As she stared at Aland, she saw his eyes swirl, seeming to fill with brilliantly blue water that receded quickly, and knew her worst fear had come true. Reason left her. Her inner senses went haywire with alarm, refusing to signify if he was friend or foe as they had with the mysterious man who had paid her a late night visit. Taking a chance without knowing could mean her life and the lives of those she loved. She jerked back from the table and pressed her body to the window. “H-he’s one of them! He’s one of the men who come from—”
The orderlies moved in from all directions as Marmora tried to call them off. They ignored him, their first objective to keep him safe. Their second to follow his orders.
“Sidney, no, this is Detective Aland Werner. He’s not—”
She leapt over the chair she’d been in and scrambled out of the reach of an orderly. “You’re one of them!”
Aland put his hands up as if to say he was no threat but she felt it then, his power, buzzing over the air. He most certainly was one of them. A star man.
Two more orderlies attempted to grab her. Sidney jumped onto a table, accidentally knocking over a fellow patient’s card tower on her way to the next table. Walter appeared, clapping and cheering for her. Others followed his lead. Soon the entire room had patients acting like a cheering squad. An orderly grabbed her and Walter tapped the man’s other shoulder, causing him to look away. Sidney broke free and crawled under a table just in time to see the orderly lunge at Walter.
Ralph pretended to soar through the room, bumping into hospital staff while saving Sidney from the “man”. He climbed onto another chair and tipped off, managing to take out an orderly by accident as he fell.
Sidney emerged from under the table quickly. Her power flared, sending a chair hurtling across the room. It narrowly missed hitting the orderly, instead forcing him away from Walter. “Who threw that?”
No more, Sidney.
She spun to find Aland standing behind her.
No more power. They don’t understand. Someone will get hurt.
Shocked to find him addressing her mentally, Sidney never noticed the orderlies converging on her. They seized hold of her, lifting her up and off the ground.
Aland was suddenly there, thrusting them away from her. “No!”
“Mister,” an orderly, who was relatively new, said. He was as tall as Aland and looked to be every bit as deadly. “You better back off. She’s dangerous to herself and everyone else around her when she gets in one of her moods.” The orderly grabbed Sidney’s arm roughly and jerked her against him.
Aland glared at the man. “Release her now or I’ll—”
“Detective!” Marmora shouted. “It’s okay. Sidney won’t be harmed. You have my word.” He approached and pushed past the orderly closest to her. He touched her cheek lightly. “Sidney?”
Terrified of what Aland would do to the doctor, Sidney kept her gaze locked on him. “I want to go back to my room.”
The heavy-handed orderly took hold of her once more, a daring look in his eyes. “I’ll take her back to her room, Doctor.”
“Like hell you will!” Aland made a move to come at the man and Marmora intervened.
“Detective, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave now. We can discuss a possible release at another time. I’m sure you can see Sidney has suffered a setback.”
The orderly pressed his mouth to Sidney’s ear and let out a sick sounding laugh. “That’s right. Say goodbye to your savior, human.”
No. It couldn’t be. The orderly was one of them too?
“One word and I’ll kill every human in here,” he said, his lips still pressed to her ear.
She tensed, knowing he could easily carry out his threat. Her gaze swept to Walter who was still clapping and singing a song about what a good girl Sidney was and how great a hero Ralph was. The thought of him or Ralph being harmed in any way terrified her. She swallowed hard and nodded.
Aland shook his head. “Sidney…”
The orderly jerked her harder to him. “Time to go.”
Marmora put his body in front of Aland’s as the orderly led her out of the common room. He gave her a hard shove when they reached the empty hallway and she tumbled to the floor. The orderly was on her in an instant, ripping her up and off the floor with one hand. His eyes swirled with what looked to be water and she whimpered, knowing better than to scream and bring help running to their death.
The orderly grinned and the sight sickened her. He raked his gaze over her and it settled on her thin hospital-issue top. He used his free hand to take hold of one of her breasts. His grip wasn’t kind.
She flinched and he smiled wider. “You like my touch.”
Sidney, frantic to get him further from the others, tried to nod her head but found it wouldn’t cooperate. She put a palm to his chest, her breathing off the charts as fear kept her in its hold.
The orderly squeezed her breast more. He became so bold as to lift her flimsy shirt and touch her bare skin. He pushed her against the wall and fondled her. Her nipples responded and she closed her eyes tight, hoping he’d decide to take her to her room where she could fight back without the risk of someone hearing and running to help.
He rubbed his body against her, grunting and sounding entirely too pleased with himself for her liking. His hot mouth came down on hers but she refused to open and return his kiss. He didn’t seem to care as he continued to grope her, feeling her breasts, pinching her nipples and grinding against her.
The orderly went for the top of her pants and she cried out, struggling against him for the first time. He shoved her harder to the wall and laughed, his gaze narrowing on her. “I like them feisty.”
“Sidney?” Marmora’s voice cut through the hallway.
She drew in a sharp breath. “No! Doctor, no!”
He was suddenly there, ripping the orderly away from her and displaying strength that shocked her. He slammed the orderly into the wall and turned to her. “Ohmygod, Sidney. I didn’t…I had no idea he…Sidney.”
Shaky and scared, she yanked at her top, pulling it down. She glanced up, meeting the doctor’s chocolate-brown gaze. She burst into tears and he was there in a heartbeat, pulling her close and stroking her back.
“Shhh,” he crooned, “I’ve got you now.”
Sidney accepted his embrace and buried her head against his chest, thankful he wasn’t harmed. His arms were muscular, more so than she thought.
“Sidney, I’m so sorry, hon,” he whispered. “I’ll have him dealt with right away. He’ll never touch—”
Marmora was ripped away from her and tossed aside as if he weighed nothing. The orderly stood there, fuming as he glared at her. “I told you what would happen if they came.”
“Don’t hurt him, please.”
“Sidney, run!” Marmora shouted.
She did the opposite. She rushed the orderly, throwing herself at him. It was the equivalent of hitting a brick wall and she bounced off, but it was enough to hold his attention. “I won’t go with you! Ever!”
“You can and you will,” he said evenly. Power bristled around him, causing a low buzz to sound in the air. “When I’m through with you, you’ll be begging me to take you away. The Gatekeeper from the common room was a fool to leave you unguarded. He’ll regret it when he realizes you’ve mated to another.”
The end of the hall began to swirl and Sidney knew what was happening. The man had opened a portal from her world to his. She’d seen it done many times over the course of her life and knew if she dared to go through, she might never return.
“What the—?” Marmora pushed to his feet and tried to come to her. “Sidney!”
The orderly spun around and slammed the doctor into the wall, head first. The crack the doctor’s head made when hitting left Sidney feeling sick. She tried to get to him but the orderly blocked her path. He laughed and reached for her. She dodged his grasp, getting behind him and kicking with all her might. It wasn’t much but it was enough to knock him off ba
lance and to send him tumbling through the portal he’d opened. It closed behind him quickly. No trace of it remaining.
Sidney dropped to the floor next to Marmora and pushed his dark brown hair back from his face. His glasses were broken and she lifted them off him gently. Calling upon her powers, she put her hands to the sides of his head, doing her best to ignore the steady flow of blood from his nose and ears, and focus on healing him. Her power moved through him and he jerked slightly. She pressed on, knowing he’d die without her assistance.
“What’s going on?” a nurse asked, rounding the corner. “Doctor? Oh no! What have you done? Doctor?”
Sidney knew the portal was closed and no one was in the hallway but her and the doctor. She also knew she’d be blamed for what happened. None of it mattered so long as Marmora lived.
She thrust more healing energy through him just as additional orderlies appeared. They yanked her off her feet and dragged her down the hall to her room. There was no point kicking and screaming. She already knew she’d be strapped down and meds would be administered. What she didn’t know was whether or not Marmora would live.
Chapter Three
Aland sat in the passenger side of the unmarked SUV and stared out at the darkened city streets. Sirius sat next to him, munching on a chicken salad sandwich his wife had packed for him. “Think this asshole will show himself?”
The asshole Aland was referring to was a man they’d been watching for several months. Neither really cared if they busted the guy or not now that the fact renegade warriors from their realm were on the loose—all else seemed almost trivial.
“Do anything interesting lately?” Sirius asked, his gaze saying he knew more than he was letting on.
Aland shrugged, unsure he wanted to reveal he’d gone to see Sidney. They’d discussed it and had decided to wait and release Sidney together—with Phoebe and Heather in tow. The idea had seemed like a decent one at the time but the more Aland thought about Sidney rotting away in a mental ward, the less he could tolerate waiting until they formed a plan. With Heather being out of town, he didn’t want to wait for her return or for anyone else to get together and decide what was best for his mate. That was his job. “No. Nothing exciting.”
“Hmm.” Sirius took a sip of bottled water and cast a sideways glance at Aland. “Sure about that?”
Aland let out a long breath. “Spit it out.”
“You went to see Sidney, didn’t you?”
Denying it was pointless. “Yes.”
“Go well for you?”
Aland clenched his fist. “Seeing as how she’s not with me at the moment, no. Didn’t go so well.”
Sirius choked on his water and pounded on his chest. “Guess not.”
Rubbing his hands over his face, Aland thought back to Sidney. “You should see her, wasting away in there. It took everything in me not to pick her up and carry her out.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He glanced at his friend. “Because your words of wisdom played in the back of my mind, warning me of the consequences of her vanishing from there. You’re right. I don’t need the humans on a manhunt for an escaped mental patient. An APB on my mate would be the topper on all this, for sure.” He grunted, hating having to bend on the matter when all he wanted to do was say fuck the system. It wasn’t that easy.
Sirius chucked him on the shoulder. “That was smart.”
Aland laughed, nervous energy abounding. “Man, you should have seen some of the people in there. One guy spends his days looking for his pet dragon. Another thinks he’s a superhero.”
Sirius was silent for a moment. “What about Sidney? Has ten years in there left her…”
It would have been easy to take offense to Sirius’ question, but Aland didn’t. They’d been friends too long, been through too many battles to let something like that come between them. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t think so. But she’s damn manipulative. It’s like…” He paused. “Like she almost wants to stay there.”
“She’s had ten years to create a safe zone, a place she can do what she needs to do to stay protected from the renegades.”
“Is she safe?” Aland closed his eyes and thought of the horror on Sidney’s face when he’d lost control and allowed his eyes to swirl. “Seeing them have to gain control of her wasn’t pleasant from my point of view. I can understand why she’d be scared there, but, Sirius, I read the night guard when I was there. He’s a good man. He cares for her like a grandfather or something.” He sighed. “I just hate knowing she lives in fear, warranted or not.”
“You’ll change that for her.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I will.”
“One question though?”
Aland prepared for a lecture. “Shoot.”
“What the hell are you doing sitting here with me when you could be with her? I mean, I know I’m good-lookin’ and all but you’re really not my type.”
“She’s terrified of me.” He sighed. “She knows I’m not human and she thinks I’m a renegade. I know the same asshole who went after Phoebe two weeks ago made a play for Sidney at some point too but, Sirius, he’s dead. He can’t hurt her ever again. I don’t know how to make her understand I only want her safe. Admitting I kill things didn’t seem like the smartest option at the time but I did stress he’s dead and can’t hurt her ever again. Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair. “She confuses me in a big damn way.”
Sirius was quiet a moment before nodding and scratching his chin. “You’re normally a patient guy. Draw on your skills and spend as long as it takes to make her see she was created for you to protect, for you to love. I do know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Sitting here with me isn’t going to help your cause any. It’s not like I’m going to kiss you or marry your sorry ass. I have a wife and trust me, Aland, you just don’t compare,” he said with a snort. “You should be with Sidney, not me.”
He was right.
Aland drew upon his powers and blinked out of the car, appearing on Sidney’s level at the hospital. He kept his power up to be invisible as he strolled with purpose toward her room. She’d sense him, he was sure of it, just like the first night he’d come to her. It had been his reasoning for leaving before. He’d already upset her enough and knew she needed time to calm down. His hovering about would have done nothing more than agitate her already fragile state more. Even as powerful as he was, he couldn’t hide his presence from her.
He stepped through the wall but her room was empty, the bed untouched. It was late and she should have been in there. Remembering her setback and the way the orderly had dragged her away, a sick feeling came over him. He let his power loose, scanning the floor for her. When he sensed her weak, barely there energy signature, he had to fight to keep from roaring with anger.
He ran down the hall, following her signal. As he stepped through another wall, he came face-to-face with the last thing he wanted to see—Sidney, strapped to a bed, appearing not only heavily medicated but seriously bruised and battered as well.
He went to her quickly, laying a hand on her forehead and pushing healing energy through her. It was then he sensed the power of another male—a renegade. It wasn’t fresh but it was strong enough to indicate that a male had attacked her in the last twenty-four hours.
Aland was about to undo Sidney’s restraints when he heard footsteps in the hallway. He waited as a key jingled in the lock on the door. The door opened and Aland’s teeth set on edge when he saw it was Marmora.
The man stared around the room, looking slightly paranoid as he approached Sidney’s bedside. Horror slid over his face at the sight of her. The doctor moved to her side and began undoing her restraints, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Sidney. I should have believed you. I should have sensed something was different about you.”
Aland stiffened.
The doctor withdrew a vial of something from his front pocket and administered a shot of it to Sidney. She came to, appearing groggy at
best. She blinked and looked up at the doctor, confused. In a matter of seconds she was gasping and fighting to be free. “Go! You have to go! He’ll be back and if he knows you’re alive, he’ll stop at nothing to kill you. No witnesses, Doc.”
Marmora touched her cheek, sending a jolt of jealousy through Aland. “Sidney, I’ll be damned if I go and leave you here. Not after what I saw.” He undid her straps and eased her to a seated position, touching her bruised neck lightly. The concern that shone in his eyes was deeper than that of a doctor and his patient. The man had feelings for Sidney on some level. Aland just wasn’t sure how deep they ran. He did know they needed to end, here and now. He’d not share his mate with anyone. “Are you well enough to walk?”
She narrowed her gaze on him. “Why?”
“Because I’m getting you out of here.”
She gasped. “No. I can’t go. I have to stay. I can control them here.”
Marmora shook his head, seeming befuddled. “I watched the wall open up and try to swallow you, Sidney.”
Aland froze. The renegades had made another attempt on her and he hadn’t been here to protect her.
The doctor had.
I’m her mate. It should have been me.
Sidney pulled away from the doctor, shaking her head, fear exuding from her. “You have to go. They’ll kill you and it won’t be quick. Those men are evil, twisted and ruthless.”
“Are they even men?” Marmora asked, striking a nerve in Aland. “He made the wall open.”
She took a calming breath. “They’re not human, no. But they are men. He opened a portal to his realm, Doc. It’s part of what they can do. Added strength, the ability to heal almost instantly, depending upon their sign, they can control certain elements along with wielding what I’m starting to think are endless amounts of magik.”
Aland was shocked to hear she knew as much as she did of his kind.
Marmora took her hands in his. “When you first came here you kept screaming they were trying to take you and your sister. What do they want with you?”
She averted her gaze, her shoulders slumping. “At first, I didn’t know. I just knew going with them would be a bad thing and that I had to do something to keep my sister and my cousin safe. Now, after years and years of dealing with them, I still think going with them would be a very bad thing because I know what they want and it’s not something I’m willing to give them.”
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