Eternal Prey Read Free Page B

The word “god” popped into her mind, but she shoved it aside. “What if something happens to Fin?”
    “Then Rap’s soul sleeps forever.”
    Utah might sound casual, but there was nothing casual about his clenched fists.
    “I’m sorry.” And she was. She studied his face, for the first time seeing just a man. A man who was hurting for his brother.
    “Yeah.” He seemed to give in to weariness as he rested his head against the headrest and closed his eyes.
    She took the hint and turned away to stare out the window. It seemed to take way too long before they pulled into the condo’s underground parking garage. No one said anything as they took the elevator up to the top floor.
    Stepping from the car, Utah covered the distance to Fin’s door in a few long strides. He pounded on it. Lia would have rung the bell. She wondered if they had even one thing in common.
    He’d raised his fist to pound again when the door swung open. A tall, dark-haired man stared at them. As doormen went, he looked a little intense.
    “Lia, this is Shen, Fin’s assistant.” Utah stepped past the man into the condo.
    Shen smiled and stood aside for Tor and her to enter. His smile didn’t exactly transform him into Mr. Relaxed, but at least he seemed welcoming. “Hi, Lia. Follow me. Everyone’s in the dining room.”
    As she followed Shen, Lia tried not to let the total awesomeness of the condo impress her. Walls of glass overlooked the city and river. And Fin definitely didn’t shop for furniture in the same places she did. Mega cash outlay. Where had Fin scraped that kind of money together? But she figured if you had your own pack of predators working for you, people gave you what you wanted.
    Shen stopped in front of a closed door. Lia could hear men’s voices behind it. She steeled herself as Tor swung the door open.
    They were all seated around a long table. Everyone stopped talking. They turned and looked at her. These were the Eleven then. No, ten, since Rap was missing. All big, all lethal, and probably humanity’s best chance to survive the end of this year. She’d seen some of them in Philly, but in very different forms.
    Lia straightened her spine, tipped her chin up at a confident angle, and walked with Utah and Tor into the room. She felt their stares follow her as she chose a seat between Utah and Tor. Then she met each of their gazes.
    She’d lived around vampires her whole life. Lia understood predators. Never look nervous, never look away, and always send a message that you’re the biggest badass in the room. She saved the man at the head of the table for last.
    This, then, was Utah’s boss, the leader of the Eleven. And no matter that she’d heard descriptions of him . . .
    There were no words.
    He had to be at least six foot seven, but it wasn’t his size that riveted her.
    Long silver hair spilled over his shoulders and down his back. Not gray. Silver. The glittery glow of it raised goose bumps along her arms.
    “I’ve been waiting to meet you, Lia.”
    Fin’s voice, sensual or threatening? Lia came down on the side of threatening. But who would ever care about his voice when he had that face? It was a face carved from shadows and dark places where normal people never dared go. It was primitive force, sexual power, and unearthly beauty all stamped with an aura so ancient it took her breath away.
    “We need to have a long talk soon.” Fin smiled.
    Lia decided Fin’s smile wouldn’t fool anyone. Transfixing like the rest of him, the smile somehow didn’t ring true. Maybe because she sensed that no emotion lay beneath it. Fin’s smile would be the last thing you’d see as you died, and it wouldn’t make the dying easier.
    “Sure.” She tried to sound casual, but she absolutely did not want to be closed into a room alone with this man.
    “I don’t think you’ve met most of the Eleven.”
    “Not in their human forms.”
    Fin introduced all of them, a string of names attached to unfamiliar faces.