“This little pixie…” Joaquín jabbed a thumb toward Shia, “won’t let me in to see you,” he said, his tone softening toward sarcasm, only slightly.
I saw fangs start to appear from Shia, long, powerful canine teeth elongating from the top and bottom as her face widened. Her eyes changed, the color growing golden, pupils narrowing like a cat. Her hair streaked with tan and white that flowed onto her skin like a tattoo. I knew I should be saying something, doing something to stop her but I stood there mesmerized by the changes taking place before me.
“Leah!” Cougar yelled. “Do something or I will!”
I snapped out of my fascination. “Shia! He’s a friend! We do not eat our friends!” I spoke the last words slowly, carefully.
Shia snapped that gaze to me and the look of intensity nearly took my breath away.
Shia snorted a laugh that was not in her own voice, but deeper and throaty. “I don’t want to eat him,” she looked Joaquín up and down while her fangs retreated, “he doesn’t look the least bit appetizing.”
It was my turn to laugh. A half oh-my-God-I-can’t-believe-you-said-that mixed with a nervous chuckle. Joaquín had held his ground and I found I was more than a little impressed by that. “I think you should apologize for calling Shia a ‘pixie’, Joaquín. She seems to have taken it, um … personally.”
“I’m just here to say goodbye, Leah.” His voice softened as his body began to loosen by degrees. “I’m taking leave. Aaron is capable of handling the department and SINS has jurisdiction over this,” he paused as if searching for the right thing to say, “…case,” he finished stiffly.
I looked at him, confused. I’d never known him to walk away in the middle of a case before. He’d cancelled dinners, dates and weekend plans to remain on top of a situation. I combed my brain trying to think of something that would be important enough to pull him away. I sucked in a breath when the thought hit me. “Ana?” I asked anxiously. “Is she okay?”
Ana was Joaquín’s little sister. She’d been at college and my stomach clenched in worry.
Joaquín smiled, a tired smile but, there, just the same. He took a step closer and I saw Shia tense. She had returned to her normal appearance, no fangs and normal skin color, so I took that as a good sign.
“It’s fine, Shia…” I held up my hand to stop her, “just, give us a minute, okay?”
Shia’s eyes traveled from me to Joaquín then Cougar and back again. She deliberately walked between Joaquín and I. “I’ll be by the door,” she turned to Joaquín, “if you need me,” she finished with a touch of warning.
I put my hand on her shoulder. “Thank you,” I said sincerely, hoping she knew I meant for more than just giving Joaquín and I a moment.
“I need a level playing field,” Joaquín began. “I’m going away.” He lifted his shoulder in a tight shrug. “Consider it a vacation.”
“You’re sure everything’s okay?” I asked skeptically. I knew Joaquín and everything in his voice and body language was just wrong.
He took a deep breath, held it for a moment then let it out in a rush. “I just want some time to process everything. I want to get away from all this paranormal shit and live like it never existed.”
Like I never existed, a small voice in my head insisted.
“I need some time, Leah,” he took a shuddering breath, “besides, Aaron is more than capable of handling things around here. I need to start taking some time for me.” His voice sounded determined but something also sounded a little too rehearsed.
“Where are you going?” I hedged.
He waved his head from side to side, eyebrows raised in thought. “I have a couple of places in mind.”
I nodded. What else could I do? “If you need me…” I began.
Joaquín put his hands on my shoulders and leaned in close. I saw Justice take a step closer from the corner of my eye. I waved her back.
“I’ll know where to find you, Leah.” He kissed my cheek. “For what it’s worth,” he whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For this.” Joaquín stuck a needle deep into my neck and rammed the plunger home. Shock was replaced by fury as my body liquefied and I fell helplessly to the ground as he fired two shots simultaneously.
I heard a roar so loud I would have covered my ears if I had been able to move my arms. Shia fell mere inches from Joaquín, already in mountain lion form. The tan and white stripes that appeared tattooed over her skin were now blended together into fur. Her hands were now paws with razor-sharp claws extending from the tips. A pool of blood snaked across the tile from underneath her, matting her beautiful coat. She fought to stand up and growled in fury each time she faltered. Her massive body heaved with each breath she took.
Cougar was crouched on the floor, blood pumping out of his neck while he held one hand over the wound. He was still alive and struggling to make his way toward me, agony clear on his face each time he moved across the floor. I could see what remained of his color draining from him. If he didn’t get blood soon, he’d die. Yet, his eyes were still very much alive. The look in them was terrifying and I had no doubt that if he could get to Joaquín, he wouldn’t just feed, he’d suck every ounce of blood from him until he lay lifeless in his grasp.
I watched in horror as Joaquín pulled a second gun from his back and fired into Cougar again.
My world suddenly turned upside-down, literally, as Joaquín hefted me across his shoulder and sprinted out the door. Each step he took forced the air from my lungs until he finally stopped at the open door of his truck. It was still running and he tossed me into the seat beside him and dropped it into gear. I don’t know if I felt any pain, all I could think about was Shia. She’d told me she would protect me with her life. Had she just died trying?
And Cougar, fighting pain from the gaping gunshot wound on his neck yet still trying to save me.
Save me from what?
What the hell was Joaquín doing? Had he lost his mind? I wanted to scream the question in his face. Every ounce of me was yelling, “Did you lose your fucking mind!” It didn’t even come out as a whimper. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, and couldn’t feel.
Holy shit! I couldn’t feel.
There’d been no pain when Joaquín chucked me onto the seat of the truck, no pressure as the truck bounced around on the road. I could only see, and thank God, I could blink. From where I lay I could see the moon, still high and full in the sky despite the approaching dawn. The sky cast in shades of reds and oranges as the sun rose to take its rightful place in among the streaks of clouds, stealing the darkness and taking with it any chance that Ian could get to me. I could see those clouds, streaking past me faster than they should have been and knew Joaquín was hauling ass away from Ian’s house, away from rescue. The scenery zigzagged as Joaquín drove erratically. Sweat poured off him in streams yet his skin was raised in goose bumps. His flesh seemed to twitch in intermittent movements just below the surface. He scratched at his arms like he had a rash I couldn’t see, not that I could see much from this vantage point.
I felt panic swell inside me, increasing my need to get the hell out of there. The fight or flight demand in me caused my body to spasm and shake. I felt somewhat relieved at that. Even though I wasn’t controlling the movement, my body was in motion, still capable of movement.
I did the only thing I could and lowered my mental shields, searching for my connection to Ian. Desperately I searched every corner of my mind. Seeking that one pool of warmth where I imagined Ian waited for me. The place I’d made in my mind just for him, for us. My head didn’t ache; there was no pain in the battle to make the connection. Perhaps because of whatever Joaquín had paralyzed me with, but I didn’t know, didn’t care.
I felt a small trickle of electricity behind my closed eyelids, gently, yet there. I concentrated on it, willing all of my energy into it.
There! I screamed in my own head. “Ian!”
I felt him, saw through his eyes a
s he looked up suddenly alert. He was in a room, preparing for sleep, for death. “My Love?” he called in alarm.
“Help Shia and Cougar. Joaquín shot them!” I cried as the panic shook me further. I could see Ian’s hand grasping his cell phone, dialing. My own phone rang and startled Joaquín. He jerked the truck’s steering wheel and I slid further off the seat. “Ian!” I screamed in my mind. “Joaquín took me, something is wrong with him. I can’t move, can’t speak. Get to Shia and Cougar, then find me!” I pleaded through the link binding us together. I saw Ian’s eyes scan the room he was in again. I could feel his confusion, his worry. My phone rang a second time.
Chapter Thirty-One
This time Joaquín reached over and started tugging at the pockets of my pants, searching for my phone. When he found it he glanced at the caller I.D. and swore vehemently. Joaquín sat there with my phone in one hand, his other firmly on the steering wheel, rapidly shifting his gaze between the phone, the road and me. His eyes were off, I couldn’t quite name it, but they didn’t look normal. I threw daggers at him with my own eyes, the only part of my body I had control of. He looked pained but I didn’t want to take any mental energy away from Ian to try and gauge how Joaquín felt. The phone rang again.
This time, Joaquín answered it, putting it on speakerphone.
“Where have you taken her?” Ian growled into the phone.
I willed my mouth to move, my voice to speak. Nothing.
“She’s finally safe now,” Joaquín replied, his voice determined and angry. “She’s safe from you.”
“Ian,” I screeched through our mental link. “I’m in his truck; we’ve been driving for about twenty minutes. I don’t know which direction or where he’s taking me but he doesn’t seem sane.”
“You are frightening her,” Ian spoke calmly, like trying to soothe a wounded animal.
“I’m scared out of my fucking mind!” I could hear my own breath coming out in quick gasps yet couldn’t control it.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, Leah,” Joaquín said to both Ian and I. “I’ll keep you safe now. Safe from the monsters.”
“You’re the only monster I see right now.”
“She said you are the only monster,” Ian repeated.
“I am not the monster! I’m not the fucking bloodsucker!” Joaquín sped the truck up even further and I heard the ping of rocks hitting the underside of it.
“I’m on a dirt road, Ian. I can hear rocks hitting the truck.” I felt Ian fade and strained to keep the connection.
“She told me you are on a dirt road. She is speaking to me, young Joaquín. Let her go, she is afraid of you.” Ian’s voice was calm like only a vampire’s could be. There was no emotion in it.
Joaquín jerked his head toward me. I cast the dirtiest look I could and threw all the anger I felt into it.
“Don’t play your damn mind games with me, Ian. I’m sitting right next to her.” He smoothed the hair out of my face. My body wanted to flinch away but couldn’t.
“We are connected, bonded; we can hear each other’s thoughts. She wants you to let her go,” Ian continued.
I heard Ian’s voice falter. The sun was rising and soon he would die, although we had no idea for how long. Since my bond with Ian, we’d discovered that he awoke earlier. Even though his own age and power allowed him to rise before most vampires, he seemed to be waking up even sooner than he could before.
My stomach wretched. “Yes, let me go. Please let me go!” I begged.
“Mind games!” Joaquín bellowed.
“You know I will find her. Let her go!” Ian demanded.
Joaquín disconnected the call.
“Ian?”
“I am still with you, My Love, but not for long. The sun grows stronger.” The connection weakened and cut out, like a bad connection on a phone line. “Stay safe. I will see to the others. I will bring you home,” Ian promised then faded completely and I was left alone.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I clamped my shields down, leaving them open just enough to feel Ian when he woke. I tried to decipher the mixed emotions coming from Joaquín but he was so scattered I couldn’t pin any dominating feeling down. We drove as the sun rose higher, streaming through the window so that I had to squint against it and even then it shined white inside my eyelids. Joaquín noticed and shifted my head out of its range.
The sky slowed its race across my view and I heard the sounds of other cars along with the deep rumble of the truck. We had joined other traffic, lots of it. The freeway maybe, but which one?
Soon a string of electrical wire attached from one metal pole to another zoomed above me. I prayed for some distinguishable landmark to cross my line of vision, but all I saw was the sky and those damn poles. I let my eyes wander as far as they could, searching for the clock on the radio. Maybe if I could just gauge the time I’d be able to help them find me. Ian needed to get to Shia and Cougar first. Joaquin had left them, lying there…
My heart dropped into my stomach and I felt tears sting my eyes as the memory haunted me. The pool of blood coming from Shia as she lay on the floor, struggling to get up.
Cougar pressing his hand to his neck, then Joaquín pulling another gun and firing again. Were they dead? Did they die for me? “No!” I screamed in my mind. I would not allow that. No one should die for me!
* * * *
I could not track the time. It seemed we’d driven forever. The sun had risen far enough to where it no longer rested on any part of me. I missed the warmth, then realized I could feel the heat. I could feel!
I flexed a muscle in my back while keeping my eyes on Joaquín. He hadn’t spoken a word since he hung up with Ian and I wasn’t sure I wanted him to know I could move again. My muscles protested as I tensed and loosened them one by one. Each one tingled as if they had been asleep and now needed that gentle shake to fully waken again.
Joaquín became more agitated as each mile flew by. His foot tapped nervously and he kept shoving his hair out of his eyes, even when it wasn’t there. He started mumbling to himself and his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror time and again. I decided to let him think I was still unable to move.
The car slowed and turned several times. The scenery remained the same, clouds, sky and an occasional tree swept by. Joaquín’s tension level seemed to rise with each turn and I knew we must have been getting close to his destination. The constant din of other traffic fell away. Another sharp turn and the truck began to dip and jolt along the road. I could now see groupings of jagged boulders, precariously perched on top of one another like a giant toddler had stacked them. It looked like a stiff breeze would make the whole thing come tumbling down on top of us.
“Somewhere secluded, a very bumpy road, Ian. There are mountains made of rocks all around me.” I sent the message down the mental link that connected us, surprised at how easy it was to find it now. I didn’t know if he was dead to the world and unable to “hear” me, but it was the only thing left I could do. For the moment.
I was jostled around the truck seat, gritting my teeth against the pain from my freshly awakened body.
“With time, you will be able to forgive me, Leah.” Joaquín stroked his fingers on the side of my face and I had to force myself not to flinch away. “It’s the only way I know to keep you away from them.” His voice became bitter. “I know it’s drastic,” he shook his head slowly, “but it became necessary.”
After a span of awkward silence, the truck came to a grinding halt and immediately voices filled the air. I was filled with hope. If there were people near, I could call for help.
All hope was deflated when Joaquín called out a greeting. Joaquín knew these people; this was his home turf, not mine.
Joaquín got out and for a brief minute I thought about running, but without knowing anything about where I was or how many people were near I decided to stay put. The door opened and Joaquín gently picked me up. I let my limbs flop and my head fall back, as listless as if I was still
unable to control my own movements, and all the while prayed he bought the act.
He arranged my arms across my chest and leaned my head on his shoulders. I gave an inner sigh of relief that he still thought I was immobilized.
From the angle I had, I could see two men other than Joaquín. I could hear other voices though and knew more were near. The blonde guy had high cheekbones and sharp features. His nose was straight and narrow. Long sideburns accentuated his bird-like features.
The other guy was pretty nondescript. Brown hair with eyes to match and a short, choppy hairstyle. If you passed him on the street you’d be hard pressed to come up with a description other than “average”. They wore jeans and T-shirts with writing that I couldn’t make out. Both men were stocky, body-builder types. The ones that look like they spend all day at the gym, lifting weights to compensate for tiny dicks. Under other circumstances, I would have told them that. Maybe later.
“Tell Sonya we’re here,” Joaquín said.
“She already knows.” The blonde man fell into step beside us. Like his features, his voice was a little too squeaky, like someone trained a parrot to talk.
The brown-haired man took a step closer and I could feel a sound rumble from deep within Joaquín. A warning sound the other man obviously took seriously because he raised his hand and took a couple steps back.
“Relax, Joaquín,” he said nervously. “I was just going to help.”
“No one touches her, Evan,” Joaquín warned then turned to the other man. “Make sure everyone knows that, Alex.”
The one called Alex scurried away, but before I could see where he went Joaquín turned and strode toward a wooden two-story building that had seen better days. I was able to get a small glimpse of people and structures as Joaquín toted me down the hard-packed dirt street. It looked like a ghost town straight out of an old western movie. Wooden decks lined the front of the attached buildings that made one long strip down both sides of the narrow road. Several other men were going about their business as if seeing a man carrying a limp woman was an everyday occurrence and didn’t warrant more notice than a cursory glance. It was clear I would have no allies here.
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