Chosen by Fate (29 page)

She shook her head. Wrapped her arms around her bent knees. “No, that came out wrong. I just meant you’re using pain to balance things out, too. You feel responsible for Elijah’s death, and you’ve been torturing yourself over it. I know perfectly well that your service on this team is some kind of penance, just like I know Mahone manipulated your past to get you here. Just like he did to the rest of us. But I’ve read the reports, Caleb. I know why you refused to help the army interrogate Elijah, and it wasn’t because you didn’t care. You didn’t believe in what they were doing. They were torturing prisoners of war for information . . .”

“And in the end, what does that matter, Wraith? If I could have stopped your pain by helping that mage get the information he wanted—the secret to your immortality—wouldn’t you have wanted me to? Wouldn’t you have blamed me for any pain you suffered after I refused?”

His reasoning stopped her. Almost made her agree with him. But then she allowed herself to imagine that exact scenario, and she shook her head. “Someone who could do that to me for information wouldn’t do good things once he had it. He’d have wielded the knowledge of immortality for his own gain, regardless of how he hurt others. So would I blame you for letting me suffer because you didn’t want that to happen? No, Caleb. I wouldn’t. I’d hate the pain, but I wouldn’t hate you. And if Elijah was any kind of friend to you, he would have understood that. You didn’t kill him. His interrogator did.”

Caleb’s lips parted, and she saw the realization spark in his eyes, but only for a moment. The stubborn man, obviously too used to living with his guilt, pushed her words away. Reaching out, he pulled her to his chest again until they were spooning. His closeness felt so good, she remained quiet. He’d think about what she’d told him. That was enough for now.

Reaching out, he cradled her hand, his thumb smoothing over the three dots she’d noticed earlier. “What are these? Freckles?”

“I . . . I don’t know,” she whispered, but she immediately began thinking of her past again. Whether the dots were the gang symbol she thought they were. What that said about who she really was.

“Stop thinking. Go to sleep, Wraith. Everything’s going to be fine.”

She tried. She really did. But she couldn’t. Her mind was awash with worries. About their mission. The men who’d come after them. Her future, and if she even had one. Caleb’s future, if
he
had one, and whether he’d someday release the guilt that bound him in order to let himself be happy. Whether that happiness would include a female . . .

He sighed behind her. Nudged her legs apart with his thigh, interrupting her thoughts like a runaway train appearing out of nowhere. He nudged his cock inside her, and she winced slightly at the slow, insistent invasion. He didn’t stop until he was seated inside her fully. He cupped her breast with his right hand and nudged her hair away from her ear, kissing her gently. “I promise, Wraith. It’s going to be fine. Now go to sleep.”

After several stunned moments, Wraith realized he actually meant it. He was hard as a rock inside of her, but he made no move to satisfy himself. He actually expected her to accept his reassurances and go to sleep. It was so ridiculous that it actually worked. Filled up with him, she didn’t have the energy to think of anything else. She closed her eyes. Listened to him breathing. Felt the pulse of his heartbeat seep into her.

And fell asleep.

K
nox stared at his brother for three seconds before he went for his throat.

Zeph didn’t try to dodge his grasp, even when Knox threw him against a wall and started to transform into a bigger, badder version of himself. Instead, Zeph watched the change quietly, his entire body indicating a quiet and calm acceptance of Knox’s wrath.

“Zeph,” their mother whispered from behind them. “How could you? How . . . ?” Her voice broke, and her loud sobs seemed suddenly muted.

Knox knew she’d turned her head into his father’s barrel chest, instinctively seeking her husband’s comfort after decades of having to do without it. Knox breathed in deep, trying to reconcile what his brother had just told him with the fear that was even now threatening to dismantle his control.

Where was Felicia? He’d sent the guards after her the instant Zeph—

“Knox? What’s going on?”

When he heard her voice, the relief he felt almost drove him to his knees. His security team had been going over the security footage from the night of the wedding reception, but the Dome was a huge place and it was taking a significant amount of time. They were about halfway through the film, but other than Wraith’s brief wrestling match with Joanna’s boyfriend in the garden, nothing troubling had revealed itself. Certainly nothing to warn Knox about what his brother was mixed up in.

The entire room, Zeph included, sighed as one. Releasing his brother, Knox dove for his wife, encircling her in his arms so tightly, she gasped. Then she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him as tightly as she could.

“Shhh,” she said before threading her hands through his hair, trying to calm him. “I’m here, Knox. Now tell me what’s wrong.”

With his face buried in the crook of her neck, Knox shook his head. Not yet, he thought. He couldn’t release her yet . . .

“Felicia,” Zeph began, “I was just telling Knox about an assignment I’d received.”

“Assignment?” Felicia asked over Knox’s head.

“Yes. An assignment to—”

Knox raised his head abruptly and whirled on his brother. “Stop! You’re not just going to blurt it out again.”

Zeph pressed his lips together, his expression no longer calm but angry. Knox stared at his brother, at the grimness of his expression, and couldn’t believe how thoroughly he’d deceived them all.

He felt Felicia’s hand on his arm. “Knox, it’s okay,” she said firmly. “Let Zeph speak.” When she raised her hand to cup his face and turn it toward hers, Knox grabbed it and kissed it. Then he glared at Zeph but said nothing more.

“I was approached,” Zeph began again, “about a contract on your life, Felicia. One put out by an organization that views your marriage to Knox as an abomination to humanity.”

Felicia’s eyes widened and jerked to Knox’s. He felt her confusion and fear, and it made him sick. That her life was in danger because she loved him . . .

She shook her head furiously. “Don’t you dare, Knox. Don’t you dare think what you’re thinking. I love you and there’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s not your fault that others think there is. There will always be people who hate, but I’m not afraid of them. I’m not afraid,” she emphasized as she turned back to Zeph. “Just how do you know about this organization, Zeph?”

Knox couldn’t keep himself from speaking up this time. It still blew his mind that his brother had been working with these people behind their backs. “Zeph’s been working as a double agent for an organization called the Quorum. They recruited Dante Prime, and he, in turn, recruited Zeph. But Zeph only went along with Prime’s machinations because he’s hoping to bring the Quorum down. With Mahone’s help.”

Felicia’s mouth dropped open. “Mahone . . .”

Knox nodded. “Mahone suspected Prime had stolen the antidote and given it to North Korea. So did Zeph. But Zeph only discovered who Prime was working for, a group of humans calling themselves the Quorum, when Mahone was captured. Zeph was there, trying to figure out a way to get Mahone out without blowing his cover, when Caleb and Team Blue arrived. Zeph maintained his cover, and he and Mahone decided not to tell the rest of us about the Quorum because of some bullshit—”

“It’s not bullshit, Knox,” Zeph gritted out. “It’s just not your mission to bring them down. You can’t be everywhere at once. The Para-Ops team’s role is to deal with the shit the Quorum and other scum—human or Otherborn—cause, not with the Quorum itself. You’re needed on the streets, in the action, and if the Quorum gets wind that you’re after them, they’ll go to ground fast. By keeping the hunt for the Quorum leaders separate from the Para-Ops team’s role in maintaining peace between the races, Mahone was doing what he thought was best for everyone.”

“So you and Mahone are buddies now?” Knox questioned in disbelief. “Swapping secrets and keeping them from your family? From
me
, Zeph?” Damn Mahone. The man was proving to be full of deception. First, he’d pitted Caleb against Wraith. Now Zeph against Knox. What would he do next?

“I understand Mahone’s reasoning,” Bianca said quietly.

Shocked, Knox jerked his head toward her. “Mother, how can you condone what they’ve done? It’s always better to know the existence of one’s enemy.”

Stepping out of her husband’s protective embrace, Bianca smiled. “But you already knew someone else was pulling Dante Prime’s strings. And Zeph’s right—you can’t be everything to everyone, and you can’t be everywhere at once. You had to lead this clan by yourself for so long, but you no longer have to. You also don’t have to fight the Quorum alone, and I’m grateful for that.”

“That’s ridiculous. I would never turn away help, but—”

“Knox, how hard was it for you to take this time for you and Felicia to be together, away from your team? For both of you? We had to practically threaten to tie you down before you’d agree to it.”

Knox glanced at Felicia, who had flushed guiltily. They’d relished this time together, but their first instinct had been to go right back to work . . .

“The things Kyle Mahone is asking of your team involve stopping the crimes that the Quorum have set in motion. The Quorum is the source and provides the funds, but the cancer they wield is imbedded within the communities of this nation. You can’t be in the trenches while trying to fight the corrupt politicians, as well. It would fracture the team’s focus and unnecessarily. Especially when they have others, like Zeph, who are willing to carry the other half of the load.” Bianca turned her narrowed gaze on Zeph. “That, however, does not excuse the fact that Zeph failed to tell his mother and his Queen how he was occupying his time. And you can bet Mr. Mahone will be hearing from me about that.”

The room went silent. Knox heard his mother’s words and knew she was right, but he didn’t say so. He didn’t look at his brother. He couldn’t.

With a curse, Zeph left the room.

Felicia took Knox’s hand and squeezed. With a sigh, he squeezed back. He was about to lead her from the room when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder and turned.

His father, Jacques Devereaux, the human-turned-vampire whom Knox had only recently been reunited with, looked at him with unflinching directness. “Your brother came to you as soon as he knew Felicia’s life was in jeopardy. He didn’t even talk to Mahone about it first. Because his family, of which Felicia is now a part, is his main priority. He learned of the Quorum’s plan because he deceived you, Knox. Because the Quorum believes he’s still of use to them. You and he and Mahone can fight all you want about whether keeping certain information from one another was justified, but you’ll do it later. After you take care of what needs to be taken care of. Understood?”

At his father’s words, Knox, who’d led the vamp clan for years during his father’s absence and his mother’s illness, instinctively bristled at his father’s calm, commanding tone. But that lasted only a moment. Then he remembered how grateful he was to no longer be the only one leading the clan. He had help now. Support. Others who would not only help him protect the clan, but would die with him in order to protect his wife.

Knox nodded. “I understand.” He turned to Felicia and met her eyes. “Let’s go find Zeph and figure out what we’re going to do.”

W
hen morning came, Caleb wasn’t even fully awake before he knew Wraith had retreated from him. Beside him, she sat up, the sheet pulled around her. “Playtime’s over, Romeo. We need to get going.”

Despite her calculated words, her voice trembled. She was troubled, but she was also probably still turned on. He’d bet anything that if he cupped her with his hand, she’d be dripping wet. It made him want to go down on her again. Making her come like that would be the highlight of his year. Feeling her juices on his face. In his throat. If she hadn’t yet learned to enjoy it, too damn bad. He’d give her so much pleasure, she’d let him do anything to her. Everything.

He pressed his lips to her shoulder, following an intriguing trail of freckles just visible under her skin. He narrowed his eyes, thinking her skin had hardly any blue left to it. Listing all the changes she’d undergone in his mind, he lightly caressed her other arm with the tips of his fingers. “Are you in a hurry?” he murmured.

“Lucy and Dex—”

“Don’t need us right now. The clubs aren’t open until tonight, you know.”

She stiffened as his lips trailed close to the rise of one breast, putting her hands on his chest as if to push him away. He tilted his head up slightly to look at her, feeling her fingers flex against him. But she didn’t apply any pressure. Simply rested her fingers against him, their warm weight an erotic pressure against his nipples.

She licked her lips and he almost growled, wanting to chase her tongue as it disappeared back into her mouth. “I know, but . . .”

He moved his hand, rubbing his thumb against one nipple so her body jerked in surprise. Her teeth were white against the softness of her lips as she bit down, trying to stifle a gasp but not quite succeeding. God, she was responsive. He moved his thumb in tight circles and resumed kissing her fragrant skin. “Besides, I haven’t gotten enough of you. I want more.”

She swallowed audibly. “Fine.”

“Fine?”

“Yes, that’s fine. But one more time. That’s it. Then we’ve got to go.”

He laughed darkly, his throat scratching at the almost forgotten sensation. “All right. One more.” Suddenly, he couldn’t wait any longer. He needed her. Now.

While they made love, she was silent, except for a moment when he thought he heard her whisper, “One more.”