The rest had cleared his brain. As he ate, he considered his options. Dion had put him on medical leave, so he wouldn’t be missed for at least a couple of days. Even Rosana and Chico would figure he was out on the river somewhere. So it was safe to say no one was going to be looking for him.
At least that’s what he prayed. He could let no one, especially Dion, near him until Alesia was safe.
Jorge crouched on the ground a few feet away, eating his own portion. “What do you see in her anyway?” he asked around a mouthful of fish. “She’s nothing compared to Cleia. A brown mouse of a woman.”
Tiago’s fingers tightened around the crude pottery bowl. Then he shrugged. “She’s a good fuck,” he said, deliberately crude, then had to bite down his anger when Jorge chuckled knowingly.
It was the truth—just not the whole truth. He only hoped it would satisfy Jorge, because if he realized that Alesia was Tiago’s mate, they were sunk. Jorge would know he could force Tiago to do anything—anything at all—to save her. His instincts would allow nothing.
“I’ll have to give her a try,” the other man remarked slyly.
Tiago ignored him to scoop up more ceviche. But he vowed that one way or the other, Jorge was dead.
Jorge waited a minute, but when he didn’t get a reaction, he switched to grumbling about Cleia and Dion. “Why him?” he demanded. “I had her first. If I’d known a fae would mate with a fada, I’d have taken her myself—and then I’d be alpha of Rock Run.”
Tiago moved a shoulder. He could’ve told Jorge it didn’t work like that. The mate bond wasn’t something you could will into being; it was as special and unpredictable as love.
“Is that what this is about?” he asked between bites. “You want to be alpha so that you can have Cleia?”
“Hell, why not? But that’s not the only reason. I’m as strong as he is. He’s only alpha because of the old lord.”
“But if you wanted to kill him, why didn’t you do that in the first place? Why take me and Adric’s sister to that house in Baltimore?” Then he saw. “You were trying to set Dion and Adric at each other’s throats, maybe even force one of them to challenge the other.”
“Adric’s stronger than you know,” Jorge replied. “There’s a chance he could kill Dion. If not, any fight between the two of them would still make things worse between Rock Run and the Baltimore shifters. Either way, it makes Dion weaker. If things got bad enough, Rock Run would welcome a challenge from me.”
Tiago shook his head, then stilled as the hammering started up, although less intensely than last night. “You’re out of your fucking mind. You’re an oath-breaker. No one would follow you.”
“They’ll follow whoever wins the challenge.”
“You can’t beat Dion. And even if you do, Rui would challenge you right after. There’s no fucking way you’d beat them both.”
“Then you’ll have to make sure Rui loses, too.”
Tiago set down his plate. “Like hell.”
Jorge said nothing. But Tiago heard footsteps. He threw up his arms but Jorge’s blow knocked him sideways. Tiago growled and started to his feet, his hands on the blindfold. But before he could remove it, Jorge grabbed his throat and shoved him up against the wall.
“You killed my best friend. My mate.” The older man’s voice was taut with hatred. “So by Deus, you’ll help me.”
“He attacked me, damn it.”
He felt Jorge raise a hand to strike him again. Tiago’s whole body went rigid. The beast flexed angrily. Tiago could swear he felt its claws scraping his nerves.
For a moment he forgot that these bastards had Alesia. “Try it,” he invited through gritted teeth. “And I’ll stop your goddamn heart.”
Maybe he didn’t need his vision to use his Gift. Beneath the blindfold, he narrowed his eyes and pictured a hand reaching for Jorge’s heart, giving it a hard squeeze…
Alesia. The beast snarled and joined with Tiago, its primitive mind primed to kill. But then it halted. No.
It withdrew. Slowly and reluctantly, yes, but it still withdrew. Find Alesia. Then—kill.
Tiago pulled up short. It was the first time the beast had ever counseled patience, but it was right. Until Alesia was safe, Tiago had to take whatever Jorge dealt out.
He inhaled jaggedly, wanting so badly to kill Jorge that it was a harsh taste in his mouth.
But the other man could live. For now.
Jorge had no idea how close to death he’d come. “Then your woman will go to Mys,” he snarled. “He’d love to play with her—but maybe she’s likes it kinky, hm?”
Tiago’s jaw clenched. “I’ll cooperate,” he ground out.
“Good.” Jorge shoved Tiago toward the entrance. “Get going, then. I want to get to Baltimore during rush hour. Makes it harder for them to track us.” He strode out ahead of him, knowing Tiago’s keen hearing would allow him to follow through sound alone.
Tiago knelt and felt around for the plate and canteen and quickly finished the last of the fish and water before following Jorge. At least he wasn’t hungry or thirst anymore. But unfortunately, he was no closer to a solution than he’d been last night.
As they left the cave, a smartphone pinged. Tiago’s mouth went slack as Jorge answered it. So the man was working with the Baltimore shifters.
He listened as Jorge told a woman who sounded like Shania to get a message to Dion. “Tell him I have Tiago. I’ll meet him at the Full Moon Saloon. Four pm. And tell him to come alone or I’ll slit his brother’s throat.”
He ended the call and grabbed Tiago’s arm. “Vamos.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Alesia awoke with a start, amazed she’d managed to sleep at all. After they’d eaten, Mys had spent most of the evening watching her with raw lust, no longer trying to conceal his impatience to have her.
It was clear he didn’t give a damn that hurting her would only bring more trouble down on him and his friends.
The walls of the cave pressed in on her, her innate dislike of small dark spaces made worse by Mys’s unwavering stare. Every time she glanced at him, he was looking back with an expression that made her curl more tightly into herself.
She didn’t dare fall asleep. But as the evening passed, she nodded off, then came awake with a start. The second time her eyelids drooped, she pinched her thigh to keep herself awake.
“Go to sleep,” Orius growled at Mys. “I’ll take the first watch.”
Relieved, she curled up on the cavern floor, exhausted and terrified for both herself and Tiago. She tried to send him a message through the mate bond. There were a few seconds where she believed she’d reached him, but then the connection broke. A tear slid down her cheek. She sniffed miserably and shifted onto her other side, seeking a comfortable position on the damp ground.
By some miracle, she hadn’t lost Tiago’s necklace. The pendant pressed against her neck under the sweater, and she took it out and fingered it.
She’d thought for a moment there in the woods that he’d realized that they were mates, but now she wasn’t sure. But even if he didn’t know, he’d let Jorge capture him rather than endanger her.
She was so angry with him. And so damn touched.
Please, she prayed as she wrapped her fingers around the delicate silver leaf. Let me see him again. Give us a chance.
Across the cave Mys’s breath slowed and deepened. Only when she was sure he was asleep did she relax. She must have drifted off sometime after that.
Now her heart rapped anxiously against her rib cage. Something had awakened her. Orius snorted in his sleep, then resumed snoring, but she didn’t think that was it.
The only candle still burning was flickering, about to go out. A shadow slid along the wall where she’d last seen Mys. Her heart stuttered. For a horrible few seconds she feared he’d tired of waiting.
She sucked in a terrified breath, and then her panicked brain registered that it was a big cat—a cougar. Not Mys then.
The cougar’s h
ead swung in her direction and for a moment its eyes glowed bronze in the darkness. She gulped and scrambled backward until she hit the wall, then froze, her back against the stone, staring into those spooky eyes until the cat turned back to Orius. That’s when she noticed the quartz crystal hanging from a cord around its neck.
Earth shifter. But why was he—and she could see now the cougar was a male—here?
He crept toward Orius. The snoring stopped abruptly as the sea fada jerked awake. But he was too late—the cougar had him by the throat.
Alesia squeaked and buried her face in her hands. Orius made a short, guttural noise and then there other sounds that she refused to identify. She smothered a moan and kept her eyes covered.
A shift in the air. And was that paws padding toward her?
Her throat dried.
Then a man said, “You can look now.” He sounded amused, damn him.
She swallowed and forced her eyes open. The earth shifter had changed to man. It was too dark to see well, but she could tell he was of average height with a hard, sinewy body and hair that was blond at the tips.
“Lord Adric?” They’d never met, but her sister Dina had described him.
“And you must be Alesia.” He reached out a hand to help her up.
She stared at it without taking it. There was no blood on him. She knew from Tiago that things like water or blood fell off your body during a shift. But she couldn’t bring herself to touch him.
She darted a glance at Orius. “Did you have to—?”
“Yes.” When she still hesitated, he expelled a breath. “Damn it, woman, if I was here to kill you, you’d already be dead. Now are you coming or not?”
His impatience was somehow reassuring—and he had a point. He could’ve killed her even more easily than he had Orius. She made up her mind and came to her feet without taking his hand.
“There’s another one,” she whispered. “Mys. He was keeping watch.”
Adric glanced around, nostrils flared, testing the air. “You sure? I don’t scent him.”
“He was here when I fell asleep.”
“All right. Wait here while I look—”
“No,” she interrupted. “I’ll come too.”
“You’d be safer in here.”
“I can wait just inside the entrance.” She darted a glance at Orius. A dark pool of liquid was forming under his upper body. She gulped. She couldn’t stay in this small, confining space another minute, especially with a dead body. “Please, my lord. Don’t make me stay here—not with him.” She could hear the hysteria in her voice, even though they were still speaking softly. She bit down on her lower lip and continued as calmly as she could, “Please. I—”
Adric moved a shoulder. “Hell. Come if you want.”
The trip back through the tunnel seemed quicker this time. Adric led the way with her close behind, ears strained for any sign of Mys. It occurred to her that he might be somewhere still in the cave; some water fada—like Tiago—could shift into land animals, and it wouldn’t be hard to hide in a small crevasse as an otter.
She told herself that the earth alpha would’ve scented Mys, no matter what form he’d taken, but she crowded closer until she was practically plastered against Adric’s back. He glanced over his shoulder but didn’t say anything.
As they exited the tunnel, the sun was rising above the trees. They’d been underground longer than she realized; it must be close to nine a.m. She lifted her face, gulping in the brisk April air. If she never saw the inside of a cave again it would be too soon.
“You okay?” Adric asked.
“I will be.”
His hard mouth quirked. “Good.” He took a deep inhale and looked around him. “I don’t smell him, but he could be concealing his scent. But I saw two water fada leaving with do Rio—he was probably one of them.”
“You saw Tiago?”
“That’s why I’m here. Now wait here while I make sure it’s safe.” He made a slow circle through the trees while Alesia watched.
Her skin prickled. Could Mys be somewhere nearby, watching them?
She inched her way to a tree and put a hand on it, instinctively seeking comfort. The trees here were too young and slim to climb; she’d have to go further into the woods to find one sturdy enough to use for teleportation, but just touching the trunk helped center her.
Adric returned. “There was someone else,” he said, “but he left a couple of hours ago. Bastard.” He turned his head and spat on the ground.
Alesia blinked. But then these were the men who’d drugged and raped his sister.
Adric jerked his head at her. “You should get out of here. Go back to your island where it’s safe. Or better yet, to Rock Run.”
“I will, but Tiago—was he all right?”
“They had him in the back of an SUV. I only got a quick look as they drove off, but he seemed okay. Blindfolded, but he was sitting upright.”
“That had to be them. There were two of them besides Orius. The man you—the man in the cave. Those two you saw must have been Jorge and Mys.”
“Fuck.” Adric’s face sharpened so she could literally see the hunting cat beneath the skin. Then he shook his hand. “I was so damn close. I tried to catch them, but they were already moving. My cat’s fast, but it can’t outrun a car—and my motorcycle was two miles away in the state park. But I contacted my people in Baltimore and gave them a description of the SUV. They’ll be watching for it. I was heading back for my bike when I caught the scent of you and the sea fada and followed it here.”
“Thanks,” she said, ashamed she hadn’t said it before. “For helping me. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Don’t thank me. Just tell do Rio we’re even.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’ll understand.” Adric leaned closer and sniffed her neck, then rocked back, surprised. “You’re his mate.”
“He hasn’t claimed me yet.”
“He will.” Adric smiled. “And come to think of it, there is something you can do for me. Invite me to your mate ball.”
“Of course,” she returned, although that smile made her uneasy.
The smile widened. “I’ll hold you to that. Now go.” He jerked his chin at the nearest large tree. “I’ll keep watch until you’re gone—just in case.”
And he did. The last thing she saw was Adric shifting to a big, golden-brown cougar beneath the oak in which she was perched. He was large and sleek and deadly. His lips stretched in another toothy grin, and then she closed her eyes, pictured her own oak, and a moment later, was home. She took a minute to bolt down a couple of acorn cakes—using magic required fuel like anything else—then settled against the trunk in her favorite spot at the intersection of three branches.
She focused inward. She’d lost Tiago for a while, but now she was able to sense him again. He was somewhere south and east, awake now and feeling better. That was good, at least.
She hesitated, torn. She wanted badly to go straight to him, but common sense told her she needed help. She was no match for even a couple of fada, and Jorge and Mys might have others helping them. No, this was a job for Dion and his warriors.
Her mind made up, she touched the trunk and visualized herself downriver in a tree near the Rock Run marina. She felt a brief, pleasant tingle, and when she opened her eyes again, she was there. The sun was above the horizon now, and the first Rock Run fada were already heading out in their boats to fish.
She swung herself down to the ground and threaded her way through the trees along the shore toward the marina. The workers there could get a message to Dion.
She’d only gone a few yards when a ripple to her left caught her eye. It turned into an otter’s sleek head and made a beeline in her direction.
“Fausto?” she called.
He grunted assent and loped onto the shore.
“Oh, Fausto.” She crouched down to run her hands over his fur, babbling in English. “Jorge has Tiago. We have to get help.”
<
br /> Fausto cocked his head at her. She shook her head. “You can’t understand a word I’m saying, can you?”
Fausto moved his shoulders in a very human shrug. Then he nudged her, making it clear she should keep walking along the shore, while he trotted back to the river and dove in.
“I just hope you’re going for help,” she muttered.
He was. A couple of minutes later he popped to the surface with Rui do Mar. She heaved a sigh of relief. She’d been dreading explaining this to an unknown sentry.
Rui rose from the water wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, big and broad-shouldered and safe-looking. She didn’t know him as well as Tiago, but the Rock Run second had never forgotten her part in his mate and stepdaughter’s rescue, and from time to time had visited the island to check on her. She wouldn’t call him a friend, but he was the only Rock Run fada besides Tiago whom she trusted.
“Alesia,” he said his deep voice. “What’s the matter?”
“Oh, Rui.” She dragged in a breath. “Tiago—he—they have him. Jorge—”
He muttered a curse. “Calm down, querida.” He put a large, comforting arm around her shoulders. “Take it easy and tell me exactly what happened.”
She nodded and then tried again. “Jorge and the two sea fada—Mys and Orius—they came after me and Tiago. There was nothing he could do—they had a knife to my throat. They split us up and Adric saved me and he said they had Tiago in an SUV and they took him somewhere. You have to find him, Rui. You have to.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get him back.”
“They’re going to make him do something—something bad. I know they are. We have to get to him before—”
“Hey, hey, little one.” He squeezed her shoulders. “We won’t let anyone hurt him. All right?”
Her breath shuddered out, but she nodded. Something about Rui do Mar inspired confidence. “All right.”
“Good girl.” He gave her another squeeze. “The first thing is to tell Dion. The land entrance is about a half-mile from here. You up for a run?”
When she said yes, he took her hand and started off at a jog through the woods that ran alongside Rock Run Creek. The entrance was hidden in a tumble of large rocks. She would’ve walked right by it if Rui hadn’t been with her, and even then, the opening looked too narrow to fit his large body. But he turned sideways and slipped inside, pulling her after him.
Tempting the Dryad Page 23
