Hot Decadent Rising (Breath of Darkness) Read online

  He frowned. What the fuck was her problem? He’d never felt so insulted in his entire life. His eyes weren’t lovely. He had predator eyes. The dark, don’t mess with me, dangerous kind of predator eyes. Sexy, he’d been told plenty of times that he had sexy eyes. Never lovely.

  She was a nuisance of the worst kind. She was making him lose his mind. She was a storm of hot temptation, a firestorm of frustration and lust, looking for a man to devour. It wouldn’t be him.

  His gums were really starting to ache like a son of a bitch. Perhaps he should give her a good smile and show her the teeth he’d love to sink in her flesh. Certainly, that would change her mind about his lovely fucking eyes. “We’ve never met,” he said. He purposely made his voice sound harsh, hoping it would be enough to send her on her way, and at the same time hoping it wouldn’t.

  Once more he watched her gaze shift to the side, as if she sensed something or someone watching them. When she looked at him again, she frowned. “What’s your name?”

  “Eli.” His wolf was going bonkers. He’d never been forced to fight so hard to keep his predator nature under control. Her nervous reaction to whatever danger she sensed was prompting his wolf to act.

  She held her hand out for him. “It was nice to meet you, Eli.”

  She’d changed tactics. If he willingly took her hand he would be inviting her to touch his mind. It would be a challenge to boot her out again. He smiled. He liked her. She was his kind of woman. “Naughty, reckless and sexy. It’s a great combination. I like it.” Before she had a chance to retreat, he took her hand and opened his mind to her. “A lot.” He allowed her to sample the wild lust he had for her burning in him. He made sure she felt his wolf’s desire to claim, to take possession of her body.

  Giving him a sense of satisfaction, her eyes went wide as she stared up at him. She struggled to break their mental connection, but he held fast.

  “What are you?” He’d finally caused her voice to crack.

  “A badly behaved wolf with wicked morals, questionable intentions and a ravenous appetite for trouble.”

  “Huh?” She looked extremely uncomfortable.

  Satisfied, he laughed. It was about time something rattled her. Recovering way too quickly for his liking, she attempted to pull her hand away, but he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.

  “Very funny. Woof. Woof. I think you’re a man whose inner child needs a little creative discipline.”

  “I wasn’t attempting to be humorous. And I’m not afraid of being disciplined. Not at all. Do your worst. To be entirely honest, I like it rough.”

  Cheeks flushing, her blazing eyes narrowed. She wasn’t embarrassed. She was mad as hell. Rather than lose control of her emotions, she used them for her benefit. “Let go.” He felt her harness her anger and use its power to attempt to control him, to force him to release her hand.

  In a display of dominance he held firm. “You’re the one who wanted to play.” Though it was gone in a flash, he saw a shadow of fear in her eyes. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like that he was the cause of it, but he refused to feel bad. She’d forced him to push her to get rid of her. Convinced it had worked, he released her hand.

  She gestured toward the building. “Personally, I think the broken card machines and the prepay rule is a scam to force us to go inside in hopes of enticing us to make more purchases. Like chocolate.” Frowning, she nervously glanced around and took a step back. “Sorry for taking up so much of your time.” She turned and walked away.

  Suddenly, he didn’t want to her leave. He took a few steps. He started to reach out to stop her. That’s when he felt it. The atmosphere had changed. He stopped abruptly. A predator. A corrupted vampire. It was close. Watching them. Waiting to attack her. Searching for it, a low growl escaped his throat as he watched her walk away. Obviously hearing it, she whirled around. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but she didn’t utter a sound. They stared at each other for several seconds. He needed to grab onto her. He needed to take her away to safety, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. He didn’t even know her. She was a human. Turning away from him she opened the door and walked inside.

  He’d stood there for few minutes. How the hell had he failed to sense the cold, dark presence of utter evil earlier? It was the cause of the fear in her eyes. It had nothing to do with him acting like a bully. Physic or not, how could she, a human, sense the presence of the undead hunting her before he’d sensed it? He laughed at himself. As pathetic as it was, the answer was painfully obvious. She’d distracted him naturally with her sensuality.

  Eli probed deeper into the creature’s mind. It was a young male, obviously unlearned in the techniques, a pure blood ancient would have used to better masked his presence. At that moment reality struck hard. It was Kara’s doing. He looked at the door she’d entered. It wasn’t a matter of her distracting him with her sexy feminine wiles. Feeling a mixture of amusement and awe, he smiled. She’d used her mind to block him in an attempt to protect him from the vampire.

  Careful to avoid allowing it to feel his intrusion, he slowly pushed his way into the vampire’s mind. To his surprise, it wasn’t planning to kill her. It was tracking her for someone else. A human. It didn’t make sense. Vampires, not even pure blood ancients, were ever known to do tracking jobs or any other jobs for humans. For that reason alone he should investigate the situation, but he decided to leave it alone. It wasn’t his problem. It didn’t matter to him. She didn’t matter to him.

  His breath came out in a groan. It was going to be a hell of a long day. Even as he told himself that it wasn’t his problem, his alpha instincts to protect her had been kicked into high gear the first moment he’d realized she’d perceived a threat. He walked toward the entrance hoping he would, but knowing he wouldn’t overcome his wolf’s demand that he look after her. He told himself that he was going inside, paying for his gas, filling his tank, and then getting the hell out of there. Deep down, he knew he was going to protect her. He just wasn’t willing to come to terms with it just yet.

  ***

  After using the restroom and removing the remainder of her cash from her secret, untraceable account from the ATM inside the gas station, Kara fixed herself a cup of hot chocolate. As precaution she planned to wait until Eli came in to pay for his gas before she left. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of him. When she used her mind to scan the area she picked up on something out of the ordinary about Eli. At first, aware of one stalking her, she had mistaken him for a vampire.

  His vibes weren’t human. Nothing about him was even slightly similar to a human. Asking for a jump was an excuse to get close enough to thoroughly read him. It didn’t take long at all to be convinced that he was no more a vampire than a human. He wasn’t the one following her. He’d been legitimately shocked when she approached him. He was telling the truth when he said they’d never met, but something seemed familiar about him.

  Out of curiosity, she wanted to take a few more moments to figure out what he was, but unfortunately she didn’t have the luxury of spare time.

  “I can’t believe you’re back.” For a second, Kara considered running out of the gas station and getting into her car and driving away. “Oh my God, it’s wonderful to see you. I’ve been worried sick.” Emily wrapped her arms around her and held her close.

  “I’m sorry you were worried. I wish I had the time to talk and catch up, but I’m running late. When Emily released her, Kara took a step back. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Wait. Why are you so close to home? It’s too dangerous for you here. You shouldn’t even be in the state.”

  “Everything is fine.” Attempting to appear casual, Kara shrugged. “It’s over now.”

  “That’s a lie. I know you don’t believe it any more than I do. Tell me the truth. Why did you come back here?”

  Every second Kara spent talking to her was placing Emily in danger. She needed to end the conversation. “I’m in the process of working it all out with him. We actually
have plans to have a late dinner tonight.” The best way to get past his guards was to set up a meeting. Truthfully, Kara was planning to lure her father to Multnomah Falls. She knew the area well. The sick son of a bitch wouldn’t be able to resist the opportunity to kill her himself, or at least witness her being killed.

  “Oh God, no, Kara!” Emily cleared her throat and lowered her voice. “No way. Absolutely not. It’s a trick. You need to leave town. You cannot, I repeat, you cannot go have dinner with your dad. He’s crazy mad. He’ll kill you. Get your butt in your car and leave town right now.”

  Kara took a deep breath and released it with a sigh of frustration. “I don’t want to discuss it with you. I know what I’m doing.”

  “But…”

  “Drop it, Emily. I’ve made up my mind.”

  Emily took Kara’s hands in hers. “I’ll help you.”

  “You can’t. No one can,” Kara said, immediately regretting it.

  “You’re wrong.” Revealing her distress over the situation, Emily’s voice elevated and cracked. “Please. Oh God, please don’t go after him. Leave the state. I have a few thousand dollars hidden. I’ll give it to you. He won’t find you again.”

  “I’m not taking your money. I know what I’m doing, Emily.”

  “Really? I think if you did you wouldn’t have returned. You certainly wouldn’t be under the delusion you have any chance of killing him. Even if you could get to him, you’re not capable of committing murder. And, like it or not, that’s a fact.”

  “You’re wrong. He almost killed my baby. He will eventually succeed if I don’t kill him first.”

  “Oh, Kara. I’m so sorry.” She paused for several seconds. “I thought you were going to die.”

  Kara frowned. “It must have been horrible for you to see me like that. I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to go after him alone. I know someone who can help. I’ll sneak you into the club tonight and we can talk to him.”

  “You haven’t left the club yet?”

  “No. I met a…I can’t. It’s a complicated situation. I’ve a friend that needs my help.”

  “Who?” She shook her head. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. You can’t help your friend while she is still there. You shouldn’t be anywhere near that place.”

  “It’s not a woman. It’s a man.”

  “A boyfriend?”

  “No. His name is Zack Savage. I barely know him. He saved my life about two years ago. I was being attacked in an alley. Now it’s my turn to save him.”

  “Look at all the young girls working in that place. I bet a number of them are underage. You were underage when you started dancing for Mary. You’re still underage. All of those girls are addicted to crack. If Zack chooses to be a customer of that club he isn’t worth sticking around for.”

  “Everyone says that. I look younger than I am. I’m nineteen. I’ll be twenty in a few months.”

  “That’s way too young to be throwing your life away and dancing in a skanky hellhole like that.”

  “I’m not dancing anymore. And he wasn’t there to enjoy the entertainment. He was trying to convince me to leave. I wouldn’t do it. I wanted to. But I couldn’t. And now, because he wouldn’t give up and just leave me behind, they’re keeping him prisoner. They’re torturing him, killing him slowly. It’s my fault.”

  “At the club?” Kara asked. “How? What are you talking about?”

  “Yes and no. There’re secret tunnels beneath the club. I just learned about many more beneath the entire city. I’ve been searching for him in them. I’ve been making a map. Vampires built them many years ago. They use the tunnels to travel unseen from one place to the next. And sometimes, they use them to lock up and torture their enemies.”

  Kara’s heart sank. She didn’t doubt that vampires were real. She’d had encounters with one when her father first discovered she was recording him with the intention of turning him in, but the story about the tunnels and a man being held prisoner seemed too farfetched to believe. “You promised you would stop getting high, Emily. It’s going to kill you.”

  “I’ve been clean for weeks.” Emily lifted her chin. “I’m serious. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. Mary Tate has vampires working for her. And you know Demetri Demidov, right?”

  “Yeah. Who doesn’t? I sure hope you’re staying away from him. The man gives me the creeps.” Kara suddenly realized just how unfair it was to accuse her of being high because the story that seemed unreal. It wasn’t that she truly didn’t believe the story. The truth was that she didn’t want to believe it. Even after having her own encounter with a vampire she’d had trouble accepting the reality of their existence. She took Emily’s hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have accused you of being high. If you say the tunnels are real I believe you. But please, stay out of them. They’re dangerous.”

  “It’s okay. I understand. But I can’t stay out of them. Not yet.”

  “Why?”

  “There’s more. I thought Demetri was one of them.”

  “You mean a vampire?” Kara asked.

  “Yes.”

  Kara shrugged. “Why?”

  “A vampire, Jeremy Lang, came into my room one night. He tried to rape me. I think he would’ve killed me. Demetri appeared from out of nowhere. He didn’t do anything. Not really. He just showed up and Jeremy dropped to the ground and rolled around in what appeared to be the most horrible pain imaginable. I thought he was going to die from it, but he managed to crawl out of the room. Demetri did something to him with his mind.”

  “That doesn’t sound like a very humanlike ability to me. How does it prove Demetri isn’t a vampire?”

  “If Demetri were a vampire why would he stop Jeremy from attacking me?”

  “He probably…I don’t know.”

  “And there’s more. Demetri can control an entire room of people with his mind. I’ve seen it happen.” Emily straightened her shoulders and stood tall. “I’m not afraid of him. Not one tiny bit.”

  “You know what you’re saying is insane, right? You need to get the hell away from that club. Demetri isn’t your friend. From what I’ve heard he isn’t anyone’s friend. Isn’t he Mary’s lover? Never mind. It doesn’t matter who he’s screwing. I don’t know why he helped you, but I do know that he’s dangerous.” Kara paused. “Are you sleeping with him?”

  “No. Of course not. We’re just friends. He sort of reminds me of… I wish my father would’ve been like him.”

  “I’ve never heard anything about him that would make him seem the fatherly type. Maybe you should leave town with me before you get yourself killed.”

  “I’m perfectly safe. Demetri is very powerful and he is looking out for me.” Emily smiled. “I know you don’t believe it, but I can prove it all to you.”

  “How?” Kara shook her head.

  “Come back to the club with me. I made a video of Demetri coming into the club one night. He made everyone freeze. It was totally awesome. It was like they were hypnotized.”

  “He controlled an entire club full of people?”

  “Yes.” Emily nodded.

  “Does he know you have the video?”

  “I don’t know.’

  “Do you know what he was trying to accomplish?” Kara asked.

  “Mary took Zack from him. She hid Zack. Demetri was looking for him and didn’t want anyone in the club to know about it. I followed him.”

  “And, though he didn’t want anyone to know, he told you what he was doing?” Kara shook her head. “If what you’re saying is true why would he tell you? Why didn’t he hypnotize or freeze you along with everyone else?”

  “I told you why.” Emily smiled. “He is my friend. He wanted me to go with him. He needed my help.”

  “If he’s so powerful why would he need your help?”

  “I don’t know. Please, I know you think I’m lying, but I can prove it. Come back to the club with me. He’ll help you. I know he will.”

  “No. I don
’t want his help. He’s dangerous. You need to keep your distance from him. I don’t think you’re lying. I think you’re confused. I think he is using you.” Kara was curious about the video, but she couldn’t go to the club. She figured that Demetri had somehow managed to brainwash Emily into believing he was her friend.

  “You shouldn’t be so quick to judge Demetri. He helped you before.” Appearing to focus on her shoes, Emily lowered her gaze. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you. He won’t be happy I did.” She looked up at Kara. “Demetri saved your life.”

  “I’ve never met him. I’ve only heard about him.”

  “When I found you unconscious in Mary’s old burned down club I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared. I was really high. I freaked out big time. I almost left you. Then, Demetri showed up. He did something to save you. I think he healed you. It was kind of weird. I saw energy, like fire and electricity, coming out of his hands and going into your body. Gashes and bruises on your face and body vanished right before my eyes. After he was done healing you, he put you in his car and he let me drive you to the hospital.”

  “He allowed you to drive while you were high?” Kara asked.

  “I wasn’t high when I drove.”

  “Come on, you just admitted to being high. How could you’ve driven me anywhere? You can’t trust your memory of that night.”

  “He fixed me. He made it so I don’t need to get high. I never had one withdrawal symptom. I don’t even think about it anymore. Not at all. I’m begging you to trust me. Come to the club with me. We’ll ask him to help you.” Emily paused for a few seconds. “If you don’t want to ask Demetri for help maybe we can go down to the courthouse in the morning and get a restraining order.”

  “I’m not involving Demetri or anyone else in my problems, especially you. I know you don’t seriously think a piece of paper is going to stop my dad from sending another one of his men after me.”

  “I’m sure it’ll make him think twice before he tries it again,” Emily said.

  “Breaking the law is his way of life. It’ll only piss him off.”