by Dannika Dark
He patted me down and removed the small push dagger strapped to my belt.
“Wait a second,” I said, thinking about the isolation of this place. “You’re not gonna leave me here by myself, are you? Don’t you have a secretary or deputy?”
He snickered and opened the heavy door. The next room was pitch-black. Light poured in from the front room and spotlighted the jail cells. There were a total of six, each with bars in the front and walls between.
Each cell had chains attached to the far wall.
Fight or flight kicked in, and I came to a hard stop.
Officer Barnes caught the direction of my stare. “Don’t worry, those are for the Shifters. Some are less likely to shift with a cuff attached to their ankle or neck. I had a problem a few years back with a boa Shifter. Slithered right out of his cell. The chains keep them in line. Nobody wants to break bones or strangle themselves.”
I let out a nervous laugh and stepped into the cell after he opened it. “What do you do about Vampires?”
He slid the door shut. “Turn around.”
When I did, Barnes unlocked my handcuffs. If they chained Shifters to keep some of them under control, they probably staked Vampires to keep them from breaking the bars. Hopefully this guy didn’t get any ideas to put a stunner in me.
An incessant pounding came from the outside door.
“I take it those are your friends?”
I gripped the bars anxiously and watched him exit the room. Since the door was farther to the right, I couldn’t see anything.
But I didn’t need to see.
I heard.
“This is a real dandy little setup you’ve got here,” Christian said, not holding back on his annoyance. “And what would the other guards say about your kidnapping innocent people?”
“Innocent? Your friend here broke the law. We don’t allow public displays of Breed gifts, and she was flashing down the street.”
“It’s only a crime if there were witnesses.”
“I’m a witness.”
“You hardly count, you insipid little man.”
“My friend does not mean to insult,” Viktor cut in. “Can we speak for a moment?”
Footfalls overlapped, and I moved to the corner of the cell to try to catch a glimpse.
“You’re gonna have a hell of a time backing that RV outta here,” Officer Barnes said.
Christian briefly appeared in the open doorway and regarded me for a moment before steering his attention away.
“Don’t get any bright ideas, Vamp,” the cop warned him.
Christian’s gaze drifted down. “Do you have a holster for those too?”
Barnes was either holding impalement wood or a brass set of balls.
“There has been a misunderstanding,” Viktor said, doing a magnificent job at keeping his cool. “She was merely following my orders. One of our young ones disappeared with a boy. Not acceptable. Raven was only bringing her safely back to me. Come outside. You can speak with her yourself.”
“I don’t like to get involved in personal affairs,” Barnes replied. “Everyone’s got an excuse. But around here, I’ve gotta keep the peace. I can’t afford to have the locals exposed to your shenanigans. You and I both know that the higher authority wouldn’t approve, or in this case, the Mageri. She can either serve out her sentence, or I can call the Mageri and ask what they’d like me to do with her.”
My eyes rounded, and I vehemently shook my head at Christian. I’d rather do my time than be handed over to the Mageri. While Viktor had secured my position with Keystone, the Mageri still scared me. They held absolute power. What would they do if they found out I was a crossbreed? What would they do if they found out about my past crimes?
Christian folded his arms. “Can we not make this worth your time? I’m sure it’ll cost precious taxpayer dollars to feed and care for this one. We can work something out.”
“I don’t feed my prisoners, so it ain’t costing taxpayers jack shit. And you better think twice about bribing an officer of the law, especially one assigned this post by the higher authority. I want the names of all of you so I can report it to my contact.”
“This is not necessary,” Viktor insisted. “I will call someone and settle this matter.”
“Are you trying to outrank me?” Barnes asked in a huff. “My contact keeps your info in case you decide to bust your friend out of here. If that door is open when I return later, I’ll know who did it. It doesn’t matter who your connections are. She broke the law, and I represent the higher authority out here. I am the law.”
I watched Christian narrow his eyes.
“Like it or not, this is how we keep the locals in line.”
“Aye, but we’re not local,” Christian pointed out.
Barnes appeared in front of Christian’s face and didn’t look away. “I don’t care if you’re passing through. If you’re not smart enough to respect the laws in one town, what’s to stop you from breaking them everywhere you go? Better your friend learn now what’s permissible. She might wind up in another small town that isn’t so forgiving.”
“Is there no bail?” Viktor inquired. “We will be more than happy to face any sentencing or punishment. I can provide you with our names and information, but can you release her on bail and schedule a hearing or sentencing date?”
Barnes turned sharply and groomed his mustache. “She stays. We don’t have any hotels in town, but seeing as you have an RV, you shouldn’t have a problem sticking around until her sentence is served.”
Christian dropped his arms to his sides and clenched his fists. “And how long is that?”
“Fifteen days.”
“Without food?”
“Yep. You’re lucky I don’t put a stunner in her, but she’s been cooperative. As long as she stays that way, I won’t have to take drastic measures to keep her subdued.”
“Can we see her?” Viktor asked, the disappointment in his voice thinly veiled. “Please allow us a chance to speak with her.”
“Be my guest.”
Viktor and Christian shuffled into the dark room and approached the bars.
I couldn’t look him in the eye. “Viktor, I’m so sorry. I thought that guy was kidnapping her, and there wasn’t time to do anything else.”
“He was kidnapping her, but not against will. Claude was using bathroom when girl escaped.”
Despite his cool façade, Viktor was upset. He was dropping words from his sentences left and right.
Viktor took a calming breath and shook his head. “Had you not chased her down, it would be Claude in here instead of you. I am not letting children out of sight again. If not external dangers, we have to worry about children running away. Children become afraid when moving locations, but I did not sense they would be a problem.”
“So her boyfriend, what happened to him?” I asked.
“You’re not the only prisoner,” Christian replied coolly. “We can’t let the arseface go free.”
“Scrub his memories,” I suggested. “And make him believe he’s a sheep Shifter.”
“That was my idea. The erasing, not the sheep. But I like where you’re going with that.”
Viktor shook his head. “We will do no such thing. He is a child, and we will turn him over to his family or Council.”
I leaned back, still gripping the bars. “So you’re taking him where we’re going? Isn’t that a security breach?”
Viktor sighed and tugged on his turtleneck collar. “I have not planned that far ahead. I cannot release him since he knows too much, and we have not completed our mission. It would also be remiss of me to set free someone who could follow and bring even greater danger. I have no choice. Perhaps the compound will take him in.”
“Against his will? If he escapes, he’ll know too much.”
“We must tread carefully when it comes to children,” Viktor cautioned me. “Breed laws protect all children under the age of eighteen. If he were just a few years older, we could take any acti
on necessary.”
I lowered my head, frustrated that I couldn’t go with them.
“Do not blame yourself, Raven. Your sacrifice saved a child. One must prepare for the unexpected, and this is why I included so many on this mission.”
“For feck’s sake, Viktor. We can’t just leave her here to rot.”
“I have no choice,” he said matter-of-factly. “The children come first. It is only for fifteen days. I know you two are in relations now, but we had an understanding. If you cannot perform your duties because of separation, I have no place for you on my team.”
I let go of the bars. “Viktor’s right. I’ll stake you myself if you stay. And who knows? Maybe I’ll get on his good side and Barnes will let me out on good behavior.”
Christian tipped his head to the side. “And maybe unicorns will fly out of my arse.”
Viktor reached through the bars and gripped my shoulder. “I will call my contact and see what I can do to release you. But we are going to an area where our phones may not work. I have a satellite phone to keep in touch with Wyatt, so if you are released early, call him. He might be able to give you directions if I think you are close enough to rejoin us. But be prepared to go home.” Viktor withdrew his arm.
“It’s fine. I don’t want to hold you guys up. Just keep an eye on Joshua. If they tried running off once, they’ll do it again.”
“Claude put fear into the boy. No one wants an angry Chitah tracking them. I will try once more to speak with the officer.” Viktor shook his head, looking conflicted. “I have no choice.”
“I understand,” I said convincingly, even though deep down, I wanted them to break me out of here. But that would bring a hell of a lot more trouble, not to mention jeopardizing the mission. “Fifteen days isn’t that bad. I’ve got a roof over my head and all the privacy a woman could want. I’m just glad we got Carol back.”
Viktor nodded and disappeared out the door.
Christian gripped the bars and rested his forehead against them. “I could break these into a million pieces.”
I sidled over and put my hands on his. “Don’t even try it. That cop will stake you and put you in the next cell. Look, I’ll be fine. Probably a lot safer than you guys. Viktor needs to know we’re serious about this job, so you have to stay focused.”
“I’ll have you know this ruins my plans to flatten you on top of the trailer while going sixty down the highway.”
I stood on my tiptoes and wanted to touch noses with him like I’d seen Carol and Joshua do, but all I could do was rest my head against the bars. What was fifteen days? Eventually Viktor would send one of us on a three-month assignment. We couldn’t let separation divide us, no matter the length of time.
But damn if it didn’t feel like an amputation of my heart. I wanted to be with him, protect him and help the team.
“I can scrub his memories,” Christian offered on a breath, his eyes closed. “He’ll never feel a thing.”
“Stay out of trouble. I’ll figure something out.”
“That’s enough,” Officer Barnes snapped from the doorway. “Get a move on. I’ve got work to do.”
Christian’s eyes locked with mine, and he kept holding the bars as he stepped back. I knew how devoted this man was to me. He’d tattooed a raven on his body, for crying out loud. But the look on his face—it reached deep down into my chest and seized my heart.
It was that feeling that he was mine, and I was his.
When he left the room, I heard him say, “If you mistreat her, I’ll hunt you down and remove your spine.”
That’s my Poe.
When they left, Officer Barnes reappeared and smoothed out his black mustache with two fingers. He tossed my oversized backpack toward the bars. “I believe that’s yours. Don’t get your hopes up; I already searched it and removed the weapons. Good thing you packed a lot of panties. We ran out of toilet paper two years ago.”
I mashed my lips together as he shut the door, leaving me in the dark with only a sliver of light shining from the outside room.
I reached through the bars and searched my gear to see what he’d confiscated. My jacket and clothes were stuffed in a wrinkly wad, so I carefully folded each item as a means to pass the time. At least he hadn’t taken away my peanuts or toothbrush.
Once I’d put on my leather coat and fingerless gloves, I stood up and looked around. Officer Barnes had done his best to make this place so uncomfortable that a person would never commit a crime in his town again. No vents meant no heater. The cell didn’t have a bed, only a toilet and sink. Luckily both worked. I sat on top of my backpack and wondered if I could have done anything differently. I replayed the scene in my head, trying to spot mistakes. Carol and her boyfriend would have gotten away had I’d gone back to the RV or called Viktor. I’d thought her life was in danger, and my only goal was to kill the asshole who’d taken her.
After thirty minutes of sitting in near darkness, someone entered the building.
“Get inside!” Barnes growled.
Oh shit. That better not be Christian.
When the door opened, a cuffed man staggered in naked. He lifted his chin defiantly, and when he charged backward, Barnes threw his hands out and blasted him. The man crumpled to the floor, moaning like a wounded moose.
“I’m a Mage, dumbass. Don’t try that again.”
The prisoner passed out.
As Barnes grabbed his feet to drag him into a cell, the man’s head rolled to the side and I got a good look at his face and buzz cut.
Holy crap. That was one of General’s brothers.
I’d know their faces anywhere. General was the loan shark who had attacked my father and swindled me out of a million dollars. What the hell was his brother doing out here?
“Major, huh? Is that the only name you’re gonna give me?” Barnes locked chains in place and then slammed the door. “Major pain in the ass.”
I rushed to the bars and pressed my face between them. “What did he do?”
Barnes dusted off his uniform. “Shifted in the middle of the damn street. Good thing I carry a tranquilizer gun.” He gave me a cross look. “Two incidents in one day. That’s a record. They say trouble always comes in threes.” Then he pointed at me. “You better behave.”
As he locked up, my blood chilled. This wasn’t a coincidence. I thought General would back off after what we’d done to his family, but he must have had other ideas in mind.
I searched my bag for my phone, but it wasn’t there. Barnes or Viktor must have confiscated it.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I hissed. How was I going to warn Viktor that General was gunning for revenge?
Or maybe he just wanted me dead, and Major was here to take me out.
Uncertain, I sank back into the shadows and waited.
Chapter 16
“What time is it?” Gem asked.
She didn’t really want to know. It was the only way she could indirectly protest Cyrus blocking her gifts with the ankle cuff.
Cyrus continued playing a game of Go with one of his brothers at a short table in the corner across the room. He set a black stone on the board next to a white one before sitting back on a floor pillow. “Foolish girl. Do you think you can annoy me and I’ll remove the link? If a fly pesters me, I swat it. Do you want me to swat you?”
Gem remained in her wooden chair and pressed her lips tightly together.
What a barbarian.
She’d been eying the unlocked door for hours but didn’t dare walk out. Not if it meant Cyrus and his men putting Hunter on their hit list. How could she possibly protect him against these men when she couldn’t use her Mage gifts? She wasn’t even sure how many men there were in this outfit. Cyrus had made two calls. The first one, he spoke using a dialect similar to Moghol, which to her knowledge was now an extinct language. There were variations she couldn’t quite pick up on, and when he noticed her listening in, he finished the call in another room.
The man sitting across from Cyrus wasn
’t the same one who had drowned her in the pool. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of seeing Arcadius again.
A large tapestry hung on the wall behind them. It was primarily beige with elaborate images of animals, plants, mountains, and Mongolians on horseback. Some were wielding swords. The room also had a wide Chinese tea table with flat cushions on every side. There were no artificial light or windows, only oil lanterns and candles to illuminate the wood floor and green walls.
Cyrus wore loose black trousers and nothing else. His husky arms were heavily inked with a unique design that stretched from his elbows to his shoulders. It looked like armor. It wasn’t the style of the time he lived in, so he must have acquired it later in life.
Stop overanalyzing everything, she thought, rolling her eyes. What else did she have to do? Gem wasn’t exactly an idle creature, and she had no desire to engage in conversation with Cyrus.
Begging for her freedom was a waste of breath. Could she outwit this man? Did he really think that Niko would give him something valuable in exchange for her life? If Niko had kept a book away from Cyrus for centuries, he wasn’t going to give it up for anything or anyone.
If only she had a blanket or something to wear. Her red nightgown had finally dried, but it barely covered her knees. Gem cupped her arms and crossed her feet at the ankles.
“I offered you hot tea,” Cyrus said without looking at her.
After watching him pour one cup after another down his gullet, she had no desire to accept anything that he offered.
“I’m not thirsty.”
“Suit yourself,” he said indifferently. “Lykos, you sneaky devil.”
Lykos sat back and grinned. He didn’t look anything like Cyrus, but Cyrus had called him his brother on more than one occasion. They must have had the same Creator. Lykos was leaner and also Asian, but his features were traditional Chinese. Cyrus was bigger, tanner, and had a barely-there mustache beneath his broad nose. He didn’t have a kind expression. His smile revealed gaps between his teeth, and his eyes were malevolent beads.
Gem glanced across the room at the folding screen in the right-hand corner. Behind it was a tiny kitchen with only a stove, a small refrigerator, and a sink. Ancients were peculiar. They turned their noses up at television and technology, but they had no problem incorporating kitchen appliances in their home. There was nothing inherently offensive or evil about soap operas and a little music.