“Why haven’t you shared this with Viktor?”
Shepherd’s energy swirled. “He’ll think I’m unstable and cut me from the team. And he’d be right. If I were in his shoes, I’d do the same. I can’t afford to take that chance. This is all I’ve got that’s keeping me sane.”
“Viktor should know the kind of man he does business with.”
“He’s got his guard up with most people he deals with—he’s not stupid. I’ve already thought this through. If Patrick even suspects Viktor knows about the boy, he’ll get paranoid. And paranoid men are dangerous men. What if Viktor threatens him? He’s got my kid, Niko. I can’t have anything happen to that boy. He’s all that’s left of Maggie.” Shepherd’s voice broke, and he cursed under his breath.
“What good will your silence bring if this secret consumes you?”
Bright flashes in his light revealed his anger. “It’ll buy me some time. If I steal him, I’ll have to leave Keystone and spend my life in hiding. What’ll my kid think about me if I snatch him away from a big mansion where he’s got everything he could possibly want? I won’t have two pennies to rub together, and we’d be living on the streets. Patrick is the only father figure he’s ever known. You think that kid will warm up to a guy like me just because we share the same blood? He’s too young to understand. I’ll be the bad guy, and he’ll grow up hating me for taking away all his opportunities. He’s better off where he is for now.”
“Patrick will brainwash him. He won’t be able to make his own choices when he becomes a man. And take heed, for Patrick will seek his opportunity to be rid of you. You’re protected under Keystone, and that’s why he spared you. But you’ll always be a liability to him no matter how much power he acquires.”
“So what do I do?”
Niko lifted his chin. “Discover his weakness.”
“Assuming he has one.”
“In all the years I’ve walked this earth, I’ve learned that no man is without an Achilles’ heel. You just have to find it. And when you do, strike fast.”
Energy flickered in the distance, and the familiar pulse of Mage light prickled Niko’s skin. More specifically, the ancient energy from an old nemesis.
He folded his arms. “Thank you for entrusting me with your secret. Don’t allow your pain to ruin your life. A patient and persistent man is one who makes his own destiny. If the fates wish to save the boy from his circumstance, they’ll present you with an opportunity.” Niko could hear Shepherd’s breath quavering from the cold. “Why don’t you go inside where it’s warm?”
“You’re one lucky bastard for having an internal heater. Are you coming?”
“The energy overwhelms my senses. Give me a few minutes to clear my head.”
It wasn’t unusual for Niko to step outside the club on a crowded night, and right now he needed to separate himself from Shepherd as quickly as possible.
The hinges on the door creaked, music and laughter spilling into the alley. “Hurry up. You still owe me a game of darts.”
Once the door closed, Niko turned on his heel. “You can come out now, Cyrus. There’s no point in hiding in the shadows.”
Cyrus’s maroon light unfolded from the darkness, silver flecks sparkling. “I see you’ve learned a few tricks, Nikodemos. Very impressive you noticed me. I still remember the weak little slave who blindfolded himself to hide from his own gifts.”
“You’re right. There was a time when my energy made no sense and I didn’t have the tools to interpret it. But I never needed eyesight to see evil.”
Chapter 3
Well, if it isn’t the incomparable Mr. Poe,” I said, strolling into room number seven. I stopped at the low counter on the left and tapped it with my finger. “How many women have you brought back here?”
Without a word, he stalked forward and lifted me as if I weighed nothing. Christian set me down on the low bar and wedged himself between my legs, his knuckles pressing against the wood on either side of me. We hadn’t been alone since his return, and the heat between us burned like a raging forest fire.
“Did you miss me?” he purred.
“Hardly. Niko’s been keeping me busy.”
“Has he now? I’ll be the judge of that.” Christian’s hand clamped over my thigh, his thumb circling over a sensitive spot. “Mmm, feels firm.”
“Firm enough to kill a man.”
“Do you still do that trick where you wrap your thighs around a man’s head? Where can I sign up?” When he gripped the small push dagger on my belt, I seized his wrist.
“Don’t you trust me?” he asked with a wolfish grin.
I pushed him away with one finger. “Maybe too much.”
He pinched the front of my sweatshirt and frowned. “Why do you insist on wearing these infernal sweaters? I much prefer you in those tight little shirts.”
“It’s winter. Besides, I don’t need Claude smelling your arousal every time my nipples get hard.”
He straightened his back and cocked his head to the side. “You’re implying I have no self-control?”
“Why are we in here?” I snapped my knees together when he stepped back. “If anything’s going to happen between us, it’s not going to happen in your lair of iniquity. I bet the assprints on this counter are polished to a shine. I’m not judging you for it, but I’m not one of those girls.”
“Clearly. All the men you’ve seduced are dead.” He strode toward the back of a leather couch and leaned against it, arms folded.
Had Christian changed during our time apart? His hair was a little wilder, his onyx eyes more intense. Or maybe there was something else lurking beneath his inscrutable gaze.
“There’s no privacy in the mansion,” he argued. “Where would you have us be intimate? Behind a shrub at the base of a hill? Or perhaps in the parking garage on top of Shepherd’s Jeep?”
Then it dawned on me. Christian didn’t share his heart or emotions with anyone. He shared his body. And our unique circumstance denied him of that physical contact. I also craved touch, but I’d deprived myself of it for so long that I no longer considered it a necessity in life.
“Did Viktor’s assignment keep you occupied?” I asked. “A month is a long time to be away from home.”
His lips twitched. “Is that jealousy I detect?”
I crossed my feet at the ankles. “There’s no reason why we should lie to each other.”
He inclined his head. “I have no desire to be with other women.”
I hopped off the bar and strode forward. “Is that the truth? Don’t mistake me for a sensitive girl.”
His black eyes flashed up to mine. “Aye.”
“You talk funny,” I said, a smile hovering on my lips. “Like a pirate.”
“I was born two centuries ago on a small farm in Ireland. I can testify that even they don’t sound the same as they did a hundred years ago.”
“So get with the times.”
“I’ve made a lot of adjustments to speak with a modern tongue considering my world travels, but I make no apologies for not incorporating words like ‘hashtag’ and ‘dope’ into my vocabulary.”
“Nobody uses dope anymore.”