Seduce the Darkness (Alien Huntress #4)(65)
Author: Gena Showalter

"She belongs to me," he continued, "and yet you feel she is your property." Devyn raised his chin, the picture of a determined male. "I don’t want you chasing her for the rest of your too-long life, and she wants answers about her people. So let’s take care of both matters at once. We’ll petition your king and allow him to decide. You can tell her what she wants to know along the way."

And if the king decided in McKell’s favor? she wondered. Hell, no. "I’m happy to go underground, but there won’t be anyone deciding my fate for me."

"She will not be sentenced to death," McKell said, ignoring her. "As she was born here on the surface, the daughter of captured vampires"—his gaze shifted left and right to his men, pleading with her and Devyn not to contradict him—"her time here could not be helped."

Devyn nodded. "It’s settled, then."

"Settled," the vampire said.

"It’s awesome that you two are in agreement, really it is. But do I get a say in this?" she snapped. "Did no one hear me say that no one picks my man but me?"

Again, neither paid her any heed. Jeez. Was it the sequins? Put on a slave costume, and suddenly no one took you seriously.

"I’ll go underground, because I want to go, but that’s it," she said. "That’s all I’m promising."

Devyn must have released the vampire from stun, because the warrior stepped backward and nodded, saying, "Do not think this will end happily for you, Targon."

CHAPTER 20

The buzzing of his phone woke Dallas. Blinking against the harsh morning light, he lolled over and blindly reached for his cell. He knocked over a glass on his nightstand. When his fingers finally scraped the cell, he latched on and dragged it to his ear. "Agent Gutierrez," he rasped.

"Get your lazy ass up," Hector proclaimed from the other end. "Nolan escaped."

Blood freezing in his veins, Dallas jackknifed up, the urge to sleep hammered out of him with the agent’s words. "How?"

"Seduced one of the female agents sent to watch him."

"That shit bag." He popped to his feet and strode into the bathroom. His still tired muscles screamed in protest. "She sick?"

"Not yet, but she’s been locked up and is being watched. I’ve got Nolan’s location, and I’m on my way to get you. Can you be ready in ten?"

"Make it eight." Though he had questions, he hung up and took care of business. He brushed his teeth, dressed, grabbed his shades, and was out the door in five. He’d planned to spend the morning thinking about his vision of Devyn, and how McKell, whose face he had indeed seen in it, had managed to stab his friend. If he had to, he’d plant himself at the pier and wait for the vampires to arrive.

The moment the idea struck, he nodded. Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do. Once Nolan was taken care of, he’d find a spot and camp out. He wouldn’t have seen Devyn’s death if there was nothing to do about it. Dallas was as certain of that as he was that without intervention, Devyn would die. He refused to believe the visions were simply to prepare him for what lay ahead.

The way he’d botched the vision about Jaxon and Mishka was proof things could be changed—and for the better. If he worked them right.

The streets were lined with morning traffic; the sun was bright as people cruised the sidewalks at top speed. A few were carrying cups of syn-coffee, and the scent wafted to his nose, making his mouth water. His stomach even rumbled. How long since he’d eaten?

Hector pulled to the curb and stopped.

Ignoring his hunger, Dallas slid into the kind of sedan every AIR agent used and shut the door with a push of a button. "How do you know where Nolan is?" was the first question he voiced.

Hector programmed the car, and it eased onto the road before kicking into high gear, weaving in and out of traffic. "Remember how your friend Devyn injected himself with that isotope tracker?"

"Yeah."

"Well, get this. The vampire drank from Devyn, and Nolan drank from Bride, who was also injected, so had mice the normal amount. It’s like that old game my grandparents used to play, degrees of separation or something like that. They’ve all got the tracker in their system now, and we’ve pegged all three." He motioned to the laptop resting in the back seat. "See for yourself."

"We tried the tracker on Nolan once before," Dallas said. "The virus inside him ate the isotope. We were never able to pull him into the system."

"Proof the virus is gone, I guess, ’cause we’ve got him now."

Finally, something in their favor. Dallas snatched it up and studied the blue screen above the keyboard. There were three black dots. Two were on the move, together, and one was stationary and in the opposite direction. Wasn’t hard to figure out who was who. It was a relief to see that Devyn and Bride were still alive, though God knew what they were doing. After last night…

Never had Dallas seen the Targon more pissed. There’d been none of his usual charm, none of his nonchalance. He simply hadn’t liked other men looking at Bride. And when the McKell had staked a claim on her … shit. Bastard was probably already dead.

Who would have thought Devyn the Seducer would fall for one specific female? Not Dallas, that was for sure. But no longer did he think Devyn would tire of the vampire. Not when his features softened every time he looked at her. Not when he sought her comfort above his own.

"As suspected, the little shit lied to us," Hector said. "He’s not headed to the location he gave us."

"Of course not." But was he intending to help his queen or kill her? They’d soon find out, he supposed. Right now, something else weighed heavily on his mind. "So have you been to AIR this morning?"

"Yeah."

"See the new vampires?"

"Oh, yeah. Both are alive and healthy and regaining their strength."

Good. He’d thought he would have trouble with McKell, Devyn’s new nemesis, after the auction, but no one had tried to stop him from taking the two vampire slaves. The moment he’d gotten them in the car and out of the parking lot, Ghost and Kitty, also AIR agents, had flanked him and escorted him into headquarters. No one had given chase, or even seemed to follow.

More shocking, the vampires hadn’t complained. Hadn’t fought him or tried to run. Their eyes had been glazed, though, so he supposed they’d been drugged. At the station, they’d been placed in lockup, separate cells, and given bags of plasma. Unlike Bride, they’d drained the bags and hoarsely begged for more.

Dallas had been the one to enter the male’s cell. The vampire had been weak and shaky, but hadn’t made use of the cot, the room’s only piece of furniture. He’d stood in the corner, better able to see every angle of the cell, his white hair hanging in his face, parted only enough to give Dallas the barest glimpse of hate-filled blue eyes.