Sienna (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 5)

by Jamie Garrett

  Cole shot to his feet, his head whipping around as he threw a punch at a man Payton was ready to fly at, knocking him to the ground. Jason stood just a few feet away. “Motherfucker!” he yelled out, slamming his foot against the man’s back as he tried to struggle to his feet. Without pausing, he pulled his gun from a holster at his side and took down another sneaking up behind them. A yell sounded behind her and Sienna spun around. Reece and Aaron still fought on the other side of her, Keila pushing to her feet behind them, blood running from a gash to her cheek.

  “You won’t win,” Isobel said, gliding back to her feet. “My mother saw it. This love you think protects you? It is pulling you down. Even now it splits your focus. You cannot hope to protect them all. Your mother let you down, left you untrained, and now you’ll pay with your blood.”

  Isobel’s shield crashed back into her, pushing hard against her mind and threatening to break down any remaining barrier between them. Sienna bit down on the inside of her cheek so hard she tasted blood. Her fists clenched and legs shook, but she couldn’t let go. If she didn’t hold, then they were all dead. This was what her mother had meant all along. When it came down to it, she was alone.

  “Sienna!” Jace called her name. She looked over to where he stood. He threw a man to the ground and moved toward her. He was closer by the second and yet his voice seemed further and further away. Black spots shaded her vision. She was growing weak. The shields were meeting, driving sparks between them, and hers was going to give. She had to fight. She had to push back. She couldn’t let Isobel in. Her legs buckled, forcing her to her knees as a warm trickle ran down her face.

  “Jace!” Payton this time. She was wrapped around Cole, taking blows meant for him, her back arching with every hit. “Get to her. Hold on and don’t let her go.”

  He pushed forward, fighting with the swirl of lights—Sienna’s wanting so badly to reach him, touch him, while Isobel’s held him back. Jace thrust his arm through the pulsing, swirling orbs, forcing his hand close to hers. “Grab my hand!”

  She couldn’t. She couldn’t look back and she couldn’t move her hand. If one spark of concentration fell, then it would all be over.

  “Come on, gorgeous girl. Take my hand.” Something warm pressed into her palm and Sienna’s fingers folded around it, as instinctively as a baby grasped her mother’s finger. Jace used the leverage to push aside the light blocking his path and grab Sienna by the wrist. His other arm shot out, snagging Emily. “Grab my hand. If we can pull her away from Isobel’s shield, we might have a chance.”

  Payton was next, and then Lainey and Keila. Sienna groaned. It wasn’t going to work. Her shield was cracking, her energy dissipating. Any moment, it would fall, and Isobel would give the order for her men to storm them, to take them to the ground. The spots took over her vision again, and she fought the urge to collapse entirely.

  Payton screamed out to Jace, the whirlwind of their lights a living thing, spinning through the air. “Give her to me, Jace. You got her here, now let us take over. I can see the path.”

  No!

  Sienna gripped tighter onto Jace’s hand, her shield wavering further with the strength it took to hang on. “Oh, sweet girl,” he said, reaching out to wipe the blood away. “You’ve done it. All you need to do is take Payton’s hand, and she’ll show you the rest of the way.” He moved over, grabbing on to Payton and slipping her hand into Sienna’s, then stepped back, out into the open. Out of reach of her failing shield. Sienna’s head fell back as she screamed. There were no words, but an anguished cry. Payton’s hand slammed into hers, locking their grip and then everything changed. The world shrunk in on itself, condensing everything inside the circle into a large, seething, pulling ball of energy. Every thought, every experience, from all five, flooded into the center, pulsing along light trails. They were their own minds, but sharing a common heart, connected by threads shooting in between them. Strength returned to Sienna’s shaking limbs and her mind cleared, as each locked into hers.

  She turned, and locked her gaze with Isobel’s. Sienna pushed her shield—no, their shield—forward, shaking the ground.

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  Sienna

  Lainey’s smile was pure bliss. Her power cut through the barrier between the shields, sending out a torrent of crippling pain. It sent Isobel crashing to the ground and gave Sienna the chance she needed. They moved again, dropping hands to defend themselves, joining with the guys to pick off the rest of Isobel’s guards. It didn’t matter anymore. The bond was there. Sienna had felt each and every one of them, just as Payton had with Cole and her with Jace, and she had what she needed to end this.

  Sienna summoned a telekinetic whip, lashing out at Isobel’s shield. Isobel had managed to recover from Lainey’s attack, but she still stumbled as it hit. Her hands flew up to her face and her shield with it. Sienna’s energy tumbled to the ground and lay there, sparking.

  “Throw too many of those out and you’ll fail again.” Isobel grinned. “I should know. I’ve been trained. You were left all alone.”

  Sienna pushed again. If she could move a giant boulder, she could damn well move through this.

  “You can’t get through,” Isobel mocked. She shot her own energy burst forward, lashing against Sienna’s light. It flickered, but held firm. Tiny flecks appeared on Isobel’s barrier, and she looked over, frowning. Jace. His gun was drawn and he fired a second clip into the shield. Isobel waved her hand, and a chunk of fallen wall flew through the air, directly aimed at his head. She heard Cole call out, “Jace! Hit the deck!”

  Sienna managed to raise a curve around Jace, hardening it. She felt the impact shudder to her bones, but she held fast. Cole slid in beside Jace, grabbing a gun from a fallen giant beside him, and let off a shot, felling another man. How could they still be coming?

  She looked back to Isobel. She was still smiling, but it was forced, wobbly. Sienna grinned.

  Take it, Sienna. Use our lights and end this.

  Keila’s voice sounded in her head. Sienna jumped. She’d gotten used to Payton’s cadence, but this was something else altogether entirely. She didn’t stop to think, to wonder how all this was going to work. It was all here, everything she needed; she just needed to take the leap. Silence fell back between them as each moved to stand beneath the shield. She felt their warmth pulse through her, healing bruises and warming her spirit. This was it—it came down to years of training versus something she couldn’t put into words, but knew it as sure as she knew anything else. It would be a game of endurance. One of their shields was going to fall, and when it did, either Sienna or Isobel would die.

  “It’s going to break, Sienna. Your friends will all die. You can’t hold it! Not against me.” Isobel drove her shield forward, forcing Sienna backward. Her light warped and shrunk around her, barely containing them.

  “Sienna!” Payton rushed forward, falling out of the shield and toppling to the ground. Cole responded a second later, darting after her. A bullet tore through the air, and Cole fell to the ground.

  “Oh, God! No!’ Payton screamed. Her voice pulsed inside Sienna, hurting down to her soul. Her light fractured, spitting off as it separated again. Cole lay still on the ground, Payton holding his head against her chest with one hand even as she drew a gun with the other, taking down the monster still stalking them both.

  Isobel’s hands moved together, twisting and turning until a chunk of metal tore off the wall. She hurled it directly at Sienna’s shield. It was followed by another, and then another. Oh, God, it was going to drop.

  Isobel’s face twisted. “You see. I know you, and now you let me inside your head, I know your powers, too. All of them. You can’t save your pathetic friends. You’re too weak. Why not pull back and save yourself, Sienna? You have no idea what we could achieve together. Let me show you how the world really works.”

  Sienna barely took in Isobel’s rantings. She was cowering on the ground, ready to lose her mind. If Payton didn’t stop screaming inside her head, sh
e was going to lose it entirely.

  Pull back. Pull back and save yourself.

  Isobel’s words finally penetrated her seared mind, rattling around in her brain. She had to do it. She had to make her shield smaller. It was the only way she was going to survive.

  Isobel sneered. “I knew you would. When it comes down to it, we’re exactly the same. I know all about you.” She raised her arms and tore down another chunk of wall. “I have your power, and soon I’ll have your life.”

  Sienna reached out with a last gasp, and grabbed onto one of Isobel’s men, throwing him into Isobel’s shield. Every move had to count now, and if she could take out a threat at the same time, then she’d just keep doing that until her shield fell. If she could just take out enough of them, perhaps the others would be left with a fighting chance.

  “You were just an experiment,” Isobel yelled. “She never wanted a child.” Her words burned like acid, every syllable breaking into Sienna and fracturing her further. “There are more girls. I can still create my army, and your death will have been entirely for nothing. It will all be completely pointless, just like your mother’s.” Isobel’s hands twisted again and a huge chunk of roof moved over her. Sienna didn’t have time to stop or hold against it. All she could do was run. She stepped backward, tripping over a body and falling to the ground. Oh, God! Lainey lay on the ground, her chest moving but way too slowly, her eyes closed.

  “Get out of there, Sienna.” Jace lay just yards away. He struggled against another man, hitting him with the barrel of his gun. She couldn’t move. All she could do was stare at the slab of metal, floating over her. She closed her eyes and held her hands over her head as it dropped, but suddenly she was falling again. Sienna cried out as her hands and cheek slammed against the rough ground.

  Keila! Keila had pushed her away, the metal landing on her leg.

  “It’s over, Sienna. Admit it,” Isobel said. She was glowing, sucking in Sienna’s shield, the lights merging to where Sienna could barely see her behind the cold light.

  “No. It isn’t over,” Keila said. She reached up, pinned to the ground from the metal. “It’s never over, Sienna, as long as one of us can do this.” Keila slammed her hand into Sienna’s and a burst of energy flowed through the connection. Sparks erupted around her, shooting into the air as if she were standing in a field of fireworks. As Keila’s light flowed into her, a memory flooded her mind. She was five, and she wanted desperately to be on the T-ball team. Sienna was so nervous. She wanted everything to be right, and so she practiced for weeks before. Her mom was amazing. She showed her everything—how to hit the ball, how to run the bases. She was always the best coach. The night before the tryouts, when they were sitting on her bed, her mom braiding her hair, Sienna asked her the question that had been bothering her all week. “What if they don’t think I’m good enough for the team, Mommy?”

  Her mom had stopped braiding, and wrapped her arms around Sienna, hugging her tightly. “You’re always enough, Sienna. When the final day comes, you’ll know that. You’re all they need to win.”

  Keila was watching Sienna, smiling at the images that rolled through her head. Smart lady, your mom. You are enough.

  No, I’m not. Everyone’s dying, Keila. We’re losing.

  I have faith. Even before I found the first girl, I had faith. I had faith when they took them all. Keila’s face twisted, a tear running down her face. I still had faith, even when they killed one right in front of me. I knew one day I’d have the chance, I just never knew how. I believe in you, Sienna. I believe in us.

  The others moved toward her, tending to those who were downed or couldn’t move. Jace was still moving quickly, taking out the last of Isobel’s giants as he slid in beside Sienna. Isobel screamed and tore off another chunk of roof, twisting it and coiling it together into a large chunk of writhing steel. It was big enough to take them all out. Jace took her hand, locking his gaze with hers. “I’m right here, Sienna. I’m not leaving here. We’re doing this together.” His lips met hers. The heat he gave off settled deep inside her, combining with the last spark of Keila’s light. It spun and fluttered before joining and pushing back to the surface. Lainey moved next, taking Keila’s hand and then grabbing firmly on to Jace. Jason shifted at Keila’s side, pulling in Aaron, who half dragged Cole and Payton into the burgeoning light. With every person came a new spark, a new stirring. Power and light from the girls, the sunny, glowing love of a mother for her daughter, but this time a different love, too—from soul mates who believed in each of them. Who would do anything—even die—for each other.

  Isobel roared, a vein twitching in her neck. She planted her legs wide and swept her hand out. The cylinder fell. Sienna closed her eyes, bracing for impact, but there was none. It bounced, falling to the ground and clattering beside them, breaking back into smaller pieces. Her shield pulsed and Sienna reached out—she felt it there, every connection. A rosy smoke filled the warehouse, bursting between them and crackling, forming a web of interconnected minds that reveled in each other’s presence and power. Jace’s hand reached out, stroking along her cheek. “You got it, Baby. I’m here for you. Always.”

  Sienna took it all, every happy memory, every caress, every moment of love from them all, and aimed it directly at Isobel’s shield.

  When it hit, there was nothing.

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  Sienna

  “She’s down!” Jace’s voice was the first thing Sienna heard when she came to.

  Keila tried to sit up. “Oh, fuck!” she groaned, collapsing back on the ground.

  “Dear God, Keila,” Sienna said. “Don’t move.” She hauled herself upright. “That hurt like hell. I can still feel you.”

  Heavy, muscular arms wrapped her, hauling her up. Jace grabbed her by the waist and held her to him. He was covered in dust, blood, and sweat, but he was there. She could feel him, hold him. “You’re alive.”

  Sienna took in the view of the warehouse, her eyes widening. The place was in ruins, pieces of twisted girders and bricks littering the ground. The hall they’d entered the courtyard from had collapsed in on itself. The staircase where Isobel had made her entrance was completely gone. Sienna had no idea where it went. “What happened?”

  Reece stood over Isobel. Her body was lying still, twisted, like her light had before Sienna had blacked out. Her eyes were open and staring. They were still cold, but now they held nothing. They were empty. He felt along her neck, then probed at her wrist. “She’d dead.”

  Sienna’s knees gave way and Jace caught her, pulling her into his lap. She looked up into his gaze, his eyes burning into hers. “When we were fighting, I felt it.” She stared at him. “Your love. It was there, as clear as day. I saw it inside your head. I saw everyone’s. That’s what saved me, gave me strength.”

  He wrapped her up in his arms again, his face pressing against Sienna’s neck. “God, I love you.” His voice cracked on the last word. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you from the moment I saw you, and I haven’t stopped since.” He laughed. “I would have followed you around that fucking restaurant until I died. There wouldn’t have been a thing you could have done about it.” His face broke into a brilliant smile as he talked.

  The restaurant. That seemed a million years ago.

  She looked over at Isobel’s body, and a wave of sadness washed over her. Isobel wasn’t there any longer. Her soul, whatever had been left of it, was gone. At the sight of her body, shaded by what was left of the structure, Sienna let the final piece go. It was done. It was over. Isobel hadn’t been born evil. There had been an innocent life in there, somewhere, however corrupt and twisted it had become by the end. It was time to let it all go. She’d done it. She didn’t need the anger any more. She took one last look and then turned away. She moved back to Jace, back to the light. She’d never need to look darkness in the face again. Her mom would have been proud.

  “I love you, too.”

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  Sienna

  Sienna gra
bbed a glass of sweet tea and walked out to the porch, where Jace was sitting, typing a message on his phone. “Are they spying?” He looked up as soon as she walked out, grinning.

  “No,” she said, handing him the glass. “They’re all focused on driving.”

  “You can’t find a way to keep them out?” He pulled Sienna down onto his lap, kissing her. “A man needs his privacy sometimes.”

  She giggled, stealing the tea and taking a drink. “No. And if I try, Keila gets mad.”

  “Well, then, they’re just going to have to see me do this.” Jace stood, lifting Sienna with him. She wrapped her legs around his waist, shivering as his erection made contact with her core through their clothes. He walked toward the house, kissing her until the world drifted away.

  Are you ready? We’re only two hours away. That enough time for you two to get it out of your system?

  Jace’s eyes flew open when she stopped kissing him back, his face splitting into a wide grin. “You stopped kissing me. That’s Keila right now, isn’t it?” He shook his head, still grinning. “Every fucking time.”

  He walked them through the door, placed her on the counter, and stood between her thighs.

  “I swear, Jace, I think she does it on purpose, but I can’t prove it.”

  I do not! Keila pinched her own arm.

  “Ow!” Sienna jolted back and Jace looked at her with alarm. “What was that? Did something hurt you?”

  “Stand down, Cowboy. It was Keila, again.” Sienna rolled her eyes. That was a new one. “She pinched herself.”

  “You know what . . .”

  She couldn’t help it. Sienna stared at the stern look on Jace’s face and burst out laughing.