by Lizzy Ford
Zoey said nothing, her eyes drifting to the waiting Enforcers. It was a truth she was neither able to ignore nor fully swallow. The Enforcers, including Declan, were guilty of colluding to help kill innocent humans.
With his light brown hair, chiseled features, green-flecked, golden eyes and lean frame, Declan was stunning in the compelling way of an incubus – and every bit the person she should hate most in the world, if not for his betrayal then because of who he was and who he protected. He stood among his brothers, calm and unreadable, ever the Enforcer Chief. Only in private had his guard lowered, and she’d learned there was more to him than he’d ever reveal to anyone outside his family. Despite this, three days wasn’t long enough for her to know him well enough to understand his motivations, his way of thinking.
Declan was still a stranger, one who protected those killing innocent women.
Yet, Olivia was no ally either. She was more concerned about power than helping the innocent, not to mention she was allied with the Cambions for reasons Zoey didn’t comprehend.
My world is so fucked up. If Zoey had learned anything lately, it was that there was no clear-cut difference between good and evil, no world where she could simply exist to kill bad guys. It made her sick to her stomach when she thought about the innocent lives lost.
She wrenched away from Olivia and continued towards the middle of the park.
“She’s wrong, Z,” Vikki said quietly.
Zoey glanced at her.
“If she could control your blackouts, don’t you think she’d send you after a better target than a few Cambions? Incubatti Enforcers or their Council?”
“Hey now,” Aiden said. “Not exactly chopped liver over here.”
“You were following me. That’s different than me targeting you,” Zoey said. “I don’t believe anything that bitch says, but I think she knows something we don’t about what’s happening to our Halflings.”
“Yeah, I get that sense, too.” Vikki scowled. “If there’s a way to help them, we can take it.”
“Declaring war on Olivia when we can barely fight Cambions and keep our heads above water?” Zoey shook her head. “We just need a little space and time to breathe.” She eyed Aiden. “And she’s right about the Incubatti. You all protect those soulless monsters that kill people.”
He said nothing.
“No one is good in this scenario,” Vikki agreed.
They reached the center of the park and stopped.
Declan and Wes approached.
Zoey couldn’t look away from her soul-mate. Her heart was pounding hard while warm desire fluttered through her. She found herself breathing deeply in anticipation of catching the first whiff of his dark, vanilla scent. His magic was restrained, but it still tickled her senses, teased her with reminders of how incredible a night in his bed had been.
The two Enforcers stopped a safe distance from them, their sex magic humming in the air.
“Are you well, Aiden?” Declan’s warm, familiar voice swept over her, through their connection as soul-mates, and managed to sink into her resolve, prying it down a level. She’d almost forgotten how much she loved his heavy, slow Southern drawl, especially when he said her name.
She braced herself, not about to let her body rule her mind. She wasn’t going to be blackmailed by Olivia or seduced by Declan.
“Great,” Aiden said cheerfully.
Vikki shook her head at him.
“About Vikki’s new … position,” Zoey said before the Enforcer boys were able to get the upper hand.
Declan’s attention turned to her. When he wore his Enforcer mask, he was a stranger, one that made her uneasy with his combination of natural power and command. He hid himself too well; she often wondered if what she knew of him behind closed doors was real. His amber gaze was direct, his stance relaxed. He radiated the confidence of the leader she wished she was.
“She checks in twice a day, morning and night. There will be no attempts to uncover our operations or location, and she’s treated like a guest, not a prisoner,” Zoey said firmly. “Any issues, and I yank her back.”
“She will be afforded the same accommodations and treatment as our Sucubatti representative,” Declan replied.
She glanced at Vikki, who took the cue and released Aiden’s bonds.
He rubbed his wrists.
“Are you willing to create a liaison position for an Incubatti member?” Declan asked.
Zoey almost laughed. Sensing it was not the right time or place for her reaction, she cleared her throat instead. “No offense, but I don’t want any Incubatti or Sucubatti member anywhere near my team,” she said. “I think the reasons are obvious. Last I heard, the price on my head from both societies had doubled.”
“Tripled.” A flicker of amusement went through Declan’s gaze.
His almost-smile made her face warm and her stomach flutter.
“In that case, fuck no,” she said. “Where is your half of this deal?”
Declan nodded his head to the side. Wes eyed her as he stepped from behind Declan, briefcase in hand.
“All that cash fit in there?” Zoey asked.
“Trust me, Zoey.” Declan’s soft words drew her gaze and set her body on fire.
“If he shorts you, I’ll knock his ass out again,” Vikki said acidly.
Even the allusion to how Vikki caught him cheating didn’t seem to effect Declan. Zoey, however, suddenly felt claustrophobic. Her body wanted to be closer, to melt into him, while her anger was bubbling near the surface.
“Sounds good, V,” she said. She took the briefcase, troubled to find it lighter than she expected.
What had he put inside it, if not money?
Aiden joined his brothers, his limp almost gone.
Zoey exchanged a look with Vikki. While it was the safest place for her to go, the loss of her friend’s daily support was going to be brutal. Zoey felt it already, a sense of being more alone than before on her mission to right a wrong and fix all the issues that were popping up.
Vikki reached out to her and squeezed her arm.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “You will, too.”
Zoey forced a smile.
Vikki walked off with Wes and Aiden towards their awaiting vehicles. Zoey watched her before reluctantly looking once more to Declan.
Without the others to act as buffers, the tension between them grew taut and thick, the air sizzling with sexual restraint and desire in addition to the soul connection that made it impossible for her to walk away the way she desperately wanted to. His magic skated over her, tickling the sensitive hairs at the back of her neck and caressing her exposed skin like a warm kiss. Their attraction to one another was unreal, their bond compelling them together even when they strained to keep their distance.
“What Olivia didn’t tell you is that both Councils want to meet with you,” Declan said. “It might be in your best interest to do so.”
“You want what’s in my best interest?”
“I want what keeps you alive.”
Even now, when they were virtually alone, she wasn’t able to see beyond his façade, to know if he cared or if he was simply helping her to make his job easier. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so many tears she hadn’t yet shed, a side of her that wanted to forgive him only so she could feel his arms around her.
She clenched her jaw and said nothing.
“Read the book. It’s definitely in your best interest,” he said with a faint smile.
Declan turned and walked away. Her eyes went down his lean, chiseled frame.
Zoey watched him, perplexed about the simplicity of the exchange after Declan’s insistence she show up and the daily phone calls. He’d said nothing that made her think this was anything other than a drug deal. He hadn’t tried to bring up anything from their past. No apologies. No attempts at explaining away what happened. He also hadn’t tried to convince her of where she belonged, with him, the way he used to when they were going through the rite. He r
ecited none of the incubus rules, ignoring the fact that she faced him fully armed.
“What the fuck just happened?” she whispered. Or maybe, didn’t happen? He wanted her there, but wasn’t interested in talking to her.
She tested the weight of the briefcase. It was heavy enough to contain a book but not much else. If he cheated her out of six months worth of operational expenses for a book, she was going to ask Vikki to do more than knock him out.
Zoey turned away and strode back to the van, struggling to keep from sprinting. Declan’s sex magic clung to her. Her hormones were roaring, her inner thighs growing weak and her anger sliding into hot desire.
Don’t. Let. Him. Win. She chanted the words.
Olivia and her people were still there, watching the exchange, as if to make certain Zoey didn’t go back with Declan.
She glanced at them and climbed into the passenger seat of the van. Zoey rolled down the window for some air, overheating despite the cool night.
“You okay?” Ginny asked.
“Yeah. Just need to go home. And air.” Zoey was close to panting after the simple interaction with Declan, her sensitive skin pricking. She cradled her forehead in her hands and focused on calming down. As shaken as she was, she’d still done the impossible: faced Declan and walked away.
Ginny put the van into gear and pulled away from the curb. “I have a feeling we need to pull up stakes tonight, don’t we?”
“Unfortunately,” Zoey agreed. “I’ll call Chrissy and tell her to move up the time table.” She pulled out her phone and tapped Chrissy’s contact.
The call went to voicemail.
“Maybe she went to sleep like you told her,” Ginny said. “She was getting mega-bitchy.”
“I think it had something to do with Aiden’s incubus vibes,” Zoey said. God knows those Enforcers are pains in the ass. “Hopefully she’s resting. She’ll have to be ready to go before morning.”
“So … where’s the money?” Ginny asked.
Zoey hesitated then pulled up the briefcase, afraid it’d be empty and she’d have to confront Declan again. Flipping it open, she cursed and withdrew the book he referenced.
“Leadership During Difficult Times,” she read the name of the book. Lifting it out of the case, she flipped through it. There were notes in the margins, written in his tight, neat handwriting. It had been his book, and she found herself sniffing it to see if his scent lingered.
“What’re you doing?” Ginny asked.
“Nothing.” Zoey blinked and set it aside. There was a manila envelope and nothing else in the briefcase.
“No cashy, no foody,” Ginny said, gritting her teeth. “Those fucking Enforcers think they rule the fucking world.”
“You seen Tommy lately?” Zoey asked, referring to Ginny’s soul-mate, another of Declan’s brothers.
“Nope. Not since we left.”
Zoey smiled, grateful to her friends for their devotion. They were hurting as much as she was, but they stuck by her.
With no idea what to expect from someone like Declan, she opened the envelope. Inside was a post-it note stuck to a bankcard, folded papers and the key to a safety deposit box.
No one can track this account, read the sticky note. Petty cash in safety deposit box.
“What is it?” Ginny asked anxiously. “Please tell me we have enough money for gas.”
“One sec.” Zoey turned the pages one at a time, a baffled laugh emerging when she finished reading. Speechless, she stared at the amount listed on the last page of the bank statement in disbelief.
“What?”
“He added me to his bank account.” Zoey lowered the papers. “Do you think … is this his way of keeping me like … linked to him somehow? Is he manipulating me?”
“Does it matter?” Ginny replied. “How much he got? Enough for the next six months?”
Zoey opened her mouth, closed it then sighed. “Ginny, he’s got low nine figures.”
“Is there a decimal point in there somewhere?”
“Nope. Two commas.”
“Holy shit, Zoey. And he just adds you to his account? You can take anything you want? As much as you want?”
“Yep. It’s …” she cleared her throat “our account.”
“So you literally won the lottery. You could totally walk away with everything.”
“Could,” Zoey agreed, once again troubled. “Ugh! Why did he do this? Why couldn’t he give me what I asked for and wait until the next time I wanted to blackmail him?”
“Right. That’s better.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “I’d say it’s an apology. A damned good one. I’d let Tommy sleep around for nine figures.”
“No, you wouldn’t!”
“Okay, maybe not. But I’d be tempted.”
“I’m sending this back,” Zoey said. “I don’t want to be bribed into forgiving him.”
“Or … hear me out.” Ginny rested one hand on the envelope. “You could ignore where the money is coming from for now and use it to get us out of the gutter. New equipment. Better weapons. Food. Hell, we could build an underground base of operations and not put a dent in his bank account. Think of all the good we could do.”
Zoey frowned.
“We could at least make sure the girls are taken care of. Chrissy needs a real lab with equipment she doesn’t have to build out of scraps we find in hospital dumpsters. We have enough rations for a week, Zoey. A week!”
“I know,” Zoey mumbled, resistance thawing at the reminder. “But shouldn’t this feel dirty? I mean, like he’s buying us?”
“Are you going to stop killing Cambions?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Ginny asked. “Zoey, you don’t want to hear this, but Declan cares about you. I know how these Enforcer boys think, because I’m married to one, too. This is how he’s showing it. He’s supporting you, even though you’re a wanted fugitive, and he’s a cheating bastard. Neither of you can walk away from one another. It’s not how it works. This” she waved at the manila envelope “is the least he can do after fucking you over. Right?”
Zoey was quiet, gaze on the scenery outside her window. Declan had once offered to support her team financially. He and his family didn’t believe the Cambions were any better for the world than she did. Their approaches, however, were radically different. Declan wanted to change his society from the inside using diplomacy and politics.
She wanted to kill off Cambions until they were no longer an issue.
There had been a place in his plan for her, and the papers in her hands supported this reality. He hadn’t put a price tag on the bank account either. She owed him nothing, and she had access to the funding she needed to support her operations and people.
Ginny was right. They needed this too much to turn it down.
She traced her thumb over the elevated text on the bankcard and was surprised to think she’d never bothered to ask Declan his last name. As agitated as she was about the situation, she was unusually touched by the name listed on the card.
Zoey Alexander O’Connor
His last name left her angry and confused, but the fact he kept the surname she adopted from her mentor and guardian reminded her of the Declan she hadn’t seen tonight.
The gentle, thoughtful and devoted soul-mate. The man she thought would never in his life cheat on her, who made her feel like she had a home when she lay in his arms.
She put the card back in the envelope, mulling over Ginny’s words. They needed the money. As the leader of Team Rogue, it was her responsibility to get it. Blackmailing the Incubatti and Sucubatti worked in the short term, but they couldn’t continue living week to week, especially not if they had an alternative like the one Declan dropped in her hands. Too many of the Halflings were suffering from whatever Olivia had done to them.
I can’t let my pride get the best of me.
“We’ll take what we need and nothing more,” she said finally. “I hate the idea of giving him any sort of satisfactio
n. We’ll check in at the warehouse and order everyone to pack. We can grab the petty cash first thing in the morning. Hopefully it’s enough for us and to send Chrissy shopping for equipment she needs.”
“Why didn’t Tommy add me to his account?” Ginny complained.
“Maybe because he didn’t sleep with your old ops officer.”
Ginny laughed.
Declan was giving them the ability to do a great deal of good. As hard as it was to accept, Zoey had to overlook where their funding came from.
“Greater good,” Zoey murmured, echoing the words of her long time mentor, the Professor. He had gone to live with the Incubatti after the headquarters of the Sucubatti society was destroyed. “I hate this shit. Why can’t it be simple?” Her attention turned to the direction in which they drove, and she saw the billowing smoke from the warehouse district long before they reached their exit.
“Zoey …” Ginny’s voice was hushed. “That’s near our place.”
Zoey tried Chrissy again, then the other girls whose numbers she had.
No one answered.
“Drive faster, Gin,” she urged.
The closer they got, the clearer it became that it was their warehouse on fire.
Chapter Six: Infuriated
Ginny stopped the van across the street from the blazing warehouse. Team Rogue members were scattered up and down the street near their base of operations.
Zoey leapt out of the vehicle, heart racing. She sought out Chrissy, Lydia, and the other original member of Team Rogue, Tiffany. They stood on the side of the street with the warehouse, looking rough with sooty clothing. Chrissy had been crying, though Lydia and Tiffany appeared angry.
“Tiff!” Zoey called, racing to her. “What the fuck happened?”
The two turned while an exhausted Chrissy continued to stare at the fire. Tiff, a stunning half-Asian woman with blue eyes and one of Zoey’s half-sisters, spoke first.
“That happened.” She pointed to the still forms Zoey hadn’t noticed on the ground.
Zoey hurried forward and crouched beside the two bodies. The scent of melting flesh and burnt hair made her cover her mouth. One of the bodies was clearly a Halfling who got caught in the fire.
