Gravity (33 page)

He pinned me down and held me to the floor by my hair while he dialed Logan.

“Do that again, bitch, and I promise Cross will die. He might have been able to pretend the rest

of his life away with another female, but let’s see if he can deny his love for you under the blade of

a knife. Talk to him, or I promise you he will die. A broken heart is better than one that is cut out.

You decide.”

I held the phone to my ear. “Logan, I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

“Where are you?” Quiet rage filled the dark corners of his voice.

“Don’t cling to honor over something that was never meant to be. Don’t ruin your life for a

Mage who could never love you the way you deserve. Just go on with—”

Tarek yanked the phone from my hand. It was my last chance to give Logan peace of mind. I

refused to have my death haunting him his whole life, and maybe it would settle his conscience if

he thought that he’d never mattered to me.

But he did.

Logan meant everything.

I choked when Tarek’s knee pressed into my neck. “You’re a disgrace to our kind, Cross. You’ll

never know the emptiness of losing your true soul mate. I have lived my entire life knowing I will

never have my true mate because she chose a man who could not guard her life. It makes you half

a man, and it’s a gift I want to give to you.” His stony eyes flicked to mine and I gasped for air as

his knee sank against my windpipe. “Every female you dare to love for the rest of your life will die

by my hand, starting tonight.”

My eyes widened.

“Know this, Cross. Before I take this female’s life, I’m going to take her body. I will be baptized

in her blood and born a new man. I have waited a long time for my revenge. Eventually, I’ll find

the one who matters to you. Goodbye, Cross. I hope you enjoy what you’re about to hear.”

Tarek set the phone down on the end table. I punched him in the groin and leapt up, running

for the door. He grabbed my ankle and I flew over the edge of the coffee table, smashing one of

the legs.

“Wooo! I love my females feisty!”

Laughter poured out of him like fifteen seconds of poison. He lost his grip on my ankle, so I

scrambled for a shelf and lifted a gun. When I pulled the trigger, nothing happened. I cursed at

myself, trying to figure out how to work the safety release. Tarek laughed at the show I was giving

him, pouncing closer with each step.

“I wish you could see how your female fears me, Cross!” he yelled. “Don’t worry, sweetie, I like

to take my time with the chase. It satisfies the predator in me.”

I ran for the door, but Tarek moved in front of me with his arms stretched wide. I spun around

to the hall and he ran at Chitah speed to block me there as well. Every move I made, he blocked—

like a chess match. No windows. No back door. No escape.

“Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows,” he sang with a glimmer of fire in

his eyes.

The room felt like a coffin and I broke out in a sweat.

“I feed off that scent,” he said, lifting his nose to the air. “It’s fucking magical.”

“Why don’t you take this necklace off me and we’ll see what’s what? I could take you on if you

weren’t such a chickenshit. You’re a laughingstock, Tarek. They say you’re a weak man for taking a

Mage as a wife—couldn’t even mate with a proper Chitah. Your revenge has earned you a soiled

reputation and made you look like a fool.”

“Shut up,” he spat as I fed into his insecurities. Tarek had a habit of rubbing his chest when he

was angry. The blood no longer smeared like it had before.

“Your illustrious career is nothing but chasing after leftovers. Ever heard the phrase ‘get a life’?

You fucking disgust me; look at you!”

My mouth took on a life of its own for lack of a better weapon. If I couldn’t take him out,

maybe I could get him riled enough that he’d make a stupid decision. Or perhaps kill me quickly in

a moment of rage. Not that I wanted to die, but neither did I want to be tortured. Justus had

taught me self-defense, but most of those moves relied on Mage energy.

Tarek swung his arm to slap me and when I bent out of the way, I tripped and fell to the

ground. He flipped me onto my back and sat heavily on my stomach. I gasped, grunted, and

hammered against his chest with my fists.

In a quick motion, he seized my wrist and sank his teeth into my flesh. I screamed from the

pain, but his canines were still retracted.

“Let’s see what all the fuss is about.”

Before he could touch me, I scraped my nails down his chest and he shouted, prying my

fingers away.

He tried to pull off my sweatshirt, but I locked my hands together to resist. Tarek pressed

against the lump on my head with his fingertips until I made a shrill sound. Pain roared through

my skull and I jerked his arms forward and began to roll, doing maneuvers Justus had taught me

to throw off an opponent who had me pinned.

Justus would have been proud.

Tarek lost his balance and fell to the side. He grabbed a fistful of my shirt as I crawled in the

opposite direction.

“Get off me!” I bent forward and twisted free from the shirt.

Tarek blocked my exit, so I grabbed a shotgun from the wall. If I couldn’t shoot it, I was going

to spear him with it.

Suddenly, the wall phone rang.

“Be right back,” he said with a devilish grin. “Try to run for the door and let’s see how far you

get before I pluck out your left eye.”

While he stalked off, I reached for the cell phone sitting on the end table. “Logan?” I

whispered, “Hello?”

No one was there.

Tarek answered the house phone. “Hello?” His voice was bright and pleasant. “And who could

have given you this number? Tell me you aren’t friends with the Vampire who put his cock in your

female.” Tarek’s boisterous laugh filled the room. “Priceless. You’re a weaker man than I thought.

Sorry, Cross, I’m a little busy right now,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at me. When he saw

the phone in my hand, his face turned to stone.

I showed him my middle finger as Christian answered my call. “Tarek, you worthless piece of—”

“No, it’s Silver,” I said in rushed words. “If Logan’s on his way here, you need to stop him. Do

you understand me? I hereby relinquish your duties as my guard and transfer you to Logan to

protect him!”

“You can’t do that,” he argued. “Only Novis makes that call.”

“Do it, Christian.”

Tarek listened to both conversations. “By all means, Cross, come over.” Tarek rubbed his finger

against the stains on his chest. “Remember who you’re talking to. I’m a Lord; keep that in mind…

Really? I like the original plan much better. More for me… I warn you… Cross, you can’t challenge

to the death. She’s not your kindred spirit!”

I was panting so hard my throat dried up. Tarek paced, angry and yet contemplative. “Katrina

is dead. What would be the point? I have fucking honor!” He slammed the phone down and

roared.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Cross is challenging me,” Tarek announced.

I covered my mouth, eyes wide. Tarek was double the muscle weight of Logan and already

amped up from a kill.

Moments later, tires screeched out front and I fled to the door. Tarek shoved me down and

quickly went out the front patio gate, locking it behind him. I rushed forward, gripping the bars

and screaming for him to stop.

Stone’s bloody remains lay motionless by the mailbox—barely visible through the early morning

fog. The careless disregard for life sickened me. I would have liked to see that man retire and get

the Mercedes he’d daydreamed about having.

The heavy humidity veiled the sun and I couldn’t see beyond the street. Not that it would have

mattered. Stone lived in a secluded area that guaranteed him privacy.

“Let him pass,” Tarek ordered his guards.

Emerging from a cloud of dense fog was a tall man with fire in his eyes. Logan was

exceptionally handsome, and I almost didn’t recognize him at first with the short hair in disheveled

chunks, longer on top and edgy. In the chilly morning with frost on the ground, all he wore was a

pair of sweats and a black tank top. Not even a pair of shoes on his feet. He carried himself like a

knight—a true man of honor.

I squeezed the life out of the iron bars with my grip. If I had to watch him die, it would break

me in ways I could never comprehend. Logan’s stunning eyes sought me through the mist and all I

could do was shake my head as tears escaped.

“Let’s end this,” Logan declared. The closer he came from the dreamlike fog, the more the

reality set in that I was about to lose him.

“Logan, don’t do this,” I begged. “Don’t you dare risk your life for me; I denied you! Don’t you

get it?”

Tarek stood between us and Logan stepped to the side so he was within my sight.

“I said I would let you live your life, but I never once agreed to let it be taken. I love you,

female. You are my kindred spirit,” he said, beating his fist to his chest. “I promised I would never

let you fall, and I meant it. I will always come for you. I will always love you, even if you deny me

on your last breath.”

“Which will be very soon,” Tarek promised.

Logan’s eyes cut away from me and fell on Tarek like hot, cindering flames. Everything I knew

about sacrifice was about to change.

Chapter 27

Tarek sidestepped Logan with alarming speed, a behavior among Chitahs used to flaunt their

abilities. Logan dropped his arms to his sides and bowed his head, suddenly moving so fast that he

appeared behind Tarek, who pivoted in time to swing. Logan ducked and fell back. They circled

each other like warriors, predators, enemies.

The cold iron bars burned my fingers as I screamed Logan’s name. He glanced up and Tarek

seized the opportunity to rattle him.

“You really want to die for a Mage? She’s used. Look at her!”

Tarek talked a big game, but despite his impressive strength, it was obvious Logan intimidated

him.

Logan’s canines punched out and his murky black eyes looked startling against the crisp

morning fog. His skin shimmered with a warm display of spotted patterns and I caught my breath.

Within moments, the challenge began.

They fought in a blur of motion. Tarek threw Logan to the ground but shouted out in pain

when Logan delivered a hard kick to his knee. They threw punches, lunged, and tore at each

other’s flesh with their fangs.

Minutes ticked by and I watched each heart-stopping moment.

There was so much blood on Tarek from Officer Stone I couldn’t tell whose it was anymore.

Chitah venom wasn’t toxic to other Chitahs; their teeth were merely sharp instruments used to

shred apart their victims with unconscionable savagery.

Two men, over a century old with a history as deep as the Nile, circled each other. Ready to

fight. Ready to die. Both had gone primal, and only one would walk away.

Logan hammered Tarek in the face with his right fist and missed a final swing when Tarek

ducked out of the way and punched him in the side. It was enough to send Logan to his knees,

and without missing a beat, Tarek kicked him in the head so forcefully a spray of blood tainted the

white fog.

It didn’t stop there. Tarek continued kicking him in the face and chest until Logan no longer

fought back.

My heart sank as his body lay motionless at Tarek’s feet. All I could see was the top of his head

and his broad shoulders.

I whispered secret words that no one could hear, words of adoration for the man I loved.

My beautiful man.

Tarek lifted a prideful chin before he dragged his eyes up to mine. He was in control of his

animal, but Logan was not. “Watch him die!”

He peeled back his lips to move in for the kill when Logan suddenly sprang up and lunged at

his throat like a wild animal. Tarek collapsed onto his back with Logan’s face buried in his jugular.

Logan thrashed his head from side to side. Blood masked his face, making him unrecognizable.

His roar penetrated the quiet dawn, a battle cry, and his entire body trembled as if it might come

apart.

I had no idea up to that point what killed a Chitah. They possessed similar abilities to a Mage in

that they could rejuvenate, but all Breeds had limitations. Maybe it was the blood loss, or the

irreparable damage to the vein in his neck, but Tarek’s body lay twitching as the last drops of life

soaked into the earth. Still conscious, he watched Logan with a defiant expression.

Logan’s eyes pulsed with life and retribution bled from his face. He’d made a vow to his mate

that he wouldn’t go after Tarek for raping her—a promise he kept even after her death.

The violence that had raged in his heart for all those years released as he tore open Tarek’s

throat.

“Logan!” Christian emerged from the street and tossed him a blade.

Logan bent forward, dagger in hand, and whispered something in Tarek’s ear, but I was unable