"To the house your parents left you, Danni. Where else?" he asked, wondering if she was going to remember anything from that little run-in with the tree.
She tried to move away from him to sit up, but he wasn't having that. He held her right where she was and after a moment she gave up with a sigh and returned her attention to tracing his tattoo. "How do you know about that place, Caine?"
"You told me about it," he said lightly even though at the time he considered spanking her ass for even thinking about going anywhere without him. She of course made that up to him in spades when she announced to the entire pack that was hovering around her that he was the best lay she'd ever had. That could have been the concussion talking, but he'd decided to believe that it was the truth.
"When?" she demanded, giving up on tracing his tattoo to just snuggle against him.
"When that tree knocked you out, Danni. Don't you remember anything?" he asked, getting slightly worried before he reminded himself that she was a Pyte and therefore there would be no permanent damage. If only that damn cancer would remember that and die and leave his mate alone. He still didn't know what the hell he was going to do to help her with that.
He'd never heard of such a thing. Granted, he only knew of a few other Pytes in existence so this could very well be a common occurrence, but he didn't think so. When he'd turned her he fucked up. If he could go back and do it all over again he would have done things differently. He never would have allowed her to be captured. He also knew that he would have changed her so that he could have forever with her. He would have made sure to have several large refrigerators well stocked with fresh blood for her so that she could have killed this thing once and for all. He really didn't like the idea of Danni suffering for eternity.
"It didn't knock me out!" she snapped before asking more softly and with a touch of hesitancy, "What exactly did I say?"
That she loved him, but that she'd kick his ass if he ever left her again, which made him feel like an asshole until she shifted topics and went on for about five minutes in a drunken slur about how big his cock was and how she loved flicking his piercing with her tongue and feeling it rub inside of her when he made love to her, but she probably wouldn't be too happy to hear that she shared that with about twenty shifters who couldn't stop laughing their asses off. So instead he said, "You only talked about the house your parents left you and how no one knew about it," including him. He'd been surprised and furious to discover that her parents had a little love nest only a day's drive away when their asses should have been with their daughter.
After he got over his initial rage, with the help of knocking a few trees down, he thought over what she rambled on about and realized that it would indeed be the best place to take her. No one knew about it, including the Council, because if they had they would have probably sent Danni packing, since Danni's presence as a child had been a bit of a hindrance on the Sentinels running the compound. They all cared for Danni, but having to watch out for another child whose parents were never there had created a problem.
"We'll go there, get you rested and trained and from there.......we'll see," because he had no clue what they should do or where they should go. They were Pytes and should be able to go and do whatever the hell they wanted, but with Danni's condition, the Sentinel Council and the Master after them they had to be careful. He hated this, hated having her so weak and was scared out of his mind that something would happen to him and keep him from taking care of her.
"Okay," Danni said, snuggling up closer to him.
He pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Everything's going to be fine."
He hoped it would at least, for Danni's sake.
Chapter 46
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"Are you sure this is the place?" Caine asked. He looked around the rundown neighborhood as he helped her out of the truck.
"Yes, this is it," she said, as she looked over the old brownstone. Thanks to the street lamps and her night vision she could see just how badly the old brownstone had faired since the one and only time she came here.
That was about eight years ago and it was shocking to see how much had changed in that time. The beautiful red brick facade that she remembered was now the faded background of graffiti tags. The iron railings and fence had since been ripped out of the ground. The small, yet quaint garden that she remembered staring at while she sat on the brick steps sipping a beer was now a mess of mud, used condoms, broken bottles and about a dozen other things that were giving off a foul odor. She could barely make herself look up at the broken windows and the front door that hung off its hinges at an odd angle.
"Stay here, baby. I'm going to have a look around," Caine said, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he moved to help her back in the truck.
"I'm coming," she said, shifting to the side and heading up the broken brick steps as Caine mumbled, "Why am I not surprised?"
Before she made it to the top step he was there shoving the door open and taking her hand into his. Neither one of them bothered with the flashlights in Jax's truck since they could both see better without the interference of the synthetic light.
Years ago when she came here she'd felt betrayed when she stepped inside and got a good look at her parent's love nest, but now her stomach churned with acid as she took in the changes. The walls were either kicked in, spray painted or urinated on. There were empty beer bottles and trash everywhere. Whatever wasn't pinned down had been stolen. The once homey inside now looked like a barren wasteland.
"Let's start with the upstairs," Caine said softly, taking her into his arms. She didn't say a word as he floated them up to the next level since the once beautiful stairs now matched the rest of the house.
"Stay by my side," he said as he released her only to take her hand into his once again and led her down the long hallway that looked in worse shape than the first floor.
The scents of urine, sex, body odor, rotting food and a hundred other scents assaulted her nose. It took her a moment to sort through them and when she did she frowned and glanced around. "We're not alone," she said, looking for the humans that matched those heartbeats that she could hear now that she'd stopped focusing on what she was seeing and allowed her senses to expand.
"No, we're not," Caine said as he casually walked down the hall as if he didn't have a care in the world. "There are five downstairs, two in the basement, seven up here and two in the attic."
She really needed to get control over her abilities, she thought as they walked past a room where a woman, presumably a hooker judging by her apparel, was giving some guy sporting a wedding ring a blowjob. They didn't seem to mind or care about her or Caine as they continued.
"I'm guessing it's been a while since you've been here," Caine said dryly as he shook his head in disgust and turned, leading her back the way that they came. She didn't argue with him since she'd rather get out of here, find a shower and scrub the putrid air off her skin. This place was nasty.
"No, I think the last time she was here was about eight years ago," a too familiar voice said as the sound of a gun cocking registered.
Before she could react she was being shoved back and the loud sound of a gun firing tore through the throaty moans and groans and sent the rest of the crumbling brownstone's occupants running. Caine fell back against her with a small grunt. She caught him and quickly laid him down on the debris covered floor as her heart twisted in her chest as her eyes landed on the damage.
"You son of a-" she screamed, moving to kill him with her bare hands when she came face to face with the barrel of a gun. She automatically stilled, but when he went to slam the butt of the gun into her face she moved. Years of training had her moving to the side, reaching up and grabbing the hand, which incidentally was his only hand and his biggest weakness. With a well practiced move, she broke his wrist.
He howled out in pain. The sounds of glass breaking and doors slamming shut as the other residents fled sounded throughout
the house, but she didn't care about any of them. The only person she cared about was the one unconscious on the floor with his heart racing to fix itself.
"Caine?" she said, hoping that he could hear her and already knowing that if he could he wouldn't be able to understand a damn thing that she said. She needed to get him help.
"Blood," she whispered to no one in particular. She needed to get him blood and there were only two sources available at the moment. Hers and the bastard's that she was going to kill. Since she didn't know what her blood would do to Caine, Greg was going to have to make a little donation.
"You fucking bitch!" Greg roared as he pressed his broken hand against his chest and glared at her. "You're going to pay for that!"
"And how exactly do you think you're going to make me pay?" she asked, holding back her response. She didn't want him to know that Caine had changed her and take away the element of surprise. If he thought that he was dealing with a human woman he wouldn't panic and struggle as much, but the second he found out that she was changed he would fight her with everything he had. She was in no mood to stretch this out any longer than was necessary. She wanted him dead Caine back with her. The only way to do that was to feed him.
"When he changes me," Greg said, nodding towards Caine's prone body as he dropped his hand away from his chest and went for another weapon, "I'm going to make sure that your death is as painful as possible."
"Oh, that's not very nice," an amused voice said, startling them both. She noted the way all the blood in Greg's face drained away as he rushed to grab the weapon he had hidden in his belt. His hand was broken and clumsy, but he still managed to get his hand on it and almost had the gun out of his pants when a hand closed around the top of his and squeezed, further breaking the bones in his hands. The sickening sound of bones snapping and grinding reached her too sensitive ears.
She looked up and felt her heart beat speed up. She moved to get between the three large men standing behind Greg and the man that she loved as he lay unprotected behind her. If it was just her she'd plow through these men and take out as many as she could, but she couldn't leave Caine alone. She wasn't going to risk them getting their hands on him and hurting him in any way.
"I see he needs to feed," the large man squeezing Greg's hand said with a slight nod in acknowledgement as he gave Greg's hand one more squeeze before ripping the gun away from him and tossing it over his shoulder.
The gun skidded to a stop at the feet of two men standing behind Greg. Both men were incredibly handsome, one with almost jet black hair and the unmistakable aura of authority, reminding her of a cop. The other man had dark blonde hair, a shifter, had killer green eyes and a bored expression as he watched the third man crush Greg's hand and bring Greg to his knees. The third man made her nervous enough to reach back and take Caine's cool hand into hers as she looked the man in front of her over.
He had dark brown hair, beautiful emerald eyes a touch lighter than the shifter's, a handsome face with that bad boy look that must drive his mate crazy, a nasty pink scar on his neck and the look of a man that loved to use his fists. Unfortunately for her, the man was a Sentinel. The too sweet smell of his blood was slowly overpowering the rest of the house's foul odor told her that much. It also told her that she was in deep trouble.
"Let me go!" Greg snapped, trying to pull his hand away, but the large Sentinel wasn't having that.
"Gregory Mitchell, I presume," the Sentinel said quietly. Greg stilled at the man's feet, his pain momentarily forgotten as he sent her a menacing glare before he turned his attention back to the Sentinel, who shot her a questioning look before returning his attention to Greg.
Realization dawned in Greg's eyes seconds before he started to struggle to get away, but the man simply squeezed his hand and kept him where he was. "Danni?" the man said without giving the man howling at his feet a second thought.
"Yes," she said firmly, knowing there was no point in lying. She wasn't a coward and she wouldn't start acting like one now. They were outnumbered, but that didn't mean that she was going to let them hurt Caine.
"Let me go!" Greg cried out and the Sentinel surprised her by doing just that.
Greg didn't make it far before the man who reminded her of a cop smoothly pulled out a pair of handcuffs and took Greg down to the ground, cuffing Greg's injured hand to the back of his pants and shoving him down.
"Don't even fucking think of it," the man said in warning before he looked back to her and Caine.
It wasn't too difficult to figure out why a Sentinel was here. The Council found out what Caine did and were here to punish him. That wasn't happening. They weren't taking him away from her.
"How did you find us?" she asked as she sized up each man, looking for weaknesses. With one look she knew that all three men were dangerous and she was going to have a hell of a fight on her hands.
"Sorry, but the Q&A portion of this little arrest is going to have to wait until later, Danni," the man in front of her said as he pulled a pair of shiny handcuffs, making her stomach turn when she realized which handcuffs they were. They were made of titanium, one of the few metals that she wouldn't be able to break through.
"We're not going with you," she said, slowly standing up, keeping her body relaxed and never taking her eyes off the man in front of her.
"Do you need help, Chris?" the man with the cop aura asked.
The Sentinel named Chris cocked his head to the side and studied her for a moment before he slowly shook his head. "I have this, Dad, but if you could be so kind as to get the douche bag over there out of my space I would truly appreciate it."
"I'll be right back," the man said before he leaned down, grabbed a whimpering Greg and disappeared in a flash as dread soared through Danni. That's why his scent was so familiar, she realized, the man was a Pyte and had obviously mastered his abilities while she still struggled with hers. If she was going to get Caine out of here it had to be now before the man came back.
"Move aside," Chris said, gesturing with the cuffs for her to leave Caine's side.
"Sorry, not going to happen," she said, keeping her focus on the man in front of her, but she made damn sure that she knew the shifter's every move.
"There's no escaping this, Danni. He broke the rules. He has to come in," Chris said as the shifter started forward.
"Take another step, mutt," she snapped, purposely using the slanderous name for packless shifters, trying to piss the man off and unsettle him, "and I'll tear your boyfriend's throat out."
The shifter stilled as both men shot her horrified looks.
"Boyfriend?" Chris bit out in obvious disgust. "Puhlease, like he could land someone like me."
"Like I'd be that fucking hard up," the shifter snapped back and she kind of hoped that it would be that easy to distract them so that she could get Caine and run away, but of course nothing in life was ever that easy.
"Don't beg, Kale. Just accept the fact that you could never have me and move on" Chris said, never taking his eyes away from her as she subtly backed up until her foot brushed up against Caine's legs when Chris' words registered. Her eyes shot to the shifter who was now glaring at Chris.
"Kale Quinn?" she asked, hoping like hell that there were two shifters with that name, because if there weren't then that meant-
"The one and only, sweetheart, so be a good little girl and move aside so that we can help your mate," Kale said, moving to take a step in her direction, but she wasn't having that.
She was definitely in over her head here. She had a Pyte, a large Sentinel and Kale Quinn, a well-known mercenary in their world, trying to take Caine away from her. She really wished Caine could help her, but he couldn't so that meant that she had to suck it up and distract them long enough so that she could figure out a way to get them out of here. She had a feeling that they weren't about to simply let her walk out of here with Caine.
"You're not taking him," she said, allowing her fangs to slide down and her eyes to burn as she prepared he
rself for the fight of her life.
"I don't want to have to hurt you, Danni," Chris said calmly. "Move aside and let me do my job."
"No," she said firmly.
Chris slowly nodded before he said, "Grab him," and just like that the fight was on.
He was quick, really quick, but then again so was she. She'd trained all her life with Sentinels and knew how to fight, but with the added Pyte strength and speed she could more than hold her own against them. That gave her an edge, but this man fought harder and faster than any Sentinel that she'd ever seen. He was quick, blocking all of her shots and when she blocked his he recovered quickly and took a different approach. He reminded her of the way Caine fought, which was probably the only reason why she was able to hold her own against this Sentinel. Caine trained her to fight and he made damn sure the lessons stuck.
She was pretty sure that she could use her strength against him, but the damn man wouldn't stop moving! When her vision began to dim and muscles began to ache she knew that she was in trouble. It had been more than ten hours since she fed from Jax and she was using too much energy to fight with this Sentinel. She wasn't going to last very much longer.
Tall, Dark & Heartless: A Pyte/Sentinel Series Novel Page 41
