“You know what I think about you, Dagen. There’s no need for small talk, so why don’t you and your friends just move along.”
He spoke in a low voice. “You’ve always misunderstood me. I’ve protected you in ways you can’t even imagine. I merely wanted to congratulate you. I heard about the good deed you and your vampire friend just accomplished.” He lifted a bottle of beer to her. When his gaze fell to her hand still held in Vaughn’s warm clasp, his eyes darkened and his lips turned down.
She couldn’t get over the feeling Dagen had always thought of her as belonging to him. It made no sense, yet she could feel his anger.
He was a bit shorter than Max had been, and fell a couple of inches shy of Vaughn. But Dagen had powerful shoulders and arms, exposed by a leather jacket with the sleeves cut off and dotted with at least two dozen spiked silver studs. He worked out and it showed. He didn’t have an ounce of fat on his lean, muscled body.
He had dark ferret-like eyes always on the move. He wore his blackish brown hair in a Mohawk, his scalp on the sides shaved clean and bearing a series of skull tattoos along the space above each ear.
He had a lot of charisma and women went for him. He wore black leathers treated with the same spiked studs down the outer seams. Steel-toed boots made a horrific promise to anyone falling during a mano-a-mano battle with him.
He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a swig.
Dagen had made a play for her after Max died, but she’d never had the smallest interest in the shifter. He was all sleaze, and she knew in her gut he was the one who had assassinated Max.
When Vaughn turned toward her, Dagen moved a few feet away, his beta guards with him.
Vaughn’s grip tightened on her hand. “That’s Dagen, isn’t it?”
“Yep, that’s him.”
“He looks different with the Mohawk, but I remember him from when I was hunting for my sister. What did he say to you?”
She switched to telepathy. Shifters had excellent hearing, and she didn’t want her conversation with Vaughn reported by anyone eavesdropping. Would you believe he wanted to congratulate us on rescuing the girls?
Like he gives a shit.
Exactly.
Dagen stood a few yards distant. He was still watching her, but he hadn’t yet made eye-contact with Vaughn. When he did, it wouldn’t be good.
Vaughn growled softly, a very alter kind of sound. He’s after you, Em. I can smell it from here.
I know he is, but I’ve never understood why. It’s like he’s obsessed. Maybe he thinks that because I was with Max, I should belong to him now, sort of an alpha thing.
Whatever it is, he’s pissing me off.
She felt the tension in his body and because of it, she turned toward him, which forced Vaughn to focus on her.
Listen to me. If you start something here, you’ll have to finish it in a one-on-one fight. She inclined her head toward the sand pit. You don’t want to do that. Dagen won’t battle with honor, and he’ll kill you if he can.
She saw that Vaughn’s fangs were low on his lips. Sorry, Em, but it may not be up to me.
The entire tenor of the room changed in a heartbeat.
The predatory wolf energy Dagen emitted as he now glared at Vaughn, brought his pack moving closer to him. In addition, the swell of male energy radiating from Vaughn alerted all the testosterone in the room a fight was in the making.
Dagen sauntered closer, moving to stand in front of Emma once more. He grimaced as he looked Vaughn up and down.
“So, what do you think, Emma? Could this vampire beat me in the pit?”
“Go to hell, Dagen. We’re not here to fight.”
He shifted his gaze to Emma. “I don’t know why you’re pissed at me. I was ready to take you as my mistress, to be seen with you even though you’re a witch and some of my pack wouldn’t approve.”
She could feel Vaughn bristling and knew how badly this could end. So, she did the only sensible thing she could think of.
She drew her right fist back and slugged Dagen as hard as she could, square on the jaw. What she hadn’t counted on was an increased physical capacity that felt more vampire than witch.
Holy shit! She watched Dagen’s head snap back, he lost his footing, slammed against a table, then slid to the floor. The whole room emitted a collective gasp.
For a long moment, Emma was startled. But she collected herself quickly, knowing she needed to follow up her assault with a few carefully chosen words. “Leave me alone, Dagen. Max was the only shifter I wanted, and he’s dead. Now I’m with Vaughn, a Crescent Border Patrol officer I respect and admire, so get over yourself.”
Brannick moved to stand next to Vaughn, while Fergus drew close to Emma. She could feel Fergus’s pack moving in to support their alpha just as Dagen’s pack had started gathering behind him.
Emma felt the situation teeter on the brink of disaster, but the last thing she wanted was a bar brawl on her account.
Dagen’s eyes glittered as he stared up at her. When he rose to his feet, Fergus took a couple of steps forward, not quite blocking her from Dagen, but close. “We don’t want trouble, Dagen. Not with so much to celebrate. Emma made her decision clear to you five years ago, and I need you to back off. Now.” The last word carried a kind of wolf-strength that resounded through the space.
Emma watched as the shifters all over the bar continued to align into packs, some moving in support of Dagen, others closing in around Fergus, very typical of Savage.
But why did Dagen have to start something?
Vaughn hadn’t moved either. He stood rigid beside Emma, his hands in tight fists. The vampire was ready to fight.
Finally, Dagen slid his gaze from Emma to Fergus. He squared his shoulders. “I’ve disrupted things tonight. And I apologize. Everyone knows I’ve cared about Emma, because I should have been there to protect Max. I meant no disrespect.”
Liar. He was such a liar. She wanted to hit him again.
Emma shook with hatred for the man. He might be respected because of his alpha status, but he was pure evil. He embodied the psychotic quality that had sunk Five Bridges into a nightmare in the first place.
Suddenly, the triplets appeared, though moving higher in the air. Becca waved at Emma but she looked distressed. What is it, Becca?
Dagen. We just discovered he has a connection to Loghry. He might even be working for him.
Loghry and Dagen. Sounded like a match made in hell.
Thanks for letting me know.
She squeezed Vaughn’s hand. Did you see Becca just now?
Yes. She didn’t look very happy.
Vaughn, she thinks Dagen might be working for Loghry. We need to get the hell out of here.
Let’s do it.
Aloud she said, “I’m ready to head home.”
He slid his arm around her waist. “Then we should go.”
Emma glanced at Dagen. He wore an arrested expression on his face, almost calculating. She saw his hand slide into his pants pocket. He turned his back on Emma, but she watched him pull his phone to his ear.
Yep, Dagen and Loghry.
Vaughn, Dagen’s on his phone.
I see him. I’ve already told Brannick what’s going on. He’s talking to Fergus now, getting a plan together to get us out of Savage. We won’t be able to fly out. Brannick and I both agree that Loghry and his men could still be up there waiting for us.
Couldn’t we fly using your disguising shield?
We don’t want to take the chance that Loghry has a vampire in his employ. A vampire would see through the shield.
Okay. Got it.
I’ll fill you in as soon as I hear back.
Fergus led the way out of the bar, his phone to his ear as well. He spoke quietly, his gaze moving back and forth, always checking the terrain. Brannick brought up the rear.
The shifters belonging to Fergus’s Gordion Pack had lined up protectively on either side of the path to the door. They were ready to do battle if needed.
She didn’t really take a decent breath until she was outside and Vaughn telepathically relayed Fergus’s plan to get them out of the territory by way of a van. They would need to move swiftly through the forest first to avoid being followed, which meant not taking the usual paths.
Vaughn offered up his booted foot and she climbed on board. She’d found it simple to levitate through an unobstructed airspace, but she wasn’t nearly so confident among all these trees.
Fergus shifted and flew like the wind on four paws, heading into the darkest part of the forest. Emma hugged Vaughn and kept her face buried against his shoulder. She wasn’t used to watching trees flying at her. But she trusted Vaughn, who’d been levitating for eleven years, ever since he first became a vampire.
With so many twists, turns and double-backs through the pines, Emma had no idea which part of Savage she was in once they stopped moving. By the time she dove into the van alongside Vaughn, and the doors slammed shut, she happily accepted his strong arms once more. Savage roads sucked.
Do you think we eluded Loghry?
I have no idea, but Fergus did an outstanding job getting us to this point.
I’d have to agree.
The ride was bumpy through the territory. She knew exactly when the van reached Defiance Bridge, which led to Elegance, because suddenly they were rolling on smooth pavement. Defiance was one of the five large tri-part bridges that had given Five Bridges its name. The Savage Border Patrol worked their territory’s end while the Elegance force checked vehicles and pedestrians at the entrance to spellcaster territory.
She was impressed that the van wasn’t stopped at either checkpoints. Had to be Fergus’s clout because they’d been waved through without incident at both ends of Defiance.
As another means of precaution, the driver of the van took a long, circuitous route getting to Emma’s house. Even then, the driver stopped two streets north of her home to let them out.
The van took off immediately just as Vaughn covered them both with his vampire disguising shield. If there were warlocks or witches in the air, none of them would be able to see Vaughn and herself.
He flew her toward her home, and a split-second later they were descending into her backyard.
It was only two in the morning, and Emma had made it home alive.
Of course, the night wasn’t over yet.
CHAPTER FIVE
“I’d heard of the shifter fighting pits, but I’d never seen one before. The area it covered was smaller than I would have thought.” Vaughn sat forward on a patio sofa, his gaze fixed to nothing in particular. He held the beer Emma had given him, dangling it between his knees with two fingers at the neck.
Her cat, Toby, would rub Vaughn’s exposed and now-healed shin, then move to his jean-clad leg, weaving in his preferred figure-eight pattern. Vaughn would reach down once in a while and pet him.
Still standing, Emma leaned against the nearby Indian rosewood tree, but the rough-looking bark didn’t seem to bother her back. She sipped a beer as well.
Divested of her Sig Sauer, her narrow waist was an invitation all over again. She’d released her long, auburn hair from the top knot, and it hung around her shoulders. She looked incredible.
“How’s your leg?”
He glanced down. The wound had closed up completely, and he had no pain at all. “There’s only some redness to show I’d gotten shot. Thanks for fixing me up.”
She pushed away from the tree. “And thanks for helping me get those girls out.”
He swigged his beer, finishing the rest. “Best feeling in the world.” He set the bottle on the glass coffee table in front of him, settling it next to his Glock and holster. “They’re probably home by now.”
Emma moved near the sofa. “But will they stay there? Or will Loghry go after each and every one of them again?”
Vaughn flipped his hand back and forth, gesturing first to Stormy in the tree then the cat now half reclining on his left boot. “What do your friends say?”
Emma turned to the owl first, then glanced at Toby. Her quirky smile made another appearance. “They’re still celebrating.”
The owl lifted a clawed foot off the branch and hooted. The cat meowed in response. Vaughn was surprised, though he shouldn’t have been. Emma was a powerful witch and some of that power had become part of her familiars. “I guess they are.”
Emma moved closer and sat down, not exactly right next to him but not so far away he couldn’t reach over and grab her. He worked hard to keep himself restrained, but he wanted her right now, something fierce.
She drank again and released a sigh. “How much of the ghosts can you see? And isn’t it unusual for a vampire to see ghosts at all?”
“It is. As for what I can detect, at first, in the Graveyard, I didn’t see anything. I only felt fingers on my face. Later, I had the impression of three faces, but right now,” he paused and glanced at the figures sitting on top of a nearby dining table, “they’re almost fully formed. They’re even wearing clothes and seem to like the color red.”
Emma chuckled. “That they do.”
“Which one is Becca?”
“Our spokesperson ghost?” Emma shifted her gaze toward the table as well. “She’s wearing the jeans and red tank top.”
Vaughn stared at the triplets for a long time. They appeared to be communicating with each other. “The whole thing is amazing, that I can see them, that you can levitate and I can fly faster.” He shifted toward her. “Speaking of that. How exactly did you discover you could levitate? It must have come as a big surprise.”
She turned toward him as well, angling her body. “I’ve never been so shocked. But when we’d first arrived at the edge of forest and you moved me off your boot, I didn’t touch the ground. I couldn’t believe it. So while you were settling things with Fergus and his crew, I was gaining my bearings. The weirdest thing was having an absolute certainty that not only could I levitate, but I had the skills necessary to make it work. It was an incredible feeling.”
“But how did this happen between us?” He turned more fully and planted his elbow on the back of the sofa. He rested his face against his fist. “I’m not getting what’s going on here, why we seem to be sharing our different alter abilities.”
She finished her beer and set the bottle next to his. She curled her knees up to better face him, then mirrored his movements by putting her elbow on the sofa as well. She rested her head against the palm of her hand. “Iris said the same kinds of things happened to her and Connor, a sort of sharing of gifts. Iris said she’d bit Seraphina and held her in a vampire thrall. That was one of the reasons they made their escape. Can you believe that?”
Vaughn leaned forward slightly. “I remember now. Connor said something about it, but it made no sense at the time. He said he could kill like a witch could. Jesus, this is a lot to take in.” But there was something else he needed to talk over with her. “What the hell was all that about back there with Dagen-the-asshole? I was ready to kill him.”
“I know. I could tell. And I really didn’t want you in the pit with that monster. Once Max was out of the way, Dagen came after me. He wanted me to live with him as his mistress in Savage, since I could never be a real mate, at least in his eyes. Max had a different view entirely.
“I hate Dagen with a passion. There’s something not right with him.” Her nostrils flared. “He smells evil, the way the dark coven witches smell. It’s hard to explain what that odor is like. It’s as though some tinge of underworld sulphur catches hold of them. But if he really is mixed up with Loghry, then that would explain a lot.”
“It would.” He smiled suddenly. “I have to admit I loved it when you hit him.”
“Oh, that’s another thing. I mean, I lashed out because I was mad but I didn’t expect to deliver a blow that could knock him off his feet. The thing is, the punch carried a portion of your strength. That’s why he fell. This is just amazing and kind of hopeful. Maybe between us we have something that c
ould battle a wizard of Loghry’s ability. What do you think?”
Vaughn had only half listened to her words. He was caught up in his lust again, which increased because of the excited glitter in her eyes. The woman had a lot of life in her and he wanted some of that.
Using his free hand, he caressed Emma’s face. “I think you’re amazing. That’s what I think. And thanks again for taking care of me in the field.”
“It was my pleasure.” Her cheeks took on a rosy hue.
His lips curved. “Now what are you thinking? Why are you blushing?”
She didn’t answer him, instead, she moved very slowly, like a cat uncurling itself, and slid onto his lap. “This is why.”
She kissed him, then nipped his lip. “I’m not proud of this, Vaughn, but part of me wanted you to take Dagen, to end up in the pit with him and tear him to shreds. When he was confronting me, I could feel your vampire power rise, and it was sexy as hell. The tension in your hand alone, because you were still holding mine right then, was a fire on my skin. I wanted you so much. And some of that desire is still with me.”
He stared into her glinting green eyes, and his body responded instantly, which meant his jeans weren’t fitting so well anymore. He would never know what she was like in her simple human form, but he loved her dynamic alter witch nature. She held nothing back, and this was something they shared in common. It was all or nothing.
She dipped down to suck on his neck, and that’s when he felt it, a tenseness in her bite as though she had fangs. His mind loosened at the same time, a very strange sensation that he would describe as the beginnings of a vampire enthrallment.
He drew back and held her gaze. “Did you feel that, Em?”
“What? No. I don’t know. I was just enjoying your throat.”
“But that’s my point. You were acting more like a vampire than a witch. You almost had me in a state of thrall.”
“I did? Wait a minute, I did. You’re right.”
“Let me see your mouth. Bare your teeth for me.”