Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) (26 page)

He was running full speed
when what felt like a semi-truck slammed into his left side. Enraged that
anything would attempt to stop him from reaching her he tumbled with a wolf as
big as him. He went for the kill right away. It was an equaled match in size and
strength, but he had something his opponent didn’t have. He had a mate in
danger. It didn’t matter whether she knew it or not. Within a matter of
seconds, he was crushing the other wolf’s throat in his powerful jaws. His only
thought was that he had to get to Kara right now.

Hearing Kara shout he released his kill
and lifted his head. The rest of his pack had seemly come from out of nowhere.
It bothered him that they had failed to keep the room safe from danger, but he
didn’t have time to figure out what happened. Kara was pinned against her car
by a vampire. The vampire was thrown back several feet by an unseen force. He
landed flat on his back. As he started to get up a bolt of lightning raced down
from the sky and struck the foul creature in the center of his chest. It burst
into flames.

Obviously confused, she stepped away
from the car as if to get a better look at the smoking pile of ash. All too
aware of another vampire approaching her from behind, Eli ran toward her intent
on getting her inside the car. The vampire reached her seconds before he did.
Eli took his human form and wrenched the vampire off her.

As luck would have it, she picked that
moment to shoot the vampire. The bullet tore through Eli’s belly. He dropped to
his knees, but got to his feet quickly. He didn’t feel any pain. He couldn’t.
The horrified look in her eyes would forever haunt him. He snapped the
vampire’s neck, tossed it aside and reached for her.

“I’m okay.” He took her arm and pulled
her toward the car. “Get inside, lock the doors and drive away.” She stared up
at him. She didn’t make any move to get inside the car so he opened the door
and pushed her inside. “Get out!” Seeing Jeremy get into the passenger side Eli
reached for her to pull her out, but he was grabbed from behind and thrown
several feet away.

Shocked to see Zack, he got to his feet.
“What are you doing? Get out of my way!” His pack was circling, preparing to
attack the demon. He now understood why the members of his pack he’d had
guarding her had failed. It was Zack’s doing. “I’ve got this. Follow Kara.
Protect her.”

“You were with Emily in the basement at
the bar. What did you do to her?”

“Nothing. She was…”

 “Do not lie to me.” His eyes
turning entirely black, his black leathery wings shimmered until they fully
solidified as he stepped forward. “Your stench was all over the place.”

“She was attacked by a vampire. Demetri
shifted her away. You know I cannot follow your kind in that manner.”

Eli could feel Zack struggling to gain
control over his rage. It was a good sign. It meant he believed him. “Her blood
was…there was so much of it. It was everywhere. Was she alive when he removed
her from the basement?”

The pain in the demon’s voice stirred
compassion in Eli. “Yes.” Eli paused. “But the vampire had already turned her.”

“Did you destroy the vampire?”

Opening his mind, allowing the demon to
easily retrieve his memory of it, Eli nodded. “No. It was supercharged with
your blood. It shifted away.”

Zack smiled. “So
my
blood is in
her?”

“Yes. I need to go after Kara. If you
haven’t found her yet I will help you find Emily once I know my mate is safe.”
He took his wolf form. One way or another he was leaving. If that meant
fighting Zack to the death, he would do just that.

Zack held up his hand. “Wait. They’re
taking your mate to an old mining shack between Latourel Falls and Multnomah
Falls. I can’t go with you. I have to find Emily.”

~Sixteen~

KARA
WASN’T REALLY worried about herself. Not that her situation wasn’t bad. It was.
But how could she be concerned about herself? She’d shot Eli. She couldn’t
erase the image of the bullet slamming into his body and then of him dropping
to his knees from her mind.

Stop beating yourself up over it. I’m
fine. We’re coming for you.
Eli’s voice rang clear in her mind
accompanied by a vivid image of a strong, well organized pack of wolves
surrounding her, protecting her.

I shot you.

It only hurt a little.

“Slow down. I’d hate to have to kill an
officer of the law today.”

Do as he says. The slower the better. It
will buy us some time to catch up.

You can hear him?

Your blood runs through my veins. I can
see and hear everything you see and hear as long as we’re merged.

“Where are we going?” she asked. Of
course she knew the Scenic Highway well and knew exactly where they were, but
she figured it might help to get more information. 

“You’re dad wants a word with you before
you die. I know it isn’t exactly the best news, but I do have a bit of
information that might cheer you up.”

She glanced over at him. “What’s that?”

“He plans to frame Tom for your murder.”

“He told you that?”

“Not really. I retrieved the tidbit from
his thoughts. He’s quite obsessed with killing. Personally, I think it’s a
shame. You’re a beautiful, desirable woman. But I’m sure you’re well aware of
that, aren’t you?”

“I think you’re entertaining yourself at
my expense. I am sure you find me as desirable as you would a rock,” she said.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know you’re a
sensual woman. You used it well. No doubt that is how you got Eli to take
interest in you. He’s normally against his kind forming sexual bonds with
humans. It’s a law he’s upheld for many years.” He pointed. “Pull over right there.
We have to walk the rest of the way.”

 After she stopped the car, he
removed the keys from the ignition and then got out of the car and walked over
to her side. He opened the door and motioned for her to get out. “It’s a good
five mile hike from here.”

“I hope you can keep up,” she said.

He laughed. “I’ll do my best.” They
walked in silence for a few minutes. “You remind me of your mom. She had a
funny sense of humor as well.”

She stopped and turned to look up at
him. “You knew my mom?”

“We shared a moment in time together.
She was an amazing woman before she ran off with Maximus.”

“She fell in love with him. He paid her
back by killing her.”

“That’s a wolf for you. They have
violent fits of rage. It’s uncontrollable. I tried to warn her. She declined my
offer to help her get away from him.”

“I wouldn’t decline your offer.”

What are you doing, Kara.

Shh
. Let me be. I
got this.

“I never made you one.”

“It’s too bad. I would’ve appreciated
being rescued.”

“From Eli? You’re lying,” Jeremy shook
his head.

“It’s the truth. He forced his way into
my room at the hotel. He kidnapped me.”

“I believe that he kidnapped you. Just a
few months ago he kidnapped his first choice for a mate. But there’s no way the
dumb son of bitch forced you to do anything. He’s too pathetic, too honorable
for that.”

“His first choice?”

Don’t listen to him, Kara.

“He didn’t tell you about Mia Harte? I’m
surprised he was able to keep from talking about her. He was obsessed with her.
He chased after her for about thirty years. He was so devastated when she
rejected him that he abandoned his pack.”

Is it true?

It is. I thought she was my mate, but
I
…

Stop. I don’t want to hear about it.
Mentally
kicking herself in the butt, Kara shook her head. She’d fallen for Eli. He
wasn’t a bad man. In fact, he was a damn good man. He was doing his best to
save her. But why? She’d bet anything the answer was that he was trying to make
himself feel better. Perhaps, he was even trying to fill the emptiness he’d
certainly felt after Mia, his first choice, had dumped him.
It’s okay. I’m
serious. You don’t owe me an explanation. Don’t ruin what we shared by trying
to come up with one.

I don’t plan on making excuses, Kara.
You need to understand that…

I know what I need, Eli. I need revenge.
One way or another I will get it. I also know that I don’t need to hear any
excuses. Don’t worry. I’m not the least bit angry or upset. I understand. I
never asked you for anything more than one night.
She’d known from
the moment she asked that it was all she had. It was all she’d wanted.
And I
will never regret the night we shared for as long I live.

 “I have one request,” Kara said.

“What’s that?”

“Let me kill Tom. Once it’s done I won’t
run from you.”

“That’s it? You want to kill Tom?”

“He killed my baby.”

“Yes. I know.”

“I would also like to kill my father,
but I’m sure he hasn’t paid you yet so I won’t ask.”

“You think his money controls me?”

She nodded. “Why else would you want to
kill me?”

“I never wanted to kill you. I only
wanted to upset you enough to get you to draw your mother out of hiding. I have
unfinished business with her.”

“My mother is dead. Max killed her and
took off with her body.”

“That idiot thought he could take her
from me. To this day he thinks he can keep her away from me, but as long as my
blood flows in her veins I own her.”

“My mother is alive?” Moistening her dry
lips with her tongue she nodded. “Are you saying that she’s alive?”

He leaned in close until his lips were
nearly touching her. “She is alive. And, she belongs to me.” She felt the
warmth of his breath. “You look so much like her. She was so beautiful the
night I found her on the beach. She was so fragile. So small. So in need. Just
like you. It would’ve been such a waste if she’d succeeded in taking her life.
I couldn’t allow her to do it. No more than I could kill you.” She felt
physically ill when he kissed her, but she knew better than to show it. Deep
down she knew he was lying about her mother. She’d seen her mother’s dead body.
She pushed all thought of her mother from her mind. This was her chance to kill
Tom. She wasn’t going to miss it. Wrapping her leg around his thigh she
returned his kiss, all the while trying to ignore Eli’s anger and frustration.

After several long moments, he finally
stopped kissing her. He stepped back and stared down at her. “You are a
remarkable replica of her.” He shook his head. “But you’re different, aren’t
you?” He smiled. “You have so much anger in you. It burns in you. It’s so
intense. So intoxicating.” He tilted his head and kissed her. Once again, she
returned his kiss with what she hoped was enough gusto to convince him that she
wanted him. “You want your father and Tom to pay for your child’s life with
theirs?”

“Yes.” Smiling, she swiped tongue over
her swollen lips as she looked down at his groin and then she met his gaze.
“Among other things.” She felt Eli’s agitation growing.

 “I will give it all to you.” He
reached out and caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers. She made a
conscious effort to push her face against his fingers as if she longed for his
touch, rather than to cringe. He waved his hand. “Come here, Tom.” He never
took his gaze from hers.

She watched a dark mist form. In it she
saw the shadow of a man. She didn’t turn to watch Tom walk over to them. She
felt his approach in the pit of her stomach. What she was about to do would
likely damn her soul for eternity, but it didn’t matter to her at all. Revenge
was the only thing she had left to live for.

You’re wrong. You have much more to live
for if you want it.

Only because you couldn’t have your
first choice.

Mia was never my choice. It was a matter
decided for me. It was what you would call an arranged marriage. You have and
will always be my only choice.

You chose to spend thirty years chasing
after her. You found her. She rejected you. You even abandoned your pack.
Eventually you settled for me.

I left the pack because I realized I’d
made a mistake. She was fatally ill. She was dying because I’d separated her
from her true mate; a demon who had the power to sustain her life. I had to
return her to him. I couldn’t allow her to die because I screwed up.

That is so sad. You loved her enough to
give her up.

No. I was never in love with her.

Why lie to me? I know you well enough to
know that you love with your whole heart. You don’t fall out of love so easily.
Maybe some people can, but I don’t believe you are that kind of man. You gave
everything up for her.

I never knew her. I was never in love
with her. I was trying to fulfill a decree. Our union was arranged long ago to
protect the integrity of our bloodlines.