair. “It’s amazing what the promise of power does to people.”

  Holly just sat there a minute. “I thought I knew him.”

  Mason slid his hand to her leg. “As I thought I knew many of my men, not to mention my very own brother.”

  Holly slipped her hand over Mason’s. “I know and I’m sorry. What do we do about Roger?”

  Mason ran a hand through his long, loose hair. “See what he knows. Find out if Michael walked into a trap.” He sighed. “Get dressed. You might be of assistance. Roger has a soft spot for you.”

  * * * * *

  Mason and Holly entered the lab to find Roger sitting in a chair, looking like he was going to be sick. Sterling was propped up against the wall, arms and legs crossed. “Took you long enough,” he said dryly.

  Mason fixed his eyes on Sterling. “I assume you set him up?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Sterling grinned. “I told him I thought you had overreacted and I didn’t want to tick off Holly by locking him in the room. I gave him the freedom to show us his true colors.”

  “Why, Roger?” Holly asked softly.

  He looked at his hands where they rested in his lap. Finally, he looked at her. “I knew they injected me with something and I didn’t want you to think badly of me.”

  “What did they inject you with?”

  He averted his gaze. “I… I don’t know.”

  “You do know,” Mason said tersely. Holly looked at Mason. “He knows, Holly.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t.”

  “Trust me on this, Holly,” he said softly, his eyes fixed on hers. “I know.”

  Her expression said she was trying to understand, to make up her mind. It was several seconds before she turned back to Roger. Her voice said she believed Mason. “Why, Roger? Why would you do this?”

  His face crumpled, knowing she didn’t believe him, knowing he was busted. “It was join them or die.”

  Holly didn’t move to comfort Roger as Mason thought she would. Instead, she looked at him. “Mason?”

  He stepped to her side, laying his hand on her back and speaking close to her ear. “No, Angel, he’s lying.”

  Holly nodded and spoke only to him, in a very soft voice. “I really don’t want to talk to him right now.”

  Mason understood. Facing betrayal from someone you cared about was hard to swallow. “You want to go upstairs and wait for me?”

  She nodded again. He kissed the top of her head.

  When Holly had stepped onto the elevator and Mason knew she was no longer able to hear, he turned to Roger. “Was this all a setup?”

  Roger looked at the ground. “I don’t know.”

  Mason crossed the room and effortlessly lifted Roger, his shirt balled in his fists. The chair toppled to the ground and Roger’s toes dangled in the air.

  “I could make you talk but I think this method is much more enjoyable.”

  Roger was breathing hard, his face etched with fear. “Please, I didn’t know what to do. They had me tied up. I was scared. I really did think they would kill me.”

  Holly’s appalled voice rang through the air. “Mason!”

  Mason grunted under his breath. Damn, what was Holly doing back?

  “Mason!” Her hands touched his shoulder.

  He looked down at her and then back at Roger, meeting the whimpering man’s eyes and willing him to answer. “Was it a setup?”

  “Yes!” he yelled. “But you weren’t supposed to kill their men!”

  “Who got killed?” Holly demanded.

  Sterling touched Holly’s arm. “Holly.” It was a plea for her to back off. “Mason needs to know what Michael is facing.”

  “Put him down, Mason!” Holly demanded.

  Slowly, Mason lowered Roger but only because Holly asked him to. “Who gave Michael up?” Mason said as Holly grabbed the chair and sat it upright, allowing Roger to sit down.

  Roger looked at Holly, a plea in his eyes. “I don’t know.”

  Mason stared at him, irritation and distaste trying his patience. Sterling must have expected as much because he said, “Roger, I highly recommend you tell us everything you know.”

  “Tell us, Roger,” Holly said through clenched teeth.

  He swallowed. “They wanted me to find out where Holly was being held.”

  “And you would have told them?” she aske
d incredulously.

  Roger moved to the edge of his chair. Mason’s hand flattened on his chest. “I had no choice!”

  “You always have a choice,” Holly said in a shaky voice. “I considered you a friend.”

  Mason pulled his hand back from Roger’s chest. Without looking at Sterling, he spoke to him. “Get him out of my face before I do something I’ll regret.”

  Sterling looked at Roger. “Would you prefer to walk or shall I find another method of transport?”

  “I’ll walk.” He stood up and took a step toward Sterling, and then turned back to look at Holly, “I really am sorry, Holly. I never meant for this to happen.”

  Holly turned away from him, arms crossed in front of her body. She could hardly believe Roger had betrayed her. It hurt, yes, but it made it made her angry more than anything else. Angry at the betrayal and angry at the Arions for their intent to destroy all that was good.

  It made her more dedicated to battle against the Arions than ever. She needed to test all the blood, to start her research.

  Now.

  She knew when Roger was gone and she was glad. Crossing to a supply cabinet, she yanked out a handful of supplies before turning back toward Mason. He stood near the doorway watching her. She held up a needle and syringe as she sat down in a chair. “I need a sample of my blood to compare to the others. Have you ever taken blood? I don’t like sticking myself.”

  Mason crossed the room and knelt down in front of her, his hands on her knees. “I’m sorry, Holly.”

  She let out a bitter bark of laughter. “You didn’t make Roger betray me. Why are you sorry?”

  “Because you have to go through this. Because I lost my temper.”

  “Are you kidding?” she said with a very unlady-like snort , quite out of character for her. “I wanted to hit him. Yes, sure, I was upset at first, when I saw you being aggressive, but you knew what I didn’t.” Then she added, “Can you take my blood?”

  He took the supplies from her hands and put them on a small table that sat next to her chair. “It’s the middle of the night, Angel. Come back to bed with me. Start fresh in the morning.”

  Her eyes shut and she swallowed. “I really need to get started if I’m going to find answers.”