“No kidding.” Russ felt ill. To think he'd been laying his lady while her nasty brother hid a few feet from the bed. Jack seemed to have had the same realization because his mouth twisted into lines of disgust.
“Jack, you have to find her. She's pregnant, and alone with him. He used to beat her up.”
Jack patted Russ on the shoulder. “I'm sorry. We'll get her back. So what did you do when you saw she was gone?”
“I noticed some tracks by the back door. Looked like boot prints and drag marks. I followed them to the shed, and my lock had been cut. My snowmobile was gone.” He growled. “That asshole used my own sled to kidnap my girl.”
“I know, Russ. I know. It sucks. Try to calm down. Then what did you do?”
“I tried to track them down. I followed the tracks all the way to town. I almost caught up. He had stolen the plane from the school district's transportation shed. He literally shoved Riley inside and took off as I was running toward them.”
Russ shot Jack a pleading look.
Jack shook his head. “Sorry, man. Now, you know Riley better than anyone in town. You know about her brother, when no one else realized she even had one. What kind of person was he? You say he used to beat her? And where might he have taken her?”
Russ shook his head. “He's crazy. Beat the shit out of her as a kid. He went to prison a long time ago for a bar fight… involving a knife. Riley says she came here to get away from him. He threatened her with a knife and made her give him her inheritance from her father.”
Jack's thick black eyebrows had drawn together. He stared.
“I know. Hell of a mess.”
“Why would anyone beat up a girl as sweet as Riley?”
“Because he's freaking nuts,” Russ replied, grinding his molars again.
“Sounds like it. Any idea what he might want?”
Russ sighed, choosing his words carefully. “She said he had been bothering her again, demanding she turn over 'what she stole from him.'”
“Wha…”
“I don't know,” Russ cut off the question. “Riley figures he's flipped completely. He seems to think she managed to smuggle some part of the inheritance away from him, and he wants it.”
“Was her father rich?”
Russ shook his head. “I don't think so. Riley said he was a scholar and a clergyman.”
Jack shook his head. “I don't get it.”
“Neither do I,” Russ agreed. “I'm not sure even Riley did.”
“But what you've told me does give us a place to start looking.”
“Where?”
“Wherever her father lived. Do you know where that was?”
“Portland,” Russ replied. “Portland, Oregon.”
“Okay. Any idea on the brother's name?”
“Danny.” Russ ran his fingers through his hair, making the white strands stand on end. “And more than that I have no idea. He's Riley's half-brother, so I doubt his last name is Jenkins. I'm not even sure if Danny is short for Daniel or something more unusual.”
“It's okay,” Jack replied. “We have Riley's previous addresses on her background check from the school district. If we can locate the father's house, it will give us a place to start.”
“Would he take her somewhere so obvious?” Russell demanded. “That seems really foolish.”
“So is creeping into a man's house and hiding in his closet, not to mention stealing his snowmobile, airplane and girlfriend right out from under his nose. He sounds like a narcissist and they're always overconfident. I think we have a good shot here.”
Russell closed his eyes. He didn't know what to say next, but his composure was suffering. He could feel Riley's fear.
“Son.” Russell's eyes shot open and his jaw dropped.
“Father?” Sure enough, the elderly Den'a man stood framed in his doorway. Norman stepped carefully into the room and made his slow way to the armchair, where he perched.
“How did you know to come?” Russ asked, stunned.
“A father knows when his son is in need.”
Overwhelmed, Russ buried his face in his hands, elbows resting on his knees.
“Jack Peters, it is good that you are here. Help my son find his woman.”
“I will,” Jack replied. “Russ, I'm going to take off, back to the precinct and make some phone calls. Try to hang in there, buddy.”
Russ didn't answer. He couldn't.
The sound of Jack shutting the door barely registered.
“Son.” Russ looked up. His eyes felt like little balls of flame. “Call to your woman. You have the gift, do you not?”
“I do,” Russ agreed. “That's why the bears threw me out, remember?”
“Yes,” his father agreed. “I remember. I was glad you came. Being separated from a son is… hard on a father.”
Russ wasn't sure what to make of the words, and focused as he was on Riley, he didn't want to take the time to think about it either.
Closing his eyes again, he took his father's advice. He entered the dream. Then he opened his mind to his beloved.
He found her easily, a ball of wild panic deeply suppressed under an oppressive aura of terror. The panic was her own, but the terror tasted of that garbage that had tainted his home.
“He's doing something to her to make her compliant,” Russ said.
“Of course,” came the reply, which now sounded distant and hollow, as though his father sat inside a metal tube. “He has a strong cord attached to her. He has used it to control her. It should have been cut long since.”
“I suppose she doesn't know how,” Russ replied. His consciousness probed at the aura until he found a weak spot and pushed through… and found himself sitting in his airplane, manning the controls while Riley cowered beside him. “Riley. Can you hear me, honey?”
She turned to regard him, eyes wild. “Russell?”
“Hang on. We're coming. Where are you?”
“Approaching Fairbanks,” she replied. “At least I think so. I don't think he's planning to put down in the airport though. He keeps circling.”
“Probably looking for a field, damn it. Riley, are you okay?”
“Yes,” she whimpered. “He hasn't hurt me yet, but I'm scared. What if he hurts the baby?” Her hands went to her belly, cupping the small roundness there.
“Don't do anything to upset him. Try to figure out what he wants, or try to stall him. Whatever. Just don't make him mad. I'll get to you as quickly as I can. Any idea where he'll go next?”
“I don't know,” she whimpered. “He keeps saying I know what he wants, that I know what I took from him, but, Russell, I didn't take anything.”
“I know. I know. Just keep him busy until I can get to you. You can do this, Riley. Be brave. You know him. You know how to deal with him. I love you.”
“Russell…”
Riley disappeared. The plane disappeared and Russell found himself in his living room again, staring at his father with unfocused eyes.
“He kicked me out.”
“Is your woman safe?” the older man asked.
“I think so,” Russ replied. “I hate this.”
His father dipped his chin slowly. “Of course. But try not to panic, Russell. She needs you to stay calm. Did she say where they are?”
“She thought they were headed to Fairbanks,” he explained. “Probably going to ditch the plane outside of town and try to get to the airport.
“Son, if she resists in such a public place, people might intervene,” Norman pointed out.
“I don't know if she can.” Russell made an unhappy face. “He has her locked down so tight, trapped in a dream, she's going to look like a zombie. Not to mention she's terrified he might take her resistance out on the baby.”
“Do you really think they would go to Portland?” Norman asked.
Russell nodded.
“Then we should go there too. I will ask your brother to prepare the tribal plane. We probably will not arrive in time to prevent him boa
rding, but at least we should be able to follow closely.”
“That's a great idea. Thank you so much, Father. Let me call Jack – God only knows how I'm going to explain this – and let him know we're going after her. He can call ahead to Portland.”
Russell bounced up off the sofa, glad to have a plan of action at last.
* * *
Danny landed the little two-seat airplane in a field outside of Fairbanks with enough of a jolt to tempt Riley into giving up her breakfast, lunch and dinner. “You're a shitty pilot,” she said, covering her terror with bravado.
Danny slapped her cheek, not hard enough to bruise, but enough to remind her to watch her mouth. “Get out.”
“I'm in my pajamas,” Riley whined. “I don't want to walk around like this.”
“You're lucky,” he replied. “Your pajamas look like some people's travel clothes.” He waved at her sweatshirt and yoga pants. “And after all, I found you bare-ass naked.”
“Yes, well,” she replied, still sulking, “when you're asleep in your bed, you don't expect company. Not from your brother anyway. What's it to you if I sleep naked? Russell likes it.”
“Riley, don't make me remind you again to be quiet,” he snapped. “I don't want to hear about your whorish ways with that dirty old man of yours.”
Riley considered arguing, but decided against it. If Danny lost what little control he had, they were both out of luck. “Can you tell me what it is you want, Danny?” Riley asked in her softest, gentlest voice. “Maybe if you explain what you're after, I can help you. Then I can go home.”
“You already know, little liar. And you will tell me, later. Right now, Riley, you need to go to sleep.”
Riley tried to resist, but somehow, her brother reached into her mind and dragged her into the dream. Standing on a flat, white plain with a featureless black sky and no scenery, he confronted her. “Don't try to get out. If you give me any trouble, I know where you're vulnerable. You have one chance to keep your kid alive, and that's to do everything I tell you. Understand?”
Riley nodded, though she was sobbing too hard to speak.
“You know, I think you had the right idea before. You kept me out for years with this. Now I'll keep that asshole 'husband' of yours out.” Danny waved his arms and the blank, fake-looking sky disappeared under a curving white dome. The igloo surrounded her once again, blocking her access to the rest of the macro-consciousness, but also blocking anyone else from reaching her there.
She was trapped.
Chapter 16
Despite being on the last leg of his flight to find Riley, Russell and his bear agreed that sitting in a too small airplane seat did not feel right. He wanted to roar, to slash things with his claws.
Warm, hard fingers rested on his arm. “Be at ease, son,” his father said again. “Panic will not bring her back, nor remove her safely from her brother.”
“I know,” Russell growled. “It just kills me, Father. We've been in each other's minds and dreams since we met. Being shut out…”
“I know,” Norman replied. “Your mother and I shared dreams for years. When she died…”
The old man fell silent. Despite his own distress, Russell couldn't help but notice his father's obvious grief. He had assumed his parents' mating had been more political than personal. Looks like not. He would never have been able to explain why, but the realization his parents actually cared for each other touched him.
“Is she well?” Norman asked, breaking into Russell's thoughts again.
“I have no way of knowing. I suppose the fact that she's shielded means she must be okay, right? If she was hurt or… or anything, he wouldn't need to do that.” Russell swallowed hard and stared out the window at the clouds below them. Though the flight from Seattle to Portland was quite a short one, not being able to see anything but dense, fluffy darkness made him feel like he was drowning in cotton candy.
“It seems likely,” his father replied.
“Use the cord,” Randy, seated behind him, suggested.
Russ whipped his head around, which caused his neck to pop. “What do you mean?”
“You two have a cord as strong as steel between you. I can see it.”
“I know,” Russ replied. “It's always been like that.”
“So use it,” Randy insisted. “Dreamwalking is not your sole connection. I'd be very surprised if Riley's brother has even thought of it, and as much energy as he's expending keeping Riley trapped and shielding her inside a dream, he won't have anything left for that cord. Not that he would be able to anyway. Reach out to her along it.”
Russell tried. Using the cord after so much experience in dreams felt uncomfortable, like squeezing into a pair of child-sized pantyhose, but he tried.
“Riley?” This way had no visual connection, though when he concentrated he could almost draw an image of her in his mind, curled into a ball, but seemingly floating in space. Her fear radiated from her.
“Russell?”
Startled by the echoing response in his head, he lost the connection. Opening his eyes, he made a face at his brother.
“Try again,” Norman urged. “Don't give up.”
Russell nodded and closed his eyes. “Riley, we're coming for you. We'll be there soon. Hang on.”
“Russell, I'm scared.” Her voice sounded so strange, hollow and distant. Russell rested his head against the window beside him and focused all his attention on the vicinity of his heart, the place where he connected to his woman.
“I know, honey. Are you hurt?”
“No, but he threatened me. Threatened to hurt the baby if I don't give him what he wants. Russ, I have no idea what he's after.”
“I know you don't, honey.”
“Russell.” His father's voice broke into his mind, speaking to his consciousness directly. “She cannot just wait for us. She must have options to protect herself.”
“Is that your father?” Riley asked.
“You can hear him?” Russell tried to reach out to her, but this method of communication didn't allow for contact. His fuzzy, non-corporeal hand slid right through her fuzzy, non-corporeal frame.
“I can hear him. It's like someone's voice in the background when you're on the phone. Can he hear me?”
“I can hear you, Riley,” Norman said. “Listen, we are coming as quickly as we can, but there may come a moment when you can break free on your own. If you can, you must do it. This person is dangerous and unpredictable. You need to be away from him.”
“I can't,” she replied, her voice breaking. “He'll hurt me.”
“He might try,” Norman replied. “You're correct about that. That is why, Riley, if you have the chance to escape, you should take it. Obviously, if you're in a public place, anyone will help you. But I think he will control you until he has you in your father's home. Do you have a neighbor who will let you in, protect you from him? You may only get one chance, so you must get to safety quickly.”
“Yes, anyone. All the neighbors know me,” Riley said, and her panic had given way somewhat to consideration. Then fear resurfaced. “But it won't matter because he can enter my mind and make me do what he wants.”
“I know.” Norman's voice sounded grim. “That is why you must cut the cord between you. Look for it, but do not touch it. It probably enters your back.”
“I can see it,” Russell breathed. “It's black and ugly, like the tentacle of some kind of sea monster.”
“It is evil,” Norman commented. “It should have been cut years ago. He has been draining your energy all this time. He makes you exhausted by taking your strength. Then, when your soul goes into alert, he uses the cord and dreams to make you afraid.”
“Yes,” Riley agreed. “That sounds exactly right. So what do I do?”
“You wait. Stay alert for opportunities. I feel once you are in your home, he will lower his guard. He will let you return from the dream. He needs you to help him with what he is seeking. That is when your opportunity will arise
. Until then, we will feed you energy, through Russell's cord. He, his brother and I will pour life into you. You must hide it in your heart. Do not let your brother find it. It is yours and not for him. Save it up. It will help you feel stronger and more in control. Meanwhile, think of the baby, of caring for her and protecting her. That will give you strength. When your opportunity arises, send a huge pulse of energy all at once through the cord to your brother. This will startle him. Then dissolve his connection to you – imagine something hot cutting through it – and shield yourself.”
“How do I do that?” she asked. “I don't know how to keep him out.”
“It is a simple process,” Norman told her. “It mostly requires concentration. Imagine a bubble around you. Anything he throws at you will bounce off. He will try to reconnect the cord, but if you concentrate on your bubble, he will not be able.”
“That does sounds simple,” Riley said doubtfully.
“The attack on your shield will be strong and you will have to fight hard to keep it,” Norman warned. “That is why you must get away from him as quickly as possible. Get to a neighbor. Have them call the police.”
“We should let the local police know to be looking for them,” Russell said.
“They don't know already?” Riley demanded.
“We didn't know your address. The police are looking into your background check information to get your previous address. Can you tell it to us?”
Riley replied with a number and street name, and then added, “The car is almost at the house. We'll be inside in a few minutes. Where are you all?”
“We're going to be flying into Portland in about ten minutes,” Russell assured her. “We'll call the police from the gate and go directly to where you are.”
“Okay,” she said. “Russell…”
“I love you, Riley. I'm with you always. Hold on, honey.”
“Get away if you can,” Norman urged. “Do not stay long in his company. Think of the house, of its layout. Do not run for a door if a window is closer. Get outside quickly. The street is safer and someone else's house is safer yet.”
“I understand,” Riley replied. “I'll try. Hurry, please.”
“We're coming as fast as we can,” Russell insisted. “It won't be long now.
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