‘What the…?’ Kade stayed standing. ‘I thought we’d come to an agreement.’
Carleton’s smile was wintry. ‘Hardly, Miller. We’ve taken baby steps toward one, but you have to prove I can trust you. And right now they believe you’re my prisoner. It’s all about meeting people’s expectations, I find. Helps to throw things offbalance when you subvert them, later.’
Not seeing any alternative in the face of a real pistol and a dartgun, Kade took a seat and crossed his wrists behind his back, hands fisted. ‘What subversive thing are you going to do?’
His captor merely nodded to Baker, who held a ziptie. Kade’s wrists were bound painfully-tight. He winced and relaxed, testing the give. Not a lot. At least they hadn’t tied his ankles. But Baker waited close by, a gun trained on Kade. A real nine-mil, not a dart gun.
Kade swept a quick review of the room. Five armed guards were arrayed in a loose semi-circle around him and Carleton, facing the door. Two held sniper rifles. Five more guards stood in various locations around the room, close to cover—the bar, the stone dining table, the kitchen bench, the door to the master suite.
He ground his teeth, his heart pounding. Whatever Torin had planned, it was hard to see how it could work. Carleton held all the cards and had the tactical advantage. The hall outside the apartment was a killbox, as was the elevator. What would Torin do, bring everyone in O’Connor Inc and hope it didn’t come to a firefight? Unlikely. What, then?
Kade wracked his brains, trying to think like Tor. But he’d never had the same gift for strategy, which is why Tor ran the company. Tactics, now… Kade made silent plans for taking out two or three of his closest guards, just in case.
Outside, the elevator binged softly. A knock fell on the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
HEATHER
Heather waited, her palms slick and chest pounding so loud she could barely hear Torin’s soft instructions in her ear. Carleton’s door opened and she stepped inside the suite. She observed the space in a quick look and dragged her attention from Kade’s horrified expression. He was surrounded by five guards and Carleton was poised well out of her reach. Torin had been right. Her plan wouldn’t work here.
She would need to let herself be taken and hope they didn’t dart her if she went quietly.
There were so many things that could go wrong. Her mind skittered and jumped from one to the next, trying to see, trying to work out what to do. No good. She drew a slow, steadying breath and raised her hands.
‘I’m here. Let him go.’
Carleton smirked. ‘Well, this is somewhat unexpected.’ His men patted her down and checked the hall outside. They found the earbud and the big one named Baker ground it beneath his heel on the hard tiles. Heather gulped. Torin had warned her it would probably be found, but she’d hoped. Her heart beat so hard the material of her white t-shirt shirt fluttered in time. Her hands were icy, her cheeks hot.
Carleton cocked his head. ‘I need to be sure you’re really the woman I want. I understand your real name is Heather. Last name?’
She managed to looking at avoid Kade. He hadn’t told? She picked one of her aliases at random. ‘O’Meara.’
‘Very well.’ He gestured to his men. ‘Bring Miller closer.’
They dragged Kade’s chair forward until he sat directly before her.
Carleton held out a palm and one of his men slapped a double-edged, serrated knife into it.
‘Show me what you can do.’ He thrust the dagger into Kade’s right side. Kade cried out. Blood flowered across the white silk pyjama top.
Heather gasped, her knees shaking so much she could hardly stand. Carleton kicked Kade’s chair over. Kade grunted, barely holding his skull off the floor when he crashed to the tiles.
‘Heal him,’ Carleton said coolly.
‘You…you…’ She glared at him.
‘You’re wasting time.’ He inspected the knife. ‘I’ve punctured his liver. Not his lung or intestine if my aim was good. You have time to save him from bleeding out if you hurry.’ He glanced at his watch.
She sank to her knees beside Kade, struggling to hold in tears. She couldn’t absorb energy from anyone else. It would give away her one, small, advantage. But did she have enough of her own to heal him? It would depend on the damage.
Getting herself together, she focussed on calming her mind and assessing her body’s reserves. It would be close.
She touched Kade’s side. Blood now pooled on the white tiles under him, running along the grout in straight, scarlet lines. He groaned and swore in three languages.
Heather sent out tendrils of thought, probing the wounds. Tension slipped from her shoulders. Carleton had judged it finely. Only the liver. She could fix it. Concentrating, she pulled the sticky-honey energy from her body and delivered it into Kade’s. Now she could feel it clearly, the healing process became easier. The taste of pine lingered on her tongue as she coaxed the cells to mend and knitted severed bloodvessels. Muscle and skin came next.
When she was done, she slumped to the floor, her body too heavy, strength gone. But the pulse in Kade’s neck was steady. His eyes opened and fixed on her, blankly, coolly.
‘Excellent,’ Carleton said, clapping. He bent over Kade and examined beneath the bloodied shirt. ‘Not a mark. Incredible.’ He examined Heather shrewdly. ‘You look like hell, though. How long does it take you to recover?’
She struggled to sit up. ‘Maybe a day. If I rest and eat properly. But I was already weak from being sick.’
He tapped his lips with a thick finger. ‘Right. So we need to get you somewhere secure and feed you. Got it.’ He gestured to his men. ‘Baker, get Miller a coat to cover the blood and his wrists. Then bring both of them. If they fight, dart them.’
‘No!’ Heather shoved unsteadily to her feet and stopped short when a dartgun muzzle pointed in her direction. ‘You said you’d let him go.’
‘I lied. He’ll be useful for keeping you in line, since you clearly care what happens to him. Now turn and walk. I’d rather not have to carry you out unconscious. Money buys a lot of silence but it’s easier not to have to.’ Carleton waved her toward the door.
She hesitated. What choice did she have? She had to get him out of this building and somewhere Torin’s men could find him. She stumbled to the elevator, ignoring Kade’s slurred, angry protest. Carleton strolled alongside her, one hand beneath her elbow, behaving for all the world like a supportive friend.
#
Out on the street, a blast of cold, bitter-tasting air tossed Heather’s hair into her eyes. She wrapped her coat close and concentrated on walking. Her feet dragged and her body weighed almost more than her legs could bear. She blinked against the dry chill and shook her head to clear it. She needed to think.
The group of bodyguards surrounded her, Kade, and Carleton where they waited on the sidewalk for Carleton’s car. Traffic blared and growled around the traffic circle. Beyond, Central Park, revealed an oasis of greenery. Heather wished for Rowan’s gift of seeing the sianfath and her ability to pull extra energy. She needed energy to think clearly; to save Kade.
Maybe there was another way. But should she? At the age of eleven she’d sworn not to draw power from humans again, yet what other option did she have? Or was she just rationalising? She glanced at Kade, held and at gunpoint.
No. She needed to do something. He was in this situation because of her. It was up to her to save him.
Deliberately, she stumbled and grabbed at one of Carleton’s men for balance. She drew a small pool of energy from him and hoarded it in her body. He scowled and blinked. Strength oozed into her aching muscles. Not enough, though.
She would need more for what was coming. A lot more.
Maybe she could do that again?
A flash of movement. A sharp, cracking zip of sound. Carleton jerked and cried out. He jerked again and collapsed to the sidewalk on his back. A splash of scarlet stained the white shirt beneath his black overcoat. Blood?
Heather froze for a second. Then her training kicked in. She dropped to her knees. His eyelids fluttered. His breath came in rasping gasps. More blood seeped through his shirt.
But he was awake. Alive. He grabbed her wrist so hard her fingers numbed.
Carleton’s men shouted instructions, drew weapons. They formed a circle, with Carleton and Heather in the middle. The men shouldered sniper rifles and scanned nearby rooftops.
Crowds of passersby scurried away. People screamed and ducked, thrusting each other out of the way in a frenzied rush for cover.
‘Get him inside!’ Baker said, tersely.
‘No!’ Heather yelled. ‘Don’t move him. We don’t know if it’s safe.’
Baker thrust Kade to the ground, a gun trained on him.
‘Carleton dies, he dies,’ the man snapped. ‘Fix him.’
Carleton’s eyes rolled up. His clutch on her arm relaxed.
‘Call an ambulance, you idiot,’ she managed, her voice cracking. ‘And get me a cloth. I need to put pressure on this while I work.’ Her body trembled so much she could hardly grip the central seam of Carleton’s shirt. She ripped it open, buttons popping and pinging off the sidewalk. If the bullet was even a fraction the wrong direction…
From his position, Kade watched her, brows raised. She shook her head minutely, hoping he would understand the need to stay still. She switched her mind to clinical mode. Detached. Calm. Essential, or the terror would freeze her completely.
Steadying herself, she inspected the wounds. Two shots. Just below his ribs. Through the left side. Not immediately fatal, but he was bleeding too heavily if the pool of blood was any indication. The familiar, metallic smell settled her nerves. She could do this.
The nearby wail of an ambulance siren brought a sigh and a tiny smile.
She could do this.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
KADE
Kade knelt on the cold concrete. With his wrists tied and a gun aimed at his skull, he was useless. He ground his teeth, observing helplessly while Heather worked on Carleton.
Carleton’s blood dyed the sidewalk carmine. Her hands quaked but she stroked his bared stomach like a lovers’ touch. The colour drained from her face. She slumped, her cheeks white. Carleton’s eyes stayed closed, his skin pale and breath shallow.
‘Why isn’t he fixed?’ Baker growled from behind Kade. The sharp click of a cocking mechanism sent a shiver the length of Kade’s spine.
Heather sent him a frightened look. ‘I tried, but one of the bullets ricocheted off a rib and nicked his atrium. He’s still bleeding internally and I don’t have enough energy to stop it.’ Her lips pressed thin. ‘If he hadn’t made me fix Kade, I could.’
Baker swore. ‘You’re lying.’
Kade hunched his shoulders, waiting. Could he roll to one side and break Baker’s knee with a kick before he pulled the trigger?
‘I’m not!’ Heather cried. ‘I swear, if I could heal him, I would. You heard me before. It takes me a full day to recover from fixing an injury like Kade’s.’ She threw out a hand in supplication. ‘Don’t shoot him! I stabilised Carleton.’ She pointed at an ambulance wailing down the street. ‘They can get him to hospital.’
Baker barked a command to his men, who tucked away their weapons. Kade prepared to move. He needed one chance. The jittering heat of adrenalin pumped through his limbs. He shifted his weight to one knee and tucked his leg close, ready to kick. He checked Heather, who shook her head again.
He wavered. If she and Tor had some sort of plan in place, he could wreck it by doing something dumb. But what was dumb and what was smart? Dammit. Telepathy would be useful.
The ambulance doors swung open and a young man in a paramedic uniform leapt out. Kade kept his expression calm. Hopefully none of Carleton’s minions had got a good glimpse of Luke during the Times Square altercations.
Kade focussed on Heather. She was carrying on an intense, medical conversation with Luke, who nodded knowledgably and asked questions using words Kade barely understood. The kid was good. Baker and the rest of Carleton’s team hovered like vultures. Baker’s knee wedged itself into Kade’s ribs as an unsubtle reminder of who was in charge.
Crowds milled around, forming a wall of curious faces and filming cellphones. The ambulance driver appeared. Sara. She waved the onlookers aside and hauled a gurney from the ambulance. Luke inspected the gunshot injuries and applied some sort of bandages to the site. Kade couldn’t see clearly what was happening. When Luke moved aside, there was an IV dripline in Carleton’s arm. Luke jerked his chin at Sara. Together, she and Luke laid Carleton on a stretcher then heaved him onto the gurney and shoved the whole lot into the vehicle.
Luke directed a question to Heather. ‘You the next of kin? Get in.’
‘Yes. And that’s his brother,’ she said, pointing at Kade.
‘Right.’ Luke took Kade’s arm, still hidden beneath the huge coat. ‘Let me help you into the ambulance.’
Baker grabbed Kade’s other arm. ‘He’ll follow. I’ll go in the ambulance.’
Kade didn’t resist when one of Baker’s offsiders hauled him away from the promise of freedom. The last thing he saw was Heather’s fear and Baker’s gun pressing into her spine. They both climbed into the ambulance. Another of Carleton’s minions clambered in after them, overriding Luke’s protests with the gesture of a nine-mil.
The ambulance doors closed and the sirens wailed.
Kade watched powerlessly as the vehicle drove off.
HEATHER
Heather pressed herself into a corner of the ambulance, unable to stop shaking. Luke played the indignant paramedic to the hilt, telling Carleton’s men they needed to secure their sidearms or he’d stop treating the patient.
The one named Baker snarled. ‘Treat him or I’ll put hole in you.’
Luke sneered. ‘Yeah, because that would help. Stand down or I’ll tell the driver to stop and we’ll let him die.’
There was a long, tense silence. Baker’s eyes narrowed but he jerked a nod at his companion and both holstered their weapons. Heather let her shoulders relax.
‘What hospital are we going to?’ Baker growled.
‘Does he have insurance?’ Luke countered, checking the heart monitor.
‘Of course. The best.’
‘Right.’ Luke tapped on the driver’s window and Sara cocked an ear his way. ‘Head for the private clinic. Tell em to prep for surgery.’
‘Will do.’ She changed lanes.
Luke jerked his chin at Baker. ‘If your friends are following, you might want to tell them to go around the corner. Emergency vehicles only at the entrance we’re using.’
Baker studied Luke’s guileless expression. Heather held her breath. Would he believe it? They’d had so little time to put this together. The veneer of medical competency was thin and brittle. One look by the wrong person in the wrong direction would expose the whole setup as a fraud.
Baker yanked out his phone and issued terse instructions to the vehicle following. The car that had Kade in it, bound and under guard. Heather kept her attention firmly on Carleton, trying not to let her relief show.
Now they had to take the next hurdle.
Carleton’s monitor let out a long, flat beep. Luke swore and shouted to Sara to step on it. He snatched out the defibrillators paddle and elbowed Heather aside. She gripped the second of Carleton’s men as though to steady herself. She pulled as much of his energy as she could. He slumped into unconsciousness and fell across Carleton’s legs. Pine and honey coursed through her veins. Almost enough. Almost. But she couldn’t hold it for long.
Baker tugged at his companion’s shoulder. No response.
‘What’d you do to him?’ Baker snapped at Heather.
‘Nothing! Maybe he’s sick? Ask the paramedic.’
Luke snorted. ‘He probably fainted at the sight of blood. I’ll measure him in a minute.’ He pointed to Carleton. ‘This patient is more urgent. Stay back.’
The defibrill
ator whined into readiness. Luke ripped open Carleton’s shirt and placed two pads on his chest.
Baker yanked out his gun and trained it on Heather. ‘Don’t give me that shit. You did something.’
‘Clear!’ Luke yelled. Baker’s attention switched to Carleton for a second. Luke spun and slapped the defibrillator paddles onto Baker’s thigh and chest and pushed the button.
Heather ducked. Baker stiffened and gargled a cry. His muscles contracted. A shot rang out, deafening in the confines. The bullet whined over Heather’s shoulder and cracked through the ambulance’s skin. Luke dropped the paddles, He snatched out a hypodermic filled with yellow liquid. Baker took a couple of shuddering, shallow breaths. Heather wrenched his pistol free and pointed it at him, trembling.
Luke jabbed the needle into Baker’s thigh and depressed the plunger. The bodyguard flailed feebly at him but Luke tugged free and patted the big man’s leg.
‘Sleep good, dude.’
Baker slumped into the corner, his movements sloppy and slow. His eyes closed and he started snoring. Heather let out a shaky sigh. Luke had taken a big risk. Defibs could kill someone whose heart was functioning normally.
Luke jerked his chin at her. ‘Better give me the gun.’
She passed it over without protesting. What did she know about guns? She was shaking so much she was more likely to shoot Luke than Baker, anyway.
He pointed at Carleton. ‘If you’ve got any of that juice you took from our other sleeping beauty next to you, best use it on Carleton now or we’re screwed.’
She gasped and checked the monitor. Still flat. ‘It’s real? I thought you’d rigged it to distract Baker. Oh, God!’ She tasted the pine sticky-honey energy stockpiled inside. The sharp beginnings of disintegration ate at her body. Hastily, she laid hands on Carleton’s chest.
Once more she trickled power into him, fighting the urge to pour it in and rid herself of the threat. Steadily, she twined the energy into his cells, fixing the worst of the internal bleeding. But there was no time and not enough energy to cure him completely. She couldn’t let his heart remain silent for much longer. She delivered the rest as a small shock, straight to his atrium superior node. The monitor beeped again, regular and strong.
Healing Heather Page 18