Oath Bound (An Unbound Novel)

by Rachel Vincent

  “Then Anne and Hadley disappeared, too. I had Cam double-check for me, and he couldn’t find any of you either.”

  “We’re fine.” Kori gestured to the room full of people. “Safe and sound.”

  “Safer and more sound than ever, evidently,” Kris said, and I looked up to find him staring at me. “You’re a Jammer?”

  I nodded reluctantly. No use denying it.

  Anne pulled Hadley closer, as if my omission had put the child in some kind of danger, when in fact, the opposite was true. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Because it’s none of your business.”

  “You scared the shit out of me!” Liv snapped, and my own temper flared. “You should have told them, so they could tell me.”

  I stood, furious now. “Five minutes ago, I didn’t even know you existed, much less that you’d freak out about not being able to find your friends. A situation that could’ve been remedied with a simple phone call, FYI.”

  Liv’s eyes widened, and Kris seemed to be...grinning.

  “And considering that I didn’t choose to be here and I can’t exactly turn off the jamming—” which didn’t work like most other Skills “—as far as I’m concerned, you can all go stick your heads up each other’s asses for all I care.” I glanced at Hadley and flinched when I saw her staring up at me, evidently unfazed by the profanity. “Or, you could just let me go.”

  “Let her go?” Liv glanced around at her friends, waiting for an explanation.

  “Kris kidnapped her from Tower’s house,” Kori said.

  Her brother groaned. “I didn’t kidnap her. I just...” He shrugged. “She needed to come with me, but I didn’t have time for her to reach that conclusion on her own.”

  “Yeah,” I snapped. “They call that kidnapping.”

  “You kidnapped Julia Tower’s Jammer?” Liv looked impressed.

  “No!” Kris and I said at the same time. Then I continued. “I’m not her Jammer. She doesn’t even know I’m a Jammer. No one does, except you bunch of psychos. Thanks for that, by the way.” I hoped they all choked on my sarcasm.

  Everyone stared at me. Then Liv turned back to Kris. “What the hell were you thinking, breaking into Tower’s house? Kidnapping someone? Who is she?” She turned to me again. “Who are you?”

  “Sera,” I said. “And for the thousandth time, that’s all any of you are getting from me until you give up some private information about yourselves.”

  Looks flew across the room. Ian, Vanessa and Gran had joined us by then, and everyone seemed to come to the same conclusion.

  “Fair enough.” Liv stepped forward and extended one hand for me to shake, over the coffee table. “Olivia Warren. I’m a Tracker. Bloodhound, specifically, but I can also use names when I have to. In the spirit of disclosure, and because you can’t hang out in this crowd for long without finding out anyway, I technically work for Ruben Cavazos.”

  “Technically?” I wasn’t very familiar with syndicate bindings, but I knew who Cavazos was. Everyone knew who Cavazos was.

  “Not by choice. But one of these days, he’s going to cross the line, and I’m going to have to...renegotiate.” She glanced at Hadley and forced a smile.

  “Cavazos will never cross the line,” Kori mumbled. “Because you keep pushing the line back. When Cam gets tired of that, he’ll renegotiate for you. He may even survive.”

  I glanced from Kori to Olivia. “And Cam would be?”

  “Cam’s her boyfriend,” Hadley said, and I looked down to see her smiling up at Olivia. “He works for my biological father, too.”

  “Your biological father?” That struck a little too close to home.

  The child nodded, and brown hair fell over her forehead. “Ruben. He lives in a big house, and there’s a huge TV in my room there.” She glanced at her mother and frowned at Anne’s stiff expression. “But I still like it better at home.”

  “Your dad is Ruben Cavazos?”

  “Not her dad,” Anne corrected. “Her father.”

  Damn, could I ever identify with that statement.

  I already knew about Kris and Kori Daniels, and their missing sister, Kenley, who was a Binder. Ian introduced himself as Ian Holt, a Blinder—he could pull darkness from...wherever and make shadows wherever he wanted. He and Kori kind of seemed made for each other.

  Vanessa was unSkilled. She was also Kenley’s girlfriend, though it didn’t take long for me to realize that Gran seemed to think Van and Kris were an item.

  “Your turn,” Kris said when everyone else was done making formal introductions. “Who are you? Who are you really?” he added for emphasis.

  “Sera Brandt.”

  “And...” Liv prompted.

  I sighed and sank on the edge of the couch cushion behind me. “And...I’m a Jammer. But I don’t tell people that.” Then I told them what my mother had told me when I was eighteen and we’d finally figured out that I was, indeed, Skilled, even though she wasn’t. “I’m fortunate enough to have escaped syndicate notice so far, both because I live as far from organized syndicate activity as I can, and because I’m naturally hard to find. That’s part of being a Jammer.” The very best part of being a Jammer, and the only reason my mother had been able to hide me as well as she had. I shrugged. “That’s it. All that’s worth telling, anyway.”

  Anne shook her head. “There’s more,” she said and they all turned to me expectantly. Again.

  “What, you think I’m just going to bare my soul to a room full of strangers? Not gonna happen. The interrogation’s over. We’re either going to have a civil discussion, or none at all.”

  “I’m fine with that,” Kris said with a shrug, and I glanced at him in surprise.

  “Good. But to be clear, in a legitimate conversation, both sides get to ask questions and no one monitors the truth in their answers.” I shot a pointed glance at Anne, who shrugged, and I wondered if her ability was impossible to turn off, like mine. If so, was it even realistic of me to expect her to keep a perfect stranger’s secrets?

  “I think we can all respect that,” Kris said. “What do you want to know?”

  “What are you all doing here? Why are you hiding out in a house locked up from the inside? What is the ‘higher purpose’ you mentioned earlier? Why does Julia Tower need your sister?” I hadn’t realized I had so many questions for them, until the words tumbled from my mouth.

  “Okay.” Kris took a deep breath. “Every one of those questions has a complicated answer, and when you put them together...the explanation is pretty involved. But the short version is this—we’re trying to take the Towers down.”

  “Take them down? Like, kill them?” I wasn’t sure whether to be thrilled by the prospect—considering Julia’s willingness to take me down—or horrified.

  “Put them out of business,” Ian clarified. “We’re trying to end their syndicate.”

  “Which will mean killing some of them,” Kori added. “Most notably, Julia.”

  Olivia sank into the chair where Kris still perched on the arm. “Kenley’s an important part of the effort. Julia took her to stop her from working against the syndicate.”

  “But you’re sure she won’t kill Kenley?”

  Kris gave me a grim nod. “She can’t afford to, at least for the moment.”

  “Okay.” I stared at the floor, still processing most of what I’d just heard. “Your turn.”

  “What do you want from Julia?” Ian asked. “What could possibly be worth putting yourself on their radar?”

  “I need her to do something for me. Something personal and very important, that I can’t do for myself. But you don’t have to worry about them recruiting me. She doesn’t know I’m a Jammer.” And she wants me as far away from her borrowed empire as possible. “So I think I’m safe in that respect.”

  “Some people are never safe,” Vanessa whispered. “Even when they legitimately have no Skill.”

  “Anyway, she’ll figure it out if you wind up working with her.” Kris s
hrugged. “She’s a Reader. She’ll know if you lie.”

  So they knew her Skill. But they hadn’t yet realized I knew ways around the truth.

  “What did you want from her?” Kori asked. But instead of answering, I stood and wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans.

  “That’s all I can afford to tell you, and I don’t want to insult you with a lie.” Again. Though, if they were smart, they’d search for my name online the moment I was gone, and from there it would be easy to guess what I’d wanted from Julia. But at least if they found the information themselves, I wouldn’t have to say the words. I wouldn’t have to remember it again for them, like I’d remembered it for Julia. “I need to go now. Please. That’s as nice as I’m gonna ask.”

  Now that I knew Anne’s last name, I could contact her on my own. Later. Maybe she’d actually let me talk to her daughter again.

  “Wait, Sera.” Kris stepped forward, and his eyes seemed to see nothing else. Nothing but me. “Please. I have a proposition for you.”

  Anne’s brows rose.

  “What proposition?” Kori asked, scowling, but her brother didn’t even glance at her.

  “Work with us. Please. Work for us, if you need to see this as a real job. We’ll pay you. We need you.”

  Olivia frowned. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  “I don’t want your money,” I said before he could answer her. “I don’t want anything from you, except for an open door.” And another chat with Hadley, when I was ready. When I’d had time to prepare myself for what I might hear.

  “Fine. Then let us work for you. As payment.” Kris stepped closer, and his gaze intensified. This meant something to him. “An exchange of services.”

  I have to admit, I was curious. “Work for me...how?”

  “However you need us. Whatever you wanted Julia to do for you. We’ll do it, and you won’t be indebted to the fucking mafia.”

  “We don’t even know what she wants done,” Ian pointed out.

  “We don’t have time to work for her!” Vanessa insisted. “We have to find Kenley. That’s top priority.”

  “Agreed,” Kori said, and everyone else nodded.

  “Of course.” Kris never even looked at them. “And Sera can help us with that. In return we’ll owe her.”

  I shook my head slowly, thoroughly confused. “I can’t help you. For the last time, I don’t know anything about the Towers. I can’t find your sister.”

  “No, but you can keep us hidden while we find her. All you’d have to do is hang out with us. Just...stay, and come with us when we go out.” He turned to the rest of them then, glancing from face to face. “Julia won’t stop looking for us just because she has Kenley. She wants most of us dead.” He aimed a pointed look at Kori and Ian, who—I remembered—had killed Julia’s brothers. My biological father and uncle. “Sera can virtually hide us in plain sight.”

  They seemed to think about that for a moment.

  “Then she could stay even after we find Kenni...” Kori glanced at me. “If you would stay, and hide Kenley while she finishes...her work.”

  I had no idea what that meant. I had no idea what Kenley’s work was, but I could certainly hide her. However... “What makes you think you can do what I need done?”

  Kris actually smiled. “You happen to be in the presence of a sort of Skilled syndicate microcosm. Kori is a former syndicate bodyguard/hit man.”

  “Not by choice,” she muttered. “And it’s hit woman. Though I prefer ‘badass assassin.’”

  “Whatever you call her, she’s the best,” Kris said, and his sister looked somewhat mollified. “Liv and Cam are currently syndicate Trackers, on the other side of the city. Ian is a former Marine—Special Forces. There’s no skull he can’t bust.”

  “It was a little more delicate of a job than that.” Ian looked insulted. “Though there was plenty of busting skulls.”

  “Also, he can practically make his own damn eclipse. Which dovetails nicely with the Skill Kori and I share. Once we get Kenley back, we’ll have a Binder, and I—” He shrugged, not quite self-depreciatingly. “I’m good at finding things.”

  “And finding people...” I remembered what he’d told me earlier. A people-finder was exactly what I needed. Also, a people-executioner.

  Kris was right. Together, they represented a nearly complete cross-section of the Skilled population. And if I agreed, they’d have a Jammer.

  But if we were going to do this...

  I took a deep breath, then glanced around the room. “If I’m going to seriously consider working with you guys, you should know what you’re getting into.”

  Kori shrugged. “Whatever it is, we’ve probably done it before.”

  I hoped she was wrong. But then again, practical experience would come in handy.

  I took another deep breath, but that one wasn’t enough to calm me. To fill the hole in my chest that had been growing since that horrible night. “A few months ago, my family...died.” I avoided the M-word at the last second, with a glance at Hadley. If she hadn’t seen any specifics of their murder, I wasn’t going to mentally lead her to the scene of the crime. “Unpleasantly. All of them.” I could tell from the looks of empathy and comprehension that the adults had all heard the part I hadn’t said. Even Gran. “I wanted Julia to find the man responsible. And end him.”

  I waited for the objections, or at least some shocked protests. But none came.

  Kori glanced at Ian, who glanced at Liv, who glanced at Kris, and they all seemed to come to the same conclusion at the exact same time.

  Kris nodded. “Okay.”

  I blinked at them. “That’s it? Just like that? You’re all okay with just...ending someone?”

  “Just someone?” Kori met my gaze with a frank one of her own. “No. A cold-blooded murderer? Yeah. I’m good with it.”

  “Oh.” I wasn’t sure why that surprised me as much as it did. Obviously, I was okay with it, too. It was my idea. The driving force behind my existence for the past few months. But I’d never expected to find a squad of assassins ready and willing to help me carry such a task out.

  I made a mental note not to look that particular gift horse in the mouth.

  “Okay, then. You have yourself a Jammer. Just so we’re clear, though, I’m free to leave whenever I want, right? This is no longer a hostage situation?”

  Kris rolled his eyes. “It never was.”

  “Then...can someone take me to get my stuff?”

  Kori stood, but Kris was faster. “Yeah. The sooner the better.”

  “Great.” I headed straight for the closet door with Kris behind me, but I turned back when I remembered what I’d never gotten a chance to say earlier. “Oh, Anne?” I said, and she looked up. “Your daughter is no ordinary Seer.”

  “What do you mean?” She looked decidedly nervous.

  “She doesn’t just see the future. She can also see the past.”

  Eight

  Kris

  It was nearly midnight by the time we left the hideout house to go after Sera’s things, which meant the outside world would still be one big den of shadows. Including most of the Tower property, except where the perimeter lights would render my shadow-walking ability null around the exterior of the entire property.

  According to my sisters, motion sensors were scattered throughout the grounds and if triggered, they would activate floodlights, which would both highlight our position and prevent our escape. Fortunately, Kori remembered enough to mark the motion sensors for me on a hand-drawn map of the property. She didn’t think Julia would have gotten around to changing the exterior security features, considering that so far, both of their breaches had originated from inside the house itself.

  I held Sera’s hand as we stepped through the dark hall closet and into the cool fall night. Thanks to the moon, stars and lights from the Tower house, nature’s darkness wasn’t as black as the closet, but it was more than dark enough to accommodate my Skill. As we took our first step on T
ower’s thick lawn, I had to remind myself to take my hand back. It didn’t want to let go of hers.

  I was on alert, my every nerve ending buzzing from the knowledge that we could be discovered at any moment and that even if we weren’t shot on sight or imprisoned by light, Sera couldn’t escape without me and my Skill. I stayed as close to her as possible and told myself it was for her safety.

  We started in a patch of deep shadows to the left of the rounded front porch, not close enough to trigger sensors built into the walls, but not exposed enough to be easily seen in dark clothes. Sera’s were borrowed from Kori. They clung to her in places they didn’t cling to my sister—thank goodness—and I almost wished for normal, non-shadow-walker night vision, to render me immune to the distraction.

  “It’s gone,” she whispered, staring at the broad, semi-circular driveway, and I had to refocus my thoughts to remember why we were there. Sera was like a mental magnet, constantly pulling my focus off true north. She set me spinning, like a compass needle with no direction. She was a dangerous distraction. A beautiful, enigmatic distraction...who was saying something I should listen to. “My car is gone.”

  I glanced at the front of the house. The driveway was empty. “They probably moved it around back.” Where most of the employees parked, according to Kori.

  Rather than walk around the huge house and risk triggering an alarm, I took us through the shadows once more. This time we stepped out onto an open patch of grass behind the small, half-empty parking lot.

  “That’s it.” She pointed to a small blue four-door sedan, one of only five cars on the lot, which gave me hope that Julia ran a skeleton crew at night. Sera’s car was parked next to the tall industrial lamp rising from the center of the lot. It was completely drenched in light. We couldn’t get to it without risking being seen by anyone patrolling the grounds. Or simply looking out a rear-facing window.

  “Is there anything in there that can’t be replaced?” Shopping was much safer than sneaking around in Tower’s backyard. And considering that they’d already moved her car, Julia’s men could just as easily have taken her stuff to dig for private information. Middle names. Policy numbers. Receipts. Anything that could give them something to use against her.