Skye's Trail (27 page)

Kyle’s voice was low and angry as he asked, “And who will judge them?”

Skye flashed on the face of the hunter she’d seen at Big Daddy’s house. “The Angelini.”

“This is not their business,” Kyle said.

From Gian’s knowledge, Syke said, “It is always their business when humans are killed.”

Kyle snorted. “The servant they destroyed was already tainted by the evil he played in. You can’t mean to seek justice for a man who would have raped you as you bled to death on the altar.”

“No. I want to see justice for Brittany Armstrong.”

When Kyle would have said something else, Brann made a small motion with his hand and silenced him. “Justice will be served by the death of the witch and her remaining servant. Where are the fledglings?”

“They’re safe.” Skye allowed Gian to see the coffins as they’d rested one on top of the other before she’d covered them with dirt.

Brann’s hand snaked across the table and cupped her face, forcing her eyes to meet his. For an instant she felt the full force of his power and knew soul-deep fear, then Gian’s hands loosened and she wrenched away.

“No,” Gian said when Brann moved to take Skye’s face again. “She is my companion. She answers to me.”

Brann’s eyes flashed. “And you answer to me.”

The air thickened and swirled with violence. Gian’s hands tightened on Skye’s shoulders—a warning, a promise of protection. He gave a small nod. “The fledglings are safe. Give me some time alone with my companion…Sire.”

Like a gust of wind across a desolate plain, the tension cleared. Brann’s eyebrows rose and a small smiled hovered. “Ah, finally the respect I deserve.”

* * * * *

Rico’s cop instincts were on full alert. He didn’t like the feel of what was going down at the private table with Skye and he didn’t like the way Caldwell seemed to be getting too tight with the girl they were tailing.

Fuck! They were cops, not social workers.

But even from this distance Caldwell’s body language radiated concern and her expression earnestness. Goddamn, he could just picture her sitting there trying to convince the girl to pull the body piercings and wear white instead of black.

The situation was making him edgy as hell, and his cock wasn’t helping matters. What had Skye meant when she said she wanted them to spend some time together?

He tensed when the girl reached in her pocket, then relaxed when she pulled out a cell phone. Shit, what was he thinking? That she was going for a gun?

Marina got up and moved toward a less crowded spot. Rico eased away from the bar and tried to get close, but by the time he was in hearing range, she’d already pocketed the phone.

He waited, seeing which way she’d go. She headed toward the bathroom but at the last minute bolted outside.

Fuck!

Caldwell was out of her seat and after Marina in a heartbeat. A new song kicked in and a group of kids surged out of their chairs, slowing Rico down. By the time he got through the door, he saw Marina climbing into a dark Yukon, Caldwell close by but not close enough, yelling something, then moving in front of the car like something you’d see in a bad cop movie. A horror movie. The Yukon lurched forward with a squeal of rubber against asphalt, pulling Cia underneath it then backing over her, before roaring forward and screaming down the road.

Fast-forward and slow motion blended. Suddenly Skye and the others were there, hovering over Cia’s broken form. Rico’s heart thundered in his ears as he checked for a pulse. Despite the blood leaking from her nose and mouth, she was still breathing, still alive. He reached for his cell phone only to have his wrist grabbed by one of the men who’d been at the table with Skye. Fear took the form of rage. But before it could erupt into violence, Skye touched Rico’s arm and said, “There’s no time for that.” Every cell in Rico’s body screamed in denial.

The man with the long red hair actually smiled and Rico’s body reacted, struggling to strike out, to free himself so he could call for help, but the other man never took his eyes off of Skye. “True. Even if she lives, her spine is crushed in several places. She may never do more than breathe on her own. A trade, Skye? Her life thrown into the mix of justice?”

“Healed—not enslaved, Brann,” Skye said.

Brann laughed. “Gian has met his match in you. Done. She’ll be healed, not enslaved.”

Gian leaned down and Rico tensed, wanting to scream that Cia not be moved, not be touched. Skye’s hand tightened on his arm. Somehow Rico knew that whatever Gian was going to do, it was intimate, personal, and Skye didn’t want to share Gian in that way, but she said, “Trust him, Rico. I was in worse shape, closer to death than she is.”

The bouncer stopped Gian’s movement by saying, “I’ll do it…Sire.”

The men around Skye froze, identical expressions of surprise surfacing briefly on their faces. Gian moved back. “As you wish, Terach.”

Only the gentle way in which Terach lifted Caldwell kept Rico from struggling and fighting against the hands holding him in place. Skye said, “She’ll be okay, Rico. Trust me in this. She’ll be okay…better than if you send her to the hospital.”

The nightmare reality played though Rico’s mind in a never-ending loop and he exploded. “What the fuck was she thinking about!”

Skye stood and he shot to his feet, all raw energy with nowhere to go. The others also rose, moving and intermingling with the kids that had gathered behind them, watching the drama unfold.

Gian stepped close enough so that he touched both Rico and Skye. The jolt that whipped through Rico’s body broke the cycle of his thoughts. His eyes met Gian’s and he couldn’t look away. Like dark seduction, Gian said, “Let your mind be at ease. Your partner will be all right.”

Instinctively Rico fought the voice. Skye’s arm slipped around his waist. Her voice soothed as it moved through his mind.
Trust this. Trust us. She will be okay.

He couldn’t fight both of them. He couldn’t fight against the sureness he sensed in them. He had a sudden picture of Skye’s broken body and knew that he was seeing the truth. Somehow Gian had healed her so that only faint bruises had remained. Slowly he nodded, accepting the peace of mind they offered.

Gian moved back then and some of the intensity faded. His head tilted slightly, toward the kids that still gathered. “I will come to you after this is dealt with.”

For a second Rico’s heartbeat rabbited in his chest. Then realization dawned. None of the kids would have a memory of what had happened to Cia.

He couldn’t fight the shudder of horror, though his mind argued that it had to be this way. It was better for everyone.

“They’re Angelini, too?” Rico asked as the men who’d been at the table with Gian and Skye began winding their way through the thinning crowd of onlookers.

Gian’s teeth flashed white. “Only in their nightmares.”

Chapter Seventeen

Rico could understand why wounded animals holed up in their dens. Now that he was home, showered and in fresh clothes, he could face what had happened, could even believe that Caldwell was going to come out of it okay. What was she thinking—that she was supercop? It had happened so quickly that he hadn’t even gotten a license plate number. Fuck, and the kid, Marina…if he ever caught up with her…

Rico moved over to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer, pressing it against his forehead for several seconds before opening it and taking a swig. He was still tense, still wound up.

The doorbell sounded and his body tightened another couple of notches, but lower down this time, in his cock and balls. He waited a heartbeat, hoping that Skye would yell that she’d get it, but she didn’t. She was still in the room his sister used, showering, getting dressed, ratcheting up his need to fuck by making him wait.

Rico set his beer down and went to the door, opening it, knowing that it would be Gian. He stepped back but Gian didn’t come inside.

Edginess about the situation made Rico terse. “You waiting for a formal invitation?”

Amusement lurked in the other man’s eyes. “An informal one will do.”

Rico’s heart rate spiked up for a second as scenes from vampire movies he’d seen as a kid rushed through his imagination. He shook them off and said, “Come in. Anything on Cia yet?”

Gian moved through the door and closed it. “She heals.”

How?
But Rico didn’t ask the question as he led Gian further into the house, to the den, with its thick carpet, its oversized couch and chairs, though neither took seats.

His mind skittered back to the crazy thoughts he’d had at the doorway.
¡Carajo!
He didn’t believe in vampires.

And what about Skye? What about the things she can do?
He was saved from his thoughts when she slipped into the room and what little blood was left in Rico’s head went straight to his cock.

She was wearing one of his sister’s dresses, something some well-meaning relative had given Nicki with the advice that if she looked more feminine, she’d be able to catch a husband. Goddamn! He didn’t know what his sister looked like in that thin little scrap of material, but on Skye… Fuck, he wanted to kneel at her feet and crawl right up underneath the dress and get his mouth on her.

Just the image of burying his face in her cunt while the soft cloth trapped the smell of her was enough to make Rico feel short of breath. The sensation only got worse as his eyes roamed upward to the tight hard points of her nipples.

His cock got harder, tighter and he had to close his eyes against the temptation of her, had to remember that Gian was here and he couldn’t fall on Skye and fuck her right now. But the thought of Gian’s presence only made it worse.

Between one heartbeat and the next Rico accepted what was going to happen, wanted it to happen—needed it to happen.

* * * * *

Skye’s body tightened, her womb clenched. She was already swollen, her inner thighs wet with her own juices. The call of Rico’s lust was as compelling as the call of Gian’s blood.

She’d thought it would be awkward this first time together, but now there was no room for apprehension. There was only the urgent need to be with them. To finish what had begun. To complete the bond.

The medallion burned against her skin though she didn’t need it to amplify what Gian was feeling. His craving, his desire, burned through her veins.

Skye moved forward, the dress caressing her skin like a lover’s hands. Gian and Rico were standing next to each other, making it easy to touch them both, to give herself over to them.

Like floodgates being opened, as soon as Skye touched him, Rico gave up any thought of holding back. His knees buckled and he went to the floor in front of her.

Skye whimpered as Rico’s fantasies flooded her mind. When his hands stroked along her legs, she closed her eyes and leaned back against Gian’s chest.

Gian gave a soft laugh against her throat before his lips touched her skin, his hands moving to slide the straps of the dress down her arms.
We will linger another night
, he whispered in her mind,
but not this time
.

She hadn’t worn a bra or panties so there was nothing to hinder their access. Rico’s tongue scraped against her inner thighs, his mouth sucked away her juices, but more gushed toward his lips.

Gian’s hands cupped her breasts, his fingers tight on her nipples, squeezing, causing her to arch and press her lower body tighter to Rico.