Bonnie Vanak - Phantom Wolf

“And you’d have to kill me,” she joked.

“No, the base security officers would.” His gaze was even and unblinking. As she gulped, the ghost of a smile touched his mouth. Sam touched her nose. “Gotcha.”

The tension between them eased. Kelly breathed a sigh of relief and followed him inside.

Sam had always had taste, but the modest living room surprised her with its plain but comfortable furniture. This was more a home suited for someone like her.

She trailed him into the kitchen, a more elegant room with gleaming granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. Dumping her pack on the floor, Kelly sat on a stool at the breakfast bar. Sam needed time to download and process before she hit him with the heavy-duty artillery.

He grabbed two bottles of beer and offered her one. Kelly sipped as he hunted through the fridge, setting bread, deli turkey slices, lettuce and Swiss cheese on the countertop. He frowned and braced his hands on the counter, studying her a long minute.

“Do you have any memory of where you were two hours ago?”

Confused, she nodded. “At your base, SEAL Team 21’s compound. You’re all paranormals, aren’t you?”

“Curt didn’t take your memories right before you left the base,” Sam said softly. “I’ll be damned. Civilians aren’t allowed on our compound, and any who do have their memories erased. No one is supposed to know about our team. SOP.”

“Maybe your commanding officer has more faith in me than your standard operating procedure. He asked questions, but I didn’t answer them.”

Because I don’t trust him. I trust only you.

“Kelly, you’re in deep trouble. And these rumors about a Dark Lord aren’t helping your case.”

“I will discover the truth. I haven’t changed.”

But you have.

He cut the bread into four neat quarters. “Late-night snack?” she asked.

“It’s for you.” He slid the sandwich across the bar. “Turkey on whole wheat, lettuce, no tomato, lots of mayo and Swiss cheese.”

Emotion clogged her throat. After all these years, he’d remembered her favorite. Kelly nodded thanks as she devoured the sandwich. Sam remained standing, tipping back the bottle and drinking deeply. Muscles in his throat worked as he swallowed, and then he backhanded his mouth. Green flared in his eyes as he studied her mouth.

“You have mayo...here.”

He reached across the counter and touched the corner of her mouth with his thumb. Sam brought his thumb to his lips and licked it slowly, his intense gaze never leaving hers. Heat sizzled in the air. Her limbs felt loose and pliant, her nipples tight.

Hot, heavy need surged. She wanted him badly. Wanted to feel him naked against her hot skin, feel those hard muscles rub against her body. Fingertips ached with the need, the yearning to touch him, explore muscle and sinew.

Kelly quivered, her lips parting. The air grew heavy with expectancy, overlaid with sexual awareness.

She jerked her gaze away, staring at the counter. “I’m not here to rekindle anything, Sam. I followed you because I need your help.”

A douse of icy water on both of them. His mouth became a firm slash. He turned, jamming his hands into his faded jeans and presenting her with his rigid spine as he stared out the kitchen window. The moment had vanished.

But for an instant, she desperately wanted it back.

“Kelly, you don’t know what you’re up against. Rogers has a lot of influence and can convince the council to imprison you.”

She sighed. “I didn’t know he’d be that rigid and hateful. I’d heard he was more tolerant of Arcanes.”

“Yeah, Rogers surprised me. He never was that much of an asshole. Guess when his son got kidnapped, it sent him over the edge. So now the only fair shake you’d get is my uncle, and he’s out of the country. So if they wanted to bypass the rules and imprison you, they could.”

“Al is still on the council?”

“He’s only there because of me.” Sam turned, his jaw tightened. “He saved my ass once, and told me if anything ever happened to me, he’d resign. He’s not too fond of those stuffed shirts and their bureaucratic ways. Go home, lie low and wait for this to all die down.”

“You know I can’t do that,” she said.

“I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“Against ordinary humans, even other Mages, yes. But not if the council wants your ass.”

“You always said it was a fine ass.”

Sam closed the distance between them. He stroked the side of her cheek with a single finger, the well-remembered gesture tender. She struggled with the urge to lean against him, absorb his strength.

“And I’d hate to see anything happen to it.”

“This is bigger than me, Sam. It’s a lot deeper than anyone realizes. I did see the Death Mask. I have the ability.”

He looked at her with the same wariness his teammates had shown. She pushed away. “I hate it, but it’s part of me and I’ve learned to accept it.”

Ever since childhood, Kelly knew she was different. She sensed things more than ordinary Arcanes could. Fearful of alarming her father, Kelly had set out to learn on her own. She studied ancient texts forbidden to Arcanes, stealing away minutes in the vast Shaymore library under the pretense of dusting the shelves.

And in the library, she’d discovered that a few, very few, special Mages had the ability to discern a Mage who killed another merely to siphon his power, the first stage of transforming into a Dark Lord. These Mages could see a shimmering Death Mask, a skull with glowing yellow eyes, superimposed over a normal-looking face.

Exactly what she’d witnessed at the bar.

“But I can’t accept someone is stealing Phantom Mage children to gain their power. An Arcane, organizing other Arcanes to gain magick for a bigger purpose.”

“What?”

She dragged in a deep breath. “To gain power, and exterminate your people. All of them. A genocide.”

The stunned look on his face would have been comical if the subject wasn’t so grim.

Kelly’s fingers curled around her bottle of beer. “Now will you listen, really listen to me?”

Eyes narrowed, he leaned on the counter. “Spill it. Everything.”

“A few weeks ago, Sight Finders received an anonymous tip about the bodies of two Elemental Phantom Mages reported as missing. It had been assumed the women, who had been divorcing their husbands, were out having a wild time.”

“I remember Uncle Al telling me about it. The council made sure the bodies were taken away before human authorities were notified. They didn’t want mortals asking questions. The council investigated, concluded the women were drunk and careless,” Sam said.

“They didn’t tell you what condition the bodies were found in.”

Kelly fished out her wallet and withdrew a small photo print of two shrunken corpses. “They were sucked dry of their magick. We believe this was a first attempt at gaining power from Elementals.”

Blood drained from his face. “Where the hell did you get these?”

“The anonymous tipster sent them, along with the location of Billy Rogers.”

A muscle ticked in his hard jaw. “Even if this is true, there’s no way Arcanes would get close enough to kill us all.”

“Not unless they assumed the identity of someone who’s trusted, say the son of a U.S. senator who also sits on the Council of Mages.”

Sam drew in a sharp breath. “You think that’s why they kidnapped Billy. By killing him and assuming his Phantom powers, an Arcane could duplicate him and move freely about.”

“Yes. The Arcane can even duplicate his aura. There is no way to tell them apart. These rogue Arcanes are targeting children to imitate them and assume their places. Then they’d kill their parents and from there...”