Breathe Into Me

by Nikki Drost

  “We will hit them hard and fast and show them that we will not tolerate our loved ones to be threatened. I have never relished in taking a life, but as you all know, sometimes it is a necessary evil. Today is one of those days, I for one plan on making one hell of a bloody mess. We will not give up until every one of our enemies has taken their last breaths. Take a moment to pray to whatever god you worship. Now let’s go unleash hell.”

  Chapter 21

  “Move it, gorgeous,” Farron says as he drags me down a long hallway of a small abandoned hospital. I glance around at the army of armed men. Panic grips me as I ponder what’s to come. My kidnapper unlocks a door and pushes Kelsey and me inside. The room is small with nothing but a couple of mattresses placed on the floor. A door on the left opens into a small bathroom. Streetlights outside of the two barred windows provide the room’s only light.

  “Don’t bother getting too comfortable ladies, you won’t be here long,” Farron says as he runs his eyes over the length of my body.

  I instinctively take a step back. “What are you going to do with us?”

  The sound of his laughter turns my stomach. “Oh I have big plans for the two of us, honey, but first I have to spread the word about your dead Enforcer.” He reaches out and fingers a strand of my hair. “I bet you taste so sweet.”

  I slap his hand and take another step back. “Keep your fucking hands off me.” Anger courses through me at the thought of this animal touching me or my friend.

  “I love a girl with some fight in her, but save it for later, sweetheart,” he growls.

  “You disgust me,” I fire back. All of my rage over what this monster has taken from me bursts free. “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done tonight. Do you really think Adam’s brothers won’t come after you? They will hunt you down and make you sorry that you were born. I just hope I’m there to watch as they take your head. Tears stream down my cheeks as the reality hits me that Adam is dead.

  “What did you say?” a male voice asks. I turn to my right as a familiar looking man steps out of the shadows. “What happened to my brother?” he demands.

  Oh my god, it’s Landon, I recognize him from that picture in the FBI file. He’s about an inch taller than his brother, but has the same dark curly hair only its cut short. His eyes are the same warm shade of honey. Other than a few bruises and scrapes, he seems relatively unharmed. I open my mouth, but the only thing that comes out is a sob. Kelsey pulls me into her arms as I collapse to my knees. This can’t be happening he can’t really be gone. Farron begins to laugh.

  “Oh I’m sorry, where are my manners? Landon, meet your dead brother’s mate.”

  Landon lunges forward, but is quickly subdued by three hulking men. “I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!” Landon struggles to free himself, but the men have a good grip on him.

  “Please, do you really think I’m scared of you? I killed one Horseman tonight and injured the other three. The only reason you’re still alive is because the Alpha still has use for you.”

  Images of Adam struggling for breath flash in my head and I begin to sob harder.

  “Now if you’ll all excuse me I have shit to do, but don’t worry, baby, I’ll be back for you soon.”

  The three men holding Landon shove him back against the wall and follow their boss out of the room. I hear the door being locked as I struggle to breath. The anguish I feel is so overwhelming, I feel as though my heart is literally breaking. Landon crouches a few feet away from me.

  “Please, tell me he’s lying, Adam can’t be dead.”

  I wipe the tears from my face as I focus on the man in front of me. “He’s telling the truth,” I sob.

  “I don’t believe it,” Landon says as he begins to pace the floor. “Wait, do you know what we are?”

  I nod my head.

  “Then you know what it takes to kill us.”

  As I explain how Adam was murdered, Landon falls to his knees. Tears begin to stream down his cheeks.

  “We must have faith that Adam is alright, he is strong and powerful, and if anyone could survive it’s my brother.”

  I can’t blame Landon for his denial. I saw it with my own eyes and still don’t want to accept it.

  “Someone needs to explain to me what the hell is going on here.”

  Oh god Kelsey, in all of the chaos I’d forgotten that she saw the men shift tonight. I notice her tear stained face and wonder if she’s afraid or if those tears are for, Jamie.

  “The men who kidnapped us are shape shifters, coyotes I think.”

  Landon nods his head in conformation.

  “Adam and his brothers are wolves, except for Lincoln, he’s a bear.” I wish I could ease her into this, but there isn’t any time. God only knows what those men have planned for us.

  “I don’t believe this, how is this possible?”

  For the next several minutes, I try to explain it the best way I can. I stress the points that we are only in danger from the men holding us captive and that Jamie and the others are most likely fine. All in all, I think she’s handling it better than I did.

  “I should’ve known they weren’t human, they are way too hot.” Kelsey’s attempt at humor comforts me, once we get out of this it might take her sometime, but I’m sure she’ll come to terms with all of this.

  “Andy, I’m so sorry about Adam. I’ll do whatever I can to help you through this.”

  I nod my head as more tears roll down my face. I can’t believe I’ll never be with Adam again. I’ll never see his smile or hear his laugh. I bring my shirt up to my nose, the scent of clean air, and sunshine pushes me over the edge and I begin to cry uncontrollably. Strong arms wrap around me.

  “Please don’t cry, Andy, my brother would hate it if he knew you were so upset.”

  I know he’s right, Adam hadn’t liked seeing me cry when we were in the shower and I had been upset about his scarred back.

  “Your right, I can cry later. We need to get out of here.” I wipe my face with the back of my hand as determination washes over me. I’m not going to sit here like some fairytale princess and wait to be rescued.

  “I’ve been trying to get out of here for the last few days. But to be honest even if we could escape this room you two wouldn’t survive long. We are too high up for you to jump and there is no way you could outrun them. I’m afraid we are going to have to bide our time and wait for back up.”

  I scan the room for something, anything to use as a weapon, but the room is completely empty.

  “I promise I won’t let anything happen to the two of you.”

  I wish I could believe that. Landon might be a shifter, but he’s not an Enforcer, and he doesn’t have any powers. I try to ignore my rising fear. We are nothing but sitting ducks in this room.

  ***

  Several hours have passed and thankfully, we’ve been left alone. I talked Kelsey into getting some sleep. It took me a while, but she finally gave in.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  Landon nods his head. “You can ask me anything, you are my brother’s mate after all. We will forever be family.”

  His kind words touch my heart. “Why is your step brother doing all of this? And why does he hate your family?”

  Those are only some of the questions that have been bothering me since this whole thing started.

  Landon runs his hand through his short curly hair. “It’s complicated, Andy, when you live as long as we do enemies can add up. Grudges can last for centuries if not longer. Terric’s father and my family have a long history that goes back to the twelfth century. You can imagine how shocked I was when I found out my father was going to marry his enemy’s widow. Of course now we know that was just one more set up.”

  Jeez and I thought I could hold a grudge for a long time.

  “Terric and his father have finally come up with a way to kill my father and ruin his reputation at the same time.” He shakes his head in disgust. “They have to know my father will prevail, he always
does. Dominick Stone is a force of nature all his own. You’d have to be completely out of your mind to fuck with him. Every shifter who was involved with Adam’s …death now has a target on his back. My father will not rest until they have paid with their lives. And then there is the little matter of you.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat. “What do you mean?”

  Landon begins to chuckle. “You are the mate of his eldest son, and by our laws you are entitled to certain perks. One of them being protection by a member of our family, and as Adam’s only biological brother that honor falls to me, and it would be an honor. One I will take very seriously.”

  Watching him come to grips with the truth is heartbreaking. If anyone understands the pain I’m feeling, it’s this man. “That’s a very generous offer but I can’t-”

  Landon cuts off my reply. “You don’t understand, Andy. Our enemies aren’t just going to leave you alone because Adam is gone. Until Terric and his father are dead, you are not safe. I will be your protector until that day happens. Once they are eliminated, you will inherit all of Adam’s wealth, and if you ever need anything and I mean anything at all, all you have to do is ask. My family will always be there for you. I owe my brother everything and now the only way I can repay him is by watching over you. Please do not take that away from me.” His sad brown eyes and heartfelt words bring new tears to my eyes.

  “Thank you, Landon, you are a good man.” There is no way I can deny him this. If watching over me helps him deal with the loss of his brother then who am I to take that from him?

  “You know when we were growing up Adam idolized our father. He wanted to be just like him, strong, commanding, and respected. I on the other hand wanted to be like my brother. He was so brave, smart, and kindhearted. He will always be my hero.”

  I offer him a warm smile. “You are more alike than you think.”

  Landon’s shy smile mimic’s his brothers and seeing it causes twinges of pain. The sound of the unlocking door sends me into a panic. I quickly wake Kelsey and Landon moves in front of us as the door opens. Farron walks in wearing a sinister grin.

  “If you try anything funny I’ll take it out on the females, understand?”

  Landon nods as he’s handed a cell phone. “Hello? No, I’m fine, Dad. Yes, the women are alright. I promise. Of course, I understand.” He hands the phone back to the extremely happy coyote.

  “I’ll text message you in a few hours with a time and place. See you soon, old man.” He closes his phone and lets out a cheer. “Hot damn I’m rich. I knew taking these humans was going to be beneficial.” He begins to sigh. “I feel like celebrating, how’s about we find an empty room, sweetheart.”

  Landon moves in front of him blocking his access to me. “I don’t think so, if you touch either one of these woman my father won’t pay you a fucking dime.”

  Farron stands nose to nose with my new bodyguard. “When Dominick gets here we’re going to kill him and take the money anyway. So it doesn’t matter what I do to them does it, boy?”

  He attempts to get to me once again, but Landon throws out a right hook, and the sound of crunching bones echoes off the barren walls. He hooks his foot in the coyote’s leg and sends him to the ground causing the shifters head to bounce off the linoleum floor. Landon places his booted foot against Phelps throat.

  “I will not let you hurt them do you understand me?”

  Holy shit, maybe I underestimated his skills. I’ve only seen moves like that from one other man.

  “If any of you touch them, the deal is off and by my honor I will see you all dead. Now get the fuck out.”

  He removes his foot and positions himself between us, and the three men in the room.

  “You little bastard, you’ve been holding out on us.”

  Landon chuckles as he crosses his arms over his chest. “You can’t really be this stupid, I was taught by the best there is, now get out and do not come back until it’s time to make the trade.”

  The three men release growls, but back out of the room.

  “I was just going to kill you when your father got here, but now I think I’ll make you watch as I violate both women,” Farron chuckles as he closes the door behind him.

  “Asshole,” Landon growls. “I long for the days when males had a sense of honor and chivalry,” he says as he takes a seat on the opposite mattress and leans his body against the wall.

  “Where in the hell did you learn moves like that?” Kelsey asks with awe in her voice.

  “My father and uncles were once Templar Knights. Not to mention the Spartan and Roman blood that runs through my veins. I guess you can say I come from a long line of warriors.”

  I’ll say. No wonder Adam had so easily taken out those four men at the bar.

  “I wanted to be an Enforcer like my brother, but he wouldn’t allow me to join, and since he was one of the four who trained new recruits, I needed his approval, although I guess I don’t need to worry about that now.”

  After meeting Landon, I can understand why Adam didn’t want him to fight.

  “I’m sure your brother just wanted to keep you safe. He was so worried about you when he found out you were missing. He had vowed to find you.” I have no doubt if he had lived, he would’ve stormed in here with both guns blazing.

  “That was always my brother’s problem, every time he looked at me he saw me as a little boy, not a grown male, and now because of that bastard I’ll never get the chance to fight by my brother’s side.” He sighs heavily. “Look, it’s going to be awhile before my father can get here. Why don’t the two of you get some sleep, I’ll stay up and keep watch.”

  I nod my head as I release a yawn. I’m so worn out both emotionally and physically. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sleep, but I really should try just in case we have to fight our way out of here. Kelsey and I settle in next to each other and I conjure images of the man I will love for the rest of my life and close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

  ***

  “Andy, wake up.”

  I feel a firm hand on my shoulder and for a brief moment, I think it’s Adam. Landon’s face comes into focus and disappointment washes over me.

  “What’s going on?” I ask as I rub the sleep from my eyes.

  “I’m not sure, but something has every one rattled.”

  I can’t hear anything, but that doesn’t mean that he’s wrong. I look out one of the windows into the darkness and scan the area. All I can see is an empty parking lot and a few streetlights, but that’s it. The sounds of people running up and down the halls catch’s my attention. What the hell is going on? Our door crashes open and several heavily armed men enter the tiny space. Farron pushes his way to the front of the pack.

  “On your feet all of you!” He raises his arm and points a gun in our direction. Fear over takes me as Kelsey and I scramble to our feet. Landon had moved in front of us the moment the door had opened.

  “All the fire power is a little unnecessary don’t you think? It’s not like we’re not going to go with you freely,” Landon says sarcastically.

  “Shut the fuck up! It appears the Shaw’s underestimated your father and his pack of misfit shifters. So now my orders have changed.”

  Landon begins to laugh. “Let me guess, my father slaughtered everyone of Tavish’s pansy ass followers, am I right?”

  An angry Farron raises his gun and places the muzzle against Landon’s chest. “I told you to shut your mouth.”

  Landon glances down at the gun and back at the man holding the weapon. “Why should I? My father has your Alpha running scared and he wants you to tie up loose ends. You have to realize killing us is only going to make it worse for you. Make no mistake you will pay with your life for what you did to my brother. The question is how quickly do you want to die? My uncle Isaiah has a natural talent for prolonging death and from what I hear the Angel of death is a friend to the Enforcers. I’m sure you’ve heard of him seeing as how he created vampires. I can only image the damage that
Angel will do to your soul. Not to mention God’s personal hit man, Sariel. Do you really believe you can piss off Archangels and get away with it?”

  Landon cocks his head to the side as he appraises the men in front of him. “Do you know anything about the original seven? They aren’t robe wearing harp playing pansies. They are terrifying beyond all belief. There is no place you can hide, for all you know they’ve been here watching you this whole time. I’d say you’re screwed all the way around buddy.”

  Several men begin to scan the room.

  “Nice try, but your little speech isn’t going to talk me out of killing the three of you. I’m not scared of anything especially not Angels.”

  Landon shrugs his broad shoulders. “Maybe not, but your boys don’t seem to have the same confidence as you do.”

  The men in the room appear visibly nervous as they wildly look about the small room.

  “What the hell is wrong with you guys? Grow some fucking balls the kid is just trying to fuck with your heads,” Farron yells.

  “I don’t know boss, all of us have had this uneasy feeling all night,” a medium built man with blonde hair says as he continues to search the room.

  “You told us this was going to be a piece of cake, all we had to do was kill some humans and some Enforcers. You didn’t say anything about fucking with Horsemen or fucking Angels,” a man with dark hair says.

  “If you want them dead you’re going to have to do it yourself, we’re out of here.” As the men start for the door the sound of thunder rumbles in the distance. Lightning bolts light up the dark sky as the clouds merge and begin to churn. The force of the wind hits the building and the windows begin to rattle. The surrounding tree’s bend, and sway in all directions. Some lose limbs, some snap in half under the pressure. A loud bang rings out and sparks fly from a nearby transformer. Power lines rip from their poles and fall to the asphalt.