He had been there. Balen had been trapped in a cage, just as she was, tortured beyond belief by that man . . . Ryszard. Oh God, the memory she had been seeking for two years was returning and now she wished it hadn’t. The agony he had suffered was unimaginable. How could he have recovered from something like that? His leg. His leg had been mangled, yet he didn’t even have a limp.
“How are you feeling?” Anstice asked, her voice soft and gentle as she sat on the edge of the bed.
How do you think I’m feeling, Danielle wanted to blurt out, but refrained because being rude wouldn’t solve anything. Her brain was trying to decipher memories that were fucked up, and she had a migraine that felt like an explosion of her brain was imminent. But the pain in her stomach appeared to be gone.
“How long have I slept?” Danielle asked.
“Nine hours,” Anstice replied. “How’s your stomach?”
“Fine. A few Advil and I’ll be tickety-boo.” Except that Balen was still was gone, and no drug was going to ease that pain.
Why, when she needed someone the most, weren’t they with her? Balen had disappeared. Anstice had lied to her. Her mother died and with her—her father, not physically but emotionally. Well, until years later, then physically.
“I think you should stay with us,” Anstice said, smoothing her hand over Danielle’s forehead.
She noticed Anstice glance at Keir and he gave a diminutive shake of his head. They were still hiding shit from her, damn it. So much for friendship.
Anstice sighed. “Keir thinks we should take you to the hospital. They’ll do some tests and—”
Like hell she was going to the hospital. “Balen.” Danielle sat up in bed. “He was with me. Tortured by a guy named Ryszard.”
Anstice jerked away as if she’d been burned. “Oh God,” she whispered.
Danielle glared at her friend’s stunned expression.
“I’m going to carry you to the car,” Keir said approaching the bed.
Danielle sunk her nails into the duvet. “No. I don’t need a hospital. I need him. Balen.”
Anstice and Keir glanced at one another with confusion. “Why do you think that, Danielle?” Anstice asked.
“It’s the pain. He’s the cause or was the cause. Fuck, I don’t know. I just know I need him here.”
“No, sweetie,” Anstice said. “Balen’s in Spain. Let us help you, okay? Keir will lift—”
The sudden realization shot through her. “You know him? You know Balen? The man in my paintings?” It all made sense. Anstice hating the paintings. Never wanting to talk about the “episode.” Balen finding her at Anstice’s, then telling her they had to leave. They were protecting one another.
Anstice drew back from the bed as Keir approached.
His expression was menacing, but she refused to back down. “Violet and now Balen? How do you know him?” Danielle asked between clenched teeth. “Anstice, I swear if you don’t tell me, our friendship is history.”
Silence. Tension emanated from all of them, and it was obvious that whatever she was going to say would have an impact.
“Balen’s my brother,” Anstice blurted out. Keir swore and shook his head. Anstice ignored him and continued. “I couldn’t tell you. I . . . and I . . . shit, Danielle I thought I’d never see him again. I swear I wanted to tell you but Waleron—”
“Your blasted brother? You let me wallow in hell for two goddamn years, looking at my paintings, and he’s your fuckin’ brother.” Danielle shot Anstice a murderous look, making her flinch. “Get out. Do you hear me, Anstice? Take your bloody husband and leave. I don’t know who the hell you are anymore.”
Anstice closed her eyes, staggering backwards, and Keir wrapped his arm around her waist. Danielle felt so betrayed that the pain in her head was nothing compared to the treachery. Her brother? No wonder Anstice always turned away from the paintings. Why she had urged her to forget him. He was her brother. Why the hell hadn’t she said anything? Where had he been all these years? They’d known each other since grade school and she had no knowledge of Anstice having a brother. Why keep it a secret?
She wanted answers yet she was so furious that she couldn’t even speak to Anstice at the moment. Her friend could say nothing that could ever repair the damage that was done. Yeah, her get-angry-get-over-it, so not happening this time.
Keir’s voice was low and quiet as he stood towering over the bed. “You speak in anger and pain. This I will forgive for hurting my wife with your words. But remember this—she did it to protect you. She warned you to forget him.”
Danielle was undaunted by Keir’s dangerous mien. Right now, she wanted him to explode into a rage and end her existence, although even with all his fierce words and expressions, she knew Keir wouldn’t harm any woman.
“Your brother—” she emphasized “your” as she glowered at her friend, “—he was there. He was tortured beyond anyone’s imagination. Did you know that, Anstice? Your brother was held captive by the same bastard. Do you know what was done to him? Do you know that he never once screamed out in agony, even though a sledgehammer was being smashed into his leg over and over again?”
Anstice went ghastly pale. Her hand to her mouth, tears in her eyes.
Yeah, well, I hope you’re horrified. “Why is he in Spain? Why did he leave?”
Anstice looked to Keir and he answered. “He must remain there for a time . . . for work. It was decided—”
Danielle’s eyes narrowed and her hands curled into the comforter. “You’re responsible for him leaving? You work with him?”
Keir tensed. “Understand that Balen broke laws that night, and for that he had to leave.”
“What the hell kind of work do you do? You fire someone, not make them leave the goddamn country,” Danielle shouted. “He wanted to stay. He didn’t want to leave. You have no clue what he suffered that night. You condemned him after he was tortured? How could you?”
Keir stepped away from the bed, back stiff, hands clenched into fists. “You know not of what you speak,” he said.
Danielle’s rage erupted. She glared at him, unconcerned by his dangerous scowl. “I saw it. I lived it. Don’t tell me I don’t understand. If Balen broke laws, which I find highly unlikely, by the way, he did it for a good reason. I don’t care what he did, he deserves both your support after what he has suffered,” Danielle said with venom in her voice.
Anstice stepped forward. “Danielle, please. It’s their way. He broke their trust.”
Danielle couldn’t look at her. She took a deep breath as the pain in her head swelled, and then calmed again. It was less intense, more like a small hammer was pounding her head instead of a sledgehammer. “His leg was smashed to pieces. He lived in a cage with water pouring down on him. Beaten to a pulp by some psycho. Do you get it? Whatever he’s done can be forgiven.”
“I repeat. You don’t know what you speak,” Keir said.
She noticed the change in Keir’s stance, shoulders drawing back and his eyes darting to the door. Anstice also looked to the door. Danielle shifted to see what they were looking at.
A man with a shaved head and a five o’clock shadow stood watching. He was tall and muscular, broad shoulders that nearly filled the entire doorway. The captivation came from his eyes, blue and colder than the Arctic. He had handsome, stark features and by his overwhelming presence, this man was dangerous as hell. She noticed the tattoo on his hand and another that crawled out from under his black T-shirt at the nape of his neck to curl around behind his left ear.
The scary-as-hell guy gave an abrupt nod to Keir and Anstice. They immediately, without another word, walked from the room and down the stairs.
He remained at the door, watching her with narrowed ice-blue eyes and legs parted in an intimidating stance. When he spoke, his deep accented voice sent a chill down her spine.
“I am Waleron,” he said. His eyes roamed over her body as if he could see beneath her duvet. Then his penetrating eyes met hers and for once in her l
ife, she knew to be careful with what she said.
“Ah, the head doctor. Well, I’ll save you the trouble of doing all that double-meaning questions shit. Been there. What I require is some peace and quiet and some Tylenol threes.”
“You lay with him,” Waleron said.
Danielle’s mouth dropped open. She was speechless, unable to contemplate how on earth this man knew what Balen and she had done, unless he was some psychotic pervert and had watched them from the alley.
Waleron’s face grew grim, full lips grinding together in displeasure. “I know because I smell his scent all over you.”
“But that’s imposs—”
Waleron interrupted, “Silence.”
Danielle ignored her weak limbs and sat up, willing herself to face this brute of a man on her feet. Gone was her resolve to be cautious with him. She refused to look away from his stare and glared back. She threw back the covers and slid her feet over the side of the bed. The pain was excruciating, but never had she backed down from a fight, and this man was pissing her off royally.
“You leave that bed and you will fall,” he said with menace in his voice.
“Well, then, wouldn’t you have a nice laugh. Looks like you need one.” Danielle raised her voice, but it hurt like the devil. “Now, if you don’t mind—get the hell out of my place.”
“I have returned with Balen,” Waleron said.
Danielle stopped just as she was attempting to stand. She sank back down to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s him, isn’t it? That’s why I feel okay again. He’s here.”
He gave an abrupt nod.
“I knew it. I just knew it. Okay, so there’s some device implanted on me or something that makes me sick whenever he leaves. Why? Who would do that? God, that’s just wrong.”
“I know not.” He reached in his back pocket and took out a Pez dispenser. It clicked as a white pill popped out. She raised her brows at the odd duck head on the top of it. To each their own. After swallowing the candy, he approached, long strides that appeared to float across the hardwood floor. “The pain has lessened?”
“Yes.” She didn’t know why this man would know the answer, but she had to ask. “Will I die? I mean, is this device going to explode or anything?”
“No. There is no device,” he said. “But without him you will suffer.”
“Okay, maybe I’m a little lightheaded right now, but what you’re talking sounds crazy. No device. No implant. Okay, so a voodoo thingamajig. Yep, and I so believe in that. Come on, Doctor, are you purposely trying to get me committed?”
“I don’t know why,” he replied in an unemotional tone.
“Where is he? If he has to go back to Spain, then so be it, but I’m going with him. And whatever work you guys do, well, I will support him and stand by him. He deserves at least one person in this world to stand by him.”
For the first time, she saw his expression falter with surprise. In a flash, the look disappeared and the cold demeanor returned. “You are human. That is impossible.”
“Of course I’m human.” Danielle raised her voice and then regretted it as sharp pain like shards of glass dove into her head. Then she gasped as the memory of the man who had abducted her came rocketing into her mind. The fangs. The blood. He had drunk her blood.
“Yes,” Waleron said. “Your memory returning is unexpected. It has not happened before.”
Whatever that meant. “Okay, Mister Cold Unfeeling Bastard. How do you know so much about what happened to me?” Danielle asked.
“We found you and Balen in the lair of the vampire,” Waleron said.
Whoops. Guess she had to tone down the bitchiness. “You rescued us?” That was why Anstice and Keir wanted her to meet him the other night. Holy crap, and she just called him a bunch of cruel names. Well, right now apologizing for anything was far from passing her lips. “Is this Ryszard still alive?” She left the vampire comment alone, for the moment, because honestly that was too much for her mind to grasp.
“No. He is dead.”
Well, one good thing out of this blasted mess. “Why was Balen there with me? Why did Anstice keep it a secret? No bullshit. Just shoot it to me straight.”
Waleron said nothing.
“Ryszard. He had fangs like a dog and smelled like black licorice. He bit my neck and . . . he drank my blood.”
Waleron stepped closer to the bed. “As I said—vampire. Ryszard was a leader of a group here in Toronto. They have no feelings and they require blood. Without it they die.”
Vampires, Danielle thought. A myth, but then again, she’d seen his fangs, felt him take her blood. Still, anyone could get false teeth.
“They feel constant thirst and the only way to ease it is to drink blood. However, it doesn’t last long, and they must seek it again and again. If a woman consumes their blood, they become his slave. A fate worse than death.”
What he was telling her was imaginary, but the man was deadly serious, and she knew from her memory that this Ryszard had felt no remorse for Balen’s suffering. His fangs had been real, and she had the bruises on her neck when she woke in the hospital as proof. It hadn’t been a ring. It had been teeth marks on her neck.
“He hurt Balen so badly. I can’t imagine how he managed to survive.”
Waleron tilted his head a diminutive amount, eyes curious. “Ryszard hurt you.”
“Yes, but the anguish Balen must have suffered was far greater,” Danielle said.
When she looked up, he was standing right beside her. Her eyes met his and she let a tear slip down her cheek. “No bullshit? There are really . . . vampires?” A hard pill to swallow, but for some reason, things were beginning to make sense now.
He answered without emotion. “Yes.” And then he lowered his hand to her forehead and she felt a swirling heat grip her body. She went to say something; she wasn’t sure what because her mind was swimming with haze. She attempted to move away, but he continued to send a pulsating throb into her head until she became so tired that she fell back onto the bed and was asleep within seconds.
****
“How is this possible?” Keir asked as he leaned up against the mantel, arms crossed, hair disheveled from running his hand through it every five minutes. “I’ve never heard of a human connected to a Senses. She was dying. Christ, we don’t need this crap right now. Long Necks are merging with the Vamps. Pests are strengthening and I squeezed out of one of them before he died that several CWOs have integrated with a human. We have to find this human ASAP.”
“Hey, did you get his sunglasses?” Jedrik asked, rubbing his hands together.
Jedrik had collected a few hundred sunglasses, since every Pest wore them to hide their yellow eyes. They had incredible eyesight that could detect Senses faster than they could them. They also had this annoying habit of shifting several feet at a time, which made them difficult to catch. If you did manage to grab one, you had to be careful to avoid their saliva on your skin because it could drive you crazy with itchiness for days. The bonus was if you did catch one, they were simple to kill—anyway you liked.
Keir rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Bvlgari.”
“Woohoo. Need a pair of those.” Jedrik slapped his knee and was grinning like a five-year-old.
Keir gave him a warning look to cool it. “First business, what do we do with Danielle?”
“She’s better. Waleron brought Balen back and she recovered. There is no such thing as coincidences,” Jedrik said. “How long can Waleron keep her in deep sleep? She’s a cool chick. I’d hate for anything to happen to her.”
“Fuck that,” Damien fumed from his erect and dangerous stance in the shadows of the study. The scar on his left cheek twitched. “She is of no consequence.”
“Shouldn’t you be returning to Florida?” Galen asked from across the room on the chocolate leather couch.
“Do you have any compassion for women, or are you always a complete and utter asshole?” Jedrik said, glaring with fury.
“He’s alwa
ys a complete and utter asshole,” Galen answered with a smirk.
Keir began to pace. “Anstice has forgiven Balen for betraying her. Have we?” He heard a murmur of voices but continued, raising his voice. “None of us were there. Balen remained true to us for two weeks, suffering Ryszard’s torture beyond any of our imaginations. He only gave in to him when Danielle was close to either dying or taking Ryszard’s blood herself. What man could stand by and let that happen when he had the power to stop it?”
“He gave Ryszard your wife’s location,” Galen pointed out. “You almost lost her because he informed him where we were hiding her. If he had captured her, would you be as lenient with Balen’s fate as you are now?”
“We cannot make assumptions,” Keir said. “Balen took the opportunity to save Danielle and hoped to right the wrong when the time came. We did save Anstice, and Ryszard is dead. Hell, we’ve been over this and over this. We have no choice in the matter. He can’t be sent into exile in Spain until we discover what is happening with Danielle.”
Jedrik nodded. “Ditto that. Screw the council.” He lowered his voice. “Literally Genevieve. What a hot Wraith. I’d like to—”
Damien interrupted, “We have a choice—we can keep her in sleep.” He moved from the shadows of the room, his bold slate gray eyes pulsating with rage.
Keir said, “No.” At the same time, Jedrik blurted, “What’s your deal?”
“He’s pissed because he was put in Rest for killing.” Galen paused, putting his finger to his mouth like he had to think about it, “What was it now? Oh yeah, for—”
Damien looked like he was going to take Galen’s head off with his eyes alone, so Keir came between them. “Accidental, Galen.”
“Accidental my ass,” Jedrik said.
Damien’s rage erupted. Keir knew stopping him was wishful thinking, so he stepped out of the line of fire as Damien’s eyes glowed a bright gold.
“Oh, shit.” Jedrik jumped for cover, landing on his ass on the other side of the couch.
JUMP (The Senses) Page 14
