by Anthology
Someone was screaming. It took her a moment to realize it was Donovan, screaming her name as he fought against the restraints binding him to the metal cross.
The boy was circling her now, a small, satisfied smile on his lips. Gone was the scared child she’d thought to protect. Before her stood a monster. He hadn’t changed physically, but she saw it in his eyes. Had he always been this way? Or had this place and these people used him and tortured him into this twisted version of himself?
“Lainey! Run!”
She turned her head back to the glass wall just as the guard slipped the knife between Donovan’s ribs. The wound knit itself closed almost as soon as the knife slid free, but she could see the pain in his eyes when their gazes locked.
Something else rose inside of her. An emotion stronger than the hate and the fear and the anger.
Love.
Love for the man who had rescued her, and punished her in the most intimate, painful, shameful ways. For the man who had taken her to heights of pleasure she’d never known and forced her to face the reality of her powers. It wasn’t the soft, sweet love of a girl finding solace in the arms of her protector. This was the raw, fierce love of a warrior princess bent on the destruction of those who’d dared to threaten her lover.
Instead of a rainbow, there was lightning. It lit up the room, bolts of power and electricity ricocheting off the walls. But it wasn’t just around her. It wasn’t even just inside of her anymore. She was the lightning. Bright. Powerful. Burning.
The boy was no longer looking at her with the eyes of a predator. He’d become prey, and the knowledge of it shimmered in his eyes. Lainey called the wind, knocking him back against the wall and pinning him there.
She focused her attention on Donovan again. Slow, deliberate steps carried her to the clear glass separating them. Lifting her hands, she pressed them to the glass. Cracks began to form, tiny little fissures running out from under her hands until the entire pane shattered.
“Stop right there!” The guard pressed the knife to Donovan’s throat with one hand, the other digging in his pocket. He pulled a small black disk from his pocket and held it up. “Don’t come any closer!”
Tilting her head to the side, she studied the guard. “Or what?”
The guard smirked and pressed the button. The bracelet on her wrist flickered red and green over and over, then went completely black.
It was her turn to smirk. “You can’t harness the lightning, asshole.” She held up a hand and the guard’s body jerked. His hair stood on end, and then he fell to the ground, every inch of him scorched and smoking.
“Lainey.” Donovan’s soft voice pulled her attention to him. “Lainey, we need to go, baby.”
It only took a touch for her to melt the cross he was bound to. Donovan reached for her, but she pulled away.
“We can go after I burn this place to the ground.”
“We can’t, sunshine. There are children here. Lainey, baby, you need to turn the lightning off now.”
“No!”
“Excuse me, little girl?” The softness in his voice vanished, replaced by a tone she knew all too well.
Despite her newfound power, her bottom still clenched at the steel in his voice. “I want to hurt them, like they hurt us.”
“I know. I do, too. But we can’t risk hurting innocent people. Innocent children. Turn it off, Lainey.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. They’ll hurt me.”
“No, they won’t.” This time when he reached for her, she let him pull her into his arms. His skin began to blacken, but he didn’t let go. “Daddy’s here, sunshine. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again.”
Closing her eyes, she let herself believe him. Even if it was just for now, she could believe he’d keep her safe. Bit by bit, the lightning dimmed until it finally went out completely.
“That’s my good girl,” he murmured.
“Daddy.” Her voice broke and she whimpered, pressing her face into his neck.
“I’m right here.” He pressed a kiss to her hair before nudging her back enough to look down at her. The skin she’d scorched was already healing. “I know you’re scared, but we need to go.”
Nodding, she managed a wobbly smile. “Okay, Daddy.”
Chapter Seventeen
Donovan
Donovan let out a sigh of relief at her simple words. Okay, Daddy. He had his girl back, at least for now. He set aside the terror he’d felt at seeing her all lit up like a Christmas tree and grabbed her hand. Together, they ran from the room and down the long, white hall.
When they turned the corner, he skidded to a stop, but Lainey slammed into his back. “What the actual fuck?”
Marching down the hall was a platoon of soldiers. Led by sweet, old, nosy Ms. Edith from across the hall. His tiny, white-haired neighbor grinned at him and held up a hand. The soldiers stopped, every boot snapping together at precisely the same moment.
“Donny! You found her. Good.” She waved her hand and three men stepped forward. “These men will escort you out. We have a transport waiting for you outside. We need to take you back to headquarters for a debriefing, and then we’ll get you wherever you need to go.”
“What the fuck?” Donovan repeated, looking from Ms. Edith to the soldiers and back again.
Ms. Edith laughed. “You said that already. I don’t have time to explain now, but I will as soon as possible. For now, go with the nice soldiers here and we’ll talk later.”
“The children?” Lainey asked from behind him.
“They’re safe. Go on, I have things to wrap up here.”
The three soldiers who’d stepped forward ushered them out of the building and into a black van. Lainey curled up in Donovan’s lap and fell asleep as soon as the van pulled away. He held her close as she slept, running his hands over every part of her as she slept, reassuring himself she was alive, and safe, and whole.
He’d thought he’d lost her. Not physically, though when she’d started to glow like a sparkler on The Fourth of July, he had worried she wouldn’t survive her own powers. But the real terror had set in when she’d fried the guard and told him she wanted to “burn the place to the ground.” He’d been so scared he’d lost his sweet girl. His sunshine. Thank God he’d been able to bring her back.
He had no idea how long they drove, but the sun was coming up by the time the van stopped and the doors opened. “Lainey. Wake up, sunshine.” Donovan gave her a little shake and her eyes fluttered open.
“Daddy?” She blinked and yawned, and everything in him just wanted to whisk her away so she wouldn’t have to talk or even think about what she’d been through. “Where are we?”
“I don’t know, exactly. Military base, I’m guessing. We have to go inside and answer some questions, and then we can leave, okay?”
“I don’t want to.” Curling into him, she whimpered softly, “I just want to go home.”
He’d never really considered his dingy little apartment much of a home, but she’d made it one, just by being there. Knowing he’d never see it again was a bit of a knife in the gut. But they could make a home somewhere else. “We can leave as soon as we’re done here. I promise.”
She sighed, but finally pushed herself off his lap and let the soldiers help her out of the van. As soon as they were inside, they were separated, and no amount of yelling and threatening on his part changed anyone’s minds.
Their debriefings took several hours. Donovan was ready to start raising hell again when the door to his interview room opened and Ms. Edith walked in with Lainey.
She rushed to him and climbed into his lap once more. Donovan frantically ran his hands over her again, checking for any signs she’d been hurt. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“Relax, Donny. We keep the thumbscrews at the other facility,” Ms. Edith joked dryly.
“Ha. Funny. Can we go, now?”
“Almost. I wanted to apologize t
o the pair of you, first.”
He’d never seen her look embarrassed, and the expression didn’t sit well on her weathered face. “Why?”
“I put you both in danger. When I mentioned Lainey to the group at church, we never expected them to come for her the way they did. In the past, they’ve always lured people to The Farm. We’ve never known them to outright kidnap someone.”
“It wasn’t the first time,” he said, drawing Lainey closer to him. “They tried it once before, at least.”
“We know that now. It seems they’ve been getting bolder without us realizing it.” Her eyes flashed. “Which is something I’ll be addressing with the task force.”
Donovan stared at her a moment before asking the only question he could think of. “Who the hell are you?”
“Special Agent Meredith Miller. Head of one of several teams looking into Rose Corp and The Church of the Divine Variance.”
It was a long moment before he could speak again. “If you know this shit is going down, why haven’t you shut them down yet?”
Edith studied him for a while before answering. “It’s not that easy. The Church has religious standings which make it hard to investigate them. We’re doing the best we can under the circumstances.”
“This is fucking bullshit.” Fury rose up in him until he was shouting again. “They’re getting away with performing experiments on people, right under your goddamn noses.”
“Yeah. Pisses me off, too. But the, eh, situation yesterday will go a long way toward building our case against them and eventually getting them shut down.”
“The fucking situation? The situation where you almost got us both killed, that situation?”
“Yes.”
If he hadn’t had Lainey in his lap, Donovan was sure he would have strangled her. Since he was forced to sit and glare at her, his mind went into overdrive trying to put the pieces together. “Wait. You weren’t my neighbor by accident, were you?”
Ms. Edith snorted. “Please. You think you can work for a man like Rico Moretti and not end up on someone’s radar? Once the story of how you met him reached us, we started keeping tabs on you.”
“You were keeping tabs on me and you still let Lainey get kidnapped? No offense, but it doesn’t sound like you’re very good at your jobs.”
“Donovan!” Lainey slapped his chest. When he turned his glare on her, she tilted her chin up defiantly. “They rescued us, remember?”
“We did.” Sighing, Ms. Edith shook her head. “But he’s right. You never should have been taken. When I realized you had been, I called for an extraction team. But I had a feeling Donny here was going to tear the city apart looking for you, so I made a judgement call and we went in ahead of the team.” Her lips twitched. “I’m sure I’ll get slapped down for that move, but all’s well that ends well, right?”
“Jesus Christ,” Donovan muttered. “This is seriously fucked up, you know that, right?”
“I know. We’ve got our work cut out for us. As for you two—” The door behind her opened and a soldier walked in, carrying Lainey’s duffel bag and the portfolio with all their papers and everything they needed to start their lives over. The soldier placed the items on the table, and at Edith’s nod, left the room again. “Here you are.”
“You’re letting us go?” Lainey asked, her voice so full of hope, it was almost painful to hear.
“Yup. Free and clear.” Ms. Edith walked to the door and paused with her hand on the knob. “Florida has some pretty unpredictable weather, you know. A few random storms aren’t going to faze anybody.”
They were escorted to the Park and Ride where the SUV Rico had gotten for them waited. Pulling the keys from the portfolio, Donovan unlocked the doors. He stashed the duffel and their papers in the backseat while Lainey went around to the passenger side.
But when he came around the side of the car, she was standing there with the door open, staring at the inside of the car. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he gave it a gentle squeeze. “Lainey? Is something wrong?”
“Please don’t send me away!” she blurted out, throwing her arms around his neck.
“What? Why the hell would I send you away?” Baffled, he ran a hand down her back as she sniffled in his arms.
“This is all my fault. If I’d just listened to you and not talked to anybody, none of this would have happened. You got hurt because I didn’t listen to you!”
“Sunshine. It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is!” she wailed.
“Lainey. Baby.” He pulled away and lifted a hand to her chin, tilting her face up. The tears in her gorgeous gray eyes tore at his heart. “This wasn’t your fault. And even if it was, I wouldn’t send you away. What does happen when you disobey me?”
The corners of her lips turned up in a shaky smile. “You spank me.”
“Damn straight. But I will never send you away.” Grinning, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Besides, we’re married.”
Her eyes went wide. “Married?”
“Yup. The papers Rico got for us say we’re married. You’re stuck with me, sunshine.”
She blinked twice, then threw her head back and laughed. “That is the worst proposal I’ve ever heard.”
“I’ll do it right later. With a big, shiny diamond and everything. What do you say, sunshine? Marry me?”
“Yes.” The fear finally faded from her eyes and love filled them. “Rain or shine, richer or poorer, whatever. I love you.”
This time, the words came easily. “I love you, Lainey. You are my sunshine.”
“Awww, Daddy. You big softie.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Releasing her, he swatted her bottom. “Get in the car, brat.”
Laughing, she climbed inside, and Donovan jogged around the side of the car to join her. “So, the whole ‘richer or poorer’ thing. Did you mean that?”
She shrugged. “Sure. I mean, we can find work anywhere.” Frowning, she shifted in her seat to face him. “What do you do for a living, anyway?”
“Little of this, little of that.” He started the car and pulled out of the parking space. “We’ll figure it out, but things might be a little tight until Rico gets the rest of the money transferred.”
“The rest? How much is the rest?”
“Not much,” he said casually. “A couple million.” It took everything he had not to burst into laughter at the shocked look on her face. “Close your mouth, sunshine. You’re catching flies.”
“You’re a millionaire.”
“Something like that.”
“You’re a millionaire and you live in a tiny, grungy apartment in a shitty part of Baltimore. Why?”
“Money attracts attention. I was trying to lay low. But since someone already ruined that plan,” he shot her a sideways glance and she stuck her tongue out at him, “I might be convinced to move up a little.”
Her laughter rang out, the beautiful sound filling the car. He’d meant it when he’d said she was his sunshine. And together, he was certain they could weather any storm.
Epilogue
Melissa (Lainey)
The sound of gravel crunching drew Melissa’s attention to the window above the sink. A black SUV was carefully negotiating the twisty driveway up to the cabin.
Heart pounding, she threw down the dish towel she’d been using to clean the counters and ran to the front door. “Daddy! Someone’s here!”
Their food delivery had been made two days ago, and he hadn’t told her to expect anyone else. Her mind raced, trying to come up with another explanation, but only one rang true.
They found us.
Stepping outside, she let the rage and the fear come. Let it darken the clouds above the house. A freak snow storm in the mountains of Colorado in December wouldn’t draw too much attention. At least she hoped it wouldn’t – she didn’t really want a repeat of the paddling she’d gotten a few months ago when she’d lost her temper in Florida and nearly caused a hurricane. The news was still talking ab
out that one.
The winter sun completely disappeared behind the clouds and the wind began to whip through the trees. The cold barely registered, despite her bare feet. One of the perks of her gift, she’d discovered, was her imperviousness to most forms of weather.
“Mel? What the hell are you doing?”
Daddy’s voice was nearly lost in the wind. She turned to face him, and her bottom tingled at the look on his face. “Someone’s here.”
“So you came outside? Alone? You and I are going to have ourselves a nice long talk tonight, little girl.” Raising his voice, he yelled, “Turn the wind off, would you?”
Pouting, she let the wind die down, but the clouds stayed dark. “You never let me play anymore.”
“You can play another time.” Nodding toward the driveway, he smiled. “When we don’t have company.”
“Company?” She turned back to the SUV, which had parked a few feet from the porch. The doors opened and a couple climbed out. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized them.
“Mom? Dad?”
“Lainey!” Her mother raced for the porch, nearly knocking her over. “Oh, my baby. I’ve missed you so much.”
The clouds disappeared, and the weak winter sun beamed down on them again. “Mom.” Melissa pressed her face against her mother’s neck. The familiar scent and feel of her filled her senses. “Mom. I didn’t know… oh, God.”
“Andrew told us he was going to surprise you.” Her mother pulled away, beaming. “He’s a very resourceful young man. Handsome, too,” she added with a salacious wink.
Melissa turned to the man who’d risked everything to protect her. “You did this?”
Grinning, he shrugged. “Merry Christmas, sunshine.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered.
“Welcome.” With a chuckle, he nudged her away. “I think someone else wants a hug.”
The second she let go, she found herself wrapped up in her father’s arms. “My little Lainey-bug. God, I missed you.”
