Terre studied her. “Your rash is getting worse.”
“It itches terribly,” she admitted, trying to keep the relief out of her voice. “You should have seen what it did to that lowly hybrid when he tried to touch me. I’ve never witnessed anything like it.” She shivered, and it was cold enough in the room that she kept shivering until she made herself stop.
Terre swept his hand toward the bar. “Get me a drink and then come and talk.”
She barely kept from telling him to stuff it. Instead, she strode to the bar set up at the far end of the room. Terre liked gin, so she chose the best bottle and made him a martini with two olives. Holding her head high, she strode toward him and handed it over before sitting on the hard wooden chair he motioned her toward. The plush leather one remained vacant on the other side of him.
He took a sip. “Yvonne wants to examine you more fully in the morning now that you’ve taken the virus.” It wasn’t a question or a request.
“All right. Is she in this building?” Karma asked, folding her hands on her lap.
“No. Her lab is next to this building. I’ll escort you in the morning.” He took another drink and then leaned closer to study the blisters on her neck. “Turn your head.”
She did so without question, her left foot all but twitching with the need to kick up right beneath his chin. How surprised he would be.
“That looks terrible,” he muttered, sitting back. “Yvonne said she’d try to find a way to speed up the healing process.”
Oh, Karma just bet she would.
Terre finished the martini. “I had different plans for us tonight, as I’m sure you know.”
No answer was expected, so Karma didn’t give one.
He handed her his glass. “Another.”
It was truly unfortunate she didn’t have poison with her. She silently took the glass and walked to the bar as the front door opened and Jaydon strode inside, the rain still dotting his uniform.
He looked at her. “Make that two.”
What a dick, as Mercy would say. Karma looked at the far table, the one near the doorway. It held maps and a couple of tablets. Perhaps there was information about the enhanced women over there. She’d have to find a way to examine those documents. She hid a small smile, made two gin martinis, and carried them to the males now sitting in the plush chairs. Neither thanked her.
Terre motioned for her to sit again, his gaze running over her body the way it had for decades. “Start at the beginning. I want to know all about your time at the Realm and any weaknesses in security you saw there.” He took another drink of the gin.
“I didn’t see any weaknesses,” Karma said, hiding her revulsion. The blisters felt better on her body than did his gaze.
Jaydon settled his large bulk back in the chair. “You need to ask more basic questions. She wouldn’t know a weakness. How many soldiers did you see?”
She tried to look ditzy. “I didn’t count. The queen put me in a machine, and when I came out, she said that I wasn’t tagged in any way. They didn’t find the device in my head until I went to the Seven Headquarters, which you blew up.” Being underestimated could definitely work to her advantage. “King Dage Kayrs and the Seven members were all very insistent in their questioning about the enhanced females you’ve kidnapped. About how many you have and where you have them kept.”
Terre smiled. “I’m sure they want to know.”
Karma leaned forward and frowned, letting confusion show on her face. “The Seven members also believe that Jaydon is going to duplicate the ritual the great leader Ulric performed centuries ago and then take his place. Can you believe that?” She widened her eyes just enough.
Terre stiffened. “That is just enemy propaganda.” He looked at the general. “Correct? You’d never attempt such a travesty.”
“Of course not,” Jaydon said smoothly, his shoulders too wide for the chair. The overhead lights glinted off his mostly bald head, and even sitting, he emitted a sense of controlled command. “I want our supreme leader back even more than you do. The Cyst need him.”
Terre’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t speak.
Karma perched quietly, letting the suspicions grow. What would happen if the Cyst faction turned against the Kurjan nation? The idea was unthinkable, and yet…neither group trusted very well. Dayne was a born diplomat, who could smooth over any misunderstanding. Terre, on the other hand, wouldn’t know diplomacy if it bit him on the chin. If Jaydon was attempting to become the new leader of the Cyst, Terre would object.
Perhaps she could start an internal war. Why not dream big?
Yvonne strode inside again, rain dotting her stunning hair and triumph on her angular face.
Dread dropped into Karma’s stomach, and her knees trembled with the need to run. Hard and fast.
Terre looked up. “Yvonne. I thought you were going to bed.”
The woman smiled, and minute wrinkles spread out from her eyes. She was clearly getting older. There was no doubt she was jealous of the females who had stopped aging once mated. “The blood tests will take all night, but I thought you should know that the rash is from a leaf. It’s poison ivy.” Her smile was catlike.
Terre turned toward Karma, his smile furious. “Heal yourself. Right now, or you won’t like the results.”
Considering the girls were just down the hall, Karma instantly sent healing cells to her skin. The rash had protected her from Terre, but she still sighed in relief when the blisters disappeared.
Yvonne laughed. “I can’t believe you suffered for hours like that just because you didn’t want to mate Terre.”
Terre stood and grabbed Karma’s arm, yanking her up. “Oh, that’s nothing compared to the suffering to come,” he growled.
Karma wrenched free and then kicked him square in the balls.
He lunged for her just as an explosion rocked the lodge, scattering the papers off the table. Then the entire world lit up outside.
Karma turned to run.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Pure panic and raw rage had Benny jumping out of the helicopter before the thing had neared the ground. He hit wet pine needles and rolled, coming up firing. Karma was in the hands of the enemy. By herself. The beast at his core roared in fury, and the mating mark on his hand pounded as if he’d just been branded with a hot poker.
She. Was. His.
If this was love, it wasn’t at all what he’d thought. He turned and fired into the neck of the nearest soldier and then ducked as a series of knives flew over his head. Grizzly bears careened from the forest, the lead bear creating a zigzag pattern as he identified the areas of land mines without glasses.
Impressive.
Benny ran toward what appeared to be the main lodge with Sam and Logan flanking him. A trio of Cyst soldiers barreled out of the smaller building next to the lodge, firing rapidly. Ducking, he turned and tackled the first Cyst to the ground while Logan and Sam engaged the other two.
Garrett leaped over Benny’s head to take down two Kurjan soldiers who’d run out of the main lodge.
The Cyst soldier beneath him punched Benny’s neck and scraped his claws across Benny’s jugular. Pain flashed, and his skin gaped open.
He punched down several times, cracking the soldier’s nose and eye sockets. The Cyst wrapped both legs around Benny’s torso and squeezed, twisting to the side and punching Benny in the hip, right below his shield. Agony flashed hot and deep inside his body, and he sent emergency healing cells to keep him moving.
“Get off me,” he growled, grasping a knife from the sheath in his boot and stabbing it through the soldier’s thigh. The hold loosened. He had to get inside the lodge before Terre could kill Karma. Benny knew enough from his research and few torture sessions with the asshole that he would kill Karma before he’d let Benny take her back. He twisted the knife up the thigh and planted the blade in t
he Cyst soldier’s groin.
The guy let out a high-pitched scream and grabbed the handle, rolling to the side.
Benny struggled to his feet and contained his own pain in a box to be dealt with later. His right foot had gone numb, but he ran through soldiers fighting hand-to-hand and tried to dodge the lasers shot at him. Several hit his chest and fell useless to the ground. One whizzed by his still-injured neck and singed the skin.
He kept running.
Two Cyst soldiers dropped from a tree near the entrance to the lodge. Before Benny could engage them, an enormous grizzly bear took them out from the side.
“Thanks, Bear,” he yelled, ducking his head and running faster toward the lodge. Smoke billowed from the side, and it looked as if fire was rapidly spreading throughout.
The front door opened, and Jaydon calmly stepped outside, weapons visible across his chest. He shut the door and smiled. “You’re not getting past me.”
“Wanna bet?” Benny ran full-bore for the general as the soldier yanked a small sword free and held it in front of his body. At the last second, Benny dropped into a slide and took the bastard out at the knees. Jaydon dropped, and Benny grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him into the door, smashing the entire thing inward.
Jaydon caught himself just inside and backflipped to his feet. “You’ll pay, hybrid.” Blood dripped from his mouth and fangs.
“Karma!” Benny bellowed, kicking shards of wood out of his way as he approached the general.
No answer came from within the lodge. Dangerous gray smoke billowed from the hallway, and the crackle of fire could be heard over the fighting and rain outside. Maybe Karma was in one of the other buildings. Roaring wildly, Jaydon lowered his chin and rushed Benny.
Benny pivoted and kicked the general in the gut. Pain ricocheted up his leg to his already-damaged hip, and he fell back into the damaged door frame.
Jaydon manacled him by the neck and lifted before dropping onto one knee. Benny partially turned in the nick of time to keep his neck from being broken. He shifted and elbowed Jaydon in the gut, groin, and finally neck. Then he followed up by flipping around, landing on his feet, and yanking Jaydon over his shoulder.
The Cyst soldier flew across the room to land on a hard wooden chair, smashing the entire thing to the ground.
Benny paused. The scent of wildfires by a river filled his head. Karma. She’d been there. He kicked another chair out of the way and stomped over to Jaydon, who was struggling to get up. Benny stole a knife from the back of Jaydon’s waist and shoved it in the male’s nape.
Jaydon gasped and went down.
Benny straddled him and gently pulled the knife to the left. “Where is she, General? Tell me now.”
Jaydon groaned and struggled beneath him, facedown. He planted his hands and pushed up, nearly dislodging Benny. “She’s gone, asshole,” Jaydon grunted. “Terre killed her the second you landed.”
Benny twisted back and forth, nearly decapitating the monster. “Last chance. Tell me, and I won’t cut off your head.”
Jaydon kicked up, bending his knee. The force of his boot hit Benny square in the back. Fortunately, his shielded torso protected his internal organs. Jaydon cried out as the sound of his foot breaking filled the room. Then he struggled wildly, nearly dislodging Benny.
Benny viciously wrenched the knife back and forth, effectively knocking out the big bastard. Fire rushed in from the other side of the room. He had only seconds to find her. Cutting off Jaydon’s big-assed head would take too long. “We’ll meet again,” Benny growled.
Then he stood. “Karma!” he yelled.
There was no answer.
* * * *
Karma struggled against Terre’s hold as he dragged her down rough stairs through a hidden hallway, his tablet in his hand. “Stop,” she said, pushing against him.
He backhanded her and kept going.
Pain exploded in her face and through her skull. She tried to look behind her, but he’d closed the door against the fire. Her girls were up there. She fought him, punching and kicking, but he didn’t relent. “The kids are up there. We have to get them,” she hissed, trying to find purchase with her boots.
They reached a dirt floor, and Terre pulled her through a doorway and pushed her inside. She flew across a small room and caught herself at the far wall before turning.
Terre shut and locked the door by using a keypad to the right of the knob. Lights were already on across the ceiling, and he strode toward a computer console in the room next to another doorway that appeared locked. “Sit down and shut up.” He leaned over and punched keys on a keyboard before grasping a phone from beneath the desk and dialing. A gun was stuck in the back of his waist. “Dayne? Where are you?”
She needed to get that gun.
Dayne’s voice came in loud and clear. “At the south end right now. The explosion caused a cave-in on Tunnels North and South, and we’re working to clear the southern one right now. Are you in the south cell?”
“Yes. I have Karma.” Terre didn’t even turn around to look at her.
Karma searched for a weapon, but there was nothing except the small computer station in the underground room. Maybe a rock would fall from the ceiling. She looked up but didn’t see anything that looked loose. Gathering her strength, she rushed for the door and tried to yank it open. “What’s the code?” she yelled, her chest thundering. The girls were upstairs by themselves. Would they know how to get out?
“Did you see Drake or Vero?” Dayne asked. “I haven’t found either kid yet.”
“No,” Terre barked. “The main lodge was already on fire when we came down here. Are you sure I shouldn’t open the tunnel door?” He glanced at Karma as another explosion rocked the night.
She pulled uselessly at the door and then dropped to the floor to see if she could scrape free enough dirt to go under.
Static came over the line, and then it cleared. “No. You’re safe in that room until we finish with the tunnel. The room is surrounded by cement, so a fire won’t get you. The top door is secure, and nobody will find the passageway. You have oxygen and whatever you need. I’ll call you, brother. If you do need to unlock the tunnel door, you can do it with the keypad. It can’t be unlocked from this end.” Dayne disengaged the call.
Terre stood. “Get away from that door.”
Karma turned around and struggled to her feet, tears clogging her eyes. “Open the door. The kids are upstairs, even Vero. He’s yours, right? Please let me save them.”
Terre stared at her, his long hair dark against his pale skin. “I care little about those children but will be very interested in the sons we create.” He moved toward her, full of grace and anger. “It was a nice try with the rash, by the way.” He grabbed her elbow and yanked her toward him. “You lay with the hybrid, didn’t you?”
“No,” she lied. “Let me save the kids, and I’ll do whatever you want. We can mate the second we get to safety.” She had no idea what he might have used for a code. It was probably random numbers, and that door was the only way to her children. Another explosion echoed through the night. “Please, Terre. If you want to have any sort of life with me, let me save them.”
He shoved her back against the door. “Those aren’t the children for us, and you’ll do whatever I want already.” His hold was painful, and he squeezed her arm harder, yanking her up. Then he kissed her, his mouth bruising.
Her mind settled, and she kneed him directly in the groin, tearing her mouth away. He partially bent over, his eyes wide, and she punched him in the left one. Then the right. She kept punching until he backed up, and then she kicked him right below the knee, just as Benjamin had taught her.
If she could just get him on the ground, maybe she could take the gun. She kicked again, and he grabbed her ankle, yanking her off the ground and then letting go.
She flew up and landed o
n her back. The air whooshed out of her lungs, and her head thunked on the dirt floor. Her ears rang and sparks flew behind her eyelids. The pain was immense.
Then he was on her. Straddling her and ripping her shirt. She screamed and raked his face with her nails, thrashing beneath him to get free. He tore off the shirt and then grabbed her by the neck, cutting off her oxygen. The room swam around her.
Something hovered to the side of her vision. She looked, and Linda was there, throwing all her force into a punch that actually landed on Terre’s temple.
His head flew to the side, and the spirit hit him again, grunting with the effort. Her eyes were a wild topaz, though her hair was barely visible.
Karma pushed Terre and slid out from under him, grabbing the gun out of his waist. She backed away, and Linda hovered next to her, fading in and out. “How did you do that?” Karma gasped, her lip bleeding down her chin.
“Don’t know,” Linda said, her voice weak. “It’s for the girls.”
“Our girls,” Karma said, lifting the gun and pointing it at Terre.
He stood, many, many inches taller than she. “You won’t shoot—”
She fired several times, hitting him in the head, neck, and chest. Blood poured from his wounds, and he dropped to the ground, his brain taking refuge in unconsciousness so he could heal. Breathing heavily, she turned and fired at the keypad. It was her only chance.
Nothing happened.
She fired again, shooting the green lasers all around the pad and right through it. Finally, something clicked. Crying, she snatched Terre’s tablet off the table and ran out of the room and up the stairs, her boots slipping on the rough wood.
It couldn’t be too late. It just couldn’t.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Benny kicked another door open in the main lodge as fire crackled around him and smoke billowed. He tried to cover his mouth and nose. “Karma,” he yelled again.
“Benjamin!” A hidden door opened in the hallway, and she stumbled out, blood on her face and her bra dirty. Scrapes covered her bare arms, and her shirt was missing. She’d never looked so good. “The girls,” she gasped, turning to the right and running through the smoke.
Rebel's Karma Page 25