Burned In Shadows Read online

  “Wrap your arms around his neck baby,” Royce kissed the back of her neck and then used his lips to place open mouth kisses in between her shoulder blades. The bed moved as Royce got up, but Ronin didn’t move, he held her tightly and gently kissed her forehead. It was such a simple gesture, but coming from Ronin was a tremendously big deal.

  “I think… I think,” Belinda tried to say.

  “You think what?” Ronin asked against the shoulder he was showing lots of attention to. She felt the tips of his fangs graze her skin and shudders began to travel the course of her body as she tried to adjust. Belinda lifted her face to meet his and what she saw took everything she ever knew about relationships to a whole new level.

  Ronin’s eyes were shadowed by his dark beautiful lashes, and the expression on his face was of complete and total adoration; his hand gently came up moving the hair that was plastered to her forehead to the side and gently, he smoothed his fingers over her lips.

  “You think what?” He asked again as he bent forward and captured her lips in a heated kiss. Finally! Whatever she’d been thinking, he’d kissed it from her memory, and Belinda could do nothing but wrap her hands tighter around his neck, their bodies simultaneously moving to the rhythm of their tongues. His kiss sang through her veins as he continued to eat at her mouth. He was just as hungry for her as she was for him. She curled into his body and didn’t want to be separated.

  “Hey, the two of you were supposed to wait for me.” Royce was back on the bed, the heat of his chest at her back as they ignored him. Royce didn’t seem to mind, she could feel his hands sliding up her back and tangle into her hair. Then she was ripped from Ronin’s mouth and kissing Royce. Ronin continued to thrust into her. Everything was tortuously slow. Royce sucked on her lips, and she bit his, this time it was his blood that was coating her tongue and they both groaned as the kiss continued. She finally closed her eyes and let the sensations take over while the two of them worked her over the edge. The hand in her hair pulled tighter causing a rush of fire at her scalp that rushed through her body until it stopped at the center of where she was joined to Ronin. His hand slid between their sweat soaked bodies and then his fingers were there, helping her crash over into oblivion. She tore her lips away from Royce and screamed as her body convulsed. It felt like she was standing in a puddle of water as a thousand volts of electricity shot through her. Ronin continued to move, but now his movements were jerky and quick as he grabbed her waist and drove into her snarling his release.

  She looked over and down at Royce who was still sporting a very impressive erection, and her first thought was that he was now going to have his way with her but he looked at her and then down at his erection and laughed.

  “No princess, I am not going to work you over your first night…. Come here.”

  Royce gently pulled her away from Ronin and instantly she felt the loss when they were no longer connected. Ronin got up and went to the restroom while Royce held her in his arms. He gently caressed the backs of her arms and the front of her belly. She giggled when he kept dragging his fingers over a particularly sensitive spot.

  “Stop that!” She laughed into his chest.

  “Aaaahhh…. So you’re ticklish, beneficial to know.” He lightly kissed her nose and then Ronin was there with a warm wash cloth cleaning her off.

  “You don’t have to do that you know.” She said to Ronin.

  “Allow us to take care of you Deva, where we come from a man doesn’t leave his woman soiled with his lust.”

  Such a formal admission from him, but she wasn’t about to complain, the warmth from the cloth felt incredible. Royce was massaging her shoulders and her arms. Bells couldn’t keep her eyes open and the more she tried, the sleepier she became. Instead of fighting, she submitted and hoped her dreams recapped this moment.

  # # #

  Belinda had fallen asleep as Royce massaged her. Her body snuggled up to his. He put his arms around her and just held on. Thank the Goddess! They’d found their other half. Royce squeezed her tighter to him and tried to relax on the bed. There were a million things he wanted to tell her, and the first one was going to be a long overdue apology. Damn, he was an ass’ ass. Not that any of that would matter, they still hadn’t tasted her blood, and that would come later, much later. He wanted to get this assignment over with before they truly claimed her. Jes hadn’t checked in, and Royce figured now was as good a time as any. Before he tuned in to Jes’ thoughts, Royce looked over his shoulder at his brother who was now sitting at the table.

  “Come and get in bed next to her, she needs both our warmth.”

  “That’s more your style, not mine. I’m not the cuddling type.” Ronin answered back. He quickly got up and moved into the other room and turned on the television.

  Royce knew his brother was just as scared as he was, if not more. They both had a lot to lose if things didn’t work out. Belinda snuggled deeper into his arms and Royce kissed the top of her head. Time to check in with his chameleon.

  “You there?”

  “No.”

  “I just wanted to check in with you one last time, you know mother hen will worry if I don’t check in with him.”

  “Tell Dravaggio, everything is fine, I just got out of training, and now we’re headed to some secret location. I’ll contact you the moment I know something.”

  “Sure thing, just be careful.”

  “Where is Royce and what have you done with my friend?”

  Royce laughed and without giving too much information, explained that at the moment, he was currently snuggled up with the best looking bird on the planet.

  “NO FREAKING WAY!” Jes yelled into his head. He smiled and told her to get back to work and cut off communication.

  Yes freaking way, he was holding Bells, and he wasn’t about to let go. Not anytime soon. Royce hit the light on the bedside table and then pulled the covers over both of them and drifted off into sleep.

  Chapter 15

  Zea looked on as the van past a series of check points. Being a recruit, leaving the facility was not something you could do, unless you were escorted. Today, there were all escorted, and Black wouldn’t tell them what was going on. She knew there was an assignment today, and this was going to be the first of many tests. Enri was on board, and he was someone she didn’t want anything to do with. As the errant thought passed her mind, he looked in her direction and smiled. She knew he couldn’t read her mind, but she wasn’t one hundred percent sure, so she flipped him off and continued to stare out the window as they passed another check point. This time they stopped and one of the security guards talked to Black through the window.

  “Yeah, although some won’t make it back, there are twelve leaving the facility.”

  “Sir, the doctor has requested you stay back and let Enri take the team out.” The guard said a bit hesitant. Black’s temper was legendary among the recruits. He never held back and apparently it stretched to guards as well.

  “The doctor can go fuck himself. I’ll be back for my treatment once the assignment is complete. These aren’t Enri’s recruits they’re mine. “

  The guard opened the gate, and Black drove through. The first thing Zea noticed was the hustle and bustle of the outside. It was like an entire world was outside the gates of the facility. Black knew that for some of the recruits, this in itself could mean death. Some were forced to join, and others, like her and Adam, went willing into service. She hadn’t talked to Royce for over an hour and knew that he was busy with his own things. She had a feeling Dravaggio put the three of them together on purpose. To have all that male attention. She cracked a smile. Her friend was way in over her head with those two men. But it would do her some good to spread her wings, literally before she assumed her position within the Enclave as Matria.

  They were passing stores and small vendors on the street when Adam rose from his seat in the back and came to sit next to her. She kept telling him they needed to keep the
ir distance on the op, but he didn’t seem to heed her suggestion. Maybe Royce and the others were right about Adam having a crush on her. Something she couldn’t deal with. It was bad enough she had to watch the man she loved have Melissa draped all over him, she wasn’t about to have to deal with a male Vampiri as well. Adam was a Royal. They had a tendency to be more alpha than wolves. Luckily she hadn’t seen that from Adam.

  “Zea, where do you think he’s taking us?” Adam asked. He rested his arm on the back of her seat. Earlier that morning he’d been sparring with her, and that hadn’t gone over so well with Black and judging by how he watched her in the mirror, Adam sitting next to her wasn’t a smart move either. He eyed them both, and she smiled back and winked. To say he was shocked was an understatement, she would have laughed out loud if she could, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

  “I don’t have a clue, but if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go back to your seat and leave me alone.”

  Adam looked in the direction she was looking and received a death glare. Black didn’t understand why he cared, but he obviously cared. She needed to remind him why because she was running out of time. She knew it was only a matter of days before Dravaggio called her back into the fold. The Agency would eventually get wind of what they were doing, and when they did, it wouldn’t be beneficial for either parties involved.

  Adam didn’t move, and Zea sighed. She didn’t have time to deal with Adam and his stubbornness, but she went along with it anyway. The van continued to drive, and she engaged Adam in small talk about what the assignment would be about. She didn’t know what the plan was but knew that if Enri had come along for the trip it wasn’t a good move. The van stopped in front of a bank. It was a small credit unit with dark glass windows. Everyone in the van was just as surprised as she was, except for Enri and Black of course. The sound of the engine cutting off was somehow eerie. She didn’t want to think about what was about to happen. Ronin made it extremely clear she may have to do more than something a bit unsavory and it seemed that knocking off a bank was the first of many things she would be forced to do, all to get her man back.

  “Zea, Soliel, Brady, Jo, Sonny, Dog and Enri, I want you at the front of the building. Adam, Suki, Shep, Bo Jermaine, Riker and I will go in through the back, assume anything is possible.”

  Black looked directly at Adam and grinned. “Anything.” His voice dropped to a dangerously low pitch and the animosity he felt toward Adam shown with harsh clarity.

  The sliding door to the van opened, and Zea stepped out in broad daylight. She eyed the cameras that were perched on the top of the bank building and noticed the camera’s on the street. They were downright exposed. Enri was wearing a long duster jacket that she knew was designed to carry weapons and hide his wings. She had been given a dagger and Soliel had been given a gun. Why did the sun demon get a weapon and not her?

  Quickly they walked up to the revolving doors and walked inside. People were inside doing their everyday transactions, deposits, withdrawals and opening new accounts. Enri nodded with his head for Zea to take up position near a set of stairs that led to top offices. Soliel stayed by the door. No one paid them any attention as they all positioned themselves.

  Enri walked up to a teller and gently leaned against the edge of the counter. He acted as if he was a normal everyday customer. Zea watched everything, she took in her surroundings and looked for anything that could be considered out of place. As Enri continued to make his deposit, Zea noticed three gentlemen dressed in black. At first they looked like regular people wanting to do business at a bank. But something was way off about them. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. Enri nodded slightly in their direction, and that was her cue. Great, she was the center of this op and Black had made sure of it. Was this his way of getting back at her?

  Zea quickly followed the three gentlemen up the stairs as they headed towards the back of the bank. She couldn’t smell them, and that was the second of many things she noticed as she got closer. They had no scent, what human didn’t have a scent? Everyone smelled like something. She stopped abruptly and made sure she wasn’t seen. What if they could smell her? She wasn’t putting off any of her natural scent, but she clearly smelled like something. There was a bench at the far end of the hall that was positioned between the restrooms. She quickly walked past her targets and took a seat at the end of the hall so she could observe them. Her hands were a bit sweaty, but she could still feel the solid handle on the dagger as she gripped the edges. Something was going to happen, she could feel it in the air. Dark hypnotic energy flowed all around her. Royce and the others all warned her about being seduced by darkness, and she’d taken everything they said under strong consideration.

  To feel the energy surge through the room and wrap around her like a warm blanket was another thing entirely. She felt too relaxed, so relaxed that she was almost a second late when the bullets started flying from all directions.

  “EVERYONE GET DOWN NOW!”

  Someone shouted, Zea couldn’t see a damn thing as chunks of plaster rained down from the ceiling and the loud screams tore through the air. Bullets were whizzing this way and that, and all she had was a fucking dagger. Men! She didn’t know how or when she did it, but she was effectively hiding behind the up turned bench she had been originally seated on. Not only was her dagger out but so were her claws. She tried to peak over the top, but the moment she did, a bullet embedded itself into the wall where her head had been seconds ago. Okay, not good. She thought to herself. The screams were still loud in her ears, but she willed herself to get ready for anything. This was real. This wasn’t her and Ronin on the mats, or Gabe and her at target practice. The shit was going down, right on the other side of her bench.

  There was scuffling close by and then strong hands were wrapped around her shoulders pulling her up. Zea turned in the strangers grasped and stabbed her attacker in the gut. The dagger went clean through. It wasn’t one of the men in the suits, but a fucking woman turned death walker. How the hell did that happen? She wanted to scream and run at the same time, but the woman wouldn’t let go of her shoulders. The grey suit the woman wore was not stained with black and red blood. She must have been newly turned within the last few minutes. Zea didn’t have time to process, only to react. She pulled back and quickly got loose of the other woman’s hold who was still coming for her. There wasn’t much time, and as she looked around, she saw that most, if not all of the banks occupants were now death walkers.

  She wasn’t supposed to showcase her powers here, but she didn’t have a choice. She knew using her telekinesis while dark energy surrounded her was unacceptable, but Black didn’t give her much of a choice.

  Her power was readily available to her now that she knew how to use it and use it she would. Zea looked at the woman and threw the other woman clear on the other side of the room without laying a finger on her. She did this several more times as she tried to make her way to where the others were. When she reached the top of the stairs, she looked down and saw that Black and Enri were nowhere to be seen, but Adam and the others were fighting for their lives, just like she was.

  A hand reached out and caught her around the ankle and it sent her tumbling down the stairs. Her head hit the solid marble floor with a horrible cracking sound. Warmth spread over her head, and she knew she was bleeding. This seriously pissed her off! She jumped to her feet and started pushing death walkers back with her thoughts. Soliel was holding her own with two shot guns, blowing the heads off the death walkers’ bodies. She couldn’t see the other two, but she saw Adam. He was using his bare hands to sever their heads.

  Zea’s foot kicked something hard and solid. When she looked down, she saw that Enri’s weapon of choice was laying out in plain sight for her to grab. Where were Enri and Black anyway? And how many more of these bastards were walking around in the bank? The Mossberg was heavy in her hand at first, it wasn’t to her specification, but she turned and started shootin
g. The first shot knocked her back a few inches and then she was in her place. Feet firmly planted and weapon aimed. One of the men in black suits turned robotically in her direction and she hadn’t noticed him before, but he wasn’t like the others, he was faster it seemed and stronger as he made quick work of the stairs and ran in her direction.

  She turned and bolted for the teller booth. She jumped over the booth, twisting mid-air so she could land on her back. Everything was going too fast for her, but not a second sooner as she turned, suit guy was sailing over the booth as well. She didn’t think just reacted as she got two shots off in his chest. The first shot seemed to jerk his body back, and the second shot blew his chest wide open as he landed only inches from where she lay on the ground. Black blood poured out of his chest cavity, and Zea noticed that his heart had some sort of implant.

  Soliel had taken to using a sword and Zea joined in as Adam, Soliel and herself became boxed in. Their backs were to the teller booths as more death walkers poured from the top of the staircase.

  “Fucking freaks!” Soliel shouted as she darted out and took two heads off. Her sword swung in a beautiful arc, and she made it look so easy as she dropped their now headless bodies to their knees.

  “Was it everything you’d hope it would be?” Adam asked as he twisted off another head. Black blood was dripping from his mouth, and Zea looked at him in horror.

  “Don’t drink their blood you fucking idiot!”

  Zea had one more bullet left in her shotgun and only her dagger as back up. She would not break contact with her duties. She could only use so much of her telekinetic power while surrounded by all the dark energy. It was bad enough that it gave her an extraordinary high. But what else was she supposed to do?

  Adapt take control of the situation. That’s not breaking protocol. They didn’t know about all her nifty tricks, only Royce did, and that couldn’t be helped. Death walkers needed their heads removed from their bodies, they were zombies and these zombies were fresh out of the bank. Somehow the men in suits did this to the population. Why they weren’t infected she didn’t know. Where the hell was Suki? She hadn’t seen Suki, she’d been a part of Black’s team.