Seducing Eve (Guardians of Atlantis) (2 page)

Dr. Franco
peered at her. He had a pointed nose and an elongated face. His brown hair was thinning on top. Lines of concern creased his forehead.

“My apologies, miss. He had no right to
touch you without your permission.”

She blew out a breath of relief, happy he believed her.
“You’re damn right he didn’t.”

“I’ll make sure he stays away from you. That is not how I run this operation. You are to be treated with respect.
What’s your name?”

“I’m not telling you
.” Eve pressed her lips together.

One eyebrow rose in question. “We are not here to hurt you. I promise you that. Tell me your name, please.”

“Why? So you can do what to me?”

“So I can address you by your name instead of
‘miss,’” he said.

She considered this for a moment before finally looking away, staring at the white tiled ceiling. “Eve
.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eve. I am Dr. Franco. Do you know where you are?”

“No.”

“Did no one tell you where you
would be taken?” he asked. She could hear the concern in his voice.

“No. The last thing I remember was being tackled on the beach.”

He swore under his breath in a language she didn’t recognize. “Imbeciles. Reckless idiots.” He shook his head. “Again you have my apologies. You were to be apprised of the situation and asked to come willingly.”

“Come
where
?” she asked.

“This is going to take some explaining,” he said. “You were brought here to help save our race.”

“And what race is that?”

“My dear, you are now part of the lost city of Atlantis.”

She stared at him, dumbfounded. Was he serious? She searched his face but could see no hint of a joke. He looked serious. No joking.

If she were in the lost city of Atlantis, what did that mean? Was she…underground? Or, worse, under water? How did she get down here without her lungs exploding? Why didn’t she have the bends? Had they figured out some way to get her in
to a dive suit and bring her here? She had a ton of questions and no answers. Not to mention the fear that continued to prod her. She was in a bad place and she was pretty sure there wasn’t any way to get out.

“No way
. I don’t believe you,” she said at last.

“Yes
. Believe it. I’m the lead geneticist here. Our race is dying. I’ve asked the Guardians of Atlantis—what you would call a military force—to bring back willing females from topside to help us populate our people.”

Now she really stared at him as though he’d grown a second head. This was…unbelievable. Cold fear prickled the back of her throat.

“You’re disgusting.”

“You misunderstand,” he said. “We do not expect you to be with any of our men that way.”

“So then what? You’re going to artificially inseminate us?” Bile of revulsion clotted the back of her throat. “That’s beyond sick.”

“It is the only way to save us. Our women cannot conceive naturally or carry the babies to term. By mixing your human DNA with our Atlantean, I believe we will be able to sustain
our race.”

She stared at him, sick to her stomach. He was going to…do that to her? She wasn’t ready to have a baby. And she certain didn’t want to have one that way. She wanted to get married first. She wanted the white picket fence, the dog, the ‘burbs. Now, in the blink of an eye, all that was stripped away from her. She was to become a human experiment. An incubator
. It disgusted her.

“You were to be told of this beforehand. You were to come willingly. Not forced.”

“And yet I
was
forced. I didn’t agree to this at all,” she snapped. “Some giant man tackled me on the beach. I was kidnapped and brought here. So was Abby. You can’t keep us here!”

“I’m afraid you have no choice.”

“Yes, I do. I’m an American. You can’t take free will away from me!”

“My apologies, Eve. But you’re here for the duration.
I need you.
We
need you. Now that you’re here, I cannot let you go.”

“The duration of what? Until you knock me up? And then what happens?
I won’t stay here!”

“The baby and you will become property of Atlantis.”

“Property of Atlantis? I’m not
anyone’s
property!”

Screw that. She’d die before that happened to her. She would find a way out of here if it was the last thing she did. She wasn’t going to allow any of them to lay a finger on her.

“I hope you’ll cooperate with us. It would be easier for everyone involved. Especially you.”

Cooperate? Has he lost his mind? This was insanity. She was in some weird nightmare
.

“Will you do that, Eve?”

She shuddered with disgust and fixed her gaze on the overhead ceiling tiles. She refused to answer. What would happen if she agreed to cooperate? If she said okay would she then have more freedom? Would they untie her wrists and ankles? Would she be able to get off this damn cold table?

“It’s very important to us that you assist us,” Franco said.

“What if I don’t?” she challenged.

“Then we will be forced to terminate you.”

Terminate? As in…kill? She swallowed hard. So cooperate or die. That was the deal. If she cooperated then perhaps she would have a chance to get out of this alive and back to the living world. Maybe she could even get Abby out.

She forced a smile. “Okay. I’ll help you.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” He patted her shoulder. “I’ll have Abril come back shortly and release your bonds for your examination. I
can
trust you, can’t I, Eve?”

“Yes, of course,” she said. But she knew it was a lie. She’d get out of here or die trying.

The beeping of his communication link woke Lucian from a dead sleep. He rolled to his side and cracked his eyes open. It couldn’t be good news if someone was waking him after his all-night watch.

“Yeah?” His voice was foggy with sleep as he answered.

“We’ve got a problem,” Sabre said. “Meet me and Raven at HQ now.”

“I’ll be right there.”

With a groan, Lucian rolled out of bed, dressed and left the small apartment. HQ was actually Sabre’s northside apartment. Northside had been deserted sometime ago and that’s where his boss decided to set up rebellion headquarters along with his home with his woman, Eden.

Sabre had brought Eden from topside. The lucky bastard. The two had met on the beach while Eden
vacationed in the Bahamas and they’d fell hard and fast for each other. They were expecting their first child in the coming months. Sabre kept her hidden from the evil Dr. Franco and President Otes for fear they would take her and the baby away from him.

And rightly so, Lucian thought. Those
bastards had dark souls. He couldn’t understand how using human DNA would save their race of dying Atlanteans but whatever. He despised bringing the women from topside to allow the vile doctor to run his tests to impregnate the women. But he’d had to do it or risk being thrown in the holding cell like General Bastian. And there were numerous other guardians ready and willing to take his place. The same ones Otes and Franco had bought with lies and promises.

Bastian had
refused and was arrested. Sabre had refused and his sister, Helene, was threatened. Up until Eden came into the picture, Helene had been Sabre’s only family. As second-in-command, and with Bastian in a holding cell, Sabre led the Guardians of Atlantis. Most were reluctant to do what the president and Franco wanted. Some embraced it with relish. For those who hated it, though, Sabre brought into the fold one by one when he decided he could trust them. Those were the ones who would help when it came time to lead the revolt, return the human females topside, and take away control of the city from President Otes.

Lucian headed through the empty streets to Sabre’s apartment a few
blocks away. Over the last few weeks, he and Sabre had managed to steal what communications gear and weapons they could. They quietly built an arsenal. Most of the weapons they’d smuggled from topside since there had been a ban on them in Atlantis for the last century.

They were quickly outgrowing the small apartment. Lucky for them, they had the entire building at their disposal. One unit had become HQ while another had become the weapons room.

When he entered, Raven already waited in the small living area. It hosted a low sofa, a table, a couple of chairs.

Raven was a big scary
-looking monster of a man with a wicked blackbird tattooed on the side of his face. He’d had it for as long as Lucian could remember but never knew the story of why or how he got it.

“What’s this all about?”
Lucian asked, closing the door behind him.

“
No idea.” Raven wasn’t a man of many words. He was a man of action.

Before Lucian could ask another q
uestion, Sabre entered the room from the tiny bedroom where Eden was. He closed the door softly behind him.

“How’s Eden doing?” Lucian asked.

“She’s bored,” Sabre said. “She wants to help.” He pursed his lips. “She’s also battling morning sickness.”

The last thing they needed was a pregnant woman
involved.

“A problem has been brought to my attention,” Sabre said, cutting to the chase. “Several of the guardians have been kidnapping the women instead of bringing them
here willingly.”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” Raven said, his voice dark and raspy. He clenched his fist.

“The agreement with Franco was that we would bring them
willingly
. Most were aware of the situation and where they were going before coming here. But lately, there have been a few who’ve known nothing about it.”

“So what are we going to do?” Lucian asked.

“We need to identify those soldiers who are kidnapping them against their will,” Sabre said.

“And then what?” Raven practically growled.

“We need to bring them in before Franco or Otes find out.”

“What’s your plan?” Lucian asked.

“Lucian, I want you to go to the lab. Two women were just brought down from topside. I need you to question them, find out who took them. Get a description and report back. Then I’ll deal with those men accordingly.”

“You should eliminate them,” Raven said. “They are a liability.”

“No. No elimination,” Sabre said. “We’ll deal with the men in other ways.”

“Torture then.” Lucian cracked his knuckles, smiling. “Let me have a go at them.”

“They’ll go in the holding cell,” Sabre said.

“Spoil sport,” Lucian grumbled.

“Raven, I need you to find out what Franco and Otes know about us. Recent intel tells me they’ve become suspicious of some of the guardians. I don’t need them snooping around my men. Or my Eden.”

“And if they know something?” he asked.

“Then we’ll do damage control,” Sabre said. Then gave Raven a pointed look. “Under no circumstances are you to engage them.”

Raven’s response was a glare.

“Question the staff but I’d rather you stay away from them. They’re too dangerous. Use your resources to find out what we need to know.”

Which was code for break into the bastards’ offices.
Raven’s body stiffened, his muscles rigid and defined. Lucian could see one lone vein popping out along his left biceps. Oh, and the one in the middle of his forehead. He clenched his jaw so tight the muscles ticked along the edge as he gave Sabre an intense stare before he gave a brief, stiff nod and stomped from the apartment.

“You know he hates that shit,” Lucian said.
“He prefers to break faces now and ask questions later.”

“I’m aware
of that.”

“Why all the sneaking around?”

“The last thing we need is to piss off Franco and Otes. I made an agreement with them both that we would cooperate. If they think the men are going back on that, then they’ll start asking questions. We don’t need questions, Lucian. I don’t need them finding out about Eden.”

Lucian knew he worried about her safety.
“Right. I’m on it.”

“Let me know what you find out.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

* * * * *

The city was laid out like a wagon wheel with the spokes as a grid for the streets. Northside had been deserted for a while now as people moved to the other quadrants. It had lost its luster and was no longer the “in” place to live. The ELL had once serviced northside but was now defunct for that part of the city.

The lab, the infirmary, the president’s residence as well as all the government offices were in
City Center. The people spread outward from there into the smaller communities throughout. Each community elected a leader that reported to the president. There were no vehicles like topside, other than then ELL. Here people walked the streets. Atlantis had businesses like any other place but there was no need for money. Items were bartered or, in some instances, shared. Their diet consisted mostly of seafood, though one of the genius scientists figured out a way to grow fruits and vegetables in a greenhouse near the Center.