“What is it?” Fallon asked.
“Liliana’s panic alert.” He hung up and dialed her number again, worried with every ring on her end. “Shit.” He tried both Roy and Paul, his anxiety climbing with every missed call.
“Not picking up?” Xavier sat forward in his chair.
“No.” He pulled up the GPS, her last three pings were from the same place. “We need to ride.”
He rushed from the office, Fallon hot on his heels on the phone dispatching a patrol unit to follow them. He tossed his phone to Fallon as they climbed into his GTO. He gripped the steering wheel, speeding through the streets as Fallon called out directions. His heart was thumping, panic and fear for his mate making him numb.
“There, Leo.” Fallon slapped the dashboard, breaking him of his trance.
His stomach plunged as he came up on what looked like an accident scene. The SUV the trio had driven off in that morning was turned on its side, a deep furrow in the ground from where the truck had slid. What the hell had happened? He rushed up the vehicle, breathing out in relief as he found Liliana still in her seat, leaning sideways, but awake.
“I got you, baby.” He whispered, carefully inspecting her body.
“My seatbelt’s stuck.” Her voice was weak. “Roy needs help first. He tried to kill him.”
His hands shook as he cut her from the seatbelt. He cradled her body against his chest. She struggled.
“Roy needs help, Leo. He put a spell on him, I don’t know if I stopped him in time.” She turned her body towards her guard.
“Fallon, has him, ina, relax, we’ll take care of him.” He walked her back to his car, and placed her in the front seat. She smiled and touched his cheek. Her head lolled to the side as she passed out. “Fallon, let’s move!”
Leo slid across the hood of his car and got into the driver’s seat. His hands shook as he started the car. Fallon rushed with Roy in his arms, the warrior limp, his breathing erratic.
“Burn, Leo. I don’t know how long he has.”
He didn’t have to be told twice. He prayed the whole way back to Haven, never taking his eyes off the road. He knew at his speeds taking his eyes off the road for a second would be dangerous. Fallon was in the back seat shouting orders into the phone, requesting a healer for the two of them. He didn’t bother parking in the garage, instead pulling his car right up to the front door. Careful not to jostle his mate, he rushed through the catacombs to their apartment.
A Kira stood at his door awaiting him. He punched in the code and guided her into their room.
“Lay her on the bed, please.” The Kira’s calm voice steadied him.
He gingerly placed Liliana on the bed. He paced the room, growls rumbling his chest as the Kira inspected her.
“Perhaps it will be better if you paced in the common area instead.” The Kira smiled kindly.
He started to argue, but stopped. She was right. His tension probably filled the room, and distracted her. He knew he shouldn’t have let her go. Knew there was a danger to her. Xavier would more than likely chew his ass out for it. It was a reckless, and for the first time Leo understood the worry X had when he hunted.
After what seemed like forever, the Kira joined him in the living room. Her footsteps were silent as she walked towards him.
“She and the babe are fine. Her sleep is from energy loss and not injury. Your mate should be careful with the expenditure of magic for the first few months.”
He sat down on the sofa dazed. “Babe?”
The Kira’s stern look softened. She pat his shoulder in a pitying gesture. “Your son is strong and taking more than his share of his mother’s energy. She’ll need to relax and stay out of high stress situations. And as I told her earlier, you all will want to start your bonding exercises soon.”
A son.
His chest expanded while his vision tunneled. He took quick shallow breaths in panic. Liliana was pregnant. So soon. He was blown away, a lump clogging his throat. All at once fierce pride brought tears to his eyes. Though he’d only known his mate a few weeks, he found himself very excited at the prospect of a child with her. A son. He blinked to try and take in the news.
The Kira smiled. “I’ll see myself out.”
He heard the quiet snick of the door as she left. Xavier snapped his fingers in front of Leo’s face a moment later.
“Yo. What’s up, how’s Liliana?”
He shook his head and looked around, unsure of when his brother had even entered the room. “She’s pregnant.” He blurted.
A bemused smile lit Xavier’s face. “Congrats. May she birth a hell raiser.”
Chapter 22
VERITY PACED THE FLOOR OF THE CABIN, concern and aggravation broadcasting in the hard sound of her heels. One of their members called an emergency meeting and she was racking her brain to figure out why. She’d rather be at her house going through her grandmother’s album. She’d yet to find a list of names like her grandmother had promised, but she would keep looking. It had been a rare lucid moment for her grandmother and therefore she was taking it serious.
She turned her head at the shuffling sound at the door. The Apophi demon came in dragging their shaman behind him. Verity's heart took a hard tumble and panic threatened to overtake her. She'd used the Gu shaman for a lot of underhanded deals and she wondered if it was coming back to bite her in the ass.
“I keep a watch over the assets we use. I got a call a little while ago that the Amanda were visiting our friend here.”
“Does he keep evidence in his home?” Someone asked.
“I’ve sent someone to go through his house. If there is evidence left, there won’t be any for the Amanda to sift through. Unless they can bring back ashes.”
A part of her was relieved to hear that. But what if the Amanda had gotten evidence already? She swore and clenched her fists.
“Did he have time to give them anything? How long were they there before you arrived?” Impatience made her words sharper than she’d intended.
The Apophi’s jaw clenched at her tone, but he shrugged.
Her heart hammered as all the dirt she’d had Sergio conceal for her ran through her head. He could bury her. She looked up suddenly and noticed that not everyone is there.
“Where are the others?”
“Unable to get away.” The Cagyn answered.
She ran a hand through her hair. “I have contacts within Haven. I’ll go find out how much they know.”
“We’ll meet back here in an hour’s time. Will that be long enough?” Someone asked.
“Plenty.”
They all stood to leave, except the Apophi who stood guard over the shaman. She was moving to leave when the Mina in their group pulled her to the side.
“The Cagyn’s plan will not come to fruition.”
Verity reared back in shock. The Mina were precognitive, so she had to take her at her word. “What do you mean?”
“Firstly, she’ll not allow harm to come to the girl, and we all know what the spell encompasses.”
Verity nodded. They all knew. The spell was the darkest of magic, and akin to torture. Getting knowledge from a person’s soul required extensive pain. The Cagyn had had no trouble with their plan for the one sister, she didn’t think using the second would be a problem. She said as much to the Mina.
“She has grown attached to the younger sister. Trust me, she wouldn’t allow us to do what needed to be done. More troubling than that though, is that the tide of the war has turned. With the mating of Death’s Messenger to the girl, our odds have decreased. My whole realm is nearly split down the middle about who wins.”
“If that is the case, then why are you still here?” Verity raised her eyebrow at the information.
“I keep my word, Dziva.”
She nodded. That she understood. “Is there a way to increase our odds?”
“I have a plan to rid us of her.”
“The Cagyn or the girl?”
“The Cagyn. We can get rid of
her, and possibly divert attention from ourselves. You’ll need to go to Legba when you’re done at Haven.”
Verity growled. When had she become the messenger for this group?
“Our time is coming to an end unless this works.”
“You’ll owe me.”
“Of course.” The Mina lowered her head demurely.
Verity snorted. Yeah right, she was demure. She shook her head and left the cabin headed for the portal that would take her to Haven.
***
The energy in Haven crackled as she stepped through the back door. Soldiers rushed through the hallways and she caught bits of information about Leo’s mate having been hurt. Verity shuddered. Gods help the world if Leo was unleashed. She made haste towards the security office, frowning when she noticed her normal contact missing.
Damn it.
She put on a charming smile and sidled up to the guard manning the surveillance feeds. “What’s all the fuss about?”
He frowned and shut down his displays. “How did you get in here?”
His gruff tone surprised her, as did his stony face. She cocked her head to the side and shook her hair a little. His eyes never left hers, her enthrallment going completely over his head.
“You need to leave.” He motioned, and someone came over and grabbed her arm.
Snatching her arm from the soldier’s hand, she walked from the surveillance room. She prowled through the hallways until she came up to one of their breakrooms. Spying someone she knew, she sighed in relief. She waved and his eyes darted around the hallway.
“What’s going on around here?” She lowered the timbre of her voice and placed a hand on his shoulder.
He shook her off. “I don’t have time to help you today. Two of our soldiers went down today.”
She feigned concern. “Of course, that’s terrible. I can wait in your room until…”
“That won’t be necessary.” He lowered his voice. “The commander has been on a rampage about giving out information. I can’t help you anymore.”
He brushed past her, not once looking back as he blended into the crowd of soldiers milling around. She cursed in earnest. Getting intel was out. She’d just have to make sure they were too distracted to do anything about any possible information the shaman gave them.
She made her way upstairs to the club level, sneaking past the employees prepping for the hundreds of guests expected to pour into Haven. It gave her an idea.
“Hey, what night is tonight?” She grabbed a passing servant.
“Fight night.” He inclined his head towards the ring being constructed in the middle of the floor.
Perfect.
She dismissed him, making her way to the VIP level, where they would host a variety of beasts feeding on the aggressive energy sure to be pouring from the crowd as they watched the fights Haven would put on for them. Walking through each VIP room, she whispered a spell of amplification. Every ounce of magic pouring out of these rooms would be multiplied. They would be breaking up fights all night, and not just in the ring.
She smiled.
That should keep them busy enough to forget about their shaman. She sneaked back down the stairs and out the door, her next stop Legba. She had some rumors to spread.
***
Where was she? Liliana opened her eyes, careful not to move. There was a weight across her stomach, and for a moment she thought she was still pinned. A whimper escaped and she jerked her body. Slowly the room came into focus and she forced her body to relax.
Leo lifted his head, his eyes dark with concern. “How are you feeling?” His deep voice calmed her further.
She opened her mouth to say fine, but then thought of Paul and Roy. “How is Roy, did we help him in time? And Paul, is he okay?”
He kissed her forehead. “They’re both fine. Roy is grateful to you for saving his life.”
“I really didn’t. I froze in fear for the first few minutes. I could’ve helped him sooner.”
His answer was a small grunt. “Go back to sleep. You need to rest.” He nuzzled her neck and his hand stroked down her stomach.
The tenderness in the gesture soothed her. His love and excitement trickled down their connection. She turned her face into his and kissed him.
"You know don't you?" She rested her forehead on his.
He lowered his head and resumed his nuzzling against her neck. "The Kira told me. How do you feel about it?"
She looked down at his large hand stroking her still flat stomach. It would be flat for a few more months. Eshu pregnancy lasted a year. She’d have twelve months to get used to it.
“I’m a little scared. What does this mean for us? It’s kind of soon, don’t you think?” She closed her eyes.
“I love you.”
Said simply, his words burrowed deep into her soul. Her heart skipped and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. “I love you too.”
He smiled and warmth flooded her body. Gods, but he was a good looking man. She grabbed his face and kissed him deeply. She sighed in pleasure as they separated.
“Now. Go back to sleep.”
She laughed at his persistence. She lay back down, his head on her chest.
Wait.
She pushed him off and sat up. “I almost forgot, the crystals!” She rushed from bed, bracing her arm on the wall as a wave of dizziness hit her.
Leo grabbed her around the waist. “You should be in bed. What are you talking about, what crystals?”
She ran a hand over her hair. “From the shaman. They’re in my bag.”
“It can wait, love.”
She shook him off her and tried to use magic to change her clothes. Damn it! She was weak from the counter spell she’d used to save Paul and Roy. She turned to Leo. “I need clothes.”
He frowned at her, making no effort to move from the bed. They stared at each other for a moment until her body started relaxing, warming under his scrutiny. She sighed, breathing deep as nerve endings along her thighs started tingling. Blood flow through her body heated, loosening her tense muscle, throbbing at her center. Her nipples beaded, poking through her nightgown and thoughts of joining her mate in bed pushed everything else into foggy oblivion. She’d taken a step towards him before she realized what was happening.
She shook her head, clenching her thighs together to still the burn. “No fair.”
“Who said anything about fair? I believe you set precedent for our negotiation tactics.”
Damn him. Yes, she attempted to seduce him into letting her see the shaman. She hadn’t expected him to use his Cagyn powers on her.
“Please, Leo.” She whispered and clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.
His magic dissipated, leaving still horny, but grateful. He snarled and made her a pair of lounging pants with a matching tunic. She smiled her thanks, rushing to put them on. “You brought my bag in right?”
“Liliana.” He stepped in front of her as she headed for the door. “Stop, baby. Why is this so important?”
She took a deep breath, far more winded than she should’ve been. “Sergio was the one corrupting the Oras. He made copies of everything he did.”
“Copies? What kind of copies?”
She waved off his question. “We didn’t get into an accident. Someone purposely ran us over and took the shaman. They’ll probably be back for the Oras.”
He snorted. “Ain’t nobody crazy enough to storm into this place. Xavier wouldn’t even leave a stain for identification purposes.”
“I’m sure with the amount of Oras Sergio was hiding, they may attempt it.”
Leo frowned. “If they wanted the crystals they would have taken them and killed the shaman.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think they knew.”
He reared back in surprise. “We need to see what’s on those crystals.”
“Exactly.” She rushed into the living room and breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of her bag on the coffee table. “Do you want to have yo
ur brothers meet us in the surveillance room?”
“No, Xavier's office. Fallon said he’s having issues with information leaking from the security office.” Leo shook his head in disgust. Along with the soldier who’d sold out his room information, Fallon said he’d found two others leaking information.
His brother was determined to root out each and every leak in his security. There were soldiers taking bribes and passing on confidential data. He felt sorry for the next ones they found. Fallon had not been light in his punishment so far. The deeper down the rabbit hole the leaks went, the harsher his brother was likely to be.
He walked over to the intercom on the wall by the front door. He should warn Xavier that they were coming.
“Hey, X. Liliana and I are headed to you with something big.”
Static filled the air a moment before Xavier growled into the speaker. “Can it wait?”
“No, definitely not.”
“It's crazy right now, Leo. Someone spiked the power coming out of the observation rooms and it’s brutal on the floor. I don’t recommend your mate being out in this, man.”
Leo sighed. He turned to Lily, sighing as her chin raised. “No can do, X. Liliana’s visit was successful.” He didn’t go into detail, in case someone was listening in.
“Shit.” Was his brother’s reply.
“Roger that.”
“Shield her. Tight. I don’t want my nephew subjected to this.”
A nonplussed smile tilted his lips. He turned to his mate. One hand covered her mouth, her luminous eyes softened.
“Roger.” He breathed out past the lump in his throat.
Leo strengthened the shield around his beast and gathered Liliana close to him. He prodded their mental connection, satisfied with the shield she’d built around herself. Prepared for the worst, they left the room. Leo winced at the level of power in the hallway. If it was this bad, so far from the club floor, he could only imagine how bad it would get.
“Tighten your shields, ina.”
She shuddered. “You don’t have to tell me twice, I can feel it.”
He put his hand on her belly and felt for his son. Gods, his son. He was scared as hell about what the energy could do to his child. A small tentative touch ghosted across his subconscious and he was floored. Their son was strong. Only weeks old, and his soul reached for him. He sent a reassuring wave of energy to the tiny being. He tucked Liliana closer, picking up their speed down the hallway.
Haven Page 21
