~ THIRTEEN ~

Adam was a damn wreck, thinking of everything and nothing at the same time. He paced from one end of Joseph’s office to the other, once, twice, and again. “

“What’s going on?” Gabe asked.

“Hanna is gone. We think…”

“Oh, damn,” Joseph interrupted.

“What is it?”

“Since you were in the basement this wasn’t you.”

“Is there any sound to the video?”

Joseph shook his head. “No.”

“They’re waiting for the elevator. Is there sound in it?”

“Yes. What are you hoping to hear?”

“If he didn’t hide his voice we might be able to figure out who the hell he is.”

“She would’ve known it wasn’t you. He would’ve hidden his voice if he didn’t want her to figure it out.”

“She’s smart enough to not let on that she knows.” Terrified for her, Adam watched as Hanna entered the elevator with the other demon. “She looks scared. She knew he wasn’t me.”

The demon looked up and the camera and smiled, baring his teeth.

“The son of a bitch wanted you to see him.”

“Kazimir couldn’t hold my form so flawlessly for so long. He has never been able to hold other forms.”

“The demon possessing her?”

He knew it was the same demon, but he couldn’t admit it aloud. He’d failed her. He’d promised she would be safe. “I have to find her.”

“Are you sure it was Kazimir’s men in the locker room?”

Gabe nodded. “Absolutely.”

“I’m going to hack into the city cameras. We should be able to find her.”

“Whatever is going on, this is only beginning.” Gabe said. “The attack on Larissa was a distraction, but she might still be in danger. I want to have Javier watch over her until we find Hanna.”

“I agree,” Joseph said. “We can’t leave her unprotected. We don’t know if she’ll be attacked again.”

“Send him, Gabe.” Adam said.

“I need to talk to her. If he just shows up, she’ll tell him to get lost,” Gabe said.

“He’s right,” Joseph said. “She’ll give him hell.”

“Get it done,” Adam said.

“Do whatever it takes to enforce her cooperation if she refuses to listen to you,” Joseph stated.

“She’s not stupid. She’ll listen to me. I won’t need to use force.”

****

Gabe reached for his private telepathic link with Javier. Meet me outside Larissa’s room.

I’m heading up now. Any news about Hanna?

Nothing good. Kazimir is working with Evolved.

When Gabe arrived at Larissa’s office, the door was open. She looked up from her computer and smiled. “I wasn’t expecting you to come back so soon.” Rising to her feet, she frowned. “You look worried. Did something else happen?”

“While we were in the basement, someone took Adam’s mate.”

“His what?” she asked.

“His wife.”

“That’s terrible.” She closed the distance between them. “I didn’t even realize he was married. Was it Kazimir?”

Gabe nodded. “He’s involved.” He reached out and took her hands in his. “I need to ask you for a huge favor.”

“Anything.”

“I need to help Adam find Hanna, but I can’t…I won’t leave you unless you’ll agree to have someone I trust look out for you. I know you have many reasons to object to having one of our men watch over you, but I swear he’ll stay out of your way and he’ll…”

“It’s fine, Gabe. I know you wouldn’t leave me with anyone you didn’t trust.” She reached up and pressed her palm against his jaw. “I trust you.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. I trust you, Gabe. Fully. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you get her back. I don’t want to make anything more difficult for you.”

He would never forget the moment. Her trust was a truly amazing gift. It was the most wonderful gift. Nothing had ever touched him so deeply. They belonged together. They truly belonged together. His heart was filled with so much joy. He’d never felt so complete.

He kissed her. A quick kiss. He didn’t want to leave her, but he didn’t have a choice. “I hate to rush off right now, but she’s in serious danger.”

“I know.”

Gabe opened the door and motioned for a man to come inside. “This is Javier. Javier this is Larissa.”

Javier nodded. “It’s good to meet you.”

Larissa smiled. “With the luck I’ve been having you might change your mind soon.”

Gabe laughed. “He likes trouble.”

“I sure do.”

She lifted her chin and smiled up at Gabe. “Are you saying I’m trouble, Gabe?”

“Not at all. You’re a damn powerful magnet for it.”

“Is that why you keep coming around?”

“Yes.” Gabe nodded once. “But it’s only one of many reasons. Call me if you need me.”

As he turned to leave, he glanced at Javier. “Thank you.”

****

“How the hell am I supposed to protect her if I can’t find her?” Adam asked.

“We’ll find her,” Mia stated.

Clearly, being a female, she didn’t understand the severity of the situation. “It might already be too late.”

“You would know.” Mia turned to Joseph. “He would know, right?”

“After we find her I want you to get the hell out of here.”

“Knock it off, Joseph,” Mia said.

“Kazimir had his freaks make an attempt on Larissa’s life to distract him and his ball of fire. That is not acceptable.”

“Gabe saved Larissa.” Adam said. “And the demon that mimicked me was not Kazimir.”

Joseph looked up at him. “You think it was a coincidence?”

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“You think Evolved is working with Kazimir?”

“I think Evolved is using Kazimir. We both know Kazimir is an idiot. He’s powerful but ignorant. He’s full of himself. He never would’ve dared to approach my door to get to my mate.”

“Are you saying Mia was face to face with your demon who thinks he’s a god?”

“It appears so.”

“That is even more unacceptable.”

Expanding his mind, Adam reached out to Hanna. Where are you, Hanna? Nothing. No response. Hanna, please, answer me. Not even the smallest hint of a response from her. He knew it was the demon with a blood bond. The son of a bitch was blocking him or blocking her. Every attempt to breach the barrier and merge his mind with hers failed. “She’s my mate. How the fuck is the son of a bitch preventing me from reaching her?”

“Don’t waste your time trying to figure out how he’s doing it.” Joseph looked up from his computer screen. “You need to find him and kill him. You know it’s a blood bond. You need to complete the ritual to break it.”

“I left her unprotected in the suite.”

“That’s not true. He couldn’t have reached her inside the suite.”

“The demon shouldn’t have been able to make it onto your property without alerting you. The bastard walked right through our safeguards. And he had to have helped Kazimir’s men get to the basement without alerting you. He’s starting to resemble Erebus more and more.” Adam said. “I should’ve taken her with me.”

“To the club? No.” Joseph shook his head. “That’s the last place you should ever take her.”

“She’s in danger because I left her alone in the room.” A powerful sense of dread, like a jagged knife, plunged deep into his chest, pierced his heart. For thousands of years, he’d perfected the art of war. Patience. Plotting. Waiting for the right moment to attack, to ruin, to crush his enemies.

He started to pace again. A persistent, ever-increasing roaring in his ears accompanied by a terrible pounding in his head, forced him to keep moving. Unable to remain still, he continued to pace from one side of the office to the other. “I should’ve taken her away from here.” How could he allow her to totally disappear? “I should’ve kept a closer eye on her.” He stopped in front of Joseph’s desk. “Anything yet?”

“Nope.”

“You’re not as good at hacking as you claimed.”

“You’re making it very difficult to concentrate,” Joseph said. “Isn’t there something you could preoccupy yourself with for a bit?”

He stopped to look at Joseph. “Like what?” Nothing mattered more than finding her. He couldn’t even consider doing anything else.

“You could start packing up.”

“You’re not booting them out here with everything going on,” Mia said.

“He’s the reason everything is going to hell.”

“You can’t blame Adam for whatever the hell Evolved decided to do. It was only a matter of time before they started screwing with us. They want to get rid of you all before you stop them.”

Adam started to pace again. Frustration ate away at his normal sense of calm. Not so much frustration. It was Fear. Mostly fear. What if he never won her over? What if she never learned to trust him? Terror lived in him. It was growing, a terrible gut feeling swelling in him, driving him insane. He had to keep moving. She was in danger and he couldn’t find her.

“Come here.” Joseph motioned for him to look at the computer. “Are these idiots your trackers?”

“Damn it.” Rage seethed in him at the sight of two werewolves, his damned trackers. dragging her across a street. “Where is this?”

“It’s from a few hours just outside the library a few blocks north of here.”

Adam reach out to Gabe. Get to the library a few blocks north of the hotel.

On my way.

Adam shifted to the location without taking any effort to shield himself from humans. He didn’t give a damn if anyone saw him.

Gabe walked up from behind. “What are we doing?”

“Two of our trackers were dragging her across the street a few hours ago.” He pointed. “That way.”

****

Cold through and through, her body shivering, Hanna clenched her jaw to prevent her teeth from chattering. She felt Adam’s presence a second before she saw him moving toward her from across the street.

“Release her.” A wave of Adam’s hand tossed her captors away from her.

Time stopped. She couldn’t force herself to look away from him. Not that she wanted to. Her heart raced at the sight of his powerful masculine physique. She wanted him. She wanted him so damn much. Attempting to convince herself she didn’t want him, only made her want him, need him more. Everything about him, including his dark, violent aura, appealed to her.

He was directly in front of her, his intense gaze focused on hers, setting her body on fire with dark desires. He draped his jacket over her shoulders. “You’re not an easy woman to find, babe.”

The sensual heat in his eyes echoed in his voice, but it didn’t change the fact that his nonchalant attitude irritated the hell out of her. “I thought they were with Evolved.” She held her hands up to show him the zip tie.

He took her hands and the zip tie fell off. “I am sorry they hurt and frightened you.” He turned her hands over and traced the red marks around her wrists with his finger. She felt healing energy surge into her.

“She didn’t…”

“Quiet,” he cut the man off without looking at them.

“It was him. He looked and sounded like you. He told me that I needed to leave.” She pointed at the men who’d claimed to be sent by him. “Why the hell did you send these jerks after me?”

“You knew it wasn’t me?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you leave the suite with him?”

“I didn’t know until we were in the elevator.”

“Are you injured?” He reached out and, taking her hand in his, he brought it to his mouth and kissed it. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

She gave her hand a tug, but he didn’t release it. “I want to know why you had these idiots and their friends kidnap me.” she asked, hoping he couldn’t see the insatiable hunger, the burning desire, the aching need to feel his lips against hers in her eyes.

“I am sorry they treated you poorly. There were others?”

“Two more.” She looked at the men, both visibly cowering. “You shouldn’t have sent them. I was trying to get back to you. They didn’t need to force me to come to you.”

“I didn’t send them.”

“We just thought that…”

He repositioned his head slightly and glared at the man, silencing them. “You thought wrong. I will be coming for you soon. If you want a head start, you ought to get your asses moving.” Then, opening her hand and pressing her palm against his chest, his expression changed, every sign of anger vanished, replaced by tenderness. “I nearly lost my mind when I realized you left. I sent my trackers out to find you.”

Being so close to him, feeling the heat radiating from his body, caused her entire body to ache for his touch. “You said you didn’t send them.”

“I didn’t send those men.” He bent his head and brushed a kiss on her forehead. “I wouldn’t have sent anyone stupid enough to frighten you. And I sure as hell wouldn’t have sent anyone dumb enough to harm you. They will die for it.” He wasn’t bragging about being a badass. He was stating a fact. They handled her roughly. They would die.

“Men? You mean demons.”

“Actually, the majority of my trackers are lycans.” He paused. “Gabe is the only other demon in my…with me.”

“Wolves for trackers?”

“Yes.”

“I never would’ve guessed you the sort of demon to play with puppies.”

Adam laughed. “I have a few more surprises waiting for you to discover. For now, let’s get back to the hotel.” He kept her close, tucked under his arm, as they made their way down the sidewalk.

“You’re in a hurry. You think somethings going to happen.”

“With everything going on I just want to get back. Being out in the open isn’t a good idea.”

“I happen to agree.”

They quickly returned to the hotel. Within a few minutes, they were in the elevator. It was packed full of people. She hated being in confined spaces. Everyone moved to the sides to make room for them, but she felt crushed. Her heart started pounding.

He turned her around to face him and wrapped his arms around her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You don’t like elevators?” he whispered in her ear.

“It’s not the elevator. I don’t like being in confined spaces.”

“Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Do it, babe.”

She nodded, closing her eyes. He lowered his forehead to hers. She was instantly standing with him in the what appeared to be a desert. She knew it wasn’t real. It was a product of his imagination.

It’s not my imagination. It's a memory. This is where my parents found me.

You don’t need to tell me anything. I was wrong to pry.

No. I was wrong to avoid sharing the truth with you. I wandered alone for many years. They died to protect me.

Why alone?

I didn’t want to cause anyone else to die.

I saw you. It wasn’t your fault. You were a young child.

I was a demon child.

That doesn’t make you any less an innocent child.

They died to save me. They died rather than expose me. They would’ve been spared if they would’ve handed me over to them.

Is that why you surround yourself with so many dangerous supernatural beings? I know you feel their contempt for you.

Not all despise me.

Too many would rather kill you than help you.

I am weeding the bad ones out.

Why now? Why didn’t their presence bother you enough to get rid of them earlier?

They were never able to hurt me because I didn’t have any…

Weaknesses.

No. I didn’t have you. I didn’t have the love of my life. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I simply refuse to keep anyone around who might attempt to hurt you to get to me. And, as you well know after today, some of them would.

She smiled. That makes me a weakness to you.

It means you’ve given me a reason to care.

She knew it was only seconds, but it felt as though they’d stood together for hours. No one in the elevator touched them. She knew they couldn’t. His presence kept everyone at a distance.

“This is us.”

She opened her eyes. “Thank you for making the elevator more tolerable, Adam”

“It was my pleasure.” He turned her around as the door opened. Then, he was at her side, his arm draped over her shoulder as he led her out of the elevator and down the hall.

Once they returned to the suite, he explained. “I need to question my men to figure out which ones took part in harassing you.”

“You’re leaving?”

“No. We’re doing it together. We’re going to have several of them in here soon. Some might try to intimidate you. None of them can or will touch you. I want you to let me know the instant you recognize the other two who stopped you on the street.”

“You know I’m not comfortable with this.”

“With what?” he asked.

“Any of it. And I don’t want to see them again.”

“It’s important for you to be here when I talk to my men about what happened today. They need to know you’re my equal. After today, you will never see the ones who harassed you.”

“You plan to kill them?”

“Do you really want to know what I plan to do with them?”

“Yes.”

“I plan to kill them. I plan to kill anyone who presents a threat to you.”