~ FOURTEEN ~

Larissa motioned for Anne, a young woman from the shelter and applicant for a housekeeper position, to sit down. “Have a seat.”

"How are you doing?”

“Fine. Thank you.”

She started to read her application. “I notice you don’t have any past addresses listed.”

“I’ve been staying with…honestly, I don’t want to leave an easy trail for my ex-boyfriend to find me.”

“It’s okay. I understand. You don’t need to give me any details about your past addresses.”

"Thank you.”

“You have a restraining order against him, right?”

Anne nodded. “I do.”

“I would like to keep a copy of it in my office. Do you have one with you?”

“No. I wasn’t able to grab it when I left the shelter.”

“What county issued it?”

“Multnomah.”

“I’ll track down a copy. You should have one on you at all times. And don’t worry, we’ll make sure you and your baby are safe here.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be around for long.”

“We have a permanent room to offer you.”

“I can’t afford to rent a room right now. Not here. Maybe after I put in a few weeks.”

“There is no charge for the room for as long as you work here. How far along are you?”

“About six months.”

“Have you been able to receive any prenatal care?” Larissa asked.

“No.”

“I’ll get an appointment set up for you to see an obstetrician.”

“I can’t afford it right now.”

“Don’t worry about money right now. Did you graduate high school?”

“No.” Anne frowned, shaking her head. “I only went until the tenth grade.”

“I want you to get your high school diploma. It’s important. You can attend classes in the daytime and work a few hours each night and on weekends. We’ll sit down and figure out a schedule that will work best for you. I can’t offer you any health insurance because you won’t be a fulltime employee. But I will take care of your medical expenses until you’re able to get coverage.”

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I need to know why you’re helping me.”

“I understand. We all need help at some point in our lives. Once you have your diploma we can look at options for furthering your education. I want to give you as many options as possible. I want to give you a chance to succeed. Once you do, I know you’ll have the ability and desire to help someone else.”

Anne smiled. “You really care.”

“I do.” Larissa stood up and offered her hand to Anne. “I believe in you. I believe you can conquer all that has happened in the past.”

She led Anne to the door and opened it. Her heart sped up when her gaze landed on Gabe’s and he smiled. He had one hell of a sexy smile. She was thrilled to see him standing in the hall. She handed Anne an envelope with cash and a keycard. “Get yourself settled in and we’ll sort everything out in the morning.”

****

Gabe couldn’t go from one step to the next without seeing Larissa. He needed to make sure she was well. And he just needed to be near her. He’d heard every word exchanged between her and the young woman. Larissa’s kindness touched him. It was a part of her he hadn’t yet witnessed. She cared about Anne. A stranger. He would make sure the expectant mother was protected.

“You didn’t knock.”

“I knew you were busy.”

“Adam’s wife?”

“She’s safe.”

“That’s good.” She tilted her head to the side, looking up at him as if searching for something. “Is something wrong, Gabe?”

“No.”

Frowning, she narrowed her gaze on his. “You look worried.”

“I just needed to see you. Are you doing okay?”

“I am fine thanks to you. I won’t lie, I’m a little freaked out. I can’t believe someone woke up today and decided to kill me.”

“The world can be a very dark place.”

“I know. I just don’t understand why people choose to live violently.”

“It’s not always a choice.”

“That came out wrong. I wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything.”

“I know. Don’t apologize to me.” He wrapped his arms around her, needing to hold her.

“Are you going to come in?”

“I can’t. I need to take care of a few problems. If you need me don’t hesitate to call me.”

“You think something is going to happen.”

“I wouldn’t allow myself to be distracted by other things if I thought you were in danger. I just need to know you will call me if you need me.”

“I already promised. Are you coming back tonight?”

“Do you want me to come back?”

“I am really starting to enjoy your company.”

“It might be late.”

“That’s okay. I’m hoping to keep you for the night.”

“You know you just made it much more difficult to leave.”

“You can’t blame me for trying to keep you all to myself.”

“You don’t need to try.”

 “I don’t know what is happening to me. I swear I’m going crazy. I can’t do anything without thinking of you.”

“Same here.” He smiled. “What room do you have the girl staying in?”

“You heard?”

“I did.”

“I put her in 302.”

“Do you have a picture of the guy?”

“No. I plan to get a copy of the restraining order. She filed right here in Multnomah county. I am also going to try to get his criminal record and his mug shot.”

“Let me know if you need any help.”

“Thank you, Gabe. I shouldn’t have a problem getting everything.”

“Give my number to her and tell her to call me if she hears from him or sees him.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. Whatever or whoever is important to you is important to me.”

****

Two male voices talking in another language caught Hanna’s attention. She looked at them and instantly recognized them. The one standing at Adam’s left had tackled her to the ground and put the damn zip ties on her wrists.

Adam spoke to them in Russian. His voice sounded harsh, demanding, and just plain angry.

The men looked over at her, glared at her. For a second, she felt their hatred. Then, shocking her, Adam growled. They looked back at him and shook their heads. One answered him. Part of her wanted to know what they were discussing. The other part of her, the smarter part, didn’t want to know anything about their conversation.

“You recognize them,” Adam stated as if they weren’t listening.

She didn’t respond. What if she said the wrong thing? They worked for him. They were friends.

“You could never say the wrong thing to me, babe.” She didn’t see him take a step, but he’d moved several feet to stand directly in front of her.” Do you recognize them?”

“They followed me for a few blocks. They were with the others.” She pointed. “He tackled me to the ground and put the zip ties on my wrists. They work for you?” She didn’t even try to hide the accusation in her voice.

“Yes. They have for several decades. They denied seeing you after you left the hotel.”

She narrowed her gaze onto his and lifted her chin. “It’s true.”

“I know. I just wanted to let you know what they were claiming.” He brought her hand to his chest and pressed her palm over his heart. “You are the only person in this world I will never doubt.”

****

Adam looked at Gabe. “You know what to do with them.” He paused. “Where’s Javier?”

“He’s still guarding Larissa.”

“You’ll return to her this evening, right?”

“If I do,” he shrugged, “I do.”

“Send him to me when you return to her.” Adam wasn’t sure what to think about Gabe telling him to stay the fuck out of his business. If he had more time he would poke a little just to get a rise out of him. He knew damn well Gabe planned to return to Larissa. “I would feel better knowing you are looking out for her. We can’t afford to piss Joseph off anymore. I want to talk to the rest of our men. Have them wait in the hall for me.”

 “Sure thing.” Gabe left with the men.

“I want to help you stop Evolved, Adam.”

Adam faced her. “We will. It will take some time to get it done, but I promise we will destroy them.”

“It was terrible.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Do you want to hear everything?”

“I hate what happened to you. I want you to talk to me. But if you’re not ready to talk to me today, you can wait.”

“No. I need to tell you now. We need to stop him. Most of the time, I was kept in filth and total darkness.” She tilted her head to the side. “You can see in the dark, right?”

“All demons can.”

“I always figured they could since they didn’t need light.”

“It was very dark?”

“Most of the time I couldn’t see anything. Not even my hand in front of my face. It was always very cold and damp.  Sometimes, I imagined the sun on my skin. But after a few years I could no longer remember what it felt like. I used to feel as if I was going insane. Nothing seemed real.”

“I can’t imagine what it was like.”

“Do you know a demon named Demetri Demidov?”

“I do.”

“Can you take me to him? I shared a cell with Sara, his mate. I need to talk to him.”

“I’ll have him come here to talk to you. It would be too dangerous to take you to him.”

Adam reached for Demetri. Can you come over to the hotel?

When?

Now. My mate wants to talk to you. She has information concerning your mate. While in captivity, they spent some time together. I am not bringing her to the club.

I wouldn’t want you to bring her here. Give me a minute to have your pups create a distraction.

I knew you would find them useful.

“Why would it be too dangerous to go to him? Do you think Demetri is dangerous?”

“He’s being forced to stay with a woman who’s linked to Evolved. If he does anything out of step he risks Sara being killed over it.”

“That’s terrible, Adam. We will help them, right?”

“I would do anything for you.”

He felt Demetri’s presence just outside the door. I’m here.

That was fast.

“Demetri is here.”

“You already contacted him?”

Adam nodded. “Telepathically.”

“Let him in.”

“I will. But I want you to understand that he’s dangerous right now.”

“Because he wants to find her?”

“Yes. I need you to trust me. I need to know you’re willing to listen to me no matter what happens.”

“I will listen to you.” He didn’t miss the fact that she didn’t say she would trust him.

When Adam opened the door, Demetri walked in.

Hanna took a step toward him. “Oh, my, god, Caspian. I thought they killed you.”

Demetri shook his head. “Caspian is my brother. My name is Demetri.”

“You look exactly like him.”

“We’re identical twins.”

“How do you know Caspian?” Adam asked.

“She can’t know him,” Demetri said. “He has been dead for a thousand years.”

“They brought him back,” Hanna said.

“Brought him back?” Demetri asked.

“I don’t know how, but they resurrected him. He was dead.”

“Where is he?” Demetri asked.

“Evolved has him sealed in a huge vault in a basement. They tried to force him to kill me. They also tried to force him to kill Sara.” She paused. “And other women.”

“He would never do anything like that.”

“They thought they could change him. They poisoned him with tainted blood. When he didn’t kill us, they took us away from him. He killed two of the demons that took me from him, but he ended up getting seriously wounded. I never saw him after that day.”

“Where is the house?” Demetri asked.

“All I know is that it was part of a haunted tour. I can’t remember where it’s located.”

“He can’t be alive.” Demetri shook his head. “He would reach out to me for help.”

“What if he couldn’t?” Adam asked.

“That wouldn’t happen.”

“It happened to you. You couldn’t go to anyone for help. It’s the same damn silencing spell. You still can’t openly discuss certain details of what has happened without putting Sara’s life in danger. Caspian is protecting someone.”

“For a thousand years? Who the hell is he protecting?”

“It’s hard to say. Perhaps he found his mate.”

“He doesn’t want to leave,” Hanna said.

“Why?” Demetri asked.

“He wouldn’t tell me why.”

****

Hanna felt a surge of power, of violence in the atmosphere. She actually felt as if Demetri might try to snatch her away out of desperation.

“Demetri, I know this is hard for you, but your scaring Hanna. She wants to share the memory of her encounter with Sara in hopes of helping you find her.”

“I don’t mean to cause you any reason to be afraid.”

“I know.” Hanna nodded. “If you let me merge my mind with yours, I can take you to a moment I spent with her. You’ll be able to experience my memory as if it’s a dream.”

“She’s not comfortable with our kind touching her mind,” Adam explained. “You’ll need to allow her to have access to yours.”

“I understand.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Demetri. No tricks. I will end it.”

Demetri nodded. “I know.”

Adam wrapped his arm around her waist. “Are you ready?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Adam looked at Demetri. “Let’s get it done.”

Demetri extended his hand. When she placed her hand in his, the floor vibrated. She knew she was safe with Adam. She felt him guarding her mind, protecting her. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to reach for Demetri’s mind. She easily found the path to enter his mind. Once she knew her connection to him was solid, she allowed the memory to play out.

Hanna listened to shouting. She was in total darkness. Unable to see anything. Not even her hand in front of her face. She used to imagine the sun on her skin, but she’d been locked away for so long that she could no longer remember what it felt like.

Hanna felt Adam’s arm tighten around her waist, holding her close. “It’s a memory, babe. I am with you. You will never be trapped in the dark again.”

“I hated being alone, but I wished they’d never captured Sara.”

“None of it was your fault.”

Over the months Hanna began to watch Sara slowly, painfully slip away. She had endured too much pain, and too much sadness. Since talking about Demetri always seemed to strengthen Sara, Hanna often asked her about him.

The last day they were together, Hanna lifted Sara’s head onto her lap and stroked her hair.

“Tell me about Demetri again. Do you think he loves you as deeply as you love him?”

“I am sure of it.”

“Why don’t you call him to you?”

“If I do he will suffer for thousands of years. I hope he’ll eventually forget about me and move on. He had already lived so many lifetimes before we met. He’ll find love again. I know he will. I betrayed him once, I’ll never do it again.”

“Why do they want him?” Hanna asked.

“It’s Erebus.” Sara replied. “He created Evolved as a way to get revenge against Demetri and many other demons. He wants to punish them.”

“For what?”

“The demons had a war with each other many years ago. They believed they’d killed him. He fooled them.”

“Do you know why the other demons wanted to kill him?”

“Erebus tried to kill off or imprison humans. He viewed us as weak. In his eyes we are all insects.”

“Demetri fought to save humans?”

“Yes. Many demons fought for us. They see it as their responsibility. They are the strongest, most powerful beings. They believe we are the weakest of all creation. They fight to give us a chance to live,” Sara explained.

“They don’t sound like the demons keeping us here.”

“The demons of Evolved are pure evil. They have no goodness in them.”

“Demetri could save you, couldn’t he?”

“I don’t want him to find me. They’ll kill him.”

“But he loves you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Being unable to find you must be torture. It has to be worse than death.”

“He’ll be fine. He’ll hurt but he’ll move on.”

“Demons mate for life.”

“I’m human. I can’t be his true mate. There’s another out there for him, his true mate, and he will eventually find her. She’ll heal his heart and his soul.”

“I am so sorry. I have never been in love. It must be so painful to be away from him, to imagine him finding another woman to love.”

“No matter what I go through, I have his memory to hold me. I was loved by him. Truly loved.”

“Someone is coming.”

Hanna yanked her mind from Demetri’s. “I am sorry, I can’t…I need to stop.”

“Don’t apologize. You did great,” Adam said.

“Adam is right. You did great. Thank you, Hanna.” Demetri felt a terrible crushing pain in his chest. How could Sara believe he would find another woman to replace her? She was his woman. His only woman. His eternal mate. His heart physically ached. He looked at Adam. “Did you catch the name?”

“Erebus. But it can’t possibly be him. He’s dead. We killed him.”

“You’re old enough to know nothing is impossible.”

“Too many of us witnessed his death.”

“How would he come at us?”

“Our mates.” Adam said. “He would use our mates to torture and destroy us.”

“You need to get the hell away from here, Adam. You need to take your mate and hide.”

“No,” Hanna said. “I can’t run far enough to hide from him.”

Demetri ignored her. “Do it now.”

“He’s in my blood.”

“He has a blood bond with her,” Adam explained.

I know. Joseph told me. Complete the ritual and get her the hell as far from here as possible.

I can’t. She has been through too much. She doesn’t even try to hide the fact that she can’t trust me.

Really? Did you miss the fact that she just trusted you to guard her mind from me? You need to try.

I won’t. You know damn well she’ll die if I attempt to do it and she doesn’t fully trust me. Besides, I am not tucking my tail between my legs and running from Erebus. If he’s alive we need to find him and kill him. We need to make damn sure none of the overlords remain. We need to kill them all. We need to find Sara. I am not abandoning you or your mate, Demetri. My mate is safe now. Your mate is not. We will work together until you have her in your arms.

“Are you two getting ready to kiss or are you having a secret conversation?” Hanna asked.

“I guess you had better come up with something to tell her because I’m not kissing you.” Demetri said.

“Not even a little smooch?” Adam laughed.

Demetri shook his head. “Don’t make me kick your ass in front of your mate.”

“Feel free to try.”

“After we sort this mess out. I want you fit to fight for Hanna’s sake.”

“You’re funny. We’ll talk later, Demetri.” Adam decided to end the conversation. He needed to think. He needed to figure out what to do. First, he needed to talk to the rest of his soldiers in the hall.

Demetri nodded. “Thank you, Hanna. I will forever remain indebted to you for offering your friendship and compassion to Sara.”