Holy hell.
She was in danger.
She was in fear for her very life.
CHAPTER 12
Melena tried to run.
She wasn’t even halfway into the hall before Derek yanked her off her feet. His hand wound tight in her hair. Pain raked her scalp as he hauled her face backward to meet his furious sneer.
“You’re supposed to be dead, sister dear,” he hissed against her cheek. “You and Father both in one fell swoop. I’ve been planning it since he confided in me about his meeting with Turati.”
“You killed him, you bastard!” Melena could hardly contain her contempt or her fear. “You killed more than a dozen innocent people that night, Derek. My God, did you hate us that much or are you simply out of your mind?”
“Arranging for that rocket strike was the sanest thing I’ve ever done. Killing Father and Turati? Doing it while they were secreted away for a covert meeting to broker their precious f**king peace? Let’s just say it won me all the respect I deserve with the people who really matter.”
Melena’s heart sank even further. “Opus Nostrum.”
He chuckled. “I was a mere lieutenant for this past year. They barely knew my name. Now I’ve got a direct line to the inner circle. I’ll be a part of that circle soon. This was my proof of allegiance, my demonstration of worth.” Derek’s eyes flashed with vicious intent as she fought against his ruthless, unyielding hold. “As for you, Melena, I couldn’t very well let you see me after I joined the organization. Your irritating gift would’ve sniffed me out right away.”
“You plotted to kill me all this time?” she asked, hating that his duplicity hurt her so deeply.
Derek shrugged, his crackling amber eyes roaming over her terrified, miserable face with a cold disregard. “At first, I thought I could just avoid you. But then Father confided in me that he’d been having premonitions of a betrayal, and I knew it was only a matter of time before one or both of you discovered my alliance with Opus Nostrum. When he later told me about the meeting and the fact that you’d be accompanying him, I knew it was my chance to act.”
Bile rose in her throat as he spoke. “You’re a cold-blooded murderer, Derek. You’re a sick, backstabbing f**k!”
“Careful, little sister. I’m the only thing standing between you and your grave.” He snagged a cord from the table lamp on the desk, sending the thing crashing to the floor. Then he quickly bound her wrists behind her back. “Don’t rush me to put you in it.”
With that, he wrenched her into a more punishing hold and shoved her forward. He guided her out of their father’s study and down the opposite end of the hallway. Melena had no choice but to shuffle ahead of him, panicking when she realized he was taking her outside.
He walked her toward their father’s GNC-issued silver SUV parked in the drive.
“What are you doing, Derek?”
He opened the back door. Shoved her into the farthest seat.
“Where are you taking me?” she demanded, hysteria bubbling up as he calmly climbed behind the wheel. “If you’re going to kill me, then just do it, damn you!”
“I’m not going to kill you, Melena.” His cold eyes met her gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m going to take you to my comrades in the organization. They’re not nice people, I’m afraid. You’re going to wish you died in that f**king explosion.”
He started the engine. Then he backed away from the Darkhaven and started speeding for the highway.
* * * *
Lazaro gunned the black sedan through the late-night traffic on the highway, speeding like a bat out of hell for Baltimore. He didn’t know what had Melena so terrified, but her fear was visceral. And it was eating him alive from the inside.
“Hang on, baby,” he muttered as he dodged one lagging car and nearly sideswiped another. “Ah, God, Melena...know that I’m coming for you.”
He was just about to veer toward the exit he needed when all of his instincts lit up like fireworks.
She was somewhere close—right now.
Possibly on the same stretch of highway, by the way his veins were clanging with alarm bells.
He scanned both sides of the divided lanes, a chaos of headlights and commuting vehicles. She might as well be a needle in a goddamned haystack.
And then—holy shit.