Unleashed (27 page)
Authors: Crystal Jordan
I love you.
The words filled his mind, but he didn't give them voice. As with everything else between them, he didn't think she'd really hear him.
The words filled his mind, but he didn't give them voice. As with everything else between them, he didn't think she'd really hear him.
He honestly wasn't sure if she ever would. Helpless pain and frustration washed over him. He tried to battle it back, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this upâputting himself out there for her and getting nothing but doubt and rejection in return.
7
T
am ignored the knowing smirk from Leland when she returned to the suite wrapped in a blanket and reeking of Breck and sex. She made a beeline for her room, showered, and put on clothes quickly. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged and went looking for Sophie. It was unusual for her not to come bouncing over to meet Tam anytime she came home. She tapped her knuckles against her sister's bedroom door. “Sophie, love, are you there?”
am ignored the knowing smirk from Leland when she returned to the suite wrapped in a blanket and reeking of Breck and sex. She made a beeline for her room, showered, and put on clothes quickly. Fifteen minutes later, she emerged and went looking for Sophie. It was unusual for her not to come bouncing over to meet Tam anytime she came home. She tapped her knuckles against her sister's bedroom door. “Sophie, love, are you there?”
Her feline hearing picked up a flurry of movements, the rapid patter of footsteps, and then a door closing.
“I'm in the wash closet taking a bath,” the little girl's voice called back. The sound of water running reached Tam. “I'll be out later.”
Pinpricks tingled down Tam's skin, and the hair rose on the back of her neck. “Are you feeling all right?”
There was no response.
She pushed her way into Sophie's room and went straight to the wash closet door. She tried the knob and found it locked. “Sophia Melissande, you open this door right this instant.”
“I don't w-want to.” Sophie's voice caught in the middle as if she suppressed a sob.
Alarm streaked through Tam. This wasn't normal behavior for her sister. Something was very wrong here. Tam jerked a pin out of her hair and was able to pick the lock in moments. What she saw when she pushed into the wash closet confirmed her fears.
Sophie stood beside the small whirlpool, her right eye puffy and swollen, already blackening. Bruises in the distinct shape of hard-gripping fingers laced across her forearms. Her lip was split and still oozing blood.
Rage unlike anything she'd ever known exploded inside of Tam. Her hands balled into fists, and her voice lowered to a guttural hiss. “Who did this to you?”
Sophie's lips pressed together, tears slipping from her dark eyes to trail down her cheeks.
“Tell me who did this.”
She shook her head, her hair flying around her pale face. “If you do something to them, they'll do bad things back to both of us. They might take you away from me.”
“No one is taking me away.” Over her dead body, which was what it might take to get out of this. “Tell me who hurt you. Was it Leland, Nichols, or your father?”
Stefan wasn't here now and hadn't been when she'd left, but Tam had been gone for several hours. Plenty of time to return and abuse a child.
“Leland. IâI was playing too loudly and made him mad. He shook me and slapped me.”
“I see.” Red hazed the corners of Tam's vision. “Stay right here, Sophie.”
“Butâ”
“Stay here.” She spun on a heel and went hunting for the son of a bitch.
Leland rounded the corner from the kitchen, a bottle of synthbrew tucked under one arm while he pried open a hardened plastin container. No one used plastin anymore, so likely whatever was in the canister was illegally made. She offered him a charming smile and he blinked. She was on him in a nanosecond, claws bared. He dropped his goodies to try and fend her off, but it was too late. The tips of her claws pressed to his jugular, and she backed him up against the wall.
“What the fuck?” His lips curled back to reveal a shark's razor-sharp teeth. “If this is about the bratâ”
“Say anything else and you die right here, right now. Call Nichols to help you and it's the last sound you'll make,” she snarled, feeling the feral side of her nature ripping free of restraint. She smiled, showing fangs. “I might just kill you anyway.”
For the very first time, she saw real fear in his eyes. A comprehension that he was seconds away from watching his life get snuffed out. Good.
“Let me make this clear to you. You touch her in
any
way and I will kill you. I don't give a damn what Stefan says you can do to my sister. This is an understanding between the two of us. Hurt her again and I
will
end you. Let Nichols hurt her and I will end you. I will rip off your balls and force you to eat them.” She dug her claws into his neck, enough to have thin trickles of blood trail down his flesh. “Then I'll slit your throat and do a happy little dance through the puddles of your blood. Is this in any way unclear to you?”
any
way and I will kill you. I don't give a damn what Stefan says you can do to my sister. This is an understanding between the two of us. Hurt her again and I
will
end you. Let Nichols hurt her and I will end you. I will rip off your balls and force you to eat them.” She dug her claws into his neck, enough to have thin trickles of blood trail down his flesh. “Then I'll slit your throat and do a happy little dance through the puddles of your blood. Is this in any way unclear to you?”
“Clear,” he gasped, his eyes rolling back as he tried to stand on tiptoes to escape her.
She just dug in harder. “This is your one warning, Leland. Take it seriously.”
“I do. I do, I swear.” His voice rose, his breathing growing rapid as beads of sweat formed at his temples.
Letting him go, she stepped back.
The breath wheezed out of his lungs. He coughed, touching his neck and coming away with crimson coating his beefy fingers. Hate flashed in his gaze. “You try to leave here and I will kill you.”
“I understand.” She backed away from him slowly, shaking with the adrenaline overload. “I'll be with my sister. Don't disturb us.”
She turned and found Nichols watching them silently from the balcony doorway, a cigartine dangling between his fingers. She lifted her chin and gave him a chilling, bared-fangs smile. Nichols blanched and glanced away as she strode toward Sophie's bedroom.
She had to get her sister away from these men. The lack of any harm to either her or her sister had lulled her into a false sense of security. If she just stayed the course, she'd get them out of this before anything bad happened. If she just did what they wanted, no one would get hurt. An illusion. One she should have been old enough not to fall prey to. Getting pulled into Stefan's web
was
the bad thing that had happened.
was
the bad thing that had happened.
Sophie hovered just inside her bedroom door, gulping back sobs. She threw herself into Tam's arms the moment she returned. “I don't want to stay here anymore.”
“I know. Neither do I.” Hot and cold tingles raced through Tam as her adrenaline crashed. She picked up her sister and walked her into the wash closet. Sitting on the edge of the whirlpool, she held the little girl while she cried, and Tam's heart broke with every sob. She'd tried to protect Sophie from this, and she'd failed. Utterly and completely failed.
Sophie hiccupped and looked up at Tam. “You promise you won't leave me alone with them again?”
“Not for a moment longer than I have to, darling. I'm going to get you away from them.”
A fat tear slid down her cheek. “Why can't we go now?”
Tam brushed her sister's hair back from her face. “Because they won't let us, and they're watching us too closely now, but I'll find a way. Just be brave for me for a little while longer.”
Dragging in a deep breath, Sophie gave her a nod. “I can be brave. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweets.”
“They're bad men, Tam.” Sophie's eyes were wide and far too mature when she looked at Tam. “One of the girls at school told me about what Father is, and about what you both do to make money.”
The bottom dropped out of Tam's stomach, chill dread prickling over her skin. “And how did this girl know anything about either of us?”
Her sister swallowed. “Her father is the minister of defense, so he knows all about people like . . . people who've committed crimes.”
People like Stefan, Leland, Nichols . . . and Tam. Hot shame washed over her, churning inside her until she wanted to sob. She'd never,
ever
wanted her sister to know about her profession. About the kind of person she really was. “I'm sorry you had to hear about that.”
ever
wanted her sister to know about her profession. About the kind of person she really was. “I'm sorry you had to hear about that.”
“Her father said she wasn't to speak to me anymore because I'm from bad stock.” Sophie's voice dropped to a whisper. “So she's not my friend anymore.”
Deus, could it get any worse? This was the very thing Tam had hoped to avoid. She didn't want Sophie to be tarred by the same brush that had smeared Tam's entire existence. She'd thought she could protect her, but she'd failed at that, too. “I'm so sorry, Sophie.”
“Father doesn't love me, does he? He doesn't want me. He never did. He's bad.” Sophie's fingers clutched Tam's. “He's making you do something bad or else he's going to hurt me. That's why we're not allowed to leave, isn't it?”
Those words shredded Tam inside, gutting her. “Yes, my darling. That's why we're not allowed to leave.”
Sophie wrapped her arms tight around Tam's waist. “I love you. You'll find a way to get us away from the bad men. I know it.”
She'd find a way to get Sophie away from them, that was for certain. She wasn't as certain about herself. Holding the small, warm body to her chest, she rocked Sophie in her lap. Blinking fast, Tam held back her tears, needing to be strong for a little girl who'd had her life ripped apart. She forced herself to give her sister a bath, washing away the blood, and then applying multiple nanopatches to the girl's cuts and bruises. By tomorrow, they'd be gone, but the psychological marks would still be there.
Through it all, a sense of finality filled Tam, a white-hot agony to cauterize a wound that would leave Tam with ugly emotional scars. No matter what, Sophie was going to be safe from Stefan forever. Even if that meant Tam had to cut ties with her sister, too. It was best for Sophie.
Tam had arranged a worst-case scenario escape for Sophie years ago, but it wasn't until today that she understood that this
was
the worst case. Just being who she was made Tam a danger to Sophie. It was a horrible thing to face, to admit, but it was the truth. In the end, Tam would end up getting her sister hurt or killed. If it wasn't Stefan who did it, then some other enemy she'd made over the years. Tam was a poison for the people she loved, and she had to save them from herself.
was
the worst case. Just being who she was made Tam a danger to Sophie. It was a horrible thing to face, to admit, but it was the truth. In the end, Tam would end up getting her sister hurt or killed. If it wasn't Stefan who did it, then some other enemy she'd made over the years. Tam was a poison for the people she loved, and she had to save them from herself.
Deus help her, she wanted to crawl out of her own skin to escape that fact, but she couldn't deny it. She tucked her sister into bed, curled up beside her, closed her eyes, and held Sophie tight, knowing it was one of the last times she'd ever have the chance.
“A birthday ball? How fun.” Delilah leaned her head against her mate's shoulder. “Hunter threw the
best
party for me on my last birthday. I loved it.”
best
party for me on my last birthday. I loved it.”
The Averys stood with Tam, Breck, and the Abernathys at the soiree at Breck's penthouse. Could Delilah have offered a better opening for them? Satisfaction curled through Breck when Lady Abernathy gave that all-important invitation.
“You must come, then. All of you. It will be the party of the century. Anyone who's anyone will be there.” Drusilla's topknot wobbled just a bit as she gestured expansively with her champagne flute. “It lasts all weekend, none of this one-day nonsense for me. I deserve more than that. If I'm turning sixty, I want to celebrate.”
“You deserve whatever you want.” Lord Abernathy's smile was indulgent. He'd enjoyed more than his fair share of the bubbly, but whatever got them in the mood to give Breck what he wanted was worth the cost.
The penthouse party had gone off without a hitchâhe couldn't have asked for better. The food was delicious, the string quartet elegant, the guests strictly prime-list. Tam had pulled everything together beautifully. He'd been surprised when she'd arrived early with her entire entourage in tow. Sophie had been charming to the first few guests, showing off her fancy dress, and then she'd entertained herself quietly in a corner with Leland and Nichols silently guarding her. Tam kept a sharp eye on her sister, and Breck understood without being told that something had happened to make Tam unwilling to leave the girl alone. He wanted to ask, but now wasn't the time.
Stefan was clearly there to watch them and make certain they got the invitation to Lady Abernathy's birthday party. He mingled with other guests, but Breck felt the older man's gaze boring into his back throughout the evening.
He set his hand on Tam's back and smiled at Drusilla. “We'd love to attend, of course. My Tam does love a party.”
“I like meeting interesting new people.” Tam gave a dimpled grin, bumping Breck with her shoulder. “Plus, it gives me the opportunity to pry this man away from his work and get him to pay attention to me.”
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