Christian let out a long whistle of appreciation. “When did you gather all this?” he asked, eyes wide open.
“The investigators brought the information to me yesterday afternoon. I was thinking about viewing the video, but then I decided that it would be best if we all viewed it together. Each one will have useful suggestions that we will take and form our perfect plan. I know that we all have military experience and that is an additional advantage in forming that faultless strategy of attack. I also understand that our experience is from centuries ago, but the changes through time in the high-tech weaponry and the fighting capabilities might of have created issues for a human being, but it will have no effect on us.”
“What day are you friends arriving?” Christian asked Troy.
“They are all coming the first of the week. Antonius is in Australia, so he is coming in on Tuesday. But Girard and Giani will be here Monday.”
“What about your guys, Sebastian?”
“They will all be here Monday. I don’t want to prolong this. I want it over before Ian and Eva’s wedding. I don’t want something like this to spoil their special day. I am sure that they would love to create chaos during a huge wedding gathering, thinking that they could succeed in achieving their goal.”
Ian smiled appreciatively. “Thanks, Sebastian, I have to agree. A wedding with all of us there would be exactly when they would think it’s the best time to execute their dirty scheme.”
Sebastian raked his fingers through his hair and pinched the tip of his nose.
“We are going to bring this to a prompt and successful end.”
The change of plan in viewing the video turned the discussion to various other issues about the Russian Mafia. Sebastian distributed a copy of the list to each one of his friends to become familiar with Nikola’s people and the locations they occupied.
He spent the next hour answering questions and discussing small details included on the lists he provided.
“Are we to take everyone’s life in the organization or just specific members?” Christian’s question brought everyone’s gaze to him.
Sebastian paused for a moment. The question swirled in his thoughts and he finally focused on Christian. “I am afraid that if we don’t, they will regroup and come back. They are relentless and I will not allow this to go on much longer. To make things worse I have Annabel that will not give up her ghastly plots of trying to make Arielle’s and my life miserable. I have made a mess of Arielle’s life and I have to fix this. She has done absolutely nothing and she has the Russian Mafia and Annabel, both trying to hurt her because of me.” He shut his eyes against the revulsion that Annabel’s vivid image brought him. A concern look crept across his face. “There is no other possible course but the one we are going to take right now,” He furthered though gritted teeth, and his eyes darted from one side of the room to the other. Everyone nodded in agreement. They knew that come next week things were about to become a whole lot more interesting. Silence fell and stretched for a very long moment.
Suddenly Nathan’s voice broke the quite. “Where did the time go?” he said glancing at his watch. “I have a meeting this afternoon with the engineers that brought the new security system.”
“All right,” Sebastian said rising to his feet. “Troy, Ian, Christian and I have to go back to the university. We have to pick up the girls.”
It had been four hours since they assembled in that room, and they decided it was time to disperse and come back together again when the rest of their friends arrived in town.
Arielle was sitting in the fifth row of the huge auditorium between Gabrielle and Loren, fumbling with her mobile phone while listening to Professor Allworth going through next week’s assignments. Her eyes wondered around the room aimlessly and suddenly locked with a pair of soft brown eyes. They belonged to a handsome guy with brown hair and wide shoulders. He was watching intently, a pleasant smile touching his lips. Arielle frowned and stared back at him in stunned silence. After a long moment of intent stare, she shifted uncomfortably. Could he be another immortal? she thought as she broke eye contact. What in bloody hell? He seems safe, but is he? Why is he watching me?
She glanced between her two friends, but they were oblivious to the guy’s stare; they were watching Professor Allworth. This is utterly ridiculous. I can’t be having these crazy thoughts every time someone is staring at me.
She had no intentions of satisfying her curiosity, but as absurd as it sounded, she couldn’t help herself from glancing at his direction once again. He was now holding a wide smile across his face and appeared quite amused. She raised a single eyebrow when he motioned for her to join him at the empty seat next to him. He watched her, expecting a reply. Arielle repressed a shiver and quickly turned to face Professor Allworth. Maybe he was a nice guy, but is he? Lately it seemed that everyone around her had some type of motive to hurt her. Could he be working for the same people that abducted her? She couldn’t remember seeing him before, but then she didn’t see anyone around her but for Sebastian. She was finally realizing that the fact that she couldn’t recognize all the people in her classes was absolutely outrageous but true. Being in love with Sebastian had not been an easy task, but then nothing worth having is. She knew the difficulty, the fear, and the agony she would have to face if she chose to love him, but she did.
Lost in her thoughts, she was startled to find that the lecture was over and her friends were standing watching her quizzically, while she was still sitting utterly unmoved.
“Are you coming or are you staying?” Gabby chuckled.
Arielle shook her head and slowly straightened up. “Sorry, I lost track of time,” she stammered, nearly forgetting where she was.
“You always lose track of time when Sebastian is not with you,” Gabby said giggling.
The corners of her mouth turned up, clearly pleased with Gabby’s statement. She gathered her books and followed her friends down the steps of the auditorium and toward the exit. They had just crossed the exit when she turned to check behind her. She was shocked to find the strange guy walking extremely close behind her. For a moment, her heart stopped, and her face tensed. The intensity of fear was so strong she felt bile rising to her mouth. Her hand came up to grab Gabby or Loren when she fell into a hard wall of muscles. A pair of strong arms wrapped around he and Sebastian’s warmth pulled her right into his safe sanctuary.
“Are you searching for me, baby?”
She drew in a shallow breath and gazed into Sebastian’s emerald eyes. His heat seeped into her skin and spread across her body. Her uneasiness did not escape him.
“What’s wrong?”
Arielle took a look behind her, around her, but the young man had disappeared into the thin air. “Strange!” she murmured.
Sebastian pushed her hair away from her face and met her gaze. “What’s strange?”
Arielle noticed that their friends had left, and they were walking toward the parking lot. She took Sebastian’s hand and guided them toward that direction.
“Can I have a kiss?” Sebastian asked. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, surrendering his mouth to hers. A soft sigh escaped her, and his arm tightened around her. Pulling himself away, he peered into her eyes. He then bent his head and whispered into her ear. “I love you, Arielle. You are mine.”
She reached up and stroked the side of his face, and let her fingers slide along the length of his jaw. “I love you, too.”
“So what was so strange?”
“There was a guy in the auditorium that kept staring at me. I have never seen him before and it scared me.”
“And what is so strange about that? I see a lot of guys staring at you.”
“Well, his stare was intense. I was sure that he was closing in on me while on our way out of the auditorium. I really felt that he was reaching for me when I fell into your arms.”
“I didn’t see anyone reaching for you,” he said.
“Well…” her voice trailed.
“That’s what so strange. One minute he is right behind me and then the next he is gone.”
“Well, don’t worry about him any longer. I’m here now and he’s probably upset that you are with me,” he whispered with a chuckle.
“I suppose you’re right. I don’t understand why I’m always so jumpy.”
“Arielle, you have every right to be. There are people out there that want to hurt you, because they know that you are the only person in the world than means everything to me, and I mean everything.” He flinched as if a bad image passed across his eyes. “I have made a mess of your life, and I’m going to fix it. I will take care of those issues, and you’ll never have to worry about anything but how you can spend every moment of your life with me.”
She squeezed his hand and smiled. They were now at the parking lot, and their friends waved as they climbed into their cars.
“Let’s go home, baby,” Sebastian said and held the door open for her.
“How did your meeting go?” Arielle asked breaking the silence.
“It went well. We will meet together again on Wednesday next week when all the guys are in town.”
“So they are coming, just as they did in St. Jean de Luz?”
“Yes, all.”
“Is Christian going to join you?”
“Yes, it will be a total of eleven of us.”
“Oh my! Eleven immortals? Are you taking on an army?”
“Well, we are not sure how many we have to face. But I have a strong feeling that they are many.”
The rest of the drive was quiet. Arielle let her fears wash away, happy to be sitting next to man that meant more to her than anything else on this earth or in any other universe for that matter. She chuckled inwardly and turned her eyes to scan the busy streets. The windows were down and the cool air whipped through her thin blouse sending a shiver across her body.
“Are you cold?” Sebastian asked, reaching over and taking her hand in his. “Did you bring a jacket?”
She turned to look at him and smiled. His jaw and mouth were set in a soft line, waiting for her answer.
“No, I didn’t bring one. It was quite warm when we left the house. But I’m all right.”
Sebastian remained unconvinced. He reached up and with his fingers he felt the material. “This material is way too thin,” he said. He reached in the back of the car, grabbed his coat jacket, and handed it to her. “Please put this on.”
Arielle was happy to slip her arms into Sebastian’s jacket. It smelled just like his immortal sweet scent and she felt as if she was engulfed in his embrace. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“It feels like when I’m in your arms,” she said giggling.
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“That’s a great thing,” she murmured with a throaty voice, as unexpected desire spreads across her muscles.
The amulet on her neck prevented Sebastian from reading her thoughts, but he was very sure what she’s thinking. “You heard Dr. McKenna. You have to wait.”
“But, Sebastian! I’m fine. I need you.”
He sighed deeply, and shook his head in denial. “No.”
“It’s my body and I say yes,” she spats out mulishly.
Sebastian responded with raised eyebrows. “Oh! I thought it was my body, too,” he said his voice amused.
“Sebastian, I’m not joking. I’ve waited for two weeks now. I am not going to wait any longer.”
Sebastian chuckled inwardly and remained silent. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes once again. She would have to make her move on him as soon as they reached the door. She wasn’t going to let him stop her this time. She smiled pleased with her decision. She had no regrets for choosing to spend her life with Sebastian no matter how many angry immortals or humans she had to face because of him.
At the house, he helped her out of the car, and held her against his warm body. “Now, what were you saying about being in my arms?” he chuckled. His arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her even closer. His mouth came down on hers and their lips melded together and their tongues fell into a sensuous dance. He leaned over and deepened the kiss leaving her breathless. The kiss was filled with pure passion and desire. His long strong fingers moved firmly across her body and stroke her senses alive. Her skin burned with desire and her knees gave in.
He finally broke the kiss and took a step back. “Oh, no…no…no… Not on your life, Gaulle. You are not going to stop now,” Arielle growled. She moved into him with incredible passion. Her hands weaved into his hair and pulled him down firmly until her lips found his and the kiss turned scorching hot. Sebastian groaned into her mouth in defeat, and his tongue pressed her lips apart and he delved into the softness of her mouth. Arielle arched her body, pressing her full length against his. Heat coursed through him and he knew he was not going to stay strong. When they finally broke apart he took her hand and drew her across the threshold. There he swung her around once again and his mouth came down on hers with barely controlled ravenousness. Swiftly, he leaned down and scooped her into his arms, moving with impatient strides toward the bedroom. “Let’s go finish what you started.”
Arielle blinked at his intense gaze. “I started?” she began to say.
Sebastian chuckled and, bending down, he muted her words.
Chapter 18
SEBASTIAN’S HUGE OFFICE seldom appeared so full, and even more seldom so animated, as it did Wednesday morning. Eleven incredible immortal men and two striking immortal women occupied the vast space, standing around, waiting, with rigid expressions on their beautiful faces. They all knew why they were there and what they needed to do, but they were missing the rules of engagement.
Tension was high. Hard faces were staring intently at Sebastian waiting for his instructions. They all exchanged glances of understanding. They were there to help Sebastian rid of a major difficulty in his life and they seemed like warriors ready to go to battle. The resolve and the immense energy inside the room seemed to infect Ian. This was going to be the first time he was taking part in such an enormous and complicated conflict since he became an immortal. Sebastian scanned the room and noticed the resolve on each face. But he also knew that he needed to lay out a comprehensive plan.
He walked up to his desk and retrieved the brown envelope that contained the CD with the details on the Russian Mafia organization. He then swung around and sauntered to the center of the room to face his friends. His lips lifted briefly and his jaw set. He had spent nearly a month displaying a patience he didn’t have. He wanted this over with. He looked down at the envelope and then up again. “Before I present this documentation,” he said, and topped at the top of his desk, “I want to thank you for coming once again to support me as you all did in St. Jean de Luz. This however, will be very different than going after immortals. It will be an easy task for us, but it requires precise timing of execution at all the locations. This particular organization is spread across the world with central locations in all the continents.”
A low long whistle slipped from Antonius lips. “How many continents are we talking about?” he asked.
“Almost all of them,” Sebastian replied. “I need to abolish this nightmare from the face of the earth. I want to eliminate the entire organization that has devoted so much time to destroying me and those that I love. The best way to succeed is to hit all central locations at the same time, and I couldn’t possibly do that without you, no matter how fast I can move. Once we destroy their central locations, we can concentrate on the final clean up with the low rank criminals. Attacking their significant command posts will create chaos, and they will lose communication with their leaders. ”
Sebastian scanned the room and noticed that all his friends were nodding in agreement. He motioned for everyone to take a seat while he walked back to his desk and pressed a button on a small device, and at the far wall of the room, a large screen dropped from the ceiling. He
then pressed another button and dark shades lowered, covering all the windows, turning the room completely dark. Darkness was not an issue for the immortals. Their vision was perfect in the night as it was in the daylight. He then took a seat and slipped the disc in the computer. He pointed a remote at the screen and clicked. A large figure of a stocky man with thick brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a shrewd expression on his face covered the screen.
“This is Nikola Vasilovitch, the top man of the organization and my daily nightmare. He only answers to the Prime Minister. However, that does not mean that Nikola keeps him abreast to all of his dirty undertakings. I’m also sure that the Prime Minister has no idea that Nikola is after my company or the reasons behind it. In my research, I found out that Nikola is a selfish man, and there is a motive behind everything he does. And that motive is always to achieve his goals, which will only profit him. He has to be taken out.”
The next image was that of a tall, handsome man with sandy hair and green eyes. “This is Rainer Heinrich. He reports directly to Nikola. I’m not sure how I can describe this man. From all the movies I have watched, all the conversations I have heard, and all the researched I have done, he provides a confusing profile. He portrays the hardened criminal that he should be; however, his actions and directives to his people contradict that portrait. He is always pressing the point of not killing the people they are after. He actually demands that his people do not harm anyone in their captivity. Things do not always turn the way he wants them, but his demeanor has me puzzled. If it was not for Rainer, I’m sure that Arielle would have been raped and badly abused by those goons while in their captivity. I’ll be the one dealing with Rainer as well.”
Sebastian raked his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated, and shook his head, dismissing his bothersome thoughts. He then pressed the forward arrow and two other men appeared on the screen. “These two are Rainer’s right hand men, Larue Legrand and Hahn Dussel. They are the experts in decoding top-secret documents, invading computer privacy, extortion, and manipulation. They have numerous kills under their belts. They are unethical, heinous, and heartless killers. Since I’ll be taking on the St. Petersburg command center, I’ll be dealing with those two as well.”
Arielle Immortal Struggle (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 7) Page 19
