Dark Peril Page 0,42

The dark fur that was just under his skin, the depravity and violence in him.

"I wouldn't mind leaving, but if we do, I'd like to find that sweet little virgin we had. We could take her with us for the long nights." He laughed softly. "She was a little fighter."

"All teeth and claws," Steve added. "Yeah, she stuck in my head, too, but there's no way I'm going anywhere near her. Brodrick said she's under the protection of the De La Cruz brothers. We'd never get near her." There was speculation in his voice.

"Probably suicide," Brett agreed. "I fed off of her fear. That was such a turn-on. I'm getting hard just thinking about it."

"You're hard all the time," Steve snickered.

Solange knew exactly who they were talking about. Her cousin Jasmine had been taken prisoner by the jaguar-men. Solange and Juliette had managed to get her back with the help of Riordan. The rescue had nearly cost Juliette her life. Riordan had converted Juliette to Carpathian to save her. But they had been too late to keep Jasmine out of the hands of the jaguar-men and she carried a child.

Solange clenched her teeth together to try to keep them from chattering. Rage replaced her weariness. She wanted to rise up out of the water and shove her knife into Brett's throat. She remembered Jasmine's face, bruised and battered, her eyes wide with shock. She would never be that same carefree girl. There were shadows now where she'd been bright. Hate lived and breathed in Solange, and she despised being weak and helpless, cowering in a swollen river, clinging like a child to the tree branches. But she was wounded and exhausted. It was impossible to fight either of the men right then, let alone both together.

Steve jumped from the tree back to the bank. "I say we get out before Brodrick kills us all. I can't take the idiot humans he works with."

"They've found women for us," Brett said. He followed Steve, landing on the bank in a crouch, staring out over the river. "We should find a little island no one knows about and start a collection. We could train them to do whatever we wanted."

Steve licked his lips. "Sex slaves. Brodrick had a room full of them until he got so brutal he killed them one by one. Damn maniac. I spent a lot of time with his little slaves."

"He didn't mind?"

Steve shook his head. "He didn't give a damn about them. He liked to watch, especially if I hurt them. He gets off on hurting them."

Brett smiled. "I like it, too."

Steve laughed. "You're so messed up."

"I don't hear you complaining when we're sharing a little hot bitch."

"Hell, I don't care if you like to mark them up. All I care about is fucking them." He cupped his groin obscenely. "They were put here for one thing."

"That's where Brodrick went wrong. He wants cubs. Forget that," Brett snarled. "Use 'em and abuse 'em. Half the fun is finding them, stalking them and taking them away from their safe little lives. I love watching a woman dancing in a bar, knowing I can take her any time I want right out from under the nose of anyone she loves. I can kill her boyfriend or lover or husband and take her right there next to the body." He flashed another grin. "It's even better when I force the man to watch. I like to make the bitch beg me to take her in every way possible right in front of him, show her how utterly worthless he is and show him what a whore she is."

"You're so screwed up." Steve snorted with laughter.

"Let's get the hell out of here," Brett said. "Far away from this place. But I'm telling you, Steve, I want that little one. I want her in our collection."

Jasmine. Solange felt the tears burning behind her eyes and clamped down hard on her emotions. She couldn't afford emotions. She would somehow find the strength to hunt these two. Anyone threatening her cousin was going to die. It was just a matter of time. But she was so tired. She ruthlessly pushed weariness away.

She had weak moments--that was allowed. Pity wasn't. She'd chosen this life. She had trained for it. She knew there was no going back once she'd set her foot on the path. There was too much evil and it couldn't be ignored. The law of civilization hadn't come to the rain forest yet, and