Die for Me

by Nichole Severn

  The drive north took longer than he’d expected. His truck vibrated in protest as Taigen made his way to Santa Clarita. His eyes were heavy and his chest ached, made worse by the woman who’d run into him on the street.

  Within a half hour he faced the cemetery’s entrance.

  He pulled his small pickup into the parking lot and shut off the engine. There weren’t many other vehicles in the lot, but the ones he could see he recognized as police. “You might as well just turn yourself in here, asshole,” he whispered to himself, then shook his head in disbelief. “What were you thinking?”

  Taigen took in the sight for a few more minutes, trying to avoid the inevitable. There was a small chance he’d be recognized and arrested, but he’d been waiting for today for too long to turn back now. He pushed his body from the pickup, straightening his black suit jacket. The heat bore down on his shoulders, making the getup even more uncomfortable. Suits weren’t his style.

  A couple entered the small mortuary and he followed behind, keeping his head down and his face hidden behind dark sunglasses. He wasn’t going to just hand himself over to the cops. They had to work for it.

  The chapel held no more than twenty mourners, mostly uniforms. Pews lined each side of the room, with the aisle separating them ending at a black casket. The large, plain glass window on the north wall gave him a clear view of the grounds and the exact spot where the body would be laid to rest.

  Taigen took a seat at the far back, the hard wood biting into his tired body. He watched as others filed in. Some cried, some were solemn and unmoving, others paid their respects by placing flowers on top of the casket.

  He didn’t give a shit.

  The organ began its dejected bellow, moving people into their seats for the service to begin. All it did for Taigen was give him a headache.

  Mourners cried and said their good-byes to a man who’d spent ten years in prison for second-degree murder and turned rat. Daniel Banvard had abandoned his children to save his own ass, but Taigen would let these people say their eulogies. They could live in ignorance.

  Before he knew it, men were called to roll the casket to its final resting place.

  He didn’t move.

  He doesn’t deserve their respect. Taigen cringed from the stinging in his chest. As a man who hadn’t known his father for most of his life, he rested on the memory of their last encounter, the one in which Daniel had tried to plug the holes in his chest with his bare hands. The small memento in his chest reminded him of it every day.

  A figure moved beside him, standing motionless for a few breaths.

  If he hadn’t known exactly who waited for him to respond, there was bound to be another body in the chapel. Then again, the who in this case made it almost impossible for Taigen to contain his rage.

  He clenched his fists, trying to keep his focus on the mourners still within the chapel, but the man who’d gone after his sister for first-degree murder wasn’t going to wait.

  “You’re taking this rather well,” Marcus said. “I thought you might try to kill me.”

  “It crossed my mind.” Blue eyes bore down on Taigen, the same eyes that had made a promise to keep Adelaide safe. Looking to the front of the chapel, he exhaled in frustration. “But I’m not interested in adding murder to my sheet.”

  “Didn’t think you’d come,” Marcus went on. “You’ve got some balls.”

  “Are you here to arrest me, Agent Grant?”

  “I’m not on duty.”

  “Then what do you want?” Taigen never liked the pleasantries, not even from a former friend and ally. The camaraderie between them ended two months before Adelaide was sentenced to life in a mental hospital, and it’d been all Marcus’s fault. The son of a bitch had a lot of guts even walking up to him.

  “Nice to see you too, asshole.” Marcus shook his head, his lip drawn into a dry, cracked line. “You won’t like the answer.” He ran a hand over his shaved head.

  “I have a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway.”

  “I’m looking for Adelaide.”

  Taigen stood abruptly, trying to put distance between him and the cop who’d betrayed his sister. He’d almost made it to the chapel’s exit when Marcus wrenched him back by the sleeve. Only the possibility of going to jail kept his fists at his sides. He couldn’t risk the attention or the time. Not now.

  “Let me explain.”

  “There is nothing to explain.” Taigen controlled his breathing, inhaling as slowly as he could. The flame burning inside his chest simmered to low embers, but his blood still pulsed behind his ears. Releasing a breath, he clenched his hands into fists, forcing his tense body to relax one muscle at a time. He saved your life, he reminded himself. In all actuality, Taigen should be thanking him. Not happening.

  “I broke a promise to you. I know that, Taigen. I told you I would never go after her, but the only way I could help her was to put her away.” Marcus exhaled loudly. “Adelaide is sick, Taigen. She needed professional help. Help neither you, me or anybody else could provide.”

  The words seemed to echo inside the chapel, replaying in his mind over and over. “What you don’t realize is she was already a prisoner, Agent,” Taigen said, remembering each and every one of Adelaide’s violent, psychotic episodes. “You just put her in a different kind of cell. And because of that decision she’s out there killing again.”

  Marcus stood motionless. “I know that now.”

  “And what gave you a clue? When you sent her to that damn hospital? Three months later when she tried to kill herself? Or the trail of trophies she’s left across the country?” The words had a life of their own, but didn’t even come close to releasing a pressure that had built up inside Taigen’s chest for two years. The ache in his chest intensified.

  Marcus took a step forward, his face inches away from Taigen’s. “I can’t go back in time, Banvard. I’m not proud of it, but I can’t change it. So you either do what you feel you got to do or listen to what I have to say.”

  Taigen studied the ATF agent closely, looking for any sign of another betrayal. “You have two minutes.”

  Marcus relaxed and they both stepped back simultaneously.

  “What do you want with her?” Taigen asked, his back hitting the doorjamb as he crossed his arms. The suit wasn’t comfortable, but he wouldn’t be staying much longer.

  “A man came to my door a week ago. Didn’t tell me his name. Only asked about Adelaide Banvard. Called her ‘the best of the best’ and said she’d make a nice addition to his team.”

  Blood drained from his face. He’d worked hard to get his sister out of the fighting life, even sided with a cop to do it, but now the same cop implied someone was trying to get her back. Every living soul on the planet deserved freedom from oppression. Even Adelaide. He shut down his emotions, compartmentalizing this new information. “What’d you tell him?”

  “Nothing.” Marcus sat back into the pew and shrugged. “I don’t know anything. Since her escape,” he said, smiling with a knowing look in his eyes, “well, you can imagine why she wouldn’t contact me.”

  Taigen processed the information slowly. “The man, what did he look like?”

  “Blonde. Muscular. Mid-forties. Big-ass scar running down his face.”

  The description wasn’t familiar, but he’d been out of the game for two years.

  “One of Wren’s?” Marcus asked.

  “No. He’d come for her himself if he had the chance.”

  It wasn’t out of the question. Christian Wren would die to have his pet sociopath back and would break out of Pelican Bay to do it. His instincts flared to life. “How can I be sure this isn’t another one of your tricks? What do you get out of telling me this?” He saw the possibilities. Another promotion. Another metal to hang on his wall. Another life destroyed.

  Agent Grant let his amusement escape in the form of a chuckle, but shrugged. “You think I’m lying?”

  “I think you would do anything to see my sister again.”


  “Do you know where she is?”

  Taigen had been waiting for the cop to ask. He straightened, running his hands down the suit jacket as if to smooth out the wrinkles. “If I knew the answer to that, Agent Grant, I wouldn’t tell you.” He turned his back on the man who’d betrayed him and decided it was finally time to see another.

  “What are you going to do?” Marcus called from behind.

  With a smile, Taigen only turned his head slightly. “The last time I trusted you with information about me, you put my sister behind bars. I think I’ll play this one close to the vest if you don’t mind.”

  * * *

  “Torrhent, I told you. Five thousand dollars or no papers.”

  A white-hot burn built in her chest, making its way into her cheeks. “You have no idea how much I went through just to pull three thousand together. Aaron, please. It’s all I have.”

  The darkened pawnshop smelled musty, the dust trying its hardest to bring out her allergies, but Torrhent had to keep focused. She needed those papers.

  He pushed medium-length blonde hair behind his ear in one quick motion. “You can’t be here. You know how much trouble I could get in?” Her only hope of changing her identity turned his back on her. “Come back when you have the rest.”

  A shimmer of hope pushed her anger aside as he turned back to face her. He had to give her those papers. He had to help her save her life. Green eyes found hers and she tried to manage a smile.

  Returning to his position against the counter, Aaron reached for her right hand. He shoved a scrap piece of paper into it, closing his fingers over hers. “Call this number. I’m sure you can work something out.”

  Torrhent looked down at what turned out to be a business card. “What is this?”

  “The easiest way for someone like you to make some cash. All he requires is for you to supply your own clothing.”

  “Clothing?”

  Aaron’s face flushed. “Yeah, you know. Clothing. Heels, dresses, all that stuff.”

  His words slowly clicked into place with the way his eyes avoided hers. “You’re sending me to a pimp?” The anger flared again.

  “What other choice do you have?” Aaron asked. His face turned cold from her tone.

  “You want me to thank you?” Torrhent leaned closer to him, her gaze unwavering as the words left her mouth. “I am not a whore, and when I get the cash for my papers I’ll be looking for somebody else to make them.” She turned without another word. She would leave the pervert in his dingy, dank shop to suffer the consequences of her visit.

  Air ripped through her lungs, the effort to inhale becoming harder with each try. Stumbling through the door, Torrhent took in as much of the warm air as she could to calm herself. The lights of the city dazzled her beyond words. She’d never been to Los Angeles before, though it was nothing compared to New York City. Pushing the homesickness down, she made her way down the street.

  Now what? Getting to LA, to Aaron, had been a goal for so long, she hadn’t even thought of what might happen if her plans didn’t work out. Failure wasn’t an option. She couldn’t stay out in the open for long with her mug shot plastered over every television in the country, but she had nowhere to go. She needed that money.

  The streets were busy at nearly six in the evening. Skyscrapers protected her from the heat above, but drips of sweat made their way down her face and neck. People of all colors pushed their way through the crowds, waiting for buses, crossing the streets in a hurry. It reminded her of home. Torrhent forced her mind to focus. She needed a place to rest. Four days of walking, hitchhiking and looking over her shoulder pushed her toward a nearby street bench. It wasn’t much, but it would do the job better than an overpass.

  Her legs were sore, her head ached and her skin burned. She closed her eyes for only a moment. She knew it would take more than sleep to chase her problems away.

  * * *

  “I never expected to see you again.”

  “I hear that a lot.” Taigen switched the plain black phone from one ear to the other, but the cord would only stretch so far. The glass separated him from the man who’d literally and figuratively imprisoned his sister, but Pelican Bay imprisoned him. It seemed a fair trade. “You know why I’m here?”

  Christian Wren stared back at him for a moment, seeming to think over how much he should reveal.

  He’d never thought he’d have to see those steel blue eyes again or the man who went with them. After all, Wren had been the one who’d used Adelaide to do his dirty work, forced her to live in her own private hell for sixteen years. “What do you know?”

  Taigen’s former employer pushed shoulder-length brown hair out of his face. The orange jumpsuit did nothing for the man, washing him out and making him look much older than his thirty-five years. Prison obviously hadn’t been good.

  Just as it should be.

  “The guy your pet ATF agent described sounds like Nicholas Chesnick. Works as a right-hand man for Isaac Rutler.”

  The name pulled at Taigen’s memory, but he couldn’t place where he’d heard it before. “Why does Rutler sound familiar?”

  “He’s part of an underground MMA ring, but more likely you recognize his name because his stepdaughter just escaped from prison. It’s all over the news.” Wren leaned back in the chair, straining the phone’s cord to its limits. He’d managed to keep in shape from the looks of it, but sorrow rested behind his gaze. The former CEO of Wren Industries, a weapons manufacturing giant, had changed. “Then again, you’ve been hiding under a rock since I was arrested. Afraid of what I might do to you, Taigen?”

  Taigen ignored the last part. “Assuming Chesnick is only following orders from his boss, what does Rutler have to do with Adelaide?”

  “Nothing.” Wren didn’t go on.

  Taigen exhaled in exasperation. Isaac Rutler had a missing convicted daughter. Murder, the news had said. Personally, he found it hard to believe a woman her height and weight could manhandle a man the size of her victim, but he’d seen crazier things in his days. The only reason Rutler would track down Adelaide would be to kill his stepdaughter. Shit. Nobody deserved that fate. “Then why is he looking for her?”

  “You know I don’t do anything out of the goodness of my heart. And what makes you think I’d want to help you after your little charade with Marcus?”

  Siding with a cop against his employer, even to save Adelaide, obviously wouldn’t disappear like water under the bridge. If it hadn’t been for Wren’s demonic, corrupted love for his sister, none of this would have happened. ATF wouldn’t have been brought in after Wren ordered her to kill an undercover agent and his sister wouldn’t be on the run, never able to come home or to live a normal life. If only their father had protected her all those years ago, her mind wouldn’t have broken under pressure.

  “What do you want?” Taigen asked. The moment he’d tried to avoid came upon them in silence. He didn’t have much to offer. In fact, with Adelaide missing, all he had was words.

  “This isn’t exactly the way I planned to live out my life and I owe it all to you and that cop. So I’ll keep it simple: you want information? I have a favor to ask.” Wren leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter.

  “Tell me more about Rutler and I’ll think about it.”

  Wren chuckled, his eyelids squinting around blue eyes. Taigen noticed wrinkles had developed around his mouth. “You helped an ATF agent take away everything I had in this world, including your sister. You really think I’m going to help you without cause? Come on, Taigen.” His face grew cold. “I trained you to be smarter than that.”

  Both men stared straight into each other’s eyes. Taigen knew exactly what Wren wanted, but he wasn’t willing to let him have it.

  Never.

  Again.

  “I can’t help you.” Taigen hung up the phone and stood. He’d already turned and started walking toward the exit when the fact he was out of leads hit him hard. You can’t give in, he told himself. Don’t g
ive in.

  He knew Rutler’s name. The guy had even sent one of his minions to see Marcus. He had the ability to track down the associate on his own, get to Rutler that way. If only to find Adelaide’s location, he’d track them all down. He’d save others the fate of meeting her bloodthirsty desires, but from what Taigen had gathered, Rutler employed men just like him. Killers. Professionals. Careful, intelligent men. He couldn’t go against an army of hit men alone.

  He glanced back over his shoulder. Wren hadn’t moved. From the look in his former employer’s eyes, Taigen surmised Wren knew he’d won.

  He needed Wren whether he liked it or not.

  His shoulders sank in defeat. Taking his seat again, he picked up the phone. “We want the same thing, Christian. You still love Adelaide. Just tell me what I want to know so I can protect her.”

  “You can’t protect her this time.” Wren’s eyes lowered to the counter. “You aren’t the only one who wants her back.” His gaze found Taigen once again, urging him to understand.

  The statement was a clue, one that set his nerves on fire. Dread sizzled beneath his skin and crawled up his throat. “They came here.” Taigen inhaled slowly, lining up the possibilities in his mind. “Because you know where she is.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you made a deal with them.” It wasn’t a question. His heart plummeted into his stomach, his voice rising in volume with every word as he stood again. “What did you tell them?”

  “They promised I’d see her again, Taigen.” Wren’s gaze followed him as he rose and the guards closed in from behind, most likely sensing the anger coursing through Taigen’s veins. “What would you have done?”

  “Damnit, Christian!” He slammed his fist into the counter. “She’s killing again. Tell me where she is.”

  One of the guards wrapped their arms around him from behind and Taigen dropped the phone as they dragged him toward the exit. “Where is she?”

  Chapter 3

  Neon lights from across the street nearly blinded her when Torrhent woke.