Chapter Four

“Don’t forget we’re coming over later this week to cook out.”

“I won’t forget.” She hugged Rena back. Too bad she wouldn’t be here for it.

She stood back and watched Rena, and Aran along with Dee, and Niko walk to their vehicle. The laughter from the women stayed behind as they drove down the driveway.

“I like them.”

“They like you too.” He took her hand and led her into the living room.

It was cozy. This must be his private area, not the other room that was open and spacious that they were in earlier.

This room was done in gray with hints of mauve that kept it from being too dark or gloomy.

“You like to play with colors.”

“I do, but you're avoiding the issue at hand.”

“I have to leave Lucca. I wish I could stay, I do, but every minute I stay with you brings you one step closer to death.”

“Explain it to me, Tempest. I deserve an explanation before you run away.”

She was pacing back and forth behind one of the armchairs he had in the room.

“You do deserve an answer. I don’t think you’re going to like it.” She went to the armchair and plopped down into it before she bit her lip.

“Here goes. The earth is old, older than most people think. It’s also special it hides the door to the unknown galaxy.”

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

“You don’t seem to have a problem with that.”

“I’m the guardian to a section of the unknown galaxy.”

“Oh.”

Did that change things? She knew there were guardians, but she never met one before. Did ending up in a guardian’s home mean things were going to go right, or seriously wrong?

“Long story short, I use to be normal, human. I’m still human just different. I was picked by one of the old guardians of the earth to become a daughter of the Earth. If you kill me, you kill a part of the planet. Something wants me dead.”

“How do we fight it?”

She jumped up and started pacing again. “You’re not listening to me, Lucca. We don’t run. I run and keep running; I run through this day, and next week, and next year. I run through the century if I can. I run until it tracks me down and drains me dry. When I can’t run anymore, I feel sorry for the Earth.” Turning she ran for the door.

She was light on her feet. By the time he reached the door she was gone, which meant he was going to have to track her down. His mate was a runner; he'd laugh if it weren't so serious.

He went up the stairs to shower and change. He should look good when he caught up with her.

*~*~*~*

Running made sense right up until she realized she had nowhere to go. How long had it been since she left Lucca’s house? Hours? She thought he would come after her. Obviously, she was mistaken. It wouldn’t be the first time she trusted the wrong person. It just hurt that her mate didn’t care about her, but it had only been a day. Besides, she didn’t want a mate.

Her arms were wrapped around her abdomen. The pain that she had been managing was coming back full force. She slipped into an alley looking for a place to sit down and recover when a dark shadow covered her.

“Tempest, did you really think you could hide?”

Yeah, she did. Maybe it was just whatever security Lucca had at his house. It wasn’t until after she left his property that she felt herself being pursued again.

“Shadow I was missing the chase. How can I kill you if you’re not around?”

Laughter dark and dangerous surrounded her.

“I intended to kill you slowly, then you did the unthinkable and woke up.”

Why? What fun or joy could he be getting from her? She was so deeply asleep that she didn’t know what was happening around her.

The darkness increased. She felt something crawl up her neck making her swat at it even as she slipped deeper into the alley. She was trapped, there was a wall behind her, and the shadow was blocking the exit. Again, she felt something cold and slimy crawl over her neck.

Stupid feet she shouted in her head, always running. We could have stayed safe with Lucca. He didn’t want me. Her bravado died even as she started looking for a way to get free. She pressed forward trying to make the shield the shadow had around the alley move backward.

“Right on time. I’ve summoned some of my friends to come have some fun with you. Sorry I won’t be here for your final moments but it's better this way.”

The cloying darkness and the slimy feeling on her neck were both gone. What was left behind chilled her, three males were walking down the alley. The kind you only hoped to see on television. Each was armed, and all three were smiling at her.

“Hello, gentlemen.” She stood up and threw them what she hoped was a badass smile. The kind that said if you want to live don’t bother me.

“Is this your alley? I was just checking out the decor. Ode de-grime. It’s lovely but not really my style. I’ll leave it for you.”

The first one stopped he was big, six foot and thick but not with muscle. He wasn’t Lucca. Not that she was thinking about him, she was thinking about living.

“Get her.” He commanded the other two; they came after her.

One deep breath and she started to run. She was fast as fast as the wind if her insides weren’t killing her. She could avoid them and make her way out…

Her eyes opened to find that she was lying in a puddle of something. The throbbing in her head told her that baseball bat had made contact with her skull. The man leaning over her with a knife pressing against her throat told her death was imminent. The man holding her down told her escape was futile.

Could she now allow herself to spend some time thinking about her absent mate before she died or was that death? Was death some kind of void where you thought about what could have been?

“It’s only been thirty minutes menace, and already you’re in trouble.”

Her heart beat sped up, she didn’t know whether to be happy he was here or to take him down a peg or two for calling her menace. Didn’t he know the white knight rules?

She tilted her head back to look at him. He was no white knight. He was standing in the alley wearing a pair of jeans that looked like they were made just for him. They were sitting so low on his hips that she was waiting for them to slip. She deserved a treat while she was still alive. His T-shirt looked like it had been deliberately cut to add to his good looks. Then there was that hair that she wanted to touch. He was every fantasy that she ever had. Even on death's door, she wanted to touch him.

“Sorry guys, someone may have told you she was yours, but menace is mine.”

“Look buddy find your own chick, were claiming this one.”

“Wrong thing to say.”

“Boys take care of him.” The man with the knife at her throat ordered.

Lucca smiled and knocked them out one at a time. The man holding Tempest pulled her up placing her in front of him.

“You let me out of here, or she dies.”

“Your boys,” He glanced at the ground. “They’re just sleeping with a little help from me. You hurt her or even let your toy knife nick her, and you're dead.” He pulled his symphor allowing it to flash in the darkness.

“What are you?”

“Glad you asked. I’m a genetically engineered killer. I have been since the time I could walk.”

“What about Hank he—.”

Tempest brought her foot down on his instep.

“Ow, you b…” He raised his head to look at Lucca who was waiting for him to finish his sentence.

She held her breath if he knew that Hank, the guy with the baseball bat, hit her with it, they were all dead.

“You called her menace.”

“I did that may have given you the wrong impression. She’s my menace, is that better?”

Awe, he cared, she might get around to forgiving him for calling her menace.

“It’s like that? How do I know you won’t kill me?”

“You don’t, but you know your only chance of living is to hand her over unharmed.”

“Go!” He screamed because it made him feel like he was in command.

She ran to Lucca because she didn’t know how much longer she could stand. He cradled her in his arms like she was a baby. If he kept doing this, she was going to wonder if he liked her, or if he wanted to raise her.

He threw out one hand, and the man fell to the ground.

“Lucca!”

“What? He’s still alive; I feel proud of myself right now. I even put a shield over the alley that won’t go away until their conscious. Don’t I deserve a kiss menace?”

“What did I tell you about that lecherous gaze?” she whispered before she leaned closer and kissed him.

His lips were so hard until they became soft under hers. She licked at his mouth wondering if he would open up. When he did, she was lost. He sucked her tongue in connecting every nerve she forgot about over the centuries. Her body was lit up and begging for a deeper kiss. Her tongue dueled with his before she began to suck on his gently like it was fine wine, and she couldn’t get enough.

Her hand slipped down over his torso to the bulge in his jeans. She needed to know if he was as affected as she was.

He pressed her hand against him, the heat of his erection searing her through his jeans.

“It’s all for you menace.”

Her cheeks flamed, and she leaned back into his arms. This one time she wouldn’t argue with him about carrying her.

“You shouldn’t call me menace.”

“Why?”

“Because…”

He laughed as she sputtered to a stop not having a good answer for him.

“Where are we going?”

“You need a shower, and then you need to pack.”

“Why?”

“You were lying in a poodle of questionable fluids.”

She gritted her teeth and bit her lip. He did it on purpose. He knew what she was asking, but he wanted to get a rise out of her.

“Everything okay over there?”

She turned her head and looked out the window as he drove back to his house.

“You also need some hiking boots.”

Hiking boots? No, hell no.

“You can’t make me go. I won’t do it, let me out of this car.” She was screaming so loud the oncoming cars might be calling the police on his ass. That will teach him.

“We have to go back Tempest. You don’t know what’s coming after you, it could be The Darkness or several other entities. If we don’t know what it is, we can’t break the connection.”

“I fought like hell to get away from that cave. Why would I want to go back?”

“You fought to find me. Now that you have we need to start from the beginning or as close to the beginning as we can get.”

She slumped back into the seat only to realize she was pulling at the door handle. He must have done something to keep it from opening. Of course, she may have forgotten to unlock it in her mindless actions to get away from him.

“Don’t call me menace because I’m not yours.”

His masculine laughter echoed through the car touching every sensitive spot on her body. When he parked, she sighed in relief until his hands touched her.