Phantom Series Boxed Set (40 page)

Aiden grabbed the handle. Instantly the red stones flamed against his palm. He yanked his hand back, but the metal fused with his skin, burning hot. His legs buckled against the pain, but though he expected to suffer the crack of his kneecaps against the stone floor, he felt nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

One

Hollywood, California

November 2008

“You’re all mine.”

Lauren Cole chuckled greedily, holding the package close to her chest as she flipped the light switch and locked the door behind her. No one would think to look for her here. With her new movie scheduled to start filming in less than a week, the studio soundstage was normally a beehive of activity—except in the middle of the night. She had less than six hours to enjoy her stolen treasure.

And enjoy it she would.

She kicked off her soft-soled shoes and, with a squeal of delight, fell to her knees on the nearest mat in the studio exercise room, clutching the objet d’art she’d liberated from her ex-husband’s house. Even wrapped in a cashmere throw, the metal underneath bit deliciously into her skin.

The sword was hers. The last and final gift she’d ever accept—or, in this case,
take
—from Ross Marchand. Her body thrummed with excitement, and she had to remind herself to breathe. Adrenaline overload caused some of her dizziness, but mostly she was simply jazzed to have returned, even for just one night, to the girl she used to be. The conniver. The street kid. The thief.

Ross Marchand, her ex, had made it his business, literally, to drum her felonious tendencies out of her. He’d taught her to speak properly, dress with style and channel her expert lying skills into genuine acting talent. In the end, she’d worked his red carpets and movie premieres so adeptly, every paparazzo within a two-mile radius of Hollywood Boulevard had wanted to know everything about her—especially the name of her next film, which, of course, the internationally known Marchand would produce. Thanks to Ross, she’d glided onto the Hollywood A-list before her made-up name had ever rolled across a silver screen.

But as she caressed the cashmere wrap, she knew that sometimes being bad felt oh, so good.

Then a knock on the door stopped her cold.

The pounding in her ears kept her from identifying the intruder until he said, “Who’s in there?”

She exhaled. Marco. Studio security. Diligent, but sweet. She shoved the sword out of the line of sight, then scrambled across the workout mats and unlocked the door.

“Hey, Marco,” she said, using all of her considerable acting skill to appear relaxed, if not slightly guilty for breaking a rule she and the security guard had confronted on more than one occasion.

The older man arched a bushy, salt-and-pepper eyebrow. “Ms. Cole, you know you’re not supposed to be on the set alone.”

She grinned at him prettily, having learned the power of her smile years ago. “Technically, I’m not
on
the set. I’m in my favorite rehearsal room.”

“The one with all the weapons,” he pointed out, attempting to look over her shoulder, but at five-foot-nine, Lauren had a few inches on the guy. Tightening her grip on the door, she blocked his view.

“We’re shooting the first fight scene the day after tomorrow,” she explained in a whisper that echoed in the cavernous silence of the soundstage just behind him. Though filled with lighting, sets and equipment, the building was off-limits to everyone but security until morning. Lauren had come here on autopilot, figuring Ross wouldn’t think to look for her on the set when filming hadn’t yet started. “I just wanted to get in some more workout time.”

“Without your trainer?”

Lauren suppressed a smirk. “I’ve done how many of these Athena movies now, Marco? I could train the trainer.”

Marco snorted. “You could kick my ass, and I’m the one carrying the gun.”

She squeezed her arm through the opening and then laid her hand on Marco’s shoulder. “That’s about the nicest thing any man has ever said to me.”

She batted her eyelashes, which made Marco laugh and forgive her trespassing, despite the item he may or may not realize she’d lifted from the film producer’s private study. Well, it used to be her study, too. She’d shared his home, his bed and—at least on paper—his last name until a year ago, when she’d caught him fucking her ingénue costar in the cabana by the pool.

The divorce had been relatively quick and pain free, the final decree having been delivered just that morning, severing their marital bond. Thanks to Ross, she’d learned how to manage her own money, so she wouldn’t be returning to the streets anytime soon. California law and an ironclad prenup had taken care of the rest. She got the town house in Beverly Hills. He kept the Malibu beach house. She got Apollo, the dog whose favorite pastime was chewing on Ross’s Bruno Maglis, and he’d taken the art. All the art. Including, unfortunately, the magnificent sword he’d purchased for her from a shady Dresden antiques dealer in a dicey part of the bustling German town.

From the moment she’d caught sight of the intricate inlaid gold handle glittering above a polished steel blade, she’d wanted it. Needed it. The tug in her chest had instantly reminded her of her days on the streets, when she’d been so hungry that her entire body ached. And Ross, so magnanimous and generous (she’d thought at the time), had paid the exorbitant price in cash to appease her ravenous need for the weapon. But then he’d snatched the prize away before she’d even touched it, insisting that the sword had to be authenticated before anyone handled it.

Once the ancient weapon had arrived in Los Angeles with papers declaring it an amazingly designed double-edged sword likely forged in the eighteenth century, he’d immediately had it sealed in a glass case.

The familiar pull of the sword forced her to cut her conversation with Marco short.

“Thanks for not snitching on me,” she said hopefully. “I think I owe you another case of that Australian wine your wife likes so much.”

He frowned deeply at first, glanced at his watch, and then patted his nightstick.

“You don’t have to do that, Ms. Cole,” he answered.

“Don’t you have your daughter’s wedding coming up? I bet that wine would be perfect for the rehearsal dinner.”

His grin returned, and after assuring her that no one would interrupt her private workout session, he left. She released the breath caught in her chest, then relocked the door. It was barely midnight. She had at least until five a.m. to figure out what the heck she was going to do next.

Because stealing the sword was one thing. Keeping it was something else entirely.

She slid across the mat and dropped to her knees again. At Ross’s house, she’d barely had time to remove it from the case, wrap it in the blanket, and hightail it out of there. The last thing she needed was to be caught by someone on Ross’s staff. She had the legal right to the sword. Her attorneys had assured her that she was entitled to anything Ross had purchased for her as a gift during their marriage. But legal mumbo jumbo aside, taking the sword could mean the end of her career.

Ross had been indulgent during their marriage, but only when it suited his needs. Right now he needed her to star in the final Athena film, the fifth in an action-adventure series that had made her an international sensation. She’d agreed, since pocketing her generous salary, as well as a healthy portion of all residuals, had been her plan all along. One more movie with her ex and then she’d be free of him forever.

But he’d balked at letting her use the sword for the film. He’d laughed at her request in front of everyone, from the director to the key grip during a preproduction meeting.

In private, he’d reminded her with pointed ruthlessness of what he could do to her career if she challenged him so boldly again. There were things he alone knew about her past that could destroy her. One tip from him to the tabloids and she’d be finished.

That threat had been the final straw.

The old Lauren, the Lauren who’d once made her own way in the world and didn’t depend on anyone else—ever—would not have asked permission to use the sword. She wouldn’t have worried about consequences or folded under some jerk’s bullying.

And even if Ross gave up her secrets, he’d pay a hefty price himself—not only for keeping her secret, but for harboring a few of his own.

So tonight, to celebrate the final divorce decree, she’d broken into her former home and stolen the sword. Now, gingerly grasping the edges of the camel-colored blanket, she peeled aside the buttery soft wool until the lights above her flashed off the sword’s polished blade. She gasped, then moved to touch the steel, stopping when she realized that her fingerprints would mar its beauty. No, the only part of this sword she needed to touch was the handle.

She shifted so that her fingers slipped into the masterfully crafted grip, which seemed to enclose her hand. Immediately warmth spread through her flesh, causing her fingers to buzz as if she were gripping…her vibrator? She snickered at the thought, but erotic images quickly filled her brain. The impressions deepened. Darkened. Expanded.

Like the gold on the handle, naked bodies intertwined in her mind. Not anyone she knew—or did she? His hard sex pressed against her skin like the pommel and hilt of this magnificent sword.

Her nipples tightened painfully, and she released the weapon. A gentle throbbing intensified between her legs.

What the hell?
She knew swords were the ultimate phallic symbols, but she’d been around the damned things since her first turn as Athena six years ago. She enjoyed swordplay, but she certainly never got all hot and bothered over it.

Laying the blade gently on the blanket, she tore off the cropped jacket she’d worn over layered tank tops. The room had suddenly become stifling, so she scrambled to the door, lowered the thermostat and doused all but the few dim blue lights her trainers used to simulate fighting in the dark. When she turned and caught sight of the sword, she gasped. The handle sparkled and glowed.

Intrigued, she crept forward. The mat shifted beneath her, moving the sword as she walked. Jewels in the handle, fiery red amid the polished gold, captured the scant light and reflected back a brilliance that was nothing short of ethereal.

Damn, she’d known the sword was beautiful, but she’d never truly seen it, had she? The antiques shop had been dingy and dusty and gray. The case that Ross had enclosed the sword in had diminished its real beauty. Now she could see it. Now she could touch it.

She wanted to fight with it—cut the air with the blade and make the weapon sing as she parried and thrust. This was the weapon Athena would carry during this film, Ross be damned. Her final hurrah as the warrior goddess summoned to an alternate universe to smite the sadistic and pummel the impure demanded a sword of unparalleled beauty and scarlet power. Invigorated, Lauren hurried to the video camera. Once Ross saw how she used the sword, once he witnessed the magnificence of it, he’d never deny her.

Not, at least, in front of the production crew, who would be wholly bowled over by the way the sword captured the light and reflected back pure power. They’d save a bundle on special effects, she was sure. At least, that was the argument she intended to use.

Once she had the video rolling, she dashed back to the sword and lifted it again, this time holding the weapon with a straightened arm to get a full feel for the weight. She’d never held anything so perfectly balanced. Warmth washed over her again, and in response her heartbeat accelerated.

She sliced the sword through the air once, then twice, instantly finding a controlled rhythm marked by the quiet swish of the blade. She spun and chopped downward, skillfully pulling up before the blade touched the ground. She turned and, with a precision that shocked even her, stopped dead before she connected with the hanging workout bag she imagined was an attacking foe.

“Wow,” she said, breathing hard, not from the exertion of lifting or wielding the sword, but from the overpowering surge of electricity shooting through the handle and into her arms. The steel reflected a luminous ruby gleam. It was as if the blade were…alive.

I am alive
.

The voice was deep, masculine, but so quick, so soft, she knew she’d imagined the words.

“Marco?” she called out.

No response.

She bent her arms at the elbows, bringing the sword parallel with her body, the blade shining a fiery red, the same color as the jewels prickling with heat on the handle. Leaning close and then gazing upward, she realized the steel couldn’t reflect the light from this angle.

And besides, it was the wrong color.

The light was coming from…within?

Touch me. Don’t be afraid
.

The voice, louder and more insistent this time, echoed in her brain. She hadn’t heard the command; instead the message had vibrated up her arms. She tried to drop the sword, but the handle seemed to curve tighter around her hands, tangling her fingers, encircling her wrists, holding her captive.

She knocked into the hard canvas workout bag, then, flying on the momentum, threw herself hard against the wall. Nothing dislodged the sword from her hand. Her vision swam. The blue lights above her merged with the luster of the blade, nearly blinding her in a purple haze. She turned the sword again, more slowly this time, trying to find a way out of the twist of metal, when she saw them.

Eyes.

As silver as the blade.

Powerful. Hypnotic.

Do not forsake me, Lauren Cole. Only you can set me free
.

Desperate and afraid, Lauren ran toward the light switches. Was this some sort of trick? Special effects? Was Ross paying her back for stealing the sword, or was her conscience twisting her triumph? But Ross couldn’t know she was here. And even if Marco had alerted him, he wouldn’t have had time to do anything more than burst in and demand her weapon back.

Forget him. You want me
.

“Who are you?” she asked desperately.

Embrace me and find out
.

Lauren struggled all the way to the door. She tried to reach for the lock, but her hands remained imprisoned by the handle’s coil. Stunned, she slid to the ground and lifted the blade.