by Laura Kaye
“She tried the same thing with me earlier,” Keegan said from his spot by the doorway. “With a similar effect.”
“Hmm…” Taeg put a hand to his chin. “You’ve got some powers, huh?”
“Wha—what?”
Why the hell would that even cross his mind? It wasn’t like anyone ever believed what she could do, so why would a total stranger make that assumption? Sure, he’d obviously felt something when she’d touched him, but wouldn’t a normal person assume it was just static in the air or something of that nature?
“Powers.” Taeg grinned. “Want to see what I can do?”
Keegan stirred. “Taeg, stop—”
Before Keegan could cross the room, Taeg grabbed her, his hands searing hot where they touched her arms over her light sweater.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Brynn glared into his eyes. The blue depths of his irises seemed to swirl around his pupils.
She couldn’t look away. Didn’t want to. Nothing existed but those swirling, blue-green eyes.
“Relax,” he said, his voice soft as honey.
Amazingly, a liquid sensation washed over her, slowing the rush of blood in her veins and the rapid pumping of her heart. Her body went boneless, until Taeg practically held her up by the arms. Deep down she knew she should be afraid that she was no longer in control of her own body, but she wasn’t. Instead she felt calm…tranquil.
Keegan approached and grabbed his brother’s arm, as if about to push him away. “I said stop.”
Taeg’s eyes turned to Keegan, and Brynn fought back a whimper. She wanted his eyes back on her.
What had he done to her?
“Let me do this,” Taeg snapped at Keegan. “We have to know.”
Keegan paused, an angry scowl on his face. “Fuck.” He whirled and paced about the room.
Taeg returned his attention to her, and she exhaled in relief.
“It’s all right,” he drawled, a rakish smirk on his face. “Tell me, do you know anyone by the name of Mammon?”
Mammon? Who? “No.”
“Has anyone unusual approached you the past few weeks, or has anything weird happened to you?”
Other than this? She shook her head. “No.”
“What can you do with your hands?”
“I…” Why the hell did she feel so compelled to answer? She never shared her secret. But she couldn’t stop herself. “I can make people pass out. Almost like I’m draining their energy. At least, I used to be able to do that.”
Taeg actually looked impressed. “Pretty cool. What else can you do?”
“I…” Perspiration built at Brynn’s temples from her effort to keep her mouth shut, but she was powerless. She couldn’t stay quiet. “I can read energy off objects, get their memories.”
Taeg whistled, glancing over at Keegan. “You hear that? Our little friend is turning out to be pretty interesting. Over three millennia, and she’s still gifted.”
His words caused a tidal wave of confusion to wash over Brynn. What did he mean, still gifted?
Keegan stopped pacing long enough to spit out, “Hurry up and finish it.”
Taeg chuckled and turned to Brynn. “Do you know how you got your abilities?”
“No.” She licked her lips, which suddenly felt too dry. “How are you doing this?”
Taeg smiled at her. Right now, his face was the most captivating thing she’d ever seen. The angular cheekbones, the almost imperceptible cleft in his chin. The shadowy stubble just starting to grow on his jaw. His voice was smooth as butter when he said, “Don’t you want to kiss me?”
Now that he mentioned it, she really did. How had she ever lived without kissing those impossibly full lips before?
“Yes,” she whispered, moistening her trembling lips. She leaned forward, but before she reached Taeg, Keegan rushed him. Jostling her to the side, he grabbed his brother by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
Now that Taeg no longer supported her, her limbs felt like goo. She stumbled and fell to the ground. The crazy compulsion to kiss Taeg faded until she wondered if she’d ever really felt it.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Anger radiated from Keegan in violent waves, making Brynn’s stomach knot. From this position, he resembled a feral animal, one with no qualms about killing its prey.
Taeg choked out a laugh as he reached up to pry Keegan’s hand from around his neck. “I was just screwing around,” he rasped, clearly amused, even though it looked like Keegan was throttling the life out of him.
Keegan said something else, but it wasn’t in English. Instead he spoke a deep, guttural language Brynn had never heard. But she didn’t have time to contemplate that, because she could only focus on one thing.
Taeg had done something to her. When he’d touched her, looked at her, she’d done whatever he had asked, whatever he’d suggested. Even now, the reminder of how full and kissable his lips had seemed made her heart pound and her body temperature heat.
Holy crap—Taeg had powers, too!
She wasn’t alone anymore.
Brynn rose to her feet, forcing herself to brush aside that one rogue thought. Because right now there were far more pressing matters to discuss. She raised her voice so she could be heard over the two men, who even now yelled at each other in a foreign tongue. “Okay, who are you guys?”
…
Keegan glanced at Brynn, who stood facing him and Taeg like some angry warrior queen. Her fists clenched into tight balls at her side, and her chest heaved in a way that accentuated what lay beneath her top. The fact that Taeg probably hadn’t missed that, either, pissed him off to no end.
He turned to his brother and spoke once again in their native tongue. “You were supposed to find out what she knows—not make her question us even more. What is wrong with you?”
“I told you I was just fucking around,” Taeg responded in the same language. “Now stop being a dick and get your hand off my throat.”
“Have you forgotten who she is?” Keegan punctuated his words with a shake of his wrist. “You really think it would be a good idea to get involved with her?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
Keegan froze, flustered by the sudden uncomfortable feeling that his brother had just set him up with that whole little display.
“I can’t understand you two,” Brynn said from across the room. “What language are you speaking?”
Keegan ignored her. He unclenched his fist and released Taeg, his anger disappearing as quickly as it had arrived. His brother had only been trying to make a point—and he’d made it well. Brynn was clearly off limits.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied to Taeg. “She was trying to use her power on me when you walked in earlier, and I let her, so she’d know it didn’t work on me. There was nothing else going on.”
Taeg threw him a disbelieving look as he massaged his throat. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, bro. Just remember—she’s the key to the fucking apocalypse. Not just here on Earth, but maybe every planet there is. If we can’t find the book before Mammon does, she’s gotta get dead. And fast.”
Keegan gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to pounce on Taeg once more. Damn it. He had to calm down. He turned to Brynn, who stared at the both of them in confusion, no doubt wondering what they were saying. “I know that, man. I barely know her. And if I have to, I will kill her.”
“Good,” Taeg said. “Just remember that. Because you may very well have to. And if it comes down to it and you puss out, know that I will.”
Every muscle in Keegan’s body tightened at the clear warning in Taeg’s words. With a menacing growl, Keegan whirled to face him. “Are you threatening me, little brother?”
“You’ve never let me down before.” Taeg raised his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “But you’re my brother. It’s my job to keep you in line if you’re being a shit. Just make sure you follow through with what you need to do, and there’ll be no problem.”
He straightened his back, putting him a good inch or two taller than Taeg. “What exactly are you implying?”
Taeg looked at him dead-on, a challenge in his eyes. “I think you know already, bro.”
Keegan gritted his teeth, seconds away from lunging, when Ronin’s even voice sounded out from the doorway. “What’s going on in here? I heard the yelling and banging from down the hall.”
A sense of peace and calm washed through Keegan, the mark of Ronin’s presence. Most of the time, that particular ability came in handy, but every once in a while, he just needed a good fight.
“Let me guess,” Brynn said from across the room. “Another brother, right?”
Keegan glanced at Brynn, who was staring at Ronin with an expression of disbelief. He switched back to English. “This is our younger brother Ronin.”
“Of course he is.” Brynn let out an incredulous chuckle. “Did they specially breed you guys in a lab or something?”
He exchanged a confused look with Ronin. What did that mean?
Brynn must have caught the glance, because she explained. “Since you’re all so hot, I mean.” Then, as if just realizing her words, she flushed a bright red, which only served to make her that much more alluring.
Keegan fought back a reluctant chuckle.
Taeg wasn’t quite as reserved. He gave Brynn an impish grin. “You’re pretty hot, too.”
Keegan’s amusement vanished in a flash. Another low growl rose in his throat, aching to tear out. He cleared it instead. Something about her made him territorial, but he couldn’t afford to indulge in his true nature. Not with this woman, and especially not with his brother on his ass.
Brynn laughed and shuffled her feet uncomfortably, as if fighting an instinctive urge to back away. “Are there any more of you?”
Ronin smiled at her. “Our youngest brother, Dagan. He’s out for the moment, though.”
Out? Keegan switched back to their native tongue. “Where did he go?”
“Bar down the street,” Ronin replied.
“He went to a bar? Now?”
“Think about it, man,” Taeg said to him. “You know he’s a softie. He doesn’t want to get to know her if we’re going to have to end up killing her.”
Ronin gave a curt nod in agreement, and Keegan felt a moment of guilt that he hadn’t considered that. Dagan was a lover of women. An unrepentant playboy, yes, but he would never physically hurt a woman. Of course this would be hard on him. Well, it was for the best that Dagan wasn’t here, because if he had been, he’d probably be trying to get into Brynn’s pants, too.
“Can you guys please speak English?” Brynn asked, placing extra emphasis on the last word.
“Sorry.” Keegan turned back to her. Despite all she’d been through today, she was still standing. Still fighting. He could only hope he wouldn’t have to extinguish that light in her eyes.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to him. For that reason alone he had to tread carefully.
Brynn edged over to the bed and sat, her gaze wide and unfocused. “So that’s why you guys are keeping me here? You have abilities like me, don’t you?”
Taeg gave Keegan a glance and let out a casual shrug. “Yeah. Sure, that’s it.”
“You’re part of a secret organization for people with powers,” she continued in amazement.
Well, if that made her feel better about this whole thing, Keegan wasn’t about to disabuse her of her notion. Especially since her fear had evaporated as she uttered that statement.
“That’s right,” he said to her.
“Like a gang of superheroes,” she added.
She thought they were superheroes? Taeg’s and Ronin’s gazes shot to Keegan. They looked as startled by her assumption as he was.
How wrong she was.
But on the other hand, now that she mentioned it, it seemed like a perfectly good cover.
He turned back to Brynn, fighting to keep his face expressionless. “Yes, that’s what it is.”
She tilted her head and studied him, her eyes filled with a tinge of uncertainty that twisted deep in his gut. Devil help him, he didn’t want to hear the sadness in her voice, didn’t want her to be afraid.
“How am I supposed to trust you?”
Keegan directed his gaze toward Ronin and crooked his head.
Taking the hint, Ronin crossed the room and crouched in front of Brynn. “I know this must be hard for you. But we’re trying to protect you. We need for you to trust us.”
Even from where he stood, waves of calming energy radiated off Ronin. Brynn obviously felt them, too, because her shoulders relaxed and the tension smoothed out of her face. “Okay.”
“See, bro,” Taeg said, so that only he could hear, “things go better when we work together.”
Keegan nodded in acknowledgment. Taeg was right. Smug and annoying most of the time, but right.
Taeg clasped his shoulder and squeezed before leaving the room.
“Have you eaten dinner?” Ronin asked Brynn as he rose from his spot.
“I was taken before I could. And by taken, I mean Keegan knocked me out.” She glowered at Keegan, and he broke eye contact so she wouldn’t see the guilt on his face.
Ronin touched Brynn’s arm. “I’ll make something for us to eat.” He glared at Keegan as he made his way toward the door. “Dinner in an hour. I’ll need some help.”
Keegan waited until Ronin had left before speaking. “I’m sorry for hitting you. I didn’t think you’d come with me if I explained all this to you, and we needed to get out of there fast. We don’t know how far Mammon has come in locating you.”
“Okay.” Brynn thoughtfully rubbed her chin. “Why don’t I hurt, by the way? Is that one of your gifts? You are gifted, too, right?”
Damn, he didn’t want to talk about this right now. Or ever.
“Yes.”
She appeared to consider that for a second. “What else can you do?”
Oh, no. He wasn’t about to discuss his other abilities with her…especially not the ones he had no real control over. “Why don’t we talk about this another time? I’ve got some things to settle before dinner.”
Without giving her a chance to respond, Keegan turned and stalked toward the door.
“Will you at least leave the door unlocked?” she called behind him. “You know I’m not going anywhere.”
He didn’t dare turn around. Those green eyes of hers were far too distracting. If he looked into them, he was afraid he might go weak. He already felt way more for her than he should. “Not this time.”
Keegan closed the door and bolted it. The sound of something soft hitting the door punctuated Brynn’s shout of frustration. He chuckled. Apparently she didn’t like to be locked up. But then he sobered. After all, who did?
Ronin paced the length of the living room while Taeg leaned against one of the large windows, staring out of it.
“What do you think?” Keegan asked.
“She’s telling the truth,” Taeg said. “She doesn’t know anything about what she is, or about Mammon. The girl’s as innocent as they come.”
Even though Keegan had already arrived at the same conclusion, it was still a relief to hear it coming from Taeg’s mouth.
Ronin stopped pacing and turned to face Keegan. “Now what?”
Taeg closed his eyes and sighed. Keegan opened his mouth to reply, but Taeg beat him to it. “Now we kill her.”
Unexpected fury coursed through Keegan’s veins, boiling his blood. “No,” he said, at the same time that Ronin said, “What?”
Taeg raked a hand through his short hair. “Do you think I want to kill her? She’s sweet, not to mention hot. But she’s too dangerous to live. We’re talking about the end of the worlds as we know them, man.”
“No.” Keegan said it again, because it was wor
th repeating. “We’re not going to kill her just like that. Not when there’s a chance we can stop this without having to shed her blood.”
“I agree with Keegan on this one,” Ronin chimed in. “We don’t kill unless there’s no other option. We’re not Mammon.”
Taeg sighed, keeping his gaze steady on Keegan. “You’re just saying no because you’ve got a thing for her.”
“What?” Ronin said. “Is that true, Keegan?”
“No.” The word came out shakier than he’d intended, and Keegan had to clear his throat before repeating, “No. You both know that I’ll do my duty above all else, but I don’t want to take an innocent’s life unless it becomes a necessity.”
Ronin pressed his lips into a thin line and turned back to Taeg. “She’s mostly just a woman. An innocent woman.”
Taeg ran a hand through his hair again, a simple gesture that belied his frustration. “Dagan would agree with me, and you know it. That’s why he’s at the bar getting shitfaced right now, instead of here with us.”
“We’re not doing it,” Keegan said. “Not yet, and not if we don’t have to.”
After a long moment’s silence, Taeg sighed. “Okay, fine. We’ll hold off for now. Have dinner with her. Treat her like a guest who can’t leave. If she has any questions about us, we’ll go with that stupid superheroes story.”
Ronin nodded. “Agreed.” Without another word, he turned and headed toward the kitchen.
“Superheroes,” Taeg muttered. “Fucking ridiculous.”
“Should we tell her that we’re demons instead?”
“Only half.” Taeg’s response was automatically defensive, born from years of trying to justify what they were.
“She’d believe the other half even less,” Keegan reflected dryly.
Taeg grumbled in wordless acknowledgment. “I need a beer.” He turned to follow Ronin, but then stopped and faced Keegan dead-on. “Take my advice, bro. Stay away from her. She’s dangerous. And I don’t just mean in a key to the apocalypse sort of way.”
Much as it irked Keegan, he had to agree with Taeg. Brynn was dangerous. And it appeared he was weaker than he’d ever thought, because even now all he could think about was how inviting her lips had looked when she’d asked him what else he could do.
