Guild of Truth 02 - Shield from the Heart Read online

  He listened carefully for Sydney and heard distant shuffling from another room. Satisfied that she was safe he moved upstairs.

  He searched for any kind of master bedroom that might still hold something of Collette’s. Or if he was lucky, something useful of Kevin’s. When he found the master bedroom it was completely ransacked, so he moved on. He lucked out on the second guest bedroom.

  An old dresser was propped up against the far wall. He strode toward it and pulled open drawer after drawer. Old rags littered the floor. It looked like whoever got this room didn’t want to bother folding their clothes up to use the dresser. That was fine with Merrick — the fewer people to touch the dresser the more likely he was to find the impression he was looking for.

  The last drawer held an old-fashioned brush, with soft bristles and a decorative backing. He snatched it up. A personal object was even better than the dresser.

  “Drop your powers,” he yelled down to Sydney.

  There was an answering gasp. His shout must have startled her. A few seconds later his neck started to tingle. He gripped the handle on the brush, picking up on numerous hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Collette’s face, searching for her through a sea of people.

  He opened his eyes.

  Nothing.

  He eyed the brush. Maybe he’d been wrong and this was one of the squatters’ personal objects. He put it back and ran his hands along the dresser. He flipped through all the people searching for money and found a faint imprint of two young men moving the dresser from the master bedroom. Grandsons. This was ttheir grandmother’s dresser.

  Merrick stepped back. This was not Collette’s house.

  A stifled cry from downstairs caught his attention.

  “Sydney?” He raced for the room he thought she’d be in and came to an abrupt halt when he reached it.

  Two homeless men were attacking her. One held her against him, his hand over her mouth as she kicked out at the other one who was trying to tie her feet together.

  Merrick’s vision turned red.

  The men spotted Merrick and froze.

  “I-I told you there was another one searching for our stash,” the man holding Sydney said to his companion. “We should just kill them both and move on. They know where we live now, we’re not safe.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” the man at Sydney’s feet said. While he was distracted she kicked out and nailed him in the jaw, snapping his mouth shut.

  Merrick pounced. He grabbed the side of the man’s skull and shoved it straight into the wall. His eyes rolled back and his body dropped.

  Merrick turned around to the man holding Sydney. His face was sunken with malnutrition, emphasizing the dark circles under his eyes. He moved his hand down to her throat and squeezed. “Not another step.” He started to retreat and slipped. He dragged Sydney down with him and Merrick lunged for her. The druggie screamed and tried to pull Sydney by her hair.

  She cried out and clawed his hand. He dropped her and ran.

  Merrick let him go. “Are you all right?” He dropped to Sydney’s side and helped her up. She was covered with dirt and dust.

  She was shaking but sat up on her own. “Fine.”

  Merrick helped her to her feet. “Let’s go. This isn’t Collette’s house anyway.”

  She stared up at him, incredulous. “It’s not?”

  He shook his head. “I found an original piece of furniture in one of the upstairs rooms that belonged to an old woman who used to live here.”

  Sydney massaged the top of her head. “Looks like Cali wasn’t as computer savvy as she thought.”

  Her hand moved to her neck and rubbed gently. It was an angry red and Merrick’s rage returned full force as he yearned to go after the one he let get away. The back of his neck prickled.

  But instead of going on the hunt he found his hands reaching out to carefully touch her neck. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked softy. “No scratch marks? No broken skin anywhere?” The men had been filthy and there was no telling what they could have passed on. Probably a zombie virus.

  Sydney gazed up at him with those guileless green eyes of hers. “I thought you were mad at me?”

  He dropped his hands to her shoulders, not realizing his mistake until the fabric touched his skin.

  He was instantly flooded with Sydney’s thoughts and emotions. He saw himself through her eyes — glorious, sexy, her fierce Mirror Mate. Her heart had torn inside her chest as he’d walked away from her earlier. She wanted him by her side. She wanted his hands on her body. He made her feel whole. His smile set her blood racing. His touch set her heart pounding. His eyes touched her to her very soul —

  Merrick stumbled back, chest heaving.

  Too many emotions flooded him and he couldn’t differentiate between what were his and what were Sydney’s.

  “Merrick?” Concern was etched into her face. She reached for him and he hastily stepped away.

  Tenderness … anger … desire … it all rode him. He was on a rollercoaster and couldn’t hit the brakes.

  “Just give me a second,” he told her, not wanting to upset her anymore.

  “What happen — ?” Understanding dawned and she retreated, her arms pulling in close to her chest. “You read me?”

  Now it was his turn to reach out to her but he stopped halfway. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “What did you see?”

  Their eyes met.

  He didn’t answer.

  She visibly shivered.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” he said at last. He couldn’t look at her for fear of what he’d see.

  Had he been wrong about Sydney this entire time?

  He didn’t dare hope. He pushed aside everything except their need to leave before more homeless came back and mistook them for stash stealers. He’d been lucky that the last two who attacked Sydney hadn’t been carrying.

  He scanned the front yard before ushering Sydney ahead of him. She kept her distance. When they made it to her car he held out his hand to her. “Keys.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of driving,” she protested.

  “You were attacked, your nerves are shot. Let me drive.”

  She handed him her keys. “What good are powers when you’re still helpless with them?” she asked fifteen minutes into their drive.

  He watched her cross her arms over her chest and stare out the window through the corner of his eye. “You’re not helpless,” he told her. “I saw you struggle. You were outnumbered and you were still giving those guys a tough time.”

  Sydney harrumphed. “They were druggies who weighed less than me and I still couldn’t throw them off.”

  “True,” Merrick conceded and received a dark glare. “But you’ve also been using your powers for two days straight. Am I right?”

  She fell into contemplative silence and Merrick continued to drive back to his place. “Why are we here?” Sydney asked when he let her into his apartment.

  “Cali’s information was useless,” he said. “I’m going to put in some calls and e-mails to some of my contacts at the station and see if I can pull any strings to get the information we need.”

  “Good idea.” She pulled out her phone and stepped into a secluded corner of his living room in an attempt at privacy. He tracked her every step, wishing he didn’t care so much who she was going to call. “I have a few phone calls to make,” she called over her shoulder.

  He disappeared into his room so he wouldn’t have to hear them.

  • • •

  Joel stared down at his phone as it went off for perhaps the sixth time that day. Sydney’s picture and number popped up. His chest ached and he reached for his phone instinctively before he stopped himself.

  He let the voicemail pick it up.

  He’d acted like a royal pain in the ass last night and he was determined to make it up to her. Felix had always told him his over-protectiveness was going to bite him in the ass and now it finally had. But he couldn’t help it. He
usually wasn’t so damn clingy, but with Syd’s distant behavior over the last few months he was terrified that he was losing her.

  Punching out one of the men he’d helped save from Vander probably hadn’t helped either.

  Technically he punched you out.

  Joel tentatively touched his swollen nose. His two black eyes had attracted a lot of attention at work — so much so that his boss had called him over to make sure everything was okay. He’d even given Joel the rest of the day off.

  Joel had been so tempted to find Sydney and spend his day off with her. But he still needed to cool off. He needed to think about his actions and compile an apology worth her forgiveness.

  He pulled open his desk drawer and pulled out the black velvet box he’d picked up from the jewelry store after work. It was Sydney’s three-year anniversary gift. He’d had it specially made for her. He imagined her bright green eyes sparkling when he showed it to her. It’d been so long since he’d seen her eyes light up like that.

  No …

  He remembered the look on her face when she’d brought the pizza from Tom’s and how her face had lit up at the sight of Merrick — how her eyes had instantly sought him out over Joel.

  He shoved her gift back into the drawer and slammed it shut, his heart pounding.

  It wasn’t possible — Merrick couldn’t be …

  Joel cut off his train of thought swiftly, denying everything he’d seen over the past week. No, the only reason Syd was pulling away from him was because he’d allowed the excitement to fade from their relationship. He wasn’t interesting enough. She was showing attention to Merrick because he was someone new and interesting.

  He swallowed his humiliation when he thought again of being knocked out by Merrick. His manhood had been wounded and Sydney had witnessed it.

  His fingers flew over his keyboard. If he could get it back then he’d get Syd back. He had to show her that he was still that same capable, fun loving guy she’d fallen in love with three years ago.

  He searched through the Kratos database looking for anything that could be useful in his mission. “Come on,” he muttered. “Give me something good.” He needed something that could dismantle the Kratos Corporation. Something big that would really win Syd over.

  A file caught his eye and he double clicked on it. It was a companywide e-mail. A posting for a new job opening. In IT work.

  Joel clasped his hands together and stared skyward. “Thank you.”

  This was just what he needed. He could apply for the job, hack into the computer so only the worst candidates that applied got through. That way he’d look like the golden goose. He could go undercover, gain all the ins and outs. He could have unlimited access to Kratos’s computer work.

  He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. If he got into their computer system then he’d be able to bypass any and all security. He could destroy them from the inside out. A complete systems meltdown could seriously hinder them.

  Joel smiled gleefully as he got to work.

  “Sydney is going to love me for this.”

  Chapter 20

  Sydney finished her call to Felix and rubbed her aching temples. Her brain was throbbing inside her skull.

  She could still hear Merrick on his home phone and moved into the kitchen in search of some kind of pain reliever. She found some aspirin in the cupboard and popped two pills. She washed them down with a glass of water. She set the glass in the sink before joining Merrick to see if he’d learned anything new.

  She found him sitting in front of his computer, typing furiously. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around his shoulders and lean into him. “Find anything?” she asked, stopping a good two feet away from him.

  “Not yet. That was Steven on the phone, he told me to try e-mailing someone new in the department. Of course he was an asshole about the whole thing. Wouldn’t give me the contact information until I told him what I was up to.”

  “What’d you tell him?”

  “That I was on a new case. That just pissed him off more because I’d only been back a day and I was already getting new work.”

  His voice was laced with bitterness and her heart went out to him. Without meaning to she stepped closer and ran her hand through his hair in a comforting gesture. Merrick froze in his chair as her fingers trailed through his silky black hair. It was so soft. She’d never tire of the feel of it slipping through her fingers. “Steven is just jealous,” she said at last. “They all are. You’re ten times better than they are and they know it.”

  He turned slowly in his chair to stare up at her. She smiled, then winced as a deep throb went through her head.

  “What is it?” He cupped her cheek.

  “I wouldn’t touch me if I were you,” she said and realized her mistake as he pulled away, hurt. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant because I’m dirty.” She stared down at herself. “I mean, look at me. And I’m fine, it’s just a headache.”

  He eyed her for a few heartbeats before getting to his feet. “You’re using your powers too much,” he chided.

  Another shot of pain went through her and she decided that maybe she was pushing herself a little too hard. She dropped her Shield. “Maybe I’ll lie down for a little bit.” She took a step and stumbled.

  Merrick’s warm, strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her back flush against his chest. Her stomach hiccupped. His breath brushed against her ear. “You’re not going to lie down on my bed covered in God knows what. Come on, Syd, let’s get you cleaned up.”

  She smiled as he maneuvered her into his bathroom.

  He deposited her on the toilet where she watched him turn on the shower, still smiling.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You called me Syd,” she said brightly.

  “Yeah, so?”

  “So,” she used the wall to help her get to her feet, “only my friends call me Syd.” Which meant that he didn’t hate her.

  He arched one ebony brow. “Cali doesn’t call you Syd.”

  “Cali doesn’t count; it sounds weird when she tries to call me Syd. But you … ” She stepped closer. “You called me Syd, which means you think of me as a friend.” She grinned.

  The bathroom was starting to fill with fog from the heat of the shower.

  Something glittered in Merrick’s eyes and Sydney felt an answering clench between her legs. He stepped closer to her and leaned down. “Believe me,” he whispered against her damp lips. “I think of you as more than just a friend.”

  She swallowed thickly.

  But then he straightened, without even kissing her. What the heck?

  “Now come on,” he said. “Let’s get you washed up.” He reached for the hem of her shirt and started to pull it up.

  She stepped back and knocked his hand away. “I’m perfectly capable of undressing myself, thank you.”

  “Oh, perfectly,” he agreed. “But I’m not going anywhere. If you pass out and bash your head on something in my bathroom than that’s a liability to me. You’re not dying on my watch.”

  She fisted her hands on her hips. “So you’re only in here to protect your assets? Not because you want to see me naked?”

  “Exactly,” he said easily and pulled her top over her head before she could protest.

  She gasped.

  Merrick’s eyes roved over her greedily.

  She wrapped her arms around herself self-consciously.

  “It’s nothing I haven’t seen, or touched, or licked, or sucked — ” he growled the last word, “ — before, Syd.”

  Heat scalded her cheeks. “I don’t care. I’m not going to stand here naked while you’re fully dressed, happy as could be.”

  The ice blue of his eyes sparked. “I’m far from happy as can be,” he rumbled.

  She avoided her eyes from the bulge in his pants.

  “And as for being dressed while you’re naked … fine.” He pulled his shirt over his head. “I wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
>
  Sydney stared, heart pounding. If she thought she was uncomfortable before, that was nothing compared to now. “P-put your shirt back on,” she squeaked.

  The steam in the bathroom was becoming oppressive. It added to her discomfort, made her skin damp and sticky.

  “Why?” Merrick’s hands dropped to the front of his pants.

  She stared avidly as he popped the top button. Her heart skipped a beat and she shook herself mentally. “I don’t need a chaperone to shower. Besides,” she tried her best to cast a disgusted look at his groin, “the shower is not the place for sex.”

  Both Merrick’s brows rose before a slow, feral smile broke out over his face. “Are you telling me Miss Prim and Proper hasn’t gotten down and dirty in the shower before?”

  “What did you call me?” she asked, affronted.

  Suddenly Merrick was right in front of her. She stared at all that hard muscle like a possum caught in the headlights of a car.

  Merrick chuckled and she felt his fingers under her chin, lifting her gaze up. “I’m up here. And I called you Miss Prim and Proper. Care to prove me wrong?”

  Desire slithered through her whole body. She lifted her chin further — stubbornly. “I don’t care what you call me,” she lied. “I don’t need an escort to shower. Now get out.”

  He stepped back and she shivered as he took all that heat with him. Even in a room full of steam he radiated more warmth than was in the air.

  “I’ll leave.”

  She sighed in relief.

  “If … ”

  Her body stiffened.

  “ … you can take your pants off without losing your balance or using anything for support.”

  “That’s like a trick question,” she protested instantly. “There’s no way to do it without losing my balance.”

  “Are you saying it can’t be done?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  He pulled the zipper down on his jeans and smoothly pulled them down his legs, first lifting one leg out, then the other. All without losing his balance.

  Sydney couldn’t breathe.

  He wore no underwear under those pants. He stood gloriously naked before her and she couldn’t help but ogle his muscled frame — his long, wide cock. It seemed to pulse before her eyes and moisture flooded her sex. She wanted him buried deep inside her.