"Go away. I'm busy and if you keep bothering me, Kayne will kick your ass!"
"Really?" There was a moment of silence, then the side door clicked open and a very large male slithered into the closed space.
Slithered was the best word Chayle could use to describe him as he took a wide stance. She quickly took in the military haircut, the wide shoulders, and dead eyes. Her brain instantly calculating something was off with the guy.
"You aren't one of Kayne's men, are you? How did you get onto the grounds?" She took a couple of steps back, positioning her back so she was not trapped in a corner.
"You don't need to worry about that because you're coming with me. My Master had plans for you and the other one, and he doesn't like to be cheated out of his work." The eyes did not change as he took a couple of steps forward looking too confident for Chayle's piece of mind.
"Well, your Master can go screw himself, because I'm not going anywhere with you!" She almost missed the slight motion of his shoulder, that little "tell" that indicates when an opponent is about to attack. He came in low, ready to sweep her up but Chayle was ready. With a quick slide to the ground beneath him and between his legs, she punched straight up with her legs and into the one area of a man's anatomy that would always bring them down… his groin.
She kicked with everything in her legs, back and abs, making sure that when he fell it was all the way down. Chayle would only have one chance and she knew she could not miss. He dropped like a stone, his scream of agony music to her ears as she turned for the door to the control room. As she flung the door open she ran into an immovable wall, felt steel bands wrap around her and the control she had fought so hard for disappeared with a terrified scream.
Chapter 14
"Kayne!" Her horrified scream echoed throughout the facility, vibrating off the walls.
"Shush, little one… I've got you!" The arms holding her did not squeeze but held firm, pulling her behind him and pushing her into someone else's waiting hands. She barely had time to registered Rafe's massive body entering into the holo-cave before a sob escaped. Rafe turned to look at her, a grin lighting up his face.
"Not to worry, Chay… he'll not bother you again and he will tell me who sent him! I promise."
"He said it was the Master, Rafe," she whispered. "It's the same ones who took us before." She was shaking now, frantically looking around for Kayne. "Where's Kayne, why isn't he here?"
"He had a quick mission but will be back before sundown. My brother didn't want to worry you." Anger hit hard as adrenaline surged through her system. "Worry?" she screeched, not recognizing her own voice.
"Take her back to the main house and guard her. There may be more that got through the perimeter and the guards and I don't want to have to explain to my brother why she has additional bruises." Rafe's matter-of-fact attitude almost sent Chayle over the edge.
"I'm not going anywhere until that son of a bitch tells me what his boss wants!" She fought off the gentle hands of one of the men trying to lead her out the control room door as Rafe motioned for two others she had not seen to follow him. But she was not going anywhere and it was time these men understood that.
She watched as Rafe's men hauled the intruder out of the holo-cave and through the exercise facility toward a back entrance she had not noticed before. The other men were so distracted that she slipped out of their grasp and followed to make sure she wouldn’t lose them.
"Kayne's going to kick my ass if anything happens to you!" the hiss behind her drew Chayle's attention to a man standing behind her. She hadn’t seen him before, but now that she had it would be impossible to forget the mountain of a man guarding her back.
"He will if you don't help me, I'll see to it," she promised. Her eyes narrowed when long, tawny hair was pulled back from a hard face sporting a scar that ran from the right eyebrow to just above the upper lip. It didn’t detract from the handsomeness of the face or the strong bone structure that hinted at his Native American lineage, but the look in his eyes reminded Chayle of a wounded animal hiding in the shadows waiting to attack.
"My orders are to take you back to the main house, Miss." His hiss came out low and lethal, yet Chayle only felt a sense of protectiveness from him.
"Please… "she begged, hearing the waver in her voice and hating it. “ I need to hear for myself, know why they took me."
Chayle watched the guard's face and saw the instant before something settled in his unusual eyes and he shook his head. Slowly a grin ghosted his full lips and a huge shoulder shrugged his agreement.
"Hell, we only live once, right? If Kayne kills me at least I had a hell of a ride!"
"What's your name?" she whispered, amazed at the sudden change in his appearance and attitude.
"Gabriel, ma'am," he quickly answered. "And if you're going to watch Rafe get any answers before that dude expires I'd suggest we get down there." His firm hand guided her toward the doors the other men had disappeared through and Chayle instantly heard screams.
They descended a set of stairs that led to a dark, subterranean cavern below the training facility where she immediately found the man who had tried to grab her strapped to a chair in the middle of a room. Somehow, she had expected to see blood and violence. Instead he sat there with his eyes closed, arms clamped down to his sides with straps and his legs wide apart and strapped to the legs of the huge metal chair. No one touched him, no one spoke, but Rafe and another man stood on either side of him, eyes closed and breathing evenly. Suddenly the man screamed, twisting and struggling as if demons were chasing him, his eyes wild and blank as he searched the room for whatever he saw in his terror.
"Tell me who sent you," Rafe whispered into the room, his voice gentle yet scary as it vibrated against the walls.
"No… " screamed the prisoner, "you don't understand! He'll kill me!"
"No, you don't understand," Rafe replied, his stance becoming more menacing when he finally opened his eyes. “You’re dead if you don’t.”
Chayle soft gasp did nothing to distract him from the task at hand, but she had never seen anyone's eyes change to that color before. The blue-gray swirls continued to focus on the man strapped in the chair as if he were the only thing in the room.
"Your Master tried to take someone who was beyond replacement, and now you have invaded my home and tried to take her from my brother. Not only have you failed but your Master will never have his hands on her again." The profound confidence in his voice, the assurance that his words were law seemed to rock the prisoner's world.
"She is only one of many, he can gain others but she was one of the first who was successful. Her and the young one! He won't stop until he has them for his breeding program, and many will die until he gets his property back." The man suddenly wailed as if in supreme agony, "He is the Master for a reason, he cannot be stopped!"
Suddenly the man began to convulse, his head shaking back and forth, foam coming from his mouth like a rabid dog. Chayle watched in horror as Rafe untied the man and started CPR but it seemed nothing could save him. Finally, he and the other man stopped their efforts.
"He's gone, sir." Rafe looked stunned, and looked over his shoulder at Chayle.
"Something triggered the episode, Chayle. I didn’t cause it. Whatever he was afraid of was deep seated enough that it killed him." Rafe could only stare at her as she began to shake
Kayne raced into the training facility just as their team doctor was loading the prisoner onto a gurney and had already covered the body with a sheet. Chayle was sitting in the corner, her face white and hands shoved between her knees.
"What the hell happened?" he growled, rushing over to the pull Chayle into his arms and rub her back as he wrapped his massive arms around her.
"The guy under the sheet tried to take me again," Chayle whispered, but she slapped a hand on Kayne's chest when he growled loud enough for the entire room to hear. "Stop with the growly shit. He's dead, ok?"
"How?" He looked to his brother and Mercury, but both kept qui
et for a minute.
"Oh for pete's sake. I watched the whole thing. Do you think I haven't gotten it yet that you guys are not entirely normal like most of us?" she growled herself this time, pointing at Rafe. "Tell the big guy here before he kills the creep again just for the hell of it."
"I like her," Gabriel commented from his position against the wall. He had not moved ten feet from Chayle until Kayne's arrival, so Chayle was surprised to see him so far across the room.
"Mine," Kayne growled again, his arm tightening around Chayle.
"Stop it!" she slapped his chest again. "Concentrate, will you?"
Kayne looked down at her in shock. She had slapped him again, in front of his brother and men. He heard Gabriel laughing against the wall and wanted to go put some serious hurt on the junior team member but he could not do that as long as Chayle was here. It seemed she liked the man and Kayne was not having any of that!
Taking a deep breath he looked around the room.
"Someone, anyone other than Chayle, had better tell me what happened here. Now!"
His order echoed in the room for several heartbeats before Rafe finally recounted what had happened, in complete detail. Chayle just stood there, nodding her head the entire time, or pointing in agreement like she knew exactly what Rafe was talking about. Which, once his brother got to the end, Kayne realized she had watched the entire thing.
"Are you telling me that you saw this interrogation?" He calmly asked Chayle.
"Well of course I did. He came after me, so why wouldn't I watch it?" Kayne realized she was perfectly serious and convinced that there was no earthly reason whatsoever why someone should have not allowed her in the viewing room. He could feel his blood pressure rising as she talked.
"Kayne, you cannot kill Gabriel." Rafe said it very calmly and carefully, like it was every day he told his twin something like this.
"Why in the world would you want to hurt Gabriel?" Chayle asked, moving away from Kayne and looking up at him. She noticed instantly that his eyes were a dark, stormy blue-grey, and his neck muscles were bulging.
"Gabriel can take care of himself," was all Kayne said as he took off out the side door. It was at that point Chayle realized Gabriel was no longer in the room with them, and Rafe was shaking his head.
.
Chapter 15
"Why is Kayne angry at Gabriel? He saved me from that man, he shouldn't hurt him." She started to go after the men and Rafe grabbed her around the waist, barely holding her.
"Kayne won't hurt him - much. He's just mad because Gabriel didn't get you out of the viewing room and allowed you to stay through the interrogation." Struggling to hold her in place.
"He didn't have a choice. I made him take me in there and I wouldn't leave." She screamed, trying to stomp on Rafe's foot.
Rafe took her back to the chair she had been sitting in and made her sit in it, standing in front of it so she could not move. When she could finally breathe, Chayle looked up to see a faint smile on those lips so much like his twins.
"What?" she growled.
"You will give my brother a run, but he so deserves you. Come, let us get you back up to the house before it gets too dark. The men are checking all of the grounds and check points. Kayne should be back within the hour."
Rafe took her hand and guided Chayle back into the house. Something smelled good coming from the kitchen and she realized just how hungry she was now. The kitchen was bright and filled with people as preparations were being made for supper. An older lady worked at the double stove stirring a couple of large pots. One looked to have pasta and the other a wonderful smelling sauce.
"Well, young lady. You must be Kayne's girl. I'm Clara and I’ve been on vacation for the last month to see my daughter in New Orleans. I do most of the cooking around here for this mangy lot." Clara's motherly arms encircled Chayle and pulled her against an ample bosom. "Welcome and come give a hand. These guys all have two left feet and several thumbs but they can help, too."
Clara handed Chayle the large spoon she was stirring the sauce with and moved over to one of the ovens. One of the younger men came over to assist her in taking out several large sheet pans of what smelled like garlic bread and Chayle's stomach growled again. In less time than it took to set the table, the bread was cut and ready for dinner, the sauce and pasta plated, and drinks poured. Just as everyone was washing up Kayne and Gabriel came in the back door.
Gabriel was sporting a black eye and a spit lip but he had a smile a mile wide when he saw what was for dinner. Kayne did not look much better. His clothes were ripped and muddy where Gabriel's were not and his mouth looked swollen.
"Oh no you don't, scamps. You are not sitting at my table all muddy and bloody. Off with you and wash!" Clara made shooing motions to both grown men.
"Well, are you happy now?" Chayle said loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Both men looked embarrased for only a minute before bursting into laughter. She only shook her head pointed toward the door for them to go clean up. Laughter flowed around her as the men rushed out of the room. “Boys!” she whispered and shook her head.
It was a unique experience sitting at the large table with so many huge men eating. Clara sat next to her so she did not feel like the only female at the table. However, talk was of weapons and training, programs and sports. Typical testosterone-type conversation, to say the least, but once everyone had eaten Rafe motioned for silence.
"We need to double security for a bit, and check on the other outposts to ensure no one has tried to breach them." He looked around the table as everyone nodded except Chayle, who was stunned by the silence.
"What outposts?" she asked but no one answered.
"Kayne, you need to keep a closer eye on your woman. She’s a handful, to say the least. Especially if they still want to get their hands on her!" The grin Rafe shot Chayle was payback for the foot stomp, she was convinced but she did not take offense.
"No worries, brother. She's mine. They can't have her!" was all Kayne growled.
"Good, because I'm afraid we haven't heard the last of the one called the Master, and we still have to figure out what they wanted with Chayle and those other young girls." Everyone agreed as they helped clear the table and drifted in their own directions for the evening.
Chapter 16
Chayle leaned against Kayne's broad chest as they curled up on the chase lounge under the stars on the balcony, listening to night sounds on the warm evening. Somewhere in the distance, an owl called its mate and was answered not long after. Chayle shivered, and Kayne wrapped his strong arms around her. She couldn’t believe that only a short while ago she was alone and terrified, unable to free herself. Now she had a mate, someone who could feel her inner most emotions, thoughts, and dreams. It terrified her even more that she might not measure up to what might be ahead of them.
"What has you so quiet, my heart?" Kayne's warm breath brushed her ear lobe and made her shiver again, this time with something more.
"You know I have to find this maniac, don't you?"
"Love… "
"No!" she stopped him. "I have to be a part of this, no matter what, Kayne!" Chayle turned so she could look into those unique blue eyes that had captured her soul so he could see how serious she really was about this, how much it meant to her.
"He tried to take something from me that wasn't his to take and I have to make sure he can never do that to another person again! You have your honor that you live by! So do I." She touched his cheek and kissed those lips that drew her every time she looked at them. "This is my honor code, and I have to be a part of it, too."
"On my life, I will protect you no matter what happens. You know that, right?" he whispered, taking her lips in a crushing kiss. When they could breathe once more, Kayne realized his woman was smiling up at him.
"Well of course! Why else would you be my hero?"
Kayne proceeded to remind her of just why she loved this man so much.
Chapter 17
Rafe tossed and turned on his large bed, his dreams filled with the memory of a tiny woman who fought like a demon even though the odds were against her. He watched from a distance like a voyeur watching the scene unfold before him but couldn’t stop the events as they unfolded.
He saw himself step out of the shadows of the temporary med-vac tent set up by the team and watch as med techs frantically worked to clean their patient up as best as they could before she could be transported on the Team’s Pave Hawk helicopter. It was imperative they get her stabilized before trying to move her again, triage her injuries and determine what could be done in the field before moving her. He watched, detached as they cleaned as much blood and gore from her small body as they could to take care of any serious wounds before moving her. His gut told him to ensure her safety, get her out of here as quickly as possible before their location was compromised. A niggling at the back of his neck warned him that time was running out and he had to get all of them moving, they couldn’t spend any more time here.
He felt the gut wrenching pain as they sedated her, but it was for the best as he stared down at such a tiny body. God, she was so beaten and abused. It was a miracle she was even alive, much less able to fight anyone once they got her out of there. Looking down at her, she was engulfed in the dirty t-shirt Davy had managed to get around her naked frame when extracting her from the kennels. Davy had rushed her out of there after he and Kayne managed to pull Chayle Owens out of the cabin in the nick of time. It was a miracle she or Chayle was even alive. At first Rafe and Kayne had only found Chayle in the main cabin shortly before the entire compound was blown sky high.
Davy was lucky to find her while doing a parameter search. A quick fingerprint check identified her as Jollie Sanchez, chained in what must have once been kennels behind the structure. After the team met at the rendezvous point, it was decided to separate the two and take the females out individually. Hopefully, this would keep any trackers from locking onto them and get the women to safety as quickly as possible. Both of them needed medical attention, but Jollie continued to fight anyone who touched her.
Promises (Blood Brothers #1) Page 9