by Deanna Chase
Talisen clamped his mouth shut and averted his gaze.
“Tal?” Confusion overtook my frustration. None of this made sense. His attitude, the fact that he was no longer working at the lab, him meeting someone where Beau died. “I think you better tell me what’s going on.”
He straightened. “Go home, Willow. I’ll come by when I’m done here.”
Blood rushed to my head, and I opened my mouth to tell him exactly where he could shove his Go home, Willow, but Link woke suddenly and jumped to his feet, his gaze fixated on something across the field. The hair stood up on the back of his neck as he moved to stand right in front of me.
“What is it, Link?” I asked in a hushed tone.
“Willow!” Tal said harshly. “Go. Now.”
I ignored him. I wasn’t leaving Tal there. Not with the way he was acting. All my pent-up anger fled, replaced by an absolute certainty that I couldn’t leave him alone. Not in that field and not that night. “Forget it.”
Link crept forward, his head down as he tracked his prey. I retrieved my stun gun from my purse and followed my wolf.
Talisen grabbed my arm lightly.
I yanked myself free and didn’t even look back. Steeling myself against all the painful memories trying to consume my every thought, I forced myself to head into the growing darkness. Wherever Link went, I was going. Maybe it was stupid, but I wouldn’t leave Link any more than I would leave Tal. They both were entirely too important to me.
“Shit!” Tal said from behind me. It was the only indication he’d followed. Fae moved silently when they wanted to. It was from years of walking the forests. Soon enough he caught up to me. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“You’re right.” I cast him a sidelong glance. “But I have a feeling you don’t either.”
He gave me a humorless laugh. “Too late for me, gorgeous.” His tone was filled with sad irony. But all the anger in his expression had fled, replaced by defeated resignation.
A dart of pain shuddered through me. What was going on with him?
He glanced at me as a small sigh escaped his lips, and then he reached out and grabbed my hand, his fingers tightening around mine.
My first instinct was to pull back, but his familiar touch comforted me in a way that no one else’s could. I was still angry at his reaction to seeing me there, but I couldn’t bear to separate from him either.
We walked in silence until Link let out a low growl and leaped forward. A flash of magic lit up the field, stopping Link in his tracks. He yelped and collapsed onto his side, whimpering.
“Link!” I ran to him, placing a light hand on his large head.
“You shouldn’t have brought her here, Kavanagh,” an impatient voice called from above us.
I leaped to my feet. “What did you do to Link?” I demanded, my thumb hovering over the trigger of my stun gun.
A tall, dark-haired vampire dropped from a limb, his pale skin glowing in the twilight. My gut tightened as I sucked in a sharp breath. But something was off. I hadn’t sensed him at all either. Another spell? Was it possible? I backed up, but as I studied him, my eyes widened. He wasn’t a vampire at all. He was my brother’s friend, the fae shifter. “Hunter?”
He stared at me. “You’re going to want to drop that Taser.”
I clutched the stun gun harder and took a step forward. “And why is that?”
“Wil.” Talisen reached out for me, but I sidestepped him.
I glanced between the two of them. “Someone needs to start talking and fast.”
Hunter stared at me, his face expressionless. Then after a moment, he gave a tiny nod.
“No, dammit!” Tal shouted and lunged behind me, but it was too late.
An ice-cold hand wrapped around my forearm and twisted. Electric fire from my own stun gun shot through me just before my world turned black.
Chapter 6
A vibration combined with the rhythmic sound of thump, thump, thump clouded my consciousness as I came back to myself. I rolled and hissed when pain shot through my shoulder from the bounce of my body weight. “Ouch.”
“Willow, wake up,” an urgent voice coaxed. “Hurry.”
I blinked in the darkness, trying to orient myself. From the rumble of an engine and the rocky motion, it was clear we were in some sort of moving vehicle. A van maybe? I was lying on the floor, my face pressed into synthetic carpet. “Who are you?” I forced out, my throat dry as I tried to fight the panic that was taking over.
“Hunter. You’ve got to wake up.”
Two cold hands gripped my shoulders and pulled me into an upright position. His viselike grip indicated vampire. Shit! My fight reflex kicked in and my entire body tensed as I flailed, unsuccessfully trying to jerk back. “Let go!”
My heart pounded in my throat and my wings flared uncontrollably.
“Willow, it’s me Hunter,” he said again. “Calm down. We have to get you out of here.”
I stilled and peered at him, taking in his dark hair and stunning green eyes. He reminded me of a panther. Then his words penetrated and I finally made sense of what he’d said. He was my brother’s fae shifting friend, Hunter. Why then had he shifted into a vampire?
Was he working with one like the fae in the club? But if he was, he didn’t seem intent on hurting me. He’d just said he had to get me out of there, hadn’t he? Taking deep breaths, I glanced around, noting we were locked in the back of a van that was closed off from the driver. It was a security van with restraints bolted to the walls. If the restraints weren’t for me, who were they for? Bile rose in the back of my throat as I imagined humans strapped into the van, being transported to a vamp blood bank. Or worse. “What do you want from me?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. You weren’t supposed to be there tonight and now we only have a few minutes before it’s too late to get you out of here.”
My arms and legs were trembling. “Where are Link and Tal?” My heart ached. The last time I’d seen Link, he’d been crumpled on the ground, unmoving. Was he okay?
“Talisen is going to pick you up. He has your wolf. Now get over here and drain me so it will look like you attacked me and escaped on your own.”
“What!” I glanced at the front of the van and yelped as we flew over a bump in the road.
“No time!” He scooted forward. “I’m working undercover and if you don’t do as I say, I’ll be compromised. So will Talisen. I can’t have them finding out who I am. So drain me just as you would a vampire. Just enough that I pass out. Then when the van stops get yourself out.” He pressed a key into my palm. “That will open the back.”
I stared at it for a second and then the door, registering that it didn’t have a handle. Holy crackers. This van was what nightmares were made of. There was no doubt in my mind another vampire was driving. What was Talisen mixed up in? And why was Hunter involved? The questions raced through my fuzzy mind. Whatever spell I’d been hit with, I still wasn’t one hundred percent.
He placed my hand on his chest. “Do it!” His tone was urgent, demanding. “If you don’t, they’re going to kill you.”
Those words sent the fear of the goddess through me. The very real possibility that my life might be ending took away all my reservations at draining the life energy of another fae. I had to in order to survive.
The van started to slow and I knew if I didn’t act then, my chance would be over. Steeling myself, I moved my hand to his shoulder, unwilling to pull his life force directly from his chest, and then felt the sweet sensation of fae energy fill me. It made me euphoric. His essence was so pure. I almost craved it, especially after the time in the airplane and after being hit with my own stun gun. But as I reveled in Hunter’s fae energy, my stomach turned with nausea. What I was doing was wrong.
Against our laws. Against my own moral code.
My hand started to slip from his shoulder, but he clasped his over mine, forcing me to maintain contact. “More!” he demanded. “Don’t stop until I’m
unconscious.”
I hated what I was doing to him, wanted to use the key he’d given me to free us both. But if he was so adamant about making it look like I’d attacked him, then he wasn’t willing to blow his cover yet. I couldn’t mess with whatever investigation he was involved with. As far as I knew, it was a Void mission. Not that I’d ever heard of Hunter working for the Void. But then I wouldn’t, would I? Not unless we were on the same operational team.
After I gave one last tug on his essence, my body vibrated with his life energy, and Hunter slumped backward against the side of the van, his stonelike vampire body hitting with a loud thump. Tears stung my eyes, but there was nothing I could do for him at that moment. I pressed my palm to his heart. The strong flutter of life pulled a sigh of relief from my parted lips. He’d be fine after he slept for a while.
Eyeing the restraints, I made a snap decision. It would look a thousand times less suspicious if he was bound when the driver of the van found him. Without hesitation, I clasped the manacles over his wrists as the van came to a full stop.
I wasted no time unlocking the door. Pausing, I stretched my wings and waited. When the van started to move again, I leaped into the night, my wings carrying me high above the van.
I watched as the door swung back and forth and then finally clicked closed with a soft thump. Hopefully the driver hadn’t noticed anything. Either way, I wasn’t waiting around to find out. I darted off the two-lane highway and into a grove of trees, then paused under the canopy of leaves, scanning the area for Talisen. Hunter had said he’d come for me. But waiting around on the side of the highway didn’t seem like the best plan. Instead, I fluttered from tree to tree, keeping an eye on the road for Tal’s red truck. The sky had turned even darker and it was all but impossible to differentiate the vehicles.
I kept going, but after a while, my heart started to sink. He was nowhere. Did he think I was still in the van? Had he been hurt? What about Link? Hunter’s energy started to wear off and suddenly I was exhausted. I needed to recharge. After scanning the nearby trees, I chose one of the taller ones with a view of the highway and settled on a high limb, resting against the trunk.
The cool relief of the tree tingled over my skin and cloaked me in nature. Physically, I felt better. Mentally, I was all over the place. Where were Link and Tal? Where the hell was I? I didn’t even know how to get back to my rental car. I stared up at the foggy sky. I couldn’t see the stars, not that I could read them anyway.
Afraid to close my eyes, I kept my gaze trained on the ever-thinning traffic. The vehicles trickled down to one every few minutes.
My heart sank. Tal wasn’t coming.
“Willow?”
I jumped and slipped off my limb, my wings fluttering double time to keep me from falling on my head. Righting myself, I fluttered to the ground, landing in front of Talisen and Link.
“Where have you been?” I cried, kneeling in front of Link to check him over. His wolf’s coat gleamed under the sliver of moonlight shining through the fog.
“He’s fine,” Tal said in a tired voice. “Once the spell wore off, he was disoriented but not harmed in any way.”
Link pressed against my side and licked my hand. I double-checked to be sure he wasn’t wounded by running my hands over his body. He was perfectly fine. In fact, he looked to be in better shape than Tal did.
I stood and eyed my oldest friend. But before I could speak, he took the final step to close the distance between us and engulfed me in an all-consuming hug.
“Thank the gods you’re all right,” he said softly against my neck.
He was holding on so tight I could barely breathe. But I didn’t care. His arms felt right. Perfect. Safe. I mirrored his embrace and inhaled his faint redwood scent.
“You owe me an explanation,” I said without heat.
He loosened his grip. “I’m so sorry, Wil,” he murmured and then pulled back, cupping my cheeks with his hands.
My heart stuttered. I had a feeling he was apologizing for more than the kidnapping.
“I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.” His words came out on a whisper, desperate, filled with agony.
My insides churned with elation. He did love me. No matter what he’d done three months ago, he still loved me. I could see it in the softness swimming in his eyes. But then my pleasure at knowing exactly what I meant to him dimmed as rage-tinged frustration took over, and I couldn’t keep the question locked away any longer. “If I mean so much to you, why did you leave me?”
Good Goddess. Did I really just ask that? There were so many other important things we should’ve been talking about right at that moment. Asking why he left me was trivial and downright selfish. I hated myself the moment the words left my lips.
Talisen flinched but didn’t let go. He swallowed, visibly trying to decide what to say. Shaking his head, he ran his thumb over my cheekbone. “There’s much to explain, but not right now.” Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. “Trust me. Please.”
I couldn’t remember a time I’d seen him this serious or vulnerable. At our last meeting in New Orleans, he’d been full of sadness and anger. Both versions of him were a far cry from the easygoing, happy Talisen I’d known my entire life.
The forest started to close in on me. I should’ve been at ease, being so close to nature. But all I wanted to do was flee. It was because Talisen was stripping me bare with his penetrating stare. The one that said he was looking straight into my soul. That he knew how much he’d hurt me and that I hadn’t recovered, no matter how much I’d told myself I had.
I stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest, digging my fingernails into my forearms. “Can we go now?” I wanted nothing more than to be curled up in Mom’s plant-filled study, preferably with a hot cup of tea, while Tal explained what the heck he and Hunter were involved with.
He nodded. “We need to get moving anyway.” Clasping his hand around mine, he tugged me deeper into the forest. Link stayed close to me, his body rubbing lightly against my leg as we walked.
Soon my feet were aching from stumbling over roots hidden by the shadows. I fluttered my wings and flew beside Tal, who seemed to know exactly where he was going. “Where’s your truck?”
“Back at the lavender fields.” He pushed aside an overgrown branch, holding it out of my way as I passed.
“You walked the entire way?”
He shook his head. “No. I caught a ride with… well, someone I trust. She dropped me off a few miles from here.”
She. Someone he trusted. A flicker of pain darted into my heart. Had he found someone? I clenched my teeth and forced the idiotic thought from my head. There I was, worrying about another woman, when Tal and I didn’t even have a relationship. When Harrison was fighting for his life and I’d almost been killed. What was wrong with me? “Is your… uh… friend picking us up?”
He glanced at me in confusion.
I stared at the ground, embarrassed that my tone had betrayed my insecurity.
“No,” he said finally. “We’re headed to a safe house a few miles from here.”
“What?” I stopped midflutter and dropped lightly to the ground. “But I need to get back. We need to—”
Talisen held up a hand. “Listen to me. Your life is in danger. The only reason you’re alive right now is because of Hunter. If anyone else had been sent to that meeting tonight, it’s likely both of us would be dead now. Or worse. The vampires know what you can do. They’ve known since Asher fled New Orleans.”
“They? As in who exactly?” And what did he mean by worse?
“Asher’s followers and some of his dissenters. They’re all after you. Some to end you, some to use you. Coming to Eureka was a mistake. You should’ve stayed in New Orleans with Allcot.” He spit the words out in barely controlled anger.
“I didn’t have a choice!” Damn him for making me feel like this was all my fault.
“You always have a choice, Willow. It’s your choices th
at got us here.”
Oh, that did it. The self-righteousness written all over his face made me want to smack him. “What exactly are you saying, Tal? That it was my choice to inherit Beau’s abilities? That is was my choice to throw my lot in with Allcot and David? That it was my choice for Beau Jr. to be in danger? That it was my freaking choice to be bound to the Void?”
His eyes narrowed as he studied me. “No. I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. It’s what you implied. And you know as well as I do that I wanted none of those things. I didn’t ask for David to step into my life. I didn’t ask to be part of the Void. I wanted nothing to do with Cryrique.” My tone had risen with each declaration. Then I lowered my voice and said, “Do you know what I did want?”
He sucked in a breath and gave me a slight shake of his head.
“A life free of a thousand reminders of Beau. A shop where I could work and make my magical treats that made people happy. A chance to feel useful during a time when all I wanted to do was go to sleep and never wake up. And even though I got those things, I also got a whole host of crap that came with it. The Void and David and Allcot manipulating me. But then you were there and for some stupid-ass reason, I thought everything would be okay because we’d work through it together. But then you just left. The one person I trusted more than anyone, the only one who really understood how I felt about Beau, and you did it by cutting off all communication.”
I stared into his stunned expression and remembered to breathe.
“And now I’m here because you couldn’t even be bothered to answer your goddamned phone. So you can take your self-righteous bullshit and shove it. Got it?”
Talisen grimaced and his expression shifted from one of apprehension to regret. He stuffed his hands in his front pockets and hunched his shoulders forward. “You’re right. I was an ass. I should’ve called you. But before you tar and feather me, I want you to know there’s a good reason for my actions.”
I curled my hands into fists and waited. “Well?”