The Enemy's Kiss

by Zandria Munson

  With every effort to maintain a calm disposition, she moved and ducked into the passageway.

  The small flashlight cast its light about the tunnel, revealing a gravel floor and concave brick walls that were laden with moss. A path of water lined the center of the ground beneath them, no doubt the seepage from the river.

  In silence they walked for a few minutes. Daniela listened intently for any noise that would indicate they’d somehow been discovered. Her heart drummed within her chest as they advanced deeper into the shadows. If she got out of this one unscathed she was quitting her thieving ways for sure.

  Nicholas paused and Daniela realized that the passage had narrowed to a crawl space that was a few feet off the ground. He angled the light and peered in. “This is the only way in,” he told her.

  Daniela eyed the passage. They would have to crawl through, and the last thing she wanted was to be bent over in front of him. “And I suppose you expect me to go in first?”

  A flash of humor registered in his eyes. “I do not trust you at my back so I would have it no other way.” He offered her a hand.

  With an exasperated sigh she ignored him and gripped the edge of the passage, pulling herself up and inside. Kneeling, she turned and slipped her flashlight from his hand, glaring at him. The light revealed that the passage went on for at least another twenty feet. What lay beyond that she couldn’t tell.

  A soft noise behind her told Daniela that Nicholas had joined her in the passage. His huge frame seemed to fill the entire space and she suddenly felt like a caged animal. She’d never been prone to claustrophobia, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she focused on the path ahead and began to crawl forward.

  They’d only gone a moderate distance when she felt a cooling draft teasing the stray locks of her hair that had managed to escape the confines of her ponytail. She brought the light up to see a rusty metal fence in front of her. Peering through the bars, she did a quick sweep of the room beyond. It was large and filled with unmarked wooden crates.

  “Can you get through the gate?” Nicholas asked from behind her.

  She turned the light to the fence, finding that its roots lay imbedded into the wall. “I’ll see.” She set the flashlight down and gripped the bars, applying her full weight against it, but it was in vain. The bars simply wouldn’t budge.

  Repositioning slightly, she braced one boot against it and tried again. Flakes of brittle rust cracked away, but as before the bars held firm.

  “Allow me to try,” Nicholas offered.

  Daniela looked at him then at the space they were allotted. There was no way he was going to get around her. He must’ve realized their dilemma simultaneously for he backed up suddenly.

  “Lie on your back,” he told her. “I will climb over you.”

  She blinked at him. Could the night get any worse? As if being squeezed into the narrow passage with him wasn’t bad enough, now she would have to endure his very large and hard body sliding over her own. Reluctantly, she complied.

  Nicholas moved over her and the heat of his body immediately assailed her as he came to a kneeling position just over her. He leaned forward, increasing her torment as his long hair spilled over his shoulders to tease the sensitive skin of her face. Never had she been this close to a man or in such a compromising position. She hated to admit it, but this pompous man had ignited a fire within her and she wanted nothing more than to stamp it out.

  “Cover your eyes,” he told her as he gripped the bars.

  With her eyes closed tightly, Daniela could feel the exact moment when the thick corded muscles of his thighs clenched, and seconds later a crumbling noise ensued. Opening her eyes slowly, she cast a look over her head to find that the metal fence had been completely ripped from the wall.

  Nicholas had to lean forward a bit more so that he could allow the iron to carefully slide to the floor below. This action brought his face mere inches from her own. His very masculine scent engulfed her, slipping into her nostrils to toy with her imagination.

  The metal fence scrapped its way down the wall and landed on the floor with a quiet clank. Nicholas’s eyes met and held her own and he watched her for a few seconds. In this lighting they looked black, but she remembered from their earlier encounter that they were a very transfixing green; the color of the Brazilian rain forest after a fresh rain. His gaze was contemplative as he watched her, assessing almost.

  “From this point on you will obey me without question,” he told her quietly. “Is that understood?”

  Daniela was silent for a moment. She’d never been inclined to take orders from anyone, and she certainly wasn’t appreciating his demanding nature. But in her present predicament she would have to contend with it. She nodded.

  He acknowledged her compliance with a grunt then moved carefully over her and through the exit. Daniela remained motionless for a moment as she regained her composure, then she quickly followed. Nicholas was moving between the crates, scrolling the light over them.

  Daniela moved to stand beside him. “I don’t think you’re going to find the rune anywhere in this monastery,” she told him. “These guys are just middlemen. They acquire the items for the buyers and I’m not sure what happens after that, but I don’t think they keep them lying about for too long.”

  “You may be correct, but as you say they are middlemen and at present my only connection to the one who has the rune.”

  He turned and headed toward a short flight of stone steps that lead to a doorway outlined by a dull orange glow. He gripped the door handle and it turned with ease.

  Daniela moved up the steps to join him then waited as he pulled the door open a crack and peered through. He listened for a few seconds and when they were met with quiet, he pulled the door wider. Dull light poured in from the narrow passage that lay beyond. They entered quietly and moved toward another flight of steps. A wooden door stood at the top of the stairway. As before, Nicholas eased it open and they looked through.

  They heard muffled voices but no one was within sight. They slipped past the threshold and into a long, wide hall lit by several dangling bulbs. They moved cautiously toward an archway that was aglow with a light from a lower floor.

  Daniela matched Nicholas’s pace, staying close, but never advancing ahead. Oddly, she didn’t feel any fear. There was just something about the man that gave her a sense of reassurance. She wasn’t sure if it was the confidence in his stride, the way he held his crossbow at his side—subtly poised for anything—or his tall and powerful frame. Whatever the reason, it was certainly an odd feeling for her. Never had she met a man who made her feel anything remotely close to security.

  They passed through the archway and found themselves on the second floor of the main hall. The upper level was lined with a banister while the foyer below was crowded with wooden crates and barrels. Five men moved about, stacking the crates and rolling the barrels to one side.

  Nicholas assumed an immediate crouching position and Daniela followed suit. Concealed within the shadows and behind the wooden posts of the banister, they observed the scene below. The men spoke with British accents and Daniela recognized one of them immediately. Tall and with a gangly frame, she knew him only by his nickname, Cradle. She’d done business with him a few times, actually delivering the first rune to him a few days ago. And it was to him that she was expected to deliver the second.

  “That’s him,” she told Nicholas. “He’s the one I gave the rune to.”

  He fixed the man with a lethal look. “So it is possible that the rune is here?”

  Daniela didn’t like the look on his face. It seemed he contemplated a confrontation. Between him with his antique weapon and her with her butter knife, the chances of victory were positively slim.

  “No,” she tried to dissuade. “I told you before that the
se guys are just middlemen. I doubt they hold on to the items for very long.”

  “He was given the rune. If it is not in his possession he will know where it is.” With that he slid forward a few feet.

  Daniela watched him incredulously. There was no way he could confront Cradle without alerting the others. And doing that would only lead to his death—or worse.

  She cast a glance over her shoulder. It was time for her to make an exit. Nicholas had her cell phone and could possibly use it to learn her identity, but if she managed to get out of there she could contact Mai and have her cancel her cellular account. Attempting an escape was better than remaining here to face a certain death. Even if Nicholas didn’t make it out of there, her life was still at risk because her cell phone remained in his pocket, which she was sure Cradle and his comrades would search.

  She briefly considered returning the way they’d come, but realized that it would take too long to reach a safe distance. What she needed was a fast and easy escape route. Her gaze flitted across the upper level of the room, scanning the shadows as she sought an alternative exit. It seemed luck was on her side for on the opposite end of the room a small glass window beckoned to her. It was slightly ajar and just wide enough for her to pass through. The only problem was that she’d never be able to make her way to it before she got caught. But then she’d always been innovative.

  Again she scanned the room. Overhead the ancient ceiling had been left open and she could see the heavy maze of rafters. She was certain she could reach them, and the beams looked sturdy enough to support her weight.

  She shot a glance at the men below, then to Nicholas. She would have only a few seconds before he realized that she’d left his side. Her plan would have to be executed without flaw. In the next second, she stood, climbed onto the banister and made a jump for the nearest beam of the rafter. She caught it and gracefully swung her legs up and around it, finally pulling her entire body onto it.

  Slipping into a feline crouch, her gaze swept over the occupants of the room a second time. The men below went about their duties, but Nicholas’s very disapproving attention was pinned to her. A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth and she shrugged. There was no way he could follow her and he knew it.

  She turned and began her careful journey toward the window. She’d only gotten midway when the beam beneath her began to creak. She froze. The sound had been very quiet, barely audible beneath the laughter of the men below, but she’d heard it. And oddly, so had Nicholas. She looked at him just in time to see his eyes dip to the beam. A quick assessment revealed that, although the beam itself was sturdy, the joints that connected it were worn with decay.

  The wood creaked again and she weighed her options; going back was definitely not among them. Besides, she was halfway to the other side. She only needed to be quick, she told herself, to make it there.

  One, she began counting, two, three…

  She made a dash for it, got only another few feet before a loud creak resounded across the room and the termite-riddled joints that held the beam up surrendered to the added weight. Daniela gripped a smaller beam over her head, but that too gave way and she found herself falling to the ground.

  She landed gracefully amidst the lengths of rotten wood. Dust hung about her and as she stood she looked up to find the five men, including Cradle, watching her. She slowly backed toward a stack of crates as they advanced. Her heart began drumming wildly when one of them pulled out a gun.

  “Well, well. What have we got here?” he said.

  “Looks like a little spy,” said another.

  “Or the police,” Cradle piped in.

  Daniela made an effort to keep her eyes averted from him. He’d never seen her face as she’d always worn her mask during drop-offs, but she didn’t want to take any chances. If by some twist of fate she did make it out of there alive, she didn’t want Cradle tracking down her friends and family.

  She eased back another few steps, but was halted when the gunman raised his weapon.

  “Stop right there,” he barked. “Who sent you here?” When she didn’t respond he cocked the gun. “I asked you a question.”

  Before Daniela could provide a response, an arrow zipped through the air and penetrated the gunman’s right shoulder. He cried out in agony and the gun toppled to the floor. All eyes turned toward the top of the stairway just in time to see Nicholas leap over the banister. He landed effortlessly on his feet then brought the hind end of his crossbow square in the face of the man nearest him. With a cry the man stumbled backward and into a stack of crates.

  It took the others only a few seconds to assess this new threat and one of the men snatched up the gun, aiming for Nicholas’s chest. Daniela intercepted his attack with a kick to the midsection that knocked the wind out of him. The gun went off and a sharp pain shot through her left thigh.

  The fight that transpired after that could only be described as chaos. The three men who remained on their feet charged at them, wielding anything they could get their hands on. Daniela quickly put her martial arts training into use while Nicholas fired off two more arrows, disabling another opponent. He discarded his weapon then and went at it fist to fist with his next attacker.

  Despite their present predicament, Daniela couldn’t help but admire the speed and agility with which Nicholas fought. He moved as a man who’d been well trained in the art of combat. His opponent was easily defeated and Nicholas snatched up his crossbow again, turning to watch as she finished her attacker with a blinding blow to the head.

  Their eyes met as she remained kneeled over the motionless figure, forcing her breathing to assume a steady rhythm. He stared at her for a few seconds longer, his gaze hard and indiscernible. It was all Daniela could do not to flinch. She didn’t fear him and wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking she did.

  He didn’t bark orders at her as she’d expected. Instead, he turned and marched toward Cradle who was holding his wounded arm.

  With his boot, Nicholas rolled Cradle over onto his back. “The Rune of Moloch, where is it?”

  Cradle spat, sending a tooth bouncing to the floor. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said as he tried to sit up.

  Nicholas reached down and slipped an arrow from the quiver strapped to his leg. “It was given to you. Now where is it? This is your final opportunity to respond.” He positioned the arrow into the bow.

  Daniela looked at her left thigh. She’d been shot. A small hole had been ripped into her leather pants and blood seeped through. She looked around quickly and spotted a large canvas drape that was piled on the floor. She crawled toward it and used Nicholas’s knife to cut a length of it which she then fastened tightly around her thigh, grimacing as the pain intensified.

  She pushed herself to her feet and briefly considered another escape, but decided against it. Nicholas was clearly very skilled with the weapon he held. And with her injured leg she wasn’t likely to get very far. As for how a man of the twenty-first century had acquired such precision with an antique weapon, she couldn’t imagine. Nevertheless, his disposition was hardly one to be tested.

  Cradle had managed to drag himself a few inches toward a stack of crates. His brow was furrowed in suspicion and his eyes darted to her and back. Daniela quickly averted her gaze, silently cursing Nicholas’s tactless interrogation. Few people knew that Cradle had collected the rune and she only hoped that the number was large enough to exempt her from suspicion.

  Nicholas aimed his weapon and his finger eased on the trigger. A flash of lightning from outside illuminated the room and the lazy rumble of thunder quickly ensued. A storm approached.

  Cradle eyed the man above him warily and a lump forced its way down his throat. “Hey, I only collected the item. I don’t know where it is now.”

  “Who did you give it to?”

  “I took it to
a campsite about ten miles on the outskirts of Bucharest. I’d never been there before and never seen the two women I gave it to,” he admitted.

  “Two women?” Nicholas questioned.

  “Yeah,” Cradle continued as he repositioned himself, supporting his obviously deformed wrist with his uninjured hand. “Two broads. Twins by the look of them—real stiff-lipped Addams Family rejects.”

  “And what were you given in exchange for the rune?”

  “Money. That’s all these jobs are to me—a paycheck. I don’t ask questions. I just do what I’m told.”

  Nicholas remained poised over the man for a few seconds then grunted in response as he stepped back. “Get up,” he ordered.

  Cradle crawled to his feet. Without a word Nicholas jerked his head toward a large crate that sat open on the floor. Cradle understood and although a look of reluctance crossed his face, he complied without question. With much difficulty he climbed into the crate and fell back into the packing grass.

  Nicholas set his crossbow aside and swung the heavy wooden lid up. “Your associates should be awake by sunrise. I am sure they will discover you here,” he told Cradle before setting the lid into place.

  He marched toward another crate and picked it up, putting it firmly onto the lid of the first, securing Cradle inside. Daniela exhaled softly. At least no one had been killed. She wasn’t quite sure of what to expect from Nicholas Drakon. Her relief was shortlived when he snatched up his crossbow and turned his attention to her.

  Propping the weapon up onto his shoulder, he sauntered toward her, pausing a few feet away. He stood there watching her, his eyes narrowed as they trailed the length of her. Daniela tried to still the racing of her heart, but couldn’t. The man simply looked dangerous with his long mane of dark hair spilling over his back and shoulders. With as much bravado as she could muster, she waited for his next move.