by J. C RIMELL
Cade blew out a breath meeting her soft, cinnamon eyes. “Shit, yeah… but Madoc, this ain’t no normal situation we got here.” He stretched out his long legs and lay back, setting his alarm on his watch to go off at midnight. Taking Kit's hand into his own he flinched at the unnatural coolness of her skin. “Give me until twelve tonight, then pull me out and I'll call them myself.
§
Kit could have sworn she'd heard Cade's voice. It was almost as though he was right beside her. She looked down at her hand and wondered what had caused the strange sensation of warmth engulfing it so suddenly.
The heat was a welcome balm over her wintry skin. Her blood now felt chilled, frozen in her veins as she lay in a cold, dark world. But Kit knew she wasn't dead. It didn't feel final enough; she was still too aware of things even if she couldn't respond to them.
The warming glow generating around her left hand was a welcome surprise, and she could only hope it was Cade. That the rejection she'd inflicted hadn't caused him to leave her for good. Even though turning away would be for the best because she didn't want to hurt him. She didn't want him to have to understand her hurt and guilt. Deep down Kit needed him. His strength and possibly even his love, should she dare to imagine he cared that much for her after such a short time together. Her thoughts swam in circles as she relived the tender moments with him in her mind. She couldn't deny that his presence, his touch, and oh, God, his kiss had made her feel so alive, so intoxicated, so in love.
It was as though she was floating in an abyss. She kept her gaze pinned to the tiny spot of light that hovered way up above her, like a solitary star. She'd already peered down once, but the bottomless void had almost scared her to death, quite literally.
The warmth gradually spread and an amber glow slowly emerged out of the darkness. Kit lowered her gaze to watch the beautiful light swell and climb further up her arm and a silhouette soon formed. An unmistakable shape appeared and she knew he had come. All at once she didn't feel so cold and alone...
Chapter Fifty-One
Jack wasn't able to think straight during the ride back to the compound.
Valerie, the female vampire was sitting in the rear of the SUV with Nevada and Gunner, while he and Ryker were riding up front. The stoic air in the vehicle during the journey was almost suffocating. All he could smell was Valerie's scent, fragrant and potent coiling around his senses. His body responded, the hard ridge of his erection jerking against the confines of his combat pants, and sweat breaking out on his brow. But what really grabbed his attention was he was the only one the vampire had an effect upon.
“You okay there, Chief?” Ryker asked, the signs of his struggle obviously apparent. He could feel the heat of Valerie's curious gaze lick the back of his neck like wildfire.
“Yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. “Just need some air.” Flipping the switch, he lowered the window, the air a cool kiss on his fevered skin. He couldn't remember a time he'd ever felt like this. Allowing the rush of wind through his hair to clear his head, he soon realized just what the hell was happening. His eyes swung to the side mirror and saw the vampire staring back at him. She was a deadly angel, hypnotic in her lethal beauty, and he knew he was lost beneath her spell.
§
Madeleine was feeling a little restless. Having given Cade a hefty tranquilizer and breaking God only knows how many rules, she knew she was so in the shit right now. She checked and re-checked both Cade and Kit were stable before slipping out into the corridor and tugging her cell out of her white coat pocket. She hit call, trying to keep her thoughts as level as she could. The last thing any of them needed right now was the rest of the pack or their Alpha picking up on the situation before she could get a firm grip on it.
“Madeleine?”
The mere sound of his voice notched her heart rate up a little. “Yes, it's me.” She paused, relieved he was alive, but her relief quickly turned to nerves. “I'm glad you're okay.”
“Yeah, we're all good.”
“Ryker, I need your help with something, it's important and no one else can know.”
He hesitated, obvious suspicion making him wary. “Sure, we're only fifteen minutes out.” His voice dipped lower, “Madeleine, is everything okay?”
The question hung between them and the silence stretched. “I'm fine, just get to the infirmary as soon as you can.” She hung up. Racing along the corridor, she swung left and casually strolled by Fleet's office. She knocked once and entered the darkened room.
“He's out doing a check on the patrols.”
“Shit, Murph!” Madeleine jumped with fright, the shifter had been silent in his approach.
“A little on edge, doctor?”
His tall body blocked the doorway, and she felt his concealed gaze examine her from behind the lenses of his wraparounds. He gave a gentle probe of his power, testing her emotions. “No, I just didn't hear you.” She pushed past him, eager to get as much distance between them as she could. The last thing she needed was Murphy and his abilities anywhere near her in the state she was in.
Glancing over her shoulder to make sure he hadn't followed her, Madeleine took the small set of stairs down to the gym. She crossed the matted area and weaved through various weight and cardio machines. Using the biometric scanner, she opened the door to the armory and shooting range. Entering, she flipped on the light switch and began searching the metal lockers and cupboards for wire and explosives.
Madeleine knew Ryker was the best when it came to bombs and technical issues. An explosive device should stop anyone trying to enter the medical room, she thought. But then that suddenly seemed like such a crazy assed idea. She cursed herself for having even thought it. But she reconsidered the notion again and realized that it could be fake. Just the mere threat of it would probably do the job just as well.
Clearing her mind swiftly, she centered her thoughts on her lab work to cover up her incredulous scheming from the rest of the pack.
She grabbed a roll of detonator cord, a trigger, and two blasting caps. Punching in the code to the reinforced safe below, she found the off-white blocks of C-4. Carefully taking a block and swallowing hard, she tried to remember her basic training in weapons and explosives. It felt like a lifetime ago, but she knew C-4 was pretty safe if handled with care; it wasn't easily detonated without the likes of the caps.
Feeling beads of sweat break out and trickle over her skin, she placed the items down carefully atop of the metal cabinet and wiped her brow with the cuff of her jacket. Emptying a box of ammunition, she put the explosive inside along with the wire. Placing a detonator cap into each pocket of her white coat, she took a deep breath, flicked off the light and shut the door. At the top of the steps, Madeleine scanned the corridor before stepping out into it. Forcing herself not to run, she kept her mind focused on the process of test tubes and blood samples.
As she closed in on the medical wing, Madeleine could hear voices behind her.
Shit! She jogged the last few yards and opened the swing door in what would be the last time for the next six hours.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Cade wandered through many corridors in his mind. The tranquilizer Madoc gave him had completely knocked him out and he was deep in sleep. His wolf roamed free, desperate to find his mate, and Cade had a job to keep up with his inner animal as they visited places he thought Kit may be in her subconscious. After searching for what seemed like an eternity, his wolf stopped before a tunnel which led to nothing but darkness. Taking a step forward, his wolf lifted its muzzle and sniffed the air. It let out a sharp howl, and with a flick of its head back to Cade, it lunged forward and ran toward the end of the tunnel.
They skidded to a halt on the brink of the void that stretched out before them like an obsidian ocean.
And there she was.
Suspended in midair, she was floating like a lonely cloud in a pitch black sky. The possibility of reaching her seemed insurmountable. The wolf glanced up at Cade and grunted, his displeasure
apparent.
“Don't look at me like that.” Cade's tone bristled with unease. “Shit. I haven't tried to dream walk into death before, buddy, unless you've got a better idea, this one's new for me too.”
Teleportation…
“Could it work?” he asked into the quiet.
He glanced at his wolf. “You know I can't do this on my own.” Cade closed his eyes and found the intricate web linking him and the animal together. The transformation was purely a cognitive one. Both species connecting their minds until they were completely fused. Joined mentally, physically, and spiritually.
“I can do this,” Cade muttered under his breath. Focusing the whole of his energy on connecting with Kit, he silenced his thoughts. Somehow he had to reach into her mind and pull her into his. The tendrils of his power revved up inside of him, opening the gateway that allowed him to teleport. His heart rate kicked up as he struggled to reach her.
After several attempts a thin thread connected between them. She was thinking about him. He snatched the image of them standing on the steps of the lighthouse in the rain and using the images he hauled himself into her mind.
Droplets of water peppered Kit's face and two strong hands gripped her waist. A delicious, familiar scent filled her nose and a warm breath skimmed across her lips. Her eyes fluttered open. The memory she'd been reliving in her subconscious was somehow happening again. Cade's big body arced over Kit, the flaming heat of him pressed up tight against her. He scorched her icy skin and she melted into him. His gaze a wild firestorm that burned with sheer potency making her breath leave her in a rush.
Cade had miraculously pulled the two of them back into the memory in Kit's mind. He was momentarily dumbfounded by the extent of his own ability. But the fog of just how he'd managed to pull it off was swept away in the stormy night as her scent frolicked around him. His heart raced. She was as beautiful as an angel. The ghost of death had all but disappeared from her face leaving dazzling blue eyes in its wake.
“You found me.”
“I'll always find you, Kit.”
His hands traveled up onto her ribs and pushed her back into the wall. Cade's lips brushed against her mouth, his kiss becoming fervent and feral. It left no room for doubt. No question as to whether he loved this woman. She reciprocated every sway of his tongue as he searched her mouth. Felt her exploration of his fangs which had punched out into his mouth the minute he sensed her with him. The fevered heat sparked between them as she tugged at his hair, urgent and hungry.
“Jesus, Kit,” he breathed after parting their moist, rain bathed lips. Moving the strand of damp hair from her face, he searched her electric blue eyes staring back at him wide and glistening with tears. “Tell me you won't leave. I want you to fight, Kit. Christ, tell me you’re going to fight.”
Kit felt his hands tremble as he took a gentle hold of her face, her arms still hooked behind his neck. The thunder roared and the rain became harder and jabbed her skin. Lightning lit up the ebony of the night as his eyes blazed luminous and rapaciously. The expectancy was heavy, and as she shuddered against a chill that licked along her spine, the fear of death raised its ugly head again. She sucked in a jagged breath and stuck out her chin, finding strength in his powerful gaze.
“I'll try,” she breathed. “I'll try for you, Cade.” Tears pricked her eyes, yet she refused to let them fall. “Take me away now. Somewhere warm, please, Cade.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Madeleine had just finished setting up the C-4. It was tricky. The swing doors were a problem. So she locked them with the dead bolts top and bottom and then smacked the explosive directly between the two. No one, not even Ryker could enter now. She'd wired up the caps to the detonator cord, but didn't attach the end to the trigger securely and prayed to God the whole thing looked plausible. She set a chair a few feet away and prepared to sit and wait for whomever the first visitor may be.
The machines behind her spiked suddenly. The sound grating on nerves already frayed, she rushed over at once to check Kit and Cade's stats.
Both had rapid heart rhythms, pulsing at fever pitch across the monitors. Pulling back Cade's eyelids, she flicked her pen torch across his pupils. They were still in a default state and small suggesting he remained in deep sleep. She waited anxiously for their sinus rhythms to steady, and after several long seconds and to her relief they returned to normal.
The tiny hairs prickled on the nape of Madeleines neck and her attention swung swiftly toward the doors. Ryker stared back at her from beneath his cap through one of the small windows, sending a rapid shock wave through her own pulse.
Cade hugged Kit into the arc of his powerful body. Gripping on tightly to the thread that entwined their dreams as he opened his mind to a quiet place, bathed in sunlight. The sound of songbirds, of rippling water...
He had many things he wanted to ask her, needed to explain, and he didn't have as much time as he would have liked. This was just a dream, just a glitch in time, but it was all he had and he couldn't afford to waste a second of it. Stroking her face with the back of his hand, he watched intently as Kit's eyes fluttered open, sighing in relief when he saw a smile playing on her lips. The heat of the sun causing her cheeks to flush and his heart rate to spike, captivating him with her maddening beauty.
“Come with me,” he said, once her eyes had adjusted to the brightness. Taking her hand, he walked with a slow gait, not wanting to rush her as she took in the surroundings of maples and oaks thick with deep, green foliage. She blew out a sigh of relief as though a disturbingly heavy weight had just fallen from her shoulders.
“Wait.” Kit stopped. Staring ahead, she recognized where they were as they came upon the lake with the large boulders that jutted out into the water's edge. He gave a gentle tug of her hand and led her toward a hefty willow. Long, leafy arms swayed in the light breeze, tickling the water and sending gentle ripples rolling across its glossy surface.
She raised a brow in surprise as she ducked beneath the willows wispy canopy and peered down at the blanket laid out before them. A wicker picnic basket filled with everything from little triangle sandwiches, champagne, and strawberries, to colorful French fancies to tempt her with. What more could an English girl want for? Other than a sexy, drop-dead gorgeous man. No―scratch that, shifter to share it all with, and she already had that, too.
Kit couldn't believe this was all happening in her mind or rather it was Cade's mind. In his dream, he had magically transcended them both into and what a wonderful dream it was. As she made herself comfortable beside him, he leaned back against the trunk of the tree. Her thoughts of dying, of being afraid and alone drifted far away. She allowed herself to feel the warm air, to smell the sugary icing on the cakes and the wonderful fresh scent of strawberries. To hear the singing birds, the sound of Cade breathing, even the faintest trace of two hearts beating.
“Thank you,” she whispered, taking a plump strawberry from the punnet nestled in the basket.
“For what?”
She shrugged. Then took a bite of the ripe, red fruit, feeling Cade's intense gaze on her as she licked her lips far more seductively than she'd intended. “For this.” She swallowed, her eyes glancing up to meet his. “For not leaving me like I told you to.”
“In case you hadn't noticed, I tend not to do as I'm told, Kit.” He smirked before his lips settled into a grim line. “And I'm here to explain.” He leaned forward, bringing his knee up he rested an elbow atop of it, cocooning her into him further. “You know that you were bitten by...”
“A vampire.” She cut in with the assumption.
He nodded. “Yeah, well the venom it's in your blood and ah, shit… Look.” He raked a hand through his hair unable to talk about losing her. The words too painful on his tongue, the thought incomprehensible.
“Might what? Oh, God.” The penny dropped. “I might become one of them?” The hysterical pitch of her voice did little to encourage his efforts, still, he had to try.
“My bloo
d can cure you, Kit, you wouldn't be like them.” Cade watched her every movement. From the tucking of her hair behind her ear to the intermittent motion of her eyes, to the invisible cogs turning in her intelligent mind.
“Then do it. I don't want to be a bloody vampire!” she bellowed, her eyes wide.
He wished it was that simple. “It's not that easy Kit. You don't know it yet, but you and I are meant to be, for me as a shifter that means...”
“It means I'm your mate, doesn't it?” It was more a statement of fact than a question, and she saw the startled look skate across his gaze. It didn't take a scientist to work out where he was heading with the whole meant to be scenario. There was suddenly something to be said about all the novels she'd read, humans fantasizing about such things. They clearly didn't have everything wrong about the supernatural hero's they wrote about.
“Yes.” Cade brushed his thumb across her cheek. “You're too damn smart, anyone ever tell you that?” He chuckled, but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
“Is this really happening Cade?” she asked quietly, her voice less panicked as she leaned into the heat of his palm for reassurance.
He nodded. “This is real between us, this dream, these feelings… Let me help you. I can't make Clara come back. I can't make promises that are impossible to keep. But I know what it's like to lose someone close.” He paused, the pad of his thumb smoothing over her cheekbone. “I lost both my parents when I was a kid. They were killed in a car accident too.” Cade trailed off, hoping that she'd find some common ground with him to help her realize she wasn't the only one who had scars and secrets.
Kit gazed into eyes that had drifted far away. “Cade, I'm so sorry.” Her hand reached up and covered his. “Thank you for telling me.” She lowered her eyes. “I just can't let Clara go. I feel so guilty that I survived and she didn't. That I couldn't save her in time. It's like it won't let me go either, it won't let me be free. I don't want to burden you, Cade, when you already have your own grief to carry.”