Ruling Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 4)

by Crowe, Mallory

  “I suddenly find myself jealous of the werewolf,” muttered the monster across from her.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Never get between a New Yorker and her coffee. Never.”

  “You weren’t born in New York,” he pointed out. “You didn’t even move there until you were twelve.”

  She took another sip and tried not to be creeped out by his knowledge of her past. “Who are you and what do you want?”

  “My name is Lucian. I am the current coven leader of the myotis. I would like to make a deal with you.” His words were ridiculous, but his tone was one hundred percent serious.

  “Why on earth would I make a deal with you?”

  “Because when you first heard my voice this morning, you almost shit yourself with fear. Wouldn’t you rather have me and mine as your ally?”

  Elsie bristled at his words. Had she really seemed that scared? “What exactly are you offering?”

  “You are the siren werewolf queen who was raised with vampires. You are already uniquely powerful due to your position between the species. Imagine how much more respect you will get when you have two myotis bodyguards under your control.”

  Elsie considered his offer. As far as she knew, myotises and sirens had hated each other forever. The supernatural world would be rocked on its axis if she started showing up to events with myotises at her back. She already had firsthand knowledge of how dangerous her new position was.

  Brock would never accept their help. Hell, his delicate male ego would probably be injured if she hinted that she didn’t feel safe with his werewolf bodyguards.

  “I’m assuming you want something in return? What’s the price of your protection?”

  Lucian smiled, apparently seeing the question as a sign of her considering his proposal. “My terms are simple. I want a siren as a bride. All I ask is that you try to find one for me.”

  Elsie choked on her sip of coffee. “Are you serious? How can you expect me to hand over some innocent woman to you?”

  He shook his head. “You don’t have to force her into anything. All I want is an introduction. My people have a…reputation among your kind. I am trying to remedy that.”

  “Yeah. All that rape and torture tends to turn away potential mates,” she muttered.

  His eyes hardened at her words. “That was before. I am the new master of the coven and I intend to make sure that behavior doesn’t happen again!” His raised voice caused Elsie to lean away and a few passersby looked in his direction. He took a calming breath. “My people are dying. There are no women left and humans are incapable of carrying our children to term.”

  It all started to click for Elsie. “But you know sirens take on traits of their mates.”

  He nodded. “Kalger used violence and force in his attempt to trap sirens but all he did was make sure they stayed as far away from us as possible.”

  “Don’t talk like the violence is all in the past. Just last week I was attacked by one of your men, and he was more than happy to prove just how violent he was. Then you attacked me and my family at my home. Don’t bullshit me,” she warned.

  “We are facing extinction! Every member of the coven we lose is one step closer!”

  His outburst was the last straw. “It is one thing for one of your people to be homicidal, but don’t you dare defend him. You weren’t there! You didn’t feel the way he touched me or hear the hatred in his voice when he said the things he was going to do to me. I would never submit anyone, let alone one of my own, to that torment.”

  Not wanting to deal with him anymore, she slung her purse and work bag over her shoulder and turned to leave. She only got three steps away from the table when Lucian appeared out of thin air in front of her.

  Her breath caught in her throat and her precious coffee tumbled to the concrete sidewalk. Quicker than she could see, Lucian knelt and grabbed the falling cup, stopping the descent before even a drop spilled.

  Slowly, he extended to his full height and handed her back her drink. The sudden reminder of just how dangerous he was had Elsie gulping in fear.

  “Thank you,” she squeaked out as she took her coffee from him, careful not to let her fingers touch his.

  He didn’t offer her the customary “you’re welcome.” Instead, he just looked down at her, as if to say I could be hurting you right now but I’m not! Isn’t it obvious that my race isn’t violent?

  His now free hand pulled her phone out of his pocket and his fingers quickly moved over the touchscreen.

  She frowned at the slight invasion of her privacy. “What are you doing?”

  He locked her phone and handed it back to her. “You have my number now. Me and my men are just a phone call away.”

  Elsie looked over her phone, not knowing how to feel about having a myotis at her beck and call. “Thanks,” she mumbled as she pocketed the phone and started to walk around him.

  As she passed, his hand lightly grabbed her arm and she jumped at the sudden contact, eyes going wide. “Just so you know, Cullen is in town. Your escape humiliated him and he’ll make sure you pay.”

  Elsie pulled herself from his grip and he let her. “You’ve seen him?”

  “I have eyes everywhere,” he said.

  Elsie nodded and backed away. “I’ll keep that in mind. Good-bye, Lucian.”

  He nodded back to her and she turned away. When she turned the corner to go to her car, he was still in the same spot.

  ~~~~~

  Walking into the office after an unexpected two-week absence wasn’t the best feeling. Elsie could feel her overburdened coworkers stare at her questioningly over their cubes as she made her way to her office.

  They would have a field day when they found out about her and Brock. At least she wouldn’t be around too long to deal with their disapproving looks and snide remarks.

  Elsie pinched her nose at the mean direction of her thoughts. She shouldn’t assume they would hate her for sleeping with the boss. They might even be happy for her.

  She laughed at the ridiculous thought, and Jackson chose that moment to walk into her office. “Something funny?” He looked around the small room, trying to decipher what it was.

  Elsie shook her head. “I’m just having one of those days.”

  Jackson rolled his eyes at her. “Well, Brock ordered me to make sure everything goes smoothly today.”

  That was strange. Elsie had always managed to keep things running smoothly, with Jackson twiddling his thumbs in his office. Why would she need his help now? Then it clicked. “You mean you’re my bodyguard while Brock’s in the city?”

  “Bodyguard wasn’t exactly the word he used. What he actually said was ‘If one hair on her head is damaged while she is in Jersey, I will personally see to it that you will shit blood for the rest of your immortal existence.’” His voice changed to better imitate Brock’s gruff tone while giving orders and Elsie snorted.

  “The man does have a way with words,” she muttered.

  Jackson nodded in agreement before he moved farther into her office and gently shut the door. Never a good sign.

  “I was hoping we could take a second to talk.”

  “We talk all the time,” she reminded him. She leaned her hip against her desk and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “About the money.”

  Elsie took a deep breath to brace herself. “Look, it was my job to balance the books. I felt I had to take what I found to Brock. If you two talked about it and he is good with you working here still, that is between the two of you. I understand this is a family business and I never intended to get in the middle of anything.”

  “You’re family now,” he pointed out. “You deserve to know. I was being blackmailed.”

  Well, that certainly wasn’t what she was expecting. She raised a brow as a silent urge to continue.

  “Derek contacted me a few months back and said if I didn’t start wiring money into one of his accounts, he would cause trouble with Dani. At first he wasn’t asking for
that much, but it started to get out of hand. By that time, I knew I should’ve gone to Brock to begin with, but I didn’t want to admit how stupid I’d been.”

  Elsie sighed in disgust. “So you thought you would look less stupid if you kept giving money to your uncle’s enemy even after you realized how idiotic it was?”

  Jackson lowered his head as he grimaced at his own actions. “It was prideful and foolish. Trust me, I know. Especially since he went and fucked with Dani anyways.” Elsie winced at the reminder of the teen. “No one has seen her since the night you were taken. Russell’s picked up rumors she might be running with Cullen and his gang now.”

  Elsie’s head shot up. “That’s bullshit. She’d never turn her back on the family who raised her so quickly.”

  “Who knows how long Derek’s had his claws in her? What lies he told her? You are proof of just how far gone she was.”

  “She’s not far gone!” As soon as she shouted the words, Elsie realized her thin door wouldn’t block the sound. Quietly, she continued, “She was just confused. When she comes back, I’ll have a long talk with her and we can figure everything out.”

  The thin line of Jackson’s lips told her exactly how much faith he had in that idea. “I hope you’re right. But before we can rehab the girl, we have to find her.”

  “You just said she’s with Cullen. Can’t one of Russell’s ‘informants’ tell us where he is?”

  Jackson rolled his eyes at the question. “We can’t just storm in and take her. For one, we have no idea if she wants to go back home. Also, as far as most of the wolf population knows, there is a tentative truce between Cullen and Brock. If they start openly fighting in public, who knows what could happen?”

  Elsie waved her arms in frustration. “He just kidnapped me out of Brock’s home! What the hell is the difference?”

  “The difference is that Brock is king. He needs to have the illusion of power. So if his precious niece is switching to the dark side, he needs to make it look like he doesn’t give a shit. If he fights to get her out, he’s proving that he can’t even control his own relatives, let alone all wolves.”

  Elsie sighed again and sat in her chair. “I’ll figure out some way to get her out. Mark my words.”

  Jackson’s brow furrowed. “I’m supposed to be keeping you safe, so don’t run out to do anything stupid.”

  “Get out of my office so I can pick up the mess that was probably made in the general ledger and clean up your trail of shit,” she ordered. Sleeping with the boss did have some benefits.

  He left, but his scowl remained firmly in place. She powered her work laptop on and sat back as the little circle appeared on the loading screen.

  This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Dani was supposed to be her biggest ally. Jackson was supposed to be a stupid thief who didn’t care about the family business.

  He was still a stupid thief, but apparently he was only doing it for family. She wouldn’t be surprised if he’d emptied out his personal savings account before he’d dipped into Holt Automated’s cash.

  As much as she tried to think happy thoughts about Riggs or Brock, she kept going back to Dani. Was she being held against her will? Did she think everyone hated her?

  For that matter, was Jackson right when he suggested Dani hated her mother’s side of the family? How severe had Brock been when yelling at her?

  All these questions and jack-shit she could do about it. Jackson made it painfully clear that Brock wasn’t willing to risk starting a war for a teenager who may or may not hate him.

  A sudden impulse had her reaching in her purse and pulling out her phone. She scrolled through the contacts until Lucian’s name appeared.

  Her computer dinged as it finished loading and Elsie jumped in surprise. Shaking her head, she slid the phone back in her purse and clicked open her overflowing email.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The clacking of heels down the hallway was hardly a new sound to Elsie, but this particular clacking made her stiffen in terror.

  Sure enough, her nightmares were realized when Lana appeared in her office window. Stifling a groan, Elsie planted her best smile on and waved Lana into her office. To be polite, she stood as Lana walked in. They might look the same age, but Lana had at least a century on Elsie.

  “What a nice surprise,” said Elsie.

  Lana just scowled at Elsie’s welcome. “We both know you don’t want to see me, so please don’t insult me by lying.”

  Elsie kept her smile firmly in place, though her eyes definitely were not filled with warmth. “Believe me. I only lie in the face of people I like. It’s the ones I speak my mind to who should watch out.”

  Lana cocked her head as she considered it. Elsie had a feeling she’d just gone up a notch in her grandmother-in-law’s eyes, but she couldn’t be sure. “Anyway,” said Lana. “I’ve come to take you out to lunch. You and I really haven’t had any girl time together.”

  Elsie looked around her office at the massive pile of work she’d only managed to take a chip out of in the five hours since she’d gotten in. On the other hand, she really should try to get Lana on her side.

  Which would never happen if she rebuffed the first peace offering the werewolf had offered her.

  “That sounds lovely. Let me just save what I was working on and I will be out in one minute.”

  Lana smiled at her victory as Elsie started to pack up.

  Ten minutes later, Elsie led Lana into the nicest restaurant within close proximity to the plant. The service wasn’t known for being fast, but the food was from all local and natural sources and the flavors were to die for.

  Hopefully she would get some points for not taking Lana to the closest burger joint.

  Not that burgers weren’t amazing. She just had a feeling Lana had expensive tastes.

  Her clothes were simple enough: plain black slacks paired with a white silk blouse and stylish black boots. But Elsie had an eye for clothes and would bet her next paycheck that each item Lana wore, underwear included, cost well over a hundred bucks a piece.

  What she would give to get a peek at the woman’s closet.

  Rebecca also had expensive tastes, but she swayed toward trendy designer clothes that would make all heads turn to her when she entered the room. Lana was old money. She didn’t need people to know she was loaded. She was just happy to appreciate the luxury herself.

  “What on earth are you staring at?” said Lana as the waitress seated them.

  Elsie fingered her water as she tried to think up a reasonable answer. After a second, she decided honesty was the best way to go. “It’s kind of silly. I was just admiring your outfit and trying to figure out where you got everything.”

  Lana made a clicking noise with her tongue. “What did I just say about lying?”

  Elsie smiled at the accusation. “No lie. I happen to be very passionate about clothes and I don’t joke around when it comes to my designers.”

  Lana looked her up and down. “You do seem to put yourself together well, I’ll give you that.”

  The self-satisfied smile that came to Elsie was unavoidable. Her blouse had a geometric pattern with bright turquoise and dark-blue triangles, and she’d had just enough time to paint her nails an almost identical turquoise to match that morning.

  It was always nice to know her hard work paid off.

  Lana smoothed her napkin on her lap even though the waitress hadn’t even taken their drink order yet. “I assume you know why I asked you here.”

  “I was hoping you were going to keep on complimenting my appearance. I would be okay with that.” Lana’s sour expression immediately proved Elsie wrong.

  “I want to be clear with you that you cannot stay with Brock.”

  Elsie choked on her sip of water and the waitress chose that moment to walk up. Lana ordered an iced tea while Elsie ungracefully cleared the water from her windpipe. “I’m sticking with water, thanks,” she croaked out when the waitress turned an expectant gaze to her wi
thout once asking whether she was okay.

  When they were finally alone again, Elsie said, “Seriously? What did I do to convince you I am such a horrible person?”

  Lana twisted the ring around her middle finger, and for the first time, Elsie realized Lana wasn’t necessarily comfortable insulting Elsie to her face. Not that it made her feel better, but it was nice to know. “I am not trying to keep you away because I hate you. I want you to stay away because I like you.”

  Elsie threw her hands up in defeat. “Now I’m confused, because ‘like’ was never a vibe I got from you.”

  “I didn’t like that you had suddenly bound yourself to my grandson, but you, personally, have never done anything to upset me. You have to understand, our family has a very dark history. My Diana didn’t even attempt to mate with Brock’s father until her children were at least five years old and she was certain she could survive it. She trained for years with the best. She learned to fight with swords, fists, and teeth. She learned to control her mind in ways I’d never imagined possible.

  “But none of those years of preparation kept her safe. Within a month of the mating ritual, she was dead and Brock was motherless. You might think I’m cold to reject you so quickly, but I fail to see how you can accomplish what Diana couldn’t. Brock has already lost one mate to this curse. I’m simply trying to protect him.”

  Lana’s tone was firm, but her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Elsie wanted to be upset, but it was hard to be mad at a grieving mother. “I thought I made it clear I wasn’t having the dreams.”

  Lana scoffed. “And I thought I made it clear I wouldn’t tolerate any more of your lies.”

  A heavy silence stretched between them and Elsie didn’t bother to defend herself. “I didn’t have a nightmare last night. They might be going away.”

  Lana leaned forward on her elbows and spoke in a hushed tone. “If you stay with him, you’ll die. And if that curse takes one more woman he cares about, I don’t know what he’ll do.”