Promises (Blood Brothers #1)

by B. J. Brandon

  It didn’t matter that she had only known him since waking up in the hospital less than a week ago, or that there was some strange, intangible force she could feel pulling them together. Her gut told her to trust him; her instincts told her this was important.

  The panic attack was not going to back off, though and Chayle found her world narrowing down to the ability to try to just breathe. Struggling to get out of Kayne's grasp was next to impossible as her panic almost consumed her. Breathing became impossible, as reality slammed into her… she was dependent upon strangers, in a location she had no idea how she got to and no idea how to escape. As it all came crashing down on her in waves her chest began to ache and her breathing became more labored, her body hyperventilating.

  Kayne suddenly realized that Chayle was struggling to breathe and if she did not calm down she could do more harm to her bruised and battered ribs. She could not take much more abuse and he was not going to allow her to accidently hurt herself so he did the only thing he knew to stop it and gain her undivided attention.

  He kissed her.

  Time seemed to stop. Her lips did not soften at once, but he refused to relinquish his grasp on her sharp little chin once he had her quiet and breathing normally. His tongue continued to quest for entrance into her mouth.

  When she did not open, he growled.

  He was watching her eyes so he saw her beautiful orbs widen at the noise. Her gasp allowed his tongue to plunder her lips, seeking the warmth within as if it were the life-giving force of Mother Nature. His tongue stroked the sides of her mouth, sliding over her tongue and gently pulling the taste over his own, savoring and drowning in her flavor.

  Gently, he eased his hold on her chin, continuing the kiss, holding her to him in the only way he knew how, showing her that she was safe, she could trust him.

  It was almost his undoing.

  "Oh God, make it go away!" she groaned, surprising him.

  "What baby? What do you want?" Kayne whispered against her mouth, refusing to let go, licking those lips as he continued to watch her eyes.

  So expressive, so telling. She may fight him on every conscious level but Kayne could look into her eyes and tell what Chayle was really thinking, and right now he had no plans of letting go.

  "Make the nightmares go away, Kayne. Make them stop!" she begged, hating herself but unable to halt the plea. She clung to him, wrapping herself around him as the sob bubbled from her soul.

  "Only time will help with those, little one. But we can replace some of them with new ones that you will want to keep," he whispered. He licked her lips again, constantly watching her expressive face, ready to stop at the slightest indication from her.

  Kayne proceeded to lick her chin, down her neck to the pulse at her throat. There he gently sucked at the pulsing vein, evidence of the need throbbing in her veins. One hand slowly moved up her rib cage to rest under her ample breasts, waiting to ensure she did not panic.

  Kayne was taken back when Chayle pulled his hand to her breast, allowing his thumb to gently strum across the raised pebble of her right breast. He groaned, feeling the small bud under his touch.

  "You aren't ready for this, baby girl!" he whispered, licking Chayle's neck. Her taste was so unique and he continued to lick, tasting her essence, feeling it sink into his soul like no other drug he had known existed.

  "Don't stop… please don't stop!" she just managed to say before dragging his head down toward her breast. "Make the monsters go away!"

  Kayne gently laid her back on his huge bed where he began a slow, deliberate exploration of the most delectable body he had ever held in his arms. Slowly, he pulled the tank top over her head, watching Chayle's eyes the entire time to ensure she was fully aware who was in the room with her. He wanted no ghosts now.

  Those dark eyes dripped with tentative but weary need, and Kayne leaned down to pay attention to those beautiful breasts that were still marred by bruises and faint cuts. If he could kill the bastards all over again the torture would have been worse than what they had done to this small brave woman laying beneath him. Pulling a hard rosy nipple into his mouth, Kayne continued to watch her eyes and knew the instant the ghosts vanished and passion replaced them.

  “You’re not ready, so lay still,” he growled, pushing up the thin tank top to lick her stomach. “First you need to heal, then you need to trust again.”

  “I don’t see how that will ever happen,” Chayle’s dark eyes locked with his and all Kayne could do was pray.

  “I’m going to leave you here to rest. Rafe and I have some meetings to attend but the house is under guard and the property has better security than the White House. You’re safe, Chayle.” He licked her chin before starting to rise from lying next to her.

  “Where are you going?” she asked, almost whispering it but still holding onto his shirt like it was a lifeline.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be back by supper time.” A quick wink and he was gone.

  Chayle lay there listening to his boots as he moved down the hallway. It was evident if the man wanted to move quietly he could so it was obvious to her that Kayne wanted her to know he was leaving. She cocked her head and wondered at the strange turn of events in her life.

  Never would she have thought a man like Kayne would come into her life, much less she could actually be kidnapped. There was no one in her life to look for her anymore, no one who could care that a single young woman just disappeared from the face of the earth. Sure, her co-workers might miss her but it wasn’t unheard of for employees to be there one day and gone the next. Working as a government contract one learned not to ask too many questions unless it directly involved something you were working on.

  Pulling her tank top back on, she turned onto her side and Chayle decided that it was time to take things one day at a time and see what happened from here. Kayne and his brother promised she was safe. Her job was to get better, gain her strength back, and work at finding out what happened to the other girl that was held with her.

  Chapter 8

  Chayle was floating… lost in a sea of feelings that had nothing to do with nightmares or the pain that had awakened her. She knew it was a dream but didn’t want to open her eyes, just letting rough hands gently hold. Somewhere in the dreamscape she could hear Kayne whispering, his strong fingers gentle as he touched her body in a way no one else had ever done. It was like a massage of the soul, deep, rewarding and addictive.

  The constant nightmares had finally eased off to be replaced by dreams of her tall dark savior who seemed to always be just to the edge of her dreams ready to pounce on anything or anyone who might harm her. It was interesting and terrifying at the same time. Her body craved his touch, ached in ways she hadn’t in a very long time for a man’s attention and it made no sense since the kidnapping was still fresh in her mid. Chayle would have thought she would run the other way after what happened to her but instead she only found peace and contentment within the arms of her dream lover.

  Finally forcing herself out of the dream, Chayle opened her eyes to the dim light of her suite of rooms and sighed. It was early morning, again. She hadn’t slept a full eight hours since leaving the hospital and it had almost been a month ago. Each day someone brought food up to her room, and then Kayne would show up to take her for a long walk.

  The walks around the property were eye opening at first. She would have though the compound would be more of a military-style set up but Kayne explained that this had been their childhood home before entering the service. There were over eight sections of land, almost ten thousand acres of woodlands and lake front. No one had harvested the timber on the property except the McIntyres for several generations and once the twins had returned to take over it was now a virtual fortress with the types of security on site.

  The training facilities were something to behold and not even her dojo where she had gone for years could compare to the equipment and high-tech training simulators that were hidden behind plain looking barns and tall holdin
g facilities resembling storage for hay. It was amazing and comforting to know she was in such a protected place, yet the dreams were wearing on her because her body was now healed and craved to be touched. Making a decision, Chayle climbed out of bed and finished her shower in record time. It was time to figure out what the dreams meant and why she was fixated on a man who seemed to be the only thing she could think of. Walking down the long hallway and descending the stairs, Chayle found herself suddenly in front of mass of male muscles.

  “Just where do you think you’re going, missy?” Looking up, Rafe was staring down at her with what could only be called a smirk.

  “Looking for your brother, if that’s ok with you!” Chayle’s voice almost squeaked and she kicked herself for not sounding stronger. She didn’t need an escort but she also didn’t know where Kayne was at right now.

  “He’s in the training facility, if you’re looking for him. He’s working out so you might want to wait until he gets back to the house.” She felt strong fingers leading her toward a large, bright side room and Chayle suddenly found herself enveloped in a high-ceiling room full of windows. Plants and the sound of a waterfall came from a corner where several seating arrangements were placed and it drew her attention like nothing had in a long time. For whatever reason she hadn’t found the room in her many travels around the house.

  “How is it possible to have a pool like this in the house?” she asked, taking a seat in the large, winged back chair next to the pool and watching the fish as they swam around.

  “The house is built over an aquifer with the water table pretty easy to get to. This corner of the house was added when our folks decided they wanted a sun room and they found a natural spring just under the surface when they started construction. Rather than ruin it, our mother wanted it included in the room. For the time period the house was built and the way it is built, it was a feat never tried before in this part of the country.” Rafe was looking down at the fish so he didn’t see the wishful look Chayle quickly hid.

  “It must have been wonderful growing up here,” she whispered.

  “We had our good times and bad times, but for the most part it was a good life. Until my parents died when we were eighteen it was something I took for granted but never again.” She didn’t hear any grief or remorse in his tone, just the quiet acceptance of what was.

  “Tell me about your brother,” she asked, turning to look at the pond. Rafe’s full bodied laugh filled the large room and caught Chayle off guard.

  “My twin is the one you need to ask questions, lass. Not me.” He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and left her sitting there to contemplate exactly what he meant.

  It was several hours before Kayne came back to the house and found .Chayle still sitting in the sun room lost in thought. He stood by the open French doors quietly watching her and felt a tug on his blocks, as if someone were trying to scan him without his knowledge. Only his brothers could reach out to him past his blocks without access and then only because Kayne had established those neural pathways long ago while they served in the service as a team. He watched the stunning young woman close her eyes and take a deep breath, centering herself. That’s when he again felt the gentle “push” that had drawn his team to the cabin where Chayle and the other girl had been found.

  Kayne had his answers. This woman who seemed to touch a part of him that he thought was long dead was able to reach into the void and stroke his soul. Taking a deep breath he eased into the sunroom and up next to where she sat.

  “That’s a neat trick you have, reaching out while meditating.” He didn’t want to startle her but wasn’t surprised when Chayle’s dark eyes flew open and her breath quickened.

  “You scared the shit out of me!” She started to jump up from her chair but Kayne gently held her in place.

  “How long have you been able to reach out like that and search for someone?” he asked, sinking down to sit cross-legged next to her chair. It was a position he used all the time when meditating and it seemed as close to non-threatening as he could get at the moment.

  “I have no idea. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember, but never encountered someone else who could communicate like I do.” Licking her suddenly dry lips, Chayle looked back down at the koi, trying to get her breathing under control once more. She had been blissfully unaware anyone had come into the room until Kayne spoke.

  “Not many have the talent,” he whispered, watching her. “You do realize that is how we found both of you, don’t you?” He watched the sudden shock fill her eyes and confirmed she must have reached out unconsciously as she sank into oblivion hanging in that cabin.

  “Can you tell me what happened to the other young woman who was there with me?”

  “She’s safe. Rafe has her in another safe house about two hours from here. It was decided to separate both of you in case the crazies tried to grab either of you again.” He turned to look into the pool, aware she was still watching him.

  “Until we can figure out who is behind the whole thing it’s best if we keep both of you in different places. But I promise, she’s fine and healing better than expected from what Rafe has told me. He gets daily updates on her progress and anything that might be a threat, no matter how small.”

  She was so quiet for so long, Kayne wondered if she was meditating again. When she turned to look directly at him, her eyes were pools of dark despair.

  “My life will never be the same again, will it?” Kayne could almost see into her soul and the unique connection that had begun in the deep woods of the mountains clicked into place.

  He had been working himself to death, trying to figure out what it was about this female among all others that drew him. He wasn’t a monk by any stretch of the imagination, but no one had managed to reach into the dark places of his soul since he and Rafe had discovered the treachery of just how their own government had wronged them. It was hard to trust anyone now, few were allowed into the inner circle that the Team maintained and only a select few were aware of their mercenary-like assistance to a government that had no clue that its scientists were doing to their own armed forces. He remembered the exact moment when he realized their lives would no longer be as they were. Accepting that their very DNA had been changed and manipulated so their own government could produce superior armed forces.

  However, the few men and women who banded together with the twins and fought their own government were now considered freaks and it was with a heavy heart that Kayne knew that the drugs used on Chayle were similar to those used on Kayne and his team.

  “No,” he finally answered her. “Your life will no longer be the same but it can be better. Stronger.” He bowed his head, sorting out what to tell Chayle and what to leave out.

  “Just say it, will you?” she huffed, leaning back in the winged-back chair and pulling one foot up in the chair as she got comfortable. “I know they shot me up with drugs while they had me. I figured it was illegal drugs of some sort so they could torture us.”

  “They were illegal all right,” he growled, uncrossing his legs and leaning back on his forearms. “Chayle, are you aware of genetic testing that has been banded by all civilized nations?”

  “What are you saying?” Her beautiful eyes got so wide Kayne was sure they were bigger than an owl’s.

  “The toxicology reports can’t identify the drugs that were in your system because they have never been approved. Whatever they were doing and why, it is unclear what, if any, affect the drugs had or will have on you. We do know that right now your physically fine. It’s just that the drugs they used are slowing altering your DNA to something similar to what was done to my team” He wasn’t prepared for her sudden anger. Tears, yes. A female tantrum, surely.

  “Are you saying those sons of a bitches altered, or tried to alter, my basic genetic code?” Chayle screamed, her eyes flashing with fire and her fists clenched on top of the chair arms.

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s the same for the
other captive.” He let it sink in, watching her eyes blossom with fire, changing from dark chocolate to almost black.

  “We have to stop them, Kayne. If they are trying to change the course of evolution then we have to put a stop to them now.”

  “That’s exactly what Rafe and I are doing but it takes time, resources, and connections. We only have so many men and have to be careful who we trust with this information.” He reached up and took one small hand, uncurling the tight fist to run his fingertips over her nails. “Right now we have a great network that we’ve set up, and Gabriel Sorrel is the best IT hacker systems administrator genius alive. The government had no idea what they created when they added Gabe to the mix but he’s on our side and it’s a good thing.”

  Chayle’s eyes filled with tears, her emotions so unguarded they rushed at Kayne’s blocks like an avalanche taking out everything in its path. No one had ever been able to breach his mental blocks without him allowing it except Rafe. For her to do it and not even realize what she was doing spoke volumes concerning her raw talents. It was no wonder the enemy went after her.

  Kayne rose in one fluid motion, pulling her from the chair and into his arms. She clung to him like a spider monkey, her body shaking and almost coming apart as the knowledge of just what and who had taken her. It was a hard realization to come to when one realized their own government was allowing monsters to wreak havoc on unsuspecting citizens.

  He tucked her head under his chin, slowing stroking her back and letting the tears soak his thin T-shirt. It didn’t matter how long he had to stand there or what she needed in order to feel safe but Kayne was determined this unique woman in his arms would get whatever she needed. When she looked back up at him, there was no way he could breathe. Those luminous pools of dark emotions struck fast and hard at his thickly guarded heart.

  “Don’t let go,” she whispered. “Please, not this time!”