Adam (The Protectors Series) Book #5

by Teresa Gabelman

  Finally, Damon looked away from Lana to stare just above her head. “Is that all?” His voice, which was usually blunt and sharp, was soft with a touch of harshness.

  Lana and Caroline glanced at each other quickly before Lana nodded as she looked back at Damon, whose eyes came back to hers. “Yeah, pretty much.”

  Damon went to walk away, but stopped. “Tell her she needs to move on. I will always regret what I did, but I understand now that guilt is not going to change anything. I have a woman I love and who is helping me heal.”

  Stepping into his line of vision, Lana looked up at him with a smile. “That is exactly what she needed to hear.” Putting a hand on his arm, she squeezed. “She wishes you and Nicole all the happiness in the world.”

  Knowing that the scowl curving his lips was his way of hiding his real feelings and that he was a man of few words,Lana didn’t expect to hear anything from him. So when he nodded, she knew that was his way of saying thank you and she accepted it. “Let Rose know that I will take good care of him.” Nicole walked up and slipped her arm around Damon.

  “She already knows. She, in some way, is the reason you two met.” Lana smiled at the surprise on their faces, and then turned when Jared came into the room. “Listen, I really appreciate you letting me do this. I know it’s not easy for you, but when spirits want to say something, it becomes hard for me to concentrate on anything else.”

  “What about Duncan?” Sid asked, glancing over at the silent Warrior leaning against the wall.

  “I’m not sure?” Lana frowned, glancing at Duncan. “Do you have a brother?”

  “No,” he replied, not moving from his spot.

  “Is there someone who has a connection with you and Sloan?” Caroline added, rubbing her temple.

  He didn’t answer at first, just stared at the two women. “Yes,” Duncan replied, looking at each Warrior present. “We all have a connection from our past.”

  Lana felt her sister stiffen and knew, without a doubt, the dark man had just taken over. “Caroline,” Lana cried out, but knew it was too late.

  Caroline’s body became rigid, her head turning to look at each Warrior before stopping on Duncan. “Nos morituri te salutant!” The words were spoken in Caroline’s voice, but with a force that had Lana stepping back; it rang loud and true in the quiet room.

  Lana, who was closest to Caroline, tried to grab her as her body went limp, but Damon and Sid were the ones who caught her before she could hit the floor. “Caroline!” Lana shouted in fear. “What did she say?”

  Caroline shook her head, leaning against Sid who was still holding her up. “Well, that wasn’t pleasant.” She frowned, and then glared at Duncan. “Tell your friend, whoever the hell he is, not to do that again without asking permission.”

  “What did that mean?” Lana looked to Sid who was staring at Damon with an odd look. “What in the hell did she say, Sid.” Lana gave him a shove when he didn’t answer right away, indicating she was pissed.

  “She said, ‘those who are about to die salute you’,” Sid replied, his eyes hardening. “Get Sloan here now!” Sid shouted, helping Caroline to her feet.

  Lana watched as the Warriors jumped into action. Not only did being kept in the dark piss her off, but fear for her sister made her voice crack with emotion and stomach heave with fear. “Is this man dangerous to my sister?” Tugging hard on Sid’s arm, she forced him to look at her, but he just stared over her.

  “No,” he answered with no emotion, and without looking her in the eyes.

  “What did that mean, Sid?” Lana jerked his arm again. “Look at me, dammit. What does, ‘those who are about to die salute you’ mean?”

  Curses filled the room. “It’s a phrase that slaves and criminals who were fated to die during fighting used.” Sid finally answered.

  Caroline, who majored in history, gasped. “It’s believed Gladiators used that as a salute or so they say; it’s never been proven.”

  Lana watched the Warriors closely and knew Caroline had hit it right on the head. None of the Warriors would look their way, each trying to contact Sloan on their cell phones.

  Finally, Duncan pushed himself off the wall, his eyes never leaving Caroline. “Gladiator was a glorified name by emperors.” His voice was hard with an edge of violence. “Slaves are what we were: nothing more, nothing less. Now, leave us.”

  Shock made Lana look at Sid, who refused to look her way. “Sid?”

  “You need to leave, Lana.” Sid’s voice had also taken a hard turn. “We will call you and Caroline as soon as Sloan gets here.”

  “But…” Lana began, but was stopped when Sid turned to glare at her, a look in his eyes she had never seen before.

  “Leave!” he yelled, his eyes turning black as night.

  Lana’s head snapped back in shock. Saying nothing, she turned to help Caroline, who was still shaky, head toward the door. When Sid tried to help, she pushed his hands away. “I got this.” Lana growled.

  “Lana…” Sid started, but stopped when Lana glared at him.

  “Fuck you, Sid.” Lana’s voice was not raised, but firm with conviction that she was done with the situation. She’d be damned if she was talked to that way, even if it was by the man she loved more than her own life. She turned with her head held high, leading her sister out of the room.

  “Son of a bitch!” Sid turned, putting his hand through the wall.

  Chapter 6

  Angelina walked to the door like she did every single time he left to check the knob, locked. Next, just like she had done before, she walked to the window to look out. Her eyes focusing on the spot she had last seen Adam. For as long as she lived, the shadow of betrayal in his beautiful eyes would haunt her; a betrayal she threw in his face like he was nothing to her. Hatred for the man who kept her locked upstairs burned through her body. Hatred for herself burned even deeper.

  The night Adam had showed up at the door had been the worst night of her life, even worse than being kidnapped. Panic and threats ran freely through the house she was being held in. As she opened the door that night, a gun was being held to a young girl’s head with the threat of messing up in any way would cause the young girl to die. It was as if she herself held the trigger.

  Guilt, still fresh, soaked into her emotions. For just a few seconds of looking into Adam’s eyes, she had wanted to grab him and run, no matter what happened to anyone else, not even the young girl whose life was held in the balance of life and death by the bastard’s henchmen in the next room. Shaking her head, Angelina closed her eyes. She knew she had made the right decision. Being free from this horror, however desperately she wanted it, would not have been worth knowing her freedom had caused the death of an innocent girl.

  A faint tapping from the wall behind her barely reached her ears. Turning her head, she looked first to the wall, then to the door. The bastard who kept her and the others locked away was good with tricks and little mind games. When three more fast taps followed by two slower ones, she knew it wasn’t him.

  Taking her time, she made her way across the floor, carefully missing the floorboards she knew squeaked. The quieter they were, the less they were bothered, even the squeak of the floorboard could bring the bastard bursting into the room. Angelina never knew she could hate someone as much as she hated him, but she did. She made an oath she would kill the son of a bitch one day.

  Climbing up on the bed and one last look at the door, she removed the ugly painting, revealing a tiny hole she had made in the wall. Once she had gotten to a certain point and couldn’t go any further, Anne, the girl in the next room, had finished from her side. The bastard had caught Anne talking to her from under the door of their connecting rooms where they had laid on the floor, night after night, talking with their faces pressed to the dirty carpet.

  Looking through the small hole, a brown eye stared back at her. Angelina couldn’t help but smile. Putting her mouth up to the hole Angelina whispered just enough that Anne could hear her. “How you do
ing, Anne?” Pulling her mouth away from hole, she placed her ear against it.

  “I’m okay,” Anne whispered back. “He only took me once last night so I’m not as sore. He was drunk or something, so when he was finished; he stumbled out of the room.”

  A sneer formed on Angelina’s face. “Did you do what I told you?” Angelina forgot to put her mouth to the hole, but Anne heard her anyway.

  “Yes, I did,” Anne replied, her voice sad and broken. “But I don’t know if it helped or not. Not even my happy place can take away what he does to me.”

  Angelina’s empty stomach churned in revulsion. Hearing a door open, her heart constricted. She knew another girl was about to live a nightmare they were all caught in. “We better stop now, Anne.”

  The girl on the other side of the wall was silent for a moment. Angelina thought she had already moved away, but a soft voice reached her from the hole. “Do you think of him? The man who came here for you.” Anne’s voice was barely a whisper as her voice traveled through the small space. “Is he your happy place?”

  A single tear of regret and loss fell down Angelina’s cheek. Turning her head, she pressed her forehead against the dirty wall so hard it hurt. “Yes,” she whispered back.

  ******

  Adam stood outside Sloan’s office where the door was shut tight. He had knocked, but was told by Jared to ‘go the fuck away’ unless someone’s life was on the line.

  “What’s going on in there?” Jill stood next to him, but her question was directed toward Caroline.

  “Not sure?” She leaned against the wall and glared at the door. “But I wish they would hurry up because I have things to do.”

  Picking up on the anger in her tone, Adam was even more curious about what the hell was going on. “Where’s Lana?”

  Before Caroline could answer, the door to Sloan’s office opened and Sid stormed out glancing around. “Where is she?” His eyes landed on Caroline.

  “You told her to leave, so she left.” Caroline gave him a disgusted look. “Is this going to be much longer because I have stuff to do?”

  Adam watched the change come over Sid and frowned. There must be some serious shit going down because Sid rarely looked like he was about to kill someone.

  “Tell me where she is.” Sid’s growl rattled the walls. He stalked toward Caroline, his eyes black as night.

  “Hey!” Adam grabbed Sid, who was poised threateningly over Caroline. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Sid pushed Adam away, his eyes never leaving Caroline. “Where is she, Caroline?”

  Adam scrambled back toward them, but stopped when Sloan, who just walked through the front door of the compound, sent Sid flying through the air landing against the newly plastered wall.

  Sloan placed himself between Sid and Caroline, his face a mask of furry. “What in the fuck is going on?”

  Adam, Jill and Steve all stood in shock wondering the same exact thing.

  Sloan stormed over to Sid who had pushed himself away from the wall and was visibly trying to get his shit together. “If I ever see you treating a lady like that again, I will flay your ass alive.” Sloan’s body tensed as Sid looked him straight in the eyes, clearly fighting the urge to strike out. “You got me?”

  Sid finally looked away toward Caroline. “Yeah, I got ya, boss.” His eyes made their way back to Sloan. “We got some serious shit going down. Why the hell didn’t you answer your fucking phone?”

  “I don’t answer to you.” Sloan’s voice was low with authority, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

  “I didn’t say you did,” Sid replied, anger and frustration edging his tone, his body tensing again.

  Adam was just waiting for all hell to break loose. He had seen the Warriors going at each other, but this was different. Sid didn’t look in control and that was saying something. Sid was always in control.

  Sloan nodded toward his office. “Go.”

  “We need Caroline.” Sid didn’t move. Both Warriors looked back at Caroline who was standing with arms crossed, wearing a huge frown. “And Lana.”

  Caroline uncrossed her arms and walked straight up to Sid. “Lana will not be here. I’m going to finish helping you this one time,” she growled, holding up one finger to emphasize her words. “But if you ever treat me or my sister like this again, I will get my daddy’s gun, fill it with silver bullets and shoot your ass.”

  Silence followed her heated words as she turned, opened Sloan’s office door and then slammed it shut behind her.

  Sid started to follow her in, but Sloan stopped him. “Watch your step, Sid,” Sloan warned before letting him go.

  Once Sid had disappeared into the office, Sloan turned his attention back to Adam, Jill and Steve. “Is your issue the same as theirs or something different?” Sloan never minced words. He always said what he wanted without a care to who thought what about him.

  “Different, but…” Adam began holding up the newspaper he had taken from the diner.

  “That’s all I needed to know.” Sloan held up his hand. “I can only take one problem at a time. Save it unless someone’s life is on the line.”

  When Adam didn’t say a word, but dropped the newspaper back down to his side, Sloan frowned at each of them.

  “Is someone’s life on the line?” Sloan asked, his eyebrow cocked in question before grabbing the paper out of Adam’s hand. His face changed from irritation to rage in a second flat. “Son of a bitch.”

  “It looks like ours may be.” Adam replied, his fist clinching in anger.

  “Has Slade seen this?” Sloan shook the paper at them.

  Adam glanced at Jill who shrugged. “Not sure, but I doubt it.”

  “Keep your phones clear.” Sloan turned to head into his office with the newspaper clutched in his hand. “And watch your asses.”

  When the door slammed shut, Jill turned toward Adam and Steve. “Now what?”

  “I guess we keep our phones clear and watch our asses,” Steve snorted with a frown. “I’m going to bed. Six o’clock comes early, so if anything happens, come and get me.”

  “Yeah, guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jill turned to walk away, but stopped. “Unless you want to go for a ride with me?”

  Adam had turned to leave, but stopped. “You don’t have a car,” he said with a grin.

  “No, but I was going to hot-wire yours,” she countered without a grin. “It would be much easier if you came along.”

  “And where were you taking my stolen car?” Adam frowned, knowing she would have done exactly that: stolen his car. “All you would have to do is ask me and you wouldn’t have had to steal it.”

  “Not if you knew where I was going.” Jill turned, heading out the door.

  Adam growled, knowing exactly what she was planning. “Jill, dammit, I told you…”

  “I know what you told me and you know what I told you,” Jill growled back. “She’s lying, Adam. The more I think about it, the more I know it. And I think you know it to. Something doesn’t ring true to this and whether it bothers you or not, it bothers me and I want the truth.”

  A gleam glowed in Adam’s eye. “Okay, but we go where I want to go first.”

  Jill paused in curiosity. “And where would that be?”

  Adam walked past her with a knowing smirk. “To see your dad.” He stopped, turning to look at her with a raised brow. “You coming?”

  “That’s not the same thing and you know it, Adam,” Jill hissed, giving him a shove.

  “Oh, but it is the same damn thing, Jill.” He shoved her back. “And the only way I’m doing this is if you go see your father, who by the way, I know you want to see.”

  “No, I don’t,” Jill’s mouth replied, but her eyes clearly stated differently.

  “You suck at lying.” Adam grinned. “You always look away a split second before you lie.”

  “I do not,” Jill replied, catching herself looking away. “Dammit.”

  “Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Adam
headed toward the door. “I don’t feel like sitting around anyway, and the quicker we get this over with, the quicker you get off my ass about Angelina.”

  “I’m driving.” She passed him out the door. “Give me your keys.”

  Tossing her the keys, Adam frowned. “How many times have you hot-wired my car?”

  “A few.” Jill hopped into the driver’s seat with a grin. “And if you lock it, I’ll still be able to get in. I can pick locks too.”

  “Sid?” Adam rolled his eyes.

  “The one and only.” Jill nodded, backing out without looking.

  “Watch where in the hell you’re going.” Adam turned only to see her barely stop in time before hitting Sloan’s BMW. She slammed the brakes hard; his face was inches from going through the windshield. “Jesus!”

  “Sorry.” Jill glanced over at him, but the expression on her face said she was far from sorry.

  “Who taught you how to drive?” Adam held on when she hit the gas, throwing his head back.

  “I taught myself,” Jill answered before flipping on the radio full blast.

  Adam turned to stare at her, turning the radio off. “Do you even have a license?”

  “A what?” Jill laughed at his expression. “Chill out, dude! I’m an excellent driver,” she answered as she pulled out into the path of an oncoming car.

  “Stop the damn car!” Adam yelled, but waved sorry to the driver who almost plowed into them.

  “There’s a speed limit on this street and that guy clearly wasn’t doing it.” Jill frowned, getting ready to flip the guy off, but Adam grabbed her arm to stop her.

  Reaching over, he slammed the car in park, turned off the ignition and took the keys. The guy in the other car was still yelling and cursing out his window as Adam got out and marched to the driver’s side. “Get out!”

  “Okay! Okay!” Jill jumped out and headed to the other side of the car. She yelled back at the other driver who was still cussing her out. “I didn’t hit you, man! Go on, get out of here!”