by Leilani Love
“Are you okay?” Violca kneels at her sister’s side, seeing a bruise form on her cheek as she moans.
The man with the snake tattoo snarls and steps toward them, but Micah suddenly grabs him by the shoulder and flings him back behind him, growling, “I told you not to touch them.” Micah’s eyes are red and flashing as he smacks him across the face, causing him to fly out of the room.
Kati opens her eyes. Violca sighs in relief, wishing she knew how she managed to get that energy in her hand and how to control it. Would it be enough to get them out of this house? As if reading her mind, Micah, in a very calm, quiet voice says, “There are men everywhere, my dear, Violca, and your power is new and unpredictable. You cannot escape.” He looks behind her to her sister. “I am sorry, my dear, Kati, he never should have touched you. I will arrange some food for you both. You have my assurance, no one else will harm you while you are here.” He looks toward Violca. “But they will not let you leave, so if you try to escape I will separate you and your sister. I would rather not hurt her, but don’t tempt me.”
Chapter 49
Chase wakes up in the living room. Rubbing the back of his neck, he is surprised by how much light is coming in. Wondering how long he slept, he glances at the clock, realizing it is just past ten in the morning. Smelling bacon, he hears Eva’s voice in the kitchen as she talks to her little sisters and Eryk.
Stretching, he gets up and heads to the kitchen. Chase tried to go to sleep in his own bed but found the scent of Violca clinging to the pillows and sheets too much bear. The more he smelled her, the more his dragon wanted to come out. The dragon misses her as much as he does. It should bother him how much both he and his dragon feel the pull of her, but instead he find it settling. The restlessness he was feeling has eased since being with her.
Walking into the kitchen, he goes to the coffee pot, making himself a cup. Chase leans against the counter as he takes his first sip. Sighing in relief, that this is a fresh pot and not the same one he made last night. “Where’s Scott?” Chase asks Eryk.
“He turned into a kitty and went for a run. I asked him if I could ride on his back, but he said maybe next time,” Angyalka answers, smiling at the thought of riding a big cat.
He winks at her and Eva hands him a plate with bacon and eggs. “Thank you.”
Chase listens to the girls chat about what they are going to do that day. Hearing someone in the hall, he inhales softly and knows it’s Brandon. When Brandon steps into the kitchen, he walks to the coffee pot and Chase steps aside. Eva makes him a plate, handing it to him. “Eat.”
Brandon smiles at the command. “Yes, ma’am.” He takes a sip of his coffee before setting the cup down to take a bite of his food.
The room gets quiet and Eryk ruffles Sari’s hair. “Hey girls, why don’t we go outside and play?” Both girls yell in agreement. Eva slowly follows them out, stopping in the doorway. “I’m going to go outside while you two talk, but I expect you to tell me how the hell you plan on saving my sisters.” The look Eva gives them lets them know she expects a full report when she gets back.
The sliding door opens and they hear Scott tell the kids to stay in sight of the house. They wait until Scott joins them in the kitchen before Brandon starts, “Your friend did a great job finding aliases that the demon used. I was able to track a company that is local after some digging. The company owns several houses.”
Scott whistles, looking at Brandon. “Kassandra is a whiz at finding information but she couldn’t find any of this. How did you?”
Brandon shrugs and Chase can smell the tiniest hint of deception in the air before he continues, “Out of the houses, only two would offer him the privacy to keep Violca and Kati without having to worry about other people seeing or hearing them. One of them has a high end security system that is the one they will most likely use.”
Chase nods. “We can drive by both of them just in case, but I am pretty sure you are right. Then we can make a plan to get the girls back.”
Brandon takes a few more bites of his breakfast and another sip of his coffee. “I need to take a quick shower, then whenever you guys are ready, we can head out.”
Brandon cleans his plate and places it in the sink before heading upstairs to take a shower. Once they hear the shower running Chase looks at Scott. “I wonder what he was hiding a minute ago.”
Scott nods, gripping the edge of the counter. “If I didn’t know how much he cared about Violca and her sisters, I would make him tell his secret. But right now, all I care about is if he is right and how soon we can go.”
Chase shrugs. “You’re right, but after…” He looks at Scott and they both nod. Violca and Kati are their first priority, but later, he will find out what Brandon is hiding besides being telepathic.
Chase hears Eva come down the stairs a few minutes later. Walking into the living room, she asks, “So what’s going on? Have you found my sisters?”
Chase feels a small smile tugging. This girl, who is several inches shorter than him, has seen him in his dragon form, walked into the room and demanded answers from him with no fear. He’s glad she is that comfortable with him and thinks one day she is going to make some lucky male a hell of a partner, if he is able to get past her sisters. “Brandon thinks he found a house where they might be keeping them. We are going to drive by it and do some surveillance to see what we can find.”
Eva puts her hands on her hip, “I want to go,” she declares, looking at him like she is daring him to argue.
Chase runs his fingers through his hair. “Eva, if it wasn’t for Sari and Angyalka I would take you, I promise. But right now I think it’s important that you and Eryk stay home and watch them while we go and check out the house.” He can see Eva’s mouth open and puts his hand up, stopping her. “Your sister would kick both mine and your ass if I let you go and something happened to the younger two. He wants all of you.”
Eva glares at him and the look on her face tells him she is thinking about his words. Her shoulders sag and she nods. “Fine.” Looking down at her, he can see the worry in her eyes. “Please save my sisters, Chase.”
He nods, trying to smile at her reassuringly. Turning, Eva goes to leave, pausing in the doorway. When she looks over her shoulder at him, she says, “Violca hasn’t let a guy close to her since her boyfriend dumped her when she took custody of all of us. When you find her and save her, you better let her know she means more to you than a job.”
Chase smiles, realizing Eva just gave him her blessing. His urge to get to Violca is stronger than ever. “Yes ma’am.” When she takes a step out of the room, he stops her. “Eva, you are going to give some guy one hell of a hard time someday. I hope to be there when you do.”
Eva smirks. “Don’t mess things up things with my sisters and I am sure you will be.”
Chase laughs, unable to help himself as she walks away. Shaking his head, he goes to the closet, grabbing a few items and heading downstairs. With the young girls around, they are being really careful with the weapons. They gave each of the girls a huge talk about them, but to be safe, they have made sure to keep them locked away.
When he walks into the room, Scott hands him two guns. The bullets are laced with pure silver and holy water. These bullets will not kill a strong demon but will incapacitate most supernaturals. Based on the group of people that attacked the cabin, not all of Micah’s men were demons, so lacing the bullets with both, they should be able to wound almost anything they come across.
Eva and Eryk join them in the dining room. “We are going to check out the house. If everything goes well, we will be back late tonight with Violca and Kati. If anything happens, Eryk, you are to make sure the girls get out safe. If you can’t get to the SUV, take the trail through the woods. At the end of the trail is a garage, the keys are in the car. Call Kassandra and she will arrange a pickup, do you understand?”
Eryk nods and Scott pats him on the back. “Both vehicles have untraceable cell phones in the console. Use them and
ditch your phones.” Scott looks at Eva. “Both of you.”
She nods. “Be safe,” Eva says, looking at all of them. “Violca will kick your ass if you get hurt saving them.”
Brandon chuckles, shaking his head, whispering, “She would, too.”
Eva and Eryk stand on the porch, watching them as they drive away, both looking very serious. Brandon had printed out copies of the floor plan and brought one of the wireless laptops. He is hoping to be able to break into the security system when they get close enough, at least long enough to help them get into the house.
Chapter 50
Kati sits in the bed, Violca paces as she tries to think about how she is going to get them out of there. She wants to heal her sister but Kati pointed out that Violca might need her power and they aren’t sure if she uses it now, whether she can use it later.
When the door opens again, Violca gasps at the sight of her friend AnnaBelle striding in with three of Micah’s men. AnnaBelle smiles at them. “Come on you two, let’s go downstairs and talk before they serve lunch.”
With that, she turns but stops and looks over her shoulder. “Come on, I am hungry.”
Violca walks over to Kati and helps her from the bed. Seeing her wince, Violca holds her hand. The men surround them as they walk downstairs. “AnnaBelle, what are you doing here?” Violca asks, between clenched teeth.
AnnaBelle ignores her, leading them down a hall to a very large, formal dining room. When the girls walk in, the guys remain outside, closing the door. Violca walks up to her friend, grabbing her arm. “AnnaBelle, what the hell?”
AnnaBelle turns and looks at her, pulling her arm back before sitting in one of the high back chairs at the table. “V, do you remember when you met my grandmother? How she used to fawn all over you but refused to meet your mother?”
“What does your grandmother have to do with anything?”
“She knew exactly what you were when she met you. Every time you did anything she would compare us. She was so angry that you, as a child, had more power than she ever would.”
“Your grandmother was an earth witch?” Violca asks, her voice rising. “Why didn’t you ever tell me, Belle?”
“I…I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to have the same low opinion of me my grandmother did. But all you have to do is help them find what they need, and you can help unleash my power too. Wouldn’t that be amazing, V?”
Violca shakes her head, unable to believe her friend would have ever agreed to let her be kidnapped. “Belle, there is no guarantee if we help that anything will change with you or with your grandmother. We don’t know what will happen, if anything. I can’t believe you would be okay with them hunting us down, almost kidnapping Kati on the street, destroying the cabin to get to us. What if someone was hurt? How could you Belle?”
AnnaBelle frowns, standing up. “They were never going to hurt her, V. They need you, Kati was never in any danger, they just needed to get you away from those guys so they could talk to you and explain.” AnnaBelle takes her free hand, looking at her pleadingly. “Don’t you understand, we can finally be sisters, for real. My family will finally quit comparing me to you and both our lives will be complete.”
Violca yanks her hand back from AnnaBelle, shaking her head. “I have always loved you like a sister and I never would have put you in danger. I am sorry about your family, but you can’t destroy mine to make yours better.”
Before AnnaBelle can respond, a door opens and several different servants come in with trays of food. Despite herself, Violca hears her stomach grumble in response. She had been so worried, she hadn’t realized exactly how long it has been since they last ate.
AnnaBelle steps back, her face hardening. When she turns, Violca notices something on her neck. It almost looks like a small tattoo, like she saw on some of the men who attacked them. Letting go of Kati’s hand, she goes to pick up her friend’s hair, only to have AnnaBelle pull back.
“Don’t touch me, I thought you would understand. You were always so selfish. You never even noticed how cruel my family was. Shit, even Brandon stayed at your house more than his own to escape his family and all you would do was complain because no one liked you in high school, or how your boyfriend dumped you because he couldn’t handle you suddenly taking care of your sisters. At least you weren’t alone. I was always there for you, and you won’t do this for me.”
Violca feels a stab of guilt for not realizing how unhappy her friend was, but she knows in her heart that this is wrong. Her eyes fill with unshed tears as she shakes her head. “I can’t Belle, I am sorry, but I can’t.”
AnnaBelle squares her shoulders, giving her one last look before heading toward the door. Violca watches as she leaves. AnnaBelle pauses, her hands on the doorknob. “Violca, in the end, you and your sisters will help them with what they want. Don’t do anything you will regret.” With that AnnaBelle opens the door and leaves them in the room by themselves.
Violca sits down, feeling numb, still not believing the part her best friend played in all this. Kati comes up beside her and puts her hand on her shoulder. Violca looks up and sees the hurt in Kati’s eyes, realizing that not only had her friend betrayed her, but Kati and her sisters as well.
“It will be okay, Kati.” Smiling at her, trying to be reassuring, she hears Kati’s stomach grumble. “Come on, we need to eat something and keep our strength up.”
Kati sits next to her and they eat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Sighing, Violca looks out the window only to see another guard standing in front of it. She goes back to her food, more determined than ever to get out.
Chapter 51
The gates open and Brandon frowns as a car drives past them. Chase glances up to see what has Brandon’s attention and thinks he recognizes the driver. “Who is that?”
Brandon shakes his head. “That looked like AnnaBelle, but it couldn’t be. What would she be doing here?”
Letting the matter drop, Chase goes back to looking at the schematics of the property. From where the cameras are placed there are only two blind spots. One in the back of the property and one closer to the side of the house. “I’ll plant the explosives here, toward the back of the house. It looks like we might be able to draw most of the guards to the back, which might give you both enough time to get over the wall, here, to save the girls.”
Brandon looks it over. “You said there are about six guards in the back and four in the front, not counting the two at the gate. We have no way of knowing how many there are inside the house.”
Frowning, Chase nods. “I know, let’s hope that a big enough explosion will get their attention.” Chase inserts the ear wig into his ear. “I don’t know how long we will have until the cops show up so I can’t change, but we have enough guns that I should be able to create quite a distraction.”
Scott shakes his head. “I wish we knew exactly what room the girls are in and how many guards they have inside.”
Chase looks at Scott, making eye contact. “I trust you will be easily able to find Kati. Let’s cross our fingers that they have them together.” His tone gets serious. “No matter what happens, I’m trusting you both to get them out of here.”
Brandon frowns. “What do you mean, he can easily find Kati?”
Chase glances at him. “Her scent is easier for him to detect.”
Brandon looks at him for a moment of uncomfortable silence before shrugging, obviously deciding that their first obligation is to rescue the girls.
Scott and Chase put in their ear wigs and double check to make sure all their guns are loaded and that they have plenty of extra ammo, just in case. Gathering the backpack that Scott prepared for him and with the detonator in his pocket, he pulls the hoodie over his head to hide his face when he walks by the cameras.
“Give me a few minutes to set up before you guys get out, just in case they are watching for you. I am going to go around on the other side of the street and cross when I get near the blind spot.”
He chuckles at that. “Make sure you save her ass, we will worry about her being mad at us later.”
Chase nods to Scott, knowing that he can trust his friend to save Violca and Kati. Besides his need to protect his mate, Scott would never leave a female in need. Taking a deep breath, he says a silent prayer that this all works and that he is able to get out of the situation with Violca. The moment he saw her picture, he wanted her but since the first time he met her, he needed to touch her and once he did touch her, he never wanted to stop. His need for her grows with each passing moment, and he will do anything to keep her safe.
Violca and Kati sit in their chairs after they finish eating. Kati grudgingly admits that the food was really good. The servants come and take their plates as soon as they finish.
When the door opens, they both stand up, Kati standing close to Violca, grabbing her hand. Kati is scared, especially when she sees the man with the snake tattoo. He looks so much like her drawing. Since finding out that Eryk and Scott both turn into black panthers, she found herself afraid that one of them would fight him. Kati also wants to know what it means that she drew him, having no memory of seeing him before.
Micah smiles at Violca, his eyes traveling over her. Kati feels her sister stiffen when he walks toward her. “I hope your meal was acceptable.” He reaches out and gently touches Violca’s cheek, his smile almost predatory. She flinches, pulling back as he pushes her dark hair behind her shoulder. His eyes narrow on her neck and flash red as his voice hardens. “You shared your blood with the dragon.” His voice barely a growl, Kati takes a step back as he steps closer to Violca, who stands her ground. Kati admires her sister’s defiance as she looks up at him. “You let the dragon mark you as his, did you finish the mating process?”