Unknown Protector

by Maggie Mundy

  “I always believed her when she said she could see things. I kept telling her she wasn’t insane.”

  Ridge shook his head. “That’s debatable, but for now you gotta tell me what you know.”

  “I saw her get out of a cab across the street. Some guy stopped her. They pointed towards this building, then a black SUV drove up. When it moved off she was gone. She told me not to leave here if anything happened.” Peter sat at the desk and folded his arms across his chest and rocked.

  “Don’t suppose you got the plate number.”

  “That’s what I was doing when you came in. I’m trying to get into the police computer and get the owner’s address.”

  “Don’t bother, give me the number.”

  Ridge phoned Sara and gave her the information. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long for her to get a match. “What did the guy look like who spoke to her?”

  “In a business suit. Not fancy or the sort to stand out.”

  Ridge took a deep breath and tried to keep the anger inside him from exploding. He would rearrange their faces when he found who had taken her. The guy would stand out in a crowd after that. His cell phone rang. Sara had better have good news.

  “It’s a rental. I’d imagine they gave false names,” Sara answered.

  Ridge turned back to Peter who was packing up his laptop and grabbing a black jacket to go with the rest of his black attire.

  “You can’t come.”

  Peter stood in front of him and stared him in the face. “I’ll tell the cops you took her. Nicole and I are both black belts in karate. I could be useful.”

  “Listen kid, I know you like her. She’s annoyin’ and kinda gets under your skin, but if we meet any of my kind, karate ain’t gonna be much use.” The last thing he needed was someone else he needed to watch out for.

  “She’s all I have. We’ve kept each other going since Ben died. You have to let me help.”

  Ridge sighed as he peered at this over tall, skinny, twenty-something punk whose arms were wrapped around his laptop like it could protect him. To even consider taking him along was irrational. Everything about this assignment was proving to be that though.

  “Follow me, and if you get in my way don’t complain if you get hurt.”

  Ridge told Carrick to keep an eye on the place in case by some miracle they brought her back. He also gave permission for Carrick to rip her kidnappers apart if he wanted to. More rule breaking. He would go straight to hell for this. Well he would if hell existed. Peter followed him as they left the building and made their way to his car. He should probably take Jake and Carrick with him, but she was his mate, and this was his fight. If he lost her he wasn’t sure he would want to survive anyway.

  He’d never lost someone under his protection before, and now he might lose the woman he’d bonded himself to. His knuckles were white where they gripped the steering wheel. His heart beat fiercely in his chest at the fear of what might have happened to her. His cell phone rang.

  “What is it, Sara? You’d better have somethin’ good to tell me, or I’m gonna kill someone for the fun of it. I’ll put you on loudspeaker. I’ve Peter with me who may prove to be helpful, though I’ve my doubts.” Peter leant against the passenger door keeping a distance between them. Ridge couldn’t blame him. “Jump if you want. It’s one less problem for me,” Ridge mumbled under his breath.

  Sara spoke. “I scanned the police system, seems the car broke down off Highway 101 on the other side of the bridge. Someone called it in, but the cops haven’t had time to send anyone out yet. Some big pile up somewhere else got them busy.”

  Peter folded his arms and sank into his seat and stared out the window.

  Ridge wanted a police car to stop him as he sped through the San Francisco streets. He could use them as an escort. They wouldn’t want to, but up close he could convince them. He wove his way against the cars on the bridge sending out thoughts to all cars around him to get out of his way. He drove for about ten minutes and found the side road. The SUV was pulled over and the number plate matched. He drove past and saw the vehicle had two flats. He had a feeling the tires on the other side would be flat too.

  Ridge parked behind the SUV and jumped out. There was a shimmer around the vehicle. The sort you see on hot days when the asphalt looks like it might melt. No one was there. Had he come too late? That couldn’t be true. He could sense her presence. It was as though her body was here but her mind was somewhere else. The front doors of the car were open and the keys still in the ignition. Ridge grabbed the back door and yanked it open. Nicole lay unconscious across the seat.

  “Shit.” Ridge wanted to hit someone as the anger building in him reached breaking point.

  His occupation required aggression, but he didn’t like this other possessive emotion she was bringing out in him. Nicole’s top was ripped and her breasts exposed and purple bruising was developing already. Her sweats were dragged down to her knees and her underwear was halfway down her thighs. He saw the scar on her lower abdomen he had noticed the first night he had undressed her. He wanted to make her feel safe and untouched, but he couldn’t get close. Somehow she had formed a shield around herself that shimmered. He had a feeling it was going to hurt to get through.

  He clenched his jaw and fought the tears developing in his eyes. He was a hard man, but he couldn’t cope with seeing her like this. She deserved better and he’d failed to protect her. Her legs were covered in snakebites and the remnants of scripsits were on the inside of the car.

  “Help her.” Peter grabbed Ridge’s arm, his fingers digging in.

  This guy was either mad or he had a death wish. Ridge moved him away from the car door because he knew Nicole wouldn’t want Peter to see her like that.

  “Okay, first rule; don’t touch me unless I say you can. Second rule, do what I tell you.” Ridge shook his head as he watched Peter sit on the ground by the front wheel of the vehicle and rock back and forth. He didn’t need this, but it was what he was getting. “Look, I’m sorry, but she’s sending off enough crap to fry both of us.”

  He shouldn’t take it out on Peter. After all, he wasn’t the one bonded with her. Nicole was his partner. There had to be some way she would let him through. “I’m gonna try and get close to her. If I pass out get me back to my club. One other thing, if you scratch my Mercedes, I’ll kill you.”

  “She wouldn’t hurt you. She wouldn’t hurt anybody.”

  “She’s human, and this shit ain’t supposed to happen to humans, but she ain’t reactin’ human at all. I don’t have a fuckin’ clue what I’m dealin’ with and I’m paired with her.”

  Ridge turned back to the car but an aroma assailed his nostrils as he heard a car door slam. Burnt meat. Sayell. Why was he not surprised that piece of Midworlder lowlife was nearby. Sayell stood beside his car on the other side of the road. He obviously hadn’t healed yet from the look of him. The arrogant bastard sauntered across chuckling to himself, his long black cap fluttering in the breeze around him. Talk about melodramatic. Ridge grabbed him and threw him with force up against the car. He wanted to pummel the life out of him, but he didn’t have the time.

  “I’d like to say, what the fuck you doin’ here, but I sort of know already.” If there was one Midworlder he didn’t want to see at this moment it was him.

  “If she were mine, I’d be taking a bit more care of her. Appears a bit the worse for wear since I last saw her.” Sayell peered inside the car.

  Ridge thumped Sayell’s jaw hard enough to dislocate it. Sayell reached up with skinned fingers and clicked it back into place. Ridge wouldn’t have him gawking at Nicole. She deserved better.

  “All you have to do is say the word and relinquish her to us. I’m more than amenable to the suggestion. I’m even willing to forget our latest disagreement.”

  “I’ll look afte
r her.” Ridge continued to block Sayell’s view of Nicole. “How ‘bout a question from me? What did you do to her?”

  “You Angelic Midworlders are so righteous and think yours is only one way to do anything. We have a saying. The Angelic way is the tedious way.”

  “Do I look like I wanna be fucked with? I take that back. I always look like I don’t wanna be fucked with. You still haven’t told me how you knew she was here.”

  “I found her mind quite easy to manipulate. After her little display before, I thought it would have been harder. She doesn’t seem that attached to you.”

  Sayell wandered back and forth trying to peek into the vehicle as Ridge blocked his view.

  “She was meant to come to the agency to see me, but someone else got to her before we did. My men followed. When the others left I tried to get close. Maybe these kidnappers could be swayed to the dark side. I do love it when I can get humans to do my dirty work for me. We saw you driving nearby and thought we would come back and see if you were more successful than us at getting close.” Sayell flicked a piece of dried skin off his cape in Ridges direction as he spoke.

  “Have you worked out how to touch her yet?” Sayell chuckled. “It’s a pity you won’t be able to enjoy her body. It’s a fine one. I’ve always appreciated an hourglass figure. Unusual scar though. Misspent youth, one might think.”

  Ridge whacked Sayell and knocked him to the ground. Sayell was back up within a second and retaliated with a blow to Ridge’s stomach, he doubled up. Ridge came back up with a thump to Sayell’s chin. The demonic Midworlder flew back and landed on the tarmac. Two of Sayell’s men came across from their car. One helped Sayell up as the other went for Ridge. Ridge held him in a tight hold before he could even land a punch.

  “Let’s go and leave him to his mate, who may very well kill him and do us a favor.” Sayell hobbled back to his car with the aid of his men. Ridge turned back to Nicole. The thought Sayell had seen her like this made him slam his fist against the car. It didn’t achieve anything more than a dent in the metalwork, but it relieved his tension a little bit.

  “What did he mean, she’s your mate, and you said something about being paired?” Peter no longer cowered and rocked by the wheel of the car, but stood a good two foot away from Ridge, as though he wasn’t prepared to get any closer. “She’s not some dog in heat and who or what the hell was that? He stank and looked like the Grim Reaper.”

  Damn it, Ridge had forgotten he was there. “Nicole’s bonded to me, she’s my woman.” That sounded strange coming out of his mouth. “I did it to save her from his kind. Think of them as the Bad-assed angels. Trust me you don’t want to have anythin’ to do with him. To be honest, you don’t want to have anythin’ to do with me either.”

  “Is she still alive?” Peter asked, cradling his arms to his chest

  “Yep. I’m gonna try and get through to her, and I’ve a feelin’ it’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna hurt a lot.” Ridge moved slowly into the back of the car and tried to ignore the pain. It felt like he was plunging his hands into burning coals. The skin on his arms became indented as the discoloration of bruising began. Shit, what was she doing to him?

  He knew this woman was going to be trouble from the first minute he met her. He dragged her clothes back into place, though the effort caused his insides to feel like a red-hot poker and been shoved into them. He tugged her body across the back seat towards him. Each time their skin connected the agony increased. The shield around her didn’t want to let him or anyone close. The pressure built against his skin like a body-sized vise. Snap. That would be a rib he guessed from the pain in his chest. She would be a first human to have killed her Midworlder partner instead of the other way round. Maybe there was some justice in that.

  Ridge turned her so her head lay against his chest. Snap, another rib. Damn, it was getting hard to breathe. There was some invisible hammer in the shield around her, and she was aiming it at his chest. He couldn’t afford to blackout until he got through to her. He coughed and tasted blood in his mouth. Tilting his head he rested it on top of hers. He tried to keep calm and connect, but he couldn’t keep the suffering he was in out of his voice. His breath caught.

  “It’s Ridge. I’m here. Let me through, darlin’, you’re safe now.”

  She fidgeted and his arm and wrist bent backwards at an awkward angle. He assumed she was trying to push his arm away seeing him as another attacker. Maybe he needed a different approach, and quick before he passed out. With his good hand he turned her face towards him so their foreheads touched.

  “Nicole. Come back to me. We gotta prove them wrong. We’ll live to love each other. I can’t live without you. You gotta come back to me.”

  Nicole opened her eyes and stared at him. His eyelids were swelling but he could still see the fear in her face. Shit, he must look a mess to get that reaction.

  I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was you. It nearly killed him but he had gotten through. The pressure on his body was gone as quickly as it had started but the pain still raged on. He didn’t know how much longer he could cope before he blacked out. Nicole was holding his face and her eyes were watering.

  “Don’t you go and die on me. We’re in this together. You helped me, now it’s my turn.”

  If she was feeling any pain from her assault she wasn’t showing it as she help move him out of the car with Peter’s assistance. Every movement caused more torture. He wanted to help as they put his arms around their shoulders, but his legs gave out. He eventually made the painstaking journey step by step back to his car. Waves of agony surged through his body like he was being torn apart.

  Peter drove off. Ridge didn’t like having no control of the situation, but at this moment there was nothing he could do about it. He lay across the back seat with his head resting on Nicole’s lap. Looking up he could see such sorrow and regret on her face. He wasn’t used to someone feeling sad about him. He lifted his good hand and touched her cheek. There was a tear there he wiped away with his thumb. He reckoned this was the first time in his long life someone shed tears for him. He wasn’t sure he could cope with the responsibility of someone else’s pain.

  Nicole was humming a tune. It was probably the broken bones and delirium getting to him but his breathing became easier. Here he was dying and falling for a woman at the same time.

  The car slowed. He couldn’t remember much of the journey but saw the sign at the front of his club. Sara was there. He could let go, Nicole would be safe. Carrick appeared at the curb and opened the door.

  “It’s okay, Nicole. We’ll take him for you,” Carrick said, and carried him inside.

  Stay with me.

  Ridge sent the thought out to Nicole. Damn it, but this woman was growing on him, even if she left his body bruised and battered.

  The bed felt soft and he wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes open much longer. Nicole was beside him and put her hand out and touched his chest. He winced as she touched the area where a rib was broken. He didn’t know or care if she knew what she was doing, he just knew the pain eased. For one moment his breath caught when he thought he might wake up and find her gone.

  “Don’t go,” he whispered between swollen lips. Damn, in an effort to save her he had already said too much. She would think he loved her and there was no point. If they joined he would be forced to watch her die. If he lived he needed to find her a guardian and stop all of this.

  “I won’t.”

  He heard the words escape her lips. He tried to smile but his swollen lips couldn’t manage it. The darkness beckoned and took over, and for once he didn’t have enough energy to resist.

  Chapter 9

  Unusual Healing

  Nicole placed her hand against Ridge’s cheek. She wasn’t sure how many hours had passed since they had returned, but his skin was burning up. Sara said it was often like thi
s when Midworlders healed, that he would be fine by morning. Nicole should have felt comforted by that comment, but she wasn’t. She was sick to the stomach that she had done this to him.

  A thin sheet covered his naked body, which was good, because she didn’t want to stare at the bruises again. She had helped Sara strip him and cringed when she saw the mottled purple patches on his skin. How could she wound him so much?

  Peter was in one of the other guest rooms, which made things even worse. She could cope with her own life being at stake, but she didn’t want others drawn into this lunacy. At the moment she couldn’t see how it could be avoided. The room was getting dark and her body ached. She didn’t want to leave Ridge, even though staying was going to make the others think she cared.