Enigma:What Lies Beneath (Enigma Series Book 1)

by Kellen, Ditter

  “I suggest you hurry.” He spun on his heel without another word.

  Abbie quietly closed her door and turned the lock. If Tony thought for one second that she would leave without Hauke, he was sorely mistaken.

  She rushed back to the chair perched next to the bed and pulled on her shoes. Luckily she’d slept in her clothes, which saved her the time it would take to dress.

  Easing from the chair, she crept to the window and slid it up as quietly as possible.

  Fortunately, the house wasn’t on stilts as most beach houses were. She would have hated a repeat of the lab freefall she and Hauke survived a few weeks earlier.

  Abbie threw her leg over the windowsill and glanced back at the door before ducking her head out and dropping to the ground below.

  She quickly turned toward the water, but a sharp pain suddenly exploded inside her skull, taking her breath and any thoughts of escaping she may have had.

  She stumbled back a few steps until her legs abruptly gave out and her world turned black.

  * * * *

  Abbie rolled onto her back with a wince, her head throbbing in time with her heartbeat. She cracked her heavy lids open with a groan and blinked her blurry eyes into focus.

  “You’re awake,” Tony murmured from somewhere close by.

  “Where am I?” She glanced around the room, taking in the odd-looking furnishings scattered about.

  “In Navarre. Are you hungry?”

  Realization dawned. “You hit me.” She sat up too quickly, intensifying the throbbing in her skull.

  “You left me no choice.” He pushed a covered plate across the floor with his foot, never leaving his seat. “Now eat. You look pale. We can’t afford for you to get sick.”

  Even though she agreed, Abbie gaped at him. “Well, you didn’t have to hit me.”

  “Sure I did. You wouldn’t have come willingly, and we had to leave before daylight or risk being seen.”

  “No one knew we were there, Uncle Tony. We could have waited for Hauke. I’m sure he would have returned before long. He probably just— ”

  “He told you to get to the bunker no matter what. I’m sure he had good reason for not making it back in time. Meanwhile, the military is rapidly moving along the coast, searching every residence in the county, including the beach.”

  “I didn’t see anything about that on the news,” Abbie grumbled, reaching for the bottle of water on the nightstand.

  “That’s because it wasn’t on television.” He stood and moved toward the small kitchen behind him. “The fridge is stocked as is the pantry. I had some clothes purchased for you. I hope they are the right size. There are also a few things that might fit your alien, if he returns.”

  “When he returns,” Abbie snapped, regretting it immediately. She gingerly probed at the small lump on the back of her head. “How were you able to get clothes for me without being seen? Aren’t they watching you?”

  Tony scratched his beard and opened the refrigerator. “I am not without resources, Abbie. And I apologize for the bump to your noggin.”

  “Was it really necessary to hit me that hard?”

  “One does not need to hit hard to render one unconscious, only know where to strike. It’s unconventional, yet effective.”

  “Unconventional? It’s barbaric if you ask me.”

  “No one asked you. Now, eat before your food gets cold. I have somewhere to be. I won’t be gone but about thirty minutes. Don’t bother trying to escape. I’ll be locking the door behind me.” He donned a hat and left without further explanation.

  Abbie couldn’t believe she’d gone from running for her life to being held prisoner by her own flesh and blood.

  She picked up the plate from the floor and removed the cloth covering. Her stomach lurched with the first smell of its contents.

  She dropped the dish unceremoniously to the floor, ran for the bathroom, and fell to her knees in front of the toilet.

  Sweat dotted her forehead with every heave of her empty stomach. Tony must have hit her harder than he’d claimed.

  Minutes passed at a snail’s pace with Abbie silently praying for relief. “Hauke…I need you.” Her plea was met with silence.

  Why couldn’t she feel him? Surely he’d had enough time to do what he’d gone to do. At the very least, he could contact her and let her know he was all right.

  Pity soon replaced her nausea, snaking its way through her psyche, breeding thoughts of betrayal.

  What if he’d changed his mind after returning home and decided he didn’t want her any longer? Or worse, what if he had someone there waiting on him and was now in her arms, in her bed, touching her body the way he’d touched Abbie’s barely two days before?

  All traces of him were gone from her. His scent wasn’t even present any longer on the shirt she wore.

  She jerked it over her head and pushed to her feet. A nice hot shower would soothe her fragile stomach as well as her throbbing head. Hopefully.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Maulkryth? I must speak with my father. Now,” Hauke growled in a low voice. His patience had disappeared long ago along with his link to Abbie.

  She would no doubt have worried herself sick by now. Hauke watched the guard assigned to him lounge on a bench not far from his cell door.

  Maulkryth gazed back at him with anxiety lurking in his eyes. “King Klause gave specific orders not to disturb him unless it is an emergency, Hauke.”

  “This is an emergency, damn it. Go get him, or so help me, I will skin your stubborn hide when I get out of here.”

  “Damn it is a human curse word, is it not?”

  “Father?” Hauke shouted, gripping the bars of his cell. “I am not an infant that you can lock up at will. I am your son. “

  “Do not anger your king, fili mi. He grows weary of your outbursts.”

  Relief poured through Hauke at the sight of his mother rounding the corner. “How long am I to be imprisoned in my own home?”

  Laurel stopped in front of his cell and kissed his hands that gripped the bars. “For as long as it takes.”

  “I do not understand his logic, Mother. Does he mean to hold me here until the humans cease to exist?”

  “You have become intimate with a land walker. Such things are not permitted for a reason, my stubborn son.”

  Hauke released the bars he held to resume his pacing. “It would seem that I am to be punished for my emotions. Is this truly the Bracadyte way? I do not seem to recall such laws practiced by the old ones.”

  “The elders are responsible for the implementation of this law, fili mi. Had your ancestor, the king, not taken a human for a mate, there would be no need for the law to begin with.”

  “What happened to his mate after he took her below?”

  A shadow passed through Laurel’s eyes. “It does not matter. I am sorry for the position you find yourself in, but you cannot be allowed to return to the surface. Your life is here with your own kind.” She turned to go.

  “Mother, please. Abbie is my life. Do not do this.”

  “You will forget her in time,” she whispered with tears swimming in her pale green eyes. She disappeared around the corner, leaving Hauke to stare after her retreating back.

  Maulkryth tentatively approached Hauke’s cell. “What is she like, this Abbie you speak of?”

  Hauke’s overly tense muscles relaxed with the mention of her name. “Abbie is like no one I have ever known. She is brave and kind. A healer to her people, and yet she protected me at the risk of her own life.”

  “Is she beautiful?” The guard inched closer, curiosity evident in his eyes.

  An idea suddenly struck Hauke. He blanked his expression and rested his hands through the bars. “I can show you, if you would like?”

  The guard nervously glanced around. “I am forbidden to come any closer, my lord.”

  “I am not the king, nor do I wish to be. Please, call me Hauke.”

  “Very well, Hauke. I will be severely puni
shed for conversing with you. If I am caught— ”

  “Say no more. I, better than anyone, understand the workings of my father’s mind. Perhaps it was not such a good idea. You would likely find yourself unsatisfied with a Bracadyte female after gazing upon Abbie’s perfection.”

  Maulkryth’s shifted from foot to foot. “Do I have your word that you will not attempt to escape?”

  “How am I going to escape through the bars?”

  “If I agree to this, will you allow me to see her unclothed?”

  Hauke had to bite down on his tongue to keep from snarling at the guard. He would remove the heart from Maulkryth’s chest before showing him even an inch of Abbie’s skin.

  He forced his jaw to unclench and smirked at the guard standing before him. “What do you say we begin with her milky-white breasts?”

  “I could never turn down a pair of milky-white breasts,” Hauke’s brother announced, slipping up behind Maulkryth and knocking him over the head with the butt of his knife. “However do you find yourself in these predicaments, little brother?”

  “It is good to see you, Vaulcron. Though I would have preferred you paid a visit a lot sooner. How long have I been locked in this place?”

  “I am not certain as I have been far south of here, trading with the natives of Cuba.” He slipped a key into the door and pulled it open.

  Hauke gripped the back of his brother’s neck, pulling him into a brief hug. “How did you fare?”

  “Very well. We brought back many treasures.”

  “I do not understand how father can trust the land walkers with trading, yet not trust me with the woman I love.”

  “He does not trust all humans, Hauke. Only Miguel. I do not know the history between the two of them, I only know that there is a bond there that cannot be explained.”

  “Your English is exceptional, brother,” Hauke remarked, dragging Maulkryth’s unconscious form into his recently vacated cell. “You could almost pass yourself off as a land walker.”

  Vaulcron grinned, flipping his knife over and offering the handle to Hauke. “I would need to cut off my hair, trim down the points of my ears, and file down my teeth. But it is doable, I suppose. Now be gone from here, and not a word to anyone about my presence in the dungeons.”

  “Your secret is safe. Father will never know of your assistance in my escape. You are next in line to be king, after all.”

  Vaulcron gripped Hauke’s forearm in a tight hold. “Find our sister, Hauke. Find her and bring her home.”

  “I intend to, brother. You have my word.”

  After one last embrace, Hauke slipped through the hidden tunnels of Aukrabah with one thing on his mind…finding Abbie.

  * * * *

  Shortly before sunset, Hauke broke the surface a mile west of Crab Island. It surprised him to discover dozens of land dwellers on the beach, carrying weapons.

  It had to be the human military that Abbie’s uncle had described to him. They wore similar garments to the ones Tony had worn on his nightly visits to the beach house.

  Hauke would have to wait until nightfall to emerge from the water undetected.

  Sinking beneath the waves, Hauke relaxed his body and opened his mind. “Abbie, my love.”

  “Hauke? Oh, my God, Hauke, is it really you? Are you okay? Jesus, I thought you were dead. Where are you? Please tell me you are okay.”

  All the tension left his body at the sound of Abbie’s voice inside his head. “Slow down, my love. It is a long story and one that I will gladly recite once you are safely back with me where you belong. I am hidden beneath the water near the house where I last saw you.”

  “Don’t go ashore, Hauke. I am not there any longer. I’m at the bunker in Navarre. You know, the place we talked about?”

  “Show me, so that I may come to you.”

  The visual Abbie sent revealed landmarks for Hauke to follow, leading to her destination.

  “Do not move until I arrive.” He began swimming west, following the precise directions that would take him back to Abbie’s arms.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Abbie paced the small bunker in short, quick passes. She had nearly been ready to accept the fact that Hauke would never return. He’d either changed his mind about being with her, been injured or worse…died.

  After a month of her grieving and barely eating, he was coming back to her at last.

  Her hands slightly trembled with nerves or excitement—she wasn’t sure—and at this moment in time, it didn’t matter.

  “There are men patrolling the beach here as well, Abbie. I must wait for the cover of darkness before coming ashore.”

  “Listen to me, Hauke. Do you see the three-story blue house?”

  “Yes. I am directly in front of it.”

  “Okay, good. One hundred feet to the left of that house is a sand dune with a copse of trees behind it.”

  “I am heading toward it now.”

  “If you can get to those trees without being seen, there is an old stump in the center covered in vines. Let me know when you get to that spot.”

  Assuring her that he would be fine, Hauke slipped silently through the water, stopping in front of the sand dune that marked the entrance to the trees.

  She watched through his eyes as he noted two men patrolling the area, laughing and inhaling smoke from white sticks they held between their fingers.

  “Those are called cigarettes,” Abbie informed him with no small amount of impatience in her voice. “I wish they would move on already.”

  “They need a diversion.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Running his fingers through the sand beneath his feet, Hauke lifted something small and white for her to see.

  “What are you going to do with that rock?”

  “Create a distraction.”

  “Hauke, wait,” Abbie demanded. “They’ll realize you are here and follow your footprints to the bunker.”

  “Trust me.”

  Abbie held her breath as he threw the rock toward a big green garbage can perched on a porch four houses down.

  It struck its mark with a loud crack, knocking the can over with the desired effect.

  Both men dropped the cigarettes they held, jerked up their weapons, and scrambled down the beach in the direction of the toppled trashcan.

  Hauke waited until they were a fair distance away before emerging from the water and running silently toward the tree line.

  Crouching low, he scanned the foliage in search of the bunker. “I am here.”

  “I know.” She lifted the lid to the hatch, nearly grinning at the stunned look on Hauke’s face.

  With a finger to her lips for silence, she motioned for him to join her below.

  Hauke eased his great frame down the stairs into the narrow passageway, pulling the hatch back into place behind him.

  Lights burned along the walls, guiding their way to the giant silver door of the bunker’s entrance. Abbie pulled it open and stepped inside, closing and locking it behind Hauke.

  “We’ll be safe in here for a while. There’s enough food to last for months, and Uncle Tony brought you some clothes. There’s a shower in there if you’d like to wash the salt off you.”

  He suddenly gripped her arm and jerked her against his tall frame. His lips slanted across hers, effectively silencing her nervous rambling.

  Abbie melted into his arms, kissing him back with all the pent-up passion she’d bottled up for the past month.

  “Hauke,” she whispered through his mind. “I thought I would never see you again.”

  “I am here, my mate. From this day forth, we will never be apart again.”

  He backed her toward the unmade bed situated against the side wall, never taking his lips from hers. “I need to love you now, sweet Abbie. All of you.”

  “Yes,” she mentally cried. “Please. Yes.”

  Hauke eased her onto the mattress and followed her down. He suddenly broke off the kiss, rising up on his knees i
n front of her to unlace the strange-looking vest he wore.

  The pants were a bit more work, but he had them off in no time, kneeling before her in all his nude glory. Abbie nearly swallowed her tongue.

  “May I?” He gestured toward her own obstructive clothing.

  Abbie could only nod as Hauke reached for the button on her jeans. He slid them off, taking her underwear with them. He had to stop and remove her shoes when he reached her feet.

  She rose up, yanking her shirt over her head before dropping back to the mattress in a mindless heap of hormones.

  “You are the most beautiful creature I have ever beheld,” he murmured reverently, staring down at her with lust-filled eyes.

  Several feelings ran through her at once— lust for the man now running his fingertips across her breasts, love on a level she figured that most would never comprehend, and fear that if she closed her eyes, he would disappear and it would have all been a figment of her imagination.

  “Love me, Hauke. Make me believe you are real and not some dream I will wake up from, tormented by your memory.”

  Pain reflected in his beautiful green eyes. “I felt the loss of you, every second of every day, my mate. Grief became a constant companion in the world of agony I had created by leaving your side.”

  The flow of emotion coming from him humbled her. She fell even deeper in love.

  “Fall into me,” she whispered through sudden tears.

  A soft growl escaped him at the use of his own words coming from her lips. “I would crawl inside you if I could. I cannot get my fill.”

  Running a finger beneath the edge of her bra, he gently lifted, releasing her breasts from their confinement. “Open for me, Abbie…all of me,” he demanded, slowly descending toward one rosy tip.

  Abbie trembled in anticipation of the first brush of his lips on her sensitive flesh. Heat spread throughout her body in an inferno of flames that licked along her spine, burning her from the inside out.

  Her eyes drifted shut, and her mind became one with his. She surrendered to his touch, his will, opening for him and basking in the sea of emotions passing between them. “I feel like I’m on fire.”