Stealing Summer, Hunter

by Lexi Blake

  I didn’t want to analyze it. I didn’t want to think about the whys of those emotions. I simply wanted to bask in the idea that there was one person in the world who would put me first.

  Oddly, I was calm because Marcus wasn’t.

  “Charlie, stay here. I’m putting us in lockdown. I swear I didn’t call the witches in. I was going to make that decision later today. I have no idea how they know she’s here.” Taggart strode toward the door. “Adam?”

  “I got your six,” Adam said, opening what appeared to be the armory.

  The canines were pacing like they couldn’t stand that sound, the larger of the two attempting to shelter the pup. She paced by the puppy, every line of her body seeming to ooze concern.

  Charlotte looked down at her pets. “Don’t worry. He’ll turn off the alarm when he puts us in lockdown. We’ll be okay in here.”

  “Will locking the building down stop the witches?” Marcus asked, his voice calm though I knew his heart was racing. I had my hands wound around his chest and my palm on his heart.

  If these were the last moments I had with him, I wanted to touch him, wanted to memorize everything I could about him. Suddenly all my worries about why he cared about me didn’t seem to matter. All that mattered was this magnificent feeling of being here with him. Of not facing the world alone.

  “We’re warded against magic,” Charlotte yelled.

  The blaring alarm went silent and Charlotte breathed a sigh of obvious relief. “Thank the goddess. Don’t worry. My husband will deal with this. Our wards will hold and we’ll have backup soon. My husband has the absolute best security there is, and I assure you he and Adam won’t be alone out there for long. We won’t let them take you. You’re far too important to hand over.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed everything she was telling me, but I knew she did and that gave me some power. “I appreciate it, Mrs. Taggart. I wasn’t looking forward to my execution.”

  Marcus put his hand over mine, holding it to his heart. “You have my gratitude as well. I am intrigued by your research. If we can agree that my companion isn’t a threat, perhaps we could all sit down and discuss the situation in a civilized fashion.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say she’s not a threat,” Charlotte said, reaching down to pet the dogs. “But I don’t think she’s a conscious one. I think she doesn’t understand what the convergences mean. I don’t either, but my sister and I have some theories I’d like to run by you. Her name is Chelsea. She’s super smart and she and her husband have been running down some leads on a couple of the other planes. We talked about Turi earlier.”

  I groaned. “Yes. He’s been chasing me for a long time.”

  Charlotte nodded as though I’d confirmed a suspicion. “Ian was contacted by some of his representatives and offered a bounty to bring you in. I think he’s getting desperate. Don’t worry. Ian told him to fuck himself.”

  I moved, shifting so I could stand beside Marcus because my calm was rapidly fleeing. “He’s put a bounty on me? How much?”

  Charlotte frowned. “They didn’t get that far. But you don’t have to worry. You’re safe here.”

  “Somehow I doubt that,” Marcus said, his hand finding mine. He threaded our fingers together as he faced Charlotte. “You might be able to force the witches back, but they won’t stop trying.”

  “Then we’ll take you both someplace safe,” Charlotte offered. “We have to figure this out or the world might end. Where the hell is Levi? I’m sorry. I’m going to the conference room to talk to one of our employees. I’ll arrange for transportation out of here as soon as possible.”

  She straightened up in time to take a dart to the chest. Charlotte’s stark blue eyes widened and her mouth opened. “Levi? You motherfucker.”

  She hit her knees as a man dressed in slacks, a dress shirt, and vest stepped into view. He had longish wavy dark hair and piercing eyes. He was roughly the same height as Marcus but he was leaner. He was also carrying a gun, likely the same kind that had been used when Taggart had collected Marcus and myself.

  “Sorry, Charlotte,” the man named Levi said with a smirk on his face. “But Tag doesn’t pay as well as those witches do. They won the bidding war I started when I found out Tag was actually bringing her in. I don’t think we should lose out on a serious bounty just because you have some crazy theory you want to chase after. Now all I have to do is take those wards down and hand over that prize.”

  “You should understand that I will kill you the minute these walls come down,” Marcus said, and it was easy to tell he was having to talk around his fangs.

  I could feel his fear and rage, both directed at the man in front of us.

  Levi held his gun up. It looked like what Taggart had been carrying, so I had to hope it was a tranq. “Yeah, I’m sure you’ll try, but I will forgo fighting with you. There’s a woman on another plane I need to go see. She married the wrong man. It’s time to take care of that. Where did those fucking dogs go?”

  “I’m a wolf,” a feminine voice said. “Not a dog, and you should not have done that.”

  Marcus backed me up, his arms coming out as though he could protect me from the new threat.

  The new threat was naked and lithe. She had lovely brown and gold hair that reached almost to her waist. Before Levi could turn and face her, she leapt on his back and I heard the sound of a crunch as she twisted his head in her small hands, and then the thump of a body hitting the floor.

  The woman immediately went to Charlotte and dropped to her knees. “Daniela, can you get them out?”

  I watched as the small pup rolled to her feet, her very human-looking feet. “Of course, Mama. I watched him put the code in like Papa taught me. Is Miss Charlotte all right?”

  “I don’t know. I hope so,” the mother said. If she was worried that she and her daughter were naked, it didn’t show at all. It didn’t bother me either. The Fae, while we love long, flowy gowns, aren’t opposed to letting it all hang out.

  I’ve heard werewolves are free and open, and that’s what we were dealing with here. I’ve been to a plane where the werewolves settled. It was cold and pristinely beautiful. Much like the wolves themselves. Were they after me, too? How far would I have to run? Should I even bother?

  “Bella, I want you to stay behind me. We don’t know who they are,” Marcus said under his breath. “I promise I will get us out of this. I will protect you with my life.”

  I believed him. The question was going to be whether or not I let him.

  “Don’t give up hope,” he whispered, proving I wasn’t the only one who was feeling the connection.

  The mother stood, her slender shoulders going back. “My name is Kaja Dellacourt. This is my daughter, Daniela.”

  I heard a whooshing sound and the smell of ozone hit me as the young werewolf managed to get the sonic walls down. The minute they were down, Marcus walked out of the cell, keeping distance between us and the wolves.

  But I’d heard something that gave me hope. I spent a lot of time on this plane, much of it with Dean’s family. The Malones were one of Dallas’s wealthiest families, and they had many business dealings with the others. I hadn’t met the Dellacourts, but I knew the name.

  “You’re Dante Dellacourt’s wife?” Dellacorp was a major business on the Vampire plane, though from what I understood the daughter of the family ran the business while the son had been a bit of a rebel. “You work with the Seelie kings of Tír na nÓg.”

  She nodded, pulling the dart out of Charlotte’s chest. “Yes. They are our cousins, and that is why we’ve come. You must return to your home, Summer of the Gentle Winds. Charlotte was right about the convergences, but you’re in too much danger here. Oh, I pray you’re all right, my friend.”

  Daniela dropped to her knees beside her mother, a sheen of tears in her eyes. “Is she dead? I don’t want Miss Charlotte to be dead. She gives the best treats and she plays with me.”

  I pegged the girl to be around six, though I didn’t kno
w enough about werewolves to understand how they age. I did remember that Kaja had run from her home plane and found her husband when he went looking for a consort. At least that’s what the tabloids reported.

  “You know who she is?” Marcus asked.

  I nodded. “She’s close to the royal Seelie family on the plane where I lived for many years. According to what I was told, she and her husband are part of the reason we’ve had many years of peace. I think we can trust her to help us get out of here.”

  I felt Marcus’s mind brush against mine in a soothing wave as he moved to where Charlotte Taggart lay. “She’s not dead. She’s merely unconscious. She’s not wearing the same dampeners her husband was. I can easily get into her mind.”

  “She told him she didn’t want to be experimented on,” Kaja explained.

  “She’s strong,” he said. “She’ll wake in a few hours. Would you like to say anything to her? I am in her mind right now. She’s scared for her sweet pets.”

  Kaja smiled and put a hand on the redhead’s hair, looking down at her. “Don’t be too angry with us. You were on the right path. I wish I could have told you there was a traitor in your midst.” She looked up at Marcus. “Tell her to have Adam go through everything Levi touched. He was working for another corporation.”

  Marcus nodded. “She will wake with the knowledge.”

  There was a loud boom and the floor beneath me shook.

  “How do we get out of here?” I asked because if the traitorous man was right, then those witches would be after us quickly. They might ignore anyone who wasn’t me, but I didn’t like the idea of leaving Charlotte behind. “Maybe we should take her with us. The witches might kill her if they think she betrayed them in any way.”

  Kaja got to her feet and looked down at her daughter. “Change, my sweet. It’s time to meet Papa.” Her daughter nodded and, in a blink, became that small wolf pup again. She nuzzled Charlotte as her mother spoke. “And don’t worry about the Taggarts. Ian is quite good at his job, and he will call in all his reinforcements. I expect they’ll be looking for us within hours.” She glanced up at one of the cameras on the wall. “Good luck, Mr. Taggart, and thanks for sneaking us treats when your wife wasn’t looking. Sorry about the mess.”

  “What mess?” I asked because from what I could tell she’d kept things pretty neat for there being two bodies down.

  She clicked toward her daughter and gestured for her to move. “Go on and find Papa. We will follow.”

  The puppy barked and took off toward a hallway away from the main doors.

  Kaja moved to the second body and looked pointedly at it. “This mess. He’s a royal vampire. If I leave him like this, he’ll heal. He’s been selling secrets and offering up his friends for money. I don’t want this man to heal.”

  Marcus was back in full protective mode as the werewolf proved exactly how much of an alpha bitch she was. She changed a single finger into a wicked-looking claw and with the grace of a natural predator, sliced through the man’s throat. Kaja leapt out of range as the vampire’s body exploded.

  “We must go,” she said with a frown. “I believe the worst of the battle is over and Taggart will come looking for his consort. We need to get off the Vampire plane as soon as possible. My husband is waiting for us. We have much to talk about.”

  Marcus’s hand tightened around mine gently. “Of course, dear lady. Lead the way.”

  I will take care of you, bella.

  The words whispered across my mind and I gave him back some of my own. I trust you.

  Kaja nodded and changed, her wolf form taking off after her daughter.

  Marcus and I followed and quickly found ourselves standing on a balcony overlooking the city. Most of the buildings had these large balconies. They needed them because this high up it was the only way to be outside. We were far above the surface, but there were still buildings that rose all around us. Sirens split the air and I could see a line of hovercars moving toward the building we were in. The balconies around us were rapidly filling up with vampires and consorts trying to figure out what was happening.

  The wolves sat at the wall enclosing the balcony, their heads up as though waiting for something.

  “Are we supposed to jump?” I didn’t think jumping off a perfectly good building was a great idea. We were far above the smog that covered most of the plane. Up here the air was clear and the sun warm on my skin.

  A hovercar rose from below, its hum barely audible. It was a new model, very expensive, and likely fast and easy to maneuver.

  “I am fascinated with this place,” Marcus said with a shake of his head.

  I could show him so much. What would it be like to explore the planes of existence with this man? To spend decades wandering and exploring? He was so curious. Despite his long life, he was still able to be amazed.

  The door flipped open and a man with red and gold hair sat in the driver’s seat. He was a handsome man and had once been famous before he’d given up his playboy lifestyle. I’d never met Dante Dellacourt, but I knew who he was.

  “Hey, how are my girls?” Dante asked with a brilliant smile on his face. “Get in. Things are weird, and the faster we get off the plane, the better. Hi, I’m Dante. I’ll be your rescuer today. Don’t mind the hair. Sorry, Daniela is shedding like a beast.”

  The puppy leapt into the car, yipping happily.

  Kaja followed, moving into the seat beside her husband.

  Marcus stared at him for a moment and I could feel his shock, though I didn’t understand it.

  “Hey, new dude. I have no idea who you are, but we really need to go,” Dante said.

  “Mr. Dellacourt,” Marcus began, “I am Marcus Vorenus from the Earth plane. I’ve met your mirror there. You need to understand that if you are anything like your Earth self, I will kill you without a second thought.”

  Dante’s eyes had widened. “Seriously? I always knew I would be a supervillain in another life. I’m cool in this one. I fight for the side of right. I am going to need a full-on rundown of Evil Dante, Mr. Vorenus. But we need to get a move on or Taggart is going to catch up.”

  “He’s not known for being bad here,” I told Marcus. “He’s the counsel to the Fae kings and a friend to my plane.”

  Marcus nodded and stepped up on the chair that allowed him access to the car. He held out his hand and I let him help me up. I took a deep breath and stepped inside, trying not to look down. Marcus followed, scooting in beside me.

  The door closed and my stomach dipped as Dante sped toward the surface.

  Marcus put his arm around me and pulled me close.

  I sighed and breathed him in. We might have another day together, and I was grateful for that.

  * * * *

  Kelsey

  I watched the witch as she fussed over Dean.

  “The headache’s getting better,” Dean said from his comfy seat.

  When Erna had walked back in the small cottage, she’d immediately started boiling water for a tea that she’d explained would help Dean with the aftereffects of his brush with her magic.

  “Well, I’m sorry it touched you in any way,” Erna said with a maternal smile. “I’m happy it only caused you a slight headache. I’m certain you won’t have any other problems. You should be feeling normal in no time at all.”

  It was in that moment that I realized she thought the thrall stone she’d placed in Dean was still there. She didn’t know I’d found it. While we’d dealt with the fallout, I noticed her looking around the yard. She’d searched the yard, hadn’t found the stone, and decided her influence must still be in place.

  So she couldn’t feel the stone working. If she couldn’t feel it, then likely Myrddin wouldn’t be able to either. He wouldn’t know Daniel and Devinshea were free of his influence unless they told him or reacted in ways that were counter to the stone.

  Knowledge is power, and I was willing to use any power I could get.

  But before I could even start considering what we
would do when we got back home, I had to make sure Erna didn’t figure out she couldn’t control Dean anymore. I had spent the last half hour plotting and planning and trying to figure out how I was going to explain to Dean that there was a reason his mentor knew so much about thrall stones and their use.

  “My headache is already better,” I said, wanting to reinforce the idea that his pain was a normal side effect of Erna getting pissed off and shoving magic around that would have been better contained.

  She looked me over. “You felt it, too?”

  I sat back with a sigh. “Oh, yeah. That was some powerful magic. I think even the queen caught a bit of it, and she wasn’t close to you. Dean and I were closer, so it makes sense we’re the ones who feel it. But like I said, it’s already much better.”

  A satisfied smile crossed her face. “That’s good to know. I’m sorry I lost a bit of control. I’m excellent with healing and bodily magics.”

  “It felt more like battle magic,” Dean said with a wince. He put a hand to his head. “Still feels like battle magic.”

  The worry hit her face again. “Perhaps you should let me thoroughly examine you. I have a spell that will let me survey your mind.”

  Oh, I could not have that happening. “Give it some time, Dean. I assure you I felt the same way.”

  Dean’s brow furrowed. “Well, you handled it way better. You picked up the Green Man, and I could barely walk in here on my own legs. I think you’re right and I need an enormous amount of training. I thought I was stronger than this.”

  Erna stared at him for a moment and then her mouth went flat. “I think I should examine you, Dean. I would hate it if I missed something and you got hurt.”