Therian Prisoner: 3 (Therian Heat) (17 page)

Erin gave Devon’s hand a squeeze. “I didn’t mean to scare you. There’s plenty of time to figure all this out.”

“Maybe, but tonight is just about over.” Devon pushed to her feet and rolled her shoulders. She was ready for bed, not another unwanted errand. “Call the Garrans and see if they’re willing to wait for me. I’ll go find Ian.”

* * * * *

Ian closed his eyes and poured energy into his empathic receptors. Wind whipped the curtains and stirred the air, making the small bedroom feel cool and clean. Fear and confusion pulsed from the unmade bed. Unfortunately he could sense little else. He moved closer to the window and carefully pressed his fingertips against a jagged piece of the broken glass. The faintest echo of emotion reached his mind, complex and convoluted. He could see long, silvery hair flowing in the wind and a supple female body outlined by dark clothing.

“It was definitely a woman,” he said without opening his eyes.

“The guard who watched them fly away was sure as well,” Kyle told him.

In other words, tell me something I don’t already know.

Ian opened his eyes and studied the window. The wooden frame had split with the force of the female’s arrival and broken glass still littered the floor. The cats had left everything undisturbed, likely due to Payne’s urging. On one of the lower spikes, created by the broken glass, Ian spotted a smear of blood. He touched the dark red mark with his fingertip, careful not to wipe away the entire smear.

Raising his hand to his mouth, he pressed his finger against his tongue. The drop was hardly enough to taste, but the faint signals he received were telling. He looked at Payne and said, “She’s not a raptor. This is something far more dangerous.”

Tension accented the sharp angles in Payne’s features and made his golden eyes shimmer. “I know what you’re implying and it can’t be. I watched the life fade from her eyes. I was not mistaken.”

Twice in Ian’s past he’d been confronted by enemies he’d believed dead, so he was not so easily convinced. Still, rather than arguing with his friend, he turned from the window and said, “We often wondered if she had reproduced. Perhaps we have our answer.”

“Who are you talking about?” Kyle looked at Payne then back at Ian. “If this wasn’t a raptor, then what was she?”

Before Ian could decide how much of what Payne had suffered needed to be shared, Payne began, “I encountered a female named Zophia in the old country. I thought she was a Therian raptor. She could manifest wings like Ian. But she was…something else. Something truly evil.”

“Zophia vowed to destroy you,” Ian reminded Payne. “There is no way she would have waited this long to lash out at you again.”

“I agree, which brings us back to her daughter or another creature fathered by the same demon who spawned Zophia.”

“Demon? You mean that in the literal sense?” Kyle sounded as skeptical as he looked.

Ian laughed. “The Abolitionists consider us demons. Why do you sound surprised?”

“I’m not surprised, just confused. What would a demon want with Carly Ides?”

“That is the question,” Payne agreed. “Who, or what, took her is less important than why. If we can uncover a motivation, our chances of locating the doctor increase.”

“The most obvious conclusion is that she’s working for the backers.” Ian motioned them out of the blustery room. “I’ve learned all I can here. Tell Holt he’s free to repair the damage.”

“I’ll take care of it. Holt’s out searching with Landon.” Kyle closed the door so the wind didn’t cool the rest of the house. They descended the stairs and sat down around the kitchen table. “Even if she is working with the backers, how would she have learned the location of our safe house? There is nothing tying this property to the rebels.”

“Maybe not, but Holt is Therian,” Ian pointed out. “That might have been enough of a clue for her to check it out.”

“And if she approached from the air, who knows how many windows she looked in before she found what she was looking for.” Payne was starting to sound bored which likely meant his mind had drifted on ahead. They were both men of action. Analyzing possibilities and conjecture were better left to those with calmer dispositions.

“Has Osric been found?” The prospect of interrogating the traitor filled Ian with dark purpose. There was nothing he hated more than anyone amoral enough to betray his own people. “The backers might have gained information about us from the useless bastard, but we could learn about them from him as well.”

Kyle shrugged. “What could he tell us that we haven’t already learned from Carly? She was remarkably helpful.”

“Which means you should trust a small fraction of what she told you,” Ian persisted.

“I’m not a fool, Ian. We knew there was a motive behind everything she revealed, but one of her ‘useless’ revelations led you and Payne to Devon.”

After a tense pause, Ian asked, “Is what Devon told me true?” He’d seen too many people destroyed by rumors and gossip. The fastest way to defuse such situations was to go right to the source. “Did you accept a contract from Lokesh?”

“I didn’t
accept
anything.” Frustration and pain made Kyle’s tone brittle. This was obviously not the first time he’d defended his actions. “Lokesh approached me with a proposition. I presented the offer to Devon and she flipped out. There was no way I could have known she’d be kidnapped as a result of the fight.”

“We were ready to go to war when Osric started brokering similar ‘propositions’. Why was Devon’s future less important than—”

“Oh for gods’ sake!” Kyle stood so fast his chair toppled over. “I screwed up! All right? How many times do I have to say it? An alliance with Lokesh would have strengthened the rebel position within my network. Devon wasn’t the only one who’d just lost their father. I was overwhelmed and I saw the advantages of taking the easy way out. Unlike Osric, I would not have forced anything on anyone.”

The basement door swung open, preempting their conversation. Devon stepped into view, a hesitant smile curving her lips. “Any luck?” She shifted her gaze between Ian and Payne, but Kyle might as well have been invisible.

“Nothing substantial,” Ian admitted. “The intruder entered and exited through a broken window upstairs, basically a clean getaway.”

Rather than join them at the table, Devon loitered near the basement door. It was obvious she didn’t want to spend a lot of time in the same room as her brother. “I’m still not clear on why we need to find her. If she gave you useful information, great. But Carly Ides is a chameleon. She’ll become whatever the situation requires and the situation just changed considerably. What loyalty she pretended to have for us is long gone now.”

“Why would the backers go to the trouble of rescuing someone they couldn’t trust?” Kyle argued. “I think you’re underestimating her importance.”

“Unless this was damage control. They could have snatched her to stem the flow of information.” Payne’s gaze hadn’t budged from Devon since she entered the room. Her hair was windblown and faint purple smudges beneath her eyes revealed her fatigue. She certainly wasn’t at her best, so what the hell did he find so fascinating?

“As far as I’m concerned, they can have her.” Devon finger-combed her hair back from her face, still not looking at her brother. “They obviously know our location. Not that it was ever much of a secret. So what risk does she pose to us?” Apparently she’d noticed Payne’s interest because she moved closer to Ian.

Keep staring, Simba, and I’ll knock you through the wall.
Ian allowed Therian light to flicker in his eyes, accenting the semi-playful threat.

Payne grinned at him, finally moving his gaze away from Devon.
She looks different. Less damsel-in-distress and more well-tumbled wench.

She’s my well-tumbled wench, so back off!

I would never poach and you know it.
Payne shot him an impatient look.

“Do you want us to come back when you’ve finished telling secrets?” Kyle looked to Devon for reinforcement, but she was still ignoring him.

“I’ll check around outside.” Ian returned his attention to the verbal conversation. “But I doubt there’s anything to find.”

“I’ll fill Eli in on what we’ve learned and see if he can dig up an identity.” Payne sighed, clearly frustrated by the dead end. “A physical disruption would be damn helpful right about now.”

“I picked up an image in the bedroom. I’m not sure what I was seeing, but it’s better than nothing. The woman I saw was in her late twenties or early thirties with long silver-blonde hair.”

“And wings?” Payne shook his head as he pushed back from the table. “The woman you just described is a ghost.”

“Or she’s the daughter of your ghost,” Ian stood as well and reached for Devon’s hand. “If you have any other ideas, I’m happy to listen.”

Payne just shook his head.

“Devon, can I—”

“Not now,” she cut off Kyle with an upraised hand. “I’m tired and grumpy and I’d only continue our fight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Kyle didn’t look pleased with her brush-off, but he said nothing more.

Ian led her from the kitchen and out the back door. As he’d feared, the ground below the broken window was basically undisturbed. He spotted a few pieces of glass, but he couldn’t sense anything helpful.

Devon walked along at his side, quiet and sullen. He didn’t need his empathic receptors to tell him she was upset. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk this out with Kyle? It would be nice to have it behind you once and for all.”

“I’m sure.”

He understood her resentment. Her brother had seemed ready to forgo her happiness for the sake of gaining more power. She’d seen females bartered again and again while her father was in control and she’d expected more from her brother.

But Kyle’s explanation made sense too. It was every Prime’s responsibility to keep their network strong. Powerful alliances were extremely important and it would have been foolish for Kyle to disregard Lokesh’s offer without even asking Devon if she’d consider the match.

Regardless of his protective impulses, the conflict was between Devon and Kyle. Ian would offer his opinion when asked, but he knew better than meddling in family affairs. She’d told Kyle she’d speak with him tomorrow, so Ian decided to leave well enough alone.

Once Ian confirmed that there was nothing of use in the yard or on the exterior of the house, he took Devon back down the stairs and into the basement of Holt’s house. It was one of five connected by a network of underground tunnels. The sanctuary complex served as a sort of hub from which the other buildings branched out. From the high-security area Eli supervised the compound guards and monitored the surveillance cameras. The Historian’s vault, several large storerooms and a series of bunkers completed the labyrinth. The bunkers had been constructed during the height of the Cold War, but they’d been far more useful as hideouts for overzealous rebels than protection from radioactive fallout.

They reached a fork in the tunnel and Devon turned right, heading for the sanctuary rather than Erin’s house. Was she still angry with her mother too? “How’d things go with your mother?”

Sleeping with Devon had been the last thing Ian intended when he took her to his cabin. He didn’t regret the intimacies they’d shared, but the surrounding conflict made him uncomfortable. The Lashtons were the closest thing to a family that he’d had in a very long time and he didn’t want anything to ruin the closeness they shared. His commitment to the Historians made it imperative that he carefully balance his priorities.

“Mom was frighteningly civil. I expected her to rant and rave for weeks before she accepted us.”

He could easily picture Erin “ranting and raving”. Devon’s fiery spirit came directly from her mother. “I suspect she’s saving the bulk of her bluster for me.”

“Undoubtedly.” A smile flirted with Devon’s lips before she added, “She’s not there yet, but she’s a whole lot further along than I’d expected after only one conversation.”

“We should probably talk about this ‘us’ thing.” She shot him a sidelong glance filled with conflict and…hunger? Perhaps he wasn’t the only one aching for more of what they’d shared on the mountaintop. “I’m way too old for a girlfriend and—”

She shook her head and hurried her steps. “Don’t jinx this with a label. Our link allows us to feel what this is and we’re the only ones that matter.”

Not wanting to argue, he let the subject slide. She was right. They had access to each other’s emotions. Unfortunately, despite that link, she was still incredibly guarded and unsure. Her reticence was understandable, but the predator in him wanted to hold her down and overwhelm her senses until she understood their rich potential. He wanted her so drunk on pleasure that she could think of nothing but him. Of course, the world was too evolved for such attitudes. Even within the Therian community men were expected to be civilized.

He cleared his throat and forced his mind away from all the uncivilized things he wanted to do to her. “I can’t say I’m disappointed by Erin’s reaction. The last thing any of us need right now is more conflict.”

She shook her head and sighed. “Meaning I need to give Kyle a break?”

“I didn’t say that. This is between you and Kyle. However, the longer it drags on the harder it will be to resolve.” Ian waved at the guard as they passed the security station. A nested metal staircase led from the tunnels to the center of the sanctuary and Ian followed Devon up. “Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.”