Invasion of Her Heart by Trinity Blacio, Ana Lee Kennedy Page B

two vials of antidote for the females. However, I believe I’m being followed. I need to warn Venus of Randle’s plans for her. Thomas and Dell have already been killed in our journey back to Venus’s stronghold. I should be there within two days. I pray she is still alive.
     
    Venus’s hand trembled, and one tear dropped onto the journal, followed by another.
    Volund lifted her chin with his finger. “What is it, Venus?” He leaned close and kissed the tears that trickled down her cheeks.
    “My friend was returning to warn me. Randle, the man who hurt me, is coming for me.” She shook from head to toe. A cold chill drifted up her spine, forcing her to tremble harder, and a small whimper slipped from her. “If he….” Venus rubbed her arms.
    Volund embraced her, and she rested her head on his chest. Quiet filled the room as both men rubbed and kissed Venus, reassuring her. Regardless, she sensed something was wrong. What did Dr. Zeon mean by Randle’s Bone Eaters? She had to know more.
    Venus pushed their hands away and flipped through the journal’s pages until she discovered Randle’s name again.
     
    Somehow Randle has managed to gain control of the male Bone Eaters who reside here. We’ve chosen a different safe house since Randle knew about our other one and attacked us, killing four men and two women before we could escape.
     
    Venus jumped up from Volund’s lap and started pacing. “This isn’t good! How the hell can that fiend control the Bone Eaters? Damn it, if Randle controls those monsters he can get by any security system by using them to bust through it.” She whirled around and ran to the control box that housed her security system and turned everything on.
    She sensed something horrible, felt it in her bones. Randle was close.
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
    Jaxxon didn’t like the sensations flowing from Venus to him. He sensed fear, worry, disgust, and hopelessness. He glanced at his brother, who, in return, shot him a helpless look.
    “Who is this Randle you speak of?” Jaxxon asked.
    Venus strode to the window and looked down at the street. Her body blocked part of the sunlight and created a long, willowy shadow across the floor behind her. “Randle Nyerscot was the head assistant in my parents’ laboratory.
    Sometimes, when my mother and father had no need of Randle’s help, he’d aid Dr. Zeon, but most of the time Randle worked closely with my father.” She turned and walked back to stand in front of Jaxxon, hands on her hips. “After my parents died, Randle thought he owned me. I always knew he was interested in me, and he did ask me out a couple of times—”
    Frowning, Jaxxon questioned, “Asked you out of what?”
    With humor in his voice, Volund answered, “You should’ve been more diligent in studying the latest lexicon of the English language on our journey here, brother. Asking someone out means to pursue him or her in a slow manner. That way, the two involved can determine if they will engage in a true courtship.”
    “Oh.” Jaxxon looked up at Venus, who offered him a fleeting smile. “So, he wanted you for his mate?”
    She nodded. “He wanted me, but not as a mate you would love. He was determined to own me, to use me any way he desired, because Randle has no respect for the female gender.”
    “What happened when you refused his advances?” Volund asked. He scooted to the edge of the cushion. “I sense it did not end well.”
    “No, it didn’t,” said Venus, a tremor in her voice. “Randle jumped me one night as I entered the laboratory to collect some of my parents’ personal things. He pinned me to the floor and tried to rape me.”
    Furious, Jaxxon leapt to his feet. “He tried…consummation…without your consent?” As he placed his hands on the rounded part of her shoulders, her skin overheated beneath his palms. “I will kill him!”
    “That is if I don’t find the man first!” Volund snarled and rose to stand next to Jaxxon.
    “I’m