RedKnife (Skin Walkers Book 2) (11 page)

Chapter 19

James led her to a clearing where two black, military-style helicopters were waiting.  One had bars on both sides just inside the doors, and Cindy realized that the whole back cabin portion had been converted into a holding pen.  She was appalled to find the three other men opening the cage and shoving RedKnife’s unconscious form inside.

She tried to go to him, but the scarred leader was suddenly blocking her path.  “Have a seat, Ms. Sambrano.”  He motioned with his head toward the other helicopter.

She frowned up at him.  “You didn’t have to cage him like that.  He’s not an animal!”

The guy bent down so he spoke right in her face.  “Yes.  He is.  And he’s probably the most dangerous of us all.”

“Monroe was right,” James spoke from behind her.  “It stopped snowing the second he was hit.”

What? 
What in the hell did the weather have to do with them shooting RedKnife?

The large guy in front of her stood and nodded over her head and James pulled her toward the opposite helicopter.

“WAIT!”  She screamed, not wanting to be separated from RedKnife.  “Let me go with him!”

“No room.”  Was the leader’s simple response.

“P-put me in with him.”  She eyed the cage.  It was big enough for the both of them.  Turning, she eyed the leader and saw contemplation flash in his eyes, so she hurried to add, “It’ll be better for you if he wakes and I’m there with him.”

That seemed to do the trick.  The scarred leader nodded his head at James.  He led her to the cage and lifted her inside, then closed the door.

She hurried to RedKnife, lifting his head into her lap as she brushed her hand over his cheek.

Minutes later, the helicopters were lifting off the ground.  Cindy ignored the discomfort of the hard bars at her back and cold metal under her ass.  Instead, she studied RedKnife as she settled for the flight.  He looked pale.

She turned to scowl at James, who was riding up front beside the pilot.  “WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?”  She had to yell to be heard over the whomp, whomp, whomp of the helicopter blades.

“TRANQS!”  He yelled with a smirk.

“IF HE’S SEDATED, THEN WHY DID YOU CAGE HIM?”

Instead of answering, James grabbed something then reached between the bars, handing her a headset with a mouthpiece.  When the man next spoke, she could hear him clearly.

“Because we don’t know how long he’ll stay down.  We’re not taking chances.”

Cindy frowned up at the man.  “He’s strong.  These bars won’t hold him.”

The man smiled.  “We’re hoping that because you’re in there with him, he’ll stay calm.  The space is small, and you could very easily be hurt if he tries to get free.”

Her eyes darted to RedKnife and she wondered if he’d let them keep him caged in order to keep her from being injured.

“You’re all going to be in serious trouble when he wakes up.”

James chuffed a laugh.  “Of that I have no doubt, Ms. Sambrano.”

Then her head set buzzed and she saw the pilot’s lips move as he spoke.  “Sky cleared up, Conn.  Should be a smooth flight.”

Conn?

She recognized the scarred man’s voice.  “Good.  Now, haul ass.  I want to have these two delivered well before RedKnife wakes.”

James laughed.  “X.O., X.O., don’t be a lame-o.  Let’s stay on ‘til he wakes up.”

RedKnife stirred then, and James and the pilot’s gazes jerked to RedKnife as silence filled the cabin.  Cindy turned to look at James and she grinned as she saw that the young man had paled.  “
Now
who’s a lame-o?”

“Get this fucking thing moving!”  James barked and the helicopter dipped and seemed to accelerate.

***

Cindy paced the cell she’d been taken to.  Once they’d landed, it had been a mad rush to get RedKnife strapped to a gurney before they’d been separated.  She’d fought to stay with him, but she was no match for even the smallest of the mercenaries.  Hell, James accidentally cuffed her cheek when she’d been lunging for RedKnife, and the blow sent her to the ground hard.  The reaction of the men was surprising.  They all instantly tensed and turned horrified eyes on James.

“Shit,
No
!” he’d exclaimed as he dropped to his knees to examine her face.  “Are you okay? 
Please
be okay!”

He’d helped her to her feet and had to help steady her as she swayed from the blow and the fall.

“I’m fine!”  She’d jerked out of his grip and frowned up at him, holding her throbbing cheek.

“Get this fucking beast moving!”  The leader roared.  James shook his head and secured her wrists before grabbing her arm and hauling her toward the Estate’s barn.  The whole time he chanted in a quiet mumble.  “He’s gonna kill me.  He’s gonna kill me.  He’s gonna fucking kill me!”

She had had no idea there were cells at StoneCrow.  When James led her to the barn, she’d been confused.  At first she was simply puzzled, until he opened a cellar door that led down into pitch-black.  That’s when she started fighting again.  She’d only gotten one scream out before James cursed and covered her mouth with a, “Jesus Christ lady, you
seriously
want me to die!”

He carried her, kicking and struggling, down the stairs and into a dimly-lit room with several monitors.  More men were inside.  The sat wearing headsets, lined up in front of rows and rows of monitors that showed every facility at StoneCrow and covered every inch of the grounds.  The other Walkers gave the duo only a cursory glance as they continued to watch the monitors.

At the end of the rows of monitors was a large iron door.  A dark skinned man with lots of tattoos opened it and smirked at James.  “Gotcha hands full, little brotha.”

James carried her through the open door.  “Now
you
do.”  He led her to another door down the hall.  She didn’t realize it was cell until the other man opened it.  She tried to fight going in, but James was too strong.

The heavy door slammed solidly behind her seconds after he released her.

“Let me OUT!”  She lunged at the door, pounding on it with her fists.  To her disappointment, the door was so thick that it completely absorbed the impact and made no sound at all.  There was a small Plexiglas window that she had to tiptoe to peer through.  She could see James and the other man staring down at her.  Stepping back, she took a knee to yell through the slot she assumed was for meal delivery in the middle of the door.  “He’s going to
hurt
you when he finds you!”

The stranger laughed, but spoke to James.  “And just who is it this one belongs to that we should fear so much?  And what happened to her face?”

James tone held reverence.  “She’s RedKnife’s.

“Ooh, Fuck.  Me!”

Cindy watched as the stranger stepped back and held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“What’d you bring her
here
for?”

James shook his head.  “Like I said, Haka.  Now, you’ve got
your
hands full.”

“Where is he?”

The men’s voices began to fade as they walked away, but Cindy heard James’ words echoing back down the hall.  “Infirmary.  We had to tranq him to get to her.”

“This is bad.”

“You have no idea.”  James stopped just at the door.  He shot an apologetic look back towards Cindy’s door.  “
This
… hasn’t even begun.”

“Well, what happened to her face? 
Please
tell me it was like that when you found her.”

“Fuck!”  James hissed.  “Bro, I’m so screwed.  I gotta get off the Estate before he wakes.”

Then the second door clanged closed and Cindy was left in silence.

Chapter 20

Monroe stood staring out the window in RedKnife’s exam room.  He was waiting for the Walker to wake, and dreading it at the same time.

“Maybe we should bring her here,” Jenny prodded quietly.  “If he wakes and she’s here, maybe…”

“No.”  Monroe wouldn’t give RedKnife what he wanted after he’d run with the traitor.  Monroe’s shoulders tensed, and his eyes jerked up toward the clouds.  An inexplicable snow storm had hit the area hard.  It had started the day Cindy had touched RedKnife when he’d been guarding Lilly, and it hadn’t stopped since.  Now, dark clouds rolled in and thunder clapped loudly, lightning brightening the sky in blinding flashes even as the snow continued to fall.  Slowly, Monroe turned to watch RedKnife.

RedKnife’s eyes snapped open.  Instinctually, as he’d done for the past few mornings, his mouth parted slightly and he inhaled slowly, needing to scent Cindy, to feel the taste of her scent on his tongue.  Instead, he picked up the stinging burn of astringent, the smoky musk of the Dominant, and the sweet scent of a female…but not his.  Cindy wasn’t there.

Memory came flooding back and he made to jerk up, but thick chains held him bound to the exam table.  He knew where he was from the bitter scent.  Infirmary.

Dr. Jenny Houlton stepped forward hurriedly with a worried expression.  “H-how ya feeling?”

Delicate, trembling fingers reached for him, but halted when Monroe’s voice barked out a command from across the room.  “Leave us.”

Jenny’s eyes darted over her shoulder to a corner of the room.

“Go!” Monroe commanded a second time.

RedKnife knew the reason for the command, and it was insulting.  The Dominant wasn’t sure if RedKnife would harm the female.

Jenny shot RedKnife an apologetic look, then hurried from the room.  RedKnife’s eyes shot just above his left shoulder, where he knew Monroe was standing.

The CEO was leaning casually against the pristine exam room wall, arms crossed, as he frowned at RedKnife.  “You should have brought her in.”

Enough!
  Rolling his neck, he let a series of lightning fast partial shifts overtake him.  In seconds he was free of the chains that held him.

Try as he might, Monroe couldn’t disguise the awe that flashed across his face seconds before it was masked.

“Where
is
she?”

Monroe shoved off the wall.  “Here.”

RedKnife took a menacing step toward Monroe when the exam room door opened behind him.  Unlike the other Walkers, it took no time for RedKnife to recognize scents.  It was immediate.  Without turning, he knew that King was behind him.

“If you’ve harmed her…”  He didn’t get to finish the threat before Monroe cut him off.

“She’s safe.  For now.”

The threat wasn’t even veiled, and the fact was both galling and flattering.  Monroe knew better than to lie to him, but he should have also known better than to take something that belonged to RedKnife.  RedKnife’s head dipped and his eyes narrowed on the CEO.  “You think you can keep her from me?”

Anger flashed in the arctic depths of Monroe’s eyes.  He knew that not even he had the power to stop him.  “We need answers, RedKnife.  This is about more than just her.  There are Walker lives at stake here.  Too many to chance on one expendable female.”

Expendable?
  Fuck the sentence, the one word alone had RedKnife taking another step toward Monroe before a large hand curled over his shoulder.

“Easy, brother.”  King was the only living being that RedKnife had trusted…until Cindy.

RedKnife turned to scowl over his shoulder and King released him.

“He’s right.”  King implored.  “We need answers, and she’s the only one that’s got ‘em.”

“She is
not
our enemy,” RedKnife snarled.

Monroe stepped forward.  “You’re the one that said she was here under false pretense.”  He narrowed his eyes accusatorily.  “
You’re
the one that brought her treachery to our attention!”

RedKnife’s response was immediate.  “I was wrong.”

“Well.”  Monroe dropped his eyes to flick a piece of lint off his impeccably tailored suit.  “That’s not a chance I can take.  Is it?”

“I’ll find her,” RedKnife threatened.

Monroe’s head shot up.  “And I
will
get my answers.”

RedKnife held Monroe’s challenging gaze, slowly shaking his head with a menacing sneer before he turned.  King blocked the door.

“You know I wouldn’t say he’s right, brother, if I didn’t truly believe it.”

“Move,” RedKnife growled.

“You’ve got to listen.”  King implored.  “You know he won’t stop until he gets answers from her, so
help
him get those answers.”

RedKnife’s expression darkened, and disappointment settled over him.  “You don’t think I can protect her?”

“Of course I do!  But that’ll mean taking her and running.  You don’t deserve that. 
She
doesn’t deserve that.”  King’s voice lowered.  “If she’s innocent, you do her harm by taking her.  Help her!  Prove to Monroe that you’re right.”

RedKnife’s scowl jerked to Monroe.  “How?  I can’t make him believe something he refuses to believe.”

“I believe in proof.”  Monroe smirked and made for the door.  “Get me proof.”  And then he was gone.

***

Cindy sat with her hands planted on the edge of the small cot in her cell.  Short enough for it, her feet swung, just skimming the floor as she waited.  Waited and worried.  She wondered if RedKnife was okay, and she wondered if he was thinking about her.

The sound of raised voices startled her and had her rising from the cot.  She knelt at the slot in the door and turned her head so she could hear better.  She instantly recognized RedKnife’s voice when he roared, “
WHERE IS MY ONE
!”

His one what?
  She sprang to her feet and inched away from the door to huddle in the corner, crossing her arms over herself as she slid down the wall to hug her knees.  He sounded pissed.

Seconds later, she heard the outer door open and then the door to her cell was jerked wide as if it weren’t made of heavy-ass steel.

RedKnife took one look at her, then threw back his head and roared so loud she had to cover her ears against it.  Then he was kneeling in front of her and pulling her hands into his much larger ones.

“Who harmed you?”  He demanded.

Now she understood the young Sentry’s reaction to accidentally hitting her.  “I fell.” She lied and watched his nostrils flare. 
Shit!

“Who. 
Hurt
.  You?”

She should have known better than to lie, but she genuinely didn’t want to see the young kid hurt over something as simple as an accident.  “No one.  I’m fine.  Can you…”  She peered around him, expecting to see Sentries.  “Can you get me out of here?”

Then she was in his arms as he carried her out of the cell.  No Sentries stood guard, and when they exited the second door, the entire surveillance room had emptied.  “Where is everyone?”

“Running.”  He ground out, eyes focused forward.  “And if they’re not, they fucking should be.”

They took the stairs up, and when they got to the top of the landing, Cindy’s heart stilled in her chest.

Dozens of Sentries surrounded them.  Some had weapons drawn and pointed at them.  Others just stood there, staring warily at RedKnife who snarled in response to the showing.

“Stand down!”

Cindy recognized King Mulholland as he stepped forward and barked again, “STAND THE
FUCK
DOWN!”

At first she thought he was talking to them, but when he turned to face the Sentries and they lowered their weapons, she realized he wasn’t.

Turning to face RedKnife, King looked grim.  “Brother, he won’t let you leave with her.”

RedKnife set Cindy on her feet, then used an arm to force her behind him.  “He can’t stop me.”  He eyed the group of Sentries and smiled savagely.  “
None
of you can stop me!”  Hunching his shoulders, and balling his hands into tight fists, RedKnife was prepared for battle.

“She’ll get hurt.”

King’s words dumped over him like ice water.

“Just think about what happens if you attack.”  King’s eyes turned imploring.  “I’ll try to protect her, brother, but look around you.  Are you willing to take that chance with her?”

Jerking his head to the side, RedKnife scowled over his shoulder at Cindy.  King was right.  There were too many.

“Take her back to her cell.  Let Monroe sleep on it. 
You
sleep on it.  She’ll be safe here, locked in.”

Cindy didn’t know what she expected to happen next, but it certainly wasn’t RedKnife spinning to scoop her up and carry her back to her cell.  Part of her wanted to protest, but a bigger part didn’t want him fighting the dozen or so armed Sentries on her account.

Back in her cell, RedKnife gently set her on her feet and then turned to punch the wall.  To her shock, he caved a hole in the cinder block wall.

“Jesus!” She flinched and backed into the opposite wall.  When RedKnife looked at her, his eyes were blazing in fury, but as he took in her frightened demeanor some of the fight left his expression.  “You okay?”

“Me!”  He snorted and let his head roll back.

“Look.  It’s okay.  I don’t mind being kept in here until…”

Her words died when RedKnife reached out and grabbed the door, slamming it closed with him still inside.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

He fell back against the door with a loud thud, letting his body slip down until he was sitting leaning against it.  “Protecting you.”