She grinned. “That’s a heck of a come-on.”
His grin matched hers. “You think? How about this?” His hands curved over her shoulders and he moved in, his mouth settling on hers.
This kiss was different. Smooth and gentle, he coaxed a response from her, seducing instead of challenging. Her heart speeded up, and desire flowed fast and warm through her blood. She leaned into him and his erection brushed her stomach, weakening her knees.
Somebody pounded on the bathroom door.
Ronan growled and lifted his head. “What?”
“The plane landed and is waiting for us. We want to stay under the radar, so we need to go. Now,” Benny yelled.
They had to fly again? Faith sighed.
Ronan dropped his forehead to hers, his body vibrating. “I think this new world is trying to kill me.”
Faith gulped and tried to quiet her rioting body. “You and me, both.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ronan awoke as the private plane landed with a hard thump. He sat up, his gaze searching instantly for Faith. She sat next to him by the window, her head on his shoulder, her breathing even. After eating a huge meal of several loaded pizzas, they’d both dropped off into sleep. His body felt better. Not invincible, but definitely better than before.
Benny glanced up from a stack of papers. “Hey. Getting stronger?”
“Yes,” Ronan said, glancing toward the front of the plane, where Ivar was serving as copilot. His injuries had healed, and he could actually feel his strength returning. Power flushed through his veins. “Thank you for letting me sleep.”
“You needed rest.”
Ronan eyed this brother of his. They’d been bonded for centuries, and it felt good breathing the same air again. “I really did miss you, Benny.”
Benny sobered—a rare sight. “I missed you too. I wondered about you. Went by the stones we used to haunt and would talk to you sometimes. Tell you what was happening in the world.”
Peace filtered through Ronan for a brief moment. “I used to talk to you too.” He looked outside at the trees filing by the taxiing plane. “The days were empty and lonely, so I created stories. About us and about what we might be doing.” He gestured around the plane. “I had no idea about this.”
Benny smiled again. “I’m glad you’re back, brother.”
Ronan returned the grin. “As am I. Where are we? Denver?”
The plane rolled to a stop, and Benny stood, stretching his massive body. “No. Wyoming.”
“Where is Wyoming?” Ronan asked, careful not to jostle Faith.
The plane powered down, and Ivar moved back into the cabin. “It’s somewhat of a central location where we could build a headquarters into a mountain. We built it and have left the place alone except for updates through the years so nobody can trace us to it.”
“What about satellite tracking us today?” Ronan asked, glancing toward the still-sleeping woman. She had been through so much already, and there was more to come.
“We’re fine,” Benny said as he pushed a button and the door opened. Cool air rushed in. “We took several underground routes to the private airport and then entered through a basement. There’s no way to trace us. Or shouldn’t be. Unfortunately, nothing is truly secret these days.”
Ronan scanned the area. The enemy was strong and smart. Not once would he allow himself to relax. He stood and gently lifted Faith into his arms, striding for the door and easily maneuvering the steps. The plane was parked inside a sprawling metal building where a black Chevrolet waited. He moved to a window and looked outside.
Mountains and fresh air surrounded them. His chest settled. No more concrete and imposing buildings. “This is perfect,” he murmured.
“Yep.” Benny gestured him toward a closed door. An office?
Faith stirred and looked up. “Ronan?”
He smiled down at her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. All his. Although she had clothing now, he still needed to acquire sketch pads and charcoals for her. “We’re in Wyoming.”
She blinked and looked around. “Huh.” She gave a slight struggle.
He reluctantly set her on her feet and held her arms until she regained her balance. Benny had procured tight, faded jeans and a deep blue T-shirt for her, but he’d forgotten a bra. Her breasts were nicely outlined against the cotton, and Ronan struggled to keep his gaze on her face.
He’d borrowed a pair of Benny’s jeans and a green T-shirt, which fit perfectly.
Her hair had been allowed to air dry, and it curled wildly down her back. She pushed a strand away from her face and glanced down, sighing at the plain white tennis shoes. Then she shook her head and looked back up at him. “What about my sister?”
“Let’s get to safety, and we’ll talk.” Benny opened the door to what looked like a supply closet. Paper, towels, and cleaners lined a shelf.
Ronan frowned and moved in behind him with Faith and Ivar. The door closed. “I do not enjoy small spaces.”
Benny grinned and flattened his palm in the center of the far wall. It slid open to reveal a wide box. “Come on and I’ll show you.” He stepped inside and Ivar pushed past Ronan to follow. Faith held back.
Ronan frowned. “I do not like this box.”
“Just wait,” Benny said, his eyes sparkling.
Sometimes Benny was shit-assed crazy. Ronan took Faith’s hand and led her into the room. The door closed. Benny hit a button, and they plunged down.
Ronan bit his tongue and tightened his legs to stay upright. They came to a rather gentle stop, and the doors opened to a rock cavern.
He walked out of the box and looked around. “It’s just rock.”
“Not so,” Benny said, moving forward and pressing his palm against the rock. Another door slid open, this one revealing a cavernous round room with massive screens on the front wall and tables of computer equipment throughout.
Faith whistled. “Holy bat cave.”
Bats? He hated bats. So he took the lead, keeping her behind him.
“Ivar created this place.” Benny pointed to a far doorway. “Living quarters are that way. At the far end, there’s another elevator that will take you to the surface, which is a valley between two mountains fully protected from satellite surveillance. I’ll explain all the details later.”
Ivar moved toward the nearest console and typed on a keyboard. Three of the screens lit up with images of the earth. He pointed to the far left of the globe. “Allies. Vampire, demon, shifter, and witch headquarters and large groupings.”
Benny nodded toward the middle screen. “Known enemy encampments across the globe. Kurjan and Cyst—our data isn’t the best since the last war took so many out. They’ve been hiding and rebuilding.”
Ronan moved toward the screens. Modern technology would make war so much easier. He glanced at the third large screen, which had pink dots all over the globe. “And that?”
“Possible Keys.” Benny bent down and typed, focusing on a couple. “We’ve traced Enhanced women the best we could to keep track of them. The lineage of those first three Enhanced females has gone in many directions, and we’re hopeful we have them all here. We must find the three Keys.”
Faith rubbed her eyes and then looked at the screen. “Wait a minute. You said the three Keys could take down Ulric, and you had three Keys in Enhanced females way back when? So why couldn’t they take him down at that time?”
Excellent question. Pride warmed Ronan’s chest. “If the first three were alive today, which apparently they are not, then they would be needed.”
“They are not alive and have not been for centuries, I’m very sorry to say,” Ivar said, turning toward Faith. “At the time we created the prison world, we required more than the three Keys.”
She frowned. “Is that just a designation for these women? Or are they real keys to something
?”
Damn, she was smart. “Real keys,” Ronan confirmed. “Which means we had to wait for a lock.”
Benny typed again, and the middle screen cleared to make way for a picture of a very pretty seven-year-old girl with blue eyes and brown hair. Her intelligent eyes blazed from fragile features. “Meet Hope Kayrs-Kyllwood.”
Ronan breathed out, his chin dropping. For years, he’d wondered about finding the female vampire. The prophesied one. “The Lock.”
* * * *
Hope Kayrs-Kyllwood finished the spatial-relation game on her console and snuggled down in her comforter, her eyes heavy, happy she didn’t have to practice her piano lessons. They were so boring, and her fingers didn’t get the notes right. Her mama had tucked her in and gone to the other room, worry on her pretty face. Vampires didn’t get sick, and yet Hope had a cold.
Just a little cold, but her nose was runny and her throat hurt. Her daddy had come home from work to feel her forehead and kiss her nose, telling her she’d be fine.
But his dark green eyes hadn’t smiled.
She didn’t know how to reassure the grown-ups in her life that she was okay. Lots of human little girls got colds. She was more human than they knew. More than she could tell them.
So she hugged her stuffed dinosaur closer to her chest and closed her eyes, falling into a light nap. Before long, she wandered near the ocean in her special world, entranced by the bright blue birds flying around. “Drake?” she called.
He stepped out of the forest near the beach and kicked off his shoes, walking in the sand. “Why is your nose red?”
She grinned, revealing a lost tooth.
He blinked. “Your tooth. You’re missing the front one.”
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m hoping the tooth fairy gives me five dollars for this one. It was a big tooth.”
Her friend lifted one of his bony shoulders. He was only seven, like her, but he was a lot taller. They’d been meeting in this dream world for almost six months, and he seemed to get more serious each time. “I didn’t know vampires did the whole money thing for teeth. Like humans.”
“My mama was a human before mating my dad,” Hope said. “Wasn’t yours?”
Drake rubbed his chin and looked over the quiet waves of the dream ocean. “She was human but could never be a Kurjan. Doesn’t have the power.” He sighed, and his shoulders hunched. “Why can’t mates get powerful? They just get immortal, and sometimes that’s not enough.”
Hope reached for his hand and took it, enjoying the sand between her toes. “I don’t know, but she had to be Enhanced, so that must be good.” Hope hopped over a puddle. “Did you tell your mom about this world?”
“No,” Drake said, stopping and facing her. “You and me are supposed to be enemies. At least, our people are enemies. I don’t think we should tell anybody that we’re friends.”
Probably a good plan. For now, anyway. Someday they’d have to tell in order to fix the world, she was pretty sure. “Yeah, you’re right.”
Drake looked around at the trees and the wild birds. They flew up above, wide and powerful, swooping down to the ocean and then flinging themselves back up. “Do you know where we are? How we’re here in this, um, dream world?”
Hope bit her lip. “It’s just a dream world. My mommy and daddy met in one until they were grown-ups, but my mom had to break it in order to stop the world from exploding. I don’t think she knows about this one.” Mommy and Daddy had met just like Hope and Drake were meeting. Sometimes people were just meant to be friends. “Can you get in here without me?”
“No,” Drake said, eyeing the end of the beach where the sand fell off. “Only you can do that.”
Well, she was a prophet, whatever that meant. Someday she’d find out. “What have you been doing?”
His chest puffed out. “Working with my father.”
Wow. Work. “Doing what?”
He let go of her hand to scratch his elbow. “I can’t tell you. It’s Kurjan business.”
She pouted. “You could tell me a little bit.”
He grinned, his green eyes sparkling. “One of those big birds could land on your lip.”
She snorted. “Whatever.” The dream got hazy. “Oops. I hafta go. See ya later.” The entire world disappeared and she woke up in her room.
“Hey,” giggled a high voice.
Hope opened her eyes to see her best friends in the entire world sitting on her bed. They were both seven years old, just like her and Drake. “Hey,” she responded to Liberty, who had her blond hair piled into two pigtails. Libby was a feline shifter who hadn’t been able to shift yet, but she would someday.
Paxton stood beside the bed, his silverish-blue eyes worried. “Your mama said you were sick. How can you be sick?” He had a doughnut in his hand but seemed too concerned about her health to eat it.
Hope sat up, eyeing the doughnut. Pax’s daddy had told him to stop eating so much sugar because he was turning roly-poly. Hope wasn’t sure what that meant, but it hadn’t sounded good, and Pax’s daddy had been frowning in a dark way. When a vampire frowned in that way, it looked kind of scary. Any vampire. “It’s just the sniffles.” She held out her hand.
Pax reluctantly gave her the doughnut and then licked all the glaze off his fingers. His black hair curled over his nape and had a little sugar in it.
She reached out and brushed it away. “It’s okay, Paxton.”
“Did you practice your piano? I’ve been working on my guitar. We could play together,” Pax said, looking around again. “But don’t tell my dad.”
Why didn’t his dad like the music? That male didn’t seem to like much. “I won’t tell,” she whispered. “But I didn’t practice since I had to nap.”
Libby leaned in, her brown eyes sparkling. “Did you see him in the dream world?”
Paxton moved closer. “Shhh,” he warned, looking back toward the bedroom door. “We’ll get in trouble.”
It seemed like Pax got in trouble a lot, and Hope didn’t want to add to his problems. So she whispered really quietly. “Yes, I saw Drake. He said he’s been working with his dad.”
“Wow,” Libby said, her eyebrows rising. “Working already?”
“Yeah,” Hope said. That Drake was awesome, just like the boys on television shows.
Pax eyed the doughnut but didn’t try to take it back. “What kind of work?”
Hope shrugged. “I don’t know. But Drake’s good, so it has to be good, right?”
Libby nodded vigorously.
Pax bit his lip. “Says who?”
Hope sighed. “My mommy and daddy met in a dream world and they saved everybody, remember? So there has to be a reason Drake and me are meeting there.” She rubbed her hand down the dark blue prophesy marking on her neck. “It’s probably something about me being a prophet when I grow up.” There were three prophets alive at any time, and they were the religious leaders of the Realm. She’d been born with the marking on her neck, making her one of them. When she thought too hard about it, her stomach hurt. So she pretended the marking wasn’t there sometimes.
Paxton patted her shoulder. “You don’t have to be anything you don’t want to be,” he said softly.
Libby bounced on the bed. “That’s true. We can all be what we want. Maybe we should invent something really cool and get rich. And buy tons of ice cream.”
Pax grinned. “Yeah. Let’s invent something.”
Hope snorted. What could they invent? She wished there was a way to take Pax and Libby into the dream world so they could meet Drake. Someday she wanted them all to be friends. “How about ice cream that doesn’t melt?”
Libby giggled again.
Pax shuffled his feet. “Good idea.”
Hope sniffed, her head hurting a little bit. “We hafta find a way for you to come into the dream world with me.”
; Libby’s eyes widened. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”
Pax shook his head. “No.”
Hope frowned. “Why not?”
Paxton looked at her, his round face vampire hard. “We’re vampires, and I start training to be a soldier next week. Drake is a Kurjan. We can’t be friends.”
Pax was wrong. Someday, she’d prove it to him.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
After a dinner of steak and potatoes, Faith finished checking in with Jordy, who’d reported that Grace hadn’t tracked voices that day, and her blood pressure was slightly low. But she was safe and there were security guards still in place. Should Faith tell him Grace was going to be moved soon? Maybe not. It would just raise more questions, and she didn’t have answers.
She hung up the specialized glowing phone that Benny had assured her couldn’t be traced. She looked around the large bedroom with attached bath. There was a king-sized bed, two bed tables, and a reading chair set strategically on a thick white area rug. A small desk also sat over to the side, piled high with manila files she’d taken to read about the mating process.
There was a feeling of security being so far underground, encased in natural stone. A plasma television took up one wall, showing scene after scene of lakes and oceans. Even a sunset or two.
She reached for her wineglass and finished the very good Chardonnay, letting her body go a little numb. They’d polished off a couple of bottles before the immortals had moved on to more vodka, several hours ago. At that point, she’d excused herself and headed to the bedroom to read her files and make her call to Jordy.
The door opened and Ronan stepped inside, lines fanning out from his eyes. The peaceful air became charged—electrifying.
“It’s after midnight,” Faith said, studying him. “You’re not going to heal if you don’t get some sleep.”
He looked around the room. “I had to catch up on the dossiers Benny has compiled. On my family, the leaders of the world, and my enemies. Then I got on the computer and researched the history of all the species.”