by Faith Gibson
When Mac touched Elijah’s arm, he jumped up and headed toward the back door. Mac’s face fell, and Rhi was torn between comforting her new friend and going after Eli. The call to be outside with nature won out, and she followed after Eli. Rhi found him pacing the edge of the woods. When Rhi was close enough for him to realize he wasn’t alone, Eli turned, his face a mask of confusion.
“What do you want?”
Rhi tamped down the urge to run. She knew better than most how men got when they were upset. “Nothing. I just needed some fresh air. To be outside. I know what it’s like being held in solitary.”
“Bullshit. You and your ‘gift’ were your golden ticket.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Willy Wonka? The golden ticket Charlie won to go see the candy factory?”
“Sorry. Is that a movie?”
“Yeah. It was my favorite as a kid.”
“I didn’t watch much TV before I was taken to Haven. I spent most of my time outside with my mom. If I was playing with other kids, we were either riding bikes or playing video games.”
“I’ve listened to them” — Elijah motioned toward the house — “complaining about your dad for the last few hours, but they haven’t mentioned your mother.” Eli crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a tree. Rhi closed her eyes and asked the tree to offer Eli some comfort. She had never tried that before. Then she focused her own energy on him.
“My mom died right before I turned thirteen. Right before my father moved us to Haven.” Rhi didn’t know if he wanted to hear about her past, but she offered it up anyway, hoping he would see all her time at Haven hadn’t been golden, as he put it.
“All my friends in my neighborhood were boys. We did everything together, so when I got to the compound, I didn’t know the rules. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t supposed to talk to boys. I argued with Josiah. A lot. I got in trouble for talking. For not believing in God. For talking to plants. I was always in trouble for one thing or another, and my father wasn’t around to stick up for me. I was put in a small room with no windows when I wouldn’t recite the Bible verses I was supposed to learn.
“As part of my punishment, I was told to read from the Old Testament, but of course I didn’t. I read the New Testament, and when Josiah would come to let me out, I’d argue with him about Jesus. That got me more time in isolation. Finally, I stopped arguing and complaining. I stopped talking altogether. That got me even more time in isolation. Then the blackouts started. I was sure I was going crazy from being locked up without ever seeing anyone except the guard who brought my oatmeal.”
Eli looked like Rhi had struck him. “You only got oatmeal too?”
“Yep. One bowl a day with a piece of stale bread. Warm water to drink. They let me out after a while. I think it was because I stank so bad. After that, I did what was expected of me because being in a cabin with girls who hated me was better than being alone. That is until James happened. I still don’t know why he wanted the pagan girl who wouldn’t talk, but for some reason, he wanted me for his wife. It didn’t matter that I had no interest in him. I had no interest in any of the men there. My momma said I’d know when I found the man for me because it would hit me in the chest, warming my skin the same way the sun did in the morning. There was no sunshine at Haven.” Eli frowned, and she could feel the sadness from several feet away. “There was no sunshine for Mac either. Not after they separated the two of you.”
Eli stared off into the distance, his shoulders hunched. “Elijah, Mac didn’t want Lewis. You have to know that deep down. She loves you. You are all she talked about. Well, you and her uncle Maveryck’s twins. I haven’t met them yet, but from what she says, her little cousins are funny. But talking about them also makes her sad. I think they remind her of her baby.”
Elijah stepped away, but Rhi didn’t miss the tears. “How can she still love me? I’m the reason for her scar.”
“No. Gideon is the reason for her scar. It’s a crime to hold someone against their will. When Mac ran, it was Gideon who sent the dog after her. With you gone, there was no sunshine for her.”
“I don’t know how to do this. At The Sanctuary, I knew my place. I had a job. A purpose. Now? I have nothing. No formal education. No skills. No money. Nothing. I have nothing to offer Mac other than a painful reminder of what happened and why. At least there I knew what to expect. Out here?” Elijah shook his head. “Out here, I’m nobody.”
“Am I nobody?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
“And why’s that? I’m in the same boat you are. I had the same education. I have no money or skills either. But the difference between you and me? I’m a freak whose father is killing people. He’s killing people because of me. All the people in that house? Their lives have been disrupted because I ran. They’re in danger because I didn’t want to marry James. I don’t have anything to offer anyone either. But Ryker found me and introduced me to his family. They made me feel something I haven’t felt since my mom died, and that’s hope. But is hope a good enough reason for me to risk their lives? My selfishness has already killed two men. How many more have to die because I want a different life?”
Rhi took a couple steps toward him and placed a hand on his cheek. She pushed her energy into his skin while she talked. “You have a chance at something good with Mac. Her family will help you. They’ll see to it you find the path that’s right for you. I know they will because Mac loves you and her family loves Mac. Please, give it a chance. Be her sunshine.”
Elijah shuddered. Rhi released his cheek and stepped back. She knelt to rub her hands over the grass, drawing power from the ground to replenish that which she’d shared with Eli. The back door opened, drawing Rhi’s eyes toward the house. McKenzie stood on the patio with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Be her sunshine,” Rhi urged, and Elijah took off jogging toward Mac. She smiled as Elijah took McKenzie in his arms, but it was short lived. Whatever Mac said had Eli frowning and them both looking Rhi’s way. The back door opened again behind them, and Ryker strode out. His stormy gaze landed on her, and she braced for whatever bad news he was bringing. Rhi shivered. Not from being cold, but because the Ryker walking toward her was the same one she first encountered. The cold, closed-off one.
When he reached her, Rhi took a step back. Not because she was scared, but she didn’t want to be tempted to use her gift to alter his mood. If she stood a chance at having Ryker in her life, she had to accept the male he was, as he was. Whether he was being broody or sexy or attentive or pissed off, she would have to learn to love all versions of the biker.
Ryker
When Rhi stepped back, Ryker did his best to tamp down his anger. He never wanted her to be afraid of him, but this shit was out of hand. “You lied to me.”
“What?”
“You. Lied. To. Me. You told me James wasn’t your husband.”
“He’s not. I think I would know if I got married, Ryker.”
“Then how do you explain this?” Ryker shoved the paper he’d printed off at her. He watched her face as she looked at the marriage certificate. One dated just a week prior.
“I’ve never seen this before.” Rhi looked up, tears in her eyes. “I swear to you, I am not married.”
“That’s not your signature?”
“No… I…” Rhi frowned. “I didn’t sign this. You have to believe me.”
Ryker did believe her. At least he wanted to, but he’d been fooled by the last woman he let himself get close to, and that had been when his heart wasn’t on the line. Someone he wasn’t thinking about spending the rest of his life with. If he found out Rhi was lying, he didn’t think he’d recover.
“It’s been five years since I picked up a pencil or pen. Besides, this” — she waved the paper in Ryker’s face — “is written in cursive. I never learned cursive. I always wanted to because my mom had the prettiest handwriting. In school, we were only taught to print, so someone else, pro
bably someone older, had to have signed this. That or David used a program on his computer to do it.”
“How do you know this came from your father?”
Rhi took a deep breath. “Because James isn’t smart enough. At least I don’t think he is. I don’t know that much about him.”
Ryker stared at the crumpled paper in her fist. He wanted to believe she was telling the truth. He wanted to pull her into his arms and apologize, but he couldn’t make his feet move. What if he was wrong?
What if you’re not? Do you want to lose her? Look deep. She’s not a liar or manipulator.
“If David can create a fake marriage certificate, maybe we can create one of our own. Or maybe not a marriage certificate, but something like it. Lucy can do that, can’t she? And I’ll sign it for real. That way there will be proof that I didn’t sign the fake one my father sent you.”
Ryker slid his fingers through his hair. “I’m sure she could if we could find her. Lucy’s not answering, and the Hounds who were watching her are both in the hospital. They were shot.”
Rhi gasped. “This has to stop! Too many people have been hurt because of me. Do you have a way to contact him?”
Ryker did, but he didn’t want her to know that. Not until he knew what she was thinking. “Why?”
“I think I should call him. Agree to go with him.”
“No. Rhi, that’s not—”
Rhi placed her fingers against his lips. “Let me finish. I will agree to go with him and then you can swoop in and take care of him. How many more humans and Gryphons have to get caught in the crossfire? All because of me? I’m tired. Tired of running. Tired of worrying about you, your family, and your friends. Tired of having all my choices taken away from me. I want my life back, and I don’t mean the one at Haven. I mean the one I had before it was stolen from me by my father.”
“I won’t risk putting you in danger.”
“But you’ll risk everyone else? That’s not right. My life isn’t more important than anyone else’s. It’s probably less important than most.”
Ryker bristled. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again. You’re important to me.” Ryker gave in and cupped Rhi’s neck, pressing his forehead to hers. “You have given me my life back. Given me purpose beyond the club and my family.”
“Then let me do this. Unless you have a better plan to bring him out of hiding, you know it’s the right thing to do.”
Ryker did know, but that didn’t mean he agreed with it. It was his duty to protect Rhi. Even if it was a charade to bring David out of hiding, there was always the chance something would go wrong. David Spencer was a man with means. A man not afraid to kill to get what he wanted. “Let’s go inside. I want to talk with Xavier before we make the call.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” Instead of taking her hand, Ryker gestured for Rhi to walk ahead of him. “I won’t agree to a meeting without a solid plan in place.”
Ryker could feel Rhi’s trepidation. How could he not? Her father was killing people and she felt it was her fault. How did he convince her it wasn’t? Was it the gods’ fault humans waged wars in their names? Innocent people often were caught in the crossfire, but in this case, he wasn’t convinced John and Paul were innocent. He still hadn’t heard back from Spyder, but hopefully that was a good thing. He’d told the Hound to lay low. With David having access to their phones, it wasn’t safe to be calling or texting.
It was quiet when they returned inside. The mood was somber. Rhi bypassed the living room, and Ryker followed her until she closed herself in the bathroom. Wanting to give her a few minutes to herself, he retreated to where the others were waiting.
Xavier was on the phone, his face a mask of anger. Elizabeth was rubbing her mate’s arm, but it was clear she was just as upset. Most of the others were standing around the room, silently waiting. Ryker’s phone vibrated with an incoming call. He stepped out of the room to answer his father.
“Pop? Tell me you have good news.”
“It’s not as bad as it could have been. They were shot with tranquilizers, but it metabolized fairly quickly. If this shit keeps up, I’m going to invest in guns for all of us. We can’t fight this level of enemy with our… bare hands. I have contacted a mutual friend to help. I’m not going to say anymore since I doubt this line is secure.” Ryker understood who Sutton was referring to, and taking out a contract of their own wasn’t a bad idea. “Let me know if you hear from Lucy, and I’ll do the same. Stay safe, Son.”
“You too, Pop.” Ryker disconnected and rubbed the back of his neck. It had been a long time since tension gripped his body as tightly as it was then. They were Gryphons. Stronger than humans. But they weren’t stronger than bullets. When he walked into the living room, he searched for Rhi. She hadn’t returned, but before he could go check on her, Xavier growled low in his chest, causing the hair on Ryker’s arms to stand up.
“That was Julian. Henry hacked into Lucy’s cameras. Four armed men came onto the property, shot your males, and then took Lucy at gunpoint.”
“Was it the same men as before?”
“One of them was.”
“That doesn’t make sense. My males told them Rhi wasn’t there.”
“Explain to me how your Gryphon voice works.” Xavier wasn’t judging. At least Ryker didn’t think he was.
“Usually, we only use our voice to keep our Gryphon side from being exposed to humans. Sometimes, in cases like this, we manipulate a mind into forgetting what someone has seen. Since I wasn’t there when the humans came into Lucy’s house looking for Rhi, I don’t know what she told them. But with David having access to Lucy’s cameras, I don’t think it matters. He would have seen Rhiannon in the house and told Josiah she had been there even though his men hadn’t located her the first time they looked.”
“Tamian is going to rip them to shreds, and I’m going to help. I know you can’t go up against guns, but we can. Give me the location of the compound. I’ll take some of my males, meet Tamian at the airport, and we’ll go get Lucy back.”
“This isn’t your fight.”
Xavier’s anger filled the room, making it hard to breathe. Ryker hadn’t experienced a pissed-off Gargoyle, and he never wanted to again. Xavier’s fangs were digging into his bottom lip. Ryker’s Gryphon was trying to break through, but he knew better than to let it out.
“It is now. Lucy is ours just as much as she’s yours if not more since she is Tamian’s mate and the future queen.”
“You’re right. I didn’t mean to insinuate Lucy isn’t important to you, but we brought this to your family. We’ve never been in a position where we couldn’t fight our own battles.”
“Asking for help isn’t a weakness, Ryker. Especially where family is concerned. Our two Clans are connected through her, so think of us as an extension. Lucy would be the first one to tell you we’re one big family now.”
Ryker knew Xavier was right, so he gave him the location of the compound. It didn’t sit well with him that someone else was going to take down Josiah, but in the end, having it finished was more important than who was doing it.
“Let’s find Stefan. I want you to explain to us how your family normally goes about taking care of a compound as a whole.”
Ryker needed his father for that conversation. Sutton was the diplomat where Ryker was more of the muscle. When he remembered his dad had called in reinforcements of his own, he knew he needed to call Sutton and have him on speaker so he was aware of what the plan was. Ryker wanted to check on Rhi, but she was somewhere in the house, safe for the moment. Right then, his priority was Lucy. Ryker, Xavier, and Stefan closed themselves in Stefan’s office for privacy. Elijah wasn’t aware of shifters, and they didn’t need him to overhear anything they would have to wipe from his mind.
“I’m going to call my dad. Since David might be able to listen in, I’m going to be vague about everything, but he’ll know what we’re talking about.”
“Did you
find Lucy?” Sutton asked when he answered the phone.
“Pop, you’re on speaker. I have Xavier and Stefan in the room. No, we didn’t find her, but Xavier and some of his males are willing to step in.”
“That’s… I need to make a call.”
Ryker took a chance on telling Stefan the truth. With Lucy being Xavier’s daughter-in-law, chances were good he already knew of the Hounds mercenary business. “Pop, I think this is our best bet in getting Lucy back and taking care of the other problem at the same time. The phone call you made earlier would be one against many.”
“You’re right. I was thinking with my heart and not my head.”
Xavier propped against the side of the desk and crossed his arms over his chest. “Sutton, I need to know how you handle those in the compound who are innocent.”
“We’ve never gone up against a group this armed. Normally, we go in, take down the head of the snake, and have a talk with the members. Those who wish to leave, we take them to a secure location. We don’t force anyone to leave against their will. If a crime has been committed, we call the police to come in once we have the target secure. In this case, we would have to tell them about the men coming after Rhiannon and Lucy being taken. What I don’t understand is why she went with them. Why didn’t she use her voice on them?”
“Do you think she went willingly to get inside?” Stefan asked.
“Anything’s possible, but I doubt it. Not with Tamian out of town,” Xavier replied. “They’re a team.”
“Unless whoever broke in had something that guaranteed she complied,” Ryker added. “Pop, is everyone in the family accounted for?”
“As far as I know. Nobody’s called with an alert.”
