“Diego,” Bella said.
He turned, saw the blonde closing in and jumped the last five steps to the bottom. Bella stumbled but didn’t fall and they ran for the exit.
“We can’t get to my car without her catching us,” he said. “We need to lose her first.”
“Diego.” Bella stumbled again as they dodged traffic to get across the street to the parking garage.
“What?” he asked over his shoulder.
“She…she injected me with something. I’m not feeling too good.”
He spared a look at Bella. Shit, she didn’t look good. “What do you mean? Injected you with what?”
She stumbled and went to her knees before he could catch her. He pulled her to her feet, threw his arm around her waist, tangling momentarily with her small backpack, and made for the stairs.
He tried to calculate where they were in relation to where his car was. His car was parked in C-lot and they were in E.
“She had a hypo, got at least half of it in me before I got away. I don’t know what it was, but it’s making me sleepy.”
They began to climb, Bella leaning more heavily on him with each passing minute. Diego wanted to stop and deal with the other woman but he had to get Bella somewhere safe first. “Come on. Stay with me a little longer.”
“Sorry, Diego. Wasn’t expecting it.”
“It’s alright. I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”
“Can take care of myself…you big oaf.”
“Yeah, and you’re doing such a great job of it right now.”
He knew that one would hit its mark and, sure enough, she took a deep breath and put forth a little more effort as they ran.
But the blonde was gaining on them. He was going to have to take her out, but he’d have to put Bella down to get the knives in his boots.
He needed to find an alcove. He could put Bella there and—
Something whizzed by his head. Something small and sharp. Not a bullet, something with…a tail?
Tranquilizer darts. A shiver raced up his spine. Damn, he hated needles.
Who the hell
was
this bitch?
His gaze raked the area. There, a stairwell, straight ahead.
“Come on, babe. Just a little further.”
He heard Bella’s breathing get slower with each second.
“Trying. Sorry. Stupid.”
“Just stay with me.”
Another dart raced by his ear as they ran into the stairwell. Then a thick pane of glass stood between them and their tail, who stopped in the middle of the parking garage and stared at them.
The woman couldn’t be more than five-foot-two and probably wouldn’t crack a hundred on a scale. But the intent blazing from her pale eyes gave her delicate features weight and purpose.
She looked like the all-American girl-next-door. Her pixie-short blond hair wisped around a heart-shaped face with a button nose, full lips and big eyes. Not beautiful but pretty.
Especially when she smiled.
Like she did right now.
Except that smile held a wealth of ill will.
What the hell had Bella done to this woman?
And what the hell was she smiling about?
The blow to the back of his head answered that one.
Chapter Five
“I’m on my way back to Philly.”
Steven didn’t bother to identify himself. He knew Cole would realize who it was immediately.
“What? What the hell’s going on?” Cole asked, his voice breaking slightly over a bad connection. “Are you okay? Where’s Bella?”
“She’s still there. Something’s happened. Something I can’t talk about over the phone. I’ll explain when I get there but the
Mal
know about your
congress
.”
“
Shit
. How the hell did they find out?” Cole’s voice took on a low growl. “I do
not
need this now. And what the hell happened with you and Bella last night? She left me a message at the hotel this morning so she wouldn’t have to talk to me and now she’s not answering her cell. She told me she was on her way out here and she’d see me early tomorrow. What’d you do to my sister, you bastard?”
Steven blamed himself for the frustration and anger in Cole’s voice. “I screwed up. But I’ll fix this. I’ll make sure Bella gets out there then I’ll take care of my problem.”
“Problem? What problem?” Cole’s tone changed immediately. “Damn it, are you okay?”
Steven took a deep breath, wondering the same thing. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Then don’t worry about Bella. I’ve got Diego Falco looking after her.”
Jealousy reared its ugly head and he had to take a deep breath before he spoke again. “I’m already on my way. And you know Bella will walk all over him.”
Cole laughed. “Bites you in the ass, doesn’t it? That there might be another man for her?”
“
Vaffanculo
. You’re a prick, Cole.”
“Yeah, but I’m your best friend.”
The bald statement hit Steven like a punch in the gut. After all they’d been through, Cole still thought that. “Just goes to show I have awful taste in friends.” And employers.
“Take care, Steven.” Cole’s voice turned serious. “I expect to see you here with Bella.”
After he got Bella’s flight information from Cole, Steven took the next flight back to Philadelphia, which, as luck would have it, left in half an hour.
He ordered a rum and Coke from the flight attendant, gave her a healthy tip to make up for his lack of geniality, but he was pretty sure he’d scared the guy sitting next to him into ignoring him for the rest of the flight.
Clear skies and a good tail wind should make the flight only two hours and fifteen minutes. He wouldn’t have to go through baggage claim when they landed because he hadn’t checked a bag in Florida. Where his ever-growing rage had been born. He was having a hard time controlling that anger right now.
And it was leaking past his guards.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has asked that you please return your seats to their upright position and fasten your seatbelts,” the flight attendant’s disembodied voice came over the loudspeaker. “We are experiencing some clear-air turbulence, but we should be through it in just a few minutes.”
Shit
. He had to calm down. If he couldn’t control himself, turbulence would be the least of their worries.
Fulminifex
was the proper Latin term for what he was. Creator of lightning, though storm-maker was also correct.
He had a special affinity for weather, for manipulating it. Even when he didn’t want to. Like now.
Closing his eyes, he forced the magic inside him back into its hole. Where it didn’t want to go. It fought him, fought for control. Sweat dripped down his face, his heart pounding in his chest, as the plane dipped and bumped along the rough air currents until finally he managed to cage that power.
He sat there, grinding his teeth for the last hour of the flight, pretending to sleep until they landed. By the time he left the plane, every muscle in his body hurt as he veered away from the crowd headed toward baggage claim and sought out the gate for Bella’s plane.
He knew she’d have to show up sooner or later, so he took a seat and waited, trying to relax his aching muscles.
But as it got closer to departure time and still no Bella, he decided to stretch his legs. Which was when he caught sight of her being dragged down the escalators by Falco.
He started to run but was too far away to get to her before Falco dragged her out of the building. He did his best to keep up, fear urging him faster. It wasn’t until they’d reached the first floor that he caught sight of the blonde on their tail.
Steven didn’t recognize the woman and he wasn’t close enough to see what she took from her pocket when they went into the parking garage across from the terminal.
And then she stopped. Steven dropped behind a car and peered around the bumper until he could see Bella and Falco in the glass stairwell. Bella looked unconscious.
Gods damn, he would kill Falco if anything happened—
A man stepped into view behind Falco and swung a bat at his head. Falco dropped like a stone, taking Bella with him.
With a growl, Steven rushed the blonde, taking her to the ground and knocking her head against the ground before she knew hit her.
She stayed on the ground, unconscious, while the guy who’d hit Falco took off.
* * *
Bella woke with a bitch of a headache.
“Don’t move around too much. I’m still not sure what you’ve got in your system.”
A shiver ran through her at the sound of that voice. “Steven?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
She opened her eyes slowly, afraid he wouldn’t be there when she did. Afraid the pain in her head was making her hallucinate. She cracked her eyes but couldn’t bring the world into focus. She saw only a dark blob above her.
She reached toward it and someone wrapped his hand around hers.
Steven. Thank the Blessed Goddess.
“What happened?” She kept blinking until her eyes focused more fully on him. “Where are we?”
He ran his other, shaking hand through her hair and released a loud sigh. “In a motel somewhere off the Pennsylvania turnpike. And I thought maybe you’d be able to tell me what the hell was going on.”
She sat up, her stomach shifting like a rough ocean. Swallowing a few times to make sure she wasn’t going to throw up, she finally opened her eyes and let her gaze travel the room. She saw Diego out cold on the bed across the room. “What’d you do to Diego?”
She glanced up in time to see Steven’s lips twist. “I didn’t do anything to him. Someone whacked him with a baseball bat. Someone working with her.”
Steven pointed at the floor, and Bella transferred her gaze to the blonde who’d tried to take her out in the bathroom. Steven had tied her in a fetal position with rope.
“The other guy got away,” Steven continued. “I haven’t been able to wake this one. But…she’s a biter.”
She tried to stand, thinking if she got up, she’d feel better. Then her stomach rolled again and she decided maybe she’d just lay here a while longer. “How do you know?”
“She’s still got the mark.”
Sighing, she tried to think why a biter would want her but the only question running through her mind was, “What are you doing here?”
Something crossed Steven’s expression. Something bitter and raw. He wiped it away but not fast enough for her to miss it. “You were right. Charles is
Mal
. He and his daughter.”
Her gut clenched at the pain in his voice. “Oh, shit. Oh, Steven, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry you were right?”
The bite was back in his tone but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. Her hand clenched to stop from reaching for him because she didn’t think he’d appreciate her comfort right now. “No. Sorry you were wrong. Do you know what they want from you?”
He shrugged. “They know about Cole’s
congress
. And what do they always want from me? Same shit, different day.”
He was lying. There was more. She could smell it on him, but she didn’t push. Not now.
“What are you going to do?”
With a sigh, he sat on the bed next to her. She waited for him to touch her, needed him to touch her so she could comfort him. He didn’t. So she couldn’t.
“I don’t know,” he said. “First I’m going to get you to Cole then I’ll take care of my own problems. Right now, your safety is my first priority. Cole will have my ass if anything happens to you. And it doesn’t look like pretty boy over there is any good.”
“Diego is one of the best—”
“You don’t need to stick up for me.” Diego sat up on the other bed, one hand rubbing the back of his head while he glared at Steven. “You’re the reason Bella is in trouble, Castiglione. She wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Steven whipped around to look at Diego. “That still doesn’t explain how you nearly let her get snatched.”
Steven’s low tone held a distinct menace and Diego’s expression got downright nasty.
She sighed. “Boys, boys. Give me a break, will you? I’m still not feeling good enough to deal with your pissy little games.”
They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Steven turned back to her. “How are you feeling? Any better?”
Not really but she didn’t want to freak Steven out more than he already was. “Maybe a little food will help. My vision’s still not clear, my stomach’s upset and my legs feel like lead bricks. Let’s wake up this little Barbie doll and find out what the hell she gave me.”
Diego walked over to the girl on the floor and kneeled beside her.
“Time to wake up and face the music, little girl,” he said, in a tone that would have made Bella wake up swinging.
But the Barbie doll only fluttered her eyelids and groaned.
“Let’s go,” Diego continued. “I don’t have all day and you really don’t want to piss me off more than I already am.”
There, that made her eyes finally open.
Whoa. The girl had gorgeous pale blue eyes. Husky eyes.
She blinked them a couple of times until they were saucer-sized and locked onto Diego’s.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Diego said. “Or I’ll start tearing pieces out of your flesh.”
* * *
Amy Jo Bauer’s head throbbed like someone was picking away at her brain with a jackhammer.
It hurt to open her eyes. It hurt to move her head, though probably not as much as it should, considering someone had jumped her from behind and slammed her into the ground.
Well, that plan hadn’t worked out too well.
And now the gorgeous guy sitting next to her wanted to flay her like a rainbow trout.
She swallowed heavily and broke away from his hypnotic gaze long enough to take notice of the two other people in the room.
Another gorgeous guy and one very pissed-off Princess. Not sure whether she should get up and bow—which she couldn’t do because she seemed to be trussed like a branded steer—or keep her mouth shut and hope they killed her quick, she decided on the latter.
“We promise we won’t hurt you…unless you make us.” That came from the Princess and Amy Jo didn’t think that was any more encouraging than what the first guy had said.
“Steven.” The almost-too-pretty guy with the gorgeous long hair kneeling next to her spoke to the other gorgeous guy with the short, dark hair. It might have been a banner day in Amy Jo’s life. If it wasn’t her last. “Why don’t you take Bella out of the room? I work better alone.”