Hour of Darkness Read online

  “You sure about that?”

  Razor backed up Logan’s statement. “Just Fuentes and his entire yacht crew. It’s all over the TV and internet. We’re talking major international incident.”

  “No way. He’s dead. I made sure of it.” Cain glanced at Marina, who nodded in confirmation. “It’s not like he was going to get up and walk out of there. That is, unless someone else removed his body from the scene.”

  Knox grunted. “Can you think of any reason JUSTIS would want to keep a dead Hunter off the record?”

  “Only one,” Cain said, and Knox’s shrewd gaze said he was on the same page. “He was working for them.”

  “Working for JUSTIS?” Marina recoiled as if she’d been physically struck. “Then what about Yury? He’d been part of my uncle’s security detail for some ten years.”

  The pieces were starting to fit together. Cain’s instincts prickled with an answer he hoped was incorrect, at least for Marina’s sake. Because if he was right, her entire world was about to blow up in her face.

  “We need to know what’s in that file.”

  She swallowed, staring up at him. “You’re right. I need the truth. We all need to know the truth.”

  “Yes,” Cain agreed. “But as you said, the file is locked and encrypted. We can’t hack it without destroying the contents. Without knowing Fuentes’s key, our hands are tied.”

  “I know.” Some of the strength returned to her voice now. “I know we needed his key to open it. That’s why I took it from him.”

  “What?”

  “Before he died, I used my ability on him. I bent his will, made him tell me the code my uncle gave him.”

  Holy hell. Cain exhaled a short sigh, marveling at the resourcefulness—the smart and steady courage—of this woman.

  His woman.

  He kissed her in front of everyone in the room, holding her beautiful face in his bloodstained hands. “You’re fucking amazing. Do you know that?”

  The ghost of a smile played across her pale lips.

  “You’ve got the disk and both keys?” Raze asked. At her nod, he grinned. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s crack the son of a bitch open and see what’s inside.”

  Everyone moved to Razor’s quarters. He had every computer and electronic device imaginable, and it took him all of a minute to be ready for Marina’s instructions with the data drive.

  “The program will prompt you for the keys once you plug in the device,” she told him. “The encryption is going to look for a tandem key. Use the camera to scan this tattoo. At the same time, you’ll need to enter this numeric code.”

  She recited a ten-digit number and Raze scribbled it down. “Got it. Let’s go.”

  Cain stood back, watching in anticipation as the program accepted the pair of keys and a folder of data files opened on one of the large monitors mounted on the wall.

  “The file names are coded,” Razor said. “We’ll have to open them up individually to see what they contain.”

  He clicked a random file and the screen filled with a dossier of a JUSTIS agent working undercover in a terror cell in Morocco. Photos. Name. Cover story. Field reports.

  No one said a word as Raze moved on to the next file.

  Another JUSTIS agent, this one embedded in a Romanian trafficking ring.

  A third detailed a JUSTIS agent with a dozen different identities, all of them spelled out in the dossier.

  Raze opened another, and then another. More than a few files identified agents working inside Cuba, some embedded in Ernesto Fuentes’s inner circle.

  There were easily hundreds of confidential dossiers contained on the disk. They all contained the same kind of personal information and assignment data as the rest. The kind of information that could get a JUSTIS operative killed.

  The kind of information, if it fell into the wrong hands, that would be worth even more than Boris Karamenko’s bank accounts and passwords.

  “Holy shit,” Bram hissed. “Every one of these files is someone’s life.”

  Razor opened one more and as a photo came up of a menacing Breed male with a block head and raptor’s nose, Cain’s blood went cold. “Fuck, that’s him. The Hunter I killed tonight. He’d been working with JUSTIS for eleven years.”

  Standing just behind him, Marina made a strangled noise. Cain glanced back and found her staring at the monitor as if her heart were being torn out of her chest.

  “These are good people, Cain. Hundreds of them . . . just like that man said tonight.” She held his gaze bleakly. “This has nothing to do with neutralizing Boris Karamenko. If Uncle Anatoly is trying to buy his freedom, he’s doing it on these people’s lives. Why would he do that? How could he do it?”

  Cain pressed his lips together, unsure what to say to make her feel better. Everything she said was true. He knew how badly she must be hurting to see it all unravel before her now.

  Raze kept opening files, until the faces and documents began to blur in front of Cain’s eyes. He was livid for Moretskov’s deception. Not only because it jeopardized people who had committed their lives to good and dangerous work, but because of the pain that deception was inflicting on Marina.

  “Enough,” Cain murmured, placing his hand on Raze’s shoulder. “We’ve seen enough.”

  He turned to look at Marina, but she was gone.

  CHAPTER 19

  Marina stood in the shower of her guest room, her head bowed under the spray, hands braced against the tiles in front of her as the hot water poured over her naked body. She felt wrung out, standing in a shell-shocked daze as a river of blood and grime swirled into the drain at her feet.

  The ordeal on Fuentes’s yacht had left her shaken, but it was the opening of the data files that had rocked her to her core. All those names and faces. All those men and women risking their lives in dangerous, covert operations for law enforcement. And her uncle had intended to sell them out to the highest bidder.

  She wanted to deny it. She wanted to rationalize some excuse for how confidential JUSTIS data could have ended up on the disk instead of what he’d claimed it held. She wanted to believe it was some kind of mistake.

  But it was true.

  Uncle Anatoly had lied to her. He had made her complicit in a heartless, heinous crime. He had been using her, just as Cain suggested. She had been nothing but a pawn and a patsy, and her fool’s errand might have gotten her killed any number of ways.

  If that file of JUSTIS agent dossiers had actually fallen into the hands of someone like Ernesto Fuentes, she would also be a murderer.

  A fresh wave of guilt and outrage swamped her. She wasn’t sure if she was holding back the tears that burned her eyes, or if the torrent of steaming water simply washed them away. She moved farther under and turned the lever to the highest, hottest setting.

  It wouldn’t be enough. She didn’t think she would ever feel totally clean again.

  Warm hands reached around her, drawing her gently out from the downpour.

  “Hey.” Cain turned her around in his embrace, smoothing her wet, plastered hair out of her face.

  He was still dressed. Water soaked his torn and bloodied T-shirt and dark jeans he’d had on when they met with Fuentes. He gathered her to him and held her for a long while, saying nothing.

  When Marina finally found her voice, it came out choked and rusty. “He was right, Cain. That Hunter, all of the things he said tonight. He was right. My life isn’t worth any of those others.”

  Cain’s lips pressed against the top of her head. “Not true. Your life is worth everything.”

  She drew back, lifting her gaze to his. “He was only trying to do what was right, and we killed him.”

  “No, love. I killed him. Not you.” Cain’s eyes were tender on her. “And right or wrong, no matter what reason, I would do it all over again if it meant keeping you alive.”

  As miserable as she felt toward herself, she couldn’t help nestling into his touch when he reached out to stroke the side of her fac
e. “I just keep thinking about Yury and the fact that he must have been working with JUSTIS too. No wonder he looked at me with such contempt that night in Miami. He actually believed I was willing to jeopardize the lives of all those people in order to help my uncle? Never. I never would’ve done that. I would have found a way to stop him.”

  Nodding, Cain rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “Your uncle knew that too. That’s exactly why he didn’t tell you the truth about the intel you were carrying.”

  “I just feel so foolish. I’m angry at myself for trusting him.”

  “Don’t be angry at yourself for that. He deserves all the blame.”

  “I’ve been trying to come up with explanations that don’t make him a monster, but I can’t think of a single one. Nothing he can say will excuse this, but there’s a part of me that needs to understand. I want him to tell me why. I want to force him to look me in the eye and explain how he could use me like this.”

  Cain’s expression turned grim. “No, sweetheart. You’re not going to do any such thing. His reasons don’t matter. Not now. All that matters is we stopped him. And you’re here, safe in my arms.”

  His kiss was gentle and chaste against her lips, and regardless of the tumult of distress that had been churning inside her the past few hours, her body responded to the feel of his mouth on hers. Would there ever be an instance when she didn’t desire him? When she didn’t yearn for his touch, or the heat of his smoldering gaze?

  She stepped in close again, starved for his comfort as much as she craved the feel of him against her. He traced the lines of the roses inked onto her arm.

  “We need to turn the intel over to JUSTIS, Marina.” He seemed to be choosing his words carefully, sensitive to what they might cost her. “We need to turn him over to them as well. Let law enforcement do what must be done.”

  Even knowing he was right, this hurt. In spite of her outrage, she wanted to believe there was some good in her uncle. Otherwise, her entire life had been a lie. And then what did that leave her with?

  “He’s all I’ve ever had, Cain. My only family.” She swallowed the raw ache in the back of her throat. “I only had my mom for three short years. Years I hardly remember. Uncle Anatoly was the only person who ever cared about me.”

  “You have someone else now too.”

  He cupped her face, his strong hands impossibly tender. He brushed his lips over hers, teasing the seam of her mouth with his tongue. She let him in, sighing as some of the distress and anguish fell away, melted off her by the heat of his kiss.

  She moved her hands over his shoulders, needing to feel his skin against hers. “You’re overdressed for the shower.”

  His smile was dark and wicked with agreement. Together they peeled away his ragged T-shirt and drenched jeans, careful of the torso wound that had ceased bleeding yet still looked serious and painful. Marina dropped his clothes in a wet heap on the built-in bench inside the spacious glass enclosure, then reached for the soap.

  “Does this hurt?” she asked, sliding her lathered hands over his bruised chest.

  He gave a faint shake of his head, his eyes simmering as he watched her move on to his biceps and down the length of his arms. His dermaglyphs began to fill with deep colors, changing from a shade darker than his golden skin tone to variegated shades of indigo, wine, and gold.

  “I love watching your glyphs come alive like this,” she said, following their pattern with her fingertips and marveling at how the elaborate arcs and flourishes responded to her lightest touch. She moved more gingerly over his abdomen, wincing at the memory of how the Hunter had slashed him open. “I was so scared tonight, Cain. I hate that you’re suffering because of me.”

  “Suffering?” His fingers speared into her hair and wrapped warmly around her nape. “The only suffering I’m feeling is the need to be inside you.”

  His erection had been hard against her from the moment he held her against him. Now that he was naked, it jutted long and thick between their soapy bodies, a column of heat and power that called to the wildness in her that belonged solely to this man. This magnificent Breed male who held her heart in his hands.

  She reached down and stroked his length, a spiral of hot need coiling through her as his cock kicked in her grasp, surging even larger. He dropped his head back on a groan while she caressed and squeezed him, her fingers dancing over his balls before sliding up the underside of his steely shaft to the broad, velvet-soft crown.

  Pooling heat gathered in her core, stirring a hunger she couldn’t resist. She sank into a crouch before him, still stroking him as she admired the masculine power and beauty of his body. His hand tangled in her hair, then tightened into a fist when she ran her tongue from base to tip. When she closed her mouth over the head of his cock, he hissed a tight curse.

  “Ah, fuck. Your mouth is like a furnace.” He moaned, hips bucking against her as she savored him. “So fucking good, baby.”

  She could have sucked and licked him all night, but it didn’t take long before he urged her up to her feet. He took her mouth in a savage kiss, his tongue plumbing deep, fangs rasping against her lips.

  His touch roamed her body, one hand ultimately sliding between her legs. She gasped as he delved inside her, his thumb teasing her clit while his fingers stroked her.

  “I’ve never felt anything so soft. I have to be in you now, Marina.”

  Already on the verge of climax, all she could do was whimper as his touch slipped away. He turned her around in front of him, guiding her hands to the tiled wall. His muscled body seared her everywhere it pressed against her as his cock slid inside her, one slow, delicious inch at a time. She shuddered with the pleasure of it, moaning in bliss as he stretched her, filled her, consumed her.

  His low growl vibrated into her veins, into her marrow. “I didn’t come in here looking to get off, but holy hell, Marina.” He rocked against her, long and unrushed, each thrust sending her higher and higher toward release. “I need to feel you come. I need to know you need this as much as I do.”

  “Yes,” she gasped, her orgasm roaring up on her. “Oh, God, Cain . . . yes.”

  As soon as she cried out, he pulled her hips back and powered into her with new urgency. When he came, it was on a roar and a thrust that drove him so deep she didn’t know where he ended and she began.

  Even then, he didn’t stop moving. Not for a long while, until the water had run cold, her arms aching, thighs quivering against his.

  He turned off the shower and carefully helped her straighten. He kissed her sweetly, hungrily, his pupils narrowed slits in the fiery blaze of his transformed eyes.

  “That was amazing.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re amazing.”

  “So are y—” She touched his torso and her hand came away bloody. “Oh, shit. Cain, your wound is torn open.”

  He grunted, sounding totally unconcerned. “I’ll heal. It’ll just take a little time.”

  She knew the severe laceration would have been enough to send a mortal man to the hospital, if not the morgue. Cain’s Breed genetics gave him an accelerated healing ability, but even still, he had to be in pain. He needed something more than just a little time.

  “You need blood.”

  A brief frown furrowed his brow. “Not for a few days. I’m fine.”

  Her heart ached for the injury he’d taken while protecting her. She wanted to help, but she also wanted to give him comfort. She wanted to give him all he could ever need.

  “You can take mine.”

  He moved back as if she’d just grown horns. “No. Jesus Christ. No, Marina. You don’t know what you’re offering.”

  “Yes, I do.” She couldn’t believe she was saying it. Not because she had any doubts, but because she didn’t think she could ever want anything more than this. A blood bond. With him. “You need blood, Cain. If you want mine—”

  “No.” He stepped out of the shower, almost faster than she could track him. Even that didn’t seem far enough for him. He grabbed
a towel and slung it around his hips. When he glanced at her now, his eyes were still blazing, but also lit with something that looked a lot like fear. “One taste is forever. There’s no taking it back.”

  She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t stung. Worse than stung, bereft. “Oh, that’s right. And that’s the last thing you want, a shackle you can never break.”

  He cursed under his breath. “That’s not what I meant, not with you.”

  “No?” She sounded bitter, but she couldn’t help it. She had lost so much tonight, but none of it hurt like the thought of losing him. If she’d ever truly had him. “I suppose I should have gotten a clue when you bolted out of my bed earlier tonight, after I mentioned the word forever.”

  “What?” His scowl deepened. “That’s not why I left. You have it all wrong, Marina.”

  She pulled on her robe and followed him into the living area of the guest room. His long strides carried him toward the closed door. “If I’m wrong, then why are you leaving right now? Why does the idea that I care for you—that I—” She bit back the confession that leaped to her tongue, the terrible truth that she had fallen in love with him. “Why does the fact that I want to be with you make you so eager to walk away?”

  He stopped cold. It took him a moment before he pivoted to look at her. “I’m hurting you. I never wanted that, Marina. Coming here like this, right now, was a mistake. And I’m . . . sorry.”

  “A mistake.” Some of the air squeezed out of the room. “What are you talking about?”

  He let out a breath, his face rife with torment. “I saw another vision today, while I was inside you. I saw you in murky water. You had stopped breathing, Marina. You had drowned. And I was there too. I tried to save you, but . . .”

  “That’s why you acted so strangely.” She swallowed. “What exactly did you see? Where were we? How did it happen? When?”

  “I don’t know any of those answers. All I saw was a glimpse. Only a couple of seconds, no more. Not enough to make any sense of it. Not enough to do anything to change what I saw . . . except try to stay away from you.” He scoffed. “Obviously, I’m doing a damn fine job of that so far.”