Tangled Fates

by Carly Fall

  flinch, even though he was injured and sweat formed on his brow from the fever.

  “We’re bored, Savior, and we have a while until we go out. We thought it would be fun

  to see if Annis can really fight.”

  Oh, no. Annis looked down at her long, golden gown. This challenge did not bode well

  for the gown, or for her—it would only slow her down. A Warrior simply did not belong in a

  dress.

  Cohen glanced over at her, then back up at Micah. “And why would you want to do

  that?”

  Micah shrugged. “Because I can.” Micah came over to Annis and ran his finger down her

  cheek. “The only question is, who shall you fight?”

  Annis remained silent, trying not to outwardly cringe at his touch.

  “It can’t be the Savior, that simply wouldn’t be fair to him. He’s injured.”

  He turned to the other two in the room and announced, “She will fight Nico.”

  Annis studied Jael and Simon, trying not to let her surprise show. She would have

  preferred to fight either of them—at least she had the anger at Jael, who had been instrumental in

  shooting and kidnapping her and Cohen. She hadn’t been aware that Nico was still among The

  Platoon as she hadn’t seen him since the crash upon their arrival.

  “I won’t fight,” she said quietly.

  Micah turned to her and smiled. He then spun around and hit Cohen in the stomach,

  sending the male crashing to the floor. Micah jumped on top of him and hit him in the face. He

  then looked at Annis. “You will fight, or I will continue this assault until he’s a bloody, beaten

  mess.”

  He waiting a moment for her answer, and she provided none. He hit Cohen in the face

  again, who was barely able to stand due to his injury and fever, let alone fight back.

  “Enough!” Annis yelled, stepping toward Micah. She couldn’t take watching him beat

  Cohen.

  Micah stood and stared at her, his rust-red eyes glowing. A slow smile came over his

  face. “Let’s go upstairs and find Nico then, shall we?”

  Chapter 34

  Cohen slowly made it up the stairs behind Annis, The Platoon member named Jael at his

  back. Jael kept hitting him just below his gunshot wound with the butt of the gun, and if Cohen

  had any strength, he would have turned around and beat the guy’s head in with it.

  He’d been unconscious when they arrived at the house, so this was his first glimpse of the

  upstairs. The living room had been cleared of all furniture except one chair, and their footsteps

  echoed on the hardwood floors that gleamed beneath the recess lighting. The walls were painted

  navy blue, and all the blinds had been closed, which gave the room a cave-like feel. As Cohen

  studied the rock fireplace, he realized that this had been planned. The room had been prepared

  for this fight, and Cohen wondered where the house’s rightful owners were. Based on his short

  interaction with Micah, the guy didn’t have the brainpower to figure out how to make money in

  order to buy it, and he seemed more like the type who just took what he wanted anyway.

  “Sit, Savior,” Micah said, pointing to the light-blue wingchair. As much as Cohen would

  like to argue that one, he wasn’t going to. Gingerly, he lowered himself into the seat.

  “Nico!” Micah bellowed. A moment later, Cohen heard footsteps approaching from down

  the hall. A male with blondish hair and glowing silver eyes came into the room wearing a pair of

  sweats and sneakers. On the left side of his chest was a tattoo that at first looked like a sun a

  child would draw, but then Cohen realized it looked more like a closed eye. Interesting. He

  wondered what it represented.

  “Nico, you will fight Annis.”

  Something flashed across Nico’s face. Cohen couldn’t place the emotion because it came

  and went so fast. But in its place was disgust, and one thing Cohen was certain of was that Nico

  wasn’t happy about his orders. Cohen wondered if Nico and Annis knew each other from the

  military on SR44.

  He glanced over at Annis, who definitely had her game face on. There wasn’t any

  emotion as she ripped the long skirt to thigh-length, throwing the extra fabric aside while ignoring the catcalls from the rest of The Platoon. Cohen saw red listening to them, and clenched

  his jaw. No one should be making those noises at his female.

  The thought totally caught him off guard. His female? He already had a female he had

  made a grave oath to. A Tambaran—where he had stabbed himself, for God’s sake.

  Nico and Annis circled each other, and there was silence for a few minutes as everyone

  watched. Cohen was so uncomfortable with the situation, he wanted to scream and drive a stake

  through Micah’s heart, but that wasn’t going to happen in his condition. Instead, he sat still,

  gripping the arms of the chair, sweat dripping from his forehead from fever and what he was

  witnessing.

  “Get on with it!” Micah bellowed, and the other three agreed. Fucking animals.

  This whole scene reminded him of one night many years ago where Talin had given him

  a lecture on Roman history. According to Talin, early Romans were barbaric, often feeding

  people to lions and other vicious animals, or forcing animals to fight each other. This was very

  Romanesque, if there was such a word, and Cohen wouldn’t have been surprised if they did have

  a tiger or two hidden in the back rooms waiting to eat the loser.

  Nico lunged at Annis, who took his momentum, brought him to the floor with her, then

  flipped him over her head. His back slammed against the floor with a large thud, knocking the air

  out of him. She was on him in a heartbeat, her fist cocked and loaded. She swung, and he

  grabbed the fist and twisted, causing her arm to bend at an awkward angle. Pain flashed across

  her face, and Nico was on top of her. He didn’t try to hit her, but instead flipped her over to her

  stomach. Cohen thought the barbarianism was over, but Annis caught him in the face with an

  elbow, stunning him and sending him off her. She moved to the fireplace and grabbed the poker.

  Silently, her feet carried her to Nico, her breathing just a little heavy. She lifted the poker, and

  Cohen struggled to his feet. Annis couldn’t kill the guy. If she did, she would only be playing

  into this sick game.

  “Annis, don’t!” he yelled.

  The rest of The Platoon egged her on like they really wanted her to stab him. What was

  wrong with these guys? They were willing to lose one of their own for blood sport?

  Annis stared down at Nico, and the calls for Annis to stab him escalated. She glanced

  over at Cohen, and their eyes locked for a moment.

  “Don’t,” he said, shaking his head. He knew she couldn’t hear him over the cacophony of

  The Platoon, but he hoped she understood him.

  She nodded, looked down at Nico and said something, but Cohen couldn’t make it out.

  With force, she brought the poker down and planted it in Nico’s left forearm.

  The roar from the members of The Platoon overrode the scream from Nico. All were on

  their feet shouting obscenities at him about being bested by a female.

  Annis pulled the poker out of Nico’s arm and tossed it aside, away from The Platoon. She

  bent down and pulled on Nico’s good hand, helping him up. They stood together in the middle of

  the room facing everyone. Both of their faces were covered in a sheen of sweat,
and both

  breathed heavily. The whole fight had lasted less than ten minutes.

  Micah approached them. “You were beat by a female,” he sneered in Nico’s face.

  Nico said nothing, just glared at him while leaning on Annis.

  “You sorry piece of crap.” Micah turned to the others. “Jael, get the Savior and Annis

  back down to the basement, and make sure the door is locked.”

  As they made their way down the stairs with Jael once again poking Cohen with his gun,

  Cohen wondered what would happen to Nico.

  Once back down in the basement, Cohen collapsed on the bed.

  “Can I get you anything?” Annis asked.

  Cohen shook his head. “Why did you stab him?”

  Annis put a cold cloth on his forehead. “You’re burning up, Cohen,” she murmured.

  Yeah, he knew that, but he needed to know why she’d stabbed Nico.

  “You aren’t answering my question,” Cohen said softly.

  Annis sighed and sat down on the bed. “I was afraid,” she said.

  “Of what? You had him beat.”

  Her golden stare met his, and he felt like he had been punched in the gut. “I was afraid

  that if I didn’t, Micah would view me as weak . . . and . . . ” she looked down at her hands. “And

  he would want to hurt me the way a male has hurt me before.” Her gaze met his again. “I needed

  to show my strength. Besides, Nico’s fine with it.”

  She got up and went over to the microwave on the dresser. He heard the rustle of the

  plastic coming off the soup container. How in the world could Nico be okay with being stabbed?

  He asked her.

  “Nico and I have a past. He was my lover many centuries ago on SR44.”

  The flood of anger and jealousy that raged through Cohen propelled him into the upright

  position.

  “Nico was your lover?” he asked loudly, hearing the irritation in his voice.

  Annis turned to him and smiled. “Yes, Cohen, he was. His full name is Nicoli, and I

  called him Li.”

  Chapter 35

  Annis felt a wave of happiness roll through her. Cohen was jealous—that she could see

  clearly, and she felt like giggling. The joy was quickly tampered down by sadness as she

  remembered the Tambaran Cohen had made.

  Jealous or not, he would never be hers. He belonged to Mia. But that didn’t mean she

  couldn’t tease him.

  “Cohen, is that jealousy I see?”

  He said nothing, but laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes. “If he’s your ex-

  lover, why is he with The Platoon? Why isn’t he helping us get out of here?”

  Annis studied him. “I didn’t know Nico was here. I haven’t seen him. I didn’t know what

  became of him after the crash.”

  Just then the upstairs door opened and footsteps shuffled down the steps.

  Annis knew it wasn’t Micah, as he alone sounded like a herd of buffalo. With another

  member of The Platoon with him, the herd was upgraded to elephants.

  Nico rounded the corner. His dirty-blond hair was short, and his eyes glowed silver. His

  strong jawline, full lips, and high cheekbones made for a very nice-looking human male. He

  wore the same sweats and tennis shoes he had fought in, but he had donned a white button-down

  shirt.

  No one said anything, just stared at each other.

  Annis was the first to speak. “Hello, Nico.”

  “Annis.” His gaze traveled to Cohen, who was sitting up again.

  “Nico, this is Cohen.”

  Both remained silent.

  “I’m sorry I stabbed you,” Annis said quietly.

  Nico tore his gaze from Cohen. “I understand why you did it, Annis. You needed to show

  strength, and it was smart.” He gave her a small smile and held up his bandaged arm. “It sure

  hurts though.”

  Annis glanced over at Cohen, then stepped up to Nico and laced her arms around his

  neck. “I’m very happy to see you. I didn’t know you were still with The Platoon.”

  His right arm went around her waist, while his left hung to his side. “I’m happy to see

  you, too. I was afraid of your death when I saw the FBI take you away from the crash site. I was

  relieved when Micah said that you had gone with the Saviors after being rescued.”

  There was a low growl from the bed, and Annis stepped away from Nico and shot a glare

  at Cohen.

  “Nico—”

  “We don’t have a lot of time, Annis. Micah has put me in charge of guarding you,

  threatening to end my life if you are not here when he returns. Everyone has gone to the meeting

  with the Saviors. We can leave, but we must hurry because I’m uncertain of when they’ll be

  back.”

  “You aren’t coming with us, Nico,” Cohen said, standing to his full height. “You are not

  a friend of the Saviors.”

  Nico withdrew a gun from the pocket of his sweats. “On the contrary, Savior, you will

  take me with you. I can’t stand another goddamn day with that psychopath Micah.”

  Cohen shook his head, and Annis noticed that his complexion was a little green. “I

  appreciate that, but I can’t let you near the rest of the Saviors, Nico.”

  “Are you okay?” Annis said, taking a few steps toward Cohen. His whole body was

  covered in sweat, and he swayed in his shiny dress shoes.

  “I’m fine. Just saying that—”

  Cohen collapsed, and Nico was the one to get to him first, grasping him under the arms

  and laying him out gently on the floor.

  “Do you know how to operate a vehicle?” Nico asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t. I’ve been in them before, and I think I have a general idea,

  but . . . ”

  Her voice trailed off. She didn’t know how to drive, and she assumed Nico didn’t either

  since he was asking her.

  “I really don’t have a good sense of how to drive,” Nico said. “I’ve kept myself separated

  from the others.”

  Annis wondered why, and guessed that the barbarianism had gotten out of hand, and Nico

  didn’t want anything to do with it.

  “It’s too bad he’s hurt so badly,” Nico said, pointing at Cohen. “But regardless, we need

  to get out of here. Now, before they return. They left one of the cars, and it’s our only chance of

  escape.”

  Annis narrowed her eyes on Nico. She hadn’t seen him since she arrived at this house.

  Her gut told her to trust him, but frankly, she didn’t trust any of her own emotions any longer.

  Glancing over at Cohen, she knew that her feelings for him had just set her up for a long-term

  heartbreak.

  But what would the Saviors do if she brought a member of The Platoon into their lives?

  Would they kill him?

  And how in the world was she going to drive a car?

  All that would have to be figured out at another time. Right now, her and Cohen had a

  chance of escape. She would have to trust her gut and put her and Cohen’s fate into Nico’s

  hands.

  Chapter 36

  Blake walked into the Black Cuff with the rest of the Warriors. All wore coats that hid

  the arsenal of weapons they carried. Blake had a gun and knife strapped to his torso, and he

  couldn’t imagine what Hudson’s full-length leather jacket concealed.

  All scanned the area looking for The Platoon. The lights pulsed and the bodies writhed in

  time with the beat of the techno music.

  Not seeing them, Blake turned to Noah.
“It might be a good idea to see if they have a

  private room or something.”

  Noah looked around, his black eyes darting to every corner of the room. “It may be better

  to do this in public. The guy seems like he’s a few notes short of a full song, if you know what I

  mean.”

  Blake nodded. “Suit yourself.”

  They found a few tables in back where it wasn’t as loud and pulled them all together. As

  they sat down, the waitress came over to get drink orders. Blake watched as she flirted her way

  from one Warrior to the other. All were polite, yet reserved. None of them were interested—they

  all had very worried mates back at the silo. Except Talin. Talin didn’t give a shit about anything.

  The waitress finally got to him. She was thin, wearing a black, lace corset that held on to

  her large rack for dear life and black leather pants. Her brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail,

  and the make-up was a little heavier than he’d prefer. However, she was attractive, and he’d had

  worse. Hell, it had been ten months since he got any action besides self-gratification, and that

  was way, way, too long. He’d been holding out for Annis, but now that he knew that would

  never happen, he was reluctantly moving on.

  He smiled as he remembered his night out with Jovan where they’d both ended up with

  two women. Jovan had drunk so much, Blake thought for sure he would have to be scraped off

  the floor and hauled home. He, however, had ended up feeling like a dirty whore in a haze of

  whiskey, blonde hair, and tangled limbs.

  “What can I get you, babe?” she asked, giving him a wink.

  Yeah, he’d definitely have to explore his options with her later.

  “What was your name, honey?”

  “Brandy.”

  “Well, Brandy, I’d like a beer. Whatever you have in a bottle is good.”

  She smiled. “You got it.”

  There was silence as all of them watched her walk away.

  “Looks like you’re set for the night, Blake,” Jovan said.

  “Not a bad set up either,” Hudson said.

  “I’d totally tap that,” Jovan said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Rayner said. “If I didn’t have Faith, of course.”

  “Of course,” Jovan said.

  They sat in silence for a moment, then Blake remembered the ringtone on his phone. He