Days of Redemption (The Firsts Book 6) (7 page)

“Forgive me, but…how do
ya know Bas?”   Bas was married to a first blood. 

“Old friend.
  Very.  Almost from the day he became vampire.”

Was she Bas’s sire?
 
Probably rude to ask on such short acquaintance.   Bryn would just have to wait to find out if he was right.

“I appreciate
yer help.  The men who hold this cell phone have kidnapped a good friend.”

“Shit! 
Been a lot of that lately.   Things have gone jack-shit crazy in our world this past year.  Murders, abductions, kids coming out of the woodwork.   Our future is murky, vampire.”

“I think it is.  But I want this woman rescued, and soon, because they
will
kill her.”

“Then we will do so.  Are you hungry?  My chef has just finished first meal and there’s a lot left.”

“Aye, it sounds good.  Do ya know how long the trace will take?”

“Not long.  Sit.  Ty will return as soon as he has it.  Do you need a team to go with you?”

“That would be welcome.  I know nothing about this area.”

“Most wouldn’t.  I’m very isolated and I love that.
”

Shame, hiding that beautiful body and brilliant mind in
the rain-forest
, he thought.

Dez smiled.  “I should tell you something, vampire.  I usually disclose this to people so they know the score.  I am a telepath.  I can read thoughts, feelings.  Not everyone’s and not all the time. 
But frequently.  So, just be aware of that, okay?  And thank you.   I agree, but this is where I want to be.  I’ve been alive for quite a few centuries and I’ve done almost everything, but I like it here.”

Mind reader
.  And comfortable enough to freely admit it to him. 
Then…

“So I’m right.  Ye’re a first blood.”

Dez leaned back in her seat.  Most vampires did not know about first bloods.  In that moment, he knew that she did.

Her eyes found Bryn’s and held them, but she did not speak.  When she did, it was with some hesitation.  “Why would you say that?”

“Ye’re eyes.  They’re not dark.   And that skill.  Mind readin’ isn’t yer average vampire ability.”

“No.  But I’m not.  A first blood, that is.  I don’t know why my eyes are blue or that I can do things other vampires can’t.  But I’m not a first blood.
  And you have blue eyes, but I know you aren’t first blood either.”

“
True.”  Bryn still wondered, but it was obvious that if she
was
first blood, she wouldn’t admit it.
What the hell was that about?

“Hang on.”  Dez lifted a bedazzled cell phone from her pocket and hit a button.  “Ty, send for Bean and have him bring six of his guys, outfitted for a jungle excursion.  We have a friend lost in the jungle with a couple of hostiles.  No, they’re human. 
About an hour?  Fine.  Appreciated.”

Laying the phone on the tabletop, Dez reached for a piece of chocolate cake her chef had brought out with other food for Bryn.

“Done.  They’ll be here within the hour.  We’ll find your woman.”

“I can’t thank
ya enough.  I’m new to this hero thing, and I think I’ll fuck it up as much as anything.  She’s a fine woman, and I won’t have them hurt her.”

“Then they won’t.  You have a good team coming.”

“I am at yer disposal if ya ever need anything from a drunken Highlander.”

Dez leaned in and smiled.   “I
may
be able to think of something.”

Bryn killed a tall glass of
an amber beverage that tasted like cider.  “Is there no man in yer life, Dez?”

Her
eyes moved up to the faux daytime sky above their heads.  When she looked back at him a moment later, there was a distance in her gaze.  “Once.  Someone, but he’s gone.  I haven’t any idea where, and I don’t think he’ll be back.”

“Sorry
. I understand.  Unrequited love makes immortality harder.”

Draining a bottle of beer, her deep blue eyes caught his.  “It wasn’t.  Unrequited, I mean.  He loved me very much. 
Too much.  I couldn’t deal with him.  I don’t know if I could now, but that’s a ship that’s left this harbor.  For good, I think.”

“
Ya don’t want to look for him?”

She hesitated before she spoke.  “I…”

When she stopped, Bryn knew it was because she had no answer.   Love was a bitch when it didn’t go smooth.

Nodding, he put a hand over hers
in commiseration.  A sharp spike of electricity snapped as soon as their hands touched, and they both shot backward.

“What the hell was that?”  Dez yelled, shaking her hand.

“I haven’t an idea.  I’m sorry, lass.  Maybe static.”

She stared at him, suspiciously.  “I don’t think so.  What are you?  Are
you
first blood?”

“
Nay.  I swear.”

“
That
wasn’t normal, Highlander, and it wasn’t static.  Whatever
that
was crawled up my arm and through my entire body.  Have you ever experienced it before?”

“I haven’t.  I can’t explain it.”

Stepping back to him, she shook her head.  “I can tell you’re telling the truth.  I can
read
it.  All right, but I think you’re a bit of a mystery yourself.”

“I’ve been told that on occasion.  I do apologize, though.”   He did.  But he agreed with her
, that odd connection had no reasonable explanation.   He didn’t have time to think about it now.   Lauren was all that mattered at the moment.

Finishing off a big plate of food, he felt energized and ready, impatient to be back on the road, when Ty came into the room quickly, and handed Bryn his phone.

“Here.  That’s where the phone is right now.”

“Thank you, man.  Dez, I’m heading out.  Would
ya have yer team follow when they’re here, and contact me when they’re close?”

“I will.  Be careful, vampire.  Even those humans can be dangerous.”

“I know.”  He started to lean in to give her a brief hug, and they both paused.  He smiled.  “Yeah, not a wise idea.  I meant that when I said I’m there if ya need anything.”

“I won’t forget.  Good luck.”

Nodding, Bryn hurried out of the house and got back into the rental car.   He punched the coordinates into the GPS system and headed down the lane.  Northwest, about an hour’s drive.  Once again, he stomped on the accelerator.

SIX

Shrieks
, skittering, and other wild sounds filled the darkness.  The busy nightlife jarred Lauren awake, her sleep interrupted, and it stayed that way.  She sat up, listening to the myriad creatures that called this damp, beautiful land home.  These rain forests were slowly disappearing from the surface of this planet.  In other circumstances, she would have loved being here with a red-filtered light to watch these animals and insects in this incredible habitat. 

But not tonight.
  Not cold, hungry, and scared.  Her future was so uncertain at this moment, she had no sense of it.  
Wouldn’t stop her from fighting for every second
.

Laying her head back
against the stone wall of the ledge, she closed her eyes.  She couldn’t sleep now, but her eyes didn’t want to stay open either, so she just sat in the darkness, tried to calm her breathing, and listened to the sounds of the world around her living their lives.

Bryn was nearly there.   The car had run out of road and he was on foot now, but prepared, since Dez had provided him with a large backpack, lighters, metallic blankets, two handguns with extra
mags, and a hi-power flashlight with three additional batteries.  He’d put the clothes for Lauren into it, slung a canteen with water over his shoulder, and headed out to intercept the GPS, which he could now track with his phone, an app set up by Dez’s tech guy, Ty. 

It was dark, and although he did not know the terrain, he had enough light with the flashlight to use hyper-speed to get to his destination quickly.

Ten minutes later, he stood his ground as his approach roused two men who had been sleeping close to a small fire in the forest.  They jumped up, grabbing for two heavy sticks they’d kept near, and faced the giant of a man standing there with a handgun held casually at his side.

“I’m
lookin’ for someone.  And ya know who.  I’ve no patience with lies, so I’m askin’ once…and then it’s gonna get ugly.”

Neither man moved, so Bryn continued.

“Good.  I see we have an understandin.’  Where’s the woman?”

Both were silent at first,
then the smaller of the two came forward, only one step.

“She’s gone. 
Escaped.  We don’t have any idea where she is.”

Bryn smiled.  The little spitfire
, he was going to love having her beneath him.

“
I’m aware of that.  Which way did she go?”

The same man pointed. 
Southeast.

“And do
ya know where she might be headin’?”

“No.  That’s all we can tell you.”

“Nay.  There’s one more thing.  Which one of ya talked to yer boss tonight back at the airport?”

Once again, the smaller man
answered, turned, and pointed to his friend.

Bryn walked forward, nodding
to him.  “Ye’re a helpful little motherfucker, aren’t ya?   Innocent of all charges, huh?  I don’t think so.  But this one…”   He grabbed the taller guy, who was still much shorter than Bryn, and held him up, his face inches from Bryn’s.

“I want
ya to tell me in detail about how ya plan to fuck my woman.”

Bryn watched
fear begin in the man’s eyes as he stuttered and then went mute.

“Aye, I thought so.  Here’s what I know.  Ye’re
gonna help me look for her, and when I find her, if she’s okay, and ye haven’t hurt her, I’m gonna let ya go.  If ya have hurt her, I just hope ya have yer worldly affairs in order.  Go, now, and quickly.”

“It’s too dark,
too dangerous for any of us to travel safely,” the smaller man said.

“I don’t have a care for
yer safety, and I’ll be just fine.  We’re burning the night, move!”

They did, and quickly, as ordered.

What the hell was that moving, just outside of the ledge?   The rustling was too constant and even to be just the wind…something was moving out there.  Whatever it was, it wasn’t small.   Lauren decided that her safest bet was to try to remain undetected.  So, barely breathing, moving nothing more than the air it took to do so, she sat frozen, her muscles tight and tense,
an acute headache that started a little while ago continued to increase.  She knew it was because her blood vessels were constricting since she hadn’t eaten in many hours.   And that wasn’t likely to change anytime soon, especially since she was more likely to be dinner for someone else!

As still and silent as she was, whatever was outside the ledge continued to move in. 

She was right, it was large.  The snake continued past her, its heavy body brushing against her foot as its powerful muscles pulled its body along the ground.   Lauren would have sworn it took half an hour, although she was certain it was only a few minutes, tops.  The entire time she was sure it could hear her heart pounding out it’s rhythms at an accelerated speed.  

But it moved past and she pushed her way out of the opposite side of the ledge and gulped in air.   Was this what a panic attack felt like?   Lauren thought so.  With her hand against her chest, she pulled the lapels
of the robe out of the way and massaged between her breasts where she felt heavy pressure and couldn’t seem to draw air in. 

It took several long minutes, but finally she felt her racing heartbeats slow, and her respiration return to normal.  Then the sound of something much bigger moving through the brush brought the terror back.  When she glanced behind her up the incline, she saw a flashlight beam crest the top of it, shooting up into the treetops.

Oh, hell, they’d found her!  In panic, she started to go back under the ledge when she heard a voice call her name.

Oh, God!  It was Bryn!
 

Lauren started to call out, but her voice was frozen, the words strangled in her throat.  Pushing hard against the rock, she shoved herself out from her hiding place and started to climb the steep hill.

“Bryn!” she finally managed to get out, yet not loud enough to reach him.  But he was here.  He’d come for her.  Lauren didn’t think there was ever a moment in her life that felt as good as this. 
He’d come for her!

She finally reached the top and peeked above it to the ground below.  All she saw was a flashlight and the
tallest of the two men who had been escorting her to her doom.  She had just imagined Bryn’s voice calling to her.

The panic hit again and she lost her footing and began to roll back down the embankment. 

Suddenly, she stopped rolling and felt warmth invade her cold, dampened skin.  Someone had picked her up and was holding her in his arms.  She was prepared to fight when she heard Bryn’s voice say, “Lassie, it’s me.”

I
t took a moment for Lauren to believe it was really him.  She could barely see his face but his voice was steady and beautiful.  And his huge arms held her easily against his warm body.

La
uren nestled in, curling her arms around his neck and buried her head against his.

“Bryn, you came,” she whispered.

“Did
ya doubt it?”  He said, kissing her forehead.

“No.  I simply didn’t think you would come.  You don’t know me and you had no reason to.  But I’m so grateful you did.”

“I had no reason to come for you?   Ya sort of promised me a night of endless sex. I’m just here to see to it that ya don’t renege on me.”

Lauren smiled, although she figured he probably couldn’t
see that.  “No, I didn’t.  I just didn’t say no.  But you can have anything you want now.  Bryn, did you compel those guys that were after me?”

“Aye.
  They’re just standin’ on the other side of this hill.  I think I’ll just leave them there.”

“Good.  Fair enough.  God, I’m so happy to see you!”

For a reason he might never know, Bryn felt an extreme reaction to Lauren’s declaration that she was happy to see him.  He had to agree with her, they had no
real
relationship, and yet it seemed to mean more than he could understand that she wanted him there and that he could protect her.  Suddenly it struck him that he wanted to protect her almost as much as he wanted to fuck her. 
What the hell was that?

He began to let her down so he could hand her the clothes he’d brought for her when a sudden sharp sound startled him. 
The sound of a bullet fired, a single round, and then another.   Moments later, a spray of bullets, the reports tearing into the night.   Someone else was here with more artillery and a lot more serious than the two henchmen Bryn had compelled to stay put.  He knew without a doubt, they were both dead.

Pulling
Lauren tighter into his arms, he used his vampire ability to displace air and move with hyper speed, and got them both out of the surrounding area.  They were both in danger now.   Lauren’s enemies had just stepped up.

Once they
were at least ten miles to the west, he lowered her to the ground behind a large tree trunk.

“Dress,” he said abruptly, and pulled the clothes from the pack.  “I hope they fit.”

They did.  The boots were slightly loose, but they were a monumental improvement over bare feet. 

When Bryn handed her a meal bar a few moments later, she wanted to throw him down and pull him inside
her just to thank him.  Clothes and food, the man knew how to satisfy a woman.

She did as he asked and was ready to go in minutes.  Before she could even tell him she was ready, he had her in his arms and was gone again.

Bryn didn’t stop until he believed that they were far enough from the location where he’d found Lauren. 

He lowered her, set her on a
tree stump, and let her recover her breath.  Hyper-speed was difficult for humans, the air displacement unsettling and physically exhausting.

Handing her the canteen again, he set a small diffused camp light on the ground beside her,
which provided a pale illumination.

When Lauren’s breathing seemed normal, he dropped in front of her, his arms around her waist.

“Ye’re okay?  They didn’t hurt ya?”

While the hyper
-speed messed up her ability to breathe, so did Bryn’s presence.  Lauren was still struggling to recover her respiration, but now it had less to do with their movement than his overt sexuality and those beautiful eyes looking directly into hers.

“I’m good. 
Really.  You got to me before they did, so there wasn’t any time.  Um, just, let’s say your hero status is confirmed.”

He kept staring at her, couldn’t look away, for several more moments, his eyes traveling over her to assure himself
that she really
was
all right.  As he had done in her apartment, he moved closer and just held her, her ear against his chest.  She listened to his even heartbeat and something happened.  For the first time in her life, she felt connected, truly connected, to another person.  No one had ever held her with such passion and concern since…
never.
   

There was a warmth, and blending with him that moved beyond all the barriers the plain-Jane over-large girl had built in school to shield her from the taunts and bullying of other kids who didn’t understand that she was just different.

Lauren pulled back as she pushed him away, keeping his face captured in her hands.

“What do you do to me,
Bryn, that you have gotten into me?  I thought I would just have spectacular sex and that would be it.  But I don’t think that will be enough now.  I think I
need
to be with you.  That’s crazy, isn’t it?  I don’t know anything about you except that you’re the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen, and that you’re kind of a cad.  But that isn’t true, either, is it?”

Bryn smiled.  “Well, it’s
kind
of true.   But I’m more than that.  Ya can see it because I’ve
let
ya see it.  I’ve let ya in.  And I don’t know why I’ve done that either.  Oh, girl, I want ya.  Worse than I could imagine.  The need to be inside ya is crazy.”

She nodded. 
Yeah, she felt the same way.
  Glancing at the sky, though, she knew they were out of time. “But we need to find shelter.  It’ll be daylight soon.  Any ideas?”

“Yeah.”
  Bryn kept an arm around Lauren while he drew out his cell phone and hit redial.

“Dez.
  I’ve got her.  Aye, it wasn’t hard once ya set me up with yer miracle worker.  Thank Ty for me.  One last request.  Can ya look at my geographic location and let me know if there’s a safe place for me to overnight?”

Lauren just watched his face, every movement, expression, the way he lifted his eyebrows, the upturn o
f his lips when he smiled.  Then she rolled her own eyes. 
Holy shit, she had it bad! 
She might as well have a notebook to write
Lauren and Bryn
on the cover 100 times like a schoolgirl.   Yet she still couldn’t take her eyes off of him.