Death Bringer (Soul Justice) (5 page)

“Morosov, as a woman, I already know that the answer ‘nothing’ means ‘everything.’ What are you worried about, and why are you so reluctant to get involved in this?”

“I am involved in it.” His smile was distant.

“Then why won’t you share your knowledge?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It never is, with you. What’s the problem?”

He turned to face her, his expression far too serious for her liking. “I suspect the man who calls himself Adam is involved with an ancient Otherworld sect.”

“A sect? Like a cult or something?”

“I suppose that is as good a word as any. They...collect trophies.”

“Like a serial killer.”

“Yes, but this is for their amusement. They make bets with each other to see who can collect something that is hard to find like, say, a mermaid’s tail or a unicorn’s horn.”

“Both of which don’t exist, right?”

“They did before the Otherworld sect started hunting them.” His smile was wry. “They don’t care about the consequences of their actions. It’s all about the hunt and the winning.”

“And you think Adam is involved with them?”

“The magic he left behind held a certain signature I recognized.” He met her gaze. “I’ve come across it before in Otherworld.”

“When you were doing what?”

“Fulfilling tasks for the queen.”

“Oh, damn. Why didn’t you share this with Feehan and the rest of the team?”

He looked away. “Because I’m worried that if I bring this up, Feehan will immediately go to Otherworld and make this all aboveboard and public. If he does that, he and the rest of us will probably be killed fairly swiftly. The membership of the sect holds considerable power.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

His eyebrows rose. “Because you’re my mate.”

Sometimes his honesty confounded her. Now she was the one to look away. “So, what can we do?”

“If we track down Adam and execute him ourselves, he will simply be out of the game. No one will care.”

“That makes sense, but what kind of game is he playing? And if we kill him, won’t someone else take his place?”

“The members don’t compete directly against each other. It’s more about how an individual
chooses
to interpret a challenge. His choice of prey, the way he kills and the way he displays his trophies count toward the eventual winner’s score.”

“That’s macabre.”

“That’s Otherworld.”

“So you’re saying that a challenge could be, to find an interesting use for a human, and our guy could’ve interpreted it to mean let’s steal their faces and make them into, I dunno, carnival masks?”

“Exactly.”

“Gross.” Ella shivered. “So how can we nail him?”

“The number three is a very powerful symbol to this sect. Did you notice Sam saying that there were three reports of similar deaths earlier in the year?”

“So you reckon Adam will be trying to add two more to his current collection?”

“I would assume that’s his goal.”

“But we still have no idea how to find him.”

He sat back. “We’ll find him. I know his scent now.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’m trained to hunt prey.” He smiled at her and his eyes glinted black. “I’m certain he’ll return, especially if he knows I’m seeking him.”

“Because we leave a trace of our magic at every scene, and if he goes back to check on Brad...”

“He’ll find a trace of me.”

“Will he want you?”

He rose to his feet. “Everyone wants me, Ms. Walsh.”

Ella made a rude noise and grabbed her backpack. “Then maybe we’d better head back to the hospital right away.”

* * *

San Francisco General was its usual chaotic self, but Vadim had learned to ignore it. Since hooking up with his mate, he was finding it harder to deal with his emotions and the impact of other human minds. He wasn’t surprised that most unsupported empaths went mad at the age of twenty-seven. His shields were constantly buckling under the pressure of the onslaught of feelings. Since joining minds with Ella, he’d come to respect her abilities quite considerably.

He was also glad she led the way through the maze of identical hallways to Brad’s ward without faltering. Delia, the nurse who’d offered him her services as a guide to the city, was sitting outside the door, looking rather important. Flanking her was an enormously tall guy wearing dark shades and a suit cut to fit a bulky shoulder holster. He scanned the hallways like a pro and immediately tensed as Vadim and Ella approached the door.

He held up his hand.

“This room is secured. Please step back and then state your business.”

Ella held up her badge. “We’re from the SBLE. We’re here to see Mr. Dailey.”

“I have no instructions to admit anyone except approved medical staff and Mr. Dailey’s immediate family.”

Before Ella could get up in the man’s face, Vadim stepped in front of her and smiled pleasantly. “I think you’ll find that you are mistaken and that both Ms. Walsh and I are on that list. Please feel free to confirm that information with Ms. Phelps, the administrator dealing with this case.”

“
Morosov
,
get out of the way.
I
can get in his head.
I
can make him let us in.
”

“
That’s our next step.
Let’s try and do it the official way first.
”

Sometimes he agreed with her that it would be easier to blast his way through the obstacle, but since leaving Otherworld, he’d been attempting to cultivate more reasonable habits.

“
Why?
”

He smiled again at Delia. “Hi, how are you, today? How’s Brad doing?”

After a swift glance at the security agent who appeared to be whispering into his mike, Delia turned to Vadim.

“Brad’s grandfather is in there with him, but he’s still sedated and unable to respond to them.”

“Poor guy.” Vadim shook his head. “Perhaps we’d better not disturb him, then.” He turned to Ella, who wasn’t looking very pleased. “Shall we go and find Ms. Phelps and get her up to speed?”

“I’d rather see Brad.”

He took hold of her elbow and propelled her along the corridor. “We’ll do that in a moment. Do you particularly want to go in there and face his grandfather? We can’t answer a single damn question for them yet.” She went to speak, and he kept talking. “It’s not likely that Adam will get in there either, with Delia and that thug on the door.”

“I suppose you’re right. Maybe we should come back later.”

“Let’s do that. We can ask Ms. Phelps to call us when the ex-senator leaves.”

She grimaced. “Okay, but I just have a bad feeling about this.”

So did he, but he didn’t want her to know that. “How about we catch an early dinner at my hotel and return this evening?”

“I suppose that would work. Look, there’s Ms. Phelps.” She walked over to the nurse’s station. “Hey, we just got barred from Brad Dailey’s room by some secret-service guy.”

“You did?” Ms. Phelps took them back into her office and shut the door. She patted ineffectively at her blond bun. “I’m not surprised. That man was demanding I show him full security checks for every single member of staff and patient on this ward! If the ex-senator wants his grandson to have more privacy, he’ll have to pay for a private room on a secure corridor.” She lowered her voice a fraction. “It’s not as if Brad is a VIP.”

“How long is he staying?”

“The former senator is leaving in about two hours. He’ll hopefully be taking his security detail with him. Brad’s parents are due in tonight at around eleven. They are flying in from Florida. They were on their yacht.”

“Nice.” Ella said. “So will you call us just before the senator leaves? We need to talk to Brad.”

“He hasn’t been very responsive today at all.” Ms. Phelps shook her head. “His doctor fears he might be going into a coma of some kind, his body signs are so minimal.”

“Well, thanks for the heads-up. We’ll do our best to get him to talk to us, but we’ll understand if he can’t.”

Vadim held the door open for Ella and then followed her toward the stairs and the elevator bank. She looked back at him over her shoulder.

“How much time do we have?”

“To get something to eat and get back here? Just under two hours.”

She groaned. “At this time of day it’s going to take us that long to get to your hotel in the commuter traffic.”

“Not if we don’t use the car.”

“I keep forgetting about that.” Her smile made his body come to life. “Can you take us right into your room?”

He could.

As soon as they materialized, he wrapped his arms around her and backed her up against the nearest wall, his tongue in her mouth, his hands roaming her jeans-covered ass.

“Morosov, what about my dinner?” She slid a hand around his neck. “I’m starving.”

There were so many filthy things he could say to that. “Sex first, dinner after.” He lifted her until her thighs hugged his hips and his cock ground against the seam of her jeans.

“But what about our talk?”

He scowled down at her far-too-innocent face. “After.”

She rolled her hips against his hardness and he fought a groan. Why did she always wear so many clothes? He had her naked in a second and stretched out beneath him on the bed, her legs spread wide by his. With a sigh he bent over her breasts and licked one hard nipple into his mouth. She started to squirm and he increased the pressure, sliding his fingers over her swollen clit and into her welcoming warmth.

She climaxed almost immediately, and he added another finger, transferring his attention to her other breast. His cock beat an urgent pulse along with his heart, wanting to be in her, to be joined to her in every way possible.

“Morosov...”

Why did she insist on talking when he was busy savoring the delights of her skin and scent and texture?

“
Morosov
,
let me up!
”

He raised his head to look at her. “What?”

She blinked at him. “I want something to do.”

“Then touch me.”

“I can’t reach the bit I particularly want to touch.” She pushed on his chest, and he reluctantly allowed her to sit up. She immediately turned around until her mouth was a tantalizing inch from his cock, put out her tongue and licked a drop of clear liquid off the crown.

“Mmm, nice.” Ella murmured.

He rolled onto his side, and her lips slid over his cock and took him deep. With a groan he returned his attention to her clit, using his tongue and mouth and fingers to bring her to another climax. Even while she still shuddered, he eased his shaft from her mouth and, reversing their positions, pushed her onto her back, spreading her knees wide with his.

She grinned up at him, her cheeks flushed, her blond hair escaping her haphazard braids. Something inside him tightened. She infuriated him, but he needed her as he needed oxygen. Something about her made him feel alive for the first time in years, made him want to protect her with every magical power he had inside him, good and bad. She was his mate. If it came to it, he would gladly die for her.

Words pressed on his lips. He wanted to slash his chest with his nails and bleed for her, have her lick his blood, give her everything...

“Morosov.”

He opened his eyes and looked down at her again.

“Get on with it! I’m done waiting.”

Without another word, he plunged deep inside her and felt complete, their minds in harmony, their bodies even more so. Every time they made love, the bond between them strengthened. Did she feel that? And if she did, would she ever acknowledge it to his face? This was when he knew her completely, and where he felt safe. He thrust deeply. Her hands tightened on his shoulders, leaving her mark, as he wanted to mark her.

But there was still some part of her that held back, that resisted him... Sometimes he wanted to take her to the edge and force her over the abyss into knowing him and the depths of his personal hell. She was right to be wary. He could destroy her with one breath. He yelped as she tugged at his hair.

“
Pay attention!
Stop thinking and just
...”

“
Fuck you?
” He increased his tempo, driving shorter and harder. Her feet crept up to his hips and he worked her even higher, her knees over his elbows as she started to come and come and...with a muffled howl he joined her, spilling himself deep inside her.

When she pushed at his chest, he obligingly rolled off her and subsided onto the covers with a groan.

“Morosov.”

“My name is
Vadim.
Can’t you even call me that when we’re naked?”

“Okay then, Vadim, although I doubt that’s your real name, anyway. You didn’t use a condom. Did you assume I was on the pill?”

He opened one eye. “I know you are.”

“You’ve never asked me!”

“But I know
you.
If you were planning on leaving this life on your twenty-seventh birthday, you would never allow yourself to conceive a child.”

Her hand came toward his cheek and he tensed, but she merely stroked him gently. “That’s pretty observant for a guy.”

“I’m your mate.” He caught her fingers in his and kissed them. “However, you should also know that I could make any method of birth control fail.”

She rolled away from him and sat up. “What the fuck?”

“Exactly.” He smiled. “I really can.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

Her scowl was tremendous but not intimidating at all, because he was staring up at her heaving breasts and tight pink nipples. It was nice to occasionally get the upper hand with his female.

“Morosov, look at me. You have to swear that you will never do that, or else that is the last time I’ll ever let you make love to me.” She climbed off the bed and started looking for her clothes, which he had folded neatly on the chair beside the fire.

He smiled slowly and put his hands behind his head. They were making love now rather than just having casual sex? That was progress. She stomped into the bathroom and the shower went on. While she was occupied, he ordered room service and then rose from the bed and followed her into the bathroom.