At least, not yet.
She cleared her throat, hating how her
heart was thundering in her chest at the thought of anything
happening to Talon. He was, as surely as the sun shone, becoming
her everything. She didn’t think about her mother, about Chris,
about what she had been thrown into, at all. And all because of
Talon.
Talon brought his face close to her
neck, brushing his cheek against her. She turned into his embrace,
staring into his eyes. “If anyone tries to kill you again, I’ll
take a poker to their faces.”
His chest rumbled as he laughed,
making her bounce a little. She glared at him. “My little spitfire.
You’re much more carefree than you were before.”
She smiled at him. “Maybe because I
like how good you ‘do it’,” she laughed, wrapping her arms around
his neck and kissing his jaw.
He raised a brow at her. “Oh, is that
so?”
Jamie nodded, staring at his lips. The
temperature in the room rose, she swore it did. She leaned forward
and rested her forehead against his, loving the scent and feel of
him. His arms tightened around her waist.
He sighed and gave her a soft peck,
grabbing her shoulders and gently pushing her back. “I have to meet
with Lucian.”
Jamie growled, wrapping her arms
around his neck again. “No you don’t. You can stay here with me and
Lucian can talk to the wall. Okay?”
Talon laughed, standing up and putting
her on her butt. “We can continue this talk later tonight. I regret
having to leave you in such a state –“ Jamie glared –“but I’ll only
be a little while. Vladimir can keep you company, or Jessica
maybe?”
Her eyes widened and she shot to her
feet. “You keep that woman away from me! Do you know how much she
makes my head hurt? And how the hell does she talk in one
sentence?” she exclaimed, earning another bout of laughter from
Talon.
“I’m not sure. But she keeps out
appointments and gets things done, so I’m okay with it. Just
tolerate her, like the rest of us, and you’ll be fine.” Jamie gave
him a dubious look. “And if you’re wondering about Vladimir – he’s
worse than just a hospice robber, but I can trust him enough that
I’ll leave you alone with him. Despite being the last ‘living’
vampire that just so happens to be gay, he’s also a deadly predator
and not to be taken lightly.”
Jamie had a hard time believing that,
but she nodded anyways.
She loved it when he came over to her
and kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist to hug
her. “I’ll be back soon. Make sure that if you go to the workout
room, you wear clothing,” he growled, tightening his
arms.
Jamie grinned, giving him a kiss then
smacking him on the butt lightly. “Hurry back.”
“Anything for you, my
love.”
“Why do I feel like someone’s shoving
a stick up my ass?” Lucian complained, baritone voice
annoyed.
Talon leaned back into his chair,
shrugging. “Maybe because you’re a stuck up bitch?”
“Don’t sweet talk me. You know how
that tickles my funny bone,” he growled, glaring. Talon
shrugged.
Talon had left Jamie regretfully,
hating how appetizing she had looked in just her sports bra and
sweat pants. Thinking about it, his body hardened and it felt as if
someone had stuck him in a hot-suit.
Lucian set down a pile of papers in
front of Talon, grabbing his attention. “Stop thinking about being
balls-deep in Jamie and get your mind to the here and now. Devlin
came in her several minutes ago and complained her ass off to me.
Do you want me to have to file a report on Vladimir?”
Talon gave him a look. “Knowing him,
if it came from you, he’d find it kinky.”
His partner glared, slamming his huge
self into the chair opposite of Talon. They were sitting in the
meeting room, the large space empty besides a box of papers, two
men, and a whole lot of tension.
“Can we stop ignoring the pink
elephant in the room?” Lucian asked, kicking his feet up on the
table. “Devlin is becoming a problem, and as much as I want to keep
her in the ranks, I’m debating on whether to drop her a notch.
Something about her feels…off.”
Talon gave him a “duh” look. “Finally,
you notice it.”
“She’s the best fighter we have,
besides myself, you, and Levi.”
“And Vladimir?”
Lucian snorted, drawing a hand through
his hair. “Let’s face it. He might be a vampire, but the guy has
problems. If he wanted to kill something, it would most likely be
the majority of the young population. But that’s beside the point.
I haven’t seen Levi all week –“
“You know he’s only seen when he wants
to be,” Talon cut in.
“That’s true, but it’s becoming less
and less. I think Devlin is pushing him either to hard, or making
him feel unwelcome. Either way, something is wrong with her and I
don’t like it. She’s stopped trying to seduce me, and she’s not at
the compound as much as she used to be.”
“Maybe because she found a different
man? Did you ever think it might be because of that?”
Lucian looked at him. “Yeah. Right.
Devlin wouldn’t be quiet about a new beu if she had one. She’d be
rubbing it in my face and...well, you know her. She has to be on
everyone’s bad side.”
Talon nodded. “I get you. Do you think
Zyn and her are connected? I mean, he contacted us and even before
that, Devlin has been gone more and more often.”
“I don’t see how that would matter.
Devlin didn’t even know the guy before he pulled a runner on us.
And Zyn is smart. He wouldn’t put himself in Devlin’s way, just
because of that look she gets in her eyes. He also isn’t known to
use people, either.”
“True. Devlin is yours. I don’t have
any say over her, just Levi. Are you taking her down, or not? And
who do you have in mind to replace her? The guys won’t appreciate
being left hanging like that. I know they didn’t completely like
her and all, but Levi can’t handle two squads like
that.”
Lucian scrubbed a hand over his face,
shaking his head. “I can’t think of anyone that could handle that
group of men. I put Devlin on them because I knew she’d keep them
in line, or at least they would listen to her out of fear. They’re
too rough. Levi was great for it because of how much he
just...yeah. You know?”
Talon had to laugh, nodding and
sitting up in his chair straighter. “I know. Maybe you can put a
temp. on and just see how it goes?”
“I honestly don’t think that’s the
best thing to do. I mean, those guys are fucking insane when they
get started. Trained and skilled, but insane. I would replace them
if they weren’t so valuable.”
“You sure Levi wouldn’t be able to
handle them?”
Lucian nodded. “I’m sure. And I’m not
psycho enough to put my dick on the line for them. And I’m pretty
sure I wouldn’t be able to convince you to, would I?”
He laughed in a short burst. “Hell no.
So Devlin, for sure, is being taken off.”
Lucian tentatively nodded his head,
eyes trained on the table. “Yeah. I can’t risk it anymore. I’ll let
her stay here, but she won’t have any say in things. I’ll be
surprised if she doesn’t poison my drink or something,” he groaned,
taking his feet off of the dark oak wood table.
Talon agreed.
Devlin was cunning,
ruthless, and greedy. She hid it well enough, and while Talon
admired a strong woman who could take care of herself and meet her
goals, Devlin took it too far. It was one of the reasons Talon had
disliked her straight from the beginning. Sometimes, when they held
meetings, he would look over and see her watching Lucian with more
than a ‘yeah, I’m listening’ face. No, it was pure
greed
, and damn if that
didn’t make him weary. He had a feeling that it wasn’t for his
friend's body -- no, it was for the power he had. Other than the
king, Lucian was one of the most powerful beings that Talon had
ever come across. Even more powerful than the only witch he had
ever met. And that was saying something, he thought with a
grimace.
He hadn’t met her in this life, but he
remembered her. Barely. She was important for a reason, but
whatever it was alluded him. He shrugged it from his mind, focusing
on his friend.
“If you don’t wake up tomorrow, I’ll
make sure to feed your cat for you,” Talon said, laughing. Lucian
gave him the meanest look ever before narrowing his
eyes.
“She likes catnip sprinkled on top.
Don’t forget that. And in the morning with a full spoonfull. That’s
it. Too much and she’ll get fatter than she already is.”
Talon chuckled, standing. “Alright,
I’ll remember that. When do I take her on walks?” he asked. He
pushed open the door and called for Jessica, telling her to ring up
Devlin.
“Wednesdays and Sundays. Too much and
she gets antsy and will claw my carpet.”
Talon turned and stared at him. “I was
kidding, you know.”
“I’m not.”
He wiped a hand over his face, a
little freaked out. “Okay, then...”
There was a knock at the door. Talon
sat down and bid them to enter, not surprised that Devlin had came
so fast. Lucian lost all emotion as he watched her enter, hand on
her holster.
“What did you need?” she asked, before
pausing just inside of the room. He wondered if she could tell what
was going to happen -- going by the look that entered her eyes, she
had a vague idea.
“Devlin, sit down.” Lucian took the
lead, gesturing to a chair for her.
Her face was hard as she sat. She
crossed her arms over her chest while she looked between them,
Talon with his hands lazily on his legs, Lucian with his arms
crossed, leaning back in the his chair. While the pose might have
been casual, the tension he radiated was definitely not.
Talon almost felt bad for her. Almost.
She had had this coming for a while now, and it was for the best
that she get put down. How many knives was she packing? he thought.
And how many of them would be flying at their heads by the time
this was over?
She didn’t ask any questions, didn’t
even seem to breathe. Her eyes were locked on Lucian, unemotional.
He didn’t back down, instead sat up straighter and gave a long
breath. “You’ve been with us a long time, and I think it’s in
everyone’s best interest that you take a break.”
Before she could open her mouth, he
continued on. Talon sat there, motionless. “I need your badge,
suit, and weapons. You’re off the field.”
Her reaction was not what he expected.
At all. He could tell that even Lucian was shocked. Devlin’s face
turned pale and her hands, which had been clenched so tight across
her. And then tears filled her eyes. Talon jerked,
horrified.
“Why the fuck am I off the field?” she
snarled-whimpered. It was an odd combination, but it worked for
her. Lucian’s face hardened.
“You need a break. You have
until tomorrow to bring in your things. Get out of my office,
please.” Talon stared at him, narrowing his eyes. He couldn’t tell
what the man was thinking, and he didn’t know what was up with
Devlin. Never in his
life
had he seen her cry. Not ever.
Devlin started rambling and mumbling,
waving her hands and coming apart. Her bright red hair became
dangerously messy as she shoved her hands in her hair and pulled,
almost having a full blown panic.He stared at her, not knowing what
to think anymore.
Lucian rose to his feet with a lethal
grace, grabbing her shoulder. He pulled her to her feet and stared
her in the eyes as he disarmed her, throwing each and every weapon
on the table. They clanked and clunk, and with each gun that he
took out, he dropped the clips and with a heavy chest, Talon
watched the discharged bullets roll around the table.
Devlin was quiet, a tear tracking down
her face. Was it wrong that he didn’t feel as bad as he should
have? His lips pressed as she turned her eyes to his, rage suddenly
filling them.
Lucian reached around her leg and took
out the final blade, setting it on the table with finality. “You
are done here,” he said quietly. They stared at each other before
he turned his back on her.
She stormed out of the room, slamming
the door closed behind them.
Talon stared at the table, scratching
his face.
Lucian sat his hard ass in the chair
and let his head fall back. “On the bright side, I still have my
money maker.” Talon looked over in time to see him rubbing his junk
with a relieved look.
Talon couldn’t agree more.
He pushed the branch out of his way
with a weak hand. Living on nothing but scraps of meat and water
from a river that came from untrusted sources hadn’t been the best
idea he’d ever had, but it was too late to go back and he didn’t
think he’d want to even if he could.
The time away had been…solemn.
Grieving. A break from stress and life and pain.
Weak legs carried him to the edge of
the forest, and right onto smooth black pavement shining with a
sheen of ice. His eyes were burning and his chest was caving in --
or at least it seemed like it. The bare skin of his back was burnt
and his legs, covered in ragged jeans, were only moving forward
because of pure motivation.