“Please, eat. I brought some water, too.” As the man stared at her in confusion, she reached out and touched his arm lightly. “I would get you out of here if I could. Someday, I will be strong enough to free you. To free all of you.”
The man watched her closely, then slowly released her. He sniffed the bread carefully before taking a bite, then devoured it as if he hadn’t eaten in days. When the girl gave him the bottle of water, he downed it quickly.
“I have to go now, but I promise, I’ll be back.”
The man watched her go, his eyes narrowed on her until she was out of sight.
* * *
It was Amber as a child, there was no doubt in Rikki’s mind. She’d never seen her before, but Angel had described the woman to her. The long blonde hair, wide eyes… it was definitely Amber. Suddenly, the vision changed.
* * *
The girl was older now. Maybe sixteen or seventeen. She stood in front of the General, her head held high, streaks of blood covering every inch of her body that Rikki could see. She had to be in pain, but she never took her gaze from the General.
“You defied me, daughter. Because of that, you were punished.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do not fail me again.”
“Yes, sir.”
“They are animals. Abominations. Nothing more. Do you understand? You will stay away from them, or you will suffer the same fate they do.”
“Yes, sir.”
* * *
Rikki couldn’t imagine the will power it took to stare that bastard in the eyes, never flinching when he looked at her with that cold, unfeeling gaze. He had ordered someone to whip her. Who did that to his own child? “Amber.” The woman’s name was a breath on Rikki’s lips. She didn’t realize how that one word radiated with anguish to the people surrounding her as she was sucked into another vision.
* * *
“No, I won’t go. They will kill you if they find out what you’ve done for me.”
“Then I will die for a worthy cause.” Amber opened a door, motioning to the woman behind her. “Come on, Gemma. We have to hurry.”
They ran from the room, down a long hallway to a side door. Amber keyed in a code, then slipped through it, waiting for Gemma to follow. Soon, they were out in the middle of the woods. It was dark and cold, a light dusting of snow on the ground.
“Amber, come with me. Please. My pack will protect you.”
Amber glanced over at Gemma with a sad smile. “No one can protect me from him, Gemma.”
“We can,” Gemma said stubbornly.
Amber hugged the woman tightly, then leaned back and touched her cheek lightly. “Follow this path for the next mile. It will take you to a river where I’ve hidden a small row boat. I’ve sent a message to your pack. Someone should meet you a few miles down the river.”
“Amber.” Gemma’s eyes filled with tears as she wrapped her arms around Amber tightly, holding her close. “I don’t know what I would have done without you, my friend. Please, stay safe.”
“You, too.”
Amber watched Gemma leave, her shoulders slumping slightly when she turned to head back down the path.
* * *
Rikki watched several more images similar to the ones she’d already seen. Images of the past, proving how giving Amber was. How she put her life on the line daily to try and protect all of the people whose lives the General ruined. She couldn’t imagine having the courage to go through the things Amber did, and still press forward. Still put your life on the line for others. There was a goodness in the woman that Rikki had never seen. Then, the visions changed.
* * *
A woman lay on a cot, her gaze unseeing. Her once long, blonde hair was now tangled and ragged. Her eyes that were a beautiful brown, now dull and glazed over, as if she had finally broke and was hidden somewhere deep inside herself. Dressed in what looked like a hospital gown, she was thin, almost boney. She shivered uncontrollably in the cold room.
The door opened, and Amber flinched slightly, the only indication Rikki had seen so far that she was still lucid.
“Your sister sends her greetings,” a man said as he walked in carrying a tray. “She’s unable to make it to see you right now, but soon. She hopes you are enjoying your time here.”
Rikki saw a glint of something in Amber’s eyes, and then it was gone. When the man left, Amber turned on her side facing the wall. Slowly, she started talking, and Rikki was shocked to find out she was talking to her.
“I know you are here. I can feel you. I don’t know who you are, but please, help me.”
Rikki froze. Then she tried to respond. “Can you hear me?” She had never done anything like this with her gift before. It didn’t work this way. She couldn’t talk to people in her visions, only see what was happening. And, while she could use telepathy, she wasn’t strong enough to hold a connection like this.
“Yes.”
Holy shit! It had to be Amber connecting with her. There was no other explanation. “Amber, my name is Rikki. I’m with RARE.”
“Rikki? I don’t know you.”
“That makes two of us.” When she felt the vision beginning to fade, she growled, “Amber! You need to tell me where you are.”
“Florida,” came the soft reply, as Amber’s eyes began to drift shut. “So tired.”
“What part of Florida?” When there was no response, Rikki hollered, “Don’t you dare pass out on me, Amber! Where in Florida?”
“Don’t know.”
“We are going to find you, Amber.”
“Cold.”
“Amber! We are coming. Your mate is coming.”
A small frown appeared, but Amber’s eyes didn’t open. “Mate. Wolf. So beautiful.” The words were a soft whisper, one Rikki almost missed, then she was gone.
* * *
Rikki was yanked from the vision and found herself screaming Amber’s name. “It’s okay,” Jeremiah said soothingly, rubbing his hands over her arms. “You’re back from wherever the hell you were. Safe.”
Rikki looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. “But Amber’s not.”
“Tell me,” Angel demanded, ignoring Jeremiah’s growl of warning.
Rikki’s body shook, and she pushed herself closer to Jeremiah in a vain attempt to crawl inside him and warm up. She knew it was left over psychic energy that was causing the coldness, but it didn’t stop her from clinging to her mate. At least, she told herself that was the reason why, and it had nothing to do with the lost eyes of a woman who had put her life on the line several times for others.
“Rikki.” Angel’s tone was patient, but Rikki could hear the worry in it. “What happened?”
Jeremiah placed a gentle kiss on her temple, holding her tightly. That was when she noticed she was still on the ground, where she’d collapsed in the beginning of the visions. Visions. More than one.
Lifting her head, she met her alpha mate’s gaze. “My gift has never worked like that before. There was so much. So many visions from the past.” A tear slid down her cheek as she whispered, “Amber helped so many people at the risk of her own life. That bastard beat her, whipped her, but she still helped. She refused to give in to him, refused to run from those who needed her. She stayed, knowing she would probably die a horrible death because of it.” A low growl filled the area, and her gaze swung to Bane. “She’s alive, Bane. And she’s strong. Somehow, she connected with me. She’s,” Rikki hesitated, “she’s in hell right now. But she’s a fighter.”
“Where?” he snarled, his hands clenching tightly into fists.
“Somewhere in Florida. She’s not sure where.”
A roar left Bane’s throat and he turned, slamming a fist into the hood of the Porsche. Rikki’s eyes widened in shock when the front of the car seemed to cave in.
“Shit,” Flame whispered. “Hope you didn’t need to take that car back, Jinx.”
“Fuck the car,” Jinx snarled, turning away from them.
“Jinx, where are you
going?”
“Hunting.”
“Not without me, you’re not,” Bane growled.
Jinx glanced back at him. “I need to find out what part of Florida Amber is in.”
“I told you, get me near that bitch, and I will get the information we need.”
“Bane, no!” Sapphire gasped. “Please.”
Bane looked back at her, growling through gritted teeth, “What would you do if it were your mate, Sapphire? Leave him on his own, or do something about it?”
Sapphire was silent for a moment, then her gaze hardened. “We are coming with you,” she told Jinx quietly.
“You will keep us informed.” It was an order, one Angel expected to be obeyed. “Call us when you get a link on where that bitch is hiding her. We’ll be there.”
“All of us,” Chase growled, his arm going around his mate’s waist. “Amber is one of mine. I claimed her as a White River Wolf. You call, we will be there.”
Bane gave the alpha a short nod.
“Bane?” Rikki struggled to her feet, quickly closing the distance between them. Taking his hand in hers, she placed the wooden wolf in it. “I told her that you are coming for her. She knows you. Knows your wolf.”
Bane’s jaw hardened, and he nodded once, his hand closing tightly over the small wolf. “Thank you.” Then, he, Sapphire, and Jinx walked away without another word.
Rikki watched them go, getting into Bane’s truck and driving away, her heart hurting for the man. Jeremiah slipped a finger through the loop on her jeans and pulled her back against him, his arms going around her waist. Leaning into her mate, she grasped his hands tightly where they lay folded over her stomach. “Do you think he will be okay?”
“He will,” Angel said, her eyes going glacier hard. “We won’t have it any other way.”
Rikki snuggled closer to Jeremiah, her eyes on where Bane had disappeared from sight. She knew what it was like to be separated from your mate. She wouldn’t wish that on anyone. “No, we won’t.”
22
Ebony slipped up and over the wrought iron poor excuse of a security fence, and then quickly made her way across the lawn to the back of the mansion. It took her less than a minute to disarm the alarm on the back door and enter the house. In two minutes, she was through the kitchen, down a long hallway, and up the stairs making her way to the large master bedroom in the back. Drawing her Glock, she paused to listen at the closed door, then slowly pushed it open. Her gaze scanned the area, then went back to the couple in the bed, fast asleep, unaware that they would never wake again. Victoria Smelt and her husband weren’t going to make it to the next morning.
Raising the gun, Ebony gritted her teeth and fired kill shots at both. No, they wouldn’t rise to see the dawn, thanks to Gavin Denowsky and their little fuck session the day before. She not only managed to extract the Smelt’s address from the man’s mind, but also those of the other two head members of the organization. She had no desire to take them out, though. Not yet. She would only do so if her current plan backfired. She’d chosen Victoria on purpose. The woman was a viper, and Ebony knew there was no way she would let the others allow Ebony to share a place with them. Ebony also knew they would fill Victoria’s position right away. They wouldn’t settle on just anyone. It gave her time to prove her worth. Time for her to climb her way up the ladder, putting her in a higher position of power. Something that meant more to her than anything else.
Shoving her gun back in its holster, Ebony turned and walked away without a backward glance. She had things to do, shifters and psychics to acquire, her father’s organization to rebuild. Some of his followers were having an issue with her being involved. She needed to fix that situation. Which meant more blood would be shed, more lives would be lost. She was okay with that.
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Website: http://www.dawnsullivanauthor.com/
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Dawn Sullivan
About the Author
Dawn Sullivan has a wonderful, supportive husband, and three beautiful children. She enjoys spending time with them, which normally involves some baseball, shooting hoops, taking walks, watching movies, and reading.
Her passion for reading began at a very young age and only grew over time. Whether she was bringing home a book from the library or sneaking one of her mother's romance novels to read by the light in the hallway when she was supposed to be sleeping, Dawn always had a book. She reads several different genres and subgenres, but Paranormal Romance and Romantic Suspense are her favorites.
Dawn has always made up stories of her own, and finally decided to start sharing them with others. She hopes everyone enjoys reading them as much as she enjoys writing them.
Other books by Dawn Sullivan
RARE Series
Book 1 Nico’s Heart
Book 2 Phoenix’s Fate
Book 3 Trace’s Temptation
Book 4 Saving Storm
Book 5 Angel’s Destiny
Book 6 Jaxson’s Justice
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White River Wolves Series
Book 1 Josie’s Miracle
Book 2 Slade’s Desire
Book 3 Janie’s Salvation
Book 4 Sable’s Fire
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Serenity Springs Series
Book 1 Tempting His Heart
Book 2 Healing Her Spirit
Book 3 Saving His Soul
Book 4 A Caldwell Wedding
Book 5 Keeping Her Trust
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Chosen By Destiny
Book 1 Blayke
Rikki's Awakening Page 14
