They weren’t elite, but they were the closest most Americans would ever come to it. They were the business men and women who had done well enough for themselves and earned the right to vote with their success. Their families were guaranteed primary school, and many went to secondary school as well.
They were also the ones most likely to call the police if they caught me on the streets. I sighed. It was too easy to get caught and a lot harder to escape once under the scrutiny of the police, who were far more enthusiastic about protecting their middle-caste wards.
Maybe it was late enough at night every sensible person was asleep—and if someone did spot me, I would be long gone before the police arrived. Standing around in an alley wouldn’t do me any good.
I needed to keep moving. I drew a deep breath to steady my nerves, picked the path most likely to hide me from watchful eyes, and took the first step out onto the main street.
A hand clapped over my mouth and pinched my nose closed, preventing me from screaming. An arm wrapped around my stomach, pinning my arms to my side and dragged me back into the alley’s dark shadows.
Chapter Sixteen
Unable to breathe around the hand clamped over my mouth and pinching my nose, I panicked. The way my captor held me kept my arms pinned and lifted me so I was forced to stand on my toes, which limited my struggles to ineffective kicking. When I scraped my feet against the rough asphalt, tears of pain blurred my eyes.
The hand across my mouth forced my head back, preventing me from repeating my mistake with Arthur. In a way, it was as much of a blessing as a curse. While I wouldn’t knock myself out again, I realized I had no hope of pulling free.
My lungs and chest burned with the need for air, and it didn’t take long for my abused body to go limp in spite of my frantic desire to lash out and fight back.
My pained tears made way for humiliation as the realization I was falling prey to someone yet again sank in. My traitorous body gave up, and when my legs could no longer support my weight, the hand eased away from my mouth and nose, allowing me to breathe. The autumn chill flooded my lungs, but I couldn’t find the strength to resist.
I had reached the end of my rope, and I knew it.
Something a little wet, a little squishy, and disgustingly cold slithered up my bare leg. I drew in a sharp breath to shriek, and my captor’s hand clapped over my mouth to keep me quiet.
“Shh,” someone I recognized but couldn’t place hissed in my ear. He wasn’t Arthur. The man’s tones was too deep. “Not right now.”
“Mommy?” Colby whined from somewhere near my feet, my leg, to be specific. Colby had survived, and it had somehow found me. Shock kept me silent, and as it wore off, the violence of my shaking rattled my teeth together.
“Both of you, be quiet!”
Rob. Rob had grabbed me, and he was hissing orders in my ears. I was torn between relief and fury that of all of the dae to find me, it had to be him.
“Mommy,” snapped Colby, and my roommate squished over my foot, clinging to my ankle.
How had they found me? Why had they found me? Colby I could understand. My roommate had witnessed everything that had happened. But what was Rob doing with Colby?
Rob eased his grip over my mouth, and I sucked in air. My heart beat too fast in my throat and drummed in my ears. Without his arm around my waist, still pinning my arms to my sides, I would have collapsed in a heap. He pulled me deeper into the alley, and Colby clung to my leg in its determination to stay with me.
I hurt from head to toe, and I couldn’t tell if either one of them was adding to my collection of rashes, blisters, cuts, and scrapes. I panted, struggling to get my feet beneath me so I could stand on my own.
“Some of the winged dae have taken to hiding on rooftops in ambush,” Rob informed me in a whisper. “Let’s not attract their attention, Miss Daegberht. I’ve already dealt with a few who were a little too interested in tailing my woman. I’d rather not have to deal with any other dae tonight.”
“Mommy,” Colby agreed.
In my exhaustion, it took me longer than I liked to realize Rob had, as usual, vocalized a claim on me. It pissed me off enough I managed to stomp on his foot.
He was wearing shoes, and the only thing that kept me from yowling in pain was him clamping his hand over my mouth again. “Will you stop that?”
I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t want to be property, not Arthur’s, not Rob’s, not anyone’s. My anger and frustration kept the tears at bay, and I jerked my head in an effort to pull free of his grasp.
Rob loosened his hold on me. “I have a lot to say to you, Miss Daegberht, but it can wait for the moment.”
I wasn’t expecting him to release me, and I staggered several steps before colliding with the wall. I clutched the bricks to stay on my feet. The anger in his voice frightened me.
I knew firsthand what angry dae did, and my body still ached from Arthur slamming me into the street when I had fought against him. Turning to face Rob, I drew a breath to snarl at him, determined to establish I wasn’t anyone’s, let alone his.
Rob had his suit jacket off, and with a flick of his wrist, he settled it over my shoulders. What I meant to say died in my throat, and while my mouth opened, no sound emerged. I froze, and when I kept still and quiet, the dae pulled the heavy-weight material around me, buttoning it closed.
He wore it a lot better than I did, but it was so warm it almost burned my raw skin. It wasn’t until my arms and chest were covered I realized just how cold I was. I shivered, but I kept my teeth from chattering by clenching them together.
“It’s a little too chilly to be wandering around like that,” he informed me, shaking his head. “Really, Miss Daegberht. Couldn’t you have at least stolen a coat? Shoes, perhaps?”
“Fuck you,” I hissed.
The dae’s scowl relaxed into a faint smile. “Did I interrupt you a little too soon in your schemings? I can’t say I blame you for waiting. I wouldn’t want to steal anything from the fringe, either. That said, you have a lot of explaining to do, Miss Daegberht. You can begin with what happened to your clothes and why you’re wearing another man’s underwear.”
The arrogant scorn in Rob’s voice was too much. I stared at him, swallowing compulsively in my effort to keep from bursting into angry tears, but it only delayed the inevitable. I lifted my hand to smack him, and he caught my wrist in a firm but gentle grip. He pulled me to him, letting go of my wrist to stroke his hand down the length of my arm. I stiffened, uncertain of what he was doing until he worked his fingers into my hair and held me close, resting my forehead against his chest.
“I suppose you can tell me later,” he announced.
I longed to beat him for his smugness and superiority he displayed whenever he opened his mouth. I wanted to kick him until he pleaded for mercy and apologized for treating me like I was his property.
An unreasonable, unwanted part of me noticed he implied it was okay if I wore his underwear.
Instead of raging at him like I wanted, I slumped against him, mumbling curses at my weakness. I was too tired to fight him. I knew it, he knew it, and he, at least, had the basic decency to avoid rubbing it in my face. I’d pay him back for it later, when I wasn’t so cold and tired and he wasn’t quite so warm and doing a good job of keeping me from falling on my face.
I surrendered with a weary sigh.
When Rob realized I could barely stand on my own, he stooped, slid his arms beneath my knees and back, and picked me up. If my weight bothered him, he showed no sign of it. He didn’t even grunt when he shifted me in his arms to secure his hold on me. Colby bounced at Rob’s feet.
“Mommy!”
“You’re not injured, dying, or otherwise indisposed. Walk,” the dae replied.
“Mommy,” Colby whined.
“No, Colby. Go make certain there’s no one on the roof so I can get us to the car intact.”
Colby flattened itself to the asphalt before bouncing up the alley walls to the roofto
p, leaving bright-colored smears on the bricks. I stared at one of the spots, blinking several times.
The stain glowed.
“Car?” I mumbled.
“It is a device that uses wheels to transport people and their things from one point to another,” Rob replied, his tone light with amusement. “It’s much easier to travel long distances in such a vehicle than it is to try crossing the entirety of Baltimore on foot. You really should have at least stolen some shoes, Miss Daegberht.”
“Mommy!” Colby announced from the nearest rooftop.
Consciousness chose that moment to be a fickle mistress, and when I next blinked, I was sprawled on a leather seat with Rob leaning over me. I drifted, not quite connected to my body. I recognized the sensation, but I couldn’t figure out when I had experienced it before. A bright light flashed in my eyes, and I realized I was in a car and its interior light was on.
Rob’s hand pressed to my throat.
The memory of Arthur’s touch suffocating me stole my breath, and I tensed from fear. Instead of the asphyxiating pain, Rob’s hand was soothingly warm. When he noticed me staring at him, he smiled. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I mumbled back.
“You’ve been ill-treated, Miss Daegberht. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what you have done to your left wrist.” Rob had a first-aid kit on the dashboard and my left arm was in his other hand. I couldn’t feel where he was touching my arm. I stared at where his fingers pressed against me. Instead of the redness I expected, my bronzed tan was far paler than normal and had taken on an ashen hue.
I had done a hell of a number on my left wrist. I shuddered and averted my eyes so I wouldn’t have to look at the gouges. “Rusty nail.”
The dae’s eyes widened, and for a long moment, he stared at my arm. “You did this to yourself.”
What I had done to myself was safe territory. As long as he didn’t ask about Arthur, I could endure Rob’s criticism. “So what?”
I hadn’t seen any other choice, though I didn’t say so. It wasn’t any of his business.
“Couldn’t you have used something more sanitary than a rusty nail, Miss Daegberht?” Rob shook his head, sighed, and released me so he could pull a small white box out of the kit. “It is a good thing I came prepared, then. You can thank me later.”
“Who’d thank you?” I muttered.
He laughed, opening the box to reveal a collection of syringes. Each one had a label tied to its plunger. He sorted through them, selecting several before returning the box to the kit. “I hope you aren’t afraid of needles. Who knows what other unhealthy things you decided to roll in while you were gone. Better safe than sorry.”
After having kicked my habits, I resisted using basic painkillers, let alone the potent narcotics the elite could acquire from hospitals when needed. I blinked, realizing he had already dosed me with something.
I didn’t hurt. I wasn’t thinking too clearly, either.
“What’re those?” I demanded, and my tongue refused to cooperate with me. I sounded like I had consumed several bottles of hard liquor on an empty stomach.
“You’re currently on a heavy dose of antihistamines to counter the rashes, a half-dose of painkiller, and an antibiotic. These, Miss Daegberht, are vaccines. This one is to prevent tetanus,” he announced, holding up one of the syringes. “Once I have you in a better location, I will pump the rest of them into you. I won’t accept no for an answer, so you may as well get used to the idea.”
“Don’t do drugs no more,” I mumbled.
“I am quite aware of your history. Mr. Smith was very forthcoming about your previous habits. He was attempting to discourage me from keeping you, the fool.”
When I next saw Kenneth Smith, I was going to strangle the life out of him. I wanted to fight against Rob for having sniffed out information on me, but the medications kept me limp. I had no idea what sort of painkillers he had used on me, but they were strong enough I couldn’t tell if they originated from the black market or from a hospital.
Black market drugs rarely matched a hospital’s, but it’d been so long since I’d done any I was surprised I was coherent enough to say anything at all.
Rob turned his attention to my right arm. One by one, he jabbed me with several of the needles. My old habit of falling asleep during an injection kicked in, and I relaxed into the leather, closing my eyes.
I floated in a soft, warm sea, and the gentle lapping of water roused me. Every muscle in my body was relaxed, and the cottony dullness of a strong high clouded my head.
It was the sort of hit I had craved for so long after getting clean. I was dimly aware of the fact I would hurt—a lot—once the drugs wore off, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I felt good, and I intended to enjoy every last moment of it.
When I crashed, I’d crash hard. I acknowledged the truth with pleasant detachment. As long as I floated safe in the embrace of a chemical high, nothing else mattered. While my eyes were open, I wasn’t really registering anything. It was dark, but a faint flickering glow in my peripheral vision teased me.
I couldn’t tell if it was a drug-induced hallucination coupled with temporary blindness or if it was night. Puzzled, I turned my head, and warm water lapped against my throat and shoulders. I blinked, my gaze focusing on the yellow light.
It was a candle resting on the edge of a bathtub, a very large one filled with sudsy water. A sweet scent teased my nose, and I breathed in deeply. I recognized the strong notes of lavender coupled with something else. Lilac? Rose?
I sniffed again, determined to identify the alluring smell.
“Vanilla,” Rob murmured in my ear. “You’re smelling vanilla.”
I stiffened, sucking in a breath. “You.”
“You were mumbling while trying to figure out what you were smelling. It’s lavender and vanilla.”
Turning my head in the direction of the dae’s voice, I discovered him crouched beside me, his arms resting against the tiled ledge ringing the tub. “Oh.”
More candles rested on distant counters, and mirrors captured their light and reflected it. The bathroom’s polished floors shimmered in the candlelight.
Rob propped his chin in the palm of his hand, and in the dim illumination, the way he smiled trimmed at least ten years from his face, leaving him a bit older than me but far younger than my first impression of him. “You were also complaining about how the lights were hurting your eyes. The candles don’t seem to bother you, though. I was warned there would be side effects, but I underestimated them.”
“Where are we?” Although my tongue wasn’t cooperating with me, I got the question out. I was fairly certain I did so intelligibly, but I had my doubts when Rob hesitated.
“You were rambling about Gibson Island, so I made a few calls and arranged the use of one of the estates here.”
I spat curses at myself. Rambling incoherently was part of why I had cleaned up my act. How much had I babbled while under the influence?
Had I mentioned what Arthur had done to me? I shuddered despite the warmth of the water.
Rob reached over and brushed my wet hair out of my face. “The only people here are you, me, and Colby. I use the term people rather loosely, of course. I don’t know who you’re worried about, Miss Daegberht, but allow me to reassure you, I have zero intentions of permitting anyone to touch you while you are under my guard. Rest assured, once I find out who injured you like this, I will deal with him. Permanently.”
The dae’s tone chilled my blood, and the promise of someone’s death darkened his expression and hardened his pale eyes. Swallowing, I slid a little deeper into the tub. At my motion, Rob tensed, but when he was satisfied I wasn’t going to submerge farther than my chin, he relaxed.
“What did I say?” I demanded, my face heating from my embarrassment.
“Murder plans, mostly. Unfortunately, you didn’t see fit to say your target’s name. I do not like how much of your attention he has captured.”
“I’m not
your property.”
“You’re my woman, and I’m not going to let some filthy low-life put his hands on you,” Rob snapped.
I meant to stand up so I could beat the life out of the dae, but I forgot how drugged I was. I got one foot under me, went to rise, and slipped under the water with a splash and a gurgle.
Breathing while underwater was stupid, and I knew it the instant I gasped. I thrashed, kicked my feet out, and when I didn’t find the end of the tub, I panicked. Rob grabbed me under my arms and yanked me out of the water. I spluttered and coughed.
“You didn’t want him touching you,” Rob stated in a cold tone, easing me back into my lounging position in the tub, careful to keep my head above the water. “If you had, it would be another matter entirely.”
My shame at having fallen victim to Arthur cut off my breath more thoroughly than the water had, and with a shaking hand, I wiped the bubbles off my face. The water was thick with suds, keeping what was left of my decency intact, not that it mattered.
Rob was right; I hadn’t wanted Arthur touching me, but he had.
Did it matter who saw me naked anymore, Rob included?
“Breathe, Miss Daegberht,” Rob ordered. After he was certain I wouldn’t plunge back into the water, he released me, returning to his kneeling position beside the tub with his arms crossed in front of him. “Fact number one: you were kidnapped. Considering the number of dae he killed in the process of taking you and his other victims, it was a situation you simply couldn’t have avoided.”
I had tried to avoid it, and my embarrassment over having knocked myself out in the attempt roused. I flushed, turning my head so I wouldn’t have to stare at the dae.
“Fact number two: you fought him. You probably have several cracked ribs, you’re covered in bruises, and you have ripped your fingers and toes to shreds, likely during your escape. I’m very curious to know how you managed to free yourself.”
“Climbed out the window,” I mumbled.
“What did you do? Break the glass with your hands and feet? You’ve rubbed the skin on your fingertips right off.”
The Dawn of Dae (Dae Portals Book 1) Page 17