The Sacrifice (8 page)

“Myself. I need you to give me a good
pep talk about the dangers of getting involved with a Protector.”

“I
thought you two were looking at each other all goggle-eyed. You realize that
’
s
the second time you
’
ve looked at him like he
’
s a
walking, talking orgasm? Where
’
s your mother
’
s lecture blaring in
your head? You
’
ve only heard it since you were old enough to
understand the English language.”
Elle snorted.
“Hell,
you
’
ve probably heard it in every language she knows.”

“I
know, I know,” Riana nodded. “But for some reason I am
intensely
attracted
to him. And when he kissed my hand, a spark of electricity shot up my arm and
tingled all over my body.” Riana lowered her voice and moved closer. “I mean
all
over my body. That
’
s definitely something I
’
ve
never felt from a mere touch—no matter how hot the guy was.”

Elle
burst into laughter. “Maybe you should just go for it. If kissing your hand
does all that, just think how much fun it
’
d be if he were
kissing…lower.”

 Heat
radiated from Riana
’
s face. “No, this is too intense. Even if I
could
be with someone as violent as a Protector, I
’
m
not interested in a one night stand, which is all it would amount to. What I
need is to stay as far from that man as possible.”

“Well
good luck with that.” Elle pointed to the mirror over the restroom sink. “Take
a good look at yourself. I
’
ve never seen anyone have this effect on you.”

Riana leaned closer and gazed into the
mirror. Her face was flushed, and her breath fast, like she had run a one minute
mile. Her eyes were bright and her pupils slightly dilated. She placed her
fingers over the bounding pulse in her neck and checked its rate.

Normal.
She turned back to Elle. “Have I looked like this since he
came over to our table?” Alarm in her high-pitched voice echoed throughout the
empty restroom.

Elle
shrugged.
“Pretty much. Don
’
t
get all worked up. Maybe you
’
ve just never been attracted to anyone on this
level.”

Riana pointed to her face in the
mirror. “Well, whatever caused this, it needs to stop.”

Vind
stood in a dark corner in what he could only describe as a back hills pub, in a
back hills town, somewhere in North Carolina. At a nearby table sat his brother
and that piece of shit friend of his, Miles.
I should have killed him when I
had the chance
. Vind listened as the two of them went over their nightly
plans to hunt down and kill his scouts. Little did they know, there were no
more scouts to hunt. They had served their purpose well, and the one who got
away the other night had been handsomely rewarded. When that scout returned and
told him he knew Cygan
’
s location, it was a gift beyond compare.

 
After all this time Vind stood directly in front
of his brother, looked him straight in the eye, listened to his every word, and
Cygan didn
’
t even have a clue. These events couldn
’
t
have come at a better time. His scientists had been working for decades on the
same project. Only two weeks earlier, they had informed him the dissolvable
compound that renders its user invisible was completed. Finally, he could kill
Cy, take his rightful place on the throne, and they wouldn
’
t
even see him coming. Afterwards, he would take out Oz. That pious prick should
have died before they ever left Sivadia.

Vind
listened as Cy and Miles talked about the human female who was bartending. Cy
’
s
voice trailed off mid-sentence and his expression went blank. Vind followed his
gaze to a group of females across the room. S
ee something you like, little
brother
?

Interested
in what was about to happen, Vind followed Cy and Miles over to their table.
The one introduced as Riana had piqued his brother
’
s
interest.

Pathetic.

Cy
couldn
’
t take his eyes off the girl.

Excitement coursed through Vind as he
realized the training compound must be nearby. It would be full of young, Sivadian
females ready to enter their first reproductive cycle.

I
have hit the mother lode.

His
soldiers needed some new toys in their camp. The offspring that resulted would
go far toward replenishing a new generation of his army. Vind decided since he
had the whole invisibility factor working for him, he might as well hold off a
few days before taking over their compound. He
’
d rushed things
before. This time he would take his time and plan this attack to perfection. Cy
and his Protectors were all that stood in his way of having everything he
wanted. And he wouldn
’
t stop until every one of them was dead—dust
beneath his feet.

Vind needed to draw them out of the
bar and follow them back to their compound. He glanced around and spotted the
barmaid his brother and Miles had spoken of fondly. With her purse and keys in
her hand, she left through the back door.

Ah,
I believe I
’
m a bit hungry
.
That should send them scurrying back to their
precious compound like the rats they are
.

***

Cy
breathed a sigh of relief as Riana and her friend came out of the ladies room
at the rear of the pub. He hadn
’
t taken his eyes off the door since they
’
d
entered. An uneasy feeling had beat at him all night. Or, maybe it was the
protectiveness he felt for Riana, which seemed to grow stronger by the minute.

“Kam.”

Kam
glanced around the girl he
’
d just pulled into his lap. “Yeah, boss?”

“Miles and I are leaving soon. When
the ladies finish their drinks you need to take them back to the compound.”

As Kam opened his mouth to protest, Cy
flashed him a threatening look.

“Okay, boss, will do.”

Cy stood when the girls returned to
the table. “Riana, I have to leave in a moment, but I wanted to ask if you
would do me the honor of having dinner with me tomorrow night?”

A
stunned expression crossed Riana
’
s face. “
I don’
t date Protectors,
” she blurted, and looked away.

He glanced at Miles and grinned, then
focused back on Riana. “May I be so bold as to ask why?”

“I prefer to date guys who are
more…more…settled.”

“And
I
’
m not settled enough,” he said, making it a
statement. “You know this about me because I
’
m a Protector?
”

Riana
gave him an exasperated look. “Aren
’
t you and Kyra an
item?”

Cy
’
s
brows drew together. “Kyra and I have never been anything more than co-workers.
Why would you think we
’
re an item?”

“Just the way she looked at me
yesterday when we met at the gate.”

Cy
nodded. “Kyra
’
s a no nonsense type person. She was impatient
wanting to know what happened in town.”

Bright green eyes searched his as if
she were deciding if he was being truthful.

“Do
you mind if I ask why you don
’
t like Protectors?”

“Violence…
I don’
t care to be around violent people.”

“By
nature, I
’
m not a violent person. As a Protector, I swore a
blood-oath to stop the violence against innocent people. No different than your
friend over there,” he said pointing at the blonde detective.

As Riana opened her mouth to reply, a
girl ran through the door and screamed, “Someone call 911!” In the next second,
Cy and Miles were beside her.

“What is it?” Cy asked the hysterical
girl.

“It
’
s
Maggie! She
’
s in the parking lot!”

Maggie was lying beside her car. A
large pool of blood surrounded her body. They knelt beside her, but trying to find
a pulse was useless. Her entire throat had been ripped open. A “V” written in
blood across her forehead told them exactly who had killed her.

“Vind,”
Cy growled, as he and Miles exchanged looks over Maggie
’
s
body. They both recognized the bloody signature. It was the equivalent of Vind
leaving a handwritten confession. He had always claimed his kills this way. His
inflated ego wouldn
’
t let him pass up a chance to rub their faces in
the fact he
’
d killed right under their noses.

Rage
consumed Cy. Vind had taken yet another innocent life. Maggie was someone he
cared about, and one of the kindest humans he knew. She wouldn
’
t
take crap from anyone, but if someone was in need, she would have given them
anything. She
’
d planned to sell the pub in the spring and move
to Florida to be near her granddaughter. Now, that child would grow up without
the love of her grandmother. How could he have a twin brother who was such a
heartless, piece of shit?

Cy
swung around as footsteps approached quickly. Riana ran toward them with Kam
and the other girls on her heels. Cy stopped her before she reached Maggie
’
s
body.

“I
’
m a
doctor. I can help!”

“No
honey, you can
’
t. She
’
s already dead.”

“What happened to her?”

Cy
’
s
gaze dropped to the ground. “She was killed by a feeder.”

“Oh,
I
’
m sorry. Did you know her?”

“She was a good friend.”

Cy
walked Riana back to where Kam herded the other girls away from Maggie
’
s
body. He motioned for Miles to step away from the crowd. “I need you to stay
here and handle the police. Make sure there were no witnesses. I
’
m
going with Kam to take the girls back to the compound.” He wasn
’
t
willing to trust Riana
’
s safety to anyone other than himself. Before he
could concentrate on finding Vind, he needed to know she was safely inside the
compound walls.

After the girls were loaded into the
Hummer, Cy called the other Protectors who had chaperoned groups of girls, and
told them to return to the compound. He decided to issue an order that none of
the girls were to leave the compound for any reason, even with a chaperone.
Until they found his brother, no one outside the compound was safe.

Cy turned in the front seat and
watched Riana talk in a low tone to her friend. Her fingers fidgeted with a
long lock of hair. He sensed her nervous energy as though it were his own. She
raked her hair to one side, revealing a slender, creamy expanse of neck that
pulled him in. He had a sudden urge to bury his face under that mass of silken
hair and inhale the essence of wild lavender deep into his lungs. His body
hardened, yet again. He took a slow, cleansing breath and turned back around
.

I
have never become hard just looking at a beautiful female
.
Then he remembered a conversation with his mother when he was young.

Not long after his father had died,
she explained what it would be like when he met his true
etamlous.
The Sivadian term for the person
destined to share his life. Humans called them life-mates.

She
’
d
said there would be an undeniable pull the moment he laid eyes on her.
Check.

The
need to be with her and protect her would be so strong nothing could stand in
its way.
Check.

If anything kept you apart, it would
forever feel like a piece of you were missing.
God, I hope not.

After
that conversation, Cy had felt sorry for his mother because she had to spend
the rest of her life without her true life-mate. She had suffered terribly
since his father
’
s death. Not wanting to add to her misery, he had
never brought it up again.

The
subject was off limits with Miles, too. His young life-mate had died at the
hands of Haagons before they
’
d left Sivadia. After her death, he
’
d
watched his best friend self-destruct too many times to count. He
’
d
picked up bits and pieces from others, but because of his mother and Miles
’
loss,
and their resulting pain, he
’
d put it out of his mind. He
’
d
hoped to keep it there.

When
they reached the compound, Riana got out of the Hummer. She kept her eyes cast
down, not meeting his gaze. In spite of himself, a wave of desire hit hard as
she walked away. A part of him he didn
’
t understand wanted
to run after her.

“Get your head in the game, boy,” he
chided. “Put her out of your thoughts. The best thing you can do for her, and
everyone else is to find Vind and rip his cold blooded heart out
.
”

Cy looked up as Kam came around the
side of the vehicle with that aggravating grin on his face.