The information on those papers could
have killed them all if Lucian had believed him.
Now, though, she prayed that her
partner was smart enough to fabricate the papers with such secrecy,
they wouldn’t give away anything damning. Devlin had been the one
sent to do this years ago, and only because she was very good at
hiding her aura and tracking others. If deceit surrounded her, no
one knew it.
His hand was tight around the folder.
Unopened. Debating, sensing. The back of her neck started to tingle
before relief washed through her. His hands worked at undoing the
folder while he looked at her with suspicion. She held in the
nervous breath that she had wanted to release. Thank lord he was
actually opening the damn thing. Now to get him to believe it, she
thought with determination.
Long, thick fingers pulled apart the
lips of the folder, a dark-skinned hand slipping inside to pull out
a packet of papers. They were white, with information that she
prayed he believed real. If he did, then everything would go
smoothly and her overseer could take over the company.
It would be a smooth slide,
a very easy shift of power. Devlin might not know what he was
capable — he let others do the work for him and took care of the
orders — but she knew he was dangerous. The way he carried himself,
how he talked and looked... It was all the making of someone
who
knew
he had
power.
He flipped through them, then looked
at her with unreadable eyes. “How did you get this?” he demanded,
looking back at them again. His hands were tight around the papers,
the tension in his shoulders visible.
Devlin shrugged, placing a hand on his
shoulder. He was so enthralling, so darkly beautiful when he was
angry or determined. He ran a hand through his hair, a sound of
frustration coming from him. His muscles shifted under her hand,
and she ran her hand down his back.
“
I get a reward?” she
asked, smiling up at him with a knowing look. The sex wasn’t part
of the job, but she couldn’t help her. The first time she had had
him, it had been too good to
not
want another chance with him. The withdrawls after
their first time had been confusing, had left her wanting more. He
never asked her, approached her, or even went out of his way to
talk to her.
He treated her just like he treated
everyone else — like objects to be thrown aside. Not that she
cared, but...still. A man that fine should not be passed up, she
thought, eyes dipping down to his hips. He caught her chin with his
hand, staring at her.
His eyes were unreadable. Dark and
swirling, the normally silvery depths were like molten coal, so
cool and black yet liquid and heated. Devlin almost purred out
loud, hand flexing on his thigh. His head started to dip, lips
parting. Her heart raced with excitement. She twined her arms
around his neck and lifted her head for him...
He jerked back. Stood to his feet.
Anger flashed through her as she realized she wasn’t going to get
anything. “Don’t tease someone like that,” she hissed, standing as
well. She took a breath, the fury she felt cooling the fire that
had been rising within her. How could he pull away so easily from
her? she thought, crossing her arms over her chest and moving to
the door.
Lucian walked behind her,
shrugged as he opened the door before she could. “Teasing would
mean that I actually wanted it, and that I plan to give into it.”
His lips lifted at the corner. “I, my dear, did not do, or
plan
to, do either of
those things.”
He left.
She didn’t notice until she sat down
on the couch that he had taken the folder with him.
Lucian held the papers in his hand,
walking through the night. His shadow fell behind him, the moon
rising full above. It was illuminating the sky, guiding his path of
travel. Buildings loomed over him, people inside of the large
apartments that he had built for them.
They had been standing for years. The
very first time someone had come to him for help, offering a part
in a company with millions of dollars at his disposal, Lucian had
been disbelieving. He had been nothing but a manager at one of the
root beer factories at the time, working for his pay and bowing
down before a narcissistic boss. People had been fired daily, and
he had been put under stress.
The job hadn’t been a loss, even when
his boss had seen him speaking with a man in a black suit and fired
him on the spot. Lucian had seen a lot, he had done a lot, and he
had killed a lot. The man that had contacted him had warned him
that this new financial power would come at a cost.
He hadn’t cared.
Now, he had an empire and a lonely
bed. It wasn’t important to him, though. He had never had someone
sleep next to him during the night and had grown not to care.
Devlin had been a pleasant enough lay, but something had seemed to
so...empty about it. He had been tempted to take her once again
only a few moments ago, but too much was on his mind and he knew it
would have been a mistake.
Now, though, he had other things to
worry about like his missing objectives, the new policy that was
getting arranged, business partners that were stuck in Orlando
because of a flight delay, and so much more. His car was down the
street, in its normal parking spot. His motorcycle was next
to...his friends. He wouldn’t be able to say his name till the man
was back. Staring at the pair, they really were the men’s pride and
joy. The Agusta 1100 F4 CC was a top model, something that his
friend had held immense pride in — not that he drove it much. It
wasn’t meant for the business of the city that they were in, the
bio of the bike closer to that of a town-bike. His car,
though...
Lucian pushed open the door
to his office. Rarely did he stay at his own house. If anything, he
lived, breathed, and ate his work. The office was his home, and it
wasn’t like he had a choice. So many things would come up at once,
and get over-pilled by
other
things. It was an overwhelming process, his
work-life, but he put up with it.
At least he had help...or, some. He
had been taken while on vacation, and Lucian had strived to keep an
eye on him. He knew more than most what it was like to be
overwhelmed, but his friend had also been in such a danger that
Lucian hadn’t been allowed a slip-up.
The feeds from the camera earlier had
shown him what he believed to be his worst nightmare. It had been
fabricated delicately, as close and realistically designed as a
butterfly's wing. If his tech hadn’t found it, who knew how longer
he would have been in the dark about it.
He rode the elevator to the top of the
building, waiting for the ping to signal its arrival. It didn’t
take long. In less than a minute, he was in his desk and listening
to the voice machine read him the messages he had missed while he
had been out. His secretary was busy enough that he had given her a
small bit of vacation time, and it hadn’t been that big of a deal
to take on the responsibility of her work along with his
own.
In his early days as an entrepreneur,
he had been his own secretary, too wary of losing his newfound
power to trust it with anyone else. He was hardened by life, by the
things he had seen and done and how long he had lived, but it only
helped him in his work. Dealing with snotty men with jewel engraved
sticks stuck up their butt was nothing new, and he was known for
his cool reserve when handling them.
And how ruthless he was with his
power.
The lights flickered on automatically,
the fluorescent lights casting a yellow glow because of the lamps
that they were in. His desk was large, mahogany, and cluttered. It
was probably the messiest it had ever been, and he wasn’t excited
to clean it. He remembered the conversation that Levi, Devlin, and
he had had as he sat in his desk and pulled the papers
out.
It was close to midnight, and the moon
was at its highest. Except for the lamps, it was the only source of
light that filled the room. The one-way window was open, thick
curtains pulled back, and the pull the moon had on him was getting
stronger.
So subtle it was like the caress of a
baby's hand on his shoulder, he turned in his chair and looked up
at the orb. It was white, pale and glowing, surrounded by darkness.
As he stared at it, the more he realized that the moon was like
Devlin. Lately, she had seemed...more demure, but it was tainted
with... Lucian shook his head, unable to place it. Whatever it had
been, it wasn’t something he wanted around his work.
He turned around again, the swiveling
sound of his chair the only sound beside the scrape of papers as he
picked them up and studied them. He forced himself to focus,
knowing that this was a big deal and he had to take care of the
problem.
An hour later, a call had been placed
in New York and the news was being blown up.
One of the most influential men in the
United States was missing, and it was time everyone
knew.
Flesh parted beneath his hands. Talon
roared, power rushing through him as he took Lyne to the ground and
pounded his fist deeper into the man’s now-red skull. The sound of
flesh connecting with flesh was resonating through the room, but
the song it made in his soul pushed him forward.
His other fist, which had been around
Lyne’s neck, came up and grabbed his hair — just as it had been in
Jamie’s. Fury flowed through him as he imagined Jamie’s eyes
watering with pain because of Lyne. As he thought of her, the sound
of Jamie’s scream of fear hit him. Blinded with rage, he dragged
Lyne into the hall, shoving him through the closed door till it
opened, and then slammed it behind him. He willed it locked, and
began the onslaught of pain.
Lyne brought up his hand, his claws
gleaming in the light. Talon hissed, leaning forward to sink his
teeth into his arm — he remembered the pain of Lyne’s nails sinking
into his skin, pushing past blood and flesh, and then bone. He
didn’t register that something was wrong, that he was too
bloodthirsty. Lucian would have been proud —
The thought cut off as Lyne
brought his hand down his back. Sharp pain cascaded down his body,
like droplets of fire. Talon roared, senses firing. He could
feel
Lyne’s pain,
his
fear
. It
spurred Talon on, made his lips curl back from his teeth as he
brought his knee into the man’s groin and then reached for his
neck. He felt his anger flare worse when Lyne spat at
him.
He was no longer an animal, he was a
man who was about to murder the man who had ruined his life. Talon
could hear the sound of foots pounding as they came down the hall.
It was too heavy to be the thin Auro — he wasn’t worried about it.
He forced the feet to be still, the use of his hidden powers absent
in his vicious mind.
Lyne’s death was near.
Bloodlust curled in his
gut.
Talon sensed Jamie trying to open the
door, but he refused. Lyne would not have another chance at her, of
giving her pain. He roared, bring his clawed hand up. He saw the
fear in Lyne’s eyes before recognition hit them. Talon’s hand
buried deep in his chest.
The door flew open.
Talon jerked around to stare at the
woman, eyes wild. Lyne took the chance. Talon didn’t see his lips
peel back, didn’t see the his canines lengthen even more than they
already were.
He was too focused on what Jamie was
holding.
The collar. She surged forward, eyes
glazed. Talon jerked back, furious at her betrayal before he saw
that she was aiming for Lyne. Jamie let out an inhuman sound before
lunging at the thin man. Talon moved on instinct, grasping his
shoulders and holding him down, making sure to keep his neck away
from Jamie’s hands and Lyne’s hands against the ground.
Pure desperation flashed in her eyes
before the collar latched itself onto Lyne’s neck and Jamie ran
into the room. Talon forgot about her, lip curling with pleasure as
he saw the pain overcome Lyne’s face. “This...can’t
be...happening,” he gasped out, hands latching onto the collar.
Talon let out a pleased growl just as Jamie came out of the room, a
fire poker in her hands.
Her face was drenched with sweat. Her
hands were shaking. Her eyes were glazed. Her emotions...were gone.
Completely gone. Talon watched her, wanting to grab the poker from
her hands. Instead, he let her go to see what she would
do.
Jamie stared down at Lyne.
Emotionless, she posed the long, wrought-iron stick against his
chest. He was so thin...so weak as he lay beneath her. She stared
at him, breath suddenly turning even. This was the man that had
hurt Talon.
She could feel him trying to pull her.
It was as if his eyes were speaking to her and wrapping around her
like a rope. The pull that she should have felt left her numb, and
the fire poker in her hand felt like it was ice cold. Talon was
beside him, staring up at her with unreadable eyes.
He made no move to stop
her.
The poker came down as quickly as a
bow being strung. It sliced through Lyne, piercing his chest and a
hollow crunch sounded through the hall. His hoarse cry echoed
through her soul as his life faded before her eyes. Crimson eyes
slowly dimmed as blood bubbled to his lips. Except, it wasn’t
blood. It was oily and black, and the more she stared, the thinner
he became.