Air of Seduction (Elemental Enforcers #3)

Chapter 10

Ronan

Payton shivers against me like she’s freezing. But I don’t think that’s the reason. “Are you all right?”

She nods against my chest but doesn’t say anything.

“It’s over now. Let’s go upstairs so you can get some rest. I have to talk to the others and tell them what this idiot claimed. The master has obviously upped his game to gain followers.”

“Who’s the master?” Tipping her head back, she captures my gaze with her beautiful dark-brown orbs.

Heat rushes through me, and I’m suddenly aware how close her lips are to mine. I only need to bend my head a little to kiss her again. But she asked me a question. “An old vampire whose only purpose in life is to exploit humans, particularly women.”

Her skin pales, and her body goes rigid. “And one of his followers has Olivia.”

My arms tighten around her. “We’ll find her and rescue her. And that fucking vamp will die for what he’s done.”

Her face crumples, tears leaking down her cheeks. “But what if it’s already…”

Fuck. Barry has held Olivia captive for days. I can’t lie to Payton and tell her he hasn’t hurt her friend. That’s unlikely, and she already knows that.

“Come.” I swing her up into my arms.

After opening the door with my elbow, I move over to the elevator and press the button.

Payton is crying softly against my shoulder, and I wish there was something I could say to alleviate her pain and worry for her friend. But there’s nothing. All I can do is maximize my effort to find the woman.

I take her back to my suite and into my bedroom. She doesn’t object when I put her down on my bed and remove her shoes. Then I remove my own before climbing in behind her, wrapping my arms around her, and pulling her against my chest.

“Try to get some sleep. It will be easier to find Olivia tonight when they go outside.” At least I hope it will. But I know Aidan and his techie friend are already on it. They’ll do whatever they can to find Olivia as well as the master.

It takes almost fifteen minutes for Payton’s breathing to even out in sleep. But I stay for another five before I carefully let her go and get out of bed.

I don’t like leaving her here by herself, in case she’s still distressed when she wakes up. But I know she’d rather I try to locate her friend than stay here to watch over her like she can’t take care of herself.

The others are in Aidan’s office when I arrive, and as soon as I cross the threshold, they turn to me like they’ve been waiting with bated breath for this moment.

I steel myself for their questions as I close the door behind me. They want to know what I managed to extract from the vamp we brought back, but that’s not all they want to know. They have questions about Payton. It’s evidenced by the hint of amusement in their eyes.

Stalling seems like a good idea, so I launch into what I want to tell them. “I couldn’t get anything out of the vamp, except for one very interesting fact. He was convinced the master would resurrect him after I killed him. He would rise from the ashes like some kind of bloodthirsty phoenix, stronger than before he died.”

There’s complete silence in the room for several seconds. Everyone is staring at me like they’re waiting for me to tell them it’s a joke.

“You’re fucking kidding me.” Aidan rakes his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t see that one coming.”

“What did you find?” I turn to look at Markus, who’s standing off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back. “I take it you didn’t find the master.”

He shakes his head slowly. “There was no one there, and no indication of where they’re currently staying.”

I’m not surprised. It would have been too easy. But it would have been nice to catch that kind of break for once.

Nothing we ever do is easy. I guess that’s why we have developed the ability to live and laugh in the middle of mayhem. Well, mostly. I haven’t laughed much the last couple of centuries. But perhaps there’s a woman upstairs who can help me change that.

Like he can somehow tell what I’m thinking, Lucas smirks at me. “So, how is Payton?”

“Sleeping.” I give him a blank look.

Lucas laughs. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Pasting a bland smile on my face, I force my body to relax. “I do. She’s attractive, and if she wants, I might give in to that attraction for a little while.”

Aidan lifts an eyebrow and gives me a one-sided grin. “Just a little while?”

My chest tightens at the thought of walking away from those beautiful eyes. “Yes, just a little while. I don’t want to be tied down. Particularly to someone who can’t take care of themselves and might get themselves killed at any moment.”

My words come out harsher than I had intended, but they’re the truth. Love is painful, and I will never let myself love and lose again.