Vince squinted. There was something vaguely familiar about the guy, but in the dim light, he couldn’t see the details of his face.
He turned his attention back to his stew and shoveled in a bite. The meat, potatoes and gravy melted in his mouth. He stuffed in another bite and another. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was, although he had a feeling that even if he wasn’t hungry, he could still eat a boatload of this stuff.
“How is it?” Asher asked, taking the seat opposite him. He wasted no time digging in.
“Freaking awesome.” Coming up for air, Vince took a long sip of ale and looked over at his friend. His future brother-in-law. “So, did you get it?”
Asher didn’t look up. “No, it won’t be ready for a few more days.”
“Guess you’ll have that to look forward to when we get back from Vallenberg.” With the spoon halfway to his mouth, he paused when the back of his neck prickled.
He glanced toward the opening of the tent and then around bar. The man from earlier was staring at him. And this time Vince could see his face.
He blinked, not sure if what he was seeing was accurate. The guy looked exactly like Sean from the Institute.
Vince lowered his hand slowly as the realization hit him. This guy was Sean.
Sean shook his head slightly and slanted a glance at the door. Through the gap in the tent, he could see a few men standing just outside.
He took his spoon and tapped it against Asher’s bowl. “Hey.”
The other man looked up, an irritated expression on his face. If he were a dog eating his food, he would’ve growled.
Vince dropped his voice. “Something’s wrong. Can you watch the door? Make sure those guys don’t get in.”
Asher cranked his head around to get a look. “What’s going on?”
“That man. The big one near the bar. He was a fellow prisoner with me in the Institute.”
Asher cursed under his breath. “What the fuck is he doing here?”
“That’s what I’m going to find out. Make sure those men don’t come in. If they are who I think they are, they may recognize me, but they won’t know who you are.”
And with that, he pushed himself from the table and strode over to Sean.
Before Vince could ask the guy what the hell was going on, Sean blurted, “Vince, I’m sorry. They threatened my family.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Sean?”
“The doctor. He threatened my little girl. He took me in his private limo to a playground where she was with her friends. Said he’d kill her if I didn’t cooperate.” The big man closed his eyes briefly, a war of emotion playing out on his face. “I had no choice but to agree to find you.”
Vince’s nostrils flared and he gritted his teeth. “With my tracking chip?” Sean had helped him cut it out from under his skin. How was that even possible?
The former inmate shook his head. “I’m a Tracker-Talent. As soon as the Impedio wore off, they brought me through the portal. I detected you a few days ago.”
Vince tried to keep his fist from smashing into the guy’s face. “How many came through the portal?”
Sean glanced nervously behind him. “If they see me talking to you—”
“They won’t. My friend will see to that. Now talk.”
“There were ten men who came through the portal with me.”
His jaw ticked. “What portal?”
“They kept me blindfolded on the way there, but the doctor kept calling it Crawford’s Portal.”
The Vallenberg portal? It felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. That was the one near Zara’s home. How had they found it? He hadn’t told the doctor anything.
“Are they all here with you in Crestenfahl?”
“There are six of us, including me. Two outside that door and I’m not sure where the other three are. Somewhere around the market, I guess. I…I told them I thought my signals were getting confused with all these people here and that I needed to sit down to rest.”
Six in Crestenfahl. That left four more. “You said ten came through the portal. Where are the others?”
“Back at the farm. Arrangements were made with the farmer there. They were using it as their headquarters.”
Panic reached down inside Vince, wrapped its tendrils around his heart and squeezed.
Zara’s family farm was the closet to the portal. Did her stepfather make a deal with them? From what Zara and Asher had told him about the guy, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibilities.
“And Vince?”
His eyes snapped up and met Sean’s. There was a deep sadness reflected there.
“One of them is the doctor.”
Chapter Twenty
This had to be the girl from the drawings. Had to be.
The doctor tried to contain his excitement as he walked in a circle around her, examining her from every angle. She was tied to a support beam in the barn, so she wasn’t going anywhere.
She’d arrived a short time ago with the boy. His men had stopped them on the road coming in. She’d protested all their questions, saying she was the daughter of the woman who lived on this farm and that she had every damn right to be here. When Uri heard her name, he couldn’t believe his good fortune. She’d scratched and clawed, put up quite a fight, but she was no match for his men.
Shortly after appearing on Birdie Lyon’s show, he’d done some digging of his own. The so-called accomplice Birdie had referred to, the woman she believed had helped Vincent escape, was named Zara. Not exactly a common name.
It all fell into place now. Vincent had come through the portal as a horny young teenager and began having sex with a girl from a nearby farm. And then he got her pregnant. Although Uri wasn’t sure that Vincent had known about the boy. He hadn’t mentioned anything about him while under the effects of the drug. Just the woman and the portal.
But how had this woman helped him escape? She didn’t look formidable at all. Sure, Palmer, the overseer, was incompetent, but there had to be more.
His gnarled hands shook, and he absently tugged at the neckline of his borrowed tunic.
She had a pretty face and shiny, dark hair, so he understood why Vincent had been attracted to her. But to go through what he had in order to protect her?
Uri glanced over at the boy sitting on an overturned milking bucket where one of his men was standing guard. So this was Vincent Crawford’s son. Was he a Talent like his father? Could he find portals, too, or did he have another ability? A thrill ran down his spine at what this would mean for his research.
“Hey,” the woman said, her eyes dark and menacing.
She was clearly trying to draw his attention away from the boy. A mother instinctively knew when her child was in danger. An admirable quality, he had to admit, though pointless under these circumstances.
“What did you do to my mother?” she demanded.
Uri pointed in the direction of the farmhouse. “She’s fine. We’re guests here.”
Her face twisted into a harsh, unattractive expression. “What are you talking about?”
“Let’s just say we made a mutually beneficial arrangement with her husband.”
“With Henry?”
Nodding, the doctor paced to the double doors and back. “Henry provides us with clothing at the portal, a place to stay, transportation. And in turn, we pay him handsomely. It’s a good arrangement.”
Her eyes narrowed to small, crescent-moon slits. “My stepfather is helping Pacificans sneak into Cascadia?” She made a derisive sound. “That shouldn’t surprise me, but it does. I didn’t think anyone here could stoop that low.”
“Greed is a powerful motivator. As long as you cooperate with us, no harm will come to you either.”
“Why do you need my cooperation? Or do I even want to know?”
He turned to face her and watched her closely. “You were Vincent Crawford’s girl, weren’t you?”
It was as if he’d just thrown cold water into her face. Her c
heeks reddened and she clamped a hand over her gaping mouth.
He wanted to laugh at how completely taken by surprise she was. For the first time, he understood why Birdie Lyons did what she did. Seeing someone react to a shocking revelation without warning was a goddamn adrenaline rush. Even his long-dormant prick twitched.
The woman’s expression turned icy. “Then you must be the asshole who imprisoned and tortured him.”
“So he told you about me? I’m flattered.” He put a hand over his heart. “I’ve missed him, you know? Our little talks about life and how the world works. We talked quite a bit about you, as a matter of fact. I told him that if you were as perfect as he said you were, then he didn’t deserve to be with you. He let his father down, he let his mother and sister down, and he’d eventually let you down.”
Her eyes grew even colder. “Liar.”
“How do you think I found out about the portal? And how did I know to come here?” He spread his hands wide and looked around. “Vincent told me about your stepfather. The drinking. The violence. How he was going to take you away from all that.”
The woman turned her head away quickly, trying to shield her face from him.
“Stop that,” the boy blurted out for the first time. “Stop making my mom cry.”
He was a handsome young lad. Thick, blond hair. The fresh, plump skin of a child who hadn’t lost his baby fat yet.
Uri smiled. “Well, aren’t you a brave fellow?”
“When my dad comes—and he will—he and my uncle are going to smash your face in.”
No wonder Pacificans called these people barbarians. He paused, frowned and looked at the boy again. Those eyes. So defiant. Just like his father. “Is that so?”
The boy opened his mouth. His mother tried to stop him, but he blurted it out anyway. “Yeah, my uncle is an Iron Guild warrior and my dad knows a bunch of them.”
The doctor paced around the barn, tugging at the collar of his scratchy tunic again.
Warriors. Here. On their home turf.
He and his men had a few firearms, having sacrificed a young recruit early on to bring them through the portal, but it wasn’t much. They’d purposely kept a low profile as they quietly tried to fit in. Using Pacifican weapons would’ve drawn attention to the fact that they weren’t from here.
He was so deep in thought that he hadn’t been watching where he was going. Something squished beneath his boots. He looked down.
Oh for Pete’s sake.
He’d stepped in a pile of horse manure. Both boots.
These were the only pair he had, having borrowed them from Henry. He tried to smear it off by scuffing the soles on the ground, but shit still clung to the edges.
God, he hated this place.
The seed of an idea began to take shape. Maybe he didn’t need to stick around here to get Vincent after all. Uri’s benefactor back in Pacifica had what he wanted—access to Cascadia without the army’s knowledge. And now that the doctor had both the woman and the son in his clutches, Vincent would be forced to come to him. He’d have to cooperate. Just as Sean had.
If they left now, he’d be able to sleep in his own bed tonight. He quickly barked out orders. “Untie her. Bring the boy. Get our things together. We’re leaving.”
“Without the others?” one of his men asked.
“They’re big boys. They’ll figure out we left when they come back and find us gone.” Most were his benefactor’s men anyway and they had their own agenda.
“Where are you taking us?” the woman demanded.
The doctor smiled. “To the other side. Back to my home turf, where I have the advantage.”
“Both of us?” Zara asked, panic making her voice high-pitched. “You don’t need to bring him. All you need is me.”
“Mom, no!” the boy cried.
The doctor laughed. “Don’t worry, son. I’m not separating you from your mother. Having both of you will make it impossible for your father to refuse to cooperate. Something he’s quite good at doing, which has been a source of much frustration for me, I will admit.”
“Why do you need Vince?” she asked, her eyes pleading. “What is so important about his cooperation?”
“He can find portals.”
“That’s why the army wants him. Why do you want him? What did Vince ever do to you?”
Anger heated his veins. “Because it’s my job to break Talents. Get them to work for the army whether they want to or not. And I get upset when I can’t do my job.”
“Do you hate Cascadians so much that you want to see us destroyed?” she asked, her voice wavering. “What did we ever do to you?”
“It’s not that I hate Cascadians, Ms. Kane. At least, not as much as some do. The thing is…” An image of his daughter flashed in his mind—her unseeing stare, her shell of a body. “I hate Talents.”
Chapter Twenty-One
They’d ridden all day and all night, switching horses a few times at villages along the way. About an hour away from Vallenberg, a heavy unease fell over Vince as if invisible fingers were squeezing his heart. He was riding next to Asher, trying to figure out whether to go to the abbey first or head straight to the farm. Vince’s mother had told them that Zara, Olivia and Darius were going to be stopping at both places.
Asher was saying they should swing by the abbey first, since it wasn’t too far off the main road. But Vince wasn’t listening to him, consumed instead by the strange sensation.
“Oh man,” he said, loosening his hold on the reins and rubbing at the hollowness inside his chest.
Asher slowed his horse. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”
“I’m…I’m not sure,” Vince replied. “It’s not me, though.”
“Then what is it?”
It had something to do with Zara. He was positive.
“It’s Zara. She’s in trouble.”
“What?” Asher snapped. “Are you sure? How do you know?”
“I…I don’t know how. I just do. One moment she’s there, you know, taking up space in my heart, and the next minute…I can’t feel her anymore.”
“Shit, man.” Exhaling roughly, Asher scrubbed a hand over his face.
She was in great danger. All three of them were.
He and Asher spurred the horses on. His only hope was that the women had stopped at the abbey first and hadn’t yet been to the farm.
When they arrived, they veered onto a path that took them to a hill overlooking the small valley. There, they could observe what was going on without being seen. But when they dismounted and crept to the top of the hillside, his worst fears came true. The first thing he saw was Zara’s chestnut mare grazing in a nearby field.
Asher cursed. “They did come here first.”
The thought of Zara and Darius—the two people on earth he loved more than life itself—in the presence of pure evil was enough to drive Vince mad with rage. He didn’t care what it would take or what he’d have to do, he was going to get to them.
He started to charge down the hillside, but Asher grabbed him by the shoulder and hauled him back.
“What the fuck?” Asher had no idea what kind of a man the doctor was, but he sure as hell did. “We need to get to them now.”
“We must be careful,” he said, pointing to a man stationed outside the barn. “We have to assume they brought firearms through the portal.”
“Okay. Guns. Got it.”
They made their way down the hillside on foot, staying hidden in the trees. When they got to the backside of the barn, they split up.
When Vince came around the barn, Asher had a man in a headlock.
“I swear,” the guy choked, trying to break Asher’s hold on his neck. “There were only two of them. A woman named Zara and a young boy.”
“Where are they now?” Vince asked through gritted teeth.
“They left with Dr. Dobrynin and his bodyguard about an hour ago. They were going to the portal.”
With a punch to the jaw, it was lights out
for the guy.
“Come on,” Vince barked after they hogtied him securely in the barn. “Let’s go.”
“Since Olivia wasn’t with them,” Asher said, “I’ve got to find her first. She must’ve gone to the abbey to give Zara and Darius a chance to visit with Mom alone.”
“Then I’m going by myself. I can’t wait.” He couldn’t stand the thought that Zara and Darius were with the doctor. One minute with that lunatic was one minute too long.
Asher ran a hand over his thin braids and grimaced. “You can’t do this, Vince. It could be a trap. The doctor’s men could be waiting for you on the other side.”
“Well, I’m not going to take the time to go all the way to one of the portals we mapped on the other side of Crestenfahl. That would take days.”
Asher grabbed him by the shoulders. “It’s suicide.”
Vince tried to jerk away from Asher, but the man held tight. “Let go of me.”
“Vince, if you wait, we can round up some other men and—”
He wanted Vince to wait?
There was no way in hell he was waiting. He tried getting away again, but Asher held on with an iron grip. Fuck, the guy was strong.
“I get that you want to help them, but how is walking into a trap going to do that?”
Anger clawed at him. He could almost feel it bursting through his skin. But before he could tell his friend to fuck off again, the air around them rumbled.
“What is that?” Asher said.
“I…I don’t know. It feels like this when there’s a portal nearby.”
“The one the doctor knows about?”
“No,” Vince said, confused. He looked around, not sure what he was feeling. But a portal was definitely calling to him. A different one. “I think I may have just opened up another portal.”
“Holy Fates,” Asher said, letting go of Vince. “That’s insane, bro.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’m positive that’s what it is.”
Asher exhaled. “I’m going to make sure Olivia is safe at the abbey, then I’ll come help. Will the portal stay open or is it temporary?”
Warrior's Heart: Iron Portal Series (Paranormal Romance) Page 19