Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(61)

He tried to lunge forward as the tiger ripped the crutch from Tyana’s hands, but he was frozen, paralyzed. Never before had he felt so utterly helpless.

And then it was just him and the tiger, face to face in the rugged Nepalese mountains. Damiano stood naked before him, his hands at his sides, his palms facing forward. An eagle swooped down behind the tiger and landed on a tree branch a short distance away. From behind rock outcroppings, more animals appeared. He knew them. They were all the animals he fought so desperately when the shift came over him.

“You are one of us,” the tiger said, startling Damiano. “Why do you fight us so?”

“Our brother,” the eagle cried.

“No,” Damiano whispered. “I’m just a man.”

The tiger tossed his head. “You are flesh, but your spirit cannot be confined to your human form. Free yourself as you have freed me.”

Damiano shook his head. Sweat beaded his forehead as he struggled with invisible bonds.

“Damiano. Damiano! Wake up.”

He heard Marcus’s voice from a distance. He stared back at the assembled animals. One by one, they disappeared until only the eagle and the tiger remained. Then the eagle took flight, circled once overheard and disappeared into the clouds.

Embrace us.

Damiano’s eyes flew open as his body jerked to awareness. Marcus knelt over him, his brow creased with concern.

“Are you all right? Do you need another injection?”

“No,” he croaked.

Slowly he sat up with Marcus’s assistance.

“What happened, D?”

Damiano shook his head. The images so vivid before now blurred into a mass of confusion.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “God, I don’t know.”

Marcus put his hand on Damiano’s shoulder and squeezed. “You’re going to be okay. We’re going to beat this. You have to believe that.”

He looked up into Marcus’s eyes, and for the first time let all the doubts and fears flood him. Before he’d kept a positive attitude, more for Ty than for himself. But she wasn’t here. He was alone, and there was no reason to keep living a lie.

“I’m not okay, Marcus. I’ll never be okay. What are we trying to do here? How is any of this going to change what I’ve become? Am I looking at spending the rest of my life anticipating the next time someone sticks a needle in my arm? Will I have to forever separate myself from the people I love for fear that I might kill them?”

Marcus blew out his breath and let his hand fall from Damiano’s shoulder. “You can beat this, D. I believe that, and you have to believe it or you’re going to lose. That’s all I can offer you. Tyana believes in you and so do your brothers. Don’t let them down by giving up. Don’t let yourself down.”

Damiano reached for Marcus’s hand and grasped it tightly. “I don’t know that I’ve ever thanked you for everything you’ve done for me and Ty.”

“Falcon saved me,” he said simply. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to repay that debt.”

Damiano shook his head. “You’re family now. There are no debts among family.”

A sound outside the small room had Marcus turning his head. He got awkwardly to his feet and extended a hand down to Damiano. “That’ll be Nali. Come, and I’ll introduce you.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Her stomach growled, and she remembered breakfast had been forgotten. And now it was well past lunch as well. Katie got out of bed and hurriedly dressed. When she stuck her head into the living room, she found it empty.

Distant noise from the kitchen told her where they were, and she headed in that direction. She rounded the corner and found both men in the process of making lunch.

“Hey, there she is,” Braden said when he looked up. “We wondered if you’d slipped into a coma.”

She grinned and leaned against the cabinets close to the stove.

Ian walked over to her and pressed inward, crowding her with his big body. He bent to kiss her. “You okay?” he asked, his eyes bright with concern.

She reached up to touch his face, her fingers trailing down the slight stubble at his jaw. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been better.”

“I’m glad,” he said simply.

“Have a seat,” Braden called. “I’m about to dish it up.”

Ian kissed her quickly again before backing away so she could go to the table. Braden’s gaze followed her as she slid into her seat, and she smiled up at him, allowing the full force of her contentment to shine through. A dimpled grin was her reward as he ambled over, skillet in hand to scoop out her omelet onto her plate.

Not to be outdone by his older brother, evidently, he cupped her chin with his free hand and gave her a lingering kiss. She savored it, his taste and the heated feel of his lips over hers. It was a possessive kiss, one meant to remind her of his ownership of her body.

As much as she should have balked at such a notion, she couldn’t help but enjoy a delicious shiver.

“You’re ours, Katie,” he murmured as he released her mouth. “Whatever you’re thinking or feeling, you remember that fact.”

A flutter started deep in her stomach. She loved that they were so possessive, and she loved it even more that they didn’t treat her like a piece of glass. Sex with them had been volatile. Edgy and rough. They’d treated her like an equal.