Beat it. The man picked him up with his foot and tossed him half a dozen yards.
Damned human. Tighe came around behind him noisily, ensuring that the guard knew the movement behind him was a cat. Then he shifted and grabbed the mans neck before he knew what was happening. The moment the guard hit the ground, Tighe took control of his thoughts.
You need to use the bathroom. When I tell you to, go into the house. Two cats will try to come in with you. You must let them in. Dont allow anyone to stop them. Once inside the house, youll go into the bathroom and close the door, pull down your pants, then curl up on the floor and go to sleep.
The bastards career would be over when they caught him, literally, with his pants down. But he deserved it for kicking a cat.
Tighe? Hawkes voice broke into his thoughts. My guards out. Im flying up to the roof to keep watch.
Good. Meet me beside the front porch, Kougar. Were going in.
Wake, human, and do as I told you. As the guard rose to his feet, Tighe changed back into his cat form and raced for the front door.
The guard pulled out his phone. Ive got to take a crap. Change places with me.
Tighe trotted beside the human, leaping onto the front porch as the guard knocked on the door with a quick, light rhythm. As planned, the door opened and the two cats slipped inside.
Hey! The inside guard tried to stop their entry, but the one under Tighes control blocked the swing of his foot.
Leave them alone. Theyre not bothering anything.
Get control of things down here, Tighe told Kougar. Ive got to find Delaney.
The Feral didnt answer, but Tighe didnt expect him to. He dashed for the stairs and the source of the terror clawing at his brain. The closer he got to her, the stronger the darkness swirled at the edges of his consciousness. And the stronger he felt her desperation. She was fighting her fate, as was her nature, but without help she was lost in there. And she knew it.
Her door was closed, which meant he was going to have to shift to reach her. The prudent thing to do was search out the rest of the upstairs first, to make sure he wasnt surprised again. But his need to reach her was too strong.
Tighe shifted in the empty hallway, but as he reached for the doorknob, he heard the click of a gun.
Freeze! Hands in the air. A small, round woman with graying hair appeared at the other end of the hall, aiming a gun at his head. Intruder! she shouted.
Shit. This is so not happening. He needed to get to Delaney and he needed to reach her now.
He heard a short scuffle on the lower floor, then silence as a cat ran up the stairs. Kougar.
The woman was already talking into a phone. Its him. She paused. Agreed.
Tighe lifted his hands into the air, holding perfectly still. He could take another bullet if he had to, but hed just as soon not. Not when Delaney needed him.
I thought theyd shot you, the woman said conversationally.
Tighe didnt bother to answer as Kougar scooted past her, then shifted. The woman seemed to sense the change, but she was too slow turning around. Kougar jammed his thumb into the hollow at the base of her ear, stripping her gun from her hand as she went down.
Tighe grabbed for the door that separated him from Delaney. He found her exactly as hed seen her in his vision, still and silent, her cheeks stained with tears.
Delaney. He fell onto the bed beside her and reached for her hand. Like ice. D, Im coming for you. Im not going to leave you in there. But you have to trust me this time. Trust me.
Raw terror pressed in around her, squeezing her mind until Delaney thought her brain would crumble beneath the weight. Her existence had narrowed down to this darkness, this place void of everything shed ever known. This miserable pit of echoing pain and suffocating fear.
How long could she stay sane like this? Maybe it was better if she didnt. Better to lose herself somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Delaney.
A voice whispered from the darkness. A deep voice shed longed to hear so badly shed started to create it for herself. Maybe that insanity would come quicker than shed thought.
Delaney.
Tighes voice. But Tighe was dead.
Trust me.
How many times had he asked her to do that? But she hadnt. Not fully. She couldnt. Not when she knew he was one of the bad guys.
Tighe?
Darkness swirled around her, a perfect void without sound, without sight, without feel except that persistent, distant pain. But the voice continued to speak in her head.
D, Im coming for you. Im not going to leave you in there, but you have to reach out to me. You have to trust me.
Youre not real. Youre dead. And yet there was something about his voice that brushed her mind with a familiar feel of warmth. Of strength.
Im not dead, brown eyes. Im right here with you. Im trying to get you out. Can you feel my hands on your face?
No. I cant feel anything except the pain in my head, and even that isnt very strong.
Come to me, D. Follow the sound of my voice, then. Reach for me. Trust me.
I cant trust you. You ran from the Feds. The words tore at her, sending a cascade of tears through her mind. I cant trust you.
Then at least trust me to get you out of here. You must reach for me.
Help me, Tighe.
Do you see the thread, D? The iridescent one?
I cant see anything!
Easy, sweetheart. Reach for me with your mind. Reach for me, D.
And suddenly she saw something gleaming, shining with a million colors. A tiny thread. As she reached for it, she felt the angel wings flutter inside her head, telling her shed found it at last. No, not it. Tighe.
She felt his mind brush against hers, a soft thrill of pleasure in the feather-light touch, as she followed the thread. Little by little, it grew larger, brighter.
In a rush of warmth, he grabbed her mentally, his mind lifting her from the dark.
Sensation rushed back, overwhelmingly sweet, as she felt his strong arms go around her and pull her close against his warm body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his throat, clinging to him as joy squeezed her heart and rushed through her chest.
Youre alive. Tears streaked down her face as she felt his hand cradling the back of her head.
He pulled back, urging her to look at him. She did, her gaze searching the face of the man shed thought shed never see again.
His thumb traced her eyebrow. You had me worried for a few minutes there, brown eyes. I wasnt sure I was going to be able to reach you.
How are you alive?
A shadow brushed past the open doorway.
Tighe, weve got company. Lots of it by the looks of things. Were not going to be able to take her.
Tighes expression tightened as he looked back down at her. Im going to have to leave you for now, but you need me, brown eyes. Im the only one who can save you next time this happens. His mouth turned hard. If you sic the Feds on me again, youre on your own. Dont turn on me again, Delaney. I mean it.
She forced herself to release him. How do I find you?
Stand in the parking lot along the northeast side of the Tidal Basin at 5:30 A.M. In four hours. Ill drive through in a green Camry sedan and pick you up.
How am I going to know its green, let alone you, in the dark?
Ill have one halogen headlight and one normal one. Youll be able to tell.
What if I cant get there that fast?
Do it. I want you with me before you get another vision.
Tighe! The mans voice shouted from the hallway. We have to get out of here. Now!
Tighe leaned down and kissed her hard, his hand sliding behind her neck, his thumb tracing her ear, then the hollow below it.
Trust me, Delaney, he murmured against her lips, then pressed his thumb beneath her ear.
Darkness swallowed her again.
Delaney shoved her hands in the pockets of her blazer as she stood on the edge of the parking lot where Tighe had promised to pick her up. The sky was still dark, few cars on the road at this hour on a Sunday morning. Everything should go down exactly as planned.
As shed planned, not Tighe.
Trust me, hed begged her.
Her stomach felt like shed swallowed nails. In some ways she did trust him. With her body. Oddly, she suspected, even with her life.
But she was an FBI agent. Sworn to uphold the law. She would not let her duty be derailed by feelings for a man she knew was involved in something hugely illegal. Feelings she didnt even understand.
When Tighe arrived to pick her up, he would be the one taken instead.
Her stomach clenched. The angel wings fluttered angrily. Hed begged her to trust him.
He had to be brought in for questioning. He was into something bad, and the Feds needed to know what it was.
Hed risked his life to come to her and free her from that dark prison. He hadnt even taken her with him, hed just saved her.
Delaney pressed her fist against the aching lump sitting in her gut. God, what had she done?
Her job. Shed done her job. He was a criminal. His brother a murderer. She had to catch them. She had no choice. He was a bad guy, blast it.
But he wasnt. Not completely. He had a goodness in him, a gentleness. Hed rescued that little girl from the fire, hadnt he?
All her life shed seen people as good or bad. Especially criminals. Yet Tighe didnt entirely fit either of those roles.
Delaney rubbed her fist against her churning stomach. Maybe he did. Maybe he wasnt one of the bad guys at all. All she knew for sure was that he was involved with something big and had refused to be taken by the Feds. All along her instincts had been telling her that he wasnt evil. What if her instincts were right? For all she knew, he could be part of some military special ops or other supersecret team put together to battle terrorism and save the world.
Yes, hed kidnapped her. And drugged her.
Good grief, was she really trying to convince herself hed done all those things for the right reasons?
Yeah, maybe she was. He hadnt hurt her. Hed never hurt her. In fact, hed gone to great lengths to keep her from being hurt. Hed saved her.
And shed set him up again to be captured. What if he tried to escape and wasnt as lucky this time?
The knots in her stomach cramped.
Shed made Phil promise no one would shoot him, but even if they didnt intend to kill him, they absolutely meant to apprehend him. Too many people had died for them to let him get away.
She couldnt do this. She couldnt let them shoot him again. It was a mistake. A horrible mistake.
Delaney started running through the trees, toward the road. She had to keep Tighe from making that turn. She had to stop this.
But shed barely gone ten yards when a car swung into the parking lot. A midsized sedan with one halogen headlight.
No.
A large bird of prey flew low over her head, but she barely noticed. She watched the car come to a slow stop not ten spaces into the lot, too far away for her to see Tighes face. Immediately, half a dozen SWAT surrounded the car, weapons drawn. If he tried to get away this time, he was a dead man.
Oh God, Tighe. What have I done?
A large hand clamped around her mouth, as an iron arm pinned her against a hard chest.
You did exactly what he expected you to, a deep, vaguely familiar voice said against her ear.
CHAPTER 14
Paenther turned at the sound of the blinkers to find Foxx preparing to pull the Mustang into a small, run-down convenience store set into the side of a steep, heavily wooded hill. An old sign hung above the single door. MARKET, it read. As if it were the only place to buy anything in this middle-of-nowhere deep in the mountains of western Virginia.
It probably was.
At the corner of the old brick building, a doe and a spotted fawn watched curiously until Foxx pulled into the nearly empty parking lot with a spray of gravel. The pair took off for the woods.
Your gut telling you something? Paenther eyed the redheaded Feral with a razor-sharp hope.
Foxx snorted. Yeah. Its telling me Im hungry.
With a thinly masked groan of disgust, Paenther tipped his head back against the headrest. Soon after the meeting at Feral House, Foxx announced that his gut was telling him theyd find Vhyper in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the narrow range that ran parallel to the East Coast from Georgia to Pennsylvania and met up with I66 a little over an hours drive west of D.C.
With nothing better to go on, he and Foxx had hightailed it out there and been driving aimlessly around this pastoral outback for the past seven plus hours. Theyd covered nearly two hundred miles of country roads and so far found nothing.
Damned useless intuition. How was the cub supposed to read his gut when all it seemed to do was rumble with hunger?
The dust kicked up by Foxxs assault on the gravel covered the car in a light fog that wafted in the open window, making Paenthers nose twitch.
Want anything? Foxx swung his long, broad-shouldered frame out of the car.
Yeah, he wanted something. Several somethings. Vhyper, the Daemon blade, Tighes clone. Not to mention the whereabouts of the Mage stronghold. None of which were likely to be found inside the Market.
With a growl of frustration, Paenther climbed out of the car and followed Foxx. For the moment, a hot dog and a Coke would have to do, but his always razor-thin patience was fraying fast. If that intuition of Foxxs didnt kick in soon, Paenther was going to turn into some seriously bad company.
He strode across the narrow parking lot, his gaze constantly on the move. There were five cars scattered across the small parking lot, none of which looked like it was less than fifteen years old. None of which was Vhypers. Across the rarely traveled two-lane was a small farmhouse set in the middle of a large pasture dotted with horses.
Not a mansion in sight. The Mage never lived in groups of fewer than thirty or forty, and thered been no sign of any large residences around there. They were wasting their time.
Paenther pushed through the twin glass doors, spying Foxx in the middle of a narrow aisle, his hands already half-filled with junk food. How he could stand to eat that crap, Paenther didnt know. He grabbed the closing door as a harried-looking woman approached, pushing a crying baby in a stroller.
Thanks, she said, smelling of stale milk and cigarettes as he held the door for her.
At the cash register, an elderly man bought a six-pack of beer. And at the magazine stand
Paenthers gaze slowed, lingering with appreciation over the slender, feminine form of a young woman flipping through magazines. Her hair was very short and dark, her bone structure delicate. Ethereal.
Lovely.
As if she felt him watching, she turned her head and lifted sweeping, dark lashes to reveal eyes the bright blue of a summer sky. Their gazes caught, snapping together like two pieces of a puzzle. He felt the contact like a physical jolt. His pulse lifted. His blood began to run thick and hot, racing to the juncture of his thighs.
Goddess, when was the last time hed reacted to a woman like that? Years ago. Years ago.
A soft gentle smile lifted her mouth, stealing his breath, causing his heart to do a slow tumble in his chest.
The beauty set down the magazine and walked back to the EMPLOYEES ONLY door a few yards away and disappeared.
You ready, B.P.? Foxxs voice called to him from the front of the store.
Slowly, Paenther turned to his companion, feeling as off-balance as a youth with his first crush. Damn. It was too bad he didnt have time to hang around there for a couple of hours. Or days.
He scowled at the foolish thought and grabbed a Coke from the cooler. The last thing he needed just then was his head turned by a woman. A human woman, no less.
The good news was, he knew hed forget her as soon as they drove away. No woman held his interest for long these days.
CHAPTER 15
Tighe paced the small bedroom in the basement apartment of the house in Dupont Circle as he waited for Delaney to wake. He hadnt dared take her back to Capitol Hill. Not when shed probably been thoroughly debriefed by the FBI.
He crossed to the big bed, where she lay sleeping from Hawkes capture, once more clothed in that navy blue suit and white shirt that cried Federal Agent. Her dark hair was partially knotted at the nape of her neck, but tendrils had come loose to splay across the white satin pillowcase, framing her flawless olive-toned skin. Even in sleep, her expression was tense. Guarded. The shadows that darkened her soul refused to release her, even in sleep.
His body warmed at the sight of her, something easing deep inside him. He hadnt been able to take a full breath, for worrying about her, until he had her back, safe in his keeping. Which hed accomplished with relative ease. Hed known shed set him up. From the moment hed told her to meet him by the Tidal Basin, hed planned for Hawke to grab her.
Tighe had ensnared the mind of a human male of his own approximate size and hair color and told him to drive the green Camry into the parking lot, stop the car, and fall asleep. Which hed done. The FBI had been thoroughly put out, but the man hadnt been harmed.
And Delaney was back with him again.
No, this woman didnt trust. He knew that from what shed told him of her past. And when hed delved into her mind to pull her free of the darkness, hed seen the scars of betrayal. Scars he himself had lived with for way too long.
While hed been in her mind, hed also seen the dark Daemon threads that formed her connection to the clone. The threads werent strong ones, but they were tangled. He was going to have to find a way back into her head, then take some time to free her. Time he hadnt had at that moment.
The one thing he might have succeeded in doing was closing the door in her mind that had been dropping her into the darkness every time she got a vision. As hed pulled her out, hed tried to close it behind him, but he wouldnt know if hed been successful until she had another vision. Even then, he couldnt be sure it wouldnt open and drag her down again.
A light rap on the door had Tighe crossing the comfortable, expensively appointed room. Unlike the house on Capitol Hill, this one was lived in by a high-ranking Therian council member and his mate, Therians more than willing to accommodate the Ferals request for the house. The town house had a setup far more conducive to their current needs, with a full apartment on the lowest level at the base of an open stair. Jag, Hawke, and Kougar would remain upstairs, taking turns keeping tabs on Tighe, while the others searched for the clone. With the separate levels, and a bit of luck, Delaney would never see them.
Tighe opened the door to Hawke, who handed him a tray laden with cold meat, hot stew, and a pitcher of cold water.
Knock on the wall if you need anything. Hawke motioned toward Delaney with his head. She should be coming out of it soon. I didnt press that hard.
Tighe nodded, then turned at a sound from the bed. Delaney was beginning to stir. Hawke closed the door as Tighe set the tray down on the dresser, then stood rooted, watching as the woman who consumed his thoughts slowly opened her eyes.
Her head turned, and she froze as her gaze zeroed in on him. She stared at him, a strong, enigmatic tide rising inside her, and he was suddenly glad hed taken the time to take her weapons from her as she slept. Though that move might wind up saving his life, hed done it to save hers. Hed have hated for one of those guns to have accidentally gone off as she slept. Hed never have forgiven himself if shed died.
A fist clutched at his heart, possessiveness powering through him with a sudden, fierce anger. He paced in a tight, harsh path. It was all he could do not to lunge for her, to grab her by the shoulders and shake her.
What would have happened if youd had another of those visions, D? What if you got lost in there again?
As he railed, she swung her long legs over the side of the bed and firmly closed the distance between them. He braced himself for her attack.
Until her lashes swept up, revealing eyes awash in tears.
D?
Her arms flew around his neck as her mouth reached for his kiss.
All thought flew from Tighes head as he hauled her against him and kissed her, thrusting his tongue inside her warm and waiting mouth. Passion flared, a fire beyond anything hed ever known. Sweet nature, but he needed her. He needed to touch her, hold her, bury himself deep inside her.
Delaney clung to him as her soft, warm body pressed against him, and her fingers slid into his hair. She kissed him as if she were starving, and he was the finest feast, filling his chest with a wondrous, powerful pressure. He drank of her kisses, sweeping his tongue across her own, over her teeth and lips, unable to get enough.
His tattered soul sang as her mouth left his to trail kisses along his cheek and jaw, traveling down his neck, setting his skin aflame, lighting a fire with every soft, damp touch of her mouth.
But he forced himself to pull away. Delaney.
Her dark gaze swung to his. I tried to stop you from driving into the trap. I couldnt do it, Tighe. I couldnt let them take you. But you knew Id set you up. How?
I understand you.
Those dark eyes studied him, a contrast of hard and soft. Youre not angry?
That you endangered yourself, yes. But I understand why you did it. I respect why you did it. Youre loyal to your job and to a greater cause, which you believe in. You owe me nothing, D. Not even your trust. He ran his palm over her soft hair. But I cant tell you Im not glad youd changed your mind about letting them nail me.
Her palm lifted to lie warmly against his cheek, easing the tempest in his soul. I shouldnt trust you. Im not sure I do trust you. But I care what happens to you.
Tighe stroked her hair. Ive had the same thoughts, brown eyes. The exact same thoughts.
Its as ifI need you. She looked so confused, so lost. Again, almost exactly the way he felt himself.
And needing her was the worst possible thing he could do. Because there were only two ways this could end for them. One, was death. The second, if they managed to catch his clone before his soul completely disintegrated, was apart. Hed take her memories of him and send her back to her life while he turned back to his own. Unlike her, though, he wouldnt forget. Hed never forget.
Goddess, but he didnt want to let her go.
Tighe swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed shed just vacated, depositing her in the middle and following her down as her arms opened to embrace him. The expression on her face was one of soft welcome and rough need. His breath caught as lust and tenderness barreled through him.
He covered her mouth again, needing to taste her. When he felt her hands move to tug his shirt out of his pants, his heart stuttered. Did she know what she was doing? Did he?
Her hand slid lower, between them, a single, soft stroke to his cock through his pants. His eyes rolled back in his head at the exquisite pleasure and the desire that swamped him. When his body was capable of movement again, he lifted his hand and covered her breast, desperate to touch her. Without clothes. Goddess, he wanted her without clothes.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, his logical self warned him this wasnt a good idea. She was human. Unacceptable as lover or mate. Worse, he could be riding the edge of chaos again at any moment. What if during the act of sex, as he lost control to the lovemaking, he lost control of himself? What if it shattered his soul once and for all?
Deep inside, the tiger shook its head. Making love to her was all that would keep him together.
Tighe pushed himself onto his knees and straddled her as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged out of it. Then his fingers moved to her white blouse and quickly unbuttoned it, pushing aside the flaps to reveal a tan lace bra covering firm mounds, the dark nipples just peeking through.
Heat surged inside him, sending the blood pumping straight to his erection.
With a quick flick, he unlatched the front clasp of her lacey bra, unwrapping her soft, full breasts for his waiting eyes.
She was beautiful. Beautiful. He covered those perfect mounds with his hands, feeling the hard nubs graze his palms. His fingers pressed into the softness that molded to his shaking hands, drawing a low moan of desire from Delaneys throat. He squeezed her breasts, then pinched her nipples. Not too hard, but hard enough to elicit a gasp. He moved down on her, his head dipping to take one plump nipple into his mouth, stroking the hard nub with his tongue as his hand squeezed and kneaded the other.
Tighe. His name on her lips was soft as a breath and filled with such need he thought he might lose it then and there. I want you inside me.
With a last flick of his tongue over the hard bud, he lifted his face to peer down into hers. His breath caught at the need he saw in her face.
Her fingers rose to spread over his chest. A groan escaped his throat for one hot moment, before he dipped his head and took her other breast in his mouth.
Inside her. It was the only place he wanted to be, but he needed more. He needed everything. To touch every inch of her. To taste every part of her.
Now. He had to taste her now.
Tighe moved back and unfastened her belt and pants with shaking fingers, then yanked them off her, hooking his fingers into her panties and removing them at the same time, baring her long legs to his hungry gaze. Long legs tipped with dark socks and an ankle holster.
With a hungry grin, he removed the last articles of clothing, then sat back and stared at her.
Sweet thunder. His palms slid up those long legs, his palms rough against her satin flesh as he traced her trim calves, her knees. His thumbs brushed the insides of her thighs, eliciting a gasp from her, sending his pulse rate soaring.
Gripping her legs just above the knee, he opened her, lifting her knees and spreading her wide, like parting twin doors to reveal the treasure inside. His heart nearly stopped beating at the perfection revealed to his seeking gaze. Nestled between slender thighs, she was perfect. Swollen, open, and as dewy as a flower at dawn.
Tighe. Her voice throbbed with desire.
He tore his gaze away from her body and met her eyes. The heat swirling in those dark, vibrant depths was nearly his undoing. He ached to enter her, but not yet. Not until neither of them could stand it a moment longer. Because he feared this might be the only time he ever would.
Patience, brown eyes. Im getting there. But I have to taste you.
Like a predator pouncing on prey, he knelt between her legs and went down on her, stroking his tongue along that long, perfect opening. She jerked, arching, her fingers clutching in his hair as a low moan vibrated through her entire body. Her pleasure weaved through his own, heightening his enjoyment and desire. He pressed his tongue deep within those open folds, tasting her sweet nectar, then found the hard knot between those folds and flicked it with his tongue.
Delaney cried out, her fingers digging into his scalp.
With a hard grin of satisfaction, he pleasured her until she was writhing beneath his mouth.
Tighe. Tighe.
She was nearly to climax, but he wasnt ready to take her there. Not until he was buried deep inside her. She would fly for him. For him.
With a last thrust of his tongue, Tighe moved up her body, kissing her stomach, then the cleft between her breasts.
Delaney cradled his head in her arms as he kissed first one breast, then the other, then lifted his face to her. She pulled him up and kissed him hard even as she rocked her hips against his painfully hard erection.
Come inside me, she whispered against his lips. Now, Tighe. I need you, now.
His hands cradled her face, then dove into her hair. Not, yet, brown eyes. Im not through loving your body. I may not be through for hours.
Her groan made him smile, and he thought he might just be telling the truth. He was going to love her so thoroughly, mark her so completely that even when hed stolen her memories of him from her mind, shed remember their lovemaking in her dreams. He wanted that. With a ferocity that made no sense, he wanted to live somewhere in her mind. Forever.
She tried to reach for his cock, and he grabbed her wrist.
Easy, D. One stroke, and it might just be over. And neither of us wants that.
She made a sound that was half groan, half laughter. Speak for yourself. She pushed at his chest. But if thats the way you want it, lie down. Its my turn.