by Jaime Rush
“Me, too.”
Lyle spotted him from down the hallway and ran over, his backpack flopping from left to right. “Any news?” Delicate hope tensed his mouth and raised his eyebrows high on his forehead.
Kasabian put his hand on the kid’s bony shoulder. “We were close.” He shook his head, unable to say how they’d lost him. “But I’m working on it. I will bring him home, I promise.” He should know better than to make promises like that. But the words had come out, and he would honor them. One way or another.
Lyle clutched Kasabian’s arm. “Let me help.”
Kasabian wanted to tell him how brave he was, wanted to share his own story of leading the kids out of the hell his father had put them through. But that would only encourage the kid, and Kasabian couldn’t be responsible for spurring him into action that would put him into danger. “You go on the trip, have fun.”
“Fun. Yeah, like I’m even going to be able to concentrate on collecting samples of swamp water and documenting the wildlife.” He stared past Kasabian, clenching his fist to his chest. “I want to see him again so bad it hurts.”
“I know the feeling.” Unfortunately, he did. The need to see Kye, to touch her again, raged through him. “I’ll update you as soon as you return. Right now I’ve got to run.”
Kasabian sorted through his options as he headed toward the parking lot. He needed to make sure that Hayden hadn’t been detained at work. Hayden trusted his boss, but the man seemed bound to superiors who couldn’t be trusted. Kasabian would talk to Hayden’s sergeant and very carefully find out what he needed to know.
Kasabian was escorted to Bane’s office thirty minutes after arriving at Guard headquarters. There was an odd tension in the air. Officers were standing around talking in low, somber tones, and they seemed shaken.
Brian Bane bore the same kind of morose expression as he stood up from behind his desk. He didn’t even try to paste on a cordial look. “You said you wanted to see me about Hayden?”
Kasabian didn’t like the combination of Hayden being missing and something off happening here. He nodded toward the pit of desks in the center of the building. “What’s going on?”
Bane gave away nothing, not even a twitch. “Nothing that concerns you.”
So not related to Hayden. “I’m a close friend of Hayden’s. I’ve known him since we were kids. We were both kidnapped, and we escaped together.” He touched the center of his chest, drawing his finger and thumb down to the scar. “I need to know if you’ve sent him on one of those highly secretive, important missions he’s been working on lately.” Kasabian gave him a look to convey one of those bullshit missions. “Because I can’t get hold of him, and it’s imperative that I do so.”
Bane looked at the clock. “He’s late for work, actually, which is unlike him.” He picked up his phone and dialed. “It’s Bane. Any word from Masters?…Okay, thank you. Let me know immediately if you do.” He hung up. “What are you and Masters involved in?”
“It’s probably better if you don’t know. But I’m concerned about him.” More like worried as hell.
Bane dropped down into his chair, staring blankly into space. “What is going on around here?” he asked no one in particular, then seemed to realize he’d spoken aloud. “It must be the Deus Vis fluctuations. Since the solar storm flares started hitting, we’re seeing some bizarre behavior. Like Vegas digging into things they shouldn’t.” Now he gave Kasabian a pointed look.
“Understood. I’ll let you know when I find him.”
“I didn’t agree to see you so you could ask me questions and then just leave. Hayden’s one of my best men, and we don’t have a lot of Caidos in the Guard as it is. Not only am I worried about him, I’m worried also about my own ass. If he gets into trouble—or worse—I have to answer for it. I don’t like when the Concilium big shots whose names I don’t even know come in asking questions, especially when I have no answers. I could detain you, have you interrogated.”
“That will open a box you don’t want opened. You can let me leave and remain blissfully in the dark or face knowing something that requires you to risk everything you’ve worked for to do the right thing.”
Bane’s mouth tightened. “I always do the right thing.”
“With all due respect, you do what you’re told. Something seems to happen when an officer gets elevated from Vega to the higher positions. Maybe you have more prestige and income to lose. But you lose something much more precious.” Balls.
Kasabian turned to leave before Bane could spew the words that he was trying so hard to contain. The officer who had escorted him to the inner sanctum was ready to lead him out. Kasabian took in the paintings of the various gods of the island of Lucifera staring at him from their gilded frames. Many Crescents could trace their ancestry back to their godly sire. It was a matter of pride to come from a Dragon god of war or a Deuce goddess of sensuality, for instance. Like Kye.
Kye.
He pushed her from his mind even as he looked for Zensu. He stopped at a painting of an angel who was depicted as giant and glowering. DEMIS, the nameplate at the bottom read. Kasabian had heard it in the distant past. And the recent past. One of Treylon’s minions had come out to tell Silva that Demis was checking in for a status report. Silva had run to the building like an eager child with the same suck-up expression he’d had for Treylon all those years ago.
A memory, this one buried in childhood, surfaced. His father crying out to Demis, beseeching him for a way to not feel the pain of a broken heart. His parents were together but fighting all the time. Right before his father moved out.
“Sir?”
The officer was waiting, and not patiently. Kasabian took several more steps but stopped at the sight of another familiar name: Cecily.
“Excuse me for a second,” Kasabian said. “I need to say hello to Cecily.” He ducked into her office and closed the door before the officer could object.
She started, her fingers poised over her keyboard. “Who are you?”
“Kasabian. I’m a close friend of Hayden’s.”
Her long ponytail draped over her shoulder, and her eyes were bright and fiery behind stylish glasses.
She swiveled her chair to face him. “I’ve heard him mention you. Where is he? I’ve been trying to get hold of him.”
“Something happened here. Everybody’s on edge.” Kasabian’s gaze locked onto hers, and her pupils dilated. He used the fact that she was dazed. “What happened?”
“One of our Vegas tried to attack his superior, right in his office. He was taken down to the psych ward. This guy, he was very good. Very by-the-book. They’re not telling us much, just speculating that he fell to the fluctuations. But no one else is going mad like that.” She blinked, giving her head a shake. “I really hate how you guys use that Thrall thing. I shouldn’t have told you any of that.”
“Sorry. I just needed to make sure it didn’t have anything to do with Hayden. I can’t connect with him either.”
“It’s this thing he’s been investigating on the side, isn’t it? The boy.”
Kasabian nodded. “We almost had him, thanks to your help.” Losing Jonathan touched on the same raw nerve as leaving all those kids behind years ago. “Hayden went into Talbot’s unit in the Tower. I haven’t heard from him since.”
Worry tightened Cecily’s forehead. “That’s a high-security building, isn’t it?”
“Very. There’s no way to get inside now that Talbot has likely discovered the intrusion. Best case scenario, Hayden’s in hiding, waiting for an opportunity to get out.”
“And worst case?” Her fear radiated out to him.
“Let’s not go there.”
“How can I help?”
Kasabian was counting on her crush on Hayden. “I understand you’re the information guru around here. Hayden sings your praises. Especially lately.”
That got a small smile out of her. “I help him whenever I can.”
The officer knocked on the door. �
��Sir, I must insist that you leave now.”
“One more minute,” Kasabian called. “I need a list of small to medium resorts in Miami that are owned by Caidos, if you can get that specific.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up. But I’ll have to do it at home. They’re watching me here.” They exchanged numbers, and she glanced at her watch. “I get off duty in two hours.”
“The sooner the better.”
“Can I help in a way other than sitting at a computer?” She removed her glasses. “I’m in the Argus training program now.”
“Have you been trained in combat? Use of deadly magick?”
She nodded.
“Could you kill someone if you needed to? If it meant saving a child’s life? Hayden’s life?”
“Yes.”
“Think about that. Because I may just take you up on it.”
Chapter 19
You know we only did this because we love you,” Sarai said for the umpteenth time.
Kye sat at her parents’ kitchen table, a Whis-Kye that was supposed to be some kind of peace offering sitting on the thick wood table in front of her. She wasn’t touching it on principle. They were watching her, waiting for the Thrall to wear off. Even though they knew it only worked while the Crescent was looking into the Caido’s eyes. But she wasn’t looking into his eyes, because he’d kicked her to the curb.
Her mother’s hands were wrapped around a coffee mug. “Ohhhhh.”
Everyone turned to her, and for a moment, Kye hoped it had finally dawned on them that Kye needed to help Kasabian save those children.
“What?” her father asked when her mother didn’t elaborate on her drawn-out word.
“We saved Kye because we love her. That man could have killed all of us. He was furious that we’d taken Kye, and then suddenly, he backed off. He left because he wanted her safe, too. You saw his face, Sarai, when you told him about the vision. Does that mean he loves her, too?”
The question hit Kye squarely in the chest. She’d been so angry, so humiliated that Kasabian didn’t think she was capable of helping, that she hadn’t considered any other reason for his shutting her out. But yes, of course. He was trying to protect her. From the danger of this mission he was undertaking. And himself.
“No way,” Sarai said. “They only met, what, a few days ago.” She studied Kye. “Oh, hon, you’re in love with him. He really got to you, didn’t he?”
In more ways than one. But she wasn’t about to admit that to anyone, especially her parents. “Right now all I want to do is throttle him.” That his Wraithlord would hurt her terrified him, and Sarai’s vision—along with her parents’ rash plan—had given him the opportunity to shut her out.
“He cares about me.” Kye met all of their gazes. “Like you care about me. I understand.” It still pissed her off.
Her mother draped her hand over Kye’s. “And hopefully you understand why we had to take such drastic action.” She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “Kidnapping our own daughter. Luca, forgive us.”
“We watched a 20/20 episode about a couple who hired someone to kidnap their daughter after she got sucked into a cult,” her father said. “That’s where we got the idea. Then she had to be deprogrammed.”
Kye narrowed her eyes at them. “I’m not getting deprogrammed. And this isn’t just about Kasabian and me. Children’s lives are at stake.” She gave them an overview of Treylon’s plan. “That’s why I’ve been involved in this. Why I need to still be involved.”
“And why you should stay far away from it,” her mother said. “Kye, you’re a therapist, not some caped avenger. You could get yourself killed! And the visions Sarai’s been having prove that’s a real possibility.”
Sarai rubbed Kye’s arm. “Kasabian will get the help he needs.”
“Did you get a vision about that?” At the shake of her head, Kye said, “Then get one!”
Her laugh was bitter. “If I could produce the damned things on command, do you think I’d be a cocktail waitress? I only base that statement on what I know about Kasabian. When he appeared in the van, I knew he would do anything, even kill, to save you.”
“He’s a good man,” Kye grumbled.
“What is he?” her mother asked. “He’s no ordinary Caido.”
“He’s not,” Kye said, leaving it at that. There was nothing ordinary about Kasabian. Hadn’t she known that the first moment she’d laid eyes on him? “Mom, ask Babs what she thinks about all this.”
Her mother’s eyes blinked like an owl’s. “Now?”
“Yes. I want her opinion.” Kye wasn’t going to admit that she’d talked to Babs before, using another medium. “You owe me that much.”
Her mother inhaled softly, deeply. “She’s already here.”
Kye crossed her arms over her chest. “What did she think about you kidnapping me?”
“She says I’ve always been so reserved, she’s shocked. But you’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”
“And what does she say about Kasabian? Us?”
After a moment, her mother said, “She says you should be committed. She’s shaking her finger, the way she used to do when she wanted to make a point. ‘She should be committed, that girl. It will solve the problem.’”
Kye could well see Babs doing it, but the words hurt. So she was crazy for thinking there might be hope for her and Kasabian. Or for thinking she could help him. Because she wasn’t equipped to help.
Yet, something inside her strained against that. If she slunk away, she would never regain that sense of worthiness for which she longed. If she left kids to suffer without even trying, she could never forgive herself. “There’s no need to commit me. It’s better that I’m away from him. Forever.”
Relief washed over everyone’s eyes. She meant it, too. For about one second. Then she remembered something. Treylon obviously needed her skills. And hadn’t Sarai said that sleeping with the enemy would help?
Kye stood. “He’ll let me know what happens. I need to get back to work, get Kasabian out of my system. My head. And I know exactly how.”
“How?” Sarai asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Suspicious? Of course, Sarai saw the real Kye, while her parents saw the daughter who rarely spoke her mind.
“I met a client a few days ago. A Caido. You know they can heal heartache and grief, right? I explained that my powers weren’t working, and he took away my turmoil over Kasabian. It was gone, just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “And my abilities returned. Unfortunately, because I saw Kasabian again, the turmoil returned.” Kye gave her mom a meaningful look. “I’m going to erase Kasabian from my system so I can resume my work.”
Her father gave her a hug. “Smart girl. You take after me.” It was probably a good thing he couldn’t see her surprise at that statement. All she ever heard was “oh, the tragedy” that she hadn’t taken after him or her mother. He stepped back. “But you know that we’re not letting you just go off. See, I’m smart, too.”
“Fine. You can accompany me to my office, but obviously you can’t sit in on my session.”
“We’ll wait in the lobby,” her mother said, patting her arm.
“I’ll watch her window,” Sarai said.
Kye tried to look indignant at their distrust, but they were right, after all. She called the secretary that all the therapists shared. “Can you please pull up Carl Wallen’s number for me?” She jotted it down and then called him. “It’s Kye Rivers, the Zensu therapist you met the other day.” He paused, perhaps surprised she’d survived the car’s plunge off the bridge. When he acknowledged remembering her, she said, “I’m ready to move ahead with our session, if you still have need of my services.”
“Yes, I do. Very much so. You are ready this time?”
“Yes. The man I’m in love with has left me, the bond is broken, and I’m ready to move on. I need to get back to work, and your case is my most important.”
“That is gratifying to hear. When can we meet? The sooner the better.�
��
“How about in thirty minutes at my office?”
They ended the call, and she met everyone’s gaze. “It’ll be good to get back to my life. At the least, I need a diversion until I hear what’s happening on Kasabian’s end.”
“What did you mean by ‘the bond is broken’?” her mother asked.
Crap. She didn’t want to get into that. “Emotional bond. Let’s get going.”
Treylon needed her for something. He saw value in her abilities. She would go with him and do what she could for the children. The bond between her and Kasabian would alert him to where she was. And she would become a touchstone for him to Leap to the resort.
She arrived at the office building with her entourage. They perused her collection of books on the massive shelving unit and flipped through her issues of Psychology Today, while Kye pretended to make notations in client files. What she was really doing was composing a note. Backup in case Kasabian couldn’t make sense of what was going on.
Kye’s phone beeped, and the receptionist’s voice said, “Your appointment is here.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right out.”
Kye waited for her entourage to head toward the door before situating the envelope on her keyboard. Kasabian would feel her fear the moment Treylon revealed his reason for bringing her to the resort. Even if she was expecting it, the reality would cause all kinds of anxiety.
She now saw the man in the lobby in a whole new way. The dying lover was a lie. Kye felt stupid falling for it. Kasabian was right; her need to help others did make her vulnerable.
“I appreciate you seeing me,” he said, preceding her into the office.
She closed the door behind him.
He rubbed his hands together. “I’m so excited to finally do this.” She’d never seen a Caido excited before. He was like a boy about to see Santa.
Now that she was looking for it, she could see where Kasabian got his jawline, his cheekbones. The man removed his shirt and Invoked. She saw no beauty in his angelic form, felt no sense of wonder. She allowed herself to feel all the turmoil Kasabian caused. That was easy. Treylon didn’t flinch at her emotions, which meant he’d probably recently used the children’s essence in an Essex to protect himself.
