Zeno: #8 (Luna Lodge) (15 page)

“What the fuck do you mean?” Antonio screamed.

The panic had set in. Zeno knew they didn’t have much time.

“Ava,” Zeno said again. “I need you to come here. I can’t do this without you. I need you, baby. Please.”

One foot slid out as she fought whatever had a hold on her.

“You stay right there,” Antonio shouted. “You hear me, you cunt. I will fucking kill him, and I’ll make you suffer for defying me. You’re mine, and you will never leave me again.”

“Ava,” Zeno nearly shouted this time. “Trust me.”

“Zeno,” she said. His name came out just above a whisper, but he had gotten through.

She pushed forward, Antonio shouting at her in Spanish. Her whole body shook when Zeno’s arms wrapped around her, but she was safe. He lifted her up in his arms and stared down at her.

“I got you,” he whispered and watched as she went limp in his arms.

Someone shouted in Spanish nearby.

“Shoot them!” Antonio screamed. “Shoot them both. Fucking kill them!”

The guns didn’t go off though, and the men standing behind him backed away. A second later, the sound of them running in the opposite direction reached his ears.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Antonio said. “I fucking told you to shoot them!”

Zeno snorted.

“Do you hear that?” Zeno asked as he stared at the pathetic man.

Antonio frowned. “Hear what?”

Zeno gave another hollow laugh. “Exactly.”

He watched as the truth dawned on Antonio. The incessant hum the hybrids had heard when entering the area had ceased. Antonio paled, apparently working through the implications.

“Turn it back on,” he screamed.

Men screamed in the cavern and in the tunnels.

“They’ll be up here soon,” Zeno said.

Antonio whirled on him, waving the gun wildly in front of him.

“Turn it on,” he said, sweat beading his forehead. He lowered the gun. “Maybe we can make a deal. You want money? I can give you money. You can have the stupid bitch. I’m tired of her anyway.”

Zeno would have laughed. but it was too pathetic.

He watched as several Glycons crested the fence, snarling and screeching.

“They will kill you two! Both of you!” Antonio shouted.

Zeno barked out a laugh. “I don’t think so.”

Antonio frowned. “You can’t be sure of that.”

He leaned forward. “Oh, but I can,” he said and then stepped away. “You see, me and your Glycons aren’t all that different.” He paused as the Glycons surrounded Antonio. “We both want revenge.”

He turned as Antonio screamed. The Glycons were going to make short work of Antonio, and he needed to get out of there before they decided they were enemies again.

Zeno burst into a sprint, Ava held tightly against him. It was the fastest he’d even moved his large frame. The din of screams sounded from behind him. He only hoped he would make it out in time.

He breathed in deeply and could smell the fresh breeze. A few moments later, he was outside, the sun just cresting the horizon.

Zeno slid Ava in the back of the car. He ran to the trunk and pulled out a little tool he’d packed for emergencies: a rocket launcher.

“Careful where you point that,” Val said from the passenger seat when he walked around to the front of car.

“You drive,” he said. “They are close behind, and we need to make sure we’re clear of this place before I can fire.”

Apollo nodded.

Zeno walked to the back of the trunk and knelt inside. He grabbed onto the sides and banged on the side of the car.

Apollo pulled out hard, and he lurched from his position. It wasn’t the best spot, but he had to able to see the enemy and make sure no Glycon escaped to cause problems for the people living here. He banged on the side of the car, and Apollo stopped.

Zeno hopped out and leveled his weapon. He only had one chance to get this right, if he’d judged the cleared rock piles near the entrance to the mountain correctly.

Rushing shapes appeared at the tunnel opening. The poor bastards were likely seeing the sun for the first time in a long time. He hopped out of the car and stepped to the side, sending the rocket zooming toward the mountain.

The projectile exploded in a plume of red and orange, smoke billowing out. Rock rained in the area, and a rumble filled the area. As the blasted rock from the shot fell to the ground, a secondary rock slide began, with tons of stone and earth falling down the side of the mountain. A loud rumble filled the air as debris and rock poured down on the emerging Glycons.

Finally, the noise and movement subsided, leaving only a pile of dirt and rock blocking the tunnel.

“We gotta go,” Apollo shouted outside the window.

Zeno jumped into the car and laid Ava in his lap.

Safe. They were finally safe.

Chapter Twenty-one

“For the last time, I’m fine!” Ava shouted.

Ava huffed loudly as Paige hovered over her. It’d been two days since she’d been back, and she had about all she could take. One more well-meaning poke and she was going to smother her sister with a pillow.

“Well, fine, but there’s no shame if you think you need an enema,” Paige said.

Ava groaned and placed the pillow over her head but pulled it off when the door to the room opened and closed.

“She looks fine, Paige,” Dr. Miller said with just a hint of annoyance.

Ava had a feeling Paige had made more than a few unreasonable demands when it came to her.

“I know, Rachel,” Paige said, “but we still don’t know what they gave her.”

The doctor shrugged. “The latest labs are normal. Whatever was there has been metabolized out.” She walked over and shined a light in Ava’s eyes. “Headaches come back since that first night?”

Ava shook her head.

It was amazing she felt as good as she did considering the pain she’d felt when she’d woken up. During the three flights and two car rides to Luna Lodge, she had always awoken in agony, and no amount of meds made the pain go away. She was just glad Zeno had been there with her, holding her through it all.

As if she’d conjured him just by thinking, Zeno stepped through the doorway. He held a small bouquet of assorted flowers in his large hands.

She grinned at him. He winked to her and took a few steps toward her.

“She clear, Doc?” he said.

Rachel turned from her examination. “I think you’d better take her before we have a murder on our hands.”

Paige huffed loudly and pointed a stern finger at Zeno.

“Listen here, I don’t know what went on between you two, but this is my sister, and I think I know what’s best for her.” Ava groaned and laid her head back on the bed. Paige was always a force to be reckoned with. “And just a little reminder, I’m the one who does the shots around here.”

Ava snorted at the threat, as if the large man were afraid of getting a few shots.

Zeno threw his hands in the air. “I’m just the bag boy in all this.” He walked until he was beside Ava. “How you feeling?”

She smiled up at him. It was so different seeing him in his environment where they weren’t plagued by constant threats.

“Ready to go home,” she said.

His eyes glowed slightly as the words slipped out of her mouth. Neither of them had talked about where she’d be staying, but they both new where she should be.

Zeno turned to the doctor.

“So she’s cleared for all…activities?”

Paige groaned. “That’s it. I’m out.” She stomped out of the room, but the doctor only laughed.

“As long as she feels up to it,” Rachel said. She looked over to Ava and winked. “We’ll just step out while you get changed.”

Zeno followed Rachel into the hall, glad Ava was finally able to leave.

“Is she really okay?” he asked, worried that maybe they might be rushing things.

Rachel nodded. “She’s fine as far as well can tell. We really won’t know the full effects of what she was given until we have a sample in hand, but it doesn’t seem like that will happen anytime soon.”

Zeno nodded. They had managed to catch one of Antonio’s men but getting him to talk about where they had gotten both the Glycons and the drug were proving more difficult than they expected. Whoever did this had scared the hell out of those men. The Potestatem Corp was resourceful, it seemed. No one was surprised that every member of Antonio’s organization wound up eating a gun or disappearing completely.

They still weren’t sure if the company was a front for the Horatius Group or something else entirely. In either event, they had access to hybrids and Glycons, which meant pursuing them would lead them to the Group.

“We’ll let you know as soon as we have leads,” he said.

Titus had included him on the team with this, and it was one series of meetings he wasn’t going to complain about. Just knowing they had hybrids was enough, but this business with the Glycons was just as serious.

Though Val had managed to disrupt the speakers in the mine, they still didn’t have a clear understanding of the control technology, and it wasn’t as if they could block every speaker or transmitter in the country, or even the nearby town.

One wrong move and the crazed killers would sweep through the country. And in the wrong hands, there was no telling what chaos they might create. At least with the Horatius Group, they knew the secret was always more important than the mission. This new angle was a dangerous wild card.

“I’m ready,” Ava said quietly.

Paige had picked out some clothes for her, and she looked amazing in the long black and white striped sundress.

Zeno nodded to the doctor and took the bag from Ava.

“Let’s go home,” he said.

It warmed him to say it and know they had a home together.

Ava followed behind him as they made their way to his Jeep. He helped her climb in and watched excitedly as he started the car.

It was strange to see the hybrids walking around, their pretty amber eyes flashing back at her as they made their way home.

They turned away from the other homes and headed up a hill. The area looked like it had only recently been cleared to build new homes, and she wondered just how many hybrids there were living there. She still had so many questions.

The car came to a stop, and she stared at the new house. The landscape around it looked as if it had just been planted.

Zeno jumped from the Jeep and raced around to help her out. She smiled brightly as he did.

Hand in hand they made their way inside.

“Hannah did most of the decorating,” he mumbled and slid past Ava as she looked around the living room. “She said we should go with neutral colors until she got a chance to talk with you.”

She walked around the room and smiled. A soft gray couch sat in the middle of the room with a cozy fireplace in the corner. The more she saw, the more she liked what Hannah had done.

She didn’t know the woman well, other than that she was the Vestal of the security-minded hybrid Lucius and the Luna Lodge events coordinator, but she had definite taste.

She knew he was waiting for her to say something, but she continued to explore her new house.

Ava reached a door and turned the knob. A beautiful hand-carved bed confronted her. The rich tones were softened by the lighter, more feminine lilacs and yellows.

“Hannah hated the bed, but I’m a big guy,” he said, almost as if he were apologizing for being so large.

She turned and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a deep kiss.

Her tongue slipped into his mouth, and she tasted the mint toothpaste he’d used earlier.

When she pulled away, her lips burned from the harsh stubble on his face.

“I love it,” she whispered.

Ava watched as his face lit up. She could see he had been worried she might not.

“It wasn’t me,” he said and ran a hand along his short blond hair. “It was all Hannah.”

She grinned up at him. “Well, not all Hannah. I think I particularly like the bed.”

His eyes flashed as she spoke. The room grew thick with lust.

Zeno backed her up until her legs hit the edge of the bed.

“I don’t think I can go slow,” he said. “You were so close…”

His words trailed off as he continued to stare at her.

She leaned back and lifted the dress over her head.

“So don’t go slow,” she whispered.

Zeno groaned and yanked his shirt hard over his head.

Ava leaned forward to lick and kiss the muscles she had missed for the past few days.

He groaned as she grazed over his nipple with the tip of her tongue.

She felt his hands fumble between them before the sound of his pants hitting the floor brought her back. Ava looked down and was surprised to find him totally naked.

“Commando?”

“Easy access,” he said with a grin.

Ava shrieked with laughter as he tossed her back on the bed. She bounced and scooted away.

He deep amber eyes glowed softly as he made his way to the bed.

“Where are you going?” he asked and caught her foot with his hand. Despite their play, he was still very gentle with her. He slowly dragged her down the bed and rolled her over.

Zeno slid his hand under her and propped her ass in the air.

She turned to ask what he was doing when his hot mouth covered her. He sucked and prodded through the black lace of her panties.

Ava moaned at the feel of his mouth on her and the rough rub of the lace on her clit as he ran his tongue along her slit.

She gasped when he moved her panties aside and slid his tongue deep inside her, fucking her with his tongue.

It wasn’t enough. She leaned back into each thrust and grunted when he still wasn’t giving her what she needed.

“Fuck me,” she nearly shouted.

Zeno growled against her clit. The low rumble sent wave of heat through her. A small wave of pleasure passed through her.

Her body moved forward when he lifted her arms to place them on the headboard.

Ava glanced over her shoulder as he moved in behind her.

In one swift move, he ripped her panties off.

“Hey!” she shouted.

Before she could get anything else out, Zeno was inside her, pressing deep against her cervix.