T. A. Chase

Firebird-Part Thirteen

Firebird copyright (c) 2006 T.A. Chase

Part Thirteen-

The first thing Rue saw when he opened his eyes was the firebird glaring down at him from her perch. A voice in the back of his head yelled for him to run. To get away while he still could. He couldn’t remember why and since Vlatko seemed to have sucked his brain out through his cock, he didn’t have the intelligence to figure out where to run.

“You’re awake and trying to remember why every instinct you have is screaming for you to run.” Vlatko sat down next to him and ran a hand over his hair.

“How did you know?” Rue rested his head on Vlatko’s thigh, staring up at the man.

“You had a dazed ‘what the hell do I do now’ look.” Vlatko chuckled.

“If you’re right, why did the I.U.M. choose me to steal the files from you?” He opened his mouth and nibbled on the piece of apple Vlatko sliced for him.

“Not sure how they did it, but the guys in the Secrets branch of the military must have figured out my weakness.” Vlatko’s rough hands handled the sharp steel blade deftly.

Rue knew he should be worried that the knife would slip and he’d find himself dead. Yet he believed Vlatko wasn’t going to kill him. Of course that could be wishful thinking. “Your weakness?”

“Slender pretty men with bad attitudes.” Vlatko winked at him.

“Strange. Large dark men were never my thing.” Rue rubbed his cheek against the front of Vlatko’s pants.

“There’s always a first time, love. You came here for the challenge. They used your ego against you. You had to prove how good you are by stealing something from one of the I.U.M.’s trained killers.” Vlatko shook his head. “I always knew egos could get people into trouble.”

“You don’t have an ego?” Rue took another piece of apple.

“No. I know I’m good, but I don’t have to prove it to everyone who questions me.”

Rue threw a quick glance over the muscular body close to him. “Who would question you? Even I would think twice about it.”

“There’s been one or two.”

“Why didn’t you kill me?” Rue hated coming back to that question, but his mind wouldn’t let go of it.

“I don’t kill anymore.” The knife got tucked away in the fabric of Vlatko’s clothes.

“But why? I can’t believe you woke up one morning and said ‘I’m done.’ Did you kill someone you didn’t think should die?”

Vlatko’s smile sent a lustful heat racing to Rue’s groin and a cold shiver down his spine.

“None of the people I killed deserved to die, but I killed them anyway, Rue. I didn’t suddenly grow a conscience.” Vlatko’s hand rested on Rue’s throat and stroked. “You’ll probably think I’m a monster, but I liked killing. I liked the power and the thrill of the hunt.”

“Then why walk away and make yourself a marked man?” Rue could understand the thrill and the seduction of power, but he didn’t understand walking away from what made the man happy, even if it was killing others.

“I got tired of being used. The men who run the I.U.M. don’t want to get their own hands dirty, so they turn other men into hunters and executioners. I believe they need to take responsibility for their own actions. They need to be the ones pulling the trigger or holding the knife.” Vlatko’s gaze stared off over the clearing. “The thing they didn’t imagine was that their created killer would start thinking for himself. Their overwhelming problem is they think they’re far more intelligent than every other person in the universe.”

“It must have shocked them when you told them no and then let them know you had proof of what they did.” Rue’s muscles were relaxing under Vlatko’s touch. He squashed the stray thought that with one squeeze of those fingers, his throat could be crushed.

“Their faces turned red and then white. I walked out of the room with them staring daggers at my back.” Vlatko shrugged. “It didn’t bother me. They’ve feared me since the day they made me.”

“If I were smart, I’d fear you too.” Rue grinned.

“You are smart and you are afraid of me, but your instincts are starting to kick in and tell you that I won’t hurt you. I really have nothing to gain by killing you.”

Vlatko reached down and pulled him up, so he was kneeling and facing the man. A rough thumb stroked over the tender spot behind his ear. He moaned.

“I get the feeling that I’d lose more than I ever thought possible if I killed you.”

Vlatko’s words and warm breath settling over his lips caused another shiver to race down Rue’s spine, but this one wasn’t caused by fear. It was caused from the gossamer touch of fate.

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