Of A Darker Nature (30 page)

Emily's naked body lay across his, their limbs tangled on the sofa. Her cheek against his chest, she lay quiet and unmoving in the aftermath of their lovemaking. The television was on mute, an old black and white flick playing. He smirked, remembering when it was brand new.

“Who were you talking to earlier?” His fingers ran down her back to trace her spine.

She’d gone into the other room after receiving the call and had talked in a hushed voice. At first, he’d thought it was just her sister or Scott and hadn’t paid much attention. She came back into the room looking guilty and nervous. Now he reconsidered the notion. Come to think of it, he'd awoken to her in his bed again this afternoon. He'd taken advantage of it, but now he had to wonder just what was going on.

“No one of importance,” she answered.

Emily's fingers tickled across his thigh. Marcus swelled with desire once more. It seemed they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. He wasn't complaining.

By the time they reached climax, her skin was dewy with a fine sheen of sweat. Emily flopped across his chest. She buried her face in his shoulder and mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, “I love you.”

Marcus didn't have much time to contemplate or question it. His new cell phone vibrated and hummed against the wood floor. He dug through the pile of discarded clothes at the end of the couch.

Emily untangled herself from him then headed toward the back of the house. There was a suggestive smile on her face. “I'm going to take a shower.”

Finding the phone tucked away in his jeans pocket, he cursed beneath his breath. He had to take it. He pulled his jeans on then answered. Flopping back onto the couch, he listened to Scott Hall’s voice on the other end.

Scott said, “I spoke with the local pack leader today. Degas is very concerned about the well-being of the shifter community. He agrees that we may have to put our differences aside and wants to meet with you.”

“I've been saying that all along.”

Several minutes into the conversation, he was distracted when Emily returned from the shower. She wore one of his t-shirts and nothing else. It allowed him a fantastic view of those fabulously long legs.

Emily leaned against his shoulder and smiled up at him. Her wet hair was fragrant against his skin. He became inattentive to everything but Emily. 

Scott’s sharp voice brought him back to the matter at hand. “Plus, he's lost some of his pack to her. The ones who don't join her are injured or killed.”

He smoothed a hand down one of Emily’s legs and tickled the sensitive area behind her knee. “Too bad it took this to get his attention.”

“Who will watch over Emily if you go to this meeting?” Scott’s voice became insistent. “Degas probably won’t want her tagging along.”

“It doesn’t matter if Degas wants her there. Emily is part of this, like it or not.” His redheaded vixen looked up in question. In return, he dropped a kiss on her nose. “Degas will want to meet on neutral territory. We haven’t been on speaking terms for a while. If it’s okay with you, we could meet at your place.”

Scott made an irritated noise. “There’s a slight problem. Someone broke in last night.”

“Was anyone hurt? Did they take anything important?”

“No. They tossed the place and destroyed some of the equipment, but other than that, there wasn't much they could do. No one was here at the time.” Scott growled in frustration. “It's obvious who did it.”

“Talk to Degas and let me know what he has to say. We can meet tonight.” He stole a glance at his watch. “I’d like to put our differences aside and get this resolved.”

“No problem. I'll let you know.”

Marcus cocked his head, and his gaze slid to the window. His body stiffened, awareness prickling. “I’ve gotta go, Scott.”

The living room door burst open and banged against the wall. A man stood in the doorway. His dark hair was pressed flat against his head, and blood smeared his face.

Emily scrambled to her feet, eyes wide with alarm.

Marcus caught Corey before he hit the floor. His hands clutched at Marcus, and he babbled incoherently. A deep gash and several small lacerations marred his face and forehead. One of the rings in his eyebrow had torn away, and blood trickled into his left eye.

He held his right arm tight against his side. The sleeve of his shirt was ripped away, and there were chunks of flesh missing.

“We're under attack.” He stammered. “I couldn't get you on the phone, so I ran here.”

Emily's eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “You ran?”

“Very fast,” he said proudly but sobered quickly. “They took him. They took Evan. They must have been watching, waiting for the Tulsa Master to leave before striking.”

Marcus pushed past him. Corey was right on his heels, prompting him to say, “Stay with Emily.”

“I'm coming with you!” Emily swooped down to grab her shorts from the floor. She barely managed to crawl into the car before Marcus started it and rolled down the driveway. She had to sit on Corey's lap since the Corvette didn't offer a whole lot of room.

“They waited for the shift change and ambushed us,” Corey said quietly, unable to meet Marcus's gaze. The car skidded through a red light. Fortunately, he had enough sense to hook an arm around Emily's waist.

“What about Isabella?”

Corey dropped his head against Emily's back. “When we realized what was happening, I stashed her in a safe place. She ordered Evan to put on a wig and wait in her bedroom. They must've bought it, 'cause they stormed the room and took him. I tried to protect him, I swear.”

Marcus said nothing. The car rolled past the broken, lopsided gates. Bodies lay strewn across the lawn and driveway. Some were shifters, others the witch's people. A couple piles of dark matter were all that remained of the vampires on duty.

“Where's Jai Li?” Marcus demanded.

Corey bit his bottom lip. “With Isabella. They were safe when I left them.”

Within moments, Marcus was out of the car and moving toward the house. Corey and Emily followed. 

Marcus gripped Emily's shoulders. “Stay right with me. I don't want anything happening to you too.”

They passed shifters and humans who had been shot. Others who didn't seem to have anything wrong with them lay stunned and unmoving.

Emily's face was pale and frightened as she stepped over another body lying in the mansion’s doorway. She darted past Marcus into the foyer. “Chad?”

Corey turned to Marcus, a worried frown darkening his features. “It looks like he shot Watts before he went down. Why would he do that?”

Marcus knelt beside the human and surveyed him. There wasn't a mark on him aside from what looked like soot on his face, hands, and front of his shirt. It looked like he'd been holding something, and it had exploded in a cloud of dust. His gun was on the ground, only inches away from his hand. His partner Watts was missing half his head.

Emily felt for a pulse. “He's alive. Someone call an ambulance.” 

Marcus tossed her his phone. “Speed dial number three and ask for Amanda. She'll know what to do.”

“What do we do now?” Corey brushed away a trickle of blood that ran in his left eye. “How the hell are we gonna find Evan if we can’t even find the witch?”

Marcus tried to think, but the fear of something terrible happening to Evan broke his focus. “I’ll call my contacts. Jai Li and I will get Isabella to safety.”

“What about her?” Corey asked, nodding in Emily's direction. She finished the phone call and stood, waiting for his answer. Before he could respond, heeled shoes tapped toward them.

Isabella and Jai Li rushed forward. Jai Li's eyes were huge and looked like she might cry. She hugged Marcus tight and said, “I am so glad to see you.”

Isabella looked perturbed. “They took Evan?”

Corey hung his head. “Yes. There were too many, and I couldn’t stop them.”

“We must get him back!” Crocodile tears streamed down Isabella’s face.

Emily inched closer to Marcus to clasp his hand. “I could read Watts and some of the dead to see what they know.”

“Yes.” Isabella cast a suspicious glance at their joined hands. “That is an excellent idea. You should do something worthwhile for the amount of money I am paying you. After all, I hired you to read Marcus, not sleep with him.”

An icy sense of treachery washed down his spine. He had obviously been too quick to cast aside his uncertainties. It all made perfect sense now. Damn, how could he have been so blind and stupid? He pulled his hand from hers.

The emotions forming on Emily’s face sang of shock, anger and regret.

She tried to say something, but he turned his back to her and cut her off. “Corey, I want you to take Miss Cross to read whatever is left of Watts and the others. She's being paid to do a job, let's find her something to do. She'll also need to read Chad if he doesn't pull through. Call as soon as you know something. Jai Li and I will take Isabella to another safe house. Perhaps I can get Degas to send some of his pack over to guard her while we search for Evan.”

Isabella frowned. “Degas? Why would the wolf send his pack? They do not wish to associate with us.”

Marcus sighed, frustration gnawing at his last nerve. “We used to be friends and he owes me a favor. Surely we can put our differences aside for just one night.” He grasped Isabella by the upper arm and dragged her down the front steps. “Let’s go.”

Isabella allowed herself to be tucked into the car. She pointed in Emily’s direction. “I want Emilia brought to me after you find out what you need.”

Corey met Marcus’s gaze and blanched. He seemed to understand the meaning behind Isabella’s words as well. “But why, Mistress?”

An ugly sneer warped her face. “Someone will pay for this. I paid her to do a task, and she took advantage of my goodwill. She must be punished.”

“She had nothing to do with Evan being taken.” Still Marcus couldn't look at her.

“I did what you asked.” Emily’s voice was full of shame. She didn't seem able to look him in the eyes either.

Marcus tossed the bedraggled hem of Isabella’s dress inside the car. “Let’s focus on getting Evan back, shall we? You can worry about Emily later.”

“But she has taken from me!” Isabella screeched and made a move to bolt from the car.

Marcus forced her back inside, tired of her foolishness. “She took nothing I wasn’t willing to give. Don’t be a fool. She’s not the first I’ve taken to bed, and she won’t be the last. Are you going to hunt down the other women? Hell, I don’t even remember half their names.”

His enforcers looked on with wide eyes. It set a bad example— especially to the impressionable Corey—but he had to do something before it got too far out of hand. This woman’s behavior was bordering on ridiculous.

He could only afford a quick glance in Emily’s direction. His confession seemed to cut her to the quick. The tears shimmering in her eyes tore at him, but he reminded himself that she had lied and used him. He supposed she hadn’t done anything to him that he hadn’t done to her. The truth didn’t help soothe the sting he felt. He supposed what ate at him the most was the knowledge that he’d completely fallen for it.

He leaned down to Isabella’s level to make sure she looked him in the eye. “We’re wasting valuable time. We could be out looking for Evan instead of having this incredibly stupid conversation. Punish me if you must, but leave Emily out of it. To harm her would be a grave mistake.”

“But it would please me.” Isabella crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips in an unbecoming pout. “I have made up my mind.”

“If you kill her, Starr will have already won.”

Isabella’s voice was harsh with disappointment. “Explain.”

“The old man linked her into a spell with the property. It’ll come undone with her death, and Starr will have full use of the ley line. Do you want that? If so, just say the word and I’ll kill her myself.”

Emily’s hand flew to her throat. The scent of her fear was overpowering on the humid April night. Her heart’s frantic beat was almost mesmerizing.

Eyes wide with surprise, Emily said, “How did you know that? I didn’t tell you that part.”

He smirked. “I looked up the Latin words you used while reading the old man. The Internet is a wondrous thing, Miss Cross. I’d advise you to get with the times. You can find out all sorts of things about a person if you know where to look.” It also didn’t hurt that he had eyes and ears all over the city. He moved away without apology.