Enemy Mine (9 page)

on her mother’s bad side. And Amelia

Rodriguez had a serious temper. No one

liked to provoke her, especially her mate.

Even though her mom hated the idea of her

dating a vampire she’d never tell Melina

she couldn’t. Probably because she knew

Melina would fight it even more.

Right now she just wanted the chance to

get to know Kiernan, to find out if the

crazy attraction between them had the

possibility to be more. Something deep

inside her ached with a hot, burning need

every time she was near him and she

simply couldn’t ignore it. Part of her

wondered if it was what shifters

considered the mating call. Then she

dismissed that idea. He couldn’t be her

mate; he was a vampire.

Even so, her family’s vendetta with

Kiernan’s coven was ancient history as far

as she was concerned. It was time to put

the past where it belonged.

* * *

his living room, but that wasn’t what

bothered him. It was the fact that he’d let

Melina go last night. The most primitive

part of him had wanted to throw her over

his shoulder and make a run for it.

His logical side had known how stupid

that would have been. Her brothers sure

as hell hadn’t planned to hurt her. They

just wanted to protect her. Something he

understood completely.

He still hadn’t heard from her though

and it was making him edgy. He hadn’t

wanted her to find out this way that her

brother had killed his. He’d planned to

tell her eventually, he just hadn’t wanted

to do it too soon. Especially since she’d

thought he was using her or some shit.

Yeah, he’d love to use her body, please

her, pleasure her, but not
use
her as a

means for revenge.

A chilly wind whistled through the

broken glass door that led to the balcony.

The sun was just starting to peek over the

horizon, creating a glittering rainbow

across the glass-strewn tile.

He should have cleaned up last night

but he’d been too annoyed to stick around.

And too hungry. Normally he could go

weeks without eating but he also didn’t let

other people feed from him. Miami had

feeding places with live, willing donors

open 24/7. His coven had well-paid

donors living on the premises, humans

who usually lived among them for a few

years before moving on with enough

money to last them a lifetime.

He’d have preferred to feed from

Melina, but that was something he’d have

to work her up to. His feedings had

always been impersonal, a need for

survival. But now . . . he wanted to taste

everything Melina had to offer.

At the sound of the front door opening,

he tensed until he scented his brother

Ronan. Striding out of the room, he headed

down the long hallway to find his oldest

brother shutting the door behind him. With

dark hair, dark eyes, and a similar build, it

was obvious they were brothers. Though

Ronan usually wore custom made suits

and shoes expensive enough to fund a

small country’s food supply for a month.

“You look like shit,” Ronan said as he

pulled him into a tight hug. Not all

vampire covens were close, but the Doyle

coven was—especially Kiernan’s

brothers. As the youngest, they thought he

needed checking up on even though he was

two hundred years old.

“Thanks. What are you doing here?”

A shrug as he stepped back, then peered

down the hallway. “What do I smell?”

Before Kiernan could answer his

brother was gone, using his supernatural

speed to cover the distance to the living

room.

“What the fuck happened in here?”

Ronan’s voice dropped a few octaves,

taking on an almost inhuman growl. His

fangs had extended and he had murder in

his eyes.

Kiernan rubbed a hand over his face,

regretting that he hadn’t cleaned some of it

up the night before. “It’s not important.”

His dark eyes narrowed. “Not

important? Have you told Father about

this?”

“No, and you’re not going to either.”

“What the—”

“Drop it,” he snarled. If Ronan called

their father he’d launch a war with the

Rodriguez pack and that was the last thing

Kiernan wanted.

His brother shoved his hands in his

pants pockets and rocked back on his

heels as he assessed the room again. “I

smell a group of shifters, mostly male, but

one female. A very sweet scent.”

Kiernan was silent, not wanting to give

away more than he had to. Not yet. When

his phone buzzed in his pocket he nearly

jumped, hoping it was Melina, then cursed

himself for the reaction. He wasn’t some

randy teenager with his first crush, even if

that’s what he felt like. He didn’t

recognize the number, but it was a Miami

area code so he answered immediately.

“Yeah?”

“Is this Kiernan Doyle?” An unfamiliar

male voice asked.

Disappointment was a sharp blade

through his chest. It wasn’t Melina on the

other end and he didn’t bother to hide his

annoyance. “Who’s this?”

“Uberto Mazzoni, second in command

to Abel Mazzoni.”

Kiernan paused, wondering why a wolf

shifter from the Georgia region would be

calling him. He glanced at Ronan, who he

knew could hear the conversation, and

lifted his eyebrows. Ronan shrugged,

obviously not knowing anything about it.

Instead of responding, Kiernan was silent,

waiting.

The other man cleared his throat. “It’s

come to our attention that you are

acquaintances with Melina Rodriguez.”

There was a questioning note in his voice,

as if he wasn’t quite sure.

“What about her?” Wondering if the

call had anything to do with the night

before, Kiernan kept inflection out of his

voice.

“My pack would be willing to pay you

if you deliver her to us.”

Something dark jumped inside Kiernan,

but he shoved it back down. “I don’t need

money and I’m still amusing myself with

her.” Harsh, untrue words he hated saying,

but if he wanted the guy to keep talking, he

couldn’t show emotion.

“Maybe not, but one can never have too

much money. . . . And we know of your

coven’s history with her pack. That’s why

we were surprised you intervened last

night. You killed two of our pack

members.” There was a touch of anger in

those words, the first sign of any sort of

emotion.

So the Mazzoni pack had gone after her.

“I told you, she’s an amusement and I’m

having fun pissing off her pack with our

relationship. You should have contacted

me before going after her in my presence.”

The lie was bitter on his tongue, but this

shifter was calling for a reason and

Kiernan wanted to know what it was.

“So you are fucking her because of your

coven’s hatred for her pack.” Not a

question.

Walking outside and away from his

brother, he leaned against the balcony,

staring out at the flat ocean. Not everyone

knew of the violent history between the

Doyle coven and the Rodriguez pack.

They’d battled each other long before

technology took hold in the world, long

before territories by supernatural beings

had been carved out, and long before

sweet Melina had even been born. That

history had been buried not long after the

death of his brother, Corey. “You have

good sources.”

“We do.” Uberto gave away nothing

else, much to Kiernan’s annoyance.

“How much will you pay for

her?”Kiernan asked. Then the shifter

named an obscene amount, and ice chilled

Kiernan’s veins, but he kept his voice

calm. “She is young, likely the weakest of

her pack. Wouldn’t you prefer someone of

more worth?”

“You either want the job or you don’t.”

Again, he gave away nothing of why they

wanted her.

“I’ll take it, but I want to know why you

want her so badly and I want half the fee

up front. I’ll be putting myself at great

risk.”

“The fee is no problem, though we

require her immediately. Tonight if

possible, tomorrow at the latest. Why we

want her is none of your concern.” There

was no room for argument in his voice.

Kiernan kept his expression bland on

the off-chance someone was watching

him. “Once you wire me the money, she’s

yours.” Taking money from the bastards

who’d tried to hurt her made him smile

inside. He was going to take great

pleasure in screwing them over.

“Give me the bank details.” Cool, curt

words.

After Kiernan gave him an account

number his family held in an offshore

account, he continued. “Try to double-

cross me or skimp on the rest of the fee,

and you’ll find yourselves at war with my

coven.”

“Understood.”

As soon as he disconnected, he returned

inside to find his brother staring at him, an

odd expression on your face. “That was

very . . . mercenary. I expect it from

Bryson, but not you.”

Kiernan snorted. Saying their middle

brother was mercenary was definitely an

understatement. “Good to know I sounded

convincing.”

“Are you really fucking a
shifter
?”

Without realizing he’d moved,

Kiernan’s fingers wrapped around his

brother’s neck. Considering Ronan was

older and stronger, it said a lot for how

much he’d surprised him. Instantly

Kiernan let go, but he didn’t put any space

between them. “It’s not like that between

us.”

“So, Melina Rodriguez? Miguel

Rodriguez’s little sister?” he asked, biting

anger in his words.

“Yep.” He wouldn’t apologize for who

she was or her familial ties.

Ronan’s dark eyes narrowed a fraction,

a trace of bitterness in them. “So it’s like

that?”

“Yep.” Melina was his. He might not

have a grasp on what she meant to him or

have a clue what their future held, but she

was his.

Right now he needed to move quickly

before the Mazzoni pack got impatient, but

something else was bothering him. “Why

are you really here?” Yes, Kiernan was

the youngest, but it had been a long time

since his brothers had actually checked up

on him.

His brother was silent so long he

wondered if he’d answer. Finally Ronan’s

shoulders lifted casually. “I received a

call from Tisha. She said she saw you out

with Melina Rodriguez but I didn’t

believe her. Wanted to see with my own

eyes.”

Tisha.
The annoying redheaded

vampire who’d tried to stop him at that

restaurant with Melina. He hadn’t seen her

in decades and something told him she’d

been the reason for Melina’s questions

about the death of his brother. She’d had a

brief thing with Bryson years ago and had

seemed to think Kiernan would be

interested in her too. Not fucking likely.

Coldhearted bitches weren’t his style. “I

need your help tonight.” Now that he knew

exactly who was after Melina he planned

to take care of the problem.

Ronan sighed. “You really want to help

a wolf?”

“I’m going to help my female.”

Sometime in the past few months during

his weekly visits to her clinic, she’d

wormed her way under his skin. Hell,

she’d done it a year ago and had never

left. Right now, everything inside him

demanded he take care of what was his.

Chapter 6

As he parked, Kiernan surveyed the empty

lot outside the warehouse Uberto had

wanted to meet at. It was close to a

rundown marina in a part of town that

hadn’t seen any new business in years. No

police presence and no one to call the

cops if things got bloody. The perfect

place for a meet.

Some humans were nearby. There were

a handful of heartbeats in the vicinity—

probably a few homeless people, and

definitely members of the Mazzoni pack.

He scented wolf, but couldn’t tell how

many were waiting.

Kiernan shut off the engine and got out.

He’d tried contacting Melina’s Alpha—

who hadn’t taken any of his calls. He had

tried her at the clinic, but the woman

answering the phone had refused to put

him through to talk to her. He wasn’t sure

if it was because of Melina’s instructions

or her pack’s. Either way, he was doing

this tonight.

To protect her was a driving need

inside him, pushing and shoving him

onward. There was a full moon tonight,

illuminating the water about thirty yards

from where he stood. Overgrown weeds

and grass covered the empty lot next to the

warehouse.