Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood 8)

How in the hell did that guy take off? There hadn't been a car, so the only other option was walking out the lane. And then hitching a ride. Or hot- wiring one of these farmers' trucks.

Lash went downstairs and found that the whore had come around and was fighting against the gag in her mouth, her eyes bugging as she writhed on the table.

"Won't be long," he told her, glancing down at her spindly legs. She had tattoos on both, but they were a hot mess with no theme at all, just random blotches--some of which you could maybe identify, others of which were ruined either by bad reinking or scars.

Lot of butterflies done in neon, he supposed. Maybe that had been the plan at first.

He paced around, going out to the kitchen and then coming back through the dining room and heading down the hall again. The sharp sound of stilettos knocking against the table and the squeak of bare skin faded into the distance as he wond

ered where the hell the new recruit was and why his father was late.

Half an hour later he still had a whole lot of nothing doing and he sent a mental ping to the other side.

His father did not answer.

Lash went upstairs and shut the door, thinking that maybe he wasn't concentrating properly because he was pissed off and frustrated. Sitting on the bed, he put his hands on his knees and calmed himself. When his heartbeat was slow and steady, he took a deep breath, pinged again. . . and got nothing.

Maybe something had happened to the Omega?

In a rush of emotion, he decided to go over to Dhunhd himself.

His molecules scrambled well enough, but when he tried to re- form on the other plane of existence, he was blocked. Shut out. Denied.

It was like hitting a solid wall, and as he bounced back to the crappy bedroom in the farmhouse, his body absorbed the shock on a wave of nausea.

What. The. Fuck--

As his cell phone went off, he snatched it out of his suit coat pocket and frowned when he saw the number.

"Hello?" he said.

The giggle that came through was boyish. "Hi ya, asswipe. It's your new boss. Guess who just got promoted? By the way, your daddy says not to bother him anymore. Bad move asking about the ladies--you should know your father better than that. Oh, and I'm supposed to kill you now. See you soon!"

The new recruit started laughing, that sound punching through the connection, drilling into Lash's head as the call was ended.

By the other party.

She was not pregnant. At least, not that Doc Jane knew.

But courtesy of that happy little pause in panic-ville, Xhex didn't remember anything of the trip to the compound. The idea that there was even a chance she could have been. . .

After all, she hadn't been wearing her cilices--and their purpose was to kill the symphath tendencies in her, including ovulation.

What would she have done?

Okay, moot point there, and she needed to cut that shit right out. God knew she had enough to worry about in the "actually happening" category.

Breathing deep, she inhaled John's scent and concentrated on the strong, steady beat of his heart under her ear. It wasn't long before sleep took her hard, the combination of exhaustion, postfeeding loginess, and the need to peace out of life for a while carrying her into a deep, dreamless state in the back of the SUV.

She woke up to the sensation of being lifted and her eyes opened.

John was carrying her through some kind of parking area that, given the cavelike walls and ceiling, had to be underground. A massive steel door was opened by Vishous, who seemed to be in a surprising mood to help, and on the far side. . . was a nightmare.

The long, anonymous hall had pale tile on the floor, concrete-block walls, and a low ceiling that had fluorescent box lights in it.

The past slid into place, the filter of prior experience replacing what was actually occurring with a remembered nightmare. In John's arms, her body went from weak to manic and she started to fight the hold on her, battling to get free. The commotion was instantaneous, people rushing toward her, a loud sound like a siren blaring--

As it dimly occurred to her that her jaw hurt, she realized she was yelling.