by C. L. Parker
Right on cue, Dominic shoved Drew hard in the chest. “You want to back the fuck up, or do you have a serious death wish today?”
“You have some explaining to do, mate!” Drew apparently wasn’t heeding the warning glare in Dominic’s eyes and charged toward him again. His eyes flared with his supernatural power—a power that could certainly knock his opponent down a peg or two.
Sizing up an adversary had always been Dominic’s specialty, but this was no punk from the streets. This guy could do some permanent damage with that gift he had. Only three things came to mind: strike hard, strike fast, and don’t let him get in a shot.
“All right, death wish it is.” With that, Dominic shot his fist out and landed a solid blow to the left side of Drew’s jaw.
“Bloody hell!” Drew stumbled back. When he regained his balance, he held his chin, moving his jaw back and forth to bring some of the feeling back. He’d had enough of Dominic dishing out the shit when he had done nothing but try to help.
Kerrigan saw the look in his eyes and gasped. Her feet couldn’t carry her fast enough to where they were facing off. “Drew, don’t!”
Dominic put his arm up to block her from getting in the middle. “Stay out of this, Querida. This has been a long time coming.” He pulled his Night Ranger T-shirt over his head and tossed it to the ground, rocking his head rocked from side to side, and rolling his shoulders back to loosen up his muscles. Dominic Grayson in his element, primed and ready to rock, was quite a sight to see. “Just me and you,” he said, pointing between himself and Drew. “Man to man, none of that freaky stuff.”
Drew crouched down and held up his hands defensively. “I don’t want to fight you, Dominic. We’re on the same team, you and me. I just want some answers. That’s all.”
“Yeah, well here’s an interesting fact for you, pendejo... I don’t answer to anyone. I let my fists do the talking for me, and there’s a lot they’ve been wanting to say to you.”
“Dominic.” Kerrigan pulled on his arm in an attempt to get him to focus on her so she could calm him down, but to no avail. She might as well not have even been on the same continent.
“Is that answer enough for you, or is there something else you’re just dying to know?”
Drew put his hands on his hips. “Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something else I need to know.” He took a step forward, and then another, until he was perilously close to Dominic’s striking zone. It was a bold move that didn’t go unnoticed by his opponent. “Care to tell me a little about a woman named Sinclair?”
If Dominic was shocked to hear that name at all, he didn’t show. He merely shrugged and said, “Nope. I don’t care to tell you anything at all about her other than the fact that she’s a crazy psycho-bitch. How the fuck do you know her?”
“She followed me to my hotel last night and attempted to seduce me.”
Dominic’s hands fisted at his sides and the veins in his neck became taut. His jaw muscles flexed with the grinding of his teeth, and if it were possible, flames sparked in his eyes. “What did she tell you?”
Drew threw up his hands into the air, clearly agitated. “She didn’t tell me anything! Nobody around here tells me anything! That’s the fecking problem!”
“You know all you need to know. I’ll handle it.”
“Oh, you’ll handle it, will you?” Drew’s face turned three shades of red. “She spiked my bloody drink, for Christ’s sake! Right now she thinks I’m madly in love with her and will do anything she asks of me. I had to whore myself out to her. And for what? So that you can handle it?”
“You slept with her?” Kerrigan asked, her face showing a mixture of disgust and something else. Was she jealous?
Drew knew what his expression looked like without even looking into a mirror—shame. “Yes, I slept with her. I had to make her believe I drank her potion, or whatever in the bloody hell it was that she put into my drink. It was the only way to find out her angle.”
Dominic glowered at him. “I said... I’ll... handle... it!”
“And what exactly is it that you’re handling, Mr. Grayson? What have I gotten myself in the middle of here?”
“Listen—” Dominic began, but Drew could tell he wasn’t about to give any information up, so he stopped him before he could give him a line of crap.
“No, you listen to me! I’ve got warning signals going off all over the damn place to the point that they’re vibrating my teeth. Something is not right here, and it has everything to do with Kerrigan, your brother, and you! You need to start talking before you do something really stupid like get every one of you killed. This is bigger than you. It’s bigger than Kerrigan. It’s bigger than every single one of us. You need me, and if I’m going to be taking one for the team, then you’d better damn well know that I’m not doing it while being kept in the dark. So either you start talking, or I start walking. It’s as simple as that. What’s it going to be?”
“Dom, we have to tell him.”
Dominic’s glare was fixed on Drew. He didn’t like being given ultimatums, and he sure as shit didn’t like being backed into a corner. But that’s where he was, wasn’t it? He either told the guy his secret and hoped like hell he really did have some morals behind all his big talking, or he didn’t and risked losing the help he hated to admit they needed.
Fed up with his unresponsiveness, Drew gave up. “Fine, have it your way. This has nothing to do with me. Kerrigan, I wish you the best of luck. I truly do, but I’m not sticking around and putting my arse on the line for someone who can’t put his trust issues aside for the sake of saving the lives of the ones he claims to care about. I’ll be on the next plane to London. Look me up if you’re ever in the area. That is, if you live long enough.” He shot a meaningful glare in Dominic’s direction.
He turned to walk away, the gait of his step indicating he wasn’t just making an empty threat. He was leaving.
Kerrigan spun around on Dominic. “We have to tell him. And if you’re too stubborn, then I will.” She turned toward the retreating Guardian. “Drew! Wait!”
A frustrated growl sounded through the air, and they both turned to see Dominic pulling at his hair. “Fine! We’ll tell you everything, but so help me God, if you’re thinking of double-crossing us, you’d better seriously consider the consequences, mate, because I won’t hesitate to put a bullet through the middle of your eyes.”
Finally they were getting somewhere. Drew walked toward him and stopped when he was at a respectable distance. “As long as you’re honest and forthright with me, I swear to do the same in return. I’m a man of honor, Mr. Grayson. Hopefully, in time, you’ll see that I only want to help.” Drew extended his hand. It was a pledge of loyalty, and given the way Dominic had treated him since his arrival, that made him a pretty big man in Dominic’s book.
He shook Drew’s hand. “I hope you’re ready for the shit I’m about to tell you, Guardian. You might wish you’d hopped that plane back home after all.”
Having come from a family whose foundation was deeply rooted in the paranormal, Drew still couldn’t fathom all Dominic and Kerrigan had shared with him. Now he knew that Sinclair was Drake D’Mon’s black-magic-practicing sidekick. That wasn’t as hard to believe. He had felt as much darkness from her. He just didn’t want to believe it.
Two weeks later, all the planning and plotting they had done had rendered no practical results. They were still no closer to finding a solution for Dominic’s current predicament, and Sinclair still hadn’t made a move. It was just a big waiting game, neither side trusting the other, and Drew was stuck in the middle. He spent the majority of his days training Kerrigan, making her stronger in her gift, but his nights—they belonged to his lover. Or was she his enemy? The lines were blurred beyond the point where he could tell anymore.
The first night he had spent with Sinclair Davis was like nothing he could have expected or explained. He should have been disgusted, should have felt the need to spend countless hours in the shower scou
ring away the filth from having been so intimate with someone of her position. But he didn’t. Neither had he felt that way each evening he had spent with her since. It just wasn’t logical. Then again, not much of what happened in his world was.
He had been so sure Kerrigan was the one for whom he had been searching, his other half. But she wasn’t. Her devotion to Dominic mirrored the devotion Drew had witnessed between his parents. It was undeniable, unfathomable, and impenetrable. Dominic was her soul mate. He could accept that now.
His thoughts came back around to Sinclair. He couldn’t understand why it had become impossible for him to stop thinking about her. He was bewitched by her smile, entranced by her laughter, hypnotized by the catlike movement of her body—in and out of the bedroom. If he hadn’t known any better, he would have believed that perhaps some of her magical concoction had made it into his system, but he knew that wasn’t it.
It was the little things she did that made her seem so... endearing. Even though she believed him to be her slave, she was the one who catered to him. She cooked for him, spent time with Akasha, walked around in his oversized shirts with nothing but panties on underneath, curled up on the couch with him to watch a movie, and even asked about his day. Of course that last part was probably her way of gathering intelligence, but it made her appear no less domesticated.
She never asked him to do anything other than talk about what was happening in the Cruz home, and the only time her body language or the Ring of Truth ever signified she was lying was when she made up an excuse to bow out of spending the night with him. Last night, he had convinced her to stay. He had wanted her there. Not to keep an eye on her or to do reconnaissance, but because, for once, he wanted to wake up with her in his arms instead of watching her leave every night, not knowing where she was going or when she would return.
Drew looked down at the woman sleeping peacefully with her head resting on his bare chest. He had made love to her the night before. Not because he felt like he had to, but because he wanted to. Yes, the lines were definitely blurring.
It wasn’t all physical between them. They talked... a lot. What he liked best about keeping up the pretenses of being under her spell was that he didn’t have to hide the fact that he was a Guardian of the Light. She already knew that about him, so to lie would be a dead giveaway that he had his own senses about him. She asked him questions about what it meant to be a Guardian, and he answered her freely, only slightly bending the truth when it came to disclosing the full extent of his abilities with the Light.
Sinclair also asked him if he would use his ability to help her. What he answered was the truth, just not to the underlying question: “I would do anything for you.” He knew she had likely said the same thing to Drake, and that was what had led her to his bed, but something inside of him screamed that she was as much a victim as Dominic and Colton. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.
He really did want to believe there was still hope for her—that she wasn’t totally lost to the darker side. But maybe he was just playing the fool. When it came right down to it, she would kill him in a heartbeat if Drake asked her to. Still, he had to wonder if his presence in St. Augustine was to fulfill a dual mission. Perhaps helping Kerrigan figure out a way to save Dominic wasn’t all he was meant to do. Maybe he was meant to save Sinclair... from herself.
With a lover’s gentle hand, he pushed her hair away from her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered at his touch, and she stirred, snuggling closer. “Good morning, beautiful.” He smiled down at her when she pouted and moaned in protest at being awakened.
As if an internal alarm had gone off, her eyes widened and she sat straight up in bed. “Morning? Did you say morning?”
He chuckled. “Yes, morning. It’s that part of day between what we did last night before falling asleep and what I hope we’ll do again before I have to feed you.”
She put her hand to her forehead and pushed her mussed hair back causing the sheet to fall away, revealing her very full, very naked breasts. “Dammit! I have to go!”
She scrambled from the bed, taking the sheet, and the only cover that had been providing him with a sense of modesty. Not that he cared. She had seen enough of his bare form for it not to be a source of embarrassment. He was quite proud of his physique. She didn’t seem to think it quite bad herself. Especially the moon-shaped birthmark on the left side of his groin. She really liked that part. So did her tongue. And lips. And teeth.
He barely caught hold of her arm before she got out of reach. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He laughed, pulling her back into bed. “Just where do you think you’re going, hmm?”
Sinclair was all set to pull away from him again, but when she caught sight of Drew, she forgot why she had been in such a hurry. It wasn’t until that very moment that she really saw him. He was looking up at her with this genuine smile, his honey-brown eyes turned golden with a brief sparkle of something magical. His happiness was infectious, and she felt herself smiling back. Not a fake smile to keep up the pretenses, but something genuine.
Her heart started to pound in her chest at the realization of her actions. Drake would not be pleased with her. As much as she really wanted to stay there with Drew, she had vowed her loyalty to Drake. Besides, Drew’s foolish emotions were only a product of the spell. Maybe using a full vial had been too much after all.
“I have to go, lover. But I’ll be back... eventually.”
“What’s the rush, darling?” He caressed her collarbone with the back of his fingers. “I thought you were rather fond of spending time with me, and here you are... so eager to leave my bed.”
“I have to meet someone.” She pulled away from him and began gathering up her clothes. It was too easy for her to lose her head when he was so close.
Drew propped himself up on his elbow and watched as she dressed. “And who might that be?”
She could just tell him the truth. It wouldn’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things. That potion she had given him was so potent that he would crawl over hot coals to get to her at just the curl of her finger. But she didn’t because even though what he felt for her wasn’t real, he still looked at her like she was something special.
“I’m here on business, Drew. I have associates I need to meet with,” she answered as she pulled her hair up into a high ponytail.
“Ah, yes. We’ve never talked about the reason you’re here. What sort of business is it that you do, and how long will I have the pleasure of your company before you leave this fine city?”
She pushed her feet into her shoes and looked at him. “Procurement. My boss sent me here to obtain a very rare tool because he knows I’m the only one who can get it done. Once I have what I need, I’ll be leaving St. Augustine.”
“And I’ll never see you again?” He looked forlorn.
“That’s right.” She knew it was best for the both of them if she led him to believe she wouldn’t be in St. Augustine long. Eventually the potion would wear off and he would be free to meet and genuinely fall in love with someone who deserved a man like him. Someone who had a good heart and even better intentions.
He climbed out of bed and strutted over to her. “Well then in that case,” he said, taking her into his arms, “we should make the most of the time we have together. Don’t you think?”
She nodded. “Yes, we should.” Standing on her toes, she kissed him as if it were the last time. Depending on how things went with Drake when she saw him again, it very well might.
Outside of her training sessions with Drew, there really hadn’t been much more for Kerrigan to do. Despite the endless hours she spent preparing for the inevitable showdown with Drake—Sinclair was the least of her concerns—she was still powerless to help Dominic.
He was more ghost than human lately, even though he slept very little, as did Colton. The theory was that if they weren’t sleeping, Drake couldn’t haunt their dreams. Lack of sleep meant people were on edge. Tempers flared over the most insignificant things, and the hous
e was a cesspool of tension so thick it would probably explode and wipe St. Augustine off the map if someone lit a match within a ten-mile radius.
She did her best to stay awake with Dominic to keep him company, just as Gabe did for Colton, but being in the first trimester of her pregnancy took a toll on her body. Like it or not, there were times when she had to put the baby first. If he had known she was pregnant, Dominic would have insisted on it. Even without knowing, he still griped about her not getting enough rest. It was so like him to worry about her even though he was on the brink of death himself.
Six weeks’ pregnant. She knew that for sure now. Under constant pressure from Drew for her to see a professional and take proper care of herself, she had finally agreed to let him escort her to a local obstetrician. By her count, that made her date of conception right around the first night she and Dominic had made love.
A normal woman, happily in love, would be able to gush about her monumental news, but she couldn’t tell anybody. At least not until Dominic was out of danger. He should be the first person to know, and since that wasn’t possible, she didn’t feel right telling anyone else. Besides, the more people who knew, the greater the chance Dominic would find out, and then he would put a stop to everything she was trying to do and bench her for the big game. Convinced she was the key to saving him, she wasn’t about to let that happen.
Kerrigan was perfectly aware that she was going to have to face the wrath of her best friend, but Gabe would have to get over it. He was the mouth of the south—in more ways than one judging by the snickered remarks she had heard Colton mumble under his breath—and he couldn’t keep a secret to save his own life, let alone Dominic’s.
Even though her mother, Priscilla, was miles away in Chicago, she knew that she would feel obligated to share the news with Kerrigan’s father, Hudson. It was a no-brainer that Hud would be on the redeye flight to St. Augustine, shotgun in hand, when he heard of his daughter’s delicate condition. He was old fashioned, so his baby girl being knocked up out of wedlock was simply not something he would tolerate. She would deal with him later. For now, she and Dominic had enough on their plates to worry about.
