Death Wish
Blood Bound Series Book 12
Amy Blankenship, RK Melton
Copyright © 2013 Amy Blankenship
Second Edition Published by Amy Blankenship
All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
Ren glanced down at the girl in his arms as he made his way through Gypsy's underground living room and past the beaded curtains that surrounded her bedroom.
The main thing that drew his gaze was the thin layer of dirt shed smudged all over her face like makeup to cover up the fact that she had a smooth unblemished complexion. Unable to stop himself, Ren let his gaze slowly drift back to her perfect lips and then up to the fan of her long dark lashes where they brushed against her cheeks. It would take more than dirt and baggy clothes to hide her softness and beauty from him.
He could feel the thick cloth that she had wrapped so tightly around her chest and it annoyed him. It was no wonder shed passed out like that upstairs he doubted she could even breathe properly with those bindings squeezing her breasts so tight. He silently wondered whose bright idea it had been for her to dress up like a boy... hopefully not hers.
Ren stopped beside the bed and leaned over it to place Lacey down on the soft mattress. It was just his luck that the girl chose that exact moment to snap out of her dead faint and wake up fighting him.
The first thing Lacey noticed was the strong arms that were wrapped around her so possessively. Her brain automatically went into overdrive when her paranoid mind sincerely thought that the dangerous demon that shed been running from for the last couple weeks had finally caught up with her.
If this was the end of her, then like hell she was going to go down without a fight. Before the darkness even had a chance to clear from her vision, she started throwing punches at the monster holding her.
Let go of me you black hearted bastard! Lacey yelled and began kicking her feet to throw the demon off balance.
Caught off guard by her quick awakening, Ren snatched his sunglasses back out of the air where shed managed to knock them off his face because his hands were full of her. Quickly becoming frustrated, he gritted his teeth and dropped her gracelessly on the mattress.
Not bothering to put the glasses back on just yet, Ren stood to his full height and watched as she bounced once and somehow managed to fold her knees under her in midair so that she landed on them. The movement was fast for a human very impressive.
Lacey blinked and felt overwhelming relief when her vision finally cleared and she realized it was just Gypsy's heavy handed I want to rock you bodyguard. However, she did frown when her gaze was drawn to his strange eyes. It took less than a heartbeat for her to decide that the color of his irises reminded her of pure mercury with the hint of ice blue around the edges. Oddly enough, they added to his sex appeal since she was damn sure he wasnt blind.
Oh, its just you, she murmured thankfully then mentally cringed when he lifted one elegant eyebrow at her inquiringly.
Who did you think it was the boogeyman? Ren asked as he slid his dark sunglasses back on. He was still a little stunned that shed just looked him right in the eyes and not shied away or flinched in fear.
Lacey stared up at him forcing herself to push the scary image of the old demon and his underlings out of her mind. She crossed her arms over her chest and said with as much sarcasm as she could with her heart still racing a mile a minute, Nah, youre no boogeyman just some creep that cant seem to keep his hands off me.
Ren half smirked and half glared down at her and retaliated with an equal amount of sarcasm, You wish.
I wish? Lacey demanded and rose up so that she was kneeling on the mattress.
She straightened her arms down at her sides and balled her fists up while she fought off the slight fear that was still trailing up her spine. She didnt have time for this. If she didnt get out of here, there was a chance it would be too late to leave and she was looking directly at the reason for the delay.
Yeah you wish, Ren repeated wondering how such a spitfire of a girl could look so cute dressed as a boy.
Ill tell you what I wish I wish youd just let me get what I came here for so I can be on my merry little way, she tossed back at him raising her chin.
Speaking of that what exactly were you trying to steal and who were you stealing it for? Ren demanded as he leaned down a little closer to intimidate her into answering the one question that was gnawing a hole in his brain. He didnt like the thought of her putting herself in danger by working with demons and resisted the urge to shake some sense into her.
Even though she couldnt see his eyes because of the sunglasses, Lacey could feel his silver glare leveled on her and she had to suppress a shiver. Keeping her wary gaze on him, she scrambled backwards in order to put the bed between them only to blink in surprise when he suddenly vanished from view.
She couldnt control the frightened gasp that escaped her when she felt two hands take hold of her shoulders just as her left hand met thin air instead of the flat surface of the mattress. If he hadnt moved so fast, she wouldve fallen backwards off the bed and onto the floor.
How about staying put for a damn minute, Ren said a little more harshly than hed intended but this girl was going to have to chill out before she hurt herself.
Lacey's breathing sped up and her gaze darted around the room searching for a weapon of some sort. Much to her relief, she noticed quite a few decorating the walls and mentally smirked at her grandpas knack for thinking ahead. Too bad they were still out of her reach.
The man holding her shoulders had moved too fast to be human which meant he was a demon. If that was indeed the case, then what the hell was a demon doing inside her grandfathers secret bomb shelter and why was she alone with him?
She slowly blinked and all thoughts of fighting back left her when the memory smacked her in the face hard. Grandpa was dead. A sound by the door made her jerk her gaze up and she spotted Gypsy and the other guy that had broken down the front door of the shop come into the bedroom.
Gypsys shoulders slumped when Laceys expression slowly turned from sadness to accusing as they stared at each other from across the room.
Can you get them out of here and give me a moment to think clearly? Lacey demanded angrily as she fought back the tears that thoughts of never again seeing her grandfather had provoked.
Need I remind you that youre the one who snuck in here uninvited, Ren shot back wishing there was a demon nearby that could read minds so he could snag that power. Hed give a kings ransom to know what this girl was thinking right now. The last thing he needed was for her to have enough time to come up with a cover story before he could get the truth out of her.
Ren, please can you and Nick give us girls some privacy? Gypsy asked gently, feeling sorry for Lacey. Shed already dealt with her own grief over the death of their grandpa but here Lacey had just found out.
Ren stared at Gypsy for a moment before looking back down at the girl he still had a hold of. Tightening his grip, he leaned forward until his lips were only a few inches from her ear, I wont be far.
Now Lacey was born at night but she hadnt been born last night and understood the mans underlying threat in his words perfectly.
Gypsy sighed and shook her head before waving both men out of her room. Go on, I think I can handle it from here. She blew a strand of dark hair out of her eyes when they stepped out of the sleeping area but stopped just inside her living room to turn around and look at her.
Frowning, she calmly approached the bomb shelter door and pointed out. No offense to either of you, but I havent seen my cousin in over a year and I think she has just as many questions as you do so out.
Nick placed a hand on Rens shoulder and gently pushed him toward the door. He quickly removed his hand when Ren shrugged it off and stormed out of the room ahead of him.
Before he followed, Nick turned his head and gave Gypsy a reassuring smile. Well be right outside if you need anything. Take your time.
Ren spun around to contradict the allowance of time but the words died on his lips when he saw that Lacey was now standing right behind Gypsy with a smug smirk on her face like shed just gotten her way about everything. The little brat was infuriating and on the verge of actually pissing him off so he decided to play her little game.
Tilting his head down so she could see the silver of his eyes, Ren returned the smirk with a darker one of his own making her expression slip just a little.
Lacey couldnt believe this guy was actually smirking at her like he knew something she didnt. Well, to hell with that. In retaliation, she reached out and slung the door to the bomb shelter closed hard enough for it to make a very loud bang about a second before she locked it.
Take that you sexy eighties reject, She mentally ranted, completely missing the fact that shed just given him a compliment and an insult in the same sentence.
Why that little, Ren thundered and reached for the wheel to unlock it but Nick quickly knocked his hand away.
Oh come on, I doubt shes dangerous, Nick offered trying to get Ren to calm down. In case you havent noticed, shes scared half out of her wits right now, not planning to take over the world. Besides, theres only one way out of that bomb shelter and were standing right here in front of it. Trust me shes just a girl and not a threat.
Screw off! Ren snapped in exasperation. If shes so damned innocent, then why is she dressed like a boy and trying to break into her grandpas shop in the middle of the night. Oh, and lets not forget the fact that she went straight for a hidden vault that until yesterday held a slew of very powerful artifacts that any demon would give their Demon Blade to get their hands on? Riddle me that Robin, he finished cockily.
Nick smirked and slowly shook his head, Oh no Im Batman.
Whatever Robin, Ren said as he laid his palm against the door and closed his eyes to concentrate.
He frowned when Nick's thoughts, which werent very nice, suddenly sounded through his mind loud and clear. Ren couldnt help it and began to silently rant at the mind reading power that had failed him just a moment ago when it would have come in handy. Where ever that mindreading demon was it needed to stand the hell still.
Gypsy sighed at Laceys stubborn streak and turned around to face her cousin. She didnt bother with telling her that both men knew how to unlock the door shed just slammed in their faces. If she kept antagonizing Ren, then shed find out soon enough Gypsy was sure of that.
What in the world Gypsy began only to snap her mouth shut when Lacey suddenly reached out and touched her lips with the tips of her fingers and made a shushing sound.
Wheres our crystal, Lacey barely whispered before she began walking around the room looking at the vast quantity of crystals Gypsy had on personal display.
Gypsy smiled realizing what Lacey was looking for and approached her computer desk, reaching for the bright ruby quartz crystal sitting there. As children, theyd often used the privacy crystal to tell each other the secrets that they didnt want anyone else hearing especially the grownups.
The crystal itself had been their secret and given to them by their grandfather to share. As they grew up, the crystal was set aside because thered been no use for it. Gypsy didnt know why the crystal continued to stay with her instead of moving on as crystals tended to do maybe now shed get her answer.
Ren kept his hand pressed to the door trying to listen through the thick steel. His eyes narrowed when Gypsy's voice was suddenly cut off mid-sentence.
Nick was standing beside him with his ear pressed to the cold steel. He was having a little bit of trouble but could still hear the same things Ren did.
Ren frowned when he heard Lacey ask Gypsy about a crystal just before the room fell into silence except for the sound of their footsteps.
Whats a crystal got to do with anything? Nick asked.
Ren shot him a look that basically told him to keep silent before closing his eyes and concentrating again.
Gypsy and Lacey sat down on the sofa facing one another with Gypsy holding the crystal out in her hand. Lacey placed her hand in Gypsy's, trapping the crystal between their palms before releasing a heavy sigh.
Tell me everything Ive missed since Ive been gone, Lacey said softly.
Ren was getting frustrated, straining to listen in while attempting to widen his succubus range. Only fragments of their conversation were filtering through now, like a bad radio reception and he suddenly realized he was being blocked by some kind of magic. The air surrounding him gained a bit of power and his frown deepened just before he sneered at the door.
Nick leaned back from the door in confusion, I cant hear a damn thing now.
It appears that Gypsy has something in there that can shield a personal conversation, Ren said and his lips thinned in agitation. Theyre using magic to keep us from hearing them.
Nick huffed at the big bad Ren being outdone so easily, You mean to tell me that you, with all of your power cant break through it?
Rens jaw flexed as he pulled on the power of the crystal and stretched the shield to where he was inside its barrier. I didnt say that. Itll take more than a little girls silly game and parlor trick to keep me out. He leaned a little closer to the door and looked over at Nick with a mischievous smirk, Wanna hear what theyre saying?
What, you think Im stupid of course I do, Nick answered with a sly grin of his own. He was in no way above eavesdropping when it suited him. As a matter of fact, he was usually a pro at it.
Ren motioned him over and placed a hand on the jaguars shoulder, squeezing a little too tightly just for fun.
Nick cringed at the hard grip but ignored it as his eyebrows shot up into his hairline when he suddenly heard the womens voices just as clearly as though he were in the same room with them.
Nice, he whispered grudgingly.
Gypsy sat cross-legged on the sofa while she told Lacey everything that had happened, starting with Grandpas death. It hadnt taken as long as she thought it would to tell the story and she actually leaned forward a bit when she began to tell Lacey about Nick, Ren, and all the mess with Samuel. She blushed when she admitted the fact that shed had a slight crush on Nick for years.
Outside the door, Nick took a deep satisfied breath hearing Gypsy's confession and glanced toward Ren to see how he was taking it. It was a little disappointing to find the other man unfazed.