Dark Desire (16 page)

“What are you
talking about?”
Laris
demanded, not at all sure she
wanted to know.

“An
old
Atlantean
prophecy.”
Amari shrugged.
“
Atlanteans
were always good at spouting prophecies,
which never come true.”

“You still
haven’t answered my question,” Zeke barked out. “How did you find us?”

“Surely you
don’t think I wouldn’t keep tabs on
Laris
? I know her
every move, who her friends are and where she goes.” At
Laris’s
gasp of surprise, Amari pinned her with a cold assessing gaze. “All it took was
a little patience. When the Enforcer showed up and grabbed
Cici
I ordered him followed.”

Laris
stared at the
woman who’d she thought of as a mother. How could she not know, not guess at
the cold blooded monster that lived beneath the guise of such beautiful
perfection? She
knew
this woman,
trusted her above all others. The betrayal hit her, swift and brutal, as all
the pieces of her life came together with a soundless click in her mind.

“
Thia
, I trusted
you. You were like a mother to me. How could you do this?”
Laris
demanded, allowing the anger to burn the hurt to ash.

“Thank the gods
you are not
my
daughter. You always
were so pathetically weak. There is not the slightest trace of a killer
instinct in you. I had to work one of my most powerful spells to override your
silly aversion to kill, and
still
you
failed.” Amari gave Zeke a disgusted look as if his continued good health were
an affront.

“And
what of my brother?
What have you done to him?”
Laris
demanded, moving away from Zeke’s protection to confront her aunt.

“He’s safe, for
now. A bit uncomfortable I’m sure and spitting mad since he’s tied up at the
moment.
Literally speaking.”
She gave a small laugh
and waved her hand in dismissal, before pointing an accusing finger in Zeke’s
direction. “You, on the other hand, have been a royal pain in my ass. One I am
delighted to be able to remove. The Preservation Society will be happy over my
little donation I think.” Her smile brought a chill down
Laris’s
spine.

Laris
noticed the
glow of her fingers and shouted a warning, too late.
A flash
of light shot from her aunt’s fingertip, hitting Zeke square in the chest,
lifting him off his feet.
He flew back to crash against the wall with
such force the wall cracked on impact. He crumpled to the floor where he lay so
still. Relief flooded her as she noticed his chest move.
Thank Poseidon.
She turned with a snarl crouching to spring at her
crazy aunt.

“Say nightie
night.” Amari grinned.

The world burst
into pulsing light scorching her flesh with burning fire before blackness
devoured her, and she knew no more.

Chapter Seventeen

Marcus closed
his eyes, relishing the feel of
Tambra’s
soft, warm
skin and the stroke of her silky hair as those strands draped over his flesh.
He lay in bed with her back nestled against his chest, his hands gently
cradling her growing belly. He marveled at the life growing there beneath his
hands. Twins of all things, a miracle he still found hard to wrap his mind
around. His life for two thousand years was one of duty, honor, and justice. A
lonely existence to be sure, yet all he knew. The heart beating within him
would always be Spartan, the sword what he understood, what he’d learned as a
child.
Different world, different life.
What did he
know about being a father?

He willed his
heart into a steady rhythm, not wanting to disrupt his consort’s sleep with his
fears of inadequacy and the fear of failure, which cut into him with the
precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. His world careened wildly around him, the
fast approaching birth of his babies only a part of the changes he needed to
adjust to. The summit, only days away now, loomed before him a black void,
where worst-case scenarios dwelt. With so much preparation still to do and the
nightly patrols, his men were stretched thin. Add to it Cody’s sudden
disappearance and Zeke’s absence as he tracked down
Laris
.
And then Temple Fox and the revelations … small wonder Marcus felt his world
falling apart.

Gods, he missed
Alistair with is calm rationality and solid reasoning. Since Alistair’s death
at the hands of the Preservation Society, Marcus still felt the loss keenly,
needing his wise council now, as never before. How could he lead the breeds
when he could barely keep his own team of Enforcers safe?

“When are you
going to talk to me? You’re bottled up so tight you’re ready to explode.”
Tambra’s
voice held a soft questioning note, devoid of any
accusation or anger. Just calm acceptance. His love for her grew deeper,
expanding until he couldn’t take his next breath. Without her by his side he
would never survive, for she was his heart, the blood flowing in his veins.
His very soul.
Always and forever.
Such words held little meaning until her, but now they were his daily mantra.

“You should be
asleep, love. Did I awaken you?” He caressed the soft smooth warmth of her
shoulder, and she sighed in pleasure.

“No, your boys
are restless today.” She wriggled onto her back to peer up at him, her blue
gaze filled with love and concern. “I know you feel as if you are alone with
all that is going on, but you’re not. I’m here. I’m your partner, right?” She
waited for his slow nod of agreement. “Then as a
partner
, you need to let me know what is going on in your head. How
can I help if you shield your thoughts from me?”

“You sound just
like Alistair right now.” He chuckled, lowering his head to brush a soft kiss
on her lips. Her hair wrapped around him in a soothing embrace.

“I miss him,
too.” she whispered, her beautiful eyes glistening with unshed tears. “If I
hadn’t been so pig-headed and insisted on coming with you to save Christophe and
Cody—”

He placed a
finger to her lips to silence her words. “It isn’t your fault, Tam. You are a
cop by nature. I insisted you stay in the car when you would have been safer by
my side. I was at fault to try to keep you from what you were born to do.”

“If that’s the
case, why have you shut me out? I no longer can reach your thoughts with mine.”

“You have enough
to worry about with these two,” he stated gently, patting her extended belly to
prove his point. “Further stress would not be good for you or our children.”

“Well I got news
for you, buddy, if you don’t want me stressed out to the max try talking to me.
I’m not all that fragile. You putting distance between us
is
not the way to keep me calm. It pisses me off. So talk.”

He couldn’t help
but grin. She never failed to amaze him with her capacity to give of herself so
freely, her stubbornness and determination to be a full partner to him in every
aspect. He felt more than a little humble, and yes, he would admit a bit guilty
at his hesitancy to do the same.

“I’m an old
vampire. Forgive me for my need to protect you. It is my duty to see to your
happiness above all.”

“And I am a
modern girl who believes just as strongly in protecting you as well. Not only
is your happiness my concern, but to give you counsel, to ease the burdens
you’re under.
That
, my love, is my
duty and right as your consort and wife. So you have no choice but to suck it
up and deal. Now, spill it.”

“You are aware I
will have to appoint a new leader to the Enforcers soon.” Marcus’s voice turned
hesitant. He was surprised out of everything going to hell around him this
would be the first concern he would voice.

Tambra
studied him for
a moment before speaking. “I wondered how long it would take before you came to
this decision.”

“You knew?” He
voiced surprise.

One blonde brow
rose high on her forehead. “Duh, it’s not brain surgery, you know. There’s only
so much one person can do. You need to let go of some things.”

He barked out a
laugh, her quick intellect and intuitive nature a never-ending source of
delight and amazement to him. “There is so much which could go wrong,” he
admitted.

“With
the babies or the summit?”

“Both,” he
stated grimly. “Cody is still missing, Christophe is like a maddened beast, and
no amount of soothing will calm him. I have Temple Fox here, within this very
complex, the same man who worked so diligently to take you from me and Lucien,
his right hand.” He let out a deep sigh, shaking his head. “If Tegan and Kyra
find out he’s here there will be hell to pay. There is no love lost between
those two and Lucien. I find myself in a position where I must stand between my
friend Tegan and the very man who took his mate from him. Then there is Zeke.
There has been no word of him since he found
Laris
.”

“We did find out
who was behind the uprising and all these feral attacks, so that has to count
for something,”
Tambra
reminded him. “I feel kind of
bad about the way things went down with Temple. Sure he’s not to be trusted,
but what would you do if your race was dying? Besides, from what I saw between
him and Leola it looks a hell of a lot like love to me. And she’s a
Were
! There may be hope yet for him.”

“I won’t hold my
breath, love. He still has Oman’s Seal.” Marcus scowled. He would not be at
ease with Temple under the same roof as
Tambra
no
matter the circumstances.

“He will do the
right thing.” Her conviction rang in the air between them. For her sake, he
could only hope she was right. “The preparations for the summit are going fine,
and with Mari’s consort
Navar
coming on as an
Enforcer, the extra manpower will be a huge help. So, don’t sweat the small
stuff.”

“And everything
is small stuff in the end,” they both said at the same time,
then
laughed.

“I think I’m
rubbing off on you.” She lightly teased.

“Ah, Tam, what
would I do without you?”

“Probably
be
a very grumpy vampire.” She grinned, lifting her head up
to kiss him. “Look, let’s take it one step at a time, plan what we can, and
deal with things as they come. Just don’t shut me out, all right?”

“All right,” he
conceded, and for the first time since Alistair’s death, he didn’t feel so lost
or overwhelmed. Now, he just needed to figure out who would be the best leader
for his men.

****

Zeke rose slowly
out of the thick blanket of darkness. Cold seeped into his bones as he realized
he was lying flat on his back on a hard concrete floor. Disoriented, he rolled
to his side and cursed at the sharp stabbing pain shooting throughout his body.
What the hell happened? He remembered
Laris
wrapped
tightly in his arms… His lids snapped open as memories sifted back in place
like a deck of cards. He hissed out an intake of breath, belatedly realizing he
was without shades to hide his eyes, as he had forgotten to pick them up off
the floor when he hastily dressed.

Gingerly, he
pushed up to a crouch, his gaze sweeping the bars of the cage he found himself
in and beyond to a small circle of light surrounded by thick black shadows.
Where the hell was he? The reek of antiseptic and concrete made his stomach
rebel. Amari carried one hell of a punch. He was relieved he didn’t break any
bones when he crashed into the wall. Sure he healed quicker than humans, but
still not as quickly as many breeds.

He studied the
thick bars of iron bolted securely to the floor on all sides, noticing the door
was secured by heavy chains and a padlock, along with a long steel bar to hold
the door tight with what looked like razor wire looped tightly to the cage.
All in all, very impressive to hold the strongest of breeds.
He reached out and tested his ability to jump. The talent surged through him in
response. Who ever held him had no clue he could easily slip out of his prison.
The though reassured him. Now he needed to figure out who held him.

He stood on
shaky legs, stumbling to the bars for support. At least he could stand up
straight, the cell large enough to allow him that, if nothing else. He spied a
rusted can in the corner, and his lips twisted in a semblance of a smile, the
irony not lost on him. Not long ago he remembered giving
Laris
a similar can to relieve herself with. His smile died a quick death as he
wondered what her psychotic bitch of an aunt had done with her. Could she be in
a cell similar to the one that held him? The idea brought a stinging rage
welling up from his chest, his heart aching at his failure to protect her.

His ears picked
up a slight shuffling sound from the right side of the room, cloaked in inky
blackness. His gaze narrowed on the spot the noise came from, as he heard it
again, and louder now. He moved slowly to the center of his cell, gaze riveted
toward the spot.