Her Warrior for Eternity (8 page)

He was alone and unarmed against three renegades. But they were out in the open. With any luck, they knew the rules of the game and wouldn’t try anything funny. They might run, of course, in which case he would have to follow. But he could do that. He had practised today.

He paused some yards from the trio and they stopped too. Good. They wouldn’t be chasing Cora. “One chance. Leave now and you’ll live.”

The leader of the group sneered. “It’s three against one. What could you possibly do,
vampire
?”

Jeremy could barely keep the smile from his face. Dressed as he was, the bastards had mistaken him for a common vampire. “Plenty.”

“Bring it on, then.”

“Gladly.” He charged.

Fear gave Corynn strength she didn’t think she had left. She didn’t pay attention to the direction, she just fled. Her legs would ache tomorrow, but it would be a small inconvenience compared to what would happen if she stayed put.

Stopping had been her first reaction when she heard Jeremy shout. She had wanted to confront him, demand he leave her alone, but one look at his face had made it clear that he meant business. And then she had felt them. Renegades.

She risked a glance back, but no one was following her. Not even Jeremy. Had he stayed to fight the men?

Abruptly, she collided with someone running in the opposite direction, cutting off her flight. Her teeth rattled as her face met a muscled chest, and she would have fallen if a strong hand hadn’t taken a good hold of her arm. “Where’s the fire?”

The impact stunned her for a second. Then she panicked. He could be one of them. She tried to shake the hand off, but his grip only tightened. Frantic now, she charged at him – and then she was completely calm. The change was so sudden it had to be preternatural. He must have caused it. It should have frightened her, but try as she might, she couldn’t muster the emotion. She couldn’t feel anything.

Unnaturally calm, she studied the man. He was a large, solid piece of muscle, and his outfit, a black leather jerkin and trousers, made him look like an extra in an epic fantasy series, only deadlier. His face was scruffy and harsh, and an ugly scar ran at the side of his cleanly shaven head above the right ear. But his eyes made her pause. They were intense and cold, but there was something familiar about them that made her decide he wasn’t the enemy.

“Do you know Jeremy Grayson?”

Immediately alert, he released her so fast she almost fell. “Which way?” He didn’t wait for details; he simply took off to the direction she pointed at.

As he left, he released her from the spell. She would have been free to flee, but another man in a similar leather outfit materialised by her side, startling her badly. Then she recognised him from the club. A warrior like Jeremy. A vampire.

Now that she was aware of it, she could sense him too, the strange coolness about him that marked him a vampire. It wasn’t unpleasant, just different, especially after the evening spent with the leopard-shifters who all felt warm and vibrant.

He lifted his hands, calming. “Relax. I’m here to keep you safe. Jas and Jem can take care of the enemy.”

“But there’s three of …
them
against two.” She was more worried for Jeremy than she was for herself, now that she wasn’t fleeing blindly anymore. Those men had looked like mean brutes.

Her guard was a huge man, bigger than Jeremy, and the black leather uniform emphasised his size. But he was far less scary looking than the first warrior with his refined features and nicely cut reddish hair. He smiled. “Those two can take care of a mere three of …
them
.”

Their skirting around the truth felt ridiculous. “They were renegades, weren’t they?”

He startled. “You’ve got your memory back?”

A growl rose from deep within her, but she was so exhausted after her spurt that it came out as an indignant squeak. “No, I did not get it back. Does everyone know about it?”

He shrugged. “Pretty much, yes. Jem doesn’t often take such interest in a human woman.”

“Well, I don’t like it.”

“It was necessary.”

“And useless.”

“True,” he admitted easily. “But if you didn’t go wandering around the City after dark, you’d have been perfectly safe.”

“If I’d had my memory, maybe I would have remembered I wasn’t supposed to do that.”

He smiled. “Touché. I’m glad you’re not my responsibility.” He touched his ear and she noticed he was wearing a communication device. He listened to the other end, and nodded. “Acknowledged.” He took her by the arm. “Come, let’s get you home.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I know Jeremy is safe.” She had been furious with him only a short while ago, but she didn’t want him to get hurt. If anyone was to hurt him, it would be her.

“The last renegade is giving them a chase. It could take a while.”

“Is Jeremy fit to run?”

The affronted look on his face was almost comical. “Of course he is. He’s a Circle warrior.”

“But if he’s been tailing me the whole day, he’s already run here from Greenwich, and there too.”

He burst out laughing. “Poor Jem. But don’t worry. He’ll be fine.”

She allowed him to escort her to a nearby car, a huge vehicle that could accommodate a man his size. He made to start the engine, but she halted him. “We’re safe enough here. We’ll wait.” To her surprise, he acquiesced.

They sat in silence. She had a notion that he received information to his earpiece from time to time, but he wouldn’t relay her any news. “So, what’s your name? And who was the first bloke I rammed into?”

“I’m Nicholas Fortier. The first one was Jasper Grayson. He’s Jeremy’s older brother.”

She recognised the similarities now, especially the eyes. Jeremy had told her about him, how watching his brother dancing with his girlfriend had made him approach her in the club. Her chest tightened in upset. That had been a lie too. She couldn’t imagine a woman who would take such a scary man.

But she had already known it was a lie, hadn’t she? He had sought her out because he needed to make sure she didn’t remember.

“You’re going to erase my mind again, aren’t you?”

“Most likely.” He didn’t regret the necessity. “But it’s tricky to erase similar memories many times. Something might stick, after all.”

The door on his side was yanked open, cutting short his musing. “When I tell you to get her to safety, I expect you to get her to safety.” And before Corynn knew what he was about, Jeremy had pulled Nicholas out of the car and punched him.

Chapter Nine

A white haze of rage clouded Jeremy’s mind. He had only one objective, and that was to kill the bastard who had risked the life of his woman. That he was a fellow warrior and one of his best friends was irrelevant. He barely recognised the bloke.

The bastard put up a good fight. In moments, they were wrestling on the ground. Jeremy was shorter, but that didn’t make him any weaker. And even though he had just fought the enemy, he had plenty of energy left to deal with the one who had risked the life of his mate.

Kill him
.

Jeremy agreed with his Rider. Death was the only acceptable outcome for the offence the bloke had given. He was only vaguely aware of angry voices shouting for them to stop, and barely registered the pressure in Might when a vampire more powerful than him tried to force him to submit. None of this mattered. He had the bastard pinned underneath him now. His fangs shot down as he prepared to tear his throat open.

A cool hand pressed on his shoulder. Calmness spread from it through him. The rage subsided.

“Nicholas, yield.” This time he recognised Gabe’s voice.

“Like hell I will.” Jeremy realised he had Nick pinned down and the bloke was straining against his hold. He should release him, but he didn’t want to yet.

“You risked the life of my mate,” he growled. Nick stared at him, flabbergasted. Then he smiled and relaxed, yielding.

“I’m sorry.”

Jeremy blinked as the scene cleared. They were in a public place, the two of them on the ground, and most of the warriors on patrol gathered around them, blocking the pavement. “Cora?”

“I’m here.” She was standing behind him, still holding his shoulder.

He was instantly angry again. “Which one of you twats let a human woman near an enraged vampire?”

“Hey! I’m my own person. No man tells me what I can or can’t do.”

He looked at her over his shoulder. She was staring down at him, angry and indignant. “But surely you realised it would be dangerous?”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

He stared at her in awe, and then in growing horror as a realisation hit.
Fuck
. His Rider agreed.

“Oi. Could you get up? It’s kind of uncomfortable down here.” Nick pushed him, and, dazzled, he obeyed.

“Sorry about that,” he said, sheepishly.

Nick grinned. “No problem. But the next time you decide to go berserk, please aim it at renegades.”

“Yeah, well … I wasn’t exactly myself.”

“You can say that again.”

“Could someone please explain to me what just happened?” Cora demanded.

“No!” Gods forbid she learned the truth.
Hunger
. She was about to argue so he shook his head. “Let’s just get you home before someone calls the police.”

She allowed him to escort her back to the car and they took the back seat. Jas got behind the wheel, as usual, but when Nick sat in the front seat next to him, Jeremy had to work not to growl. He didn’t hate the bloke, but a power stronger than him was operating him now.

Hunger
seized many vampire males when they found their mate. The irresistible force was meant for countering vampires’ violent tendencies, to subdue the Rider, their second nature, so that the vampire race could go on. It was temporary, but necessary. When in the throes of powerful emotions, vampires had trouble controlling their second nature. And they couldn’t let the Rider roam free.

Well, warriors could. It was an indication of their strength that they were able to control it again after it had been freed, so it was surprising that
hunger
would be affecting him. Then again, it had caught Jas too. Perhaps it was in their blood.

That a mysterious force would think Cora was his mate was self-evident. He had been obsessed with her since he met her. He admired her beauty and he was impressed with her strength.
Hunger
knew she would be ideal for him, even though she was human.

She could be a vampire
. But he hushed his Rider’s tempting voice.

While he could reason everything to himself, it would be another matter to explain it to her. The short drive to her hall wasn’t enough for him to come up with anything plausible. Jas pulled over behind Jeremy’s car, left outside her hall when he followed Cora on foot. Jeremy scanned the neighbourhood before he allowed her to exit, but it was clear of renegades. Jas and Nick drove away and he followed her in.

“I can manage just fine from here.”

“We’re not staying.”

“What?”

“Look, you’re a renegade magnet. I can’t protect you here. I’m taking you to a safer place.”

“The fuck you are. I have my job and my studies here.”

“It’s only temporary. And you can still work and study. It’s in Mayfair, and that’s not so far.” It was tempting to simply
charm
her to obey, but he couldn’t do that to her. Not with
hunger
demanding he didn’t harm her. So he just placed a hand on her shoulder. “Please. You saw how angry I got when I thought Nick had risked your life. How do you think I’ll fare if I know you’re here, unprotected?”

She regarded him quietly for a long time. “Fine. But that doesn’t mean I trust you.”

“Fair enough.” He ignored the snort his Rider made. They both knew that while he was affected by
hunger
, she could absolutely trust him. He wouldn’t be able to harm her. He would harm himself first.

He watched her pack a small bag. “You should take more clothes.”

“I’m not planning to stay longer than a week, till the end of the Easter holiday.”

He had no intention of letting her move back here until the serial killer was caught, but he nodded. One battle at a time.

As far as hideouts went, Corynn could live with this one. A Mayfair luxury estate with a private car park under the building, a security guard, a lobby of marble, and a huge top floor flat decorated with taste and style. And all this with a view over Hyde Park.

“Stay out of the park after dark,” Jeremy commanded, as if reading her mind. And maybe he was. She couldn’t trust him not to do that.

“Why?”

“It’s the territory of three different wolf-shifter clans. We have an understanding with them, but that doesn’t mean we should test it.”

“Does that mean Toby can’t go running there with me either?”

He frowned. Bringing up a male friend wasn’t smart after the testosterone display earlier, but she wasn’t about to put her life on hold just because he was behaving irrationally. “Yes.”

She feigned nonchalance. “Oh, well, we can still run in Regent’s Park.”

“If you want to go running, I’ll go with you.”

She swept her gaze down the length of him. Despite her upset, the sight affected her, his wide shoulders that stretched the shirt, and long legs that looked powerful in jeans. She paused at his shoes. They were beautiful Italian leather, probably even more expensive than they looked, and utterly unsuited for running. It was impressive that he had managed to keep up with her in those. His feet must be killing him.

Looking closer, she saw that the rest of him hadn’t fared much better. His shirt was rumpled and spotted with brown and green stains as if he had been lying in the grass, and there was a tear in his jeans as a result of his wrestling match with Nick.

The fight baffled her still, the suddenness of it and the deadly fury on Jeremy’s face. The dozen warriors gathered around them hadn’t been able to break it, not Jasper and not the hugest and scariest vampire she had ever seen, who clearly was in charge.

Yet she had ended it with one touch.