Dark Desire (18 page)

And he plotted.

When the
seriously deranged doctor made his appearance hours later, Zeke stood, ready
for the instant the door opened. Even the two burly assistants flanking him
didn’t put a blip on his radar. He knew beyond a doubt he could take them
easily. After all he still retained his strength.

“I am by nature
a very careful man.”
Haub
shot him a smug smile,
removing a loaded dart gun and aiming it directly at his chest. “You did not
think me so stupid as to release you when you’re fully conscious, now did you?”

Zeke dodged the
dart easily enough, throwing him a taunting smile in return. Obviously the
doctor hadn’t taken into account the speed of a dark breed, something Zeke
counted on. Another dart flew through the air, and again he moved out of harm’s
way. “You know we can do this all night, or until you run out of darts.”

Rage burned
bright in
Haub’s
dark eyes. “You have just earned
more pain. Hold him down,” he ordered the two men flanking him.

Zeke offered
Haub
a cold smile. “What’s wrong, doc? Can’t do your own
dirty work? Need your muscle here to do a man’s job you can’t do yourself?” he
taunted.

The orderlies
hesitated, casting uneasy glances from Zeke to the doctor.

“Grab the
abomination.
Now!”
The command cracked in the air
sharp as a whip.

The orderlies
came at him, just as he planned. Opening the door to his freedom and the death
he promised the doctor only hours earlier. He moved to the back of the cell and
crouched as he waited for them to come to him, their fear a sour odor thick in
the air.

The men, both
large and heavily muscled, stood shoulder to shoulder. Dressed in green scrubs,
the one on the right took a cautious step toward him, as if he were a deadly
animal ready to attack. “Look, we don’t want to hurt you. Just come along nice
and easy.”

“I don’t do nice
and easy. If you want me, come get me.”

The one on the
left made a sudden lunge for him, but Zeke had expected the move. Springing up
he met the man who tried to wrap his arms around him. When he slammed his
cupped hands hard against his ears, the man let out a scream of pain as Zeke
blew out the man’s eardrums. Gripping the man by the back of the neck he threw
him into the bars, with a sickening crunch of bone breaking the man dropped to
the floor.

Zeke didn’t take
the time to see if he was dead or alive, and his focus whipped up to the other
man who decided it would be a good idea to throw a punch at his face. Bad idea,
one the human would regret. He arched back as the man’s fist flashed past his
nose, and with a quick upward movement of his palm he connected with the man’s
jaw. His head snapped up, making him stumble a few steps back. Zeke kicked out
with his left foot, landing solidly with his stomach and sending him crashing
into the bars. Not waiting for the man to recover he darted through the open
door heading right for
Haub
.

“Your turn,
asshole,” Zeke promised darkly.

 
“I think not.”
Haub
smiled.

Zeke blinked in
surprise as a numbing lethargy immediately coursed down his legs and arms.
Looking down he noticed a dart hit embedded squarely in the center of his
chest, and the drug entered his bloodstream, moving it quickly through his
veins. He snarled, lurching awkwardly toward
Haub
.
The doctor instinctively took a step back, raising the dart gun once again
toward Zeke.

“I really don’t
want to shoot you again and run the risk of you dying of an overdose, but I
will. I can do my exams with your corpse just as easily I assure you. Just sit
down and let the drug do its job.”

“Fuck you,” Zeke
slurred out, fighting the weakness in his legs as they threatened to buckle
beneath him. “I promise you, I will find a way to kill you.”

“If your empty
threats make you feel better about your present situation then by all means,
threaten away. You will soon find there is nothing but pain and death waiting
for you.”

Zeke’s legs gave
out, and he fell to the floor in a heap, his lids dropping like steel shutters
over his eyes, a dark void tugging him down into the inky blackness beckoned to
him, promising an out from the pain to come.

An
empty promise.

Zeke lay
spread-eagled on the cold metal table, wrists and ankles bound by thick
manacles, held fast by thick chains bolted to the floor. Stripped to the waist,
he shivered as a cold sweat broke out over his body. He tried to come to terms
with what was to come. They were taking his eyes, and gods only knew what else
they would remove before death claimed him. Doctor
Haub
,
the butcher, had already informed him there would no anesthesia given, stating
he wanted to see how each breed dealt with pain as he cut and hacked his way
through flesh, muscle, and bone. Zeke tried once again to reach for his ability
and got nothing, not even a slight vibration.

My day just keeps getting better.

He fought the
hopelessness pressing against him to wrap him tight in a black shroud of
despair. He would not be another victim of
Haub’s
.
Better to think of ways to retaliate, turn it around than admit defeat. As long
as his heart beat there was a chance.

As if the
thought summoned the doctor in question,
Haub
picked
that moment to make his entrance, a large smile stretching across his face,
brown eyes gleaming with a maniacal excitement. “Ah, good, you are awake. There
are so many things I wish to discover about your physiology. I found out you’re
from Atlantis, but tell me please, are your eyes common amongst your people?”

“Where’s Cody?”
Zeke snarled out, ignoring the question.

“I
see,
quid quo pro. I give you something and in turn you do
likewise. Very well, I’m in much too good a mood not to play your little game.
Cody is in transit as we speak. Now, it’s your turn.”

“I’m
an
… oddity. Where are you taking him?”

“Very
interesting.
So what other physiology make you different from humans?”

“Quid quo pro,
remember,” Zeke snapped, hating the game, but needing the information just in
case.
In case of what?
You live through this? Not a fucking chance
in hell and you know it.
His inner voice taunted him.

“Quite
right.
He and many others like him are being held in readiness. They will be let loose
on the convention center where the summit will be held. It should be quite a
bloodbath and prove to the world how deadly a threat you dark breeds truly are.
Now that should satisfy your curiosity enough to answer my question.”

“We are in every
way human,” he growled.

“That’s not
entirely true. You can do things no other human can,” the doctor quickly
pointed out. “Your speed is remarkable and the strength you have, not normal at
all.”

“If you would
spend more time developing your brains with your brawn you may just be
surprised how much you could accomplish. But your culture thrives on action
without looking at the possible reactions it would cause.”

“I am offended.
We humans as a race have made great strides.”

“Great
strides in how to kill each other, taking innocent lives and calling it
collateral damage.”
Zeke cut him off harshly. “You don’t even
understand yourselves. How can you even begin to understand another race? Like
you, it’s all about how much pain you can inflict. Tell me,
Haub
,
do you get off on hurting others?”

He could tell by
the grim line of the doctor’s mouth he’d made a direct hit. Yeah, last great
act of defiance, as ineffectual at the moment as a bunny rabbit against a bear,
but what the hell? Saying it still gave him a small amount of satisfaction.

A sharp tingling
spread over his body, raising the fine hairs on his arms and nape of his neck.
He snarled as the familiar power caressed him, struggling against his bonds.
Someone was in the process of jumping to his location, and his stomach clenched
knowing it could only be Amari.

Great, it would
just be like the bitch to want to watch him being dissected.

But what came
out of the jump was something he never expected, couldn’t have thought it
possible. There was another with his ability. The old saying of seeing is
believing
ran in circles in his mind as he stared into the
midnight black eyes of
Ja’mel
.

****

If the situation
weren’t so dire
Laris
would have laughed at the shock
showing on Zeke’s face. As it stood, she found little humor in the situation at
the moment and didn’t know if she ever would again. She watched with growing
satisfaction as
Ja’mel
grabbed the doctor by the
throat, tossing him across the room so hard he crashed into the wall. She
rushed to Zeke’s side, struggling to break the locks holding the manacles
secure.

“
Ja’mel
, see if he has the keys. I can’t free Zeke.”
Laris’s
gaze swept over Zeke fearing she would find him
injured. She was relieved to find his flesh whole and unhurt.
Thank the gods.
“Are you all right?”

“You got to me
in time, but how? I thought Amari had you.” Zeke gave her an encouraging smile,
and her heart fluttered in reaction.
Just being near him made
her feel wanted, desired.

Ja’mel
moved to the
other side of Zeke and removed the manacles holding him down. He stood up
rubbing his raw wrists. She caught her breath at the look of raw fury on his
face, lips a white tight line of tension, his unique eyes nearly back with the
promise of retribution. Zeke looked like a very dangerous wild animal, ready to
attack at the slightest provocation.

“The doctor is
mine,” Zeke growled low, his gaze glued to
Ja’mel’s
in a silent challenge.

Ja’mel’s
black gaze
narrowed with displeasure. “We have no time for this. Amari can arrive at any
time. I know it won’t be very long before she discovers
Lari
and I are missing. Surely your petty payback is of little consequence under the
circumstances.”

Zeke snapped at
the
Mer
, not giving a shit about the rules of
diplomacy drilled into him since a young child. “I owe the fucker for Cody and
who knows how many others he’s destroyed.”

Ja’mel
raised one dark
eyebrow. “Whatever course of retribution you have in mind for the miserable
human, make it fast.” He stepped back giving Zeke access to
Haub
coming to on the floor.

“This is for
you, Cody.” Zeke spoke in a breathless whisper before hauling him up off the
floor, staring hard at the twisted human. “I promised you I would kill you. I’m
a man who keeps my promises.”

Haub
whimpered
,
terror etched in stark relief on his face, which had
suddenly gone pale. “Please, I only do what Pope wishes. It’s he who makes me
do these experiments.”

“Yeah, and you
enjoy every sick, twisted moment of it.” Disgust dripped from Zeke’s words.

“I can give you
anything you want. I have money.”

Zeke took the
doctor’s head between his hands and twisting hard to the side. There was an
audible snap of bone before his body went slack. Releasing his grip on the very
dead doctor he stepped back letting the corpse fall at his feet, his eyes
trained on
Ja’mel
. “I only want your death, bastard.
Now, I’m ready.”

“And your people
call us bloodthirsty?”
Ja’mel
laughed.

 
Laris
went to Zeke,
unable to resist the need to touch him, to be assured again, that he truly was
fine. Her fingers trembled slightly on the tense muscle of his bicep. Just that
simple touch made her weak with relief. “It was an honorable kill. Retribution
for all the lives he destroyed.”

Zeke’s gaze
softened as he stared down at her. “Thank you,
Lari
.”
He spoke softly, with a hint of a smile, which had her blood heating and pulse
hammering in her temples. Clearly unaware of his effect on her, he turned his
head toward
Ja’mel
and frowned. “What the hell
happened to you?”

“A
small disagreement.”

“I’d hate to see
the other guy.” Zeke barked out a laugh.

“There were
five, and they
do
look much the worse
for wear.”

“Can you beat on
your chest later, brother mine? We need to get out of here before anyone else
decides to check in on the doctor.”
Laris
gave
Ja’mel
her best glare, before turning her attention to Zeke.
“Are you ready?”

“Ah,
no.”
Hesitancy colored his voice. “Amari came by and shot me with something to keep
me from jumping. It’s still preventing me from accessing my ability.”