Burned In Shadows Read online

  “How about we get some coffee, or something before we go see small fry? You need the caffeine, and I want to tell you about my shitty day.”

  “Your shitty day?”

  “Yeah, you know, my best friend in the whole wide world had fangs. Fangs! Didn’t even tell me. I don’t know if I want to keep her around much longer, with her keeping secrets and shit.”

  Jes grinned.

  Bells wrapped an arm around Jes’ waist and started to pull her towards the front of the building. Belinda had it easy, she had two not one, but two gorgeous men fawning over her. Jes rested her head on Belinda’s shoulder as they made it to the front door of the building. The Glass reflected the two of them standing together, and what she saw, brought both women to an immediate halt.

  “What the fuck?” Bells whispered.

  Another new trait. Obviously this one would come in handy.

  # # #

  She’d been seeing Ann now for a little over a week. The petite doctor always made her feel comfortable and welcomed. Her technique wasn’t what Jes thought it would be. She wasn’t cold and distant, she was warm and friendly. Her office had pictures of beautiful places she’d been or wanted to go. There was a picture of Ann at an Ice Hotel. She was all comfy and cozy in a bed made out of pure ice. There were pictures of Ann’s family scattered across the walls and lined up on her desk. There was a chaise lounge in the corner and a bookshelf filled with books. Romance books, Paranormal Books and of course there was the occasional therapy book; things on coping and counseling. What Jes loved best was there were no certificates on the walls to showcase Ann’s brilliance. Just things you would find in someone’s home office.

  “You’re a bit early today.” Ann said as she came out of an adjoining bathroom. Jesminda watched as the doctor quickly put on her cardigan, but not before Jes noticed the tattoos. Her eyesight was better now that she’d changed. She saw the intricate designs clearly. Ann was human, but she was deeply immersed into the immortal community. Dravaggio brought her here to council her and help her cope with her past as well as things happening to her in the present. There were a few symbols on Ann’s arm, and there was an image of a peacock wrapped around the Ann’s arm and elbow, which rested on the branch of a Japanese Cherry Blossom tree.

  “That’s a very beautiful piece.” Jes commented as Ann quickly righted herself. Maybe the other woman didn’t like to reveal her body art. Or maybe she felt it was improper.

  “It’s an addiction of mine. I have to admit. There is something about inking the skin and then covering it up, I find it immensely intimate. But enough about me and my vices. How’s this week been for you?”

  Jes took her seat on the couch across from the chaise and went into her daily habits with Faith and her workout sessions with Royce and Ronin.

  “Are the team members treating you well? Do you feel threatened at all with the men?”

  A month ago she would have said yes, but now everyone made her feel welcomed. She didn’t know if they walked quietly around her or what, she didn’t think so. Ronin and Royce wouldn’t hold back their punches with her. At first they did, but she’d been rapidly growing in strength and the extra muscle helped. Sometimes they hurt her and other times she hurt them. This wasn’t at all threatening to her. Not how Marcus was. No, these men were giving Jes the tools and knowledge to protect herself. It’s the same thing Draven promised to do once the entire debacle with the Vampiris had come to a close.

  Her heart ached for her beloved. They didn’t have time to cement their relationship. And now he was out there, working for the other side. Why? If all went the way she wanted, she was going to find out.

  “Jes?” Ann was talking to her.

  “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

  Ann crossed her arms and rested them in her lap. The doctor didn’t take notes during their sessions, but she did record them.

  “How is the discovery of Draven affecting you?”

  “I feel conflicted. I want to scream to the rafters in happiness. Knowing that he’s out there has lifted something heavy off my shoulders I didn’t realize I was carrying around. I’m soothed but at the same time I am tormented.”

  Ann didn’t understand. She didn’t think any one person was able to relate to how she truly felt.

  “When I saw that it was him dragging Marcus around, two things went through my mind. One, I thought maybe he broke Marcus out in order to kill him himself. That he’d been trying to stay away so that he wouldn’t hurt me when he did. Although why I don’t know, he knew I didn’t love Marcus. But when I saw that same cold reflective stare that Oliver had, right before Ronin ate his brain, I knew it was useless. I knew that everything I wanted with Draven was somehow lost. To him, to me. The second thing that went through my mind was dread. I thought to myself, what if he did change sides, what if he’d been on the other side and had played me. Played the team.”

  “But the others claim that Stone’s eyes changed to black. You even saw the change, right? Do you think you imagined it? Do you think it’s possible that it’s not Draven at all?”

  “Ann,” Jes said in warning. “I know what I saw, Belinda saw it too. When I took off the mask, it was him.” Jes shook her head and slouched further in the couch. “I know what everyone is thinking, but it’s the only logical explanation. He didn’t trip any of the wards coming into the building. Dravaggio said as much. It was set to go off for foreigners. Draven is not a foreigner. His body was scanned prior to the warehouse mission. So tell me how it’s someone else?”

  She knew that was going to be the next question posed to her. What if it had been a shifter, someone pretending to be Draven so that they’d get past the wards?

  Jes waited for Ann to come up with something, but when the woman didn’t say anything, she continued.

  “If it was a shifter, the alarms still would have sounded. They can shift, but their body’s physical makeup remains the same. It’s like they are temporarily wearing the skin, but just the first layer. Not the blood, the scent, or any other thing that would make Draven, Draven. It was him Ann, and when he saw me, his eyes did change from Green to Black.”

  She was breathing heavily now. Air was rapidly entering and exiting her body, making her head swim in pain. She needed to get a grip quickly. Ann recognized her aggravation and immediately did what she always did. Soothe the hurt she was unable to push away. Her cheeks were hot with fresh tears, and she knew if she didn’t stop now, this would turn into one of her crying sessions, and she didn’t want that. She wanted to talk to Ann about her own new abilities and the plan her and Belinda were thinking of asking permission to put into place. The plan Bells was already presenting.

  # # #

  “You want to run that by me again?” Dravaggio said in a disbelieving tone. He was saying that a lot today. Bells couldn’t believe it either. They’d literally walked into some super Sci-Fi weirdness. Her friend was morphing into shit. First the fangs and then the incident in front of the glass doors of the building. All Jes had done was rested her hand on her shoulder.

  “Um, I think I said something along the lines of Jesminda can absorb people’s appearances? Hell, what else should I call it? Morph… shift…. blend?”

  No one said a word.

  “What?” She looked around the room at the questioning glances. “You don’t believe me?”

  “No one is saying that baby girl.” Royce said.

  “I’m telling you, it was like looking at my twin. I think we have something here. We need to use it to our advantage. Jes is on board with the idea, and I think it will work.”

  “What idea?” The captain asked.

  The men in the conference room sat quietly waiting for her to respond. Dravaggio sat with his elbows on the desk pretending to be disinterested in what she had to say. At least the sexy was turned down a notch. His voice still had its overall effect, but it was just a low buzz of warmth that weaved its way through the room. Gabe wore a pe
rplexed look on his face while Hawke and Adam played paper, rock, and scissors. The only two people in the room that paid her an ounce of attention were the ones she didn’t want the attention from. The rest of the team ignored her. Dammit, she was a part of the team now! They were going to show her the respect she deserved, and if she had to do something drastic to get that respect, she’d do it.

  “Are any of you fucking listening to me!” Bells screamed.

  All heads in the room faced the front where she was standing. That’s better.

  “Jesminda can morph into whatever is breathing.” She looked each one of the men in the eye until she was sure they were listening. “We have a plan, a good plan.”

  She began walking around the table as she attempted to lay out the plan she and Jes had come up with earlier after they’d left Faith in the capable hands of Ellie. It was going to work, she knew it. Even if the outcome wasn’t the one her friend wanted.

  “She is going to assume a different female form. Somehow we have to get the Red Hand Organization to take notice in her.” She continued pacing. They weren’t trying to interrupt her now.

  “We need to cause some issues in the community, get others talking about how bad-ass she is. Someone will eventually take notice and want to grab her. Right?”

  Everyone was silent, and Belinda bounced from foot to foot. She was burning up inside with excitement, her first real mission. It was the best rush ever.

  Hawke took off his ball cap to run his fingers through his black hair. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, and she didn’t understand why. Most of the guys on the team were receptive to her. Treated her like family. With the exception of the bossy twins and Hawke, everyone else was cool. Even Dietrich. Hawke looked down at the table, pushing his ball cap around in a repeated circle.

  “How exactly are we supposed to make anyone notice her? Jes is still undergoing extensive training, and she has to meet with Ann once a week.”

  Ann was her head doctor, a quiet mouse of a woman who liked to wear clothes that covered every inch of her body. She’d only seen her once, but she worked here on the premises. She was human and understood how to deal with Jesminda’s trauma as well as her new found abilities.

  “I’m sure Ann will clear her for active status. She’s ready. Ask Royce, ask Ronin.”

  She looked to the brothers for support in her claim. Jes was ready; this was the only thing that would keep her friend from snapping. Getting Draven back was a top priority, not just for Jesminda but for the team. Why had he switched sides? Did this entire thing go deeper than she even knew? What if Dravaggio purposely put him there as a mole? But why? That was a question of concern, why would he do that? It didn’t make sense to send him in. Draven was known by most the immortal population. Someone would have ratted him out by now.

  “We don’t even know if this is going to work Captain. Come on? Sending her in to do recon and rescue Draven? It’s not going to work.” Hawke protested.

  “No one asked you for your input Ryu, did they?”

  Everyone turned towards the door where the topic of conversation stood. She was dressed in black jeans and a black tee. She’d stopped wearing bright colors and since the disappearance of Draven, she’d been in a perpetual state of mourning. She walked to the head of the table and planted her palms firmly on the surface and bent forward staring each man in the face. She looked relaxed her breathing steady. One moment she was Jesminda Zealand and the next she was Royce, then Ronin, and she continued to show each member of the team their own personal doppelganger. Belinda thought she had to touch the object, but since everyone was seated at the table and in some form or fashion touching the table, whether it be a hand or foot, she had direct access to their genetic make-up. Awesome. You could literally hear when all the heart beats in the room stopped.

  No sound circulated. Mouths were slack, and everyone’s eyes were practically falling out of their heads.

  After a few minutes, Jes returned to her natural state.

  “Do that shit again, I want to see it one more time.”

  “Why should I?” Jes asked in an annoyed voice. “It’s hard to concentrate, and right now I can only hold the form for a short amount of time.”

  “Seriously, you just became my new best friend.” Royce stared back at the others who still hadn’t said a word.

  “You can be me and break it to all the ladies how I can’t sleep with them anymore.”

  Bells choked on a cough, but couldn’t hold back the words “asshole” as she did. The men erupted into laughter. Royce included. The smug bastard.

  Chapter 5

  This plan had all the makings of a disaster. It would lead them all straight to hell and back again, on several trips because there would be entirely too much body clean-up for Death to escort them all at once. What the fuck was Dravaggio thinking, sticking the five of them together on this? Shit was going to go down that even he knew he should steer clear of. Sure, he’d get to be close to Belinda, marvel at the Phoenix tattoo on her back. But he needed to focus on this new assignment, especially now that the women were going to get involved.

  Ronin wasn’t prone to pacing, but today was as good a day as any to start. Royce stood in a corner smoking his red, while rubbing the back of his neck. He grunted his response when the captain asked them all to be seated. As usual he was playing to his inner demon, being the odd man out.

  “This assignment will be off the books. I’ve tasked Hawke with taking care of re-assimilating the missing Vampiri back into House Deadcrest.”

  The Regs that had been kept with the Vampiri had not survived the torture and abuse and were put down. It was the only humane thing to do. Belinda didn’t think so, but she hadn’t seen them when they’d been taken out of the warehouse. Some of them had begged for death, others so comatose there was no way they were coming back.

  It was an assignment that would have been given to Draven. He was proficient with Vampiri, sending Hawke was the next best thing.

  “Jes you’re new to combat.” Dravaggio looked over at Belinda and nodded. “ And Surelle, has asked that you return to your Enclave.”

  Belinda’s posture went rigid at his words. She searched the room as if looking for a valid reason on why she needed to return. Allowing her to be a part of this assignment was making his chest hurt. His palms were sweating, he felt fucking feverish. Which was total bullshit.

  “I’ve told your mother that I will have you to the Enclave at the allotted time and not a moment sooner. I understand your loyalty to the team, and it’s appreciated. But your House needs you as well. Two months is all I can give you. How long till your rebirth?”

  Ronin and Royce shared a puzzled look with one another. He knew she was next in line to be Matria of House Phoenix. Her house was ruled by women. There was nothing wrong with that, he just didn’t like the implications. Implications that could mean they would not get their girl and they had to. Anything less was not an option.

  “I don’t need to be back for my rebirth for another six months. Why so soon?”

  “I’ve told Surelle you’ve already been deployed and that I would have you report to the Enclave when you were due to check in, which is in two months.” Dravaggio dropped his voice and Ronin had to close his eyes and turn in the other direction. Fucking incubus was about to voice her into submission.

  “Don’t make a liar out of me Ms. Ignis. Do what needs to be done at the Enclave. Royce and Ronin will escort you.”

  Her eyes dropped half-mast and she slouched her head forward like she was being coaxed to sleep

  “Okay.”

  Her voice was dark and smoky and he realized he was nodding his head right along with her. Mesmerized by her, not the incubus. Her voice slid over the length of his body, loosening the tension in his muscles.

  His brother cleared his throat, and it brought all occupants back to their senses.

  “Can we please get back on track? I have a hot date tonight.” Royce s
poke up from the position he was currently holding against the wall.

  Ronin growled at his asshole brother. They’d never get her if he continued to fuck his way into depression. He knew what his twin was doing, and it was going to have the opposite effect if he kept at the games. They both had the same demon and dealt with it in different ways. But the time for sulking was over.

  “Dravaggio, please continue, we don’t want to hold up the party in his pants.”

  Royce chuckled low and pushed off the wall he was leaning against. He placed both hands on Belinda’s shoulder and turned her to face him.

  “Why darlin, you want an invite to the party in my pants?”

  It wasn’t playful Royce that had surfaced. It was dark Royce. Ronin watched the interplay between the two, and he saw the moment Belinda realized that he was no longer playful Royce, but serious Royce.

  “Dumbass.”

  “I heard that.”

  “Good. Leave her alone so we can get the plans hashed out. I still have training after this.”

  “Whatever big brother. Remember you want her just as much as I do if not more.”

  Ronin closed their channel.

  Belinda lifted her head, like she was about to say something but then thought better of it.

  “Captain, you were saying.”

  “I was saying that the five of you will work together. Dietrich will be air support and run retrieval when it’s needed. Gabe is working on gathering as much information as he can, but this assignment will start in three weeks’ time….. Jes.” Dravaggio looked in her direction.

  “Yes.” Her voice was firm and determined. She was ready to start a war over her man. And Ronin knew she’d need that anger and her strength to get through whatever fire they were about to walk in to.