I called the precinct and let them know Sky was getting a hit from the nearby area and told them what we suspected — that Gruver was hiding at one of the construction places inside a house that wasn't getting worked on at the moment. He might have a whole roomful of equipment and supplies for long-term squatting, or perhaps something more portable.
Sky gazed at me while I was talking, just drinking in my face. He seemed satisfied with what I said, so I assumed he had nothing to add. I glanced at him once to be sure, but he just raised his hands.
Then our guards were back, I was off the phone with the precinct, and we all were in the car. We told them in as few words as possible what Sky was getting and what we suspected. They radioed it in to their bosses and told us in no uncertain terms we were leaving the area.
"The first priority is to protect the asset, not to catch Gruver," explained the driver.
My eyes narrowed. "He's more than an asset, you know."
"But if I wasn't an asset too, I wouldn't have protection at all," said Sky, surprising me. And apparently them, as well. In the rearview mirror, I saw the driver's brows rise. I wasn't the only one Sky continually took by surprise.
My asset leaned against me and closed his eyes, sighing softly. He seemed to be trying to feel safe. I put an arm around him and kissed the top of his head. I loved protecting him, and that being with me could help him feel safe. Would that always be true?
Would things work out for us, long term? I hoped so. Aside from marrying him and wanting to spend my life with him, I just loved the guy. But had we rushed too much?
Maybe we should've waited. A lot of things were changing in our lives, and perhaps we'd wanted the security of being together.
It didn't look like we were going to get any of the other kind of "being together" tonight. The bodyguards were coordinating with the police and the ESRB as we drove away. I figured they'd take us back to the hotel, and we'd fly off while there was another manhunt for Gruver. I wondered if he appreciated how much time, effort, and frustration he was causing the department. He'd been the cause of a lot of extra overtime so far, and would likely cause more before they finally nabbed the slippery bastard.
"He knows now," said Sky softly. "I can feel it." He turned as we drove past a building that had been getting work done inside for the past several months, but slowly, as the construction company was prioritizing other projects first. It was a big, rambling old house with chipped white paint outside and some serious work that needed to be done inside before it could be anywhere near livable.
"In there," Sky said, pointing. His voice held certainty now, not a shadow of doubt. He sounded sad and distant.
My heart rate tripled. "Figured it out from listening to the police band, do you think?" I asked casually. It was a safe bet Gruver would have access, and if he got suspicious and tuned in, he might have heard the cops calling for people to go find him. After all, nobody had warned them not to use the police band radios.
I felt for my gun. Yep, right there.
The security men glanced at one another.
"If he's right there…" argued the driver, stopping at the side of the road.
"We protect Skyler," I said, my voice harsh. "It's why you're here."
"What better protection than taking Gruver down?" asked the driver, pulling and checking his weapon. He looked at his partner, who was hesitating, looking uncomfortable with the idea of leaving their assigned charges. "Come on, man. Do you want to be guarding assets forever?" asked the driver.
Apparently that settled it. They both leaped out of the car, leaving us behind.
Sky looked at me. He started hugging his knees. He didn't appear to be hyperventilating, but his eyes were dark and looked far away, as if he wasn't quite present with me anymore.
"Don't go," he said very softly.
"I'm right here." I was terrified, too. I checked my gun again. It felt like we were in a horror movie. Gruver had been a specter of evil in Sky's life for far too long. Now he was here … so close. Still dangerous, because he was hurting Sky even without being able to touch him. Would that ever end?
Part of me wished the security men hadn't run off after him into the building. Would they really get a better job if they caught Gruver, or would they be reprimanded, even punished, for leaving us to chase him down? Part of me wished that I was running with them, too. But Sky was right; I needed to be here, with him, keeping him safe.
The fact was that our villain wasn't going to run out and attack him, but all the same he needed me here. "It's okay, Sky," I promised.
"It's not," he said softly.
"Can you tell me what's happening, or don't you know?"
"I don't know. Um, I think we should call the captain."
Now why hadn't I thought of that? One more reason that I'd never be anything but a stupid flatfoot without Sky. I snatched my phone out. He laid a hand on my thigh to comfort me as I made the call.
We waited in the car while our "guards" tried to find Gruver in a big old house filled with dangerous spots and abandoned repairs. It must be like a maze in there, work areas left in the open, beams holding up partially unstable walls…
"We'll be right there," said Quill's gruff, familiar voice as soon as had I tersely given the address and told him what was happening. I was lucky to have his number on my speed dial; he'd trusted me with that much, and it was still on my phone. Despite our personal differences, I knew he wouldn't put anything else in front of Sky's safety.
Officers would be here. They'd catch Gruver this time, and he'd go away for a long time, maybe forever.
"No," said Sky softly, at the same time he closed his hand over my wrist with a vise-like grip, squeezing more tightly than he'd ever gripped me before. "No, he—" He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned against me, rocking slightly, his breath coming in jagged gulps. "He's so angry, and they haven't— He's coming this way. Hunt, help. Hunt. Please don't let him get me."
"I won't." I checked my gun again, hoping all the while that Sky was wrong, that Gruver hadn't evaded them. But really, we'd needed a SWAT team, a tactical approach — not two gung-ho bodyguards going after him on their own.
Whatever kind of setup he had in there, Gruver knew the area. If he was paranoid, or even just mildly sensible, he had to have some kind of watch on the entrances. I mean, the guy was a security expert and he knew the construction crews were eventually going to return, right?
Shit, this was stupid. We were sitting ducks.
"I'm going to drive us away from the area," I said to Sky.
But he was no longer responding to me. His eyes had gone blank, and he was shivering. He didn't seem aware of me at all.
Protecting him seemed more important than comforting him. Keeping my gun close, I scrambled up into the driver's seat and started the engine. I hoped the security guys would be safe, but really, Sky was my priority, and a response team was on the way.
"Sky, hang in there with me, buddy, okay?" I called as I steered the unfamiliar vehicle down the street. It was an unmarked car that had probably once been a police vehicle. Heavy and sturdy, a real gas-guzzler. I heard sirens now.
As I pulled out onto the street, trying to hurry away from the area, leaving the experts room to work and getting Sky to safety, I saw something out of the corner of my eye.
It happened so fast.
I thought I was going to hit the person running this way, and there was a thump — a body against a car — but not the front, and not because of me.
Gruver had been running so fast he thumped against the side of the car. There was a gun in his hand. He scrabbled with the door handle using his free hand and yanked open the back door almost too quick to see.
Shit, the doors! I hadn't locked the doors!
Now Gruver was in the backseat, breathing hard, and I scrabbled to turn around without crashing into anything, and shoot him.
He was desperate, determined, and faster: he had his gun pointed at Sky's head before I could even slow the
vehicle, much less turn and aim properly.
Shit. Double shit.
He was breathing hard, disheveled, but even though I'd never seen the man in the flesh, I recognized Sky's tormentor. Prison had been tough on Gruver. He'd lost some weight, and a new, harder glint filled his eyes, purposeful rage instead of smug arrogance. But he was just as dangerous, maybe more. He gave me a look of triumphant rage. Hatred.
Sky was so quiet, but he made a small sound, a squeak of fear. The gun pressed hard against his head, and he squeezed his eyes shut, enduring. His mouth trembled, and he tried so hard to be still, like a little rabbit freezing.
Freezing had never protected him before, but he was beyond terror. His nightmare had returned. I hadn't kept him safe after all.
#
The sirens sounded closer, or perhaps it was my vainly hopeful imagination.
"Drive," rasped Gruver. "Or I'll kill him here."
"I'll kill you if you do," I croaked. I'd already slowed the vehicle a little. Could I slam on the brakes without causing him to shoot Sky, either on purpose or because his finger was already on the trigger? I didn't dare risk it. His eyes told me he knew that.
He sneered. "He'll still be dead." He had me there. He wanted to kill Sky anyway, and he was desperate. Keeping Sky alive was the only thing that mattered to me right now.
I drove.
He crouched down suddenly at the approach of the flashing lights of a cruiser. "Not a hint," he growled, keeping the gun pointed at Sky.
We were tense in silence as the police cruisers moved past us, sirens and lights on. I recognized Ngoimgo and Smith, saw them give a quick glance in our direction and a look of alarm, but I couldn't tell if either was able to get a good look at the gunman in the backseat who was holding Sky hostage, or they were just registering discomfort with me driving off from a crime scene this way.
I might never know; I just had to keep Sky alive.
Sky made a squeak behind me. It hurt to hear, and I jerked at the sound, turning to glance back at them in alarm.
"Eyes on the road," barked Gruver. Sky jerked as though he'd been smacked across the face. Gruver was stroking his cheek with the edge of the gun, a parody of comfort and tenderness.
Sky was shivering hard, eyes squeezed shut, but a couple of tears escaped anyway. He looked beyond demoralized, beyond fear, beyond anything but endurance. His nightmares were all coming true, and I was helpless to do anything but drive.
I tried to send him reassurances as I searched my less than stellar mind for some plan of action that would save us from this killer. He had little to lose at this point, and obviously had an obsession with killing Sky.
The fact that he wanted to take us to a second location didn't bode well. I was smack out of ideas and scared spitless. How was I going to get Sky free? It was my job to protect him … but how?
"You thought you'd found someone, didn't you?" rasped Gruver, aiming the words viciously at Sky. "Someone who didn't see through you. Someone who didn't see you for exactly how worthless you are." He made a sound like spitting. I couldn't tell, from looking in the mirror, if he had actually spit or it was just a sound of disgust.
The angle was wrong for me to see much of what was going on. I saw a tear track, the trembling shudder of Sky's face, and the flash of cold steel. Gruver wrenched Sky closer, one hand on his neck, and shook him, pressing the gun against him hard enough that there would be a round barrel mark pressed into his temple.
Later. If he survived.
"Didn't you?" he rasped. "But he'll see. He'll see, before the end. He'll see just what you are."
"I know Sky's value a lot better than you do," I said in a wavering voice. It was better than what I wanted to yell, telling him to shut up with a string of curses, letting him know exactly what I thought of him. Perhaps all that keeping my head down and my mouth shut was finally paying off. I managed not to lose my shit with him. In fact, my voice sounded almost calm.
"Oh, you know nothing about Skyler, here," said Gruver, pressing the gun closer, harder. Sky had grown very still again, but he'd raised his chin slightly. "You think you know—"
"I don't care," I interrupted.
And I meant it. Whatever had happened in Skyler's past was just that. I wouldn't judge him for it. I hadn't held the suicide attempts against him, knowing what he'd been through. I just wanted to help him never go back to a place where he felt that desperate ever again.
But he was desperate; I saw it in his face. I felt my heart sink.
No, Sky, please. Don't leave me. I won't let you down. I won't let you die. I won't stop—
He was beyond hearing me. Perhaps beyond caring or holding on to his will to live.
Skyler had been through so much. My poor Sky. He had never really been safe since he was little — except with me. And even I hadn't been able to keep him safe, not for long, not the way he needed. Now he was losing himself, succumbing to … what was that?
I'd never seen this look on his face before. Never. His fists clenched, his jaws tightened, and a vein showed on his forehead. His face was red and he shook, but no longer from fear.
He opened his eyes and looked at Gruver.
The man with the gun shrank back. Sky edged closer, and Gruver gasped, holding up a hand. The gun dangled, and he dropped it. He grasped his head with both hands and cried out.
"No — no!" he screamed.
The sound was petrifying, electrifying in the small space of the car.
"You feel it!" shouted Sky. "You feel it!" He caught hold of Gruver and shook him.
I braked hard. Sky was shaking Gruver. Gruver's eyes held a glazed look of terror, and he wasn't fighting, just shaking.
Skyler yelled, "All that fear — all that hurt. You think I'm nothing? You're n-nothing! Why do I have to feel it? Why me, not you, huh? You're the bad one! You are! I never deserved any of that!"
He was shaking Gruver and yelling. It was probably good for him on some level, but I just wanted us to get out of there. Whatever Sky had done, it might not hold Gruver back forever.
Gruver was making strange whimpering sounds, clutching his head, a lost look of terror in his eyes as he stared at my husband as if he'd never seen the man before.
"Sky." I jumped out of the car, ran around to the side, yanked open the door, and caught him by the arm. "Come on! Get out, away from him!"
The gun was on the floor. I couldn't reach it; they'd both forgotten it. But I tugged at Sky and held my own gun pointed at Gruver the moment Sky edged away from him enough that I could aim.
Sky was snuffling and crying again, wiping awkwardly at his eyes as he scrambled clumsily out of the car. He kept his face down, shamed, and hiccupped.
"He — he had to feel it," he said in a trembling voice, and looked up at me, as if he wanted to move closer to me but didn't know if he was still welcome. "He had to."
"I know, Sky. Come here." I held out an arm, aiming my gun one-handed. I didn't take my eyes off Gruver, and I held my gun steady on him. With Sky not so close, he was still groggy and disoriented, but not quite so shaken. He might grab the gun any second.
I held my free arm out awkwardly. "Come here," I encouraged, and Skyler moved to stand next to me. I put my arm around him, and he leaned against me. He was trembling all through.
Well, we both were.
He pressed up against my side as we waited for the police. "Don't tell," he whispered.
"What happened to no more secrets, to admitting what you can do?" I asked in a low voice.
Sure enough, the patrol cars had turned around and were headed roaring back to surround us, cops ready to protect us. Or at least take Gruver into custody.
Sky sighed, closed his eyes, and pressed his forehead against me. "Okay," he whispered in surrender. "If you want."
I didn't know what I wanted, aside from him being okay. That most of all.
#
Of course, when it came down to it, I couldn't get the words out that would make my husband sound powerful
and dangerous, like he'd developed some new ability that would need to be tested extensively. He was just too terrified. How could I do that to him?
He stayed close to me the whole trip to the precinct, and he was trembling. He didn't stop, even when I hugged him close and tried to reassure him. He was freaking terrified. And even though we couldn't talk privately, I figured it out.
If he had some new ability to project feelings, he could be used as a weapon. At any rate, it would require lots of research, and being the cause of study had to be pretty scary to him.
So I looked at him and sent him a thought as clearly as I could: I won't tell.
He nodded his trembling head just enough to let me know he'd caught it. But he still couldn't relax. The adrenaline was too heavy, it had all been too much, and Gruver had nearly killed him. He stayed close to me.
When we gave our statements, the captain stretched the rules to let us stay next to each other. Sky's voice shook when he spoke. According to our statements, Skyler had been held at gunpoint but fought back and got out of the car when I stopped it. Then I held Gruver at gunpoint till the cops got there. Simple.
None of that explained how Sky had managed to overcome a dangerous man with a gun. I mean, theoretically, desperation and fear for his life, with some luck in taking the guy by surprise. Maybe he could've elbowed him in the head or something while I swerved the car, throwing Gruver off balance.
But try passing the story by anybody who knew Sky. Knew how timid and easily frightened he was, and not exactly the world's strongest guy. To imagine him going up against Gruver, angry, intense, and with a gun and a history of hurting Sky?
Well, the story wasn't convincing.
Quill didn't call us on it, just made sure our statements were taken down, read back to us, and signed.
He didn't separate us, and told us the ESRB was on its way.
But he looked at me, and I knew he knew there was more to it. His expression told me more. I might not be Skyler Zane, but I could tell the captain wanted to make up for the ways he hadn't supported us earlier.
SAFE (Men of the ESRB Book 1) Page 13