Passion Ignited (12 page)

“Makes you wonder if she’s okay.”

Grandpa nodded. “Yeah. It does.” He turned
toward Kyle. “Why don’t you head to bed?”

Kyle nodded before he crawled inside their
box, though he positioned himself so he could still look at the
other two.

“How are you really feeling?” Grandpa
asked.

Bob shook his head. “I really don’t know, but
I always feel hungry.”

“That’s how it is at first. But you’ll get
used to it soon. It’s either that, or die.”

****

“You didn’t create me,” Nitro
argued.

“Ah, but I did,” Ekhart said. The wicked gleam
in his eyes gave away just how pleased he was by this revelation.
“When I found you and your brother you were useless humans. I made
you something more. Everything you are, even your immortality, is
because of me.”

She shook her head. “No. That wasn’t you. We
killed the bastard that did that to us.”

“Did you now?” He laughed. “You are more
foolish than I’d ever thought. You’re telling me that you never
stopped to think that maybe he was working for someone
else?”

Actually, she hadn’t. When she and Ash had
gathered enough strength, they’d lured the scientist into a trap
and had swiftly disposed of him. She opened her mouth to answer
just as Ash appeared right next to her, his worried gaze searching
her face. “What the fuck did I just miss?”

“Nothing,” Nitro responded.

“Everything,” Ekhart growled.

Ash nudged her, trying to get her to slide
over in the booth. She refused. She didn’t want her brother to be
fed the lies that she was being dealt right now. But all too soon,
Ash forced her over. “Who are you?” he asked instantly.

“Ekhart,” she answered for him.

“Yes, and I am responsible for making the two
of you who you are today.”

Ash’s brows popped up, both when she had said
his name, and even more so with Ekhart’s claim. Of course he would
remember the name. He’d been the target on one of their jobs
centuries ago. “How?” he asked her.

“Unimportant. No doubt she’ll fill you in
later,” Ekhart responded. “I have business to discuss with the two
of you. I’ve come here for my ring.”

Nitro sighed. “You’ll have to find Sloka
then.”

“Sloka is dead. Rumor has it you murdered him.
Bring me the ring and I’ll vow not to do the same thing to your
little friend there that I did to you,” Ekhart said, hiking his
thumb in the direction of the Guardians’ booths.

The twins looked at each other, smiles
stretching across their faces. She laughed. “You think
they
are our friends? You’re more foolish than I thought,” she said,
mirroring his earlier judgment. “We’re on a
job
.”

Ash shook his head in mock amusement. “Do you
understand what mercenaries even do?”

A low, long rumble came from Ekhart’s throat.
He peeled his lips back and revealed sharp fangs behind the lips of
an otherwise human-looking face. “Don’t test me.” Facing Nitro, he
said, “Do you think I haven’t noticed the way you look at the
vampire?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re
here on a job. Nothing else.”

“I have eyes in more places that you can even
conceive of. I know all about your secret rendezvous with…Raider,
is it? If I don’t have the ring by sunup, I’ll have no choice but
to take him. And by take him, I do mean by any means necessary—even
if I have to take him out in direct sunlight. Now, have I made
myself clear? I believe that gives you under an hour.” Ekhart
tapped his finger lightly on his chin. “I wonder how a vampire
would deal with the experiments.”

****

“What are you doing?” Ash followed Nitro
through her bedroom door. He shut the door behind them, the only
sound coming from her heels as she crossed the hardwood floor, but
even that softened as she stepped onto the rug.

“I’m getting the ring.” She went straight for
her bed and reached under the mattress. Pulling the ring free, she
looked at it in her hand.

“You’re giving into him? That’s not like
you.”

She didn’t respond other than a shrug of her
shoulders as she stood and turned away from him.

“What the fuck has gotten into
you?”

Fisting her hands at her sides, she turned to
face her brother. “I just don’t think it’s worth Raider getting
hurt over a stupid ring. No one should have to go through what we
did. He’s been through enough as it is.”

Ash exhaled slowly and shook his head. Nitro
looked at him, examining the reaction on his face. Of course he
would be disgusted with her. This was the first sign of weakness
she’d ever shown. No doubt any second he would go off on her,
reminding her that the Guardians meant nothing to them—

“You love him.”

Nitro blinked. “What? I—”

“You love him.”

There was a long silence as the twins stared
at each other.

“I…do,” she finally said. “At least, I think I
love him.” She waited for him to yell at her. To tell her that
she’d finally cracked and become weak because she’d let her heart
take over. Even now, he shook his head as though he were trying to
clear his thoughts.

“You don’t know how glad I am that you said
that.”

She made with more blinking. “Why?”

“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve
felt that rage…that
demon
inside of me? Decades, Nitro.
You’ve never gotten over it. Do you know how hard it’s been? To
worry about the demon taking over in you? How long I’ve waited for
some semblance of my sister to come back? Or how long until you
finally went off the fucking deep end?”

Nitro paled, listening to her brother go off
on her.

“It’s just…I’m glad. You finally care about
someone other than yourself. It’s about fucking time.”

She wasn’t really sure how to respond to her
brother’s confession. She’d never realized that he had worried
about her. Sure, he was her brother. Of course there would be some
worry, but this was nothing like what she’d ever imagined. “You
know I care about you,” she whispered, barely able to find her
voice.

“I know you do.” His tone suggested that he’d
never considered the alternative. “But I wasn’t sure that would
last forever. That bastard. The things he did…” He shook his head
and gritted his teeth. “The demon took you over a lot more than it
did me. You’ve always been the stronger one.”

“That’s not true,” she replied, but she knew
the truth as well as he did. In one way, she was so much stronger.
But in another way—the way that mattered—she’d always been the weak
one. It had always taken more energy for her to hold the demon
back. And whenever she let it lose, the demon raged, creating a
wall of destruction wherever she went.

He dragged a hand through his hair. “All I’m
saying is, welcome back.” Hearing the chime on the grandfather
clock downstairs, he looked at her again. “We’ve gotta go. We’ve
only got fifteen minutes to save your boyfriend.”

Chapter Eleven

Thrash wandered slowly through the streets,
soaking up the moonlight whenever it shown between the heavy mass
of buildings. His boots crunched over the wet pavement, which had
just melted the rest of the snow that had been stuck to it over the
last few days.

He was pleased with himself that he’d won
tonight’s wager. Garrick had picked three females from the club
that Thrash had to fuck before the club closed for the night.
Thrash had selected three females Blaze had to do the same with,
and Blaze returned the favor for Garrick.

He chuckled to himself. Garrick had no idea
what he’d gotten himself into. Thrash always won these bets. His
animal magnetism lured women from all around. As they should—he was
fucking sexy.

And a cool ten G’s didn’t hurt as the
reward.

He flipped open his cell phone and checked the
time. The club was just closing now, which meant that the other
Guardians would be heading home, or possibly making a few final
rounds, as he was doing. He’d won the contest hands down, and that
wasn’t even including the fourth woman he’d fucked just for
fun.

He stepped off the sidewalk, turning down an
alleyway. Dialing Garrick’s cell, he brought the phone up to his
ear.

The new bastard had better pay up.

A strange scent hit his nose just as he heard
a whooshing sound. Thrash turned to investigate just as a crowbar
slammed into his face.

It hurt like a motherfucker.

He fell to his back, feeling warm blood spurt
down his face. He couldn’t even see through the blood that pooled
over his eyes. Just as he reached up to swipe some of it away,
someone pounced on him, holding him to the ground. Thrash roared as
he felt the coldness of steal slice into his stomach.

****

Raider entered the mansion behind the other
Guardians. Overall, everyone had had a great night. It was rare
that Ferox and Raine ventured outside the mansion for some drinks,
but with Ally offering to stay behind, no one needed to listen for
calls.

As if his thoughts summoned her, Ally strolled
into the foyer and Draven scooped her up in his arms. She kissed
him tenderly on the mouth before he slid her back down to her feet.
The female really was tiny compared to his mammoth nephew, but the
couple was deeply in love, and anyone could admit that they looked
good together.

“Shhh,” Ally whispered. “The munchers are
asleep.”

Draven and the others nodded, seeing the boys
asleep in the library. Walking over to them, Draven lifted the
sleeping Skylar in his arms as Ally woke Trevor. They walked out
into the cold night after whispered goodbyes.

Once the door shut behind them, everyone
scattered. Raine and Ferox headed upstairs to go to bed while Ethan
went down to check on Riley. Even Blaze headed up the stairs toward
his room.

Raider slid his trench off his shoulders and
slung it over his arm. Garrick repeated the gesture only to hang
his suit jacket on the coat rack. Couldn’t the bastard ever dress
down? Really, he was starting to cause a complex amongst some of
the Guardians; even Ferox had dressed in a suit tonight, which
never
happened.

Raider started to walk down the hall just as
Garrick’s phone rang.

“The bastard,” Garrick laughed. “He’s calling
to rub the bet in my face.” He answered his cell and brought it to
his ear. “You couldn’t fucking wait ‘til morning? I’m good
for—”

Raider turned and saw Garrick’s eyes widen. He
flashed over to him, trying to listen in on the call. A roar that
only Thrash could make echoed over the line.

“Thrash?” Garrick said. “Thrash!”

“What the fuck is going on?” Raider
barked.

Garrick pegged him with a glare as he swung
his coat over his shoulders. “We’ve got to go.”

****

Ekhart paced slowly, back and forth, his grin
widening as the twins got closer and closer. “Very good of you to
join us,” he laughed. “In fact, just before you arrived one of your
dear friends stumbled across us. He’s quite a handful.”

Ekhart made a gesture, and three of his men
brought Thrash out into the dim light of the alley. Rage poured off
him as he struggled against his binds, and blood dripped from
numerous wounds.

“He is a Guardian, is he not?” Ekhart asked
them before facing his prisoner. “Well, Guardian, did these two
tell you that they work for me?”

Thrash’s head whipped up, his eyes piercing
Nitro and Ash.

“We do not, we’ve never worked under your
command,” Ash argued.

Ekhart tsk’d. “My dear boy, your life began
the minute you started working for me.”

“Did we work for you the night I sliced your
finger from your fat hand?” Nitro asked.

“No,” he conceded. “Of course, that was truly
the first time I’d ever been proud of you. The first night I got to
see the beauty of my invention. The night I realized I wanted
more.” He walked a slow circle around Nitro and Ash. The twins
followed him with their eyes and senses, but not giving him the
satisfaction of believing they didn’t dare have him at their backs.
“Did you bring it?” He stepped in front of Nitro, putting mere
inches between them.

“What of our deal?” she asked.

Thrash growled again, silver light radiating
from his eyes as he watched the conversation unfold among the enemy
and the warriors that the Guardians had trusted.

“I’ll hold my end of the bargain.”

“And what of the wolf?” she asked, flicking
her gaze toward Thrash.

“What of him? He wasn’t part of our deal. I
have simply acquired a new toy.” Ekhart’s eyes glimmered as if he
were truly pleased with the strange twist. No doubt a powerful
Guardian would make a fabulous new toy.

Ash stepped forward. “You’re not taking
him.”

“The ring,” Ekhart demanded.