STEP (The Senses)

by Paterson, Cindy

  Well, he was definitely still cocky and confident and they’d certainly need that.

  “Trinity is not coming?” Liam asked. “A shame. I would have loved to have seen her expression when she hears the news.” He shrugged. “No matter.” His eyes roamed over Delara and his smug smile faltered. “Delara, I do apologize for this. I like you, although I fear you never liked me. If it weren’t for Abigail, I’d have gladly continued our trysts. But as you know, Abigail has something I want, and my power in this world is more important than a mere roll in the sack.” He held up his hand when Delara went to say something. “I have the right to protect mine as well as you do. The law is that you may not touch me if we do not harm humans or make ourselves known to the humans.” Liam looked over at Abby, who was standing quiet. “Foolish girl. Nearly ruined my plans, sleeping with Damien and getting pregnant.”

  “Let’s get this done, Liam,” Kilter said. “What do you want from us?”

  “Oh, just to share a tidbit of information you might find interesting,” Liam said. His eyes blazed triumph and his brows accentuated upwards with eagerness.

  “You have nothing that is of interest to us except Rayne.”

  “But that’s not true, is it Delara? Waleron was very quiet on the phone last night when I told him about Jasmine.” He grinned. “Even quieter when I told him your news. Did he ask you about it?”

  “You’re a bastard, Blood,” Delara shouted and took a step towards him.

  Waleron grabbed her arm and kept her in place. Delara looked ready to explode and Waleron was a time bomb. Surprisingly, the only one calm was Kilter.

  “Does he know the rest, I wonder? I didn’t want to break all the news. We needed to save some of it for shock value. Honestly, I never would have believed it until I read the document. Jasmine is very . . . shall we say resourceful, as you’re well aware, Waleron.”

  Waleron stiffened.

  Liam laughed.

  “Where is she?” Waleron demanded.

  “Oh do relax, Waleron. She is not here. I do believe you would sacrifice all in order to kill her after what she did to you. What was it for? Sixty-one years, I believe.” He smiled, revealing his sparkling white fangs.

  The tattoo on the side of Waleron’s neck began to creep up the side of his neck, the black ink flashing red. What was going on? How did Waleron know Jasmine?

  “She will never have him again,” Delara said. “I will destroy her before that ever happens.”

  “Oh I have no doubt you would try, Delara. And it would be a fight I would pay to watch, but for now let us discuss our negotiation.”

  “We don’t negotiate,” Waleron stated.

  “I figured as much,” Liam stated. “But you may change your mind. You see, last night I told you Delara had once been pregnant. What I didn’t tell you was that it was your child.”

  Waleron didn’t flinch. He stood frozen, no chest rising and falling, no muscles twitching. Nothing. He stared at Liam with his piercing ice-blue eyes. Deadly silent.

  Rayne looked at Delara, but couldn’t see her eyes. Her head was bowed as if in—defeat.

  Liam pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket. He passed it to the vampire on his left. Rayne caught a glance at what appeared to be a legal document of some kind.

  The vampire walked between the tables then passed the paper to Waleron. The bloodsucker backed away, keeping his eyes intently on Kilter, who was watching him closely while Waleron read the document.

  Without looking at Delara, Waleron passed it to her with a trembling hand. His face was drawn, eyes piercing and haunted as if he’d been given a death sentence. His gaze traveled past Liam to her and stopped. Her breath caught in her throat at the intensity of his stare, his mouth drawn in a thin line, brows lowered over his cold blue eyes.

  What the hell was going on? What did a document have to do with anything?

  The piece of paper fluttered from Delara’s shaking fingers and swirled to the floor. Her eyes pooled with tears as she looked up and met Rayne’s eyes. “I . . . I . . . oh my God. No. No. It’s not possible.” Her head shook back and forth, tears running down her cheeks. She began to crumple to the ground when Waleron’s arm shot out and held her steady.

  Kilter looked from one to the other then reached down and grabbed the paper from the floor. His eyes scanned it for a second before his eyes darted to Delara. “Is this possible?”

  Liam laughed, his eyes sparkling with delight. “Of course it is.” Liam let his hand drop from her elbow and moved to curl it around her neck. “Meet your parents, Rayne. Your real parents.”

  Chapter 31

  If Liam hadn’t grabbed hold of her arm, she would’ve fallen to the floor as her legs gave out beneath her. One vamp quickly took her other arm and supported her weight as she recovered from the initial shock. This wasn’t right. It was some kind of trick Liam was pulling in order to make certain Waleron negotiated with him. The document had to be a fake. But she didn’t need a document to look at. All she had to do was look at Delara to see the truth.

  “How’s this possible?” Kilter asked. “How could . . .”

  “I miscarried,” Delara said, her voice a graveled whisper, eyes glazed with tears. “I was told . . . the baby died. They told me the baby was dead. I saw it. Oh God . . .”

  Waleron’s voice was cold and abrupt. “You were pregnant with my child?”

  “Waleron please, I—” The tears streamed down her cheeks, her eyes were wide with devastation, and her sultry olive skin now held a grayish tinge.

  Waleron let go of her elbow as if it burned him and she reached out to touch his forearm. He jerked back.

  “My child? My fuckin’ child?” The voice was unrecognizable, it was so filled with rage. “You kept that from me?” Waleron said harshly.

  “I thought it was better to—”

  “You thought?” Waleron shouted. “You thought? Damn it, Delara.” Waleron turned, strode to the door, hesitated then slammed his fist into the metal frame. It groaned and complained under the sudden pressure, then silence.

  No one spoke.

  He remained facing the door. His energy radiated rage and confusion, but with the slight head bow, he also looked sad. Rayne glanced at Delara, who had her eyes closed, and her fingers clenched the sides of her cargo pants.

  Her parents? A Senses Taldeburu and a Senses Tracker. She had known she was adopted but having the truth of her blood parents standing here in front of her was terrifying and yet . . . warming. They were here tonight to help her and they hadn’t even known she was their daughter. It was frightening to think how Liam and Jasmine could use her against them. That was what Roarke had warned her about. He had said Jasmine would use her against them. He knew. He’d been trying to warn her, and she’d kept pushing him away.

  Waleron methodically turned and strode back. He ignored Delara completely.

  Liam smiled, his fangs gleaming under the fluorescent lights. “We will give you Rayne unharmed as you can see, but—” he hesitated, licking his lower lip as if anticipating the reaction, “—Abigail will come with me and you, Waleron, will come willingly to Jasmine.”

  Delara gasped. Waleron remained stoic as if he’d been expecting what Liam was asking.

  “I say again, we don’t negotiate. As you can see Abigail is unharmed and has Turned, but she will not be returned to you.”

  Liam’s brows rose with surprise, then he hissed and a menacing scowl appeared. He no longer looked like the handsome, charming vamp. “Then I will give your daughter to Jasmine. You know how that will be.”

  “No, fuck no,” Kilter shouted while Delara sucked in her breath.

  Waleron put his hand on Kilter’s arm in warning. He let out a loud roar and pounced before Waleron could stop him. He leapt at Liam, fury pulsating in his eyes, fire burning as the pupils turned red. Liam pulled Rayne in front of him, an arm around her neck. Three vamps tackled Kilter to the floor, one held his hands while the other two kicked him in the chest and face.
He struggled against them, sending one falling to the floor, but the other was pulling his arms behind his back, while his minion friend punched him square in the face.

  “No,” Rayne screamed. “Stop.” She flailed against Liam’s arm, but all she managed was to lose her breath. She coughed and choked as Liam’s hold tightened.

  “Enough,” Waleron shouted. “Let her go, Liam.”

  “When her lover boy stops, I stop.”

  Kilter instantly became still, breathing ragged as he fought to catch his breath. Already Rayne could see bruises forming on his face from where the vamps had kicked him. They dragged him to his feet and pushed him back to Waleron and Delara.

  Waleron called Keir over to them. “Get him out of here. Take Abby too.”

  “Kilter, please. Don’t,” Rayne said, seeing his muscles twitch as if ready to fight against Waleron’s orders.

  His eyes met hers and if she were made of metal, she’d have melted under his intense heat. Let me be strong. Don’t let me cry.

  The indecision was written all over his face, the anger, the confusion, eyes darting around the room, wondering if he could destroy everyone.

  Keir put a hand on his shoulder and he flinched.

  “This is not our time,” Keir warned.

  His eyes never wavered from hers, piercing and staring into her as if desperate to read her thoughts, to know that if he walked away, she’d be okay. She lifted the corner of her lips and gave a slight nod.

  His roar echoed like a tuba through the empty warehouse. Deafening. Haunted. But he turned and walked away.

  Waleron avoided looking at her as he spoke to Liam. “You will never have Abby.” His eyes narrowed and his fingers curled into fists. “And tell Jasmine . . . I am coming for her.”

  Rayne felt the fury in Liam’s body, every muscles contracting. “She will be tortured until I have my Abby. You will never have your daughter back.”

  Waleron grabbed Delara’s arm in a death grip as if knowing she was going to make a stupid move towards Liam. “I do not negotiate.”

  He turned, forcing Delara with him, dragging her resistant body to the door. Her sobs were ragged and choked and she tried to look back over her shoulder, but Waleron yanked on her arm and she tripped forward almost to her knees.

  The door slammed behind them.

  Silence.

  Then a sudden haunted cry wrenched through the night air, causing shivers to tear down her spine. It was unrecognizable.

  ****

  Keir pulled Anstice up against his side. “We can call in Trinity and the Wraiths.”

  Waleron remained silent. He stood as if a frozen ice-block at door of the library. Everything in his body was violent and he found himself having to soothe the snake Scar on his neck several times—and that was after he had taken three pills from his Pez. Nothing had prepared him for the news tonight. Nothing. He couldn’t look at Delara. If he did, he was afraid of what he would do to her. His body was an inferno of emotions. A daughter? His and Delara’s.

  That night replayed in his head for years, over and over like a broken record. A night he had tried desperately to forget and now . . .

  “Waleron?” Keir pushed.

  For once in his life, he felt fear. Fear for what would happen if they failed to get Rayne back. Fear about what he felt for Delara. Fear at what was roaring through him. He was afraid of losing control, and if that happened, no one would be safe.

  “We must act now,” Waleron said, his voice monotone. “We go tonight. There is no time to inform the Wraiths . . .” He shook his head. “The Center World Others are immune to their powers anyway. We go in hard and fast.”

  Keir nodded. “Agreed. I will call everyone here and—”

  Waleron held up his hand then quickly lowered it when he noticed the trembling. “Give me ten minutes, Keir.”

  Keir’s face blanched for a fraction of a second. He had tried to hide the surprise, but Waleron noticed it. Yes, Keir, I am losing control.

  ****

  Kilter paced the length of the tomb, his hand running through his disheveled hair repeatedly. He felt like throwing up. Her eyes, God, they haunted him. Liam holding her. The desperation to get to him, then resigning to her fate.

  He slammed his fist through the drywall. “Damn it,” he shouted and Delara and Jedrik jerked. Damn right be nervous. Cause right now he was going to explode and rip apart anyone who came in his path.

  He left her. He left her in the hands of a vampire and a Lilac.

  How could he? How could he have done that?

  “Cause you would’ve killed her if you hadn’t,” Keir said, standing at the top of the stairs.

  Bastard was leaking into his thoughts. His emotions were so screwed up that he didn’t even have control of his mind shield. “We go tonight. Library, five minutes.”

  Kilter jolted to a stop. He hadn’t expected that. He’d expected Waleron to want to plan, debate, talk to the Wraiths. Never spur-of-the-moment attack.

  “I told you, we don’t negotiate. But never have we left one of ours behind. Never. Do you understand what I am telling you?” Waleron said firmly.

  Yes, Kilter thought. Goddamn it, yes. They’d never left him. They’d thought he was dead, yet still spent years searching for him. He sank down on the couch, his head in his hands. He’d hated for so long. Hated. Mistrusted.

  Now, he needed them.

  He needed them because he needed her. Rayne.

  He gripped his hair with his fists.

  Don’t let me lose her.

  Chapter 32

  They didn’t return to the penthouse; instead, they walked into a club. Rayne felt the ropes on her wrists rubbing her skin raw as a vamp yanked her along behind Liam. The crowds of people automatically parted for him as if he owned the place. Maybe he did.

  Liam stopped in a corridor and punched a code into a box, and a steel door opened. A minion grabbed her by the ropes and shoved her inside. “Move.”

  The cement stairs led into complete darkness, and fear pulsated through her insides as she drew further down into what appeared to be a cold dark cellar. A click sounded and she jumped, but it wasn’t the cocking of a gun, instead fluorescent lights flickered on.

  It looked like a meeting place slash dungeon. A long rustic wooden table with twelve chairs, chandelier above, gaudy and heavy, and several long corridors that led into more darkness.

  Liam pulled her towards the far wall and pushed her against it. The coldness seeped into her body and she shivered, wanting to run her hands up and down her arms.

  The door slammed at the top of the stairs and Liam tensed.

  Jasmine appeared, her face a mask of displeasure. The sneer made her look like a rabid dog about to rip out someone’s jugular.

  “He refused?” Jasmine yelled. She approached. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in her step. “For his own daughter?” The anger pulsated from her body so strongly that Rayne felt it leak into her body. She had so much hatred inside her. So much revenge. But there was something else . . . something . . . love. Overwhelming obsessive love.

  Jasmine walked straight up to her and slapped her hard across the face.

  Rayne fell back against the wall then to her knees. Her vision blurred, and she swayed as she tried to stand up again. Jasmine raised her hand again and backhanded her. This time she managed to stay on her feet, but she felt the trickle of blood slid down the side of her mouth.

  “Jasmine,” Liam warned. “She is no good to us dead.”

  Jasmine scoffed. “Bitch is useless to me now. Kill her and be done with it.”

  Rayne sank back against the wall.

  “No,” Liam objected. “They’ll come for her. I know Delara. She won’t allow her daughter to be left in our grasp, and Waleron . . . he’ll do anything for her.”

  “I told you they wouldn’t negotiate,” Jasmine fumed, her eyes glaring with menace at her. Jasmine grabbed the ropes holding her wrists together. “She comes with me.”

  Ra
yne’s gut twisted with fear.

  Jasmine yanked on the ropes and Rayne stumbled forward. “I will have him back.” She glared at Liam. “Now we do this my way.”

  Rayne noticed Liam’s swift look at her, his expression bleak. His gaze returned to Jasmine. “Of course.”

  ****

  When the front door opened, they all went on alert, at first shocked then suspicious at the man standing there.

  “I know where Jasmine will take her,” Roarke said. His clothes were in disarray, blood splattered, rips across his shirt from the vampires nails yesterday.

  Kilter held up his hand as Keir pulled out his knife. “Soul sucker saved my life. I owe him.” Rayne’s words vibrated in his head. She trusted this GQ, damn it. It made his insides revolt, but he needed faith and would do anything to get her back.

  Keir nodded, reholstered his knife and opened the door further for Roarke to come inside.

  Waleron appeared. He looked Roarke up and down then gave a curt nod in greeting.

  “She wants you,” Roarke stated to Waleron. “But I suspect you know that already.”

  Waleron’s nod was barely noticeable.

  “She’ll be expecting us, but not tonight. If we go now, Rayne may have a chance, but—” Roarke looked at him, “—Jasmine will have her contained. Her favorite toy. It’s impossible to get out of without—“

  Waleron interrupted. “A key.”

  Roarke nodded. “I’m guessing you are familiar with the device?” Again Waleron nodded. “As am I.”

  “What? What bloody device?” Kilter shouted.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Jedrik put his hand in Delara’s as she swayed.

  “Rayne will be wearing a collar,” Waleron stated. “It cannot be removed without a key. If it is attempted, the collar will snap. It will kill her instantly.”