Leaf, Erin M. - Tango Trio [Dream Marked 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (12 page)

Her thugs are going to be here next
, Tessa sent, mind voice carefully controlled.

Parker sensed her fingers aching, too. And Jared’s. His were getting worse. Damnit! This was not the time for a freaky new bonding thing to happen. He felt Jared agree and glanced back. Jared’s silver aura swirled around him, eddies of it brushing and blending with Tessa’s pale gold. A few tendrils were even blending with his coppery aura, creating a glowy, metallic rainbow.
Whoa
. He stared, mesmerized, until Tessa mind-smacked him gently.

They’re at the next table
, she sent.
Those are the last of the diners, except for us. What are we going to do?

Parker sensed her worry and turned to watch two of the thugs pick up a teenager sitting with his parents. He considered their chances if they made a run for it, but then the thugs stiffened, dragging the teenager over to Tessa’s mother in the center of the room. What the hell? The boy’s parents struggled against their mental tethers, their eyes rolling frantically as their breathing increased to harsh pants, but neither one could move to help their child. Parker smelled their sudden fear and rage. Even in the midst of the violence, their scent was clean. Human. The thugs, however, smelled worse. Their ashy, acrid smell spiked so much that it stung his nose. Parker could tell they were excited in a sick, grasping way, even though he couldn’t see their faces. Why?

The boy is pre-bonded
, Tessa sent, her mind voice sick with disgust.
What are they going to do to him?

I don’t know, sweetheart
, Jared sent. Parker could feel his bond-mates growing even more worried, their scent deepening. Growing wilder. His own matched theirs. He caught a whiff of dark, musky, wet forest and knew it came from the three of them. Something was going to happen. He turned his attention back to the boy in the center of the room. When Tessa’s mother pulled out a small needle and plunged it into the boy’s neck, all the hair on the back of his neck stood up as rage slid to the forefront of his mind. A drop of blood welled up on the teen’s skin, thick and shiny. Innocent. Parker’s control snapped. He growled, long and low, hackles still raised. He stood up, smoothly, gracefully, intent on his prey. He stepped forward, the movement economical and silent. Animalistic. Jared and Tessa’s anger meshed with his, strengthening him. He opened his arms wide, moving forward before Tessa’s mother could lower her mouth to the boy’s neck. At the last moment, she looked up, her pupils deep, black holes behind the mesh of her mask.
This woman is not sane
, he thought clearly, sadly. Tessa’s sudden grief hit him as she realized the same thing, but he was almost there. He could stop the woman from doing whatever it was she intended. He growled again, raised his hands, and slashed with his inch-long, razor-sharp claws. The woman’s mask fell down in pieces around her face. Parker was shocked to see blood welling up on her cheeks, black and thick, as though her entire body was physically infected with her evil, not just her psyche.

“Parker!” Cynthia whispered, shocked. Then she smiled, her face twisting into a horrible caricature of welcome. “I hoped you’d be here.” She glanced behind him. “And, Tessa, my wayward daughter. I was right. You’re bonded.” With that, Tessa’s mom dropped the teen and went for the strange, bulky weapon strapped to her thigh. As if in slow motion, Parker caught the boy, his young body still limp, careful not to hurt the teen with his claws.
Claws? What the
—
?
He squashed the thought. He wasn’t sure where the claws had come from or how to get rid of them, but right now he didn’t have time to worry about it. He gingerly shifted the boy until he could lay him on the floor without injury. It only took a second, but when he looked up, Tessa’s mom had her weird-looking gun free of its holster. She shot him in the face before he could duck.

* * * *

Parker!

Jared leaped forward, knowing he would remember the terror and rage of Tessa’s mind voice screaming for the rest of his life. His own horror was nearly unbearable. He felt Parker go down, his bond-mate’s aura roiling in the aftermath of whatever Tessa’s mom had shot him with.
Some sort of psychic acid
. He could feel Parker’s agony as the stuff disintegrated his bond-mate’s aura. Their mental bond faltered even as he tackled the woman, landing on top of her. He had claws, too, just like Parker, but unlike the other man, he was free to use them since he didn’t have to worry about the teenager. He slashed at the woman once, twice, trying to shred her black top, but she wore body armor underneath the cloth. He tried again, aiming for her neck as she twisted. She still had the gun, and Jared grabbed for her wrist so she couldn’t shoot him, or God forbid, Tessa.
Damn, the woman is strong
. He gasped as her knee caught him in his bad hip. She kneed him again, and he lost his grip on her bony wrist. She squirmed away, cackling like a witch. Damnit! He tried to get up, but she must have reinjured the bundle of poorly healed nerves and tendons in his hip. The scar tissue inside his joint was full of arthritis, and even the slightest blow against them was excruciating. He fell back, unable to get up. His hip throbbed in protest.
Tessa, run
, he thought, as she dropped to her knees beside him and Parker.
Go!

I’m not leaving you
, she retorted, mind voice thick with determination and love.

Your mom is going to hurt us!
he sent, frantic for her to get away.

She shook her head.
My mother’s leaving. Your claws got her in the neck. Look.

Jared focused with difficulty. The woman clutched the remains of her mask against her neck, trying to hold the blood in her body as her thugs converged on her. She glared at him, even as her people towed her toward the exit in protective formation. Jared could just imagine what the woman was thinking about him and Parker. Tessa tossed her head and defiantly gave her mother the finger. Jared choked back a laugh.
That’s my girl. Defiant to the bitter end.

Her mother pressed her lips together, and then the group slid out the emergency exit. A few seconds later, Jared heard the sound of a vehicle tearing out of the parking lot. He grunted.
Good riddance.
Around them, the diners and wait staff groaned weakly. Some of them tried to lift their heads, but Jared could tell they were utterly exhausted. A few managed to struggle to their feet, but most were paying him and his bond-mates no attention. The closest victim was the teenage boy Parker rescued. His parents were slowly crawling over to him.

“I hope the bitch dies,” Tessa said aloud, her voice low and mean.

“Don’t worry about her now.” Jared gasped, gritting his teeth at the pain in his hip. He pulled himself up. “We need to get to Parker.” He staggered to his knees, wincing as the joint popped, but he was relieved that he could put a little weight on his leg. He moved closer to Parker and put his hand on the other man’s forearm, then drew back quickly. It stung. And his bond-mate smelled wrong, like burning wood.
There’s something wrong with his aura.

Tessa nodded. “I think I can help him.”

Jared looked at her sharply.
What?

She ignored him then scooted closer. “Come here,” she commanded, pulling on Jared. He shuffled even closer to Parker, ignoring the pain in his hip and the weird sensation of his claws retracting back into his fingers. Tessa had claws, too, but he didn’t notice them until he felt his own disappearing. She winced and flexed her fingers even as she shoved him against Parker. His leg buzzed where it touched the other man. “Stay there,” Tessa said as she scooted to the other side and slotted herself up against their bond-mate. “He needs both of us for me to do this.”

What exactly are you going to do?
Jared asked. He glanced around the restaurant, suddenly glad none of the other patrons had the energy or desire to pay any attention to them. Parker looked increasingly pale, and his aura was beginning to dissipate.
That can’t be good.
A stab of alarm shot through Jared’s body. He touched the other man’s face, not surprised to find it clammy.

I’m not sure yet
, Tessa sent back then closed her eyes.

Jared sighed and slumped down, closing his eyes as well. It wasn’t like he was going to lose track of his bond-mates. And he could smell everyone in the restaurant and pinpoint their location just by scent alone. He tried to relax against Parker, but worry made him tense. Tessa shifted slightly, her right hand running over Parker’s body. Jared let his left hand slide along the larger man’s arm, ignoring the way the buzz ran along his skin. It was fading. Jared didn’t know what that meant, but he had a feeling it wasn’t good.

Shh
, Tessa whispered in his mind.
Relax
.

Jared tried, he really did. He maneuvered until he could tuck his neck into Jared then stiffened as he felt Tessa’s aura strengthen.
Tessa?

Let me in further, okay?

Of course
, Jared sent back, startled she even had to ask. He opened his mind to her, every part of it, from his happiest thoughts to his darkest. She swept in, her personality and force of will so beautiful he found himself crying. He didn’t much care. If this was what she needed to fix Parker, she could have it and more. Tessa took hold of him somehow and meshed herself into his psyche, weaving their auras into a sort of invisible, metallic blanket. Jared fed her all the energy she wanted, letting his physical body slump against Parker. His senses struggled to find the forest, instinctively struggled to connect to that which meant home more than anything else.

We need to get outside
, Tessa sent.

Jared nodded and opened his eyes. With Tessa’s help, he struggled to his feet, and then together they lifted Parker up high enough for Jared to sling the larger man over his shoulder. Jared grunted as the weight of him put pressure on his bad hip.

“You can do it,” Tessa whispered. Her eyes darted to the increasingly alert patrons of the restaurant. Jared noticed the teenage boy slumped against his mother, his eyes on Parker. Gravely, Jared nodded to the boy. The teen nodded back. At Tessa’s urging, Jared limped to the emergency exit. It opened out on the back of the building. Once outside, Jared sniffed and looked around. Two large dumpsters were at the far end of the building, but just across the small, employee parking lot, the forest loomed.

“There,” Jared said, sensing that’s what Tessa needed. She nodded and, holding his hand, led him into the trees. She quickly found a game trail. Jared gritted his teeth as he walked. Every step sent shooting pains through his hip. It didn’t matter. He had to get Parker farther away from civilization. Ten minutes later, Tessa pulled him off the trail into the middle of a sheltered pine grove.

“Here,” she said, gesturing to the thick pile of pine needles on the ground. Jared grunted in approval. If he concentrated, he could still feel the tendrils of their woven aura shifting around the three of them. Gently, he let Parker slide to the ground, then inhaled deeply. Trees. Water about five minutes’ walk northwest. Squirrels and birds. A doe and her two fawns to the east. No humans.

“This is good,” he said, sinking carefully down alongside Parker. He looked his bond-mate over anxiously. Parker was still pale, but he seemed no worse. His aura was still faint but no longer fading.

I think I can fix him now
, Tessa sent as she crawled in between the two men.
Come on, lie down
, she yanked on Jared’s sleeve. He complied, closing his eyes and sighing as his weight shifted away from his bad hip.

* * * *

Tessa wouldn’t let the fear control her. If she did, Parker would die, and then so would Jared. That’s the way bonding worked. The emotional link was so strong that most survivors followed their mates into death. Tessa knew she wouldn’t want to live without either of her bond-mates. She didn’t want to die, not when she’d just found them. Therefore, she couldn’t let her fear control her. She settled between the two men, letting her sense of smell tell her what she needed to know about the forest—old trees, rich earth. It wouldn’t rain for at least six hours. Her mind calmed as she sent her consciousness back out to Jared. He let her draw on his strength, and now that they were outside, it was so much easier. Jared could connect with the earth somehow, draw energy from the very forest, and she would use that to reach Parker.

She concentrated, using their weaved auras to gently pluck at the remains of Parker’s. His beautiful, copper scent was faint, but there was enough there for her to slowly, painstakingly weave into her and Jared’s bond. Tessa didn’t know how long it took. She didn’t care. She knew she had to be patient and work carefully, or all would be lost. Jared fed her power, and she, in turn, fed it into Parker until his coppery aura was as bright and strong as ever. The threads of her two bond-mates were knitted with hers perfectly. She could see it in her mind. She could smell the rightness of it—the mixing of mint and lavender with Parker’s gentle sandalwood. She’d stopped the bleeding of his aura. Now, to rebuild it completely, she had to wrench it into sync with Parker’s mind and force all that made him who he was back to full consciousness. It wouldn’t be easy. The coma he was in had sent him to the edge of death.

Jared, this is the most dangerous part
, Tessa sent. She knew he understood. She probably didn’t even have to explain to him, but she needed a minute to gather her courage.