God, she hoped that's all it was, that Ashley's Illusions hadn't turned dark.
He gave no outward reaction to her story. "Your sister's been at the murder scenes?"
"I think so." She took a deep breath. "Please help me find my sister. If we find him, we'll find her. Help me, please."
Ajax stared at her for a long, long moment, searching her face, as if he wasn't sure whether or not to believe her.
"I'm not lying," she snapped, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice. If Ajax didn't help her, she was sunk. "Why else would I come here and try to seduce you? I was desperate and willing to try anything."
"What was the grenade for?"
"If you tried to kill me. I'm all she has. I can't let anything happen to me."
He raised an eyebrow. "You could have come here and asked for my help."
"Ask for your help?" She blinked in surprise. "Your reputation precludes that kind of option."
"And yet that's exactly what you just did."
"Because I've met you." She sighed in exasperation. "You don't exactly advertise that you're a man of honor, and a good guy."
His eyebrows shot up. "A good guy?" He looked so surprised she almost started laughing.
"Yes." She raised her chin defiantly. "You try to hide it, but it's obvious."
"It's not obvious." He studied her as if he were trying to figure her out, then he suddenly stiffened, his gaze shooting to the door of the cabin.
She stopped, fear tingling down her spine. "What's wrong?" He'd sensed something. She could feel his alertness brushing against her.
He went utterly still, and a subtle vibration began to fill the air, like thousands of microscopic bees beating at the air. He called out his swords with a crack and a flash of black light as he turned toward the door. "Hey, Madison." His voice was a faint whisper, so quiet she barely heard it, but somehow, the words brushed across her mind.
"What?" She kept her voice equally low.
He looked right at her, studying her face. "Am I under an Illusion right now?"
"I'm not doing anything."
He paused for a minute, clearly assessing the truth of her answer. "Is anyone?"
She looked at him, at the tension vibrating on him, the deadly intent in his gaze, and she realized what he was asking. Was the threat he was sensing real or imagined? Most Illusionists could tell the difference between Illusions and reality, but she couldn't. With her parents dead, she'd had no one to train her, and she'd spent the last fifteen years trying to suppress every Illusionist tendency she had. Heck, she'd even worked hard to make herself susceptible to Ashley's. Ajax was out of luck if he wanted her to be his secret weapon in his battle against the Illusionists threatening his people. "I'm not good at—"
She stopped herself as Ajax stalked toward the front door with his weapons out, realizing the opportunity she'd just been handed. The one thing she could do to make herself indispensable to an Order member being threatened by an Illusionist: offer her services as an Illusion detector. He'd never know she was lying, and maybe if she concentrated, she'd even be able to do it. "I—"
Suddenly, the wall on the other side of the cabin exploded inward, the attack coming from the opposite direction of what Ajax had clearly been expecting. Debris flew everywhere, logs sailed at her head, the stones from the fireplace becoming deadly projectiles.
Ajax leapt across the room, putting himself between her and the attack, using his swords to deflect the projectiles hurtling toward them.
One rock hit the bedpost beside her, shattering the wood, missing her head by inches.
Madison dove behind the bed, using it as a shield as a shadow filled the opening in the wall. It was huge, a black so dark that nothing would penetrate it. It was a darkness so filled with menace that even her depleted Illusions screamed in terror, clawing at her soul to try to break free, to destroy it, even though they were too weakened from having tried to emerge such a short time ago.
She scrambled for the door, every instinct in her soul shrieking at her to get away. She reached the door and yanked it open, then heard a roar from Ajax.
Madison whirled around and gasped as Ajax charged straight into the mouth of hell.
She stared after him in shock, unable to believe what he'd just done. He'd literally run into the evil black cloud of death. Was he insane?
Then she heard a shout...a voice she recognized... "Pete?" Her hand went to her throat in shock. How had he gotten out? How had he followed her? Was he here to kill her or help her?
She heard the clash of weapons, the blast of a machine gun, followed by a horrific scream that had her sprinting toward Ajax.
Chapter Fourteen
The air was thick and black, closing in around Madison the moment she stepped through the wall of the cabin and into the black cloud. Hot ashes burned her skin, acrid smoke scorched her nose and made her eyes tear. The darkness was like an inky sludge. As if it were a tangible beast, crushing her down like a great weight. Hard to breathe, difficult to lift her arms, to take another step, drowning—
Someone grabbed her around the waist, and she shrieked as she was hauled forward. She slammed into a hard body, and she recognized the scent as Ajax's. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him. He pressed her face into his chest. The air was cooler there, less heavy, easier to breathe, and she sucked in a grateful breath, leaning against him, her body feeling too lethargic and weighted to support itself.
Ajax's arm was solid around her. "Hell, Madison," he growled. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"It's not my primary goal, no." She lifted her head, and the air closed thick and heavy around her again. She quickly pressed her face against him, against the pocket of clean air that encased him. His body was hot and powerful, making her want to wrap herself around him and bury herself in his strength. In his maleness. "What happened?"
"Grenade."
"What kind?" But as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized it was the kind of grenade she and Pete had talked about. The one he'd had in his basement storeroom.
"Specially designed to take out Otherworld beings." Ajax's hand moved over her back, pressed her tighter against him. "Don't breathe the air. It'll knock you out. Just breathe me."
Just breathe me. That was a line for a girl to bask in, for sure. "What are you, part air filter?"
"Something like that." He cupped the back of her head and held her face against his chest. "Breathe, for hell's sake."
She did as he said, felt her body begin to shed the debilitating weakness as she inhaled the distinctive scent that was all him. She became aware of the way she was crushed up against him, of her breasts tight against his chest.
He moved quickly across the floor, taking her with him. She felt the cold steel of his sword against her back, the blade pressed up against her butt.
She heard the click of a gun in the pitch darkness. "Get away from her."
Pete.
Madison turned her head, searching the darkness for him. "Pete? Where are you?"
Gunfire erupted, and she screamed as light pulsed in the darkness. Ajax dove to the floor, using his body to shield hers. She felt him shift as he fought from that position, never once exposing any part of her body. She covered her head as the bullets continued to fly. His body jerked repeatedly, and she realized he was being hammered with bullets, bullets that would have been going into her if he wasn't protecting her.
Pete was trying to kill her.
She buried her head, tears burning her eyes as she felt Ajax's shudder. Then suddenly he shifted, and his body lurched.
And then all was still.
The bullets stopped, and Ajax didn't move, his weight crushing her.
No sound from Pete.
Just silence and utter stillness.
"Ajax?" Her voice sounded muffled in the oppressive darkness that was so thick she could almost touch it.
Ajax's hand covered her mouth, and his face was suddenly against her cheek, his wh
iskers rough against her skin as he silently ordered her to be quiet.
He was all right.
She began to shake with relief. He'd saved her life. Gotten himself shot to protect her...
Her throat filled up, and tears suddenly filled her eyes as he tucked her tightly beneath him. She scrunched her eyes shut, feeling the weight of his body on hers, his heat penetrating her, his breath on her neck, and realized, for the first time in fifteen years, she felt safe. Here, with a machine gun aimed at her and a knife wound on her throat, she felt safe.
Because Ajax was protecting her.
"Don't move." Ajax's command was a mere whisper against her ear, and she nodded once before he rolled off her, so silently she couldn't even hear him move.
More silence, and the weight of darkness began to crush her again without Ajax there to protect her. Was Pete still alive? What was going on? Her muscles began to weaken, her head began to throb, and weariness tugged at her mind. She shook her head, forced her eyes open, tried to clear her head...
Ajax grabbed her arm, his grip secure and solid. Yes. He lifted her up and tucked her against his hip. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his throat. His skin was warm, his aura clearing the air around him.
His grip tightened around her waist, his hand somehow slipping beneath her shirt so he palmed bare skin. But he said nothing as he bent over and threw something over his other shoulder. A faint groan told her it was Pete, or what was left of him.
"Is he dying?" She tried to touch him, but Ajax grabbed her hand, his grip tight as he sped them back toward the edge of the blackness.
"Don't push me." His words were a growl, dark and dangerous, and they sent chills skittering down her spine. Chills of both fear and anticipation, the woman inside her responding to the barely controlled energy rolling through him.
They burst out of the blackness into the light of his cabin, and she had to close her eyes against the sudden brightness, even though the room was dimly lit. She felt Ajax release Pete, and she squinted as Pete dropped to the floor with a groan. A long gash cut across his torso, and she knew without hesitation that it was a deathblow. She felt the blood drain from her face.
"Pete." Dear God, what was going on?
Ajax set her on the bed, careful to avoid the remnants of the wall that were strewn across the room. She winced and rolled to her hip, then stopped when she caught sight of Ajax. His legs and arms were peppered with bullet holes, his clothes torn and bloody. "Oh, God. Look at you."
"I'm fine." Ajax was suddenly beside her, his hands sliding along her arms. He grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it up, his touch frantic as he moved his hand over her belly, her breasts, her hips. Fast and assessing, barely pausing to touch a spot before he moved on. His eyes were dark and desperate, his hands frantic, but gentle, so freaking gentle.
She realized he was checking her for bullet wounds. His fear was for her safety. She touched his hand. "Ajax. I'm fine. Nothing hit me." Her voice softened. "You stopped them all."
He stopped then, his hands on her hips, her shirt half off. He was breathing hard, as if he were fighting to stay in control. "He tried to kill you."
Madison stared into his face, at the anger boiling from him. His jaw was clenched, a muscle ticking in his cheek, the whiskers on his face dark and rough. He was so furious, the air was thick around him, but it wasn't just anger. He was raw sex, primal strength. A warrior who'd risked his life to save hers, even though he'd had no reason to. His eyes were dark with a possessive heat that seemed to pierce right into her very soul.
Desire immediately flooded her body, desire that was hot and dangerous, that made no sense at all. There was a man half-dead on the floor beside them. Ajax was bleeding from dozens of bullet wounds.
How on earth were either of them having a physical reaction right now?
But they were. Both of them.
And that made it dangerous.
Chapter Fifteen
She'd almost been killed.
Ajax couldn't shake the thought as he stared at Madison. Her silver eyes meeting his gaze, not at all quailed by his fury, her hand resting against his chest, making his body tighten just from the brush of her fingers. Hell, he'd felt like his head had exploded when he'd heard that machine gun go off and—
The unmistakable scent of vanilla drifted up to him, and he went still.
She was aroused.
The thought had barely registered before his gaze snapped to hers.
For a moment, neither of them moved. He watched the pulse beat in her throat.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
They both moved at the same time, their lips coming together in an inferno of heat, desperation, and uncontainable desire. His kiss was ravenous and demanding, fueled by the adrenaline of the fight, of the danger she'd been in, by the depth of his need to protect her, to keep her, to make her his.
She kissed him back with a fierceness that made his cock go rock hard. A visceral hunger exploded inside him. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her against him until her breasts were against his chest, his hands spanning the lines of her back.
He could feel every muscle in her back, the curve of her hips...he slid his hands over her curves to her ass. His fingers slipped across the skin exposed between her jeans and her shirt, her skin softer than anything he'd ever felt... like a delicate silk that would disintegrate beneath the roughness of his battle-toughened hands.
She was too fragile for him. Too innocent. No match for what he was. He needed to back off. Give her space. Give them both space.
But he couldn't slow, couldn't restrain his need for more. He dropped his head to her throat, trailing kisses over the curves of her neck. She made a small noise of surprise, then arched into him, sliding her fingers through his hair.
A growl he didn't recognize escaped from him, and he grazed his teeth over her skin. Need was white hot in his mind now, obscuring any thought, other than that he needed her. More. Now. All of her.
His hand went to her belly, her muscles contracting beneath his touch. Just that subtle reaction to him drove him mad, and he knew he had to take her right then, make her his. Without hesitation, he moved his hand lower, sliding his fingers beneath the waistband of her jeans—
"Jesus, man. What the hell are you doing?" Xander's voice broke through Ajax's fevered thoughts a split second before he grabbed Ajax and tossed him across the room.
Ajax crashed into the armoire, but he leapt to his feet before the crack of the wood splitting had stopped echoing through the cabin. He leapt up, slammed his fist into Xander's jaw, then staggered, his equilibrium still wrapped up in Madison.
Xander cracked him one right back, taking advantage of Ajax's lack of balance, dropping him to his knees with a fist to his gut. "Pull it together!" Xander shoved his boot into the back of Ajax's neck, right on the wound that was still raw from Viktor's attack.
The pain was a sharp stab of reality, and Ajax's awareness came crashing back. He swore under his breath and held up his hand. "I'm in control."
Xander released him immediately and Ajax rolled to his feet, finally back in control.
But he met Xander's gaze, and they both knew that fraction of a second was all it would have taken for someone to step in and take him out. He'd been so consumed by Madison that he hadn't even sensed his own blood brother approach.
Shit. That had never happened to him before. Ever.
She was already sitting up, putting her shirt back in place, but he could see the soft curve of her belly, the swell of her breasts. He could taste her kiss, feel the intimacy of their bodies against each other.
She looked over at him, as if she'd felt his scrutiny. For a moment, they locked gazes, and he felt his cock harden at the raw desire in her eyes. He wanted to go over there and capture her mouth in another kiss—
"Hunt's on for Viktor."
It took a split second for Xander's words to penetrat
e Ajax's mind. Viktor. Hell. Where was his focus? He took a breath, then fastened his gaze on his blood brother. "Retrieve or kill?"
Xander was wearing the same clothes he'd been wearing at Faulk's club, and he was caked in dust and grime. Face haggard and drawn. It was clear he'd been on the move since they'd parted, just like Ajax had been. "Whatever it takes to stop him."
Dark bitterness hammered at Ajax, just as it had five hundred years ago. "Zion didn't cut him slack." Son of a bitch. He hadn't really expected Zion to give Viktor a break, but to have it confirmed... He shook his head, disgusted by the organization that claimed to be driven by honor and a high moral code.
Xander grabbed Ajax's arm as he started to turn away. "Go back and talk to Zion. I wasn't the one who looked into Viktor's eyes and saw the truth. Zion has no choice without you there to tell what you saw—"
"Screw that. He was the one who saved Viktor's sanity the first time. He knows how Viktor is vulnerable to Illusions. He chose not to account for that. It's on him." A cold ruthlessness settled in Ajax's gut. Betrayed by the Order again, because of some stupid rule.
Maybe Faulk had the right idea, going solo.
No one to fuck you over if you counted only on yourself.
"Half the team is going after Viktor," Xander continued, his voice hard. "The other half is after you."
Ajax watched Madison. She was listening to the conversation, studying Xander with more curiosity than fear. "Retrieve or kill?"
"You assaulted two Order members," Xander reminded him. "You've been tagged as rogue, despite my testimony otherwise. Without you there, it was my word against your actions." A muscle ticked in Xander's cheek. "Bringing you in alive is preferable, but they're prepared to kill." He aimed his axe at Ajax's chest. "Bang. You're dead."
"Yeah, funny." They both knew it was Xander's way of telling Ajax that he wasn't going to make a move on him. If he were going to, he'd had the chance.
Xander was still on his team, and for that, Ajax was grateful. It gave him time, to figure out what to do about Viktor, and now Madison. She'd given him so little information, but it had been enough to get his attention. What was the connection between Viktor, Madison's sister, and the man who'd sent her to kill him? "How long 'til they get here?"
Darkness Awakened Page 9
