OnsetofDanger (24 page)
Authors: Aubrey Ross
Eloise took a deep breath and wiped her hands on her jeans
as they turned their attention toward the captives. She stepped up to the first
cell as someone in the control hub triggered the lock remotely. She opened the
door and looked at the captive who was standing against the far wall. Her face
was pale, eyes huge and haunted.
“It’s okay. We’re here to take you home. My name is Eloise.”
“Where are the… You have control of the entire ward?”
“Yes. The staff is locked in a cell. It’s perfectly safe.”
With obvious reluctance, the Rom captive inched her way
forward. Eloise moved out of the way and let her look up and down the corridor
before she stepped out of the cell.
“This is Jerome,” she motioned toward the waiting hunter.
“He’ll take you home. Inatta and Caitlyn are waiting for you.”
Jerome held out his hand.
Eloise waited until the captive placed her hand on his
before she moved to the next cell. By the time she reached the third cell, the
captives were lined up at the doorways, staring out into the corridor. The
process went much faster once the captives realized what was going on.
A muffled cry snapped Eloise’s attention toward a cell on
the other side of the central hallway. Bronik rushed to her side as she moved
toward the sound. She glanced inside and fury burst within her, spreading
through her composure like wildfire.
Shirtless and disheveled, Jackson was shielding himself with
one of the captives. One of his arms wrapped around her waist and the other
hand grasped her throat. This was a different captive than he’d been seducing
when they saw him earlier. The realization sent a fresh rush of anger through
Eloise. The useless bastard!
Bronik signaled whoever was running the controls and the
lock released. Eloise yanked the door open and moved into the threshold. “Let
her go,” she said emphatically.
“Not gonna happen. Move out of my way and I might let her
live.” His smug tone grated on her nerves and she clenched then unclenched her
fists.
Bronik knocked Jackson back with a violent mental shove but
Jackson dragged the captive with him. “Let her go now and I might let
you
live.”
Jackson sneered and his fingernails bit into the captive’s
throat. She cried out and yanked on his wrist with both hands but Jackson
didn’t seem to notice. Rivulets of blood trailed down her throat and tears
seeped from the corners of her eyes. Fear polluted the air, the stench thick
and cloying in the confined space.
“Her life for mine,” Jackson stressed. “Even exchange. I
leave her in the parking lot or she dies now. Your choice.”
“We accept.” Eloise felt Bronik’s confusion but she kept her
gaze fixed on Jackson.
“Then back the hell up.”
She took a step back and Bronik did the same. The hostage
made a distressed yelp and begged for help with her gaze. Eloise couldn’t
soothe her without alerting Jackson to her plan.
Be ready.
She meticulously shielded the thought as
she pushed it into Bronik’s mind.
Jackson walked his hostage forward, his anxious gaze
shifting between Bronik and Eloise. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Eloise raised her hands, backing up as Jackson moved
forward. Hostility pulsed all around them. The Strigo hunters formed a loose
perimeter, giving her and Bronik plenty of room. She studied the angle of
Jackson’s fingers, waiting for his attention to drift.
I’ll lunge toward him. You grab the girl.
She sent
the suggestion to Bronik without shifting her gaze from Jackson.
Got it.
She stomped her foot as she threw herself toward Jackson.
His head snapped toward her and Bronik snatched the hostage out of his grasp.
The girl cried out as Jackson’s fingernails sliced across her neck, but the
wounds were shallow thanks to Bronik’s lightning-fast jerk on Jackson’s
forearm.
Channeling her anger into icy focus, Eloise flew at Jackson.
Her momentum propelled him backward until he slammed against the wall. He
grasped her hair with both hands, jerking violently as she bit into his
shoulder. She ignored the pain and pressure on her scalp as she transformed her
fingernails into razor-sharp claws. With one ruthless thrust, she drove her
hand in under his ribcage and effortlessly found his heart. His scream became a
muffled gurgle as she closed her fist and ended his life. She released his
shoulder and watched the crimson sparks flicker out in his eyes.
“Say hi to Tara,” she whispered then withdrew her hand.
For a moment Jackson’s body remained upright, motionless
except for the blood oozing from the gaping wound in his abdomen. Then the knees
buckled and the body crumpled into a lifeless heap.
Eloise wiped her mouth on her sleeve, feeling oddly numb.
Her anger had burned itself out, yet Jackson deserved no pity or regret. He’d
spent the majority of his life preying on those weaker than himself.
“I’ll take care of the rest,” Alexi said, his gaze warm and
respectful. “You two have done enough.”
“Are all the captives out?” Bronik asked as he slipped his
arm around Eloise’s shoulders and pulled her against his side.
“I think so.” Alexi looked up and down the corridor before
he added, “We’ll sweep the entire building before I head to Las Vegas. Jerome
and Brandon are coming back to oversee the transportation of the staff.”
“Where are you taking them?” Eloise asked.
“That’s up to Inatta. She has agreed to full disclosure as
far as the research goes, but the crimes were committed against Rom strain.”
“What about Garrett?” Eloise asked.
Alexi scrubbed his hand over his jaw, clearly frustrated.
“Hopefully we’ll find security footage or one of the captives who interacted
with Garrett directly. I doubt the staff will cooperate. Unless we can find
something concrete to link him to the project, we might have to be satisfied
with taking out Jackson and Tara. Recovering the captives was our top
priority.”
Eloise shook her head, dissatisfied with the outcome. “I
know he oversaw the project but I can’t prove it.”
Alexi squeezed her upper arm and smiled. “I’ll see what I
can find. As I said, you’ve done enough, no, more than enough. Both Rom and
Strigo strains are grateful.”
Eloise tried to return his smile but her mouth wouldn’t
cooperate. She just felt tired and empty.
“We’ll get out of your way,” Bronik said then turned her to
face her. “Let’s get you home and into a shower.”
She didn’t object. She wrapped her arms around him and
buried her face against his chest. She’d killed Jackson. She’d crushed his
beating heart without hesitation or regret. Well, maybe a little regret.
The staggering rush of teleportation eclipsed her troubled
thoughts, but as soon as they materialized in Bronik’s bathroom the conflict
resumed. She’d been in battles before, shot weapons at the enemy and fought
hand-to-hand. This had been different, more personal and troubling.
“You okay?” Bronik asked as he pulled her blood-splattered
shirt off over her head.
“I was afraid he’d turn to mist.” Needing something to do
with her hands, she tugged off her boots. “There was no way I was letting him
escape.”
“No one is questioning your actions. The bastard deserved to
die.”
A hard shudder passed through her and she hesitated. “He
deserved punishment but…”
He framed her face with his hands and captured her gaze. “He
had no regard for anyone. He used humans for his own enjoyment and manipulated
the emotions of other hosts. He used a helpless woman as a shield and would
have killed her without blinking an eye if you hadn’t intervened. He deserved
to die.”
Her lips trembled and she raised her hands to his chest,
needing the comfort of his strong heartbeat. “I don’t want to become Tara. I
saw her kill without pause over and over. I never want to take a life without
feeling the loss.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “You are not Tara. The fact
that you’re bothered by what you just did is proof that you are nothing like
her.” He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, slow kiss. “You were
wonderful tonight.”
The praise sent warmth radiating through her body and
loosened the knot in her belly. “It felt pretty good to be useful again.”
“You were more than useful, you were amazing.”
They undressed and took a shower together. He washed her
hair, helping her relax and shed the last of the battle taint. She stood within
the circle of his strong arms, savoring the security of their love. Warm water
ran over their bodies and she snuggled against his chest.
Dizziness swept over Eloise and she clung to Bronik’s back.
She tried to pull away, to let him know she felt strange. The vertigo gave way
to darkness and she felt the presence again, the cautious, gentle person who
had contacted her before.
What’s your name?
Eloise pushed the thought toward
her visitor, hoping she’d understand.
Thank you for helping me. This
wouldn’t have been possible without you.
Then you found them?
Relief washed over Eloise then a
sad sort of resignation.
Are they okay? I was afraid you’d be too late.
They’re safe and they’ll recover. Thanks to you. Will you
please tell me your name?
A long pause followed and then Eloise heard,
Caresse. I
have to go now or he’ll know what I’m doing.
Wait, Caresse. Who is “he”? Where are you? Is there
anything I can do to help you?
If he realizes what I’ve done he’ll kill me. But I’m not
sure I care
.
He’s so different now. Everything has changed. Nothing is
as it should be. I hate it here on Earth.
Where are you? Please, let me help you.
Eloise came out of the trance with a gasp, disoriented and
shaky. She was cradled in Bronik’s arms. He sat on the bed and they were each
wrapped in a large towel.
“She did it again,” Eloise whispered. “The woman who sent me
the image of the prison just pushed into my mind.”
“Are you all right?” He brushed her wet hair back from her
face and searched her eyes. “What did she want?”
“She just wanted to know if the captives were all right. Her
name is Caresse.”
“Caresse.” He eased her off his lap and stood, adjusting the
towel around his hips. “I need to tell Alexi.” His expression stilled and she
felt the faint vibration of telepathic communication.
“You know who she is?” she asked when his gaze returned to
hers. “She said she hated it here on Earth. I think she’s from your planet.”
“Caresse is Desmond’s mate.”
“But why would a Levari host help us rescue the Rom
captives?”
“I have no idea but we need to find out.” He took a deep
breath and ran both hands through his wet hair.
“Caresse said ‘he’ would kill her if he realized what she was
doing. She must have meant Desmond. She also said that he was different now,
that nothing was the way it was supposed to be. Does any of that make sense to
you?”
Bronik nodded. “Desmond is an illegitimate cousin of Alexi
and mine. Alexi’s father, the high king, tried to purge Desmond of his Strigo
symbionts and it nearly killed Desmond. He endured years of captivity and
medical procedures that were more like torture.”
“That’s horrible.” Eloise crossed her arms over her chest
and shivered. “Why was… Didn’t you say Desmond was on the ship with you and
Alexi? Why was he allowed to come to Earth?”
“Alexi felt guilty about the way Desmond had been treated by
his family, so he offered to bring Desmond and Caresse to Earth so they could
build a life for themselves free from prejudice and conflict. They both seemed
excited and grateful until the night Desmond led the mutiny.”
She scooted to the edge of the bed, sensing his agitation
but not sure how to soothe him. “How does a mutiny fit in to Desmond’s plans to
start over? The two don’t seem to mesh.”
“We’d never seen anything like it. Desmond and the other
Levari hosts were being controlled by their symbionts. It was obvious that they
were fighting against it, but we all lost out in the end.”
The pain in his gaze broke her heart. She’d heard about the
crash, knew most of the crew had been lost. Still, it didn’t seem quite real to
her. She stood and moved closer, unsure if he’d welcome her touch. “That’s what
caused the crash? You were trying to avert the mutiny?”
“We were fighting for control of the ship.” He pulled her
into his arms and she pressed against him. “Alexi did everything imaginable to
prevent the crash, but the Levari sabotaged him at every turn.”
“That’s all horrible,” she eased back and looked into his
eyes, “but why would it motivate Caresse to help us and how did she end up at
odds with Desmond?”
“I’m not sure, but we seem to have discovered our next
mission.”
Eloise sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Can’t we
have one night without crisis or looming danger? This was supposed to be a
triumph.”
“You’re right.” He took a deep breath and tucked a stray
strand of hair behind her ear. “We can’t let your mysterious visitor ruin what
we accomplished tonight. We deserve a celebration.”
“Then how shall we celebrate?”
He reached down and unwrapped her towel. “Naked and on that
bed.”
She tugged his towel loose and tossed it aside. “Best idea
you’ve had all night.”
When my parents realized I had an aptitude for
storytelling—okay, even at an early age I was a consummate liar—they encouraged
me to find constructive ways to put all that “creativity” to use. I wrote my
first novel when I was in junior high school. It was a typical teenage girl’s
fantasy about being kidnapped by a sexy rock star, finding out he was really a
misunderstood millionaire’s son, and living happily ever after with the
reformed rebel. Check out
A
Taste of Twilight
if you’re curious to see what became of the
story.
Now I spend my days, and many of my nights, trying to keep
up with the characters springing to life within my mind. I find creative ways
of avoiding errands and housework because I can’t drag myself away from the
dramas unfolding in my latest story. And every day I thank God I was able to
quit my day job and actively pursue my dream! (I also write paranormal romances
for Ellora’s Cave as Cyndi Friberg. They are still smoking hot, just less
adventurous than Aubrey’s books.)
Aubrey welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
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Onset of Danger
ISBN 9781419945182
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Onset of Danger Copyright © 2013 Aubrey Ross
Edited by Beverly Horne
Cover design by Dar Albert
Photos: Oleksandr Lishinskiy and Wisky/Fotolia.com
Electronic book publication March 2013
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