Chosen by Sin (27 page)

As shouts and thuds continued to be heard from outside, Lucy propelled
Mahone across the office into the left wall. This time, when he hit, he yelled,
“Damn it, Lucy. Let me the fuck down now! That’s an order!”

“An order? You think I’m going to take orders from you? You led Dex in
front of a firing squad while he was completely blind. I can’t help wondering
how long it would have been until you’d have done the same to me.”

“I had no choice, damn it. If you let me down, I can explain.”

Lucy let him hang there. She couldn’t imagine how he would explain his
actions, but what she’d said was true. She was loyal. And a part of her,
despite what she’d recently learned, still hoped her loyalty toward Mahone
hadn’t been misplaced.

Still, she didn’t bother easing him down gently. She abruptly withdrew
her power so Mahone fell heavily to the ground. He grunted but immediately
sprang to his feet to glare at her, breathing hard.

“Tell them to go away,” she ordered.

Mahone clenched his jaw, then called, “Kara. I’m okay. Call off
security and back off. Now.”

“Are you sure, Mahone? How do I know—”

“Now, Kara. Please.”

Maybe it was the fact he said please, but something convinced Kara to
call off Mahone’s guards and leave them alone. Soon, the sounds of multiple
footsteps faded and Mahone’s office grew quiet. He straightened his tie and
jacket, then once again took his seat behind his desk. He waved for her sit
down.

Narrowing her eyes, she stepped closer but remained standing.

She caught sight of several photographs and papers on Mahone’s desk
before he shoved them back in their file folders. She swore she’d seen a
picture of a dragon—

“What do you know? And
how
do
you know?” Mahone gritted out.

“I’ve been doing what you asked of me, looking into shape-shifters
murdering shape-shifters in the United States while Dex did the same in France.
After Dex called, after you filled me in on the possible connection with dark
magic, I went looking for the one shape-shifter I knew had a fondness for
felines. So much so that he was willing to perform involuntary sterilizations
on them in order to ‘help’ them.”

“The
shape-shifter the others caught trying to take you from that L.A. club,” he
guessed.

“Right. And apparently the same shape-shifter you paid a visit to
before Dex left for France. The same one you had transferred to a low-security
facility and hooked up with high-powered counsel. The same one who happened to
witness your accidentally-on-purpose verbal slip about Dex being some kind of
carrier for immortality, with the power to transfer it to others.”

“Are you saying you didn’t know anything about that?”

Her eyes widened. “Of course I didn’t. And I’m betting Dex didn’t know
it, either. Is it true?”

Mahone shrugged. “I don’t know. My source seems to believe it is. But
whether it’s true or not didn’t really matter, did it?”

She laughed bitterly. “No. What mattered was setting Dex up as bait so
that shape-shifters wanting to help dark spirits take over the world would have
something special to offer them. What better way than offering them a host that
can turn a whole bunch of other hosts into immortals?”

“And you think what, Lucy?” Mahone asked as he suddenly shot to his
feet. He rounded the desk, stopping several feet from her. “That I set Dex up
as bait because I hate him? Because I want him dead?”

Lucy remained stubbornly quiet. She knew that hadn’t been Mahone’s
intentions, but she couldn’t condone what he’d done.

“Of course I didn’t,” he said. “It was my safety plan in case Dex
couldn’t get any of the shape-shifters to talk to him. And that’s exactly what
happened. Properly motivated, the shape-shifters will go to Dex. I have enough
faith in Dex’s ability to take care of himself and fend off any attacks.”

“How convenient for you,” Lucy said.

With a disgusted shake of his head, Mahone snatched up objects that had
fallen to the floor when she’d smashed him into the wall. He stacked frames
together and tossed shards of glass in the waste bin. Finally, he stood and
stared at her with his hands on his hips.

“Why didn’t you just tell Dex?” she asked, then frowned. “Or did you?
Am I wrong about that?”

“No. You’re not wrong. I didn’t give him any warning.”

“Why?”

“Because that would have led him in a certain direction and it might
have been the wrong one. It was better that he investigate without preconceived
ideas. Plus, Dex doesn’t know anything about this so-called gift, Lucy. And I
don’t even know if it’s true. If I’d told him, he would have been distracted,
wondering why his grandfather hadn’t told him or if it was the reason his
grandfather sent him away. Which, by the way, I think it is. I didn’t have
anyone else I could rely on. I needed you here. Him there. I couldn’t afford to
lose either one of you! Plus—”

He bit off what he was about to say.

“Plus what?” Lucy prodded.

Mahone shook his head.

“Tell me, Mahone!” Lucy shrieked.

She must have looked ready to hurl Mahone into the window again because
he started talking.

“I didn’t tell him because I knew he’d ask me how I’d found out and
wouldn’t have stopped until I’d told him. Again, Dex would have been out of his
mind, wanting revenge. He’d have gone to France all right, but not to talk to
the shape-shifters. He’d have been too busy hunting down the vampire who’d not
only fucked him, but fucked him over.”

Lucy drew back in shock. “Jesmina? She came to you with some story
about Dex? When?”

“Before he left. Before he slept with her.”

“He—he actually slept with her?”

“Unless they were playing poker all night. Does that bother you, Lucy?”

She shook her head in confusion. “What? That she slept with Dex knowing
she’d betrayed him?”

“No. That she slept with him at all.”

“Dex is free to have sex with anyone he wants.”

“Even when he’s supposed to be having sex with you? No one told me, by
the way. I figured it out on my own. He’s very protective of you.”

“He cares about me. Maybe too much, which he’d be horrified to hear.
But I regretted accepting Dex’s offer to help me with my heat almost immediately.
So no, it doesn’t bother me to know he slept with the vampire. It gives me hope
he’s finally found someone that can mean something to him. At least, she might
have meant something to him if she hadn’t screwed him in another way
altogether. I need to talk to him—”

“And tell him what? That I set him up?”

“Why shouldn’t he know? If you’re right, shape-shifters and dark
spirits are gunning for him because they think he’s some kind of legend
and—”

“Dex already knows he’s in danger. He knows to be wary of shape-shifters
even as he seeks them out. What will telling him any of this serve? Other than
pissing him off and risking that he’ll abandon the two things that, as far as I
can tell, mean the most to him—his place on the team and Jesmina.”

“So you’re doing him a favor?”

“No. I need Dex’s head in the game, not on his own shit, but if Dex’s
personal life benefits, too, then all the better. He’s happy, which makes him a
team player, one who owed me in a way.”

“You’re incredible, Mahone. But I’m his friend. I can’t let him get
further involved with Jes without telling him she played him.”

“But you came to me before talking to Dex about the legend. Why?
Because you trust me. Because part of you knew I’d kept that from him for a
good reason.”

He was right, Lucy thought. She didn’t like it, but he was right.

“And you trusted Jes, too, didn’t you, Lucy? Trusted her enough to
think that she could have been special to Dex. You know what? I think the same
thing. Jes might not have been completely honest with Dex, but she’s a good
person. One who might be able to give Dex everything he’s ever wanted. You
gonna be the person that takes that away from him?”

“Damn you. You’ll never play fair, will you?” But Mahone’s words were
having their desired effect. Lucy was actually considering not telling Dex what
she’d learned. After all, he knew about the most important things now—the
connection between the shape-shifters and dark spirits, and the threat they
posed to him. Given that, the rumor about his alleged gift and Jes’s knowledge
of it didn’t seem significant. On the other hand, what if Mahone was right?
What if Jes really could mean something to Dex? Lucy had believed the same
thing from the beginning. Did she want to ruin any hope Jes had of winning
Dex’s heart?

“So now what?” Mahone asked.

She sighed. “Now you need to stop what you set in motion. We need to
give the rebel shape-shifters what they want. Before it’s too late.”

Jes and the mage were waiting in the library for Dex to arrive when he
suddenly burst in. She stood and smiled at him. Despite his resistance to
holding the newborn Draci baby, she’d seen the way he’d looked at them. With
fear, yes, but also wistfulness. “Dex—”

“You damn bitch,” he snarled, coming at her so fast he was on her in
seconds. He grabbed Jes’s arm and drove her backward until her back bumped up
against the wall. He didn’t hurt her. Hadn’t shoved her hard enough to hurt
her. But he was trembling and she could feel the effort he was making not to
unleash his anger on her.

Her eyes
darted to the mage. Had he been possessed by the
diabol
again? Why was he looking at her like that? Like she
disgusted him? Like he hated her again?

“You’re running fucking experiments here, aren’t you? To find a way to
prolong Draci life?”

She stared at him, too stunned to respond. Had he found out why she’d
sought him out? Did he know she’d taken his blood? How? But did it really
matter? Shame swept through her. Shame and fear. Fear not just for her child,
but for herself. She wanted her baby beyond imagining, but she couldn’t deny
what she’d been fantasizing about, either. She wanted Dex, too. She wanted both
of them.

“Answer me!” he shouted.

“Dex, perhaps you need to—”

He turned to the blond mage. “I’m not talking to you and I haven’t been
possessed by anything other than my own fury. This is between her and me, got
it?”

The mage’s gaze darted to Jes, then back to him. “Then let her go and
I’ll let you talk to her. But she’s pregnant, and I’m not going to let you
manhandle her in front of me. If I have to, I’ll use the same power that
enables me to keep demons away to send you straight to hell.”

A slight exaggeration, Jes was sure, since she’d never heard of a mage
that powerful. Still, Dex turned back to Jes. Studied her. Instinctively, she
knew he saw the shame that she’d felt just now, but he clenched his jaw and
breathed in furious breaths before slowly releasing her.

Both Jes and the mage let out sighs of relief.

“Say it. I’m right, aren’t I? About the experiments.”

“It’s been my life work,” she admitted. “To find a way to prolong life.
Not just for the Draci, but for all mortal races.”

“Is that supposed to make a difference? That’s even worse!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re using Ella, a little Draci girl, and you’re willing to
hurt her so you can find a cure for people she doesn’t even know.”

Ella? “What are you talking about, Dex? What did Ella tell you?” A
strange hope filled her. Maybe this was just some kind of misunderstanding.
Maybe the hate in his eyes would disappear as soon as he realized that.

“She told me she didn’t want to have her blood drawn because it hurts.
But that you said she needed to, so she was willing to do it!”

Okay, so he had his facts straight. Hope vanished and guilt once again
replaced it. She’d known drawing blood from Ella would hurt the girl a little,
of course, even if the pain was minimal, but she’d given her the option of
helping because she’d seen it as the girl’s right. Jes had never thought the
blood tests were something that haunted her. Unable to stand the disgust
contorting Dex’s face, she tried to explain. For some reason, even though the
opinion of others hadn’t swayed her before, it seemed imperative she convince
Dex she wasn’t a person to revile. “I’ve explained to her it was important, but
I’ve never pressured her. I’ve never forced her. I’ve merely given her the
facts and the choice.”

“She’s seven! She shouldn’t be making a choice like that.”

“Dex, I’ve explained that even at seven, Ella is emancipated in the
eyes of the Draci. I have to treat her that way, as well.” She frowned.
“Besides, the procedure is slightly uncomfortable, yes, but if it gets too bad,
I stop.”

“Until you start up again, you mean.”

This time, his sneer of disgust didn’t hurt her so much as anger her.
He had no idea the type of pressure she was under. That with every hour that
passed, her failure to find a cure for the Draci, or for the werewolf slowly
wasting away in this very abbey, haunted her. Instinctively, she took a step
forward, thrusting her face closer to his.

“You think I want to cause her pain? That I want to cause anyone pain?
I don’t, but sometimes doctors have to cause pain to heal, Dex.”

He pointed toward the doorway. “She’s not sick. She doesn’t need to be
healed.”

“I’m trying to prolong the lifespan of an entire race. I can’t do that
by myself,” she cried.

“So you do it by using children. Children who can’t refuse. And to
think I was talking her into cooperating until I realized it was unnecessary.”

“That’s a matter of opinion and it hasn’t been hers.”

“You disgust me,” he said.

Somehow, the words hurt her more than the expression on his face had.
She felt her mind close in on itself, erecting walls to block him out, telling
herself he simply didn’t understand the importance of the work she did. “I’m
sorry you feel that way, but you can’t possibly understand their situation. Or
the situation of most mortals. Your natural life span is six to eight times
longer than the Draci. Does that seem fair to you? If I can help prolong their
lives at very little cost to anyone else, why shouldn’t I?”