don’t mind. I’ve never shied away from a challenge.
But remember our time is limited.”
“And why is that?”
He raised his hand to her chest and traced the scalloped
edge of her gown. His fingertip felt warm against her skin and tingles trailed
in the wake of his teasing caress. Her nipples tightened and sensitized, making
the inside of her bodice feel rough. “Prince Alexi has given me until tomorrow
to convince you to cooperate.”
Bronik must think her an addled fool to stand here so
passively. If she could just rouse her symbionts then she’d introduce him to
the real Eloise. She might not be able to best a pureblood, but she’d put up
one hell of a fight. “And what happens if I refuse to cooperate even after
hours of persuasion?”
“If I can’t offer him a full report when he arrives
tomorrow, he’ll strip the information from your mind.” He cupped her chin and
raised her face until she looked into his eyes. “Prince Alexi is more skilled
than most, but mining for information always results in brain damage.”
* * * * *
Garrett Mansfield crossed his arms over his chest and leaned
his shoulder against the doorframe of Tara’s office. Being summoned like a
servant tended to make him irritable. Tara might claim him as son, but he knew
she could remove the distinction just as quickly as she’d bestowed it upon him.
He was useful to her, nothing more. Expecting any affection or lasting loyalty
would have been foolish and naïve. Garrett was neither.
“Are the evacuations complete?” Tara sat behind her ornate
desk, looking composed and elegant, completely unruffled by the conflict raging
around them. There had always been tension between the strains, especially
Vladya and Strigo, but recent events had nearly escalated disagreement to
all-out war. One tiny push from either side and Earth would see the destructive
power of Strigoian hosts.
“The final group of Rom hosts is en route to the new site
now but some of the equipment couldn’t be delivered until tomorrow.”
Consolidating everything under one roof had been the only choice left to them
because of Eloise’s capture. Anything she knew, her captors would likely have
learned by now, so new precautions had been unavoidable. The consolidation
should make the operation more efficient, but one central location also
presented greater risks than the six small, isolated project sites they had
utilized before.
“Are you ready to depart as well?”
The crisp dismissal in her tone made him unfold and
straighten his arms. “I’m to oversee the new location?” He wanted to move to
Colorado about as much as he wanted to become celibate.
“I would trust this to no one else.” Behind her calm façade
her dark eyes smoldered. “You supervised the old project sites from afar. Now
that all of the test subjects will be in one location, I see no reason for you
not to be stationed nearby.”
Despite his best efforts at calm, his shoulders tensed and
his hands clenched. She was banishing him like an errant child, sending him to
the middle of nowhere so she could avoid his questions and frustrations. He
should accept her decision and walk away, rejoice in a life free from her
manipulation.
“What about Eloise?” They weren’t technically siblings.
Still, Eloise was the only sister he’d ever known.
Eloise’s disappearance had sent Tara into a fit of rage.
She’d vowed to make Strigo strain pay for their treachery and brutalized the
guards who had failed to prevent the abduction. But her spies within Strigo
strain reported that neither Prince Alexi nor his uncle, Edrick Yeager, had
been responsible for the abduction, which left Tara no reason to follow through
on her rash threats.
“What about her?” Tara muttered. “If she were truly the
victim of abduction, there would have been a ransom demand by now.”
“Meaning?” He tensed. Tara was always ruthless, but
abandoning Eloise seemed extreme. Tara had found Eloise when Eloise was