Calm Before the Storm (4 page)

“That’s a major concern,” he said. “Get
back to me as soon as you can. Once the Taijitu marks are confirmed we’ll need
to begin extraction procedures and get our shielding fortified because if
that’s the case, it’ll only be a matter of time before
they
find Irina
now.”

Tyr Bellor sat silently in the interview
room. Waiting. It seemed like the longest wait of his life. Then he felt it, a
sudden bristling of electricity in the air, a vibration threading into the
pores of his skin and entwining his gut. She was here again.

He fixed his eyes on the door from his
slouched position in the chair, his stomach churning in disappointment as an
unfamiliar blonde entered the room. So Miss Columba had been defeated, and she
wasn’t coming back. Crash and burn. Why should he care? She was nothing to him
after all. But she could have been. And he could feel her. She was here
somewhere. So close…

Tyr examined the new lawyer warily, annoyed
at her presence and at himself for the aching sense of emptiness in his chest,
exacerbated by the knowledge that the little dove was near but had sent another
in her place. Perhaps he should have given her something yesterday, some
details of Sal’s death. He couldn’t understand why it galled him so much that
he was disappointed by her lack of persistence. He had expected her to return.
There had been an indescribable connection, his whole body acknowledging a
sense of familiarity with her. Had she not felt it too?

The blue-eyed blonde appraised him
silently. He supposed she was attractive if you liked blonde, blue-eyed Barbie
types. Tyr slumped back even further, eyes hooded, arms crossed, chin to chest.
Amber eyes and chocolate curls were much more to his taste.

The blonde finally spoke. “Good morning,
Mr. Bellor, my name is Miss Shedir. I’m a colleague of Miss Columba whom you
met yesterday.” He kept his expression neutral knowing he couldn’t afford to
give anything away. He needed to stay focused and not be distracted by thoughts
of pretty, petite lawyers.

Cassi Shedir surveyed Tyr Bellor resigned
to the fact that her current assignment had turned a very dangerous corner. He
was throwing up a wall, a defensive barricade she would have to breach, because
unfortunately the essence he radiated was exactly the kind she had been
searching for. Assaulting her instantly when she entered the room, it swirled
out from his muscular frame, a barrage of skirmishing waves producing a
relentless volley of aggressive power that left her in little doubt he was the
one.

It was written all over him, the signature
aura that proclaimed him to be a unique individual. Just like Irina, Bellor was
an Esseni, and Cassi should know, having discovered many Esseni potentials
during her very long existence. Unique and very rare, they could come from any
race in the known galaxy and were notoriously difficult to find, but
discovering Esseni was merely the first part of a very difficult journey and
one that rarely led to a happy outcome.

The potential of Esseni to house the
essence of one of the necessary yin-yang dualities such as, Love and Hate, Life
and Death, and Cassi’s current mission, War and Peace, made them extremely
valuable. If not held in check, they could inflict immense damage to the
delicate nature of The Balance, their essences needing to be aligned, reset and
bonded in equal measures, a process that occurred every eight hundred years
during the time of Realignment. And that time was now.

As an elite warrior of the Eunomi Alliance,
Cassi was charged with fighting for The Balance in a continual effort to
maintain order in the fabric of the universe. For nearly three thousand
millennia she had defended Esseni potentials from their adversaries, the
Discordants, who also sought to use them, but for the exact opposite reasons.
In the battle between the Eunomi and the Discordants, Esseni played a major
role, and as Cassi knew only too well, an Esseni such as Tyr Bellor in
Discordant hands would be a catastrophe.

Cassi appraised Tyr Bellor with a shrewd
eye. Her mission this time had just gotten harder if the look he was now giving
her was anything to go by. Not for the first time she wondered despairingly why
the Esseni were always so complicated. They invariably had issues. Was it too
much to ask that just for once they were normal, ordinary, stable people? Not a
hope in hell as evidenced by the scowling individual now giving her the evil
eye.

All Eunomi warriors were trained in wiccani
light magick, and over time, Cassi had honed her ability to read Esseni
signatures. Ignoring the hostile vibrations rolling in her direction, Cassi focused
her energy on Bellor’s aura. Concentrating hard, she traced the faint glow of
light oscillating around his body. Radiating a dark red that fluctuated and
hummed with a powerful dominant energy, it was enough to indeed confirm that he
was absolutely Irina’s partner yin-yang duality. Her complete opposite. Now if
she could just instigate the Taijitu yin-yang symbol to appear on their skin by
getting them to kiss she would have irrefutable proof of the pairing!

Panic flared through her as realization struck.
Oh my god!
How in hell was this going to work? Parked in front of her
was two hundred and forty pounds of raw, masculine muscle. Hard and
uncompromising. He could crush Irina with one fist if he wanted to. And
Irina…Irina was so…innocent! How could she push her dearest friend, her sister
in all but blood toward this beast of a male? Cassi swallowed. Some days she
hated her job.

Cassi sighed out loud as she sat down on
the chair. Looking at Tyr Bellor’s belligerently militant expression, she
wondered again if it was possible for such opposites to attract. She only knew
that they had to, because if they did not then the whole universe was going to
suffer. Just like last time.

“Miss Columba will be joining us in a
moment. She is just taking a call relating to Mrs. Black. I believe you wanted
to speak to her?” Cassi thought she caught a flicker of interest in his eyes at
the mention of Irina’s name. But he remained immobile, dark eyes glaring
frostily ahead. “We need to go over some of the details with you, like why your
prints are on the murder weapon.”

At that moment, Tyr sat up straight, his
muscles tightening like a coiled spring. Cassi waited expecting him to reply.
He didn’t speak. Instead the door opened and Irina walked in. Tyr immediately
stood.
Interesting. He appears to have sensed Irina’s presence
.

A sudden buzz of static engulfed the space
around her, and Cassi realized she was holding her breath as the tension
between her friend and the boxer, emanated in ripples, slicing through the air
and bouncing back from the walls.
Yep. Targets confirmed
. A definite
Esseni pairing. And some very encouraging vibes! Now, how to resolve the
situation and bring them together when the big man was for all intents and
purposes, jailbound.

Irina and her boxer still had not spoken,
remaining frozen as Cassi felt something spark between them. A throaty
interruption as she coughed and the sizzling dissipated to a low buzz. She
broke the ice, turning to Irina. “Did you speak to Merak?”

“Ahh…he a…he asked if you could you call
him back,” Irina stammered. Her cheeks were flushed and she wobbled slightly.
“There are some forensic details he wants to run by you.”

“Sure, I’ll take it outside while you two
catch up.” Cassi came to her feet, glancing at Tyr as she left. “Make the most
of your time together,” she said and winked at him.

Returning a few minutes later, Cassi
couldn’t help but wonder what she had missed. Sexual tension spiraled through
the air, its energy practically supernova and the visual proof of this Esseni
pairing was even stronger now, the distinct colors of their auras intensifying
right before her eyes. Tyr’s aura burned a deep red, denoting strength, power,
survival and competitiveness; Irina’s, in contrast, was a haze of soft blue,
peace and tranquility.

This could be much less difficult than it
had initially appeared. Maybe they had already kissed. If so the Taijitu marks
would soon appear. They were obviously attracted to each other so how to keep
them together, create a bond? Cassi’s brain began to turn over possible
scenarios.

Irina was grateful for Cassi’s return. She
still couldn’t believe what had just happened. The moment she walked into the
room her skin had felt aflame. The tingling sensation that had been with her
since she entered the police station had increased to a crescendo, as if
millions of tiny volts of electricity were playing across her body in joyous
expectation. She knew Cassi was in the room somewhere but she had dissolved
into nothingness and Irina could only register the broad shape of the man with
black eyes, his ebony hair curling to kiss the caramel skin of his neck. A
couple of loose strands fell across his brow as he stood, and Irina’s only
thought at that moment was that she was face to face with a beautiful, primal
being of pure masculinity. Under the nondescript gray vest his muscles flexed
with all the grace of a predator and she was completely ensnared, prey to a
stalking marauder. Beguiled and bewitched.
Oh my god…I am roadkill!

She had watched Cassi wink at Tyr when she
left but had little time to wonder what that meant. Her gaze was drawn
immediately back to his face.

“I’m afraid we have been unable to contact
Mrs. Black,” Irina forced herself to say as she walked toward him. “Mr.
Abrasax, the owner of your gym, has been helping us try to locate her and her
family, but no one has seen them since last week.”

As she drew level with him beside the desk,
her mind was in a trance. She knew what she was saying was important but she
couldn’t think, couldn’t focus on anything other than his face, his lips.
Ripples of calm swept a caress across her bare flesh as she turned her face
upward waiting for his response. His response when it came was unexpected.

He kissed her.

Soft, so soft! Irina felt the featherlight
brush of his lips against hers, too shocked at the time to do anything other
than acquiesce. The moment had lasted a bare second, the warmth gone in an
instant and Irina could only mourn its passing. Tyr had stood so close to her,
not touching but all the while she could feel the indelible imprint where his
mouth had branded hers.

Her head barely reached his chest and she
reeled back slightly as a wave of lightheadedness swept over her. Tyr’s hand
made contact with her arm as he steadied her slight form, drawing her forward
toward his heat. Irina began to sink in, but then drew back quickly, suddenly
aghast at her reaction as the awareness of just who and what he was, flashed
into her brain. Criminal. Murderer. Thug. She had forced herself away,
wrenching her body around behind the safety of the desk.

Magnet. Repel. Attract.

“What was that?” she almost squeaked,
trying to sound indignant, and when she brought her eyes back to his face she
was surprised to see that Tyr appeared almost as horrified as she was. The look
was fleeting. His black eyes burned even darker, if that were possible. “The
beginning.” The deep growl of his voice had thrummed through her veins, a
vibration of intent.

Irina swallowed. He was just too much.

Too intense. Too strong. Too overwhelming.

She knew she needed to get away before this
weird compulsion she was experiencing toward him caused her to do something she
would later regret. Her eyes drank in the broad width of his shoulders, the
smooth tan skin stretched over hard muscle that caused somersaults in her chest
every time they flexed.
But he’s so gorgeous, beautiful… No! No! No! Mustn’t
think that!

Instead she’d replied unsteadily, “I think
it’s the end.”

“Is the dove going to fly away again?”

“Mr. Bellor.” She paused, took a breath
trying to be professional, controlled. “We’re not getting anywhere with your
case. I really think it would be better if I hand it over to someone else. Miss
Shedir can handle it.” Irina eyed him warily, the desk a protection she was
profoundly grateful for.

“But can she handle me?” he queried, “and
do you want her to?” There was a distinct teasing note in his voice.

“I…” But Irina had no chance to gather her
disordered thoughts as Cassi had chosen that moment to walk back into the room.
It was her chance to escape.

“Cassi…I have to go.” Even to her own ears,
her voice sounded breathy, nervous.

“Have you got anything yet, anything
useful?” said Cassi, blocking her exit.

Just goose bumps and an unwanted
kiss…although, really? Had it been unwanted
? Irina
shook her head and brushed past Cassi as quickly as possible, trying to defuse
the tangle of emotions zipping through her brain. Outside in the corridor she
sank back against the wall, desperate to calm the incessant thump of her
heartbeat, her thoughts a tumble of incoherent sensations and impressions of
him.
Tyr. A murderer. Savage. Wild. Uncontrollable. Beautiful.

As she stood looking up at the ceiling, a
door opened at the far end of the corridor and a group of men approached the
interview room. Irina pulled herself straight, trying to give some semblance of
normality to her appearance and as they passed her, she recognized the wealthy
businessman and would-be politician, Aamon Abrasax. Alongside him were Leo and
another detective she had worked with on occasion, Shax Tannin.

Leo was deep in conversation with Abrasax.
Glancing up, Irina caught the curious appraisal given her by Shax, a weird
yellow light in his eyes, as if he were seeing her clearly for the first time.
He nodded in acknowledgement and disappeared with the other men into an
adjoining office. An uneasy shiver of fear tingled its way down her spine.
Before she could give it too much consideration, Cassi emerged from the
interview room. Cassi too was looking at her with a strange expression on her
face as if she knew something that Irina did not.

“Are you all right? You look pale,” she
said. “Did something happen?”

“No… I’m fine, just a bit tired from
working all these cases,” Irina found herself saying, when usually she would
have told Cassi everything. Cassi, who knew her history, how her family had
been brutally murdered, who knew almost all her innermost secrets. How could
she explain this overwhelming fascination for a violent, brutal man, who might
have been part of her family’s deaths?