Cornering Carmen (4 page)

“I’m sorry,” Carmen’s faint voice echoed soothingly. “I’m so sorry. It’s okay. I shouldn’t have asked that of you. It’s just sometimes…,” her voice faded before she spoke again. “Sometimes the pain is too much for me to handle. Soon, though, soon everything will be alright. Once I return home, everything will be alright,” she add with a determined smile.

Morian pulled away as she sensed another change in the atrium. She looked at the young girl soothing her son’s symbiot and a feeling of fear for the girl swept through her. Something told her it would not be a good thing for the girl to return to her world. Turning, Morian moved to stop her new visitor. She needed to warn him that all was not as it seemed.

*.*.*

Creon cursed under his breath again. He had been looking for the white-haired savage for the past couple of hours with no luck. He had found his brother, Mandra, instead… unconscious! The other she-demon had knocked him out with a planter and escaped out of one of the windows leading into the gardens. Once he was sure his brother would be alright, he had left him to deal with the other female while he hunted for her sibling.

I cannot believe we thought they would need a healer!
Creon thought disgruntledly
.
What we need is a cage for them. I will throw her ass in one of the old cells under the palace for a few days and see how she likes that! Or maybe I’ll just tie her up and deliver her to Trelon so he can take her back to her world.

Creon frowned. Neither one of the ideas gave him the satisfaction he thought it might. In fact, the idea of anyone taking the female anywhere caused a fierce wave of rage to burst inside of him.

“Maybe I’ll just tie her up to my bed,”
Creon muttered under his breath

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes…
his dragon answered hopefully.
You tie, I bite. We both get mate.

Shit!
Creon thought as he felt his cock swell at the image of the white-haired she-savage tied up in his bed.

The image continued to form in his mind until he had to stop and adjust the front of his pants so he could walk without it hurting. He had to admit, his body was saying a
yes, yes, yes
to the idea. That pissed him off even more. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to figure out what in the hell was going on and find out who was behind his brother’s kidnapping before it started another war.

Creon was still grumbling under his breath when he
suddenly
felt a small hand grip his arm. He jerked back out of instinct and moved to draw the weapon he always kept at his side. He frowned heavily when he saw his mother standing
in the shadows
, looking at him with a worried expression on her face. He opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong but she shook her head quickly and pressed her fingers against his lips to silence him.

Creon followed her glance when she looked toward a thick set of bushes but he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He started again when she pulled on his arm and indicated that he was to follow her. His frown turned dark as his eyes continued to search for what had upset his mother. If there was a threat to her, he would kill whoever it was without mercy. He followed her down a path that opened up to the hidden staircase leading to her private office. They moved in silence. Creon continued to look around carefully trying to find the threat. He paused halfway up the stairway, searching the thick foliage for anything unusual. His eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of white hair near the center pool. He shifted slightly, letting his dragon come forward to increase his vision. Within seconds, the sharp details of the female who had attacked him in the transporter room came into focus. She was kneeling on the ground next to…

“My symbiot,” Creon growled out softly.

“Come, I need to speak with you,” Morian said pulling on Creon’s arm. “Please, it is about the girl.”

Creon’s head swung around to glance up at his mother who was waiting impatiently for him. She was biting her lower lip and seemed very
worried
. Creon turned his head to stare at the slender figure again. Was something the matter with the girl? Was she injured? Had he unknowingly hurt her when he grabbed her or blocked some of her blows? He let his eyes move down over her figure really taking a good look at her.

She was too thin,
he thought
with
growing concern.
She looked like she hadn’t been fed properly in a long time.

There was something else about her. The way she was clinging to his symbiot confused him.
He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. There was something he was missing; he just couldn’t seem to think straight. It was in her body language, the way she was holding his symbiot, the fragile look
of
her.

Creon shook his head. That didn’t make sense at all. He had felt her strength when she fought against him. She didn’t give up and she was fast, really fast. She used moves he had never seen before mixed with moves he had personally trained some of their warriors on. She was also very good at disappearing. It had taken him hours to narrow down where she had gone and even then he hadn’t been sure she was up here.

A soft groan escaped him as another fact sunk in; she was clinging to his symbiot and it was wound around her. His eyes narrowed on the thick gold bands on her delicate wrists. His eyes shifted to her throat where more gold glittered. His symbiot had claimed her. His dragon wanted her, and he…

Creon closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath trying to calm the raging need to go to her and gather her close. He wanted to protect her, possess her, and claim her for all to see. Opening his eyes, he turned to look up at his mother who was staring at him intently.

“She is my true mate,” Creon said with quiet conviction.

“Yes,” Morian responded softly. “But, there is more to her than meets the eye. Come with me. There is something you should know.”

Creon felt his eyes move back toward the figure far below him. She was sitting on the ground now with the head of his symbiot in her lap. His symbiot was in the shape of some unusual creature that the girl seemed to find comforting. His dragon seemed to sense something in his mother’s voice because it wanted to go to the girl and wind itself around her.

My mate. Something happen to my mate?
His dragon asked fearfully pushing against his skin again to break free.
Let me go to her. I protect.

We will protect her,
Creon said trying to calm his dragon.
But first, we need to know what has happened. Mother would not be so worried if our mate was alright. If she is in danger, then we will do what we have to do in order to protect her. Even if that means locking her up until we know she is safe.

He knew his dragon did not like the idea of locking their mate up but until he knew what danger she was in there might not be a choice. He climbed the steps after his mother. He had always been good at discovering others’ secrets. He was even better at protecting them.

Carmen drew in deep calming breaths using the meditation techniques that she had learned after Colombia. Kevin Arbor, their boss with Security International, had demanded she receive counseling after Scott died. The therapist, Connie Wong, had taught them to her. Connie explained it would help her deal with the panic attacks and depression she was suffering from after such a traumatic experience. Carmen had learned them simply so she could remain focused on the one goal she had left in her life to complete… to kill Javier Cuello.

“It will be alright,” Carmen repeated out loud. “You just need to figure out how to get off this world and back home. You can do it. You can do whatever you set your mind to. Do not stop, do not give up,” Carmen said quietly to herself while she focused on breathing. “You have to have a plan, that’s all.”

She continued to run her hand soothingly over the huge golden creature that was an almost exact replica of Harvey, her old, droopy eared Basset Hound that she had growing up. Granted, it was a much larger and shinier Harvey than the original. Still, the shape was comforting to her as she stroked the soft, shiny surface. She felt a small smile curve her lips as she looked down into the eyes of the creature.

“Do you have a name?” She asked quietly. “If not, I’ll call you Harvey. He was a dopey, lovable dog I had when I was little. He was the only animal that liked me more than Ariel. He followed me everywhere,” she spoke in a hushed voice feeling suddenly calmer than she had since… since Scott had died.

Carmen looked down startled as a wave of warmth flooded through her. Her eyes widened as images of her old Basset Hound floated in her mind. Her smile grew until she could feel tears burning her eyes. The gold creature’s tail thumped back and forth in response to her surprise and smile.

“I don’t understand any of this,” she whispered with a shake of her head. “This world, you, the warriors I’ve met, and the man…” her voice faded as an image of the man from the transporter room formed in her mind.

A shiver went through her body as the image became clearer. The tall warrior had been more than a match for her. He had reacted with a grace and style that sent waves of heat through her. His lithe body had twisted around as if flowing in a graceful dance when she had tossed him over her shoulder. Carmen had reacted out of fear and the instinctive need to escape a predator. There was no doubt in her mind that was exactly what he was, a deadly predator. Every line of his body screamed he was lethal. His golden eyes had flared with a heat that reached out to something deep inside her that she thought had died three years ago when he had stared at her in fury. His long, black hair flowed around his dark muscular shoulders that were clearly displayed under the black leather vest he wore. His black pants had been stretched tightly across thick, muscular thighs. She had feared if she couldn’t get away from him immediately she might never escape.

“Is he your other half?”
She
asked biting her lower lip in worry as she looked around.

The new wave of warmth the creature sent through her confirmed what she had been dreading. If this cr
eature was the man’s symbiot the
n she needed to escape from it as well. Unless… Carmen looked down into the droopy, sad eyes… unless it could help her.

“I need to find my sister and get back home. Can you help me escape?”
She
asked in a slightly pleading voice. “Please, we have to return home immediately. It has already been longer than I expected. I have to find someone. It is important that I return to my world as soon as possible. Can you help me?”

A part of her felt guilty about asking for the creature’s help but she knew how powerful they were. She had observed them when she was sneaking around the ship trying to learn everything she could about the species that had kidnapped her sister and friends. She knew Abby trusted them. She had fallen in love with the one called Zoran. She would not fault or deny anyone their chance at love.
She had been given her
chance
. She would not leave without Ariel, Trisha, and Cara unless they wanted to stay. If that was what they wanted, then she would go alone. She felt sure that Trisha would want to return to Earth. She would never leave her dad behind.

Paul Grove had been like a second father to her and Ariel their whole life, even before the death of her own parents. They had spent as much time at Trisha’s house as she had spent at theirs. Well, when they weren’t trying to hide her and keep her. Carmen had always loved the quiet little girl who was a
little over a
year older than her in age. She couldn’t count the times she had talked Trisha into hiding at their house so she could have two big sisters. Paul and her parents had finally given up and let the girls take turns staying at each other’s house on the weekends. Even as they grew, their special friendship had survived. It would have broken her heart when Ariel and Trisha went off to college early if Scott and Paul hadn’t been there. When her parents had been killed, Paul stepped in taking guardianship of her during her last year of high school. He had taken her with him during some of his training exercises showing her how to survive in the wilderness. He had also shown her how to let the peace of the mountains take away some of the pain she was feeling. She had worked with Samara, another girl who worked part-time for Paul and was the same age as her, with the horses that Paul kept on his ranch. Samara was barely bigger than Cara and almost as hyper. She had a
firecracker
temper, though. Probably from having to deal with four older brothers who liked to boss her around.

Carmen was so lost in her memories that when Harvey
suddenly
stood up
,
she had to shake herself to bring everything back into focus. When she realized she wasn’t alone anymore, a dark scowl twisted her pale features into a hostile mask.

“Not you again!” Carmen bit out sarcastically. “Wasn’t getting your ass whipped once enough?”

She glared up fiercely at the image of the tall man who had sent her running in a panic. She would never let anyone know she was scared though. She also wouldn’t let him or anyone else stop her from her mission. He needed to learn that right off the bat. She wouldn’t let her body rule over her head. She rose to stand defiantly before him, her body
taut
with tension.