Enemy Mine (3 page)

out of some property downtown. And it’s

not the first time it’s happened. The only

reason in the world Kiernan Doyle would

be out with a shifter is if he was using

them.”

“Excuse me.” Melina skirted past the

woman. She wasn’t going to bother with

this conversation. Not when the redhead

wore her cruelty and maliciousness like a

second skin.

The woman laughed and the sound was

surprisingly real. “I’m just warning you.

Every vamp knows that shifters killed his

brother. He hates your kind, though I

thought he’d be a little smarter than to go

after the youngest daughter of Nevada

Rodriguez.”

Melina swallowed at the ring of truth in

the other woman’s voice. “Why are you

telling me this?” It certainly wasn’t out of

the goodness of her heart, that much was

evident.

The redhead shrugged. “Because

Kiernan’s a coldhearted bastard and

whatever he’ll do to you, you don’t

deserve.”

Not bothering to say thanks or give any

type of response, Melina exited the room

and made her way back to the table where

Kiernan waited, an easy smile on his face.

Easy, yet somehow predatory.

And she knew she was his prey. A few

minutes ago that hadn’t sounded like such

a bad thing. She’d already experienced

how great things could be between them

and he’d had the nerve to pick her up from

her house. Now, however . . . “Why have

you been pursuing me so relentlessly for

the past few months?”

His dark eyes widened slightly, the lust

rolling off him almost tangible. “I think

that much should be obvious.”

She didn’t respond but bit her bottom

lip, trying to work up the courage to ask

the question she really wanted the answer

to. Yes, the sex between them had been

amazing, but she already knew Kiernan

had no problem getting women into bed.

The thought of him with other women

made something dark inside her flare to

life, so territorial and possessive she

almost jerked back from the intensity of it.

He continued before she could speak.

“Now I get to ask a question. Why’d you

run from me?”

Her answer was automatic even if it

was a lie. “I didn’t run.”

Dark eyes narrowed. “Then what would

you call it?”

She shrugged, hoping the action came

off as casual and not jerky. “We had a

good night and I knew it was a onetime

thing. I didn’t want any awkwardness.”

Not exactly the truth. Okay, not even

close.

That night with him had scared the hell

out of her. She’d never had a one-night

stand before and could count the number

of lovers she’d had on one hand—and still

have fingers left over. She’d known she

was in way over her head the moment

he’d kissed her. But she’d been away from

home, away from her annoyingly

overprotective pack, and she’d wanted to

have fun. Kiernan had certainly provided

that and then some.

The freedom of being on her own

without a dozen different pack members

breathing down her neck had made her

more than a little impulsive that night. Not

that any man would have been fine to

warm her bed. She certainly hadn’t

planned to sleep with anyone. But Mr.

Tall, Dark, and Sexy had approached and

it had been over for her.

“Why don’t I believe you?”

“Believe what you want.” She took a

sip of her wine, eyeing him over the glass

rim. When he didn’t respond, just stared at

her with those smoldering eyes she could

drown in, she nervously cleared her

throat. “Did . . . did shifters kill your

brother?”

Now he straightened and his face

became an unreadable mask. His jaw

clenched once before he spoke. “Why are

you asking?”

Okay, deflecting with a question. Not a

good thing. “Are you using me? Is that

what tonight is all about?” Why did she

have to sound so damn hurt? She tried to

keep the note out of her voice but she

couldn’t help it. It didn’t matter that she’d

learned to cover her emotions since the

time she was a cub, the thought of this man

using her made something deep inside her

ache. “Did my father purchase some

property you wanted?”

His jaw clenched again and she

realized the redhead had been telling the

truth. Damn it. Something foreign twisted

in her chest, like a silver dagger. The man

had made her feel physical things no one

else had. Maybe he’d wanted to get back

at her for leaving him in that hotel room,

and the fact that she was Nevada

Rodriguez’s daughter was icing on the

cake.

“I’m such an idiot,” she muttered,

standing and grabbing her purse.

One of his hands snaked out, grabbing

her wrist. Not hard, but with enough

pressure that she couldn’t move.

“Let me go,” she said through gritted

teeth, glaring at him.

“Stay.” A guttural growl, practically a

demand.

A flush speared through her body at his

commanding tone, but she ignored the way

he made her feel. “Are you going to

answer my questions?”

A quick shake of his head.

“Then I’m not staying.” She yanked

hard this time, but he let go so quickly she

almost stumbled back.

Surprising her, he stood and threw a

few bills on the table. Definitely enough to

cover their drinks and the meal that hadn’t

yet been served. “I’ll take you home.”

“Don’t bother.” She turned on her heel,

not wanting to make a scene. She’d

thought tonight would end much

differently. Even though she’d been

avoiding going out with him for months

she’d been excited at the prospect of

sleeping with him again. A lot more

excited than she’d admit to even herself. A

girl only had so much restraint. But she

wouldn’t be used by someone. If he

wanted to get back at her family for some

real estate bullshit or some shifter

vendetta, no thank you.

As she reached the front of the

restaurant he called her name. When she

turned she found the redhead from the bar

in front of him, her perfectly manicured

hand on his chest in a blatantly possessive

manner.

To give him credit he looked annoyed,

but Melina just rolled her eyes and headed

out the front door. Ignoring the valet

drivers, she strode toward the first cab in

a line of three idling under the giant stone

overhang. “Will you take me to Star

Island?”

At the name of the exclusive area, the

cabbie jumped up from his position

lounging against the side of the vehicle

and opened the back door for her. “Of

course.”

She slid into the backseat and

restrained herself from looking back.

Closing her eyes, she leaned her head

against the seat. Maybe leaving so

abruptly had been a mistake, but he

obviously hadn’t been willing to answer

her questions and she refused to become a

pawn in some stupid game between her

pack and Kiernan’s coven. She’d had her

share of would-be lovers trying to use her

against her family—hence her pack’s

crazy overprotective tendencies. For some

reason she’d thought Kiernan would be

different, though she didn’t know why.

Her assumption was based on nothing

more than the way he’d made her feel on

the one intense night they’d shared

together. How stupid was that?

Sighing, she opened her eyes and

flipped open her purse. Pulling out her

phone, she scrolled down to her cousin

Alexis’s name. Yeah, she was definitely

going to need some girl time tonight, and

her cousin was the only one who’d

understand. She was the same age and

Melina could be honest about who she’d

gone out with tonight. If she mentioned

anything to her brothers—or worse, her

father—they’d probably want to hurt

Kiernan.

“Oh shit!” The cabbie’s shout and the

sudden burst of fear rolling off the human

made Melina’s head snap up.

Panic shot into her heart when she saw

an SUV barreling down on them. The

cabbie had pulled through an intersection

and this vehicle was hauling ass straight

for them.

There was nothing to do. The cabbie

gunned the engine but it was too late. Even

though time seemed to slow, everything

happened in a split second. The car jerked

forward as her driver attempted to get out

of the way in time, but the SUV T-boned

them.

The sudden impact jarred her straight to

her bones. Crunching metal and the

cabbie’s shouts filled the air as the

vehicle shifted. She was thrown across the

vehicle, slamming against the side of the

door. Spots danced in front of her eyes as

she reached out, trying to grasp onto

anything for support.

They kept skidding along the pavement

under the force of the SUV. After what felt

like an eternity, though she was sure only

seconds had passed, everything

completely stilled and a deathly quiet

descended on the interior of the cab.

Melina might heal a heck of a lot faster

than humans and even witches, but she

wasn’t invincible. Stretching out her arms

and legs, she tested to see if anything was

broken. Blinking away the haze covering

her right eye she realized blood trickled

down her face. Reaching up she gingerly

touched the side of her head and came

away with more blood on her fingers.

A similar, coppery scent of someone

else’s blood teased her nose. Trying to

shake off the chill snaking through her

body she focused on the man in the

driver’s seat. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t answer.

Unstrapping her seatbelt, she slid

across the backseat and reached forward,

running her fingers along his neck until she

found a pulse. It was faint but at least he

had one. Shaking her head she tried to

focus on what needed to be done.

Looking around the floor she found her

fallen cell phone. Scooping it up, she

started to dial 911 with shaking fingers.

Smoke billowed up from the front of the

cab’s engine and from the vehicle that had

plowed into them. Briefly she wondered if

the other occupants were okay but jerked

out of her thoughts when there was a moan

from the front seat.

Reaching forward she grasped onto the

man’s hand, fearful that the crimson

streaking down his arm was from a fatal

wound. “You’re going to be okay. I’m

calling for help.” Her voice came out

scratchy and uneven.

As she started to hit send she realized

she didn’t know where they were. Melina

moved back, hating to let the driver’s hand

go, but she couldn’t see from where she

was. Sliding back to the other window,

she struggled with the door handle. Finally

it creaked open. Brushing her hair back

from her face, she stepped out and tripped

over her heels, but somehow managed to

stay upright. A wave of dizziness washed

over her as she took a step.

Before she called she needed to find a

street sign, to figure out where they were.

As she took a few steps forward she

spotted two green street signs, indicating

what intersection they were at. Feeling

incredibly drained, she pushed the send

button. A sluggishness overwhelmed her,

threatening to pull her under. Maybe she’d

hit her head harder than she’d realized.

Before she took another step two giant

arms surrounded her from behind, lifting

her off her feet. The viselike grip stole her

breath as her cell phone tumbled to the

black pavement.

“You’re coming with us,” an unfamiliar

male voice snarled in her ear.

Struggling through a sluggish haze, she

tried to kick back at the man holding her.

Her heel connected with his shin, but he

barely seemed to notice it.

She tried to breathe but the stranger just

squeezed harder, dragging her backward.

“Let me go,” she rasped out as she tried to

fight.

Why wasn’t anyone else out tonight?

Thrashing out, she began kicking

backward as hard as she could. From the

intense grip she realized whoever was

taking her wasn’t human. He was too

strong. When her kicks didn’t do anything,

she slammed her head back.

Pain ricocheted through her skull, but

she also injured her would-be kidnapper.

His nose crunched only to be followed up

by curses.

But he didn’t let go. Just continued

dragging her backward. She couldn’t see

where they were going.

An ear-splitting explosion ripped

through the air, nearly deafening her.

Her captor let go and suddenly she was

falling through the air. Her butt slammed