Tane turned back to study Jagr with a taunting smile. “And she’s twin to Styx’s mate?”
“One of four.”
“I thought Styx must have been crazed with his grief at the loss of the previous Anasso when I learned he bound himself to a Were, but now I begin to understand his obsession. She’s…”
“Off limits,” Jagr interrupted, the spear snapping in two as his fist clenched.
Tane tested the air, his smile widening. “You haven’t claimed her.”
Jagr tossed the broken weapon aside, not bothering to hide the possessive fury that whipped through the air.
“That won’t stop me from ripping off your head if you so much as touch her.”
Tane narrowed his eyes. “Threatening my life isn’t going to get you any favors.”
“No, but it will avoid any nasty misunderstandings.”
Proving that he wasn’t easily intimidated, Tane stepped forward. “Is Styx aware of your fascination with his sister-mate?”
“Styx is only concerned with her safety.”
“While you’re only concerned with keeping her away from her family and in your power?”
Jagr jerked at the smooth taunt. “Careful, Tane.”
“Why haven’t you taken her to Chicago?”
“I have allowed her to remain in Hannibal because she won’t be satisfied until she’s killed the imp,” he growled, refusing to consider the accusation he might be deliberately postponing the moment he would have to turn Regan over to the protection of her family. “If I force her to Chicago, she’ll only escape at the first opportunity and take off on her own. The demon-world might not survive the havoc she’d wreak before I could track her down again.”
“And the Anasso has agreed to this plan?”
“He requested that I deal with Regan, and that’s what I’m doing,” Jagr snapped, angered by the mere thought the Anasso had any say over Regan. A dangerous, perhaps fatal, sensation. “Now, will you help us or not?”
There was a beat as Tane weighed the pleasure of battling a vampire with Jagr’s skill against the certain punishment of interfering in the Anasso’s business. At last he shrugged.
“Get your woman and follow me.”
Chapter 11
Regan wasn’t happy as she allowed Jagr to lead her into the crumbling building.
Maybe it had something to do with the stench of rotting mattresses that had been piled into what once had been a front lobby. Or the plaster that crumbled from the ceiling as they headed down the narrow flight of stairs to a basement that, frankly, was creepy as hell.
The small, cramped rooms they passed by, as well as the broken canes and walkers shoved in a storage room, pointed toward an abandoned old folks’ home, but whatever charm it once might have claimed had long ago faded into oblivion.
Or maybe it had something to do with the large, edgy vampire who led them through the moldy darkness.
Oh, Tane was melt-worthy.
He was all smooth, golden planes, and honey eyes.
Yummy tropical heat in a pair of low-riding khaki shorts.
But the wolf in her wasn’t fooled by Tane’s promise of paradise. Like Jagr, the vampire carried the potent scent of danger. Unlike Jagr, however, Tane didn’t try to disguise his lethal threat behind a wall of ice.
No, his menace was as blatant as a flashing neon sign.
Moving through what looked like an empty laundry room, Tane halted to shove aside a heavy metal rack, revealing a narrow opening in the wall.
Regan swallowed a sigh as she followed in his wake, more resigned than surprised to discover the stairs that led deep underground. Vampires were nothing if not predictable in their love for the dark and dank.
Battling to keep her bulky bags from tangling her legs as she negotiated the steep steps and then the long passageway that ran beneath the surrounding fields, Regan only vaguely noticed when the tunnel transformed from dirt to stainless steel.
It was only when Tane slid open a heavy door blocking the path that she realized there was nothing dark or dank about the hidden lair.
Wide-eyed, she took in the banks of high-tech equipment that lined the long room. There were monitors with live feeds of at least a dozen cameras spread throughout the nearby countryside, sleek computers keeping track of God-only-knew what, and complex, sophisticated machines that Regan didn’t even recognize.
“Holy crap,” she breathed, instinctively edging closer to Jagr as the two large vampires scanning the complicated equipment sent her an impatient scowl. Even for a vampire, the over-the-top security system seemed a little paranoid. “Do you have a space shuttle tucked in a nearby cornfield?”
Tane glanced over his shoulder as he continued through a far door that led to yet another steel lined passage.
“I have many things tucked in the cornfields. I’ll be happy to show them to you once we get my elderly brother settled into his bed.”
“Tane,” Jagr growled, predictably rising to the bait.
The taunting vampire turned down yet another corridor, making Regan wonder just how extensive the tunnels were.
“She is yet unclaimed, and I’m as capable as you to offer her protection. Actually it would appear I’m more capable since it’s my lair keeping her safe.”
Regan rolled her eyes. Not again.
“You know, I thought Culligan was a jackass because he was an imp. Turns out that the whole jackass thing comes with being a male,” she drawled in overly sweet tones. “Now let me make one thing perfectly clear…” She shared her annoyed glare between the two vampires. “I don’t need to be protected by Dumb or Dumber. I can take care of myself.”
Halting next to a door set in the steel wall, Tane turned to regard Jagr with an unexpected amusement.
“You’re right, Jagr, her temper is foul.”
Regan hissed in annoyance. “Oh, it can get a whole lot worse than foul.”
“She isn’t exaggerating,” Jagr added, the half smile playing about his lips. “Wise demons tremble when her wolf is on the prowl.”
She clutched her bags to her chest. “Are you done?”
The two men shared a glance that would make any woman consider the pleasure of ridding the world of males, but wisely Tane shifted to open the door, waving a hand for them to enter the room beyond.
Regan stepped over the threshold, flipping the switch on the wall. It wasn’t that she needed the soft light that spilled through the room, but it helped dismiss the sensation of being trapped underground.