Dark Tremor (Mated by Magic #2) (5 page)

Jace stretched and each of his muscles screamed in protest. His head throbbed and his stomach churned.

What time is it?
Groaning, he fumbled into his pants pocket and found his cell phone. Eerie blue light reflected on the empty tequila bottle on the floor.

Terra? His heart calmed when he flashed the light over her sleeping form.

His cock swelled. She’d unbuttoned the top of her jeans, and her t-shirt had risen up, exposing a tiny silver ring in a perfect navel. His tongue moved as he considered licking that ring and going lower and...

If only it wasn’t solstice. They could have a go at what no doubt would be hot sex, no ritual needed.

Pumpkin circled his feet, meowing, and nudging the top of his leg into his calf. His eyes reflected the blue light of the cell.

“Let me guess, you’re hungry?”

With a yowl, the cat jumped to a cupboard and pawed at the door.

“Okay. Let’s see what we’ve got in here.” A bag of small brown nuggets made the cat run and wait by a plastic bowl, all eyes.

He calculated a cat-size portion, poured, and the fuzz-ball chowed down while purring.

Jace smiled, pleased he had the upper hand for once.

After searching five more cupboards, he found a plastic jug of water in the fridge, uncapped it, and chugged the lukewarm liquid.

What he wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee.

Bored, he let the flashlight in his phone scan over the pile of books and papers. A small pink shoebox lay on its side, with newspaper clippings and old photos nearby.

He crouched and picked them up.

One of the clippings described the gas station incident, with a description of each of the victims. His throat clenched. He understood the reason for the painful mementos. He had his own box of reminders at home–a copy of Megan’s obituary, a single photo of the two of them together, a letter her mother wrote to him after Megan’s death that he’d never opened.

He started to put them back in the box when one of the headlines caught his eye.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN FOUND DEAD AT THE BOTTOM OF OLD RAVINE

The newspaper was marked eight years after the other incident. There was an artist sketch of what the woman would have looked like pre-mortem. It wasn’t difficult to tell that the woman was Terra’s mother.

She’d said her mother died of cancer. Why would she lie?

Jace nearly jumped out of his skin when the old radio crackled to life and a woman’s voice blasted through the silence.

Terra stirred on the couch, giving Jace enough time to shove the box back under the desk.

Jelly’s panicked voice scratched through the radio. “Terra. You there?”

With a groan, Terra hobbled from the couch and spoke into the microphone, “We’re here.”

“Thank God. We’ve got the fire department…police…going to start…digging.”

There was a short silence, then a familiar male voice crackled across the frequency. “Jace, you okay down there, buddy?”

Josh.
He should have known his brother would take the first flight there.

Jace smiled and grasped the microphone’s stand. “All good. But the sooner you get me out of here the better.”

“Working...on it.”

A horrible thought ran through his head. “Please tell me mom and dad aren’t with you.”

Josh laughed. “Nope, just…me and…Nicole. But–” The transmission stopped, then nothing but white noise.

Terra smacked the top of the radio. “Shit.”

The ground vibrated above them and a few pieces of the ceiling dropped onto their heads. Pumpkin scooted across the floor and crouched under the table.

“Sounds like they’re starting to dig.” Jace glanced up, trying not to think of the tons of dirt over their heads. He sat. Too much booze and sudden claustrophobia. Bad mix.

“I feel like crap.” Terra took the jug of water from him and took a long swig. She pulled up a chair, and sat down next to him. “That was your brother?”

She handed the jug back.

“One of them.” When his hand steadied, he took a sip.

“How many do you have?”

“Two. And a sister. Josh is the oldest, next is Jack, then Kathy, and last but not least, your one and only.”

“Must have been nice…” She picked up a small framed photo of her mom and ran her finger along the crack in the glass, a small frown playing on her lips. “Having such a big family.”

“Most of the time.” He leaned back and studied her. He couldn’t imagine not having his family around. How lonely it would be.

A heavy thud vibrated through the structure and the sickening crunching of glass sent a shiver down Jace’s spine.

Terra flinched and set the photo back on the table.

Another thud and a growing spider web of cracks grew wide across the large pane of glass.

“Mother fucking hell,” Jace spit out. “The window’s going to give out.”

“Oh my God.” Her face paled as she watched, eyes wide.

A heavy thump above and the veins grew another few inches.

“Move,” Jace ordered, jumping from his chair.

There was an ear-piercing screech and the window shattered. He barely had time to pull Terra against the back wall before pieces of glass mixed with dirt and rocks tumbled through the window.

“Pumpkin,” Terra screamed.

The stupid cat hissed when Jace reached for it, claws out. Despite its protests, Jace held tight, not letting it get away.

The ceiling above them groaned and creaked, then slowly split open, causing more dirt to fill the space. Jace wrapped an arm around Terra’s waist when the structure shifted and she lost her balance.

“You need to use your powers.” The dirt was already up to his thighs and falling fast.

“But the people above–”

“In one second, we’re going to be completely buried. Do you have enough power?”

She gave a small nod, then closed her eyes and dug her hands into the dirt, now up to her chest. The crack in the ceiling opened wider.

“Do it,” he ordered, clearing away dirt so they could breathe.

The ground trembled, and so did Terra. Energy vibrated off her in a strange blue glow, growing in intensity. His body zipped and zapped along with hers, pulsating. As she drew more power from the earth, their connection grew stronger. He moaned.

If he wasn’t about to die, he would’ve been completely turned on. Holy hell the woman was potent.

The blast that suddenly poured from her small body cut through the earth above, opened a five-foot crevice, and exposed the blessed sky above. Dirt and stones fell like rain, and he used his body to shield her. The damn cat squirmed and hissed against his chest. One more tremor and the hole spread open to twenty feet or more and the loose dirt fell away from their bodies.

After a few moments the ground went still, and so did Terra. Her head lolled against him, her breathing weak, face pale.

Jace sucked in a long, shallow breath and tried to clear his mind. The cat meowed pathetically as he held Terra’s unconscious form tight. After the dust settled, he blinked up at the blinding midday sun. Adrenaline, mixed with Terra’s scorching energy, made his heart beat like a jackhammer.

“You all okay down there?” A rescue worker lowered a rope.

“Yeah, but we need to get her out.” He kissed the top of her head, still buzzed on the energy she had produced. 

A soft moan escaped her parted lips. Despite the dirt streaked across her face, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. And holy hell was she powerful. He hadn’t realized that the members of the Earth clan could produce that much energy.

“Terra.” He brushed his lips against hers, then pulled back when he realized what he’d done.

“Jace,” she murmured, her eyes still closed. She wasn’t waking up, but with how much energy she burned, it was to be expected. 

“You’re going to be all right.” On his life, he’d make sure of it.

Rescue workers lifted Terra up on a board, but Jace insisted on climbing on his own. Once out, he all but kissed the ground. The damn cat, none the worse for wear, rested in his lap while he held tight to the scruff of his neck. They seemed to have reached some sort of accord as he patted it and it purred.

There was something about almost dying that made a person reassess their life. One thing was certain, Terra wasn’t just a witch. She was a damn powerful one. And quite possibly a perfect match for him.

From his penthouse suite in Vegas, Mic watched the desert scene unfolding on the TV.

“Shit.” He snatched the remote of his seventy-five inch Samsung and turned up the volume.

A blonde bombshell spoke in front of the camera with that news-anchor hyper-concerned face. “They can hear them, Jim. Thank goodness. They’re alive.”

The TV switched to a helicopter view of a sunken pile of rocks in the desert. At least fifteen police cars and as many ambulances parked nearby with lights flashing. A crane and a bulldozer puffed diesel smoke while a crowd of over a hundred cheered behind yellow tape.

His cell phone vibrated on the granite bar, Mic glanced at the incoming number, and answered, “I said scare them, not bury them alive. How the hell can you fuck her if she’s dead?”

“Listen, Mr. Luggerio, I can ex-”

The whole building swayed and the dishes in his cabinet rattled as Mic’s blood pressure skyrocketed. “Shut up. I want to hear this.”

The camera zoomed into a worried-looking man, captioned, ‘CEO of Extraordinary Earthships.’

“...due diligence was done before we built. Seismic studies showed no faults in the area. This was a terrible, yet unavoidable accident...”

The guy squirmed some more, and the camera zoomed to a fissure in the desert floor. The pattern was recognizable, at least to a witch. Dammit all to hell. What were his men thinking? They’d expose them all.

When the TV went to commercial, Mic changed the channel. A recent video of one of the Fialko brothers flashed across the scene. A close-up revealed him dressed in a tux, exiting The Marquee with a high-priced escort on his arm.

“Sources say, Jace Fialko, brother to billionaire, Jack Fialko, was here for some rest and relaxation when...” The announcer went on with some drivel about the family. Who gave a rat’s ass?

What the hell is he doing in my desert?

Before he could focus on that problem, another face popped up on the screen.

It can’t be.

Stunned, he walked across the pristine oak floor and stood nose to nose with the TV screen. An emergency worker placed a woman on a stretcher and the camera zoomed in.

The blurry black and white photos hadn’t down her justice.

He remembered her mother. Same blonde hair, same high forehead, and same sexy, sultry look. The kind of look that would make a strong man take what he wanted. And he had.

After all these years of searching for what his seed had produced that night, she was right under his nose. The urge to laugh hysterically mixed with the need to break something.

Never taking his eyes off the screen, he said to Eddie, still holding on the phone, “Get my car. We’re going to the site. And call whoever else was in on this fuckup. We’ll pick them up on the way.”

Inside his walk-in closet, he tugged on a designer shirt and a pair of Dolce & Gabbana jeans. Quickly, he checked his appearance in the full-length mirror. Still trim and fit at sixty years of age.

He set the alarm on his apartment and excited via the elevator to the garage.

After twenty-odd years he’d found his daughter. She’d no doubt be stronger in talent then her mother. He blew out a deep breath and grinned.

“Hello Mr. Luggerio. We’ve got your car coming.”

Pedro? Or was that his brother, Peter, who interrupted his thoughts?  The two looked so alike dressed in crisp cotton uniforms.

He followed the young man past a Volvo, a Maserati, and Yellow Cadillac to the pick-up area. While he waited, he planned.

That little witch was going to come in very handy.

Every healthy body for miles around must’ve come to the rescue scene. Several guys in yellow hard hats stood by a bulldozer, drinking beer, and chatting. Two TV trucks with news crews worked to get the last shots, and even more cars were arriving up the road to see the show. Jace shook his head.

One guy with a red cross on his white shirt tried to stop him when he ducked under the yellow tape. “You need to let me look you over.”

“I’m fine,” Jace grumbled, searching the chaotic scene for Terra. The stupid cat hissed in his arms and scratched to get free. He glared down at the animal. “Not even a chance. You’re going in a cage as soon as I find one.”

From twenty feet away, he spotted Josh and his sister-in-law, Nicole. Thank God.

“You look like shit,” Josh said, breaking the distance and pulling Jace into a quick hug.

“Feel like it too.” He handed his brother the cat. “Here, take care of this for me.”

Josh raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t ask,” Jace said, shaking his head, while continuing to scan the circus of activity. “Where is she?”

“They took her to the medics.” Josh pointed across the sand toward a white van, red lights still rotating overhead.

Terra laid out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over her mouth, eyes still closed.

Jace’s chest constricted when a scrawny, Native American man, pushed past one of the paramedics to get to her.

What the fuck?

Ignoring whatever his brother had been saying, Jace stormed towards the man who now leaned over Terra, one hand placed intimately on her chest, the other on her forehead.

“What the hell are you doing?” Fire begged to come forth into his palm, but he tamped back the urge. Too public.

The man glanced over his shoulder and sneered. “None of your business.”

“She
is
my business. Step away,
now
.”

The paramedic, who had been hovering nearby, skittered away, no doubt going to inform the authorities.

“Back off. I’m healing her you arrogant prick. She’s got extreme energy burn.” The brown man with high cheek bones shut his eyes and concentrated.

“You’re a healer?” Jace squinted at him, not ready to let go of the urge to burn him to a crisp.

The man grunted.

“Let me guess, Falcon?”

A small smile played at the corner of his lips. “She talked about me, did she?”

Jace glowered. “Yeah, she told me some interesting things about you. Like the fact you’re the only person who knows where her mine is. You better hope to hell you keep that little secret.”

Falcon went pale.

“Everything okay?” Josh’s face held consternation as he approached, still holding the cat.

Jace scrubbed the back of his neck and fought the urge to kick Falcon’s ass. The man was only trying to help, but Jace couldn’t deny the possessiveness that overcame him. Just seeing another man touch her made his blood boil.

“There’s scorch marks on the ground,” Josh said quietly. “This wasn’t an accident, was it?”

“No. There’s some serious shit going on.”

“You trust the girl?” Josh nodded at Terra, who had begun to stir and moan.

“Yes,” he said, albeit hesitantly. She was hiding something. Of that he was certain.

“Not sure about her boyfriend though.” When Jace glanced at Falcon, a low grumble vibrated at the back of his throat.

His brother’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth to comment, then smartly shut it when Jace gave him a pointed look.

“Falcon?” Terra’s lashes fluttered and she opened her eyes.

Damn if his heart didn’t almost rip out his chest when she spoke someone else’s name first.

Falcon whispered in her ear, she nodded, then glanced over at Jace, a tight smile on her lips.

“Pumpkin?” Her brows turned down, and her little mouth quivered.

For the first time, Jace was glad he hadn’t let go of the damn cat. “He’s here. Safe and sound.”

“Thank you.” She let out an audible sigh and gave him a sweet smile. “I’m so tired.”

“You need to rest.” Falcon kept his hand on her chest, despite the fact that he was no longer pulsating healing powers into her. He didn’t even try to hide his smirk.

Jace ground his teeth, about to say something, but a group of shouting reporters breached the yellow tape. The police stepped in and held them off.

Terra’s eyes opened wide, then she scrambled to sit. “I need to get out of here.”

“I’ll take you back to my hotel.” Jace moved in, shoving Falcon aside with his elbow.

“No.” Her eyes darted around the scene. “I can’t go with you.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because she doesn’t want to.” Falcon puffed out his chest and stepped in.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Jace’s fist clenched.

“Oh my God. He’s here.” Terra’s voice rose an octave and her mouth dropped open.

Jace followed her gaze. A well-dressed middle-aged man exited a black SUV, followed by a few of his goons.

Mic Luggerio.
He’d never met the man, but he’d seen pictures and knew what to expect.

“Falcon, take me to the reservation. Your grandfather will know what to do. Please.”

“I-I can’t.” Beady eyes flickered back and forth between the oncoming gangster and Terra.

“Falcon. Please.” She grabbed his wrist. Pain clouded her beautiful eyes.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” The little weasel turned on a heel and bolted.

The look of rejection on Terra’s face made Jace want to punch him in the nose. Something wasn’t right. What was up with the skittishness?

Jace would’ve followed to find out, but he wouldn’t leave her. Not like this.

“Come on.” He placed an arm under her knees and another one under her shoulder and picked her up. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

She shivered uncontrollably in his arms. “He knows who I am. That’s why he’s here.”

Jace had a bad feeling she was right. They needed out of there, fast. He doubted Mic would try anything with the media around, but who knew how fucking crazy the man really was. If the stories about him were true, Terra was in a shitload of trouble, and he’d just stepped right in it with her.

He placed her in the passenger seat of his truck and shut the door.

“What are you going to do?” Josh handed him the cat, blessedly in a carrier.

“I don’t know yet.”

“I booked a suite at the Vdara. Meet us back there. We’ll regroup and we can figure out our next move.”

“Sounds good.” Jace ran a hand over his chin. “Sorry you and Nicole were dragged into this.”

Josh shrugged as if the whole world weren’t being shifted off its axis. “Nicole has family here that she hasn’t seen in a while.”

“Thanks for being here.” He gave Josh an appreciative smile, then headed around to the driver’s side.

In the truck, Jace leaned over to put the cage on Terra’s lap, then turned on the ignition. “You doing all right?”

“I don’t know.” Her fingers shook as she poked between the front grate and rubbed the cat’s nose.

“Keep your face down. I’ll get you out of here.”

He had to dodge several newscasters and a couple of firefighters, but after a few minutes, they were free and clear. “My brother booked a room on the Strip. You can stay with us until we figure things out.”

“I can’t stay with you.”

Not this again.

He took a deep breath and tried to keep his voice calm. “Why not?”

“Who knows what Mic will do. I don’t want to involve you.”

“I’m already involved.” Turning onto the highway, he glanced in the rearview mirror. No one appeared to be following.

“Still…” She rubbed her arms and shivered. 

He could hear her teeth chattering.

Ignoring his common sense, he reached out and placed his hand on hers. Instead of pulsating heat, her skin was ice cold. Shit. She was most likely in shock. The little weasel had done a half-ass job healing her.  

“Stop…the…car.” She was shaking uncontrollably now. “Ple-please.”

“Okay.” He pulled off on a gravel road and put the truck in park.

Terra tumbled from the truck, took a few wobbly steps and doubled over, clutching her stomach with one hand, the other gripping the gravel like a lifeline. A heart-wrenching cry tore from her throat.

He raced from the truck and crouched beside her. “What can I do?”

“I…just ne-need…a…moment.” The words came out in small gulps.

Screw that. The last thing she needed was to be left alone. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up and holding her tight against his chest, ignoring the energy that pulsed between them.

Silent sobs shook her body.

“Everything’s gone.” The desperation in her voice cut him.

“We’ll fix it.” He tried not to notice how perfectly she fit against him. “Whatever you lost, we’ll figure a way to get it back.”

“I can’t go back there.”

He held her tighter, knowing she was right. A sense of guilt washed over him. If he hadn’t shown up, ignored the trespassing signs, none of this would have happened. Or maybe it would’ve and she would have had no one to protect her. His body tensed at the thought.

“We’ll get you settled. You can come back to Jersey with us. With me.” He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “Mic won’t be able to touch you there.”

“Now that he’s sure I exist, he’ll find me.”

“Not with my family’s help. I promise I’ll never let him anywhere near you. You’ll be safe. I promise.”

“Why would you do this for me?” She blinked up at him.

There was suspicion in her eyes. But hell, after everything she’d gone through, why wouldn’t there be?

His heart tightened painfully in his chest. The need to protect her rode him hard. The need to possess her, even harder. He clenched his jaw, fighting for control.

“Because I can and I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked down. When she finally looked back at him, there was acceptance mixed with resignation in her gaze.

“Okay,” she said softly.

He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. Now let’s get you to the hotel so you can rest.”

“First, I need to show you something.”