Strength of Love

by D. Anne Paris

  Strength of Love: Heirs of Orion Book 3

  by D. Anne Paris

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all work of the author's imagination. Any kind of resemblance to actual people or events are purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by D. Anne Paris All rights reserved.

  No parts of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or reproduced, scanned, copied, or distributed in printed and electronic form without written permission from the author.

  First Edition, May, 2018

  Published in the United States of America

  This book is dedicated to my Silver Fox who is my inspiration for

  Jason ‘Tiny’ Tucker

  There are not enough words to express how thankful I am for your love and support.

  Chapter 1

  Elle stared at the dancing flames of the campfire. Something about the smell of burning wood calmed her. She had loved all the evening campfires Uncle Kenneth made when they were younger and the stories he told them while they roasted marshmallows or hot dogs.

  "And then Dean turned around and realized the towel had a hole in it!" Tiny sat by the campfire and tried to act out the scene with the metal skewer dabbed with a marshmallow in his hand.

  The group erupted in laughter. It was the first time in weeks all of them had really laughed. These past few days since the rescue had been tense, so the laughter was a welcome change.

  Wrapped in a blanket, Elle brought her knees up and hugged them. The night was cold but the fire kept all of them warm. Their winter jackets weren't enough against the bitter cold air.

  "Hey, you could have told me ahead of time!" Dean roared at him. He tightened his arm around Anne, who sat next to him on the bench. Both huddled together, wrapped under a blanket.

  "And miss the reaction of the whole team?" Tiny jabbed back as he moved closer to Elle "It was so priceless!"

  "I still have nightmares about your ass." Keith held Jeri in his lap, a blanket wrapped around the two of them. Max, their shepherd, lay beside them on a special blanket pad Jeri made for him. Jeri looked over at Keith. The light from the fire dancing around his face made him look like a primal warrior ready to protect his mate.

  "I don't see how since my sister has the same genes, my friend." Dean fired back.

  "Yeah, but I have hips." Jeri smirked at her brother.

  Keith grinned at her. "Mmmm, that you do, sweetheart." He leaned in and kissed her. When she caressed the stubble on his cheek he deepened the kiss.

  "Oh, get a room like Missy and Evan did!" Dean yelled and threw a marshmallow at them.

  Keith released her and gave his friend a dirty look.

  Christina snorted from the rocking chair she was in. She picked out the charred portions of her marshmallow. "I did not need that image."

  "Don't worry, you'll find someone, Christina," Anne told her friend.

  "Ha! The only thing I'll find out here is a Sasquatch!" Christina spat back in irritation.

  "Hey, be glad Kenneth was able to get his friend to let us stay in this resort during the off season." Dean got up and grabbed a marshmallow and put it on a skewer.

  "It's so beautiful in these mountains." Elle looked around the mountains that surrounded them. They sat outside the main building's fire pit area, which was basically a big hole surrounded by very old crumbling bricks.

  "Yeah, I never imagined South Dakota was so beautiful." Anne wrapped the blanket around Dean when he came back to sit next to her. He handed her the skewer and she held it over the fire.

  "Think we can stay until summer?" Tiny asked as he put another marshmallow on his skewer. He reached out and roasted it in the fire.

  "If we still need to hide out I can always pay Mr. Leigh to rent out the whole resort through the summer." Anne told him.

  Elle saw Keith whisper something in Jeri's ear. A smile formed on her face and she slowly stood up. "We're going to bed."

  "Right. I doubt the two of you are going to be sleeping!" Tiny grinned.

  "Glad to know you're feeling better." Keith mocked him as he wrapped his arm and the blanket around Jeri.

  "I have a great nurse." Tiny leaned over to Elle and smiled.

  "You have my permission to smack him if he gets too annoying," Keith told her, looking at Max.

  "Max, heel."

  The shepherd obeyed him and walked to his left side. Jeri bent down and rolled up the dog bed and snuggled back under the blanket Keith wrapped around her.

  "Good night everyone!" Jeri told them.

  Everyone replied back and she and Keith headed back to one of the cabins at the resort.

  "Ok, I'm done for the night," Christina said. She threw her half eaten marshmallow into the fire. "Good night."

  She grabbed the blanket tighter around her and hurried to the main building.

  "I think we're going to call it a night, too," Anne licked the melted marshmallow off her fingers. Dean leaned over and licked her fingers and then her lips.

  "Here we go!" Tiny said with excitement, gawking at them.

  Dean looked over at him. "Don't get your hopes up, Tiny." He reached over and helped Anne up from the bench. Anne grabbed the blanket and wrapped the blanket tighter around her and her protruding belly.

  "Good night!" They both waved and headed to their cabin by the main house.

  Tiny leaned over towards Elle. "You tired, Angel?"

  Elle looked over at him. For as much bantering and joking he was doing, she could see that he was tired himself, but he was probably lonely just like she was. It wouldn't hurt to stay up a little bit and hear more of his stories.

  "I wouldn't mind staying up a little longer."

  "Great!" He pulled his skewer out of the fire and offered her his melted marshmallow.

  Elle wrinkled her nose. "No thanks."

  "You know, you're the first girl I've met who doesn't like s’mores!" he grabbed the marshmallow off and ate it in one bite.

  "There’re just too sweet."

  He looked back at her. "For a girl as sweet as you it's hard to believe you wouldn't want this sugary goodness."

  She smiled. Usually she would shy away from guys like him. They only wanted one thing, and she wasn't about to give them it like her mother freely did. When a dark memory started to surface she turned to look at Tiny. His short dark blonde hair was all messy, and she just wanted to run her fingers through it to even it out. The light from the fire caused his blue eyes to sparkle. Did she bring out that sparkle?

  "Don't you get tired of hitting on every girl?"

  His eyes fixated on her. "Not if that girl is you."

  Elle's heart started to beat faster. "Tiny..."

  He leaned in and his lips captured hers.

  The sweetness from the marshmallows mixed with his own scent made her senses go crazy. She deepened the kiss and threaded her hands through his hair. She dipped her tongue into his sweet mouth, savoring the sensation her body experienced. His hands caressed her back then traveled up to her neck, holding it.

  The touch of his fingers on her neck brought hot fire around her body, and Tiny was the only one who could douse it. With anxious hands she unzipped his jacket. He threw it on the ground. He released her lips and began to leave a trail of kisses down her neck as his hands unzipped her jacket. Elle took hold of his face and captured his lips again, craving his intoxicating kiss. She grabbed his shirt from his pants, ripped it over his head and tossed it.

  Elle began to explore Tiny's chest and froze when she felt the first bandage.

  What am I doing?

  She pulled away from him, her breathing still heavy. "Tiny..." She looked at his still healing wounds and reality hit her. "I'm sorry. I can't..." She forced her weak legs up and race
d back to the house. What was wrong with her? Was she turning into her mother? She couldn't. Her mind was still reeling and tears flooded her vision as she closed the door of her room and leaned against it. Her body slid down and she cradled her head. Tiny's taste still filled all of her senses and she couldn't shake the feeling that what happened between them was not a onetime thing.

  #

  Tiny stared as Elle raced back to the house. He rubbed his thumb across his lips, still savoring the taste of her lips. He ran his hand down his bandaged chest and slapped the bench he was sitting on. Why would she want to be with him when he was more cut up then Frankenstein? He probably wouldn't be able to finish, anyway. As it was it had taken all his strength to come down to the campfire pit and put on a smile. He was weaker than a newborn. Every ounce of his happiness had seeped out with the blood that was drained, everything except for the ray of sun that was Elle. He looked around and saw his shirt was half in the fire and burning. He waved it off and grabbed his jacket and zipped it up.

  The kiss had been amazing, more than amazing. He didn’t regret taking it. He just hoped Elle had no regrets.

  Chapter 2

  "Get away from me, you bitch!" Tiny screamed. Restraints bit into his skin when he tried to break free.

  Karen Aimes smirked at him. Then she walked over and took one of the full bags of blood from the machine.

  "Oh, dear, dear Tiny. Is that any way to talk to your lover?"

  "What we did was a mistake! If I had known who you really were I would have never even laid my eyes on you." The lights were so bright above him he couldn't focus. How many bags of his blood did she take way -three? four? Every time she did he felt more and more weak and disoriented. Somehow she’d managed to figure out how to penetrate his bulletproof skin and used the opening to drain his blood.

  She walked around the steel table and hovered above his head. Her bright red lipstick matched her fiery red hair. Months ago it attracted Tiny. Now it made him think of her as the blood sucking queen.

  "I'm so hurt. You used to say such sweet words to me." With a red-tipped finger she traced a line down his shirtless chest to his toned abs. "And I loved the feel of you beneath me, so powerful and muscular."

  All Tiny wanted to do was pull away from her repulsive touch.

  "Oh, Sweetie," she murmured as she stepped away from him. "I was so attracted to your strength. It made me wet when I heard all those stories of yours."

  Tiny swore under his breath. He should have just kept his mouth shut. She could probably track the rest of his friends because of him and his loud mouth. Next time he'd just focus on his beer and not on which stories to tell to get laid.

  "They were just stories," he muttered, closing his eyes to shield them against the blinding light. "All lies. Guys do that to get laid."

  "Oh, I don't believe you would do that. You're such an honorable man. You served our country, so I don't believe you would lie about those things."

  Her touch on his chest made him open his eyes. Something glistened in the light. He blinked again and focused on it. He felt his heart almost stopped. Karen was holding a scalpel.

  "What the hell?"

  An evil grin transformed her face. "Oh, this?" She twisted it, making the light bounce off the shiny blade. "This should feel like nothing to you, since you are so strong."

  "What?"

  She lurched down, embedding the scalpel in his abs. Searing white pain hit his chest. He wanted to scream, but the sound was lodged in his throat.

  He heard a knock. The pain slowly started to dissipate. Another knock. Karen disappeared.

  Tiny's eyes flashed open. He raised up, only to have the same white pain hit him again. Even though the cabin was chilly he was completely covered in sweat and the covers were nowhere to be found. He should forget about covers, since he relived this nightmare almost every night.

  A knock interrupted his thoughts.

  "Tiny? Are you okay?" a feminine voice asked from the other side of the door.

  He stopped. The voice was familiar but not the one he expected.

  "Hang on."

  He twisted the top lock and opened the door. Christina Tensel stood in the doorway, a shoulder bag was slung across her shoulder. The dark brown winter coat she wore brought the color out of her eyes and the faux fur hood caressed her dark hair. She was an attractive woman, but she wasn't his Angel.

  "Where's Elle?"

  Christina frowned and pushed past him. "Good morning to you, too, Tiny."

  Tiny closed the door behind her, confused. Elle always came to check on him in the mornings. Did last night's kiss scare her away from him?

  "I'm sorry, I was expecting Elle. She always checks up on me in the morning."

  Christina walked towards the bed and put down her shoulder bag. "Well, I'm going to check you this morning."

  Her voice hid something.

  "Is Elle okay?" he pried, feeling something was wrong.

  Christina didn't look at him as she opened her bag. "Let's take a look at those bandages."

  A pit formed in the bottom of his stomach. He had to see her to know she was okay. "Christina, where's Elle?"

  Christina avoided his gaze as she took out some gloves, gauze, and tape. "Why don't you sit in the chair here." She pointed to the chair behind her.

  Tiny walked up to her and grabbed her arm. Her head snapped towards him. "What's going on, Christina? Tell me!"

  Christina wrestled her arm away from him, and he finally saw what she was hiding, fear. Her eyes glistened and her lip trembled. "I need you to promise me you won't do anything irrational."

  "I'm not promising shit if something happened to Elle! Where is she? What happened?" He tried to keep his temper at bay. If his beautiful Angel was in trouble he would fight the world to help her.

  "Tiny, you're in no condition to go looking for her."

  "Looking for her!?" His heart raced. Did someone from the agency abduct her?

  Tiny moved so he towered above Christina. A tear ran down her cheek and she brushed it away.

  "Tell me." He softened his voice. "Please."

  Christina inhaled. "Elle's gone. We all woke up this morning and found her missing. It doesn't look like anyone broke in last night and all her clothes and things are still in her room. Dean, Evan, and Keith went out to look for her."

  Tiny swore up a storm and grabbed a pair of jeans to go over his boxer shorts.

  "Tiny, you need to stay here. You can't help them right now. You're still weak from the encounter with Karen."

  He buttoned up a flannel shirt, careful to not press on his wounds. "The hell I am. Who knows what those psychos from the Agency could be doing to her. I can't sit here and do jack shit!"

  "So you're going to pass out in the freezing cold, instead?" she shot back at him. "Do everyone a favor and stay here."

  He tied up his boots and grabbed his winter coat, hat and scarf. He glanced back at Christina. "Not when Elle's in trouble."

  He grabbed his gun and an extra magazine, letting the door slam behind him. He swiftly snagged the snowshoes on the bench outside. He raced towards the main house, hoping to find his former teammates and more clues to Elle's disappearance.

  After he cleared past some pines he saw Dean, Evan, and Keith leave the main house with backpacks. Max, Keith's retired bomb sniffing dog, raced in front of them.

  "Hey!"

  They stopped and looked at his direction. Max stopped and wagged his tail.

  Dean was the first to speak. "You should be in bed, Tiny."

  "Not a chance in hell!" he shouted as he put his feet in the snowshoes.

  Keith looked over at Tiny. "So you heard about Elle?"

  Tiny nodded. He kept his pace towards them. "I pried it out of Christina. What do you know so far?"

  Dean motioned towards the woods. "We looked around her room, and it looks like all her things are still there, including her boots. We searched the area and found a set of barefoot tracks that headed towards the woods
in that direction." He motioned to the west with his arm.

  "So someone took her there?" Tiny walked up to them and put on his hat and gloves.

  Keith shook his head "No, there was only one set of foot tracks, and they look like hers." They all started towards the direction of the parked snowmobiles.

  Tiny's eyebrow lifted. "She went into the woods by herself? That doesn't make any sense."

  "Actually, I may know what happened." Evan continued as the four of them walked. "When Elle first used her gift she began to sleepwalk shortly afterwards. It stopped after a couple of weeks, but the next time she used it the sleepwalking lasted for months."

  They got to the snowmobiles parked next to a big barn which housed a bunch of antique cars. He was surprised Anne wasn't there. With her power to manipulate cars she had to be close to them consistently. The barn full of cars was her saving grace in the middle of this wilderness.

  Evan pointed to a set of footprints in the snow that went around the snowmobiles. "I think Elle is starting to sleepwalk again."

  The small foot prints were starting to get covered by the bitter cold wind. Tiny pushed past them and took a closer look.

  "When did she stop sleepwalking?" he asked Evan, who moved behind him.

  "Right after her mother committed suicide."

  Tiny stopped and turned towards Evan, wanting to know more.

  Evan sighed, his breath looking like smoke in the frigid cold. "Elle used her power on her mother."

  Tiny froze, his mind filled with questions and doubts. He couldn't believe it. His Elle, sweet innocent Elle used her power on her own mother? He’d heard bits and pieces that her mother wasn't the best parent and that's why she ended up living with Kenneth and Helen. What could have her mother done to cause her to use her power?

  "We need to get to her," he flatly told them.

  Keith opened the gas cap and peered inside to check the level of the gas as Dean lifted the sled to make sure that it didn't freeze to the ground.

  "We'll find her," Dean assured Tiny as he walked over to the other snowmobile to check it.