Page 17

“W hat the hell are you doing over there?”

Jesse had watched for the last five minutes as Robbie sat propped against the large red boulders, the fingers of one hand moving rapidly in the air while he pumped his elbow up and down.

“I’m playing the pipes in my imagination. Taking myself to another place while we wait out the boredom here. I’m more of an action man, you ken? I’ve never learned to like the sit-and-wait part of this job.”

Jesse shook his head and snuck another look around the rock they hid behind.

In the drop-off below them sat the black sedan they’d followed, obviously waiting for something.

Or someone?

It was whatever they waited for that interested Jesse. What the hell could they possibly be planning out here in the freaking-hot middle of nowhere?

He and Robert had hiked in to this location, leaving their vehicle hidden about half a mile away. Sound traveled out here and bringing the SUV any closer could have given their location away. Stealth and surprise were about all they had on their side at the moment.

Through his field glasses, he could clearly see Dermond Tyren in the driver’s spot, his seat pushed back. Less clearly, he could just make out two figures in the backseat.

Leah and the redhead.

They’d determined right away that there was too much open ground around the car for them to hope for any kind of a successful surprise attack. A frontal assault on the auto would either result in harm to the girl or, more likely, Dermond burning rubber and leaving them in his dust.

So they waited. Waited to see what the people holding Leah had planned next.

“I suppose I may have mentioned once or twice before I’m no much a man for the desert heat.” Robbie wiped sweat from his forehead without opening his eyes.

“Once or twice.” Jesse couldn’t say he was all that fond of it, either. He’d much rather be on that sweet little spread he’d bought for himself in the highlands of Scotland. “You’ll have to remember your discomfort when we finally get to chat with our friends down there.”

“Oh, I’m no likely to forget it. I think of it each time I take a peek at that bastard with my fine friend here.” He patted the rifle with scope lying across his legs. “And then I think on the poor wee lassie they’re holding in that auto with them. Oh, I’ll have plenty on my mind when we finally get to chat with the lot of them.”

They both would. This wasn’t the sort of experience even the most mature sixteen-year-old would get over easily. The Nuadians holding Leah needed to pay for what they’d done.

Too bad Dermond hadn’t gotten out of the car to give Robert and his “friend” a clear shot. They couldn’t risk the chance of bulletproof glass. That would only warn the Fae they were here.

“Though sitting down there in that car with the air conditioning on is certainly a much better way to spend a day in this heat, beautiful though this place may be.”

Jesse agreed. Maybe they’d get lucky and the cocky Nuadian would run out of gas.

“Or back in that fancy hotel Peter arranged for us. Destiny, at least, is nicely cooled while she waits.”

Goddammit! Destiny.

Jesse grabbed Robbie’s arm, scowling at the man’s watch.

“Fuck!” Five minutes to six. Staking out the sedan below, he’d totally forgotten about calling Destiny.

He grabbed for his phone as Robbie looked at the watch and chuckled.

“Uh-oh. Yer arse end up now, are you no? You forgot to check in. The lass is no going to be so happy with you, my friend.”

Not happy? She was going to be royally pissed.

“Thanks for helping me remember.” Jesse injected as much sarcasm as possible into the remark as he listened to the first ring.

“It’s no my fault. I was having such a lovely time sweating like a pig, I couldna be expected to be thinking of yer woman.”

“She’s not my…” Jesse stopped as the hotel switchboard answered.

“Put me through to Suite two-oh-two.” He hoped she wouldn’t hang up the second she heard his voice.

“Are you trying to reach the lady there? This is Cindy. At the front desk. Is this Mr. Coryell?”

“Yes. Could you please put me through to the suite?”

“I knew I was right about your name.” The girl laughed. “I told your lady friend I was sure I was when she was waiting for the car. I’m always good with names.”

Waiting for the car? Jesse felt a surge of something very like fear.

“Where’s Destiny now?”

“She said she had an appointment in town. Miriam—the lady who runs our gift shop? She agreed to drop your friend off on her way home. We don’t normally do that sort of thing, you know? But the poor thing seemed so anxious and our regular driver was already out with other guests.”

Jesse’s first instinct was to yell at the girl to shut up her rambling, but that wouldn’t get him the information he needed. Instead he made a conscious effort to calm himself.

“What time did she leave the hotel?”

Not before five thirty. Please not before five thirty.

“It was about an hour ago, I think. Right about five o’clock.”

“Fuck!” he spat, snapping the cell shut and shoving it into his pocket.

Why the hell hadn’t she called him before she’d taken off on her own? He’d written his cell number down and handed her the piece of paper himself.

“Problems?” Robbie was watching the sedan through the scope on his rifle.

“Even my problems have problems. Looks like Destiny went to the Farmers’ Market to make that meeting. By herself. I can’t believe she’d do something so stupid. Thank God the people who were supposed to meet her are down there where we can keep an eye on them.”

Robbie turned back to look at him, one eyebrow raised. “No all of them, Jess. Yer no thinking clearly. We’ve no idea where the other auto went when we followed this one.”

Jesse felt like he’d taken a fist to the gut. His friend was absolutely right; he wasn’t thinking clearly. He hadn’t been able to concentrate on business since the moment he’d met Destiny Noble.

He rose to his feet, crouching so he wouldn’t be seen by the people in the sedan.

“I’ve got to go find her. You stay here and keep an eye on them. I’ll be back for you as soon as…”

“Hold on.” Robbie, eye fastened to the scope, held up a hand. “Perhaps our wait is at an end. I believe yer missing car has arrived. Might no be the best time for you to leave.”

Jesse fell to his knees, grabbing up his field glasses in the process.

Sure enough, it looked like the party was about to begin.

The leggy redhead had emerged from the sedan, followed by Tyren leaning in and dragging Leah out. He held the girl around the waist, her back pinned up against his body like a human shield.

“No a clear shot yet. No with the other car coming to a stop,” Robbie murmured, as if he read Jesse’s thoughts.

Three doors on the newly arrived sedan opened simultaneously and the three men they’d seen at the mansion earlier today all climbed out.

Followed by a fourth person.

“Aw, shit.”

Jesse’s fingers tightened around his field glasses as he watched Destiny jerk her arm from her captor’s hand and race toward her sister.

The windows of the sedan were so dark, Destiny could barely discern the passing scenery. By shifting her weight against the man on her left, she could catch glimpses out the front of the car, and she didn’t like what she was seeing one little bit.

It appeared they were headed into the desert.

Great. No one to help her out there.

The men who sandwiched her in between them were more like robots than people. No Sunglasses was a completely blank slate, emotionless, like some kind of doll, and she suspected that under those dark shades the other guy wore a matching nonexpression. No wonder she’d thought there was something odd about the two of them. Neither spoke again or responded to anything but instructions from the big blond guy driving the car.

Driving them out into the middle of nowhere.

Though logic told her there was nothing she could do now but wait until they reached their destination, she was hanging on to logic by her fingernails. Her trepidation built, swirling and writhing around in her gut, until she thought she’d scream.

And then the car stopped.

Destiny’s stomach lurched. A moment earlier she couldn’t wait for them to arrive. Now that they were here—wherever here was—she realized she was much more afraid of the destination than the journey.

The men opened their doors and exited, With Sunglasses reaching back in to grasp her arm and drag her from her seat.

Once on her feet, it took only an instant for her to assess her situation.

Yep, just what she’d feared. Smack in the middle of nowhere.

Another black sedan was parked nearby. Destiny’s gaze was immediately drawn to the man standing by the car. Psycho Blondie, Dermond Tyren, in all his arrogant glory, his arm wrapped around…

“Leah!” She jerked her forearm from the zombie’s light grip and ran across the open space.

Dermond released his hold on Leah and the girl raced toward her, meeting her halfway between the cars. Destiny grabbed her sister, hugging the girl to her, both of them dissolving in tears, sinking to their knees on the rocky ground.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Leah sobbed. “They showed me your necklace. Mama’s necklace. They told me they’d found you. Captured you.”

Nothing to be gained in pointing out to her sister they’d done exactly that. Leah was upset enough already.

“I know. It’s okay, baby. I’m here now. You’re okay.” Destiny found herself murmuring the same reassurances that had made her feel so much better when they’d come from Jesse. Found herself wishing he were here with her. Found herself feeling almost as if he were.

Damn him.

She fought to gather her emotions and shove them away. She had to be strong now. For Leah. She had to be clearheaded if she was going to get them out of this mess.

“Ah, my pet.” A tall, elegant redhead stepped forward, running her hand over Leah’s hair as if she stroked a favorite dog. “But don’t you see? We did find your sister. We did capture her. Just as I said we would. And all for you.”

“Get your hands off her,” Destiny snapped, shoving her sister to her side, away from the redhead’s touch. She might not know the woman, but she recognized her voice from the vision she’d had.

The woman smiled, an eerie, frightening expression that never reached her cold, hard eyes, and Leah began to shake as Destiny embraced her sister again.

Destiny glared up at the woman, tightening her hold on Leah. “Tell me what you want from us so we can get it over with and then let us go.”

“Let you go?” The redhead laughed, a sharp trilling sound as she brushed a finger over Leah’s head. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll never let this one go. She’s mine. As for you? We’ll have to see how valuable you really are, Ms. Noble. I certainly hope you prove worthy of all the trouble you’ve caused me.”

“You leave her alone!” Leah shouted up at the woman.

Dermond came to stand over them and Leah shrank back against Destiny, her eyes large and frightened.

Destiny pulled Leah back to her, turning to place herself between Dermond and her sister as she kept an eye on their captors.

She needed to be alert, ready for anything that might give them an advantage. Unfortunately her vision had shown her nothing of this.

“Where to now, Adira?” Dermond was intimidating in his closeness, but he seemed to completely ignore them, his attention fixed on the redhead. “Home?”

“No, my darling. I’m afraid that, thanks to the traitor, Ramos, Switzerland is no longer safe for us. We’ll have to choose one of the other properties. No matter. Reynard loved to buy land so we’ve many alternatives his son never knew about.”

Dermond sighed. “As you say, my queen. I hope it’s far away from these barren red rocks. I detest this place.”

“I know, my darling. How about someplace green? Equally as barren, perhaps.” Adira looked around with distaste and shrugged. “But that suits our needs for now. I was thinking of the castle near Fleenasmore. We haven’t been there in ages. Would you like that?”

“Yes, my queen.” Dermond inclined his head in a respectful bow. “Thank you. I’ll be happy to see the last of this country.”

“I know.” Adira briefly caressed his cheek before turning away, walking off toward the rocky incline behind them. “Bring the girl. Flynn! Bring the new acquisition. And make sure your Mortals cover our tracks.”

“Yes, mistress.” Flynn, the Fae who had driven Destiny out to this place, grasped her arm, wrenching it up behind her as he forced her to her feet. “Follow along nicely now. I’ve no wish to harm you.”

Dermond lifted Leah from the ground with an arm around her waist. “You heard Adira. It’s time to go, pet.”

Destiny’s mind raced as she followed the others up the rocky incline. This Flynn didn’t seem to have his heart fully in the job; his hold on her upper arm wasn’t really very tight now that they were climbing. She might be able to break free.

But where would she go? Back to one of the cars?

And what of Leah? Her sister was her whole reason for being here. She couldn’t very well try an escape without Leah. Psycho Blondie was living up to her nickname for him, giving her sister no room at all.

Still, whatever that woman, that Adira, had in mind, it couldn’t be good. Had Dermond only meant this particular place when he’d spoken of leaving this country? Or did they actually mean to take them out of the United States? That wasn’t possible. Neither one of them had passports. And surely this Adira realized that both women would give her away at the first sign of any authorities. That should complicate her plans.

Destiny’s foot slipped on loose gravel and she nearly lost her balance as another thought struck. Adira hadn’t said anything about taking Leah and Destiny to that castle in Fleena-wherever. Did she plan to murder them out here in the desert and hide their bodies before leaving the country? What possible reason could she have for wanting them dead?

What exactly had that horrible woman said? Destiny had been so concerned with Leah’s shredded emotions, she hadn’t paid close enough attention.

Think! She had to be logical and reason out a plan.

If she believed what Pol had told her and Jesse, these people were blood-drinking, vampire wannabes.

That was it, then. That had to be her answer. They planned to murder her and her sister, drain their bodies of blood, and leave their carcasses out here in the desert rocks to rot.

A shudder raced through her body at the realization.

That might be their plan, but Destiny wasn’t willing to let that happen. If only she could get free, disable this Flynn guy somehow, then she could go after Leah. Maybe, if they were lucky, they could get back to one of the cars and get away.

It was better than following these crazies farther into the desert to be murdered.

They were nearing the summit of the mount. She’d lost sight of the redhead already. Dermond and her sister were at the crest, starting down the other side.

Whatever she planned to do, she’d have to do it now.

Planting her feet in the center of the trail, it was easy enough to pull her arm from Flynn’s light grasp. Disbelief was evident in his expression as his hand shot out to reclaim her wrist.

She hadn’t counted on his being so quick. Or so strong.

Faster than she could think, he had her pinned, her arm bent behind her back, her chest slammed up against the rock face.

“I thought I warned you to behave yourself,” he grunted. “And here I was trying to be nice to you.”

What had Jesse told her? Something about how she should have fought Psycho Blondie. Some nerve thing on his shin.

She visualized her moves exactly and sprang into action. She’d seen this sort of thing on television a hundred times. She could do it.

Using her free arm, she shoved off from the rock as hard as she could, backward against Flynn. She reared her head back into his face, hoping to break his nose, while at the same time she stomped against his leg with her foot.

The techniques, so effective in her imagination, didn’t work at all as she’d planned.

The top of her head barely grazed his chin, the back of her head smashing against his breastbone. Though he was cursing a blue streak, she didn’t think her running shoes had delivered the necessary punishment to his leg, either.

Wherever in his shin that incapacitating nerve bundle was, she obviously hadn’t managed to find it.

If anything, she’d only managed to anger the Fae.

No matter. She was committed now.

Again, she slammed her head backward. Feeling the impact down her spine as her skull whacked against Flynn’s chest once more, she fully expected a headache that would last a week from this little episode.

Assuming she lived a week.

“Stop it!” he ordered, pulling her arm painfully up behind her. “I’ll break it if I have to.”

He shifted his hold, turning her around to face him in order to gain better control of her, but she was having none of it. She’d started this and she planned to finish it.

He was too tall for her to reach his face with a head butt, but she reared back her head all the same to slam it against his chest yet again.

Just before she made contact, a crack echoed through the canyon and Flynn’s body twisted. Screaming, he fell to one knee, dropping his hold on her to grab his other arm.

The momentum of her would-be head butt carried her forward, her legs tangling as she stumbled over the crouching Flynn and down, over the edge of the trail they’d just wound their way up.

“What the hell happened?” Jesse yelled, already running down the slope and across the open ground. Surely Robbie hadn’t hit Destiny with that shot. His friend never missed.

But no, he’d seen the Fae fall as the bullet struck his arm.

He’d also seen Destiny pitch over the side of the hill, tumbling down the steep, rocky face.

If anything had happened to her, he’d kill them all with his bare hands.

The two men who’d climbed out of the car with Destiny were only yards away now, moving in his direction as he raced toward the spot where she’d landed. He didn’t have the time to mess with them.

He had to get to Destiny.

“Go on. I’ve got ‘em,” Robbie roared from behind him.

She had fallen about halfway down the slope. Her body lay lodged against the tall brush on the rocky outcropping, ominously still.

Jesse sprinted up the hill, squatting down as he reached her side. He placed two fingers against her throat while he fought to control the shaking of his hands.

Strong pulse. Good sign.

Breathing normal. Good sign.

His mind slipped into automatic, all his emergency field training kicking in as he ran his hands down her body, checking for any obvious fractures. Her arms were scraped and bloody, but nothing felt broken, though she had a bump forming on the back of her head that concerned him.

“Is she…?” Robert left the obvious question hanging as he drew near.

“So far, so good. Go!” Jesse shouted, urging his partner to follow after the others.

A low breathy moan escaped Destiny’s lips seconds after Robert passed by, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Jesse?”

Her unfocused look of confusion worried him. Head trauma? But the confusion cleared immediately as reality crashed back into place for her.

“Oh God. Leah. They have Leah.” She struggled to get to her feet as he held her down.

“Give yourself a minute, babe. That was quite a tumble you took.”

“No!” She slapped at his hands, still trying to get her legs under her. “I have to go. They’re going to kill her. They’re going to drain all her blood!”

She teetered on the edge of hysteria, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Taking her face in both his hands, he kept his voice modulated as he calmly spoke directly to her, making sure their eyes connected.

“Robert’s up there. He won’t let that happen. You promise me you’ll sit here on your butt without moving, and I’ll go get Leah. Can you do that?”

Her breathing continued in erratic puffs and big tears rolled down her cheeks, but she nodded her head in agreement.

Staring into her eyes, his feelings for her hit him hard. She wasn’t just another client, no matter what he might try to tell himself. When he thought something had happened to her, he’d all but lost his ability to think rationally. Now, seeing her hurt, he hurt. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to hold her until her pain was gone. But pretty words and strong arms weren’t going to solve Destiny’s problems.

Only rescuing her sister would do that.

Gently he brushed a thumb across her cheek and jumped to his feet, heading up the trail to follow Robbie.

As he neared the summit, he saw Robbie with his rifle to his shoulder, scope to his eye. The man’s back tensed and he lowered his gun.

“Holy Mother,” he said, obviously aware of Jesse’s approach. “I dinna believe what I’ve just seen with my own two eyes.”

At Robert’s side, Jesse looked down into the canyon below.

The empty canyon.

“Where the hell are they?”

As Destiny got to her feet, the dull thud in the back of her skull turned into a major pounding. Her head hurt so bad, she could feel her pulse beating behind her eyes. She doubted there’d be enough ibuprofen in the entire state to dent this headache.

The cuts and scrapes on her arms stung and she felt like she’d been whacked in the shoulder with a baseball bat, but she started up the hill nevertheless.

Leah was up there somewhere and needed her.

“Hey!” Jesse came running toward her, grabbing her shoulders, forcing her back down to a sit. “What do you think you’re doing? You promised to stay right here, on your ass, where I left you.” His face was all pink, like he’d been out in the sun too long.

“I never said I promised. Where’s Leah?”

“Gone.”

Jesse glared up at the approaching Scot who’d answered her question.

Gone? They’d been too slow? The terrors she’d felt before were nothing compared to this. Not when she’d been so close to saving her. It couldn’t happen like this. She couldn’t bear losing her sister.

An all-consuming pain squeezed in on her heart as she visualized Leah’s limp body lying at the bottom of the canyon.

“Dead?” she squeaked, fighting to catch her breath. “You let them kill my sister?” Once again she tried to get to her feet, but Jesse held her firmly down.

“No,” he and Robbie answered in unison.

“Not dead. Nobody said anything about dead. He said gone, ” Jesse finished alone.

“What do you mean gone? They went right over that ridge. I saw them. They have to be there. They must be hiding.” And if she had to go find them herself, that’s exactly what she’d do.

This time when she surged up, she broke his hold, making it all the way to her feet before he reclaimed her shoulders.

“No, lass.” Robert’s quiet voice stilled her movements. “One second they were there, and then they were gone. Vanished into thin air. I saw it happen with my own eyes.”

“Vanished into…” she echoed, her voice loud in her ears.

Blood rushed to her head and her leg muscles seemed to give up any pretense of ability to hold her upright. She would have fallen but Jesse swooped her up into his arms, one arm under her knees, the other around her back.

What the hell had those monsters done with her sister?