His Every Desire (15 page)

Through the thin glass panes of the door, he could hear their voices as they murmured, and then there was another loud knock. A final one. Carter bellowed out, “Open the door, Tracy. Don’t make your husband wait any longer.”

The temperature continued to plunge as Carter broke out one beveled pane of glass in the door with the butt of his gun. He stepped through slowly, swinging his head to the left, then to the right and that was when Joel pulled the trigger.

Carter was dead before he hit the ground and Joel dove across the hall, keeping the planter wall that divided the dining room from the living room between him and Vincent.

“That wasn’t very smart, Joel,” Vincent said, his voice cold and flat with anger.

Keeping his back pressed against the wall, he stared into the hall, watching for the shadows on the floor to shift. “Maybe not, but it sure as hell felt good. I’ve wanted that bastard dead for ten years now.”

“You killed one of my best men, Joel. You know I can’t let that pass. One thing to kill some useless punks I hire off the street, another to kill an important member of my organization.”

His voice was getting fainter and Joel circled around the wall just in time to see Vincent heading down the other hall, the one that would lead to the kitchen, and then into the dining room. The stairwell leading to the bedrooms was at the end of the hall, and Joel had to keep him downstairs.

“Well, seeing as how you die today, I don’t think what happens in your business much matters anymore.” He stepped around the wall, facing Vincent just as the man spun around and met his eyes.

Vincent laughed. The sound was cold and lifeless, echoing through the quiet house. His eyes seemed darker in the pale circle of his face, larger, and even crueler than before. “You sound so sure. Joel, a lot of people have tried to kill me. None of have succeeded.” He held a gun in his hand, a small Beretta that was aimed directly at Joel’s gut.

Joel smiled, a slight flex of his lips, as he replied, “None wanted you dead as much as I do.”

Vincent opened his mouth to respond. A fog of condensation formed at his mouth as he breathed out, and Joel had to fight not to shiver as the room’s temperature plummeted. Damn it, it hadn’t ever gotten this cold…

Vincent’s eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth trying to keep his gun hand from shaking. Joel saw the confusion in his eyes, and he let the smile on his face spread. “I was wrong…there is one other person who wants you dead as much as I do. Guess she came to see me finish it off…”

From the head of the stairs, Joel heard the soft creak of wood floors. Then he heard a voice, a solid voice that he hadn’t heard in twenty years. This wasn’t the insubstantial echo he had always heard before, but a real, solid voice. Carly’s voice.

“Marc, honey…I’m not here to see you finish it off…”

Vincent spun around, and Joel slowly lifted his gaze, terror streaking through him as he found himself staring into Emery’s face.

But it wasn’t Emery’s eyes he was staring into.

The soft gray eyes he loved to gaze into were gone, replaced by dark, dark blue pools so like his own. And when her mouth opened, the words that came from her throat weren’t the low, melodious tones of Emery’s voice, but rather, a deep, raspy voice. “Hello, lover…” she purred, ignoring Joel as he gaped at her.

“You…” Vincent rasped out, lifting the gun and leveling it at her.

Joel tried to lunge for him, but something had frozen him. Battling against the invisible bonds, he struggled to get to Vincent before he could shoot Emery.

“Damn it, I killed you, you fucking whore!” Vincent screeched and his voice was high, wild.

She laughed, and it wasn’t Emery’s laugh, wasn’t Tracy’s laugh. Joel reached up, scrubbing at his eyes, relieved to find that he could move a little. As he tried to focus on Emery’s face, the image seemed to shift, like a heat mirage, flickering from Emery one moment, to Carly the next.

“Yes…you did. And I’ve been waiting a long, long time to return the favor.”

Her eyes moved over Vincent, unconcerned by the gun he held as she met Joel’s gaze. “I tried, a few times, to do it this way with Marc, but I couldn’t ever penetrate his head.”

“Marc?”

Vincent wheeled around, shifting the gun from Carly to Joel, and back again. Then he stared at Joel as though seeing him for the first time and his face twisted into a mask of hatred. “Marc…you’re the little fuck who got away from me. The slut’s sister,” he snarled.

Joel smiled. “Yes,” he said simply.

Vincent howled and Joel watched as his finger tightened on the gun, dodging out of the way as Vincent pulled the trigger. The loud, booming thunder of a gun firing ripped through the air, but he never heard an impact. All he heard was Carly laughing. Glancing around the wall, he watched, in shock, as the bullet seemed to slow in midair and finally clatter to the floor.

“Vincent, sugar, you don’t really think I’m going to let you hurt him, do you?” she whispered, shaking her head. The blue eyes, so foreign looking in her face, sparkled merrily and she wagged her finger at him.

“Bitch!” Vincent screamed out, wheeling around and aiming the gun at her face.

He squeezed the trigger, again, again, and again, and each bullet fell harmlessly to the floor. His eyes got larger and more terrified as he stared at Carly.

She laughed, a merry, happy sound in the cold, silent house. As she moved toward Vincent, Joel felt his heart stutter to a halt inside his chest.

She blinked, when her eyes opened, they were gray, but unseeing. As Emery fell unaware to the floor, a white mist seemed to launch itself out of her, and Vincent screamed as the incandescent streamer of air wrapped around him and started to squeeze.

Joel lunged for Emery, shouting her name. The strong, steady beat of her pulse under his fingers reassured him, and he dragged her away from Vincent as the force that was Carly slowly choked the life out of him.

Emery shuddered in his arms, a soft cry escaping her. Joel pressed his lips to her hair, but he continued to stare at Vincent. He was suspended in the air now, his face turning a dark, angry purple, his eyes bugging out of his face, lips moving in a soundless scream.

There was a violent, cracking sound, and then the lifeless corpse fell down to the ground, dead.

Joel sucked air, his body shaking from the cold.

There was a soft, sighing whisper in the air, and then the cold faded away, replaced by the warmth of the early spring day. Her voice, once more, was distant. I never understood why you didn’t kill him sooner…the others didn’t matter. Just him.

“They mattered to me,” he said hoarsely, staring, stunned, at the broken, dead body in front of him. “He knew things I needed to know.” His voice trailed off for a moment, and then he whispered, “Know your enemy…keep him close.”

Carly laughed and it was the same carefree sound it had been in her youth, before she’d gotten entangled with Grainger. I prefer ‘Keep your enemies dead in the ground’.

Let it go, Marc. The others don’t matter. I can’t say it hurts to know most of them are dead, but the others, they are useless without him to pull their strings. They’ll meet their end…soon enough. Just let it go, Marc. Be happy.

“Happy,” he muttered, thickly, staring down at the pale face of the woman he loved. “I don’t think I deserve that.”

I do…and so does she. Can you stop searching now?

Emery started to stir in his arms.

He stared down at her, and knew the answer to that. “Yeah,” he murmured. “Yeah, I can let it go.”

He heard Carly’s voice…one final time…bye, bye baby brother…take care of her.

When he looked up to try and find her, to say something, she was already gone.

Joel knew in his gut she wouldn’t come back.

A weak, shaking sigh escaped Emery and as he kissed her temple, the thick black fringe of her lashes started to flutter. Seconds later, he found himself staring into her eyes.

“What happened?” she asked weakly.

Joel just shook his head and held her tightly to him, hugging her as close as he could.

A soft gasp left her and he glanced down, found her staring at Vincent’s lifeless body. “It’s over now,” he murmured. “All over.”

Emery licked her lips. “Ummm, well shouldn’t we do something about his body?”

That startled a laugh out of him and he hugged her tight. “Eh, might not be a bad idea.”

A shuddering sigh escaped Emery and she whispered, “It’s really over…”

Joel kissed her slowly, loosely cupping his hands over her neck, his thumbs resting in the notch of her collarbone, feeling the steady beat of her pulse. “Actually,” he whispered, catching her lower lip between his teeth and tugging. “It’s just beginning.”

About the Author

They always say to tell a little about yourself! I was born in Kentucky and have been reading avidly since I was six. At twelve, I discovered how much fun it was to write when I took a book that didn’t end the way it should have ended, and I rewrote it. I’ve been writing since then.

About me now...hmm... I’ve been married since I was 19 to my high school sweetheart and we live in the midwest. Recently I made the plunge and turned to writing full-time and am looking for a part-time job so I can devote more time to my family—two adorable children who are growing way too fast, and my husband who doesn't see enough of me...

Shiloh welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave Publishing at 1056 Home Avenue, Akron, OH  44310-3502.

Also by Shiloh Walker

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Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you breathless.

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