“Never,” I seethed, clenching my fists tighter.
He stood straighter, which didn’t make him any taller than me, but must have made him feel more intimidating. Loud and clear, for the benefit of all other ears he said, “What you fail to understand, Lexi, is that I hold the fate of your friends and family in my hands. I’ll give you credit for being clever and fearless – I mean you did find your way down here after all – but you broke the rules. Now, there are going to be severe repercussions.” He gazed at me with a punitive look and then grabbed the walkie-talkie attached to his jeans. “James, bring Ava Rose to the compound right now.”
In that instant, all previous confidence disappeared. Fear snaked its way throughout my entire body. Panic set in, and I started shaking and breathing heavy. I grabbed his shoulders, allowing my Essence to flow softly and freely into him. The tone of my voice was a desperate plea as I choked on my tears. “Please. Please don’t do this. She’s only a child. And she…she…”
“She what?” he demanded, clearly not moved.
“She…loves you,” I sputtered. “How can you destroy someone so innocent and pure who loves you?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Love is not an emotion I care to understand.”
“Please, Kieran. I beg you. Do not hurt Ava Rose. I will link willingly and do exactly as you ask. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. But you were hurting that Amethyst, and I couldn’t think. I just snapped.” I was practically hanging from him with buckets of tears falling down my face.
“Begging is good.” His eyes glinted with mild amusement. Viciously, he added, “Now do it on your knees.”
Pride was inconsequential. Ava Rose was all that mattered. I dropped to my knees, grabbed his legs, and said, “I beg of you, Kieran. I surrender. Do not hurt that innocent little girl. Please. I will link with you willingly.”
Clicking his tongue, he shook his head like I was a stupid, naïve girl. Eventually, he stepped backwards out of my grasp and started to walk away. Collapsing into a ball, I wrapped my arms around my knees and broke into uncontrollable sobs. I’d failed. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was going to do to her. I wanted to die right there on the spot. This would break me. I would never make it back from this. I knew it as certain as I knew the sun would rise each morning.
“Bringing the child down here will take too long,” Kieran said, stopping mid-stride. “And we need instant gratification. Besides, the girl has grown on me.”
Uncovering my face, I sat up.
He turned and looked down at me. “I’m not quite ready to destroy someone who loves me. James,” he said into his walkie-talkie, “cancel that last order.”
“Kieran, thank you,” I whispered.
“This has nothing to do with you,” he said with a shrug. “Aria, have you decided which of our two Guardians you want to link with?” he asked, his eyes never leaving my face.
“Yes,” she said.
I almost stopped breathing as a slow, cunning smile spread across his face.
“Good. Leave that one in the cell, but you and Aiden can bring out the other one. We’ll show Lexi what we do when she breaks the rules.” He raised a brow. “How timely we should have an extra Guardian for the occasion. But you probably already know that by now, don’t you? I imagine if you made it this far, you’ve already found them.”
“It’s about time,” Aria said, popping her neck. Spinning, she marched out of the room, and Aiden followed after her.
This time I had to jumpstart my heart with a dash of Essence. My stomach twisted into a million knots. Ava Rose might be safe for the moment, but Dakota and Kohana were not. One of them was going to be forced to link with Aria because Kieran wouldn’t be available – or so they thought. And the other one was about to be tortured by a bunch of really pissed off Ray-pacs. This would be on me. Even though odds were good the Ray-pacs would have killed one of my friends without my involvement, I still felt responsible.
Feeling queasy, I stood up and pleaded again. “Kieran, you don’t have to do this. Please don’t do this.”
In a split second, he was in my face. I’d sensed him coming but stood my ground without wavering. “This one is completely on you,” he spit out. “And if you know what’s good for Ava Rose, you’ll take what I’m about to give you. No resistance. And for once…no retaliation.” He raised his hand, and I knew he was going to slap me across the face. But as I had no bargaining power left, I did as he said and remained perfectly still. I’d gambled one too many times and gotten away with it. I’d left his condo and wandered into his compound which was strictly forbidden, and somehow Izzy was still alive and Ava Rose remained asleep in her bed.
The blows were powerful. First, he slapped me so hard across the face I thought my head might fly off. Then, full-fisted, he punched me in the gut. He showed no mercy and treated me no different than he would a 200 pound male Guardian who was fighting back. I spiraled through the air before slamming into the wall. My head cracked open, and blood gushed everywhere. I must have broken my arm too, because it hurt something crazy. The other Ray-pacs cheered during my beating and even urged him to continue when I was flat on the floor. I was relieved when he said something about not wanting me too banged up right before we linked.
My first impulse was to heal the wound, but I was afraid he might consider even that small move an act of defiance. For the first time in my life, I asked permission. “Kieran, can I please heal my injuries?” My voice sounded wobbly, and I was too shaky and in too much pain to stand. Even my arm was starting to swell.
“You sure are a fast learner when you choose to be,” he replied. He drummed his fist against the table where the dead Innocent was laying. I could tell he was contemplating whether or not to allow me to heal myself.
Chewing on my lip, trying to ignore the wave of dizziness sweeping over me, I waited. I was afraid I was going to pass out before he made a decision one way or the other. So I made an independent choice and directed small flickers of Essence throughout my body, especially to my head. Not enough to heal my wounds but just enough to keep me conscious. I continued to act drowsy, though, swaying back and forth like I might lose consciousness.
Obviously, he didn’t want me out cold, because he said, “Fine, heal yourself now and get over here.” I complied, rose to my feet, and went over and stood next to him. His face loomed before mine. “I want you wide-awake when we torture this Guardian. You will watch every minute without looking away or we’ll bring others in here and keep killing people off until you can watch from start to finish.” At that point, Kieran had us all move out to the corridor.
When Aria appeared with Kohana, I gasped. I’d thought for sure she was going to choose him as a partner because male-female links tended to be stronger, but for whatever reason, Aria had chosen Dakota. That meant Dakota was safe at least until the full moon. For a moment, relief cascaded through me. She was a friend of sorts, and she’d helped me get to Izzy in time. But I instantly hated myself for feeling that way. While I wouldn’t have to witness Dakota being brutalized, I’d still have to watch them torture Kohana. He was a Guardian, and his life was worth no less than Dakota’s. My mix of emotions was overwhelming.
Aria dragged Kohana down the hallway toward us. He was shouting and kicking all the way. But when he caught sight of me, words failed him. He stared in shock, and I’m sure I gazed at him with a similar expression. “Lexi?” he finally said. “What are you doing here? What did they do to you?”
I realized I probably looked a complete mess. I had dried blood on my hands and probably on my face as well. Not to mention my hair was a matted web. “I…I…” I didn’t know what to say, and my voice trailed off. I couldn’t reassure him that everything was going to be okay. And I didn’t want to lie to him anyways. But I also didn’t want to tell him they were going to kill him. Before I could think of something appropriate or encouraging, Aria shoved him into the room. It was much the same as the one we’d just come from, except it was bare and empty
.
“This just gets better and better,” Kieran commented, and I looked sideways at him. “It appears you and this Guardian know each other. What a small world, huh?” He looked pleased. “This will be a lesson harshly learned, but maybe you’ll think before you act next time. Isn’t there a saying, something like: tell me and I’ll forget, but teach me and I’ll remember?”
“What you’re about to do sickens me,” I muttered under my breath.
He laughed uproariously. “I’ll need to harden you up or you’ll never make it as a Ray-pac.” I refrained from spitting in his face, but it wasn’t easy. His voice turned hard, and he leaned close to my ear. “Live and learn. And don’t break the rules again.”
I crossed my arms and turned away.
“Do you want me to give him back his Flair?” Aiden questioned Kieran. I’d thought maybe Kohana’s Flair was defensive, but if it was offensive, it would make sense that Aiden would have absorbed it to keep Kohana from using it on them in the corridor.
Glancing at Aria, Kieran shrugged. “Aria?”
She clasped her hands together excitedly. Her olive-green eyes were barely visible beneath all the heavy black make-up. It was like she’d intentionally smeared it around her eyes. Flashing a contrasting bright white smile, she said, “Absolutely. What fun is a game of cat and mouse if the mouse doesn’t have any advantage at all?” Suddenly she sobered up and looked at Kieran, “But,” she paused, “if he dies, his link with the girl will break. Do we have to be concerned about her dying, too? I don’t want to be left without a partner.”
“No,” Kieran said without hesitation. “When their link snaps, she’ll hurt, but she’ll live. I expect she’ll grow weaker and weaker, but it’s highly unlikely she’ll die before the two of you link.”
I cannot describe the horrors I witnessed in that room. Aria toyed with Kohana for a while and then Aiden came in and they teamed up on him. Filled with revulsion, I watched silently as tears cascaded down my face. My emotions ran the gambit. I was sad and angry at the same time, but I was also disgusted and shocked. Kieran had threatened to hurt my family as well as bring in other victims if I stopped watching or closed my eyes, so I was forced to watch young Kohana suffer mercilessly at the hands of the Ray-pacs. In the end, when he lay dying, they pounced on him and drained him of his Essence. The whole experience was something I hoped never to witness again. My need for revenge grew ten-fold.
Afterwards, Kieran escorted me back to my room in the condo building. Grief-stricken, I was quiet all the way there. He mused that it was probably a good thing I’d found my way to the compound, because I would be there soon enough for our ceremonial “linking.” It sounded like he had some kind of big spectacle planned. Why we needed to be down there, I had no idea. But with Kieran, nothing was ever as simple as he made it sound.
He deposited me at my own room and said, “I don’t want you bothering Ava Rose tonight.” He pointed at Vincent who was sitting outside Ava’s bedroom, looking bored. “If you so much as step out of your room before 7 a.m. Vincent will notify me. At which time I will make a phone call to my people in Tacoma, and you can say good-bye to daddy. Got it?” I nodded and gulped. Then he insisted I retrieve my cell phone and bring it to him along with my key card. That really frustrated me. My only link to the outside world now was Ash. Thank goodness I still had that.
“Lexi, I hope you learned something tonight,” he said as I slapped the phone into his hand. “Mostly – don’t challenge me again. I’ve been more than patient. We only have one more day until we unite; see if you can follow the rules. And I wouldn’t consider contacting Ash if I was you; otherwise, you leave me no choice but to torture either the Amethyst or the child, or both – in front of you.” He reached out and tugged on my matted hair. “If you push me to that, I will be the one taking care of business, and I’m not nearly as gentle as Aria.”
I cringed. There had been nothing gentle about the cruelty she’d inflicted upon Kohana.
“Get yourself cleaned up and get some sleep,” he ordered. “We’ll meet up tomorrow and discuss our union.” Stepping back, he blew me a kiss. “And Lexi,” he paused, a smirk on his face, “sweet dreams.”
Closing the door behind me, I leaned against it and slid to the floor. It was time to call for back-up. I needed my friends and I needed them here tomorrow. And maybe anyone else they could muster up. Regardless of the risks, we had to take out these Ray-pacs once and for all. Hopefully Kieran no longer had someone watching Ash. Slumped on the floor, I broke down and cried.
Eventually, I threw off my shoes, crawled over to the bed, and climbed on top of it. I needed to mentally prepare myself for breaking the news to Ash. Where would I start? And how would I keep him calm enough to listen? Except, before I could organize my thoughts and contact Ash, he contacted me.
“Lexi, what the hell is going on? Tell me you and Ava Rose are not with Kieran right now.”
CHAPTER 19 – KIERAN’S STORY
What? My thoughts ran rampant. How did Ash know?
When he asked me again in a frantic voice, I couldn’t tell him what he wanted to hear. I confirmed Ava Rose and I were with Kieran, and curse words exploded from Ash’s mind and into mine. To say he was furious was an understatement. Had I been in his presence, no doubt his face would have been red with fury, and I’d have been taking a violent shaking. I wasn’t surprised when he vowed to throttle me the next time we met up. In no mood for a tongue-lashing, I demanded he stop bullying me and listen up. Giving explicit instructions, I told him to round up the Bellingham Circle and get everyone on a plane bound for Oklahoma City. I said it had to be done prudently because Kieran seemed to have eyes everywhere. I promised I’d tell him my entire story once he’d set my plan in motion.
His response was not what I expected.
“I can’t do that, Lexi. I’ve got a situation of my own right now.”
“What? What do you mean you can’t do it? What kind of situation?” Sitting up, I moved to the edge of the bed and dangled my feet over the edge. My toes touched the cold stone floor.
“Two guys just showed up on my doorstep. They told me they work for Kieran and that he has both you and Ava Rose holed up somewhere. I didn’t think their practical joke was very funny, so I roughed them up a bit. But they swore it was true. Right now, as we speak, they are making a phone call – supposedly to Kieran – so they can prove it.” His voice sounded rushed and agitated. “They said Kieran has a message I might want to hear before I make any rash decisions. That’s why I’m asking you what the… Hold on a sec.” His voice clipped off and disappeared.
I waited none too patiently. Having cracked every joint I could think of, I moved on to biting my nails. What the heck was going on? Why would Kieran have guys at Ash’s place? Whatever his motive, it couldn’t be good. And the timing was way too coincidental. Had Kieran guessed I might contact Ash even though he’d explicitly told me not to? After everything I’d witnessed in the compound, how could I not? I wondered if Kieran was trying to beat me to the punch or if this was simply part of his original plan.
“How screwed up can this get?” I uttered, plaiting my fingers through my matted hair in an attempt to break apart the knots. My stomach rumbled. Somehow I knew things were about to get even worse. I’d waited too long to call for help, and now I might have just lost my trump card – my Circle of Guardians. Currently, Kieran was winning this game. And while that was infuriating, it wasn’t nearly as distressing as knowing I wasn’t going to be the only one who turned up the big-time loser. There were a lot of other lives at stake, too.
Ash swore loudly again and said angrily, “Is Kieran in a position to harm you or Ava Rose right now?”
“Yes,” I answered meekly, reflecting on how Kieran hadn’t allowed me in Ava’s room and how I was confined to my own bedroom until morning. He was smart. Smart, conniving, and sneaky.
A few more expletives invaded my mind and then Ash said, “Lexi, not only did I just hear from Kieran. I’m
also watching video footage of you and Ava with him. I’m going to have to make a choice when this clip runs out.”
“Okay,” I said, trembling.
“I can take out these two low-lifes on my doorstep and proceed however I see fit. Of course, if I do that, then Kieran has promised he will kill Ava Rose and you’ll never be heard from again. Or, I can go quietly with these guys right now. They will take me on a plane to who knows where, hopefully to you. But in this scenario I must leave everything behind, including my cell phone, and I’m not allowed to communicate with anyone. Oh, and just so you know, I’m not supposed to contact you, either. If I do, then the consequences will be just as severe. So keep your mouth shut about our conversation and act normal,” he said gruffly, barely containing his rage. “My time is about up. Do you see that I have any other way out of this?”
I clutched the comforter and clenched my teeth. “No. There’s nothing. All that is true. Only things are much worse. He’s already killed a Guardian, and he will kill Ava if it means getting what he wants. But I don’t know if you should go with them. I think he’ll kill you and her, regardless. I just don’t know.” I rubbed my temples, tears sliding down my cheeks again. “Can you get word to someone? Jason? Or Madison even?”
“I don’t see how at this point. Give me a few minutes. Once I’m on my way with these two goons, you and I are going to have a serious discussion. And you better be ready to talk. I want every detail, starting from the day you left Bellingham. Got it?”
“Yes.” I reached for the pillow and hugged it tightly. “I’m sorry.” It was probably a good half hour before Ash contacted me again. Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, I told him every detail. I started with that first phone call from Kieran and explained how I’d fabricated a story about my sick uncle. Then I told him how Kieran had paraded Ava and me around town all week, about the horrors in the compound basement, and finally how Kieran planned to link with me. At that bit of information, Ash snorted loudly.
Dentelle #3 Guardian series Page 32
