CHAPTER TEN
Danel walked the girls to the bar and made sure to scowl at any male onlookers checking them out. He’d mauled Ronnie as she changed for work, ensuring his scent was thick on her skin. That would take care of almost all the Darkworld studs who valued their nuts being between their legs. The rest would have to learn the hard way if they made advances on his wife.
“Mine,” he growled to no one in particular.
“Yes, Tarzan.” Ronnie snorted. “When you’re done beating your chest, feel free to check on your Dragon patient upstairs. We’re good.”
He scrubbed his goatee, leaving his middle finger on its own for a few extra strokes. Flipping her off only made her laugh harder. Women. “You know the drill,” he said, about to recap the rules.
“Goooo!” she said, tossing a bar rag at his head.
Fine. He could tell when he wasn’t wanted. Beating feet back toward the kitchen, he met Meck on his way to the side door. “You got an eye on them?”
“Yep,” Meck said. “Mouse is watching the bar tonight. I’ve already explained the torture that will follow if he fucks up.”
Danel smiled. “Good enough. Second floor if you need me.”
“Hold up a sec, D. I’ve got a daemon at the front who wanted to speak to a Watcher about going upstairs.”
“Upstairs? Why the fuck would we let a daemon behind the scenes?”
“He says it’s about the dragon.”
Danel frowned. Whoever was asking was certainly more informed than he should be. “Point him out.”
Meck led the way and pointed to a badass Shedim with the prettiest hair he’d ever seen. Like ’80s supermodel hair. No wonder the guy looked like he could take down any asshole in the place. He’d probably been fighting his way through life when comments flew his way.
“Thanks, Meck. I got this.”
He waved over Farrah Faucet and inclined his chin. “I hear you have a request. Mind if I ask who the fuck you are and why I should be talking to you?”
The male didn’t look at all put off by the welcome. “I am Larkin a.k.a. Slaughter, loyal warrior to Cassiane, the one true Mistress of Shedim. The couple you and the dragon saved from attack are my . . . well, they are mine. Pyper and Jace took me in when I needed a home, and I am forever grateful you warriors were there to help them.”
“They’re yours? Well, ain’t it a small world?”
Larkin nodded, ignoring the skepticism.
“You won’t mind if I check out your story, would you? ’Cause I’m gonna, whether you like it or not.”
“By all means.”
Danel called up Cassi’s number and laid out the sitch for the Greek’s wife. When she asked if the male in question had beautiful multi-colored hair, he figured the guy was in the clear.
“So, why are you here, Shedim?”
“The dragon. I would like to offer him a place to recuperate in thanks for his bravery. Pyper is terribly anxious about the attack. She’s determined to find the men who saved her, and I fear for her safety if she opens the wrong doors.”
Danel’s red flags started fluttering in the breeze. “I wiped her. She shouldn’t remember anything at all.”
Larkin shrugged. “Pyper has gifts of her own. I don’t believe she is Otherworld, but I suppose it would be arrogant to believe we could be the only ‘other’ in the universe.”
Universe? What exactly did he think she was? “Is she aware of the Otherworld? Should I be worried about exposure?”
“No, Watcher, honestly. She doesn’t ask about my world and I don’t ask about hers. It’s an implied understanding. I wouldn’t have come to you, if I thought you might harm her in any way.”
By the rise in the guy’s voice and the tension in his body language, Larkin had it bad for this Pyper. He got that. Ronnie was his life and he worried every minute of the day that knowing about him and his world would put her in danger.
“Cassie vouched for you, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Back to the dragon.”
Larkin exhaled. “Pyper is a warm-hearted and loyal female. It will ease her anxiety to care for the male hurt while saving her. And, I’m certain the dragon would prefer her attentions to those of the Watchers. No insult intended.”
Yeah, he supposed that was true.
Pointing toward the club office, Danel let himself in and took a seat at Kyrian’s old desk. He fired things up and pushed a pad and pencil toward the Shedim. “Give me the address and Pyper and Jace’s full names. I’ll do a background screen on them before I decide.”
Thea claimed the same stool at the end of the bar and scanned the crowd. Only tonight, she wasn’t just taking in the sights like the last time. Tonight, she searched the faces for the man Ringo saw in her future. After pining for Phoenix the past months, it was energizing to glimpse another option. The Watcher made his choice and obsessing over him was both futile and wrong.
“Busy tonight,” Ronnie said, slicing fruit into wedges and replenishing the bar’s supplies. “Here, try this.”
Thea accepted the glass and sipped at the rim. The ruby-pink liquid was sweet, and the bubbles felt funny on her tongue. “Mmm, what is it?”
“A Shirley Temple. I couldn’t drink when I was on meds, so it was my go-to bevvie. There’s no alcohol in it, so it won’t hurt the baby.” A patron at the end of the bar waved at Ronnie and she raised two fingers.
Thea turned back to the crowd and sipped her drink. It seemed more authentic for her to sit at the bar when she had a cocktail in her hand.
“Hey, beautiful,” a male said, beside her.
Thea blinked up at the male, her heart racing. It wasn’t him, but he was a nice-looking male. She swiveled away from the bar to face him directly and his gaze dropped to the round of her baby belly.
The gleam in his eyes abruptly faded and he pursed his lips. “All right then, you have a good night.”
Wow. It was hard to believe a person could dissolve into a crowd so quickly. Thea sighed and smoothed her blouse over her unborn child. Maybe Austin was right, it wasn’t the time for her to be thinking about males.
The problem was, her body craved nothing else.
Since she and Seth had gotten her sex life off to a rollicking start, she’d been vibrating with need. And although she held a lot of regrets about seducing the wrong twin and him not even bothering to set her straight, the sex had been incredible.
Life-altering. Addicting.
As her nipples tightened and her skin warmed, she tried not to dwell on the fact that Seth’s prowess resulted from him bedding half the women in the city. What had been monumental for her had likely been a slow night for him.
The baby squirmed, and she broke from the sexual images of her big foray into sexual indiscretion. It didn’t matter. Like he’d advised her. Eyes on the horizon.
With that, she straightened on her stool and scanned the sea of seething, half-naked, leather-clad bodies for any sign of her mystery male. She’d find him. And when she did . . . she was certain something big was in store for her.
Seth woke to the hushed tones of female voices close by and it took him a moment to regroup. Sage green walls. Patchwork quilt. Hospital johnny with playful kittens. He rolled his eyes. Drina was an asshole. Spying a pile of clothes laid out on the table beside the clinic recovery bed, he swung his feet to the floor. When the world remained on an even keel, he took that as a good sign and stood up.
“Bye-bye furballs,” he said, pulling off his gown and tossing it to the bed. Although, he had to admit, the gray one chasing the yarn was kinda cute.
“Why is it,” a female said, over his shoulder, “every time I see you, you’re either naked or trying to be?”
He cast a glance over his shoulder and got back to business. “Don’t play the hater, Doc. You always said that naked is my best quality.”
Drina never laughed at his jokes.
He pulled on the Calvin’s and stomped his feet into a pair of black jeans. Snagging the socks, he dropped to the bed and lifted his foot.
“You don’t need to do that, you know.”
He glanced up to her staring at him. “Do what?”
“Berate yourself.”
After shaking out the long-sleeved jersey top, he slid his arm in and slung it over his shoulders. “Life lessons. When you hear the same things enough times, they register loud and clear. How are Z, Phoenix, and the Greek?”
Drina snapped into her professional mode and took his wrist in her cool fingers “Are you thoroughly healed? Any residual pain or discomfort?”
“I’m solid. The others?”
“Austin and Bo took Zander to the house to sleep in his own bed. Cassi is next door with Kyrian, and Storme is across the hall with Phoenix. Neither have shown signs of waking yet.”
“They’re still out? Do you know why?”
“Not a clue,” she said, dropping his wrist and shifting to the end of the bed to write down her findings.
“Why am I vertical?”
She clicked her pen and slid it back into the pocket of her doctor jacket. “Whatever magical pulse Phoenix gave off seems to have emanated from you. It took him and Kyrian down the hardest because they were right there, and then Zander in the next room.”
He was ground zero? He figured that was Phoenix.
Seth headed across the hall and would’ve knocked on the doorframe, but Phoenix’s bride was snuggled against his twin and sound asleep.
He peeked in at Kyrian—same scene, different female.
“Go up to the house,” Drina said, emerging from his room with his johnny and sheets balled up in her arms. “Austin wants to feed you and ensure you are well.”
The idea of being treated to Austin’s TLC was more than he could take right then. He’d hated the strain between them, but he wasn’t in a solid place to face her kindness or regret. She had a way of seeing too much.
Something flickered in his mind and he was overpowered with the feeling that he’d lip-locked the angel earlier. Was that real or a figment of his ordeal? He froze as his cock weighed in and things that shouldn’t tingle suddenly got tingly.
Damn, even talking about Austin shook loose stuff he didn’t want to look at.
“Go on,” Drina said, unaware of his current mindfuck. “I’d bet you’ve spent enough time in the clinic to last two eternal lifetimes.”
“True dat.”
He didn’t want to leave his brother, but it wasn’t like he was much good to him there. Maybe he’d track down the angel and see if he’d really been macking on the female. Or maybe he wouldn’t open that particular Pandora’s box. Maybe he could help with tracking down who did this and find out where they were, on a little Watcher retribution.
Zander woke to the soft sway of the mattress and drew a deep cleansing breath. The scent of his wife filled his senses and he rolled over, reaching for her. With the blackout curtains pulled, there was no way of knowing if it was day or night. He actually didn’t even remember going to bed. Weird.
“I was having the best dream,” he said, pulling her against his body and throwing a leg over her to pin her right where he wanted her. “You and I stood before a tall, thin slab of marble, watching Michelangelo sculpt what would be David.”
He’d loved the 1500s. The art. The culture. The changing viewpoints of humanity and the developing new world.
The potential had been endless.
Austin cupped his jaw and pressed her lips to his. “How are you feeling today?”
He pressed her into the mattress beneath his hips. “You tell me. How do I feel?”
Austin giggled, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and stroking his back with her fingernails. “Are you all healed up then?”
The relief in her voice rang strange in his ears, and again, he tried to remember how and when he’d come to bed. “What did I miss?”
“Yesterday, you got hit by some kind of Phoenix power surge when you went back to the clinic to check on Seth.”
He lifted his fingers to the side of his head. That sounded vaguely familiar. “Yesterday?”
“Yeah. You’ve been loopy ever since.”
“What about Seth?”
“He’s good. Kyrian and Phoenix are still unconscious, but Drina hopes the effects will wear off soon.”
“Hopes?” He was about to go see for himself, when Austin grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.
“I’ll need another minute before I share you, Commander. Promise me you’re all right. Is your headache gone? You were dizzy earlier.”
He knew how hard it was for her when he was hurt, and he sank back into her embrace. “I’m sorry you were scared, cowgirl. I honestly don’t remember much, but I assure you, I feel no different than any other day when I wake up in your arms: blessed, horny, and madly in love. I could bench-press the bed with you on it, if you want proof.”
Austin claimed his mouth and he let her take everything she needed. There was an edge to her that he recognized. His beast growled before he registered his feelings. “What’s happened, love? What has you so wound up? Is it Nio?”
She shook her head and squeezed his hand. “Nothing like that. The baby is fine.”
“But there is something you haven’t told me.”
She kissed him again and then shifted to escape his embrace. “Come with me. It’s more of a ‘show, don’t tell’ thing.”
Zander let her pull him from the bed and after he hit the washroom and pulled on a pair of pants, he followed her out of their suite and into the private study at the far end of the hall.
“It’s been too long, brother.”
Zander froze, his gaze locked on the light switch he’d just hit. Tanek’s graveled tone behind him rocked him to the very core of his foundation. He must have hit his head harder than Austin let on. He didn’t want to look. Didn’t want to break the spell and have the illusion of his mentor and friend dissolve.
“Stop being a Nancy-assed-pansy, Zandros. Eyes on the horizon, Warrior.”
He met his friend’s gaze, his heart stuttering in his chest as he closed the distance. “Damn, Tanek. I’ve missed you.”
The warrior—the first of their kind—met him chest to chest and Zander slapped his back and held tight. The male felt solid and real, though he didn’t know how the guy’s death registered here in the Human Realm.
Emotion brought back a flood of questions from the past year. The hurt. The loss. “You came to Danel during his transition but never to me. Why? Is it because I failed you? I’m sorry, my man. I’ve run that night over in my head a thousand times. If only I had—”
Tanek shook his head, his brown hair tied back in an uptight queue instead of loose and wavy to his shoulders like it had always been. “I don’t blame you, Z. Everything happens as it is meant to in the end.”
“You sound like Austin.”
Tanek smiled, his hazel eyes shifting over to where she stood with her back to the closed door. “You wear her well, my friend. The difference in you is incredible. Congratulations.”
Zander ran a rough hand over his face and exhaled. “As much as I’d like to shoot the shit with you and catch up. I gotta stick to reality, my brother. The shit’s piled in the pasture and we’re up to our armpits in manure.”
Tanek chuckled and waved for Austin to join them. “She’s had quite a colorful effect on you boys. Your little girl too.”
Zander’s heart ached, and he had to blink quick against the sting in his eyes. “You met Niobe? I’m sorry I missed that.”
Austin hugged him around the waist and pressed her cheek to his shoulder. “There’s been a gigantic, Tanek-sized hole in everyone’s life since you’ve been gone.”
Zander swiped a rough hand under his eyes and nodded. “She’s right. We need you, my brother.”
Tanek smiled. “That’s why I’m here.”
Zander locked his knees, the gentle shake in his legs starting to pick up momentum. “Okay, spill it. Why are you here?”
Tanek pegged him straight in the eyes, as was his way, and Zander tried to hold it together. “First off, you’ve done great with the garrison. A ton got thrown at you, and you took it and rolled with it like a hero. I’d never try to take that from you.”
Take it from him? What did that mean?
“But things are getting complicated and more dangerous down here. Lady Divinity gave me a choice. But it’s not just my choice because it affects you and the garrison too.”
Zander wondered if it was aftereffects of the electrical pulse that was making his head spin. “What choice? C’mon, T, just spit it out. I’m losing my mind here.”
“Lady Divinity gave me life after death to honor my service, and I am forever grateful for that.”
“We all are,” Austin said, reaching to squeeze his hand.
Tanek winked at his wife and Zander’s beast yanked at his control. “What exactly did I miss while I was on my ass?”
“Simmer down, angelman.” Austin chuckled, patting his stomach. “Tanek helped me charm the Djinn Master, just like you wanted.”
Zander pulled away from the two and gripped the window frame with both hands. Austin had sat with a Darkworld leader without him there to protect her? Tanek had taken his place in a meeting he’d worked weeks and months to arrange? He felt like a stranger in his own life and it sat like acid in his gut.
“You’re upset,” Tanek said, the disappointment in his voice a knife to Zander’s heart. “I’ve overstepped. Shit, I’m sorry.”
Zander didn’t turn. He couldn’t. How could he be angry and jealous of his brother when Tanek coming and helping was nothing but the most incredible blessing.
“No,” Austin said, her foot tapping on the hardwood. “Don’t you be sorry for anything. Zander Ambrose, you look at me.”
Austin held the leash to him, his beast, his very soul. He had no choice but to turn.
“In the past year, you’ve confided in me a thousand times that you’d give anything to have Tanek back, so I know you’re not upset that he stepped in when you were hurt. This is some kind of territorial bullcrap about you not bein’ my protector with the Djinn, isn’t it? Well, get off your high horse, white knight, and let him finish.”
Zander exhaled. “Apologies, my brother. I have no doubt you kept Austin’s safety foremost in your mind and obviously, she is healthy and well.”
Tanek exhaled and offered him a stiff smile. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Nonsense,” Austin said. “His beast just got his tail up—ignore him. Go on, tell him the whole of it.”
Zander exhaled and shook off his beast’s apprehension. “Yeah, sorry, my man. Go ahead, tell me everything.”
Thea blinked up at the night sky, her breath escaping her lungs in white clouds of condensation. She’d spotted the man from Ringo’s drawing a few moments ago, but he’d been on the other side of a drunken altercation and on his way out. Without thinking too much about it, she grabbed her coat and followed.
The nice thing about having her puffy, warm coat on was that it hid her pregnancy. Maybe a chance to speak with her and get to know her before realizing she was expecting another man’s child would go in her favor. She hoped so.
She fished out her gloves as she headed around the side of the club to the parking area. No. No gloves. She wasn’t wearing any in the drawing, so she shoved them back into her pockets.
There he was.
“Hello?” She waved, jogging to catch up as he turned. “Hi, sorry, I saw you leaving and wanted to say hello. I’m Thea.”
The male smiled down at her and she realized Ringo’s drawing underplayed how rugged he was. Mmm, and he smelled good too. “Hello, Thea, I’m Erich.”
The timbre of his voice wasn’t as deep as she’d hoped, but it was a lovely voice all the same. Honestly, she believed part of her nonsensical attraction to Phoenix/Seth was the powerful baritone of their voices. Right, she needed to stop thinking about them while Erich was staring at her like she was crazy.
“You’ll have to excuse me chasing you across a parking lot. I wanted to meet you, and you left before I got the chance.”
He sank his hands into the pockets of his navy jacket and leaned a shoulder against the wall. The plaque for Zander’s parking spot sat just behind him, as it had been in the drawing.
This was exactly right.
Now that she had him before her, she wasn’t sure what to say. You were in a drawing with me? That would make her sound crazy. Maybe the whole thing was crazy. The heat of embarrassment colored her cheeks but maybe he might think it was the cold.
“Are you, by chance, a Dragon shifter?”
His gaze narrowed. “No.”
“Oh.” So, not the male who’d helped Seth and Danel.
“Are you an angel of the Choir?” His genuine interest warmed her.
“Yes, I’m a Power.”
“Well, what on earth are you doing at this club, angel?”
The way he said angel reminded her of Seth. She marveled how that warrior could make a word sound civil and endearing at times while, at other times, it came out sounding like a curse.
She shook her head. This was no time to be thinking of him.
“My friend owns this club. It’s a very interesting place, don’t you think . . . to meet new people?”
His smile grew wider and exposed a mass of teeth. “Very interesting indeed. So, you’re an angel of the Powers and a friend of the Sumerian’s,” he repeated, louder than necessary.
She glanced around to see if he was speaking to someone else. Her skin tingled under the layers of her clothes but not in the sexy way, like usual. She kept her smile locked in place and eased back. “It’s awfully cold out here. Would you like to talk more inside, where it’s warm?”
Erich pushed off the wall and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Tall and lean, he turned her back the way she’d come and started walking. She breathed a bit easier as they got moving, but instead of heading toward the entrance, he forced her toward the back of the parking lot.
“What? Wait . . . no,” she said, twisting in his grip.
Then, everything happened at once.
A gray van drove up fast and the side door slid open. Erich tossed her into the belly of the vehicle. The screech of tires swallowed her scream, and she gripped the metal interior of the vehicle, holding on for her life.