KnightForce Damian (La Patron's KnightForce Book 4)

by Sydney Addae

  When they pulled into the courtyard of Lochmond Eyre, Damian scented the place and looked over his shoulder at Ivona. "You should've listened to the hag, there are no heartbeats here. Everyone has left."

  Ivona's eyes narrowed and then she shook her head. "One second, I'll remove the dampener and then you can get an accurate accounting." She stepped outside the truck, raised her arms, and uttered several inarticulate words as she clicked her fingertips. A tinkling sound rose in volume and then several popping noises occurred from all sides. Damian heard several heartbeats and smelled the humans. He looked at Quentin, who shrugged and opened his door.

  "Ready?" he asked Gem as he glanced in her direction. She hadn't spoken a word to him since their last conversation. It surprised him how much her being upset bothered him, but he wouldn't disobey La Patron for her or anyone.

  "Yes." She pushed the seat forward in front of her and opened the door before he could get to it. He waited for her to exit, and they walked in silence behind Ivona and Quentin through the gates to reach the first building. An eerie stillness greeted them as they walked toward the door.

  Ivona stopped and raised her hand. She pointed to the right.

  Quentin looked at Damian. After a few seconds he nodded. Quentin walked in that direction, stopped, and then kicked in the door. After striding into the shadowy building, and several shouts and running footsteps later, Quentin returned outside holding two human males by the backs of their collars, their feet dangling in the air. He stopped in front of Damian.

  "Where is Tara being held?" Damian asked.

  "She's not here, she's not here. She's gone. On the boat." One of the men pointed right toward the water.

  "Who took her?" Damian asked. "How many are with her?"

  "Three, maybe four men. Please let me down. I won't run." He tried to look at Quentin and couldn't.

  Gem stepped forward. "What's your name?"

  He stopped struggling, his bald head gleamed beneath the light. "Kade Malcolm."

  Quentin released both men. Gem stretched her hand toward Kade. "Come, there are a few questions I'd like to ask you." Her manner soft and sincere as she waved him closer. Kade stood and righted his clothes before walking toward Gem. He stopped and stared at Ivona for a few seconds, and then moved quickly to Gem's side.

  "Walk over here with me," Gem said, moving Kade from Ivona's sight. When they rounded a corner, Gem asked him several questions.

  "Who is holding Tara prisoner?" she asked in a soft tone with a hint of concern.

  "I don't know. She hasn't been here that long," he said, looking around.

  "Is Tara a prisoner?"

  "It's not for me to say."

  "What do you do here?"

  "Landscaping, errands, driver, whatever needs to be done, I suppose."

  "Did you drive Tara into town?"

  "Yes, on several occasions."

  "Where did you take her?"

  "To the shops or the day spa, anywhere she wanted to go." He shrugged as if saying ‘I did what I was told’.

  "Did she go alone or with someone else?"

  "Depends on who was visiting. Most times it was just her."

  Damian watched Ivona walk toward the entrance as he listened to Gem interview the groundskeeper. She didn't seem surprised her mother had been moved. He shadowed her as she moved through the building opening doors and searching rooms.

  "Gem, Ivona is looking for someone, see if you can find out who from Malcolm. It'd be nice to find out what's really going on here if we can. I don't think she'll volunteer any information," Damian said, moving slowly behind Ivona.

  "Did Tara live here alone?" Gem asked.

  "Erm... I'm not... not supposed to say."

  "I won't say anything to her daughter. You know her daughter?"

  "Which one?"

  "The other female with us. She says Tara's her mother; do they look alike?"

  "There's something about her, but neither girl looks just like her."

  "The other daughter lives here, too?"

  Damian stopped and listened keenly.

  "No longer, she moved away months past." The sadness in his voice was hard to miss. "Such a pretty lass, quiet, kindhearted."

  "I'm sure she is," Gem said. "What's her name again? I can't remember."

  "Daphne, a sweet one. She's off to school, should return for the holidays. At least that's what the Mistress says."

  "You don't believe that, do you?" Gem asked, and Damian was glad she'd taken over the interrogations. He doubted he would've been patient enough to get to the point.

  "It's possible, but there's rumors."

  Damian followed Ivona down to the basement and inhaled. Someone had been kept down here in chains, but he doubted it was Tara. Ivona moved slowly down the stairs and turned right. She stopped in front of an empty cage, touched the bars and released a low keening sound.

  He watched as she buckled and fell on her knees to the floor, making an awful noise. "What's wrong with her?" Gem asked, no doubt hearing the wailing.

  "Not sure. She's in front of an empty cage."

  "She lied about her mom being held captive. Why do you think she did that?"

  "Don't know. But we are almost done here. I need to contact La Patron to get his instructions."

  "Okay, I'm headed back to the SUV," Gem said.

  "La Patron?"

  A few seconds later Damian received a response. "The witch's mother is gone, what is the witch doing?"

  Damian told Silas everything that happened up to that point.

  "She was depending on Raoul to remain behind and help her discover whatever it is she's looking for, I'm sure. Tell our team to pack it up, head to Barticus' retreat, I want one of my people to be involved with examining the Lamia."

  "Yes, Sir." Damian headed up the stairs and out the door, signaling to Quentin and the pack as he walked through. If they moved it, they'd reach their destination within two hours. Tired, Damian waved Quentin over and gave him instructions before heading to the SUV.

  The full-bloods returned to their van, and Quentin was headed toward the SUV when Ivona walked outside. She looked at the SUV and headed toward them. Damian assumed she wanted her carry-on luggage and had Quentin hand it to her. If he never saw or spoke to the lying witch again, he'd be happy.

  "I'm not staying here," Ivona said. "As Raoul's mate, I intend to help look for him." She looked at Damian.

  "Go look for him, but you're not going with us," Damian said.

  Quentin slid into the front seat.

  Before anyone could stop her, Ivona slipped into the back seat, placed her bag on the floor, and locked the door.

  "Our contract is done," Damian ground out, angry at her refusal to leave.

  "I know. She's not here. So let's go," Ivona said as if he were her personal driver.

  "Not you. You're not going anywhere with us," Damian said in a low growl.

  Ivona looked out the window. "What would Raoul say if he knew you left me here and I wanted to go with you?"

  "I don't give a damn what he'd say. Either get out or I'll put you out and leave you on the side of the road. If you get out here you'll have your mom's servants to help you find your mate," Damian said, pissed at her boldness.

  Ivona glared at him and shook her head. "I don't believe you'll do that to him, that's not how it works."

  Gem laughed and shook her head.

  "Last chance to get out here," Damian said. "You can bet your ass I will toss you from this car down the road, leaving you to the mercy of whoever passes by. Raoul will understand or not. And by the way, Barticus has left instructions to kill you and all of your kin if you release anything while in this country. Since you've done your research, I don't need to explain who he is."

  She stared at him for several moments. "Look, I know you have no reason to help or believe me when I say I'm trying to find someone who's been taken prisoner." She looked at Gem and then back at Damian. "My sister, she's just ten and I'm scared for her. Just
give me a ride to the nearest town and I'll take it from there. I'll give you a sample of the serum."

  "What?" Heat raced through Damian at her words. "You've had a sample all this time while people are dying?"

  "It won't kill anyone," Ivona argued.

  "Two people have died, several more are sick," Gem said in a cutting tone. "You think you know so much about us, but our biology is not like humans. Severe itching is deadly for us and you did it to force your mate into traveling across the world for nothing."

  "Nothing?" Ivona huffed and pointed at Gem. "You… You don't know anything. She's everything and too young to be involved with all of this. And… and I have to find her no matter what." She took several deep breaths and spoke in a calmer tone. "Please, just take me to the next town and let me out."

  "Your mother has a car and a driver, why not ask him?" Damian said still angry that she wouldn’t leave.

  "She's forbidden them to do anything for me."

  "Shameful," Gem said, snapping her seatbelt. "And after you came all this way to rescue her from an abusive relationship, or was it torture?"

  "No, something to do with her death," Damian said, shaking his head at all the lies.

  Ivona crossed her arms and looked out the window.

  "Last chance to get out," Damian said.

  Ivona shook her head.

  The cars moved out and soon hit the highway. No one spoke as they drove.

  "Are you going to put her out?" Gem asked Damian.

  "Most definitely. She's not going with us to meet with the Lamia."

  "Why not drop her off in town?"

  "Why not drop her off the edge of this mountain?" he said, pissed at the games Ivona played. "She deliberately killed full-bloods, the penalty for that is death."

  "I don't like what she did either, but Raoul won't like you leaving her alone on the road at night."

  "Maybe not, but he's not here and I don't want to share the air with her any longer than I have to," Damian said, pleased he and the doctor were speaking again.

  "Put her in the van with the others and drop her off in town," Gem suggested.

  "No."

  After an hour, Quentin pulled over to the side of the road. The van pulled up behind them. Five full-bloods stepped out of the van and walked to the side where Ivona sat staring out the window.

  Quentin unlocked the doors just as they reached for the handle and opened the door. Damian felt her gaze on him and refused to glance in her direction. She reached for her bag but the men stopped her.

  "My money and identification are in that bag," she said.

  "No they aren't, neither is the serum," Gem said. "You keep forgetting we can smell lies and fear."

  The men pulled a struggling Ivona back to the second van and assisted her into the rear seat. Quentin pulled onto the road again. Gem grabbed Ivona's bag and started going through it.

  "You think she has the serum in there?" Damian asked.

  "No. But I'm curious who she's searching for. Kade mentioned another daughter, younger. I don't have sisters, but I imagine I'd go through all of this to find my sister, especially if I didn't trust my mom," Gem said.

  "Why do you say she doesn't trust her mom? Did you find something?" Damian twisted in the seat and looked at the bag.

  Gem pulled out a small maroon colored book. "This is filled with notes and dates, almost like a diary." She turned the page and then another one before releasing a whistle.

  "What?"

  "She's got a lot of pack information, especially on breeders like my grandmother. Where did she find this? I've never seen so much of our history in one place."

  "That's if it's correct," he cautioned.

  "I'm a breed, a lot of this is on point." She paused and chuckled. "The mating thing's not 100% though, she's in for some choppy days if she tries some of this crap."

  "Anything about the itching formula?" Damian asked, wanting her to search for the important stuff.

  "Not yet." She set the small book aside and dug deeper into Ivona's bag. She pulled out a black, double-edged knife with a pentacle embossed on the handle and placed it alongside a plastic bag filled with short candles in various colors and a bell. Articles of clothing fell on the floorboard along with something heavy. Gem held the cloth covered item in the palm of her hand and then removed the fabric.

  Moonlight gleamed off the metal cross. What was Ivona expecting, Vampires or something.

  "What's that?" he asked.

  Gem passed the cross to Damian.

  His heart slammed in his chest as memories of his time in the lab crashed over him. The cross had been used to teach them to focus and he'd spent many hours staring at it. "I've seen this before at the lab where I grew up. What's she doing with this?" He looked at Gem.

  Chapter 20

  After leaving Ivona and her bag, minus the red book, box of herbs and cross, at the next town, Damian, Gem, and Quentin continued toward Barticus' den while the second van veered off to go home. Gem couldn't forget the look on Damian's face when he’d looked at the cross. He mentioned a lab. She'd heard rumors about the KnightForce agent, who hadn't? But she hadn't heard anything about growing up in a lab, which would explain his odd behavior with pack. Even now he held himself aloof, slightly apart, as if watching a play.

  Looking out the window, her thoughts tossed and tumbled over every possible scenario of a young Damian living in a lab, and she couldn't see it. Not the inflexible man she'd seen in the past 48 hours. She yawned and stretched as they sped down the road. Maybe she could rest before seeing Lamia again. Gem bit her lip and glanced at Damian. She still hadn't mentioned the connection she had with the Lamia and wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was the intimacy of being chosen, or having someone inside to share ideas, if that was even possible. Gem shook her head to chase away those thoughts, recognizing she cared more for the notion of not being alone rather than sharing head space.

  "How much longer?" she asked.

  "Another hour and a half," Quentin said. "We need to stop and eat."

  Damian nodded but didn't add anything.

  "What's open this late?" Gem asked. Looking out the window she didn't see many lights.

  "In the next town there'll be restaurants or pubs open," Quentin said.

  Gem glanced again at Damian and battled her curiosity. Had Damian been raised from a pup in a lab? Or had he meant something else?

  Quentin put on the turning signal and turned off the highway. "Ah, just as I thought, several places to eat." He drove a short distance and pulled into a half-empty parking lot. "The variety is better here." After turning off the car, he stepped outside the SUV, stretched and yawned. His bald plate gleamed beneath the parking lamp before he pulled his cap from his pocket and covered his head.

  Gem and Damian left the vehicle and followed him inside. Soft music played and a human hostess greeted them as they stepped across the threshold.

  "Three?" she asked.

  "Yes," Quentin said, looking around and then following the willowy female to a large wooden table with four chairs.

  She removed the extra place setting. "Your waiter will be with you in a moment, enjoy."

  Gem sat first. Damian took the seat directly across from her, and Quentin sat on Damian's left. Her stomach growled and she picked up the menu.

  Damian glanced at the menu and placed it on the table. Quentin did as well. Gem felt their eyes on her, but she hadn't finished reading all the choices.

  The waiter appeared, offering drinks and appetizers. Damian and Quentin ordered beer. Gem ordered a glass of white wine. The waiter turned to leave but Damian stopped him.

  "I'll have the large steak medium rare and the roast beef."

  The waiter stared at Damian for a brief second and then nodded. "What sides would you like?" He went on to name the sides and Damian chose two. Quentin ordered the same entrees but changed the sides. All three of them looked at her.

  "Roast beef medium rare and the stuffed chops." She told him her sides
and sat back meeting Damian's gaze. After the waiter left, Damian's fingertips tapped the table in an odd rhythm. "Barticus sent his best trackers to find Raoul, so far no luck. They're searching everywhere, but his scent has disappeared."

  The waiter came back and placed their drinks on the table.

  Gem took a sip of wine, enjoying the flavors on her tongue. "Didn't you mention that happened when you and Raoul were at Sheila Heights’ home?"

  Damian had just taken a long pull of his beer and nodded slowly. "Yes, Ivona's scent disappear--" his gaze met hers. "She was with us."

  "She walked into the woods after doing something to make the deer stop," Gem said.

  "That's right, I saw her," Quentin said, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm. "She came back a short while afterward."

  "But long enough to spray or sprinkle something on him to get rid of his scent," Gem said, warming to the idea.

  "Could be why she didn't argue too much when she got out, she might be with him now," Quentin said,

  "I don't think that's the right track," Damian said. "There was no reason for her to leave her mom's with us if she had him. Besides, if she had him, she'd let him communicate with me, if only to say he was with her."

  Gem could see Ivona wanting to flaunt her control of Raoul in front of Damian. "Good point. But it doesn't help find him."

  "No, but we will," he said with a promise in his gaze. A few moments later the waiter and two others arrived at their table with their food. Hearing the sizzle of the steaks and the tantalizing aromas wafting from the food, she stopped talking and paid attention to her meal. After arranging everyone's food on the table and providing fresh drinks, the waiter stood back with a smile.

  "Enjoy," he said and walked off.

  Conversation ceased as they cut into the large pieces of meat and ate with appreciation the perfectly prepared meal. When both of Damian's plates were empty and he'd finished his third bottle of beer, he pushed away from the table and asked the waiter for the direction to the restroom.