She blew right out of her bed and marched up to him, her eyes ablaze.
He went from relaxed to charged in a second and actually took a step back. “What are you doing?”
She put her hands on her hips and glared. “We have never kept stuff from each other, and we’re not starting now. I’ve always told you mostly everything I understand, even about the Seven. So here’s one more thing—I’m the Lock. In the ritual to kill Ulric, there are Seven males, three female Keys, and a Lock. That’s me.”
He already knew that, but she probably didn’t know that he knew. “I know,” he said softly, unable to lie to her.
She blinked. “You do?”
“Yeah. What exactly does it mean?” He grasped her upper arms, careful not to hurt her. “What kind of danger or sacrifice does that mean? To be the Lock?”
She didn’t look away. “I don’t know. Never have. I’m not even sure if the members of the Seven know I’m the Lock. If my uncles know, then they won’t let anything happen to me. If they don’t know, then they don’t know.” She paused, looked down at her bare feet, and then lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “What do you know about it?”
“Just that you’re the Lock,” he admitted. “That you have to be protected from that final ritual and stay far away from it. Hopefully the ritual will never occur.” He’d vowed to protect her the second he’d met her, and that had never changed. Even when they hadn’t been telling each other everything. “When the Seven distorted physics and elemental laws to become the Seven and fuse their torsos, they gave up part of their souls.”
“They did not,” Hope countered. “That’s not true. I’ve seen many members of the Seven, and they’re fully souled.”
He couldn’t help grinning. “That’s not a word.”
“It is now. Trust me. They didn’t lose their souls.” She smelled like vanilla beans and orange spice.
He released her arms. “My uncle and some of his friends know about the Seven and the ritual, and they want to prevent it from happening. So do I. If anything happened to you…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. He’d rather see her with some other guy, so long as she was happy, than to see her hurt.
She shook her head. “I like your kooky uncle, and I’m sure his friends are goofy professors also. They don’t have to worry about me.”
He didn’t correct her about his uncle or the group. The truth was, Paxton hadn’t figured them out yet, either. Unable to help himself, he ran one finger down the side of her face.
She caught her breath. “Wh-what are you doing?”
He wasn’t sure. Then he leaned down and kissed her, slow and gentle. God. It was even better than before. How was he going to save her in the end? He’d give his life for hers, and something told him that was his destiny.
Unless he was wrong. Maybe she was his future.
He hoped.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Benny landed on the dirt floor of his cell with a muffled oof. His ears rang, and the burns on his body pulsed in pain. Man, he hated being tortured. Blinking blood out of his eyes, he rolled over. “Who’s around?”
“Me,” Logan groaned, sounding as if his throat had been sliced.
“Ditto,” Garrett said, coughing so hard he might as well just hack up a lung.
“I’m alive,” Sam moaned from across the way. “Who got Jaydon this time?”
Benny forced himself to sit up while sending healing cells to his brain. Had Terre smashed his skull? Yep. A hammer could do some serious damage. “I got Terre, and supposedly, Garrett ended up with Jaydon. Right?”
“Yeah,” Garrett moaned. “The bastard has fists like sledgehammers. But I did get in a couple of good kicks. His nose was broken when I was so kindly escorted out.”
Vibrations from the multiple healing cells being utilized buzzed through the underground chamber. Benny’s eye socket popped back into place, and he winced. “Sam, good to almost see you. Did anybody get any relevant information? Did anybody hear about the enhanced females or Karma’s twin girls?”
Nobody answered for a moment.
“I didn’t learn anything about the females or the girls, but I have some intel for later,” Garrett said.
“Ditto,” Logan added.
Well, crap. Benny couldn’t risk staying another day to find the girls, considering Karma had just blown his entire plan to the crapper. “We have to get back home.” While he’d heard that the connection had been cut before the Kurjans could trace the call, she’d still made arrangements to meet up with Terre if she could find transportation.
The bastard now knew that she was alive. So much for keeping her under the radar.
Logan leaned against the bars that separated his cell from Benny’s. “I could take a couple more rounds. Let’s stay and try for more information before we leave. We have to find out how many enhanced females they’ve kidnapped and where they’re keeping them. I still want to know how much they have on the Seven and if they have a bead on Ulric. They don’t believe that we have him locked down.”
Sam sat on the dirt floor across the way, blood pouring from a cut above his eyebrow. “I have some intel from my time here, but I think they’re as much in the dark about Ulric as we are. Supposedly his Intended is sure he’s close to breaking free of the prison world.”
Benny fixed his broken shoulder and then started mending the cartilage around it. “Yvonne, right? She has to be getting on in age a bit. If she dies, doesn’t another Intended for Ulric take her place?”
“Affirmative,” Garrett said, breathing heavily. Pain radiated from him along with the healing tingles. “Why are there so many damn Chosen Ones or Intendeds? Jamie was one, Hope is supposedly one, my Aunt Brenna was or is one…”
“Why are they always female?” Sam asked absently. “Shouldn’t a male be chosen as something once in a while?”
Logan chuckled and stared across the way at his brother and Garrett, whose cells were side by side. “We’re not as smart as females.”
That was the truth. “Except for Karma, right now. Oh, she’s smart, but she hasn’t figured out that if anybody is going to sacrifice themselves, it is not going to be her,” Benny growled. Then he told his brothers about her phone call and promise to Terre.
“What phone did she use?” Logan asked, wiping blood off his chin.
“Dunno,” Benny answered. “She had to have done it away from Mercy, because I’m sure Mercy would’ve stopped her. We have phones in different places. Mine is in the kitchen drawer at my house, and we also have the box of burners in the weapons room. It doesn’t matter where she got the phone.”
“So long as the Kurjans couldn’t trace it, I don’t care,” Garrett agreed, standing and weaving back and forth on his feet. “Looks like our timeline has been moved up.” He gingerly picked at a scab on his hand, tearing off a long strip of what looked like skin. “Let’s do this.”
Benny rolled to his feet, tearing off the fake layer of skin along his neck. He folded up the piece, pinched it, and slipped it into the key slot of the old-fashioned cell door. “Fire. Hole.” Two steps brought him to the far stone wall, and he bent against it, covering his ears.
The door lock blew apart, and the cell door swung open.
Garrett and Logan did the same with their doors, and Logan took an extra explosive strip off his leg to use on Sam’s door.
Sam Kyllwood looked a little the worse for wear. There were dark circles beneath his eyes, and his cheeks had hollowed slightly.
“When did you last eat?” Benny asked.
Sam shrugged. “Who cares?” His eyes were a darker green than Logan’s, as well as being rimmed with a deep bronze color. “I don’t need food or blood. Let’s get out of here.”
Benny wasn’t going to argue. He surveyed the other two. Garrett had taken a worse beating from Jaydon than Logan had from Dayne. “I’m on point.
Garrett, you have Sam in the center. Logan, you cover our asses.” Without waiting for agreement or argument, Benny turned and jogged down the tunnel. “It’s probably still dark out, so know the Kurjans will be at full force outside.” He paused at the door leading out. “This is now an escape plan. Take no prisoners, and if the enemy is down, keep going. No time to decapitate.”
Garrett kept close to Sam, who was a little too pale. “Does everybody remember the layout of the mines? We need to go in that direction.”
“Affirmative,” Logan said. “Sam, you stay on Garrett’s six.”
Sam straightened, and the bloody wound on his forehead slowly closed. “I’ve got this, little brother. Don’t worry your pretty head about it.”
Benny snorted. They all looked ready to go. “Now.” He kicked the door open with his boot near the lock. The bang took the guard outside by surprise, and Benny was on him in a second, knocking him out and taking two guns and three knives. The night swirled around him for a moment. He took a deep breath and sent more healing cells to his brain. “All right. Let’s go.” He ran into the night.
* * * *
After a sleepless night, Karma walked along the different storage units of the Seven headquarters. Several were large wooden sheds that housed many vehicles and even an armored truck. The morning had brought a light rain, and after checking in with Mercy and seeing no activity on the satellite feed, she had gone exploring.
“Looking for something?” Benjamin asked.
She gasped and turned. “Benjamin!” Joy filled her, and she jumped for him.
He caught her easily and wrapped his arms around her waist. His soldier clothing was burned, dirty, and wet, but he appeared as strong as ever.
She looked up, her heart swelling. “You’re all right. You’re here.” She hugged him tight, noting a bruise beneath his right ear. She looked him over as well as she could, being pressed so closely against him. Thank goodness he was all right. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
“We couldn’t be sure we weren’t tracked, so we set down a hundred miles from here and ran,” he said, his eyes darker than usual. His hold loosened, and then he let her go.
She released him. “Are you harmed? What happened? Did you find the girls?” Something was amiss, but she couldn’t read his expression. Had he been badly injured? Out of instinct, she began to edge away.
He grasped her chin with two fingers. “I’m not harmed, we got Sam out, but I haven’t found the girls yet.” His voice lowered to a curiously dangerous tone. “Would you like to tell me what you were up to while I was gone?”
Her mouth dropped open, and heated tingles ticked through her abdomen. “Well, I, hmmm.”
“Karma? I am not pleased.” He did not sound pleased in the slightest.
Her body quaked. She tore her head free and turned away from the building to stride toward the river.
“Stop.” It was a command, and her body immediately obeyed.
“Turn the hell around,” he ordered.
She slowly turned, but she didn’t cower. Nor did she run.
He watched her like a hawk she’d once observed that had been choosing which field mouse to strike. His jaw was set, and he took several deep breaths before continuing. “What were you thinking?” he calmly asked, his stance casual.
She jolted. “I was thinking of saving my girls.” The truth seemed like the correct avenue with Benjamin.
“Did I, or did I not, tell you that I would find your girls?” The strain in his voice made her wince.
“Are you in pain?” she whispered.
“No,” he murmured.
She shifted her feet beneath the skirt. “Then why do you sound so…bad?” She couldn’t think of another way to ask him.
His chin dropped, and she could swear steam came out of his ears. “Bad? Why do I sound bad?” In fact, he sounded like he was trying to swallow glass. “I’m doing my best to keep my temper under control. I don’t want to scare you…much.”
At those words, her temper blew. “How dare you? You think I’m so weak I can’t handle you in full temper?” She was not a wimp. Sure, she didn’t know how to fight, and yeah, she was used to running and hiding when angry males were around, but still. The simple truth caught her. Benjamin Reese would never harm her. No matter how angry he became. “Besides. You kept the true strategy from me, so I can make my own plans. For now, let me have it. Go for it. Give me what you’ve got.”
His eyes widened, and then, by all the saints, he lost his mind. “Fine. You want it? You’ve got it.” He threw up his hands and prowled toward the river, his hair matted and probably bloody. “I was in Kurjan territory when I discovered that you called Terre. You remember Terre?” His voice rose, and he was full-out shouting.
“Yes,” she said, tilting her head to watch him. Interesting. She really had no fear of him.
“He wants to mate you,” Benny bellowed, his hands moving as much as his legs. He paced. “Like mate you, mate you. The guy is obsessed. Probably has been for centuries. If you ask me, he let you escape just so you could take the virus and be free of the mating bond.”
She nodded. “Yes, I believe that was his plan.”
Benjamin paused. “You knew?”
Again, the truth was the only way to go. Though he wasn’t going to hurt her, lying to him might bring on more anger than she knew how to handle. “Yes. He has never hidden his desire for me, and he made it clear that I would take the virus when I escaped. He has my children, Benjamin. For the time being, he will win this one.”
“I don’t give two fucks about him winning anything,” Benjamin yelled, the veins in his neck bulging out. “I care about you and those girls. If you don’t start trusting me, we’re going to have a serious problem.”
Mercy and Logan walked along the river from the direction of the lodge. “Everything okay?” Logan asked, also still wearing his torn and bloody clothing.
“Hell no,” Benjamin bellowed.
Karma grit her back teeth together. “Benny? That’s enough. I understand that you’re angry, and you have every right, but enough with the yelling.”
The male was twice her size and could probably take on a cadre of elite Cyst soldiers without breaking a sweat. He could certainly kill her with one blow. But when she spoke, he immediately calmed down. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m not scared,” she admitted, shocked that it was the truth. “But you are giving me a headache.” The hybrid had a set of lungs on him.
“And you look crazier than heck,” Mercy chimed in.
Benny ran a rough hand through his hair, looked at them all, and then glanced down at his bloodied clothing. “Right. Okay.” Without another word, he moved toward Karma and tossed her over his shoulder before turning to stride along the river walk.
The air whooshed out of her lungs, and shock kept her immobile for several yards. Then she smiled. Against all reason, she chuckled. “Benjamin? What in the world are you doing?” Her braid hung nearly to his ankles.
“I need a shower. You’re going to join me, and we’ll have a nice chat naked.” He sounded marginally calmer.
She lost the smile. “Naked?”
Chapter Thirty
Benny walked into his bathroom with Karma still over his shoulder. She’d laughed for most of the walk, and that sound had calmed him down fast. Then her soft chuckle had wandered through his entire body, making him ache much worse than he had earlier. Finally, he flipped her upright.
She grabbed his forearms to catch her balance.
He exhaled. “I’m still not happy with you.”
The smile on her face as she looked up made it nearly impossible not to share her joy. “Okay.”
He kissed her forehead. “Being carried makes you happy?” She was truly a mystery, wasn’t she?
“No.” She laughed again, her eyes spa
rkling. “I’m happy you yelled at me and I didn’t get scared. It’s nice to trust somebody. I’m also happy you made it back safely and saved your friend. Everything has worked out for now.”
For now. He agreed. Yet she wasn’t getting him. Not completely. “Listen. I’m sorry I yelled, and I’m glad you didn’t get scared. But the bottom line is that you went against logic and safety when you contacted Terre behind my back. You knew I wouldn’t like that. If I had been here, I would’ve stopped you.”
“That’s why I called when you weren’t here,” she said logically.
He paused. The fact that she wasn’t frightened of him pleased him, but still, a guy could use some control. What a conundrum. He wanted her to feel free, so he had to fight every inclination he had to lock her down and keep her safe. “You’re killing me,” he admitted. Maybe he should go spar with Logan for a while. The kid had completely healed by the time they’d gotten back.
Of course, Logan was probably with Mercy right now. Benny didn’t want to walk in on them. Ugh.
Karma sobered. “Benjamin? Did you find out anything about my girls?”
“No.” He brushed a couple of wayward tendrils away from her face. “But I’m not done yet. I will find them.”
She exhaled. “You don’t know that. Terre promised to bring them to where we’re meeting in three days. I’m supposed to call to get a location when I get free of you. That is the only way we’re going to find them, and you know it. You have to let me go.”
“Not a chance.” If he let her go, she’d end up mated against her will by the Kurjan who’d happily burned Benny’s knee nearly off. The guy liked dishing out pain, and something told Benny that he didn’t care who was on the receiving end. “He’ll hurt you. You know that, right?”
She swallowed. “I do know that, but I’m still hoping I can escape with my girls. I’m their mother now, Benjamin. That means I do whatever I have to do in order to keep them safe. To get them to safety. Surely you understand that.” Her voice trembled and nearly ripped his heart in two.
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