The Enemy's Kiss

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She eased back another few steps, but was halted when the gunman raised his weapon.

“Stop right there,” he barked. “Who sent you here?” When she didn’t respond he cocked the gun. “I asked you a question.”

Before Daniela could provide a response, an arrow zipped through the air and penetrated the gunman’s right shoulder. He cried out in agony and the gun toppled to the floor. All eyes turned toward the top of the stairway just in time to see Nicholas leap over the banister. He landed effortlessly on his feet then brought the hind end of his crossbow square in the face of the man nearest him. With a cry the man stumbled backward and into a stack of crates.

It took the others only a few seconds to assess this new threat and one of the men snatched up the gun, aiming for Nicholas’s chest. Daniela intercepted his attack with a kick to the midsection that knocked the wind out of him. The gun went off and a sharp pain shot through her left thigh.

The fight that transpired after that could only be described as chaos. The three men who remained on their feet charged at them, wielding anything they could get their hands on. Daniela quickly put her martial arts training into use while Nicholas fired off two more arrows, disabling another opponent. He discarded his weapon then and went at it fist to fist with his next attacker.

Despite their present predicament, Daniela couldn’t help but admire the speed and agility with which Nicholas fought. He moved as a man who’d been well trained in the art of combat. His opponent was easily defeated and Nicholas snatched up his crossbow again, turning to watch as she finished her attacker with a blinding blow to the head.

Their eyes met as she remained kneeled over the motionless figure, forcing her breathing to assume a steady rhythm. He stared at her for a few seconds longer, his gaze hard and indiscernible. It was all Daniela could do not to flinch. She didn’t fear him and wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking she did.

He didn’t bark orders at her as she’d expected. Instead, he turned and marched toward Cradle who was holding his wounded arm.

With his boot, Nicholas rolled Cradle over onto his back. “The Rune of Moloch, where is it?”

Cradle spat, sending a tooth bouncing to the floor. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said as he tried to sit up.

Nicholas reached down and slipped an arrow from the quiver strapped to his leg. “It was given to you. Now where is it? This is your final opportunity to respond.” He positioned the arrow into the bow.

Daniela looked at her left thigh. She’d been shot. A small hole had been ripped into her leather pants and blood seeped through. She looked around quickly and spotted a large canvas drape that was piled on the floor. She crawled toward it and used Nicholas’s knife to cut a length of it which she then fastened tightly around her thigh, grimacing as the pain intensified.

She pushed herself to her feet and briefly considered another escape, but decided against it. Nicholas was clearly very skilled with the weapon he held. And with her injured leg she wasn’t likely to get very far. As for how a man of the twenty-first century had acquired such precision with an antique weapon, she couldn’t imagine. Nevertheless, his disposition was hardly one to be tested.

Cradle had managed to drag himself a few inches toward a stack of crates. His brow was furrowed in suspicion and his eyes darted to her and back. Daniela quickly averted her gaze, silently cursing Nicholas’s tactless interrogation. Few people knew that Cradle had collected the rune and she only hoped that the number was large enough to exempt her from suspicion.

Nicholas aimed his weapon and his finger eased on the trigger. A flash of lightning from outside illuminated the room and the lazy rumble of thunder quickly ensued. A storm approached.

Cradle eyed the man above him warily and a lump forced its way down his throat. “Hey, I only collected the item. I don’t know where it is now.”

“Who did you give it to?”

“I took it to a campsite about ten miles on the outskirts of Bucharest. I’d never been there before and never seen the two women I gave it to,” he admitted.

“Two women?” Nicholas questioned.

“Yeah,” Cradle continued as he repositioned himself, supporting his obviously deformed wrist with his uninjured hand. “Two broads. Twins by the look of them—real stiff-lipped Addams Family rejects.”

“And what were you given in exchange for the rune?”

“Money. That’s all these jobs are to me—a paycheck. I don’t ask questions. I just do what I’m told.”

Nicholas remained poised over the man for a few seconds then grunted in response as he stepped back. “Get up,” he ordered.

Cradle crawled to his feet. Without a word Nicholas jerked his head toward a large crate that sat open on the floor. Cradle understood and although a look of reluctance crossed his face, he complied without question. With much difficulty he climbed into the crate and fell back into the packing grass.

Nicholas set his crossbow aside and swung the heavy wooden lid up. “Your associates should be awake by sunrise. I am sure they will discover you here,” he told Cradle before setting the lid into place.

He marched toward another crate and picked it up, putting it firmly onto the lid of the first, securing Cradle inside. Daniela exhaled softly. At least no one had been killed. She wasn’t quite sure of what to expect from Nicholas Drakon. Her relief was shortlived when he snatched up his crossbow and turned his attention to her.

Propping the weapon up onto his shoulder, he sauntered toward her, pausing a few feet away. He stood there watching her, his eyes narrowed as they trailed the length of her. Daniela tried to still the racing of her heart, but couldn’t. The man simply looked dangerous with his long mane of dark hair spilling over his back and shoulders. With as much bravado as she could muster, she waited for his next move.

His eyes dipped over her again “You have been wounded,” he said in a low voice.

“It’s nothing,” she lied even as another sharp pain shot down her leg.

“There are medications at the estate. We can treat it there,” he told her as he pulled the bow from his shoulder and began to disable it.

Daniela blinked. What the hell was he talking about? He’d gotten what he wanted and it didn’t seem as if he intended to turn her in to the police. There was absolutely no reason for her to remain with him.

“I’ve shown you what you wanted to see. I’d like to go now,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “Oh, and I need my phone back.”

Nicholas’s hand paused on the crossbow and he looked up at her. Emerald eyes flashed. “Dawn is nearly upon us,” he said. “I intend to be back at the estate before the sun rises. I do not have the patience or the time to spare.” He motioned toward the main entry door with his crossbow.

As she’d done so many times that night, Daniela swallowed her comment. She hated to admit it, but there was something about Nicholas Drakon that made her insides quiver. It was like a sordid mixture of anger and intense attraction. She’d never been immediately drawn to anyone before, most especially someone of the opposite sex. It was a pity he was such a nuisance to be around. And it seemed she would have to endure even more of his less-than-winning disposition.

Trying to ignore the pain in her leg, she headed toward the main exit. Nicholas extended a hand to assist her, but she shoved it away. She didn’t need his help.

Chapter 4

Nicholas shoved through the door of the estate’s kitchen. He was in a foul mood. Not only had Daniela nearly gotten them both killed, but for the price of learning very little about the location of the missing rune. And to top it all off, they’d not managed to escape a sudden storm and were presently soaking wet.

Daniela’s knees buckled just as they entered the room and he caught her before she touched the floor. She was no doubt weakened by the fair amount of blood she’d lost.

“Sit,” he instructed as he guided her into the room.

Daniela complied, seating herself at the polished mahogany table that sat in the center of the kitchen. Matching countertops and cupboards lined one side of the room and a small couch sat near the rear wall.

Nicholas headed for a cupboard and returned with a wooden box and a bottle of brandy. He looked at the blood-soaked rag that she’d used as a makeshift tourniquet. The bleeding had stopped. Carefully, she released the knot that secured it into place and bit down on her bottom lip, but remained silent. Nicholas could tell that although she hid it well she was in much pain.

He placed the box on the table and opened the lid. It contained medicinal items from a modern first aid kit and a few that were similar to those used in the 1900s. He went to the sink and returned with a bowl of water.

“I will need to clean your wound and the bullet must be extracted. Remove your pants,” he told her.

Her attention snapped to him. “I don’t think so,” she told him flatly.

His eyes narrowed on her. The wound was bound to become infected if it wasn’t tended to, and he needed her alive and well. He was sure that she would be contacted the following night once she didn’t show up with the second rune. His plan was simple. He would have her admit to encountering trouble, but state that she’d managed to steal the rune anyway. As the monastery would no longer be deemed a safe haven and the delivery of the item would already be late, he would have her offer to deliver the stone to the source itself. “Remove your pants or I will remove them for you,” he warned.

Their eyes locked, hers relaying a fierce defiance. He could see her weighing her options. It was futile to defy him for it was he who determined her fate. Her jaw hardened and he knew that she’d come to this very conclusion.

With a dark scowl that made her sleek brows pucker, she used the table for support and pushed to her feet. She stared up at him, her head barely level with his chin. When he remained as he was she let out an exasperated sigh that made her ample chest rise temptingly.

“Can you at least give me some privacy?” she asked.

Nicholas pondered the humor of her request. She could certainly be amusing in all her tartness. To think that he would turn his back on her a second time was foolish.

“I assure you, you have nothing I have not seen before.” He brought his arms up to cross over his chest. “Proceed.”

If possible, her eyes grew even more venomous. “You arrogant son of a bitch,” she gritted out as she jerked the single button at her waistband open.

“Spoken like a true criminal deviant,” he countered.

He watched as she yanked the zipper down, revealing a surprisingly lacy thong. What he’d originally thought was white turned out to be a soft pink. There was even a little bow fastened to the band. His gaze trailed to her face as she pushed the left leg carefully over her injury. It seemed there lay some softness beneath her calloused exterior after all.

With her pants rolled to her knees she eased back into the chair. Nicholas assumed it was her pride that prevented her from trying to conceal the beautiful curve of her hips and thighs. She sat still even as he kneeled before her and removed a packet of gauze from the kit then began swabbing at the blood that had dried about the point of entry.

“You would do well to take a drink of that brandy,” he suggested.

Daniela shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ll need all my wits about me in case you try something.”

His gaze slid to her face. “If it was my intent to try something, no measure of wit would save you, be assured.”

She was silent, no doubt absorbing his words. “Funny,” she said at last. “For someone with so much money you certainly weren’t taught very many manners.”

He snorted. “Scolded by a woman who makes her living stealing from others. How I have fallen,” he scoffed.

His humor wasn’t taken well and her eyes narrowed on him. “Why are you holding me here? To torture me with your sarcasm?” she asked.

He studied her for a moment, noting the way her damp hair had curled about her face and shoulders. “You have not served your full purpose yet,” he told her. “You are my only hope of finding the rune and the one who hired you to steal it. Until I do, you will remain here.”

“I believe that’s called kidnapping.”

He nodded in agreement. “Perhaps it is, but you are hardly in the position to alert the authorities, are you?” Without waiting for her response, he dipped a fresh wad of gauze into the bowl and moved lower on her thigh. He noted another small bullet hole. It could’ve been an exit wound, but it was curiously small. He would have to be certain. He removed a small pair of forceps from the kit.

“This will hurt, but I will be done with it as quickly as I can.”

“Just get it over with,” she snapped.

Nicholas watched her curiously. He’d been thoroughly impressed by her fighting skill and her courage. She had a hard strength about her that wasn’t ordinarily seen in women of the modern era. This, coupled with her beautiful face and form made her quite desirable. But this was business. His family’s future was at stake and he would have no dealings with the one who was partially responsible for bringing it down upon them. Not that she would permit it anyway. The woman was a shrew.