She couldn’t breathe.
It really was him. Even with the bruises, blood, and dirt covering his face, she recognized him from more than a year ago. He’d tried to pull her into a helicopter with him after he’d attacked the Kurjan stronghold. He was bad, and he was the enemy, and yet…he’d saved several kidnapped human females from the Kurjans.
Had he thought he was saving her? Or, had he hurt those human females? Were they now in a worse position than they’d faced with the Kurjan nation?
She waited patiently, as she’d been taught through the years. The guard would get to her when he had time. The medical supplies in her pack became heavy, so she set them down, stepping closer to the bars to study the male.
Benjamin Horatio Lawrence Reese. He was a vampire-demon hybrid, large even for his kind. At about six-foot-seven, or maybe eight, he was as tall as many Kurjans. The wideness of his torso tapered down to his waist and led to long legs. His boots had to be a size eighteen, and his hands were big enough to cause colossal damage. Oh, she’d been hit before, but one punch from him, and she’d be dead.
He could never know how much she already knew about him. How she’d been training for this day for a year—since he’d tried to take her from another Kurjan holding. Her home.
The air changed, and she stiffened as the guard made his way down the tunnel, his white hair glowing as he came closer. He was a Cyst; one of the elite soldiers and spiritual leaders of the Kurjan nation. A single line of white hair bisected his light scalp, leading down to a long braid. His eyes were a deep purple tinged with red, and he spared her no attention as he unlocked the cell and then stepped back.
She took a deep breath and entered, wincing as the coppery smell of blood assaulted her nostrils. Then she dropped to her knees and reached inside the pack for the materials that would clot the bleeding wound. How injured the hybrid must’ve been after the skirmish to still be bleeding.
The second she touched his head, his eyes opened.
Metallic, deep, and fully alert in a second, his eyes were unreal. “Karma,” he murmured.
She drew back. He remembered her name? Nobody remembered her name.
“Do you need blood?” she whispered, leaning closer, even as the guard locked the cell door and disappeared down the hallway, leaving her with the enemy. Right now, she was useless to the Kurjans, so if the prisoner killed her, they’d find a Plan B.
“No.” Benjamin sat up, looked around, and put his back to the cement brick wall. He took up all the available space with his impressive size.
She shook her head, her lips trembling. “You’re badly injured to have been taken captive. You need blood.”
“I let them take me. I’ve been searching for you since last year.”
God. The Kurjans had been correct. He really had been looking for her since she hadn’t let him rescue her the year before. “The baby? Rose?” Karma held her breath. When Benjamin’s people had attacked the Kurjan holding, she’d gone with her instincts in a brief second and forced him to take a toddler who had been kidnapped—and she’d paid for that decision. Then she’d jumped away when he’d tried to save Karma, and she’d wondered what would’ve happened had she gone. Would she be in a worse state than right now? Probably. “Is Rose well?”
Benjamin nodded. “Rose is fine. She’s at Realm headquarters with a nice family.”
Relief and fear were an odd combination in Karma’s blood. “Realm Headquarters?” They were the enemy of the Kurjans. They were evil, or so she’d been taught. She’d always wondered, because lies were everywhere. She held out the materials, although the wound was already closing beneath his jaw as he obviously sent healing cells where they were needed.
“I don’t need those,” he murmured, studying her with an intensity that shot tremors through her abdomen.
“I don’t understand why you’d come looking for me,” she said, sitting back and keeping her knees covered with her dress. It had been the plan, but she hadn’t believed it. The Kurjan leaders had noted that this male kept showing up in different attacks, and he took ridiculous risks for a soldier with his experience. They’d known he was coming. Why would this male put himself in danger for her? “You let them take you hostage?”
“Yes.” Benjamin’s voice was low and rough with a hint of the demon ancestry he no doubt held.
She rested her hands on the thin material over her knees. “I don’t understand.”
A bone snapped loudly into place somewhere on his body, but he didn’t even flinch. “Let’s start here. I’m Benny Reese.” He held out a hand the size of a good frying pan as if they were meeting at a village game instead of in a cell.
She hesitated and then slid hers against his. “Karma.”
His hold and shake were gentle, and he released her before the mating allergy could hurt either of them. She’d been mated centuries ago to a Kurjan, and no other male could touch her for long without both of them succumbing to deadly rashes.
“What’s your last name?” he asked. Another bone popped into place.
She jerked at the sound. “I do not have a last name.”
“Oh.” He looked beyond her at the steel bars securing the cell. “I was out for a while. Where are we?”
“We are at a temporary holding area before you are transported to a more secure location.” She coughed. “For questioning.”
His smile nearly knocked her over. Even the slight tipping of his lips turned his rugged face from dangerously hard to nearly boyish with charm. Amusement, real and true, glimmered in his metallic eyes for a moment. “Darlin’, I’ve been tortured before. You don’t need to worry yourself about that.”
She had bigger things to worry about than the life of this massive hybrid. She allowed herself one moment to stare into his rare eyes. Oh, many immortals had metallic silver eyes, gold eyes, even copper or purple. But his were a combination of all metallic colors, mingling into a hard-edge glint, even with the humor lurking there. In another time, she might’ve thought him beautiful. She’d learned long ago that beauty could mask the darkest of evils.
Vampires were bad, demons were bad, and this male was a hybrid of both. When he decided to kill her, and he would at some point, she didn’t stand much of a chance at surviving. Yet she still couldn’t comprehend why he’d come for her. “Why are you here?”
“For you. To rescue you since I couldn’t last time.” He stretched out his arms and healed a broken finger in his left hand.
That didn’t make any sense. “Why?” Surely his ego wasn’t such that he’d spent an entire year chasing her down and risking his life just because he’d lost the battle for her last time. She wasn’t worth that.
He sighed. “I’d hoped to ease you into the truth, but here it is.” He held up his right hand, showing a demon marking with a jagged R in the center. The R was a crest for his surname: Reese. Demons mated with a branding, a bite, and sex and the marking transferred from the demon to the mate during fornication.
Her mouth dropped open and she hurried to shut it. “You’re mated?” Why did that one thought nauseate her? How odd.
“No. The brand appeared when I touched you a year ago.” His chin lowered, and he studied her, towering over her even as he sat. “When you shoved me away and refused to get into the helicopter with me.”
She snorted and then quickly recovered. “Impossible. I’m mated.” Well, she had been mated a couple of centuries ago, although her Kurjan mate had died shortly thereafter. Sometimes she forgot what he had looked like, and that was fine with her. “Your brand appeared for someone else.”
“No.” Benjamin looked down at the dark marking. “The mark hasn’t faded in a year, and it’s pulsing like a live wire now that you’re near.”
Oh, Lord. The research on Benjamin that stated he might be insane must be true. She sighed. Dangerous and unstable? There was no way she could succeed in this mission. “Benjamin—”
“Benny. Might as well get cozy with me now.” His smile held charm and
a determination that warmed her in an impossible way.
For the second time in her life, she let her instincts take over. “Just leave. Take an opening and find freedom,” she whispered tersely, her stomach cramping. “Forget about me.”
“Not a chance.” His gaze ran over her face like a physical touch.
Movement sounded down the tunnel, and she stiffened.
Benjamin tensed and his jaw set. “Get ready, darlin’. We’re about to escape this place.”
https://rebeccazanetti.com/book_series/dark-protectors/
Also By Rebecca Zanetti
The Anna Albertini Files
Disorderly Conduct
Bailed Out (December 2020)
Adverse Possession (March 2021)
Peremptory Strike (Fall 2021)
The Deep Ops Series
Hidden
Taken Novella
Fallen
Shaken (in Pivot Anthology)
Broken
Driven
The Scorpius Syndrome Series
Prequel: Scorpius Rising
Mercury Striking
Shadow Falling
Justice Ascending
Storm Gathering
Winter Igniting
Knight Awakening
Scorpius Syndrome/The Brigade Novellas
Scorpius Rising
Blaze Erupting
Power Surging (Fall 2020)
Hunter Advancing (Fall 2020)
The Dark Protector Series
Fated (Book 1)
Claimed (Book 2)
Tempted (2.5)
Hunted (Book 3)
Consumed (Book 4)
Provoked (Book 5)
Twisted (5.5)
Shadowed (Book 6)
Tamed (6.5)
Marked (Book 7)
Vampire’s Faith (Book 8)
Demon’s Mercy (Book 9)
Alpha’s Promise (Book 10)
Hero’s Haven (Book 11)
Guardian’s Grace (Book 12)
Realm Enforcers (Dark Protector spinoff)
Wicked Ride
Wicked Edge
Wicked Burn
Wicked Kiss
Wicked Bite
Dark Protectors: Reese Family novellas
Teased
Tricked
Tangled
Dark Protectors: Rebels
Vengeance
Vixen
Vampire
The Sin Brothers series
Forgotten Sins
Sweet Revenge
Blind Faith
Total Surrender
The Blood Brother series
Deadly Silence
Lethal Lies
Twisted Truths
The Maverick Montana series
Against the Wall
Under the Covers
Rising Assets
Over the Top
To keep up to date:
www.RebeccaZanetti.com
https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaZanetti.books
http://rebeccazanetti.com/rebeccas-newsletter/
READING Lists of Series in Order
I know a lot of you like the exact reading order for a series, so here’s the exact reading order, although if you read most of them out of order, it’s okay.
THE ANNA ALBERTINI FILES
Disorderly Conduct
Bailed Out
Adverse Possession
Peremptory Strike
Summary Judgment
Rebuttal Evidence
DEEP OPS SERIES
Hidden (Book 1)
Taken Novella (On the Hunt anthology) (Book 1.5)
Driven (Book 2)
Shaken Novella (In PIVOT anthology) (Book 3.5)
Broken (Book 3)
Driven (Book 4)
Dark Protectors / Realm Enforcers / 1001 Dark Nights novellas
Fated (Dark Protectors Book 1)
Claimed (Dark Protectors Book 2)
Tempted novella (Dark Protectors 2.5)
Hunted (Dark Protectors Book 3)
Consumed (Dark Protectors Book 4)
Provoked (Dark Protectors Book 5)
Twisted novella (Dark Protectors 5.5)
Shadowed (Dark Protectors Book 6)
Tamed novella (Dark Protectors 6.5)
Marked (Dark Protectors Book 7)
Wicked Ride (Realm Enforcers 1)
Wicked Edge (Realm Enforcers 2)
Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers 3)
Talen novella (Dark Protectors 7.5)
Wicked Kiss (Realm Enforcers 4)
Wicked Bite (Realm Enforcers 5)
Vampire’s Faith (Dark Protectors 8). ***A great entry point for series, if you want to start here***
Demon’s Mercy (Dark Protectors 9)
Vengeance (Dark Protectors/Rebels 1001 Dark Night Novella)
Alpha’s Promise (Dark Protectors 10)
Hero’s Haven (Dark Protectors 11)
Guardian’s Grace (Dark Protectors 12)
Vixen (Dark Protectors/Rebels 1001 Dark Night Novella)
Rebel’s Karma (Dark Protectors 13)
Vampire (Dark Protectors/Rebels 1001 Dark Night Novella)
*** The Dark Protectors/Reese Brothers 1001 Dark Nights novellas (Teased, Tricked, Tangled) can be read any time after Marked. There’s no crossover.
SIN BROTHERS/BLOOD BROTHERS spinoff
Forgotten Sins (Sin Brothers 1)
Sweet Revenge (Sin Brothers 2)
Blind Faith (Sin Brothers 3)
Total Surrender (Sin Brothers 4)
Deadly Silence (Blood Brothers 1)
Lethal Lies (Blood Brothers 2)
Twisted Truths (Blood Brothers 3)
SCORPIUS SYNDROME SERIES
**This is technically the right timeline, but I’d always meant for the series to start with Mercury Striking.
1. Scorpius Rising (Prequel novella - was actually written after Mercury Striking and shows how it all started)
2. Blaze Erupting (Scorpius/Brigade novella, 1001 Dark Nights)
3. Power Surging (Scorpius/Brigade novella)
4. Hunter Advancing (Scorpius/Brigade novella)
Scorpius Syndrome NOVELS
(Can be read without the novellas)
1. Mercury Striking (Scorpius Syndrome 1)
2. Shadow Falling (Scorpius Syndrome 2)
3. Justice Ascending (Scorpius Syndrome 3)
4. Storm Gathering (Scorpius Syndrome 4)
5. Winter Igniting (Scorpius Syndrome 5)
6. Knight Awakening (Scorpius Synd. 6)
MAVERICK MONTANA SERIES
Against the Wall
Under the Covers
Rising Assets
Over the Top
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti has published more than fifty romantic-suspense and dark paranormal novels, which have been translated into several languages, with millions of copies sold world-wide. Her books have received Publisher’s Weekly starred reviews, won RT Reviewer Choice awards, have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, Woman’s World and Women’s Day Magazines, have been included in Amazon best books of the year, and have been favorably reviewed in both the Washington Post and the New York Times Book Reviews. Rebecca has ridden in a locked Chevy trunk, has asked the unfortunate UPS guy to release her from a set of handcuffs, and has discovered the best silver mine shafts in which to bury a body…all in the name of research. Honest. Find Rebecca at: www.RebeccaZanetti.com
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