by K. D. Jones
Nautilus called his men to leave Talon and to come with them. They walked down the hallway and out of the Healing Facility. “I have done as you asked, now open your mind to me.”
Lindy had tears in her eyes, looking back at the last glimpse of the Healing Facility before he put her in the shuttle. I love you, Talon, she thought once more, before allowing Nautilus to take control.
Chapter Fifteen
“Hello…anyone home?” a strange man’s voice called out.
The voice waking Talon from the darkness he had been in. Pain assaulted his senses. He groaned as he lifted his head to look around. The voice belonged to a strange human male that he had never met before. He had dark skin and a buzz cut. He was bulky, like a fighter, but the badge on his chest identified him as an IDJ agent. He knew at once who the man was. “Special Agent Trig Roberts?”
“Nice to finally meet you, Talon. Want to tell me what happened to you?” Trig was sitting in a chair beside the Healing Facility bed that he was laying in.
“I found Lindy. She was here. I couldn’t get to her. About four guards jumped me. I went down and then—where is she?” He lifted to a sitting position but had to take breaks in between movements. The pain was so strong it almost knocked him back down. He felt like his whole body had been burned.
“She’s gone, my man. You’re just lucky that I arrived when I did. One of the guards had come back here to finish you off.”
“I failed her.” Talon slowly stood and turned to punch the wall nearest him.
“Don’t blame yourself. Nobody could have fought off four men at one time, and they had a Taser gun. Look, I promised Rachel I would not leave until we found Lindy.” Trig fetched Talon’s shirt and pants the nurses had removed happily. He chuckled. “You had quite a fan club here. When the guard came back for you, about five female nurses, and a few of the male doctors, tackled him to the ground. They were beating the crap out of him. I have never seen a nurse do a knee punch before.”
Talon paused in pulling up his pants to look at Trig curiously. “Where’s the guard now?”
“I called a few of my friends in the local law enforcement here to keep our friend detained for questioning.”
“Let’s go question him then. I want to know where to find Lindy. I have payback to give to the asshole who took her.”
Trig smiled as he followed the fighter out of the room. “I take it that you want to question him yourself?”
Talon shook his head. “No, you ask the questions. I’ll just pound him if I don’t like the answers.”
Trig laughed. “I like the way you think, my man.”
*****
The local law enforcement holding facility wasn’t far from the Healing Facility. Talon was recognized as soon as he walked inside. He had some loyal fans that came up to him, to tell him how much they loved to watch him fight. There was also a few that made snide comments about how the fights were rigged. Talon ignored them all as he followed Trig.
Trig stopped to shake hands with two uniformed enforcers. “Thanks for holding my guy for me.”
“We were honored to help you out, Special Agent Roberts. The perp was demanding to see a lawyer earlier. We’ve been stalling him until you got here.” They unlocked the door to the holding room and walked inside. The man was cuffed and sitting in a chair.
“Let me go! I demand to call my lawyer!” the man yelled out, trying in vain to break his cuffs.
“Ah, here’s the poor victim of a nurse beating. Your friends and family will be so proud of you,” Trig commented snidely, as he pulled up a chair and turned it around so that he could sit on it. He laid his arms against the backrest.
“Go to hell!” the man replied.
Talon agreed to stand to the side and let Trig ask the questions. He would rather just beat the crap out of him, but he wouldn’t get any answers if the man couldn’t talk. Instead, Talon stood to the side glaring at the man who was fidgeting. When the man glanced up at Talon, he tried to act bold.
“What are you looking at, halfling?” He thought to insult Talon.
“A dead man, if you don’t start answering the questions,” Talon replied, with a threatening look.
The man became extremely quiet. Trig took advantage by asking the questions they came there for. “Who is your boss?”
The man said nothing. He stared at his hands.
Trig asked again, “Who is your boss and where did he take Lucinda Stamos?”
Again, the man said nothing. He stared, defiantly at Trig.
“I will pound him now.” Talon stepped forward, rolling his shoulders.
Trig’s phone rang. “Hold on one minute, Talon. Then you can pound him.” He answered his phone, “Trig here. Rachel, it’s good to hear from you, babe. You don’t say. Well that is great news. Yeah, I’ll tell him. See ya soon.” He hung up and turned back to Talon who had not taken his eyes off the repulsive man at all.
“Well, one of our questions has just been answered. Seems that Lindy had time to make a few phone calls, to warn her family that they were in danger. She also mentioned the name of the man who had taken her, Nautilus. He’s a full Dracul the IDJ believes is involved in several shady businesses.”
The perp looked really nervous now. He tried to pull on his cuffs again.
“We just need one more question answered. Where did Nautilus take Miss Stamos?” The man still refused to talk. “Okay. Talon, break his legs.”
Talon stepped forward with every intention of doing just that, but the man started to blab like a baby. “He’s going to kill me like he did Junior. All Junior did was be nice the bitch and he had his damn head chopped off.”
“We’ll keep you here where it’s safe while we handle, Nautilus. Just tell us where he is,” Trig reassured him.
“Luxon, he has a heavily guarded compound there. You will keep me here until Nautilus is locked up, right? He can control you with his mind. I can’t be in the same place as him or he could make me kill myself.”
“Sure, we’ll keep you safe. We have a collar that will make him unable to use his—talents. Now tell us everything you know about the compound and the security.” Trig encouraged the man to keep talking. Talon stepped back and allowed Trig to finish the interrogation.
*****
Lindy woke up in a strange bedroom she had never seen before. It had no windows and smelled familiar, almost like the dungeon had smelled. This bedroom must be located in the basement like the dungeon. She looked around at the masculine, dark decor and knew immediately that this was Nautilus’s bedroom, and his bed. She tried to get up, but she had been stripped of her clothes and tied down.
“There is no point in struggling,” his hypnotic voice said from the dark corner.
Lindy watched him from of the corner of her eyes as he walked around the bed licking his lips. She hated that he could see every bare inch of her. She had to keep her eyes off his so he would not get control of her again.
“I have waited so long for this.”
“Why am I tied down? I promised you that I would open my mind to you, if you spared Talon.”
“You are not completely healed. The restraints are to keep you still so the healing implants will be more effective.” He sat on the side of the bed.
“Why am I naked?” Lindy tried to move farther away from him.
“Because it pleases me to see you this way. You have denied me for months, Lucinda. I wish to look my fill—and to touch you as I have longed to.” He reached out and trailed his fingers down her arm.
Lindy wanted to throw up. His touch was gentle, but it was not welcomed. When he reached out to caress her breasts, she couldn’t hold herself back from cringing. “Please don’t do this.”
He frowned. “You still have feelings for that fighter. I realize this, but you will open your mind to me and I will help you overcome these feelings.”
“You mean brainwash me!” Lindy blurted out.
He gripped her breasts harshly. “I will do anything in my p
ower to make you mine!” He invaded her mouth with a bruising kiss. He sucked up all her oxygen. When he released her, he pushed himself up to his feet. “I need to check in with the guards. I will be back shortly. It is almost daylight and I will be resting. You will be next to me. When we wake for the evening, I plan to make you mine—once and for all. I am having a Justice of the Peace come by to marry us. You will be my wife legally. This is a human custom. I do this for you.” He walked out of the room.
She wished she had died in the accident. After tonight, she would be Nautilus’s legally and he would enslave her mind to do his bidding. She was out of time and was running out of energy to fight him off. But at least Talon was safe.
*****
“Why are we waiting around doing nothing?” Talon asked as he stared at the compound from behind a building down the road.
“The sleaze ball said that there would be a security exchange at the break of dawn, before Nautilus settles down for his daily rest. It’s the best opening to get inside,” Trig told him while watching the street for the shuttle. “When will your friend get here?”
“She wasn’t far when I contacted her. She should arrive any minute.” The guard exchange would include one female guard at a time. The female guards had access to inside the mansion. They needed a female to help them, but Rachel was not completely healed yet. So Talon called Zara.
“Do the two of you stand around yapping like this all the time?” a female voice asked from behind them.
“Damn it, woman! You do not sneak up on a man like that. I could have killed you,” Trig complained as he turned to glare at the tall, sexy Amazon.
“With what, your words?” Zara had to admit the human male was attractive. He stood up straight and though she was tall, even as tall as some of the halfsie males, Trig seemed to tower over her. Just like the first time she saw him outside of Rachel’s Healing Facility room, she started to crave chocolate.
“I think that’s the shuttle,” Talon called out, interrupting their staring contest.
“What’s the plan, Mr. Big shot IDJ Agent?” Zara asked.
“We intercept the shuttle, have the Amazon take the place of the female guard. The Amazon goes inside the Mansion and finds the security panels and destroys them.”
“Shouldn’t the Amazon find the little human?” Zara asked sarcastically, using the same title Trig had called her, instead of her name.
“We have to wait until my team gets here. The three of us are no match for those security guards. I do not want you to draw attention to yourself before the team comes through the compound gates.” Trig stepped out in front of the shuttle. It was on autopilot and moving at a slow pace, so it would stop automatically when its sensors registered a being in the way.
A tall female wearing a security outfit got out of the shuttle. “What’s going on here?”
Zara stepped up behind the woman when she wasn’t looking and got her in a chokehold. She dragged the woman back into the shuttle. By the time they all got into the shuttle, the security guard was out cold.
“Tie her up and undress her. We need to get you into the security outfit quickly,” Trig ordered.
Talon looked away while Zara exchanged clothes with the unconscious woman. Trig didn’t look away; he kept his eyes on Zara the whole time. He looked her up and down, licking his lips.
“Not even in your dreams, pure human,” Zara told him as she finished the last button on the shirt.
“You can’t stop a man from dreaming,” Trig replied. He looked over at the unconscious woman. “Put a gag in her mouth so that she doesn’t scream if she wakes up.”
They all held their breath as the shuttle was allowed past the compound gates. They were relieved once they got inside the gates. Talon and Trig would remain in the shuttle until Zara could take down the power to the security panel and the IDJ team arrived.
Trig reached out and stopped Zara from leaving the shuttle. “Be careful, Amazon.”
Zara nodded. “You too, human. Take care of my man over there. The GCFA wants him back for the next circuit.”
Talon smiled a grateful smile at Zara before she left the shuttle. It was a waiting game now, and Talon was horrible at waiting. The shuttle grew unusually quiet.
Trig spoke softly, “I’ve dealt with situations like this before. The victims are not going to be as what you expect.”
“What do you mean?”
“This guy had her for a little over two months, right?” Trig asked.
Talon nodded. “Yeah.”
“He’s probably abused her.”
“This is not helping me right now,” Talon growled as images came to his mind.
“I’m just trying to explain what kind of emotional and mental state Miss Stamos will probably be in.”
Talon made himself take deep breaths to keep in control. “I will do whatever it takes to help her. If that means give her space, then I will do that.”
Trig nodded his head. “I just wanted you to be prepared.”
Neither of them said anything else until Trig’s phone went off with a message that the IDJ team surrounded the compound. Now all they had to do was wait on Zara’s message to come through.
It was a good fifteen minutes. Finally, the message came from Zara. “She’s taken out the power panel.” Trig forwarded the message to his team leader. Talon started to make his way out of the shuttle, but Trig stopped him. “Not yet. We need to let the IDJ team distract the guards before we leave.
Every second dragged out. It was frustrating. Talon wanted to punch a hole in the side of the shuttle. When they heard shouting, they ventured out to find IDJ agents taking down the security guards.
“Let’s go find your woman,” Trig told him.
Zara met them at the front door. “I found a room that had her scent all over, but she’s not there.”
“I thought I told you not to go looking around.” Trig looked angry.
Zara ignored him. “I picked up a fresh scent down this way. There’s a locked door probably leading to a basement below.” Zara showed them the door.
Trig looked at the locks on the door. “I’ll get one of my agents in to—” He watched in amazement as Talon ripped the door from the wall. “Never mind.”
There were stairs leading down. At the bottom, they found two hallways. They split up. Zara and Trig took one hallway, while Talon took another. The first door he got to wasn’t locked. He opened it to find a dungeon. Lindy’s scent was inside the room, though a little faint, but it was still hers. The bastard had put his Lindy in a dungeon. He would rip the man limb to limb.
He left the dungeon and crossed the hallway to another door. It was locked. He sniffed at the door. His sense of smell was not as good as Zara or Rage’s ability to scent, but he could still scent Lindy. It was stronger here. He didn’t even try to break the lock. He rammed his shoulder into the door, making it fly off the hinges and crash to the floor. He was not prepared for what he saw next.
Chapter Sixteen
Lindy was tied down to a bed completely naked. Seeing her like that made something inside Talon break. It never happened before, but he went into some kind of rage. He stepped into the room looking for the man that had abused his woman.
Lindy opened her eyes at the sound of the door crashing open. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust because Nautilus kept the room in the dark. The light in the hallway filtered in illuminating the imposing figure storming in. She would know that body anywhere. It was Talon. She looked to her side, but Nautilus was no longer on the bed beside her.
“Talon, be careful.”
At the sound of Lindy’s voice, Talon turned to look her way. The distraction was what Nautilus needed to make his attack. Talon was tackled from the side and knocked into the wall. Though Talon was bigger and a well-trained fighter, Nautilus had the element of surprise on his side. He took full advantage of that and didn’t let up as he pummeled Talon in the head with one punch after another.
“Talon!” Li
ndy screamed as she struggled in vain to break loose of the restraints.
Talon turned his body enough to get his left arm free. He swung out as hard as he could connect with Nautilus’s face. The other man flew across the room landing on the floor—hard. Talon got up and came at Nautilus. The side of his face was bleeding, but he ignored the pain and the blood. All that mattered was destroying the evil before him. He kicked him back to the floor when the Dracul tried to stand up.
“You dare to take my woman, dare to touch what’s mine? I will kill you!”
Nautilus laughed. “You had her for a few weeks. I have had her for months. She is mine and will always be mine.”
He tried to use his hypnotic eyes to freeze Talon, but the rage Talon was under kept him in control. Talon let out something that was a cross between a growl and a screeching call from a bird of prey. He picked Nautilus up by the shirtfront, holding him slightly suspended with one hand as he punched him repeatedly over and over with his other hand. The Dracul’s eyes rolled to the back of his head when he was knocked unconscious, but Talon didn’t let up. He wanted to tear the man’s head and limbs off.
“Talon!” Lindy yelled with concern.
Her distressed voice penetrated his raged brain. His whole body froze. His fist hadn’t connected again with Nautilus but was poised there ready to strike. He turned to look at Lindy. She was crying and shaking in the bed. He dropped Nautilus’s unconscious form to the floor and approached Lindy slowly, as he would an injured animal.
“Lindy?” He looked her body over, noticing scratches and bruises. He sat on the edge of the bed and untied the restraints. Lindy whimpered in pain as the blood started to recirculate from where she had been tied.
“Sorry, baby.” He rubbed her wrists trying to ease the pain.
“I’m okay. I still have bruises from the accident, but I’m okay,” Lindy reassured him, soaking in every touch. She had dreamed of him so many times, of him touching her. But to have his touch in reality was much, much better.