Marked (Dark Ties Book 1)

by A. Vers

  Stop hunting for Vlad or we finish the girl

  I don’t need to ask which girl. The waitress outside Underground, the attack at Lock Lake ... And now this? Lilah is being targeted. I step closer to the body on that once illuminated stage, trying to block out the garish message behind her. “Another look alike,” I say.

  Tanner huffs. “Not quite.” He reaches and gently tugs a brunette wig from the leggy blonde who guarded the rope the first night we were here.

  I rock back. “Son of a bitch.” She was ‘friends’ with Lilah. There is no way that’s a fucking coincidence. I pull my phone and dial Underground.

  “Underground Plaza, home of Aberoth the Great, do you have a–”

  “Raina?”

  “Oh hey, Ruin. Your girl is doing just fine. She’s a natural.”

  I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Yeah. Look, is Caine still near the door?”

  She pauses. “Yeah. He hasn’t budged.”

  A wave of relief flows through me. “Okay. Keep him near, will you? And make sure Lilah doesn’t go anywhere without him.” As pissed as I am at the demon for his stunt the other night, he has the best chance of getting Lilah out in a hurry. His portal may not be as strong as some of his kin, but he’s the fastest I’ve ever seen at conjuring it.

  “Sure thing. Everything okay?”

  I glance back at the dead woman on the stage. “As well as I expected.”

  “Is that Ruin?” Lilah’s voice flows over the speaker.

  Raina mutters something, and the line goes scratchy.

  I wince. “Raina, don’t–”

  “Are you headed back?” Lilah asks.

  My head hangs.

  “Ruin?” she says, softer that time.

  “I’m here.”

  “Caine said there was a call from the cops. Everything okay?” her voice is firm, but I can just detect the edge of anxiety in it.

  Tanner and Gage watch me as I try to work through everything. Including my need to protect the woman talking. They both nod. It’s an unspoken understanding with the team. What happened at Lock Lake, it won’t happen again.

  “Yeah,” I say, careful to keep the lie deep, deep down. “We will be headed back here in a minute. When is your shift over?”

  “1.”

  I turn my back to my men and walk to the rail for the second floor. It’s not real privacy. Not with supes so near. “We never got to finish breakfast.”

  Her inhale is soft, but it makes fire scorch through my veins. “Are you picking me up from work?”

  “Do you want me to?”

  “Please?”

  My eyes close. “Baby girl, you never have to ask.”

  She is silent for so long, I wonder if she hung up. “The manor has kitchens, right?”

  My brows knit. “Yeah. Why?”

  “How about I make you breakfast?” I try not to grin like a fucking fool, but it’s hard. So hard. “Do you like omelets?”

  I lean against the rail, my chest aching and my gut in knots. “Baby girl, you can make me a bowl of cereal if that’s what you want to do. But I already know what I want for dessert.”

  She inhales, and the sound is breathy. Sexy. “You do? What?”

  My eyes cast gold light across the shiny tabletops downstairs, and there is no way to make the glow stop. Not now. “You.”

  32

  Lilah

  I WIPE DOWN MY STATION one last time, and try not to glance at the door for the thousandth time since I hung up the phone with Ruin. He sounded tired, almost defeated. All I want is for my shift to be over so we can go home.

  My head shakes at the absurdity. The manor went from a house of supernatural horrors to home in a matter of days. Between Raina, Ruin, and his team— hell, even Markus, the place feels safe. Warm and inviting. And it’s hard to rationalize the change, so I push it away for now.

  Underground’s dining hall has wound down, and only a few calls for burgers go back and forth to the kitchen. Most of the patrons have migrated off towards the dance floor across the way, or back home, bedfellow in tow.

  With Larry still missing, tonight’s show, an impromptu soulful act provided by none other than the massive VIP guard, Prisma, went off without a hitch. The man has quite a voice. But the only way we could get him to sing was to drape his wife, Veronica, over the grand piano in a fire-red gown.

  And sang he did.

  They were so good, Raina is considering upgrading their job titles. Though I wholeheartedly agree, it was hard to look at Veronica after the show she put on the night before.

  With nothing left to scrub, I drop my rag in the bucket and hoist it in my grasp. Caine lurks nearby, his sinister façade drawn up. “Hey, Caine?”

  He turns, some of that dark emotion fading like you wiped his face clean of it. “Yes, little bird?”

  I can’t help but smile. “I’m gonna go dump this and wash up a bit. You need anything?”

  He shakes his head, but pushes from the wall to trail after me.

  “It’s just to the kitchen.”

  His lips tighten. “Little bird...”

  “I know. Witness protection,” I say with an eye roll. “But it’s like twenty foot.” Still he hesitates, torn, I know, between whatever Ruin said to him earlier and the fact the front entrance is the only one not locked and barred right now. And he has been standing in front of it for almost six hours.

  “Look, I’ll scream if anything happens, fair enough?”

  He snorts, but resumes holding the wall upright with a dagger pointed firmly in my direction. “Five minutes, little bird. And then I come after you.”

  I laugh. “I’ll make sure Ruin knows you were so dedicated, you scary demon, you.”

  His features warp into distaste. “Blasted humans and their infernal sentiment. It would make a weaker demon soft,” he mutters. But I don’t miss the last glance over my frame, either.

  I laugh again and slip behind the bar to the kitchen. Inside, bright lights shine down on pristine marble counters and stainless commercial appliances. The delicious aroma of grilled meat fills my nose. My stomach rumbles.

  “I heard that,” Teddy calls from the griddle as I pass. He flips the last two patties and glances over. His dark hair is pulled back from a thick face. Not fat, just thick. Meaty. The old shifter appraises me. “You hungry, girly?”

  No matter how many times I tell him my name, it’s still ‘girly’. And I can’t even take offense because he calls Caine ‘boy-yo’.

  “How could I not be when you’re in here grilling up heaven on a bun after I’ve been on my feet for six hours?”

  He chortles. “Flattery, girly, will get you everywhere. What will you have?”

  I consider taking him up on that offer as my stomach gives a loud bear-roar of a grumble. My free palm presses to my midsection. “Nothing now, Teddy. I’m eating with Ruin when and if he ever shows up.”

  The old cook huffs. “Boy-yo can’t make what I can,” he mutters. “You come see me if he don’t get here soon.”

  I clasp his arm and squeeze. “Thanks, Teddy. I will.”

  He waves me off with the spatula as his already ruddy face heats under the bright lights. I smile and take the bucket down the hall to the employee bathrooms.

  Pushing open the door for the women’s room, I step inside just as the old bulbs flicker. I peer at them. “Every damn time I come in here,” I say under my breath. Hauling the bucket across the floor, I dump it in the big sink before rinsing it out and leaving it to dry.

  My fingers pump the soap dispenser to wash up. I frown when only a little white foam comes out. Sighing, I open the cabinet to look for more, but there is none.

  “Of course not.”

  I push back out of the bathroom and continue down the corridor to the supply closet. It’s dark when I enter, and I flip the switch to no avail. “Come on, stupid light.” I flip it a few more times. Nothing happens. “Raina has got to call an electrician.” I sigh and pull my phone from my pocket.

&nbs
p; Sliding the screen up, I start the flashlight and pass it over the dark interior of the closet.

  “Shit.” The curse is masculine and something darts through the beam.

  I try to back up, to run. My boot catches a down mop handle, and my arms windmill as I try to stay upright. Strong hands close over my waist, holding me in place. My phone scatters somewhere under the shelves. The beam of light fractures, barely illuminating a familiar face over me.

  “Larry?”

  He winces. “Hey.”

  I look around. “What the hell? Have you been in here the entire time?”

  His expression turns sheepish. “Yeah.”

  “Why—” I wrench away, and he lets me. “You slipped a charm in my pocket, didn’t you?” I demand. He remains silent. “Larry? Did you slip me that charm?”

  He exhales in one long push. “Yeah.”

  I back up again. “Why? Why would you do that?”

  He scrubs his face with one hand, but his eyes won’t meet mine. “It’s not what you think. I was gonna do some new material tonight, and I always find someone in the audience to act as an amplifier. A ‘laughter is contagious’ kind of thing, ya know? It gets the club good reviews, and they already like the show ...”

  “So, if they already enjoy it, everyone they come in to contact with will too,” I finish for him, thinking about how the lust tracked from me to Ruin as long as we were touching.

  “But it’s manipulation magick. Illegal if the person doesn’t know. It packs two years of jail time. For each offense.” His face turns ghost white under his freckles, and I know he has used it quite a few times before. “It wasn’t supposed to leave the club, Lilah. I need you to know that. And I didn’t mean for you to have it so long. But then Ruin showed up, and you guys took off to eat. I figured an hour, tops.”

  “Then you guys didn’t come back, so I traced it across town to that old haven, Carnage. I figured I could explain, get it back, and be here in time to work, right? No harm, no foul. But I didn’t see you anywhere. I was fixing to leave when this guy came out of the dressing room in a hood and a mask.”

  My stomach lurches. “A hood and mask?”

  He nods. “Tall dude, covered in all black.” His head raises and he looks at me. “I took off. It was cowardly and stupid. I know that. But the dude gave me the fucking creeps.” He shudders.

  I step closer and grab his hand. His palm is warm against mine, warmer than Ruin’s. He glances at me in surprise. “Look, I can’t say you won’t be in trouble because that charm is illegal, but tell Ruin what you told me.”

  His eyes bug. “No. I saw how he looked at you. He’ll fucking kill me.”

  “Damn fucking right. And I’m starting now.”

  I whirl to find Ruin and Caine backlit by the hall light. Ruin’s eyes glow like small suns and Caine has twin orbs of crimson hellfire in his palms. They start forward.

  I plant myself in front of Larry, hand up. “Ruin. No.”

  He glares at me. “Don’t defend him . You got bit because of his fucking games.”

  “Bit?” Larry asks, confused. “By who?”

  Ruin’s livid gaze tracks back to the druid and locks there with a world of pain waiting to be delivered onto the smaller man.

  “Larry, not helping,” I hiss and lunge to push at Ruin’s still approaching form. My boots skid over the floor. “Ruin. It wasn’t what you think. Larry didn’t want to hurt me. But there was a guy ... A guy at Carnage in a hood and a mask. I think it was Vlad.”

  That stops him.

  He looks from me to the druid and back, as some of the gold light fades. “What?”

  I sag as my arms give out from trying to keep him back.

  Holy hell he’s strong.

  My head drops to his sternum as I try to control my erratic breathing. “Larry tracked the charm to Carnage.” I peer up at the hard line of his jaw, and he stares right back. “There was someone else there with us. And I think it was Vlad.”

  33

  Ruin

  I LISTEN AS THE DRUID lays out everything from Carnage. And as much as I hate it, I believe him.

  Damn it.

  It’s more than the kid’s innocent damn face, it’s the steady rhythm of his heart and every scared but honest breath.

  I stand and move off, scrubbing my hand through my hair.

  “Theories?” Gage asks as he steps to my side, arms folded over his chest. The warrior may be as unhappy about all of this as I am.

  Larry was a target. Someone to focus on. And that just got blown to hell.

  “Not any that I like,” I mutter. “This is fucking ridiculous. Lilah said she has never even seen Vlad. So why is he coming after her like this?”

  “Maybe she has seen him and doesn’t realize it,” he says. “We caught a glimpse of dark hair and a suit. Didn’t Interpol have him listed as blond?”

  I dip my head in a jerky nod. “Yeah, but boxes of color are a few bucks at the market. Fucker probably changed his appearance as fast as he could. There’s no telling what he looks like now. But see if you can get the file on the bastard anyway. It would be nice to have something to go on besides flashes of his profile and grainy security footage.”

  “I’ll have T get on it as soon as he can.” He glances back across the room. “Do you think the Druid’s magick is what you saw outside of Carnage?”

  My eyes trail over the orange haired man perched solemnly in one of the dining hall chairs. “Most like, yeah. But the figure I saw was in dark clothes. And he was fast. Too fast to be human.”

  Gage paces a little. “Larry said the mask-guy chased him. Maybe you caught the tail end of the guy’s back when the druid had to teleport. But that would make our dark-clad friend an alpha. Be he vampire, shifter, or whatever.”

  I glance over. “Is there an alpha in the Fae world?”

  He smirks. “Yeah, asshole. And you’re looking at him.”

  I flip him off.

  His grin fades into something mild. “Don’t look now, but I think your dinner date cancelled.”

  My head turns and I catch sight of Lilah curled up on the low stage. Her cheek is pillowed on one arm and her voluptuous body is arched inward. And she’s so damn beautiful it makes my heart hurt.

  There’s a low whistle at my side. “Damn, Cap., you do have it bad.”

  I glare at Gage. “Shut it.” But he’s right. And we both know it. “I’m gonna take her back. Can you clean up here?”

  He has the decency to look offended. “Of-fucking-course. It’s one Druid.”

  I shake my head and walk to the stage. Scooping Lilah up in my arms, I start for the door. “That’s what you said about Vlad too,” I remind him.

  He grumbles behind me but heads back to the others. His steady rumble tells me he is already filling Tanner and Horan in on the next plan.

  Caine presses away from his spot near the door as I approach. “The little bird is out for the count,” he says, staring down at her with a shockingly soft expression.

  “Yeah.” I watch him for a minute. “Feel like riding back with me? Just in case?”

  His strange red eyes raise to meet mine. “Is that an order, Captain?”

  I raise a brow. “Does it need to be?”

  He turns on his heel and goes to the door without another word.

  Caine is a lot of things. Sinister, a womanizer, a demon, a sex addict. But he’s also fucking loyal to a fault.

  I don’t know when it happened. Or even how. But Lilah won over my team just like she won over me. And the demon at the door may be her staunchest supporter yet.

  A LOW SOUND REACHES my ears, like a muffled cry. I sit up on the couch, disoriented and aching from the cramped space.

  What the hell? Why am I on the couch?

  Another soft mewl reaches my ears, and the tone slams it all back home. Lilah falling asleep at Underground, bringing her home with Caine, carrying her through the manor and back to my bed. I wanted to join her. Wanted to hold her in my damn arms until we b
oth passed out. But the bandage on her neck stopped me.

  If I held her, I would take her. In every way I could. And she isn’t ready for all of me yet. No matter what she thinks.

  I walk through the front room. Another whimper flows through the cracked bedroom doors. Easing closer to the panels, I knock softly. There’s no answer. I push them wide and step into the dimness.

  Lilah tosses and turns, her back to me. Walking over, I ready to wake her up from a nightmare. She moans again, filling my ears with the sound along with her erratic heart. The sheet slips, showcasing one naked full breast and a lot of her bare side and hip. She trembles and the scent of lilac sex reaches my nose.

  Fuck. Where are her clothes?

  Her lithe body rolls over, kicking at the sheet. I catch sight of those thick thighs. And I stop breathing, enraptured. She groans again, tossing and turning in the midst of what appears to be a very interesting dream.

  My length swells to a point of pain.

  Damn it.

  “Lilah. Wake up,” I hiss.

  Her eyes flutter, opening.

  She startles at seeing me next to the bed. Her long lashes open and close as she, no doubt, tries to puzzle through the change of dream to reality.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  She flushes, bright eyes darting as her full breasts rise and fall rapidly. “Yeah.”

  “You appear to have lost a few things while you slept ...”

  She glances down and hauls the sheet up to her chest. “I can’t sleep in regular clothes.” Her mumbled words are embarrassed and cute. A concept I’ve never found sexy is hotter than Sin with her.

  I ease down on the disheveled bed, and she scoots back to give me room. My eyes track over her; the gold light from my irises throws every inch of her body in a honey glow. “Either way, you’re fucking beautiful.”

  Her head bobs as she swallows hard.

  I take in every curve along her barely covered, tan frame. In my midnight sheets, her coloring is softer. Paler. But no less flawless. “What were you dreaming?”

  Her little teeth bite into her lush bottom lip. The same one I can still feel under mine. “I don’t ... I mean— Nothing.”