A Taste of Midnight (Midnight Breed 9.5)

Oh, God ... Mal.

She'd thought things couldn't have gotten worse when Reiver spotted her and Connor arriving at the airport earlier tonight for the flight Gideon had arranged for them back to Denmark. Reiver and his thugs had been there to pick up a live cargo shipment at a private hangar-that same cargo she'd overheard him talking about at the Darkhaven party, a night that seemed a year ago now. They'd grabbed her and Connor and tossed them into the vehicle with the rest of the people intended for Reiver's sick hunting party.

Danika had dreaded what Reiver had in mind, not only for her and her child but for Malcolm as well. Most of all, for him. Reiver had been unable to hide his fury at having been deceived by Mal about the fact that she was still breathing. Still able to create trouble for him and his sinister business dealings.

And so she had created trouble for Reiver-at least, she hoped so, now more than ever.

Her call to the Order had been about more than just arranging passage out of Scotland for Connor and her. She couldn't bear the thought of Malcolm's life in danger, even if it meant interfering in his quest for personal vengeance. She'd brought the Order into the situation. Although the compound in Boston had been thrown into chaos since she'd last talked with Gideon, his immediate inquiries to an Enforcement Agency ally of the Order's revealed that an elite squad of Agents in London were already aware of Reiver and working to bring him down. They even had one of their own embedded in his organization, working as one of his bodyguards.

Danika glanced at the dangerous-looking Breed male with the black hair swept back in a disheveled queue at his nape. The guard called Thane, who'd defied Reiver to help her and Malcolm both. Several of Reiver's cronies lay dead thanks to Thane, the rest having fled, some back into the mansion, others across the snowy expanse of the back lawn.

And now the undercover Enforcement Agent stood as cautious and still as Malcolm, both of them understanding how precious Danika's baby was to her; neither willing to give Reiver the excuse to bring little Connor harm.

"Drop your weapons, both of you." Reiver's voice was otherworldly, a gravelly snarl of menace. "Drop them, or I'll tear this child's arm from its socket and feed it to his mother while you watch."

"Oh, my God," Danika moaned, unable to keep the horror from erupting from her lips. "Please, don't hurt my baby. Please ..."

Even though it was the only solution she could see, she didn't know what was more terrifying: Reiver's heinous threat, or the fact that it made both Malcolm and Thane slowly disarm and set their guns down on the ground.

"Now back up. Keep moving until I tell you to stop."

They obeyed, both Breed males' eyes simmering with amber fire. "Let them go," Malcolm growled. "Goddamn it, you sick fuck ... let them go."

Reiver chuckled. "As you wish."

The fist in Danika's hair loosened and suddenly she was pitching forward, a violent shove with a force so punishing she felt as if she were flying. Malcolm moved in a flash of motion, catching her before she fell.

But Reiver wasn't finished yet.

Danika sensed her child in danger even before Reiver sent Connor airborne. She swung her head around and there he was-her baby, her heart itself-flung aloft like a rag doll as Reiver pivoted, then vanished into the night to mak c nias othere his escape.

Danika screamed as she stared up at her helpless child, her chest exploding in abject terror.

* * *

Malcolm jolted into action.

With a running vault, he leapt to catch Connor in midair, bringing him down safely in the cradle of his arms. Danika was on her knees, holding her face in her hands and shaking as Thane stood nearby, making a feeble attempt to console her.

"Dani," Mal murmured. "Danika, it's all right. Connor is safe."

She lifted her tearstained face and sucked in a hitching sob as she took the crying baby out of his hands. "Oh, Mal." She wrapped one arm around his neck, pulling him into her embrace along with her precious child. "Malcolm, thank you. Thank you for saving my son. You saved us."

He kissed her brow and hugged her close, never loving her more than in those terrifying moments when he thought he might lose her to Reiver's fury. "It's all right," he assured her. "You're both safe now. But you have to get out of here."

He helped her to her feet. However, inside he knew he couldn't go with her. Not yet. Not after what Reiver had done here tonight.

Thane, the guard who was no guard at all, gave Mal a grim look. "Reiver won't get far. Neither will his cronies. The Agency is aware of what was going down here tonight. My squad will be here any minute, if they're not waiting outside right now to round everyone up."

Malcolm gave a slow shake of his head. He couldn't trust anyone else to finish this. Not after everything he'd been through. He couldn't rest for a moment thinking Reiver or his murderous colleagues were still walking free, able to hurt more innocent people.

Able to hurt Danika or Connor, the two people who mattered more to him than anything else in his life.

He looked at Dani, his heart squeezing with a love so profound it rocked him. As determined as he was to see Reiver dead, there was only one thing that could keep him from pursuing that goal now. Danika could stop him. With a word, a tear, a pleading look.

But she held his gaze with a steady courage. A faith that humbled him, even as it gave him new resolve.

His strong, beautiful female.