Undying Desire (6 page)

Taking the stairs in a burst of preternatural speed, Eve made it to the top of the thirty wooden treads faster than a human could have taken two. And came to an abrupt halt.

Smoke.

The scent was unmistakable. Laughter and the sound of multiple voices penetrated the walls, followed by more shattering glass and the clatter of objects slamming onto the floor.

Seth’s team had found her, and the bastards were attempting to burn her out.

Adrenaline flooded her veins, jolting her heart rate and body into action. Eve bolted back down the stairs. How had this happened? Her head spun over possible scenarios as she scrambled for her keys to the small aboveground escape door. She had to get them out of there.

Them?

Eve froze, her fingers white-knuckling the key chain. Was she really going to save Guerin? If so, where would she take him? For all she knew, he’d led her pursuers here.

“What’s going on, Eve?” Guerin’s calm and smooth baritone voice washed over her. “I smell the smoke and your panic.” Eve snatched the ring from the hook on the wall and swung around, the metal jingling with her momentum. Guerin stood there, fisted hands at his side, watching. “Am I a part of your exit plan?”

“It appears I’ve been found, and they plan to either expose or fry me,” she stated, not bothering to hide the pissed-off edge to her voice. Eve marched over to the cage. “Did you have anything to do with this?”

His glare said “Fuck you.”

“Answer me! Before we both end up a pile of ashes before our time.”

“I’ve
been
telling you the truth.” He cocked his head to the side. “Why would you believe a damn thing I say now?”

“Dammit!” She shoved her hands in her hair, tempted to pull it out by the roots. “Why can’t you give me a straight answer?” He was driving her mad.

“If I were one of your enemies, do you think I’d let them barbecue me?”

Her head and chest hurt from all the conflicting emotions swimming around inside. But he had a damn good point. Smoke thickened the air, reminding her she was out of time.

Eve located the correct key and shoved it in the lock. A moment later, Guerin stepped through the door. Eve swallowed hard and sent out a quick, silent prayer that her instincts weren’t letting her down.

“This way.” She darted toward the rear of the basement and the hidden narrow door. It was their one chance for survival. On the way, she grabbed the coat Guerin had been wearing when she’d abducted him. She tossed it to him since the male was still in his underwear.

“Thanks,” he muttered, and slipped it on.

“Humans in service to Seth will be waiting for us out there.” At the door, Eve stopped and glanced back at Guerin. “I take it at your age you can withstand a brief run through sunlight?” She cocked one brow in his direction. There was no mistaking the vibration of power rolling off the male. Power that said he’d seen more than two centuries. But even the eldest of vampires still couldn’t phase through full sunlight. Their molecules would incinerate from the UV exposure.

“Did you just call me an old man?” He flashed her a smirk.

Eve had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “So I can presume that’s a yes?”

“Yes,” he replied with the same cocky grin.

“Good.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?” She shrugged.

“The sun…”

“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. All you need to do is focus on following my lead. When I open the door, we head left toward my car—a black Mercedes.” Eve turned away as a whispered “yes, ma’am” reached her ears. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Why was she saving this asshole? Eve opened her eyes and unlocked the heavy steel bolt securing the five-by-two slab of oak. She looked back, ready to give him the signal to haul ass, when all the air punched from her lungs.

Naked.

It was the only word her stunned mind could form. Eve spun in place, and her rear bumped against the door. Guerin stood there, completely nude, with his briefs and coat in his grip.

“W-wh-what are you doing?” Dear God, she was stuttering like a young girl who’d never seen “boy parts” before. Unbidden, her gaze slid down his body, over sculpted abs, and lower still to the impressive package between his legs. Granted, these were no ordinary boy parts. Oh, no. This was the full-grown kind of male appendage that made a woman’s heart pound, her palms damp, and other areas of her body even wetter.

“It’s been a while since I last fed, and I’ll endure the sun better if I shift.”

“Oh…right.” Eve whipped back around and bit back a groan.
Pull it together, woman.
Shifting wasn’t a talent Eve had inherited, and she hadn’t considered the option. She needed her head on straight if they were both to make it out of there. “On three.” She yanked the door wide. “One, two, three.”

Eve darted into the bright sunlight, then hung a left toward the secondary vehicle she kept fueled and ready—just in case. She squinted against the intense rays, but behind her, Eve could hear the soft thumps of Guerin’s four paws on the grass. He wouldn’t last long out there, but her half-human DNA gave Eve a longer window of tolerance. Which was exactly why Seth’s men were flushing her out at this time of day. They knew if she truly were the rumored hybrid, the sun wouldn’t cook her like an overdone Pop-Tart.

A flash of movement out of the corner of her eye had Eve swerving to her right at the same moment a broad silver-laced net fell to the ground, missing her. Small doses of silver didn’t bother Eve. The shit stung, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Yet a large net would feel like a thousand wasps burrowing their stingers into her skin, immobilizing her.

A loud snarl unleashed behind her, followed by a shout for help, halted Eve in her tracks. Guerin, in wolf form, had a large bald man down, his canines pinning the human’s neck to the ground. Dark mahogany-colored fur shone in the sun’s rays. Powerful muscles flexed underneath the thick coat with the incredible strength it took to hold the hulk of a man in place.

For her.

Guerin was protecting her.

And it was provocative as hell.

Her heart pounded and her chest heaved. From exertion, fear, or the sight of the fierce beast in front of her? She wasn’t sure.

“Looks as if Seth will be very pleased.”

Eve spun in the direction of the voice. Then another human emerged from her right—then another opposite him. Until six men came at her from all angles.

Slowly, they closed in, forcing Eve to pivot on her heels, keeping each one in sight. The man on the ground was no longer a threat, judging by the limp state of his body. The wolf backed away and stalked toward the gathering posse with his crimson-stained muzzle drawn back, exposing his long canines. A wicked growl rumbled from his throat.

What was he doing?

They were here for her, not him.

He swung his head in her direction, anger and resolve shimmering in his eyes. Her gaze met his, then caught something else. Smoke—but this time it wasn’t coming from the wood and shingles of the home burning before them.

Oh shit. Guerin.
White tendrils trailed upward from his fur.

“Get out of here!” Eve’s fangs dropped into place, and she bared them at the wolf.

Guerin’s large muzzle lifted in defiance a half second before he lunged at another one of the men. He was insane. The crazy beast was going to fry himself. One of Seth’s henchmen launched himself toward the scattered net as the others tightened the circle around her. Damn, it would be so easy to just phase out of there.

Except…

Her gaze darted to the animal ripping into one assassin’s leg. If she disappeared while Guerin was in his current state, Eve would end up leaving him behind. Phasing wasn’t an option for the shifted vampire.

“Come on, Eve,” a large, dark-haired man wearing torn jeans and a black turtleneck piped up as he crept forward. “We know it’s you.” He nodded. “Why not make this easy on everyone? No pain. No blood.” His dark eyes narrowed to thin slits. “Let us take you to Seth.”

“Fuck you,” she spat.

Turtleneck guy’s mellow expression morphed into a lethal frown.

Adrenaline ran thick in Eve’s blood. Her arms and legs trembled from the hormone’s effects. Eve eased one foot back, her gaze swinging among Guerin, turtleneck, netting guy…she pivoted and faced the three men behind her.
Surrounded.
And Guerin was less than five minutes from going up in flames—just like her house.

There was only one way out.

If she failed, they were both dead. But if she didn’t try, the outcome would be no different.

Eve stretched her arms out at her sides, tossed her head back, closed her eyes, and sucked in a deep breath. She’d never attempted to take out so many at once and had no idea what state the effort would leave her in. But she was out of options. This
had
to work.

One by one, she curled her fingers into tight fists as if she were gathering the energy around her and concentrating it into the palms of her hands. Hundreds of small lightning bolts of energy zinged along her arms, up her legs, coalescing in the center of her chest. She squeezed her fists, nails biting into her flesh. The ball of heat grew into a raging inferno behind her sternum. Eve gasped for air.
More.
She rocked on her heels. Her head fell forward and she opened her eyes. The men were on her now, but a hazy wave of energy encompassed her, keeping them on the other side. Puzzled looks that said
What the hell is she up to?
tossed among them. Seth’s minions had to be thinking, “Do we run and risk death by Seth’s hands, or stay and see if we can outlast whatever she’s doing?” Oh, she was about to give them the answer they were waiting for.

The blaze behind her sternum licked at her spine with its fiery tongue.

One more second.

Eve dug her fangs into her lip, and the metallic taste of her own blood washed over her taste buds. Sweat dripped off her forehead, stinging her eyes. Her vision blurred. Images warped.

It was as if the world around her pulsed at a different beat…and pain was its metronome.

Now.

With a rapid spreading of her fingers, Eve released her store of energy. It erupted from her chest, taking out the men in front of her. She spun, sending the wave out like a fan, knocking the others from their feet. The blast would disrupt their brain waves and temporarily—if they were lucky—turn off their lights.

It was over.

She slumped to the ground. Or had the ground reached up to her? Who knew? God, her brain was short-circuited. The earth tilted beneath her palms, and her stomach lurched.
Pull yourself together, Eve. You’re the only chance you and Guerin have.

Guerin!

Hidden beneath the smell of the last four years of her life going up in flames, the musky scent of singed fur invaded her nostrils, jolting her limbs into action. Eve pushed to her feet and staggered toward the limp, smoldering body that was Guerin’s wolf form. Thank God, in his unconscious state he hadn’t reverted back to his human state yet, or he would have been in even worse shape as he lay in the afternoon sun.

Eve yanked her shirt over her head and draped it over what she could of his head and flank. She had to find him shelter. Her arms trembled as she slid her hands under his front legs. Eve half dragged, half carried his dead weight toward her car. Air sawed in and out of her lungs, partly out of fear, the other part—exhaustion. She was stronger than any human woman, thanks to her hybrid DNA, but damn…he was huge, and she’d overexerted herself knocking out six men.

At the car, Eve pulled her keys from her pocket and popped the trunk of the Mercedes. They were in the country with no other dwellings for at least ten miles, so this was their best immediate solution besides digging a hole and burying themselves. She hoisted his upper body up over the lip of the trunk, then gripped his lower half and repeated the process. He tumbled into the dark pit with a dull
thump.
As if his flesh somehow recognized the safety of the darkness, he reverted back to his human appearance.

The cramped interior didn’t allow for his long limbs to extend and relax, so he remained on his side, nude and in somewhat of a fetal position. Eve grabbed the wool blanket she kept stored for emergencies from behind him and spread it over his large, curved frame. His dark hair, singed on the ends, lay matted against his damp cheek. She had no idea why he’d risked his life for her. He could have run and saved his own neck. What had possessed him to stay behind in an attempt to protect her?

Who was he…really? And why the hell had he sought her out?

She leaned in, and with a trembling hand, smoothed the strands away from his face. The shadowed interior swayed, and she staggered into the bumper. Eve gripped the rim, steadying herself.
Shit.
She had to get them out of there before she passed out and fell in the trunk along with him.

Thanks to her mother’s paranoia she was always prepared for the worst-case scenario, so Eve had a backup plan. The vampire in her trunk would have to deal with his cramped quarters for a few hours.

Chapter Six

Arran’s jaw tightened, his molars grinding under the pressure as he watched the Enclave’s master force-feed their reluctant ex-warrior prisoner. Markus released Kenric’s wrist with a gasp and fell backward onto his cot. Kenric swiped a hand over his face. The sheen of perspiration was visible even from the distance Arran stood from the silver-lined cage. The drain of forcing Markus to feed every forty-eight hours had to be exhausting, not only from the mental strain, but physically as well. Markus rolled onto his side, coughing.

“Get the hell out, you son of a bitch,” the prisoner managed to wheeze after catching his breath.

Kenric didn’t flinch; instead, he closed the wound at his wrist, then unrolled the sleeve of his black sweater. “I’m not letting you die. Whether you fucking like it or not,” the master growled.

Markus slowly lifted his head. Dark eyes filled with resentment narrowed on Kenric and chilled the air. “Someone needs to find you a new toy…Master,” he spat. “Because while you’re in here giving me all this love and attention, your precious Enclave warriors are screwing with your life.” A deep laugh erupted from his chest. “You don’t see what’s right under your nose, do you?” Markus flopped onto his back, chuckling like a child who’d just cheated at a game and won.