Night's Captive (4 page)

He turned his attention back to where it needed to be for now. “Dawson himself came after Loni.”

Dani drummed her fingers on the armrests of her wheelchair. “Why would the sorcerer come out from his hidey hole to go after her?”

“I don’t know,” Alec said. “Not yet.”

“What do you do?” Petra tilted her head, her red hair falling over her shoulder as she studied Loni.

Loni looked from Alec to Petra as she said, “I’m an office manager for an aerospace company.”

Alec braced his hands on the back of the chair he was standing behind. “We have planning to do. We’ll figure out Loni’s role later.”

Confusion and fear made Loni’s head spin. Was the Selena they were talking about the same Selena who’d sold her the book?

Who were these people? What did Alec mean, that there was no going home? How did he know her name?

“Might as well introduce you to the team.” Alec roused her out of her thoughts as he spoke. He gestured to the man leaning up against a wall. “That’s Rider.” He pointed toward the woman sitting on the ottoman. “Jazz.” He indicated each of the other people in the room as he continued. “Strike, Dani, Petra, Erick, Lyle, and Holden.”

Goose bumps rose on Loni’s skin and tingles crawled along her spine as Alec introduced everyone in the room. They had the same names as the people who’d worked with the Alec in the book she’d just read. In the book they wore black leather, too, and they each had special abilities that included shifting, magic, control of the elements, and other talents. They’d been some kind of kickass paranormal team that called themselves the Dark Enforcers.

Mentally she shook her head. More and more everything seemed so surreal that she had a hard time grasping any of it. She had to be dreaming.

“You’re not dreaming,” Petra said quietly as she leaned forward, focused on Loni. “This isn’t a story you’ve read in a book.”

Loni’s jaw dropped. “How did you—?” She snapped her mouth shut as Petra gave her a kind look. In the story, Petra was a witch who had been able to read minds and sense things that no one else could.

Alec dragged his hand down his face. He was sexy with a day’s growth of stubble, his mussed hair, and the intensity of his dark eyes. Despite the craziness of her situation, she noticed the cut of his biceps, the power in his arms that was easy to see with his sleeveless leather shirt. His shirt and pants were snug over his muscular chest and athletic thighs.

With all of the confusion she had barely noticed his weapons belt. A sword was sheathed at his belt, just like Alec Page, the man he claimed to be. Or the character. Whoever.

Who really carried a sword in the twenty-first century? She let her gaze drift to those around the room. Apparently most of the people here carried one archaic weapon or another.

She became aware of the sound of country western music coming from the other side of the door. In the book, the team had held their meetings in the backroom of a honky-tonk bar. The music had been a dull throb that she hadn’t paid attention to with everything that was going on in her mind and in this strange reality.

If it was reality. She pinched her leg hard and winced. Could she still cause herself pain in a dream?

“The problems in the city have been growing out of control over the past couple of weeks.” Dani’s voice caught Loni’s attention, bringing her out of her thoughts and back to the roomful of people wearing black leather. “It’s been one thing after another.”

“We’ve got unexplained paranorm deaths.” Petra put her elbow on her knee, her chin in her hand, a thoughtful expression on her face. “And humans suddenly developing paranorm abilities for seventy-two to ninety-six hours and using their powers for evil. Attacks, robberies, destruction—it’s getting worse.”

Dani nodded. “Between the humans and their insta-powers, and paranorms coming up dead, we have as much as we can handle.”

“And don’t forget that humans have been going missing at an unusual rate,” Petra said.

“The nine of us are just going to have to make do.” Alec stood with his hand on the hilt of his sword as he spoke. “Devora’s Enforcer team has its hands full handling their half of the Phoenix area.”

Phoenix area… So they were still in Phoenix. But then the book had taken place here.

There had been twelve team members in the book when Loni had started to read it. Over the course of the story, three of the team members had been slain mysteriously—and it had turned out to be Marie who had murdered them.

Holden stroked his chin. “Is Max trying to bring anyone else in on this to replace…” He let the rest of it go unsaid. They all no doubt knew what he’d been about to say—to replace the three murdered team members.

“It’s a possibility.” Alec frowned. “These humans who are suddenly developing paranorm powers are too dangerous to not take action now, not to mention all of the paranorms turning up dead. We don’t have time to wait for anyone to take them on with us.”

As they spoke back and forth, Loni looked from one person to the other, trying to come to grips with what was happening to her.

Jazz pushed her dark hair over her shoulder, her blue eyes intent as she looked at Alec. “I don’t think we need anyone else.”

“Jasmine and Alec are right.” Strike took his feet off the coffee table then leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his thighs. “We can’t wait for anyone else and I think we sure as hell can take on Dawson on our own.”

The other team members nodded in agreement or just focused on Alec as he continued speaking. “On other fronts, Max has intelligence that a big drug deal orchestrated by the sorcerer is going down tomorrow night. We’re going to be there. Dawson just won’t know it until it’s too late.”

Chapter 5

“Selena insisted that I watch over you myself.” Alec kicked back on his overstuffed chair and put his feet up on the coffee table. He took a swig from his beer bottle before resting his gaze on Loni again. “So that’s what I’m going to do.”

Loni paced his dim living room from one end to the next, her thoughts jumbled as she rubbed both arms with her hands, her skirt swishing around her shins. None of this was real. She was dreaming. Right?

Alec lived in an older three-level townhouse that was filled with interesting treasures like weapons mounted on the walls that looked like they came from the Middle Ages.

“So you’re saying that Selena brings certain people into your world because she believes that person can somehow help you.” Loni took a deep breath as she continued pacing. “And she thinks I’m one of those people.”

Alec nodded. “Did you tell her you want adventure and that you need a change in your life? Are you alone in your world with no family who will miss you?”

Loni paused in mid-step. “How did you know?”

“Because those are her requirements to bring people to our world,” he said. “That and each person has some kind of paranormal talent they are usually unaware of.”

“That’s insane.” Loni wanted to laugh. “Paranormal talent?”

He shrugged. “That’s the way it works.”

She shook her head. “I’m human, and I don’t have any so-called paranormal talents.”

“We’ll find out soon enough what your talent is,” he said in a way that made him sound certain.

“I read about all of you in a book,
Dark Enforcers
.” She rubbed her temples. “Which proves even further that this can’t be real. You even look like the hero on the cover of the book.”

“A book?” Alec raised an eyebrow.

“What did you mean earlier that I’m not in my own reality any longer?” She didn’t even know why she was going along with all of this enough to drill him with questions. “Does that mean I’m not in my own time or something like that?”

“No,” Alec said. “It means that you are now conscious of the paranormal world that exists. Few humans, know much less are aware, that paranorms surround them.”

She suddenly felt hopeful. “So my home is still there and I could go at any time if you let me go?”

“I can’t do that,” Alec said.

“Please let me go home.” She stopped and looked at him. “I live in Scottsdale and we’re still in Phoenix, right? That’s not so far from here.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Where’s my purse?” She folded her arms tight across her chest. “My cell phone is in it. Tomorrow’s Monday, right? At least let me call my boss to let him know I won’t be in.”

“It’s been taken care of,” he said.

She narrowed her gaze. “What do you mean it’s been taken care of?”

“Have a seat.” He gestured toward the couch, which was close to where he was sitting. “And have a drink.”

Normally she didn’t drink beer, but that was all he had and she could really use a little alcohol. Maybe a lot. She plopped down on the couch and grabbed the beer bottle that was within reach on the end table between their seats. He had already twisted off the cap. She took a sip and made a face, then took another drink, longer this time.

His expression seemed almost amused as she grimaced again. His entire countenance was dark and dangerous in a way that made her stomach flip when she looked at him. She didn’t know whether to be scared of him or accept that what he was telling her was true.

Loni looked away from his dark eyes. Her hand shook and she set her bottle on the end table. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“It’s not up to me to make sense of Selena’s decisions.” He took a long draught of his beer then set the bottle on the end table with a hard thump. “But it is up to me to make sure that you stay safe while you’re in my care.”

She frowned as she studied his strong features again. “Safe from what?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that Dawson attempted to kill you earlier tonight.”

She shook her head, as if to deny what had happened. “It was all so crazy. How can that have been real? Not only did I see a man throwing fireballs with his hands, but I saw you with fire on your palms, too.” She shook her head. “It’s insane to even think about. I must have hallucinated it all.”

Without answering, he got to his feet. “Finish that beer. I’m going to get you another one.”

“I’m a lightweight,” she said. “It won’t take much to make me drunk.”

“Good.” He turned and headed toward the small kitchen.

Wondering what he meant by that remark, she stood, grabbed her beer bottle, and followed him. The lighting in the living room had been low but it was much brighter in the kitchen. As he grabbed two more beers from the fridge, she drained her bottle and set it on the countertop. She had swallowed too much too fast and she felt a little lightheaded for a moment.

“Are you hungry?” he asked as he twisted the cap off a beer and handed it to her. “You’ve probably worked up an appetite with all of that pacing.”

She had refused to eat before the meeting but she found that he was right. She was very hungry now. “Yes,” she said. “I am.”

He ducked back into the fridge and she looked at his tight ass from behind. He had changed out of leather and was in Levis and a black T-shirt. She found herself fascinated by his muscular back and shoulders that flexed as he reached for food from out of the fridge, then wondered what in the world was she thinking.

When he turned around he had an armful: a head of lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, mayo, mustard, and a clear glass lidded container of something that looked like roast beef. He let the refrigerator door fall shut behind him and he set everything on the counter. He grabbed a clear plastic bag with a full loaf of unsliced bread from off of the countertop.

He took a knife and cut thick slices of the bread. He looked so normal as he fixed the sandwiches, not at all like a man who carried a sword. And if she could possibly accept any of this, he was a man who could throw fireballs. “One sandwich or two?” he asked.

“One.” She picked up her beer bottle and if felt cold and real in her palm as she gripped it. She took a long drink and watched him as he remained silent.

They didn’t talk as he made the sandwiches. Too much confusion was going on in her mind. The feeling of surrealism only grew worse as she continued to drink.

* * * * *

After they ate, Loni followed Alec toward the hallway. He didn’t know if she was coming to accept this reality or if she was going along with it until she “woke up.”

When they made it to the hallway, he gave a nod in the direction of the stairs. “The bedrooms are on the second level.”

She put her hand on the railing and looked at him. “Are you going to show me to my room?”

“The guest room is the first door on the left. You’ll find a bag with some of your clothes and other personal items that Selena had delivered earlier.” He took a step back. “I’ll be upstairs as soon as I take care of some things.”

“Selena dropped off some of my belongings?” Loni sounded surprised. “How did she get them? I would have liked to talk to her, too.”

“She had someone deliver them for her,” Alec said.

“Oh,” she said. “Goodnight then.” She nodded to Alec and headed up the stairs. The middle step squeaked when she stepped on it. “The sooner I get to sleep,” she said, “the sooner I’ll wake up and all of this will have been one big nightmare.”