by Lara Adrian
since it was obvious I wasn’t going
to find any on the outside.”
His praise warmed her. “I
haven’t been able to find much fault
in you either. And believe me, I
tried. I called you a killer when I
found out you were a warrior with
the Order. That wasn’t fair. I know
that now. I also thought your biggest
personal
flaw
might
be
an
overblown opinion of your own
charms. I think you’ve proven the
point tonight, though. I suppose I
have to give credit where it’s due.”
He chuckled. “If what I just
did with you was charming, then
just wait until you see my wicked
side.”
She grinned down at him.
“When can I look forward to that?”
“If you’re not careful, sooner
than you think.”
He grabbed her ass and gave it
a playful smack. Then he tumbled
her onto her back and covered her
with his hard, fully aroused body.
The crackling embers in his eyes
promised he was about to make
good on his threat right then and
there.
CHAPTER 12
The storm had passed some
time ago.
Jehan lay on his back in the
dark tent, holding Seraphina as she
slept naked and draped over him in
a boneless sprawl. He’d been
awake for a while, listening to the
calm outside and trying to convince
himself that he needed to get out of
bed.
As much as he hated to disturb
her sleep or forfeit the pleasant feel
of her resting sated in his arms, he
knew he should go out and check
their vehicle, make sure it wasn’t
buried under a mound of sand. With
the weather cleared, he was eager
to get on the road.
He guessed it to be early
morning, probably only two or three
hours after midnight. If they didn’t
delay too long, it was possible they
could make it back to the villa
before sunrise. Otherwise, it meant
spending the day at the camp,
waiting until sunset when it was
safe for him to make the drive
again.
And while he could think of a
lot of interesting ways to pass the
hours with Seraphina alone in her
tent, he wasn’t ashamed to admit
that he’d rather explore those
options in the comfort of the villa.
Which meant getting his ass
out of her bed ASAP, so he could
expedite that process.
With care not to wake her, he
eased himself out from under her
and rolled away from the thin
mattress on the floor.
Dressing quietly, he then
slipped out of the tent to begin the
trek toward the place he’d parked
the Rover. He was the only one
outside so soon after the storm. He
hoofed it through the quiet camp, his
boots putting fresh tracks on the
sand-drifted road that cut through
the center of the tents and
outbuildings.
The Rover could have been
worse. Sand coated the black
vehicle and had blown into every
crack and crevice. He dug it out and
brushed it down as best he could
and was just about to start it up
when his preternatural hearing
picked up the sound of men’s voices
elsewhere in the dark. Somewhere
near the main supply building.
Jehan
recognized
Karsten
Hemmings’s
dramatic
tenor
instantly. The other man sounded
like one of the helpers who’d
assisted in unloading the delivery
earlier tonight.
Jehan
listened,
suspicion
prickling his senses. On instinct, he
reached
into
the
Rover
and
retrieved the pair of daggers he’d
stored under the driver’s seat.
Although he had busted Seraphina’s
pretty ass over the fact she’d
brought her phone to the handfast,
his breach of the terms by bringing
his Order patrol blades was
probably the worst of the two
offenses.
Right about now, he was damn
glad he had the weapons.
Tucking one into his boot and
the other into the back waistband of
his jeans, he stole around the rear of
the tents and outbuildings, his
senses trained on the pair of men.
Sand sifted with their quick
footsteps. Karsten issued orders to
his accomplice in a low, urgent
whisper.
“Pick up the pace, Massoud!
My contact has been waiting on this
shit for days. We’ve got less than an
hour to make the drop and collect
our money.”
What the hell?
Karsten’s Jeep was parked at
the rear of the outbuilding. The back
hatch had been swung open, while
Karsten and the other camp worker
were apparently loading the vehicle
with crates taken out of the main
supply.
Jehan
crept
through
the
shadows, peering at the contents of
the Jeep while both men had gone
back inside the building for more.
Three crates labeled as canned
meat sat in the back of the vehicle.
Supplies that he and Seraphina had
delivered earlier tonight.
One of the crates had been
pried apart, several of the cans
inside opened. An odd blue glow
emanated
from
inside
the
containers.
At first, Jehan wasn’t sure
what he was seeing.
Not canned meats, that much
was certain.
Each container held a palm-
sized electronic object comprised
of a metal casing and a glass center
chamber. Inside the glass was a
milky blue substance that glowed
like a vial of pure energy.
Like a source of harnessed,
weapons-grade ultraviolet light.
Holy shit.
The instant realization dawned
on him, Karsten’s cohort came
around the back of the building. He
was empty-handed, but the second
his eyes lit on Jehan, he reached for
his gun and fired a panicked round.
Reacting almost instantly, Jehan let
his blade fly, dropping Massoud
dead in the sand.
The discharged bullet flew
wild into the air. The cracking
report of the gunshot echoed,
shattering the sleepy calm of the
camp. Screams and commotion
; stirred at once in some of the
nearby tents.
Karsten raced out of the supply
building. “Massoud, for crissake
—”
He drew up short when he
came face to face with Jehan
holding his comrade’s gun.
Jehan bared his fangs. “Doing
a little dealing on the side, I see.
What’s the going rate on UV
grenades these days?”
Karsten narrowed his eyes.
“More than you could imagine,
vampire.”
The impulse to blow the
human’s head off was nearly
overwhelming. But caution warned
him that this was also Seraphina’s
longtime coworker. She considered
Karsten Hemmings her friend.
As much as Jehan wanted to
waste the bastard for profiting off
Breed-killing UV arms and using
Seraphina’s goodwill to front it,
that call wasn’t his to make. Not
like this.
“We both know you’re not
going to use that gun on me,”
Karsten taunted. “She’ll hate you
for it. Of course, if you pull that
trigger, you’d better be prepared to
die with me.”
It was then that Jehan noticed
the human held something tight in
his fist. The blue glow poured out
between his fingers.
“The detonator is already
tripped,” he confirmed. “The UV
blast won’t give me more than a
sunburn. You, however...”
Jehan ignored the threat. He
would deal with the fallout if and
when it occurred. Right now, he
wanted answers. If he had any
chance of getting information to the
Order, he needed answers.
“Who’s
waiting
for
this
shipment, Karsten? Who’s paying
you for this shit?”
“Oh, come now. I think you
know. Every warrior in the Order
should know the answer to that
question.” He chuckled. “Yes, I
know you’re one of them. I did
some checking tonight. Made a few
calls. You’re part of the Rome
unit.”
Jehan glowered. “And you’re
part of Opus Nostrum.”
Karsten pursed his lips and
gave a faint shake of his head.
“Merely a businessman. And a like-
minded individual. I despise your
entire
race
of
blood-sucking
monsters. If Opus wants your kind
eradicated and a war to make it
happen, I’m only too happy to help
send you all to your graves. Or into
the light, as the case may be.”
“Karsten?” Seraphina emerged
out of the darkness, disheveled and
confused. “Oh, my God. Jehan,
what on earth is going—”
“Seraphina, stay back!”
Jehan’s warning came too late.
She had already strayed right into
the middle of the standoff.
And Karsten seized his chance
to let his weapon loose.
The
UV
grenade
went
airborne.
Jehan had precious little time
to react. He dived under the Jeep as
the light exploded all around him.
The power of it was immense. Even
from beneath the undercarriage of
the vehicle, he could feel the
searing
energy
of
the
solar
detonation.
It
extinguished
a
moment later, plunging the desert
back into darkness.
He was shielded.
He was alive.
But the act of self-preservation
had just cost him dearly.
He heard Seraphina cry out,
and he knew Karsten Hemmings had
her.
The realization tore his heart
from his chest. He couldn’t let her
be harmed. He couldn’t lose her.
He never wanted to lose her.
On a roar, Jehan rolled out to
his feet to face the bastard. Karsten
had a pistol on her, held against the
back of her head. And Jehan had
dropped his gun somewhere in the
sand.
“Let her go.”
Karsten sneered. “Let her go
so you can have her? She deserves
better than you, vampire. Better than
anything you can ever give her.”
Jehan wasn’t going to argue
when he was thinking the same thing
now, miserable as he drank in the
sight of her terrified face and her
tender brown eyes pleading for him
to help her.
“Let her go, Karsten. If you do,
maybe I’ll let you live. But only if
Seraphina wants me to.”
The human chuckled. “No, I
don’t think so. We’re going to leave
now. I’m going to make my drop
and collect my money. Then Sera
and I are going to get out of this
godforsaken hellhole and enjoy our
spoils.” He nestled his open mouth
against her cheek, the nose of the
gun still pressed against her skull.
“You’ll see, my love. I can give you
everything you need.”
She winced and closed her
eyes, a miserable sound curling up
from her throat.
Jehan couldn’t bear another
second of her torment. He had to
act. He had one chance to end this,
but he couldn’t do it without her
total faith in him.
“Seraphina.” He spoke her
name softly, reverently. Hoping she
could hear how much she meant to
him. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
Her eyes opened and found his
gaze through the dark.
He couldn’t say the words out
loud without betraying his plan, but
he needed her to understand. He
needed her to trust him.
Do you trust me, Seraphina?
He said it with his eyes. With
his heart.
Trust me, baby. Please...
She gave him a nearly
imperceptible nod.
It was enough. It was all the
permission he needed.
Moving with every ounce of
Breed
agility
and
speed
he
possessed, Jehan reached around to
his back and pulled out the dagger
he’d stashed there. He let it fly from
his fingertips.
An
instant
later,
Karsten
Hemmings dropped to the ground,
Jehan’s blade protruding from the
space between his wide-open eyes.
Jehan ran to Seraphina and
pulled her into his arms.
In that moment, nothing else
mattered.
Not Karsten Hemmings. Not
the Jeep full of UV grenades, or
Opus Nostrum.
Not even the Order mattered
as he drew Seraphina close and
kissed her with all the relief and
emotion—all the love—he felt for
her.
He stroked her beautiful face
and stared down into the soft brown
eyes that now owned his heart and
his soul. “Come on,” he said,
drawing her under the protection of
his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
CHAPTER 13
Sera was still numb with
shock and disbelief several hours
later, after Jehan had driven them
back to the villa.
Karsten’s betrayal cut deep.
That he had used her to free up the
supplies containing his hidden
cargo was bad enough. But the idea
that greed and hatred had poisoned
his humanity so much that he was
willing to kill—willing to traffic in
weaponry
designed
for
the
wholesale slaughter of the Breed—
was
unthinkable.
It
was
unforgivable.
Countless innocent lives were
saved today, now that the UV
grenades had been diverted from
their buyer and stowed safely inside
the villa.
As for Karsten and Massoud,
when the other camp workers and
residents came upon the scene and
heard what the two men had been
up to, there had been no shortage of
volunteers offering to dispose of
their bodies in the desert so that
Sera and Jehan could get on the
road as quickly as possible to beat
the sunrise.
Sera had considered Karsten a
friend for years, but there wasn’t
any part of her that mourned his
death today even for a second. If not
for Jehan’s quick thinking and speed
with his blade, she had no doubt
that Karsten would have killed her.
He had almost killed Jehan
too.
The terror she’d felt at that
possibility had nearly gutted her as
she’d stood helplessly in Karsten’s
grasp. Even now, the reality of how
close she’d come to losing Jehan
left her physically and emotionally
shaken.
But he was alive.
Because of his warrior skills,
they both were alive.
“Are you all right, Sera?” His
deep, caring voice wrapped around
her as they stood inside the villa
together. “Is there anything I can do
for you?”
She shook her head but
couldn’t keep from moving into the
shelter of his arms. This was all she
needed. His warmth enveloping her.
His strong heartbeat pounding
steadily against her ear as she
rested her head on his muscled
chest. She just needed...him.
