The Devil In Disguise (Bad Things #1)(68)

Her breath heaved in and out of her lungs as she slapped her hands against the ship’s deck to steady herself. She looked up and saw that Luke held Garrick, only Luke’s hand wasn’t that of a man. His fingers were the talons of a dragon, and those talons were drawing blood as they tightened on Garrick’s throat.

“What did I hear you say to my Mina?” Luke asked, tilting his head, his eyes glowing with power. “Right. When you pass out, I’ll stop.” Blood flowed down Garrick’s neck. “Guess what? I won’t stop, not until you’re dead.”

She wanted to stand up and run to Luke, but tails weren’t made for standing. She could only drag herself forward with her hands as she fought to get closer to him.

“I’ll kill her,” Madeline shrieked. “If you don’t let him go, now, she’s dead!”

Mina felt the barrel of the gun press to her temple.

Very slowly, Luke turned to look at Madeline. He didn’t ease his grip on Garrick. Blood kept flowing from the struggling agent’s neck. Mina realized that all of the other goons under Garrick’s command were gone. Leo had tossed them all overboard. He’d even thrown the boat captain into the water. The only people on the deck were her, Luke, Leo, Garrick, Madeline, and Julian.

“Where the f*ck is Rose?” Julian bellowed.

Madeline laughed. “That vamp is at the bottom of the ocean.”

Julian didn’t hesitate. He ran to the side of the boat and dove over the edge.

So then it was just Mina, Luke, Leo, Garrick and Madeline.

In a stand-off.

“You don’t want her to die,” Madeline said to Luke. “Because you’re as freakishly obsessed with her as Garrick. So how about you don’t play with me, hmmm? Let Garrick go. Then you—and your twin over there—you two get the hell away from me!”

Luke didn’t let go of Garrick. “I’m not obsessed.”

“Bullshit.” Madeline jammed the barrel harder against Mina’s temple. “Talk about men being led around by their cocks. She’s a freaking fish, can you not see that? She’s—”

“Mermaids have incredible power,” Leo said softly. “That power draws others to them. Garrick is like the lost sailors of old. He saw her, wanted to possess a fantasy, and he decided that he would do anything to have her. He was driven by his own greed and lust. Mina did nothing to make him this way.” He paused. “He’s just a f*cking screwed-up bastard, that’s all.”

And he was a bastard still held prisoner in Luke’s grasp.

“I will blow her head open,” Madeline yelled.

Slowly, Luke released Garrick. As soon as he was free, Garrick ran to Madeline’s side. He put his hand to his throat, trying to stop the blood flow.

“I’m not obsessed,” Luke said again. He straightened his shoulders and stared right at Mina. “I’m in love. There’s a difference.”

She couldn’t breathe. He was…he loved her?

Luke. My Luke. How had she forgotten him, even for an instant? She could never allow that to happen again.

“Give me the gun,” Garrick snapped. “Now, Madeline.”

Madeline hesitated.

“He’ll kill you if you do,” Leo called out. “That’s his plan, you know. To kill me, to kill Luke. Then to kill you. At that point, he thinks he’ll be left with the lovely Mina.”

“But we’re not easy to kill,” Luke growled the words.

The boat rocked in the water. Mina’s tail seemed to burn.

“Who is your boss?” Luke asked. He was staring at Madeline. “Who gives the orders? And where the hell is the bastard? Because I was told he should be on this boat. Is he hiding? Like a coward?”

“Tell him nothing,” Garrick ordered in the next breath. “Give me the gun—or just shoot the bastards yourself! You’re still using the bullets I gave you, right? You still have them?”

“Yes,” Madeline said. But she didn’t give him the gun. She didn’t aim at Luke or Leo. She kept the gun shoved to Mina’s head.

“Who do you work for?” Luke’s voice was low, deep.

Madeline laughed. “I work for the U.S. government. We know all about the paranormals, and we’re going to use them to make sure we have the best weapons in the world.”

“We aren’t weapons,” Mina whispered because a broken whisper was all she could manage then, thanks to Garrick’s strangulation of her. “We’re people.”

“No, you’re not. Even the vampire’s brother knows that. Rose’s brother was the one to create our unit. Operation Night Switch. ONS. He’s the one who found out about the beasts out there. He’s the one who organized us. He’s the one who told us your weaknesses.”

Vampire’s brother. Rose. The woman in the box. Mina had seen the flash of her fangs.

“Madeline, quiet!” Garrick grabbed for her, yanking the gun right out of her hand.

Finally, Mina was free. Madeline and Garrick were fighting over the weapon so she used that moment to her advantage. Her tail flashed out and slammed into their legs. Both Madeline and Garrick fell hard, tumbling onto the deck. The gun flew from their fingers and skittered across the bow.

Take that, *s.

“Get her back in the water!” Leo bellowed. “Her tail is burning—she needs to go back in! You get her and I’ll take care of the humans!”