Dalakis Passion 4 - Eternal Brothers

by N. J. Walters

  dragged herself toward the door on the crypt. "Help," she cried. "I'm in here." She

  curled her body into a tight ball of misery and waited.

  The first officer came through the door, gun drawn and was quickly followed by

  others. Controlled chaos ensued more officers arrived, along with a team of forensics

  experts. Sophia was bundled into a blanket and carried to a waiting ambulance.

  Zane stood in the shadows, his heart stone cold as he watched them take Sophia

  away. The urge to kill them all and to grab her and run was overwhelming. He sensed a

  presence behind him but didn't turn around.

  "She is protecting you. Your presence here would cause complications. You know

  that you cannot afford to be held for questioning or have your background investigated

  too vigorously."

  He hadn't expected his cousin to return after taking his wife home. Stefan's words

  couldn't penetrate the layer of ice that encased him. Even if they were true, they were

  unacceptable. She was his. It was his place to protect her, not the other way around.

  "She loves you."

  He whirled around and glared at Stefan. "Don't mock me, Dalakis."

  Stefan shook his head and sighed. "I would not do that, Zane. You are my cousin,

  my brother in blood, my family. She is the woman for you, the only one you will ever

  love."

  Zane closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He could hear the ambulance pulling

  away, taking her farther from him. He could feel her absence beating at his heart, his

  body and his mind. "I do love her." He hadn't meant to say the words aloud, but they'd

  been pulled from the depths of his wounded soul.

  "And she loves you." Stefan clasped Zane's shoulder, squeezing it tight. "Women

  are strange and wonderful creatures, my friend. Even after all the years I have lived, all

  the places I have seen, I cannot say that I truly understand them. But a woman in love

  will protect her man whether he wants it or not. If you do not believe me, then search

  her mind."

  Therein was the problem. He was too much of a coward to see what was in her

  mind. He was afraid if he invaded her thoughts that he would find out that she truly

  didn't want him in her life--plus, he would not do so unnecessarily and without her

  consent.

  Sighing, Zane raked his fingers through his hair. "I have to go." He'd follow her to

  the hospital and watch out for her until this was over. After that, he'd have to see.

  Although he could not envision a life without her in it. He didn't want to. If she had

  made her choice, he would have to respect it. But he would protect her for the rest of

  her life no matter what. She was his. Now and forever.

  Swallowing his anger and his grief, he left the cemetery behind and headed toward

  the hospital, toward Sophia.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Cassidy drove as fast as he could, but still it wasn't fast enough. The last thing he

  needed was to get stopped by the cops. For once he wished he were like the Dalakis

  family. Lucian and Delight would be there long before he was. He hated the feeling of

  helplessness that engulfed him. It reminded him too much of his childhood when

  everything was out of his control.

  His fingers gripped the steering wheel tight. He'd get Blythe back and when she

  was safe and sound, they were going to have a long talk about both their pasts. No

  matter what had happened, he had to deal with it. He really had no choice. He loved

  her.

  There. He'd admitted it to himself. For the first time in his life, he was in love with a

  woman. He knew she had issues from her past that were affecting her, but they could

  work through whatever it was. Together. He'd do whatever it took to keep her. If that

  meant leaving New Orleans, then so be it. If she couldn't accept the Dalakis family, he'd

  quit his job and get another one. That last thought left a hole in the pit of his belly, but

  he ignored it. Blythe was all that mattered.

  He took the corners hard and quick, concentrating on the ribbon of black in front of

  him. The streets were fairly crowded as he neared The Club, so he pulled onto a side

  street and parked, making the rest of the way on foot.

  Lucian and Delight were waiting just outside the door for him as he strode up the

  sidewalk. "What do you know?"

  "The place is full tonight. It's the grand reopening." Cassidy could hear the music

  blaring, feel the vibrations under his feet as Lucian continued. "Adrian has taken over

  his brother's office. Follow me."

  "What about Blythe?"

  "She's alive." Cassidy could hear the strain in Delight's voice and knew that this

  place held terrible memories for her.

  "You don't have to go inside." Delight was a very special lady and Cassidy didn't

  want her hurt in all this.

  "I'm fine." She squared her shoulders. "Let's go."

  With Lucian leading the way, they walked right past the bouncers who didn't even

  bat an eyelash. It was good to be with a being with supernatural powers. The noise hit

  them as they passed through a small corridor and opened the inside door. The stench of

  sweat, booze, sex and perfume enveloped them as they walked inside. Cassidy scoped

  the room, quickly noting the heavy presence of men in suits around the perimeter.

  Good. Prince wasn't as secure as he pretended to be.

  "This way." He heard Lucian easily above the din and nodded, following behind

  him. They kept Delight between them, but no one approached them.

  There were two armed men at the bottom of a set of stairs. Cassidy's muscles

  tensed, but he rolled his shoulders, forcing himself to relax, readying himself to fight.

  His fingers itched to draw his weapon, but it was too soon. Like a gunfighter, he

  narrowed his eyes on his target. He was armed and ready.

  Lucian stopped in front of the men. "You want to go to the bar for a drink." They

  stared at him, blank expressions on their faces. "Go," he added softly. Both men

  stumbled toward the bar without speaking a word.

  "You're one scary bastard, you know that?" As many times as he'd witnessed

  Lucian's power, he couldn't get used to it. "You ever pull that shit on me?" He hoped

  not, but he couldn't be sure.

  Lucian shot him a wicked grin. "No. Your head is much too hard to penetrate."

  Cassidy relaxed, but just slightly. It didn't pay to let his guard down around the

  Dalakis brothers. Not for a second. Not that he'd thought they'd hurt him, but he didn't

  put it past them to try to make him do something stupid, like quack like a duck, just for

  kicks.

  Lucian laughed as if he'd heard Cassidy's thoughts, but said nothing as they

  climbed the stairs. Delight reached out and squeezed his arm. "We'll get her back."

  He nodded, focusing all his attention on what lay ahead. "I'm going in first." It was

  still his job to protect the Dalakis family and he intended to do it.

  Lucian narrowed his eyes, staring at Cassidy thoughtfully for a few seconds before

  taking a step backward. He waved his hand toward the door with a flourish. "After

  you."

  Knowing that Lucian would cover his back, he opened the door and stepped inside.

  His sweeping gaze took in the entire room in one glance. It was a large room with

  hardwood floors scattered with opulent rugs. The same
large desk still dominated the

  far end as the last time Cassidy was in this room. A comfortable sitting area with plush

  sofas and chairs was off to one side. The furniture was different, as was the artwork

  covering the walls.

  "Ah, Mr. Cassidy. Come in." The pleasant voice came from the man seated in the

  large chair situated behind the desk. A tall man in a suit stood just behind him. Cassidy

  recognized him from his stakeouts. This was Prince's new right-hand man, Saunders. "I

  was expecting your employer, not his flunky."

  Sam ignored the insult and the other man, concentrating on the man in charge.

  "Adrian Prince."

  The man inclined his head as he moved from behind the desk. He was tall and

  whipcord lean, his face was thin, his hair blond. Cassidy could see the family

  resemblance to his brother, Jethro.

  Prince leaned against the edge of his desk, casually crossing his ankles. He cocked

  his head to one side. "Now why did Lucian Dalakis send you? Could be I was mistaken

  about how valuable Blythe was to him." He shook his head in mock sorrow. "I usually

  don't make such mistakes."

  "Where is she?" Cassidy kept all emotion from his voice, knowing that the other

  man would pounce on any show of weakness.

  Prince rubbed his jaw with his fingers. "Maybe not such a mistake after all." He

  inclined his head just as a door opened. A man who Cassidy recognized pushed Blythe

  into the room. Another armed thug followed them. The two men from Blythe's

  apartment. Cassidy wasted a precious second wishing that Stefan had just killed the

  bastards then.

  Unable to stop himself, his eyes flicked toward her. Blythe's face was pasty white,

  but he could already see the fresh bruises on her face. His jaw tightened and he could

  feel the vein in his temple throbbing. They'd pay for this.

  "You shouldn't have come, Cassidy." Her voice was low and broke on a sob as she

  said his name. Cassidy, not Sam. She was trying to distance herself from him.

  "Of course he had to come," Prince continued cheerfully. "I'm sure Mr. Cassidy and

  his employer will be all too happy to know more about the woman they've been

  harboring in their midst." He picked up a tattered journal from his desk. Cassidy tensed

  when he recognized it as Blythe's.

  "I'll admit that I knew some of it, but even I was surprised by the inventiveness of

  my brother." He chuckled as he leafed through several pages. "Did you know that

  Blythe was my brother's whore for a year?"

  Cassidy took that revelation like a punch to the gut. Blythe paled even more, but

  said nothing. He'd suspected that she'd had a relationship with Jethro Prince, but he'd

  hoped that he'd been wrong. "So?" He forced the words out from between clenched

  teeth.

  Obviously, Adrian Prince wasn't anywhere near finished. "My brother had a

  problem, shall we say, getting aroused. Seems the only way he could have any fun was

  with oral sex." Prince motioned to the two goons and they shoved Blythe forward. She

  straightened but kept her gaze on the floor. "Blythe has a quite a talented mouth from

  what my brother told me. I wish I'd known about her sooner, but alas, he kept her a

  secret from me until he needed my help. Then he offered her as an enticement. Alas,

  she'd disappeared before I arrived and then I had other things on my mind. I imagine

  she makes quite a pretty picture naked on her hands and knees with that sweet mouth

  open." He squeezed her cheeks between his fingers and jerked her head up. "Maybe

  you'd like a demonstration."

  "Enough." Cassidy took a step forward. "What do you want, Prince?"

  Prince feathered his fingers through Blythe's blonde hair before grabbing it and

  yanking her head back. She winced but didn't cry out. "I want your employer and his

  wife. It took me quite a while to figure out what happened here three years ago. No one

  in the club remembered anything. But there were a few outside the club who remember

  seeing your brother come into the club, but not leaving. It didn't take long to figure out

  that your brother had something to do with it, especially since Jethro made the

  unfortunate mistake of kidnapping young Chase Deveraux." Hooking his fingers in the

  front of Blythe's blouse, he ripped it open, exposing her plain white bra and bare

  stomach. "The entire situation was a fuck-up from start to finish."

  Cassidy wanted to shoot the bastard, but he was too close to Blythe. Not to mention

  the fact that there were three more of Prince's men to contend with. "My employer isn't

  coming."

  Prince shook his head. "Too bad." He shoved Blythe's bra aside and palmed her

  breast. Blythe's breathing deepened and he could see the fear spark in her blue eyes just

  before they went blank. Prince waved at Cassidy with his free hand. "You can go. We

  are finished. Just be sure and tell your employer that I'm not done with him. Not by a

  long shot."

  "I'm not going anywhere without Blythe." A feeling unlike any he'd ever felt in his

  life surged through him. No matter what she'd done in her past, she'd had a damn

  good reason for doing it. He'd gotten to know her well this past week and she was

  intelligent, loyal, funny and...his. Something deep in his gut recognized her as his and,

  if he didn't trust anything else, he trusted his instincts.

  "What do you say, Blythe?" Prince slid his hand down her stomach, leaving one

  full, creamy breast exposed. The two goons were practically drooling on themselves,

  but Saunders seemed strangely unmoved.

  Cassidy watched her closely as she licked her lips. "You should go." Her words

  were calm and clear.

  He couldn't believe his ears. His heart ceased to beat and his limbs felt as if they

  were filled with lead. "You can't mean that."

  "You heard the lady." Prince waved toward the door. "Go while I'm feeling

  generous. The boys and I are going to have some fun."

  Cassidy tensed, his mind trying to figure out where Lucian was. With his powers,

  he might be in the room and no one would know it. There had to be a way to get Blythe

  away from them without her getting hurt.

  "Please, Sam," she pleaded. "Just go."

  Sam. She'd called him Sam. The woman was protecting him. He wanted to roar and

  rip the room apart. It was his job to protect her and it was time that she accepted that.

  He shook his head at her. "Sorry, Blythe, but I'm not leaving without you." He

  could see the surprise in her face and then the dawning of hope in her eyes. It was

  dashed when Prince spoke again.

  "You had your chance. I can see that we'll just have to kill you and send your body

  back to your employer. That should send them a message that they'll understand." He

  beckoned to Saunders, who'd stood silently to one side.

  "You want to speak with me." Lucian materialized as if out of nowhere.

  Prince jerked as if startled, but quickly recovered. "Lucian Dalakis, I presume. Now

  if only your dear wife was here, it would be perfect."

  "I'm here." Delight stepped through the open doorway. Sam loved both her and

  Lucian more at that moment than he ever had. They were risking themselves for him.

  And for Blythe.

  Prince stared at Delight. "You're the reason my brother died."

  "No," Cassidy corrected. "Y
our brother died because he was an insane criminal. It

  was only a matter of time until someone murdered the sonofabitch."

  Prince hauled a nine-millimeter semiautomatic from his pocket and aimed it at

  Delight. "Perhaps. But she was the cause." He wrapped his arm around Blythe,

  dragging her forward. "Women are always so much trouble."

  "Stop." That one word froze everyone in their tracks. Lucian stepped forward. "I

  will offer you the same deal that I did your brother. Leave us alone and I'll let you live."

  Prince laughed. "I'm the one with the gun on your wife, Dalakis."

  Blythe chose that exact moment to lift her feet. The unexpected movement threw

  Prince off guard and he dropped her, stumbling forward in the process. Cassidy drew

  his weapon and fired at the two goons in the corner, knowing Lucian would deal with

  Prince. Both men fell as Cassidy continued to fire. Blythe crawled toward the desk,

  keeping her hand over her head.

  Prince fired even as he staggered to one side, but Delight was no longer there. His

  body jerked. Blood appeared on his chest as he fell to his knees. All eyes flew to

  Saunders, who stood with his feet spread and his gun still on the fallen Prince. "Matt

  Austin, ATF on special joint assignment with the FBI." Gone was the man who lowered

  his head in a deferential manner. In his place was a self-assured man who meant

  business. His brown eyes gleamed with a combination of anger and satisfaction as he

  checked to make sure that Prince was indeed dead.

  Cassidy slowly lowered his weapon. "Sam Cassidy, former New Orleans police

  detective."

  "I know who you are. I know who all of you are." He stepped slowly toward

  Blythe. "Are you all right, Ms. Nixon?"

  "Fine. I'm..." She swallowed hard. "Fine." She tugged down her bra and pulled the

  ends of her blouse together.

  Saunders glanced at the door as he walked toward the bodies of the two men that

  Cassidy had shot and nudged them with his shoe. "They're both dead," Cassidy

  offered. He hadn't been taking any chances and had shot to kill.

  "So I see." Saunders sighed. "This creates some problems."

  Lucian stepped forward. "No. It doesn't."

  "Lucian." Cassidy put a dose of warning in his voice. This involved two federal

  government agencies. This could be a mess of epic proportions.