by Dee, Bonnie
“A misunderstanding?” Elyse frowned. “Is this one of Brody’s tests?”
“Excuse us.” Moustache beckoned to his partner. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“What the hell?” Crew Cut was bleeding like a stuck pig. A scarlet stain spread rapidly on his shirt.
“Come on. Now!” his companion snapped.
“This is bullshit! Brody didn’t even ask to talk to me?” Elyse walked toward the man. “What’s going on? How long ago did he tell you to come here?”
Justin crouched slightly, ready to fight again if he chose to ignore orders. But the other man, cursing and clutching his shoulder, moved warily past him, toward his partner.
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Let it go,” Justin said. “We’ll sort it out later.”
The two men gathered their bag of equipment without taking their attention off Elyse and Justin, then climbed awkwardly back up the brush-covered slope.
When they’d disappeared from sight, he approached Elyse. “You okay?”
She wiped blood from her upper lip and looked at the red staining her hand. “Yeah, but, damn it, I think my nose might be broken. What the hell was that all about?”
He shrugged. “Brody’s your boss, not mine. I hoped you had some idea how his crazy mind works.” Grabbing her chin, he dabbed blood from her cheek with the hem of his T-shirt. Squinting, he regarded her nose then braced a thumb on either side of it and wiggled it. “Yep, I think your nose is broken.”
“Ouch! Goddamn it! I told you, it’s broken.”
“Then you won’t mind if I snap it in place like this.” Before she could protest, Justin gave a little twist to the cartilage and heard an audible click as it moved back in alignment.
“Fuck! Damn you!” Elyse cradled her nose, tears streaming down her face. “It hurt less when that fucker broke it!”
Justin smiled. He couldn’t help taking a little—all right—a lot of pleasure in causing her pain. Plus, she was always so cute when she cried.
“Come on, I know you can take more pain than that, baby. What now? Do we continue setting up this stuff or call HQ?”
She straightened, dropping her hands from her face and shaking her head as if to dispel the pain. “I’m calling Brody, of course. That was just … weird.”
Elyse took out her cell phone and dialed. She waited, still rubbing her nose, absently. The swelling was already receding.
Speedy healing was one of the best parts of being Terran. Justin always felt as if humans were as delicate as little children, so breakable and fragile they should be treated with care. He wondered if Elyse ever thought about things like that, ever recognized the Terran responsibility to protect the weaker species. He doubted it.
“Not answering.” Elyse pocketed her phone with a frown. “I don’t want to leave him a message about this. It’s too complicated.” She paused. “Okay. For now, we’ll carry on as planned. I’ll try him again later.”
“You’re the boss.” He leaned down and picked up the fallen tripod.
“In every way,” Elyse said in a seductive purr. She gave him a sultry smile and, even with bloodstains smearing her face, she managed to look sexy. “So get to work before I start cracking the whip.”
Justin snorted and shook his head. He checked the level mounted on the tripod to make sure it wasn’t broken. As he bent over, looking through the eyepiece, a warm hand gripped his ass.
She whispered near his ear, “Doesn’t a tussle like that just get your blood raging? Make you hot all over?”
“Not particularly.” His throat was suddenly so dry he could barely speak. His cock surged to hardness against the zipper of his fly.
She laughed, squeezed his left ass cheek once more, then patting his butt before walking away. “Me neither.”
Chapter Seven
Ray Brody was surprised by how much he enjoyed Trina’s company. She was a charming companion, clever for a human, easy to talk to and really listened to him in a way no one ever had before. She’d been his guest for over two months now and probably knew him better than anyone had in his entire life.
Of course, as a human, the girl was no more important than a pet, lovable but ultimately expendable. And maybe it was precisely because of that reasoning that Ray looked upon her rather like a confessor. He found himself admitting weaknesses to her he could never show his followers. On some level, he knew he’d never let her go and so it was safe to tell her everything.
“Mr. Brody.”
Trina sat cross-legged on the bed in the small room. When he entered, she looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at him. Her large eyes filled most of her small, heart-shaped face. They were dark brown, soulful Romanian eyes. Ray could well understand how Justin Foster had seen those eyes peering up at him in some filthy, overcrowded orphanage and not been able to resist plucking her from obscurity.
“Ah, I see you’re reading Gods Among Men.” Ray pulled the only chair in the room up to face her and sat down.
“It’s such an intriguing concept.” Trina closed the book, keeping her finger in it to mark the page. “It’s certainly something I never would have learned in my philosophy class.”
“The author, Alexandre Duryov, was a personal friend of my father’s. His treatise on the godhood of Terrans is profound and deeply moving.”
“I was moved.” Trina put her hand to her chest. “Justin has never talked about this kind of thing. I mean, he’s explained some of what it means to be Terran—the longevity, the special powers and strengths—but I never really thought about how those qualities … elevated Terrans above humans.”
Ray was pleased. She understood. “Yes. That’s why it’s so wrong for Terrans to be a secret, hidden part of this world. We must resume our rightful place as deities.”
“How would you bring that about?” Trina leaned forward, her chin on her hand.
Ray hadn’t told even his innermost circle of devotees his secret. It was too soon for them to know of his plans to usurp his father’s position, but he was dying to confide in someone. By the time he eventually released Trina, the plan would already be well in motion—or he’d simply make sure she didn’t live to talk, although that would be such a pity.
He leaned toward her. “May I share something with you?”
“Yes, sir. Of course.” Her solemn gaze fixed on his.
“You must not tell this to Justin next time you speak to him.”
She shook her head. “I wouldn’t.”
Ray moved even closer. “I actually have a plan in place to bring about the new regime. You may have noticed my followers are very loyal to me. When the time is right, I will call on their support to elect me as the next president of the United States.” He paused, gauging her reaction.
Her eyes went even wider and her mouth dropped open slightly. “Wow. That’s … so impressive. I’m speechless.”
He smiled, accepting her adulation. Ray dropped his voice even lower although the room wasn’t bugged. But admitting his plan aloud seemed it would somehow alert Algernon. “My father thinks he’ll be voted into office. He’s counting on me for supporters. But I realized my destiny. I’m the one who should be taking command.”
“Clearly.” Trina pressed her fingers to her mouth.
Ray could see she was awed by what he’d told her. “But the presidency is only the first step. Some day I will assume the mantle of world leadership.” His heart swelled at the thought of so much power.
“How would you, uh, accomplish that?”
“ ‘A world in crisis looks to the most powerful leader for guidance.’ ” Ray leaned forward and tapped the book in her hands. “It’s right in Duryov’s book. You see how my followers need me. My words give them hope and inspiration. I won’t have to seize power, the world will beg me to accept it.”
Trina nodded slowly. Her hand dropped away from her mouth, but her eyes remained large. “It must be agonizing to be in your position, to know you’re on the verge of something …
groundbreaking, world altering … and not be able to share it with anyone.”
“You’re right.” Her astuteness was amazing. “I haven’t shared this with any of my followers and won’t until all is in place and my success is assured.” Leaning forward, he touched the tip of his forefinger to her lips. Warm and soft, they trembled a little beneath his touch. “So, mum’s the word, little Trina.”
He dropped his hand.
She made a zipping motion across her lips. “I wouldn’t say a word. I’d never betray your trust.”
* * * *
Justin and Elyse returned to their motel after a long, hot day of work in the field. They’d taken magnetic and vibrational readings of the area, and charted what seemed like acres of land, setting up measuring devices at crucial points. When he’d asked Elyse how she knew where to place them, she’d shrugged and said, “I can just … feel it.”
“Feel what? Energy from fault lines? Electromagnetic currents? Ley lines?”
“Yeah. All of it.” She’d stared off into the distance, her eyes unfocused. “The earth is a pulsing, living organism beneath our feet. It’s always moving and changing. There are underground rivers and shifting tectonic plates floating on lava beds deep underground. I can sense all that.” Her eyes grew sharp again. She glanced at Justin then away. “I spent my childhood with my mother training to be an Earth Keeper, remember? So, yeah, I have a connection with the planet.”
“Too bad her most important lesson didn’t stick with you,” he’d said. “A Keeper is supposed to protect the balance, not let a raving loony like Brody use elemental forces to wreck the world.”
Elyse had turned her attention back to adjusting her machine. “Don’t overreact. We have no idea what he plans to do with the data we’re collecting. It’s probably a harmless, go nowhere scheme of his.”
She’d pulled the car into the cracked asphalt parking lot of the cheap motel where they were staying and said, “I’m going to call Brody to find out the scoop on those guys today, then take a shower and a quick nap. After that we can go out for dinner.”
Justin was tired after two nights of interrupted sleep and hours of driving, hiking, hauling equipment and fighting. Besides, his attraction to Elyse had pulsed through him all day long like the steady throb of a toothache. Her continued company was more than he could stand. He needed to get some distance from her before he fell under her sexy spell and ended up in bed with her. “I’ll just order pizza and call it a night.”
She stopped walking and turned to face him, grabbing his arm. “Oh, grow up. It’s just dinner, not a date. I’m not going to jump your bones or something.” She laughed as though the thought was ridiculous. “You’re determined to keep punishing me for what happened with Trina, aren’t you?”
Justin snorted. “I’m not punishing you, but I don’t think it’s too surprising I don’t want to be around the woman who betrayed me.” He’d shaken her hand off his arm and continued into the building, striding swiftly down the hall and letting himself into his room.
Leaning against the door, he now closed his eyes and thought about everything that had happened that afternoon … and in Elyse’s bed the previous night.
He hated himself for still feeling a swell of desire every time she touched him. Today, she’d repeatedly brushed against him or took hold of his arm as she had just now in the parking lot. Her lips pouted provocatively and she regarded him from heavy-lidded bedroom eyes whenever they’d made eye contact. Justin didn’t know what her game was this time, but he was damned if he’d let her get through his defenses as he had in L.A. On the other hand, he was supposed to be getting close to her to find out what he needed to know.
Maybe a sweaty fuck-fest was the key needed to unlock her secrets. Couldn’t hurt to try that route, could it? His focus should be completely on getting Trina away from Brody and doing whatever he had to do to accomplish that. Then he’d destroy the son of a bitch and everybody who worked for him, including Elyse. It was the only way he would finally exorcise the woman from his system, by annihilating her completely.
Tossing the key card on the dresser, Justin flopped onto the bed, wondering what possible motive Brody had in sending a second set of minions to do exactly what Justin and Elyse were doing. It made no sense at all—not that it mattered. The most important thing was for Brody to summon them to the retreat center so Justin might have a chance to free Trina.
He remembered he’d planned to call Ian Black and see what the little weasel could tell him about the Human Wellbeing retreat center. Justin took out his cell and located Mira Kashi’s name in the phone list. Ian and Mira had become a couple after the trip across country to deliver that damn box of Brody’s. The two were never far apart from one another. Another reason to dislike Black—the undeserving prick had found the love of a good woman.
As the phone rang, Justin nervously waited for someone to pick up. He didn’t want to talk to Mira, a Spirit Keeper. He was afraid of her mental power, afraid she’d see his motivation when he asked to talk to Ian instead of her.
While Justin had played double-agent, taking Brody’s box and leaving the fake for KOTE, he’d hidden his deception by the power of a strong cloaking spell. But even then he’d been afraid that Mirabai would see through his lies. Now all he had to guard against Mira’s perceptiveness was a tightly closed mind and her polite refusal to pry.
Luckily, it was Black himself who answered the phone and Justin could let his guard down.
“Yeah?” Ian didn’t bother with pleasantries like “hello.”
Justin had despised Ian Black, a lowlife thief and drug dealer, since he’d first met him. How a spiritual woman like Mirabai had chosen him for her life mate boggled the mind. Except … Justin couldn’t deny the fact the man had sacrificed himself to save them. There was a glimmer of gold in the dross.
“It’s Justin Foster from KOTE,” he said stiffly.
“Captain America! How the hell ya been?” Ian actually sounded more pleasant than sarcastic for a change. “I’ll get Mira.”
“No. I want to talk to you.”
“Me?”
“I have some questions about Brody’s retreat center—the layout of the rooms, especially in the basement where we were held. How many guards were there? Whether they were Terran or human? What kinds of weapons did they have? And, how many exits from the building and where?”
“Whoa! Are you planning on storming the place? I already told KOTE everything when they debriefed me. Ask Donovan for the full report. That son of a bitch is thorough.”
“I don’t have time. I need answers now.”
Ian paused. “Sounds like trouble. Something we can help you with?”
“No.” The easy way Ian said “we”, announcing their status as a couple, annoyed him. “Just tell me what I want to know.”
There was another pause, then Ian drawled, “What’ll you do for me? All that information didn’t come cheap, you know. I got scars.”
“Black, just talk!”
Ian chuckled.
Justin’s jaw clenched. The guy bugged the hell out of him.
Then he felt a presence, for lack of a better word, poking around the edges of his consciousness and realized it was Black’s mind, trying to intrude into his. “Stop it! Damn it! Mira teaching you to use your psychic abilities is like giving keys to a burglar. Get the fuck out of my head.”
Ian laughed again. “Okay. Fine. Whaddya want to know, Captain?”
After twenty minutes of questioning, Justin was satisfied he’d gathered all the information he could about Brody’s retreat center.
“That’s it. I got nothing else for you,” Ian said after telling him about the basement laundry room for the second time.
“All right. Thanks.”
“Whatever. Hey, Foster,” Ian spoke quickly before Justin could hang up, “I hope you’re not planning on storming that place single-handed. Seriously, if you need some help…”
“No. Thanks. I can handle it.”
/> Justin hung up then headed into the shower to wash away the day’s dirt, sweat, blood, and stress. When he emerged from the steamy bathroom twenty minutes later, someone was knocking on the door.
“Jesus, Elyse. Give it a rest,” he muttered as he threw on a T-shirt and boxers before opening the door. He sucked in a breath when he saw her.
She wore a silky, emerald green slip that clung to every curve of her body. Beneath it her legs and feet were bare. The gown’s brilliant color enhanced her pale green eyes that looked up at him with a suggestive sparkle. Her auburn hair, still damp from her shower making it a darker red than normal, tumbled in waves over her bare shoulders. The light bruises on her pale skin looked sexy as hell, and the knowing smile on her full, red lips told him Elyse knew she was sexy as hell.
“What?” he snapped, eyeing the bottle of wine in her hand.
“Peace.” She held out the bottle. “Come on. I brought wine to go with your pizza.”
“I never ordered it.” He started to close the door.
“We’ll order it now.” She pushed her way into the room, the scent of her perfume wafting up to Justin’s nose as she passed. If it was possible for a perfume to smell like sex personified—hers did.
“When did you have time to buy that?” Justin asked as Elyse went into his bathroom to fetch a pair of motel glasses.
“Liquor store across the street. They deliver if you tip them enough.” She opened the bottle and poured, set the bottle down and offered him a glass. Her sultry smile widened when he accepted it.
“So, what was up with those goons today?” he asked.
She frowned as she sipped her wine. “I couldn’t reach Brody.”
“Really?” Justin noted her tension. “That’s a little odd, isn’t it? Doesn’t he have a service or a personal secretary or someone to make sure he gets all his messages?”
“He’s a busy man.” She shrugged and drank deeper, draining the little glass then setting it down on the nightstand. “How about you? Made any calls to KOTE to let the big boys know what you’re up to?”
