Claim (Talon Security Book 2)

by Megan O'Brien

  The same prickle crept up my spine as I dug my keys out of my purse.

  “Ms. Greer.” A vaguely familiar voice spoke from behind me.

  I turned, surprised to find Detective Morales standing there in plain clothes, keys in hand. I’d always been more comfortable with him than Detective Harris, but something about his expression had me immediately on guard.

  What if we’d been wrong about Harris? What if Morales was the bad guy?

  “I need to talk to you for a minute,” he said, cocking his head toward his car.

  His request struck me as odd, and I debated how to respond. I dug around in my purse as though fishing for my keys, intent on grabbing my phone. I sent Travis an SOS text on the sly, using the single number code he’d programmed in my phone in the event of an emergency. I added “M” to the message, hoping he’d understand what I was trying to say. I sent it off and looked back at the detective. “We can talk right here,” I replied calmly, leaning against my car, wishing darkness hadn’t fallen and that there were people around.

  He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “I need to take you in, there have been new developments.”

  “Okay, I’ll take my car and meet you there,” I replied without delay. “Travis is waiting for me, he’ll be worried,” I added. wanting to make it clear that Travis would note my absence.

  He took another menacing step toward me, and it was in that moment, in the way his jaw ticked and his eyes narrowed, that I knew I was in real trouble. “I didn’t want to have to do this,” he growled, producing what looked like a syringe from his pocket.

  I let out the loudest scream I could muster, trying to break away, but he had me cornered against my car. A second later, when the needle dug into my neck, my last thought was of Travis.

  For the first time in my life I’d been truly happy. It hadn’t lasted long enough—I hadn’t had nearly enough of Travis. I never would. I wanted my forever. I’d be damned if that was taken from me.

  ****

  My first awareness was of an excruciating pounding in my head, unlike anything I’d felt before. It was as though my entire head had its own heartbeat, complete with a hammer to compound every beat. There was a bitter, chalky taste in my mouth, and swallowing felt nearly impossible.

  I forced myself to remain still, to feign sleep as I lay on my side in the back of his car. By the sound of the engine and the whir of the tires, I guessed we were on a freeway, though which one I couldn’t be sure. I had no idea how long I’d been out for. We could be anywhere.

  I wanted desperately to sit up; lying in this position was only making my head and ability to swallow worse, but something told me to lie still. Aside from an occasional sound of Morales shifting his body in the driver seat or clearing his throat, the car was quiet.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the car slowed and veered right. My heart hammered in fear. A moment later, the smell of gasoline filtered through my nostrils. He was stopping for gas. I never thought anything could smell so good, as hope slammed into my chest. This might be my shot, my only shot to get away. Could my legs even move? I felt off-balance even lying down, but I had to try.

  The car slowed and then stopped, and I heard the driver-side door open and slam shut. My eyes snapped open a second later, and I assessed the situation as quickly as I could.

  There was no cage separating the back seat from the front. I assumed the back doors were locked from the outside. I’d have to crawl over the console and get out through the front.

  I saw Morales move away from the car in my peripheral vision. A stroke of luck. I waited a beat, took a deep, fortifying breath, and scrambled up, knowing I’d have to move fast. I crawled awkwardly over the console and opened the driver-side door. My first few steps, I felt like a newborn fawn, all knees, but I soon found my footing and picked up speed.

  A quick glance around proved we were at a standard freeway exit; the streets were lined with fast-food restaurants and gas stations. My instinct told me to hide, that Morales would use his position as a detective if I sought help. I sprinted off into the trees beyond the station, forcing myself not to look back. I couldn’t tell if he followed, and I didn’t want to risk losing my stride. The darkness provided protection but was also dangerous. I could barely see what was in front of me, but my adrenaline had me pressing on. I tripped over a tree root, flying through the air and landing hard on my hands and knees, but I was up and running again before I could give it a second thought. That happened twice more, but I pressed on.

  My lungs burned from exertion, my throat screaming for water, but I didn’t stop, grateful I was in good shape and had always been fast. When I couldn’t run anymore, when I knew my legs would give out if I tried, I risked a glance behind me.

  Nothing. Not that I could see anyway.

  I didn’t trust that I was in the clear yet, and aimed my gaze skyward. Ryan and I had spent many an afternoon climbing trees, and I aimed to do just that. I hoped the large oak a few yards away would offer the perfect cover. I hoisted myself onto the lowest limb, forcing myself to go slow, and blindly reached for the next branch, hoping it was big enough to support me. I knew there was no way I’d be getting down without daylight. I climbed one branch at a time, moving far enough up the tree that I was deep within the leaves, where I hoped to be out of sight.

  Finally, I stopped. I straddled a wide branch, leaning my back against the trunk, and waited.

  I sat listening to the whir of cars on the freeway to my left, of distant car horns and sirens. I was freezing and exhausted, but didn’t even think about moving. What if he’d crept into the woods quietly? What if he was down there waiting for me?

  My entire body ached from whatever he’d injected me with. I’d never been so thirsty.

  I had no idea how much time had passed, which seemed to be a theme for the entire evening. There was no light to the sky, which led me to believe it was still dead of night—maybe we weren’t so far out of Los Angeles after all.

  I winced, thinking about how worried they must all be.

  At first I thought I was hearing things when a familiar voice called my name in the distance. My heart picked up to triple time as I sat up, trying like hell to hear more clearly. Then I heard it again, clear as day.

  Travis.

  “Travis!” I screamed, my voice a hoarse rasp. It was like one of those nightmares when you can’t speak, or your legs are in quicksand. I tried again and managed to get my voice a little louder this time.

  I breathed a sigh of relief when the beams of several flashlights turned in my direction, and Travis shouted my name again, his voice drawing closer.

  “I’m up here!” I half choked, half hollered as my voice began to truly desert me.

  “Em! Where are you?” he bellowed from somewhere down below.

  “I’m up in an oak tree,” I rasped. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to see me, and I’m losing my voice,” I warned worriedly.

  “It’s okay, babe. We’ll find you.” His confidence had me relaxing a bit. I trusted him to take care of me.

  It was another minute before I heard rustling in the tree below. “You up here, babe?” Travis asked as the distant light of a flashlight became brighter.

  “Y-yes,” I answered, realizing for the first time that my teeth were chattering.

  “Damn, Em, didn’t know you could scale trees like this.” He grunted as the leaves rustled beneath me, heralding his arrival. A moment later, Travis’s head appeared, obstructed by the headlamp he wore, which shone so brightly I had to close my eyes against it.

  “Sorry,” he apologized. “That better?”

  I opened my eyes cautiously and bit my lip hard against the tears that wanted to overflow at my first sight of him.

  He stood on the branch beneath me and leaned in, kissing me harder than he ever had. “Christ, Em. Are you okay?”

  “I think so.” I nodded. “Do you have any water?” I asked, hearing the desperation in my voice.

  He
looked at me regretfully. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry. But we have some in the Jeep. Just need to get you out of here.”

  “I don’t know if I can get down,” I fretted. I’d scaled the tree with adrenaline coursing through my veins. Now, hours later, I was exhausted, starving, and so thirsty I couldn’t think of much else.

  “I’ll help you,” he assured me. “I have an extra headlamp for you, and I’ll talk you through it.”

  I looked at him doubtfully.

  “Em, swear to God—if you want to stay up here, I’ll stay right here with you for the rest of the night.”

  As much as I appreciated the offer, and knew he meant it, I shook my head. “I need water,” I rasped. It was my main motivation at the moment. “Let’s get this over with.”

  He reached toward me, placing the headlamp across my forehead. “You’re not hurt anywhere?” he verified, the worry more prevalent in his gaze now that I could see him more clearly.

  “Nothing I can’t handle,” I assured him.

  He leaned over, kissing me soundly once more before breaking away to holler, “Armstrong! Shine your light up here!” A moment later Theo’s faint light shone into the branches from below.

  “It’ll get brighter the lower we get,” Travis explained. “You’re pretty high up here, and the leaves are dense. For now, we’ll use our headlamps. I’ll go first and walk you through the steps.”

  “’Kay,” I replied. I was too tired to say much else, and I needed to preserve my strength for the climb down.

  It was an agonizingly slow process as Travis walked me through every step. My limbs were shaking from exhaustion, my knees and palms bloody from falling earlier in my haste to escape Morales.

  “You’re doing great, Em,” Travis praised as the lights from below began to shine brighter, helping to guide our passage. “Almost there.”

  The ground couldn’t come soon enough.

  Finally, I could see Theo and Declan clearly as they watched our progress with evident concern.

  “There’s a branch six inches below you,” Travis directed in much the same way as he had since we started down. “Good,” he continued when I’d stepped on it. “The next one is a bigger drop, take your time.”

  I followed his instructions, lowering exhausted legs one by one as I clung to the branch above me. When I thought I couldn’t take another step, that I’d have to hang there indefinitely, strong hands gripped my hips from behind.

  “I’ve got you, baby. I’m going to lift you down.” Travis’s words, which meant he was at the bottom and so was I, offered a respite to my exhausted mind. I let go of the branch I’d been holding as he pulled me down and into his arms.

  My job was done; I’d managed to somehow make it down that damn tree. Almost immediately, secure in Travis’s arms, I could safely float into oblivion.

  Chapter 16

  “Em.” Travis’s voice broke through my unconscious state. “You need some water. Come on, baby.” I felt the press of plastic to my lips and immediately opened my mouth, the cool water flowing past my lips offering relief from the thirst that had pained me since I’d woken up in the back of that godforsaken car.

  I clutched the bottle, guzzling greedily as I sat in Travis’s lap in the back of his Jeep.

  “Christ.” Theo’s angry voice sounded from somewhere to my right.

  “She’s all right,” Declan assured him, though I was sure I looked anything but.

  Finally, after I’d drained the bottle I pushed it back, collapsing limply against Travis’s chest once again. I had so many questions, but I couldn’t seem to push them past my lips. All I wanted was sleep as my head rolled listlessly to the side.

  “Motherfucker.” Travis’s tone was so full of rage it nearly had me opening my eyes. Nearly. “There’s a puncture wound in her neck,” he seethed. I felt his chest rising and falling rapidly underneath me as his fury spiked.

  “Fuck. Must be how he took her.” Declan’s voice was a low rumble. “We got to take her in, man, if she was drugged we need to have her screened. And, McAllister, man, I hate to say it, but if she was unconscious they should do a rape kit.”

  The tension in the Jeep grew so thick it was suffocating as Travis’s body turned to stone beneath me.

  “Get Sid on the phone. You tell him to get that motherfucker to talk. I want to know what he drugged her with, and so help him, if he touched her, I will fucking end him,” Travis snarled.

  Sid was with Morales?

  “Roger that,” Declan confirmed. “I’ll drive, you stay back there with her.”

  The rumble of the engine soon sounded, doors slamming around us. We picked up speed, and Travis pulled me closer, kissing my temple. I lost the last bit of awareness I’d been clutching to, and slipped into a deep sleep.

  When I came around again, I was in a hospital bed. Travis sat to my right, his elbows on his knees, head in his hands.

  He looked so broken—I’d never seen my big, strong man look so wrecked. I’d do just about anything to ease him.

  “Honey,” I croaked.

  His head shot up immediately, his eyes bright with worry.

  “Can I have some water?” I asked hoarsely, pushing myself up into a sitting position. I felt a bit better, less exhausted.

  He picked up the cup at my bedside, putting the straw to my lips. I’d never known ice water could taste so damn good.

  “Where are we? What time is it?” I asked when I’d drunk my fill.

  “It’s 6:00 a.m. We’re at UCLA Medical. The doctor examined you while you were out of it. We’re waiting on the blood work now, but it doesn’t look like…. He didn’t touch you,” he ground out.

  I reached out and took his hand, squeezing reassuringly. “I’m okay,” I murmured.

  He pulled back, shoving away from his chair so abruptly that it startled me. He paced the small room, running his hand over his hair. “You’re not fucking okay. You were drugged. You could have been killed.” His furious gaze met mine. “I’ll tell you right now, if that motherfucker wasn’t a detective that the LAPD already had an eye on, I’d kill him. I’d make it slow, painful. I’d bury him where he’d never be found.”

  Maybe his words should have scared me, but they didn’t. I knew he had to get these emotions out—he’d lose it otherwise.

  A knock sounded at the door, followed by a doctor entering the room. Middle-aged, with brown hair and kind eyes, there was something about him that immediately put me at ease.

  “Ms. Greer, it’s good to see you up and around. How are you feeling?”

  “Better.” I nodded as Travis took his seat at my bedside, his large hands clasped over my thigh.

  “We got your labs back. You were drugged with rohypnol.”

  Travis bit back a curse.

  The doctor glanced at him before his gaze returned to me. “I’d imagine you’re still feeling a bit foggy, probably thirsty. That may last over the next twenty-four hours. Other than that, everything else came back clean. With some rest, some hydration, and a bit of food, you should be feeling better very soon.”

  I nodded gratefully. “Can we go?” I asked hopefully. I longed for home, and realized that it was Travis’s place that came to mind.

  “I’ve got your discharge papers here.” He handed them over to Travis. “I’m glad you’re all right. Give us a call if your symptoms don’t dissipate or if you experience anything new.”

  “We will. Thank you, doctor,” Travis replied, rising to shake the man’s hand.

  I stood up the moment he shut the door, intent on getting changed.

  “Let me help you,” Travis complained, grasping my arm gently as he handed me my clothes.

  “Trav, I’m not dying. I need some sleep and some food,” I noted, my mouth watering at the very thought. I hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day. “I’m okay,” I reiterated.

  His jaw ticked, and he looked like he wanted to argue, but simply nodded. “What do you want to eat?” he asked as he helped me slide my tattere
d jeans up my legs.

  “A strawberry milkshake sounds so good.” I sighed blissfully. “And a cheeseburger, but I guess it’s early.”

  “We can find you something,” he assured me as I slid my shirt over my head. “Will you let me take you to the Jeep in a wheelchair?” he asked hopefully.

  I looked at him dubiously.

  “I didn’t think so,” he grumbled, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to his side. “I’ll settle for this then,” he murmured in my ear, giving me a squeeze.

  His reassuring strength bolstered my spirits as we made our way out into the warm glow of dawn.

  It had been a terrifying experience, but I’d survived. Hell, I’d proven a lot to myself, and that counted. And now, now I had that chance at forever, the one I’d dreamed of before I even knew Travis McAllister existed.

  ****

  I couldn’t sleep.

  After I’d devoured a cheeseburger and a milkshake that tasted like heaven in a cup, Travis had driven us home. I’d taken a long hot shower with Travis—he’d been unwilling to leave me, and I hadn’t wanted him to. He’d helped me put on one of his T-shirts and promptly put me to bed.

  He’d held me in his arms after we’d crawled into bed. Now, hours later, I was still staring up at the ceiling.

  I looked over at Travis, sleeping peacefully beside me. His arm was wrapped around my waist, holding me close, as he had from the moment he’d found me. Really, from the moment we’d met, when I thought about it.

  I looked down at Buster, who was watching me intently from the foot of the bed while Able snored away on his dog bed in the corner.

  I pulled the covers back as quietly as I could, trying not to wake Travis as I slipped out of bed.

  For the first time, I felt truly comfortable in Travis’s home. Being brought back here, knowing it was one of the safest places I could be, calmed some of my ravaged nerves. I made my way downstairs, my bare feet silent on the staircase. I didn’t know where I was headed until I arrived at the doorway of his command center.