Woman Beware (8 page)

Artu entered his home and zoomed toward his bolt hole. He should never have left to try to talk sense into Benton, but he hadn’t been home. It wasn’t until he saw the crafts outside his home that he realized that Benton had managed to rat him out yet again.

How had the other man known about the bolt hole? No one knew about that but those who helped build it, and they were long gone from this world. Artu moved as fast as he dared, knowing he had to get there before Lena opened the door.

Though he knew that they wouldn’t find her unless she came out on her own, he feared that she would inadvertently help them by coming out without coercion.

“Let me pass,” Artu said with a growl as he pushed his way through what seemed like a battalion of men. He had to stop them. Artu couldn’t allow them to put his Lena in prison. He would go himself before he allowed them to put her in with the blood thirsty criminals and thugs he had helped to incarcerate. They would kill her when they found out he’d attempted to keep her out of there. A commotion at the front drew his attention, and he narrowed his eyes at the open door.

“She loves him!”

Artu’s heart swelled at the words. Had she said that? Had she really told others that she loved him? Perhaps, if they were lucky, that declaration would keep her out of jail.

“For the love of Brigit, what have we done?” one of the men said as Artu pushed through the crowd.

For the first time in his life, Artu felt fear, true fear, as he pushed his way through. The crowd had grown eerily silent as he made his way to his door.

Whatever he did, he knew he must declare his love for her to keep her with him. Nothing short of death could separate a defender from his mate.

Turning, the men faced him and grew silent. Artu’s stomach churned as he drew toward the front of the crowd and didn’t see Lena standing before him. Deep in his gut he knew something was wrong.

Heart in his throat, he shoved his way through the last of the men to find Lena. She lay on the floor, still as death, her lovely face white, a blue tinge surrounding her lips.

Slowly, he shook his head as he took in her appearance and the dark stain in the center of her chest.

“No!” Artu felt his chest constrict as he saw her on the floor, still as death. He covered the rest of the distance in what felt like slow motion. Falling to his knees, he felt his heart break as he lifted her lifeless body in his arms.

“Why?” he asked no one in particular. “Why did she have to die?” Standing, he gathered her firmly against him. Carrying her into his once-hidden chamber, he walked down the long hall and into the bedroom.

He looked at the rumpled bed and his heart broke. Was it only a few short hours ago that he’d made love to her right there? Gently, he placed her still form on the bed and gazed down at her.

For the first time in his life, Artu bowed his head and gave way to tears. How many lifetimes had he waited to meet Lena? So much time wasted. So many years lost. Staring at his feet, Artu stood silent for a moment, wishing that things could have been different.

“We are so sorry, Defender,” one of the men said as he twisted his hat in his hand. “We had no idea that she was your soul mate.” He swallowed thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “You see, we didn’t know that she was your mate and under your protection.”

“Benton did.” Another said, pointing at the man Artu had once considered his best friend. “It was Benton who shot her.”

Rage, unlike anything Artu had ever felt before filled him at the declaration. Benton, the man he’d trusted, confided in for the last ten years, had shot the one woman capable of ending his torment. His temper flared to the point where he could become like all those monsters he’d helped put in jail. He wanted to reach out, grab Benton by the throat and throttle him. Instead, he sat beside Lena, took her hand in his and pressed it to his chest.

That was when all hell broke loose.

The moment Artu touched Lena’s hand to the center of his chest, sparks shot between them. The power arcing back and forth between them made her body jerk and flop on the bed. When he pulled her hand away, Lena opened her eyes and met his gaze.

“Honey, I’m home,” she said in a singsong voice. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, she pulled herself up and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. She pulled away slowly, her breath coming in short pants, and slapped his arm. “That’s for leaving me here while I was sleeping.”

Artu lifted one side of his mouth in a half grin. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Kill the trespasser!” Benton screamed from somewhere in the crowd.

“Huh!” Lena turned toward the sound and narrowed her eyes. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she stood, looked down at the center of her chest, then back up at Benton and scowled. “You
shot
me, you jerk!”

“And I shall shoot you again.” Benton lifted his arm and squeezed off another shot before those next to him forced him down. “I thank the gods that my grandfather told me of this secret room he and his father built. Otherwise, you would have succeeded in your plan to steal our defender from us.”

The shot hit Lena in the center of the chest, charring what was left of the center of her blouse a charcoal gray. Lena staggered back a bit. With a growl, she ripped her arms apart and broke the handcuffs that should have held her immobile.

Artu gaped when she stood her ground and pointed at him. “We’re going to have to talk about your taste in friends, sweetheart.” She frowned up at him. “Because, so far from what I can see, they suck.”

“Die, bitch!” Benton screamed again. “I will not let you steal our defender.”

The entire crowd gaped at Lena as she slowly made her way toward Benton. Step after deliberate step, she grew closer to the man who would have gladly ended her life.

“Stop staring at me,” she grumbled at no one in particular. “You’ll give me a complex or something.”

“We cannot help the staring, miss,” one of the bystanders said. “We have never before seen a female defender.”

“Female defender?” Lena stopped and turned back to Artu. “What’s he talking about?” she asked as she jerked her thumb in the man’s direction.

“You have lived through two sonic blasts, Lena.” Artu did his best not to gape at her. “Most people have holes in their chests when hit with one. And,” he paused to gesture to her hands. “You have broken the restraints.”

He refrained from touching her between her breasts where she sported the dark-ringed hole in her blouse. He didn’t want to draw attention to her perfect body, lest she found him lacking and chose another. He wasn’t stupid.

“So?” She shrugged. “Maybe my body chemistry is different. Maybe I have more strength on this world.”

“Or, perhaps you are a defender, as well.”

“She’s a trespassing bitch! She will steal our defender away. She will make him weak and useless. Kill her!”

Artu growled at Benton. “I thought you were my friend.” He strode over to the man he once confided in and picked him up by the neck. “Instead, you were my worst enemy. Did you know that living alone for so long causes a defender to succumb to madness? Did you care?”

Benton’s only reply was an inarticulate gurgle. Reaching up, he grasped Artu’s hands, trying to pull them free of his neck.

Lena rested her hand on his arm, just above his wrist. Her touch soothed him, caused him to relax though he wanted nothing more than to rip Benton’s head off. It was only one more sign that told him he had been living too close to the edge for too long.

“It doesn’t matter, Artu. He doesn’t matter. I’m here for you now.”

“Thanks to the Fates.”

Artu pulled Benton closer. “Defenders eventually grow weary of life, Benton. Imagine living alone, one lifetime after another. The isolation takes its toll on a man.”

Opening his hand, Artu dropped Benton. The other man bent over, gasping for breath.

“Now, imagine if that man could fall in love, breed even. How many more defenders might the world have then?”

Artu smiled grimly at Benton’s wide-eyed stare. “Yes, you incredible waste of space, I can breed, but only with the one who is my soul mate, and you would have killed her more than once today.”

“I was trying to protect you from the machinations of greedy women, women who would use your position, your power, for their own gain.”

“No, Benton,” Artu said with a slow shake of his head. His heart broke as he realized the only person using him for their own gain had been Benton all along. “You were trying to protect yourself. In your mind, you thought you would no longer have a protector.” Artu snorted. “Who did you think would stand in defense of this world when I went mad with loneliness?” Wrapping his arm around Lena, Artu drew her close. “She is my destiny. The Fates have decreed it such. Who are
you
to decide otherwise?”

Lena watched the exchange between the two men who had once been friends. She wanted to cry for Artu who had once believed Benton wanted nothing but his friendship. She was sure it was a bitter pill to take, but he did so with dignity.

She had to admire the way he stood so tall and proud, though she knew his heart must be breaking. He looked so regal, so in control of his emotions, but she could tell his mind was in turmoil. She didn’t know how she knew, she just did.

Then, there was what he and the other man said. “You still haven’t explained this two-defender business.” She glanced up at Artu, hoping he would shed some light on the situation. She had a suspicion, but she knew what she thought couldn’t possibly be what they meant.

“It would appear, my love, that you have the power of a defender.” Artu glanced at the crowd of men surrounding them. “If you don’t mind, I would like to talk with Lena alone.”

“No!” Benton cried. “He will leave with her. The longer they are together, the weaker he will get.”

“You are wrong, you fool.” Artu said with a growl as he turned back to Benton and scowled. “I will begin to age, yes, but I cannot get injured or die until you have a new defender from another generation.”

“It just goes to show what he knows,” Lena said with a smirk as she gestured to Benton.

Help me!

Lena frowned. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Benton asked, his toned sarcastic. “Did we hear the death knoll for our people?”

Help me! Save my baby!
Lena’s heart began to race. “I know I heard that.” She rested her hand on Artu’s forearm. “Tell me you heard that,” she said as she headed for the door. “We have to go, Artu. If I’m some goofy female derivative of a defender, I get to go with you.” She bit her lip. “But you’ll have to give me a ride.” She frowned. “Why do you look shorter?”

“Look down, Lena,” Artu said with a wry grin.

“Holy crapola!” Lena gasped. “I’m walking on air!”

“No, my love, you are floating, but it’s pretty much the same thing.” Artu took her hand and pulled her from the room. “Let me show you what else we can do on our way to save that babe.”

Two days later, Lena woke up and stretched. Standing, she turned back to Artu. “You know, now that your sister’s things are washed and I feel like getting dressed,” she said with a wink, “I think I’ll wear that blouse I pulled out on that first day.”

“The red one?” Artu frowned. “I thought you didn’t like the red one. I believe you said something about red shirts causing death for your people.”

“That was before,” she said as she pulled the blouse from the closet and held it out in front of her with a grin. “Now that I’m a defender like you, I’ll never be afraid to wear a red shirt again.”

After all, there was just something about being invincible that lent confidence to a sci-fi geek.

Help me!

Lena smiled as she donned the shirt. “You’d better get up, lazy bones. It’s time to go to work.”

Dear Reader:

If you’re reading this, I hope it means that you’ve just enjoyed reading one of my books. Always a romantic, I started weaving little fantasies for my friends at the tender age of fifteen. Never once did I think that writing would be my dream until around 2002. After complaining to my husband that my favorite a
uthors didn’t write fast enough, my husband asked a fateful question. “Why don’t you write one of your own while you’re waiting?”

Once I started, he couldn’t stop me. Now, I write in the morning before work. I write during my breaks at the day job, I write at night when I should be relaxing. Heck, I’ve even been known to write in my sleep. Every member of my family has had the dubious honor of witnessing my fingers moving over the keys while I’m off in dreamland. Sometimes it even makes sense!

I grew up in Southwest Florida where I met and married. My husband was in the Navy for twenty years, so if you wonder where I have gotten some of my ideas, I blame him. I suggest you do the same. He’s always saying he has wide shoulders. Let’s load them up, shall we?

Currently, I live in a small town in Michigan, seven miles from the nearest grocery store. I love living out here in the country. It gives me the peace and quiet I need to continue to write these stories for you. It also shows me a lot of natural beauty that I try to share with you in my books. While my titles may be dedicated to certain individuals who have touched my life in differing ways, please remember, every one of them is written for you.

My most recent dream is to continue what I do—to share more stories with anyone willing to read them. My new dream is to be able to pursue both my writing and my husband fulltime. Do you think he’ll run?

More of Tianna’s Books

The Paradise series:

A Stranger in Paradise

Gates of Paradise

Return to Paradise

Trouble in Paradise

Road to Paradise

Another Day in Paradise

Naked in Paradise

Seduction in Paradise

Looking for Paradise

Healing in Paradise

A Summer in Paradise

A Melody in Paradise