Of A Darker Nature (11 page)

Then she remembered poor Brenda who was probably dead in her bedroom. Emily choked on a sob and buried her face against his chest.

His hand cupped the back of her head and stroked through her hair. “What have you done to me?”

Her eyes snapped open. “What?”

“You’ve gotten under my skin.” His embrace tightened, but not painfully.

Pete chose that moment to push up onto hands and knees. He reached out and grasped her ankle. His swollen face twisted and pleaded for mercy. Emily screamed.

Marcus kicked the man’s arm away. Pete curled into a fetal position and moaned. 

Emily scrambled away from them. Things were getting out of hand. Beau’s warnings about Marcus sprang to mind again. She was confident she’d not only felt his lips, but fangs at her throat a moment ago. He moved toward her, pupils tiny pinpricks in an ocean of stormy blue.

“Come with me, Emily.” Again his voice took on the lull of enchantment. He held out his hand. “You’re safe with me.”

Emily wanted to return to his embrace. Instead, she backed away.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

The wail of police sirens drew closer. Brenda’s new man had managed to call for help before he'd perished from his wounds.

Marcus scowled, and she could feel the anger radiating off him in waves. Is this what he was actually like? Anger and violence?

“You’d better go before they get here.”

He cupped her cheek with a cool palm and his thumb brushed away a smear of blood. “I'll be back for you.”

He hauled Pete up by the collar then moved down the hall, half dragging the moaning dirt bag.

Marcus hid just behind the line of trees and dug the heel of his boot into the back of Pete’s neck. He wasn’t going anywhere until he found out what the hell was going on. Things just didn’t mesh.

“Tell me about the girl,” he growled. “What is she?” 

Pete twisted his head to spit dirt and blood. “Go to hell.”

He ground his boot heel against Pete's head until the vampire whimpered. “Okay, okay! We don’t know what she is either. Starr wants to learn how to use the gift herself. If the girl doesn’t cooperate, Starr will probably just enslave her.”

Marcus gazed at the house. If only the police hadn't shown when they did…

Pete’s laughter was muffled against the ground. Dirt swirled in miniature whirlwinds with his every breath. “We’re gonna get Isabella and there’s nothing you can do about it. We’re not afraid of you and your enforcers anymore. The witch is more powerful than you can imagine. You’ve got no hope of winning this. The only way you’ll live through this is if you help Starr bring an end to Isabella's rule.”

Marcus silenced him with another kick when he noticed movement outside the house.  Emily came outside to sit on the porch.

After what seemed like forever, a detective came outside and sat next to her. Emily took the offered blanket and watched the ambulance pull away with her friend and the dead man. Dark uniforms milled around the yard and inside the house.

“So here we are again.” The detective positioned her elbows on the steps and leaned back to gaze up at the night sky. “What happened, Emily?”

“They came back for me.” She glanced in the direction of the trees.

Marcus toyed with the idea of stepping out just enough for her to see him, but mashed the urge. It would be stupid to play around like that, especially since daylight crept closer with each passing moment.

Pete hadn’t made a noise for several minutes. Perhaps he’d lost consciousness again.

“The John Doe?” The detective sat up and stared at her.

Emily wrapped arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. Hair fell around her shoulders and obscured her face. In the porch light, the dark red hair looked black.

She gave a condensed summation of what happened. Finally, she pointed toward the trees. “He disappeared over there.”

“Great,” Marcus muttered to himself. He should move along. Emily had given him enough new information to chew on, but he hungered for more. He crouched down, using his captive to support his weight. What had Emily called Pete, Dirt Bag? It was a fair appraisal. He’d always deemed bathing as optional.

“I’ll send some men into the woods to check things out.” Hahm motioned a few of the uniformed men over. She barked orders and they scattered.

Marcus gripped Pete by the arm. They’d have to move now. He couldn’t risk being found and questioned this close to dawn.

Jumping straight up, he landed in the tree’s uppermost branches. Marcus stuffed the still unconscious Pete against a crook in the branch and trunk.

Hahm plucked a flower from the honeysuckle vine twined around the railing. She shredded it while she spoke. “So, Emily, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot the other night. Maybe we can make a deal? I give you some info and you decide if it’s worth giving some in return.”

The redhead nodded in agreement.

“We're dealing with vampires.” Hahm tucked her strawberry blonde hair behind her ears. “At least, I think they're vampires. All of this is too organized for shifters.”

Marcus cursed. In their single-minded pursuit of Trent and the witch, his enforcers must have gotten sloppy and left themselves open to discovery. Or maybe this detective was a little sharper than most humans. Either way, Marcus didn't like it.

“I have a source that I trust and he claims they're real. It was hard to grasp at first, but I've seen some otherwise unexplainable things. It seems they stick to the shadows, hide what they are at all costs, but I think their careful safeguards have fallen away. They've been exposed, in a manner of speaking.”

Emily continued to stare out at the night. Could she sense his presence?

The detective gave her a moment to absorb the information before continuing. “I believe the vampires have a governing body, much like we do. My source is close to the city master. According to him, those who don't live right in the city are under the closest master's rule. Sometimes they have turf wars, but I don't think that's what's going on here.”

“Then what's going on?” Emily lifted her head and stared at the woman.

“You don't seem surprised. How long have you known about them?”

“Not long. I kind of just stumbled into it that night at the mortuary. Are you the only one?”

“If anyone else in the department knows, they're not advertising it. I try to catch the cases that seem a little iffy. Because of that, they throw all the crazy-ass ones my way. Sometimes it pans out, and I learn something new. Other times it's just another crazy of the human variety. Just when I think I've found something monumental, I suspect the enforcer types rush in and cover it up.” The detective pinched another flower. “Anyway, I may have tracked down where they were hiding the master. You've heard about that old mansion that burned to the ground a few weeks ago? I think that's where they were hiding out.”

Though it had healed, Marcus’s right arm had burned when he’d tried to rescue Jai Li’s twin. He’d gotten Wu out of the main building, but hadn’t been able to save him. He had burst into flames while in Marcus’s arms. He had to leave Wu smoldering on the garage floor and endure Jai Li’s anguished cries. After throwing an old tarp over the others, he drove them to the sanctuary. By the time they’d reached it, his face and hands were a burnt, crusty mess.

After several seconds of silence, Emily spoke. “So you think they were holed up in the mansion?”

“I do.” Hahm nodded with conviction. “We found some curious things at the site.”

“Like what?”

“We found charred remains. We can't identify them, and some of the bones appear to be at least a hundred years old. It could be the master of the city. I'd think he or she would have to be a relatively old vampire to gain that much power over the others. The lab claims the specimens must have been compromised. They can't make heads or tails of it.”

Marcus was glad the safeguards were in place to thwart this human's curiosity. The vampires had people inside the police department. A couple close shifter friends worked as lab geeks (or in their case, lab rats) to make sure nothing ever turned up that might point in the preternatural direction.

After a few moments of silence, Hahm shrugged. “Who knows, maybe their master is gone, and they’re running wild.”

Emily shook her head. “The master is safe.”

“I don't know. Until we're able to talk to someone, we have no clue.”

“What about your source?”

“I haven't been able to reach him. David seemed a bit worried the last time we talked. He believed someone was following him, someone, who was more powerful than the vampires.” The detective sighed. “It gives me pause to think there's something like that out there.”

Marcus cursed beneath his breath. Why was David feeding this human information? 

“Starr killed a vampire named David and made me read him.” Emily must have decided she could trust Detective Hahm because everything in its entirety followed.

Marcus had listened long enough. He tossed Pete to the ground and landed next to him. Sunrise was less than an hour away. Isabella would want to speak with Pete, and she'd want to know what the good detective had uncovered.

Marcus stood outside the interrogation room with Isabella. The questioning could be pleasant or pure hell. It depended on who was asking the questions. The detainee usually found trouble if Isabella was present. Not only did the enforcers beef up their methods, but sometimes Isabella even took part.

Tonight her dark eyes were massive and luminous, her smile dangerous. “Is it true? You’ve brought Peter home?”

Marcus frowned at her enthusiasm. “Yes, he just regained consciousness.”

Her narrowed eyes were the darkest he’d seen them in a while. “Have you brought Trent?”

Marcus shifted position and sighed, rubbing at his arm. It was healed now, but the memory of Emily catching him off guard stung. “No. He got away.”

“Again?” Her blood red nails slashed Marcus's cheek. His head snapped to the side, and pearls of crimson glistened on his skin. Isabella stamped her feet with frustration. “Why? Why does he keep slipping through your fingers?”

Once again, he went through the night’s exploits.

“You did not bring the girl either?” Her hand slashed the air between them, but he caught it. Isabella’s upper lip curled as she glared at his fingers wrapped around her slender wrist. “You will take your hands off me.”

He pulled her closer and forced her to stand on tiptoe. His lips were mere inches from hers. “Save your abuse for Pete. He deserves it much more than me.”

She tried to bite him, which prompted him to say, “I’m uninterested.”

Isabella jerked away to push past him. A wounded expression flitted across her face. It quickly was hidden, and he didn’t bother to comment.

“Get out of my way, underling. You disappoint me yet again.”

Marcus followed her into the interrogation room. Voices cried out as they passed. The smell of urine and worse assaulted his senses. He didn’t look at the two men or the woman being held here, his line of vision rested on Pete.

Jai Li stood beside the traitor. She had dressed in a bodysuit that fit like a second skin. A cat of nine tails dangled from her right hand. Jagged silver beads hung from each tail. Corey looked on from where he sat on a nearby table. His youthful face seemed to glow with excitement. Evan stood next to him, his expression the exact opposite.

Marcus ran fingers over a few of the tools lying on the closest table. Several were innocent enough — they even held every day uses. The others were less ordinary, but there were no mysteries behind their purposes. Marcus knew firsthand. They’d been used on him more times than he cared to count, and he’d used them on others as well. 

Jai Li looked beside herself with agitation. “He won’t talk. He's useless.” She punctuated each word with a snap of the whip. Each time the silver tipped leather touched him, Pete’s back arched and he inhaled sharply. Unlike so many of the others, Pete hadn’t begun to scream or cry.

“Perhaps you are not doing it correctly.” Isabella motioned for the weapon with a twitch of her fingers. 

Jai Li lifted her sculpted brows, but handed it over without argument. The leather creaked beneath Isabella’s fingers. She jumped in surprise and even giggled when the first strike rang out. Pete sucked in a lung full of air, but refused to reward her with a scream.

Isabella struck him again and again, each attack growing more forceful than the last. Her lips pulled back from her teeth in a peculiar, thrilled grimace. Every time she swung her arm, she let out a little cry of delight.

“She’s enjoying this.” Jai Li gripped Marcus’s arm and held it tight against her side.

Pete’s blood flowed down the drain in the center of the room.

The other prisoners didn’t make a sound. They were probably afraid of drawing Isabella’s attention. Even the loudmouth werewolf who had been brought in a day ago had fallen silent.

Corey offered the mistress a cheer of approval.

Gore covered Isabella’s silky yellow dress. Pete now hung limp against his binds, head down, and sobbing. “I can’t tell you. Starr will kill me.”

Corey laughed, circling their prisoner. “He’s hanging from our ceiling and being tortured, but he’s worried about the witch?” He kicked Pete’s left foot and grinned up at the traitor. “Jeez, Petey, you need to get your priorities straight.”

Isabella grabbed a handful of Pete’s hair and yanked his head up. “I will kill you myself!”

“I’m dead either way.” His words were a harsh, broken whisper.

Bloody saliva and snot hung from his face. His head swayed from side to side, and he made a high keening noise from deep within his throat. Marcus recognized the crazed look in Pete’s eyes. He was desperate to shut off the pain.

Jai Li brushed the hair from her eyes. “Just tell us what we want to know, Pete. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“Go. To. Hell.” He tried to kick her with each word.

Evan looked green as he headed for the exit. He’d never liked this sort of thing, and Marcus was surprised he’d hung around this long.

“Very well, you have given me no choice.” Isabella’s voice fell to a low, dangerous timbre. Even the finest lines around her eyes crinkled with something akin to glee.

She moved to the closest tool cart to select a skinning knife. A wicked grin twisted her features. She curled fingers around the smooth handle and waved it in front of Pete’s face.

“I wonder how you would fare if I were to carve you with this?” Light glinted off the shiny metal.

Pete’s eyes widened. “No, please.”

She pointed at Jai Li. “Bring me a step stool. I plan on skinning him from head to toe.” She turned back to Pete. “Talk or you will experience a lot of discomforts. Tell me what I want to know, and I will reward you with a quick death.”

Corey reached for the blade. “Let me. There’s no need to dirty your hands.”

She slapped his fingers away. “It is I that was betrayed, not you. I will deal with this myself and I will enjoy it immensely.”

“Please, don’t do this.” Pete's words were an agonized moan. “I’ll tell you whatever you want.”

“Yes, you will.” Isabella allowed the point of the blade to nick his stomach. “But first I am going to remind you of your place.”

Pete’s frantic gaze snapped up to search the room for help. “It was Marcus! He’s the one who orchestrated the whole thing. He planned this out, Mistress. We followed his lead. Marcus is working with the witch too.”

Isabella’s giggle grated Marcus’s nerves. She twisted to face him, her laughter ending abruptly. Uncertainty clouded her features, but she quickly regained control of herself. “He would not dare do anything so foolish. Marcus may struggle with being subservient every once in a while, but he always gets back in line.”  With a dismissive wave of the hand, she returned her attentions to Pete.

Marcus narrowed his eyes on her, but chose not to say anything just yet. She needed to do this, to show Pete that she was in charge. There would be time to remind her of “his place” later, behind closed doors.

“Remove the rest of his clothing, Corey.”

Jai Li returned with a stepping stool. She stood perfectly still while Isabella gripped her shoulder and climbed atop it.

Pete had just begun to scream when Marcus left the room. The roaring fire in Isabella’s eyes wouldn’t be extinguished until she’d gotten the information she wanted.

Evan waited in the hallway for Marcus to join him. “How can you stand to do that sort of stuff?”

“I don’t unless I have to. Sometimes it’s unavoidable.” In response to Evan’s sharp look of disapproval, he said, “I don’t enjoy it.”
Not always.

Evan looked up at him with wide eyes. “Have you ever flayed someone?”

“Nope, haven’t tried that one.” Marcus continued down the hallway even though Evan had stopped. He could almost feel Evan’s inquisitive gaze on the back of his head. He hoped his friend didn’t ask for details of his past experiences in the interrogation room.

Marcus didn’t want to lie, but he also didn’t want Evan to think him a monster.

Evan caught up to him. He seemed to understand Marcus didn’t want to discuss the interrogation room. “I’m glad you held your tongue back there.”

“Mm, it’s a chore, but sometimes I make rational decisions.” He smiled ever so slightly.

“She isn’t going to be happy until you bring the girl.”

“I would’ve brought her tonight, but the cops showed up. I couldn’t catch her alone after that.” That wasn’t exactly the truth. “Besides, I figured Isabella would want to question Pete more than some silly girl.”

“If I didn't know you better, I'd say you didn't want to share her with the others.”

It was well past sunrise. Exhaustion crept through Marcus and clouded his brain. His mind demanded that he shut down. He pushed into their shared bedroom and sank onto his bed.

Evan studied his slow movements. After a few moments, he bent to help Marcus remove his boots. “The girl is a human, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, but a strange one.” Marcus took off his shirt, wadded it into a ball and tossed it into the corner. He left the jeans hanging on his hips. “Glamour and enchantments don't seem to work on her.”

“So naturally you're curious.”

“Among other things.” Marcus yawned. Enthrallment wouldn’t work on Emily, but seduction just might. He couldn’t help but think about how her demeanor had changed. She was a bit more wary of him, and he suspected he had Beau to thank for that. Now he might never know what she tasted like or what secrets she kept.

Evan dropped his gaze. His cheeks glowed in discomfort. “It must be a cruel god who made you.”

He’d only half heard Evan’s soft spoken words. Something about him being cruel? Had he finally figured out Marcus wasn’t all sparkles and sunshine? “What did you say?”

“Never mind.” Evan waved his hand with embarrassment. He hung up the vest he’d been wearing and tucked Marcus’s boots into the closet. He even picked up Marcus’s dirty clothes and put them in their proper place.

Marcus studied his friend for a few moments, trying to figure out what hadn’t been said. “Something else is bothering you?”

“Yes.” Evan ducked his head and waved a dismissive hand. The movement mimicked Isabella’s etiquette and set Marcus’s teeth on edge. “No, no it doesn’t matter. Forget it.”

Marcus crossed the room and laid his hands on the petite man’s shoulders. He pulled him into a friendly hug. “I’m no genius, but I can tell something’s wrong. So just tell me what’s bothering you.”

His friend’s face crumpled, and he hated the helpless feeling that enveloped him. Evan pressed a cheek against his bare chest. He felt blessed not to share the room with Corey too. The youngster never tired of teasing Evan about his infatuation. It was all in good fun, but sometimes Corey’s remarks cut the more sensitive Evan to the quick.

It didn’t bother Marcus much. He was more than secure in his masculinity and fondness for the female anatomy.

Evan tightened the embrace. His words came out muffled against Marcus’s shoulder. “She did something tonight. Something she hasn’t ever done before.”

He tensed. “Did she hurt you?”

Despite his best effort to curb it, repugnance leaked into Marcus's voice. If she had harmed him in any way—well, he didn’t know what he’d do. Whatever he did, it would most likely be regrettable and just a little foolish.

Evan stepped away and shook his head. He flopped onto his bed and looked over at Marcus with wet, miserable eyes. “No, I just know the potential is there. I mean, she was just staring at me. You know the cold look she gets when she’s thinking of cruel things?”

Marcus offered a slow nod. He wouldn’t like where this was heading. He sat on the edge of his bed and removed his socks.

He’d shot them into the dirty clothes hamper before Evan spoke again.

“She’s going to do it. She’ll do it whether I’m okay with it or not. I think she’s just waiting for the right moment. She’ll do it out of spite since I refuse to do what she asks.” He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “You know the last person she tried to turn didn’t work out so well. I don’t want to turn into some crazed flesh-eating zombie.”

Marcus dragged fingers through his hair and sighed. “She promised she wouldn’t. Isabella said you were a lost cause.”

Tears shimmered in Evan’s brown eyes. “She says she loves me, but she doesn’t. If she did, she’d accept me. I think she brought me into the clan because she had no idea I’m gay. Not at first. She still wants me to knock up some girl and have a ton of kids so the line won’t end with her. She even said she didn’t care if it was done with a turkey baster.”

Evan turned his back to Marcus.

“I’ll talk to her again. We have an agreement, and she’d better not go back on it.” Marcus clenched his fists and fought the urge to go back to the interrogation room. The need to hurt something, to pound it to pulp ached within him. It would be unrewarding to punish anyone but Isabella and right now, and he couldn’t afford to piss her off. She’d found his one and only weakness; Evan.

Evan looked over his shoulder. “Don’t promise her anything, Marcus. It’s not worth it.”

Marcus pulled back the sheet on his bed. “Do you think I’ve been around for one hundred and twenty years by being stupid?”