Heart of the Warrior (28 page)

"You don’t know shit, Micah!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, so fuck off!"

"Well, how about you explain it to me, Ari? How about
that? Explain to me how you can let your mate walk away without trying to stop
him. Explain to me why he means so
little
to you that you can get
engaged to some woman you don’t even love, because I know you don’t love
Persephone. It’s impossible when you’re mated to someone else. So explain it to
me, Ari! EXPLAIN IT!" Micah's eyes narrowed and he drew in his breath, as
if he suddenly knew the reason.
All
the reasons. And he probably did. He
could probably see them blinking like a neon sign on the frontal lobe of his
brain.

"I didn’t have a choice, okay!" Ari’s voice broke
as he yelled at Micah. "My father arranged the marriage."

"So? Unarrange it."

"I can’t." Ari's voice lowered painfully.

"Why not?!"

"Because he’ll cut me off!"

The room went dead silent and Ari looked up into Micah’s
midnight blue eyes.

"My father will cut me off," he said again.
"He’ll take away everything I have." Ari hesitated and looked away
shamefully. "But then something tells me you already knew that. Am I
right?"

Micah gave a subtle nod and knelt down beside Ari. "Not
everything," Micah's voice was uncharacteristically soft. "Your dad
can't take everything you have. Only what you let him take."

Ari frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"He can’t take away how you feel about Severin. And he
can’t take Severin away from you unless you let him, and right now, you’re
letting him, Ari. You’re letting your father take away the one thing in your
life that’s real. Please don’t tell me this is about money, because you don’t
need money to live. But so help me God, I know from experience that you can’t
live without your mate."

Ari stared at Micah. Who was this soft-spoken, wise male in
front of him? Where had he come from? Because just a second ago, he had been
yelling and giving Ari the third degree.

Micah reached for Sam and she took his hand and knelt beside
him. "Ari, Sam is my life, and in no way could I survive without her. If
anyone told me I had to choose between all my worldly possessions and her, I
would choose her in a heartbeat."

Trace shifted his weight and glanced down at the floor by
the door.

Ari let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
"What are you saying, Micah?" But he already knew.

"You need your mate, Ari. You can't live without him.
Sev has become the most important part of your life now. More important than
anything your father can take from you."

Ari looked down. "I've fucked up too bad this
time."

"He'll take you back. He has no choice."

"Why? Why should he? I'm not worthy of him, Micah. I'm
not worthy of someone like Sev."

Micah shook his head. "Don’t you know anything? Oh,
that's right. I'm the resident expert on mating since I'm on my third." He
said it almost to himself. "Ari, he'll take you back because
you
are
his
mate. That's why. He can't live without you the same way you can't
live without him. You should know that."

Micah was right. And how hard was that to admit to himself?
That Micah would be right about something.

Ari clutched his stomach and rocked. He hurt. He needed Sev
to ease this awful pain. And he knew if he was feeling like this, Sev was, too.
There was only one way for the pain to stop for both of them.

"Go get your mate, Ari," Micah said, as if reading
his mind. And who knew? Maybe he was. "I’ll help you get on your feet if
your dad really does cut you off."

"Why? I thought you hated me."

"I never hated you, Ari. I hated the lie you lived, but
I never hated you. Now, come on." Micah helped Ari up then turned to
Trace. "Trace, track him, find him. Use that Superman shit of yours if he
doesn’t come quietly. Sam and I will go with Ari to AKM."

Trace took off without another word.

"No," Ari said, clutching his gut as he winced.
"I should look for him."

Micah grabbed his arm before he could run after Trace.
"You're in no shape to go after him, Ari. Trace can get to him faster and
then you two can be together at the facility where we can figure out how to get
you two through this."

Ari's face screwed up painfully and Micah wrapped his arms
around him, pulling him close before reaching up to massage his pulse point in
his neck. The ache in his chest eased. Damn, but Micah knew how to take care of
a guy whose world was falling apart.

"Is that better?" Micah said.

Ari nodded and pulled back, amazed over how Micah had
changed. "I never thought I’d be saying this to you, Micah, but thank
you."

"Well, there’s a shock." Micah chuffed then led
him out and wrangled him through the main hall to the exit as Sam brought up
the rear. A tall, broad-shouldered man with blond hair was standing on the
steps, staring down the road.

Even from the back, he looked familiar. Shit, the guy
reminded him of Sev.

"Excuse me, sir?" Ari said.

When the male turned around, Ari and Sam both gasped.

Micah whistled. "Holy shit, no way."

"Do I know you?" the man said, frowning.

Ari remembered what Sev had told him about his dad.
"You’re Sev’s father, aren’t you?"

"Yes, why? Who are you?"

He exchanged glances with Micah then looked back at Lakota
and sighed. "I’m Sev’s mate," he said. "Arion. I’m Arion, and
I’m mated to your son."

Well, admitting the truth to Severin’s father was a start.
Now if he could just admit it to his own parents.

Go! Go! GO!

Sev flew through the streets, reckless, but he didn’t care.
He wanted to hurt himself. He wanted to destroy something. Suddenly he
understood what Micah had gone through in the weeks after Jackson left him and
before he'd found Sam. The report about Micah had said he'd actually gone out
in search of pain and for someone to kill him. Sev definitely saw how that
would be possible, because right now, either would work just fine for him.
Pain, death. It was all good.

With just the barest pressure on the brakes, his car jumped
the curb as he turned into the parking lot at AKM. With a whip of the wheel, he
barely missed crashing into one of the company vehicles as he gunned the engine
and flew into the underground parking garage.

Once parked, he stormed inside, using the stairs because the
thought of riding up in the elevator made him feel like a caged animal. He
shoved open the doors to the main hall, not caring if anyone was on the other
side. If anyone else got hurt during his rampage, so much the better, as long as
they hurt him back.

He made a quick stop at his prep locker, where he at least
had a change of clothes to get out of the monkey suit he had worn to the party.
After strapping on his weapons, he shoved the suit into the trash can on his
way out then practically ran to Dispatch.

"What’s available?" he said as he threw open the
door.

Adam spun around in his chair. All the dispatchers were
taking calls. "Sev? I thought you were off tonight."

"Change of plans. So, what’s hot? Send me out on
something."

Adam eyed him suspiciously, obviously noting his new and
improved kiss my ass and fuck off attitude. "Um, I just got a call about a
potential cobalt dealer on the South Side. I was about to assign it to—"

"I’ll take it." Sev turned for the key rack by the
door.

"Are you sure? You don’t look good, Sev."

"I’m sure, and keep your opinions to yourself."

"Suit yourself. I’ll forward the details to your
phone."

Sev snagged a set of keys and showed them to Adam so he
could note the tag number.

"You’re set," Adam said. "I’ll radio any
developments if and when I get them."

Sev flipped the keys back into his palm and closed his fist
around them then marched out of the room, down the hall, and out the door.
After he got into the Suburban whose bumper number matched the one on his keys,
he felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out. He had three missed calls from
Ari, but fuck if he was going to call him back right now. He was too intent on
laying a trail of mass destruction to bother with talking to his mate who was
too ashamed of him and their relationship to tell anyone about it. The text
from Adam flashed on the screen with the details of the call.

Pulling the Suburban out of the parking space, he tore out
of the lot and hit the streets. He would probably lose his job for disobeying
and going out on his own like this, but he didn’t care. At least if he lost his
job he wouldn’t have to see Ari every day. That would make his shit all better.
Not!

Gina had tailed Sev to AKM and parked across the street.
While he was inside, she put together her rifle, loaded the bullets, checked
her Glock and loaded it, then tucked the extra clip inside the pocket of her
black, leather jacket. Snatching a skull cap from the glove box, she tucked her
short hair inside then got out and slung the rifle’s strap over her body and
dematerialized to the roof of a nearby building.

As soon as Sev barged out of the compound a minute later,
she dematerialized to another building, and then another as she followed his
Suburban south.

Fifteen minutes later, Sev entered the general vicinity
where the suspected cobalt dealer was doing business.

The computerized com system in the Suburban buzzed to life.
"Unit Victor one four seven, be advised, a second party is on the
scene."

Sev pressed his transmitter. "Copy. Do you have more
information?"

"Two females are with the subject and were seen
entering an alley behind Bosco Electric."

"Witnesses?" Sev said.

"Negative. The one who called it in split. Said he
wasn't sticking around."

Which meant the report had probably come from a vampire who
didn’t want to be anywhere near the shit that was about to go down, because he
knew the players and knew peripheral damage could occur to bystanders.

"Copy. I’m on the scene." Sev parked the Suburban
at the entrance to the alley and shut off the engine.

"Sev, you should wait for backup to arrive."

He didn’t answer.

"Sev?"

What he needed was in that alley and he wasn’t going to
stand by like an invalid waiting for backup. Ignoring Adam’s repeated
transmissions, Sev hopped out and wasted no time chewing up the pavement as he
charged into the darkness.

Gina pulled the night vision glasses out of her jacket and
put them on. Her vampire vision was good enough on its own, but this shot was
too important to not use the extra visual acuity the night vision glasses gave
her. Maneuvering over the rooftops of the surrounding buildings, she followed
Sev as she pulled the rifle into her grasp. This was it. She was finally going
to avenge her brother. A moment would come, and she would get her shot.

Sev turned the corner and saw them. One dreck stood to the
side while the other knelt down next to – it was the female from a week ago.
The one who had called herself Candy who had been driving that swank Jag.

Suddenly, Sev realized how he knew Ari’s new fiancé.
Persephone had been the passenger in that car.
Sue.
Yeah, right. Sue his
ass. He knew the names had been fake. What's more, Ari was engaged to an
addict. The irony almost made Sev laugh. Ari couldn’t tell his father he was in
love with a clean, honest, safe guy like Sev, but his father could hook him up
to a junkie in the making. Ah, but she possessed the right parts in her trunk
to please good old dad, didn't she? What a fucked up world this was.

Sev turned his attention back to what was doing ten yards in
front of him.
Candy
sat on the ground, her black hair falling over her
shoulders and the dreck injecting her with what Sev imagined was cobalt. Her
head rolled back, and her friend, another brunette this time since Persephone
was busy taking his mate away from him at this very minute, eagerly stood
waiting her turn.

Without waiting for an invitation, Sev charged down the
alley and tackled the dreck who stood to the side.

Then it was on.

Candy’s
friend screamed and took off, leaving
Candy
to slump in convulsions as the drug entered her system and did its damage. It’s
why you took the drug sitting or lying down, so you didn’t hurt yourself by
falling.

The dreck who had injected her jumped up and attacked Sev.

Soon fists where flying, legs were kicking, and the
satisfying sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed off the walls.

"Hit me!" Sev yelled at one of the drecks, shoving
him hard.

The second dreck flew at him, jumping on his back. He
laughed as the guy’s blue-black hair swung around his face and his fist smashed
into his jaw.

"That’s the spirit!" The pain felt good radiating
through his neck and shoulders.

He hardly ever fought with his iron skin down, but that was
precisely what he needed tonight. Keeping his biological shield hidden allowed
their punches to do the damage he needed – to give him the pain he longed for.
But the drecks were no match for his superior strength and before the fight had
really even begun, it was over and he was looking down at their unconscious
forms lying at his feet.

"Lightweights." Sev growled with disappointment,
not even close to the threshold of pain he needed to reach to feel content.

He turned and stalked toward
Candy.
She had another
needle in her arm and was passed out cold. His gaze swept to the ground beside
her. The dreck had left his stash, and apparently
Candy
had helped
herself to more.

Fuck! Overdose!

Suddenly, his mind cleared. He was hurting, but he had a
victim who could die if he didn't help. He had to do something – help her – get
her back to AKM where the medics could do whatever it was they did to drain the
shit out of a person who had overdosed.