He punched the button for the penthouse, and they rose tothe top of the building that mainly housed high-end executives who worked inHollywood. The penthouse was his and used exclusively for surveillance. Hebypassed the living quarters for the main control room, where his people werealready scrambling to bring up CCTV footage from the entire area. They wouldfind out who these guys were, trace them back to the source, and then Athanwould finally go to war.
He gently laid Ivy on a leather sofa that had been pushed tothe far right. Two chairs and a coffee table littered with soda and waterbottles flanked the couch. His men had been at it all night since he was intown, surveilling the entire area. It was shocking they hadn’t seen the twomotorcycle assassins coming, and he wanted to know why.
But first, he crouched and smoothed Ivy’s strawberry-blondhair away from her pale face. Her lashes were startlingly dark, considering herpale coloring. A light smattering of freckles dotted her pert nose. Reachingout since she was still unconscious, he gently ran his knuckles along hersmooth skin. “Ivy, wake up now, sweetheart.”
She didn’t stir. He looked again at the lump on her head. Itseemed to be going down in size. She was immortal like him, so this wouldn’tlast long, but she was out for the duration. He looked around for a blanket tocover her, but the control room had none.
He checked her skin, and she felt warm enough. Without beingable to help himself, he leaned over and kissed her forehead, making sure theribbon was still in his pocket like always.
Shoving any and all emotions away, he stood and headed forthe nearest console, his gaze on the wide screen on the wall showing thegreater downtown Los Angeles area. “Let’s find these assholes.”
* * * *
Pain flared inside Ivy’s head, and she gingerly reached upto feel a lump near her left temple. It was comparable to the time she’d beenhit with a cricket bat during what could only be termed an unladylike brawl onthe grass. It had been during her last lifetime, but she remembered it well.The pain had taken almost a day to go away. This was similar.
She kept her eyes closed because she knew if she openedthem, she’d probably shriek from agony, and she wasn’t quite sure where she wasyet. She’d learned during her long life to remain still and quiet until sheunderstood fully what was happening.
Activity and men’s voices wafted around her, but shecouldn’t quite make out individual words yet. The roaring between her ears kepther from understanding. So, she patiently waited, noting that she was lying onsomething smooth and comfortable like a leather couch. Interesting.
Memories came rushing back of the attack in the car and herhitting her head. Somebody had attacked them. Oh, no. Was Athan all right?
She opened her eyes slowly, and lights spiked into them, butshe was able to remain still without heaving. Her stomach clenched, but evenso, she swallowed several times to regain her bearings. Her throat hurt, andher body felt like one big bruise. She’d never gained the ability to healherself from injuries like other immortals, so she figured it was because shewasn’t truly mated—not in every sense of the word, anyway. But she wasimmortal, and she’d be okay, even though the pain was pretty intense.
Slowly, figures began taking shape in front of her, and hergaze immediately landed on Athan. He stood in front of a wide screen thatshowed downtown LA. She knew the area well.
Even though soldiers bustled around, rapidly handing eachother notes and maps, typing, or barking orders into phones, there was no doubtwho was in command. There was almost a force field around him that vibratedwith tension and anger. Even in profile, she could see that his eyes had turneda deep midnight color with gold rims and sparks. They were his tertiary vampirecolors, and she’d only seen them twice in their entire long lives together.
One time, she’d thought it had been desire that’d broughtthose colors forth when he’d been feeding from her, and the atmosphere hadchanged around them—to something new. But right now, there was no doubt it wasrage. He held still as if in control, but anger and fury popped the oxygenaround him. There was no doubt that Athan Maxwell didn’t like being caught bysurprise.
A soldier from across the room looked up from his computer.“Athan, I have the video from this morning. There were no tails on Ivy from thetime she left her penthouse to the time you fetched her at the funeral.”
Fetched? Did he sayfetched? Like she was some sortof pet? Ivy barely kept from sitting up, but she remained in place, wanting toknow more. They’d probably stop speaking if they realized she was awake.
“Show me,” Athan ordered. A video came up on the screen ofIvy exiting the penthouse, walking down her hall, taking the elevator, and thenemerging to where her driver awaited in front of the building she still owned.
The soldier in the far corner, one who looked suspiciouslylike Athan, aimed a laser pointer at the screen to show two people sitting oneither side of the street outside her place, one waiting for a bus, and then onelounging against a tree. “Here’s the detail we had in place, and they’d beenstationed there for two hours. Nobody approached the building, and there’s nohint of electrical surveillance anywhere near.”
Ivy barely kept from gasping.
“Show me the rest of the day,” Athan ordered.
Surreally, Ivy’s entire day showed on the screen—from whenshe arrived at the funeral and everything she did there, up until she metAthan. No moment of her day was unaccounted for. Did they have cameras in herpenthouse, as well? Shock and betrayal poured through her.
“Pause,” Athan ordered when Ivy and Leah strode out of thebuilding. “Klyde? You’re on Leah. Find out where she came from and where shewent. Our older brother will very much appreciate it.”
So it was true. Leah had managed to evade Jasper all theseyears. Ivy bit her lip. Had her friendship put Leah in danger? She leaned tothe side to check out Klyde, the youngest of the Maxwell brothers. She’d nevermet him, but Athan had told her all about his brothers through the years. Klydehad longish black hair, mellow brown eyes, and a broad chest.
“Good,” Athan muttered. “Show me the rest of the day.”
The video rolled with Ivy looking rather carefree,considering she’d just attended her own funeral. From this birds-eye view, shestarted to make out the surveillance teams that had been all around her whenshe’d had absolutely no clue.
All these years, thinking she’d been independent andbuilding her different lives, and he’d been watching? Not only had he beenwatching, he’d had people on her the entire time. She sat up fully then, herhead spinning not only from the goose egg on her temple but also from chilledshock.
Had her freedom just been an illusion all these decades?Fury clicked through her so quickly her hands shook. For a second, she couldn’tbreathe. The roaring in her ears grew louder. So far, nobody had noticed hermovements.
Athan glanced over his other shoulder at the guy at thekeyboard. “I want to see her entire week before this. I want to make sure thatwhoever attacked was aiming for me and not her.”
Leon shook his head. “If I wanted to attack her, I would’vestayed under the radar and waited for her funeral. It was in the news, and shewouldn’t have been that difficult to link to you, brother.” He winced. “Sorry.”
