“Now is a fine time. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
“I was just wondering if this was all we’d have. I know…” She laughed at herself, “…last night, I was worried all of the sexual stuff was my doing, inadvertently. Now, I’m thinking I wish it was because then I wouldn’t have to worry about later.”
Jeremiah was busy with the controls of the Cessna, so he didn’t turn his head, but he spoke up. “Seven hundred years is a very long time. It’s an eternity. I’ve done a lot, been everywhere. I’ve had experiences enough to know what the three of us have is unique. I don’t want to give it up. Not yet, maybe not ever.”
Karia looked toward Jeremiah, emotion shining in her blue eyes. The seriousness in Dean’s tone, the honesty of his response moved her as much as it moved Joshua. A strong emotion burst in the War Wolf’s chest, spreading through his body. It made him feel stronger than he’d ever felt, yet vulnerable too.
“I’m not nearly as old, but I feel the same way Jeremiah does. We have time to figure out the details. But I won’t let either of you go, now that I’ve found you.” He squeezed Ari’s fingers, wanting to lean up and taste her lips. Joshua settled for calling a little magic, making his body glow softly.
Karia licked her lips, her eyes roaming over his dark skin, her appreciation apparent. “I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“Well, I can look for a place to set down, but it’ll take me a minute.”
Joshua and Ari burst into laughter. The trio spent the rest of the flight, including one stopover in Columbus, Ohio, for refueling, ironing out the details of their attack. By the time they landed at LaGuardia, all three were sick of riding in the tiny plane.
“If we didn’t have something pressing, I’d love to take you guys around the city.”
Ari and Dean had recreated their human illusion for Joshua before they left the plane. He wore sunglasses to conceal his eyes and gloves to cover his hands. As far as any of the multitudes of people milling about were concerned, he was just a large white guy. It was quite an interesting experience for Joshua, one he actually found himself enjoying. Just a bit. It seemed some of his insecurities were fading.
According to the file Karia received from Research, their target lived in Middle Village, a centralized neighborhood in Queens. They’d already mapped the most efficient way to approach the mobster’s home. Jeremiah had remarked that people in New York were a lot like goblins: they stayed loyal to the area where they grew up and rarely ventured too far from home.
From the airport, they hailed a cab to Jamaica Bay. Acting touristy, they chose to sightsee the protected marsh until nightfall. It wasn’t exactly close to Middle Village, but it wasn’t too far to hike either, which all of them agreed would work better than taking a cab.
Just after sunset, they made their way to the neighborhood. It took a while, but the streets weren’t packed with as many people as the airport, much to Joshua’s relief. He was ready to shed the magic concealing him. He was ready to go to work.
“Well, if we were confused as to which house is his, the beefy guy on the front step would be a dead giveaway.” Jeremiah jerked his head toward the brownstone across the street from their position.
Karia looked at her watch. “We’ve got time to kill. Now that we know he’s in, let’s get something to eat. We can’t exactly stand here and wait.”
Joshua grumbled under his breath. He didn’t want to eat. He wanted to get the job done and head back to Alabama. His mother expected him to finish his visit at the mound, and he’d decided to ask Ari and Jeremiah to come with him.
“Come on, Joshua, it won’t be too much longer.” Ari took his hand, and Jeremiah’s, leading them to a small pizzeria.
By the time they’d eaten and headed back to the brownstone, anxious energy made Joshua edgy. In an area with so many people, things could go wrong fast. The Heteroclites weren’t the only preternaturals concerned with exposure to humanity.
They approached the corner where they’d been previously. The large human still sat on the steps. The plan was to allow Karia to coerce him into letting them in, but Joshua needed to burn off some energy.
“Remove the illusion.”
“Black, we already agreed on a plan.” Jeremiah gave him a frown.
“I know. Do it anyway.”
With a sigh, Jeremiah complied. Joshua rolled his shoulders, easing the tension between them. He took off the sunglasses and gloves and the heavy overcoat Karia had forced on him. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 18
Joshua crossed the street with long purposeful strides, calling shadows over himself to hide his approach. The man on the stairs didn’t even register his nearness until it was too late. Joshua revealed himself to the man a moment before he landed a solid blow to the human’s jaw. The man slumped to the side, definitely unconscious.
The other two caught up with him as he pulled open the front door. Joshua called more shadows to obscure everyone. It was mostly dark in the house. A small group of men sat in the living room to the left of the entryway. Scanning the faces, Joshua didn’t see Mr. Salducci. He turned to his companions, shaking his head, before heading up the stairs.
At the landing, the three split up to check each door on the floor. They came up deuces, none of the rooms revealing a sleeping mobster.
“He must be up there.” Jeremiah spoke low and pointed to the second stairway. The men started toward the stairs first, but Ari pulled them back.
She leaned in, keeping her voice hushed. “Let me go first. Just in case he has someone guarding the door. It’ll be easier for me to control them than for you two to get physical.”
Neither man liked the idea, but they couldn’t argue Karia’s point. So, they let her take the lead. Like some shadowy monster, they crept up the stairs, hidden by the dark. Sure enough, there was a man in front of a door at the opposite end of the floor.
Joshua’s skin tingled as Ari called her magic. She stepped away from him and advanced on her target. He pulled back the shadows, knowing it would seem as if Karia appeared out of thin air. His tactic worked perfectly. Her incongruous appearance shocked the man, slowing his response, confusing his mind. He fell under her power without problem.
Joshua couldn’t hear what Ari told him, but it was clear enough when the man left the door. He walked straight past Dean and Joshua, taking up post at the stairs. Karia opened the bedroom door and went inside. He and Jeremiah looked at each other, exasperated, and hurried after her.
Jeremiah shut the door and advanced on the large, four-poster bed. “Damn, we missed the fun, Black.” He gestured to the mobster held firmly in the grip of Karia’s mind.
Joshua remained in the soft shadows just inside the room. He watched the small, slender man attempt to struggle. His eyes bulged with rage. He wanted to speak, but couldn’t. In fact, he didn’t seem afraid at all. That would change.
“Come here, Mr. Salducci.” Ari crooked a finger and the man rolled out of bed, quick to follow her orders. At least his body was.
“Jeez, Ari, how come you didn’t wait for us to put the whammy on him?” Jeremiah’s petulant tone convinced no one. He smiled broadly, long, white teeth catching in the lamplight from the bedside table. Salducci’s eyes widened, but he didn’t take those gleaming canines too seriously. His anger only increased, the blood vessels in his temple swelling.
“I’m so sorry.” Ari gave Dean a smart-assed grin, before focusing on the human once more. “I think you should calm down, Benito. Getting so angry is only going to make the next part that much harder on your heart.”
Joshua approached from the shadows, shifting with each step. He made certain the process was slow. He wanted the human to see him go from something maybe human into something from a nightmare. His body stretched, his limbs lengthening. His face reformed, muzzle protruding where a mouth had been. Every part of Joshua morphed until the War Wolf towered over a now terrified Benito Salducci, hot saliva dripping from four-inch-long, razor sharp teeth.
“Now, Benito, do you understand why your men keep coming back from Mobile torn to pieces?” Jeremiah moved to the other side of Salducci. Joshua set the man back on his feet, claws digging into his arm when Benito nearly toppled over.
“Amalgam Holdings isn’t run by men. And unless you want to have every part of your corporation eaten alive by things like my friend, you’ll forget they even exist.” Jeremiah snapped his teeth inches from Salducci’s face, laughing when a squeak slipped out.
Karia stepped close, pushing both men back. “And just in case you try to pass all this off as some kind of hallucination, we’re going to leave you with a little reminder.”
Jeremiah looked up at the massive, drooling were-creature. “Not too hard.” Both men struck simultaneously, Jeremiah biting into Salducci’s throat while Joshua sank his teeth into the man’s upper arm.
They didn’t draw much blood, but the bites would scar, leaving permanent evidence of their visit. They stepped away from him, falling back to the door while Karia closed the deal.
“Now, we’re going to leave. As long as you stay away from Amalgam Holdings, you won’t have to worry. In the future, though, I might suggest you learn to take no for an answer. Unless you want to take the chance of pissing off a group less tolerant of pushy humans.”
Like a puppeteer, Karia danced Salducci back into his bed. “Sleep.” The man was unconscious immediately. She turned off the light and headed for her men.
“That went really well. Your plan --” A loud thud from outside the door interrupted Karia.
From the hall, they heard someone yelling. “Kurt, what the hell are you doing? Kurt? Kurt! Hey, Tommy, get the fuck up here, something’s wrong with Kurt!”
“You spoke too soon.” Joshua sighed deeply. So much for the easy in and out.
“The window.” Jeremiah made to move toward it, but Ari stopped him.
“I might not be all human, but I break like one. I can’t make a thirty-foot jump.”
“We’ll go first and catch you.”
Joshua growled. They didn’t have time for that.
Heavy footfalls beat up the stairs. The rest of Salducci’s guards would be in the room in seconds.
“Damn it!” Jeremiah shook his head in frustration. “Stay behind us then. The War Wolf and I can survive bullets.”
Karia nodded. Joshua threw back his head and howled long and loud. The sounds from the hall ceased immediately and Jeremiah used the stunned silence to his advantage, kicking the bedroom door clear off its hinges and into the hall.
Ascendant Vampire and War Wolf burst into the hall. Jeremiah’s dark blond hair billowed behind him as he called magic to him. Hideous illusions of zombies, specters, and snarling, foaming wolves materialized in front of his position. The humans reacted sloppily, some screaming and running, others pulling their weapons, firing haphazardly at anything they saw.
Joshua roared again, charging the man nearest him. He picked the human up and tossed him down the stairs like a rag doll. A bullet burned across his back, doing little more than irritating him. His thickened skin was too hard to penetrate with the small caliber projectile. He whirled on his attacker, backhanding the man through the wall.
Jeremiah’s army advanced in front of him and Karia. She lent her magic into his, making his mirages whole. The trio tore down the stairs, Jeremiah in front and Joshua bringing up the rear, upending anyone who got in their way.
When they reached the ground floor, a flurry of bullets rained down on them from the living room. The mages sent the zombies in first. Horrified cries and the sound of fumbling bodies followed. The wolves went next.
“Dear God, save us!” a disembodied voice screamed from the other room.
Joshua leapt the banister and loped into the living room. He moved inside the space, rumbling with rage. A few men remained, but when they saw the thing bearing down on them, they dropped their weapons and fled.
He returned to the hall, calling shadows, and led Jeremiah and Karia from the brownstone. The sound of sirens grew in the distance. Without thinking, Joshua grabbed Ari in one arm and Dean in the other and broke into a flat out run. He didn’t stop until they were once again in Jamaica Bay.
Jeremiah wiggled in his grip. “I can run faster than you, Black. You didn’t need to carry me.”
Joshua set Ari and Dean on their feet, shifting back into himself. “Instinct kicked in.” He shrugged his shoulders at Jeremiah’s glare.
Karia giggled. “Well, that didn’t exactly go like we planned.”
“And you think that’s funny?” Jeremiah quirked a brow at her.
“No. What’s funny is… Zombies? Jesus, Dean!” She laughed harder.
He huffed indignantly. “Hey, I was working on limited time. That’s what came to mind!”
Joshua chuckled softly. “It was rather humorous, you have to admit.”
“Oh, fine, gang up on me.” Jeremiah snorted, trying to smother his own laughter. The adrenaline of the incident flowed from them. They’d been lucky, but chances were very good that Robert Marshall wouldn’t be having any more trouble with the mob.
After all, Salducci couldn’t exactly run to his friends, or the cops, with his story. If his rivals got a whiff of it, they’d see it as a sign of weakness, a mental defect, and attack him for control of his family. The cops, well, they were never an option for a mobster like Salducci.
Benito might want retribution, but going after it risked more than he was willing to lose. Even if Salducci could keep what happened in his home quiet, the bite marks would be a lifelong reminder of the night. Jeremiah knew that without a doubt the mafia wouldn’t be interested in Amalgam Holdings any longer.
Chapter 19
Citronelle, Alabama, The Goblin Mound
“Damn, you two are wearing me out!” Jeremiah slumped back onto the bed, sweat shining on his pale skin.
Karia snorted beside him. “Wearing you out? You’re the one who instigated this little exercise.”
“I need a nap.” Joshua sighed and rolled to his side, spooning Ari. “We have to meet with my mother this afternoon. Trust me, you want to be on your toes.”
“Are you sure about that, Black? I don’t think I’m really the type to meet someone’s parents.” Jeremiah shifted to face Joshua, slipping his arm over Karia to rest on the War Wolf’s hip.
“Think of it like this, Dean. My mother is a little over four hundred years old. You should have plenty to talk about.” He snuggled closer against the woman beside him, brushing his knuckles over Jeremiah’s abs.
Karia yawned before rubbing her face against Jeremiah’s chest and draping her arm over his waist. “We’ll be fine, Jeremiah. Now stop worrying about it and get some rest.”
“I’m not worried.”
“Yes, you are.”
He grumbled under his breath, then fell silent. Their breathing slowed and they began to drift.
Jeremiah stirred slightly. “Guys? Are you awake?”
“Sort of. What is it?”
“I’m not very good at this stuff.” Jeremiah struggled to articulate what he wanted to say. When Karia pressed a soft kiss over his heart, though, the knot in his chest lessened.
“We love you, too, Jeremiah. Now can we please get some sleep?”
His lips curved with a huge grin. He looked over Karia’s head into Joshua’s ruby red eyes and saw agreement reflected in them. Jeremiah squeezed the firm hip under his hand and closed his eyes. With what mattered settled, he finally fell asleep.
Emma Ray Garrett
I took the road less traveled by, and let me tell you it’s a wild roller coaster, this life I live. Through it all, though, writing has kept me (moderately) sane. I’m t
he ultimate alpha female and my husband loves me anyway. I have three beautiful children who keep me busy but I always find time to get words on paper. Fans can contact me at [email protected], visit my website at http://www.romance-the-night.com, and join the Yahoo! group: renee_and_emma_ray. I love reader feedback!
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