Shadows (Black Raven Book 1)

by Barcelona, Stella

  “Come on, Skye. Don’t pass out. Spring needs help. We’ve got to get out of here.”

  Sebastian started to lift her, planning to carry her into the SUV. Then he could return to help Pete with the sister, but when her sister cried out, Skye stiffened. Spring sobbed again, louder, and Sebastian felt strength returning to Skye’s limbs. When Spring cried a third time, a small, pathetic sound of fear and pain, Skye gasped for air. Gray-green eyes wide with fear searched his, as more strength returned to her legs and arms.

  She drew another deep breath and nodded, “I’m ok.” Her words were barely a whisper.

  “That’s a champ. You’re doing fine,” he said, relieved beyond words that she didn’t break down and start crying. When strong women like Skye cried, they reminded him of his mother and he’d sell his soul to make the tears stop. No, he studied her as she drew a deep breath. Not the type to break down. Instead, she was pulling herself away from an almost-faint that was induced by shock and fear, all because of Spring’s cry. He understood Skye’s strong will to protect. His body, still pumping with adrenaline from split-second decisions that focused on the need to kill, was sizzling with, among other things that he didn’t have time to think about, the need to get these women to safety. Now. He didn’t let go of her. He wasn’t certain she was ready to stand under her own power, because she was still leaning against him.

  “I’m fine,” she repeated, her voice stronger.

  “You sure?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  He loosened his arms, but kept them encircled around her, just in case he needed to catch her. She managed to hold up her own weight.

  “See,” she stood under her own power and turned to go towards the trunk, towards her sister. “I’m fine.”

  Letting her do her thing with her sister seemed to give her more equilibrium. Sebastian crouched beside her would-be kidnapper, as Skye stepped closer to the open trunk. “Take Spring and get in the SUV.” Sebastian started looking through the man’s pockets, where there was no phone, no ID, no wallet, not one goddamn clue as to who the men were.

  “Not going with you,” Skye told him as she moved past him. “Not now, not in this lifetime.”

  Sebastian watched her walk through, not around, the pool of blood and guts that blocked her path. He guessed that she didn’t see the puddle of gunk or that her cream-suede boots became speckled with red blood and gray matter, because she was too focused on getting to her sister.

  Not in this lifetime.

  Feisty pep in suck-ass situations was something Sebastian normally found amusing, and he almost did now, except that two more of these assholes were going to show up at any second, and he didn’t have time to argue with Skye about getting in the SUV. Though his aim was dead certain, he frowned as he glanced at the bodies of the baker and his wife. Sometimes, like this fucking time, really bad collateral damage happened.

  Pete was kneeling on the ground on the other side of the trunk, searching through the other guy’s pockets. He stood as Sebastian did. Pete said, “Nothing. Nothing in the car either.”

  “Ragno. Pete. Did we record the camera footage?” Sebastian asked, walking to where Skye stood consoling Spring, who was still lying in the trunk.

  Pete nodded as he scanned the area. “Yes, even if we weren’t recording through our system, the cameras have a digital recording through an online application, so Ragno can access that.”

  “Ragno. Access the recording system. Keep a copy for us, then delete it from the application. Pete. Lock the front door. Put out the closed sign. The longer we can keep this from going public, the better.”

  “Ragno. Send a Cleaner here. Have him call me when he’s en route.” Cleaners were Black Raven agents who were trained to deal with fucked-up situations. Since most of their operations were international, only a few Cleaners were in the U.S., and all were now working on the prison break. “For now, hold onto the camera footage. Later, I’ll get it to Minero. Skye, we have to go.”

  “Should I alert Minero?” Ragno asked.

  “Yes, but I’ll give him details. Tell him we interrupted a kidnapping, the sisters are safe, we’re in transit, and I’ll be calling in ten minutes.” Sebastian glanced at Skye. Pale and unmoving, she had rested a soothing hand on Spring’s shoulder, who still lay curled in the trunk. From where Spring lay, if she sat up even an inch, she’d have an unobstructed view of the carnage that was between the coffee house and the sedan. Skye’s eyes were on Sarah, who had fallen sideways against Daniel. A bullet had blown away a chunk of her head. The baker lay face up, eyes open, with a round entry wound in his forehead. Thick, crimson-black blood pooled around them.

  Skye’s wide-eyed, stiller-than-still reaction told Sebastian she’d never seen this kind of death before, at least not in real life, in people who she knew and cared for. Hell.

  “Hey,” Sebastian said to Skye as he grabbed her arm, “we need to get moving. Pete.” Dammit.

  “I’m in the coffee house,” Pete responded, through the mic, “locking it.”

  “We need to call for help!” Yanking her arm out of his grasp, she tore her eyes from the bodies to look at him. His heart twisted with the abject misery that he saw in her eyes. He fought the urge to scoop her in his arms again and shield her from the carnage.

  “They’re dead. No one can help-”

  “Call the police.” Her hair was wild and loose, blood splatter was on her sweater, and her eyes were wide, her gaze once again locked on Sarah and Daniel.

  “We can’t do that.”

  “Dial 9-1--”

  “I’m it, Skye. I’m all the help that’s coming,” he said, “and,” he softened his voice, because when she looked into his eyes, the raw pain there stole his breath, “They’re gone. Stop looking at them. I need to get you and your sister the hell away from here. Now.”

  Spring whimpered and, thank God, the sound captured Skye’s attention.

  “Hey, honey, those bad guys are…gone,” Skye’s voice shook, “and we’re going to get in the van. Can you sit up?”

  Spring nodded, but didn’t move.

  “Not your van. My SUV.”

  She ignored him. Her attention was focused on Spring. “All right,” Skye said, “so we’re going to try to get you to sit up, but I need you to close your eyes and not open them until I tell you.”

  “Why?” Spring said.

  “Move it, Skye. Now.”

  Spring, wide-eyed, said, “He called you Skye. Not Chloe.”

  Skye gave him a furious look, but her voice remained calm and comforting. “That’s because he knows our real names. We can use our real names with him. Just trust me, honey. I need you to keep your eyes closed, and we need to go.”

  Holy fucking hell. At this rate, they were all going to die of old age before he got them to the SUV. Sebastian moved around Skye, using his body to push her out of the way. Spring was five feet six and, he guessed, weighed just about one hundred and twenty. With a bit of effort from his thighs, shoulders, and arms, Sebastian managed to get her out of the deep well of the trunk with a two-armed lift. Thank God he was back in shape. Spring groaned, opened her eyes wide with surprise, as he straightened with her. “Hey pretty girl,” Sebastian said, “I’m helping you and your sister. You’re safe.”

  Spring whimpered and pressed her face into his chest.

  His heart twisted. Again. God. These two women were getting to him. “I know it hurts,” Sebastian said. “We’re going to get help for you.”

  Pete returned to the doorway. “I locked the front door and put up the closed sign.”

  Spring said, “Chloe?”

  He paused when he heard Spring say Skye’s fake name, even though Skye had just explained to her sister that he knew their real names. Spring really had no fucking clue what was happening. Son of a bitch. The learning curve on this one was going to be pretty goddamn steep. Sebastian turned so that Spring could see Skye. “See. She’s fine.”

  “Put her in my van,” Skye instructed,
clearly used to giving orders that were followed. Tough shit. So am I.

  Sebastian moved fast, turning again, so that Spring didn’t have a chance to see the bodies. “Your sister’s getting into the SUV with us,” he gave Skye an over-the-shoulder, hard look, “and she’s doing it now.” He walked down the driveway, away from Skye, confident he had the one thing in the world that would make her follow him.

  Within seconds, Skye was walking at his side. “I did not say we were going with you. You can’t manhandle us into doing that, and you don’t have authority to make us go with you. You’re just a private investigator, not a U.S. Marshal.”

  “You see those two men?” He gestured with his chin, over his shoulder, to the corpses. “There are two more just like them at your house right now.”

  She shook her head. “You’re just saying that.”

  “The only difference between them and the two at your house is that the two who are at your house are alive. They’re going to show up here at any second. They won’t be thrilled when they figure out that their friends are dead, and I don’t feel like killing two more people today.”

  Skye shook her head, eyes wide. “You’re lying.”

  Sebastian glared at her, but kept walking. “And why would I make up this crap?”

  “Who are they?”

  “Hell if I know, ” he said. “I was hoping you had a clue.”

  “Me?”

  Hell. She managed to look surprised, innocent, sexy, and angry all at the same goddamn time. “Well, we sure as hell don’t have time to figure it out.”

  “They said they were marshals.”

  “So did I, and we both know that’s not true.”

  Pete pulled the SUV up to where they were. He jumped out to open the rear passenger door. As Sebastian bent to place Spring into the seat, she whispered, “Candy.”

  Sebastian froze as her blue eyes drowned him in innocent, questioning light.

  “Candy,” Spring said loudly. “I need to get her.” Tears flowed down her cheeks, smearing in the dried blood around her nose. Rocking, she gripped a clump of hair near her scalp and pulled. “We need Candy.”

  Fuck me to hell, Sebastian thought, as Skye turned to run for the van. There is no time for this shit. Human lives versus one dog life. Sebastian knew the relative weight of each, and he knew which one was more important when they had no time. Yet Spring’s big, innocent eyes inspired a deep, searing hurt, one that was long repressed. He had learned just how much life could suck when, at fourteen years old, he’d watched the man who had fathered him kick his dog to death. This wasn’t the day that Spring was going to learn how much it hurt to lose a dog, not if he could help it. He glanced at Pete. “Turn the SUV around. If the other guys come, leave.”

  “Wait. Should I stay to deal with local law enforcement, at least until our Cleaner or the marshals get here?”

  “No,” Sebastian said. He appreciated Pete’s take-one-for-the team attitude, but he wasn’t about to give up Pete for what promised to be a lengthy exercise in futility. “Local officials will detain you for God knows how long and they ultimately won’t even have jurisdiction over this, because it will all be linked back to the prison break. I need you. We saved lives today. You did nothing wrong. You didn’t even fire a weapon.” He turned for the van. Over his shoulder, Sebastian said, “Get the hell away from here if you see the other guys. I’ll worry about Skye.’”

  Sebastian caught up with Skye, who had made it to the van, where the front seat was empty.

  “Candy was here,” Skye’s eyes were bright with panic, “She barked for a while, then there was nothing.”

  To make the vehicle into a delivery van, the passenger seats had been removed. Now, the long cargo space was filled with smears of white, chartreuse, purple, and orange icing, and chunks of cake. Only a fraction of the cake remained standing on the almost floor-level platform where the sisters had placed it. Skye gasped, and pointed at golden fur that was curled into a tight ball, tail between her legs, with her nose pointing in the corner.

  Awww hell. Don’t let her be dead. Sebastian opened the passenger door, stepped into the van, hunched down so that his head didn’t hit the ceiling, and walk-crawled to the dog.

  “Please let her be alive,” Skye said, right behind him.

  He touched fur that was sticky with globs of cake. She was warm and trembling. “Hey, Candy,” a long snout turned to him. Big, sad brown eyes gazed into his. “Alive.” She yelped when he put pressure on her right shoulder and neck, but fast-licked a warm trail across his cheek and nose as he lifted her. “From her licks, I think she’ll make it.” He stepped out of the van, the dog in his arms, looked at Skye, and said, “Come on.”

  Pete had the SUV running, and Spring opened the door as Sebastian approached with the dog. He placed the dog on Spring’s lap, and said, “Push over.” To Skye, who stood at his side, and who showed no sign of getting in the car, he said, “Get in.”

  She folded her arms with her feet firmly planted on the ground. “Where are you taking us?”

  “Away from here. Somewhere safe.”

  “I understand,” she nodded, her eyes fiery, “but my sister needs medical attention. She had a bad concussion two years ago. Doctors told me to be careful with future injuries, and that bastard hit her so hard I think she passed out. She needs a Doctor. An MRI. A CT scan. Now.”

  “Ragno. You hearing this?”

  “Yes,” she answered.

  “Is it bullshit?”

  “No. She was in Skye’s car accident. Remember?”

  “Head injury then?”

  “Concussion,” Ragno said.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  “Hey,” Skye snapped her fingers, her hand just a few inches from his face. “Listen to me. Not whoever is talking into your ear. Candy needs medical help as well.”

  “No need to snap. I can handle more than one conversation, which seems to be one more than you can handle, because you’re not understanding any goddamn thing I’m telling you. There are two more, just like them, at your house. People pay me one hell of a lot of money to protect them. When I say something, I’m used to people damn well listening. For the seven hundredth time, get in the fucking SUV now.” He didn’t raise his voice. Didn’t have to. The woman wasn’t stupid and the problem wasn’t her hearing.

  Pete had turned and was looking at them, and Spring was wide-eyed and staring at Sebastian as though he’d grown three heads.

  Skye’s eyes flicked to Spring, then she focused on him. “Stop talking like that.”

  “Like what?” Sebastian asked. Yes, he was exasperated with her. But he wasn’t yelling. He never yelled. He was using the exact voice he used when he was knee-deep in an operation. The kind of tone that everyone but Skye responded to by following the orders he issued.

  “Like I have no option but to listen to you.”

  He paused, drew a deep breath, and wanted to punch something when he read resistance in her folded-arm stance and uncertainty in her eyes. “Exactly what are you not understanding about this?”

  Pete, his tone agitated, said, “There really are two more of these men, and they’ll be here any second. We’ve got to go now.”

  Skye drew a deep breath, and there was a moment of silence as Spring looked with wide-eyed fear at the two men. To Spring, Skye said, “Honey. It’s going to be all right.” To Sebastian, she said, “Speak nicely.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? Armed men are on their way for you and your sister, I’m trying to save you, I even rescued the damn dog, and you’re bothered by the tone of my goddamn fucking voice?”

  “Noooooo. No. No. No. Noooooooo,” Spring whispered, as quiet as Sebastian was yelling, her misery a match for Sebastian’s anger. Spring looked straight ahead as she tore at her hair with both hands. “No. No. No. No. No. No.”

  “I’m not bothered one bit, dumb ass. She’s bothered, and just in case you’re not getting the picture here, everything I do is about her. So if you can’t spea
k nicely,” Skye’s voice was low, her tone normal, as though she was talking about the weather on an uneventful mundane day, “we can’t go with you-”

  “Funny,” he interrupted Skye, “but all the intel that I have on you didn’t point to stupid and senseless, but I guess there’s some things you just don’t know until you’re face to face.”

  “You’re the one who’s not understanding-”

  “You have nowhere to run,” Sebastian snarled, trying to persuade her to move. “Now. Get. The. Hell. In. The. SUV.”

  “No. No. No,” each time Spring said the word, it became louder and faster, until the words rolled together, “NONONONONONONONO.”

  The incessant yelling was unlike anything he’d ever heard. Her constant stream of no’s had a rhythmic quality, more like a drum beat than a human voice, more scared than angry. She was holding her ears, rocking forward and back. Skye pushed past him in an effort to get in the SUV, to her sister. “What the hell?”

  “You’ve upset her.” Skye pushed Spring and Candy over, slipped onto the seat, put her arms around her sister, and tried to stop her sister from pulling at her hair and scratching her own face. “She’s having an anxiety attack, thanks to you,” she mumbled, “asshole,” under her breath.

  Sebastian kicked the running board in exasperation, provoking another steely-eyed glare from Skye as his kick produced a loud thumping noise and another stream of no’s from Spring. “Did you really just say that? Thanks to me? Asshole? When you mumble, I can hear you, so just go ahead and say it.”

  “Thanks to you, my sister is having an anxiety attack,” Skye said, keeping her voice calm as she managed to wrap her arms around Spring, who was trying to wriggle free. The no’s started to subside. “Now, when you speak, please use a nice voice.” Sparks flew from Skye’s eyes, but the tone of her voice suggested that they were having a nice, pleasant conversation. “If we go with you, will you take us to get medical help?”

  “Yes,” he snapped.

  She glared at him. “Nice voice. Got it?”

  He softened his tone, “Of course I’m taking her for medical help.”