Clara shifted, hitting Ella’s arm again. The sting jolted Ella. Was she supposed to feel pain in a dream?
Ella shot up, her good elbow pushing into Cade and causing him to grunt. “Go home,” she whispered as sternly as possible.
Clara looked up at Ella, blue eyes wide. “Mommy, I—”
“No. No talking. You need to go home. You understand me?” Ella could easily read the confusion in Clara’s face. She didn’t have a mirror, but she knew she looked a wreck. Dried blood was all over her hair and neck. Dirt from the floor had gotten all over her clothes and face. She just hoped Clara hadn’t noticed the arm, even though the swelling had already gone down quite a bit.
Clara’s gaze moved to Cade and she backed away a few inches. “Did he hurt you, Mommy?” she whispered.
Ella shook her head. “He is a friend of Lucian’s. He’s protecting me.”
Cade leaned forward. “She needs to leave. They can’t find out.” Of course he knew who Clara was. She looked like a mini version of Lucian and had teleported into the room.
Ella glared over her shoulder at him. What exactly did he think she was trying to do?
Lucian stared at the computer screen, looking over the video footage on fast-forward for any hint of where the black Mustang had gone.
Not that he really expected to find anything. Dean pulled every security camera footage hooked into a wireless network within a twenty-mile radius of the gas station. He had five other guys trying to get a hold of any footage Dean couldn’t get through a computer.
Any employees or store owners his guys couldn’t charm or intimidate into handing over the footage would have to be visited later by a vampire, who would be more “convincing.”
Every second that went by was another second they could be taking Ella even farther from him. Hurting her. Killing her.
She couldn’t be dead. He would know. Wouldn’t he?
His phone buzzed on the table next to him. Charlie.
“What have you found?” he barked into the phone. Charlie was in another room reviewing additional camera footage.
“Nothing yet. Just a heads-up. Dean is widening the search another ten miles. We’re almost through all the tape he’s pulled and the other stuff is coming in too slowly.”
Lucian clenched his fist before he slammed it down on the table. Splinters flew and the computer mouse dangled through the hole. “How could they have disappeared? They couldn’t avoid every single camera. Maybe we missed something.”
Charlie was silent for a moment. “How can you things be so powerful, but have no way to bring her back?”
“We have some women coming. Witches, sorceresses. They should be able to do some sort of locator spell. Micah was only able to track them down an hour ago. They were off on some fucking Wicca retreat in the woods. I don’t know what they do in their spare time and none of them can answer a fucking cell phone. We’re in the middle of a goddamn war and they need to be fucking available!”
There was another beat of silence after Lucian’s rant. “Let me know when the witches are here.”
Lucian didn’t say good-bye. He just hung up and stared blankly at the screen.
What were they doing to her? Was she wondering where he was? Why he hadn’t saved her yet?
He should be there!
He shook with the need to hit or break something or someone. Leaning forward, he rested his head in his hands. This wasn’t how to fight a war. Even in the most barbaric corners of the Middle Ages, warriors had honor.
Ella was innocent, not even willing to hurt a fly. Hell, she’d even been able to forgive him for stealing her. Instead of giving him hate, she’d offered love and open arms. Maybe not right away, but it was still a lot more than he deserved.
His phone vibrated again. He frowned at the unfamiliar number. If it wasn’t someone calling saying the witches were in the next room performing the locator spell, he was going to kill someone. “Lucian here.”
“What did you do with her, you son of a bitch?”
It took him a few seconds to place the voice. “Murray? What did I do with who? Where is Clara?”
“Don’t play stupid with me. You think this is funny, don’t you? Giving me my granddaughter like you aren’t some type of—of monster!”
Lucian didn’t have time for Murray’s low opinion of him. “Is Clara with you or not?”
“She’s gone!”
“What do you mean ‘she’s gone’? You were supposed to be watching her! Did someone break in?”
Lucian’s mind raced. The vampires could’ve taken Clara and made Dr. Murray forget, but why would they? They’d want to scare him and show Lucian how vulnerable his family could be. “Are you sure she didn’t sneak out?”
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “Has she seen you teleport?”
He frowned. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
“Since she shares your DNA, it’s very possible she could teleport too.”
Lucian clenched his fists but stopped just before he broke the phone in his hand. The last fucking thing he needed was Clara teleporting all over the damn city with myotis and vampire running around. The sun was still out, but the evening shadows were getting longer and longer.
Dr. Murray continued, “You might be able to find her. You share her blood. Try thinking about her while you teleport.”
“I can’t just think of someone and zap myself to wherever they are. It doesn’t work like that.”
“Kalger told me stories of parents being able to track their children. You have to at least try.”
“Why wouldn’t I know about this?” demanded Lucian as he stood up. He tried to remember his parents raising him, but it was so long ago. They’d been dead for centuries, and his childhood was long over.
Since no myotis had children, no one ever talked about these things. Could the doctor possibly be right? “I’ll find her,” he promised before he hung up the phone.
He looked down, envisioning Clara’s blue eyes. Just like he was searching for a place, he concentrated on his daughter. After thirty seconds of intense focus, he finally got a lock. Without any hesitation, he transported. One second later, he was in a dirty and dank room, the smell of blood and rot almost overpowering.
The only thing in front of him was white cinderblocks. Turning around, his heart leaped in his chest.
Ella met his gaze over Clara’s curls. She looked like hell. Dark circles stretched under her eyes and her head had dark bruises on her cheeks and forehead.
Her clothes were covered with dried blood that stretched up her neck, but he couldn’t get a good look at any wounds. One of her arms was an angry purple color, and swollen enough to let him know it was at least a serious fracture, if not a lot worse.
She held up one finger from her good hand to her mouth, signaling his silence. She jerked her head to the left and he took note of the other man in the cell. One look at his gaunt appearance and overgrown beard assured Lucian this was another prisoner and not a guard.
The man eyed Lucian, not showing any expression. He didn’t appear overwhelmed with joy at the sight of a possible savior, but Lucian had rescued more than one long-term prisoner in his day. It was hard to accept anything good after so much shit.
“Clara. Lucian’s here to take you home,” whispered Ella.
Clara whipped her head around, knocking Ella’s arm; Ella bit her lip in response. Clara ran over to him. “You said you’d find her!”
“Shh,” he said into her hair as he picked her up. He looked back at Ella. “I’ll be back.”
She nodded. “Go!” she whispered at him.
A second later, he was back at Murray’s driveway. Gripping Clara tightly, he raced up the pavement to the front door, pounding on the wood until her grandfather answered.
He practically threw Clara into his arms, not caring whether he was strong enough to hold her or not. “I found Ella. I’m going back.”
In a blink, he was in the cell.
Ella and the man were in the same huddled-up position as before.
He crouched in front of Ella, gently stroking her face with his fingers. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he wanted to reassure himself she was real. Alive and right in front of him.
“Hey stranger,” she whispered, smiling up at him.
“Hey yourself.” So casual. As though there was nothing wrong with this situation at all.
Her eyes roamed over him. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”
He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Funny. I know I’m not at my best.”
He leaned in, laying a soft kiss against her lips. “Seeing you alive makes this officially the best day of my life. It happens to be tied with the worst because I thought you were lost.”
She leaned her forehead against his. “I love you,” she breathed.
He hooked an arm between her and the man she was sitting against, giving him an apologetic look at the jostling, and lifted Ella into his arms. “You have no idea how much I love you, baby.”
She closed her eyes and leaned into Lucian’s chest.
He gave the other man one last look. “Hang in there, buddy. I’m going to make sure she’s safe before I come back.”
The prisoner nodded, still showing no joy or skepticism.
Something about him seemed familiar, but Lucian couldn’t put his finger on it. Instead, he focused on getting Ella to her father.
This time, he had to kick at the door because Ella took up both of his arms. Half of him wanted to just kick the damn thing down, but he really should be especially nice to the good doctor. His last-minute intel had saved Ella and Clara, and he was going to be pissed when he got a good look at Ella and her injuries.
He would just have to get over it. Lucian was already mad enough at himself. He just needed to focus on killing the vampires who’d done this so he and his family could live in peace.
Sure enough, the doctor was furious when he got his first good look at Ella. Lucian ignored his screams, walking around the older man and making his way to the first bedroom he found.
He set her down on the bed and only then realized she was sleeping. For a split second, all he wanted to do was crawl into that bed and hold her. The stress of her abduction and lack of sleep suddenly hit him like a bag of bricks.
But he had more to do. There was one more prisoner to rescue, and he would have to figure out where the hell that cell was. He and his men would pick through it after nightfall, taking out any vampire on the premises and teaching them just what it meant to fuck with the myotis.
He turned to the still ranting Murray. “I have to go kill the ones who did this. I’ll be back before morning.”
Clara ran up to him and hugged his leg, the suddenness of her gentle touch knocking the air from his lungs. “Thank you for bringing home Mommy.”
He patted her on the shoulder. Eventually he would have to tell her she was the reason Mommy got home safely. She’d been able to teleport to Ella because of their mother-daughter relationship, and Lucian was able to track Clara. He might never have found Ella otherwise.
But that was a conversation for another day. He crouched down to hug her close. Over her shoulder, he said, “Ella’s arm is hurt. It might need a splint and I’m sure she needs antibiotics of some type. Her color looks okay, though, so I don’t think she’s going to need any blood.”
Murray narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to pay for this.”
Lucian sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Probably,” he muttered before he transported back to the cell.
The man was in the exact same location with the exact same look on his face. A ball of fucking sunshine.
“Lucian,” croaked out the man.
For a second, Lucian didn’t think anything of the name. Ella had surely mentioned him at some point.
Then recognition hit him. “Cade?”
“Do I look that different?”
A cold rage ripped through Lucian. “You were dead. You were supposed to be dead!”
The sickly-looking man who was his best friend nodded. “Would you prefer it that way?”
Lucian ran his hands over his face and through his hair as the events from three years ago raced through his mind. “I can’t even fucking deal with this right now.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Dean. He looked over at Cade again. He was so thin. Blood covered one side of his face and crusted in his beard. Why hadn’t he transported out?
Lucian knew the vampires had drugs to keep the myotis grounded, but surely they couldn’t have kept him drugged for three years!
Dean answered in the middle of the first ring. “Hold your horses. The witches will be here any minute.”
“Cancel the witches. I found Ella. She’s hurt, but safe for now. I need you to trace my phone.” He dropped the cell to the ground and bent over Cade. “You ready to go home, man?”
Cade let out a dry laugh. “You have no idea.”
Micah, Kai, Dean, and Dmitri all stood around Cade, various expressions of shock on their faces.
“Are you even real?” asked Dean.
“Of course he’s real. Stop staring.” Lucian had a hell of a time ripping his own eyes from the shell of his friend.
Cade just shrugged. “Let them look. I haven’t seen a mirror in forever and I’d rather have them look now before I actually know how bad it is.”
Lucian rubbed a crick in his neck as he felt the setting sun and morphed into his myotis form. Everyone except for Cade and Dmitri followed suit.
Micah frowned. “Why didn’t you—”
Lucian purposely ran into his shoulder as he walked out of the room. “Drop it.” If the vampires had been keeping Cade from changing for the duration of his captivity, who knew how long it would take for that shit to wear off?
“You guys gather some weapons and get ready to raid the vampires’ nest.”
Dean was able to track Lucian’s phone signal to a warehouse in the middle of Atlanta. The big city made it easier considering they’d all been to some point in Atlanta before.
“Cade, follow me.”
Once they were in Lucian’s room, he shut the door.
Cade stood just inside the door and looked around the room. “So is this where I get the tough love?”
“What?”
“I know why I’m here. You want to know if I need to be put down.”
Lucian cocked his head. “How can you even think that?”
“Because that’s what I’m thinking.”
“You don’t seem evil to me.”
“I’m different. You know that.”
Lucian couldn’t deny it. This wasn’t the same man he knew three years ago. At the same time, he didn’t seem as though he’d gone completely off the deep end. He was walking. Not talking much, but still able to form sentences. None of that was reason to put him down.
“Not that different.” Lucian opened his closet that held his favorite swords. “We’re going to destroy that place tonight. I just want to know if you are in or out. No pressure. If you say no, I’ll tell the guys I wouldn’t let you go.”
Cade walked up to the weapons case and ran his fingers along one of the silver blades. “I haven’t held one of these in years.”
“If it’s going to be weird...” Lucian trailed off.
Cade grabbed the sword, deftly twisting the handle in his hand. “I know this might not make me sound any more sane, but I think killing something would make me feel much better.”
Lucian grabbed his dagger and sheathed it in a waist holster. “To be honest, I’d think you were worse off if you didn’t want to kill something.”
Ella sat up and gently pushed Clara off her. She rolled her shoulders and neck, trying to loosen her tense muscles. Apparently a rock-hard floor wasn’t the best place to recuperate from serious injuries.
To be honest, she didn’t feel all that bad. She brought her injured arm
up but couldn’t see how bad it was due to the bandage covering her wrist. Dad must’ve wrapped it in a splint while she slept, and whatever pain pills he gave her worked wonders. She stumbled into the bathroom, getting her first good look at herself.
Sure enough, she looked as if she got hit by a semi. Between the bruises on her face and bags under her eyes, she could easily pass as a zombie.
She ran the water and waited for the water heater to kick in. When it was warm, she ran the washcloth down her neck, moaning at the relief of washing away the grime. She’d hop into the shower right then and there, but Dad never had towels in the guest bathroom.
She looked at her neck wounds, and frowned. They were tiny. Just a few small scratches against her skin. That couldn’t be right. She remembered the vampire biting into her. Maybe he would leave two small punctures where his fangs bit in, but they were still deep punctures.
Cade’s bite was different. His fangs weren’t for puncturing and drinking. They were for ripping and tearing. She’d felt every agonizing second of it, so she had a pretty good idea how severe the bite was.
Her bruises were still evident, though. Was Cade’s bite healing faster or something?
Ugh! Stupid supernatural crap. Just one more thing for her to try to figure out when Lucian came back.
She laid a soft kiss on Clara’s forehead before she made her way out of the guest room. It was time to burn these clothes and find some towels.
Dad stood next to the front door, staring out the window.
“Looking for someone?” she asked.
He jumped at the sound of her voice. “You’re awake. Thank God!” His big grin made her heart melt and she gave him a tight hug.
“Hey, Dad. It looks like you took good care of me. I already feel a lot better.”
He stepped back to look at her. “I did all I could. I can’t believe what those monsters did to you. Are you okay? When did Lucian find you again?”
She took a breath, a bit overwhelmed by all the questions. “I’m hanging in there. The Lucian development is, um, new.”
Stealing Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 5) Page 22
