Nic looked her deep brown eyes. “Beloved, Rowan will be fine. We’ll make sure of it.”
She stood and wrapped her arms around herself, turning away from the two men. “I wish I could believe that. He’ll kill her, Nico, if he hasn't already.”
“I have to disagree with you there, love.” Aidan offered. “You girls seem to be very important to your father’s image.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Aidan, but you don’t know my father. You have no idea what he is capable of.”
“I know he’s a bloody bully, who thinks he can legislate us out of existence,” the Dragon retorted, showing a bit of his notorious temper.
A change came over Jenna; her body temperature rose as she walked to the desk, laying her palms flat on top. She leaned over Aidan and met his eyes squarely. Her voice was flat and emotionless. It only served to emphasize the passion burning in her eyes.
“You have no fucking idea what he has done.”
Aidan merely shrugged. “We have pretty good intelligence, love. I have three folders full of data on your father and his organization, and that doesn’t even touch what our other Vampire has collected,” he referred casually to Nic’s Blood Brother, Bas.
He flopped three manila folders on the desk in front of her. Jenna opened the first one, scanning the contents. She smiled tightly, then swiped her hand across the desk, sending paper scattering on the carpet.
Nic almost choked, not sure whether to laugh or cheer. For the first time since he’d known him, Aidan had no comeback, no smart retort. Had a woman ever done anything except come on to him? He would have enjoyed this little exchange even more if Jenna hadn’t been livid.
*
Jenna stalked back to the front of the desk. Arrogant, smug bastard! He was fucking clueless, and she was itching to smack that superior look on his face. It would serve him right if she let him take her father on with his pitiful lack of information. If Rowan’s life hadn’t been on the line, she might have done just that.
Damn Dragon thought he knew all there was to know about her family! He didn’t and Jenna was more than happy to fill him in.
“Oh, Aidan, my father doesn’t want to legislate you out of existence.” Her voice was silky with menace. “He intends to utterly obliterate your society, keeping a few choice specimens as pets.” Nic exhaled behind her, but she kept her focus on the disbelieving male on the other side of the desk. “Would you like to know exactly how my father plans to bring this about?” She moved away from the desk. Her anger was like a living, breathing monster, dogging every step she took.
“Imagine you’re three stories underground.” Her voice took on a faraway quality.
“You’re strapped to a cold steel table. The setting is clinical with all the latest and greatest medical equipment surrounding you. You watch as a man approaches you. He holds a syringe filled with liquid. Not just any old drug, this is liquid silver.” Nic swore, but Jenna continued. “He places the needle into your arm and shoots a very tiny amount into your blood stream.”
She walked to stand behind Nic, needing his warmth to keep her from breaking down as flashes of the torture rooms ran like a film reel in her head.
“The silver travels through your bloodstream. It’s not enough to kill you. No, that would be too easy. And that would teach you nothing. No, they inject you with just enough to keep a Vampire or Were in agony for hours. Can you feel it? Writhing around in pain that’s kindred to having your body burning from the inside out…” She gripped Nic’s shoulders. She hated sounding this way, this bitter and hateful.
“If it appears that you are teetering on the edge of death, you receive a transfusion of fresh, whole blood. That counteracts the affects of the silver poisoning, just enough to keep you alive, to make you strong enough for the next set of tests. Then they take you back to your tiny concrete cell. You get to wait there, rest up for tomorrow when it starts all over again and again until you are delirious, confused and broken.” Jenna took a ragged breath. “Is any of this in your files?” Aidan’s eyes flicked from Jenna to Nic. It was clear from the troubled expression in the Dragon’s deep blue eyes that he hadn’t known about the basement level of the compound that had been Jenna’s home.
Jenna walked to the open doorway; she had to get out of this place, away from this arrogant, condescending male. All the oxygen was being sucked from her lungs. “I didn’t see that in your files anywhere,” she spat the words out scornfully. “You have three folders on my family. My father has a library, massive volumes on each and every Night Creature, species, magic, strengths and weaknesses at his disposal.” She made it out into the hallway before her composure shattered. Backing into the wall, she slid down the concrete, collapsing on the floor. Guilt wrapped itself around her; it was a frigid blanket.
“Hey, pretty girl, you okay?” She couldn’t look up. Facing anyone at the moment was impossible.
“We haven’t been introduced. I’m Sebastian, but you can call me Bas.” The voice was gentle, smooth and comforting.
She looked to her left. Another hunk was sitting next to her. This was her freaking lucky day. There were no bad gene’s floating around this side of town, were there?
She must have said that out loud because he laughed and said, “You haven’t met everyone yet.”
Bas wasn’t as tall as Nic. He was leaner in build with short black hair and a sleek black goatee. His ears were pierced, three gold hoops through each one. He wore a black leather jacket and pants. His light grey eyes pinned her with a sympathetic expression.
“You were there that night, too, weren’t you,” she asked curiously.
“Yes, I was.” He smiled, and it was a surprisingly sweet expression. “You’ve a remarkable will to live, pretty girl.”
“Beloved, are you all right?” Nic asked as he hunkered down to her level. Taking her hands in his, he kissed each knuckle.
Jenna nodded silently. All three of them knew it was a lie.
“Aidan and I need to have a little chat. Bas will wait with you until we’re done, won’t you?” Nic sent the other Vampire a telling look, and Sebastian rose to his feet in a lithe, graceful movement.
“I am ever at your service, Nic,” he murmured smoothly, but Jenna thought she detected a tiny wicked glimmer in those calm gray eyes.
Jenna waved her hand at Nic; she was through speaking to Aidan tonight, and had no desire to speak about him, either.
“Go on then, Nic. I’ll take care of your pretty One,” Bas said offering Jenna a reassuring grin.
Nic nodded and turned back to the office with a grim expression. The door slammed shut behind him and angry male voices soon rattled the walls of the spacious office. A loud thump made Jenna jump.
“What the hell?”
“Um, let’s take a walk, shall we?” Bas offered her a hand and helped her to her feet.
Two loud grunts followed by glass breaking had Jenna trying the doorknob. The door was ominously locked.
“What the hell is going on in there?” she yelled, pounding on the door. Bas took her hand in his.
“Jenna, this is something they have to get out of their systems.”
“To hell with that. I won’t allow Nic to get hurt.” Bas laughed. “Jenna, you are precious. Nic doesn’t deserve you. He’s a Vampire, pretty girl. And a male. This is how we settle things. Aidan won’t hurt Nic any more than Nic hurts him, and Nic will heal fast.” Bas gently turned her away from the office as a roar shook the door.
“In fact,” he added with amusement, “I think Aidan just may be on the losing end of this little chat.”
Chapter Seven
Closing his hand over hers, Bas led Jenna back out into the bar area. He seated her at a table and excused himself.
Moving to the bar, he got himself a beer and Jenna an orange juice. She still looked very pale to him. Dark circles and worry lines marred her pretty face. Nic was one lucky bastard. Bas smelled the sex lingering on her skin, and felt a moment of surprise when his cock stirred.
It had been years since he’d felt even a tingle of sexual awareness. He frowned.
Fuck, it had been decades since he’d really wanted to get laid. Something about Nic’s little mate stirred him up, though. Probably just his connection to Nic. By sharing blood, they’d become closer than friends, closer even than brothers. Bas was certain that his odd, out-of-character attraction to Jenna was just a residual effect of his bond with Nic.
Besides, though Bas had always been an equal opportunity lover, his usual preference was usually a good bit harder, broader, and less female than Nic’s pretty little One.
He moved back to the table and set the glass down in front of her. She picked it up, wrinkling her nose.
“I would rather have what you’re having.”
“I’m sure you would, but your body is still healing.”
“How do you know that? I feel fine.” She sulked, taking a sip of the juice.
Bas touched the side of his nose. “You’ll find that most of us have exceptional noses.
Some stronger than others, but we can pick up most things.” His chuckled when his comment brought a flush to her cheeks. His fangs elongated.
Holy Hell, he was flirting with her! More incredible still, he was aroused by her. Bas hadn’t been with a woman in over a hundred years, or with a man in half that time. Shit, if Nic ever recognized Bas’s infatuation with Jenna, he’d kill him. The only reason he trusted Bas with her at all was because he’d been celibate for so long, and when he hadn’t been, Nic knew he preferred men.
“You’re Vampire as well?” she asked when she spied the fangs.
“Yep.”
“And Aidan?”
Bas shook his head. “No, our pompous Brit is a Dragon.” Jenna leaned forward, the fight going on down the hall momentarily forgotten.
“Damn. I knew that. I thought they only lived in Europe. I didn’t know there were any in the U.S. My father would love to get his hands on a Were-Dragon.”
“It’s true most live abroad,” Bas explained, glad for the distraction from the low musky scent of the sex she and Nic had just shared. “But more and more of the clans have been coming to America in recent years.”
Another roar blew through the halls of the bar. The worry on Jenna’s face had Bas reaching over to clasp her fingers. Her warmth seeped into his skin. He wanted to pull his hand back and press it to his mouth, but refused to, continuing to hold her hand.
“They’ll be all right, pretty One. This isn’t the first time they’ve disagreed, and I’m quite sure it won’t be the last.”
“Is this how you always handle disagreements?” Jenna’s eyebrows rose, giving her a delectable skeptical expression.
“We’re warriors here, not politicians. We handle things the old-fashioned way and beat each other senseless.” Bas couldn’t help himself; he reached out and touched her silky hair, rubbing the strands between his fingers.
Goddamn it, he was losing his fucking mind.
“Sebastian.” Oh, shit. He’d been distracted enough by his odd attraction to Jenna that he’d failed to hear the end of the fight down the hall. Now Nic stood beside the table, directing his cool stare to Bas’s fingers in Jenna’s hair. Shit, shit, shit.
The Vampire’s voice was deep with amusement and… something else. “If I didn’t know better, I might be upset to see you with your hands on my woman.” Jenna jumped to her feet, and Bas snatched his fingers back as Nic slid his arm around her. Meeting his eyes over Jenna’s head, Nic said, “You better go pick Aidan up off the floor.”
*
Jenna was appalled as she inspected Nic’s face. The cut above his eye had already stopped bleeding, but it had left a streaky scarlet path down his temple.
She laid one hand along his cheek, trying to find a place to touch that wouldn’t cause him more pain. She couldn’t stop her soft sound of distress from escaping as she pressed a feather-light kiss to his split, swollen lower lip.
“Stop it, Beloved. I am fine.” Nic shrugged irritably away from her sympathetic fluttering, finally capturing her hands and raising them to his mouth. When he kissed her fingertips, she made an irritable noise of her own.
“Nic, you could have been hurt.”
“Do you have so little faith in my abilities, my One?” He stroked her knuckles as he spoke, and she tried valiantly to ignore the little sparks that skittered through her at the contact.
“In my head, no. But I absolutely couldn’t stand for something to happen to you.
Especially when you’re fighting because of me!” Jenna flushed; no one had ever fought for her, let alone just because someone made a nasty remark to her. Her father certainly never interrupted one of his cronies when they made off-color remarks about her.
Nic kissed her tenderly on the mouth, rubbing her lips with his, whispering, “I will always fight for you, Jenna. Always.” Gently he opened her mouth, exploring the recesses within, sealing his promise with a kiss that all but melted Jenna into a puddle of gooey lust and love right there on the floor.
“Get your fucking bloody hands off of me, Bas; I can damn well walk on my own.” There was a lunging crash, and Jenna broke the kiss to peer around Nic as the other two men entered the dance area.
Aidan had clearly taken the worst of the beating they’d inflicted on each other. He was holding his ribs, his right eye was swollen, and there was blood drying under his nose. The Dragon jerked away from Bas’s supporting arm when he noticed that he had Nic and Jenna’s attention, and promptly staggered into a chair.
Behind Aidan and Bas six more men entered the room, all of them massive in build, all dressed in black. Jenna shivered at the menace that followed them into the room.
Nic tightened his arm around her as Bas opened up the conversation.
“Once I discovered that Rowan Stone had been recaptured by her father, I knew that your One would need to retrieve her.” Jenna cringed as growls and hisses filled the room.
Bas continued, “So, knowing you would be here tonight, I arranged for my Alpha team to meet us here as well. Based on the information we’ve gathered, and what I’ve heard from Jenna’s conversation with Aidan tonight, we can assume that Ms. Stone is being held on either the second or third sub-level.”
“Probably the second,” Jenna interjected. “My father likes to keep his more dangerous experiments on the third sub-level. The second is for recalcitrant daughters, and for “pets” that need discipline.”
“Pets?” One of the large, dark and scary men asked.
“Pets,” Jenna confirmed. “Pet Vampires, pet Weres. My father keeps pets.” She could see the men were all as sickened at the idea as she was herself, and a moment of shame that she shared the blood of such an evil being.
The tall, dark and scary one who’d questioned her leaned over his chair back and offered her his hand. “I’m Mikhail,” he said. “I’ve tangled with your father more than once.” Jenna gave an inner groan as he clutched her hand in a crushing grip. If he’d faced off with her father in the past, he was sure to hate her just by association. “I don’t know how the hell you managed to escape him with your life, but you definitely have my respect.” Jenna’s eyes widened as he proceeded to demolish her preconceptions. “And, little girl, we will see your sister free of that bastard, begging your pardon, no matter how we have to do it.”
Bas smiled, and Jenna got the distinct impression that both she and his team-member pleased him.
“Jenna, can you give us a detailed layout of the house and its subterranean levels?” She nodded quickly. “Good. Mik and his team will leave ahead of us. Tonight, in fact.
They will infiltrate the grounds, and when it’s time for us to come in they’ll be in place to cut the alarms and take care of the outside guards.” Bas’s security knowledge was incredible; he obviously knew exactly what he was talking about as he gave the group of men instructions.
“Jenna will lay out the house for us, and give us whatever information she has about Stone’s security, but
you’ll need to do a little recon. Check out locations of security, log comings and goings of security and medical staff. And of anyone else, for that matter. I figure we have two days max to gather all the information Jenna can’t provide.” Jenna was fascinated as she watched the men. None of their expressions changed; they remained calm, cold and aloof. Her father’s troops would surely come out on the losing end if they tried to engage these men.
“Any questions?”
A tall blond in dreadlocks waved his hand. “Yeah, what if Stone is there? Can we kill the motherfucker?”
Bas looked to Jenna. Did she want her father dead? She didn’t know; he needed to pay for all the hell he’d rained down on all the Night Creatures, and on his own daughters. But could she be the one to sign his death warrant?
Bas noted her silence, and turned back to the blond warrior. “It’s your choice. If you take him alive, he will go before the Council, not the human court system. Either way William Stone will be a dead man.”
Jenna wanted to feel remorse, wanted to feel hurt that these men wanted their revenge written in her father’s blood, but she only had to close her eyes to picture Rowan, broken and bleeding from one of his punishments, or to hear the agonized screams of creatures begging for mercy or death.
No, William Stone deserved whatever justice these men meted out to him.
“Aidan, you and Nic will come with Kane, Abel and myself,” Bas continued.
Aidan held up a hand. “Sorry mate, you’re going to have to count me out of this one.”
Jenna laid her hand over Nic’s arm, patting it lightly. He took a breath and gritted out, “What the hell is that supposed to mean, Dragon?”
“You want me to risk my ass to help out the offspring of William fucking Stone. I don’t think so.” The look he shot around the group held as much pain as it held anger.
“No fucking human has ever come to our rescue. The bastard wants to pen us in like animals. Where’s the Goddamn outcry for our missing people? There isn’t any, mate, and I’ll tell you this: that man will not stop at anything to get her back once he knows she’s still alive.” As he pointed to Jenna, a tiny shock physically shot down her spine. Nic hissed in her ear, his heart rate increased as he pressed into her back.