5. Evil World’s Most Wanted
Chapter 5
Evil World’s Most Wanted
“It’s too rushed,” Nigel complained, trailing us. “My pack needs time to prepare for that sort of move. We can’t do whatever you Hunters say whenever you say it. We’re not at your beck and call.”
It was silly because I always envisioned wolves on the run. No true home. No single place to call their own. The forest, really all of the land, was theirs, and it was crazy to think Nigel was more like a human in that respect. He set down roots. He made a home, in a cave of all places, and he was being more of a girl about this than I was.
Sloan loaded a few more packs into a less conspicuous car—a 2011 Toyota Corolla that’d seen more action than I probably had—and I followed my companion with Nigel hot on our heels. The rest of the pack hovered near the dense line of forest, keeping watch for anything that may be following us.
Because it wasn’t even minutes after we arrived at the cave before Sloan was packing our shit into a car, which had practically materialized out of thin air. But knowing Sloan, he’d probably made a call to the Organization well before we made a victorious return to the forest.
The dude had that kind of pull .
We’d left the car we went out with because Sloan didn’t want to use anything we could be tracked in. Instead, we took the scenic route back to our cave base.
“If it’s the Organization, why are you going back? Why are you putting V in danger over and over?” Nigel demanded when Sloan didn’t say anything.
It was difficult to keep silent. I wanted to reassure Nigel that Sloan was one of few people we could trust; to tell him all about our plans to corrode the Organization from within. But first we needed to find out who was pulling the strings.
Sloan sighed and brushed back stray dark hair before flicking his eyes over to the irate Shifter. “Do you expect her to run away and hide for the rest of her life? Or do you want her to learn to fight for herself and make it so she never has to?”
Nigel opened his mouth, the stark contrast of pearly white teeth and an olive complexion distracting my gaze. “If you have the Dark Fae and those bastard Foxes after her, or really any powerful foe ever to cross over, she won’t survive long enough to learn.”
My partner let loose another irritated breath, clearly at the end of his patience. Not that I could blame him. Nigel was relentless when he wanted answers. Finally, Sloan shut the trunk before his eyes strayed over to me for a heartbeat, searching for something. His mouth glistened in nothing but moonlight, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from straying even if I wanted to.
Memories of our kiss, of his fingers between my thighs, his body shuddering, his tongue in my mouth, his throbbing cock buried inside, his lustful whispers saying my name, stole my thoughts for a second, and I rushed to distract myself by looking away. The blush had unfortunately already reached my face by then, and I didn’t know how I’d explain it to Nigel if he pointed it out.
“You underestimate her strength and power, as you do mine, Shifter. V was never meant to be a treasured gem locked away in a box. This situation was only ever meant to be temporary.” The car creaked as Sloan pivoted and settled his weight onto it.
The two men stared each other down, and it was the first time I’d seen Sloan look at Nigel in any way that wasn’t low-key cordial or generally apathetic. The tension in Nigel’s body was obvious as his jaw clenched and his nostrils flared. He didn’t say anything. It was clear he wanted to, but this was the life of a Hunter.
“Come or don’t. The choice is yours, mate.” Sloan tossed Nigel one last look before getting into the driver’s seat.
“This is what my life is right now,” I finally whispered, offering the awaiting group of Shifters a glance. “The more people I have on my side the better, but you don’t have to put your pack in danger for me, Nigel.”
His beautifully dark eyes dropped to the floor before he took my hand inside of his. “I made a promise to Grams and I intend to keep it, V.”
Smirking to myself, I nodded. “Grams would tell you to find someone else to use as an excuse.”
Nigel chuckled lightly, and the tension in his body finally eased. “She’d be proud of you, you know.”
I swallowed around the painful lump of emotion in my throat. “I hope so.”
His grip tightened, and then our eyes met. “She’s always been proud of you. Always. ”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “I know.” Squeezing his hand back, I lifted my chin. “That’s why I need to keep at it. I can’t let these assholes do whatever they want.”
His smile was absolutely breathtaking. “You’re right. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”
My own smile brightened before he released my hand and palmed his head. Then with a final fleeting glance, Nigel returned to his pack.
“Can I expect practically everything purchasable or evil-inclined to come after me, or…?”
This girl was basically number one on the Evil World’s Most Wanted List, and I couldn’t say I was super stoked about it. Not that I was under any impression that I could do anything to change it either.
The older Hunter chuckled and gripped the steering wheel, eyes on the horizon as color leaked into the star-speckled nightscape. The iridescent glow of approaching dawn gave the gorgeous man an almost angelic look, and I was momentarily dazzled by the sight of him.
I’d grown accustomed to being mesmerized by Sloan, but despite the time I’d spent with him, I hadn’t built any immunity to his good looks. If anything, it got worse the longer I was in his care. It was becoming a real problem. Sloan’s terms of endearment grew by the day and his passionate, utterly charming expressions were more potent over time.
And the sex had been… fucking amazing .
Fantasies didn’t come close. Typically, a fantasy was better than the reality—or that was what Kate said every time she complained about some angsty goth boy she met at a concert, usually some obscure upcoming bass player, because Kate was nothing if not predictable when it came to guys. But in this case, the reality was so much better.
Fuck, it was so good I thought about it whenever I permitted my mind to wander. Which was a lot since our night together. Sloan was a god for all I knew. A god of sex and giving a woman pleasure. I pined. I drooled. I devised ways to lure him into my bed.
Honestly, I worried I’d never get the upper hand with the Brit on anything, not now that we’d bumped naughties and I seriously considered offering myself as tribute should he ever decide he needed a sex slave.
Take me sex god. I’m your faithful bedroom ho-ho.
Unfortunately for me, I’d also adopted a sort of sex-after-fight coping mechanism to shit situations, and without Phillip to cater to my needs, I was left in this weird sexual in-between. With a gorgeous specimen right beside me, it was absolute torture.
He could be my sexual palate cleanser. We could make it a thing. I could be that girl.
Now I’m just trying to create excuses to go to Bang Town with Sloan again.
“It’s clear that more than the Organization is after you, and my guess is someone at the top tipped these groups off.”
“Groups?” I moved into a more comfortable position on the seat, my lady parts throbbing after getting lost to fantasies of what I’d do if Sloan so much as hinted at sex again. “As in, Evil-doers Anonymous?”
Sloan’s amusement reached his eyes, and he tossed me a happy little grin. The look was an instant K.O. to my heartrate.
How is this man always so damn delicious?
“Something like that,” Sloan retorted, clearly amused.
Already falling victim to his charms again, I looked out the window and focused on anything that wasn’t the stunning man beside me. I desperately fought away memories of his clever fingers stroking and scissoring, of his tantalizing tongue flicking and filling my mouth. Memories of his powerful hands on my hips as he thrust into my deepest parts, invading my body in a sweet torture I hoped would never end.
I’m beyond help.
It was several hours into our trip, no real stops aside from snack and bathroom breaks, and the other Hunter glowed like he’d been prettied up right before a photoshoot.
In form-hugging black denims and a thin tank-top, even in casual wear, Sloan was serious eye candy. But it was the tattoo along the back of his neck that distracted me every time I looked at the other Hunter.
My eyes wandered to it almost as much as they did his slim waist and shapely arms. As far as I could see, it was the only one the Brit had. His chest hadn’t bore signs of any tattoos or piercings, and his arms were also untouched. Which was all the more intriguing.
Sloan had caught my gaze stray to it at the beginning of our trip and told me it was a set of demon wings.
“Demon wings?” I had asked, tempted to touch the ink exposed along his neck . “Why demon wings?”
Sloan hadn’t look at me, and his usual smile was absent as he stared at the road ahead. “Just a reminder, love. One I need sometimes when life becomes…unbearable.”
His dark expression and sallow words made asking anything else incredibly difficult, and we fell silent for nearly half an hour before Sloan suggested we grab lunch. But his comment stayed with me even now .
I wanted to know the reason his life became unbearable, and whether or not it still was, but I was afraid of being rejected—the same way I had been with Phillip. The thought of prying into something painful the way I had with Phillip made any questions I had die in my throat. So, I didn’t ask. I couldn’t. Even with everything he and I had done, I wasn’t anyone special to Sloan.
I didn’t have any right to ask those kinds of questions.
After leaving Nigel and his pack, we hadn’t discussed what inevitably took place with Green Dude, and it was probably for the best. My head was riddled with sexual fantasies, and I worried if he brought it up, I might say something I couldn’t take back. I might ask to sleep with him. Of course, he was likely concerned with the whole time-freezing thing where I cut a bastard to pieces. And my ass was over here thinking about touching his pretty baby-soft skin.
Sloan coaxed what little he could from me about my weirdo power moment: the dizziness, the nausea, the overall fear of losing someone close to me. I didn’t divulge how it only seemed to occur with men I seemingly cared about. Honestly, it seemed like a bad idea to give too much away when I couldn’t name what was happening between the two of us, especially since I didn’t have a fucking clue what still remained between Phillip and I.
Shit was whack.
Did I really just walk headlong into another complicated sex— love? —triangle? What was I, the main heroine of some crazy love story?
Buildings scattered across the skyline, and it was evident by their size we weren’t far from the city. Which would be a saving grace since I hated driving after my long stretch across the great ol’ US of A with Phillip. And just like that, my thoughts strayed back to the Hunter who abandoned me.
Stupid Austrian always soured my mood every time I thought about him.
But it wasn’t just Phillip who left. It was Grams. It was my sense of confidence. It was everything I thought I knew about myself. These days, it felt a lot like swimming out in the open ocean with no idea where to find land or any semblance of stable ground. And even surrounded by people the way I was, I still felt alone. Tragically alone. In bitter moments, I wished I could go back to those ignorant teenager days of fighting vampires. At least during that time, I could trust the ground beneath my feet.
For a moment, I missed Kate so much I wanted to cry. I missed the times I spent being a normal teenager with her. I’d never get those back. And for a long, silent breath, I grieved the loss like I grieved Gramps’s death and Grams’s uncertain fate—and even Phillip’s departure to get answers about what was inside my blood. I let the sadness settle in my chest and throat, and then I swallowed it down and let it fuel my determination to get justice for every person I lost as a result of the very people who created me.
If this were an action film, this would be where the plot hit its climax and the main character realized there wasn’t anyone but them who could change the ending. This was my story. Mine. I’d make damn sure it ended the way I wanted, whatever that meant.
I closed my eyes and let my head fall back onto the headrest. “Why does it feel like every time we take five steps forward, we’re always ten steps behind? ”
Warmth encompassed my hand, and I looked down to find Sloan’s hand eclipsing mine. “That’s the job, love. Even if you didn’t have the Organization after you, you’d still be left with everything else.”
“Feels an awful lot like I should…I don’t know, just give up? I don’t like it, but what if we don’t succeed and me being alive means they get what they want.”
I wasn’t one for suicidal notions, but sometimes I wondered if it would make it easier if I wasn’t here. If I was the key to crossing over, wouldn’t it be better to take that from them; force their hand and be the one to end it all. At least in that case I’d be the one in control.
The car slowed to a crawl before pulling over with a jerk to the side of the road. My face was suddenly cradled strongly within Sloan’s hands, and the steel-eyed Hunter forced me to look into his stare. What I found wasn’t anger. It wasn’t disappointment or chastisement. No, what floundered in ice-blue depths was a deep, impenetrable sadness. It stole the air in my lungs and took tight hold of my heart.
The other Hunter’s grip tightened and he yanked me closer, his hot breath painting my open mouth. “I know for what reason you even suggest such a thing, but never do it again, V. Never think that your existence is a burden to others. Never suggest death is the only way to right the wrongs, because it isn’t. You are more necessary, more valuable, more of a light in nothing but darkness than you could ever know.” His soft-spoken words hit harder than his punches. “Without you, we’d be lost.”
Mouth gaping, I couldn’t fathom his words before his lips slammed over mine so violently it was more of an attack than a kiss. His low warning growl was all I heard before I was dragged onto his lap and everything faded away.
Only Sloan’s violent kiss remained.