Key to Conflict

by Talia Gryphon

  “Shit—Trocar!” Gillian yelled, realizing one of their rescue party was missing.

  There was no point in being quiet, the bushes around them were still crackling and smoldering. Quiet and stealthy was a vague memory. Trocar appeared on cue with blood on his tunic, followed by Tanis, who after his rest and evidently finding adequate prey, looked filled out and droolworthy again. A dusty Luis tagged along behind. Aleksei stepped up to embrace his brother.

  “You screamed, fair one?” Trocar said dryly then gave a rather undignified “hmph” as Jenna pounced on him, squeezing the air rather forcefully from his lungs.

  Recovering, he held her at arm’s length. “Blaise, it is good to see you,” he said, his face splitting into a wide grin. Other than Gillian and Kimber, Jenna was a Human whom Trocar trusted and appreciated being on their side.

  While the Dark Elf disentangled himself from Jenna’s multilimbed assault, Gillian asked him, “You took care of the other problem?”

  “Exactly.” Trocar stated, flinching a little as Jenna yelled close to his sensitive ears.

  Jenna squeaked and grabbed the newly arrived Luis in a bearhug, eliciting poofs of dust from his clothing as the Vampire smiled weakly and patted her in return. “Clemente! You’re out of the earth and the closet!” she exclaimed happily, admiring his bedraggled clothing.

  Jenna detached herself from Luis, then froze in openmouthed wonder as her gaze locked with the golden-eyed Tanis, who had turned back from greeting Aleksei. The Vampire returned the look with an intensity that made the brunette bombshell pale then blush furiously.

  Aleksei seemed to come out of his astonishment and looked at Gill. “Gillian, there is something…”

  “Later, Aleksei. Right now, let’s get back and collect the rest of our ragged band and get the hell out of here.” Gillian shuddered at the sound of his voice trailing down her back like warm fur. “You OK, Luis?”

  He nodded and brushed at the gray dirt and blood clumps still clinging to his clothing. He wasn’t all right; Vampires were fastidious about their appearance, but they’d find him more prey soon and he’d be back to his spit and polish self.

  “Okay, boss,” Jenna quipped, linking arms with a startled Tanis who, ever the gentleman, escorted her from the woods as though it were down a runway with flashbulbs snapping.

  The Vampire appeared to be caught by the sparkle in Jenna’s warm brown eyes. Gill shook her head. She’d seen the show before; Jenna, with all her pyromaniac tendencies, was lovely and a magnet for any Vampire nursing a bruised heart and ego.

  Getting back to the hotel was easy, as was stashing Jenna’s flamethrower outside the building. They agreed not to share the circumstances of Tanis’s and Luis’s recovery with Inspectors Brandt and Jardin. Gillian wanted to get everyone out of there and back to Romania, where Aleksei’s people could protect them. For once, she and Aleksei were in complete agreement.

  Gillian’s palm slapped the lobby doors open without breaking stride and headed toward their waiting group with a few brief but choice words on her lips for Inspector Hardass in the event he wanted statements taken right now, then froze so suddenly that Aleksei was hard-pressed not to step on her. Only preternatural Vampire’s grace kept him from plowing into the small form in front of him, but he managed to make the near stumble look elegant.

  “Hi, pumpkin,” said the gravelly, slightly Southern-accented voice issuing from the generous mouth in the oh-so-handsome face of Daedalus Aristophenes, MD, PhD, Major, USMC.

  He rose from his position in one of the high-backed lobby chairs and moved effortlessly in front of Inspectors Brandt and Jardin. Clasping Gillian’s hand lightly, he winked at her. “Guess what Uncle Sam has in mind for us, starting tonight?”

  “I’m retired, Daed. That’s the official word, remember?” Gillian jerked her hand back and shoved him in the chest hard enough to stagger him a little. Aleksei moved up to flank her, unsure about what his next move should be and why this man was still alive, having just addressed Gillian as pumpkin.

  “You’re recalled, Marine; Reservist Clause. You’re still a field operative, but your rank and benefits have been reinstated with back pay.” Major Aristophenes smirked a little more than necessary as he delivered the news.

  Tossing a newspaper to her across the table, he continued.

  “You keeping up with the news lately? That Russian earthquake? With all the deaths and confusion, suddenly there’s a child-trafficking problem going on with so many orphans and children, apparently abandoned by whatever families they had left. Guess whose crack unit has been volunteered to go in and put a stop to it?”

  Watching Gillian’s eyes harden, he hastily added, “The Feds, the Corps, the Joint Chiefs and Interpol are concerned about the bad PR that Paramortals are getting lately with all the deaths and kidnappings. It looks like some sort of a turf war is going on, wouldn’t you say? It will be bad for the economy if folks start revoking the new laws and taking the PMs out of the global economic pool.

  “You were suggested, being as high profile as you are in the IPPA, not to mention someone I personally trust, Gillian.” Daed paused for a moment but her expression didn’t change.

  His eyes narrowed a little. “You’re recalled tonight, Captain. Gather who you can, hire additional mercenaries if you have to. Just make sure they’re PMs or used to working with PMs. We leave in three hours. I’ll be in the bar.”

  Daed winked at her again, flicked a salute and tossed a dossier onto the chair he’d vacated. Turning all six feet, two scrumptious inches and two hundred pounds of his Greek-American bulk away, he sauntered toward the hotel bar to wait for her to organize her group. Damn, he looked good from the back. Gill wanted to plant her boot squarely in his sculpted ass.

  Kimber stepped into Gillian’s line of fire…or rather…vision, as her friend was fingering the grip of the gun in her pocket. “Holy Zorba, Batman, I did not expect to see him here.”

  “Yeah, me neither, and this just sucks.” Gillian flipped open the papers and scanned them quickly. “Shit. It’s all in order.”

  She looked at her team. To their credit, not one of them had bolted out the door during Major Daed’s announcement. They were looking at her expectantly.

  “You guys ready to rumble?”

  “Ooorah!” shouted Kimber, Trocar, Luis and Jenna collectively, all suddenly grinning like hell and snapping salutes her way.

  Inspector McNeill huffed, rising from his seat in ill-concealed irritation. “You have questions to answer for our department before you go anywhere, Dr. Key.”

  “’Fraid not, McNeill.” It was Gillian’s turn to smirk. “United States Marine Corps trumps Scotland Yard; don’t like it, file a complaint with the US State Department, but my team and I are leaving now. You have nothing legal with which to hold me or any of us, so it’s been real nice meeting you.”

  Turning on her heel, she stalked off after the Major, putting just enough sashay into her walk to be a bitch. Kimber, Luis and Jenna fell in smartly behind her out of habit. Aleksei, Pavel and Tanis brought up the rear in amazed silence.

  The two speechless inspectors were left with contact information from the IPPA, Major Aristophenes’s cell phone number and a lot of unanswered questions.

  Major Daed, as Gillian used to call him to his face, was lounging with a beer, watching his little crew approach. His warm, black eyes sparkled as he watched her. Gillian gave great poker face. He couldn’t tell if she was delighted or pissed.

  She sat opposite him, taking his beer from his hand, swigging it, casually tossing her leg up on the table, then drawing and lighting a cigarette all in one motion—it was pissed, he determined, definitely pissed. She blew smoke in his face and he coughed.

  Turning slightly, he noted those with her, rising to greet the tall vampires. “I am Major Aristophenes, Captain Key’s commanding officer.”

  His handshake in Aleksei’s and Tanis’s hands was firm. “I understand you gentlemen may need transport back to Romania;
we will be happy to provide that for you.” Daed was at his worst: charming, intriguing and just plain overbearing.

  “Cut the shit, Daed.” Kimber was losing her sense of humor rapidly. “I don’t know how you pulled off getting us all recalled, but I intend to shoot you before we’re through with this mission or whatever the hell it is.”

  “Torched…first torched, then shot,” Jenna said flatly.

  Silence. Even Daed paled a little at that suggestion. “Look, this wasn’t my idea. Brass wants a crack unit in there. Pumpkin, it’s not my fault you keep popping up in international news. You’re a celebrity! It was logical to think of you.”

  Gillian twirled the bottle she held against her knee and took a long drag from her cigarette. “See, Daed, the thing is, I am officially retired. These are all my people, not yours, and they’re all retired too. You can wave dossiers and orders till the Vampires return to their earth, but nobody here will make a move without my say so.

  “Whether we decide to cooperate or disappear, it will be my choice and theirs. Not yours. Not anybody else’s. I’ve lived under your radar for a long time, as have all these folks. Do not presume that we can’t and won’t do it again, just to piss you off.”

  Dropping her leg and chair to the floor, she deliberately set the bottle down between them, insubordination dripping from her voice as she pinned him with very cold green eyes. “Let me enlighten you on a couple of things here, Daed. If you are full of shit on this, if this is just another one of your half-assed publicity stunts to maneuver you into some sort of promotion or position, you will not come back alive from this mission. I will see to that personally. And call me Pumpkin one more time and I will bronze your testicles for earrings. Am I making myself clear, Major?”

  “Crystal.” Daedalus knew better than to push her too far.

  He wasn’t high on Gillian’s list of favorite people for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason being that Daed had a habit of volunteering “his team” for missions, then getting yanked out at the last minute. They took the risks, he wound up looking good. Gillian hated his guts and the rest of the team were not about to go against the opinion of their commanding officer.

  “Good. Now give us the briefing and we’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” she ordered him, after making sure he looked nervous enough.

  They all sat back to listen. Aleksei and Tanis were allowed to remain under protest. When Daed initially objected to their presence, Gillian got up to leave and her entire team mirrored her. He settled for having the Vampires at the party.

  By the time he was finished with the sordid tale of child trafficking in third-world countries, there was an outraged silence around the table. Interestingly, it was Aleksei who broke it. “I will offer all resources at my disposal if it will help you accomplish your goal of delivering these children, Gillian.”

  She shot him a grateful look. “Thanks, Aleksei; it would help if you could take Tanis and organize some sort of a grass-roots campaign back in Romania. Make the people aware that even Humans they know can be monsters.”

  “And they’re worse, because you can’t tell the Human monsters from the Human heroes, anymore than you can tell the true monsters from the monsters who are on our side.” Jenna was waxing philosophic, but every once in awhile, she had an offhanded idea. Possibly a result of all the chemicals soaking into her brain from her constantly changing hair color.

  “That is an excellent point, signorina,” Aleksei stated. “I will contact Osiris and determine if there is way that we can better establish who is ‘on our side,’ as you say.”

  Gillian beamed at him. He had all the qualities of a spectacular leader: intellect, compassion, honor, power that he did not squander in petty displays and some very powerful friends. Combined with the fact that he was simply gorgeous and it was enough to warm her opinion of him down to her toes. Tanis watched as his former lover and his brother exchanged a glance. Gillian was Aleksei’s perfect complement if she could get her commitment-phobic self under control long enough to let him try to win her. Sometimes everyone needed a little push.

  “Gillian.” Tanis strode to her and practically lifted her into his arms. “This is only a temporary good-bye, dolcezza.”

  He kissed both her cheeks, hugged her quickly, then turned her and propelled her toward Aleksei. “You two say your farewells; I will assist Trocar and the Major in getting your things down to the street. I am very tired and wish to return to my homeland as quickly as possible.”

  That earned him a look from Gillian that said she knew he was full of shit. Tanis was rehydrated with borrowed corpuscles and was no more tired than she was.

  In his brother’s mind, Tanis added quickly, “NOW would be the time for a poignant good-bye with the piccola guerriera. As the Humans say, do not blow it, brother.”

  Her thoughts were interrupted by Aleksei gently taking her hand and looping it through his arm. “I would very much like a private word, Gillian, before you depart.”

  “We’ll be waiting downstairs—all night!” Kimber hollered after them as Aleksei took her out a side door in the pub into a darkened alleyway amid the snickerings of her team.

  Detaching herself from Aleksei, Gillian opted for distance and leaned against the damp brick wall of the outer building. Arms crossed, one leg propped behind her, she waited patiently while the Romanian Vampire paced uncomfortably. She’d never seen him so nervous. What the hell?

  “That word, Aleksei?” Gillian finally asked. They needed to get this over with and get going. His power was crawling over her, raising the hair on her arms and ruffling at her neck.

  He stopped pacing and turned to face her. A kind of surreal peace stole over him. They were free of her oath, free of time constraints and yet now there was no time. If he wanted her to know anything, it would have to be now. Anything might happen between now and their next meeting. The strong attraction was still there. Gillian was just avoiding it and him like the plague since he’d found her.

  Only geography, Gillian’s professional oath and their combined honor and had kept them apart thus far. Her clear, Nile-green eyes regarded him warily, her posture closed and defensive. It irritated him that she was putting up walls now, but he wasn’t about to let his temper get in the way, not this time.

  Closing the distance, he placed a hand on the wall by her head, the other tipping her chin up to look at him, trapping her with his larger frame. “I expect you to return to me in one piece, Gillian. There is much we need to discuss upon your return.”

  Gillian watched him, not moving a muscle, wary, and on edge. “I have no intention of getting myself killed, Aleksei.”

  Goddess, he smelled good. That familiar warm scent of him, cardamom and nutmeg, hints of pine and fresh forest loam stirred her blood and she swayed ever so minutely toward him. His voice was a sultry beacon to her senses. She felt herself growing warmer, damper. Dammit, he was too close, crowding her. She could have stepped out from under his arm if she’d wanted to. Problem was, she didn’t think she wanted to.

  Tanis was over and done with; Dante was a bad taste in her mouth. Aleksei was a lot of things, she just wasn’t sure if she wanted to start something right now. Good thing he was decisive, even if she was hesitant.

  Two long, elegant fingers gently urged her chin and mouth up further, his other hand coming off the wall to lightly play down her hair and over her shoulder. “I want you to know something, Gillian, I have watched you, waited for you so you would not be foresworn on your oath. In my waiting, I have discovered that I was what you named me: chauvinistic, not recognizing your own innate gifts and abilities, believing you fragile and in need of guidance. In my desire and need to keep you safe, I may have pushed you away.”

  Shit, now he really was too close. Her brain was trying to register what he was saying but his lips were against her temple, his scent warm and comforting.

  “We both may have done or said some things that were regretful, Aleksei,” she admitted, more to herself than t
o him. Unconsciously, she shifted a little, standing straighter and almost but not quite leaning into him.

  “You have my respect, Gillian Key.” His breath was simmering on her cheek and neck.

  “Think on this one thing, piccola, while you are away fighting real monsters.” His mouth paused over hers, his silvery eyes searching her own, questions in them. He leaned closer, his mouth closing the gap with hers with infinite grace and elegance until she stopped him with a hand against his spectacular chest.

  “What one thing?”

  Oh, for Goddess’s sake, quit with the breathy voice, she scolded herself. “Think on what?” There. That was steadier.

  For an answer, he sealed her mouth with his own. His lips warm silk, his tongue a hot wetness flicking over her mouth so that she opened to his explorations. It was tantalizing as he drew her against him, pressing her close, closer.

  Damn, he is tall, she thought as she let him draw her into the deep kiss and powerful embrace. Her hands climbed around his slender waist and up his back of their own volition. She felt him tremble as she stroked back down the iron-hard muscles to cup his chiseled rear and press him against her body, molding them together until there was absolutely no space between them. The warm, firm heat of his right hand alternately teased her breasts into excited peaks, and slid over her bottom to tantalize her more. His left hand was woven into her hair, cupping her head, tilting her into his kiss.

  Aleksei was almost afraid to move, afraid that if he disturbed their global explorations of each other that he would break the magical shell around them, shattering them both into pieces that would never quite be whole again. Senses already on overload felt her response, scented her heat as she came alive under his touch. Her hands roaming over his body, lightly at first, then with more strength, more demand, coiled his inner beast like a serpent ready to strike.

  His own body had welded to hers, fitting perfectly against her despite their difference in height. There wasn’t time to express all the pent-up emotion and passion in that kiss; he wouldn’t sully the moment by taking her against the wall like an animal. Her liquid heat pooling in her pelvis and rushing through her veins called to him. Fangs exploded from the elastic tissue in his mouth, demanding that he take her and take her now. Shuddering with need, he fought not to crush her to him, fought against his instincts to sink his fangs into her neck.