My knuckles throbbed from the impact.
Once again he healed quickly. Almost immediately, he pushed to his feet and whipped around to face me. Our gazes locked.
“It seems neither of us will concede,” he said, his tone raspy.
I was happy to note he finally appeared winded.
Shattered glass and car parts were scattered about our feet. The cold flurry zipped and gnawed at our battered flesh, but neither of us seemed to notice or care. His hair danced in his face, but he never removed his gaze from me.
My skin felt too tight for my body; my blood sparked with newly awakened awareness. It had since the moment I’d first seen him, but only in this moment of stillness did I become unable to mask the sensation. I couldn’t force my heartbeat to slow. I cursed under my breath. I killed aliens. I did not desire them.
“What is Dallas to you?” Kyrin asked.
What I shared with Dallas was none of his business. I knew that, but found myself answering, “He is my friend.”
Kyrin’s stare became piercing. “Not your lover?”
“No.”
“That is good. I do not like to share.”
I forced myself to sound as cold and callous as any hunter. “Is that what it will take to save Dallas? Sex?”
“You will sleep with me because you desire me, and for no other reason.”
The surety in his voice I could have ignored, but I couldn’t ignore the dark premonition that swept through me. Somehow, I maintained a neutral expression. “You’re that sure of yourself?”
“Oh, yes.” He gave me a knowing perusal that mentally stripped away my clothing. “I am that sure.”
I fought a shiver. “If Dallas dies, I will kill you. You do know that, don’t you?”
“I know that I have not changed my mind,” he said. “Until my sister is free, I will not help you. You have four days to decide. Then I will return.”
Damn him. I closed my hands into fists and stepped toward him, ready to strike.
He only grinned. “Until we meet again, Tai la Mar.” He spun around and began to stride away, his footsteps echoing in my ears.
“Kyrin,” I called.
The sound stopped him.
I don’t know why I’d called his name, didn’t know what I’d wanted to say. I only knew it tasted good on my lips. I said nothing else. When he began walking away for the second time, I stupidly called out again. “Kyrin.”
Once more, he paused.
“I will hunt you down,” I said this time, “and when I find you, you will help Dallas.”
He glanced at me over his shoulder, and said, “I look forward to your attempts. Your attempts,” he said after a pause. “And no other. If I learn that other agents are searching for me, I will disappear completely, and your friend will have no chance of survival.” He left me then, his body swallowed up by the fog, his words echoing behind.
I stood alone in the hospital parking lot. Sure, I could have run after him. But I didn’t. What would I do with him if I caught him? I didn’t have my pyre-gun, so I couldn’t stun him. And he’d already proven we were an even match in a fight. Well, maybe not even.
Our time of reckoning would come, I had no doubt; sultry anticipation was already working through me. Now, however, was not that time.
Exhausted, I stumbled back inside the hospital. I’d never been in a situation like this before, and I was unsure how to proceed. I needed—God, I wasn’t sure what I needed.
“This miracle sucks,” I muttered.
Nurse Idiot stood sentry outside Dallas’s room, surrounded by security guards, as she tearfully stammered her experience with me. She dabbed her eyes with a tissue, short strands of brown hair dangling at her temples. Her face was flushed pink from her tears, the perfect offset to her bright purple scrubs. The guards drank in her every word, every expression, offering soothing murmurs of comfort each time she paused.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said on a wave of irritation.
“That’s her,” she cried. She pointed a finger in my direction. “That’s her,” she said again, cowering behind one of the guards.
All three men eyed me with distaste and edged toward me. I didn’t bother with an explanation; I simply flashed my badge, and they backed off. “Get me the doctor in charge of Agent Gutierrez’s case. Now.”
Eyes wide, Nurse Idiot propelled herself to the nurse’s station and shakily snatched up the phone. Five minutes later, I was about to pull out my hair—and the nurse’s hair—because Dr. Hannah hadn’t arrived.
“Page him again,” I said.
“But I—”
“Who paged me?” a man asked behind me.
I turned. Dr. Hannah was short, only five feet five. He had a thick head of silver hair and equally thick glasses. “I need you to check Dallas Gutierrez and tell me if his condition has changed in any way.”
Dr. Hannah frowned. “I thought this was an emergency.”
“It is.”
“Nurse Walden—”
“Is busy,” I finished for him. “I want you to do it.”
Obviously exasperated, he rubbed a hand down his face. “Surely this can wait. You called me out of prep. I’ve got an artificial limb attachment in”—he checked his wristwatch—“fourteen minutes.”
“Then you’d better hurry.” With a tilt of my chin, I motioned to room 417. “Unless, of course, you want me to call my boss and have him run a crime search on your name and every member of your staff. I can return later and discuss the results with everyone.”
“Uh—I’m sure that won’t be necessary.” He readjusted his collar. “Dallas Gutierrez, did you say?”
“That’s right.”
“Very well, then.” A long sigh seeped from his lips, and his eyes became heavy-lidded with resignation. “Let’s have a look at him.”
After taking Dallas’s pulse and blood pressure, Dr. Hannah flashed a thin beam of light over Dallas’s eyes. He uttered, “Hmm,” then repeated the action. Brow furrowed, he cut away the bandage over Dallas’s chest and inspected the wound.
“I don’t understand,” he said, glancing at me, then back to Dallas.
“What?” I was at his side in an instant.
“He’s actually improved.” Excitement dripped from his voice. “His pulse is stronger; his BP—blood pressure—is higher. His eyes dilate and contract perfectly. And look at this.” With a gloved finger, he pointed to a portion of the burned tissue. “See how the flesh here appears pink?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, pink indicates life. This morning, that tissue was black, dead, and completely unable to rejuvenate. Now it’s alive and trying to grow.”
When he began muttering about writing an article for a national medical journal, I gripped his shoulder and forced him to face me. “So Dallas will live?”
“I—I—” Grinning, Dr. Hannah scratched his head. “Yes, I believe so. For a while longer, anyway.”
That was all I needed to hear. “Call me if there’s any change.”
“Yes, yes,” he answered, distracted. “I’m going to order a complete blood count and an intralateral biopsy. Maybe a CAT scan to check brain activity. In all my years of medicine, I’ve never seen this happen before.”
I wanted to smile and frown at the same time. How could something so wonderful for Dallas be so disastrous for others?
Damn it, I only had four days to save my friend’s life.
CHAPTER 9
I went home and hit the bed fully clothed. I didn’t check my messages, didn’t eat or shower. My weary body ached and demanded rest, and the softness of the mattress beckoned like a knowing siren.
Sleep claimed me instantly.
As always, dreams soon followed, though these were different than any I’d ever experienced before. I dreamed of Kyrin. I dreamed he stripped me down, peeling away each layer of my clothing. His tongue moved against mine the entire time, his taste as warm and rich as brandy on a cold night.
Unbidden, my hands tangled in the silkiness of his hair.
He tore his lips from mine, and I moaned at the loss.
“Touch me,” he whispered.
Even in my dream I tried to resist him. “No.”
A slow smile teased his mouth before he crushed our lips together once again. I released his hair, ran my palms down the sleek brawn and sinew of his chest, then cupped the hard mounds of his ass. His skin felt like velvet, the hardness of his muscles a perfect contrast.
His body was as shaped and honed as any human. Better even. Bigger. His limbs were laced with sinew, so hot, so powerful. A girl could become addicted to such raw intensity.
“I need you, Mia,” he intoned.
I clasped my hands over his jaw and brought him down for yet another kiss. I tasted a swirling storm of hunger as his tongue swept into my mouth and attempted to conquer me. Utterly conquer me.
He groaned my name.
I awoke shouting his.
Panting, sweat-soaked, I lay there, my hands fisted in the covers of my bed. Frustration clawed at me, his heady taste still in my mouth. Cool air stroked my naked, heated skin. I sucked in a broken breath, hating that I felt seared. Branded.
Kyrin was nowhere to be seen.
Only a dream, I reminded myself. Only a dream. Except, when had I stripped?
God, I need a hobby, I thought, rolling to my side. However, nothing appealed to me. I didn’t have the patience to create things. Didn’t like to paint, knit, or shop. My only activity in my free time was to work out or train in street combat. Sometimes I read, but that was only research for work. Maybe it was time to stop living, eating, and breathing my job, though. Maybe then my dreams would quiet.
At least I wasn’t dreaming, as usual, of the aliens I had killed or the victims I failed to save in time.
I lumbered out of bed. My legs were shaky. After downing an entire pot of vitamin-enhanced synthetic coffee, I showered. I’d read that our ancestors had used water to bathe. I couldn’t imagine such a thing. Dry enzyme and glyceride spray was the norm now, blowing over us from head to toe in mere seconds. Water would have cost a fortune and taken too long.
Once dressed, I headed for the station house. There I picked up a new pyre-gun, replacing the one Kyrin had stolen.
I rode the elevator to level five, then underwent a retinal scan and fingerprint ID. I felt revived, centered, as I entered Lilla’s small, cramped cell. The click, click, click of the triple lock resounded behind me.
I’d left my gun and blades at check-in. Physically, Lilla was no match for me, and we both knew it. I could take her down without the aid of a firearm. Mentally, though…I just prayed I was prepared.
I was going to have to pump this stubborn, emotional Arcadian for every bit of information she possessed. I’d probably have to lie, cheat, and threaten. Whatever I had to do, I’d do it. I couldn’t set Lilla free—God, I couldn’t believe I was even considering the possibility—without finding the missing first.
Not even for Dallas.
I’d admitted that much to myself already, and it still hurt like hell.
But…
If I found the missing men, as well as Steele’s killer, I could set Lilla free with a clear conscience. Sure, I’d be breaking the law—all predatory aliens were to be executed. I’d fought to put that law into place, and Lilla was definitely predatory. I didn’t care, though. I’d set her free and never regret it.
Urgency, and a small trace of fear, embraced me as I took stock of my surroundings. Urgency for Dallas, fear for the enclosed space. The walls were stark white, padded, and there wasn’t a single window. A cot was pushed against the north wall, and a toilet occupied the south. There was nothing else in the way of furniture.
Lilla lay on the cot, her hands folded neatly over her stomach, her legs crossed at the ankles. She no longer wore her seductive clothing. Now she had on a plain blue shirt with matching pants, both made of stiff poly. Her eyes were closed, but I knew she wasn’t sleeping. Serenity might radiate from her every pore, yet I knew better; I sensed her inner turmoil.
“I know you’re awake,” I said. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited. When minute after minute ticked by and still she said nothing, I added, my voice taunting, “How are your accommodations? Satisfactory, I hope. If the warden forgot to put a chocolate on your pillow—”
That had the desired effect.
“Damn you,” she spat, jolting up. Her nostrils were flared, her eyes ablaze with hatred. “Who are you to ruin the lives of others?”
“I save human lives. If I must ruin yours to do so,” I shrugged, “so be it.”
“You are so smug, so sure. You will come to regret all that you have done, Mia Snow. Of this you can be sure.”
A prophecy? Or merely words of hope? Either way, I suppressed a shudder.
“My brother—” she began in her familiar chorus.
“Yes, yes. I know. He’ll eat me up and spit out my bones. The fact is, Lilla,” I said, casually placing my hands in my pockets, “I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting your brother, the procurer of human death.” I emptied my expression of all emotion. I couldn’t allow her to read me, to see the truth, once I spoke my next words. “Kyrin is in custody right now.”
Gasping, she stared at me, hard, searching for any hint that I lied. When she found only a blank slate, shock and fear flitted over her features.
I had to contain my sigh of relief. Until that moment, I hadn’t known the depths of her feelings for her sibling. I’d only known how I would have felt if Dare had been alive and taken captive. Desperate. Knowing Lilla felt the same way about her brother gave me the leverage I needed. As long as she thought I held Kyrin’s life in my hands, I could use her love against her.