by Honor James
She couldn’t believe that he was there. How was he there? Was this some kind of trick? When her hands were free, though, she touched him and, feeling the realness of him, pulled him close and held him tight. She still had duct tape over her mouth and around her legs, but her arms were free and right now that meant she could hold onto Artaxias.
When he freed her legs and then carefully cut through the tape on her mouth, she waited until it was off to swallow hard. “How did I get here?” she whispered now. Her nose was runny, eyes filled with water, but he was there and he wasn’t letting her go. “Last thing I recall, you left me to go to a call and I started work on my computer and then nothing.” Once more, she wrapped her arms around him tightly. “I haven’t seen anyone. I woke up like this,” she whispered against his ear.
His hand rubbed up and down her back slowly. “I’ve got you,” he murmured, rocking her back and forth. “The cavalry is about twenty minutes out, though. So we need to be very careful. We also need to see if we can get out of here. Finding out who took you and why would be helpful as well. Especially since, for all intents and purposes, you vanished from just outside the cafeteria. Your scent didn’t. Ansell tracked you right through the building and out a side door. But somehow you avoided every single camera in the place.”
“How in the hell is that possible? That place is wired like mad. No one can get through the cameras…” She trailed off and then whispered, “Unless someone was there to route through the cameras, shifting or turning them away from where I was walking. But then, that would mean someone inside of the facility is helping whoever it is killing these people.”
“Exactly,” he told her quietly. He cupped her face and kissed her gently. “We’ll figure this out. The place is off the grid, so we know it’s someone inside. Someone with the skills to do this. The captain already has someone looking into it. We don’t know what set you off or how yet, but I’m betting it was the same person that was keeping you off Big Brother’s watch. And since access is limited to your domain, they likely got to you through the computer. Do you remember anything, anything at all after I left? What you were working on? What you might have opened, file-wise?”
Lilly had to think for several minutes. A frown crossed her brow, but finally she said, “An e-mail. I got an e-mail from…” She had to keep thinking. Her head started to hurt, her lip hurting from her biting it so much. “From…” she whispered and felt the buzzing in her head, the pain blossoming in her head as she tried to think of who it was that had e-mailed her.
“Stop.” He shook her slightly. “It’s okay. We’ll find it, baby.” He hauled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “But now, we need to focus on getting out of here.” He pulled out a gun and handed it to her. “You ready? And love, if you need to shoot someone, shoot to wound. We need people alive to question and get answers from. We have enough corpses that are just giving us more questions.”
She nodded and licked her lips. “Damn, and I was hoping to be able to shoot to kill.” She, however, followed along behind him, her hand touching his back simply because she had to touch him. She needed to touch him. “Out of here.” She was all for that one!
“Sorry, love, not this time. Maybe when it’s all said and done, I can get you on the firing squad for this assholes,” he said in a low murmur. Easing open a door, he stuck his head out and then swung it wider. Reaching back, he caught her wrist and tucked her fingers in at the back of his jeans. “Hold tight and keep an eye out behind us. Take out gun arms and legs. Try to avoid the femoral, though, if at all possible.”
“I will work on it,” she promised him. “And don’t worry, I’m not letting go of you for anything.” He was there. He was real, and he was hers. “Never, ever again will I let you go. I mean it. So get used to having me around.”
“Not a problem for me,” he said. Squeezing her wrist lightly, he let go and squared off. “Ready?” he asked, shooting her a quick look. At her nod, he lowered his center of gravity a little. “We’re going to move slow and smooth. Check all the doors twice and do a full sweep as we go. You watch our backs in case there’s a sleeper here. We have to get up to the main floor and then out of the house. It’s old and it’s going to make noise, but we’re going to go as quiet as we can. Keep your ears open, and if you hear anything, give a yank. Until we’re out, we’re going to stay quiet unless absolutely necessary.”
She nodded to him and took a deep breath. “Are there reinforcements on the way?” she asked hopefully. “Because I have no idea how many people are here and how many people have come and gone.” She just knew she woke tied to a fucking chair.
“The whole lot of them. That’s where I disappeared to before I came back. I had to tell them where you were,” he said softly. “Now focus, love, we’re on our own for another few minutes and I really don’t feel like sitting down here. That whole sitting-duck shit is not for me.”
She couldn’t agree more. Sitting duck was not a look that either of them wore well. Sucking it up, she nodded again. “All right, let’s get this over and done with. Let’s get our asses up the stairs and into the sun, or night, or whatever time of day it is.”
“Full quiet, then. I need to be able to hear a heartbeat or a breath. And not just yours,” he said with a crooked grin. Then he fell quiet and signaled them forward. Moving slowly, he checked each doorknob they came across. They were in a hallway of sorts, coming up to an open space, hopefully where the stairs were to take them up to the next floor.
Lilly shut her mouth then. She followed along behind him, her weapon sweeping out to ensure that they weren’t being followed, her training kicking in where it needed to. She watched the shadows as she moved, ensuring that her mate’s back was protected as they did move, and prayed that they got the hell out of there before the conditions worsened for them.
He tapped her wrist as they came to the large space. No one was there. Hell, if there was anyone in the place, she’d be surprised. It was freakishly quiet. But they gained the stairs and he paused again. Turning his head, he leaned in, his lips to her ear. “Stay at the bottom until I get up top. To one side, keep watch. Stairs are bad—you know it, I know it. One creak could warn someone if they’re up there to what we’re doing. When I make it to the top, I’ll signal you up. Come up slow, stay to the side where the creak will be less obvious. Then we start a sweep on the main floor and head for the nearest exit. Door or window, I don’t care.”
Lilly nodded. “Got it. Just be careful. I mean it. Not a scratch,” she muttered to him and put her back to the wall. Nodding, she smiled. “Go, go so we can get the hell out of here,” she whispered softly to him.
Smiling, he gave her a wink and then lifted his weapon up. He put his back to a wall and moved slowly up the stairs. At each step, he paused, eased his weight forward, and then moved up the step. He was testing them, trying to see if there was a squeak before he let out a full-fledged one. It was slow, all the slower because she just wanted out of there. Then he was at the top, leaning over to peer under the door. He gave her a thumbs-up before he turned the knob and moved out of sight around it. A moment later, he was back and signaling her up, finger to his lips in warning, of course.
She moved up just as he had, silently, on the steps. She kept her feet moving and as close to the wall as possible. Making it to the top, she pressed her back to the wall and looked up at him once more. One single nod was all she gave to signal that she was ready to move through the door and into God only knew what.
He turned so his back was to her, but didn’t move until she’d put her hand on his waistband again. Only then did he signal her forward. They moved slowly through the house. Every now and again, Ax would pause, tilt his head, and then continue onward. They found a door finally, thankfully. But he didn’t head out right away. He pulled her close to him and pressed her back to the wall, his lips pressed to her ear. “I don’t want to move until the others arrive, if we can help it. It’s pretty exposed out there and we’d be sitting ducks.
”
Lilly nodded and wrapped herself around him as tightly as she could. Just holding him, being held by him was what she needed. “We wait, then.” Her weapon was still up, her eyes still watching everything around them as she did so. “Swear to me when we get out of this we will bond so that you can keep me from being programmed or whatever it is again?” she whispered against his ear.
“Fucking right we will,” he said quietly. He squeezed her closer and pressed a kiss on her jaw. “I almost couldn’t find you. It was just the faintest of threads I found,” he said with a sigh. He nipped at her jaw and then soothed the small sting with his tongue.
“Good,” she whispered. “How long until they get here? Please tell me that it will be soon. I need to be with you both. Gods, I want to be with you both. I want to complete our bond. I want to stop this whole programming thing, and when we find who did this to me I’m going to damn well beat the shit out of them myself.”
“Shh,” he whispered. He looped his arm around her neck and pulled her in closer to him. “They are coming, I can feel Gavriel’s energy. A few more minutes. Take a few deep breaths, Lil. We’ll be getting out of here soon. But you still need to be focused here, right now. One mistake could cause you harm, and that I won’t stand for.”
She nodded and did as instructed. Focusing, she turned her attention back to the shadows, back to the danger that lurked there, determined to keep both herself and Artaxias safe. She would do this, she could do this. A few more minutes, her mind latched onto. A few more minutes.
He tensed suddenly. “They’re here.” Turning her around, he put her back to the wall. Digging in his pockets, he pulled out his new cell and sent off a text. “Gav and the others are coming in, slow sweep. We’re to stay put until they clear the grounds and the rest of the house.”
“Sounds good.” She took in a deep breath and nodded. “We will do this. We will get to safety and then somehow, we will find them,” she promised. Somehow, some way they would find whomever had tagged her, and they would punish them.
“We’re going to break their tie with you and have them come to us, on our terms, on our turf. And we’ll make them pay for all they’ve put you through. Period.” He kissed her hard, a light scrape of his teeth telling her just how pissed off he was behind the calm facade.
“Good,” she growled right back at him. “Because that’s what I want as well. I want them to pay for what they did to me, to us. I need for them to pay for it. And I want the tie with you and Gav. Need it. So we need to hurry before I lose control and attack your beautiful ass right here.”
Chuckling, she saw a small flash of his fangs. “You are rather saucy in dangerous situations, aren’t you? I rather like it. But we do need to wait until we get home for what you have in mind, my dear. And I think you should have a nice long, hot shower first.” His lips twitched slightly, but otherwise he told her that with a perfect straight expression.
“I think that sounds like a very, very good idea. I really and truly believe that we need to finish this up, get home as soon as possible, and yes, a shower is a good idea.” She felt disgusting right now and wanted to be clean. “But not alone,” she added. “I don’t want to be alone for a very, very long time, please,” she admitted to him softly. “Promise me that I won’t be alone for a long time?”
“I would handcuff you to me if I didn’t know for a fact you’d use it to your advantage at every turn. And some of us do have reputations to uphold. But yes, you will not be left alone for even a second until we catch these assholes. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is going to happen to you again. We screwed up once, we won’t do it again.” He turned his head slowly, his body predator-still. “They’re coming, gun up in the air, finger off the trigger.” He moved his own to point at the ceiling and lifted his other hand into a surrender position.
Lilly did the same thing, weapon up in the air and coming out in a surrender pose. When she saw Gavriel exit the vehicle and come toward them, she didn’t even hesitate. She raced to him and wrapped her arms around him and held onto him tightly.
“I’ve got you, darling.” Gav hugged her tightly. She felt his entire body shudder when he buried his face in her neck. “You had me scared,” he whispered softly, squeezing her closer. “I have never been that terrified in my entire life.”
“I had me scared, too,” she confessed but didn’t lessen her hold on him. If anything, she tightened her hold on him. “I’m never letting you go,” she whispered in confession. “Neither of you. I want us to bond tonight, as soon as we can, because I never want to be vulnerable like that again,” she whispered with tears freely flowing from her eyes. “Can we go home, please?”
“Yeah, love, we can go home,” he said, pressing kisses to her cheek. “The captain will understand, I’m sure. We’ll just do the write-up tomorrow, early. Ensure he’s kept happy so we can stay happy. Come on.” He loosened his hold enough to turn slightly. Walking her toward the truck, he kept her tight at his side. “We’ll get in and wait for Ax to join us, and then we’re going home, locking the doors, and not coming out until after you are ours.”
“Good,” she whispered and nodded. “Because I refuse to leave before we have all three bonded. I refuse to leave before we are able to all have our forever. Our happiness and our well-being hinges on it. And I never, ever want to be taken again. I mean it.”
“I know darling, I know,” he said. Opening the passenger door, he urged her into the front seat of the SUV and slid in with her. Lifting her into his lap, he wrapped his arms around her. “I should have been there. If I hadn’t been running late I’d have been there and this wouldn’t have happened.”
“No, it would have still happened,” she whispered. “I might have hurt you if you had been with me,” she whispered. “And that’s not something that I ever would have been able to survive, if I had harmed you in any way at all.”
“You wouldn’t have,” he said, his voice very confident. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he let out a shuddering breath. “But we’ll never know, I wasn’t there and you never had to test yourself. It matters little now. We have you back, we will bond and we will break whatever this damned tie is to these freaks. No one takes you and gets away with it. No one hurts you and lives.”
“I agree,” she whispered and leaned into him. Sighing heavily, she rubbed her cheek to his chest. “I love you, Gav. I need you and Ax both in my life, for now and always. I’m never letting you go and you are never letting me go. We will break this bond, and then we will go for the sons of bitches that did this to us.” Because it was to them, not just her.
Gavriel just nodded and hugged her to him again. The driver side door opened and Artaxias slid in. After starting the engine, he reached over to touch her hand and gave it a squeeze. He stared at her for a long moment before he got them moving.
Lilly found herself reaching out and touching Artaxias as they drove. She needed the connection to both men. She had to touch both of them, because they were hers and she was theirs. It simply was the way that it was. She didn’t watch where they went, she simply rested her head on Gavriel’s shoulder.
Gav’s fingers stroked her arm, Ax’s were tangled with hers and the silence was heavy in the cab of the SUV. It wasn’t tension from what they’d left so much as what they were driving toward. She knew that both men were more than ready to be with her, tie their lives to hers, and the closer they got to the house, the more the sensation grew. Artaxias was throwing her looks, hot, heavy, and telling looks. Gavriel was starting to run his fingers over her thigh, higher each time and curling a little closer to her pussy with each stroke. Then they were at the house and getting out.
When they finally made it to the house, Lilly didn’t even hesitate. Turning in Gav’s arms, she pressed her forehead to his and rubbed her nose to his. “I need you. Both of you. Now.” She growled, a moment before nipping his lip with her teeth. She heard Ax get out of the SUV but couldn’t move, didn’t have the willpower to move. Instead she kissed
Gavriel.
The door on her side was pulled open, and a hand on her shoulder drew her attention. “Inside the house where it’s warm and safe,” Artaxias told her. “Come on, Lil, let’s get you in and cleaned up, and then we are going to ensure nothing like this happens again.” He stepped back and held a hand out to her.
“I couldn’t agree more.” She would let them take care of her, just as she would take care of them. Placing her hand in his, she gave his hand a squeeze and smiled. “I love you both, I trust you both. We will make this work, the three of us together, right?”
He smiled and nodded, she actually got to see a bit of fang. Apparently he wasn’t quite so careful, when he was somewhere he deemed safe, with his smiles. Tugging on her hand, he caught her when she tumbled out of the SUV. Catching her up in his arms, he hugged her to him and kissed her cheek.
Lilly wrapped her arms around him, and her legs as well, and kissed him back. Just a little kiss on the cheek wouldn’t do. She wanted more, she damn well needed more, and after waiting all this time she wasn’t going to waste another second of time.
Kissing her hard, Artaxias began to move slowly and steadily toward the house. She could feel when they went up the stairs. She knew Gav was there. She’d heard the truck door shut and could now hear the jingle of keys. The door slammed shut behind them as Ax nibbled on her mouth before kissing her hard again.
She was moaning against his lips, against his mouth. A whimper of a sound came from her. Desperation and need flooded her. “Please,” she begged against his lips when they parted only for a moment. “So good,” she added with a sob of pure pleasure, pure delight.
“Bed,” he told her as he kept moving after a brief pause. She was guessing he’d waited on Gav to set the alarm, but honestly, she didn’t care. He was going up the stairs, one and two at a time, his cock rubbing at her clit through their combined clothing. And he was kissing her again as they moved down the hallway, his steps not nearly as smooth as they had been.