by Daphne Snow
Frannie had heard the human voice and started crying out for help. And either Kaiser hadn't heard them or didn't care.
Mina needed to kill Kaiser or get him away from her. At this rate, she would never be free of him. He would haunt her long after he was dead in the ground. So what did it matter now if she went with him. Frannie still had a chance, one that was greatly decreasing as the wiry brown panther gazed from Mina to Fran with bloodthirsty eyes. He was going to kill her if he touched her again. She had to draw him away. Steps sounded on the subway stairs as someone approached.
She had known Kaiser was lying earlier when he said he only wanted Frannie. She wasn't oblivious to the way the sullen man looked at her. Sure he wanted to kill Fran but he wanted Mina alive more than anything. What choice did she have?
Mya roared again, entrancing Kaiser's attention again, and she vaulted back into the tunnel as fast as she could. Mya whimpered as they went, the pain increasing. The other cat was hot on her tail. His own wounds slowed him. “It's okay, Mya.” She sent comforting thoughts to her soul's counterpart in hopes she would keep running, never giving up until the very end.
She knew she wouldn't make it out of this alive or with her sanity intact. But as she heard humans yelling "Call 911!" She came to terms with the choice she had made.
The screech that came after though pierced her already weeping heart. "Mina!" Frannie's voice dying and filled with such heartbreak would be the last time Mina would hear it. As she ran farther and farther into the dark tunnel voices dissipated and the sounds of a fast approaching animal was all she heard.
Chapter 16
Franchesca awoke not yet revealing her eyes as they felt sore and heavy. Even the slight twitch of her eyelids hurt. Her head pounded so frightfully she felt like it was on a timer and it was going to explode at any second. Slowly she lifted a pained arm to her head to press her palm to the aching temple.
But as her shoulder started to stretch she cried out in intense pain. Her eyes flew open and met with a bright light coming from some windows from the left of the room she was in. She blinked several times trying to adjust her vision and hold back the tears that were already starting.
Her breathing was heavy as she tried to stretch again and the pain shot up her back making everything flash white. She flung her head from side to side to try to figure out where she was as panic swept through her.
Frannie recognized this big room with its four-poster bed and intricate nature paintings on the wall.What was she doing here? Why did her head hurt so bad and what was wrong with her back?
She was laid on her side facing the bright windows and she tried to stretch her shoulder once more. The pain increased as she did. Her agony wrought cry was louder this time. Hardly a second after the double doors to the room blasted open a worried looking Alexander Benson racing through them with a familiar looking blonde on his heels, a dark leather bag at her side.
"Francesca." Her name was spoken so softly so sweetly from him that she wanted to cry. She missed him. Her dreams hadn't been that at all, she had terrible nightmares. Of Ya-Ya and Mina dead at her feet and Kaiser the one delivering the killing blow. Of clammy fingers grazing her skin making her feel like bugs were crawling all over her.
Her mind was so distraught she didn't know which way was up. She had been in and out of consciousness for who knew how long. It all felt like one horrendous nightmare after another.
Alex came crashing to his knees at her side of the bed. "Don't move baby." Those icy green eyes were so filled with such genuine concern. He placed one hand in her hair rubbing at her scalp and the other on her shoulder to stop her from moving. The woman behind her gently removed what felt like fabric, but even that subtle touch had her crying in pain. Alex looked over her shoulder fiercely at the blonde, a snarl low in his throat.
"Do not start with me." Her voice was thickly Eastern European. Russian, or Slavic perhaps. Her mind was swirling too fast to really pinpoint an answer.
"What happened?" It was the only question that seemed to form around the knot in her throat. Alexander's eyes flashed with a wave of anger and hatred so deep she winced at the sight. He almost seemed like he wasn't going to tell her. A resigned look settled there before he spoke.
"You were...attacked. You were on your way to Mount Sinai when we found you." She froze confused until the memories started to flood her. Mina tied up being touched by that monster Threx. Fey ripped him to shreds. Kaiser all but laughing at them. He branded her! The tears that came were endless not just from the pain but from the absolute anguish her best friend must've felt at being treated like no more than cattle.
She led him away...she left. It took her a moment as that one gut-wrenching truth wiggled its way into her brain. Mina had jumped from the platform leading Kaiser away from dealing the final blow. Right before she passed out surrounded by humans she shrieked her name.
"Where is Mina?" Benson looked at her, his face tight. His normally slicked back hair was shaggy and stubble was appearing on his face now. He was like a god, but right now he looked as if he rather be anywhere else than right here in front of her.
"Alex please!" she rasped.
"Miss Bianchi please stay still." The doctor behind her chided but her voice was still soft as if he knew how painful this must be. He pressed his lips to her forehead for a moment and breathed deeply.
"We didn't find her." Alex finally said the words so quiet she wasn't sure she heard him at first. Sobs followed that after a moment, heart destroying sobs that could be heard from miles away.
Mina was her best friend. Mina was her sister. She was everything to Fran. Without her, she didn't know if she had the will to go through each day with a smile. Through the sobs, other memories occurred.
"Ya-Ya!" Frannie jumped up into a sitting position screaming as she went.
"No you need to lay down you'll only make the injuries worse." The doctor frantically grabbed at her trying to lay her back on her side. Alexander batted away the woman's hands and gently guided her back towards the pillows. Fran was too weak and it hurt too much to resist him.
"Francesca do not move." He was stern even as he tenderly stroked her cheek. If what she remembered was real Ya-Ya was dead. Her throat slit. The image made her shake uncontrollably. She reached out as far as she could without immense strain and grabbed onto Alex's wrist. He stared at her, waiting.
"Is she really gone?" His lack of immediate answer told her everything. She hadn't imagined it. Ya-Ya, her mother figure for over a decade was murdered.
"Oh goddess." She was frozen, unmoving in her state of shock. Heat wrapped around her as Alex placed his forehead against hers in a soft show of support. She cried into his shoulder for a long time.
The doctor who she still hadn't known but assumed worked with shifters had finished redressing the deep claw marks down her back. She asked Alex for a moment to speak. As they stepped away to talk quietly she couldn't help but stare. The grave look on Alex's face with the remorseful look on the doctors did nothing to quell her fear.
Then like a bolt of lightning it hit her. This was the woman from the picture. Her hair was pulled back and she wore less makeup but this was certainly her. And the small knowing smiles they exchanged for a moment confirmed it. This was his woman before Frannie. This was who he supposedly gave up to be with her. Or maybe he had never really let her go and intended to have them both.
"Fey?" She spoke aloud to herself. She hadn't heard from her since she'd awoken. It was several long moments before she got a response. It was a sluggish movement within her. As if the bear was still regaining its own strength.
We have lost a lot, I know. But we can't leave him again. I will do what I must to ensure that. The conviction in her bear's voice surprised her. But Frannie understood. Maybe this would have never happened if she just stayed put. Regardless of whether or not, she was just some play toy to him she would stay...for now. She was too scared not to.
"I know. Thank you Fey." Again aloud as s
he couldn't muster much internal thought right now. Seemingly accepting that, Fey settled going somewhere deep inside Frannie perhaps just as frazzled as she was about the events that'd taken place. As she continued to watch them she shielded her mind away from Fey. Frannie would leave him if what she saw between them was true. She had no intentions of being someone's second choice.
Eventually, Alex returned, his gaze softening as he approached her. He knelt meeting her at eye level. He stroked her hair which she realized had been braided back to keep out of her wound. His large hulking body was like a comforting blanket over her. His deep inhaling breaths and dark woodsy scent was delicious; it calmed her.
"Are you hungry?" She shook her head absently. She should be hungry considering she didn't know when the last time she ate was.
Frannie only needed one thing, one person. Because he would understand the pain and because she needed to know if he had anything to do with what happened. She would eat later and deal with her feelings later right now she needed answers.
❅❅❅
"Can you do something for me?" He looked at her dark chocolate eyes, those beautiful amber flecks faded and lifeless. He would not deny her a single thing. Not now and not when she was better either.
"Anything." Her lip trembled but she had finally stopped crying, thank the goddess. Alex could handle her shouts, her hate, her sass but he couldn't handle her cries. It took everything within him not to change form and destroy everything in his path.
He had held her gently earlier as Dr.Gorky worked on her back. The moment she winced in pain he wanted to kill the bitch. But of course, she just looked at him disapprovingly and gave him an earful about his bedside manner when they stepped away.
He had to remind himself with each strained sound she made that the doctor was only helping. It had been one hell of an injury. Her back was so deeply cut one more rake from that damned panther's claws should have cut to the bones potentially rendering her legs immobile or killed her.
Just the mere thought of Francesca's lifeless body tore at his very soul. He should have stayed. He should have told her to come back with him no matter her feelings on the matter. She would have been safe with him. Instead, he had been stupid. Leaving her with a mad man on the loose thinking he had it all under control. He should have known Kaiser would retaliate this way or some way to hurt him.
A soft barely warm hand grazed the back of his own bringing his attention back to his woman.
"Can you get Zelik Husik here? I need to see him." The request was like a slap to the face.
"Why?" He hadn't meant to sound so harsh.
"Mina is his sister, Ya-Ya was his Grandmother." She let out a shaky breath. "I need to know if he had anything to do with it." Another tear slipped from the corner of her eye and Benson felt a torrential downpour coming. His shirt, not that he cared, was still soaked.
"Why would he have anything to do with it?" She chewed her lip looking away from him. With great care, he took her chin between his two fingers and moved her head back to look at him. "Francesca, you need to tell me everything." It was a few moments of internal indecision on her part before she answered.
She told him all of it. How she had run into Kaiser several times after their first meeting. How he was often at the Husiks working with Zelik in hushed tones. As well as Zeliks anger and storming off. And that the portly strange dish boy from the restaurant had been there in the room. What she had heard and seen in the tunnel and how before Mina had disappeared she had questioned her brother's loyalties.
"Ow, you're hurting me." He quickly released his hold on her hand, not realizing he had become so angry he was unaware of himself. "I'm sorry." He stood pacing in front of her trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked with a sharp note he attempted to swallow but miserably failed.
"At the time it didn't seem important. It's not like I knew he would kidnap me just for knowing you!" She winced at the strain of her body with those fierce words. He hated her like this, in so much pain she could barely move. As much as he loved her tenacity he wished she would just stop wiggling like that. It wasn't doing her back any good.
“You are much more than someone I know. You're my mate, he knew that. That's why he targeted you.” He said the words slow deliberate making sure she understood each word because he was growing tired of her denial.
He rested his arms in a cross formation over his chest. "I could have lost you, Francesca! If you had told me the truth, all of it when I asked-." He stopped himself anger roiling itself within him. Axl's only word since they'd found her had been, Kill! He was of no help. Even now he could feel the prickles of thick bear hide trying to replace his skin.
She narrowed her brows at him, doing her best to look intimidating as she lay on her side. "That night- at the restaurant he said something to you didn't he? Threx that disgusting piece of shit, he said something. And you didn't tell me!" She said accusingly and he was silent, his chilled green eyes boring into her.
He wasn't about to lie to her but admitting the truth meant it was his fault she was in danger. But it was, wasn’t it? He should have dug deeper and looked harder for Kaiser and ugly busboy. Should have posted dozens of guards around her to keep her safe. Instead, he was too worried about getting into her pants.
He left all the heavy lifting to the Council who took their time as well. He had known they would so he couldn't even try to shift the blame to them.
The end result was his woman, his mate had nearly been killed. She was a hair's breadth away from meeting the goddess on the other side and he-. Well, he was a coward. She was so strong, so resilient, Alexander wasn't deserving of her not now and maybe not ever.
Her head had a nasty gash on it and her skull had a small fracture. Her arms were covered in bruises and her wrists were cut up like chopped liver. Her back had been something out of a horror movie with the way it looked bloody with flesh hanging by mere threads. She was in bad shape and it disgusted him he allowed this to happen.
He would kill Wilfred Kaiser he knew that now. Instead of winding his way around bureaucratic bullshit, he would see the life leave his eyes with his own two hands. If he had just listened to his gut instinct before he would have saved his mate all the pain she had to endure.
The silence hung heavy as she stared at him all the hurt in the world in her pretty brown eyes. If he had told her she probably would have stayed with him until she was safe. He just had to say the words.
"Get out." Her voice was so low, pained. He continued to stand there, his eyes feeling hot as Axl tried again to take over. She never dropped her gaze from his.
"Get out." She looked at him fiercer than before as if she was summoning courage. "I will leave as soon as I'm better. In the meantime, I would like space, Mr.Benson." The words were a stab at his heart. She was closing off from him, pushing him away as if they'd never met.
"Francesca." She looked away then painfully shifting to her other side with her torn back facing him. He had royally fucked up. Alexander didn’t leave, not yet he couldn’t. He had thought he had lost his heart when he found her missing. He had to drink in the sight of her a little while longer.
He would fix this, he had to.
Alexander had already decided he would look for her friend. The woman seemed to mean the world to his mate. But with other women, humans, and shifters trapped he had to do more. He wouldn't call the council, he'd known how much good that'd do.
He would instead specifically enlist Blackwell to deal with that. He was better equipped and more stable than Benson was right now. He would use whatever connections he could to help. He knew without a shadow of a doubt his friend would find her and the other woman Francesca had mentioned. And as long as his woman got to see her best friend again Alexander didn't care how he did it.
As for Zelik Husik, he would wring the life from his body if he had the smallest inkling as to what Kaiser was up to.
A short time later
after Frannie had fallen asleep resting from her ordeal he returned to his office. He had called Dominik asking him to find Zelik and bring him here willingly or kicking and screaming it didn't matter to him. As soon as he put the phone in his pocket Dr. Sonya Gorky came through his doors not bothering to knock.
Her shiny blonde hair was tied up and the red blouse and pencil skirt she wore made her seem shapely. He was the least interested man in the world though. He wouldn't deny he thought her pretty at one time but he only had eyes for his Frannie now.
"They're closed for a reason." He spat his rage not having calmed for even a moment.
"And I don't care." She replied simply. The tall thinly curved blonde regarded him with distaste. " You need to stop moping around and do something. You won't find the bastard who did this to her by sitting at your desk."
