by Helen Scott
“Cin, wait!” he called out when he got into the kitchen.
She didn’t turn around or acknowledge him at all. Unease flowed through him, twisting his insides.
“Hyacinth!” He grabbed her by the arm when she was within reaching distance. “What’s going on?”
“Hi!” She smiled up at him. “I’m going to go wait in the car.”
“We didn’t come here in a car.”
“In Norman’s car, with his driver.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“That’s what Norman told me to do, so I’m going to go and do it.” She nodded along as she spoke. It was like he’d programmed her somehow to do whatever he told her.
“Cin, snap out of it!”
The kitchen staff started paying too much attention to them. Thad walked Cin to the back door, which was the direction she’d been heading.
“You’re supposed to wait in the car?” He had to figure out what Norman’s end game was.
“Yep!”
“And Norman’s meeting you in the car?”
“He is.”
“What happens when he gets to the car?”
“I don’t know. He said it would be fun, though!”
“I’m sure it will. Is anyone else meeting you?”
“Just the driver, unless Norman is surprising me with another guest!”
Cin was almost childlike in her openness and innocence right now. It was terrifying. His strong-willed, take-no-shit woman was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m going to make sure you get to the car, okay?”
“Sure!”
Thad walked out with Cin and followed her to the car. The driver got out and came around to open the door for her.
“Who are you?”
“Norman asked me to escort her. She’s a little bit loopier than normal.”
“Yeah, that shit hits some of them hard. Thanks, man, I’ve got it from here.”
“No worries.” Just as the driver started to turn to walk away, Thad decked him, clipping him just under his jaw. He must have hit a nerve, because the man went down like a sack of potatoes. Thad quickly gathered him up and stuffed him into the driver’s seat. Popping the trunk, he rooted around for something to tie the man down with. Suspiciously, there were already zip ties, rope, and duct tape back there.
He made it back just as the man opened his eyes. He quickly shoved a rag into his mouth and taped over it. Next was securing his hands. Thad zip-tied each wrist to the metal bars holding the headrest up. The driver was fully awake now and began to thrash about, stomping his feet on the pedals. The engine roared. Thad reached over, threw an elbow into the driver’s gut, and turned the key. He removed it and threw it out of reach for either of them.
Satisfied that the driver was secured, he went to check on Cin.
“How you doin’ back here?”
“You hit that man.”
“He was going to hurt you.”
“Oh!” She paused. “Thank you!”
“You’re most welcome. I’m going to take you somewhere more comfortable to wait for Norman, and then I’ll bring him to you. Does that sound good?”
“Sure!”
Thad breathed a sigh of relief. “Out you come, then.”
Cin clambered out of the car, and Thad put his hand on her shoulder.
“Close your eyes and we will be there in no time.”
“But how will I see to walk?”
“I’ll guide you.”
“Okay . . .”
Cin closed her eyes, and Thad jumped them both to the hotel room he had reserved earlier. He settled her there quickly before jumping back down and waiting for Norman. He was going to get what he needed one way or another.
Norman came out of the back of the casino a half hour later. He was too busy texting to notice Thad standing next to the door as he walked through it. Thad’s hand shot out and latched on to his shoulder before he jumped them both to the hotel room.
Norman let out a strangled cry when they arrived, and before he could gain his bearings, Thad ripped the cell phone out of his hands, shoved the man’s pocket square in his mouth, and duct-taped him to a chair.
“So, this is what’s going to happen: first, you’re going to tell me what the hell you did to my friend.” Thad glanced over at Cin, who was mercifully passed out on the bed. “Then, you’re going to tell me where you took Aster. If at any point I don’t like your answers, then you will experience pain. If your answers are satisfactory, then I let you go unharmed. Understand?”
Norman nodded his head.
“Good.” Thad sighed. He knew he was taking a risk doing this here, but he didn’t really have another choice. “I’m going to take the cloth out of your mouth. Scream and there will be trouble. I can always move us somewhere much more private.”
Anger blazed in Norman’s eyes. Thad immediately knew what Cin had been talking about earlier. His eyes were almost the opposite of Thad’s; his pupils blended with the dark irises almost completely. The fire of his anger cooled and turned icy as he watched Thad pull the rag out of his mouth.
“You have no idea of the shit storm you wandered into.” His voice came out in a jagged gasp.
“I think I can handle it.” Thad smirked. “But it’s nice of you to worry.”
“You’re one of the siren brothers. Not what I expected.”
“What the hell did you say to me?”
“You don’t know who I am? What I am? I’m shocked.” Norman sneered at Thad.
Thad refused to be derailed by games. This little jerk was going to tell him what he needed to know.
“What did you do to Cin?”
“Cin? Is that what she really calls herself?”
Thad almost punched him when he saw Norman’s gaze travel down Cin’s sleeping form.
“What did you do to her?” he growled out.
“Just a little burundanga, Devil’s Breath, in her drink. Shouldn’t hurt her. It was just enough to get her to leave with me. That is unless she’s sensitive to it, in which case she could OD. Unlikely, though.”
Thad wanted to rage at him, but he could tell Norman was trying to provoke him. Devil’s Breath had been around for a long time, generally it didn’t make it out of Colombia, but life was full of surprises.
Norman’s phone lit up in his hand.
“Looks like someone is trying to reach you.”
“And when I don’t show up with her, they’ll come looking too.”
“They won’t be able to find us if I don’t want them to.”
“That’s what you think.”
“Tell me where Aster is.”
Norman was doing his level best to intimidate Thad, but it wasn’t going to work. This scrawny little guy could not honestly believe there was anything he could say or do that would put the fear of the gods into him.
“Who’s Aster?”
“Blonde woman with visions.”
“Ah, yes. She could be anywhere by now. I drop the goods off at a predetermined location, just a middle man. I have no idea where they go after that.”
“Then why don’t you tell me where you dropped her off?”
“You think I’m scared of a little pain? You wouldn’t believe what I’ve endured.”
“Whatever, kid. One more chance. Where’d you drop the girl?”
“Somewhere you’ll never find her.” Norman grinned at him.
Thad shook out his shoulders and cracked his knuckles.
“You’re not as scary as you think, Siren.”
It was the last thing Norman said before Thad’s fist connected with his nose. There was a satisfying crunch and yelp from Norman.
He spluttered blood as he breathed through his mouth.
“You’re going to have to hit a lot harder than that.”
It went like that for a while. Punch. Snarky comeback. Punch. Even snarkier comeback.
Thad was less than amused.
“Thad?” Cin’s voice called out as he washed off his
bloodied knuckles in the bathroom.
“You’re awake!” He came out as he was drying his hands and watched as Cin’s eyes widened in surprise. He forgot he had taken off his shirt so he wouldn’t get blood on it. All he had on were the jeans he had stashed here earlier and the undershirt he had been wearing. He glanced down and could see why she was alarmed. The spray of blood from Norman had stained the T-shirt.
“Why is Norman here?” her voice whispered across the room to him.
“Because he drugged you. I needed to make sure you would be okay before I let him go. Plus, he gave up the location of the regular drop-off point.” Thad had no idea if she had heard him. After he’d told her she’d been drugged, her head snapped around and she stalked over to Norman.
“You drugged me?” Her voice was low with a dangerous edge.
“Just needed to get you to follow my lead. Nothing personal.” Thad could barely understand him through his swollen lips.
“You were going to sell her! How is that not personal?” Thad’s voice boomed more than he had intended, but he was mad. The gods be damned. He wasn’t about to let some jerk sell his woman to the highest bidder.
Cin’s head had whipped around to watch him. Her eyes were completely black, not a speck of color. Thad tried to swallow, but his throat was drier than a desert. What was she? Thad knew she hadn’t presented any powers so far—Julie had said as much—but had she not seen Cin’s eyes do this? The hazel had completely drained out of them, and the snake tattoo on her hand was moving. A tattoo was moving. Thad rubbed his eyes. Maybe he was losing it.
Cin was furious. She couldn’t remember ever being this angry before. Not even at her mom when they had their worst fights. This waste of space drugged her? What did he expect to do other than sell her? Abuse her? Murder her? She’d never been more thankful for Thad’s presence. As her anger abated and she actually took in the scene around her, she realized what must have been going on.
Thad was torturing him for information.
Cin wasn’t sure how she felt about that. On one hand, Norman was theoretically just doing his job, but on the other, how could he do that to another human being? Her self-doubt raised its ugly head. Was she human? Maybe she was something else, something more.
“Has he told you everything you wanted to know?” Her voice was husky, as though it had gone unused for a while.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“You’ll both be dead by the end of the week.” Norman ground the words out, his anger darkening his eyes even further. Cin couldn’t look at him, didn’t even want to be in the same room as him. There was something dark and evil wrapped around his soul, and she didn’t want any part of it.
One of the bruises on his face looked especially painful. Cin pushed a finger into the swollen skin, causing a pained grunt to emanate from Norman.
“That’s for my sister,” she whispered in his ear. “If I find out you kept selling people after this, then I’ll come back and finish what he started.”
“Please, little girl, you aren’t as scary as you think you are.”
“Maybe not now, but who knows what kinds of powers I might have waiting to come to the surface.”
“Don’t you remember? I told you what you are right before the Devil’s Breath consumed you.”
“Okay, smart ass. What am I?”
“Like I’m going to tell you now,” Norman sneered. “You don’t need a heads-up on what’s coming your way. You already feel it. The power is rising within you as we speak.”
“All that’s rising in me is how angry I am with you. And trust me, that’s not to your benefit.”
“How do you know what she is?” Thad’s voice rumbled from behind her. She had a brief flash of wanting to lash out at him for interrupting, but she quashed it as quickly as it raised its head. That kind of thing wasn’t like her.
“Because of what I am.” Norman’s voice had a different quality to it, something she couldn’t put her finger on but made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
“And what the hell are you?” Thad asked, taking over the questioning.
“An anima veggente.”
“A soul seer?” Thad’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought those had died out long ago.”
“We just became reclusive. Mostly we work for people who will pay us ridiculous amounts of money to do what comes naturally to us.”
“What’s a soul seer?” Cin asked when it became apparent that Thad had forgotten she didn’t know anything about this world.
Thad grumbled something under his breath that Cin couldn’t make out and continued ignoring her.
“Since the big baby over there doesn’t want to tell you, a soul seer is someone who has the ability to sense whether someone has supernatural abilities. The seer part comes into play as they see the abilities at their fullest potential. We see what you will become given time.” Norman glanced over at Thad with a wince. “They’ll be looking for me by now. I was supposed to show up with her a while ago.”
“Yeah, whatever, little man.” Thad paced from one end of the room to the other, his form filling Cin’s eyes whenever he came near. She wasn’t sure what was wrong, but she had the feeling he was trying to work something out in his head.
“We’re leaving,” Thad said abruptly.
“What about him?” Cin asked, gesturing to Norman.
“He stays.”
“But what about someone finding him?”
“I hope they do. Otherwise, he is going to be in for a lonely few days until he dies of dehydration.”
“Won’t it trace back to us?”
Thad came over and spoke in a very low voice right into her ear, making chills run down her arm. “No. I paid cash for the room and used a fake name. No one has seen us come or go from the room. We’re safe. I’ve done this before. Trust me.”
Chapter 16
Cin wasn’t sure about leaving Norman in the hotel room, but they were back at Thad’s place now, and her mind was full of questions. Dem had left the message decoded for them, along with a note telling Thad that he owed him.
“What does it say?” Cin demanded when Thad looked up from reading the decrypted message.
“I think you should sit down,” Thad said, pulling her hand toward a chair next to his.
“Oh god, what happened?” Cin’s world momentarily tilted, and she could smell smoke as though something was burning, but it righted itself when Thad spoke again.
“Nothing yet.” Thad took a deep breath. “It looks like they are planning on harvesting Aster’s eggs. The messenger said he, I’m guessing that’s whoever is in charge, wants to get them fertilized and into surrogate mothers so he can start creating a team of people with visions who all work for him.”
Cin’s mouth hung open. She didn’t even know what to say to that. The idea that the opportunity to have kids could be completely taken away from Aster was not something she found acceptable.
“When?” She hadn’t even realized she had spoken.
“Couple days.”
“What are we going to do?”
“There’s more. She’s been moved from their main building to a secondary site, a farmhouse somewhere. Apparently, our messenger will have to go with Aster and the guy who’s running everything.”
“We can figure this out. There has to be a way to get to her, right?” Panic bloomed in Cin’s chest like a flower reaching for the sun.
“We will figure it out. First, we should go to the drop-off site that Norman told us about and do a little tracing magic. Do you want to change first?”
“Sure, I mean, I guess a lacy black dress isn’t appropriate everywhere, huh?” She smiled over at him, trying to banish the panic and tears that threatened to come with it.
Thad’s hand squeezed her shoulder. “We will get her back. I promise you.”
He brushed a curl away from her face, and suddenly the atmosphere between them changed. They became magnets unable to pull away from each other no matter how much
they knew they should or wanted to. They were drawn to each other like moths to a flame. His eyes bored into hers, the whites seeming to turn a very light blue as she stared at them.
When his lips brushed hers, an involuntary sigh escaped her, as though she had been waiting for that very thing. Suddenly they were no longer moths but the flame itself, the heat between them scorching their lips every time they touched.
Cin pushed his shoulders and stepped out of his grasp. “If we start that, we won’t stop for a while, and we have important stuff to do.”
She tried to get her breathing under control, to slow her heart that was galloping in her chest. She finally looked up, only to find Thad walking away from her.
“I think I need something between us. Otherwise, I don’t know that I can control myself,” he said from the other side of the island in the kitchen. His eyes shone in the dim light, reminding her of a predator watching its prey.
“Understandable. It seems when we’re here, we have trouble keeping our hands to ourselves.”
“That dress you’re still wearing doesn’t help,” he said, making a show of his gaze traveling over her curves.
“I’m going to go and change now.”
They arrived at the site where the exchanges or sales usually happened. Thad was grateful there was no one around, since he hadn’t brought any of his brothers along. The underpass they were standing in was obviously rarely used and smelled like the sewers. He hated that he had to do this in an exposed area like this, but he didn’t have any other brilliant ideas, so they were working with what they had.
He was grateful that Cin was out of that dress. She had been jaw-dropping in it, and he wasn’t sure he would have been able to concentrate if she was still wearing it. The clingy T-shirt and ripped jeans were bad enough. One day soon he was going to have to ask her to bed. That is, if he ever wanted to think clearly again.
His hair felt tight in the half ponytail, but he didn’t want a curl to get in the way and make him miss something important.
“Okay, so I have the power to create things with water, thanks to my dad being blessed by Poseidon. Combined with my seer abilities, that means I can recreate past events as though we were watching them now, without sound but with full visuals. We should be able to see the car that was waiting for you and trace that back to the owner. Sound good?”