Dark Guardian (Dark Series - book 9) Read online

  “Don, I want you to do some looking for me. Drake called me.”

  “Good God, Jaxx, what did you expect? It’s all over the news that you got yourself engaged to some big-shot moneybags. That would be like a slap in the face to Drake. What were you thinking? If you were going to run off and get engaged, you could have stayed here and married me.”

  “You would have divorced me inside of a week.” Jaxon laughed. “I can still kick your butt, and your macho ego would have a hard time with that.”

  “What about moneybags? Can you kick his butt?”

  “I wish. Anyway, I need information. Put an ear to the ground, ask some of the guys to look around, and see if there’s any sign that Drake has been out on the range somewhere. You know how he is—he haunts those hills. Maybe you’ll get lucky.”

  “Be careful, Jaxx. Drake’s insane. He’s just as likely to turn on you.”

  “I’m always careful. Unfortunately, I don’t think Lucian comprehends the extent of Drake’s training. He won’t take me seriously when I tell him how dangerous it is to deliberately draw Drake out.”

  “Trust you to find an adrenaline junkie worse than you.”

  Jaxon made a rude sound and gave him her number. “Call me if anyone so much as finds a sign they

  think

  might be his.”

  “Sure thing, Jaxx. But you promise me you won’t do anything dangerous.”

  “Careful is my middle name,” she said softly and hung up the telephone. In the upstairs bedroom she found her things. Jaxon dressed carefully, pulling on dark clothes and a dark hood to cover her blond hair.

  She was grateful Lucian had brought her weapons, including her sniper’s rifle with the night vision scope. She scooped it up to put it over her shoulder and filled her pockets with shells. She added a couple of knives, her handgun with extra clips, and a rope. Lucian didn’t believe Drake was a real threat to him, but she intended to scout the entire neighborhood around his property to find every spot where a sniper might lie in wait.

  Jaxon was suddenly aware just how fatigued she was. Her wounds were mostly healed, but she was not as strong as she would have liked. The rifle seemed much heavier than she remembered. She stood just inside the front door, staring at the intricate pattern in the stained glass. It was not only beautiful, but there was something else, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. The pattern seemed to beckon, to soothe, to draw her in. She could have stayed there forever and simply stared at it.

  Shaking her head to clear her mind, Jaxon opened the door and went out into the night. It was drizzling again. No hefty storm, but the fog was thick, and mist was rising like steam from the ground. The wolves were confined to the woods behind the house, so the courtyard and the front were free of wild animals. She had felt safe with Lucian holding her, commanding the wolves, but on her own, she feared she might have to destroy the beautiful creatures.

  Jaxon continued down the front drive. She found she was having difficulty walking. The air felt heavy and oppressive. Each step she took seemed to be through quicksand. She was breathing hard, the weight in her chest giving her the illusion she couldn’t breathe.

  Illusion

  . This was some sort of illusion. Or maybe it was part of some security system Lucian had that worked on the human nervous system. Whatever it was, Jaxon had no intention of allowing it to defeat her. She had to secure the area for her own peace of mind.

  Jaxon treated her distress as she would any other discomfort she might experience in the midst of a mission.

  She pushed it out of her head and moved forward, one step at a time. There was no question she would make it out; there could be no other outcome. Jaxon had been trained to overcome all obstacles. Sweat broke out on her forehead, but it didn’t matter. She made her way to the gates and pushed them open.

  Once out on the street she could breathe more easily, and the heavy weight in her chest lifted.

  A bodyguard’s nightmare

  . She had named Lucian’s home such, and it was true. In this exclusive neighborhood each estate had several acres; thus, few houses were near by. Most of the surrounding area was covered in trees and heavy brush. Tyler Drake would love that. And the high bluffs a mile or so down from the house worried her. What a perfect place from which to observe Lucian’s house and grounds.

  Jaxon sighed as she moved swiftly along the road, keeping in the shadows of the trees. A moving target was easier to spot than a stationary one, so Drake had all the advantages if he had already started scouting the area. She didn’t want to think about Lucian and what he had revealed to her. Vampires. There was no such thing. There just couldn’t be. Maybe what she had witnessed was some weird trick. But she was the one who had shot the thing. And she never missed. Never. She saw the bullet hit him squarely in the center of his forehead. It hadn’t even slowed the creature down.

  Jaxon inched her way as she approached high ground. She didn’t want to skyline herself. If she was hunting this night, Drake could be, also. She began a meticulous study of the ground, quartering each approach for a sign that Drake had passed this way. She would recognize his work. The cold air was getting through her clothes. Jaxon found herself shivering despite the fact that her movements should have kept her warm. Still, her night vision was so improved, she now had a wonderful asset. She tried to concentrate on that thought to block out the numbing cold.

  She was scanning the ground, her eyes searching restlessly, back and forth, for one thing out of place. Only one. That was all she would need to know that Drake was in the area. The first few years Jaxon had tried to hide from him, until she realized it was impossible. Now, she stayed out in the open, where he could come after her if he desired. But he never tried to harm her, only those around her. Only those he perceived as a threat to him. Lucian had set himself up as a target. Where he lived was common knowledge now, with the press following the story of their engagement.

  She dropped to her stomach and slithered through the wet grass to the top of a knoll. There, she used her rifle scope and surveyed the property. From this angle one had no real shot. Thick foliage and trees protected the entire side of the house. Even the balconies there were completely hidden from view. She studied her surroundings carefully, picking out the next high point where Drake might go.

  She was halfway up the bluff when she began to get that peculiar feeling she always did when she knew trouble lay ahead. It was more than instinct. A gift. A curse. Whatever it was, Jaxon knew Drake had been here before her. She slowed her pace and was careful to keep utterly silent. Not even her clothes could whisper of her presence. She took particular care to study the rocks as she climbed. She found a scuff mark, faint but there. Farther up, near the top, was a distinct rope scrape deep in the dirt, the impression of a thumb near by. She had seen that mark before. She had spent her childhood training with Drake. She knew the way he moved, the way he went up a rope, and the way he tied off. The knuckle of his thumb always brushed the dirt when he tied off.

  Her heart was pounding now. He could easily be at the top, making her position extremely vulnerable. She hesitated long enough to drag a knife from her boot and clamp it between her teeth before making the last effort to mount the top of the bluff. She lay quietly, waiting to catch her breath, listening to the sounds of the night. She could hear insects singing, suggesting to her that she was alone up there. She didn’t move, wasn’t fooled. Drake would never stir up the insects enough to silence them. He was a professional; he knew exactly what he was doing. He would never give away his position by making careless movements.

  When Jaxon moved, she did so inch by inch, on her belly, keeping low to the ground, using her elbows to propel her forward. She covered the open ground and found relative shelter in some heavy bushes. Very carefully she slipped the rifle from her shoulder. It felt solid and safe in her hand, but it was meant for distance shooting, not hand-to-hand combat. This might her one chance to rid the world of Tyler Drake. If he was up there, she
was determined that only one of them would go back down. And Drake would never submit to arrest.

  She covered every inch of the cliffs. Tyler had spent time here; she knew he had. She could smell him everywhere. Actually smell him. It brought back so many nightmares, that smell. The signs were fresh enough that she knew Tyler must have been scouting the estate while Lucian was at the hospital with her. He hadn’t shot at them, and she’d had no premonition of danger, so he must have left before they arrived. When she was satisfied Drake was no longer on the cliff, she allowed herself a moment to rest. With so many unwanted memories crowding in, her stomach was in hard knots. Just being this close to Drake made her sick. Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, Jaxon scooted across open rock to the edge of the bluff so she could once more scope out the house. Here she had a better view.

  Dragging her scope out, she took aim. Dense foliage mostly obscured the front of the house, but the upper stories rose above the trees. She could partially see into two windows despite the stained glass. She wasn’t familiar enough with the layout of the house to know which rooms she was seeing, but neither appeared to be her bedroom. Drake could conceivably get a shot off from here and score a hit if Lucian entered either of the two rooms. Rolling over, she pulled out a small notebook and meticulously entered each calculation.

  It took longer to make her way back down the cliff and around to the far side of the house. The forest was thick, and bushes grew everywhere. Her rifle was becoming more and more cumbersome. Jaxon realized she was far weaker than she had thought. The wounds she had been certain were healed were now throbbing. Her breath was coming in gasps. As a child, training on the base, she had been drilled to overcome all obstacles, including pain or discomfort of any kind. She took inventory quickly, assessed the damage to her body, and dismissed it. Protecting Lucian was all-important. He refused to believe her when she said Drake was dangerous to him, a pro, a chameleon when he needed to be.

  The estate was immense. Lucian had been right in that, even from high ground, Drake would not find a decent shot. But there were other ways. She began to walk along the massive stone wall around the grounds. It was very high, very thick. On the other side, the wolves paced. She couldn’t see them, but she sensed they were there. It was odd, but in her mind she thought she could hear them calling to her. Drake had come this way. She put a hand on the wall. Would he poison the wolves? That wouldn’t pose much of a problem to him. Was that the security Lucian was counting on so heavily? Wolves wouldn’t even slow Drake down.

  Chapter Six

  Jaxon tilted her head to assess exactly what it would take to climb the wall. Not much. She sighed. What would she be able to see of the house from the top of the wall? She was studying the best way up, seeking finger and footholds, when a cold wind whirled leaves and twigs around her legs. In the midst of the wild blast Lucian loomed up directly behind her, his large frame so close, Jaxon was trapped between his body and the high wall.

  She swung around with a low cry of alarm, trying to bring up her hand with the knife in it. Lucian’s fingers curled around her fragile wrist, easily holding her still. He leaned into her, pressing her small frame right into the wall. His mouth touched her ear. “You are not waiting at home for me.”

  Her heart was pounding. She wasn’t certain if it was from the proximity of his body or the suddenness of his appearance. “Technically, I think I could get away with saying I’m on the property. Sort of. Just checking things out a bit.” She made an attempt to face up to him, feeling very vulnerable locked between the wall and his muscular frame. He had removed the knife from her hand, but she was still shackled to him, his fingers tight around her wrist.

  “You are definitely not on the property where I left you, honey,” Lucian whispered into her ear, his warm breath stirring tendrils of hair at her neck, stirring unwanted excitement in her body. He pulled the hood from her head to reveal the silky blond hair spilling wildly in all directions.

  She wasn’t cold anymore. He had managed to heat her up with a few simple words. “Things didn’t go well on your little to-do list?” she asked sweetly.

  His hand slipped around her throat so that her pulse was beating into his palm. His thumb stroked a caress along the delicate line of her jaw. “He has been here before you, angel. You have needlessly placed yourself in danger.” Lucian spoke in his most gentle voice, yet she recognized a note of reprimand. More than that. A warning, perhaps.

  “It isn’t needless. You just aren’t getting it. He’s probably watching us right now.” Realizing it might be so, she made every attempt to swing them around, to somehow cover his big body with her own.

  Lucian could easily pick her intentions out of her mind. She was frantic to protect him from Drake. “Be still, Jaxon,” he breathed, his voice a soothing balm, filling her mind with warmth. He held her close to his body with his enormous strength. Sheltering her. Savoring her. “He is not close at this time. I have scanned the area. Had he been near, I would not be so gentle with you. There is no need for you to protect me. Tyler Drake cannot harm me.”

  His hand on her throat was warm and possessive, his thumb inducing molten heat in her veins where once there had been only blood. “I don’t know what you mean by ‘scanned the area,’ but I scouted it. I found evidence of him at two sites. We can protect ourselves from one of them easily enough, but this is impossible.”

  Lucian bent his head to hers. “You do not listen well.” He appeared not to be paying much attention to the conversation, distracted by other things. “Hold still, Jaxon,” he murmured.

  She went perfectly still. Jaxon didn’t know how, but she felt heat inside her where her wounds were throbbing. His fingers splayed wide across her abdomen. He did nothing else, simply laid his palm over her, but she felt him inside her. At once the pain disappeared. Lucian turned her into his arms. “Do not do this again. You are needlessly tired and cold.” He was framing her face between his palms.

  Jaxon watched his eyes go from black ice to burning possessiveness as he lowered his head to hers. Mesmerized, she stood waiting for the touch of his mouth. She felt his breath, the heat, the beckoning. She felt him touch her mind, gentle and warm. His mouth moved over hers, coaxing, tasting. The world fell away from her. There was only silken heat, molten fire. She closed her eyes, willing to give herself up to pure feeling. Sensation. Dark fires.

  He gathered her close, lifted her slight body into the hard strength of his arms, and whispered to her. She didn’t hear, couldn’t hear. His mouth was perfect. He drove out every sane thought, every responsibility, and replaced it with a burning magic. The earth dropped away, and the wind rushed past. She felt it in her hair, on her face. The dizzy sensation of a roller coaster. But his mouth was all that really mattered.

  When Lucian lifted his head, Jaxon felt dazzled and had to blink several times to focus on her surroundings. At once she gasped and pushed him away. He set her down on legs that were rubbery, but sheer shock held her up. They were at the house, right at the kitchen door. Her teeth bit deep into her lower lip, drawing a tiny dot of blood. She could taste the bead welling up.

  “How did we get here?” She was holding one hand up to ward him off.

  Lucian ignored her hand to step close so that he could lean down and once more find her mouth, his tongue lingering along her lips, caressing, healing, savoring the taste of her. Jaxon pushed at the wall of his chest, not wanting to get caught up in his black magic.

  “Answer me. How did we get here?”

  He looked amused. “It is not that hard to move through—”

  “Stop!” Jaxon put both hands over her ears. “Don’t say anything until I think about this. Every time you say anything, you make me more nuts.”

  His black eyes were shamelessly laughing at her. He reached out a lazy hand to remove the rifle from her shoulder. She was wildly beautiful and incredibly appealing to him, standing there with her huge chocolate eyes and untamed hair. But her mind was struggling to find answers, and
she had a penchant for violence, so the rifle had to go.

  A wolf cry sounded, the note joyful in the night. “There.” She waved toward the forest. “Your little friends are calling you. Go run and play with them for a while. You overwhelm me at the moment. I could use a break.”

  He put an arm out toward her. “Running with the wolves is truly a great joy, angel.” His arm rippled with fur. Black glossy fur. His hand contorted, shifted shape.

  Jaxon heard herself scream. She couldn’t believe the strangled sound came from her own throat. She whirled around, jerked open the door to the kitchen, slipped inside, and slammed it shut. She locked every single dead bolt on the door before sliding to the floor. She drew her knees up and rocked herself for comfort.

  This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening.

  What are you

  ? She cried it in her mind. What was he? What should she do? If she called the police, no one would believe her. And the alternative would be that they did believe her, and the government would put Lucian in a laboratory and dissect him. Jaxon buried her face in her hands. What was she going to do? Maybe it was another trick. Another illusion. Just because he had named that hideous creature vampire didn’t mean it was true. It was an illusion. It had to be. He was a master magician. That was how he made all his money, right? Weren’t all magicians billionaires? Please let them all be billionaires.

  Something made her lift her head. She was very careful to keep her hands over her face and only peek out between her fingers. Through the open door leading into the hall, she saw what looked like a low bank of fog. It just seemed to hang there for a moment silently. She bit at her knuckles with her teeth. Fog. In the house. Of course there was fog in Lucian’s house. Wasn’t fog in everyone’s house?

  Then Lucian’s tall elegance filled the doorway, blocking her view of the hall. His black gaze moved slowly over her face. She saw stark possessiveness in his eyes. She recognized it, when all she wanted to do was run. But she could no more have gotten to her feet than fly. “Go away, Lucian.”