Frozen Heart of Fire (2 page)

The huge, mean-looking bouncers  at the door, stepped back as Ravenwood led her to a lift she hadn’t noticed wandering through the building. There were four separate areas— four different places to drink, socialize and dance—each of them adorned with those ridiculous hearts to mark the occasion. She’d noted every exit, every way her quarry could escape, but she hadn’t planned on falling prey to the one man she’d been warned to avoid.

Noah, the brother, stepped into the bright lift first, waiting for them to follow, but Eva had other plans. With a soft sigh, she dropped to one knee, thus loosening, by the element of surprise, the hand on her jacket sleeve. With a fist in the small of his back, thrusting the older brother into the younger man, she leapt up, turned and prepared to run back down the way she’d come and out the first fire exit.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t prepared for the quick recovery  of the two men. She was forcefully lifted off her feet and flung casually over the elder Ravenswood’s shoulder as though he’d expected some show of rebellion. One heavy hand clasped her black jean’ pocket as she dangled down his back, catching a good view of his shapely rear. No manner of struggling, shouting or complaining gained her any freedom. Ravenwood was as strong as he was stubborn, and she’d be lucky if she didn’t find herself thrown out of a high window to her screaming death. Neither man was reputed to be the soft and cuddly type. No one remained alive for as long as they had, by not being as ruthless as or more so than their enemies.

“Who’s a bad girl then?” Noah smiled into her furious face, a broad grin crossing his lips. “Did you think we were born yesterday?”

She closed her eyes, and reined in her rage, for it would do her no good. She’d read everything there was to read about these men and still, she’d made mistake after mistake around them. She would need to bide her time, work out her options and find another escape route. There must be one.

Chapter Three

“We’re here.” Ravenwood set her back down on her feet and pulled her into a large, well-lit apartment with pale painted walls and comfy furniture placed strategically around the room. “Sit down, and don’t try to escape again.” He pushed her onto the same cream leather sofa he’d sat on when he’d watched the tape of her before, then touched a switch on his laptop and replayed the images for her to see.

  Noah leaned against the doorjamb, his eyes watching the passive movement of the strange woman, but the slow action of his brother drew his attention from their guest.

Do you want me to handle this?
He asked Joshua through his thoughts, concerned by his brother’s wan complexion. The headache he’d been trying not to complain about for the past two days, hadn’t gone away.

I’m okay,
Joshua warned. It was only a headache, a brain-numbing headache but it wouldn’t kill him. Noah was worried and did his best to deflect enquiries about him, but there was only so much his brother could do as Joshua fell victim to the agonizing pain. No analgesic worked; nothing gave any relief. Josh took another deep breath, steeled himself against the thunder in his brain and turned his ire to the unknown woman.

“Want to explain why you’re here?” Joshua sat down next to the woman after playing the recording a second time. He watched a dark emotion cross her face, an element of protection building in her aura. She was afraid; she couldn’t hide the flash of electricity scooting around her although her face remained passive.

“I wanted a little company and a drink. Is there anything wrong with that?” She stared at the screen, avoiding both men. They looked alike but it was the older brother who was the most striking. His hair, that strange mixture of black, red and orange, was just the little bit more daring. His face was a little leaner, his cheekbones jutted out just that little bit more. She turned her face, almost in answer to something the older man hadn’t said, to be captured by the intensity of his dark eyes. Her tongue poked out to quickly wet her lips as though she tasted a delicious morsel on them.

“Why are you here?” Joshua asked again. He had reason enough to fear assassins, but never in this, his territory. Never would he have believed that anyone would be brave enough or foolish enough to threaten him here.

Her eyes were pale, almost not blue enough to be blue, and the delicacy of the shade of her hair reminded him of winter at his parents’ house. The locks covering her head spiked out as though in rebellion to the blandness of her expression, but he sighed softly as a slight frown crossed her pale forehead.

Noah moved as fast as he could, as the woman’s hand arched out, one taloned finger reaching out to touch his brother between his unprotected eyes. He heard a hiss as she made contact with Joshua’s skin, a sizzle like hot water hitting ice.

Joshua moved backward, but he’d been staring into her strange eyes, the bottomless depths displaying emotions not showing on her face and he wasn’t quick enough to evade the chilled touch of the fingertip.

“No,” he cried as Noah leapt toward her, his aim only to protect his brother. But the warning came too late, as Noah dragged her off the sofa onto the floor, his large hand tight around her throat.

“What did you do?” Noah hissed, noting the change in Joshua, in the lines of his face and in how his eyes closed. The woman struggled in his grasp, her breathing harsh and ragged, but if she’d hurt Joshua, he would see that she died, at his hand.

“Let her go.” Joshua’s hand was on his brother’s shoulder, his voice was a little unsteady, but he was far from being hurt. “Noah, let her go.”

Noah slowly backed away on his knees, his hand releasing her, although he was unsure of what happened. He watched as Joshua offered his hand to help the woman up. But, while she nodded to acknowledge the gesture, she refused to take the help and pulled herself off the thick woolen carpet to sit on the sofa, a hand at her throat and narrowed eyes darting to Noah’s face.

“Please forgive my brother; he’s a little overenthusiastic when it comes to my safety.” Joshua grinned, every sign of the brain-killing pain gone, which was due to something the woman had done. “What did you do?”

“I don’t know,” Eva lied.

I thought she was trying to kill you,
Noah muttered inside Joshua’s mind where the woman couldn’t hear him, which was the closest to an apology he would offer for trying to save his brother’s life.

“Okay,” Joshua started, holding a hand up to stop whatever words were heading out of Noah’s mind. “Let’s start with your name. I assume you have one.”

Eva smiled. The humor in his words was a stark contrast to the pressured, pain-ridden man he’d been moments before. His eyes, a deep dark blue, were lit by an emotion she couldn’t read and his mouth was so tempting, she wanted to reach out again, this time with her lips.

“Everybody has a name,” Joshua urged, since she hadn’t answered.

“My name is Eva,” she whispered, the strength of her voice stolen by the charisma of his excellent looks. Here in the brighter lights of what she assumed was his private apartment, she had the opportunity to study his features and never had she seen a man who appealed to her more. Wasn’t it typical of her luck that the only man to attract her was this man, the enemy?

“It’s a pretty name,” Joshua grinned again; it suited her attractive face but something about it niggled at him like a memory he needed to reclaim. What was it about this woman that irked him so?

She was pretty, a little smaller, a little lighter of skin than his usual type, but the more he looked at her, the more he liked the way she looked. Her hair, so unruly, was as pale as milk, but fit the pallor of her skin. It suited her, although on another woman, it may have made her look wan.

Your headache, has it gone?
Noah jumped into the psychic airwaves.  He saw  the difference in his brother, the relief lighting his face. What had the strange woman done?

“Eva, what did you do to me?” Joshua placed a warm hand beneath the woman’s chin and gently lifted her head up so her eyes met his. He wanted his brother to hear the explanation from her lips.

“You were in pain,” she whispered into the depths of his beautiful eyes. They were like looking up into the dark of a midnight sky; all that was missing were the stars.

“I was,” he nodded. “But I’m not now. What did you do?”

“I sent a shielding into your head,” she blurted out, She hadn’t meant to. She hadn’t meant to help, but, again, it was instinctual. She felt the pain ebbing through his skull, and, since she knew how to prevent it, she couldn’t help herself from helping him.
  “A shielding…?” Joshua’s brow furrowed. Wasn’t he already protected enough in his own home? He had believed he was safe here in his home. What else didn’t he know?

“Your pain comes from outside these walls.” Eva couldn’t lie to him although she wanted to. Every new scrap of knowledge she departed revealed a little bit more of who and what she was. Why hadn’t they already realized her identity?

“Do you know the cause?” Noah moved closer, as though his body could protect his brother by its mere presence.

“How should I know?” Eva snarled. Noah’s interruption spoiled the spell Joshua had been weaving as she turned to glare at the man trying to intimidate her; the one who had already attacked her. Which of these men were the most dangerous?

Noah, stand back,
Joshua flashed a little authority, annoyed his brother should wreck his efforts, particularly since the woman responded so well to it. With a soft growl, Noah removed himself to the wall of glass windows.

“Eva, what did you do to me?” Joshua ignored Noah’s sulk; his brother was quick to brood but just as quick to come out of it. Noah never held grudges for long.

“I changed your vibration.” Eva wanted to tell him everything. He had that kind of face and, although she recognized the pull of an enchantment of sorts, she realized she wanted to tell him so he wouldn’t have to endure that brain draining torture again.

“How…?”

“I lowered your temperature a little, changing your vibrational field and as long as you keep your temperature lower than normal, the headache shouldn’t return although I don’t doubt they’ll change their frequency and try again.”

“Someone is sending this to my brother?” Noah’s moodiness was short-lived and, once he realized that Joshua was in some kind of danger, he leapt back into bodyguard mode.

“Do you know who?” Joshua nodded to Noah. They were brothers and family stuck together, always.

Eva shook her head; there was a limit to what she could tell them. Had she had time to scan the room before blocking the energy then maybe she could have supplied the information they asked of her.

“You must know,” Noah stepped closer again, but a look from his brother warned him to caution.

“I don’t know,” Eva insisted, shaking her head and leaning back in the deep-seated sofa, closing her eyes and demonstrating a level of trust in the brothers without thinking about it. They didn’t know who or what she was and she had no intention of ever revealing that to anyone. Her safety lay in discretion, in secrecy, not only for herself but her kin too. “Someone doesn’t like you.”

Joshua laughed, deep and throaty, a sound which caused Eva to open her eyes once again, a sound triggering a frisson of energy to echo through her body. She liked the sound of it and wanted to hear more.

“That’s the understatement of the year.,” Noah joined in on his brother’s humor. “There can’t be many people outside this club who do like him. I’m not sure I like him that much.”

Eva ignored the younger man, Joshua had the most beautiful smile when it wasn’t forced and she found her soul drawn into the wonder of it. Again, those full firm lips were the focus of her life and she wondered how soft they would feel against her willing mouth, and the chill of her skin.

Why isn’t this room protected?
Joshua demanded although he knew the barriers placed around them were intact. He checked them every morning; nothing was out of place, nothing awry.

It is protected,
Noah insisted because he checked the apartment and the club every morning and night. He knew everything was in place.

Eva closed her eyes against the sight of the delicious man seated beside her. This situation was downright dangerous and every word she uttered in their presence led her and her kin into deeper danger but, even in the darkness behind her eyelids, she could see Joshua’s face, could smell his cologne, a rich masculine scent and one, which would forever remind her of him.

“Boss, could I have a word?” Brendan stood awkwardly in the doorway, his eyes dropping to the sight of the strange woman, who was prettier in real life, her eyes the strangest of colors as she turned her head at the sound of his voice.

“Don’t. Move,” Joshua whispered into her ear as he moved past to join his brother and Brendan at the door. She watched him with a frown on her brow. There was something in the way the dark man had stared, a hint in the fear in his wide eyes. She glanced around the room but, unless she suddenly grew a pair of wings, the three men stood in the only viable exit, blocking the way to the lift. The only other way out was through the wall of windows on the other side of the room and that wouldn’t  work. She was skilled at many things but jumping into the sky this many floors up, wasn’t an option. She turned her head, trying to catch the muted conversation of the three men.

“Your cousin, Prince, demands to see you and is causing panic downstairs by declaring you’re shielding an Ice Witch up here. He says she was spotted entering the building on the trail of a demon,” Brendan muttered, lower than necessary as though he didn’t want the woman to hear. Who knew how powerful she was? The extent of their knowledge depended mostly on rumor and history.