Enemy Within (Vampire Born Trilogy, #2) (28 page)

Mirko motions to Hawk that Kaitlynn is coming with us. We get in and Mirko starts the car. “Direct me,” he says and pulls away from the curb and past Hawk.

Kaitlynn sniffles in the back, staring out the window as if not seeing anything.

“Kaitlynn,” Mirko says, the timing is bad, but I have to ask. Are you okay in regards to your change?”

“I don’t have the urge to attack anyone, if that’s what you mean.”

The remaining conversation is my directions.

We hurry inside the small hospital to get out of the cold and stop at the front desk. “We’re here to identify a body,” Mirko says and uses Sanjam on the nurse. “Can you take us where we need to go?”

“I can,” the nurse says and stands. She’s a heavyset woman with hearts on her scrub top. It’s a splash of color in a dingy place.

I’m about done with hospitals at this point.

“Stephanie,” the nurse calls to a blond, older woman down the hall. She points to the front desk and the blond nods.

We follow the woman down the hall, through a few swinging doors, and then down some steps.

We reach a closed door at the end of a wide hall. “The coroner should be able to help you from here.”

“Thank you,” Mirko says and knocks on the door.

An older man in blue scrubs and a white lab coat answers. Mirko uses Sanjam on him. “We need to see a body that should be here. David Bennett?”

“Yes,” the coroner says and opens the door wide for us.

Kaitlynn puts her hand out and stops us. “Can I …? I’d like to be alone, please.”

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Yeah.” Her eyebrows are pinched, but her shoulders suggest she’s prepared to do this her way.

“You’d better stay out here,” Mirko says to the coroner.

“Okay. We’ll be over here.” I point to the stairs.

I step back and allow the door to close while Kaitlynn goes inside.

“Give us a few minutes,” Mirko says, and the coroner goes down the hall and disappears behind a door.

I plop down on the second to last stair and rest my back against the cold, painted brick wall. The weight of a million nightmares hits me at once. “I shouldn’t have sat down.”

“Why’s that?” Mirko asks. He climbs the steps and sits on the stair above mine.

I move so he can get his legs on each side of me. I rest my back into his lap and against his hard chest. “Because I don’t think I’ll be able to get back up.”

He wraps his arms around my torso and pulls me up so I’m sitting on his lap. “Then I’ll carry you.”

I turn in his lap; my back is against the wall again and I look up at him. “Thank you for today. For saving Kaitlynn. For saving me. For everything. And beyond today.” I don’t recall ever really thanking him. It’s all so overdue at this point.

He kisses the top of my head. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.” His voice is so full of emotion, it’s heavy.

“Is that really necessary?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.

“How can you ask me that?” Mirko’s voice is quiet, but the frustration and disbelief are clear. “Listen to her.” He nods toward the door to the morgue.

Heart-rending sobs not fully muffled by the door trail down the hall.

Another piece of my heart fractures.

“That was almost me today. God, Slatki.” He cups my face and strokes his thumb along my cheek, searching my eyes, “I don’t know what I would have done if it was me.”

His Adam’s apple bobs with a rough swallow. He leans in and whispers in my ear, “You’re my everything.”

I’m overwhelmed with emotion and flushed with heat as my insides melt. My stomach flutters, and I work my throat to fight back tears because I feel the same way about him.

I pull his arm tighter around me and reach up to touch my lips to his.

His mouth is sure and bruising against mine. But it’s still not enough.

I cup the back of his head and pull him tighter to me.

He strokes his tongue against the rough side of mine and licks the underside of my top lip. He seals it with a closed-mouth kiss.

It’s sexy and sweet all at once.

I exhale between his lips.

He shivers and sucks in the air between us.

It draws me to his mouth again—I have to close the distance.

We kiss deeply and passionately on the stairs leading to the morgue.

It’s not lost on me that my best friend is in there mourning her boyfriend while I’m out here embracing mine.

If anything, it reinforces that I sure as hell better not waste any more time in showing Mirko how much I love him.

CHAPTER TWENTY
-FOUR

Mirko

I crawl into Brooke’s bed behind her and tuck her into me. I kiss her neck and revel in her throaty moan.

“What are you doing?” Her voice is husky with sleep.

I wish I could lick it.

“Waking you up.” It sucks that we have to keep our relationship a secret, but it sure adds an element of excitement when sneaking these moments in with her.

“Really? Well, I haven’t been this comfortable all night. I think this is doing the opposite.” She rolls her hips back into my groin.

I bite her neck hard enough to let her know she won’t get away with teasing me like that.

She laughs softly and does it again.

I throw my leg over her, capturing her wrist above her head, pushing her on her back and climbing on top of her. I drop enough of my weight so she can feel the pressure of my body flush against hers without squashing her.

She strokes the outer edge of her free hand inside my shirt and down my waist.

The muscles flex involuntarily with her touch.

I’ve got to put a stop to this before I can’t.

But first I need to get the last tease.

I drop down to her chin and kiss underneath it. Then I trail small kisses up along her jaw and behind her ear.

She tilts her head to the side to give me better access.

I rise slightly and meet my lips to hers, kissing her with all the desire I’ve had bundled inside me since I saw her sleek body move in the gym that first time at The Base.

I push my hips against hers and then pull back, taking the comforter with me.

She groans.

“We better get going before your dad comes in here looking for us.”

Brooke looks at the clock. “It’s not even eleven.” She grabs her pillow and burrows her head underneath it. “Please tell me all of yesterday was a nightmare.”

I pull the pillow out of her grip and toss it off the bed. I kiss her cheek. “I wish I could.”

We look at each other regretfully.

I try to lighten the mood. “Eleven is not early. Besides, your dad sent me up here to fetch you. We’d better get going before he wonders what’s taking so long.”

She rolls out of bed and straightens her white thermal with the Lucky Charms leprechaun on it. I can’t help but think of how magically delicious she looks in her yoga pants. She pads to the bathroom and brushes her teeth.

When she comes back out, I walk over to her and pull her close. “One last kiss,” I say and bend down to catch what I’ve asked for. I pull away and lick my lips. “Mmm, minty.”

She looks up at me with a grin. “Mmm, Mirko.”

I grin back because if I were a girl, I’d think I tasted pretty good too.

Brooke follows me out into the hall, but I linger behind her when we reach the stairs. “In the library,” I tell her so I can see how her pants wrap around her ass as she drops down onto each step.

She looks over her shoulder at me with a knowing smile.

“What?”

She turns forward and whispers, “You know what.”

I focus on the way her cheeks bounce when she takes the last step. Hell yeah, I know what.

I’m back on my best behavior as I walk through the foyer and into the library. Zladislov has taken over the library as his headquarters while here in southern Virginia.

He’s on the phone when we come in, but he waves us over to the large seating area next to the fifteen-foot windows. He’s speaking in Croatian. Brooke can’t understand him, but I do. He’s discussing arrangements for his new stražar—Emerik’s replacement.

Brooke sits on one couch, and I consider sitting on the same one but move to the one across from her. My wakeup call this morning has me extra sensitive to her and I need a few minutes to regain my composure. Especially in front
of Zladislov.

The midmorning sun shines through the curtain-parted windows and streak across the two-story bookshelf along the far wall. Dust particles dance through the beams and disappear into the shadows.

Zladislov hangs up and places the phone on the large mahogany desk. He strolls over to us. “It’s unfortunate you’re a Zao Duh,” he says to me as he sits down in the armchair next to Brooke, “or I would consider you as a candidate for my next stražar.”

I stare at him, not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.

No, it doesn’t matter how he meant it, I’m insulted. I’d say as much, but he is the leader of the Pijawikan world and I’m here purely because he allows it.

Bullshit. But i
t’s not worth it to lose Brooke secondary to pride.

“Did you really just say that?” Brooke asks, her voice rising in disgust.

“Yes.” Zladislov looks at her. “Mirko has proven himself to be efficient and resourceful. He is a young man who has made much out of the little he has been given. And I respect his loyalty to those who are in his care.” He looks back at me, almost in challenge, like I’ll correct him and tell him Brooke is so much more to me than a job.

I won’t. Brooke knows it. I’m confident enough to leave it alone.

Why is he baiting me?

“Well, then show him a little respect by not acting like it’s such a misfortune for him that he’s only a Zao Duh.”

He nods at her, point taken. “How are you feeling?” I’m surprised Zladislov lets her sass him like that.

She touches the bandage above her eye. “Okay for now.”

“Then I shall get started. I called you down because we have arrangements of another sort I must prepare you for.”

Brooke sits up straight.

“Since I was unable to delay or reverse the Commission’s call to you when I met with them, you need to be prepared for it.”

It’s about time. Garwin and I have been asking Zladislov and Emerik to give us some idea of what we need to do or what Brooke needs to be aware of about this meeting, but they kept pushing it aside, saying they’d wait until after they met with the Commission. It had me considering that there might be some secrets Zladislov didn’t want to reveal until he was certain he couldn’t get Brooke out of testifying.

“Since you were not reared with the knowledge of our people, we shall start from the beginning. There are eight commissioners actively sitting on the Commission. There used to be nine, but that line died along with the last remnant before I was made the Head.”

“How does a line die off like that?” Brooke asks.

“The seats on the Commission are guaranteed through paternity. My predecessor died before extending his line, so it perished along with him.”

Brooke’s eyes grow wide. Had she really not considered that someone as powerful as the ruler of the Pijawikan world could die? “What happened to him?”