Enemy Mine (4 page)

against the pavement, but she didn’t stay

down long. Rolling over, she pushed up

on her hands and knees and struggled to

her feet.

A white van twenty yards away was

engulfed in flames. Two men spilled out

from it, burning. Their screams filled the

air as they ran around, arms flailing as

they tried to put it out. The man who’d

been holding her was running away now.

She stared in horror, trying to figure out

what was going on, when Kiernan

appeared out of nowhere.

He scooped her up then grabbed her

fallen phone and purse. “Are you okay,

Melina? Talk to me!”

Blinking, she looked up at him as he

placed her in the front seat of his car. Fear

slithered through her. Were there more

kidnappers? She tried to look around but

the action made her dizzy. “What

happened?” Her question came out

slurred.

“Shit, you’re bleeding a lot.” He

reached up and it felt as if he pulled

something from her head. Raw agony

ripped through her, like silver shredding

into her skin.

She’d used so much of her healing

powers today at the clinic she was weaker

than usual. Otherwise this wouldn’t have

happened to her. She would have

recovered quickly after hitting her head.

Before she could think about asking

what was going on, Kiernan’s fangs

lengthened as he bit into his own wrist. He

placed it at her mouth. “Drink.” A harsh

order.

She shook her head. She wasn’t going

to drink freaking vampire blood.

“Damn it! You’re too weak, Melina.

It’s either this or a hospital.” There was

no room for argument in his voice.

Another wave rolled over her, making

her dizzy. While she might be a little

disoriented, she knew she did not want to

go to the hospital. Her family would flip

out and try to keep her under even more

lockdown. It had taken so long to get her

brothers to chill and let her live a normal

life, and she wouldn’t give that up. Part of

her knew that after this attack, giving up

some freedoms was probably inevitable,

but she wasn’t going to help her family’s

decision along by taking a trip to the ER.

Vampire blood would give her the

strength she needed to recover. Unlike fae

and demon blood, which messed people

up, vamp blood was full of healing power.

Uncaring about the consequences, she

latched onto his wrist and sucked.

Sweetness, not what she’d expected, slid

down her throat as raw strength filled her

body.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed

but she finally pulled back, her breathing

harsh and uneven. She couldn’t believe

she’d just taken Kiernan’s blood. That

was something she’d dwell on later.

“What the hell is going on?” This time the

words came out strong.

His expression was dark, deadly.

“Someone just tried to kidnap you. I don’t

know if they have backup, so we’re

getting the hell away from there.”

“But, the cabdriver—”

“I followed you from the restaurant and

saw what happened. I already made an

anonymous call to the police.” As if on

cue, the sound of sirens shrieked through

the air.

“But—”

“We’re going back to my place until we

know who was after you, because,

sweetheart, those guys were shifters.”

Shifters? Denial instantly bubbled up

inside her but she shoved it down because

he was right. Even in her previous state

she’d scented the underlying animal from

her attacker. And not just any type of

shifter, but wolf. It had vaguely registered

when the man had grabbed her, but she

hadn’t been thinking clearly. All she’d

wanted to do was escape.

The would-be kidnapper wasn’t from

her pack—that much she was sure of. But

if wolf shifters were in town trying to hurt

her it could mean they were looking to

take over her father’s territory and use her

as leverage. It was hard to imagine anyone

being that stupid, especially when her

pack owned and controlled a huge portion

of the city, but it wasn’t completely out of

the question. Dread settled inside her at

the thought of a war in her city, her home.

Chapter 3

Kiernan glanced in his rearview mirror as

he and Melina tore away from the scene.

Getting her to safety was the only thing

that mattered. He might be able to harness

fire but his gift had limits. If a shifter or

human or whoever had been blessed by a

witch or the fae, he would be useless

against them. Luckily those bastards he’d

just smoked hadn’t been shielded.

It might be wrong, but he’d taken

pleasure in lighting them up. They’d been

trying to hurt Melina, a woman he already

cared for too much. He was only sorry he

hadn’t been able to make them suffer

longer.

“Did you set those guys on fire with

your . . . mind?” Melina finally spoke

again, her voice much stronger than

before.

He knew why. For whatever reason,

she’d been physically drained after the

accident even though she was a shifter.

She shouldn’t have been so weak, but she

had been and he’d had no choice but to

give her his blood. “Yeah. It’s one of my

gifts.”

“One of? Holy shit.” She turned around

in her seat to look out the back window.

“Why didn’t we wait for the police? My

brothers are in law enforcement.”

He snorted. “Exactly.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she

snapped, anger rolling off her in a violent

pop of emotion.

“If they showed up and saw us together,

what do you think their first assumption

would be? They’d shoot me and ask

questions later.” A bullet wouldn’t hurt

him—though a silver one would certainly

burn like a bitch—but he didn’t want to

deal with the fallout of her family. Not yet,

not until he and Melina had ironed a few

things out.

Her very kissable lips pulled into a thin

line but she didn’t deny it. Which told him

he was right or very close to it. She was

silent for another long moment then spoke

again, her eyes narrowed. “You could

have just waited until right before the cops

showed up and left me. I would have been

safe.”

He shook his head, not believing she

could even think that. “If you think I’d

ever leave you . . .”
No fucking way.

“Who would be dumb enough to come

after you like that?” Kiernan wanted to get

straight to the heart of what had just

happened. Once he had a name, blood

would spill. Her pack could do whatever

they wanted, but he was taking care of her.

“I have no idea. There aren’t any other

packs in the area and I truly don’t think

anyone would be dumb enough to try to

take over my father’s territory.”

“What about your brothers? Any cases

they’re working on that might relate to

this?” Kiernan had done his homework on

the three Rodriguez brothers. One was in

vice, the other a detective, and the third

worked for a private security firm that

specialized in protecting high profile

supernatural and human clients.

She shrugged, the action so jerky he

knew she’d be coming down from her

adrenaline high soon. “I don’t know. I

need to call my mother.” Her voice

cracked on the last word and it was like a

spear through his heart.

Even though he hated to do it because it

meant she might be leaving him soon, he

slid out his cell and handed it to her since

hers had cracked during her struggle.

“Here. Do you want me to take you home

or do you want to go to my place?”

She looked at him, green eyes wide

with so many emotions. Confusion, fear,

and anger. “I . . .” Melina looked down at

herself, seeing the blood covering her

dress and coat, then looked back up at

him. “Your place. I can’t let my family see

my like this. They’ll go crazy. I’ll call

them once I get there.”

Though he wanted to reach out and

comfort her, he didn’t. Instead he slipped

the phone she returned to him back in his

pocket. There would be time enough to

soothe her once she was safe.

Taking a sharp turn, he cringed when

Melina let out a yelp and clasped on to the

door.

“Sorry, trying to make sure we’re not

being tailed.” It wasn’t common

knowledge where he lived since

relocating to Miami, so he wasn’t worried

about anyone waiting at his place to

ambush them—not that anyone should

know he’d been out with her in the first

place. “Did you tell anyone you were

going out with me?”

A sharp shake of her head. “Not you

specifically.”

That rankled him, but it would help

narrow down who had known of her

whereabouts. If he had to guess, someone

had been watching her neighborhood.

Even though Star Island was exclusive and

most people thought it was gated, it

wasn’t. Most people wouldn’t mess

around with the Rodriguez pack though.

They had their own form of security. But

that wouldn’t stop someone from watching

the entrance to the neighborhood and it

wouldn’t stop someone from following

Melina. They couldn’t have tailed her

home from work, because he had. Some

primal part of him had needed to make

sure she got home safe.

He’d kept his distance and figured she

had no clue, but that didn’t mean someone

hadn’t been watching her, looking for the

right opportunity. He didn’t think she’d

been a target for very long. If someone had

been watching her, he’d have known. A

dull throb spread through his skull as he

thought of all the possibilities of who

could be after her.

After driving all over Miami down

various side streets, through the

warehouse district, to Coconut Grove and

back, he finally pulled into a parking

garage three blocks from where he lived.

“This is where you live?” Melina

asked, the first thing she’d said in the past

half hour.

Hell, she’d probably been questioning

her decision to come with him but at least

she hadn’t asked him to take her home. He

would, even if it would go against every

possessive instinct he had.

“Not exactly. Take off your coat.” He

palmed the keys to his car.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s covered in blood. You can wear

mine to cover up your dress.” While he

didn’t mind seeing the skin tight dress,

they didn’t need to draw any attention to

themselves.

As soon as she’d stripped off the coat

and put on his, he threw hers in the closest

garbage can of the parking garage.

Holding her hand, he was pleased when

she didn’t pull away, but tightened her

grip instead.

A thread of steady fear rolled off her,

and he didn’t blame her. From her own

accounts she’d been sheltered most of her

life. While the Rodriguez pack had seen

their share of violence in the past century

—he knew first hand—she was too young

to have taken part of any skirmishes

between her pack and other supernatural

beings. Hell, she was a vet. She helped

animals all day. Kiernan was just

surprised she was handling everything so

well.

In case anyone had tracked them using

traffic cameras—doubtful, but he wouldn’t

put it past anyone at this point—he knew a

route completely free of cameras. Not a

straight shot to the condo complex he

lived in—it took them twice as long to get

there—but it was worth the extra

precaution.

“You’re pretty paranoid, huh?” Melina

asked as they headed into the underground

parking garage of the building he actually

lived in.

“Careful.” At the elevators, he pressed

his palm to the biometric scanner and the

doors opened.

“After what just happened, I’m not

complaining,” she murmured.

Melina still held his hand as they

entered the elevator, even though she

could have dropped it long ago. The

knowledge warmed something inside of

him he’d forgotten existed. He wasn’t

supposed to develop feelings for a shifter.

For a member of the Rodriguez pack, no

less. But he couldn’t deny what she made

him feel.

The door opened on the top floor. His

family owned the entire building and

thankfully he was the only one living there

at the moment. He wasn’t ashamed to be

seen with Melina, but he didn’t feel like

explaining to any of his coven why he was

helping a shifter. Not until things between

the two of them were settled.

Melina’s shoes clacked along the

marble floor of the entryway the elevator