Tangled Redemption

by Tina Christopher

Miguel’s shock chased through Jayden’s body. No, I did not know that.

  Well, now you do.

  Silence. Worry. Longing and fear.

  Jayden’s smile softened. You don’t have to say anything, Mik. I wanted you to know.

  Thank you. It means everything.

  Jayden nodded, happy despite the danger they were heading into. He understood that Miguel had put himself into an emotionless state for years. He had to in order to survive the horrors of working for Nasir. Finding love had been nowhere on his agenda and it would take time for him to process feeling again. There would be time for mutual declarations later.

  First they had to kill a monster and save a maiden.

  * * * * *

  Sydney fought with everything she had inside her. She would not give Nasir or any of his minions the pleasure to see her broken. The Feral Nasir had her fight was more skilled than the first two and exhaustion had begun to set in.

  Sydney gasped, choking as the Feral’s fingers wrapped around her throat and cut off her air.

  Her mind screamed. Her lungs burned. The edges of her vision started to grow fuzzy. Black dots appeared over the Feral’s shoulder, distorting the image of Nasir sitting in his chair, watching them. Panic flooded her veins with adrenaline. She struggled, clawing at the fingers sealed around her throat. She still had enough mind left to find the soft spot between thumb and finger and to press down with all her might.

  He roared in pain and released her, giving her the opening she needed. She threw her left arm between them, turning to the side and trapping the Feral’s arm against her own chest before elbowing him in the face.

  He stumbled back, his nose bleeding. One quick glance confirmed her knuckles were bruised, but the skin hadn’t been broken. Having bloody hands terrified her in the vicinity of these monsters.

  “Enough.”

  Everything stopped. Nasir rose to his feet and addressed the bleeding Feral. “You’ve done well, but I am getting bored. Return to your duties.”

  The Feral bowed and exited the room, leaving her alone with Nasir.

  Sydney panted, sweat gluing the fabric of her hated uniform to her body. Her ribs ached from a couple of kicks and her left eye was beginning to swell because she hadn’t ducked fast enough. She registered all that only vaguely. She had shut down every part of her and only focused on finding the right moment to kill Nasir.

  It was the only way for her to not shatter into a million pieces. Once again she had allowed her emotions to get away from her, had allowed men to play her. For her love was a curse. Miguel had made his preferences abundantly clear. Jayden had betrayed her so deeply the ache had turned physical.

  She had shared herself with them, had been open to everything they wanted. There had been only one stake she had put in the ground, one rule she said she would die before breaking it. And he had taken her blood and given it to the monster responsible for more evil than could ever be redeemed in one lifetime.

  Now there was only one goal. She had to wait for the right moment.

  Sydney studied the katana Nasir had on display. It looked long and sharp.

  “Ah, you are admiring Honjo. It is one of my prized possessions.” He lifted it, swung it a few times, following the steps of what had to be a kata.

  She hid her triumph. He did exactly as she had planned.

  He held the sword out to her. “Do you want it? Do you want to use it to kill me? Try it.” He held the hilt out to her, but she didn’t respond. It wasn’t time yet.

  Nasir laughed and nudged the hilt into her direction one more time. “You sure?” When she still didn’t respond he grinned, arrogance and triumph blazing in his eyes. “Good decision. It would have only made a mess—of you.”

  A sound chimed from his comp. “Great, looks like they’re back.” He slid behind his desk.

  Sydney stepped a little closer and to the side until she was within reach of the katana display. The katana and its two short swords. And the beautifully decorated dagger. She didn’t look at any of them, but stared at Nasir. She had to be ready.

  “All the shuttles are back and the transport is nice and full. Looks like a good body count. But—” He tapped a few keys on his comp. “Why don’t I have access to the inflight cameras?”

  Sydney spoke up when he lifted his comp as if to give it an order. “If I was in their position the first thing I’d do would be to tear out the surveillance system.”

  He looked up, his gaze narrowed.

  She didn’t know if this helped or would only make him more suspicious, but she couldn’t veer off course now. “You have hundreds of humans in there, all different ages and experiences. I bet you there will be more than one electrician in that group, probably more than one guy who works maintenance on a transport vessel.” She shrugged, fighting the adrenaline pounding through her body. She had to control her heartbeat or give herself away.

  For a minute he studied her and she was sure she had made it worse. Then he smirked and nodded. “I always underestimate how savvy the cattle really are.”

  She knew that description should have made her angry, but she had sunk so deep into her dark place she no longer cared.

  “What, no passionate defense of how humans have the same rights as all of us?” He set down his comp and leaned back in his chair, giving her an opening.

  Sydney struggled to put together an argument that would keep him distracted, but in the end she had nothing. “I can count the number of humans I’ve met in my lifetime on two hands and have had a conversation with maybe four of them. I can’t speak for a race I know nothing about.”

  His eyes widened and then he roared with laughter. “Jade, that is hilarious. So why were you so determined to defend the pet that arrived with you?”

  “Just because I don’t know humans doesn’t mean I believe you have the right to use them as chew toys. Every species in our galaxy has the same right to exist.”

  He leaned forward. “But what if they don’t have the strength to defend themselves? Humans are weak. If I can kill one with a twist of my wrist, if I can take down a whole town with a group of Vampires, why should I respect them or their rights to live?” He gestured with his finger at her. “Only the strong survive. The weak will be eaten.”

  “But for how long will they remain weak?” She took two more steps closer to the display and crossed her arms over her chest. “Once they learn they’re hunted they will fight back. They will develop weapons. They will discover your weaknesses and learn to exploit them.”

  Nasir shrugged. “We’ll build better weapons.”

  She snorted. “Yes, mutual escalation, that calms everything right down.”

  His smile dropped and he looked at her like a bug under a microscope. A shiver went down her spine. “Interesting theory.” He turned back to his comp.

  Silence fell across the room. Sydney swallowed, not understanding what had happened.

  His fingers flew across his comp, his eyes filling with more and more darkness. The temperature in the room appeared to drop lower and lower.

  “It appears I have been betrayed.” He lifted the comp and waved the feed onto the wall.

  She turned but didn’t step away from the knives. “I don’t understand. What am I looking at?” All she could see were Vampires fighting. Everyone wore black, so she couldn’t identify who was who.

  Then one familiar face jumped into focus and before she could stop herself she flinched.

  “Ah, the Council has found me. Pity.” He rose. “I liked these facilities and I’ve collected a number of treasures I’ll now have to leave behind. That makes me very unhappy.”

  Sydney swallowed and her control cracked. She grabbed the dagger and retreated. It was as if Nasir had flicked a switch. He was frightening enough under usual circumstances, but right now he scared her to death.

  He raised his brows. “Really, you honestly believe you have the slightest chance against me with that little thing?”

  She tightened her grip aroun
d the hilt, her mouth dry.

  He tutted at her. “Just give in. Resistance is futile.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Maybe not, but how much of a chance do you stand against us?” Miguel’s deep baritone echoed through the room. Jayden was only a couple of steps behind him. A tiny voice inside her mind screamed for them, but she stomped on it before it could grow stronger.

  Nasir turned to the two Vampires and scoffed. “Seriously, boys. You honestly think you have a chance?” He shrugged and rolled his neck. “Never mind. I welcome the opportunity to kill you.” He cracked his knuckles. “I will break every bone in your body and then I will kill your pet while you are helpless and watching.”

  In the depths of her mind something slammed against the door that linked Miguel and her. But now the door was nearly gone. It had faded, confirming her deepest fear—she wasn’t really meant to be with him.

  He didn’t…know…didn’t betr…you…Jay…did it…thought…only way to keep…together…we…

  And with that Miguel was gone and the door faded completely.

  Sydney hadn’t thought her heart could break any further. She was wrong. Seeing the door disappear was the final slap.

  She lifted the dagger and cut across her wrist. Blood welled up. It surprised her how little the cut hurt her. The knife was very sharp.

  Everyone turned to her.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Sydney? Are you insane?” Jayden turned as if to come to her, but Nasir attacked in that moment. He grabbed his katana and swung it at Jayden.

  Jayden pulled a sword from his back, hidden until now by his jacket. They got into a furious exchange. The blades clashing together and echoing through the room.

  It looks kind of beautiful. Sydney moved the dagger into her bleeding hand. The blood ran down her arm and dripped onto the floor. The drops made a weird kind of pattern. It would be an interesting experiment to measure the blood splatter. It would tell her how fast her blood flowed. She raised her arm and then lowered it again. And how certain movements changed said flow.

  “No, Sydney. Don’t do it!” Miguel roared.

  In that moment Nasir whirled around, faster than she had ever seen anyone move and attacked Miguel. In the last minute her lifemate drew his sword and attempted to deflect the katana blade. But it wasn’t enough. Nasir’s blade slid deep into Miguel.

  Nasir pulled it back, Miguel’s blood spraying. Jayden went on the attack.

  Sydney studied the battle before her. Her knowledge was limited, but she understood that Miguel and Jayden were losing. She hadn’t planned to cut her second wrist, but the blood didn’t drain out of her fast enough to make a difference for her men.

  And despite everything she still loved them. She didn’t want to see them die. Sydney cut her second wrist and watched her blood spill. She dropped the dagger and lowered her hands, increasing the blood flow. She prayed to every deity under the sun that it would work.

  The battle between the three raged on. Miguel’s white shirt slowly turned red, the spreading blood only visible when he whirled and moved enough to lift the edges of his jacket. Jayden was covered in cuts and nicks.

  It was taking too long. Sydney didn’t know what to do, wondered if she should cut her neck or her femoral artery. She hadn’t planned to kill herself, only to weaken Nasir.

  Miguel swung his blade and cut across Nasir’s back. Leaving behind a bloody slice.

  Nasir roared and jumped back, but Jayden and Miguel followed him, each step forcing Nasir farther and farther back until he stood in the corner. Trapped.

  Sydney slumped to the floor. Her vision edged with gray. She squinted in an effort not to miss anything. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like Nasir was slowing down.

  But so did her guys.

  The battle had gone on for too long.

  She struggled to stem the blood flowing from her wrists, but her lids dropped shut.

  A scream of pain forced her to open her eyes again.

  Jayden had pinned Nasir to the wall with his sword like one would pin a butterfly to a collection tableau. Nasir struggled and screamed, stabbing and whacking at Jayden, but the other man was too close. The katana was too long and unwieldy.

  Sydney nearly laughed when Jayden pulled all the short knives she’d seen him line up on his arms this morning and turned Nasir into a pincushion. But nothing seemed to be enough.

  Miguel stumbled. Sydney frowned.

  Miguel always moved with the utmost grace. She loved watching him move. He was just so pretty…now he needed to lean against the wall…

  “For fuck’s sake, do it, Mik! Now!”

  Mik. Sydney liked that name. She smiled dreamily when she saw Miguel raise his sword while Jayden held a screaming and struggling Nasir. He really should stop making such a racket. Miguel—no, Mik swung his sword and cut off Nasir’s head. It bounced across the floor and came to a standstill at the leg of Nasir’s desk.

  She frowned. They had made quite a mess. The wall was splattered with blood and—

  Mik slumped to the ground. Jayden pulled his comp out and shouted “We need a medic. A medic to Nasir’s office. Hurry, Miguel’s lost a lot of blood.”

  Sydney studied her wrists. I have blood. He should take mine. She tried to get to her feet, but for some reason didn’t manage. That was all right, she could crawl. Mik needed blood and she had lots.

  Jayden turned to her and cursed a blue streak. He rushed over and picked her up. “What the fuck did you do to yourself, love?” He screamed medic into his comp a few more times, but Sydney ignored his tries to tie off her wrists and knelt beside Mik. She had to steady herself with a hand on his chest. It was wet. Wet with blood. That’s not good.

  She shuffled up until she could lift his body into a sitting position. It was awkward, but Jayden had stopped screaming and finally started helping after stopping the bleeding on one wrist. She pressed her lips against Mik’s. “Take my blood,” she whispered.

  His gorgeous black eyes, dazed with pain, widened. “No, Sydney, that is the one line you drew in the sand. You are too weak to make a conscious decision.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Idiot. I love you. You are my heart and my soul.” She lifted her gaze to Jayden who had wrapped his arms around the both of them. “And so are you.” She lifted her hand. “My blood made him powerful, my blood could weaken him.” She pressed her wrist against his lips. “My blood has done so much damage across the galaxy. Please let it, for once, do something good.”

  For a moment Mik stared into her eyes. This was the end of the line for her. She had nothing left to lose and she wanted to share herself with the both of them. No matter what, they were hers. “I love you, Sydney. You and Jayden are my world. Lifemate bond or no lifemate bond, I cannot imagine a lifetime without you. I was a coward and an idiot.”

  Lightness raced through her, followed by warmth. But then she remembered Jayden’s betrayal, the fact Miguel had pushed her aside from the moment their link had come to life. She patted his cheek. “It’s not necessary.” Her lie-detection power hadn’t flickered when he’d declared his love, but in her current state she didn’t believe she would know either way.

  He held her arm, which was a good thing as it turned heavy. “What’s not necessary?”

  “For you to lie to me. Just because I love you doesn’t mean you have to pretend you do too.”

  “I am not pretending.”

  Her world exploded and realigned itself. She felt the truth of his words through their connection. It had flickered back to life as both of them expressed their love.

  But she didn’t trust that truth. Then Miguel opened every part of himself to her. She walked through his memories. The last few hundred years flashed past her. The dancer. She’d been important, but she hadn’t held his heart, which is why they hadn’t lasted. Life as a mercenary, a strategist. One fight after another, always seeking to protect the innocents. When it had become too much he’d just disappeared, left everyone behind and stayed on hi
s own.

  Then the first stirrings of the Ferals. His information network would be the envy of every spy or government official in the galaxy. The first victims and reports. The decision to go undercover no matter the cost. The horrors of working for Nasir. She understood that the victims he couldn’t save dominated his memory, that he didn’t see the faces of the ones he’d managed to save. That he believed himself beyond redemption.

  And then she’d come into his life. From the first moment she’d grabbed his attention, took him by surprise. The agony he’d experienced when he discovered she was his lifemate nearly took her to her knees. He had done what he believed necessary to protect her.

  It angered her that he hadn’t given her a choice, but she understood his motivation.

  Miguel shared everything. He hid nothing, including his fear that he was behind redemption. Every decision, every action had been driven by the need to love and protect her the only way he could.

  She gave him a soft kiss. He had laid himself bare before her. She had no choice but to do the same. “I love you so much. I want our link.”

  For a second it was as if she’d been sucker punched. Once again her world shifted and changed, but their link, shining with every red ever imagined, remained strong.

  He wrapped his hand around her wrist, pressed it to his lips and sucked.

  Her vision flickered, so she closed her eyes, happy that after all the pain and havoc her blood had wrought it now saved her hero.

  Her heart stuttered. In a part far away from her she realized it no longer had enough blood to pump through her body. No! If she died, so did they. What had she done?

  “Sydney!”

  Good, his voice sounded strong again.

  Mik had stopped sucking and now licked his tongue across her wrist. It tickled. She giggled when Jayden repeated the process on her other wrist. She forced her eyes open and looked at their beloved faces. Maybe their lifemate connection could save them. “I love you both. Promise me you will be happy.”

  With everything she had left she clung to her link to Miguel. Then the black could no longer be held at bay and she gave in to the echo of what sounded like bellows.