by Dannika Dark
Change of plans. Meet with me at your earliest convenience.
Do not bring your friend.
-De Gradi
Marco knew Logan was with me, but I couldn’t be sure if he had us followed to my mother’s house. I didn’t like that he peeked at my cards before I was ready to show my hand.
Logan was in the hotel room next door. Because he was more attuned to scent—and I had no idea how sensitive it was—I put Marco out of my head while getting dressed. I didn’t want to risk bringing Logan if it meant jeopardizing my only opportunity to get information.
Marco lived in an exclusive neighborhood—the kind with a gated property and long driveways. The train took me far enough that I could walk the rest of the way. My finger pushed the call button and the gate clicked open.
As I walked along the driveway, I noticed that a lot of money went into designing his mansion. The landscaping alone would have cost more than a year’s rent at my old apartment. The lawn smelled freshly cut, and the tall trees swayed overhead like watchful giants. I squinted from the bright sunlight and rang the doorbell. The same older man who presented me with the invitation opened the door.
“Come this way. Mr. De Gradi is expecting you,” he said flatly. I captured a strong scent of lemon when I stepped inside.
My heels clicked against the glassy floor and I paused when I entered a spacious room. The windows were tremendous, and had not a smudge on them. The focal point was a grand piano where Marco sat. His fingers lightly stroked the keys, and a haunting melody of no particular origin sent chills up my spine.
“I should apologize for the change in plans, but I won’t. I am a busy man, and have no—”
“Well if you are too busy to keep your engagements, then I’ll leave.”
That pompous attitude just rubbed me the wrong way and, Justus be damned, I turned around and walked out. The melody trailed on as I approached the front door. The sudden change in plans and his elusive behavior made me uneasy.
Marco flashed across the room and blocked my exit. “Who are you with and what brings you here?”
“Your invitation brought me here.”
He folded his arms and pinched at his beard. “Explain your business in my bar.”
“I was ordering a drink. Is that a crime?”
Marco angered at my literal answers. “If you were a man I would have knocked you on the floor. I have no patience for lies, so I am offering you one last chance to speak the truth.”
“I was sent.”
His expression fell. “Who sent you?”
“Who do you think?”
I mirrored his stance, widening my legs and folding my arms.
“Don’t play games with me. Why are you here?”
“I don’t think he would appreciate me breaking his confidence, do you? These are private business affairs; you’re just the detour.”
Marco drew a sharp intake of air and I took that as my cue to walk around him and reach for the door.
His voice rang out like the sound of a gunshot in a church, echoing a name I had longed to hear, that when it fell upon my ears, I went deaf.
“Nero has not paid in full, you tell him that.”
My fingers loosened from the knob… trembling. Nero, my mind whispered. “Not all obligations were filled.”
“I did what he asked!” he shouted. “He cannot blame me for Samil’s failure. I found her, and that was my job.”
“Samil is dead,” I said, looking over my shoulder.
Marco blanched and stepped back.
“I don’t believe it. How?”
I lightly shrugged, staring at the brass knob on the door. “Sometimes people get what’s coming to them.”
I grew nervous about staying a minute longer when no one knew where I was. I had the name I needed, and that was enough.
“Samil was the only Creator who could make one so strong. I cannot believe Nero would have done this—no matter how much he despised him, Nero is not a stupid man. Samil was far too valuable a Mage to dispose of. His ability was one we had never seen.”
“Marco, I’m not here to threaten you. I was curious what a failure looked like up close. Now that I know, I have other matters to attend to.”
Chapter 20
“Like I said before, I can handle myself. I don’t need your permission to do anything, Mr. Cross.” Logan hated it when I used his last name, so I made a conscious effort to do it when I was upset with him.
I slid my beer on the smooth surface of the bar, waiting for his reply. With the sudden change in plans, our evening was free. I suggested a trip to a local dive for a few drinks. It would be nice to unwind and have a little fun. I might as well enjoy it; once I returned to Cognito, my social life would be at a crawl.
“You seem to forget that you are just an obstinate young Mage, ill-equipped to handle yourself around one more experienced,” Logan said.
“Stop using fancy words, they’re unbecoming on your tongue.”
Logan was pissed when he shouted his whisper. “I gave my word to your Ghuardian that I would watch over you because he said you have a tendency to skip right into the arms of trouble.”
Well, that just disgusted me. “He said that?”
“Now you’ve put me in a position where my integrity is in question.”
“Integrity? Exactly who are you to me? You’re not my Ghuardian, brother, best friend, lover—”
Logan spun out of his seat and stalked off, flicking his hand in the air. I took a disgusted sip of my drink and did a little growling of my own.
My phone began to vibrate.
“Hello?”
“Er… ows… eating you?”
“Hold on, Simon, I can’t hear you,” I shouted, moving into a quiet hallway. “Sorry, the music is loud so speak up. Are you there?”
“Having a good time? Just promise me you’ll stay off the dance floor, love. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Justus as long as you don’t end up on the news for sparking half of the city. I know we spoke earlier, but I’m guessing you’re alone now?”
“I’m alone. Why?”
“Do you think you can arrange another meeting? I want to ruffle his feathers a little more. It might stir him up enough that he’ll come back to Cognito.”
“I can try, but he doesn’t like me very much.”
Simon gave me a quick rundown of a few more questions, so it would not be a wasted opportunity with the remaining time we had. I could sense his frustration, as he would have done a far better job interrogating the man. He wanted to mention Justus, in hopes of luring him back to Cognito.
“Having fun with Knox?”
“Gigantor plays a mean game of poker.”
“Well I’m glad you found a playmate. Maybe the two of you can get your freak on with a game of Twister. I’ll call you later.”
I tucked the phone in my back pocket and made a beeline for the bar. A boisterous laugh slipped out when I thought about Knox and Simon tangled up, reaching for a color, when Knox slips and crushes Simon like a bug. My thoughts cut off when I crashed into someone.
“I’m so sorry!” I clung to his shirt before I lost my balance.
“Watch your step.”
Every hair on my arm stood on end when he spoke.
In a past life, I was much shorter and weaker. I changed, but he didn’t. The military haircut was still his thing. He always wore sleeveless shirts to show off a vile dragon tattoo that crawled down his arm like a demon in a nightmare. He still wore the same cheap cologne.
With a twist of my arm, I broke the grip he had on me.
“Do I know you?” he asked, narrowing a pair of hazel eyes at me.
The minute they locked on mine, I was Zoë Merrick. Time crawled, as if everyone around us moved at a slower speed.
Brandon was my ex-boyfriend who chiseled me down to a woman who would never trust again. Words tangled in my mouth, and when he reached out with his thick fingers, I slapped his hand.
“Bitch,” he muttered
, turning on a heel to walk away.
I stood alone in the center of the room with my feet glued to the floor like cement blocks. My heart was a banging drum against my chest, and I could feel my hands shaking. The faces blurred and the music pounded against my shoes like sledgehammers. A current of energy scattered throughout my body like fragmented pieces of a broken past, and I took a slow breath to control it.
One focal point drew my attention above all else. It centered me, and became my northern star before I went adrift.
Golden eyes cut across the room like glass. It was with perfect clarity I saw Logan extract himself from a conversation, stalking across the room until he filled the empty space in front of me.
“Who frightens you?”
“I want to go home.”
Logan bent down so that our cheeks touched, and his breath warmed my ear. His voice grew softer, and more dangerous. “Which one is he?”
The growl barely registered, but I heard it.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He tilted my chin up with his finger, delicately lifting a scent in the air. Hooded eyes masked the obsidian color that was swelling in the center.
“Emotions are like flavors,” he said, stepping in closer. “They blend, and only a skilled Chitah can interpret their meaning. Your scent tells me everything. It’s thick like a forest after the rain. This is the same emotion you threw off on the airplane—anger and shame. Only now, it mingles with a sharp scent that burns my eyes. I know that scent… all Chitah know the smell of fear.” He sniffed lightly.
His thirsty eyes scanned the crowd, darting from one face to the next. When I turned around, he gripped my shoulders and pulled me against him.
Resting his chin on my head, he asked in a soothing voice, “Whose scent is all over you?”
His nose circled through my hair.
“This is not on the agenda.”
Showing no expression, he surged into the crowd, dipping his head by each person he passed. A hard swallow seized my throat when he reached Brandon, who was leaning on the bar and cupping a shot of whiskey. Breed rules dictated we could not reveal ourselves in front of humans, nor harm them intentionally as they were a weaker species.
Logan was a man who didn’t play by the rules.
He smiled warmly, looking in my direction before he inched forward and lowered his chin. Brandon stood up, but immediately turned his face away as if burned by the heat of Logan’s searing gaze. Not even a human could withstand the malice in a Chitah’s eyes.
“No need to memorize my face. You’ll be seeing it again,” Logan promised.
Brandon was the coward I always knew him to be, and chose not to confront the stranger. I expected Logan to do more, but he took my hand and escorted me back to the hotel.
Brandon was the biggest mistake of my life. He liked to dress like a soldier, even though he wasn’t one. As it turns out, he was just a control freak.
We briefly dated, but it wasn’t until we moved in together that I saw his teeth. It destroyed me, because I chose him. After that, I doubted every decision I made. Sunny took me in when my own mother would not, and while she wasn’t an emotional rock, she baked delicious pies and made me laugh again.
Nothing spells misery like a large pizza and an action flick. I needed bullets, blood, and mayhem. I replayed the scene at the bar in my head a dozen times, and wished I could have done things differently. In a matter of seconds, that man stripped away all of the tough layers I had worked so hard to build. Logan sensed the obvious shift in my mood and we went to our separate rooms. After greedily stuffing my face, I dozed off on my stomach with my feet on the pillows.
The flickering lights from the television forced me to turn my head towards the air conditioner and an icy breeze cooled my cheek. Then I became aware of a heavy weight and warmth across my lower body. I was stunned when I looked over my shoulder. Logan was unconscious and draped across me like a boa constrictor. Legs entwined around mine, and I was no longer able to tell where he began and I ended. A long arm tucked around my hip, while the other stretched down the length of my arm, clasping my hand. We were like chocolate covered pretzels, and Logan was the chocolate.
“Get off of me.”
He groaned, flopping onto his back with a fierce stretch. “What time is it?”
“It’s time for you to explain what you’re doing in my bed uninvited, Mr. Cross.” I glared at him.
He languidly rolled to his side, resting his cheek over a bicep. “Why are you so formal with me?”
“Why are you so informal with me?”
Logan was not able to conceal a smile, deciding to address my previous question. “The scent of food drew me in. I finished off your leftovers and watched you sleep. Your skin had those little goose pimples,” he said, running a finger down my arm. I shivered, and this seemed to please him.
“You could have covered me with a blanket.”
“Why would I do that when I can offer the heat you need?”
Silence.
A shadow caught my attention. “What is that stain on your shirt? Is that… blood?”
When he didn’t answer, I sat up. “Where did you go tonight?”
“Hunting.”
“For what?”
“What all men thirst for—justice.”
I knew. He didn’t have to tell me. Logan went back for Brandon and alarm ran up my spine.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing that wasn’t deserved.”
“Did you kill him?” I almost shrieked.
Logan chuckled. “Would you like me to? Killing him wouldn’t be half as fun.”
“You’re no different than him.”
“Not true, little raven, because when I hit someone, they deserve it.”
A knot tightened in my stomach. “There were a hundred men in the bar tonight. Maybe you caught the wrong man.”
Logan sat up and leaned forward on his knuckles. He could barely restrain the pride on his tongue.
“I am studious in my efforts. Never doubt my skills, young Mage. I’m a born hunter, and a male who takes his birthright seriously.”
“How badly did you hurt him?”
An animalistic sound erupted as he pulled air into his lungs.
“All this for a guy who broke my heart.”
“I have it on good authority that he broke more than your heart.”
I blinked, and lowered my eyes. “We all make mistakes.”
“And some will pay a hefty price,” he said, regarding me with strict eyes. “The mistake was not yours; it was his. Men like that should be weeded from the garden before they destroy all the flowers.”
I fell back and stared at the ceiling.
“Tell me you’re mad, and I’ll know if you’re lying,” he said.
Logan ran his hand across my forehead, smoothing out my hair. “You have every right to push men away as you do. When you know the way a woman has been treated—or mistreated—you understand her in a way that didn’t make sense. Lay with me tonight.”
Before I could turn my saucer wide eyes towards him, he touched my lips with his finger. “I’m not asking for what you think. Say yes—lay with me and let me have one night to sleep beside my enemy.”
In the back of my mind, I heard Justus warning me to keep my distance. His reasons didn’t seem good enough, and lately, neither did mine. If Logan meant to bring me harm, he could have done so when he was twist-tied to my body not moments ago. The same curiosity he expressed was one that even I couldn’t deny. The more time we spent together, the more he confounded me.
“You have my word that I will never hurt you. Keep your fingertips charged and on standby if you don’t trust me,” he chuckled.
I nodded.
Logan piqued my curiosity as a Chitah, and as a man. I sharpened my light—just in case.
He sat up and peeled his shirt over his head.
“Wait a minute!”
“Would you rather curl up to his blood? That m
ight actually please me.”
“No,” I said, watching the fabric fall to the floor. “Just keep your pants on.”
When Logan looked at my clothes, I avoided eye contact. I didn’t own a collection of adorable gowns and pajamas. I slept in tank tops and boy shorts. They weren’t lace or silk, but something told me he liked them when his eyes lingered on the paw print design stitched on the left side.
Logan pulled the sheet away like a child opening gifts on Christmas.
“I have a few rules about sleeping together.”
His laughter echoed in the room as he punched a fist into the pillow, softening it. “This should be good.”
“Clothes remain on.”
“What little we have, yes, that’s doable.”
“Keep your hands off of body parts, including your own.”
This time he smothered his face in the pillow and laughed uncontrollably. I almost wanted to laugh at myself, but men always found sneaky ways around rules.
“Finally, no dirty talk. This isn’t an open invitation; I’m not a perk of any deal you made with Simon.”
“Cross my heart. You have my word I will not touch you inappropriately.” Logan turned to his side, rubbing the short whiskers on his chin. “I never thought I would want to sleep with a Mage.”
“What possessed you?” I asked, pulling the cover beneath my arm.
“I like to live dangerously, so please follow your own rules. I think we both know what you can do with your hands.”
I smiled. “Why do you despise us so much?”
He let go of a deep sigh and rolled on his back. “A Mage killed my mate.”
I turned to face him. “I thought you didn’t have a mate.”
“I did once… a long time ago.” Logan absently stroked his chest and when his eyes drifted upward, I saw him for the first time, not just the outer shell of a hardened man. “Her beauty was unmatched and I courted her for years before she accepted me. I was young and made foolish mistakes. I fell in debt with a Mage, and when I didn’t give him what he asked for, he took her life as payment.” Anger flickered behind his eyes, but it was distant, buried beneath years of violence all in the name of revenge.
