Electric Storm (A Raven Investigations Novel)

by Brutger, Stacey

  How many other lives had she ruined and just walked away from without a clue?

  “Don’t look like that. It’s not your fault.”

  She met his gaze steadily, her heart shredded. “Isn’t it?”

  Dina broke the spell when she spoke. “What made Cassie so different?”

  Rylan swallowed hard, never removing his focus from Raven. “Raven.”

  The pure lust in his expression slammed into her so hard, she couldn’t catch her breath let alone her run-away thoughts. She’d always thought Rylan kept his distance because he didn’t care. That she’d destroyed things between them when she tried to get too close. Now she saw that he actually believed he was protecting her from himself. She was his addiction. He might care for her, but he feared his craving for her blood more.

  “I never knew. I never understood.” She was stupid, blinded by her own problems. Shame heated her cheeks.

  “I couldn’t let you see. I didn’t want you to know.” He ran a hand through his hair, dropping his gaze. But not before she saw the humiliation. They hadn’t broken her in the labs, not the way that one devastated look did now.

  “You should’ve told me.” She couldn’t prevent the way her lip trembled.

  Sadness poured from him. “So that you would feel guilty and try to fix me?” He shook his head. “I’ve lived this way for years. I can manage my affliction.”

  “Where does that leave us?” London bared his teeth at Ross, cracking his knuckles. “Would you like me to take a turn at him? I’m sure he’ll give up his secrets.”

  Raven wasn’t so sure. The angle of Ross’s chin showed his stubbornness, and his complete conviction that he would get out of this alive.

  She looked at the people in the room as Jackson’s words came back to haunt her. Shifters weren’t human, they didn’t think like them. She wasn’t either, not really. Maybe it was time to put away her dreams, face the fact that she’d never be normal, and embrace the other side of her soul that few people knew existed.

  “Leave the room.” She’d think of something. She had no choice. She remembered the way Durant tried to crack her shields. It was possible. She just had to peel back the layers. She’d never exploited her gift that way, but it was worth the risk.

  “I’ll do it.” Rylan’s quick turnabout baffled her.

  “No. If I’d known, I would’ve never asked—”

  “I’m volunteering.” His gaze was uncompromising.

  “Why?” His actions confused her, especially now that she understood the cost would push him one step closer to the insanity of bloodlust.

  “I know what you’re planning. I’ll survive. I’ll get the information. They need you on this case. Taggert needs you.”

  “And damn the consequences?”

  “I’ll accept them all on my own. They won’t involve you.”

  “Like hell.” She snarled at the secrets he had no right to keep from her.

  “Let’s argue when your Taggert is home.”

  Suspicions darkened her thoughts. “And you’ll be here when I get back?”

  Before she could react, Rylan’s eyes bled to black. His image blurred, and he struck.

  Ross’s struggle sickened her, but the least she could do was watch what she’d put into motion.

  The fight slowly went out of Ross, his sharp expression grew dazed. When Raven thought Rylan would drain him, he withdrew his fangs. Blood trailed sluggishly down Ross’s neck, but he lived.

  Raven quickly turned her attention to Rylan. The tense set of his shoulders slowed her step, and she swallowed hard past the tightness of her throat. She hesitated, uncurled her clenched fists and reached out. “Rylan—”

  He whirled, his extended fangs glistened, his eyes wild as he fought the lure of blood. The damned fool had waited too long to feed.

  Raven didn’t flinch under his regard, and he cocked his head as if curious. “What did you see? Where’s the warehouse?” She wouldn’t cry at what she’d forced upon Rylan. She couldn’t let her emotions win or she’d lose both of them.

  Those black orbs didn’t show any recognition. The muscles of his body flexed to leap at the first sign of fear or weakness. Across the room, London shifted a step closer, ready to intervene.

  She shook her head. At the movement, Rylan gripped her arm with vampiric strength. Energy rippled at the touch, surged up without her command, coursing under her skin and bubbling up to the surface. It splashed into Rylan, bowing his back. His gasp of air, the sound of deep pain had her skipping back out of range.

  At the absence of his touch, she staggered, nearly falling to her knees. Everything inside her quieted. Rylan didn’t fare any better. His body crashed to the floor and didn’t move.

  “Shit.” Stumbling over Ross’s feet, she knelt at Rylan’s side. “Can you hear me?”

  Rylan blinked lazily, his eyes dilated, but normal, thank God. The zap must have cleared the bloodlust.

  “Baker Street. They call at ten sharp.” Something dark moved in his gaze. A shadowy memory and a vengeance so strong she flinched. “Go quickly, but brace yourself. He set up his own labs.”

  She rose with reluctance and came face to face with Ross. The bastard was alive but barely. “I’ll bring them back.”

  She spoke to Rylan, but the promise in her eyes was for Ross and he knew it. Fear shaded his face, and he seemed to understand the danger for the first time.

  He wouldn’t be leaving alive.

  Maybe Jackson was right. This was a matter for shifter justice. Those in the labs deserved to see the bastard die by their own hands...or claws.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Though Raven expected the call, the shrill ringing of the phone sent her pulse galloping. She gazed up at the clock, her gut a ball of needles.

  Ten sharp.

  Jenkins hand rested on the cradle of the phone and waited for her nod. “Do it.” Her eyes were drawn to the cramped cages on the cold cement floor. The thick metal enclosure wasn’t large enough for anyone to stand, let alone stretch out

  So many empty cages that her mind stumbled.

  The congealed blood on the floor stood out like a reprimand, each stain a reminder of a life taken, a life lost.

  Dina had evacuated the few refugees. London had painstakingly dismantled all the computers, readying them for transportation back to the house. Those files would tell her everything she needed to know about who’d died and what had been done to those who’d survived. It felt like too little, too late.

  Again.

  “Ross.”

  Her head snapped up, her gaze sharpening on Jenkins as he spoke into the phone. Ross’s image reflected back at her, and she tightened her fists, nails digging into her palms to remind herself that the real Ross was not going anywhere.

  “I have another body for your hunt.”

  A knot formed in her throat, quickly loosened by anger. This was the perfect way for her to get to Taggert. By using their own system against them.

  “She’s not a normal shifter, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.” Ross’s voice warbled, and he coughed. The transition was fading. They had to hurry. “I won’t be able to stay tonight.”

  Jenkins bent over the desk and scribbled on a piece of paper. “I’ll leave her there for you to pick up.” Another long pause and beads of sweat dotted Jenkins’ forehead. “I can try to find another female cat, but it’s going to be harder. Since they began finding the bodies,” he added just the right amount of reprimand to be realistic, “the shifters have become more protective. Women are the hardest to snatch. Too few of them are free to roam without protection.”

  Another long pause. “I’ll do it, but it will cost you double.” The hard, flat sound of his voice matched Ross’s so exactly, a chill crept down her spine. “Fine.”

  Jenkins hung up without waiting, then sat heavily in the chair, his posture drooping. “Do you think he bought it?”

  Guilt assailed her at the shake in his voice. She’d pushed him hard.
She just hoped it was worth it. “We’ll know if they show up at the dump site. You did well.”

  A grimace of pain crossed his face, his skin rippling like bugs were crawling beneath the surface. Pale splotches of skin appeared when his face settled. “Are you all right?”

  He waved away her concern. “This is normal. The transition back is gradual. You have more things to worry about than me. Go. Get ready.” He tore off the paper with his scribbled note and handed it to her. “Be safe.”

  She gave him a nod and turned, wishing she could ignore the smell of blood and terror permeating the walls of the derelict warehouse. The need to get out crushed her chest, and she threw open the door. Fresh air buffeted her, and she eagerly sucked it down. Too bad she couldn’t forget as easily.

  “Raven.”

  Shit. She froze, and air wheezed out of her lungs. She’d forgotten about London.

  “You were leaving.”

  His accusation struck at the heart of her plan. She wanted to keep everyone safe, didn’t want to draw any more attention to anyone else. “Listen—”

  A sound rumbled out of the darkness, raising the hair on the back of her neck, and she took an involuntary step backward. When she faced London, it was to find him gazing at her, unrepentant.

  “Jackson?”

  He nodded. “And my guess, Dominic’s not too far behind.”

  Jackson’s yellow eyes reflected in the dark, barely a block away and coming up fast.

  “You told them we would be here.” Of course he did.

  “I had a feeling you’d try to leave by yourself if I didn’t bring backup.”

  Something in his words gripped her insides hard. “What did you do?”

  To give him credit, he didn’t back down.

  “I believe he means me.” Durant’s shape melted out of the darkness less than ten feet away, sauntering toward them with a lazy gait, an uncompromising glint in his golden eyes.

  “Damn it, London.” She fisted her hands, so angry she shook. The man had the gall to cross his arms and give her a hard stare.

  “You would’ve gone alone.”

  She shrugged away the accusation. What could she say? It was true. Before she could respond, Jackson and Dominic muscled between them, disapproval radiating from them. It was the first good look at Jackson she had since she’d left him unconscious. He appeared fine, strong and uncompromising, but something about him had changed subtly. Power surrounded him, snapping at her with surprising strength.

  “It didn’t work.” Disappointment pierced her.

  Not only did she fail to fix him, she’d dragged his wolf so close to the surface that he had to be teetering on the edge. Such hyper-vigilance couldn’t feel good. How long could he go on like that without breaking under the strain?

  He didn’t have to say a word of reprimand, though she felt it anyway, and his silence made it all the worse. He stepped closer, stalking her in a way that tightened her muscles in preparation to either fight or flee. She shifted her stance and found her back pressed up against Durant’s chest.

  “You aren’t going without us.”

  Jackson’s guttural words kicked up her heartbeat. She swallowed hard and nodded dumbly. It was too late anyway.

  Durant placed his hands on her shoulders, dragged his fingers down her arms, and she leaned into him as her legs threatened to give out under the assault between the both of them. When his hands trailed over hers, he pulled the note from her nerveless fingers.

  She jerked away, biting back a groan of protest at the loss of contact. The bastard had used the attraction between them to distract her. Although she should be angry, it faded quickly under the rush of arousal that flooded her body, and the gut wrenching compulsion to touch them both back.

  “I know this location. It’s five miles west of where I found Cassie.”

  “You’re missing one important fact.” She crossed her arms, feeling exposed and chilled as some of her reasoning returned. “They’re expecting to find a woman waiting for them.”

  “We’ll stay hidden.”

  “And if they have shifters on the hunt?” That was a hard fact to swallow, but she knew they had one. The markings on the bones proved that. Who’s to say they didn’t have more? “They’ll be able to pick you out of the trees in seconds. I won’t let them keep Taggert.”

  “Nobody else wants that either.” Dominic tried to sound reasonable, but there was a harshness around him that wouldn’t be compromised.

  Those dark eyes of his locked on hers, and he leaned so close that their noses almost touched. All the excess energy and frustration pouring off him wrapped around her, peppering her fragile shields, choking her with its strength.

  “You’ll not leave here without us.”

  “Fine.” She bit out between clenched teeth. She didn’t really have a choice anymore, not when they knew the drop off location. “How do you want to do this?”

  * * *

  The silver and iron zip tie gouged into her wrists until her bones felt bruised. She resisted the urge to shift positions on the hard-packed ground, hating that she could barely feel her ass anymore. The lack of gloves made her more uncomfortable than her situation. And that said a lot, thanks to the light drizzle that left her clothes sopping wet and her skin clammy.

  The sharp sting of the hunter’s gaze bore into her. Assessing her, but he didn’t make his move. The countdown to the pick-up time had come and gone twenty minutes ago. With each minute that passed, her chest tightened. This had to work. She didn’t know any other way to stop the next killing, didn’t know any other way to ensure Taggert’s safety.

  Bright lights flashed in the distance, and her heart rate accelerated into a pounding rhythm. Voices rose and fell, and her suspicions flared to life. She twisted to see the lights angle off in the wrong direction.

  Crap. Those weren’t her men or the hunters.

  “Halt. This is the police. Don’t move.”

  Scotts. Son of a bitch. For half a second, she debated the wisdom of showing herself. If she did, she’d lose Taggert. She didn’t know if Scotts had found the hunters or her people, but she couldn’t interfere. If the police caught one of her men, the worse they’d have to do was explain what they were doing in the woods.

  But what nagged at the back of her mind was how the hell the police had known they were out in the middle of nowhere in the first place. Who took a stroll in the forest at night? Unless the bastard had her followed.

  The underbrush crunched, the noise indicating the person headed in the opposite direction. “God dammit, don’t shoot. We need him alive.”

  The lights and voices faded in the distance. She stretched, groaning as her body protested. A twig snapped behind her and she jerked, twisting to see who was there.

  She craved to be able to use her senses, but she couldn’t risk something going wrong while her powers were still on the fritz. The more time she had to heal, the more control she’d have when she needed it.

  The air around her grew heavy. Everything fell ominously silent. She glanced up in time to see a shadowy face she didn’t recognize loomed over her. She tried to speak with the gag in her mouth, but the words came out mumbled.

  “Don’t worry, I got you.” The deep, masculine voice sounded so concerned, she half-worried she was about to be rescued. Until he reached for her. She recognized the device in his hands. The large meal she ate for fuel lumped like coal in her gut. She twisted away, kicked out, but much too late.

  The taser hit her high in the shoulder. She heard the zap, smelled the electricity when the jolt arced through her body. Her back bowed, her teeth clenched, and a muffled scream escaped her gag.

  She closed her eyes and allowed the voltage to roll over her. Instead of absorbing it into her system, it snagged on the cage. Under the assault, the vault holding Randolph’s stolen power cracked.

  Forever passed until the pain finally faded enough to think clearly. When she became aware again, she found herself slung over a man’s sho
ulder, her arms dangling down his back. Nausea pressed heavily against the back of her throat, each swaying step testing her control.

  She had to get her bearings, but everything looked wrong when viewed upside down. She went with what she knew. There was no trail. The edges of his pant legs were damp, but the only stream was miles from the dumpsite.

  His booted heel scraped rock as the dirt give way to stone. Blinking in surprise, she mentally viewed the maps London had gathered. None mentioned a cave system.

  The outside world vanished, along with the light, as she was lugged lower and lower into the bowels of the earth. Cold air swirled around her, snaking through her clothes. Then she saw the tracks. The old gold mines. He must have carried her south through the stream to throw off the scent.

  Her eyes took a while to adjust to the absolute darkness. Stale water made the air thick. Then, pinpricks of light glowed in the distance, and she could vaguely distinguish shapes in the tunnel.

  A rumble of voices grew louder as they neared. She slammed her eyes shut and steadied her breathing.

  And none too soon. A fist tangled in her hair, wrenching her neck back. A grunt sounded, and she felt a finger trace the angles of her face. It was all she could do to remain still under the cold touch. The brutal grip on her loosened, and her head dropped, smacking the small of her abductor’s sweat-stained back.

  “Put her in the cage with the others. Check on her every hour. I want to know when this one wakes.”

  The man turned, and she bit her lip against making any sound when her arm scraped along the narrow tunnel. Then she found herself falling. She struggled to keep herself from tensing when her head cracked against the unforgiving ground.

  Air whooshed out of her lungs.

  Stars danced, and she found herself drowning in darkness.

  Chapter Thirty

  DAY 8: SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT

  Coldness crept over her flesh and shivers racked her body. She groped for her blanket, cursing when she couldn’t find it.