Page 34 of Tempt the Dragon
He didn’t bother answering, but instead reached across the console until his hand was moving along the back ofher waist. “This. When did you get it?” His throat was tight with the words because he could still see that wicked line of stars moving along her skin and had to bite down on the urge to ask to see more.
“Oh.” She jumped with the word, and he moved his hand. “Years ago.”
Years ago, like when they weren’t together. Had she gotten it for someone else? Did it matter? Hell yes, it did.
“What made you get it? Does it mean something specific?” If she confirmed it was because of another guy he was going to lose his shit right here in the parking lot across from the store where there was a dead witch.
“It means I wanted a tattoo and I like stars. Are you gonna drive or do you want me to?”
With a jerk of his arm, he found his seat belt and fastened it before starting the truckand pulling off.
“We need to get to the meeting with Montoy.” She broke the silence when he remained quiet after driving a few blocks. Attempting to get his mind right after the tag team of lust and jealousy was more difficult than he’d anticipated.
“That’s where I’m going.”
“No. I mean, we need to get there because I want to ask him why this was in the apothecary shop.” Out of thecorner of his eye he could see her pulling something from inside her jacket and when she dropped it on the console, he cursed.
It was the purple and white Royal Blood flag.
Fifteen minutes later Aiken pulled into the same parking spot as he had two nights ago. He switched off the ignition and unclasped his seat belt.
“Montoy won’t be alone. His closest guards are called centuries.We used to just call them guards, but Enes corrected us. They’re fast, strong and lethal. I’ve heard that some of them can even manipulate thoughts. Montoy definitely has this power, along with the ability to shift into a giant bat on command, but he reserves all his powers, allowing his centuries to do the dirty work.”
“So keep my eyes open and don’t piss him off.” She unsnapped her seatbelt and grabbed the flag, stuffing it back inside her jacket.
“Keep your eyes on him at all times. The centuries do nothing without his command. This is your first time seeing him, so I want you to take in everything about him. His scent, his stance, the number of hairs on his head. You need to know him the way you know any other target.”
“I know how to assess a situation, Aiken.” Hertone seemed off, like she might be exasperated. With him, personally, or this job, he wasn’t sure, but she’d been like this the night they’d visited Riya as well. “But you know, Montoy’s not the target, Duncan is,” she continued.
“Duncan needs him and he needs Duncan. We need to know why specifically and knowing everything about Montoy might help. So pay very close attention to everythingand let me do the talking.” That’s the point he was really trying to make. Having watched Theo deal with Montoy the one and only time the vampire had stepped foot in the Tower to meet with them, Aiken knew how conniving the bastard could be. Montoy liked to hear himself talk and inevitably said something out of order. Aiken was ready for that and he had permission to use his best judgment in dealingwith the vampire.
“Got it.” Two simple words mumbled seconds before she opened the door and stepped out into the early evening air. Impatience rolled off her in waves. He got out of the truck and circled around until he was standing next to her.
Without a second’s thought he grabbed her hands, holding them in his as he stared directly into her eyes. “I know seeing Natalia’s body botheredyou.” She hadn’t said anything in the apothecary, had actually kept her composure very well, but he’d noticed the slight tremble of her mouth as she’d knelt beside him near the pool of blood. He’d heard the tiny hitch in her voice when she’d directed him to leave after Posner’s smug-ass remarks. “We’re gonna get them, but we have to take the right steps. There’s too much at stake to get this wrong.”
Her nostrils flared slightly as she inhaled and slowly released the breath. “I can do this. I’ve been hunting for a very long time. You don’t have to worry about me.”
But she hadn’t pulled her hands from his and her bottom lip quivered just slightly when she finished speaking. He’d missed seeing her telltale sign of worry. Rubbing his thumbs over the back of her hands he nodded. “I knowyou can.”
“You do your part and I’ll do mine.”
“Let the beast do its part, Mel. It’ll help you if you just let it.”
Her head was shaking before he got the last word out. “I don’t need any help. I’ve been doing just fine on my own.”
Like a knife to his chest, her words cut to the quick and he tried not to falter. She hadn’t needed her beast, or him, so it seemed. “But that’s justit, you’re not on your own. It’s a part of you, all you have to do is let it out.”
“Can you just stop? For the rest of the night at least, can you just stop trying to craft me into what you want and just let me do what I’m good at? Damn!” She yanked her hands from his, stepped away and walked around him.
In that moment, the man heard something in her voice, something he’d probably missedthat day she walked away from him eighty years ago. Courage. Not that he’d ever thought Mel wasn’t courageous and strong, but that had been in the field. Had he ever taken the time to really see that trait in her as a woman? He was still reeling from the cold punch of her words and the startling clarity it brought him when his beast expressed its discontent with the situation via a quick punchto his gut.
Looking over her shoulder as if to remind him they had a job to do, she called to him, “Let’s get this over with.”
Making sure the doors to the truck were locked, he started behind her, thinking he wanted to get this over with as well. They’d worked together before, been partners as well as lovers for two years, but today, now, the last two days felt different. Mel was differentin ways he hadn’t anticipated, not that he’d ever expected to see her again. How was he supposed to react to that? To her? He’d sworn he’d never let another woman get his mind, heart and soul twisted again and here he was, about to go into a dangerous meeting with his beast chasing after her and his mind telling him to back off.
Gritting his teeth as they walked up to the front gates thatled to the Royal Blood house, he warned his beast to get it together. Now was not the time to go bonkers over a female like he was a sixteen-year-old virgin.
Two men dressed in black tuxedoes came to the gate, watching them with solemn faces as the gates opened. These weren’t vampires, they couldn’t be. It was just a little before five on a January afternoon and while the sun was known toset earlier during the season in Burgess, it wasn’t totally dark yet. They were outside without any problem.
