I promised to call Alli the next day and let her know how everyone was doing. I worried about her job and whether she’d have one after the whole confrontation with Dr. Asshole. Ian simply said “I’ll take care of it,” and then left the room. That seemed enough for Alli, who planted on a kiss on my forehead and then left, hand in hand with Wilson.
I snuggled deep into the large sofa and closed my eyes. I’d seen Wilson tell a family that their loved one was dead—an unfortunate duty in any cop’s life—and I’d watched Alli nurse a patient back to health with the compassion of an angel. Yet the look I’d seen them share tonight? That was an emotion they shared only with each other. It was as if they had forged some form of communication just for themselves. One that didn’t require words, just love, passed to each other like a touchable thing. Did they acquire it over time or was it instant? Did destiny give them that gift when they found each other, a sign to make them realize they were meant to be?
Once upon a time I thought I would eventually share that with Joaquin. When it didn’t happen, I figured it must be something that would happen over time. Then he decided to sleep with someone else and the inevitable break-up erased those thoughts from my mind.
With Ian, I shared something else. We could communicate without words through mind speak, but it wasn’t what Wilson and Alli shared and I once again found myself wondering if it would happen over time, and if it was something to be shared only by those destined to be together.
I stood and shook myself from the thought, realizing that I was only picking at it like a scab. Poking and prodding until it would bleed all of my happiness away and leave me with just another scar.
I walked through the house looking for Joaquin. Alli had refused to let anyone in to see Tala before this and while Joaquin protested, Lucas agreed. Now that Alli had gone home it seemed that someone should be with Tala.
I checked the main area of the house before trudging downstairs to check the underground. Lucas had returned and was checking the equipment attached to Tala when I walked in.
“How is she?” I asked.
He attached a fresh bag to her IV unit and tapped it a couple of times before turning to me. “I’m taking a blood sample to the lab but it will take a while to get the results. I’d feel better if she woke up.”
While Tala’s enhanced metabolism should have blown through any remnants of anesthesia long ago, she still hadn’t so much as moved. The truth was that we simply didn’t know how long, or even if, her body could fight through the effects of the wolfsbane.
“Have you seen Joaquin?” I asked.
Lucas nodded. “Ian asked Joaquin to get some air with him. I suspect they’re talking about how to put an end to all this.” He motioned toward Tala. “Tell Joaquin he can sit with her now.”
I mumbled a “thanks” while leaving.
I stopped upstairs in the foyer. I thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity to use the enhanced hearing I got as part of my bond with Ian. Like any skill, practice would improve it. It was something that only a short time ago I would have ignored, as if doing so would make it unreal. Yet another denial of what I am. Whatever the hell that was.
I stilled and focused on the sounds around me, rustling through the noises of everyday life most people, myself included, just tune out.
The ticking of the grandfather clock in the dining room and the gentle clink of dishes as Bear cleaned up the kitchen. I knew it was Bear because I could hear him humming. Hmm, I didn’t know he did that. I knew he cleaned. In addition to being Ian’s personal bodyguard, he maintained the house.
Further away I heard the soft hum of the pool pump. It wasn’t enough, so I moved toward the back of the house and the closed sliding glass walls that led outside. The faint sliver of moon that hung crooked in the sky, casting the cacti and mountains as mere shadows only illuminated the night.
I pressed my hand against the cool glass, as if the sensation would help me hear what lay beyond, and closed my eyes. I sifted through the inside sounds, discarding them as I searched for ones I hadn’t detected before. A faint breeze whispered through the brush and a night bird sang across the sky. My mouth curved into a smile as when I heard the distant rumble of Ian’s voice; then faltered when I heard Joaquin’s returning curse. Shit! I didn’t catch the words but I knew they weren’t exchanging pleasantries.
Chapter 10
I unlatched the door and slid the panel partially into the wall as I slipped out into the dark.
“…wasting time!” Joaquin shouted. “I’m ending it tonight.”
“They will never give you your position back with the police department if you do.” Ian’s voice was eerily calm. It was a cadence that I knew well. He was struggling for control of his temper.
Joaquin snorted. “The hell with them, they’ll never let me back now anyway. I’m a fucking animal! It’s time I started acting like one!”
I picked up my pace as I followed the sound of their voices. I guessed they were about five hundred yards from the main house.
“And what of Leah? She will bear the brunt of the blame. We must wait for an opportunity to catch Ambrose in an illegal act.”
I started to sprint.
“Some fierce vampire you are!” Joaquin scoffed. “How many are going to die before you start thinking with something other than your dick?”
I hit a full out run, ignoring the stabs of pain coursing through my arm. A sickening crunch followed by the sound of a returning punch sent a shiver through me. I rounded the crest of a small hill and saw the blur of both men exchanging blows in a blur of speed.
“Stop!” I shouted as I moved toward them.
“Bear.” Ian commanded as he deftly dodged Joaquin’s fist.
A shadow appeared in front of me so suddenly that I ran smack into the middle of Bear’s chest. I tried to skirt past him but he put his hands on my shoulders and halted me. “Let them go, Miss Wolfe.”
“Where the hell did you come from?” I asked while struggling to get out of his grasp.
“I heard them too.”
Of course he had.
“Let them fight.” Bear pleaded with me. “Do not make me stop you. Ian was displeased with me last time I laid hands on you.”
Displeased? As Ian’s bodyguard, Bear had tried to stop me from shooting Ian. In thanks for his exemplary service, Ian threw Bear through a window. I’d say that goes way beyond displeased. Still, I didn’t want to put Bear in that position again. I’d have to reason with him.
“They’ll kill each other.” I insisted as I watched Ian place a roundhouse kick into Joaquin’s chest that sent him flying into a boulder. Joaquin recovered quickly and ran headlong into Ian, so hard that I heard Ian’s ribs crack.
“If they wanted to kill each other they would be using claws and fangs, not fists, Leah.” I followed Bear’s gaze back to the fight just in time to see Joaquin duck a punch so that Ian’s fist just barely grazed his cheek. Joaquin responded with an uppercut. It was then that I realized Bear was right. Neither was using deadly force. Hell, they weren’t even at supernatural speed.
“So they just want to kick the shit out of each other?” I asked as Bear released my arms.
“It’s been a long time coming.” Bear shrugged. “Let them get it out of their system.”
I stood there in the dark of night, watching the man I love and the man I once loved battle each other for a few moments, and then sidestepped Bear and raced toward them. “Enough!” I yelled. Joaquin’s fist was already in motion, the momentum of the hit now aimed at me since I so gracefully stepped in between them. Ian blurred past me and grabbed Joaquin, spinning him around and slamming him into the boulder behind him. I’d felt a breeze whip past me and wasn’t sure if it was Ian running past me or Joaquin’s fist coming toward me. I took a deep breath to calm my heart before it leaped out of my body. “This isn’t getting us anywhere.” I panted.
Joaquin wiped the blood dripping from his chin with the back of his hand. “Ah fuc
k! What the hell do you suggest we do? Ambrose is playing a fucking game with us. He wants us to see his victims and know we can’t do a damn thing about it.”
“We stick with the plan, find the wolfsbane, and eliminate Ambrose’s easy kill method.” Ian let go of Joaquin and stepped beside me, his eyes inspecting me for damage as he walked.
I narrowed my eyes at him. Plan? I didn’t know Ian had a damn plan. Anger simmered through me. He was keeping things from me … again.
“You don’t have a problem killing Supernaturals, but you’re sure as hell not going to kill a human!” Joaquin was so angry spittle flew from his mouth.
I stepped so close to him that I had to lean back to look into his face. “The fact that you really believe that shows just how little you know about me, you son-of-a-bitch! Who the hell is going to take care of your pack if you’re dead? And what about the vampire population, have you met one powerful enough to take Ian’s place, one that will give a damn about shifters and humans? I sure as hell haven’t! Every fiber of my being wants to kill that bastard. But the law is still on his side and as twisted as it is, it is still legal for him to kill us, and illegal for us to kill him. The only thing we can do right now is to find the wolfsbane and eliminate the immediate threat.” Sweat beaded on my body, mixing with the cool night air and making me shiver.
Joaquin’s anger eased away. His face had started to bruise and a gash big enough to require stitches lay raw on his cheek. “Get yourself cleaned up and go sit with Tala. Lucas is waiting for you.”
“My love?” Ian asked as I turned on my heel and stalked back toward the house.
“Go to hell, Ian.”
I heard his soft chuckle as I strode back toward the house. “God, I love that woman.”
Chapter 11
“Exactly when were you going to let me in on your little plan?” I paced the room as Ian lay casually on the bed in nothing but silk boxers. His wounds had already begun to heal and the shower he took—alone, I might add—removed the remaining blood.
“You had enough to deal with already, my love. I merely wished to spare you any more distress.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Ian.” I made another lap across the room, too pumped up with adrenaline to sit. When I noticed his gaze hungrily following me I yanked down the hem of the small nightgown that I put on after my own shower.
“I would have told you before we executed any plan. Joaquin and I only just discussed it after you and Tala came back with bullet holes.”
That stopped me. I walked over to the bed and ran my finger along the long gash on the side of Ian’s eye. “You would have told me?” Ian grabbed my shoulders and pulled me down beside him, rolling so that I was on my back and he lay on his side above me. “Trust is a two-way street, my love.” He pressed a tender kiss to my forehead. “I was planning to tell you after you’d rested.”
Trust. There hadn’t been a lot of that in my life. Had I ever really let myself completely trust Ian? The thought disturbed me. If we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, I would have to trust him. It was a thought that left me both happy and scared as hell.
“You’re right.” I sighed.
“Come again?” Ian said in mock horror.
“You heard me.”
“I believe I will have to record this date in my memory. I doubt I will hear that ever again.”
I rolled so that I straddled him. “That wasn’t very nice,” I warned playfully.
Ian’s smile was full of sin and promise. “Then perhaps you should punish me.”
His growing erection press between my legs. I lowered my face to his and claimed his lips until I was forced to pull away to take a breath. I leaned my forehead against his. “You were really planning to tell me?” I whispered.
“Of course, my love. I would not betray your trust.”
I nodded against him then captured his lips again. This time when I needed to come up for air, I trailed my lips along his jaw and down the side of his neck. I paused for a moment there, expecting to feel a pulse but finding only stillness, then continued to brush kisses across his chest from shoulder to shoulder.
Ian’s hands had slid down my back and slipped beneath the silk of my panties. I lifted myself and led my mouth on a path down his stomach, pulling my behind out of his grasp. By the time I reached his waist, his erection was straining against the silk of his boxers.
I looked up at him and smiled. “Now about that torture…” I held his gaze a moment longer before I pulled his waistband down with my teeth, exposing only the tender tip of him. I swirled my tongue around him, luxuriating in the sounds of him groaning beneath me in pleasure. I sucked the tip of him harder into my mouth and felt him arch into me, his hands clenching in my hair. I pulled away, giving him my most devious smile and shaking my head slowly. “Uh-uh. Punishment, remember?”
Ian’s eyes widened just a fraction before I bent my head back to him and pulled him into my mouth, sucking from tip to base in one long pull, then sliding him out of my mouth slowly. I luxuriated in the taste of Ian. The feel of him, hard and smooth, like silk over steel, only heightened my own need.
His fingers dug into my hair, both pulling me away and urging me forward. When at last his body shivered beneath me I pulled away, letting my teeth graze his shaft.
Ian’s hands went to my hips, shredding my panties as he tried to lift me onto him. I stopped, hovering above him just before he thrust into me.
“My love.” He groaned. “Now.”
“Punishment.” I curved my lips into a wicked grin.
“Torture.” He breathed just before I impaled myself on him and ripped a moan from his throat.
Chapter 12
Tala woke with a vengeance, insisting that the time to end Ambrose’s assault was now, and as she didn’t get any argument from any of us we planned our next move. If she had any remaining ill effects from her injuries or the wolfsbane it certainly didn’t show, at least not on the outside.
“She’s beyond exhausted, Ian.” I stuffed my trusty Glock into my shoulder holster. “I saw it in her eyes.”
“You read her soul?” He asked, his hand stopping mid-air as he pulled a silver dagger with a wooden handle from the ammunition closet. “And she didn’t notice?”
While my ability to read a person’s soul through their body had regained strength since my bond with Ian, most shifters, vamps and other paranormals were aware when I intruded on their soul. It also required that I let my shields down. It was like a metaphysical trade-off. I had to let all of my guards down in order to invade someone’s innermost privacy, thereby leaving myself vulnerable as well. It wasn’t a risk I liked taking.
“I couldn’t go into the field with an untested, hell-for-vengeance wolf shifter without taking every precaution first.” I explained and took the metal dagger from his hand and slipped it into the sheath on my left boot.
Ian nodded, seeming satisfied with my answer, and then handed me another dagger. “Do you think she is up for this?” He asked.
I shoved the dagger into my right boot sheath and nodded. “She’ll be fine as long as it’s a quick operation. She’s determined as hell. I doubt she’d stay behind if told her to.”
“Warn Joaquin to keep her close.”
“I will.” I straightened to see Ian standing above me holding a small jewelry box. “I already said yes.” I smiled.
“And I have never been happier in my existence.” He said solemnly, offering a hand to help me rise. “This is for my piece of mind.”
I raised an eyebrow and let him help me stand. He opened the box to reveal a startling set of diamond studded earrings. “They’re gorgeous Ian, but it’s hardly the time for gifts.”
He brushed his lips across mine. “It is the perfect time.” He removed one stud from the box and gently slipped it into my ear. Then he pulled out the second one slowly; revealing a hair thin wire attached to its backing. “The wire gets inserted into your skin just behind your earlobe. It w
ill connect you with the main surveillance system on the house, allowing Bear or Mouse to stay in contact with you.”
“Do you plan on losing contact with me? I mean, what’s the fun of our little mind speak game if everyone can play?”
Ian smiled and fastened the second earring in. He slipped the wire under my skin then gently kissed the sting away. “They cannot read your thoughts, my love, only hear you, or more importantly, allow you to hear us in the event that you are incapacitated.”
“So if I get drugged, you can scream in my ear?”
“Something like that.”
I couldn’t really argue with that considering that I had been drugged in the past and we discovered that it rendered our mental communication useless.
“I don’t recall seeing anything like this available in the FBI weapons catalogs.” I commented. “Especially diamonds.”
“To answer your first question, they are not.” He skimmed his hands across my shoulder, sending tingles of pleasure through my body. “And as for the diamonds,” he shrugged, a movement both elegant and youthful. “You deserve nothing but the best, my love.”
Doubt flashed through my mind. I never understood what Ian saw in me. He was the most powerful vampire in North America; centuries old, wealthy beyond belief and could rock a pair of jeans like nobody’s business. He was sexy as hell and could have any woman, human or otherwise, that he wanted. Yet he wanted me. I tried to shake off the doubt before Ian picked up on it. And failed.
“I wish you could see yourself the way that I do.” Ian cupped my face in his hands, brushing his thumbs along my jawline. “You are my savior.”
I shook my head but he simply tightened his grip and kissed me gently. He rested his forehead on mine, holding my gaze with his. “Before you,” he closed his eyes briefly, “I felt nothing.” His eyes grew dark. “I was the emotionless vampire of myths and legends. I merely existed.
I couldn’t bring myself to look into his eyes. I knew I carried the scars of my past with me, the abandonment of my mother, and then Joaquin. I was scared and I hated it. I didn’t trust my heart.
Justified (A Leah Wolfe SINS Novel) Page 9
