Air of Seduction (Elemental Enforcers #3)

Chapter 12

Ronan

I force myself to relax my hand on Payton’s shoulder while we walk down the corridor. Hopefully, I haven’t caused any bruising.

My body is practically vibrating with rage, and all because Noah told Payton he wants to spend time with her. It shouldn’t have me this riled up, but I can’t help it. And I already know that if Noah tries anything toward the beautiful woman next to me, I’ll hurt him without a second thought.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up,” I mumble next to her ear. “Have you been awake long?”

She shakes her head. “Not long. And it’s okay. I don’t need a babysitter.”

I tense, even though I’m not surprised by her reaction. She doesn’t seem to trust easily, and she’s fully capable of taking care of herself. At least under normal circumstances that don’t involve vampires or other supernaturals with superior strength and speed.

“I’m sorry.” She glances up at me. “I didn’t mean it like that. Thank you for taking care of me. I feel better. I guess I was more exhausted than I realized.”

Her words make me smile, and my rage finally fades. “I’m happy to hear it.”

Just before we reach the living room, I remove my arm from around her shoulders and place my hand on the small of her back. Guiding her into the room, I aim for a couple of seats close to the far end of the table.

Everyone turns their head to stare at us, but thankfully, people’s attention soon moves from us to the new arrival.

“Noah.” Markus gets to his feet. “It’s good to see you.” He walks up to the last of our team to arrive in London and places a hand on his shoulder. “I hope you’re ready to fight the master again.”

Noah’s lips curve into an amused smile as he looks at Markus. “What happened to you? You don’t usually give such a warm welcome.”

I barely refrain from nodding my agreement. Markus has been different since I arrived. His behavior is warmer and more caring than it’s ever been before, and it makes me wonder why.

Is it because he enjoys this new development where some members of our team have found their mates? Or is it because of Lyn and the apparent feelings he has for her? It could be either, both, or something else entirely.

“Don’t get used to it.” Markus turns to the rest of us with a grin. “But it’s nice to have you all gathered in the same place again. It’s been years since the last time.”

His expression sobers. “But as usual when we all assemble, it’s because of a major threat. If we don’t take down the master quickly, it will be difficult to keep the existence of supernaturals a secret from humans.”

Markus’s gaze lands on Payton. “Although not all humans freak out when they realize they’re not the only intelligent species on earth, I believe a lot will.”

His gaze isn’t disapproving, but I’m all too aware that she shouldn’t be here. We don’t usually disclose our existence to other supernaturals, and certainly not to humans. It’s easier to do whatever we need to do to prevent the evil assholes from causing too much damage if few people know about us.

I study Payton’s profile. She already knew about vampires when she bumped into me, but I’ve still tried to keep her in the dark about what we are. Except there hardly seems to be any point anymore. She’s already met most of the enforcers, and she’s witnessed me use some of my abilities.

We have ways to make her forget us and what’s happened, but considering everything she’s seen and the fact that her best friend is involved, as well, I’m afraid of what that would do to her mind.

It would be better if she promised never to tell anyone and never to approach us again after we rescued her friend. It’s a risk, but one I’m willing to take to avoid messing with her mind. If only…

“Ronan?”

Payton whispering my name brings me out of my head, and I blink to regain my focus.

“…on their way here.” Aidan’s voice catches my attention. “If all goes well, they’ll be here before midnight.”

Who? My brows push together as I try to remember, but I come up blank. It clearly didn’t register.

Payton leans closer and whispers, “Callum.”

I give her a grateful smile and mouth the words thank you .

So, Aidan’s techie friend is on his way. I assume accompanied by his mate, since the earth elemental said on their way . Hopefully, them joining us will help us locate both Olivia and the master a lot faster.

∞∞∞

Lyn

I quickly dry off after my shower before heading back into the bedroom I’m staying in down in Aidan’s basement. After dressing, I braid my wet hair.

The sun is still up, but I know Aidan’s house well enough to get around without running the risk of walking into direct sunlight.

I usually sleep quite well during the day, but today I’ve hardly slept at all. Markus’s dark-brown eyes have haunted me the entire time, only interspersed with reruns of my conversation with Kate.

The petite vampire was adamant that Markus has feelings for me, feelings he doesn’t want me to know about for some reason. But I’m still not sure I believe her that what he’s feeling is anything more than simple lust.

He was clearly rattled by the fact that I’ve had lovers over the years. But I’m more inclined to assign that to his need for control than any deeper feelings for me. I know he values me, but it’s more for my ability to fight with the team than as a woman or even a friend.

Letting out a deep sigh, I stare at myself in the mirror. One common belief about vampires is that we don’t have a reflection. But like several other beliefs, that’s incorrect. Thank God, or I would probably have walked around my whole life with dirt on my face without knowing it.

Leaving the basement, I ascend the stairs and head to Aidan’s office. There’s no one there.

I check my phone, but there are no messages. Markus usually sends me a text to tell me where they are by sundown, but since the sun is still up, if only for a little longer, he hasn’t gotten around to it yet.

For all I know, they might all be out searching for the master. Perhaps they’ve received some new information about his whereabouts. But I’ll have a look around the house just in case.

I could, of course, send a message to Markus, asking where they are. But it’s not that urgent. And for some reason, I feel strangely reluctant to text him right now.

As it turns out, there was no need to text anyone. Approaching the open living room door, I hear voices talking. I stop just out of sight of anyone in the room and listen.

“He might have already left London, but the plane he arrived on from Long Island is still at the airport.” Lucas sounds irritated, but then we’re all impatient at the moment, all too aware that the master is out there, corrupting vampires and turning humans into slaves.

“Callum and Vamika are currently working the London angle, or one of them is while the other one is driving. They’re also trying to find Barry and Olivia and any of the master’s travel companions.” I can practically hear the frown in Aidan’s voice.

“My friend Ron is looking for any signs that the master has left London,” Lucas adds. “So far he hasn’t found anything relevant.”

“Which means we have to assume he’s still here.” Markus’s deep voice slides over my skin like a warm caress.

Damn. I should forget about him. Even with his strange, uncontrolled behavior the last few days and Kate so sure he likes me, I don’t want to get my hopes up. Because even if he, against all odds, has feelings for me, I doubt he’ll ever act on them.

And I sure as hell won’t. Because it’s more likely to blow up in my face than any other outcome. And I don’t want to lose these people, since they’re the closest thing I have, and will probably ever have, to a family.

“I just received a text from Henry.” There’s a smile in Aidan’s voice. “He and Eleanor will be flying out from Inverness in a few hours. And they’re bringing Gawen and Nes with them.

“For those of you who haven’t heard about them, they are the ones I fought with against the evil witch in Scotland. Henry is a wolf shifter and an alpha of the pack located not far from Inverness, and Eleanor is his vampire mate. Nes is Henry’s sister, also a wolf shifter, and Gawen is her hybrid mate.”

“Is Gawen the one you mentioned?” Markus asks.

“Yes.” Aidan chuckles. “I can usually tell by touching someone what kind of power and abilities people have, but with him I could only get a glimpse. There’s power inside him I don’t believe I’ve ever come across before, and I don’t think it’s got anything to do with him being a wolf-kelpie hybrid. It’s something more, probably an inheritance from some ancient ancestor. But he hasn’t tapped into that potential yet.”

I choose that moment to enter the living room, my body tense with anticipation of seeing Markus again.

“I look forward to…” The team leader’s usual control slips a little when his eyes land on me, and he follows me with his gaze. “To…meeting him. And the others of course.”

I avert my gaze and nod to no one in particular before heading toward an empty chair at the other end of the table. It’s not until I plop down in my seat that I realize I’ve just sat down next to a woman I’ve never seen before.

But before I can introduce myself, Aidan’s words grab my attention. “Eleanor isn’t just any vampire. She was sired by the master and is Lyn’s blood sister.”

I nod in agreement. I met her on a few occasions back before our maker was supposedly killed, but we never spent much time together. The master intentionally kept each of us from getting to know our siblings well to prevent us from banding together against him. Perhaps this will be a good opportunity to get to know her a bit better.