Page 4 of Revenant (Spirit Realm #2)

GUNNER

I t’s been nine days since we’ve infiltrated the Paragon Meadows Psychiatric Hospital, and I’m beginning to wonder if we fucked up. We haven’t seen any new footage of Rue since then, and worry is gnawing at my insides.

Did we miss her once again?

Not once since she was taken have we ever stopped looking for her. Each time we located her, we were always too late, usually missing her by just days.

It’s frustrating as fuck.

No matter how hard we search, we’re always one fucking step behind. I’m not sure how much longer any of us can go if we don’t find her soon. Our little family is beyond ragged, each of us barely holding our shit together. None of us are sleeping, we hardly eat, and we can’t speak to each other without snapping. We’ve virtually stopped living. Though we moved into our college house, attending classes when we didn’t know if Rue was safe or even alive was pure torture.

I quit my job, unable to work on anything but locating Rue.

I need to be available for when we get her back.

Not if .

When.

I refuse to believe she is lost to us.

If we aren’t working out our frustrations in the gym, we’re searching online, digging into our contacts, or hunting through the streets and alleys for any information. The strain of losing her is soul crushing. Our group is barely surviving without her, each of us drowning in guilt.

How could we have been so careless?

We looked away for a second, and we lost her.

We had one job—to protect her—and we failed.

It’s only by chance that we even discovered this hospital. We had been focused on the private sector, looking for a secure place where her father could stash her. It was only when we ran out of leads that we expanded our search.

We focused on investigating her father.

We have three different agencies tracking his every move, monitoring his calls and business deals. Ellis obsessively tracks every keystroke of his computers, but the slimy fucker has been dealing with shady people for a long time and knows how to escape detection.

Unfortunately for him, Ellis is relentless.

That’s how we discovered Rue basically ceased to exist two weeks ago.

It never dawned on us that her own father would lose track of her.

Though frantic at the news, paranoid that something might have happened to her, none of us believe for a second that she is dead.

A dead person doesn’t just vanish.

No, someone made her disappear.

Even her medical records have been erased from existence. Thankfully, we were able to save a copy, but what we found took our murderous rage to a whole other level. If I ever meet her father in person, I’m not sure I will be able to stop myself from beating the asshole until he is just a lumpy pile of bloody flesh and splintered bones.

Whoever took her had the money and power to make it happen. They succeeded so well that we’re sure it was a professional job. If her father didn’t do it, then who?

Nearly every hospital has government funding of some type, so it was like looking for a fucking unicorn. After a week of no leads, it was the twins who found a single clue that gave us the first ray of hope.

They’d hunted down the employees from her last known location. It took seven tries before they found anyone willing to talk. Oddly enough, almost every employee was more afraid of Rue than the twins, even when they threatened violence or offered a bribe.

The only person to break the silence was a former employee, who, ironically, is currently a patient at the very facility where he used to work. It took a few minutes to decipher his manic rantings, but apparently, the twins could speak crazy enough to understand. Rue was transferred to a private hospital. Though he couldn’t supply a name, he did remember the license plate of the vehicle that carted her off.

When the orderly gleefully recounted how they drugged her, Jameson lost his shit and pounded the fucker. Jaceson didn’t even try to pull him off, the vengeful asshole only stopping his brother when some dickhead hit the alarm.

It took Ellis three days to trace the vehicle through half a dozen shell companies. Hicks went through his military contacts until he found someone who could be bribed into giving us an interview for a job at the facility where we suspect Rue is being held.

Even after paying a fortune for the information, only one of us could apply, or it would look too suspicious. While I’m not the most levelheaded of the bunch, I am the oldest at nineteen and the only one who could pass for a soldier, due to my height and build. Military training was the sole requirement. Documents were forged, and I was basically put through hell week to verify my eligibility. Knowing Rue was waiting for me, I didn’t hesitate to do whatever they wanted.

The first week on the job, I was assigned to the lower level of the hospital. Since I’m single, another thing in my favor, they gave me the option to live at the facility. I could leave when I wanted, but I was expected to be here for my shifts and available every other weekend.

Every spare chance I got, I searched for Rue…and found nothing.

I am starting to lose hope.

Rue has to be here, because if not, that means she is truly gone.

Though we will never stop searching, I can’t get over the feeling that it will be much too late.

While I launder sheets and clean up after the patients, I’ve learned some disturbing shit. This ward is special, created specifically for people like my Rue—people with unusual abilities. Seeing the patients’ battered appearances after their sessions with the doc, hearing screams at odd hours of the night, I’m beginning to hope that we are wrong.

If they get their hands on Rue, I very much fear what they will do to her.

It didn’t take much to discover Dr. Hershamn is a sadistic fuck. The psychopath has resumed his father’s work at St. Mary’s Hospital from over forty years ago. He’s experimenting on the patients, and he either has government approval or enough clout from the rich who rule the country to get away with it.

I’ve scrubbed more than one room splattered with blood, seen the “tender care” in which they carted off their unconscious patients, and I want Rue nowhere near that shit. I reported my findings on the special phone Ellis built for the occasion, something I was able to smuggle inside without anyone giving it a second glance. No one is supposed to be able to detect it or access it or some technical bullshit. All that matters to me is that it works.

I stalk down the hallway, pushing the cart of supplies, barely able to stifle the impulse to march into the office and beat the doctor until I receive the answers I want. I’m so distracted that I almost plow into one of the patients who just turned the corner. When I look up with a glare, everything inside me halts.

Rue…

I blink a few times, thinking my mind is playing tricks on me. She doesn’t even glance in my direction, ducking away as if to avoid drawing attention to herself. I follow her with my eyes like a lovesick fool, drinking in the sight of her after so long.

My heart feels like it’s beating for the first time again, now that I have her back within my sight. Her pink hair is just as lush, her skin shimmering slightly, just begging for my touch. When I get my first glimpse of her face, a growl rumbles in my chest, one I can’t stop when I see she is, once again, covered in bruises.

Though we spent less than a week together—the best and worst week of my life—I’m horrified to realize I have never seen her without some injury or another. My heart aches at the idea that she believes it’s normal. I’m torn between wanting to burn down the fucking world for hurting her and promising her that no one will ever touch her again.

It’s only when she slips past me that I wake up from my trance. Noting the surveillance, I grab my cart and follow her. Just when we pass a linen closet, I shove the cart forward and block her from the cameras.

Before she can react, I grab her waist, scan my keycard, then practically dive into the closet with her in my arms. Rue immediately struggles, her sharp little elbows digging into my ribs, her tiny feet smashing into my knees hard enough to leave bruises. She throws her head back, intending to break my nose… If only she wasn’t a foot too short. Instead, her head thumps into my chest. Pissed that her efforts haven’t gained her release, she wiggles in my grip until her gorgeous teal eyes turn to glare up at me.

Then she freezes so completely, she’s like a statue in my arms.

She doesn’t blink.

Doesn’t breathe.

I can’t help the smile that breaks over my face, my chest puffing up in pride that she would put up such a fight. My little spitfire. “When we get home, I’m going to teach you some techniques to take down opponents bigger than you. I’ll have Jameson teach you how to fight dirty. That fucker has no qualms about dick punching a guy, biting, and even pulling hair if it gets him what he wants.”

“Gunner?” Her voice is a raspy whisper, and my throat tightens.

“Yeah, princess.” I reluctantly set her on her feet, but it’s been too long, and I can’t seem to let her go, afraid she’ll vanish if she leaves my arms and I won’t ever be able to find her again.

I tuck her hair behind her ear and cup her face, studying the damage.

I’m so distracted that it’s not until my balls launch up into my body and my breath leaves my lungs in a rush that I realize she fucking kneed me. A glancing blow, but it’s enough. A guttural groan is torn from me, and I nearly keel over on my ass.

Her gorgeous little backside sashays away from me, and my heart threatens to explode in my chest at the thought of her leaving. I lunge for her, tackling her to the ground, unable to let her go now that I finally have her in my arms. I twist at the last second, cushioning her fall. The air leaves her lungs with a grunt at the impact, and she lands sprawled across my chest.

Right where she belongs.

When she begins to wiggle, trying to rise to her feet, I groan for a completely different reason. While my dick fucking aches at the damage she inflicted, it misses her more and partially rises to the occasion. “Baby girl, if you keep squirming, you’re going to see exactly how much I missed you.”

Rue snorts, then doubles down on her efforts to escape.

Done with her trying to leave me, I twist until she’s pinned under my weight, and my hand settles around her throat. She struggles for another minute before admitting defeat. She glares at me, her beautiful face full of defiance, her gorgeous chest heaving as she pants for air, and I can’t resist the need to taste her fire.

Before she can order me to release her, I drop my head and kiss the ever loving shit out of her. I have dreamed of claiming her like this ever since she disappeared from my life. I refuse to let the opportunity escape me again. Maybe I should feel bad for rushing her, but the need to reassure myself that she is alive and well is too much to resist.

The delicious taste of her has a groan catching in my chest, and my heart thuds against my ribs like it’s trying to beat out of my body. With her in my arms, my control is nonexistent, and I can do nothing but feel.

She doesn’t need to nail me in my balls to bring me to my knees.

Just being near her does that.

Her smoky floral scent fills my head with naughty thoughts, and my mouth waters with the need to spread her legs, bury my face in her cunt, and taste her on my tongue.

Then the little minx bites my lip hard enough to draw blood. My cock jolts at the aggression, and I reluctantly draw back, licking a drop of blood from my bottom lip. It was either pull away, or I was going to lose control and take her on the floor like a savage.

She has the audacity to glare up at me…and I fucking melt, too happy to have her back to punish her for being so maddening. Just the memory of being without her these past months has my mood darkening.

“I’ve missed you, princess.” My finger sweeps back and forth across the pulse in her neck, needing the reassurance that she’s here and alive. “Not a day went by that we didn’t search for you. I’ll never forgive myself for the way we treated you. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I plan to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

Her face softens a fraction at my vow. Though it doesn’t erase her glare completely, I don’t expect anything less.

We fucked up, and we deserve her ire.

She sits up slowly until only a few inches separate us, but I can’t seem to make myself release her.

I’m not even sure I’m breathing.

Just being in the same room with her after so long has me wanting to bundle her up in my arms and kill anyone who comes near. I should tell the others I found her, but I don’t want to miss even a second with her.

Rue’s hand comes to rest on my chest almost hesitantly, like she isn’t sure if I am real…or maybe she wants to slap me again. Not that I would blame her after the way we failed her. When her palm rests over my heart, I shudder in pleasure, clenching my hands into fists to keep from dragging her back into my lap where she fucking belongs.

She peers up at me with her bright teal eyes—eyes that I haven’t seen in too fucking long—and my own burn. I refuse to blink, unable to look away, not wanting to miss a second.

“You’re real.” Her husky words are both a question and a statement, almost like she’s confused, and my heart breaks that she didn’t think we would come for her.

“Oh, princess.” Unable to keep my distance from her when she is in such pain, I press my forehead against hers and shudder when I inhale her delicious smoky scent. Her smell is like a drug, and the tightness in my chest relaxes for the first time since we saw her taken.

Unable to take my eyes off her, my voice is gruff when I speak, willing her to believe every word. “We will always come for you. Always. You’re ours.”

It’s only when her hand tightens in my shirt that I see something click in her mind. When her little nails dig into my skin, a groan rumbles in my chest and my dick hardens painfully, loving every bit of her punishment.

My control snaps, and I’m barely aware of grabbing her hips and dropping her in my lap, right where she belongs. My dick jumps at the contact, and I can’t stop myself from guiding her hips up and down along my shaft.

When her head falls back and her mouth parts, I don’t stop. Damn if my cock doesn’t leak when she moves her hips faster, her breath catching as she chases her pleasure. Needing to make her come, I lean forward and bite her nipple right through her shirt.

Her breath hitches, then she groans, and her fingers sink into my hair as she pulls me closer. “More…”

It’s both a plea and a demand, and I’m helpless to do anything but give my princess what she wants. Yanking her shirt over her head, I take a second to admire her full breasts, her ample cleavage begging for my attention.

Then I spot the nasty bruises decorating her pale skin, and I blink the lust from my eyes. The injuries trail up and down her torso in a way that has a growl rumbling in my chest.

Is that a fucking boot print?

Rage threatens to consume me, and my grip tightens on her hips. It’s only when she whimpers that I become aware of my surroundings again, the scent of her need filling the air, and my mouth fucking waters with the irresistible craving to taste her.

Pushing away my desire for answers—for now—I give her what she needs. I made the mistake of not paying her enough attention once. It won’t happen again.

Yanking down the straps of her bra, I worship her beautiful breasts, biting and nipping until I can tell her orgasm is near. My cock leaks with the demand to take her hard and fast, and I grit my teeth against the nearly overwhelming impulse.

No, I won’t fuck her, not until I earn her forgiveness.

It’s my punishment.

I don’t deserve absolution for just doing the bare minimum by finding her.

No, I have a lot of fucking work to do before I’m worthy of her again.

Until then, I’ll do everything in my power to be whatever she needs.

Right now, she needs me to make her feel alive.

With her knees on either side of my hips, I let her set the pace. I lift my head from her breasts, her cry of protest making my dick throb harder, and cover her mouth with my own to muffle her whimpers before pinching her nipples hard. She stiffens in my arms for a moment, then she shudders as her orgasm takes over.

I keep her pace with my hips for a few seconds more before gradually slowing, dragging out her pleasure for as long as possible. It’s not until she slumps against me that I still and look down at her cuddled against my chest.

It’s a sight that I will take with me to my grave.

My eyes burn with the realization that we fucking found her.

That she’s safe and here in my arms.

It’s all I can do to swallow past the lump in my throat as I cuddle her closer. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough. I run my hand up and down the skin of her back…then slow when the tips of my fingers trace over scars. Dozens and dozens of scars. When she stiffens in my arms, I involuntarily tighten my hold, not ready to release her yet.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let her go without a struggle, not when she feels so right in my arms.

“We’re safe. There are no cameras.” I should know, I’ve been over every damn inch of the place. Studying the floorplans meant shit when they had a secret underground facility not on any records. During my shifts, I’ve mentally mapped the area, cataloging the security system, shift change, and guard rotation.

The fucking place has so few weaknesses, it’s going to be a bitch getting her out.

Instead of being reassured by my words, Rue stiffens in my arms, then adjusts her bra until her beautiful breasts are hidden from my gaze. Not once does she look at me as she rights her clothes, and I can’t stop my growl of protest, biting my lip to keep from begging her not to hide from me.

My battered heart can’t take her pulling away from me so soon after getting her back.

When she drags her shirt over her head, I can’t stop my hand from dropping to her hips again, as if I can stop her from leaving. When she shrugs off my hold and stands, tucking in her shirt, I barely stifle a whimper, very much sounding like a wounded animal.

“Princess, don’t go. Please.” My voice breaks, and I don’t give a shit that I’m pleading for scraps of her attention. My soul will shatter if she turns away from me now, and my life won’t ever be the same. I’ll eat and breathe, but it won’t be living.

The same thing happened when my sister died.

The only thing that brought me back was Rue.

I can’t lose her too.

I won’t.

Filled with a new resolve to win her back, I stand and stalk toward her. If it takes an eternity to earn her forgiveness, I will survive off whatever attention she is willing to give me. I’ll follow her to the ends of the world, make myself indispensable. She’ll eventually learn she can’t live without me.

Hearing my footsteps, she whirls to face me, a furrow between her brows. I reach out to smooth it away, and she fucking flinches. It guts me, and I struggle not to take it personally. Everyone in her life has hurt her in one way or another, including me. I would never lay a hand on her in anger, but it might take some time to convince her that she can trust me again.

I’ll have to gentle her to my touch gradually.

Eventually, she’ll seek comfort from me again.

Very slowly, I reach forward and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, my resolve firming when she doesn’t slap my hand away.

Rue still has feelings for me.

For now, that’s enough.

As if forgetting her anger for a second, she leans into my touch. But before I can slip my hand behind her neck and pull her closer, she sighs and steps back. “You shouldn’t have come.”

I snort at the absurdity and cross my arms over my chest as I wait for her to spout whatever nonsense she has inside her head. “And why not?”

A bitter laugh escapes her, the sound so caustic that I flinch and I grit my teeth to keep from kissing her to make it stop.

“Are you serious?” She waves a hand around in the air, then shakes her head. “Look where we’re standing. This is my future, one way or another. You can’t save me from my fate.”

“The fuck I can’t,” I snarl back, taking an aggressive step toward her. It’s not until her back thumps against the door that her eyes widen in alarm. When I don’t see any true fear in her gaze, my chest swells with pride…and relief. Deep down, she knows I would never touch her in anger. “You gave us a choice, and I fucking made my decision. It’s you. It will always be you. You don’t get to change your mind now.”

I cup her jaw, forcing her head back, and my hand slides naturally around her throat. “You’re ours. We will follow you wherever you go.”

Tears glisten in her eyes, her bottom lip trembles, and I gently pull her against me. When she doesn’t resist, the tension in my shoulders eases a fraction. She takes a shuddering breath, then snuggles into my chest, and I slip my arms around her and rest my cheek on top of her head.

Not a moment later, she jerks back, and she gazes up at me with wide eyes. “You mean the others are here as well?”

The mixture of hope and panic in her expression settles me further. It’s been so long since anyone other than the guys gave a shit about me that I can’t help but feel a little giddy.

This gorgeous woman actually chose me.

It’s a miracle that I will never take for granted again.

“Only Jaceson is inside with us. He’s posing as a fellow patient. The others are waiting for word on your exact location.” I tighten my hold, pulling her flush against me once more. I actually found her, she’s real, and safe in my arms.

For now.

Rue reaches up and cups my face, her pupils wide with panic. “Gunner…you need to grab Jaceson and get him out. This place…” She shudders, then a hardness enters her eyes, and I see the instant her will solidifies. “It’s not a good place. If they catch you?—”

“Baby girl, we aren’t going anywhere without you.” I snort at the absurdity. “We’ve already been here two weeks, searching for any sign of you. Now that we’ve found you, we’re not leaving without you. We’re family. That’s what family does.”

“Family?”

The awe in her voice, the fragile hope, breaks my fucking heart. I swallow past the lump in my throat and nod, pressing my forehead against hers once more. “Forever and always.”