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Promises (Blood Brothers #1)

Page 2

by B. J. Brandon

"You carry her, I'll cover the rear." He gently lifted the female and handed her to his brother, taking another quick look at the room.

  For the first time he noticed there were other items scattered about. Pictures of additional females and a few young males hung above a metal desk in the corner. A camera with what looked like an internet connection sat propped against the other corner but no laptop or other device was anywhere in the room. Looking closer, he could tell the women were of different ages, different backgrounds but all appeared to be of gentle breeding. This operation was about more than trafficking, much more.

  "I have a bad feeling about this," he whispered into the communications link as he quickly gathered everything he could to take with them for evidence.

  "Explain!" Merc's command came over the link.

  "Later, we need to move!" he whispered, looking toward his twin. Rafe's nod assured him the female was secure. "Davey - report!"

  Silence - damn it, where was that boy!

  "Merc, do you have a location on Davey?"

  "He's got the other package and is headed toward extraction. So far so good." Kayne could tell there was more to it than what his teammate was saying but for now, they had to evacuate. Too much time here and his neck itched. Not a good thing.

  His gut was crawling, the spirits of the forest screaming at him to get a move on it. Kayne's senses were telling him something was wrong but he couldn't see, taste, or smell it. Yet it was there!

  "Move out!" Signaling his twin, Kayne pulled up the rear, allowing Rafe to carry the fragile burden in a fireman's carry that couldn't be helped. Taunt flesh peaked out from under the bottom of the shirt, crisscrossed with shallow slices from either a well-placed blade or some kind of whip. He found his hands wanting to smooth them, take the pain away.

  "Do you have her?" The twin-speak the two of them had used for so long came natural and swift, easier on the mind and body, automatic.

  "She's coming around again, Bro. I can feel her body temp and heartbeat changing. When she does there's going to be panic. She won't understand who has her now." Rafe didn't so much as miss a step, he just ensured nothing hit the female as they hung low and made for the extraction point.

  "Let me know if I need to put a narc patch on her before she comes to all the way. She isn't receptive to my mental pushes. We can't have her giving away our location yet, and I don't want her more terrified than she already is." He knew Rafe understood. Even badly injured men trained for this type of work barely managed to keep quiet and usually required sedation, must less a slip of a female. They had to get to the Pave Hawk helicopter at the extraction site before things went tits up.

  Suddenly the skies behind them lit up, as the ravine seemed to implode. The concussion took several seconds to hit them, but when it did the noise sent the forest animals screaming in all directions.

  No fire, no debris.

  The team ducked, unsure what was coming at them until they looked back and saw the destruction left behind. Total annihilation of everything that had been in the ravine. Only a thin trail of smoke gave evidence that the cabin had even existed, the contents of the structure obliterated. Whoever had been there had not intended for there to be any witnesses, including the guards that had been left behind.

  Chapter 2

  He stood in the library sipping brandy, gazing out the tall windows as he contemplated the reports sitting on his desk. Everything was supposed to have been destroyed in the small valley, except for his two “treasures.” Those were to have been brought to him as soon as the transport had arrived but it was detained due to a road block of some kind by local authorities. It had taken three hours to clear air traffic and make it to the site but all was lost. The idiots onsite had somehow messed up when setting the detonation sequences, which was a lesson learned. He would make sure from now on his chosen treasures were removed before he even allowed the idiots of his employment to do any kind of menial jobs around them again. They were too important in the scheme of things.

  Once again, Alpha Team had interfered where they should never have and he was going to have to deal with them one way or another. The fact that they had even been able to find the cabin, much less both of his treasures was giving him a migraine. He was confident of recovering both of them, he had no doubt of it whatsoever. It was just a matter of time. However, Alpha Team was and had been a hindrance for long enough. He needed to deal with the twins once and for all. His temper snapped and the brandy sniffer flew across the room and into the quiet fireplace, shattering the silence of the room. He was getting tired of their interfering.

  Circumstances were at a critical stage and he couldn't have those freaks continue to impede progress, not if he was to meet his deadlines.

  "Robert!" he yelled, summoning his second-in-command.

  "Yes sir?" The tall ex-Marine stood at attention, waiting for instructions as if he were still in the military, which in reality he was.

  "It's time for Operation Daisy," he whispered. The seasoned Marine visibly swallowed, his eyes never showing his concern.

  "Are you sure, sir?" the Marine chanced the question only to wince when his superior turned blazing eyes around to look at him.

  "Don't question me, moron! Do it!"

  "Yes sir." The solider did an about face and left the room to follow orders, never seeing the sadist smile on his employer's face or the calm that returned.

  "Now we'll see who is superior, won't we?" he whispered to the empty room, reaching down to stroke his hardening cock in anticipation of the plans he had just put into place. Let Alpha Team figure out who and what was coming for them.

  Chapter 3

  The light hurt her eyes.

  It was the only thing Chayle Olsen could concentrate on as the pain stabbed into the base of her skull. She struggled to open her eyes to find the constant annoyance of beeping nearby. Through the haze and sluggishness of her brain, someone was loudly whispering in the background and it wasn't a voice she recognized.

  "There are multiple contusions, deep bone bruises that will take a while to heal, but no permanent damage that I can find so far. She has also been sexually assaulted both anally and vaginally, and I've had a rape kit sent per your instructions in hopes of gathering any DNA." The person seemed to hesitate before continuing.

  "Stop looking at me with murder in your eyes! I wasn't the one who did this to that poor young woman, so get your ass out there and find out who it was because they are sadist assholes. They intended to inflict as much pain as possible while having their fun. And, they almost killed her, it was a miracle she had lived at all. If you had been any later, I can assure you that she wouldn't have survived another day." The talking stopped, then Chayle heard someone quietly closing the door as they left.

  She reached up to rub her temple, finding something attached to her wrist. She could only stare at it for long seconds before she could finally focus. Once the fog cleared and she could see clearly, she realized there was an IV leading to the side of the bed, then up to the bag hanging from the pole. Instinct had her trying to jackknife away from whatever danger was nearby, but strong hands gently held her in place.

  "Easy, sugar. Nothin' to worry about." A deep drawl caressed her senses, soothed her jingling nerves. It didn't penetrate the fog still lingering at the edge of her mind or terrible memories crowding toward the surface, and her fight or flight reflex continued to kick in no matter the inducement from the sexy as sin tone in her ear.

  How had they moved her to this place? What did they want now? She struck out with everything she had, slapping and struggling to move away as her body screamed that it couldn't move this fast yet, but instinct and a rush of adrenaline powering her ability to fight, to get away or die.

  "Damn it… Stop it or you're going to hurt yourself! They just finally got you cleaned up!" A male voice cursed long and low as strong hands held her still.

  Something made her finally hold still… something primal. She stopped fighting those strong fingers, frantic
ally searching for the source of the velvety voice, needing an anchor before the panic took over. When she found sparkling navy blue eyes watching her closely, Chayle stopped breathing.

  "Now don't you go and pass out on me again. If you do, Rafe will be pissed with me and I just don't want to deal with one of his temper fits right now." A quirky grin tilted at the corners of lips that should have been on an angel instead of the giant gently holding her arms pinned to the bed. The darkest blue eyes fringed by the sexiest long, black lashes she had ever seen drew her in and made her chest ache. Her first coherent thought was a man shouldn't have eyes so beautiful.

  Chayle caught her breath and felt it hitch with pain. The military haircut couldn’t hide the fact that the color was as blue-black as the lashes, and Chayle had to stop herself from wanting to touch it to see if it really was as black as a raven's.

  "Where… where am I? Who are you?" Was that really her voice? Scratchy and dry, it sounded like an old lady's whisper rather than the normally bold Chayle most of her friends knew.

  She licked chapped lips, realizing it must have been her since the sound came from her throat. Chayle forced herself to look away from those assessing blue eyes and tried to concentrate on her surroundings. The quiet room was small, light filtering in from the one window that now didn't seem quite so bright as it had a few minutes ago. Or was it only seconds? It was obviously a hospital room of some kind, but where?

  The pale green wall softly absorbed the light to keep the glare down and the blinds were barely open to blunt the brightness from outside. Chayle could tell it was daylight but what time was beyond her. She felt her chest squeeze, her stomach roll as panic filled her.

  The men, the pain - oh God, where was she?

  Frantic now, she slapped at huge hands trying to hold her still, hearing an animal's cry somewhere nearby, not realizing it was coming from her.

  "Easy… you're in a private hospital!" The stranger eased toward her, whispering as if to a wounded animal, "My name is Kayne MacIntyre. Can you remember anything?"

  Chayle could only stare at the stranger as the nightmares came to life, reality replaced by the men who had held her. The lancing pain, the terror and the raucous laughter all came slamming back through her mind as they told her what they were going to do to the other girl once they finished with her.

  She had fought them, dared them to do their worse, and prayed. God, she had prayed that someone would find them before she lost the battle and those monsters started on the other girl. In the end, it had been too much. Her body had finally shut down and her mind drifted to a place where she could rest without the pain as the last session with a lunatic had taken everything she had to stay semiconscious.

  "Oh God!" she choked out, curling into a fetal position away from him so he couldn't see her, couldn't know. Chayle couldn't give them what they wanted so they had kept hurting her, they wouldn't stop. She had known it was only a matter of time before they killed her.

  She felt the giant of a man reach for her and instinct had her recoiling before she could stop it. Chayle's hands flashed out with lightning speed in spite of her injuries, slapping the hand coming at her so hard a crack could be heard in the quiet room. The man who called himself Kayne cursed, his frown turning stormy.

  "What the hell are you doing to her?" another male voice cut the silence as Kayne stared at the fighting spitfire in the bed.

  "Shut up, Rafe, and get in here. You're better at soothing females than I am. Do it!" Kayne growled, rubbing his wrist where it still smarted, lucky he had gotten it in place before her foot had landed on his cock. He shook his head, his lips twitching slightly. Damn, she was barely awake and still fighting. "And watch out. She's as mean as a snake with those hands and feet."

  Rafe moved to the other side of the bed, slowly raising both hands so Chayle could see them. He kept an eye on her hands and feet, watching her face to make sure she understood his non-aggressive movements. It took everything in her to remain motionless and watch both men. There had to be brain damage, a concussion, or at least drugs still in her system. Because there was no God in the universe that could have made two men that looked so much alike, so handsome and so dangerous looking as the two who stood next to her bed. Chayle shook her head, trying to clear it of whatever was messing with her brain.

  Long raven black hair and devilish blue eyes twinkling with a sense of amusement as this new stranger stood watching her while the other looked like he wanted to kill someone. The hint of anger and danger surrounded him like armor. Both men sported wide shoulders and massive chests sitting atop trim hips and thick thighs the size of tree trunks that didn't come from working out in a gym. No, Chayle recognized military when she saw it and that physique came from long hours of hard dangerous work. Both men had to be well over six and a half feet tall if an inch. Chayle wasn't short by any means coming in at almost five eight, but next to the two giants she felt tiny.

  "You'll have to excuse my twin for his manners, but most of the time he doesn't have to deal with the opposite sex. I'm afraid he's lost his touch!" The smiling giant with the amused eyes was trying to soothe her. How ridiculous was that?

  Chayle looked at the two men as if they had lost their ever-loving minds!

  However, for some reason Chayle could suddenly feel the tension easing from her muscles, the fear, and pain pushing back to barriers where she could deal with it for now. Her heart rate slowed and the trembling in her chest and body slowly began to ease.

  "Now," the nicer of the two men whispered, "breathe for me and tell us your name and what you can remember."

  Chayle took a deep breath, not even realizing she was holding it. She kept her gaze on the smiling one because the other man's eyes did something to her stomach. She didn't want to look at him; she didn't want to think about him. It was too much, it ached somewhere she didn't want to think about.

  She had never met him before she opened her eyes a few minutes ago, but all she could think about was not looking at him. Licking dry lips, she closed her eyes and tried to think, tried to understand what had happened and when. He had asked what was the last thing she remembered.

  Leaving work, walking outside into the late afternoon heat outside the small research center in Denver thinking she just wanted to get home to her nice quiet little house, change clothes, and relax for the weekend. Chayle remembered walking across the street to the employee's covered parking area, past the guard posted there and waving to him, entering the cool underground area where her car was always parked. It wasn't that late for a Friday but no one had been around, no one heard her scream when someone grabbed her from behind.

  She had fought, God she fought them. All of the self-defense training over the last few years kick boxing to stay in shape and taekwondo as a means of self-defense with meditation had been useless against rough hands grabbing her mouth, others twisting her breasts to hold her still while someone else knocked her feet out from under her and picked her up. Panic raced through her bloodstream, her heartbeat loud in her own ears as Chayle tried to focus on anything other than the terror as she remembered the snickers behind the sack that had fallen over her head, or felt the sharp stick to her neck shortly before darkness took over her mind. The true nightmare had begun once they pulled her out of the Humvee and pushed her into the cabin with the younger woman. Her captors graphically explaining just how they would be used as guinea pigs for some new drug their bosses were developing for their "merchandise."

  Her eyes popped open, a silent scream forming on her lips before the giant standing next to the bed, Rafe, touched her. Chayle jumped, but his strong hand pulled both of hers' into his large one and held on.

  "What did you see? Who was it and what do you remember?" he whispered. Rafe watched several expressions cross her face before she took a deep breath.

  "My name is Chayle Olsen. And I remember everything!" she whispered before looking down at her hands.

  "Tell us." Rafe's thumb gently stroked her wrist, calming h
er as her panic still rose at the nightmares inside her head.

  "They came at me from behind," panting, she stared into those bottomless blue eyes the color of a dark Caribbean ocean and felt the fear dissolve leaving only the tightness in her chest. "They… someone put a cloth over my nose and mouth with a sack then knocked me out with a shot." Chayle swallowed, forcing back the bile rising from her stomach at the thoughts raging in her mind.

  "Someone grabbed my feet when I started fighting; I think another had my waist." The words were mere whispers as she relived the nightmare for the men, trying to describe the kidnappers the best she could but knowing she wasn't doing a very good job of it no matter how hard she tried. Tears stung her chapped cheeks, her lips dry and leathery from dehydration as she fought back tight sobs that hurt her chest. Frantically she forced her eyes to look anywhere so she wouldn't see the pity, feel the shame, but her wild eyes continued to lock with the silent twin standing in the shadows. She was mesmerized by haunted eyes that reminded her of a savage animal who was caged and unable to find its freedom, his face rigid as he stood with huge arms crossed over a massive chest like a dark guardian, reminding her of a kind of fallen dark angel. The dark guardian suddenly moved, reaching up to touch his ear, his eyes never leaving hers. "Rafe, we need to book. We've got to debrief in twenty, and Merc wants the Intel on our girl ASAP."

  "Where are you going?" she whispered as they moved toward the door but received no answer. They turned to leave, moving out the door so quietly they could have been a figment of her imagination if not for the fact that she could still feel the fallen angel's touch on her cheek. She might not have known who they were or why they were there, but something deep in her subconscious remembered. Her body remembered even if her conscious mind did not and they were the only known safety she had, and now they were walking away. They were halfway down the hallway when all hell broke loose.

  “You’ll be safe here. This facility is protected and secluded. No one knows you’re here and won’t be able to find you. So just relax, get better and one of us will be back in a bit to talk with you.” Rafe’s smooth tone did nothing for her sudden need to get away.

 

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