Bound to Secrets (7 page)

The pills would take only minutes to work. She lay on her side. Her head pillowed on her hands and he knew she watched him.

For a second, the memory of how she had tasted, how she had felt… the softness of her skin, overrode the pain in his skull. His cock twitched, which was amazing. Half an hour ago, he’d been ready to swear off even thinking about sex for the rest of his long and miserable life.

He felt the moment she slept, the pain in his head receded slightly. He waited another five minutes and then got slowly to his feet and approached her cautiously. Crouching down, he brushed the long hair from her face, and a wave of tenderness swept over him. She was deep under and he lowered his head to kiss her lightly on the lips.

He gathered everything up, pulled the sleeping bag from under her, and carried them back to the keep. He didn’t want to leave any signs in case the people searching for her returned. When he left the keep, he made sure the branches covered the opening. No one looking at the place would see it as anything more than a ruin.

Finally, he went back to her, put her rucksack over his shoulders, and picked her up in his arms. It was a long, hard five miles and he was glad of the reviving effect of the drizzle that started to fall half way through the journey. But at least his head cleared on the way and he was pretty sure there’d be no permanent damage.

He was starting to feel a little more optimistic by the time the truck came into sight. Then he swore under his breath. Two men leaned against the vehicle, watching his approach.

His first thought was—Agency. But as he got closer, he recognized them. The taller man was one of the werewolves who had picked him up in Kinlochlevin. The other had been in the room with the alpha. It seemed a lifetime ago but was in fact only four days. He had a gun in the bottom of his rucksack that Sebastian had given him. Unfortunately, his rucksack was back at Keira’s keep. Besides, he would hardly have been able to draw the weapon with his arms full of unconscious woman.

He swore again then decided to ignore them while he put Keira in the vehicle. He juggled her into one arm and pulled his keys from his pocket. The men straightened but didn’t speak as he opened the back and laid Keira down on the seat. He’d come prepared and had a cushion for underneath her head and a blanket for over her. She appeared tiny and pale curled up on the seat. He checked her pulse but it was steady and he sighed, slammed the door, and turned back to the two men.

“Is she dead?” the tall one asked.

“Of course she’s not bloody dead.” He was going to add—what do you take me for? A stupid question under the circumstances. Was he going to have to fight? And was there any point if they were armed?

“Look, I don’t want any trouble. I’m on my way out of here and you won’t see me again.”

The shorter man moved forward. He had sandy hair and shrewd pale blue eyes. As he stepped up close, Connor’s wolf awoke and without even thinking, a growl trickled from his throat.

The two men exchanged glances but made no aggressive moves.

Connor frowned. “What is it you want?”

The blond man nodded and the other spoke. “We want you to fight Logan.”

Shock hit him in the gut. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this. “What? Why?”

“You saw what he’s like. He’s evil. But he’s old and powerful. None of us can go up against him.”

“And you think I can?” The disbelief was clear in his voice.

The taller man nodded toward the other. “Pete is the second strongest in the pack. And your wolf just faced him down and told him to piss off.”

“He did?”

Pete’s brows drew together. “Do you know anything?”

“Let’s suppose I don’t.”

“How long since you were changed?”

Connor glanced at the vehicle, eager to get away. Keira wouldn’t stay under forever and he needed her safely inside that room before she woke. But he suspected talking was the best way to get through this.

“Six years.”

“Only six? Shit, I’ve never come across a wolf so strong at six.”

Connor scowled. He didn’t want to be fucking super-wolf.

“We’ve spoken to the others,” Pete said. “No one will shoot you if you challenge Logan.”

“Well, that’s comforting, but I’m not challenging anyone.” He nodded toward the back of the car. “I have a sick woman and she needs help.”

Pete shrugged. “We had to try. We won’t stop you. But if you change your mind…”

“I won’t.”

They stepped away as he opened the driver’s door. Connor hesitated and turned back to them. “Why don’t you all go up against him? You could take him if you worked together.”

“It’s not the way it’s done. There would be no one strong enough to lead the pack. We would be in chaos. Look, if you change your mind, you’ll find us in the big walled house at the northern end of the moors.”

Connor shook his head. “I’m not the man you need.”

He climbed in and turned on the engine, but couldn’t get the image of the woman out of his mind, the one whose arm had been broken. But he was no wolf leader. They would have to sort out their problems. Right now, he had enough of his own. But he was aware of them watching him and he couldn’t drown out the little niggle of guilt that nagged until way after they had disappeared from sight.

Chapter Seven

“You look like total shit.” Sebastian peered in through the open window of the vehicle.

He’d appeared as soon as Connor pulled up in the underground garage. Anya and Tasha were close behind, but they were pretty much ignoring Connor as they tried to see into the back of the truck.

Tasha frowned. “She is in there, isn’t she?”

Connor nodded.

“Why didn’t you phone?” Anya asked. “We were about to set off to search for you.”

“Your sister has a habit of frying cell phones, and computers, and probably anything else she gets close to.”

“Including people, if you’re anything to go by.” Sebastian studied him through narrowed eyes. “So the implant didn’t work?”

Connor twitched uncomfortably. He glanced from Anya to Tasha and away again. He supposed he was going to have to tell them what had happened at some point. They needed to know the facts if they were going to help Keira and maybe the girls would have an insight into what had gone wrong. But he really wasn’t up to the whole “we were fine until she came” conversation. He wasn’t sure he ever would be, but he’d work himself up to it.

“To a point,” he said eventually when it became obvious they were all waiting for an answer.

“What point?” Sebastian persisted.

Connor frowned. “Later.” The word came out more as a growl than he’d intended. Sebastian quirked an eyebrow, but nodded.

“Is the room ready?” Connor asked.

“Well, it’s done as we discussed. I hope it will be enough.”

So did he.

Connor rubbed his forehead, the headache had faded through the long day, but it was still an unpleasant memory. Now exhaustion tugged at his mind, his eyes ached, and his stomach growled for food.

He climbed out of the truck and stretched, trying to ease the kinks from his shoulders.

“Hey, did I mention you look like shit?”

“Yeah.”

“Why don’t you go upstairs and get some food and rest and we’ll see to her.” He nodded toward the back of the vehicle.

“No.” Again, the word came out harsher than he’d planned. What the hell was wrong with him? But he needed to see Keira was safe and all right before he could rest.

Sebastian pursed his lips. “Is there something you’re not telling us?”

“Like what?”

Sebastian shrugged. “Never mind. We can talk later. For now, let’s get her out of there and settled.”

Connor moved to the back of the vehicle and opened the door, trying to ignore the women attempting to peer around him. He checked Keira’s pulse; it was steady, but she was still deep under. He picked her up gently and held her cradled against his chest. Her lips were slightly parted and she was breathing lightly but evenly and that wave of tenderness washed over him again.

Mine.

The word whispered through his mind and his arms tightened. He looked up to find all three watching him, their faces blanked of expressions. Sebastian he presumed on purpose. But he suspected Tasha and Anya were “speaking” to each other.

He cleared his throat. “Lead the way.”

He followed them out of the garage, down another two flights of stairs to one of the lower levels. Finally, Sebastian led him through a door into an antechamber and then into the room itself. It was small, with a narrow cot bed, a table, a single chair, a fridge in the corner, and a tiny bathroom.

“It was the best we could do in the time,” Sebastian said.

But obviously, someone—Tasha and Anya presumably—had gone to some effort to brighten the place up with a scarlet bedspread and matching cushions. There were pictures of horses on the walls and a bright woven rug on the floor. Flowers in a vase. Still, it was hard to hide that it was essentially a small, windowless metal box.

A camera hung from the ceiling in one corner of the room, pointing at the bed. He supposed it was a necessity, but he hated the thought of other people watching her sleep.

Tasha ran in front of him and stripped down the bedspread. He laid Keira on the soft cotton sheets, tugged off her shoes, and then pulled the blanket over her. She immediately curled onto her side and snuggled into the pillow.

He wished he could lie next to her and hold her, be there for her when she woke, but he knew it was impossible, and he forced himself to turn away.

Once outside, the exhaustion dragged at him as he realized he’d done it. She was here and safe for the moment.

The outer room had been set up like an observation station, with a desk and monitor, a couple of chairs and a small sofa pushed against the back wall. He rifled in the desk, found a piece of paper and a pen, and scribbled a quick note so she wouldn’t feel so alone when she awoke.

I’ll be close by.

Connor.

Then he went back into the room and placed the note on the table where she would see it when she woke. When he came back out, they were all still there. He got the distinct impression they’d been talking about him.

Anya came to stand beside him and rested her hand on his arm. “Connor, go to bed,” she said. “We’ll watch out for her.”

He knew it was sensible. He glanced at the monitor—someone had switched it on—and saw Keira sleeping. He had no clue how long she would stay that way. “Don’t go in there if she wakes,” he said. “And come and get me if there’s any change. And—”

“Connor, go to bed.”

He glanced at Sebastian who regarded him with an expression of wry amusement that Connor wasn’t sure he liked. Actually, he was sure—he didn’t like it.

He closed his eyes, counted to ten, and forced the tension from his muscles. When he opened his eyes, they were all still watching him.

“I’m going to bed,” he announced, turned around and stalked from the room.

***

She was warm and dry. Positively cozy—all she had ever asked for when living on the moors.

The bed was soft and the pillow deep and she snuggled down for a moment longer. She didn’t want to open her eyes, she was so comfortable, but something tugged at her memory.

Connor.

Making love.

Nearly killing him.

Taking the pills.

Her eyes opened. She was no longer on the moors, that much was clear. She lay on a bed in a small room, with no windows. For a few seconds claustrophobia threatened to overtake her. She’d spent a year in a cell when she had first become telepathic and the nightmares still haunted her from that time. She breathed in deeply and forced the panic down. Someone had left a bottle of water on the table and she drank, trying to get rid of the dry, sour taste in her mouth. Then she saw the note. Picking it up, she ran her hands across the script. Was he close?

She examined her surroundings some more. A fridge stood in the corner, hopefully with some food—her stomach rumbled at the thought. And a camera hung in the corner of the room, but at least they’d made no attempt to hide it. Were they watching her even now? Was Connor watching her?

She pushed off the blanket and swung her feet to the floor. Her legs shook a little, but she locked her muscles and managed to stand. A couple of shaky steps took her to the small bathroom, and she leaned over the sink and splashed her face with water.

A mirror hung above the sink and for the first time in years, she stared into her own face.

She was pretty. Sort of. Her face was too thin, but she was okay, not horrible anyway, and her eyes were unusual.

Back in the bedroom, she studied her new home. A huge bunch of flowers stood on a shelf by the door, all sorts, mixed colors. Leaning down, she breathed in the sweet scent. A note was propped underneath.

Welcome, love Tasha and Anya

Her sisters.

***

“She’s awake,” Sebastian said. “Perhaps we should call Connor.”

“I’m here.” Connor stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Anya sat at the desk, watching the monitor, Sebastian stood behind her. Tasha was curled up on the sofa, yawning.

Connor crossed the room and stared down at the screen. Keira sat in the bed, a plate of food perched on her knee. He wanted to go to her, comfort her, and tell her she wasn’t alone, but that would be stupid. And painful.

He’d known she was conscious. Something had startled him awake. Could he sense her even through these walls? Not a headache but a slight buzz in his brain.

“So tell me what happened with the implant,” Sebastian said.

Connor sighed. As he’d suspected, he was no more prepared to talk about it now than he had been before. He’d been thinking about what happened and he reckoned it was probably safe for Sebastian to go in there. He didn’t like the idea, but she needed to talk to someone, and Sebastian was shielded. Neither of the girls were; they didn’t want to block their telepathy. Sebastian should be okay as long as he didn’t try and make love with Keira and he wouldn’t do that because Anya would kill him. And she was an assassin and good at it. Or Connor would kill him. Either way he’d be dead.