by S. J. Day
“She might be more valuable to us alive than dead. If Cain survives—which he has proven is inevitable—he might forfeit a great deal for her return.”
Fury started to burn its way through Eve’s fear. She was sick of being mauled. No amount of chocolate could improve her mood enough to avoid the nuclear meltdown she felt was coming. And there was one basic undeniable truth—there was no way in hell she’d allow anyone to use her against Alec.
Her head turned slowly, her eyes narrowing in an attempt to see a way out. Where was she? The house on Falcon Circle? If not, she was screwed, because she would have no idea where she was, or which direction to run for help.
Eve glanced down at her watch. Through the water droplets on the face, she saw it was just after one in the morning. The kid couldn’t have moved her too far from the masonry. Not enough time had passed.
If this was a real slasher movie, this room might be a basement of horrors. But this was California, where earthquakes made basements a rarity. She was either on the ground floor or above it. For some reason, that made her feel better. As long as she was above the ground, she might have a chance of escaping to the street outside or being seen from a window. If she screamed loud enough, she might be heard.
The door is to your left.
The sound of the female voice took Eve aback. She glanced around furtively. One of the animals was talking to her and she didn’t sound good. Her voice was weary. Resigned.
It opens inward. If you make it to the hallway, run to the right and don’t stop.
Eve had no idea how to reply without her voice, how to say she would come back for them if she lived through the night. She refused to leave them behind and let them suffer whatever fate awaited them on that gurney.
We’re counting on it.
Mentally girding herself, Eve wiggled in her seat, trying to see if her legs were bound in any way. They weren’t.
“You can bleed her until I get there,” the person on the speakerphone said. “Just don’t drain too much.”
The wolf’s slow smile sent Eve’s anger into overdrive. A rough growl escaped her. She lunged forward, aiming her shoulder at the boy’s stomach like she’d seen football players do when tackling. The maneuver worked. They both tumbled to the ground and crashed into a malodorous kennel. The animals began to bark, hiss, and screech.
Shouting came through the speakerphone. “What’s going on? Tim? Answer me! What the fuck is happening?”
Struggling to her knees, Eve then lurched to her feet. One with the darkness now, her night vision kicked in, allowing her to see the proliferation of bloodstained tools hanging on racks suspended from the ceiling. There were also at least a dozen kennels holding animals so ravaged, Eve couldn’t tell what species some of them were.
“Bitch!” the boy cried, swinging for her legs with both arms.
Eve stumbled, then turned and kicked at where he lay on the floor. “Asshole!”
Reaching the door, she fumbled for the knob. Grasping hands scratched her ankles and shins but couldn’t get purchase. Yanking the portal open, Eve leaped around it and fled to the hallway.
Behind her, the wolf cursed and gave chase.
Alec bypassed the patio area of the masonry at a run, heading toward the main gate that led to the street. His footfalls combined with the Marks’ behind him in a rhythmic pounding that built his anxiety. He was a yard away from the gate when a familiar figure appeared on the other side. The man grasped the wrought-iron bars, revealing the diamond-shaped detail on the back of his right hand—a detail that was identical to the one on the kid from the convenience store.
“Bad timing, Charles,” Alec bit out.
“What are you doing here, Cain?”
The Alpha of the Northern California pack was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alec wasn’t in the mood to play. “Leaving. Get out of my way.”
“I’m looking for someone; a young male from my pack.” One hand dug into his pocket and withdrew a newspaper image of the Upland Sports Arena. In the periphery, the boy stood beside a Gehenna Masonry truck.
Alec smiled. “Good luck with that.”
The Alpha’s eyes glowed golden in the moonlight. He was tall and sinewy, handsome in a way that lured too many mortal women astray. He was dark and intense. Magnetic, some said. And wily enough to avoid Jehovah’s wrath. At least so far. “It can’t be a coincidence that you’re here.”
“You’re the one outside of your territory.”
Charles settled more firmly on his feet, showing his determination to block the exit as long as necessary. Since the padlock was on the exterior of the gate, Alec wouldn’t be able to access it without reaching through the bars, a move that would put him at an unacceptable disadvantage.
“Point me in the right direction,” Charles said, “and I’ll step aside.”
“There’s no help for your rogue wolf. Go home.”
“I can’t let you kill him.”
“That’s not your decision to make.”
“He’s young, and he’s my son.” Charles’s knuckles whitened. “His mother was a witch. Her parents believe I’m denying him his magical birthright. They’ve turned him against me.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
“Because he’s a half-breed,” the Alpha continued, “he can’t control his wolf, so he’s rejected it and fled.”
Alec’s arms crossed. “You’re breaking my heart.”
“Let me handle this within the pack.”
“It’s too late for that.” The evening breeze blew through the bars, ruffling through Alec’s hair and filling his nostrils with the stench of Infernal. “Among other things, a Mark has been taken.”
“Whatever Timothy has done, it’s been at the will of his grandparents. Let me give them to you in return for my son.”
“I want my Mark,” Alec bit out, agonizingly conscious of how much time had passed since Eve had been taken.
“I understand. I want to help you.”
“Then get out of the way.”
The Alpha’s grip loosened. “Do we have a deal?”
Alec inhaled sharply. “Sure.”
Eve was right. The mark did burn with a lie.
CHAPTER 20
It was a hallway, and at the end there was a faint, almost imperceptible glow.
Eve raced toward it, suddenly aware of just how much swinging arms helped a person to run. With her wrists bound in front of her, she felt off-balance and front-heavy.
The screeching cries of the animals ceased abruptly with the closing of the door Eve had fled through, telling her the horror room was soundproofed in some way. The thudding footfalls of her pursuer, however, were loud and clear. And gaining on her.
Flanking either side of the hallway were other doors, only a few, but they were all closed. There was no wayward moonlight to give her bearings. There was no artificial illumination and no windows to tell her where she was. Only the glow at the end of the tunnel that hinted at a window.
The hallway emptied into another. She turned the corner and found herself dodging sofas and end tables. Moonlight flooded the space through picture windows. She was on the ground floor. If she’d been a religious person, she might have sent up a prayer of thanks. As it was, she thought it was about time she’d been given a freakin’ break.
She saw the double-door exit that led to the outside.
Almost there . . .
“Stupid slut!” the boy grunted, skidding into the wall as he rounded the corner behind her.
Eve sensed a tackle coming and leaped the last yard to the door. The mark burned with a rush of power, giving her the strength required to shatter the lock and leap out into the night.
Her foot hit the ground wrong and she stumbled . . .
. . . directly into the chest of an immovable masculine form.
Fishtailing around the corner of Falcon Circle, Alec stood on the brakes and squealed to a halt before the brown house at the end of the street. It was the only unlit home o
n the cul de sac; a dark hole in a suburban tapestry of welcoming lights. Behind him, a dark blue Suburban filled with Sara’s guards and a black Porsche driven by Charles followed suit. Bringing up the rear was a van of wolves. The multitude of vehicles clogged the driveway and spilled out to the middle of the street.
Alec hit the pavement running, the driver’s-side door of the Focus left hanging open.
This sort of melee was not the way things were done. Sting operations, raids, ambushes . . . Aside from being strongly discouraged because of their inevitable attention-grabbing value, they weren’t in Alec’s repertoire. He preferred the quiet, clean kill.
The soles of his boots skid around the corner of the garage. He charged toward the front double-doors.
One side burst open in a rush and a running figure tumbled out, crashing into Alec. If his heart could have stopped, it would have.
“What the fuck is going on?”
The voice wasn’t Eve’s.
Eve didn’t need to look up to know that the man holding her was Reed. His scent was unmistakable and relief filled her.
But she was still pissed.
Leaning into him, she kicked back with one leg, nailing the pursuing kid directly in the chest. The force of the blow traveled through Eve and was absorbed by Reed. The young wolf caught air and was thrust backward at least a yard. He slammed into the stationary side of the door, colliding with an audible crack of his head against the thick glass. Knocked unconscious, he slid down and came to rest, sprawled and harmless.
“Nice,” Reed said. He assessed her physical condition. “You’re wet again.”
“Was I ever dry?” She held out her bound wrists. Her hands were shaking terribly, but there was nothing she could do about that. “Take this off!”
“Where’s Cain?” His fingers deftly unraveled the nylon rope that restrained her.
“Fending off tengu.” At least she hoped he was still fending them off. The knot in her stomach tightened.
Reed freed her. “Let’s go save his ass, then.”
Eve kicked at the wolf’s sneakered foot. “We need to keep an eye on him. He’s your brother’s target.”
“I’ll restrain him.” He doubled up the rope in his hands and snapped it.
“There are also dogs in there . . . animals,” she said, pointing at the showroom. “They’re hurt bad. And someone else is coming. They’re on the way here. I don’t know how many. Only one guy was talking, but who knows if there were more with him. Or her. The voice was wierd.”
“We’ll need Cain,” he said grimly. He was so calm, so self-possessed. And wearing a ridiculously expensive suit that smelled of a woman.
Eve pushed the thought aside. “Right. Tie up the boy. I’ll get Cain.”
A wry smile curved his lips. “By yourself?”
“There are only two of us. What else can we do?”
“I asked for reinforcements.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Let me see where they are.”
“Okay, then. We have a plan.”
“We do?”
“Sure. I have a way with tengu. They’d rather pick on me than Cain and that should give him a break.” She caught Reed by the lapels and shook him. At least, she tried to. He didn’t budge. “Don’t get hurt. You hear me?”
Reed winked. “I’ll be sure to protect your favorite parts.”
“Jeez,” she muttered. “You’re terrible.”
“Hey.” He caught her arm before she turned away. His voice was low and grave. “Be careful.”
“Will do.” Eve took off running toward the back of the lot, skirting all the statuary and fountains that littered the patio area of the showroom.
They weren’t nearly as frightening as before.
Alec stared down at the kid he had by the shirt. It was the other boy from the convenience store. Another wolf, although Alec wasn’t certain which pack claimed him because his details were hidden beneath his clothing.
“Where’s Evangeline?”
“Who?” the kid asked. “Dude, you’re tripping. What the hell are you doing tearing down the street like the Dukes of Hazzard? You scared the crap out of me.”
“Where’s your friend Timothy? The kid you were with earlier?”
The young wolf scowled. “How the fuck should I know? He hasn’t come back from work yet.”
The Alpha’s voice rumbled through the darkness. “Do you know who you’re talking to, Sean?”
The boy’s eyes widened with fear. Not because of Alec, but because of his Alpha. He began to struggle violently. “Let me go!”
Alec looked at Charles.
“He ran away with Timothy,” the Alpha explained, his gaze never leaving the writhing teenager. “Where is he, Sean?”
There was an undertone to the Alpha’s voice that drained all the fight out of the kid. He sagged in Alec’s grip and said, “I think he’s still at work. He called a little bit ago and asked for Malachai to meet him there.”
“Malachai?” Alec asked.
“His grandfather,” Charles explained.
Still at work. Alec released the kid and exhaled harshly. Was Eve still at the masonry? Had she been right under his nose?
All this time . . . wasted.
“Back up!” he yelled, skirting Charles and the other wolves to return to the Focus. “Back the cars up!”
A female Mark attempted to run by him. He caught her arm. “Get a hold of the team we left with Mariel,” he said. “Tell them to search the premises.”
“Yes, Cain.” As she ran to the Suburban, she pulled out her cell phone.
Alec slid into the driver’s seat and put the car in reverse. Once again he’d screwed things up. He should have killed the boy when he had the chance.
He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Eve wrenched open the door to the rear building. Heat assailed her, as well as an exceptionally noxious odor.
She ran in. The kiln was on, and there was a darkclad man feeding bags into it. Eve briefly debated whether he was a friend or foe, but the barest whiff of sweetness revealed him to be a Mark. She wanted to know why he was there, but that could wait. A quick glance down the length of the room confirmed that the tengu were secured.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Looking for you,” the Mark said. He assessed her from head to toe. “Are you okay?”
“Not really, no.” Eve tried to look collected, but the sudden release of terror and tension left her limp like a deflated balloon.
“You didn’t get yourself hurt, did you?”
Something about his tone bugged her. “It’s not like I planned to get snatched, you know.”
“Well, we all know you didn’t plan to not get snatched either. You have no business being on a mission like this at your stage. Look how much trouble you’ve caused.”
“Excuse me?” Her hands went to her hips. “Who said I wanted this gig?”
The Mark made some kind of grunting noise that she found offensive.
She shook her head. “I’m going back to check on the wolf-boy in the showroom. He had better social skills.”
“Hang on,” he muttered. “I’ll go with you. Just let me wash this crap off my hands.”
Eve opened her mouth to protest.
“Don’t argue.” He rolled his eyes. “You need someone to watch out for you before you get yourself killed.”
“I’ve kept myself alive so far, haven’t I?”
“By the will of God,” the Mark argued. He moved over to a plastic utility tub sink in the corner.
As he busied himself there, Eve glanced around impatiently. The tengu were eerily quiet and she couldn’t help but wonder what condition Alec had left them in.
Her foot tapped with frustration. She really wanted to say “to hell with you,” but the fact was, this guy was trained and she wasn’t. He was also sporting attire that suggested his position was an important one, or at least one that was distinguishable from the basic Mark in some way. Surliness aside, he could
help her and she wasn’t in a position to reject assistance of any kind.
His cell phone went off, playing a “Low Rider” ring tone.
“Can you hur—” she snapped, facing him. “Holy shit!”
Water poured from the tap like a twisting rope, wrapping around the Mark’s body and face. He struggled, but any sounds he would have made were muffled. He was blue from his exertions and lack of oxygen.
“Hey!” she shouted. “Back off. It’s me you want.”
The Mark was dropped to the floor, unconscious. Maybe dead. She couldn’t tell.
Leaving Eve alone with the Nix.
Reed straightened from a crouch with the bound teenage boy tossed over his shoulder. Opening the showroom door, he carried his burden inside. He tossed the kid on a waiting room sofa and took stock of his surroundings.
Gehenna Masonry had the sort of upscale style that Reed gravitated toward. They’d spared no expense in their presentation. The couches were leather, an espresso machine waited by the receptionist’s desk, and samples of materials, colors, and tiles were mounted on mahogany displays.
A clever disguise, he thought. Not what he would have expected.
His gaze returned to the unconscious teenager. There was no greater proof of the masking Cain had suspected than the body in front of him. Reed had no idea what kind of Infernal it was. If not for the present circumstances, he wouldn’t even know the boy was an Infernal. That was almost as frightening as the look on Eve’s face when she’d burst out of the showroom. He’d felt her fear as if it was tangible, but seeing it had been too much.
Yet she continued bravely, worrying over both Cain and himself. She’d only been marked a couple of weeks, but she was more concerned about the oldest members of the mark system than she was about her novice self.
Where the hell was Sara’s team? After what he’d paid for them, they should be here.
Reed reached into his pocket, withdrew his cell phone, and turned it on. The phone played a little tune as it powered up, followed shortly by the beeping that said he had text messages and voicemails waiting. The subdued sounds were loud in the stillness. He glanced around warily, then moved toward the receptionist’s station. It was time to shed some light on the situation.
