Enslaved in Shadows (11 page)

He was her best chance for survival. He was the
only
one going to do the job. He’d do it right. After the job was done and they nailed Marcus to a
stake,
he’d apologize for the way he left her five years ago. Then they could go their separate ways in peace and he’d finally stop dreaming about her.
Yeah okay. Keep telling yourself that.
He would and that was that.

“Before you go caveman on her Draven, maybe I should be the one
to take the assignment
. Your head’s not in the game.”

Draven almost punched Royce in the face but couldn’t because the object of his desires was a sickly shade of green. He hadn’t tried to scare her, but she looked like she was about to pass out. Dravaggio was there to steady her fall as she collapsed into his arms. He moved to help when Gabe came up to restrain him. Why was everyone acting as if he was going to hurt her? Her face ashen and her skin pale, he could smell her anger as it clawed at his senses. It seemed she was comfortable with the others in the room but not him.
Why?

“Hey man, let her have some breathing room. Christ I see why you went after her all those years ago. She’s quite the looker. But dude, she’s someone’s mother now. Do you really want to go there right now man?”

“Full of insights Gabe. I would have never pegged you as the relationship counselor.” This came from Royce. Dravaggio was still bent over a
particularly
pale Jesminda when Draven walked pass Gabe and over to her. He offered his hand to pull her up. She refused him the first time, but he held his ground. He didn’t want to scare her, b
ut wasn’t backing down either.
They w
ould have some sort of closure.

“I’ve got her.” Dravaggio said.

She seemed to stiffen further as the men crowded closer. Damn, she was like a scared cat. One minute she was holding her own quite well, and
the next,
she was in no condition to
be
near any of them.

“Give her time.” Royce quietly said. He began to back out of the conference room, motioning with his hands for
everyone else
follow. His
teammates
were heading toward
the door when her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
He wasn’t going to manhandle her. She’d initiated contact and he calmly stood there as she gathered herself and got to her feet.
The connection of
skin-to-skin
uprooted his gravity, sent his body hurtling over the edge. He took a measured step back. Did she feel it? Did her center become unhinged? His sure as shit did.

“Jesminda,” Saying her name was a soothing balm to his lips. “I am more than capable of handling the assignment.
Before you speak against the captain’s decision
,
know I am the best man for the job.”

She eyed him w
earily as she adjusted herself
and
sat in a chair. Gabe was there
a second later with
a cup
of
water in
hand and gently grabbed the back of her neck. She didn’t flinch when Gabe touched her. She calmed instantly. Gabe had a way with all walks of life didn’t matter if you were human or not.
But when he began to massage her
neck,
a feral growl crept up his throat at the intimate contact.
He should be the one soothing her, not fucking Gabe.

She eyed
him sideways even as Gabe eyed him intently
, daring
him to voice his concerns. Royce entered the room and took the seat on her other side
, forcing
him further down the table
.
That was not where he wanted to be. He wanted to sit next to her. He wanted to be the one soothing her, she’d reached for him. Not the others.
She wasn’t the strong woman she used to be.
Someone had caged her, and tried to break her.
There was fire there,
but
barely. And Draven was going to see to it the fire burned once again. Even if it wasn’t for him
.
The captain looked at his men and gave him a very disappointed look. He knew that look. It meant the captain was changing things up. Normally it would be a
n admirable
thing, but not if it meant he wasn’t the one protecting Jesminda. If that was the case then the captain was going to have an up close and personal meeting with Draven’s fist.

“Draven I’m going to have you partner with Royce on this.
I know you all are used to working alone, but in this
case,
I think a team effort is in order.
The three of you will need to head out this evening.
Ms. Zealand needs to pick her daughter up from her friend. Then it’s your job to bring her back here so we can make plans to secure them a s
afe place, and locate Marcus.”

Dravaggio stood and walked out of the conference room. Jesminda grabbed her purse off the table and walked on unsteady legs over to Gabe, who’d retreated to the back of the room and thanked him for the water. He didn’t like her around any of the men. His inner beast didn’t understand he was with someone else. Didn’t want to agree with him on a
nything. Draven untied the
rubber band that held his hair in place. The moment it was free he pulled both hands through the waves and grunted. Shit just kept rolling downhill from here. Melissa said she was coming into the office, and her office was right down the street from his. She always stopped
by;
she’d reason they could ride home together.

When she arrived, things would go from shit, to fucked
.
She was a possessive wolf.

* * * *

The water was soothing to her throat. She needed something stronger than water, but it accomplished her main goal. She needed to relax, these men were not going to hurt her, and regardless of what Marcus
had
put her through she was stronger than this. Agent Stone, Draven, took his hair down and she had to turn away from its silkiness. It was more beautiful than she remembered. A bit shorter, his hair was more
controlled
less of a mess. She watched as he raked his fingers through, turning his head this way and back as if there was some internal struggle. Her daughter had that same mane of hair.
Faith’s green
, gold eyes sparkled with mirth and mischief. The thought made her heart ache. Draven Stone was going to meet his daughter. Finally.

He wore black BDU pants with a gray shirt that stretched across his muscled chest. He looked older, more settled. The seriousness was still there, more defined by time. His muscled arms led to veined hands, and she almost sighed. She found manly hands extremely sexy. She watched as he grabbed a cell phone from his pocket and dialed. Gabe took that moment to distract her by asking her a
question;
she had to ask him to repeat.

“I asked if you were
hungry.
” The smile he gave her was flirt
y
but passive. He was charming and handsome.
The laugh lines around his face were welcomed.
He wouldn’t try to hold her down with protocol or issues.
Jesminda was going to answer
Gabe, but Royce walked over and interrupted the conversation.

“S
o
I understand Jesminda maybe hungry.”

“I never got the chance to answer his question, Royce.” She said his name harsh. He didn’t seem to care just waited for her to continue. “Yes Gabe I am hungry, is there a place where I can get something to eat?”

“Yeah, there’s a cafeteria downstairs. They make and sell ju
st about anything human and non-
human. Would you like to come with? I don’t have to man the com
puters for another hour or so.”

Gabe gestured with his hands as he began to walk toward the opening of the c
onference room. She was hungry, actually
starved
was
more like it. The trip here hadn’t been pleasant in the least. Now that her eyes were open and she’d taken back her freedom. Jes hadn’t realized how scared she was.
At every
sound,
she’d almost jump out of her skin. It messed with her constantly not knowing what to expect. Belinda’s father was reluctant to put her on the plane. He’d insisted someone go with her. Jes knew she was stubborn but coming here alone was the first step in securing her freedom.

She followed Gabe towards the elevators.
There was no use in trying to stay in the conference room looking at the man who seduced her;
and the
next day ignored her while he had another woman wrapped around him.
A vampire.
She knew she’d get over him, eventually. How, she wasn’t exactly sure, he’d been
her first
heartbreak
. But two
months
later,
her doctor had looked at her with a bright smile. Finding out you were pregnant was suppose
d
to be a joyous occasion.
Women usually didn’t break down in their doctor’s office balling like a mad woman.
It wasn’t his fault she’d gotten pregnant.
Yes the fuck it is!
He’d lied to her, told her he was sterile, and like an idiot she believed him. That wasn’t happening again. She was through with men, of all species. Didn’t matter if they were human or not. Men were off the menu. Period
.
She smiled. She’d fight him at every turn.

“I know why you’re smiling and I have to say I’m quite pleased. To watch the two of you flounder around in complete darkness. I have the flashlight, but I’m not sharing.” Royce looked satisfied. Jesminda grunted. She didn’t want his stupid flashlight anyway. She would not flounder, not in the least.

“I have to ask,” Royce cleared his throat and leaned on the side of the elevator wall crossing his arms at his chest.
“The small precious cargo you call yours. How do you think our friend is going to react, doll?”
Fucking mind reader
.
He was going to be a pain in her ass. Didn’t he have an off switch?

“I aim to please,” he winked and gave her a devilish grin. Royce leaned over and whispered. “I
have the secret decoder ring.” H
is lips barely caressed her skin as the words danced in her ear. “And no, I don’t have an off switch.”

Gabe grunted at his statement.

“Stop trying to bait me.” She stepped away from him to the other side of the elevator.

Gabe had a wide smile on his face as well and stood with his hands behind his back teetering on the soles of his boots. The elevator dinged and the three of them stepped inside facing the front. As the doors began to close
,
an intensely
angry Draven was peering at them through the glass of the conference room
and
he didn’t look happy at all.

“You know if you tell him,” Jesminda said under her breath. “I will see to it personally you and your man parts meet with a very dear friend of mine.” Let him read that from her
mind and
see if he still wanted to open his mouth. She looked him straight in the eyes, amber darkened to deep orange.

“Careful, you might find I quite enjoy a dose of pain with my pleasure. You
,
my
dear
,
handling my junk
bring
s
nothing but salacious intentions to my brain and its receptive pleasure neurons.”

What was with these guys and their subtle and not so subtle come-ons?
You would think they’d never been in the presence of a female before. She knew that wasn’t it. Royce ti
lted the corners of his mouth.
The bastard was way too full of himself for his own good.

“I had a very up close and personal relationship with my father so the term bastard does not apply.”

Jesminda grinned. He was funny and he didn’t make her feel threatened
. M
uch. It was Draven
that gave her pause for alarm.
The door to the elevator swung open and the myriad smells of the food assaulted her on contact. She couldn’t tell if she was going to throw up or
die in heaven. The scents twin
ed with each other so much it was like you could see threads of flavor dancing over your head. Gabe led her over to a buffet style serving side.
On the opposite side of the
room was a similar one, but instead of roast, chicken, salad and other delicious smelling food. That table was lined with a fountain spouting something so red it could only be blood, and raw meat. Further down that same table was a small chicken pen with actual live chickens. Her brain realized they were food, but couldn’t quite wrap around why they were still alive, unless….

“Oh dear God, you mean there are those of you who would rather eat the chicken alive
than
dead and raw?”