Electric Storm (29 page)

“Get Trisha’s ass in here.” She growled the words, so infuriated she could barely hold back the tide of electricity eager to seek vengeance. At her aggression, Taggert hugged her harder, nearly squeezing the air from her with his strength.

London and Dominic moved in unison to do as told when a dripping wet, gloriously naked Jackson burst into the room. He took in the situation at a glance and snarled.

“Here.” She pushed Taggert at Jackson, quickly untangling her arms. She needed her hands free, and she needed him busy. If anyone got to rip apart Trish, it would be her.

Trish roared, and her animal form sailed through the hole in the glass. The black panther skidded on the smooth floor, but quickly gained her footing and charged. Acting on instinct, Raven reached into her core. The vat of boiling power sizzled as she drew the current down her arms to pool in her hands. She tossed it at the angry cat.

Energy exploded over the dark fur, stopping the panther short. The black hide rippled, and the animal whirled, nipping at her body, crazed with pain.

As if it understood the cause of the agony, the panther turned toward Raven and snarled, her fangs glistening with saliva.

“That was only a warning shot. Shift and accept the consequences of your actions.” Her words set off the animal. Muscles bunched, and the cat launched herself in the air. Raven caught a movement from Jackson at the corner of her eye.

“Guard Taggert.”

Right before impact, she located Trish’s center, the place where her animal dwelled, and pulled down with all her strength. Raven cracked into the wall under the weight of the body plowing into her. Air whooshed out of her in a rush.

People shouted as they slid to the floor in a heap. Her vision dimmed. Unable to catch her breath, she shoved the weight off her chest, and greedily gulped air. Strong hands pulled her to her feet. She swayed and found herself wrapped in Jackson’s arms.

“What the hell did you do?” The guttural growl came from Trish. She lay sprawled on the ground in her human form, naked and struggling to stand.

“You sold the boys out, told Jackie where they would be. You deliberately put them in danger.” She didn’t know it for sure, but it made a sick sort of sense. “You were practically raping him when I walked in the room. What did you think would happen?” Her throat closed a little at the end, her question deadly quiet.

“Not you killing me over a consensual kiss.” A snarl twitched Trisha’s lips. “He never once protested. Maybe that’s what really bothers you.”

“You had him by the throat!” Raven shook her head, wishing she could let her anger reign and solve things like animals, instead of with reason. The thing that held her back was that Trish truly didn’t understand she’d done anything wrong.

As a victim in the labs herself, she thought Trisha would be more sensitive to the subject, more careful of those around her.

“Did you think Jackie would’ve killed me and leave Taggert for you?” A horrible suspicion trickled through her mind. She dismissed it at first, but dread gathered in her gut and wouldn’t let her shuffle it away.

“You cut the banister.”

Something hardened in Trish’s eyes, and she raised her chin. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What if someone else had fallen? You put everyone in danger for petty jealousy.”

“Petty. Petty!” Trish jerked to her feet, unadulterated hatred giving her the strength. “Everyone bends over backwards to bow to your every wish. Everything comes to you so easy. You don’t have to fight for a damn thing. What gives you the right to boss us around?”

 “You’re blind.” London shook his head, the betrayal cracking his legendary stoicism, the smell of leaves she associated with him had turned musty and rotten. “I didn’t even suspect her.” Those big dark eyes of his met Raven’s in apology, the shattered expression in them rending a fissure in her heart for the indomitable man who risked so much for them only to be double-crossed by one of their own.

“I’m leaving your little cult.” When a second passed and nothing happened, an enraged growl worked up Trish’s throat. “Why can’t I change?” She threw herself at Raven, screeching in impotent rage.

“Not so fast.” Dominic snagged her arms and wrenched them behind her back. When she put up a fight, Dominic slammed her against the wall, uncaring of any pain he inflicted. “Did you think we were fools, and only you could see the truth? Did it never once cross your mind that there was a reason we stay with her of our own choosing?”

He shoved her away from him as if unable to stand touching her. “Get her away from me.”

“My pleasure,” London rumbled, taking her arm none to gently, dragging her from the room.

“You’re all fools. She’s nothing but a pretender. She’ll get you killed.” Her frantic voice became unintelligible the further they drew away.

Raven pinched the bridge of her nose, her whole body throbbing from the body slam and the snap of power that felt like it’d pulled her guts inside out. “What are you going to do about her?”

Dominic remained quiet for a time. “You have to understand that we can’t allow her to be free.”

She nodded, but couldn’t speak. With all the power she extended, she expected to feel weak or tired. Instead, she had too much. She shrugged out of Jackson’s hold and began to pace. Energy tingled along her fingertips, ready to come at her call. Too ready. The damn thing was changing on her again.

“Raven?”

“What?” She snapped then drew to a halt, realizing Dominic had been speaking to her. “Sorry.”

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, fine. It’s been a long day.”

He paused before speaking. “Then we’ll discuss this later. Why don’t you go upstairs and rest.”

Without replying, she nodded. She was through the door when she realized the guys hadn’t followed. She pivoted, ready to enter the room again when they spoke.

“Has she always been able to prevent a person from shifting? To be able to yank them from a shift?” That was Jackson, always suspicious. She stifled a grunt of disgust, determined to listen.

“No, but she very rarely shares anything personal. I don’t know if this is new or not.” Dominic’s voice faded as if he moved further from the door. She gave a second to consider if they could sense her then dismissed it. She wasn’t budging.

“Has she been acting out of character recently?” He sounded hesitant.

Taggert broke the silence first. “From what?”

Dominic snorted. “She doesn’t allow anyone close to her.” She could hear the growl of impatience in his voice and could picture him snarling. “I swear each time I see her, she’s changed more, has less control.”

“Or is growing stronger and having difficulty finding a balance.” Jackson posed the question as a statement, and she heard nothing for a long time.

The words dropped her gut to her feet. Damn. She’d thought she’d been so careful to keep her growing powers and her inability to master them a secret. Obviously not. She’d been so desperate for contact, she’d stayed with the group longer than she knew was reasonable. A mistake. She refused to be a burden to them.

She either needed to gain control or cut them out of her life completely. Once she finished this job, she’d assess the situation, and take whatever steps were necessary.

She hurried upstairs, stripped down and stepped in the shower. The sharp sting of the cool water refreshed her somewhat. Her body healed sluggishly, begging for a few hours rest after the long day and the disturbing missing time at the morgue. Too bad it wasn’t going to happen. She had to meet Durant tonight, and needed to keep on her toes.

A knock startled a little scream out of her. The door opened before she could comment, and Taggert peeked around the edge. She went to reach for a towel and opened her mouth to blast him when she saw his downcast eyes and the slump to his shoulders.

“Taggert?” She quickly turned off the water and wrapped the towel around her. “Are you okay?” She stepped carefully forward, noticing the flinch around his eyes at her approach.

“Will you send me away?”

His question threw her. “What do you mean?”

“I’ll take your punishment, but I don’t want to leave.” He slipped to the floor, moving toward her on all fours.

“What are you doing? Get up.” She went to him, determined to jerk him to his feet if she had to. 

“Please.” He rested his forehead against her foot. “Please.” He said it a second time, the plea in his voice making the back of her throat catch.

Raven captured his chin and forced his head up. Her lips were tight when she spoke. “Let’s get one thing straight here. I don’t condone what she did to you. I don’t blame you for anything. I have no intention of sending you anywhere. Are we clear?” The look in his eyes made her uncomfortable, especially since she was barely clothed.

“Why didn’t you fight back? Tell Trisha no?”

“Have you ever seen large cats in the wild?” Jackson’s voice snapped her head up. She wanted to tell him to get the hell out of her bathroom, but she needed answers more.

“No.”

“They like to play with their prey. He can’t shift and defend himself.” He kept his face carefully blank. “It’s a game for them, the chase and struggle make it more enjoyable.”

Raven closed her eyes, unwilling to see the message in his eyes. “Rape.”

“It’s not rape if you’re willing.”

“Bullshit.” Her eyes snapped opened, and she glared at Taggert. “The choice of death or sex is rape.”

Taggert settled heavier against her. “Some of the women weren’t bad. It was the ones who liked pain that were the worst.”

Raven glanced away briefly, horrified by what they accepted so casually. As if reading her thoughts, Jackson shook his head.

“You’re thinking like a human. We’re not human.” Jackson grabbed the doorknob, turning to go. “If you have any hope of trying to keep him, you have to stop thinking of us as human with an extra ability.”

She took a deep breath to argue, but Jackson had already disappeared. She hated when someone left before the argument was over. Her hair was drying, and the bathroom was growing colder with the door open. She shivered.

Taggert wrapped his arms around her legs, his head nestled against her thigh. She felt very self-conscious to notice his face so close to the end of the towel, then cursed herself. Jesus, Trish almost raped him, and she was worried about clothes.

She touched his back then drew away. “Get rid of those clothes and take a shower.” She didn’t want that woman’s scent on him.

When he slowly straightened, she helped him off with the shirt. “Give me the pants, too. I’ll have them burned.”

He blinked then complied without a word.

She averted her gaze, her eyes still seeing the marks on his flesh and it infuriated her. She wanted to find Trish and mark her in kind. She’d insist on healing him if her emotions weren’t so wild. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him more.

“Taggert.” She waited for him to meet her gaze. “If anyone tries that again, kill them.”

Not waiting for him to reply, she left the room. “Burn these.” She tossed the clothes at Jackson. He took one look at her expression and complied.

Once alone, she chose her most conservative clothes. Dark, slim and as unrevealing as possible. She picked up her gloves and carefully put them on, fiddling with them when the shower turned off. She straightened, unaware she’d been waiting for the sound until she heard it. Now that she had, she was nervous as hell and desperate for a reprieve. “I’ll wait downstairs for you.”

The coward that she was, she escaped to the kitchen to eat. She was too jittery to remain still for long. She didn’t know if it was because her power refused to settle or if she sensed something would happen tonight.

She feared it would be the latter. Jeffrey Durant wanted something from her, had agreed to become her pack for a reason. Like it or not, she had a feeling she was about to find out.

 
Chapter Twenty-three

EVENING: 11 PM

R
aven saw the strained smile on Durant’s face as soon as she entered the club, and her nerves fluttered to life. The tiny lines around his mouth eased when he spotted her, and she barely resisted the need to twitch under his regard. She didn’t know how to react to him after their last encounter.