“Hello?”
A desperate voice sounded from the other side of the line. “Jace, we have a problem.”
Jace lowered the phone from his ear and glanced at the screen. “Shane?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“You sound awful.” The kid sounded like someone had drained him of all his energy.
A moment of silence passed, and then Shane let out a long sigh. “I’ve barely slept in days. I’ve been too busy deterring them.”
Jace pushed the Bushmills aside. Now Shane had his attention. “Deterring who?”
“Damon and the rest of the Execution Underground.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me. Why the hell haven’t you said something before now?”
“David told me not to tell you. He said you wouldn’t want me involved but that you needed me. He wanted you to concentrate on learning how to shift and taking down the killer, so he said to keep my mouth shut and make sure they didn’t get to you.”
Jace cursed under his breath. “Why are you telling me this now, Shane?”
“Don’t go back to the hotel.” There was a hint of pleading in the kid’s voice.
“Why the hell not?”
Shane paused for a moment, as if he wasn’t certain he wanted to say the words out loud. “They’ve found it.”
Jace sat forward, his whole body suddenly alert. “What? How did they—”
“I know you’re at your apartment getting drunk right now, but you need to get out of there, too. I doubt they’ll go back there again, but you don’t want to take a chance. Meanwhile they’re ransacking your hotel room as we speak,” Shane said.
“Shit.”
“Find somewhere to hide out, a location they won’t think to check for you.”
Jace wracked his brain for somewhere to crash. Damn. Only one place came to mind. “All right. Thanks for the information. I’ll find somewhere. Call me if there’s any news.” He went to hang up the phone, but paused. He lifted the cell to his ear again. “Oh, and, Shane, how the hell did you know I was in my apartment drinking?”
“I put in a camera. Damon wanted it so I could tell them if you came back—like that was ever going to happen.”
Jace scanned the room for a camera but didn’t see anything. “Yeah, okay. Thanks again.” He pressed the off button and pocketed the phone. He grabbed his bottle off the floor and stood, then walked down the stairs and headed straight for the H3. He revved the engine and death-gripped the steering wheel as he peeled out onto the street. He lodged the Bushmills bottle conveniently between the driver’s seat and the console. He had a feeling he was going to need it later.
Damn it. All this was his fault. He banged his fist against the steering wheel. The conflict with the Execution Underground, his inability to shift, the fight he’d agreed to with Alejandro, and now he was permanently stuck with a mate who didn’t want him. He thought of his name being carved into those poor victims’ forearms. Robert had killed those girls to get his attention.
Why was that bastard after him? Jace tried to think of whether he’d ever met or even seen Robert, some reason why the man was out for his blood.
Nothing.
Damn. All this shit traced back to him somehow, he just had to figure out how.
He pulled over to the side of the road and parked. As far as he could see, he had two options. One: spend the whole night trying to shift and fail. Or two: drown himself in Bushmills and hope shit turned out in his favor.
“Oh, fuck it.” He hit the bottle and hoped for the best.
FRANKIE WAS WRENCHED awake from her deep sleep by a loud banging sound reverberating through her apartment and rattling her skull. The door. Someone was pounding on her door. Pushing off the sheets, she stumbled out of bed and across the wooden floor. She grabbed a black silk robe off her closet knob and slipped it on, covering her blue satin nightie. She clutched the material and looked through the peephole. A large dark figure was standing on the other side of the door.
“Hey, Princess. Open up,” the man said.
“Jace?” She hadn’t expected to see him until the fight, especially once Shane had told her not to go to the hotel. She’d thought staying at her own place again would give her a temporary break from the constant heartache when he was near. She inched open the door, making sure the safety latch was in place.
He staggered forward, his full weight slamming into the door frame.
“Holy crap. Jace, are you okay?”
She undid the chain and threw open the door. Jace stumbled through, a nearly empty bottle of Bushmills in his hand. His green eyes were bloodshot, with dark bags underneath. He looked as if he’d been up all night.
“I never should have picked you up in that damn alley.” He slurred his words together until they became an unintelligible mumble. He made the shape of a gun with his thumb and forefinger. “Boom. Done for. Would’ve been easy.”
“Jace, are you drunk?”
“But no, I had to be a fucking moron.”
“That’s what you’re being right now.” Anger coursed through her veins.
“And look what happened. Look what happened.” He laughed bitterly and stumbled.
Frankie slipped underneath his arm in a futile attempt to support him. He was easily twice her size, and she groaned beneath his weight. “Okay, buddy. Let’s get you sobered up. Thank God for supernatural metabolism. At least you’ll burn it off quick.” She dragged him into the bathroom and toward the shower.
“And why are you doing this, huh? Because you’re a good fucking person, that’s why.”
Trying to ignore his drunken words, she pushed him into the shower and helped lower him to the floor. “Take off your clothes,” she said.
He did as he was told. He fumbled with his coat and shirt until he managed to remove them.
She threw them onto the floor outside the shower, along with her robe. Then she reached carefully for the faucet, trying not to get her nightie wet. Cold water spewed from the shower head and hit Jace’s half-naked body.
He cursed and wiped the water from his eyes. “I don’t deserve you,” he mumbled.
“What did you say?” Her breath caught. She knew what he’d said, but she couldn’t comprehend it.
He blinked several times as the cold water slapped him in the face. “I said I don’t deserve you.”
Her throat tightened.
“Taking you captive was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made, but I wouldn’t change it even if I could,” he went on. “I never wanted to have feelings for you.” He met her eyes with a look that was half joy, half agony. “But I do.”
Before Frankie knew what she was doing, she was kneeling in the shower, the cold water pouring over her body as Jace cradled her face in his hands. A fire ignited in her veins, and she pressed closer to him.
He kissed her so deeply, her world spun. His fingers tangled in her hair as his warm tongue moved against hers. The bittersweet taste of whiskey and his natural flavor filled her mouth in an intoxicating blend. His hands trailed from her hair down her spine. His palms settled on her lower back, and he slowly pulled at the soaked fabric of her nightgown.
She gasped against his lips. Palming her ass, he slipped his fingers under the edge of her panties. A wave of heat spread between her legs, and she trailed kisses across his cheek. She sucked on his earlobe, her teeth gently grazing the skin. A low growl escaped his throat, and a fresh wave of heat flooded between her thighs as Jace rubbed his palm against her most sensitive flesh.
He kissed her collarbone. “I have to be inside you,” he said. “Now.”
Lifting her with him as he stood, Jace pressed her against the wall.
“I’ve wanted to take you every second since we were last together.” He kissed her hard and sucked on her bottom lip.
She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck.
