by Steph2
He loved her.
He just had to convince her—and himself—that they could find a place to fit in this world.
*
“God damn. I think that’s her.”
After John had spent most of the night making love to her with an almost palpable sense of possession, Kaine had caught a few hours of sleep somewhere around four a.m.
She wasn’t sure if John had slept but he must have at some point. He looked too alert to have spent the entire night watching the comings and goings next door.
He’d kissed her awake around seven, made love to her again then they’d taken a shower. After breakfast at a little market behind the Century, they returned to their room to watch the comings and goings next door.
They hadn’t spoken about last night. Kaine didn’t want to bring it up and ruin the illusion that they were happy.
Around ten, they’d headed over to Central Park and taken up residence in what Kaine was beginning to think of as her tree.
John had climbed just as silently as she had and they’d been perched here for only forty minutes or so before he spotted the woman.
Kaine’s gaze narrowed on the entrance and immediately caught sight of John’s target.
Yes, she had red hair and, through the binoculars John had brought, Kaine was pretty sure he was right. That’s the woman they wanted. But…
“Who’s she pushing in the wheelchair?”
The woman who’d kidnapped John and his sister had exited the front door of the apartment building pushing a high-tech wheelchair. A child-sized wheelchair with one small boy huddled in it.
The boy didn’t look happy but the woman’s expression held so much love as she bent to wrap a blanket around the boy’s legs, Kaine couldn’t help but wonder if they’d made a mistake.
“Sonuvabitch,” John muttered and Kaine knew they had the right woman.
The unnaturally strong goon who’d nearly killed Nic with his bare hands followed the woman out of the building and kept close on her heels as she pushed the boy in the chair to the nearest crosswalk then across the street and into the park.
When they’d lost sight of the little group, Kaine turned back to John.
“We’ve got a problem.”
He nodded, his expression solemn. “Yeah, two. I wasn’t expecting her to have a kid, much less a disabled one.”
“Do you think the goon is her husband?”
John shook his head. “He didn’t act like it. He acted like muscle. She must have money to be able to live there with the kid, afford a bodyguard and support her kidnapping habit. Christ, none of this makes any fucking sense.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Kaine sighed, knowing only one thing. “We need to get her and take her back with us so we can get her to tell us what the hell she did to your sister.”
“And what do we do about the kid?”
“We bring him with us.”
“The goon’s gonna be a problem.”
She nodded. “Then we need to take him out of the picture.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
Turning slowly, she stared John straight in the eyes. “Excuse me.”
His expression held a hard edge that she was pretty sure meant he wasn’t kidding. “I’ll take care of the goon, you get the woman. She won’t fight you, not if you use the kid as leverage.”
Okay, he might have made a good point if she hadn’t been positive John didn’t trust her to be able to handle herself against the bodyguard.
Her eyes began to burn but she refused to show weakness of any kind. John would mistake tears of rage for tears of hurt and that was unacceptable.
“I think I need to draw the goon away while you get the woman and the kid back to your sister,” she said carefully, slowly. As if speaking to a child. “I’ll meet you back there after I ditch the guy. The less drama, the better.”
John shook his head. “No way. You’re not—”
His mouth shut with an almost audible snap as Kaine continued to stare at him.
“I’m not what, John?”
He just stared at her, as if he shouldn’t have to say the words because she knew exactly what he was going to say. But there was no way he was going to get off that easily.
Something in her chest cracked as she realized he didn’t completely trust her. Might never completely trust her. He didn’t trust her to be handle the bodyguard, didn’t believe she was strong enough or smart enough.
And that only fueled her own doubts.
Which she couldn’t have. Doubts made you sloppy, made you screw up. They couldn’t afford a screw-up now.
Besides, she was right. Separate the woman from her bodyguard and she would follow John anywhere if he threatened her child. At least, that’s what any mother would do. A mother who loved her child.
“Kaine. I know you can’t shift. You’re not strong enough to confront him on your own.”
Her lungs froze and her vision went blurry. Her hands gripped the rough bark of the tree trunk until she thought her fingers might bleed and she heard a faint ringing in her ears.
She forced herself to maintain eye contact. “And how do you know that?”
His gaze never wavered. “Kyle told me.”
Duke. He’d broken their promise. An ice-cold shaft of hurt plunged into her stomach. Then something else occurred to her. “So I’m safe now. Is that what you think?”
John’s brow furrowed and confusion clouded his green eyes. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I can’t call my wolf. No more worries about me turning furry. Which I’m sure was a total turnoff for an eteri.”
She saw the second John realized what she was talking about. His eyes widened before he managed to clear his expression. “You think I didn’t want you when I found out what you were, what you could do.”
“Of course you didn’t.” She shrugged at his matter-of-fact tone. “How could you? Werewolves are monsters, creatures most sane eteri don’t even believe in. I never wanted you to find out, John. I made a fool out of myself at Kyle’s house the first time around, after we rescued you from the cells. Everyone knew I had a thing for you. Stupidity on my part. Believe me, I never meant to have the hots for an eteri.”
His gaze had hardened as she spoke. “So, that night at the bar, I was supposed to be a one-night stand. You scratched an itch then tried to sneak out the door. But you ran into Evie and all hell broke loose. Am I getting this right so far?”
His tone held no emotion whatsoever but Kaine knew he wasn’t very happy at the moment. She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what you think. We don’t have time to discuss it. We need to separate those two and get Grace Bell back to your sister.”
He let his gaze bore into hers for several long seconds, a muscle in his cheek jumping as he ground his back teeth. She didn’t care. They had a job to do and now was the time. She knew how to separate the guard from the woman.
“The guard doesn’t know what I look like but if I get close enough, he should be able to sense my magic. That should pull him away, at least long enough for you to grab the woman and the kid.” She pulled out her cell and handed it to him. “Press and hold the nine button until the call connects. A man should answer. Tell him I told you to call and to transport you, the woman and the kid to Nica’s. He’ll know what it means.”
“What about—”
“Try not to be freaked out and make sure—”
“God damn it, Kaine, what if you need—”
“—you stay at Nica’s.” Her smile tasted bitter. “And don’t worry. I’m pretty damn good at taking care of myself. Lots of practice.”
“Fuck. Kaine—”
She didn’t hear anymore as she let herself drop to the ground.
John’s breath caught in his throat as he watched Kaine drop nearly two stories.
She landed like a cat, soft on her feet, and walked in the direction they’d seen Grace Bell disappear.
Fuck.
It t
ook him a few precious minutes to get out of the tree and he nearly got caught by a tourist with a camera, who looked terrified when John appeared directly behind him as he took a picture of the park.
John sidestepped the guy and hurried after Kaine. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he tried not to run but she had a lead on him and he was terrified he’d lose her.
Until he felt the warmth of the crystal against his skin. He couldn’t lose her, not unless he lost this.
Breathing a little easier, he managed to catch up with her after only a few minutes. And even though he wanted to force her to get behind him, to let him handle this, he kept his distance.
Because she was right. She was just as highly trained as he was. Maybe more so. But without her ability to shift, was she somehow more vulnerable?
Or was she right? Did he really think she couldn’t take care of herself?
No. Absolutely not. He had faith in her.
And the only way he could show her was to follow her lead.
But the thought that something might happen to her, that she could be injured, made him want to shove her in a hole and keep her there until it was safe to come out.
Yeah, he was an idiot but at least he knew when to take a step back.
Traffic in the park was lighter today than it had been yesterday. Fewer tourists, maybe kept away by the threat of rain in the gray clouds. Not much foot traffic along the path. And no cops, at least none that he’d seen yet.
The trio shouldn’t be that hard to find.
And soon enough, he’d spotted them just ahead.
Kaine was nowhere to be seen. She’d disappeared but he knew she was close because the crystal bled heat into his skin.
He made himself do the same, slipped off the footpath and behind a flowering bush. As he watched, Grace Bell parked the wheelchair at a bench and took a seat herself.
She smiled at the boy in the chair, tried to get him to eat a cup of yogurt that she fed him with a spoon. The boy, who looked to be only eight or nine, didn’t seem to be able to use his hands, which were curled in his lap.
He had copper-colored hair and blue eyes that John could see from this distance. Eyes that didn’t seem to focus on anything.
Multiple sclerosis? Muscular dystrophy? He didn’t have a clue.
Didn’t matter. He would never hurt a child but Grace Bell didn’t know that and Kaine was right. The kid was the way to get the woman to cooperate.
She obviously loved the boy and from the hair color, John assumed they were mother and son. He also saw the resemblance in the shape of their faces and slope of their noses.
Pulling out Kaine’s phone, he pressed and held the nine button until he heard it dial.
“Kaine.”
The male voice sounded familiar but John couldn’t place it. “No. This is John Simmons. Kaine told me to call this number. We’re in New York City. She said you’d transport me and two others to Nica’s house.”
“She told you that, huh? Well, John, then I guess that’s what we need to do.”
“So I call you and we just magically disappear from here and end up back at Nica’s?”
The guy laughed like hell. “Yeah, that’s about right, son. Just make sure you’re in contact with the two other people when you do. Freaky as hell, huh?”
“You could say that.” John sighed. “I’ll call you back.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
John snapped the phone shut, his gaze still on Grace, her son and the goon. Whose attention seemed to be focused on something behind the bushes to his left.
If this worked, he’d have to leave Kaine behind.
His hands clenched into fists. It went against everything he believed it. You didn’t leave your partner behind.
And you certainly didn’t leave the woman you loved to fend for herself.
Shit.
He really didn’t—
“Sit tight,” the goon said, snapping John’s attention back to where it needed to be. “I gotta check something out.”
Grace barely nodded, her entire attention on the boy. As if she had nothing to fear. “We’re not going anywhere, are we, Alex? It’s nice to be out in the fresh air. Do you hear the birds, sweetheart?”
Christ, this was fucked up. The woman who’d kidnapped his sister and made her life hell sat in Central Park cooing at a little boy like she was Mary frickin’ Poppins.
But this was it. The bodyguard turned his back to Grace and Alex and headed across the path, toward the trees on the opposite side, focused on something directly in front of him.
Kaine.
Fuck. His lungs caught in a vise of tension, John’s only move was to play this out like they’d agreed.
He speed-dialed and the phone immediately picked up, just as he got within five feet of his targets.
“On my mark,” he spoke into the phone.
“Your mark,” the man said.
John kept expecting the goon to turn, to see him, recognize him.
It never happened. The guy was too intent on following Kaine.
If anything happened to her…
Forcing the thought from his mind, he walked behind the bench where Grace Bell sat feeding the boy, placed one hand on her shoulder and one on the boy’s and yelled “Now,” hopefully loud enough to be picked up by the phone he’d stuck in his back pocket.
Grace drew in a breath to scream but never managed it because the world folded in on them.
For a few brief seconds, John honestly felt like he was being drawn through a tiny hole in the fabric of reality by a fish hook in his stomach. His lungs stuttered to a halt and he nearly released his hold on the boy and the woman. But he’d come this far and he couldn’t fail now.
As everything went black, he gripped Grace and the boy tighter and began to pray that Kaine would be okay until he got back.
Chapter Nine
Kaine caught a brief glimpse of John, Grace Bell and the boy just before they disappeared into thin air.
As if they’d never been there.
She’d been watching from behind a nearby tree. She’d had to get increasingly closer to her target until he’d noticed her. Whatever it was he sensed, whether it was a magical signature like a scent or a sensation that rubbed against his skin, he’d turned toward her hiding spot with narrowed eyes and an expression of intense concentration.
As he’d come closer, she’d seen John move in on the woman and boy, place his hands on her shoulders and shout, “Now.”
She’d held her breath for the brief second it took Sal to transport them away.
Which, of course, got the attention of the goon.
Kaine actually thought he might have an aneurism on the spot. His face turned bright red and his hands clenched into fists at his side. The guy had huge hands and, curled into fists, they looked almost comic.
But she knew how strong the guy was. She had to stay out of those hands at any cost.
So she ran.
She had a split second to decide which way to go and when she took off at a dead run, she didn’t have time to second guess. She headed away from the city streets and deeper into the park.
Here, the magic in the earth called to her. It sang in her blood and added fuel to her speed.
Keeping off the paths, she stuck to the wooded areas instead. Behind her, the goon kept pace. He was big but he ran almost as fast as she did.
People stopped to stare as she raced by, her pursuer not far off her tail.
She’d thought she’d be able to lose him but realized that the park had too much open space for her to slip out of his sight. She would’ve made out better heading for the city and losing herself in the crowds.
But he might’ve gotten the jump on her there. He had to know the city better than she did. If she took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead-end alley, she’d be fucked.
At least in the park, she had free range. Once she lost him, she’d head back to the city and the car and get the hell out of dodge.
; If I could shift…
No, she couldn’t think about what she couldn’t do. She needed to figure out what she could.
Behind her, she heard the guy’s feet pounding against the earth, barreling through the bushes she’d leaped over just seconds ago.
Shit. More speed. She needed—
She needed help.
She wasn’t going to be able to outrun him.
What could she do?
She heard the sound of his breathing, knew he was gaining on her.
Her lungs began to burn, her brain running options. Getting caught was not an option.
Dodging trees and bushes, she saw an open space ahead of her and burst onto a playground. A few small children laughed and screamed as adults sat on benches and watched. Several actually snatched up their children as she and her pursuer ran by.
Putting on a burst of speed, she headed for the next stand of trees.
And caught her foot on a tree root and went sailing through the air before landing hard on her shoulder.
*
It took a few seconds for John’s vision to focus before he realized he stood in Nica’s living room.
Before him on the floor slumped Grace Bell and the boy. Without his wheelchair. Both of them had lost consciousness.
John wondered for a few seconds if he wasn’t going to join them.
“Kyle!”
“Right here.” Kyle’s voice came from behind him and John hadn’t even turned before Kyle was bending down to pick up the boy and set him on the couch. “Dane, come here. Now. Damn, I can’t believe you did it. Where’s Kaine?”
“I have to go back. Now.”
Kyle’s head flew up and his gaze pinned John in place. “You left her there alone.”
“She didn’t…give me a choice.”
Shit, the room was spinning. Or he was. Christ, he couldn’t afford to pass out. He had to return. Forcing the dizziness aside, he grabbed Kyle’s shoulder. “I have to go back now.”
“Vaffanculo. I’m gonna kick her ass six ways to Sunday. Tam! We need Sal.”
Kyle’s mate had a phone to her ear as she came rushing out of the back room, speaking into it as she pushed John into the nearest chair.
“I have to go back.”