David’s eyes flashed with anger. “Marcella, you need to come with me.”
“Come inside,” Marcella said, taking Diego’s arm and stepping backwards. “There is much we need to discuss.” David didn’t move.
“You don’t even know this man,” he argued.
“I do,” she said, and responding to the doubt so evident in his eyes. “I do.”
“Please,” she added.
He stared at her a long moment and then let out a breath, taking a reluctant step forward. Diego was surprised when David’s eyes locked with his, a challenge in his hard stare. Diego watched him walk several steps into the room and turn to face them. Marcella shut the door and then laced her arm under Diego’s elbow. It was a clear message to David showing her commitment to Diego. This didn’t displease him. But he also knew she did it for another reason.
A desire to keep him in check.
“How do you know him?” David asked.
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “My name is Diego Montez, not him.”
David’s brow lifted. “Okay, Diego,” he said, a sharpness to the way he said the name. “How do you know Marcella?”
“David,” Marcella said. “Diego is like me. He’s different. We are connected in ways I can’t explain.”
David shook his head. “Tell me you aren’t serious?”
“Marcella will be traveling to my home with me. Your services are no longer needed.”
“Oh no,” David said, and he stepped forward, moving towards Marcella.
“No, David!” Marcella yelled, and her hand went out in front of her, stop-sign fashion.
David’s fist went to his chest, stopping as if he’d hit a brick wall. “What?” His eyes were wide. He took a step backward, a hint of desperation in his face. After several seconds his hand slipped to his side. Fixing Marcella in a stare, both his expression and his voice held accusation. “What did you just do?”
“I…I don’t know.” Marcella’s face registered shock. “I didn’t want you two to fight.” She looked up at Diego and her hand went to her neck. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”
Diego turned to her, pulling her close. “It’s okay. You meant only to protect him. I thought this might happen. All the power you possess is now enhanced. You are joined with me. My power is yours and yours is mine.”
“This is crazy,” David said, his voice full of force, but he didn’t move. “What the hell have you done to her?”
“Enhanced?” Marcella echoed.
Diego ran his hands up and down her arms. “Yes. My power is yours.”
“And mine is yours?” she asked.
“Together we are stronger.”
David was growing impatient. “What the hell is going on?”
Marcella looked at him. “David, I think we should sit down and talk. Let Diego explain. I can’t tell you what I have yet to figure out myself.”
The phone rang. No one moved. Marcella felt Diego’s tension level rise. It was like being plugged into his emotional outlet. Marcella looked at David. “It’s my aunt.”
“How do you know that?” he asked.
The phone continued to ring. She didn’t often allow David to see just how perceptive she was, fearful that it would be unsettling for him. Besides, sometimes she was and sometimes she wasn’t. She seemed to get feelings about things only when some deep part of her mind told her it was important. Granted, knowing someone was on the phone wasn’t in her normal skill set. Still…”You know how I know. Can I get it without you starting trouble?”
David’s face twisted. “I’ll get it,” he said, and sidestepped Marcella, about to pass her, when the phone went silent. He mumbled a curse and his eyes went to Diego’s. “What have you done to her? Something is different.”
* * * * *
Staring at David, Diego fought the urge to pick him up and force him from the room. But deep down, he felt the man’s true concern for Marcella. For this reason alone, he forced civility.
“Marcella is safer with me than she has ever been. I will die for her if necessary. Of this, you have my word.” Diego pulled Marcella under his arm, close to his side. “It will be her choice what she tells you. Leave us now. Go comfort her aunt. Tell her we will come to her soon and explain.”
David looked at Marcella. “This is what you want?”
“Yes,” she said. “Please don’t frighten my aunt. Please tell her I’m safe.” Marcella paused. “Because I am.”
“This is what you really want?” David asked, fists balled at his sides. “You trust him over me.” Not a question. A stark, cold fact.
“David,” Marcella said in a soft voice. “There are things going on beyond the surface. Things I can’t explain but I will.”
His jaw tensed. “Explain now.”
She took a deep breath and looked up at Diego. “Please give me a minute with him.”
His first instinct was to say no, but the plea in her voice was impossible to ignore. He took a deep breath and looked at David. It wasn’t outside of the man’s range to think he might grab her and run. Diego gave him a warning look. Hard eyes met hard eyes.
Marcella squeezed his arm and he gave her his attention. Their eyes locked, and he spoke to her in his mind. I will step to the window but I will not leave you alone. He is contemplating doing something stupid like grabbing you and making a run for it. I see it in his eyes.
Her eyes went to David, lingered and then returned to Diego. He is worried.
Diego ground his teeth together. Make him go away or I will.
He’s just trying to help.
Marcella—
Fine! I will handle him.
He eyed her a moment, making sure she meant her words, and then turned away. And then he positioned himself across the room, by the window, and watched. Prepared to act.
* * * * *
Marcella gave David her full attention, moving close to him and making eye contact. “I’m safe.”
David rejected her answer. “He’s a stranger. How do you know he’s not dangerous?”
There was truth to his words and in the back of her mind she wondered at Diego’s powers. Could he make her enthralled with mind tricks? Should she trust him? Everything inside screamed yes. But was it a trick she didn’t understand? Well, one thing for sure. Diego didn’t mean to harm her. She didn’t think he could hide such a thing with her abilities. But his motives for wanting her…that might be a different story.
“Oh, I know he’s dangerous,” she admitted. “Just not to me.” She paused and then spoke the remainder of what she knew to be truth. “But there are monsters after me. Diego can protect me.”
David’s face filled with frustration. “There are always monsters after you. That’s why you hired me. And that’s why I can’t let you simply trust this guy.”
“I do not simply trust a stranger. Give me some credit. He’s different.” She hesitated, holding back the words, like me. It felt the natural thing to say, but it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be. No one was like her. “Not…like you. And neither are the men after me.” She paused again, considering. “David, they aren’t wholly human. They…are just not. Diego. Well, the truth is, he’s different as well.”
His eyes went to Diego and then back to her. “What does that mean?”
“It means I know him in ways you can’t comprehend. I am safe with him. Please leave me here tonight. I will explain more tomorrow.”
He barely let her finish her final word, discarding the idea. “Forget it, Marcella. The more you talk, the more concerned I get.”
She didn’t know how to get him to understand. “David, if you don’t leave…”
“What?” David challenged. His voice lifted. “He’ll beat the crap out of me?”
“David—”
He looked at Diego. “Let him try.”
Chapter Six
Diego considered David a long moment. There was no doubt this man wanted his woman. Yet he also cared for her. He reached for his mind, pushi
ng aside his jealousy with effort. And he found what he wanted. Honor. Trust. A willingness to die for Marcella. Things he had no option but to respect. The problem was he was also creating doubt in her. Something he didn’t like nor could he afford. This coupled with his desire to please his mate played heavily in his soul. An emotional response that conflicted with the wilder, darker response that came more naturally. The one that wanted to beat the shit out of anyone who thought of Marcella in a physical way.
Yet he knew she was his. And with that knowledge he reached for his human side and shoved down the possessive need to lash out. He walked towards David and Marcella started towards him. Standing in front of him, her small frame meant to still him, her hands went to his chest.
“Please don’t,” she said hoarsely.
He reached for her and eased her against his body. David started forward, and Diego held up a staying hand and then he reached for his mind. He had the ability to influence human thought though it was a new skill he’d only recently allowed himself to utilize.
“Stop,” Diego said firmly, a mental push behind the word. “I have something to show you.”
David stilled, his eyes narrowing. Diego held his gaze, making sure he had accepted the command. GTECHS could present mental commands but some responded better than others. And eye contact was necessary while issuing the order. It was one of the skills used by the Arions to lure humans into their dangerous game of world domination. A mind push. A promise of power, wealth and physical perfection. But he’d been in their lair. He knew the ultimate goal. Those who didn’t follow would be killed. The Arions planned to control humanity and then beyond.
Diego’s hand went to Marcella’s hair, and he lifted it, exposing her neck. David’s eyes went wide. “What the hell is that?”
“What is what?” Marcella asked, reaching for her neck.
“My mark, Marcella. I’m making sure he knows you belong to me.”
Her eyes locked with his. “Diego, I don’t—”
“What?” David said. “Your mark? What in God’s name is going on?”
“I want to see,” Marcella said and then shrugged out of his hold. He released her immediately. Of course, she wanted to see.
And she should. As she scurried to the bathroom, Diego and David stood eye to eye. “She is my woman.”
“Only if she chooses to be.”
“She already has.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” David said. “No.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. “What are you and what do you want with Marcella?”
“One of the good guys. There’s a silent war raging. Man against beast. I’m one of the men who plan to save humanity. How about you?”
“Save humanity,” he said, repeating the words. “And you’re one of the good guys.” He sounded like that was hard to believe. “If that’s true, who are you fighting?”
“A group of soldiers called Arions. They are men enhanced with DNA samples from Area 51. Super Soldiers injected with alien DNA made to be stronger and more powerful than anything you could ever imagine. And some of them feel they are now the perfect race. The humans that don’t follow will be condemned to die.”
David laughed. “You don’t really expect me to buy this, do you?”
“Believe what you want, but it won’t change the facts.”
Crossing his arms in front of his chest, David stood there a long moment. “Why should I believe you?”
“You know I’m different. I was injected as well, but like many others I chose to stay loyal to what I am to the core…human. I have become a Guardian of humanity rather than a destroyer. But I can’t change what I am. I’m changed. And Marcella is my mate.”
“What does Marcella have to do with you or any of this?”
“Only certain genetic lines are compatible with our males. Why that is we don’t know. And even then, the compatible women only match one man. Again, we don’t know why.” He paused and then added, “Yet. We are trying to figure it out. But as it stands, there is only one woman who is my exact match. And that woman is Marcella.”
David’s face had taken on a shallow, ghostly look despite the warm brown of his skin tone. “And she accepts this as truth?”
Diego knew Marcella stood by the doorway to the bathroom and that she listened. And now seemed as good a time as any to explain the realities of their situation. “I am a doctor who has studied the new race with great depth. Mates know each other instantly. The connection is automatic. This was a surprise to me as well. I came here not to claim Marcella as my woman but to ask for her help. I had no idea she was my destiny.”
David looked towards Marcella. Diego didn’t. He felt what she did. She understood. As he had spoken she had reached in his mind and compared his words to the images he offered.
“So that mark on her neck means exactly what? Explain.”
Diego smiled. “It matches the one on mine. It links us together. We are one.”
They stood there in silence, David’s eyes turbulent as he digested and slowly accepted. “Show me,” Marcella said, breaking the silence.
* * * * *
A few moments later, Marcella found herself back to the bathroom mirror as Diego placed a small mirror in her hand while David stood in the doorway looking like he was chewing aspirin. Her stomach fluttered as she tried to shove her hair aside. Diego reached forward and helped her. He was so close and smelled so alluring and perfect. And knowing the implications of what she was being shown only seemed to make his allure more powerful. She wanted him. Again. It was crazy but so real and alive with heat she hardly knew how to reel it in. Her teeth found her bottom lip as she blinked and tried to focus.
Diego’s fingers caressed her neck and then his eyes went to hers. She focused on what she saw in the mirror. A star. It was etched in her skin, bigger than a quarter. More like two. And though she had limited vision, the perfection of every corner seemed near impossible. It wasn’t a human design.
Suddenly, David moved, stepping closer and leaning towards her. “It’s a tattoo, Marcella. It has to be.” He touched it and looked at Diego. “Did you drug her?” Then to Marcella, “Do you remember falling asleep at any point this evening?”
Diego was on edge, and Marcella knew it. David was way too close to him and far too loaded with attitude. He had no idea how much he was pushing his luck. And worse, he was pushing her. Why couldn’t he trust her? He knew damn well she was unique. For her to have strange things happen wasn’t unusual.
She set the mirror down and moved her head so Diego would drop her hair. “Oh, good grief, David. Don’t be so accusing.”
He stared at her with disbelief in his eyes. His gaze lifted and locked with Diego’s. “You believe him over me?” Then to Diego, “What did you do to her?”
Marcella lifted her hand and grabbed Diego’s wrist, feeling the anger inside him like a crossfire she’d been caught in. Don’t.
Diego’s face didn’t change, but he spoke to her with irritation evident in his voice. I’m losing patience with him.
She focused on David. “I need you to trust me, David. I’m not in danger.” She paused. “At least not from Diego.”
David’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. His eyes moved from Diego to Marcella. “You choose this path?”
“Path?” she asked, not certain what he meant.
His voice was low but intense. “I cannot control what happens to you if you turn your back on my protection.”
Diego answered. “Her choice was made long ago. I am her destiny. And I am her protector.”
David’s gaze stayed on Marcella. “Decide, Marcella.”
“Don’t do this—”
He took a step backwards. “You’re being foolish. Think about what this means. I will be close.” A pause. “For now. Once you leave this hotel without me, there is no turning back.”
She watched as David pivoted on his heels and left the room. A moment of uncertainty kept her from moving. But then she knew she had to follow.
She took off walking. He’d been good to her, and she hated how this was ending. “David—”
But her words were cut off by the door slamming. She rushed forward determined to follow, but Diego’s words stilled her. “No. It’s dangerous.”
She swallowed. A part of her was relieved David was gone. The entire time he had been in the room with Diego she’d felt as if she was holding back two bulls about to charge.
The battle cries, though only in their minds, had been potent with life. She flipped the locks shut, her instincts telling her Diego was right. Someone hunted her. She turned and rested against the wooden surface, watching Diego watch her. Something dark was beneath his surface. As sure as she drew another breath, she knew her long-term bodyguard had her best interest at heart.