Stroke of Midnight: A Midnight Breed Novella (The Midnight Breed Series) Read online

  since it was obvious I wasn’t going

  to find any on the outside.”

  His praise warmed her. “I

  haven’t been able to find much fault

  in you either. And believe me, I

  tried. I called you a killer when I

  found out you were a warrior with

  the Order. That wasn’t fair. I know

  that now. I also thought your biggest

  personal

  flaw

  might

  be

  an

  overblown opinion of your own

  charms. I think you’ve proven the

  point tonight, though. I suppose I

  have to give credit where it’s due.”

  He chuckled. “If what I just

  did with you was charming, then

  just wait until you see my wicked

  side.”

  She grinned down at him.

  “When can I look forward to that?”

  “If you’re not careful, sooner

  than you think.”

  He grabbed her ass and gave it

  a playful smack. Then he tumbled

  her onto her back and covered her

  with his hard, fully aroused body.

  The crackling embers in his eyes

  promised he was about to make

  good on his threat right then and

  there.

  CHAPTER 12

  The storm had passed some

  time ago.

  Jehan lay on his back in the

  dark tent, holding Seraphina as she

  slept naked and draped over him in

  a boneless sprawl. He’d been

  awake for a while, listening to the

  calm outside and trying to convince

  himself that he needed to get out of

  bed.

  As much as he hated to disturb

  her sleep or forfeit the pleasant feel

  of her resting sated in his arms, he

  knew he should go out and check

  their vehicle, make sure it wasn’t

  buried under a mound of sand. With

  the weather cleared, he was eager

  to get on the road.

  He guessed it to be early

  morning, probably only two or three

  hours after midnight. If they didn’t

  delay too long, it was possible they

  could make it back to the villa

  before sunrise. Otherwise, it meant

  spending the day at the camp,

  waiting until sunset when it was

  safe for him to make the drive

  again.

  And while he could think of a

  lot of interesting ways to pass the

  hours with Seraphina alone in her

  tent, he wasn’t ashamed to admit

  that he’d rather explore those

  options in the comfort of the villa.

  Which meant getting his ass

  out of her bed ASAP, so he could

  expedite that process.

  With care not to wake her, he

  eased himself out from under her

  and rolled away from the thin

  mattress on the floor.

  Dressing quietly, he then

  slipped out of the tent to begin the

  trek toward the place he’d parked

  the Rover. He was the only one

  outside so soon after the storm. He

  hoofed it through the quiet camp, his

  boots putting fresh tracks on the

  sand-drifted road that cut through

  the center of the tents and

  outbuildings.

  The Rover could have been

  worse. Sand coated the black

  vehicle and had blown into every

  crack and crevice. He dug it out and

  brushed it down as best he could

  and was just about to start it up

  when his preternatural hearing

  picked up the sound of men’s voices

  elsewhere in the dark. Somewhere

  near the main supply building.

  Jehan

  recognized

  Karsten

  Hemmings’s

  dramatic

  tenor

  instantly. The other man sounded

  like one of the helpers who’d

  assisted in unloading the delivery

  earlier tonight.

  Jehan

  listened,

  suspicion

  prickling his senses. On instinct, he

  reached

  into

  the

  Rover

  and

  retrieved the pair of daggers he’d

  stored under the driver’s seat.

  Although he had busted Seraphina’s

  pretty ass over the fact she’d

  brought her phone to the handfast,

  his breach of the terms by bringing

  his Order patrol blades was

  probably the worst of the two

  offenses.

  Right about now, he was damn

  glad he had the weapons.

  Tucking one into his boot and

  the other into the back waistband of

  his jeans, he stole around the rear of

  the tents and outbuildings, his

  senses trained on the pair of men.

  Sand sifted with their quick

  footsteps. Karsten issued orders to

  his accomplice in a low, urgent

  whisper.

  “Pick up the pace, Massoud!

  My contact has been waiting on this

  shit for days. We’ve got less than an

  hour to make the drop and collect

  our money.”

  What the hell?

  Karsten’s Jeep was parked at

  the rear of the outbuilding. The back

  hatch had been swung open, while

  Karsten and the other camp worker

  were apparently loading the vehicle

  with crates taken out of the main

  supply.

  Jehan

  crept

  through

  the

  shadows, peering at the contents of

  the Jeep while both men had gone

  back inside the building for more.

  Three crates labeled as canned

  meat sat in the back of the vehicle.

  Supplies that he and Seraphina had

  delivered earlier tonight.

  One of the crates had been

  pried apart, several of the cans

  inside opened. An odd blue glow

  emanated

  from

  inside

  the

  containers.

  At first, Jehan wasn’t sure

  what he was seeing.

  Not canned meats, that much

  was certain.

  Each container held a palm-

  sized electronic object comprised

  of a metal casing and a glass center

  chamber. Inside the glass was a

  milky blue substance that glowed

  like a vial of pure energy.

  Like a source of harnessed,

  weapons-grade ultraviolet light.

  Holy shit.

  The instant realization dawned

  on him, Karsten’s cohort came

  around the back of the building. He

  was empty-handed, but the second

  his eyes lit on Jehan, he reached for

  his gun and fired a panicked round.

  Reacting almost instantly, Jehan let

  his blade fly, dropping Massoud

  dead in the sand.

  The discharged bullet flew

  wild into the air. The cracking

  report of the gunshot echoed,

  shattering the sleepy calm of the

  camp. Screams and commotion

 
; stirred at once in some of the

  nearby tents.

  Karsten raced out of the supply

  building. “Massoud, for crissake

  —”

  He drew up short when he

  came face to face with Jehan

  holding his comrade’s gun.

  Jehan bared his fangs. “Doing

  a little dealing on the side, I see.

  What’s the going rate on UV

  grenades these days?”

  Karsten narrowed his eyes.

  “More than you could imagine,

  vampire.”

  The impulse to blow the

  human’s head off was nearly

  overwhelming. But caution warned

  him that this was also Seraphina’s

  longtime coworker. She considered

  Karsten Hemmings her friend.

  As much as Jehan wanted to

  waste the bastard for profiting off

  Breed-killing UV arms and using

  Seraphina’s goodwill to front it,

  that call wasn’t his to make. Not

  like this.

  “We both know you’re not

  going to use that gun on me,”

  Karsten taunted. “She’ll hate you

  for it. Of course, if you pull that

  trigger, you’d better be prepared to

  die with me.”

  It was then that Jehan noticed

  the human held something tight in

  his fist. The blue glow poured out

  between his fingers.

  “The detonator is already

  tripped,” he confirmed. “The UV

  blast won’t give me more than a

  sunburn. You, however...”

  Jehan ignored the threat. He

  would deal with the fallout if and

  when it occurred. Right now, he

  wanted answers. If he had any

  chance of getting information to the

  Order, he needed answers.

  “Who’s

  waiting

  for

  this

  shipment, Karsten? Who’s paying

  you for this shit?”

  “Oh, come now. I think you

  know. Every warrior in the Order

  should know the answer to that

  question.” He chuckled. “Yes, I

  know you’re one of them. I did

  some checking tonight. Made a few

  calls. You’re part of the Rome

  unit.”

  Jehan glowered. “And you’re

  part of Opus Nostrum.”

  Karsten pursed his lips and

  gave a faint shake of his head.

  “Merely a businessman. And a like-

  minded individual. I despise your

  entire

  race

  of

  blood-sucking

  monsters. If Opus wants your kind

  eradicated and a war to make it

  happen, I’m only too happy to help

  send you all to your graves. Or into

  the light, as the case may be.”

  “Karsten?” Seraphina emerged

  out of the darkness, disheveled and

  confused. “Oh, my God. Jehan,

  what on earth is going—”

  “Seraphina, stay back!”

  Jehan’s warning came too late.

  She had already strayed right into

  the middle of the standoff.

  And Karsten seized his chance

  to let his weapon loose.

  The

  UV

  grenade

  went

  airborne.

  Jehan had precious little time

  to react. He dived under the Jeep as

  the light exploded all around him.

  The power of it was immense. Even

  from beneath the undercarriage of

  the vehicle, he could feel the

  searing

  energy

  of

  the

  solar

  detonation.

  It

  extinguished

  a

  moment later, plunging the desert

  back into darkness.

  He was shielded.

  He was alive.

  But the act of self-preservation

  had just cost him dearly.

  He heard Seraphina cry out,

  and he knew Karsten Hemmings had

  her.

  The realization tore his heart

  from his chest. He couldn’t let her

  be harmed. He couldn’t lose her.

  He never wanted to lose her.

  On a roar, Jehan rolled out to

  his feet to face the bastard. Karsten

  had a pistol on her, held against the

  back of her head. And Jehan had

  dropped his gun somewhere in the

  sand.

  “Let her go.”

  Karsten sneered. “Let her go

  so you can have her? She deserves

  better than you, vampire. Better than

  anything you can ever give her.”

  Jehan wasn’t going to argue

  when he was thinking the same thing

  now, miserable as he drank in the

  sight of her terrified face and her

  tender brown eyes pleading for him

  to help her.

  “Let her go, Karsten. If you do,

  maybe I’ll let you live. But only if

  Seraphina wants me to.”

  The human chuckled. “No, I

  don’t think so. We’re going to leave

  now. I’m going to make my drop

  and collect my money. Then Sera

  and I are going to get out of this

  godforsaken hellhole and enjoy our

  spoils.” He nestled his open mouth

  against her cheek, the nose of the

  gun still pressed against her skull.

  “You’ll see, my love. I can give you

  everything you need.”

  She winced and closed her

  eyes, a miserable sound curling up

  from her throat.

  Jehan couldn’t bear another

  second of her torment. He had to

  act. He had one chance to end this,

  but he couldn’t do it without her

  total faith in him.

  “Seraphina.” He spoke her

  name softly, reverently. Hoping she

  could hear how much she meant to

  him. “Look at me, sweetheart.”

  Her eyes opened and found his

  gaze through the dark.

  He couldn’t say the words out

  loud without betraying his plan, but

  he needed her to understand. He

  needed her to trust him.

  Do you trust me, Seraphina?

  He said it with his eyes. With

  his heart.

  Trust me, baby. Please...

  She gave him a nearly

  imperceptible nod.

  It was enough. It was all the

  permission he needed.

  Moving with every ounce of

  Breed

  agility

  and

  speed

  he

  possessed, Jehan reached around to

  his back and pulled out the dagger

  he’d stashed there. He let it fly from

  his fingertips.

  An

  instant

  later,

  Karsten

  Hemmings dropped to the ground,

  Jehan’s blade protruding from the

  space between his wide-open eyes.

  Jehan ran to Seraphina and

  pulled her into his arms.

  In that moment, nothing else

  mattered.

  Not Karsten Hemmings. Not

  the Jeep full of UV grenades, or />
  Opus Nostrum.

  Not even the Order mattered

  as he drew Seraphina close and

  kissed her with all the relief and

  emotion—all the love—he felt for

  her.

  He stroked her beautiful face

  and stared down into the soft brown

  eyes that now owned his heart and

  his soul. “Come on,” he said,

  drawing her under the protection of

  his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Sera was still numb with

  shock and disbelief several hours

  later, after Jehan had driven them

  back to the villa.

  Karsten’s betrayal cut deep.

  That he had used her to free up the

  supplies containing his hidden

  cargo was bad enough. But the idea

  that greed and hatred had poisoned

  his humanity so much that he was

  willing to kill—willing to traffic in

  weaponry

  designed

  for

  the

  wholesale slaughter of the Breed—

  was

  unthinkable.

  It

  was

  unforgivable.

  Countless innocent lives were

  saved today, now that the UV

  grenades had been diverted from

  their buyer and stowed safely inside

  the villa.

  As for Karsten and Massoud,

  when the other camp workers and

  residents came upon the scene and

  heard what the two men had been

  up to, there had been no shortage of

  volunteers offering to dispose of

  their bodies in the desert so that

  Sera and Jehan could get on the

  road as quickly as possible to beat

  the sunrise.

  Sera had considered Karsten a

  friend for years, but there wasn’t

  any part of her that mourned his

  death today even for a second. If not

  for Jehan’s quick thinking and speed

  with his blade, she had no doubt

  that Karsten would have killed her.

  He had almost killed Jehan

  too.

  The terror she’d felt at that

  possibility had nearly gutted her as

  she’d stood helplessly in Karsten’s

  grasp. Even now, the reality of how

  close she’d come to losing Jehan

  left her physically and emotionally

  shaken.

  But he was alive.

  Because of his warrior skills,

  they both were alive.

  “Are you all right, Sera?” His

  deep, caring voice wrapped around

  her as they stood inside the villa

  together. “Is there anything I can do

  for you?”

  She shook her head but

  couldn’t keep from moving into the

  shelter of his arms. This was all she

  needed. His warmth enveloping her.

  His strong heartbeat pounding

  steadily against her ear as she

  rested her head on his muscled

  chest. She just needed...him.