Darkest Ecstasy (28 page)

As need rushed through her, she clung to him and kissed him back. All the emotions she had pent up over the last few days surged to the surface. She released them all, the anger, confusion, fear, sadness, and now joy, in the kiss. With her tongue, lips, and body she told him how much she had missed him, how she had longed for his touch, and how terrified she'd been without him.

And with his tongue, lips, and body he told her how scared he'd been for her safety, how much he'd longed for her touch, and how much he wanted to cherish and protect her.

The kiss lasted a long time. It was as if neither of them could bear to let it end. Their mouths were connected, their breaths mingled, their bodies pressed so tightly together nothing could get between them. That was how it was meant to be. For always.

“Isn't this a pretty picture?” someone said.

Michelle knew that cold, cloying voice. The bitch. Of course there had been a reason why she'd let her come to see Talen. It couldn't be because she was trying to be nice. Michelle figured she was about to find out what that reason was.

It was Talen who broke the kiss. Gently but firmly, he turned her in his arms and held her with his arms crossed over her chest. “What now? What? You said we would have a half hour. It hasn't been a half hour.”

“No, it hasn't. Unfortunately, I have to break up the party early.” Angela made a fake pouty face. “But it's good news. At least for me. And maybe you.” She pointed at Talen. “There's someone here to see you.”

Michelle twisted to glance over her shoulder, at Talen. His brows were furrowed, confusion twisting his handsome features.

“Who?” he asked.

Angela shook her head. “You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I need to escort your little friend here back to her room. We wouldn't want her to get hurt if things get a little . . . rough.”

Dread settled into her stomach. It was heavy and hard, like a rock. Twisting as Angela pulled on her arm, she stole one last glance of Talen.

What was happening?

Would it be the last time she saw him alive?

“I love you,” she whispered to him.

“I love you, too,” he replied.

A
s he watched Angela escort Michelle away, his heart shattered. His eyes focused on her, only her. The slope of her neck, the curve of her cheek. If he didn't live to hold her again, he would remember that sweet moment when she'd molded her body to his and kissed him so fiercely. God, that moment had been like nothing before. Inside, he'd felt something, a spark ignite. It wasn't just lust or carnal need, it was more. A fire in his soul. And now, even though she was out of his sight, it still burned brightly, making him feel so strong and light that he wondered if he might take flight.

His senses seemed more acute, too. Especially his vision. Turning, he focused on the wall. There were slight imperfections between each tile. Had those been there before?

Sounds outside, beyond the locked door, caught his attention. Voices.

His brothers. They had come for him.

How had they known where he was?

Never mind that. Now that all three of them were together, here, in the clutches of the Chimera once again, the safety of The Secret was in jeopardy. They had escaped twice before. Narrowly. And not without suffering serious injuries. Would they be so lucky this time? Or would one of them, or more, lose their lives?

His body energized as a surge of adrenaline coursed through it. His muscles tensed. His senses heightened even more. He still heard the voices, but he hadn't seen them yet. How long would he have to wait?

Restless, he paced. What would the enemy do this time? In the past, the individuals who had captured them hadn't known about or anticipated the supernatural gifts two of the three brothers had somehow acquired. Still, they weren't sure where those powers had come from. Drako had his own theory, and it related to the thing they'd been charged with protecting. Still, as far as he could tell, they were the first of the Gryffons to have possessed such powers. All Gryffons before them hadn't. If those powers had come from The Secret, wouldn't they have all received them?

Footsteps. He heard them tapping lightly on the floor. Little, light
click-clacks.
They were coming toward his room. Quickly. He guessed, based upon the pace and weight, they belonged to Angela.

She entered his room smiling. “This day will go down in history as the day when all humanity received the greatest gift of all. No longer will we rely upon expensive, dirty fossil fuels to power our cities. It will all come from us, from the Chimera. We will hold all nations in our grasp.”

“You have it?” he asked.

“Not yet. But I will. Just as soon as I prove to your doubting brothers that you are here and still alive.”

What was going to happen once Drako and Malek did see him? They couldn't hand over The Secret. Not a chance. Still, he told her, “If you are able to get The Secret from them, you need to think about the risks—”

“Risks? There are none.” She sat in the one and only chair in the tiny room and crossed one leg over the other, revealing a lot of toned thigh. His stomach turned as memories of touching that thigh flashed through his head. “It's a never-ending, cost-free source of clean power. Strong enough to provide electricity to every nation in the world. Just think about all the good it will do. It'll not only shift the balance of world economic power but also improve living conditions in every part of the world. You and your Gryffons have been greedy, holding it to yourself all this time. Look at your wealth. Where does it come from? Who is paying you to keep it away from us?” Angela demanded.

“No one is paying us.”

“You can't possibly tell me that you and your brothers earned all your wealth. You're a computer programmer. Your brother is a jewelry maker. Hardly the kinds of careers that produce the lifestyle that you seem to be living.”

“Our father left us a large estate, worth quite a bit. We've merely built upon it,” he reasoned, not that he owed this woman any explanation. But he wasn't ashamed of what he and his brothers had accomplished. They worked smart. They invested smart. And they spent smart.

“You built your wealth without the benefit of traceable incomes?” she asked.

“What does it matter whether we have been paid or not?”

“Maybe I would like to talk to whomever has been paying you. Perhaps I might agree to keep your secret safe if the price were right.”

Ah, so that was what she was getting at. Interesting. He hadn't considered that angle. Was there any advantage to gain by making her think there was someone paying them? It might buy him a little time. But not enough to do any good. “There is nobody.”

“Well, then. We meet your brothers.” She stood and smoothed her skirt with her hands. “If you won't tell me who your benefactor is, I'll stick with Plan A. Making all the nations of the world completely dependent upon me for their electricity isn't a bad way to go.”

Not a bad way, if she didn't blow herself, and tens of thousands of people around her, to smithereens. “You don't understand how it works. The power is beyond any human's capacity to control. The last time it was used, it caused a whole nation to collapse. Literally. Into the sea. And that was before the power had reached its fullest potential.”

She scoffed. “That's a silly superstition. I've heard it so many times. Atlantis. The famous lost continent. Sunken into the sea.”

“Doubting the truth is one sure way to destruction.”

“I'm so scared.” She rolled her eyes. “Obviously I have a team of scientists at my disposal, to make sure nothing like that happens. We've been preparing for this day for a long time, Talen. For centuries, since the first Chimera discovered the legend of The Secret and started their search for it. It's taken us a long time to finally get to this point. But we are prepared.”

“If you were so prepared, how was it that you didn't know what it would look like?”

She tapped her chin. “Good question. While there was a lot of detail in the ancient documents those founding members of the Chimera found, a physical description wasn't in them. Enough chitchat. Let's go. I'm anxious to get on with this. Your brothers are waiting.” She made a circle in the air with her index finger. She pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her pocket with the other hand. “Turn.”

He turned his back to her and permitted her to clip on the handcuffs.

After she checked them to make sure they were secure, she rapped on the door. It opened.

“You will kill us once you have it,” he said, allowing her to steer him down the hall by the arm.

“Of course. Can't have you trying to steal it back. You and your brothers would pose too big a risk to us.”

“What about Michelle?”

“Ah, sweet little Michelle. You know, I might consider setting her free. Might. I kind of grew fond of her over the past few weeks. Especially when she was helping me plan my wedding. It'll be a game-day decision.” Her smile broadened. “If things go smoothly, I might be inspired to be nice.”

If there was any way he could make that happen, he had to. The farther away Michelle was from all of this, the better. Especially if Angela somehow really did get her hands on The Secret. If that happened, nobody within at least two hundred miles would be safe.

“Michelle served her purpose. Why won't you let her go now?” he demanded. Somehow he had to convince Angela to release Michelle. He had to protect her.

“But she might come in handy.”

“You have me. You have my brothers. Why would you need her?”

“True. But I may need to motivate you at some point. No, I think I'll keep her around for a little while yet.”

“Okay, so you know the plan,” Talen heard Drako say. He could barely understand him, but it was loud enough that he worried Angela might hear him, too. “We'll destroy it just before we hand it over. We'll all die. But it's the best way. At least Rin and Lei, our children, they'll all be safe.”

Shit.

Talen's heart sank.

They had brought it. They were going to destroy it, killing everyone within miles.

Somehow he had to get Michelle a safe distance away. Soon, this building would be vaporized.

“Can we destroy it somehow without risking the lives of everyone around us?” Malek asked.

“We are underground. That should help a little,” Drako answered. “And if we made sure the power hadn't reached a high level yet, that'll be even better. But it's still going to blow. Big.”

“Damn,” Talen and Malek both said.

“But in the long run, we'll still be saving millions of lives,” Drako said.

Malek said, “I wish there were another way.”

Talen turned to Angela. Wasn't she hearing that conversation ? If she was, she wasn't responding to anything his brothers were saying. No, she was jabbering on and on about how she would use Michelle to make him do everything she asked.

Wasn't she concerned? Or had she already anticipated their plan?

“Let's go. I'm getting bored.” She pounded on the door and it swung open.

As Talen followed her through the maze of identical corridors, his muscles tensed, his senses heightened. His eyesight seemed extremely acute, every tiny detail of everything he looked at sharp and in focus. His brothers' voices were getting stronger. Even his sense of smell seemed stronger. When he turned his head, he could smell the sweet scent of coconut oil on Angela's skin. And jasmine. In her hair.

His brothers were still discussing their plan. They hadn't mentioned Michelle. He wondered if they knew she was here.

He knew, without Angela telling him, the minute he was outside of the room she was holding Drako and Malek in. Their voices were crystal-clear. Not once, throughout the journey from his room to theirs, did she seem to react or respond to anything they said. Not even when they talked about killing her.

She unlocked the door, then stepped aside. “Gentlemen first.”

His gaze found Drako first, sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall directly opposite the door, his arms behind his back.

“We have made sure they aren't able to use those freakish powers,” Angela stated as she closed the door shut, locking them all in. “Drako there is wearing some specially designed flameproof gloves. And Malek,” she said, pointing to the right, “is secured with bindings made out of the strongest material known to mankind. Neither of them will be any help to you, outside of one thing.” She turned to Drako. “You see him. Now, where is it?”

Talen pleaded, “Don't give it to her. We're going to be—”

Angela whirled around and kicked a foot into Talen's groin. The pain took about two seconds to reach his brain. Then he fell to the ground, breathless.

“Where's Michelle?” Drako demanded.

“What does she matter?” Angela snapped.

Pain. Blinding. Fire. Blazing.

Voice calm, Drako said, “I said I wanted to see Talen
and Michelle
. I'm not turning over anything until I see them both.”

Agony. Couldn't breathe.

“I could take it from you,” Angela said. “With those gloves on, you can't do your little fire thing.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Drako said calmly.

His insides were blistering hot. Acid burned up Talen's throat. He vomited. Dammit, he should have seen that coming.

A door slammed.

Had she left?

“Talen. Are you okay?” Drako.

Talen managed to groan. He wanted to say more. But the pain. Dammit, the fucking pain.

“Listen, we're going to destroy it. We have to. I'm going to get them to let you and Michelle go.”

“No!” he shouted.

“Yes. Malek, too, if I can. Then I'll destroy it. Get as far away from here as you can. I'll put her off as long as possible to give you a chance.”

“No,” Talen repeated. He had to talk. Dammit. “You. Go.”

“I'm the oldest. It's my duty,” Drako said.

Talen gritted his teeth and slowly lifted his head to glare at his brothers. “Fuck that.”

“Take care of Michelle. I had my chance to love and be loved. It's your time now.”

This was not an option. “No.”

“Do it, goddamnit!” Drako yelled. His face turned a deep crimson. The cloying scent of burning sulfur filled the room. “I'm the only one who can destroy it. Come here.”

Come here? Oh hell. Drako was at least ten feet away.

Gagging and heaving, Talen staggered to his feet and shuffled over to Drako.

“Pocket.”

Talen yanked off both gloves first, uncovering his brother's hands. Then he reached into Drako's pocket.

Smooth. Cool to the touch.

“You really did bring it?” Talen asked.

“Yes. Now, hand that to me. You take everything else.”

Talen pulled the tiny cylinder out first and transferred that to his left hand. Then he reached back down and gathered what felt like a pen.

It was a hypodermic.

Ah, the irony.

“How the hell did you manage to get this in here?” Talen asked. “Didn't they search you?”

“They did.” Drako grinned. “I didn't bring it in. I stole it. From one of them. It'll buy us some time,” Drako explained. “Hit her with it the minute she comes back with Michelle. Then get yourself and Michelle out of here. Malek, too, if you can.”

“I'm staying with you,” Malek growled.

“No, you're not.”

“Like hell.”

“Lei needs you,” Drako said slowly, carefully. “Think of her. Rin will be okay.”

Talen had his own idea of how this whole thing should go down. It was all clear now. He knew exactly what he would do. And because he knew Drako wasn't going to like his plan, he kept it to himself.

There was no way he was going to leave either of his brothers in this building. Somehow he would make sure of that. Even if it meant he would pay with his own life.

Michelle. Their child. And his brothers. They would live. No matter what it took.