Chapter 26
Adam finished scouring through the eighth set of documents he’d hacked from the Coven Nine, trying to ignore the table holding his computer. Not the table. The memory of what he’d done to Victoria on that table the night before. He’d taken her to bed and had proceeded to show her she could submit all night, and that he’d be there with her every time.
At one point, he’d submitted, too. He grinned. Or at least she had tried to make him. He had felt the second, the very second, she’d decided she could trust him.
It was a good start.
The woman was still sleeping, and she had certainly earned her rest. It was barely after dawn, so perhaps she’d sleep awhile.
He’d gotten up and had hooked up the computers left by the Realm boys, and now he was systematically figuring out a scheme to take down Peter Gallagher. It was the only way to keep both Victoria and his brothers safe.
The brand burned on his palm from not being used. He’d been very careful to keep either his hand or his fangs off her, no matter how much he’d craved to use both at the same time.
He worked for a while longer, drinking coffee, making meticulous notes. Time was drawing short, and he needed an attack plan that would work. Gallagher was a smart guy. There was nothing in the official documents that even hinted at a problem within the organization, which wasn’t much of a surprise.
The door opened, and Victoria walked out, wearing his dress shirt and nothing else. The sleek silver fell to her knees, giving her the look of a delicate temptress.
“Morning,” he said, rising.
She hovered in the doorway. “Um, morning.”
He reached her in three steps and leaned down to press a kiss to her soft lips. “I thought you’d sleep awhile.”
She pushed unruly curls away from her face. “I woke up, and you weren’t there.” A very pink flush wound up her cheekbones, turning her eyes into sparkling sapphires. “I mean—”
“I like what you said.” He kissed her again. “Are you hungry?”
“Not yet.” She spotted her guitar in the corner, and her shoulders settled. “Thought I’d play for a bit.” Then she viewed the organized piles on the table. “What in the world are you doing?”
“Tugging on threads,” he said, turning back to work. “After you play for a while, I thought we could practice your gift.”
“My gift?” She frowned, a cute line appearing between her eyebrows. “What gift?”
He grinned. “Your ability to affect electronics. Let’s hone that so you can control it.” He pushed her toward her guitar, patting her lightly on the ass. “I need to hack into Peter Gallagher’s private files now, so take your time.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’re a hacker?” She eyed him, head to toe.
His body heated from just her gaze. “Sure. The challenge of hacking into an enemy’s accounts has always been a hobby of mine.” Yet this was serious and not fun. He was going to take Gallagher down, and hard.
“Oh.” She frowned and rubbed her hand down over the Celtic swords and words on his chest.
His abdomen clenched.
“I’ve been thinking,” she murmured.
“Oh?” he asked, his body heating.
“Yes. You’re hurting because of your vow and the Council.” She looked up, a stunning innocence in her eyes. “Your loyalty isn’t just to the three people sitting on the Council. It’s to the values of the witch nation. Fairness, security, family, fate, protection . . . you haven’t lost that, Adam. No matter what happens next.”
His breath stopped. He’d been trying to get inside her mind, inside her heart, and she’d just figured out everything about him. She was trying to find peace for him. “Victoria,” he murmured.
She smiled. “I really need to play that guitar. There’s a new song filling my head, and I have to get it out. Just think about what I said,” she mumbled, disappearing behind the door.
“I will,” he said softly, turning back to his work. Could he give her the same type of peace? Only if he secured her safety first. He had to concentrate. Now—where was that spreadsheet? He found it on the bottom of the pile.
“Hey.” She appeared at the door again with a green gun in her hand. “There are a bunch of these cool laser guns in the room off the bathroom.” The gun looked all wrong in her delicate hand, and she held it as if not quite sure what to do with it. “I take it these are witch guns only?”
“Many species have them. Not humans, however,” he said. “Put it back, and later I’ll show you how to use it, if you’d like.”
She blinked. “Sounds good.” Then she disappeared again.
When she emerged twenty minutes later, she’d tied her mass of hair up on her head. Tendrils already escaped. As she passed him, she fingered one of the strands. “I was, ah, thinking of getting rid of the purple streaks.”
He sat back. “Why?” They were kind of spunky, just like her.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re not very, well, classy.”
He studied her, his heart warming. “Why not?”
She looked away from him.
“Victoria,” he said, waiting until she’d focused back on him before continuing. “I like the purple.”
Her gaze darkened. “Oh. The purple. Me. Your walk on the wild side.”
He almost burst out laughing until he realized she was serious. Ah. That sure as hell wouldn’t do. Why was she so out of sorts? He stood and crossed the room, stopping right in front of her. His knuckle nudged her chin up. “I have a feeling I wouldn’t like where your thoughts have gone,” he said softly, trying to figure her out.
She shrugged again.
Oh, the little sweetheart. “Feeling a little vulnerable after last night?” he guessed, gliding his thumb along her jawline, over her silky smooth skin.
“No,” she said.
He couldn’t help the grin. “Be careful, Victoria. I have no problem making you eat those words, and then you wouldn’t get to play your guitar until much later.”
She blushed, this time a deep rose.
He sighed. “I like you just the way you are. If you ask me, you have more class than any woman I’ve ever met.”
She snorted, still trying to avoid his gaze. “Right.”
“As much as I think I’m in your head, I can’t read minds. Talk to me.” He needed to have her trust all the time, not just when he was balls-deep inside her.
She faced him then, her gaze direct. “You bit me, and your hand has the brand. You could’ve mated me last night, and you didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I want to mate. Definitely not. But it hit me that I’m not the type of woman a guy like you mates.”
He frowned, his temper awakening. “Why the hell not?”
“Oh, come on. I barely have an education, and my dad is a major drug dealer.” She rolled those pretty eyes. “I’m definitely from the wrong side of the tracks.”
He shook his head. “You have it and me all wrong.” Who had done such a number on her? “My family is wild and often outcasts. Daire’s mate is a crazy-assed demon, a real demon, who robs banks in her spare time.”
Victoria’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not true.”
“Sure it is.” Adam smiled. “We don’t like boring women. You have to know that. I like you.” He ran his hands down her arms. “But nobody, especially not Peter Gallagher and the fucking Coven Nine, is going to tell me who to mate or force you into immortality. Period.”
She gave a short nod, but her eyes weren’t convinced. “I guess that’s fair. I mean, not that I want to get mated. But still.”
Whoever mated her would have to understand and believe in love. And have a lot of it to give. The idea of anybody else mating her squeezed his throat tight, and he shoved the sensation away. There wasn’t time for that. “Are we good?” he asked.
“Yes.” She rolled her eyes and moved toward her guitar. “I’ll play outside, away from your computer and your hacking plans. If I stay, the laptop might explode.”
How interesting. She probably had to have stayed away from certain technology her entire life. Had that gotten lonely? “You can stay inside,” he said.
She gave him a smile. “I spend a lot of time outside away from things I can blow up. I enjoy it.”
All right. He turned back to his papers, trying to figure out how to trap Gallagher. Oh, he had the video of the guy in the hospital, but he needed more. He also needed to find Parker Monzelle and take him out before he harmed either of his daughters again.
The question remained as to who had helped Parker Monzelle escape. Something told Adam he really wasn’t going to like the answer to that question.
Tori moved out to the front porch and shut the door.
He methodically hacked through Peter’s life, going through hidden bank accounts in other countries. Most witches, Adam included, held bank accounts around the world, so that in itself wasn’t a problem. But there had to be more.
The strumming of a guitar caught his ear. He paused in the midst of typing. Then she began to sing. A lonely song, a mournful tune. Her voice wrapped around him, wound inside him.
When she finished, the brand on his hand swelled and burned hotter than any fire he’d ever touched.
* * *
Tori took a nice shower after a lunch of sandwiches and dressed in jeans and a dark shirt. She pinned her hair back and stepped out of the bedroom to find Adam waiting for her. He’d showered earlier and changed into jeans and a Bon Jovi shirt. She grinned. “You like Bon Jovi. I noticed all your ringtones.”
“Aye.” Adam moved the computer to the very end of the table.
She cleared her throat. “What’s my ringtone?”
He smiled. “If you’re a very good girl today, I’ll tell you.”
Curiosity wandered through her. It was probably something like Runaway or Let It Rock. She rolled her shoulders. “Okay. What do we do?”
“First, I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your singing and playing earlier.” Was that pride in his eyes?
She shuffled her feet. “Thanks. I love writing songs.”
He cleared his throat. “I’ve been wondering. Do you miss performing? Is that something that it’s hurting you not to do?”
She was touched by the genuine question. He did want to know the real her. “Not really. I prefer writing songs, to be honest. Playing with the band helps pay the bills.” She had so many new ideas for songs, and she had to admit, many were from being with Adam. Her feelings lately were complex and deep . . . and made for perfect lyrics, if she could be that honest with herself.
“I see.” He studied her, his gaze seeming to see all of her. “I’d love to hear more of your songs tonight, if you don’t mind.”
She grinned. “If you’re a very good boy today, I may play a song for you.”
He grinned at her throwing his words back at him. “You are a clever girl, now aren’t you?”
“We’re about to see.” She took another deep breath. What if she could control her oddity? How much fun would that be? “Okay. Where do we start with this risky training?”
“Just relax.” He moved to her side and pointed to the microwave. “Let’s start small. There are noodles in the microwave, and it’s already programmed for three minutes. Concentrate and try to mentally push the start button.”
She looked at the glowing start button and blinked.
Nothing.
She nodded and blinked again.
Nothing happened. Adam’s grin caught her eye. “What?” she asked.
He tried to press his lips together, but humor danced in his eyes. “You look just like the woman in I Dream of Jeannie.”
She coughed out a laugh. “I watched a bunch of reruns on the oldie channel a while back. Well, until the television started smoking and sputtering.” Okay. That was funny. She lowered her chin and tried to shoot imaginary waves at the start button. No imaginary waves from her. Her shoulders slumped. “I can’t do it.”
Adam stepped behind her and slid his arm around her waist. His hand pressed between her breasts right at her solar plexus. “Work from here. Lean against me, and work from this part of your body.”
She leaned back and let him support her weight. Then she concentrated on his hand, on the pressure and heat where he pressed. A tingle, an odd one, wound down her spine. She caught her breath. Then she squinted and shot out all the energy she could, mentally pushing through the air.
Sparks flew up from the back of the microwave. “Argh,” she said, her eyes wide. More sparks, and a fire.
“Shit.” Adam released her and ran around the table, reaching to unplug the cord. He grabbed a dishrag and slapped the fire out before shaking his fingers. “Burned me.” He stuck his index finger in his mouth.
Tori went blank. What the heck? “You can get burned?” she asked.
He nodded. “Of course.”
She looked at the dead microwave. “So. That was a huge bust.”
He grinned and released his finger. “That was an excellent start. Don’t worry about the microwave. Daire bought it.” Adam chuckled. “For the time being, while you’re letting your power out, stay away from my computer. Okay?”
“I’ve spent a lifetime staying away from televisions, radios, and computers. This is nothing new.” She edged away from the table. “I’ve probably read more books than you have. The paper kind—not the e-book kind.” Then she noticed Adam gazing at her very thoughtfully. “What?”
“Have you ever tried to jam a gun?” he asked, his intelligent eyes gleaming with ideas.
“Once the other day, but it didn’t work,” she admitted.
He strode into the bathroom and returned with two guns. “Let’s go outside and figure this out. Then we can move on to the motorcycle. You’ve already affected that before, so perhaps that’s the key.” His phone rang out Blood on Blood, and he lifted it to his ear. “Hey, Daire. Robbed any banks lately?”
Then he sobered instantly.
Tori stilled, unease sweeping through her. Her legs trembled.
Adam’s eyes hardened and turned a deeper hue with a hint of fury. “Got it. Keep me informed.” He clicked off, his gaze not leaving hers.
She couldn’t breathe. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she breathed in and then out. “What? What happened?” He reached her in two strides, and she instinctively backed away, her hand up. “Just tell me.” God, was it Alexandra? “Please tell me what just happened.”
Adam stopped moving. “We will take care of this, Victoria. Do you understand?”
Numbly, she nodded. “What?”
“Your mother was kidnapped from the cruise ship. The two guards are dead, but she was taken unharmed. Whoever has her wants her alive, and that’s good.”
His voice trailed off at the end, just as darkness swept in from the edges of her vision. The last thing she saw as she started to fall was Adam reaching to catch her.