Midnight Echoes: Part of the Immortal Ops Series World (Crimson Ops)

by Roth, Mandy M.

  Bhaltair made a move to reach for her and then stopped mid-motion, worry filling his eyes. “Can I touch you?”

  “Y-yes,” she answered, her voice betraying her.

  He put his hand on her leg gently. “Meena, lass.”

  She glanced at him unhurriedly, worried about making any sudden movements that might set him off once more.

  “I’m so verra sorry I lost control in front of you like that,” he said, caressing her thigh affectionately. “I dinnae mean to scare you.”

  “But you did scare me,” she returned, her gaze going to his hand on her leg. “I’ve never seen you like that before.”

  “I know.”

  She refused to look at him. “I asked Dad to show me his vampire side once, but he wouldn’t. Grandma made Grandpa show me his. He wasn’t happy to do it, but he did.”

  “Aye, I remember,” said Bhaltair. “You were only eight at the time and insisted on seeing what all the fuss was about. Though, you dinnae seem frightened of Labrainn’s vampire side at all then, lass.”

  “I wasn’t,” she replied, exhaling softly. “Because I knew he wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “But you were nae sure if I would,” he grunted.

  She met his gaze. “You got really mad, really fast. I shouldn’t have confided in you. I’m sorry. I thought…I thought we were friends.”

  “Lass,” he said, lifting his hand and going for her cheek. “I never wanted you to see that side of me. If I could take it back, I would. I wish that you could see me as just a man. Not a monster.”

  Meena gasped and twisted in her seat. She made a move to hug him, but her seat belt locked her in place. She struggled and managed to undo it. She touched Bhaltair’s face. “You’re not a monster.”

  “I’m nae a man,” he said evenly.

  “But you acted like a jealous one,” she said without thought. As the words sat between them, filling the space, she gasped. She’d just blatantly accused him of having feelings for her. “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.”

  “Och, lass. Do nae apologize, especially when yer right,” he countered, his hand going over hers. “I was jealous of you and yer lover.”

  “Bhal, Rudy is not my lover.”

  His lip curled. “His name is Rudy? That is a horrible name.”

  She laughed mellifluously, still touching his face. “Bhaltair isn’t exactly commonplace.”

  “Guid point.”

  She smiled. “Are we okay? You and me?”

  “Aye.”

  “I’m going to grab my book. Try not to turn all vampire-y while I’m gone. Okay?”

  Bhaltair glanced past her into the darkness, in the direction of a dimly lit streetlamp. He cupped her hand, pulling it from his face. “Meena, do you trust me?”

  “Yes.”

  “If I were to tell you that my gut says to let the book be on this night, to just allow me to take you home, would you?” he asked, apprehension evident.

  She couldn’t recall a time she’d seen him this way. He looked stripped bare before her, his emotions there for her to witness. “Bhal?”

  “Would you trust me, lass?” he questioned, a note of desperation clinging in the air between them.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I do nae know. But my gut, my demon, and my heart says to nae let you out of my sight tonight.”

  His heart?

  “Thank you for worrying about me,” she said, using her free hand to touch his muscular chest. Even through his dress shirt she could feel the hardness of his body, and it excited her. “I’m safe. I come here all the time at night. The librarian is a record keeper for PSI. Really nice woman. I promise I’ll be fine, and you’re right here. If I have a problem, I can call you from my cell phone. It would take you two seconds to do your vampire thing and get to me.”

  “My vampire thing?”

  She grinned. “The speed and leaping tall buildings gig.”

  He snorted. “Ah. I see. No.”

  “No? What do you mean no? You don’t leap-tall-buildings? I’ve seen you guys fly before. It’s really cool. Not cape-and-tights cool, but cool all the same.”

  He cocked his head to the side, appearing somewhat lost in the conversation. She wasn’t surprised. Slang often got lost on him. “No. I do nae like the idea of letting you go in there alone. I’ll go as well.”

  Her breath hitched at the idea of dragging Bhaltair into the library with her. Rudy had promised to meet her there, and the last person she wanted Bhaltair around was Rudy. She didn’t need Bhaltair flipping out and going into full vamp mode again. “I’m good. Never mind. I don’t need the book.”

  His gaze narrowed, suspicion showing in his expression. “Meena, why are you suddenly so compliant?”

  “No reason,” she said a bit too fast to sound believable. “We should go.”

  His jaw set. “Because yer worried yer lover will be there too. You do nae want me around him.”

  She cringed. “He’s not my lover. But yes, Rudy knew I needed to stop there tonight. He mentioned he’d try to meet me. I’m early so he might not be there yet, but still. Considering how great you took the idea of me being with him, it might be best you avoid going in too.”

  Bhaltair was out of the car in the blink of an eye.

  Meena raced after him as he headed directly for the path to the library. She caught his arm. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting a book,” he said sternly. “I know how much they mean to you. I’d nae want you missing out on any.”

  She tugged on him to no avail. “Bhaltair, stop.”

  He did, but he didn’t look pleased.

  “Go back and sit in the car.”

  “No.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Wow. Jerk.”

  His eyes widened. “Meena?”

  She sighed. “Fine, but if you start a fight, I will never forgive you.”

  His jaw set and his shoulders squared, but he nodded all the same. “Aye. I’ll behave.”

  Chapter Five

  Bhaltair glared around the massive building, looking for any signs of the man Meena was dating. He found none. Aside from a short, plump woman with a head of white hair and glasses thicker than soda bottles, he and Meena were the only ones in the place. Her would-be-lover was a no-show and dammit to hell if she didn’t look pleased by the notion. All he wanted to do was get the man alone long enough to stress he was never to even look upon Meena again, let alone think to bed her.

  Och, you want to pluck out his eyes and then skin him alive. There would be no talking. Only killing.

  He grinned at the thought.

  Soon, he was so swept up in the fantasy of torturing a man he’d never met, that he didn’t notice the new scents rushing in around him. It wasn’t until his demon reared up, demanding he take heed, that he paid attention.

  Shifters.

  Not just shifters.

  Something else too.

  Vampires?

  The scents made no sense to him. They were convoluted and mixed with something else.

  Death.

  Had he not just read over reports that Striker, a fellow PSI operative, had dropped off regarding an emergence of a new enemy, he’d have never put together what the smell was. It was the scent of rotting flesh, vampire and shifter all in one. The report had labeled them bastard hybrid genetic manipulation attempts—experiments gone horribly wrong. They apparently had a limited shelf life, the trials and tests causing them to die a slow death, but not before they were used to their fullest potential. The report also made note of just how powerful they were. And they were here now closing in on someone.

  His heart raced as he realized who that someone was.

  Meena.

  They were moving in on her location as she browsed a section of books about history, the book she’d come for already in hand, but she had decided she wanted more. As much as he’d wanted to keep her from the facility because of his gut feeling, he found it impossible to deny her the very thing she loved so much—
books.

  Bhaltair’s gaze whipped to the older woman at the counter as the smells intensified all around him. She looked up from her desk, lowered her glasses, met his gaze, and nodded.

  “Do what you must,” she said. “I’ve tripped the alarm. Help will be here soon.”

  He didn’t hesitate. He drew upon his vampire speed and was with Meena in an instant. She gasped and dropped the book she’d been holding.

  “Bhal,” she said, shaking her head. “You really need to make more noise when you move. You scared me.”

  The second she bent to retrieve the book, the shelf exploded in front of her, a clawed hand thrusting through from the other side.

  Bhaltair deflected the hand, knocking wide the assailant’s attempt to strike Meena. He shoved her to the side with his foot as gently as he could, but he accidently made her tumble over. Meena collided with the wall and his gut clenched. He ripped the would-be attacker through the shelf, causing more books to fall all around him.

  The thing he dragged through to him didn’t look like anything he’d ever seen before. It smelled heavily of death, had the eyes of a vampire, but the jaws of a shifter as it snapped at him. Its skin was a pale grayish blue with large bruises all over it and several puss-filled sores.

  He punched the hybrid so hard that he splintered its nose into its brain. Hopefully, sending bone fragments through its brain wasn’t something a hybrid could heal. But to be safe, he broke the hybrid’s neck as well. He wouldn’t risk Meena.

  He allowed the hybrid’s limp body to fall to the floor. A split second later, another hybrid came bounding over a shelf at the end of the row. The hybrid did a cross between a run and a gallop at him, foaming at the mouth. Its sights were set on Meena.

  Bhaltair’s demon roared up, in perfect understanding with the man.

  Anything that attempted to harm his woman would die.

  Chapter Six

  Meena tried to make sense of what was happening. One second she’d been happily browsing through books in the secret PSI section of the library, and the next the shelf had seemed to come alive. Now everything on her hurt.

  She rubbed the back of her head and pushed up and off the floor. Her gaze whipped to the blur of forms before her. It took her vision a moment to adjust, and she realized she must have taken a knock to the head. When she was finally able to see straight, the first thing she saw was Bhaltair slamming his fist into the face of some sort of creature. It dropped away quickly and then lay there motionless.

  She was almost to her feet when she caught sight of another creature leaping down the aisle at them.

  In the past, she’d spent endless hours pouring through PSI archives. They kept records of all kinds of supernaturals. She’d never seen anything like what was attacking them. And she’d seen some sketches of some pretty hideous-looking demons.

  Bhaltair didn’t seem fazed. He crouched and then slammed his body into the creature, lifting it up and off the ground. The force of the collision shook the area. Meena glanced to the side just in time to see what remained of the massive bookshelf coming at her.

  Lifting her arms, she tried to deflect the giant shelf, but it didn’t work. The shelf hit her arm and she felt the bone snap like a twig before the entire weight of the unit was on her, thrusting her back against the very wall she’d only just managed to get up from. Thankfully, the wall caught the shelf, and kept it from crushing her, though everything on her hurt as if an anvil had dropped on her.

  She clutched her arm to her chest. She crawled as best she could in the direction of Bhaltair and the creature he was fighting. She knew enough about Bhaltair to know he’d win the fight, and she also knew she didn’t want to be far from him.

  Something snatched hold of her ankle, ripping her backward, out from under the collapsed shelf and away from Bhaltair.

  Away from safety.

  A scream tore free from her as she was flipped over by another monster. This one somehow managed to be uglier than the other two. It stared down at her from eyes that reminded her of Bhaltair’s when his vampire had taken over his actions. Was the thing part vampire?

  It leaned in, inhaling deeply before licking her temple. She froze in terror and horror as its hot breath peppered over her face. Spittle from it dripped down her cheek, and she fought the urge to retch. It brought a clawed hand to her other cheek and she lay there, helplessly trapped beneath it, her broken arm wedged between her and the monster.

  “M-Meena,” it said in a voice that was barely understandable.

  The thing knew her name?

  She shrieked and tried to no avail to push it from her. Pain shot through her arm, and she cried out again. “Get off me!”

  It didn’t budge. It did, however, begin to grind against her in a sexual manner, and she dug deep for a resolve that shocked even her.

  With mustered courage, Meena slammed her head into the creature’s.

  It hurt beyond words and she nearly blacked out from the pain, but it was enough to momentarily stun the thing on her. She used the distraction and rammed her knee upward, hitting its groin.

  It rolled to the side, and she scrambled out from under his hold, her broken arm still pressed tightly to her as she tried once more to crawl under the downed shelf, in the direction she last knew Bhaltair to be.

  The creature growled and then grabbed her by the leg, its claws sinking into the flesh of her thigh. She didn’t need to look at her leg to know it had caused a massive amount of damage. She cried out again and glanced up as the sounds of scratching metal filled the area.

  The collapsed shelving unit was propelled in the other direction and Bhaltair was suddenly there, his face contorted into that of his vampire side, his eyes pooling with black and his attention on her. She held no fear of him. In that moment, his demon was more than welcome. It meant he was pissed and alive.

  Bhaltair hissed and leaped up and over her. She couldn’t see where he landed, nor could she follow his speed with her naked eye. The weight of the creature was ripped free from her, and she turned as best she could, everything on her screaming in agony.

  “She is mine!” yelled Bhaltair, his voice significantly deeper than normal. He lifted the creature that had said her name high in the air by its throat. Bhaltair tipped his head, the action looking very preternatural. He twisted and slammed the creature into the wall, pummeling his hand through the monster’s face.

  Bhaltair’s shoulders heaved as his gaze snapped to her, his eyes still black. She knew she probably should be afraid of his vampire side—it was a trained killer and was technically a demon—but she didn’t fear him. He focused on her leg. She looked down as well and for a minute it felt as if all around her slowed. Time seemed to pause as she stared at the mangled mess that had once been her leg—the massive amount of blood spurting from her thigh soaking the library floor.

  I’m in shock.

  Bhaltair reached for her but was ripped back by another of the creatures. Meena tried to focus on what was happening, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open. She’d never been so tired in all her life. The pain ebbed away, and she closed her eyes, knowing deep down that Bhaltair would do what needed to be done.

  He’d protect her.

  Suddenly, something brushed over the side of her face and she tensed, scared to look and see what that something might be. Already she’d seen creatures that would haunt her nightmares. She wasn’t sure she could take much more.

  “Lass, ’tis me,” said Bhaltair, his voice never sounding so sweet.

  Meena reached for him, and he caught hold of her and held her close. She broke down, sobbing hysterically as she clung to him.

  “They are no more, Meena.” He looked down at her leg and then surprised her by biting his wrist. He met her gaze. “Do you understand what I must do?”

  She did. Her father had tried to heal a cut she’d gotten the same way when she was younger. His blood should have healed her instantly, but it hadn’t. It hadn’t done anything. “It won’t work.”
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  He held his wrist over the open wounds of her leg and allowed his blood to drip into them freely. “Lass, you’ve lost too much blood. Without me trying, I do nae know that you will survive me seeking medical attention for you. And I cannae lose you.”

  Meena closed her eyes a second, feeling faint, knowing she was losing far too much blood. She opened her eyes just in time to find Bhaltair’s lips near hers. Surprised, she gasped and he captured her mouth with his.

  The kiss was somehow exactly what she required in that moment. She needed her mind on anything but the shock and horror that had happened. On anything other than the pain and what she was sure would be death with all the blood she was losing.

  As his tongue eased around hers, her body warmed. It was Meena who increased the heat level of the kiss, devouring his mouth. She nicked her tongue on one of his fangs. There was a flash of pain and then the strangest of feelings started deep in her gut. It felt as if someone was there, pulling elastic bands back and forth between them, hooking her to Bhaltair, and he to her.

  Bhaltair showed her who was in charge of the kiss, and it wasn’t her by any means. She gave in to him as he orchestrated the event. The pull between them forced her to ease closer to him, not that she needed encouragement.

  “Mine,” he said, breaking the kiss only for a second before going at her mouth once more.

  Mine, she thought, the word dancing around her head, her body humming with building energy. She’d all but forgotten about the attack. About everything that had happened. It wasn’t until she leaned back and her hand slid through a puddle of congealing blood that it all hit her.

  Gasping, she broke the kiss, her eyes wide. “Bhaltair?”

  He lifted her off the floor and held her close. The look on his face was one she couldn’t read. The way he held her let her know she was now safe. That no one would harm her.