“Who's following you?” Chris's voice was calm as he handled the vehicle with practiced ease.
Ricky was breathing hard, as if he had been running for some time. “A werewolf named Kyle, and the demon he's working with.” Ricky gasped.
A growl trickled from Chris's throat.
Ricky's eyes went wide. “Holy shit, sis. What are you doing with a were?”
“I met him while I was searching for you.”
“You said she's dead.” Chris looked at them in the rearview mirror once they were back in the tunnels and the door closed behind them. “By she, do you mean Emily?”
Tears pooled in Ricky's eyes. He nodded slowly then turned to stare out the car window at the dull cement walls of the tunnel. Rachel watched him, glad he was back. Her heart ached for what he was going through, but she was thrilled to have him be-side her in the car. She couldn't think past that right now.
It took them longer to get back to the MesoAmerican than it had to get to the dam. The urgency was gone, and Chris drove at a normal speed. Rachel spent the entire trip checking every couple of minutes that Ricky was still there.
20
Chris pushed the ache in his chest out of his mind as he drove. He slowed the car as they got close to the MesoAmerican.
“Where's the remote?” He had to ask twice be-fore Rachel realized he was talking to her.
“Sorry, what?”
Chris asked again.
“There.” She pointed to a small cubby under the stereo that he'd missed. He hit the button and swung the vehicle around so he could back it into place once the door rolled open.
Chris watched as Rachel and her brother exited the car, then followed them into the main tunnel, not sure if it would work, he pressed his hand against the scanner panel. The door started rolling shut. Good, he wouldn't have to call Rachel back to do it. He noticed Ricky constantly looking around anxiously. Not that Rachel was any less uneasy, but she kept checking to make sure Ricky was still there.
Chris couldn't fault her much for that. He'd only witnessed a few days of her month-long search, but he knew she had missed her brother. Rachel pushed open the door, which led to the waiting area before the elevator. The small space seemed to amplify the musty, dirty scent that clung to Ricky, far more than Chris had noticed in the car, probably because the air in here was still. Chris hit the call button while Rachel wrapped one arm around Ricky and hugged him again. The short wait for the lift car only seemed to make Ricky more nervous. When the elevator arrived with a soft ding, Ricky jumped and gasped.
Ricky jumped again, though not as badly, when they reached the floor with Rachel's apartment. Soon, the three of them made it into Rachel's apartment, where Ricky seemed to relax a little. Rachel fetched several bottles of water from the refrigerator in her small kitchen and handed them out before retrieving a blanket and wrapping it around her brother as she walked him to the couch and sat down.
“What happened to you?” Rachel sat on the couch beside Ricky.
Ricky sighed and seemed to deflate, as if someone had let out all the air that had been holding him up. “What hasn't.” He glanced at Rachel then his gaze settled on Chris and stayed there. “I started out looking for Emily.” He paused as if waiting for some-thing.
Chris nodded, hoping to get him to go on.
“It took me a while to find her because she was hiding.”
“Hiding from who?” Chris frowned.
“A were named Kyle.”
“Why was she hiding from him? Do you know?”
“I never got a clear answer.” Ricky gave his head a slight shake. “He seemed to think she owed him something, but I never figured out what. She apparently didn't have whatever it was to give though. I found her the same time he did, and he captured us both.” Ricky shuddered at the memory.
“He locked us in a dark room for a long time. I don't know how long. They fed us sometimes, but there were no windows, and the only light we saw was when he visited.” He fell silent for several long moments “He tried over and over to get Emily to contact her brother, to get him to retrieve whatever he was after, but she refused.” Ricky's gaze dropped, and he stared at the floor. “I didn't even know she had a brother.” His voice had gone soft as he spoke that last bit to himself.
Chris's chest ached with the loss of the girl he'd watched grow up, and he regretted that he'd been a stubborn kid who had always refused to call her his sister. At the same time, he was proud that she'd managed to stick to her convictions and not give him up. Although, depending on what Kyle had wanted, Chris wished she had. Kyle was muscled, but he was weak; someone who took orders rather than give them. This time however, he'd chosen to take them from the wrong person. Chris would see to it that this was one of the last wrong choices he made.
“How did you get from you both imprisoned to Emily dead and calling me?” Rachel's voice brought Chris back to the present. Ricky let his head hang. He muttered something Chris couldn't make out, even with his superior hearing.
“What?”
“They beat her to death,” Ricky said, louder this time.
Chris blinked, sitting back in his chair as Ricky's words sunk in. It took a lot of work to beat a were to death. Far more than a normal human, which was no mean feat.
“They beat her to death?” Chris had to make sure he'd heard the other man right.
Ricky nodded. “Not all at once, it took them a while. They would drug our food. We knew it was drugged, but we were too hungry to refuse it.” Ricky rolled his shoulders. “Sometimes we woke tied to chairs, but not always. They would set us facing each other and use us against each other. You know, hurt one of us to get what they wanted from the other.”
“So, they beat you too?” Rachel peeled back the blanket wrapped around her brother, then lifted his shirt revealing dark purple bruises covering his abdomen.
Ricky fumbled as he pushed her away and covered himself again. “That doesn't matter. What they did to me was to get her to talk, when they realized it wasn't working, they just tortured her.” Silent tears flowed down his face as he stared unseeingly into the distance.
“She never did tell them. She never broke. After she died, they seemed to lose interest in me. I found my way out of the room, and then I found a phone.” He turned to Rachel. “That's when I called you. I tried to stay out of sight, but they found me, and I was certain they were going to catch me. That I would be killed just like Emily. So I ran.” Ricky turned to meet Chris's gaze. “There aren't a lot of places to hide on the dam, but there are a few ways to avoid getting caught.” The tears flowed un-checked down his face as Ricky looked at Rachel. “I can't believe she's dead.” The silent tears became quiet sobs as Rachel wrapped her arm around her brother, and he buried his face in her shoulder.
“I'll leave the two of you.” Chris stood.
“Wait.” Rachel's voice stopped him before he reached the door. He turned to find Rachel standing as Ricky scrubbed his hands over his face. “Are you going to tell Emily's mother?”
“No.” Chris gave his head a slight shake. “I'll wait on that until I know more, maybe have some kind of proof, or have taken care of Kyle.”
“I'd like you to stay.” Her voice trembled slightly, and she glanced down at her brother.
“You're busy. I'll come another time.”
“No.” Ricky stood and pulled the blanket around his shoulders. “I need to go home. I need a shower, clean clothes, and to try to get some sleep.” He shuffled toward the door, Rachel right behind him. She looked up at Chris with pleading eyes.
“Just let me get him settled, and I'll be back. Can you wait a little while?”
“I can. I've got a few calls to make, but I can wait.”
“Good.” She followed Ricky to the door. “I'll be back as soon as I can. Make yourself at home.”
Chris watched as she herded her brother out, fol-lowed him, and closed the door, then pulled out his cell and dialed Adam.
“What can I do for you, s
ir?” his investigator said as he answered the phone.
“I have been told Emily's dead.”
“I'm sorry to hear that, sir. The source?”
“An unknown, but I trust him on this. I want you to find Kyle. He's been spending time near the dam.”
“Yes, sir. What do you want me to do once I find him?”
“Take him into custody, along with anyone and everyone he's with. I don't care if they're dragons, djinni, werewolves, vampires, or angels, take them all.” They discussed details and disconnected, then Chris called Maggie and told her to clear his schedule for the next week, reschedule everything she could, and let him know if there was anything that couldn't be canceled, or rescheduled, without giving her any more details. He knew it was going to come out soon, and he would have to deal with Tiffany, her grief, and the funeral arrangements.
Chris may not have claimed Emily as his sister the way she had claimed him as a brother, but that was mostly because of the stubborn nature of teenagers and males in general. Besides, by not giving Kyle whatever he was after, she had proven her loyalty to Chris. The only way he had left to honor that was to give her the farewell she deserved. Chris sat on the sofa, buried his head in his hands, and let the emotions he'd been holding back for the last hour go.
21
Rachel was so excited her brother was back that she nearly danced her way to the elevator on her way back to her apartment, where Chris waited. Thinking of Chris made her stumble as she realized how badly he must be hurting. She had gotten her brother back, Chris hadn’t been as lucky.
Emily was gone.
Rachel had stayed with Ricky while he had showered and eaten. He swore he was headed straight to bed and pushed her to go. She didn't want to let him out of her sight but knew hovering would only piss him off. Now she headed back to her apartment to try to comfort the other man in her life. The one that, if given the opportunity to, she would tie her life to for eternity. She wondered briefly if weres mated for life, like dragons did, but dismissed the thought before reaching the floor she shared with Teya and Neo. Now wasn't the time for that.
At her apartment door, she pressed her hand to the scanner and pushed the door open once the lock flashed green. Inside, she found Chris sitting on the couch, his head buried in his hands. Cold relief washed through her. She'd been afraid he’d only told her he would stay in order to get her to go, and that he would be gone when she returned.
She closed the door, and Chris looked up. His eyes were dry, but she could see the streaks where he'd wiped away his tears. This was good. He had let out some of the emotions he had locked away while they questioned Ricky about what had happened. Since he was a Fraction leader, that hadn't surprised her. It was much how Teya would have handled things. Now though, he could let go some, but if he trusted her enough to let her see it was the question.
“I'm so sorry.” Rachel went to Chris and hugged him. “I had hoped we'd find them both alive. I'm sorry Emily didn't make it.” She didn't know what else to say. Chris's arms wrapped around her and held on tight for a long moment. “Do you want to talk about her?”
“No.”
She felt him shake his head where his face was buried against the top of her head. Chis straightened and stepped back a little but took her offered hand. Curious what he was thinking, she gazed up at his face. “I was thinking about this before, and what's happened this evening has just made me more certain.”
Rachel's heart sunk and dread knotted in her stomach. Was he going to tell her that he didn't want to see her anymore? “What?”
“I know it's not traditional, and there will be a lot of details we need to talk about and work out, but I want to make the mating between us work. I want you to move in with me. Or I'd be willing to move in here, if that's what you want. I don't care; I just don't want to waste any more time. I want to be with you.”
“Move in?” Rachel blinked at him a moment, stunned. Her heart jumped and she couldn't breathe for several seconds. She nodded. “Eventually, I'll want to bind the mating, but I'll take moving in for now.”
Chris pulled her close and kissed her hard. She re-turned his kiss with as much passion and enthusiasm as she had in her. It was no small amount.
“Bind?” he asked after the kiss. “What do you mean bind the mating?” Rachel stared at Chris a moment, unsure if he was serious.
“Yeah, bind. Dragons have a spell that binds two mates together so that, should one mate be a nor-mal, they don't die after a normal life span, leaving the dragon alone for generations to come. The spell lets both mates live long lives together. The down-side is, that being bound together, when one dies, the other dies as well. Do weres not have something similar?” Rachel frowned. How could weres not have some way to bind mates?
“I don't know.” Chris looked away for a moment then turned back to her. “Obviously, my parents weren't mated. Later, Dad was involved with Tiffany, they said they were mates, but she's still alive, and he's gone. I've never heard anything about weres binding to mates. That doesn't mean it's not done, just that I don't know anything about it. I wonder if your spell will work on me?”
Rachel's heart raced. Chris had said will work, that meant he would be willing to try. “I'm willing to find out if you are.”
22
Chris looked around as he let himself into his penthouse apartment, wondering what Rachel would change once she arrived. Not that he cared. He had gotten rid of a few things when he’d moved into the apartment and had them replaced, but more because he didn't like the memories they evoked than him liking the new pieces. Rachel was welcome to do whatever she wanted to their living space if she was willing to share it with him. Heading for the bedroom, he thought about what he needed to do get done before the meeting he'd scheduled with Teya that afternoon to discuss a treaty, which would formalize an alliance between the two Fractions. The in-house phone rang as he stripped out of his shirt.
“Walters,” he picked it up.
“It's Adam. I'm at your office.”
“Come on upstairs, I'll buzz you in.” Chris grabbed a clean shirt from the closet and pulled it on as he went to let the other man in. “Tell me what you know,” Chris walked barefooted into his kitchen while his visitor followed. Chris started a pot of coffee then stared into the refrigerator, not really seeing what was inside.
“I have Kyle and a couple of our other wolves, there was a demon working with them, but I was unable to catch him.” Adam shook his head a moment.
“Have they said anything?”
“I've not questioned them. I threw them in a cell down stairs, and I haven't been back. They're not talking to each other though; I've been watching them through the cameras.” Adam was quiet a moment. “You sure she's dead?”
“As sure as I can be without a body. Considering Kyle is the one behind the black market for human flesh, we may never find her body.” Chris shook his head and filled a mug with coffee. He lifted the pot in Adam's direction. “Want a cup?”
“Sure.”
Chris poured a second cup and passed it to him, and then told him about Ricky's call and about what he had told Chris and Rachel the night before.
“Any idea what Kyle wanted from her?” Adam asked after a while.
“Nope, but I'd like you to try to find out. Question him, torture him, I don't care. I just want answers. If you can't get them, I'll go talk to him myself.” Chris clenched his jaw as he thought about what Kyle had done to Emily and how badly he wanted to see that Kyle suffered the same fate. But revenge wasn't always the smartest move, even if it would be satisfying.
“What's your next step?” Adam sipped his coffee and watched Chris.
“Now that we have Kyle and the others, I go talk to Tiffany and let her know her daughter won't be coming back. Without a body, we can't have a big funeral. It would raise questions from the human police, but we can still honor her for what she did. I'll have to work that out with Tiffany.”
“I don't envy you that one.”
“I'm not looking forward to it, but it has to be done.” Chris sighed. “The sooner, the better too. I need to be back by six to let Rachel in. I don't think she'll bring too much to start, but she'll be moving in before long. That reminds me, as soon as we get the Kyle situation taken care of, I need to talk to you about the security here.”
“Yes, sir.” Adam lifted one brow and watched Chris but didn't say anything more as he sipped the steaming coffee.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna say.” Chris shook his head and set his mug on the counter. “It’s not going to be an easy conversation to have with Tiffany, but I guess I’d better get to it.” He finished his coffee, showed Adam out and went to break the news to his step-mother.
23
Rachel stepped into Chris's penthouse apartment for the first time and was dazzled by the lights of the city below. It was a view she only saw when she was flying high over the city. She had to be careful about that these days and hadn't flown anywhere near the city in years for fear of being seen.
“What do you think?” Chris asked, anxious. “Do you like it, could you live here?”
“I love it.” She turned away from the breathtaking view out the glass wall and faced him.
“Are you sure? You can change whatever you want. I don't care what the place looks like.”
“I don't either,” Rachel moved close and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I care that I'm here with you.” Craning her neck back, she smiled up at him. “This place could be a cabin in the woods, or a shack in the desert, and I wouldn't care as long as you were there too.”
Chris chuckled, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed the end of her nose. “I'm glad you feel that way, but I'm serious. This going to be your home, I want you to be comfortable. Do with it what you will.”
“All right. But first, give me the grand tour.” Rachel winked. “Especially the bedroom.”
The Dragon Chronicles_City of Sin Page 18