Box Set: Rune Alexander- Vol. 4-5.5 (Rune Alexander Box Set Book 2)

by Laken Cane

  “She knew he was…odd right from the very beginning. She wanted that baby more than she’d ever wanted anything. She became obsessive. She begged me to let her keep him out of the public. We never reported his birth. Never took him to a doctor. Never put him in school. We moved to an isolated place in the country and things were okay. My wife homeschooled him. It was okay.

  “But then…she got pregnant again. When he was seven.” His smile was grim. “She’d been told she’d never have a child, and now she would have two.”

  Rune pushed her hand against her abdomen, trying to loosen the knots. Shit. He killed the baby.

  The crew never made a sound. They stayed quiet and just let him talk.

  “He was so angry when the baby was born. I saw it in his eyes when he looked at her. I wanted to destroy him then,” he said. “But his mother, she loved the boy. I loved him too. But…” Again, he shook his head.

  “His sister was everything he was not. There was nothing sinister in her eyes. She was sweet, innocent, and normal. And I loved her.” He moaned, once. “She was my baby.”

  “He killed her?” Rune asked, unable not to.

  At last, he nodded. “He said it was an accident. I’d moved out. My job was in the city and it was too long a commute. I sent them money.” He wouldn’t look at any of them.

  “You left your wife there alone to deal with a dangerous son and a helpless daughter?” Z asked.

  “Yes,” he cried, suddenly. “Yes, I did. This is my fault. My daughter’s death is my fault. I wanted to teach my wife a lesson. I wanted her to let me…”

  “You’re a fucked up asshole,” Rune said. “You withdrew from your family because your wife refused to let you murder her son.” She wanted to hurt him then, wanted to hit him until he bled.

  Raze took her arm and pulled her back, away from the stranger.

  “You don’t understand,” the man said, quietly. “You can’t understand.”

  “I understand your son needs help,” she said. “And you need to be put away.”

  He went on as though he didn’t even hear her. “My wife heard a thump and she said she just knew, she somehow knew what had happened. She threw open the door to his bedroom and my little girl was on the floor, dead. When I arrived I went in there and picked her up. Pieces of her broke off like charcoal. Some parts of her were just ash.”

  He looked up at them then, at the horrified circle of faces, and giggled. He was losing his grip on sanity and losing it fast. “He had to work hard to get her that burned. It was not an accident. He got free—somehow he got out of those fucking cuffs—and he went after her. Dragged her into his room. Jealous, maybe, at her freedom, the wife said. He was born evil. I can see it in his eyes.”

  Rune closed her eyes. “Fuck me,” she whispered.

  “We didn’t have the internet,” he continued, “because we were afraid he’d contact someone. He was allowed magazines, newspapers, books, TV. He’s very smart. Very smart boy. He learned of groups who take in people like him. Special people. He wanted to join them and had begged his mother to allow it. She refused. I refused. He is too dangerous for the world. I should have cut off his hands.”

  “You think he’s making his way to one of those groups?”

  “Maybe. But I don’t think he’ll get to where he’s going. He’s never been on the outside, not really. And soon, if he’s not stopped, you’ll begin hearing of charred bodies being found. He’ll likely die out here on his own, but not soon enough.”

  “God,” Rune said, suddenly, her voice little more than a whisper. “We know where he is.”

  Z looked at her and nodded. “What’s your son’s name?” he asked the man.

  “Ben,” the man answered. “His name is Ben. And he’s the devil.”

  Rune’s hand shook when she pulled her cell from her pocket. She punched in Jack’s number and waited, unable to breathe, for him to answer.

  “Rune?” he asked. “Everything good?”

  “God, Jack,” she murmured.

  “Hurry home, Rune.” Ellie’s voice was small in the background. “I’m cooking.”

  “Jack,” Rune said, again.

  “What’s going on?” Jack asked, his voice suddenly sharp.

  “We found Ben’s father. I need you to be very careful, and make sure Ben keeps on that fucking glove. Don’t let him touch you. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes. And send Ellie the fuck home. Now.”

  “Shit, Rune,” Jack murmured. “The phone is on speak—”

  The last thing she heard before his phone went dead was Ellis screaming.

  Chapter Five

  The drive to her house was a blur—she remembered barreling down her street in a frenzy of fear, wondering if Jack, and oh please God, her Ellie, were okay.

  Ben’s father had painted a horrifying picture of his son’s capabilities.

  “If he hurts my people,” she told Ben’s father, “I’m going to rip your fucking head off.”

  “It’s not my fault,” he murmured. “It’s not. It’s not.”

  “Shut up.” Rune balled her fists and almost hoped he’d give her a reason to stop the car, turn around, and punch him in the throat.

  He shut up.

  And the rest of the way home seemed to take forever.

  She drove through the tiny yard and almost to the rickety porch before hitting the brakes with such force that Z nearly went through the windshield.

  “Ellie,” she screamed, running through her house. “Jack!”

  When Jack answered, her legs weakened. Relief that Jack was alive, fear that Ellie wasn’t.

  “In the kitchen,” he called.

  He sat on the floor cradling Ellis in his arms. “He’s alive,” he murmured, looking at Rune. “Just unconscious and…burned. The kid burned him.”

  “I know,” she said, and crouching on the floor, she pulled Ellie into her arms. “Ellie, Ellie.” She moved carefully, terrified of hurting him. His shirt was burned into the skin over his ribs, black and ragged, the flesh beneath red and raw.

  He would live. He would fucking live.

  And at that moment she didn’t care about anything else.

  “I called 911,” Z said, holding his cell. “They’ll be here in five minutes.”

  “Where’s Raze?” Jack asked.

  Rune looked at Z and frowned. “He was right behind us, wasn’t he?”

  “He’s looking for the kid.”

  “What the hell is he?” Jack asked.

  “He’s human with a shitload of power,” Rune said. “He’s searching for a group to take him in.”

  “Let’s hope COS doesn’t find him,” Z said.

  “If we don’t get to him soon someone will find him, and that kind of power in the wrong hands…” Jack shook his head.

  “Yeah,” Rune said. “And fucking Llodra is already on his trail.”

  “He might lose his power if he’s turned,” Z said.

  Rune shrugged, her stare on Ellie. “And he might not.”

  Sirens sounded just as Ellis opened his eyes. “I’m burned, Rune,” he said, his voice calm.

  “I know, baby. Paramedics are on the way.”

  “Ben is dangerous. He grabbed me…I felt my skin just give. But it’s worse than that. When he touched me…”

  “What, Ellie?”

  He swallowed, and tears he didn’t even seem aware of slid down his face. “He was in my mind.” He tried to shake his head, then grimaced and stopped. “I felt him in my brain. I understood what it was like to be him. I wanted to burn people too.” Those last words came out in a whispered rush. “I needed to. He needs to. It’s like…touching, burning, is what he needs to feel right. Do you understand?”

  The medics crowded into the kitchen, but Z held up a hand. “Wait.”

  “Do you mean—” Rune started to say, but Ellis interrupted her.

  “It’s like the best orgasm you can imagine,” he said, his voice low. “It feels so good. So good.”

  “He cra
ves it,” Rune said.

  “And,” Ellis went on, as though she hadn’t spoken, “the more he burns, the better it feels. The stronger he gets.” He lifted his fingers, his face full of terror and regret. “I feel it in my hand.”

  She grabbed his hand and pushed it against her arm. “Your palm is burning hot.”

  He nodded. “He gave that to me. I don’t want to be like that, Rune.”

  “You won’t, baby. He’s not that strong.” Not yet.

  “Rune,” Z said, kneeling beside her. “If he can learn to burn people without killing them…”

  “He might make others just like him.”

  “Shit,” Jack said.

  “We have to find him,” she said. She looked at Z, then Jack, her gaze steady. “We may have to kill him.”

  They nodded.

  “Call RISC and have them send someone for Ben’s dad.” She looked at the paramedics and gently squeezed Ellis’s arm. “Take him in. And be careful with him.”

  “You got it,” one of them answered.

  “Merry Christmas,” the other one said, and he didn’t sound the least sarcastic.

  Once Ellis was safely on his way to the hospital, Rune, Z, and Jack spread out on foot to look for the boy.

  “Rune,” Z called, halting her as they started to split up.

  She turned back. “Yeah?”

  “Be careful.”

  “I’m always careful.”

  He hesitated, and his smile was a little too sad. “Sometimes, you’re careful about the wrong things.”

  “Call me if you see the kid,” she said, then turned and ran down the street. The most important thing was keeping Ben out of the hands of those who’d use him against the humans.

  He couldn’t have gotten far. He was too weak, too injured by the rats.

  And that made her wonder why he’d taped his power hand back up after he’d killed his sister. Why hadn’t he left it off and touched any enemy who came near him?

  Maybe he’d been afraid to show his hand—literally—and face capture.

  Whatever his reasons, Shiv Crew had taken care of the rat problem for him. And now, they’d take care of him.

  It’d be simple enough to keep him from touching them.

  They had guns.

  Unless he could throw his heat, the fucking kid was out of luck.

  The streets and sidewalks were icy and nearly empty, with only the occasional wolf or vampire happening across Rune’s path.

  She ran an ever widening circle as she searched, but as the minutes ticked away she knew she’d have to bring in help.

  Three Shiv Crew members just weren’t enough to sniff out a human boy with Other powers.

  She stopped running and pulled out her cell. “Sherry,” she said, when she got an answer. “Collar a couple of wolves and meet me at my house.”

  “What motherfuckers are we after?” Sherry asked. Sherry was a floater Rune sometimes used when she needed an extra hand. She didn’t like the woman, but she’d use the hell out of her.

  “A human boy,” Rune answered. “I need the wolves to trail him. Can you get them?”

  Sherry hesitated, but only for a second. “Yeah. Be there in a few minutes.”

  Rune searched the shadows of alleyways and dark corners of random backyards as she made her way back home. She wasn’t going to happen upon Ben without the help of some trackers, and the wolves were great at tracking.

  Give them the scent and they’d find the boy with the death touch before dawn.

  Chapter Six

  The wolves caught Ben’s scent from Rune, just as Gunnar had done. They found him exactly six minutes after they began searching. He hadn’t gone far—he’d pulled open the lattice at the bottom of her old porch and had crawled underneath to hide out until he healed.

  “Really, Alexander,” Sherry said. “You didn’t think to search under your own fucking porch?”

  “Go home, Sherry,” Rune said.

  They taped Ben’s hand up and then cuffed both behind his back. He kept his head down and remained silent, once more in the familiar restraints.

  She called RISC to report.

  “Bring him to me, Rune.” Jeremy ordered.

  “Are we taking him in, Rune?” Z asked.

  “I have my orders.”

  “When did that ever stop you from doing what you needed to do?” Jack asked.

  So maybe killing a boy, no matter how dangerous he was, wasn’t something she really wanted to do.

  Maybe.

  “I wouldn’t trust Jeremy Cross not to sell him to the highest bidder,” Raze said, glaring into the distance.

  She blew out a hard breath. “Give me a minute to think, will you?”

  And in the end, she took him to Jeremy. Jeremy had connections. He could get Ben help—if he would.

  The boy was different, and he was dangerous. He’d been born that way.

  It wasn’t his fault.

  She delivered the boy to RISC and watched as they shoved him, still restrained, into a glass fronted cell.

  He stood in the middle of the room, his head down, but finally, he looked at her. His eyes were full of confused hopelessness. Rage. Fear. Uncertainty.

  “I don’t know who I am,” he pleaded. “Somebody help me.”

  He looked like the kid he was.

  “Fuck me,” Rune whispered.

  She went straight to find Jeremy.

  “Find someone to train him, Jeremy,” she said. “Give the kid a fucking life.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll take care of it, Rune.”

  “Fuck you. He’s not an it.”

  He stood, brushing imaginary lint off his suit jacket, and then walked with leisurely intent toward her.

  She’d be damned if she’d back away.

  But she shivered.

  He smiled, just a little. “Rune,” he murmured. “Why do you always have to make everything so hard on yourself?”

  She held a hand up to stop him. “What are you going to do with Ben?”

  He stopped walking when he was right in front of her, close enough that she had to tilt her head back to look up at him. “I can promise you I won’t kill him.”

  She clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms. The warm stickiness of blood comforted her. The pain centered her. “There are worse things than death.”

  His voice was tender, and he reached out to lift a strand of hair from her shoulder. “You can trust me, Rune.”

  “Damn you, Jeremy,” she whispered. He was a fucking liar. She couldn’t trust anybody.

  He seemed to leave a path of burning flesh as he trailed his fingers across her shoulder and then up to her throat. He gripped her throat, very, very carefully, then squeezed.

  “Tonight?” he asked. And then, not waiting for her answer, he leaned forward and kissed her. “Tonight,” he said, after he pulled away.

  She took a deep breath, caressing her abused throat when he turned away. She shuddered. “Maybe.” And she heard the eagerness in her voice.

  He sat down behind his desk once again, crisp and neat and bright. It was an hour after dawn, and she was disheveled and bloody and ragged from the fights of the night.

  “Go home, Rune. Get some coffee and sleep. I’ll call you.” He began tapping on his computer keyboard, ignoring her.

  “Jeremy.”

  He looked up. “What, Rune? What is it?”

  She put her palms on his desk and leaned toward him. “If you kill that kid, I’m going to rip your fucking head off.”

  His eyes widened, just slightly.

  “It might take me a little while,” she continued, “but I swear I will end you.”

  His fear made him angry. He stood, pushing his chair back so hard it hit the wall. “Don’t threaten—”

  “Boss.”

  They both snapped their heads around to look toward the door, where Strad Matheson waited.

  He stared back at them, his face bland, but his eyes…

  Rune ste
pped back, and not taking her stare from the berserker, she strode to the doorway. “Move.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat before trying again. “Move the fuck out of my way, Berserker.”

  Without a word he stepped from the room to let her pass.

  She didn’t turn around to look as she walked away, but she didn’t have to. Strad was watching her. She felt his stare like a physical thing, heavy and grim upon her back, until at last she was out of sight of those raging blue eyes.

  Chapter Seven

  “He couldn’t be all bad,” Jack said. “He made sure to recover his hands when he ran away.”

  “If he deliberately killed the little girl,” Raze said, “he’s all fucking bad.”

  “Go home and get some sleep.” Rune cut off a yawn and took a drink of the hot coffee Jack had handed her.

  “You too, Rune,” Raze said. He folded his massive arms and stared down at her, and there wasn’t so much as a twinkle in his eye.

  She sighed. Her crew could be a little overprotective. “As soon as I visit Ellie.”

  Raze pursed his lips, narrowed his eyes, and then finally decided she was telling the truth. “I’ll go with you.”

  “Raze, go the fuck home, baby.” She drained the cup and tossed it in the garbage can just inside the RISC entrance doors. “Both of you. Go.”

  Jack yanked on the ammo belt draped across his chest and nodded. “Call me if you need me.”

  “See you in a few hours.” She looked around. “Z took off?”

  “Must have,” Jack said, and left the building with Raze.

  She thought briefly of checking on the boy before she left the building, but in the end, decided against it.

  The hospital was a familiar sight. In Shiv Crew’s line of work, splints and stitches were irritating little consequences of the job.

  But that didn’t involve Ellis. At least, not often.

  She stood at his bedside, her arms crossed, watching him sleep. The quiet did nothing good for her. Thoughts of how close Ellie had been to that greedy bastard, Death, made her want to huddle in a dark corner and moan.

  “Ellie,” she whispered. “What would I do without you?”