Gravity (45 page)

injections and I struggled so much that they doped me up. Slater was infuriated, and through my

foggy state of consciousness, I overheard him telling them it wouldn’t work as long as they kept

giving me morphine. The older guy wanted to get rid of me, but Slater was determined to prove

his idea would work. I think he was planning on kidnapping me from the facility and taking me on

his own to finish up his experiment. I don’t remember much; I was out of it most of the time.”

“I’m glad we found you when we did.”

“Me too. Justus told me how you spotted the vial in the photograph. Most people don’t pay

attention to things like that.”

“Luck.”

“You’re smarter than you give yourself credit for, Silver. I think it’s time you own up to it.”

“Well, in that case, I totally rocked at saving the day with my extraordinary talents of

perception.” I laughed and Page tilted her head back. “How serious are you and Justus? I don’t

mean to pry, I’m just—”

“You have every right to know. You’re his Learner and I can see how protective you are of him.”

“I definitely have to keep my eye on him sometimes. Doesn’t he drive you crazy though? I don’t

see how you can tolerate the way he speaks so…”

“I keep him in check. We balance out each other’s temperaments. I can be equally headstrong,

and I think we both already know the woman is always right.”

“You’ve worked your magic on him, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen him so agreeable.”

She curled her body toward mine with her knees pulled up in the same fashion and her voice

fell to a whisper. “I’ve never fallen for anyone, and I never thought it could happen so fast.”

I thought of Sunny and a tear slid down my nose. “It didn’t work that way with Logan and me,

but Sunny and Knox had that kind of connection. She said she just knew it from the beginning.”

“Don’t ever repeat this, Silver. Just between us, I think I love him. God help me, I don’t know

why, but that’s how I feel about Justus. Please don’t tell him; he’ll think I’m crazy since we barely

know each other, and maybe it’s too premature for me to be saying things like that. Plus, I don’t

think that’s where he wants to be with a woman, and I get it. A Mage doesn’t settle very often and

then there’s him being a Charmer and me always being outshined by some woman. I’m not up for

that kind of competition. I just want to live in the moment for a little while and enjoy what we have

before it ends.”

I wiped away a tear and attempted to smile. I didn’t know if Justus felt the same way about

Page as she did him, but a part of me hoped so. Especially knowing the kind of women he had

reduced himself to being with because deep down, he never felt worthy of anyone who would

want to know him on a deeper level. Charmer or not, Justus never gave it a chance.

Her eyes filled with compassion and she touched my arm. “It’ll work out between you and

Logan. You two deserve to be happy and don’t let anyone try to take that away.”

“What are you two doing in here?” a voice bellowed from the dark hall. Max meowed at him

and continued licking his paws.

Page countered his remark. “The ladies are waiting for a knight in shining armor to bring on the

ice cream.”

In the distance, we heard the sound of a drawer opening and Page giggled, leaning in to

whisper, “No matter what happens, Silver, I promise I’ll be here if you need to talk. You got it? Not

just as your Relic, but as a friend. There’s no need for Justus to continue paying me for my

services; you’ve paid me back more than enough by saving my life.”

Justus flashed into the room with a large gallon of ice cream and two spoons. Big spoons. I

almost doubled over with laughter. He handed me the carton and took her hands.

“Let me warm them,” he murmured, cupping one of her hands within his and blowing a heated

breath. It was a sweet gesture because he couldn’t use his Thermal abilities with the necklace on,

and it was such a private moment that I looked away.

“My hero,” Page breathed. Justus unabashedly kissed her upside down on the lips and I

thought about how much she had opened him up in ways I never could. “Now go back to bed and

leave us girls to our vices.”

Justus grunted a complaint but gave her one more kiss and left us alone to tear up the rocky

road.

Chapter 35

“What the hell are you doing?” Leo scowled.

My seat suddenly reclined all the way back until I was lying down in the car.

Christian replied from the back seat. “I’d say I was getting the lady horizontal, wouldn’t you?”

“What’s the point of this?” I asked, staring at the roof of the car.

“I’d rather you not have your head poking out of the window like it’s target practice just yet.

There are a lot of nut cases out there and if anyone got wind of this from Tarek’s Pride, they might

do something stupid, or at least try it.”

“That’s Christian, always thinking ahead,” I mused. “I don’t think they’d hurt a female, would

they, Leo?”

He merely flicked a glance at me and kept quiet.

Christian scanned outside the windows. The streets were dark and empty as we rolled up to a

desolate building that looked like a warehouse. I leaned up to get a better look and Christian

shoved me back down by my forehead. I had expected to be going to a mansion or something

more ostentatious than a brick building in the hood.

“We’re here,” Leo announced.

“I’ll get out first,” Christian murmured. “Stay down for a minute until I knock on the glass.”

Both men hopped outside while I stared at the roof. I wondered if Leo realized he had a small

stain up there that looked like mustard.

The door clicked open and Christian unlatched my seatbelt. “It’s just a short walk to the door.

Stay close to me.”

I leaned up and my leather coat made noise. “Seriously, Christian. You’re taking this a little—”

The loud crack of a gunshot cut off my words. Christian threw himself over me and I listened to

a struggle. My heart pounded against his chest.

“Got him!” an unfamiliar voice yelled from a distance.

Christian lifted his head and I saw a hint of a smile behind those scruffy whiskers. “Are you still

going to argue with me, lass? Like I said before, there are some demented people that are itching

for a little payback.”

“I can’t die from a gunshot.”

His breath heated my face. “I don’t care if they throw a fecking water balloon at you. I’m going

to protect your life, and that’s final. So quit your whining. I swear, you haven’t changed a bit since

we first met,” he rambled on as he heaved me out of the car. “You rabbit on as if you know

something about our world and you’re only a little tadpole. You must think I’m a big numpty. Of

course I know a gunshot won’t kill you, but it can knock you down long enough that you wouldn’t

be able to escape and I would be too distracted to fight. Plus, I’d have to explain to your

Ghuardian why you look like a donut with a hole in the middle.”

“Okay, Christian. Point taken. Let’s get inside already.”

Without telling Logan, I had asked Leo to take me to their Overlord—the man who ruled over

all the Lords. The idea of a manhunt with a bunch of Chitahs tracking us down gave me waking

nightmares. Leo mentioned that Logan might be detained for questioning until they reviewed all

the facts, due to it being such a serious charge. Unlike human laws, being arrested among the

Breed meant there was sufficient evidence to impose a sentence. I wasn’t familiar with Chitah

laws, but I didn’t think they would be much different.

Leo pulled off his winter hat and the streetlamp caught the red highlights in his short hair as he

brushed his hands over the back of it. It was a Ewan McGregor color from some of the old movies

I’d seen—reddish with blond mixed in. I wasn’t sure why he had never challenged for the position

of Lord in his Pride, but perhaps his time would one day come. He tucked the hat in his back

pocket and unzipped his coat.

Six guards surrounded us and led us inside to a set of heavy double doors. Two reached

forward and opened them, and my nerves bunched up in my stomach when before us was one

serious-looking gentleman sitting behind a long desk with three men to his right. He wore all black,

looked like he could have been six foot ten, his nose was strong and sculpted like a Roman, and his

eyes were not the typical amber color. They were a brilliant citrine and sent a flurry of goose

bumps all over my arms when he glanced up at me. He had hair the color of soot, and not one

feature on his face changed as we approached.

Leo bowed submissively. “Sire.”

I drew in a swift intake of breath when the doors slammed behind us and all six guards lined

up against the wall.

“Leo Cross.” The Overlord greeted him in a textured voice. “You may sit.”

Leo took the empty chair on my right, leaving Christian and me standing in the middle of the

room with no more available seats.

“Mage, come forward and let me have a closer look at you. Vampire, stay back. No harm will

come to her in my presence and on this, you have my word.”

I released my breath and took a few steps forward. I felt a little undignified standing there in a

pair of black boots and a leather jacket when every man at that table was dressed in his finest

attire. The Overlord slowly lifted a long finger, signaling I could come no closer. Nervously, I

bowed, not knowing the custom.

He lifted an indifferent brow. “Logan Cross may be guilty on charges of murder. It is a serious

offense to attack a Lord, and here we have one who was slain. The investigation is under way, but

it has been brought to my attention you wish to speak on behalf of Logan Cross. If we bring him

in, everyone involved will be questioned. My best men are determining the facts that occurred on

the evening prior to the incident through questioning. I have also been made aware that you and

Logan Cross have a… relationship.” His brow slid up and he leaned back in his chair, never once

removing his eyes from mine. I couldn’t look at him directly, so I kept my focus on his hands,

which were still on the table. “I’m sure you are aware this is frowned upon by our Breed, but it is

not by any means illegal. You have the right to speak for or against him, as you wish, but you do

not possess any rights as a mate.”

“Sir, I love him.” I paused and let those words settle in, but they seemed to have no sway one

way or the other. “You may remember me on the night of the party, because it was an

engagement celebration between me and Tarek. Not a mutual one. Tarek blackmailed me by

threatening the lives of everyone I loved.” I licked my lips and pulled in a breath, because I was

finding it more difficult to breathe. “The night of the party, he held me against my will. Tarek had a

history with Logan, and everything he did was for personal vengeance. When Logan brought a

woman to the event, it threw Tarek into a rage. That’s when I realized he was going to keep taking

this one step further until he ruined Logan.”

I caught Leo turning his head to look at me from his chair and saw his hands tighten into fists.

“Christian, my guard, charmed Logan into choosing a Chitah mate. We’d hoped that Tarek

would release me if he saw his plans fall through. I counted on this, even knowing I would be

giving up a life with Logan. But Tarek had also planned for me to work as a spy for the Mageri. I

had to get away from him or he would have blackmailed me for the rest of my life.”

Slander without evidence was a serious offense. There was no proof of the conversations

exchanged between us, but then an idea came to mind.

“If you want to question me using a Vampire to pull the truth, I just want you to know I’m

willing.”

He smiled a little and tilted his head. “I can scent truth better than any man in this room.”

That was a relief. “He would have tarnished the reputation of your leadership if he had

remained in power.”

“And no one knew of this?” the Overlord asked, fingers still interlocked on the table.

“Only Christian, but that could hardly be helped. I was to tell no one about the threat. Later

that evening, I escaped with Christian and we were separated. I tried to get myself arrested by

the human police so they would lock me up and I’d be safe from Tarek’s reach. The cop thought I

was a battered woman and took me to his home to keep me safe until I found a place to go.” This

part of the story piqued his interest and the Overlord leaned forward. “Tarek showed up and

murdered him in cold blood.”

“Tarek murdered the human?” the Overlord asked in surprise. One of the elders to his right got

up and stood beside me, taking short puffs of air.

“I can confirm she speaks the truth.”

I stepped closer to Christian because someone smelling the truth out of me gave me the

creeps.

“The cop was a decent man. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did, execution style.” I bit