UnholyCravings (21 page)

“Ah, here’s something useful.” She found a small cell in one
of the drawers and flipped it open. After a quick check, she got a dial tone.

Yes.
She had reception. Tara allowed herself a brief
fist-pump in the air. She started to call Sparrow, then hesitated. Each time
she had phoned her boss, the
deahmans
had caught up with her. It was
circumstantial, but Darien
did
say that there was a mole within the FBI
walls. What if it was her boss?

Tara frowned and canceled the call. It was better to be safe
than sorry. She phoned Darien. It rang three times before he picked up.

“Yeah.”

“It’s me, Road Runner.”

“Fuck, Tara, where have you been? Everyone has been worried
sick.”

Really? But she was a freak, an outcast. She couldn’t do
anything right. Tara thought the team would be glad to get rid of her. “But I’m
the weak link—”

“What are you talking about?” Darien asked. “Ari insisted on
sheltering you because we couldn’t risk your exceptional power falling into the
wrong hands, but I convinced her to let you go, because you are the best
tracker we have. Then you dropped off the face of the earth and we feared the
worst…”

Exceptional power? Her? But she had always thought—

“What the hell is going on?” Darien asked, snapping her from
her thoughts.

“Sparrow didn’t give you updates?”

“I haven’t been able to contact him, either.”

Interesting.
Tara looked around her on the boat. “I’ve
been rather busy.”

“Where are you?”

“I don’t know if this line is secure. I’ll be home in a few
hours to give my report in person.”

There was a brief pause. “It’s too dangerous. Meet me at rendezvous
point B tomorrow night.”

Rendezvous point B. Bar Harbor, Maine
. Tara searched
her mind until she remembered the bar name she had been given in case of
emergencies. The owner was on the FBI payroll and could be counted on for his
discretion.

The Rising Star, that was the name.

“Got it. I’ll be there.”

She ended the call and moved to put the phone away. Then she
hesitated. If Anisa and Nergal came after them in the boat, then what happened
to Samir? Uneasiness rippled over her as she flipped open the phone once more.
After a few tries, she remembered Samir’s number and waited while it rang.
Where was he? Why wasn’t he picking up? Was he all right?

The call switched over to voicemail and Samir’s familiar
baritone came over the line. “This is Samir, leave a message.”

The phone beeped and Tara stood in stunned silence. What
should she say?

“Samir? It’s me, Tara. Give me a call. I want to know if you’re
all right.” She started to close the phone, then remembered that she didn’t
have her own phone with her. “Don’t call me on my phone. It’s destroyed. Call
me on this one. Okay, bye.”

Tara flipped the phone shut and stared at it for a full
moment. She hoped that he was able to get away. Perhaps he was in hiding and
didn’t have his phone with him. Or more likely, he escaped, got bored waiting
for her and went on another of his grand adventures.

Either way, he’d give her a call when he could.

Tara tightened her grip on the phone and went down below to
update Soren and Donar.

Chapter Eighteen

Soren and Donar had insisted on getting Tara new clothes before
seeing Darien. Once they reached Bar Harbor, Tara wore some oversized shirt
that she had found in one of the closets and let them take her on a shopping
spree with the FBI credit card.

“It’s a write-off,” Donar had said.

They had a great afternoon of shopping, but now it was time
for business.

Tara was first to spot the pub. It was a small place, just
off the main street in downtown Bar Harbor. Donar held open the door for both
her and Soren. Tara entered and it took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to
the change in lighting. The place was filled. How were they supposed to find
Darien in this crowd? There was a sea of people.

“He’s over there.” Soren pointed to a lone man sitting at a
table in the corner. His face was cloaked in shadow.

“How can you tell?”

Donar smiled. “Our
deahmans
recognized him as soon as
we entered.”

Of course. Darien carried an inner
deahman
, just like
Soren and Donar. Now, just like Darien, both men would be able to control their
inner darkness.

Donar made his way over to the table where Darien sat. Tara
and Soren followed. Darien stood as they approached.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I never should have left you down
in hell. If there was some other way—”

Donar clasped his shoulder. “It’s all in the past now,” he
said.

Soren patted Darien on the back. “We’re brothers now.”

Tara knew that he referred to them all having
deahmans
living inside of them.

“I sense that you have better control over your
deahmans
now,” Darien said.

“Yes, thanks to Tara.” Soren put his arm around Tara and
smiled.

“She saved our lives.”

Tara could feel the heat rise to her cheeks.

“Of course. Tara is from the old country and one of our
strongest
Iatros
. I’m not surprised.”

Tara warmed with his praise.

“Please, let’s sit. We’re drawing a crowd,” Darien said.

“Yes, we wouldn’t want to attract any more attention,” Donar
added.

“But we’re miles from Boston,” Tara said.

“It doesn’t matter. The
deahmans
have ears,” Darien
replied.

Tara knew that he was referring to the mole in the FBI.
Donar held out a chair and she sat and waited for the others to take their
places before she began.

“I believe I know who the mole is in the FBI.”

“You do?” Darien raised his brow.

“Yes.” She told him of how Nergal managed to find them after
she called Sparrow.

“That could be coincidence,” Darien said. “
Deahman
s
can sense other
deahmans
and the senses are stronger the more
deahmans
that are in the area. It is possible that Nergal detected Soren and Donar and
Sparrow had nothing to do with it.”

“We thought that too.” Donar said. “But then we ran into
deahmans
again once she called him outside the hotel room.”

“I’ll have to look more into it.” Darien pressed his lips
together in thought. “Although now that you mention it, I remember some
coincidences as well. It seems like every time we went out on a mission and ran
into difficulty, Sparrow was in on the plan.”

“That’s a lot of coincidences,” Tara observed.

Darien frowned. “I trusted him with my life.”

“We did too,” Donar said. “He was with us in Venom before we
came to you. We thought that he was impenetrable.”

“Not completely impenetrable,” Tara said. “I wonder what
hold Urian has on him that would make him defect like that?”

“Urian?” Darien leaned forward. “What do you mean, Urian?”

Soren and Donar proceeded to tell Darien about the cages,
about how the red horseman had appeared and murdered the old
deahman
lord because of his failure and how he put Urian in charge.

“He acquired two shards of the
deahman
stone. We
managed to steal one, but he still has the other.” Soren reached into his
pocket.

“No, not here,” Darien said. “Later.”

Soren glanced at Donar, then placed his hands back on the
table. “You’re right, of course.”

Donar leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. “The
magic will amplify his power and make him even more dangerous.”

“And quicken his conversion,” Tara added.

Soren nodded. “Urian has a vendetta against you, Darien. He
seems obsessed with getting revenge.”

Darien leaned back and rubbed his chin. Silence stretched as
he pondered the new information. “I deserve his hatred.”

“No, don’t say that.” Tara leaned forward pointed to the
table. “You have done so much good for our cause.”

“Yes, but I was foolish. If I hadn’t led the team down into
hell to begin with, none of this would have happened. I should have done more
research. I should have—”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it, my friend.” Donar put a
hand on his friend’s shoulder. “It was a different time, we were different
people. There was no way of knowing that it was a trap.”

“No,” Darien agreed. “I cannot change the past, but I can
change the future. I can assure what has happened to us never happens to anyone
else ever again.”

“How are you going to do that?” Tara asked.

“I have to break the portal.”

“No!” Tara stood, drawing the attention from the room. “You
can’t.”

“Tara.” Soren touched her arm. “You’re creating a scene.”

“I don’t care. The
Iatros
are tied to the portal. We
draw our life from it. Darien wants to destroy my people.”

“Shh, child, I want to do no such thing.” Darien motioned
her to sit. Tara fought through her hurt and tried to get her emotions under
control.

She tried to reason with him again. “You can’t destroy the
portal. The
Iatros
are bound to that magic. If it’s gone, then we’re
gone too. Not only will I die, but Arianne as well.”

“I am bound to your queen, don’t you think I already know
this?” Darien’s face turned hard, like ice. He held her gaze for a moment and
Tara saw his own inner
deahman
flash crimson through his gaze.

“Darien,” Donar put his hand on Darien’s arm, his own eyes
turning red. “I will respect your mate, I ask that you respect mine.”

“Mine as well,” Soren added, putting a protective arm around
Tara.

It seemed as if time stood still. The three humans—or were
they
deahmans
?—stared at each other from across the table.

Then the moment passed. Darien seemed to have gained control
over his inner darkness. The danger was gone.

“I’m sorry.” Darien passed a hand over his face. “I have
been three days without my mate and I’m ready to go insane.”

“It’s okay,” Donar said, leaning back. “You’re forgiven.”

“Yes, you’re forgiven.” Soren relaxed, but kept his
protective arm around Tara.

“I realize that we can’t destroy the portal, but if we could
block it off somehow, keep anyone from passing through…”

Tara shook her head. “The only way to seal it off would be
to use the ancient Gaelic spell, but when you use that all of the
Iatros
will freeze as well.”

“There has to be another way. I’ll have to think about it.”
Darien rubbed his chin for a moment, lost in thought. Then he lowered his arm. “You
have done well, my friends. Take the night off, relax. You deserve it.”

“What happens tomorrow?” Soren asked.

“Tomorrow we return to Celestial Wood—to my wife.” Darien
smiled and turned to Tara. “She’s going to want to hear about everything that has
happened.”

Tara nodded. “I had assumed that she would want to talk to
me.”

“She will want to promote you.”

“Promote me?” Tara asked.

“Yes, you have brought two of my team members back to me and
they both have priceless information that will help our cause. I believe that
deserves some recognition, don’t you?”

“I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Say thank you.”

“Thank you.”

“Good.” Darien pulled out his wallet, threw some bills on
the table and stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must retire. It has been an
exhausting day. I’ll see you in the morning. We will leave at six.”

“Six?” Soren groaned as the rest of the table stood.

“Yes, six. I want to get an early start. He nodded to Tara. “Sleep
well.”

The three of them watched Darien as he left to go to his
room.

“Well I guess that’s that,” Tara said as he vanished from
view.

“Yeah, that’s Darien for you. He doesn’t like to waste time,”
Soren said. “He’s quick to make decisions.”

“Hopefully this time he’ll think things through a little
before acting on them,” Tara said.

“I’m sure he will. You saw how he beat himself up about
leading us into hell.” Soren glanced at Donar. “He won’t make the same mistake
again.”

“Let’s hope not.” Donar laid his hand on the small of Tara’s
back. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll need some rest before we leave tomorrow.”

“Rest?” Tara arched her brow.

Soren tried to hide a smile. “I don’t think she’s tired,
master.”

“Hmmm…we’ll have to see about that. Come on, to the room.”

Tara wove her way around the tables and up the stairs to the
living quarters. She found their room and used the card Soren had gotten
earlier to let them inside. She stepped in through the door and tossed the key
card on a small end table as Soren and Donar walked in behind her.

“Ah, this is more like it.” Donar walked into the room and
sprawled out on the large king-sized bed. “Just what I was waiting for.”

Soren laughed and walked past him to the bathroom. Donar
motioned for Tara to join him. She kicked off her shoes and climbed up into bed
next to him, then rested her head in the crux of his shoulder.

Donar wrapped his arms around her. “Much better.”

She looked up and met his gaze. “Much.”

We have our whole lives to look forward to now. You, me
and Soren.

I know. What kind of future will it be with the
deahmans
gaining so much control?

Donar brushed a stray hair from her face.
Don’t worry. We
can take on anything Urian can dish out.
He tapped his temple.
We now
know the secret on how to resist the pull of the stone.

Tara smiled and ran her finger over her lips.
Not all
Iatros are as lucky as us, though.

No.
He tightened his grip around her
. It will be
our job to protect them.

She nodded in understanding. It seems like such an
impossible task.

Hey.
Donar crooked his finger under her chin and
lifted her head so that it was closer to his lips.
You’re an amazing woman,
Tara. The Iatros are lucky to have you on your side.

We all are.
Soren stepped out of the bathroom, naked
except for a towel around his hips. The sight sent heat spiraling through Tara’s
body and a dull ache formed between her thighs.

Donar’s right,
Soren said.
You’re an amazing
woman.

Wait a minute…
“You can hear Donar and me talking?” Tara
asked.

Soren nodded.
Loud and clear.

She turned to Donar. “And you can hear him?”

“I think it’s one of the perks of being joined through you.”
Donar smiled.

“You two should come in here,” Soren said. “They have a
Jacuzzi.”

“Really?” Tara scrambled off the bed and rushed past Soren
into the bathroom. While she was talking with Donar, Soren had turned on the
water, and steam rolled through the room and bubbles floated on the surface.

Tara groaned and stripped off her clothing. “I’ve always
wanted to try one of these things.”

“You’ve never been in one before?” Donar asked.

“No.” She slipped into the water and positioned herself in
front of a jet. Water sprayed against her back, soothing her aching muscles.
She sighed and rested her head on the side of the Jacuzzi as her whole body
relaxed. “This is better than I thought it would be.”

Donar slipped off his clothes and the men slid into the
water on either side of her.

“She looks beautiful, doesn’t she, Soren?”

“Yes, except…”

“Except what?” Donar asked when Soren didn’t continue.

Tara opened one eye and peered at them.

Soren smiled at her. “I think something is missing.”

Tara opened her other eye. “What’s missing?”

The men turned toward her, giving her full view of their
muscular chests—and their crimson eyes.

“I think she needs to be pleasured, master,” Soren said.

“I believe you may be right, slave.”

Both men advanced toward her as one body.

Tara squealed and tried to climb out of the Jacuzzi. Donar
grabbed her waist and hauled her back into his chest. Tara laughed as he pulled
her close and Soren sat down in her space.

“I’m ready, master,” he said.

Donar placed her down in Soren’s lap, and then began to kiss
her shoulders and neck. Soren reached up and grabbed the back of her head and
dragged her mouth to his. Hands were everywhere, mouths everywhere. Tara’s body
came alive with sensation as the men cocooned her with their warmth.

Soren left her head and palmed her breasts, kneading and
teasing them until they formed sharp peaks in his hands. Tara groaned and
wiggled, rubbing her pussy against his swelling cock.

Donar leaned in close, his scent mixing with Soren’s. He
massaged her shoulders and back, using his hands and tongue to sensitize her
skin. Together the men worked, until Tara’s whole body ached with need. Then
Soren grabbed her hips and positioned himself at her opening.

Tara tore away from his mouth and met his gaze. “Do it.”

Soren thrust his hips up, spearing her with his cock. Tara
groaned as her channel stretched to accommodate him. As Soren eased back in his
seat Tara went with him, not willing to have him retreat from her body just yet.