Tangled

by Rebecca Zanetti

  Theo’s face remained calm, but anger poured from him to surround her. She patted his bare chest. “It’s okay. It really is.”

  “It’s not okay,” he gritted out. “Where is Saul? Let’s take him out now.”

  “I don’t know,” she sighed. “Believe me, if I knew where he was and where he has my da, I would’ve hired an attack force years ago. But he’s remained under the radar.”

  Realization dawned in Theo’s eyes. “Until you actually stole the file. Now he has to meet you to get it.”

  She nodded, her gaze dropping to his mouth. “Yes. I can’t wait much longer. The anklet is taking too much of a toll, and I don’t know when it’ll be too late for me to move against him.”

  “What was your real plan?” Theo pushed her curling hair away from her face, his touch infinitely gentle even with the anger glowing so brightly in his dark eyes.

  “Steal the file, get my dad released, kill Saul.” She was enjoying Theo’s touch entirely too much.

  Jared sighed. “It’s not a bad plan except for the last part. Saul will be expecting an attack.”

  Theo nodded. “Yeah, but he won’t be expecting us to be part of it.”

  Hope flared inside her. Hot and bright. “You’ll help me take out Saul?”

  “Yes, but not with the file,” Theo said. “We have to find another way.”

  Of course. His family had to come first with him. She understood that. Forcing a smile, she made herself nod. “Okay. That makes sense.”

  His gaze narrowed. “Don’t try to play me.”

  She had no choice. “I’m not.” Why the hell was he so tough to fool? Her eyelids fluttered. “I need some protein to combat the planekite. Maybe some Vitamin C?” She’d found that oranges and turkey bacon had actually helped somewhat on more than one occasion. Almonds as well.

  “Where’s the file, Ginny?” Theo asked.

  She dropped the pretense. “I’m sorry.” Her phone rang in her back pocket, and she jumped.

  Theo pulled it out before she could and read the face. His face went blank, and he pressed the speaker button. “Answer,” he mouthed.

  She glared and then shoved him in the gut. “Hello?”

  Theo put the phone down on the coffee table.

  “So glad to hear you survived the reminder this morning,” Saul said, his voice nasally over the line. “You know what happens when you don’t check in.”

  “Where’s my da?” she returned, trying desperately to ignore the tension suddenly choking the room.

  Saul chuckled. “You’ll see him soon. But I needed to see what you’re up to now. Your GPS puts you at Theo Reese’s apartment in New York. I knew you’d do anything for a job, but Theo Reese?”

  Theo’s body somehow hardened around her. Only her training kept her voice from shaking. “Did you send the attack squad last night?” What was she dealing with here?

  Saul sighed. “Yes. You’ve been so difficult to work with about the Benjamin file, so I thought we’d just take it.”

  “I don’t have it with me, you moron.” She shook her head. Saul really was an idiot. “More than that, you created the situation I’m in right now. Theo was angry I took the file you wanted, he defended me from your goons, and now he’s threatening to keep me under lock and key until he gets it back. I told you he’d be a problem.” She gave the man in question a hard look.

  He merely lifted an eyebrow.

  The line crackled. “Where is Theo now?” Saul asked.

  “In the shower, Saul,” she answered, forcing boredom into her voice.

  “Well now, I knew you were a loose bitch,” Saul snapped.

  Theo growled low, and she shoved him in the stomach. The man had to be quiet, damn it. “Just because I turned you down, Saul, doesn’t mean I like to go to bed lonely.” She couldn’t help get the dig in.

  Pain flared along her ankle, and she cried out.

  Theo vibrated, reaching for the anklet, determination hardening his jaw.

  She quietly slapped him away. The poison entered her bloodstream, just a small dose, and her limbs went numb. Her head lolled. “That the best you’ve got?”

  Saul laughed. “Oh, you and I are going to have some fun together once you give me that file. I’ll let your father go, but you and I aren’t finished. Got it?”

  “You and I never got started, remember?” She wasn’t going to let the asshole have any illusions. “I said no.”

  “That was before you’d worn a planekite anklet for years,” he said slowly. “If you want that off, you’ll do whatever I tell you to do, or we both know it’s going to kill you. The long-term effects can’t be healthy. My guess? You’ll need to mate to regain your strength.”

  What a complete bastard. She was going to kill him, and she was going to enjoy seeing him bleed first. “Planekite is preferable to you, asshole.” She waited for the blast to her ankle, but one didn’t come.

  “I’m offering to mate you and take off the ankle bracelet,” he said easily. “I’m a shifter, you’re a witch, and we would make powerful offspring. It might be your only chance at survival.”

  Bile rose in her throat. “One of us is going to die before that happens. I hope it’s you.” She meant every word. In fact, if she was going to die, so was he. For ten years she’d practiced fighting with a knife, just in case.

  “Keep up your strength. You need to be free of Reese by tomorrow night to make it to our meeting spot,” Saul snapped.

  She eyed Theo. “Not a problem. He’s strong but not the sharpest tool in the shed.”

  He lifted his chin, his lip quirking.

  The phone went dead.

  She breathed out, her body aching from the planekite.

  “Where’s the meet?” Theo asked.

  She leaned her cheek against his chest. Just for the moment to regain her strength.

  Theo tucked her close, his chin rubbing her forehead. “How did he get the band on you, darlin’?”

  Sleepy. She was so damn sleepy. The planekite worked against her organs, making them fight hard just to do their jobs. “Attack squad of twelve. I gave a good fight, but…” She’d ended up with the ankle bracelet from hell.

  Theo kissed her forehead. “I’ll gut him for you, Gin. Naval to neck, I’ll slice him open, yank out his guts, and stomp all over them.”

  Now wasn’t that sweet? She actually loved the predatory vampire Theo kept carefully banked way down deep. “Are you courting me?” she whispered, trying to hide her grin.

  “Maybe.” Theo’s breath stirred her hair, smelling like peppermint. “If I am, whatever you’re planning just became my plan. Only one of us is fighting Saul hand-to-hand, and it’s not the one of us hampered by a planekite anklet.”

  Just when he was sounding reasonable, he turned all male on her. She sighed. “Maybe it’s better we didn’t—”

  “Don’t finish that thought,” he warned, his mouth next to her ear. “We are nowhere near done with what we started earlier. Once you’re healthy, we’re taking some time. Some serious time.”

  What the heck did that mean? She opened her mouth to ask, but she couldn’t find the right words. Just what did Theo want from her? Other than the Benjamin file, of course.

  “I’ve got Saul,” Chalton said, his gaze on the computer. “Traced the call.”

  Her head snapped up. Man. She’d forgotten there were other Reese men in the room. Wait a minute. They couldn’t trace Saul. She had to meet him. “What did you do?” she whispered.

  Chapter 8

  After supper, Theo kept an eye on the pacing woman, noting the blazing anger in her eyes. Man, she was gorgeous when riled. The New York skyline behind her didn’t do her justice. He kicked back on the sofa, his feet extended onto the coffee table. He had finally gotten some food into her, and the protein had seemed to help. “I wish you’d relax,” he said. Again. It had been a long damn day.

  She whirled on him. “If you go after Saul, he’ll have my father killed.”

  “No, he won�
��t,” Theo returned. Again. “We’ll take him, torture him a little, and tell him that if he doesn’t let your dad go, he dies. After he releases you from that damn anklet.”

  She shook her hair, and curls tumbled down her entire back. “He’s not that dumb, Theo. Listen to me. This won’t work.”

  He tried for patience. Truly, he did. The woman had been terrorized by this asshole, and she had a right to be frightened. His brothers were out preparing for the raid, and he’d spent the morning and afternoon gaining intel on Saul, his land holdings, and planekite. “We have confirmation that Saul is staying across town. He’s here, Ginny. But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

  She had the grace to blush.

  He nodded toward his laptop. “The king sent me all the Realm documentation on Saul. I know everything about the bastard now, including the fact that he owns a home two hours out of the city—where we traced his call. But still, I don’t understand. Since your meet is set for somewhere in the city, or at least in this state, why wait?”

  “Because Saul is supposed to bring my da from wherever he’s being kept,” she said. “I don’t release the flash drive until I see my father get in a car and drive away.” She swallowed. “Apparently Saul needed time to bring Dad here.” Her chin lifted. “It’s a good plan.”

  Theo narrowed his gaze. “Yeah. It’s a great plan if we’re all on board with you sacrificing yourself. I’m not, and I’m sure your father isn’t, either.”

  Her shoulders slumped. “That’s our only option, T.”

  T. He’d wondered if she remembered how she used to call him that. A lifetime ago, when they’d been friends. Man, he’d missed her. To think of the years he’d spent being angry with her while not even truly knowing her. “You’re not a lamb, baby.” He wasn’t going to sacrifice her. Ever.

  “I’m sick.” She looked down at her ankle. “The planekite has infected me. There’s no going back.” She shrugged, her jaw firming with the stubborn tilt he somehow knew well. “This is my last chance to save my father, and I’m taking it. You have to step down.”

  “I think you’re right about the planekite poisoning,” Theo said, gesturing toward the laptop he’d pushed to the side. “The queen sent me all the research data she has on the mineral, and long-term exposure seems to be fatal. It also explains why you can’t create fire or even heal the bruise on your face.” Every time he looked at the dark mark, he got pissed off.

  She cut him a look. “Don’t sugarcoat it.”

  “Not going to.” He leaned back and clasped his hands behind his neck, stretching his torso. “I said no lying between us, remember?”

  She shoved curls out of her face. “You surely did. So yes. I’m dying. Yay for the truth.”

  Wasn’t she cute when she was dramatic? If he told her that, she’d no doubt punch him in the face. So he went for more truth. “So we need to get mated, then.”

  She reared up to argue more, stopping suddenly. Her pink lips opened in an O. She closed them, her mouth moved again, and nothing came out.

  He bit back a grin. So much for the woman leaping into his arms with gratitude. “Gin?”

  Her lids half-lowered, and she pressed her hands against her hips. “You are not funny.”

  “I am not kidding.” He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted another woman in his long life. He liked her. Hell. He wanted to be with her. It made sense on so many levels. A voice in the back of his head laughed wildly, and he banished it.

  She shook her head in an odd convulsion of denial. “You’ve lost your damn mind, then.”

  “Probably,” he agreed.

  She swung her arms out. “We can’t get mated. That’s crazy. We can barely get along.”

  “We get along just fine,” he countered. “At least we will after you give me back the information that could destroy my entire family.”

  “I’m a thief,” she snapped, very nice color filling her face.

  He nodded. “I’d very much like for you to find another profession after we mate. Definitely after we procreate.” There were plenty of legal ways to help other people.

  “Procreate?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Theo, you’re an old-fashioned guy.”

  “Exactly. Arranged matings are very old fashioned,” he said easily. “I spoke with the queen after she sent me the information. She agrees. The only way for you to survive this is to mate an immortal, and not another witch. You’d poison him, most likely.” He sat up. “Did you know that Brenna Finn mated Connlan Kayrs, the queen’s brother-in-law, for the very same reason? Because of planekite poisoning? A long time ago.” He lowered his chin. “Mating a vampire saved Brenna. It will save you, too.”

  * * * *

  Ginny couldn’t breathe. Not from the planekite, but from the vampire watching her so intently. He’d dressed in casual jeans and a dark T-shirt for the day, but there was nothing casual about him. Oh, his feet were on the coffee table, and his body was stretched on the sofa, but he was all predator, ready to lunge. She could feel the animal in him. “Theo, you really need to stop and think about this.” Her voice shook, but she couldn’t help it. The mere idea of mating Theo Reese stole her breath and slid heat through her entire body.

  “This is your only option for survival. I like the idea of an arranged mating spelled out with a contract,” he said evenly.

  Her head jerked up. “I’m sure one of your terms is the damn flash drive.”

  “That’s a different deal. If I get your father back, you give me the flash drive.” Theo’s head lifted in an oddly threatening way. “Fair?”

  That did sound fair through the buzzing between her ears. What was happening? Theo wanted to mate her? He was the one guy in the universe she hadn’t been able to manipulate. What kind of a mating would that lead to? “You want honesty,” she whispered.

  “I demand it.” He cocked his head to the side, studying her. “You need it.”

  Oh, he did not get to tell her what she needed. “You don’t trust me.”

  “Sure, I do. You tell the truth when you agree to do so.” He leaned forward, his hands clasped between his knees. “And when you lie, I can tell.”

  “I don’t like that about you,” she burst out.

  He chuckled and stretched to his feet. “I’m sure. But would you really want a mate you could easily manipulate?”

  Well, no. She had to admit, she respected the guy. He was smart, strong, and sexy… And he definitely knew how to kiss. But he kept her so damn off-kilter. That couldn’t be good, could it? She shook her head. “Theo, mating might save me. What do you get out of it? We both know you hadn’t planned on mating for a very long time.”

  “I’ve already been alive for a very long time,” he countered. “I’m not a heart and flowers type of guy, Gin. Never have been. Both of my brothers are mated, and they’re happy. We’re a family again. A mate fits quite well into my plans.”

  Well then. Undying love and all of that. She breathed out. “I-I just don’t know about this.”

  He nodded. “I understand, but it’s happening, so get on board.”

  Wh-What? She coughed. “Theo.”

  “I’m not gonna let you die, sweetheart. It’s that simple.” He pressed a button on the computer, and something sounded from the office next to his massive kitchen. “The king said he’d be happy to negotiate on your behalf. I’ve just printed out my initial offer. Please take a look at it and let me know what you think.”

  Fire swept her. “I don’t need anybody to negotiate for me. You want to negotiate? Fine. Let’s do so right now.” The very nerve of the males. Hell. She’d negotiated land deals that had transferred power through dynasties before.

  “Okay. My offer is mating and marriage, if you want marriage. No more stealing. We live here for a couple months a year so I can see my family, and anywhere else you might want the rest of the year. I’m a soldier in contract with the Realm, so I might need to leave for work once in a while. My other business interests can be handled from anywher
e.” He rolled his neck, his gaze not leaving hers. “I do the fights to the death, and you can do everything else you want. Oh, and I’d like children. Someday.”

  There was something almost sweet about his logical approach. Which was why there was only one answer. “No.”

  His gaze narrowed. “That wasn’t one of your options.”

  She sighed. “I’m not mating for convenience, and I like you way too much to see you do that. There’s too much to life. To passion and maybe love. I’ll take my chances when I get the anklet off.” Her smile came naturally this time. “But thank you for the offer. It means the world to me.” But she needed more. Especially from Theo Reese. That realization hit her so hard she nearly stumbled.

  His phone buzzed, and he lifted it from his back pocket to read the face. “We’re going at midnight. There’s no sign of your father at Saul’s New York location, but I promise I’ll get the information from that bastard. You’re going to have to trust me.”

  She glanced at the antique clock on the mantel. They had three hours before he put himself in danger. There were so many words she wanted to say, but none of them really mattered. So she moved around the sofa and stepped into his arms. “I do, Theo. But don’t underestimate Saul. He’s been planning this for a while.”

  “I won’t.” Theo clasped his hands at the back of her waist, pulling her tight against what felt like steel. “We are getting mated, Gin. I’ll give you a couple of days to come to terms, but I’m only negotiating on the small stuff. The bigger decision has been made.”

  “No,” she said softly.

  “I’ll just have to change your mind.” Without giving her warning, his mouth took hers. He lifted her, turning and walking toward the bedroom.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding tight, her thighs hugging his hips. Liquid lava poured through her veins, catching her off guard. Hunger shook her, shooting through her. How did he do that? She kissed him back, and suddenly cold air brushed her bare skin as he removed her shirt.

  He managed to toss her bra wherever her shirt had landed, and she didn’t care. “God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured, kissing along her neck. “That’s not why, Gin.”