Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (27 page)

If we are together won’t that destroy your
bloodline?
Several
moments went by.
Or do you have an infallible method of birth control.
More
silence.
I would rather say goodbye right here and now than to be your
second choice.

 
In all my life I’ve honestly
never given too much thought to having and raising children. I’ve always
focused on the bloodline. I can see us having children and raising a family one
day. Can you?

In that moment, she knew Eli was the one
who would always be there for her. She knew no other man could come close to
making her as happy as she was when she was with him. No other man could’ve had
a prayer of a chance of making her contemplate having another child. Yes. She
could see herself carrying another child, his child.

What should I do?

He’s intrigued. He’s going to give you an
opportunity to kill Tom. Do it. Don’t back down. He’ll see your weakness.
You’ve gained his interest. Keep it going until I get to you. It’s possible
he’ll even turn on your dad.

She knew he was telling her to continue
seducing him. She didn’t have long to contemplate it. Tom was walking toward
them. “What are you doing? Leland is pissed off. He has been waiting with
Mary.”

“He’ll have to wait a while longer. Kara
has asked me to allow her to kill you for taking the life of her baby.”

Tom laughed.

 “I haven’t decided whether or not
I’ll permit her to do it.”

“You can’t let her kill me!”

“Why is that?”

“Leland won’t allow it.”

Appearing to ignore him, Jeremy met
Kara’s gaze. “Do you have any preferences on the method?”

“I only want it done.”

“It isn’t simply a matter of want. We
don’t always get what we want. It’s a matter of need, is it not?”

She nodded. “That’s right.”

He reached out and traced her bottom lip
with his thumb. “It’s difficult to deny your request, but…” Silencing him, she
playfully bit down on his thumb and smiled. He stared into her eyes. She didn’t
know if it would work, but she pushed lustful thoughts and sensual images into
his mind. After a few seconds she knew it was working, because he looked
mesmerized. 

She watched as he held out his hand and
an antique looking dagger appeared in it. “Once you’ve gutted Tom, I suspect
you’ll wish to gut Eli.”

***

Eli
felt her mindset shift from needing to kill Tom to needing to protect him.
It’s
a test. He can’t hurt me. You’re brilliant. You’ve done the hard part. You’ve
won him over. Don’t do anything to cause him to become suspicious.

From deep within his wolf as he raced
through the forest to get to her, he held his breath as he waited.
I can do it.
He won’t expect it.

 Eli got the image of her turning
the knife on Jeremy. She planned to attack the vampire because she believed he
was the biggest threat. She was right, but she didn’t stand a chance of
stabbing him before he killed her.

No! Not Jeremy! He’s too strong. Kill
Tom. That’s what you want. That’s what you need. Tom killed your baby. Leave
Jeremy to me.

“Your heart is racing. Are you worried
about Eli?” Jeremy said.

“Not at all. I’m excited. Aren’t you?”

Eli forced himself to stay absolutely
still in her mind as he listened to their conversation. She was amazing. He
couldn’t believe how easily she’d recovered to continue to convince the vampire
she wanted him.

“What do you think you’re doing with
her? Get moving. Leland is waiting.” It was a woman’s voice, but Eli didn’t
recognize it.

Who is it?

Mary and Demetri.

“Why are you here?” Jeremy asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Samuel had
fucked up and got himself killed?” she asked.

“I didn’t know,” he lied.

“Well that’s why I’m here. The pack turned
against the locals. They’re following Eli’s lead right now. They’re hunting you
down.  Can you not sense it?”

“I’m not shocked that Samuel failed, and
you shouldn’t be either. It was obvious when he didn’t immediately kill Eli
that he was the weaker one. You should’ve chosen someone else.”

 “Eli has his hands full dealing
with your runaway experiment.”

“Zack?” Mary asked.

“He’s on the loose. He showed up at the
hotel this morning to pick a fight with Eli.”

“Did you know about it, Demetri? If I
find out that you…you know what will happen.”

“How could I know anything? You took him
and hid him from me,” he said. “It isn’t my fault you couldn’t control him.”

“I don’t believe you. Go and stop Eli’s
pack from following us. We will discuss plans to get Zack back after Jeremy and
I have delivered this little bitch to her daddy.”

Demetri is leaving. He’s coming after
you.
He felt Kara’s fear for him.

Don’t worry about it. Do whatever they
tell you to do. Don’t fight them at all. Don’t mess around with Jeremy now that
Mary is with you.

You’re close, Eli. I can feel you.

I can see you now. I’ll be with you
soon.

He watched her glance around.
Where
are you?

My vision is enhanced. I’m too far away
for you to see me. I’m at the top of the falls. Our entire pack is surrounding
you. We need to remain silent to avoid detection.

What do you mean?

You won’t be able to hear me for a
little while as we move closer to you, but we will still be merged. You will
feel me with you.

Turning
away from the edge of the Latourel Falls, Eli headed off into the forest. He
wanted to head straight for her, but it would be a mistake. Jeremy had a number
of ghouls prowling the forest. His pack needed to deal with them first, to
avoid her being caught up in a battle with them. He would stay the course.

A
shadow cast from something above. It moved directly across the path he was
traveling and stopped him in his tracks. Lifting his head he searched the sky.
At first he didn’t see anything, but after a few seconds he saw a dragon
circling high in the sky. It was Demetri. Seeming to notice him, Demetri
swooped down as if to land, but pulled up just before breaking through the tree
canopy.

Sorry.
I cannot play just yet. I must deal with a little problem while you attempt to
get Kara away from Jeremy. Unless you get to her first, when I’m done with Zack
let’s play a little game of Finders Keepers with Kara, shall we?
Leaving
orange and yellow flames streaked with blue in his wake, Demetri shot off like
a missile. He tore through the atmosphere, creating a thunderous echo that
shook the ground and left Eli’s ears ringing.

Eli
was faster than most of his kind, but he wasn’t arrogant or foolish enough to
be pacified or deceived by fanciful perceptions. The danger to Kara was growing
with each and every second that passed. His pack was spread out dealing with
ghouls. It was time to begin lessoning the gap between them and Kara. Lifting
his head, he howled. He trusted his pack to heed the command. They would begin
to move in closer.

Pulse
racing, he forced his body to go beyond every limit he’d ever possessed. He
pressed on though his lungs burned and his heart felt as if it might burst.
Every muscle in his body burning, screaming in protest, he continued to pick up
his pace as he traveled across the rugged forest terrain.

~Seventeen~

WHEN
KARA FIRST saw her father, dressed in a black Armani suit, standing in front of
the dilapidated shack she laughed. He couldn’t have looked more out of place.
Surrounded by his trusted guards and a few men she didn’t recognize, he lifted
his head and looked straight into her eyes. “I would say that it is good to see
you, but we both know it would be a lie. I am however pleased to see you do not
look well. A life on the run has a way of wearing on a person.”

“You’re looking a bit plumper, softer
around the middle. What happened to you hair? Baldness doesn’t suit you at all.
What’s your excuse for looking so old and worn-down, Daddy?”

Tom shoved her forward with enough force
to cause her to stumble to her knees. “Don’t speak to him like that.”

As Kara got to her feet, Mary walked
over to her father. “I trust now that you have her in your possession you can
handle things from here, Leland.”

“Of course.” He waited until Mary walked
away before he started handing out orders. “Get the bag from the car.” One of
his guards nodded, and then left. “Take her inside and tie her up. I’ll be in
to take care of her.”

Kara noticed Jeremy watching her closely
as if he was worried he might miss something. When her father ordered Tom to
take her inside, Jeremy appeared to want to do or say something, but he didn’t.
He just stood back and observed for a few seconds. Then, he turned and walked
back from the way they’d come.

She considered fighting to get away, but
all the men were toting guns. Knowing she couldn’t outrun a bullet, she decided
to go along with Tom as he pushed her through the doorway.

“Over there,” he pointed, “sit down.”

 Once she sat down, Tom began
weaving the rope through the back of the wooden chair to immobilize her. He
tied her arms behind her and tied her calves to the chair legs. “I bet your
feeling like a real man right about now.”

   “Actually, I’m feeling
happy to finally know that I won’t have to see your face or hear your voice again.”

“You mean you’re happy to know a capable
person will get done what you couldn’t do because you’re a dumbass.”

“Shut up!” He backhanded her hard.

Though expecting to be hit the impact caused
her head fly back. She looked at him and laughed out loud. “Not bad. I’ll make
sure to tell my dad how great you are. He’ll be pleased to know that you hit
pretty hard when your rival is tied up.” 

 “I told you to shut the fuck up!”
He hit her again, harder this time, causing her chair to tip over.

“Pick her up.” Tasting blood, she turned
her head to look at her dad standing in the doorway.

“But…”

“Do it now.” Her dad, carrying a black
duffel bag, walked into the room followed by two guards.

Grumbling beneath his breath, Tom lifted
the chair and stepped back to give her dad access to her.

“First, I deal with you. Get down on
your knees, Tom,” Leland said.

“What are you talking about?” Tom asked.

“Get down.”

Having a gun aimed at his head seemed a
good motivator. Tom got down onto his knees and looked up at Leland. “Please.
I’m sorry. I know I screwed up.”

“Begging isn’t going to change his mind.
He plans to kill you to make this look like a murder and suicide. Isn’t that
right, Dad?” Kara asked.

Looking down at her with disgust and
contempt apparent in his scowl, Leland shook his head. “It’s a shame. You’re a
smart woman. You got it from me. It could’ve taken you to places of greatness.
The sad ugly truth is that you’ve become my biggest disappointment. I could’ve
put the world beneath your feet, but just like your mom you decided to turn
against me.”

He didn’t wait for a response. She knew
he didn’t want one. Tom didn’t even have a chance to scream. It happened in
seconds but it felt as if time had slowed down. Leland turned away from her and
extended his arm as pulled the trigger. Just like that her dad had put a bullet
in Tom’s temple. Tom’s body fell to the side. He was dead. The man who’d killed
her baby was dead. Kara looked away from the blood pooling beneath his head and
looked over at the door. When Eli didn’t burst through it, she knew she was
going to die. Her father would shoot her just as quickly, as easily.

“Are you expecting someone?” Leland
asked.

She faced her father. He no longer had
the gun. Wearing rubber gloves he pulled a vile and a syringe out of the bag
he’d brought with him. His guards had straightened Tom’s legs and were placing
the gun in his hand.

“What is it?” She asked as the needle
pierced her skin.

“A special mixture of heroin and…well…
let’s just say heroin with a little something to warm your blood.”

It took every ounce of her strength to
keep from crying out in pain. Gritting her teeth, she refused to give him any
more satisfaction. It felt like liquid fire running through her veins. He
dropped the syringe and vile next to Tom’s lifeless body, and then he motioned
for his guards to follow him outside.

“Wait,” Leland said. “Untie her.”

“What? Why?”

“She won’t get far. I don’t want it to
look like my own daughter didn’t fight to live.”

***

“You
don’t belong here. What do you want, Demetri?” Mia asked.

“I thought it would be nice to have a
look at your new boutique.” He looked over at Caylee holding her baby. “As well
as the newest member of the Drake family. It’s good to see she has your looks
rather than Haden’s harsh features. Hopefully she doesn’t suffer from
uncontrollable bouts of anger such as her daddy. All this time I’ve hoped to
learn she has your temperament. His mood swings are quite unpleasant, wouldn’t you
say?”