Undying Hope (4 page)

She puffed out a breath of air before nodding. “Where are you taking us?”

“To my home.” He walked her around to the passenger side of the Hummer. Kyros was still out there and regardless of whose lifebond she was, he couldn’t risk allowing the meirlock to get a hold of her. “Both of you will be safest there.”

“How do I know you are who you claim to be?” She moved to stand in front of the open passenger door.

His hands settled around her waist before he knew what he was doing. Her body slid up the length of his as he lifted her into the passenger seat, sending sparks of heated desire right to his groin. His hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than they should have.

She was panting when he let her go. “I think we just melted snow.”

He cocked his head as he worked to figure her out. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I will hurt you if you apologize,” she said, and then turned to sit with a stiff back against the seat. She cleared her throat. “The attraction is mutual, and we’d both be childish to deny it.” She paused for a moment. “And irresponsible to act until we know each other better. Much, much better.”

Now he knew what he was working with. This could get real ugly real fast, or it could be the best thing to happen to him.

“Cool your heels,”
Nikon counseled him. “
She is still skittish because of the night’s fright. Time is best.”

Donovan stepped back from Haven’s door and nodded once. “That is probably wise.” He closed the door and quickly rounded the Hummer to get into the driver’s seat. Nikon and Bastian were on the back seat. Donovan started the Hummer and pulled out. “I need to stop at Tribal. I left Medea there.”

Haven shifted in the seat and stared at the side of his face while making that humming sound women often did when they were unsure. “Another exotic pet?”

“Nikon’s mate,” he said in a soft timber. “She is delicate at the moment, and I didn’t want her in danger.”

Haven twisted around, facing the back seat. “That’s darling, but how do you keep a pack of wolves concealed in the city?”

“There is a woman who will take the cubs when they are old enough,” Donovan assured her. “Nikon and Medea often appear to humans as dogs, unless they are in one of my clubs.”

“That makes sense, I think,” she said and settled against the back of the seat. The tension in her body faded. “You really are Quinn Donovan?”

“Aye,” he said and reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet and tossed it at her. “You can take a look and in the glove box as well.”

“I don’t think…”

“But it is necessary.” He briefly made mind-to-mind contact with Medea to let her know to be ready when he pulled up to the back door of the club. “I need for you to trust in me and who I am.”

She snorted and then flipped through his wallet before she rummaged through the glove compartment and examined his registration and insurance paperwork. She put all the paperwork back and set his wallet in the cup holder closest to him. “What does your protection cost?”

His brain had to be twitching in his skull. “Excuse me?”

“A woman I spoke to. She told me about the possibility of you. She said you’d help us if we could pay you.” Haven twisted her hands in her lap and looked out the passenger window.

He supposed it was best to let those types of rumors circulate, otherwise every being out there with a minor grievance would seek him out to correct their problems and hand him their own responsibilities. “Your ward is of my kind. My responsibility is to raise him to be a warrior. You are, in effect, his mother. It would be cruel to separate the two of you.”

“Men don’t take on a woman with a child without some kind of expectation,” Haven countered. “His food bill in a month is massive. And what the hell do you mean by raise him to be a warrior?”

“I understand,” Donovan said, trying to find the right words. “There are already too many chances for him to become what Kyros is. He is Undying and has little choices in what he becomes.” He came to a stop at a red light and turned to face her. “We can have centuries of peace, but he has to be ready, and he must learn how to control his power. The best way for him to gain that discipline is to train as one of our warriors. I know you do not understand, but you will.”

* * * *

Haven stared at him until the light turned, trying to get the hum of his thoughts to form complete words in her head. “It’s green.”

She looked out her window again as she tried to process this person who was the man she’d been seeking for months. Only in the last four months had she discovered his name, and then when she’d found out he was a local celebrity, gaining access to him had become more difficult. How lucky for her, all it took was a deadly confrontation with a paranormal psychopath to get him to come to her. He made her body do those tingly things that should not be happening to her with a man she did not know. Bastian didn’t need her falling for someone while she had to look after his best interest. Quinn spoke all the right words, but Mason had used all the correct ones as well. But he hadn’t exuded any of the warm, safe feeling Donovan threw off in spades. He was disorientating. Like the ninny she was, she gobbled up everything he said like gospel. The ability to trust another person had been what she’d wanted, and like her Grandfather had accused her, she was being a fickle woman. “I don’t mean to question everything.”

“But you should,” he said as he turned onto Michigan Avenue. “I’m not offended.”

“You always know the right thing to say.” Even when they were odd things like “centuries of peace” and “they were Undying.” She could only imagine what it meant. As far as she could remember from Grandfather’s stories, only witches and nymphs were immortal.

“I’ve been alive a long time.”

“Do I want to know your age?” she asked softly. “Never mind. I don’t. How do you know Bastian is all right? He’s been out a long time.”

“He is healing,” Quinn said as he turned down an alleyway. “I can wake him if you wish.”

She chewed the corner of her lip while she thought.

As he brought the car to a stop in a back alley, a door opened, and a very large and hairy man carried out a wolf as white as the snow. He opened the door, and Nikon immediately dropped to the back floorboard, making a soft whining sound as the white wolf scooted toward him until their noses touched. The hairy man closed the back door and waved at Quinn.

He waved back before he pulled out.

“She doesn’t like snow?” Haven asked a bit surprised.

“
I love it,”
said a very distinctly feminine voice right in Haven’s head. “
My mate seems to think anything wet will make me melt if I have to be subjected to it until my time.”

Nikon huffed and licked the top of Medea’s head. “
Cold paws could give you a chill, and you never know what humans did in the alley.”

Haven covered her mouth to keep from laughing. She whispered, “Are they always like this?”

“They get worse,” Quinn said in a pained tone. “Don’t get me wrong. Love is a wonderful thing, but I think some of us are little more gushing with it than others.”

“Laugh it up.”
Nikon said. “
You’ll see when it’s your turn.”

Haven shook her head. “I can hear them talking.”

“Wonderful,” Quinn said, seeming relieved. “Perhaps I won’t get roped into girl chat quite as often.”

“So you hear them too?”

“Usually,” he said.

“Of course!”
Medea sounded. “
It’s rude not to include others in your conversation.”

“Unless it’s private, and then it’s rude to snoop,”
Nikon added in a tone that said someone in the Hummer had a problem with knowing the difference.

Medea nipped at him and then licked the spot she’d nipped.

Haven shook her head, sure they were talking together as she turned her attention back to Quinn. “Bastian?”

“Ah, yes,” Quinn murmured as the air around them infused with power.

“What the hell!” Bastian yelled. “Where am I? Where did that asshole go—hey, my head doesn’t hurt. Why can’t I move?”

“I am Quinn Donovan,” Quinn introduced himself. “You are in my car. I have agreed to help you and Haven. Kyros has been run off for now. I thought it best to keep you immovable until I knew how you and your passenger were going to react while I drive on slick roads.”

“Let me go,” Bastian rudely demanded. He jackknifed upright with a startled cry. He rubbed at the lump at the back of his head. “Thanks. I think. Why doesn’t my head hurt?”

“Because your passenger knows it is unable to defeat me,” Quinn said in a soft timber.

“Passenger?” Haven and Bastian said at the same time.

“The power growing in him is properly called a
treòir
. It will continue to grow and gain in power until the time of death. As far as I know, no one has aged to the point of its full maturity.” Quinn glanced up into the rearview mirror before turning his attention back to the road.

“I thought you couldn’t die,” Haven said. “Since you’re undying and all.”

“We can be killed,” Quinn said in a somber tone. “The one failsafe we were given when the Originals were created.”

“Whoa,” Bastian said. “I hear an über history lesson coming on, and I think my head is starting to throb again.”

Haven glared over her shoulder at him. “Bastian! This information could be useful to you.”

“Leave the boy alone,” Quinn said with a chuckle. “It is late, and there was much excitement this evening. A more formal education can wait until both of you have settled.”

“But—”

Quinn reached over and wrapped his hand around hers. “As much as you need time to process and figure out the new shift in your world, he does also.”

She squeezed his hand. The urge to cry was strong, but there would be time for the release of emotion later. It was difficult to believe she’d finally landed somewhere she and Bastian would be safe.

“We’ll be to our destination soon,” Quinn murmured.

She kept waiting for Bastian to howl in pain because his headaches were always the worst when she was upset—and he didn’t even have to get into a fight to cause them. Quinn, for his part, kept driving one-handed in the middle of a snowstorm while softly stroking her hand and making reassuring noises.

When they pulled into an underground garage, Haven began to get a grasp on her new situation. “Where are we?”

“My home.” He pulled into a parking spot right next to the elevator door marked
Building Owner
. “I live on the top floor.”

Right. He was supposed to be the richest man in Chicago. “I have an interview at Fantasia tomorrow.”

He turned to look at her. “No, you don’t.”

“Um, yes, I do,” she insisted.

“We’ll discuss your employment options with one of my businesses once you no longer have a deranged meirlock wanting to kill you,” he said in a sweet tone.

Her teeth gritted together. “How am I going to afford—”

“Haven,” he snapped at her. “You need to stop and calm down. I will call Mitchel tomorrow morning and let him know you cannot make your interview. If your sincerest desire is to work in one of my clubs, you will, but after you no longer put my employees’ lives in danger.”

Her mouth dropped open and then snapped shut.

“I need the little puppy’s room!”
Medea sounded in everyone’s mind. “
Now!”

Quinn scrambled out of the Hummer and opened the back door for her. Medea bounded out, shook her body, and then loped toward the entrance. Nikon hurried after her.

Quinn watched the wolves until they were gone, and then handed Bastian a duffle. “Bastian, you can help me get the bags.”

Haven sat frozen. There was just too much all at once, and Quinn was right. She wasn’t handling anything well just yet.

Her door opened, and Quinn stood on the other side with his glacier eyes scorching with heat. “You coming?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I guess I am.”

Quinn helped her down, only this time he didn’t let her slide along his body. What a pity. She’d so enjoyed their contact the first time, but it was better he gave her space to get her head back on straight. Quinn and Bastian got the few bags next to the elevator door.

“We’ll wait for the wolves,” Quinn said, using his body to trap Haven against the wall and block the wind. The heat that radiated from him caused her to grow warmer than was natural in a parking garage this time of year.

When the wolves returned, Quinn pushed a peculiar sequence of buttons before the long ride in the elevator. The door opened into a grand, battle-fortress foyer with huge carved wooden doors flanking either side of the elevator.

“It’s”—she paused, not sure she liked post-modern cave warrior—“an interesting choice in décor.”

He shrugged. “I’ve collected this stuff my entire life. I was lucky to be able to find most of it after the time-shift.” He dropped the bags next to a closet door. “I only have one guest room,” he said in that buttery baritone that left her feeling weak. “The boy can have it. I’ll take my office, and you can stay in my room.”

“Th-thank you,” Haven managed. There should be more questions bubbling out, but she wanted to get a handle on all the new information she had first. Her head was about to explode with the excessive influx of knowledge. “I’m sorry. I—”

“You’re exhausted,” Quinn said. “No need to apologize. I want everyone settled for the night, and we can figure out everything else in the morning.”

“Yes, sir.” Bastian led the way into the cavern-like dwelling.

Everything was dark, heavy, and masculine. The style wasn’t bad, but it did leave Haven feeling as if she’d just moved into a large cave. A cave with weapons lining the walls. Haven was sure they would give off a pretty flicker of light if there were a fire in the giant stone fireplace that took up all of one wall in the living room. “Don’t touch anything,” she said to Bastian. “You might get hurt.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said respectfully. He stopped when they got to the hallway on the other side of the penthouse and turned to Quinn. “I don’t know what I am supposed to do in this situation.”

“You need rest first, young Bastian,” Quinn said in a stern tone. “You will have time to learn what you must. For now, you need to sleep.”