“What about you?” he asked, rolling on his side to look at her.
“Mother and Dad dead. Ex-husband moved on to another woman. Only living relative is a grandmother. I waited tables to make ends meet.” Emotion tightened her throat. “That’s where I met Chavez. He was charming, nice. We went out a couple of times, and then—” Damn. She still felt so vulnerable when she tried to talk about that night. She had to change the subject. “Adrian, you never told me what you suspected about Billy’s abduction. I don’t think it had anything to do with Chavez or me.”
“I think you’re right. Besides I would have felt him enter my territory.” She heard the confidence and concern in his tone.
Adrian had no idea what comfort that brought Fallon. “Well?”
“It was someone I know—a vampire. Someone the land doesn’t recognize as an enemy. You felt the protection spell around the boy. Whoever did this hadn’t wanted the child to be harmed. So there lies the quandary. Why Billy? And for what purpose?”
It didn’t make sense. Adrian’s people had searched the house, outer barns and sheds for any foul play, but had found none.
It was true there were a few stray vampires in the vicinity, but he couldn’t fathom why they would do such a thing since he had already checked them out and felt confident they had nothing to do with Billy’s kidnapping.
“Maybe it was a really bad joke,” Fallon offered.
A joke? No. He would stake a bet on it. Everything was done for a purpose. He just had to figure out what it was. Until then he had asked that the humans under his protection be constantly observed. Now he had to cope with Fallon and her independent attitude.
“Fallon, until this situation with Chavez is resolved I don’t want you outside without an escort. Me.”
She jackknifed into a sitting position. “You’re kidding, right?” Before he could respond she continued, “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been taking care of myself? I can’t simply hide.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing? Hiding by running away?”
Anger chased pain across her face.
Dammit. He hadn’t meant it quite that way. Problem with the truth was that at times it hurt more than a lie.
She pushed to her feet, briskly brushing leaves and grass from her backside. If silence was a gauge of how angry she was with him, then she must be pretty pissed because she didn’t respond or look his way. She just disappeared in a thin line of mist.
Fallon was getting stronger. Where she had once been a light fog in the air, her only presence was a glassy shimmer as she hightailed it away from him.
She had been gone long when Adrian felt the land tremble, heard the cry of resistance as something or someone evil landed upon it.
“Adrian.” Panic-stricken, Fallon screamed, “Chavez—I feel him.”
Bones ground, feathers sprung from his pores as he held the vision of a bird in his mind. “Come back to me, darlin’.” He tried to convey a calmness he didn’t feel as the transformation was complete. With a push of his powerful legs and a flap of his wings he rose into the air.
“Briar.” He called to his friend using the mind link between them. “Chavez has arrived. Alert the others and join me.”
“Will do, Boss.”
Dammit! Yesterday, he had discovered that Chavez had been seen in a little cantina in Juarez, Mexico, just across the border of El Paso. Mexico or Texas had been too close for comfort.
And now the bastard was here.
Chapter Seventeen
A familiar nausea swept over Fallon’s misty form alerting her that Chavez was closing in on her. The air thickened with the rancid smell of evil and the spicy aftershave the devil wore to lure his victims to his side. Even the swirl of wind below her that raised fallen leaves, lifting them high into a vortex, didn’t chase the ominous warning away.
Fallon was out of time. Chavez had found her.
Heart pounding, she could sense her enemy’s feelers creeping like snakes in a pit, crossing one over another, in an attempt to locate her exact position. Her mental dodges only lasted so long. Her mind was an endless maze, twisting and turning. Each path she took, he barreled down it in search of her.
Chavez made connection.
Vertigo hit her hard and fast.
Land beneath her whirled and spun, throwing her off-balance and she fought desperately to get back to Adrian.
It was all too much. She wasn’t ready to confront her demon. She wasn’t strong enough—not yet.
The horror of Chavez’s nearness shattered her composure. With a sudden dip she began to fall from the sky, descending at an ungodly speed that stole her breath. There was only a second to pull herself together—a second to shape-shift back into human form and soften her landing before she crashed to the ground.
With a thud, she still hit hard. The impact so great her knees buckled. Trembling, she jerked to her feet, stumbled and another wave of nausea pitched her forward and she bent at the waist. Sour and acidic, vomit threatened to crawl up her throat.
Survival meant getting to Adrian.
She gulped in a much needed breath that smelled and tasted unclean, as if the air itself had been poisoned. Even before the queasiness subsided, she straightened, determined to reach Adrian before Chavez found her. When she tried to run—command her legs to move—they wouldn’t respond.
A strangled cry pushed from her diaphragm. “Adrian. I can’t move.” Whether fear gripped her in its iron claws or Chavez’s power, she didn’t know. Icy fingers of dread slowly slid over her skin.
Cold. A shiver shot to her bones, shaking her entire body. She couldn’t remember when she felt so cold.
“I’m here.” Fallon heard Adrian’s soothing voice just prior to him materializing before her. Relief rushed over her. In a heartbeat she was in his arms. Strong and comforting, his warmth melted some of the numbness that had overtaken her.
“Ahhh… Cómo muy es dulce.” Chavez’s Spanish accent made Fallon jerk her head from Adrian’s shoulder. She moved so quickly that pain splintered up her neck as she wrenched around to see her tormentor not more than twenty feet away. “How very sweet,” he repeated in English.
Fallon had almost forgotten how breathtakingly attractive he was at first sight. Just under six feet, Chavez wore a rakish, debonair aura. Couple that with his caramel skin tone and his seductive accent, and he could bewitch any woman.
It had worked on Fallon.
She closed her eyes, mentally shaking her head to chase the memories away, but they broke down her barriers and flooded into her mind anyway.
Soft music in the background, the elegant restaurant, Chavez charming and holding her hand across the table. What he offered was a better life for her and Christy. What she got was a living hell.
The reminder ripped her eyelids open.
Chavez brushed his long, genteel fingers through his black, shoulder-length wavy hair. Fingers she knew could go from seductive to cruel in less than a heartbeat. He stood masked as a gentleman in his trendy black slacks and white silk shirt, but she saw past his veneer and into a soul as black as coal.
Beauty truly was skin deep. Even if it came disguised as a handsome, captivating and intelligent man—deadlier than any mass murderer the world had ever seen.
Dark, gray clouds formed high above him, as if marking the spot where evil dwelled. A low, menacing rumble quaked, before slivers of light raced from one dark spot to the next.
Adrian’s grip tightened around Fallon. She could feel tension driving her fingernails into his skin, but he didn’t flinch or release her.
Instead his eyes narrowed. “Chavez, you arrived in my territory unannounced and unwelcome.”
A hand to his heart with an expression of sadness, Chavez feigned being wounded by Adrian’s words. “Not so, mi amigo. Mi belleza surely explained I would soon appear to bring her home.”
To an outsider Chavez might have appeared as a man looking for his lost love. He stroked her body with a warm, sexua
l gaze. Then he extended his hand to her.
Fallon could feel the beginning ripples of his power slide up her spine. God, she hated the moment when the soft prickles turned to punishing knives that struck every tender nerve. Within her mind she would fight him, but physically she didn’t stand a chance.
Memories of beatings, torture, the immoral ways he used her body, and Christy’s death—made Fallon press closer into the shelter of Adrian’s body.
“Venido a mí, mi belleza.” She hated the way he called her “my beauty” as he beckoned her to him.
With just a thought he invaded her mind and pushed so that her head splintered into shards of pain. Her hands jackknifed to her temples. The fluttering in her mind sounded as if thousands of bats were released in the small confines. Each of them whispering, “Come to me, my beauty,” louder and louder, over and over.
Chavez’s compulsion was strong, overbearing. It pulled at her—drawing her with the force of a magnet. As she mentally struggled to remain in Adrian’s embrace, her arms and legs did just the opposite, kicking and striking out for release.
“Nooo…” she cried, desperately.
Chavez innocently widened his eyes. A look of concern fell across his handsome features. “What? You are not happy to see me? Mi belleza…” His tone was sweet, too sweet, as it lowered. “I have missed you terribly.”
Adrian’s hold never wavered. “Cut the pretense, Chavez. Fallon doesn’t want to go with you.”
Fallon was caught in a mass of chaos, a war between body and mind. Adrian’s strength surrounded her, giving her the feeling of safety, while Chavez did just the opposite.
Chavez’s taunting laughter cut across Fallon’s skin, coarse and brittle. “If this is true, then why does she fight you to be at my side?”
Fallon felt Adrian’s healing powers fight against the agony in her head and the pain tightening every muscle and tendon in her body. Slowly and consistently, he worked to counteract what Chavez’s evilness wreaked.
Her skin was clammy. Perspiration beaded across her body. Several drops rolled between her breasts. If it wasn’t for Adrian’s taut grip she would have slid down his body to collapse on the forest floor.
“You are stronger than you realize. Do not wait for his attacks. Prepare yourself mentally for his invasions,” Adrian coached, using the link between them. “My blood runs through your veins. He cannot defeat you—not with me by your side.”
It started small inside her, a light burning brighter and brighter, as Adrian’s strength grew. He filled her with such awesome power that she straightened, her shoulders pushing back as her head rose.
The façade Chavez wore slipped as he scrutinized Fallon’s new confidence. His lips parted. Slowly, his chin dipped, his eyes darkening with awareness as the two of them embraced. “You have taken what is mine, and mine alone—twice.” It wasn’t a question but an accusation. One that left Fallon a little confused. If he was talking blood and sex, then he was a little short on the numbers.
Not to mention, how the hell did he know?
A woman’s whimper drew both Fallon’s and Adrian’s attention to a cluster of trees where two vampires dressed in black held Doreen by her arms. Tears tracked down her cheeks. Blood oozed from a busted lip. The condition of her mussed hair and ruffled clothing, bruises and blood, revealed she’d been roughed up pretty badly.
“Adrian, I’m sorry.” Her hoarse voice was almost non-existent. “Billy—”
She groaned, deeply and painfully, folding at the waist as if something hard and swift struck her abdomen.
Casually, Chavez strolled to where his vampire minions held Doreen. With his knuckles he skimmed her swollen cheek. Then he moved so quickly his actions were a blur. Grabbing a handful of her hair he snapped her head up.
Panic-stricken, Doreen stared wide-eyed. Frightened, animalistic sounds tore from her throat as she fought against the two vampires who began to snicker, “bebé pobre.” Poor baby, Fallon translated. She had never met these two abominations. Yet they were Spanish like their leader and appeared just as cruel as they taunted Doreen. One fondled the woman’s breast, then squeezed her nipple so hard that she screamed out in pain. Their evil laughter made Fallon’s skin prickle.
She felt Adrian release his power, but he was too late.
“Bitch,” Chavez snarled as he sank his teeth into Doreen’s tender throat. He jerked his head back, ripping skin and muscle, leaving a gaping wound that gushed her life essence.
Her eyes were wild with fear. She tried to scream, but it caused the blood to pump faster from the wound, producing soft, wet gurgling sounds.
Adrian’s force struck hard, wrenching Chavez off his feet and sending him crashing into a tree, at the same time he spoke to Doreen. “Shut down your heart. Save your strength and blood.”
As Doreen attempted to obey Adrian, Fallon felt Chavez give the woman a command to stay conscious. “You shall bleed slowly to your death,” he promised, low and threatening on the mind path he shared with Doreen and Fallon.
An intentional move to let Fallon know her death would be next. She could feel his excitement mixed with fury. Electricity in the air sizzled with the evilness coursing through his veins.
Hatred smoldered in Chavez’s fiery eyes, his good looks mangled with madness as he glared at Doreen. “Release mi marioneta,” he demanded of his minions, coming to his feet with ease. “My puppet.” The slight lift of his lips was cruel and sinister as he faced Doreen. “You evaded me for more years than I care to recall.” He turned back around to face Adrian. Resentment thickened the air.
Doreen’s blood covered Chavez’s mouth, his fangs. Droplets of the crimson liquid smeared his white silk shirt, spreading as more dripped from his parted lips.
Shit! Adrian resisted the urge to run to Doreen’s side. The woman’s eyes had been so pleading. An apology? Had she been responsible for Billy’s abduction? Was Doreen working with Chavez? Even still he couldn’t just leave her to die.
“Dammit, Briar, where are you?” Adrian needed assistance to get both Doreen and Fallon to safety before he took care of Chavez and his minions. He had no doubt Chavez would fall this night, but his first instincts were to safeguard the women.
“Just clearing the treetops, Boss.” A spot against the cloudy sky announced Briar’s approach. Behind him Cougar, Tucker, and two more of the men from the ranch, Shorty and Dillon. Additional help would come if need be, but Adrian didn’t want to involve any more of his people than necessary.
As his friends took human form, Adrian felt the Master vampire quietly probe him for weaknesses. He could feel the jabs of inquiry building in strength with Chavez’s frustration at the new arrivals. His vampire minions stirred restlessly, until he nailed them with a glare.
Adrian had scanned Chavez’s memories the minute he had experienced the quiver in the land. Chavez felt he was invincible. That would be his downfall.
Chavez’s expression softened in an almost friendly appearance as he faced Adrian, but his eyes didn’t, revealing the truth behind them. He was furious. Still his body language was contradictory. Elbows tucked to his side, he raised his hands, palms up, and shrugged. “No vine buscando apuro.”
“Not looking for trouble? Yeah. Sure.” Skeptical, Tucker moved beside Adrian.
Chavez didn’t spare a glance toward Tucker or any of the other men, instead he focused on Fallon. “Mi belleza, I have missed your kisses.” There was a sexy purr to the man’s voice.
Adrian felt the tremor that assailed her as Chavez sent another compulsion weaving through her mind. Adrian used his own power to weaken Chavez’s control on Fallon, but he could feel Doreen reaching out to him.
“Doreen is fading. We need to move quickly.” He used his people’s mental path as he split his voice to speak aloud to Chavez in unison. “You know the law. If you kill in my territory—you’ll be next.” His words were a dark, cold promise.
“Perdóneme.” Chavez’s tight smile was cruel and dangerous. “You quo
te me the law?” Blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. “These women are mine.”
Fallon squared her shoulders. “You sick son of a bitch.”
He feigned innocence. “¿Yo?”
“Yes, you!” Fallon spat, her face reddened with anger. Adrian could hear red-hot fury swishing through her veins. “You killed my baby.” Her rage was so strong she shook from head to toe.
An expression of confusion drew his brows down. “I gave you freedom to join me. Live as an immortal, but you fought me at every turn.”
In disbelief, her mouth parted. Her eyes widened. “Freedom,” she repeated. “You think taking from me the only person I loved in this world meant freedom to me?”
“Sí.”
She pushed from Adrian’s embrace, her fists clenching and releasing. “You’ll never hurt another being again.” The rapid rhythm thundering in her chest matched her breathing, labored and tight. He knew she had to get it all out before she could start to heal.
“Good girl.” The woman Adrian had come to know surfaced with both barrels loaded. Her anger had chased away her fear. He could feel her confidence growing.
What he hadn’t expected was her sudden attack, lunging with preternatural speed straight for Chavez’s throat.
Chavez was quick, throwing up an invisible wall that Fallon struck hard with a resonating thud. The impact flung her back and into Adrian’s arms, throwing him off balance and they both hit the ground. He heard her breath join his as it whooshed from their lungs. She didn’t stir, hanging limp in his embrace. He had only a moment to assess that she was merely unconscious, when Chavez lowered his shield, preparing to attack.
With blazing speed Adrian jumped to his feet, ensuring his body was between Fallon and their enemy.
In seconds the vampire minions closed in around their leader, taking a protective stance. Briar and Tucker followed suit next to Adrian. Cougar’s form simply disappeared into thin air.
Chavez hesitated a fraction of a second as if he questioned whether to fight with the odds against him.
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