Vaulcron (Enigma Series Book 3) (5 page)

Chapter Nine

Vaulcron opened his mind to Zaureth, allowing him to see the direction Mallory took to Piney Point.

“
You are making a mistake, Vaulcron
,” Zaureth persisted. “
The human military will be there, armed with weapons. You will not make it out alive.”

Vaulcron took a patient breath. “
They do not wish me dead. But Mallory would be in danger if I do not show.”

“I will have Oz bring me to the States. Gryke and Braum will accompany us. Keep your link open to me at all times. I will need it to locate you.”

“Thank you, Zaureth. If you cannot find me, please be sure to take Amy to a safe place.”

“I will do my best.”

“We’re here,” Mallory announced, bringing Vaulcron out of his hypnotic state. “If something happens to me—”

“Nothing will happen to you,” Vaulcron growled, cutting her off.

Mallory held up a hand. “If something goes down in there, do everything you can to help my sister.”

Vaulcron opened his mouth to let her know he wouldn’t allow anything happen to either of them, but she opened her car door. “Remember what I said.”

Left with no choice but to jump out and follow her, Vaulcron hurried from the vehicle and trailed up the pristine walkway behind Mallory.

“She’s in this one,” Mallory pointed out, stopping in front of apartment B.

The door eased open, and a pistol appeared in her face. “You try anything, and your sister will pay the price.”

“I’m well aware of the consequences, Jefferies.”

The guy’s brows lifted. “You know who I am?”

“You seem surprised by that,” Mallory spat, stepping inside.

Vaulcron had to force himself not to launch his body at the guy. Instead, he stepped over the threshold as soon as Mallory cleared the door, and placed himself in front of her. “Let the females go.”

Jefferies took a cautious step back. “I can’t do that. You’re both coming with us.”

“What about my sister?” Mallory blurted, inching her way toward the couch where Amy sat, wringing her hands.

A man wearing military attire stood over her, weapon in hand.

Jefferies moved to block Mallory’s path. “Your sister will be fine, as long as you do what I tell you.”

“Amy?” Mallory called, tension evident in her voice. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Mal. I just wish I knew what was going on.”

“Nothing I can’t handle. I promise. I’ll be back soon to explain it all.”

Amy tilted her head slightly. “Who do you have with you?”

“A friend. Now please just do as they say. Be extra quiet, and they will be gone before you know it.”

“It is me that you want,” Vaulcron growled between clenched teeth. “You do not need Miss Cahill.”

Jefferies lifted the barrel of his gun to Vaulcron’s face. “You’re both coming. Now move, or I’ll shoot the blind girl.”

Mallory rested her hand on Vaulcron’s arm. “Please just do as they say.”

Vaulcron relaxed his mind as much as possible, considering the circumstances. “
Zaureth?”

“I can see them. Try to remain calm, Vaulcron. Keep our link open for as long as you can. I will follow you.”

Turning back toward the door, Vaulcron tugged a reluctant Mallory along with him. He longed to ease her mind, to tell her of his connection with Zaureth. But he couldn’t. Not yet at any rate.

“You are going to calmly get back in your car,” Jefferies murmured, following them out. “My man will stay here with your sister until we arrive at our destination.”

Mallory spun around, fear evident on her face. “Why does he have to stay here? She’s blind, for God’s sake. What do you expect her to do?”

“I don’t expect her to do anything, Miss Cahill. She’s merely insurance that you come peacefully.”

“If anything happens to her,” Mallory bit out. “I will spend the rest of my life hunting you.”

“Do you think I enjoy this?” Jefferies snarled, spinning Mallory toward the car and giving her a light shove. “In case you haven’t noticed, the world is dying before your eyes. It’s my job to stop it before it’s too late. By any means necessary. Now shut up and get in the damn car.”

Vaulcron inserted himself between Mallory and Jefferies. He guided her toward the car and helped her into the driver’s seat before circling around and easing his large frame into the passenger side.

Jefferies climbed into the back. “Let’s go.”

“Where to?” Mallory demanded, starting the engine and backing out of the drive.

“Winchester Industries.”

Vaulcron cranked his head around and met Jefferies’s gaze. “The place where Abbie and Hauke nearly died?”

“But they didn’t die,” Jefferies snapped. “Had they cooperated in the first place, you two wouldn’t be in this mess right now, and thousands of innocent people wouldn’t have had to die.”

“People are dying because the CDC screwed up and mutated the bacteria found in the Bracadytes’ barbs,” Mallory shot back. “It’s not Hauke and Abbie’s fault. It’s Raducha’s.”

Jefferies leaned forward, resting his arm on the back of Mallory’s seat. “At this point, it doesn’t really matter whose fault it is. It only matters that we stop this virus before it kills us all.”

“Save lives by taking lives?” Vaulcron narrowed his eyes at Jefferies.

Jefferies met his gaze. “They’re not going to take your life. They’re going to use it.”

A strange feeling came over Vaulcron. “Use it? How?”

“That’s between you and the president. I’m merely the messenger.”

“That does not sound good,”
Zaureth whispered through Vaulcron’s mind.
“But at least they do not plan on killing you.”

“
Yet
,” Vaulcron sent back, reaching across the seat to gently squeeze Mallory’s hand.

* * * *

Glenn Anderson watched as Amy Brighton moved around her apartment with a grace that belied her disability.

She stopped in the kitchen and took down a cup before placing it beneath her coffee machine. “Would you care for a cup, Mr…?”

Glenn had to admire her for her obvious attempt to get his name. “No, thank you. And you can call me G.”

“Very well, G. Can you tell me what’s going to happen to my sister?”

Glenn’s conscience ate at him the longer he stood there staring at Amy. He glanced away when she turned to face him, though he knew she couldn’t see him. “I honestly don’t know everything, but I can tell you that they aren’t planning on killing her.”

“Then why hold a gun on her?”

Surprised by her words, Glenn glanced down at his own weapon. “What makes you think he held a gun on your sister?”

“I’m blind, not stupid,” Amy softly whispered. “Being without sight my entire life has enhanced my other senses.”

Glenn holstered his weapon and drifted closer to the innocent girl in the kitchen.

Amy was beautiful, he thought, taking a seat at the dining table. Her golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her face was devoid of makeup. Her light blue eyes, though unseeing, sparkled with intelligence and honor.

“How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Amy appeared uncomfortable with his question. “I don’t understand why my age would matter to you.”

“Just curious is all.”

“I’m twenty-five.”

Glenn let that soak in. “And you live here alone?”

Amy moved her now full coffee cup to the counter and began spooning in sugar. “Why are you so interested in my living arrangements? You just had my sister taken to God knows where, and now you’re going to sit here and expect me to make small talk with you?”

Glenn became fascinated by the flash of anger in her light blue eyes. She had to be one of the sweetest yet sexiest women he’d ever seen. “I’m sorry, Amy. I know I seem like the bad guy to you, but I can assure you, I’m not.”

“Then what are you doing here?” she cried, staring at a place a few inches from where he sat.

“Following orders. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. Please sit down, Amy. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Chapter Ten

Mallory pulled the car into the parking lot of Winchester Industries and switched off the engine.

Jefferies exited the car and opened her door. The gun he’d had earlier was nowhere to be seen. Then again, he’d left the only weapon he really needed back at the apartment with Amy, in the form of a six-foot soldier. “Now what?”

“Both of you get out and walk slowly to the entrance. One wrong word when we get inside, and I give the order to terminate your sister.”

It took everything Mallory had not to spit in Jefferies’s face. She slowly climbed from the vehicle and nearly stumbled into Vaulcron. She hadn’t heard him get out.

He held out a hand to steady her before turning to face their adversary. “I will kill you at the first opportunity.”

“If I had a nickel for every time I heard that,” Jefferies mumbled, waving them two of them forward.

Mallory’s view of Jefferies was blocked by Vaulcron’s massive shoulders and back. She stepped in close and followed him toward the tall building of Winchester Industries.

Jefferies flashed his ID at the camera situated outside the front entrance. A click sounded, indicating the door had unlocked.

Pulling it open, Jefferies nodded for them to enter.

The guard sitting at the front desk immediately got to his feet when he saw Jefferies. “Mr. Secretary, sir.”

“How are you doing, Willie?”

“Fine, sir. Got word that the president is on his way here. He should be here in a few…” His voice trailed off when he got a look at Vaulcron.

Jefferies quickly intervened. “The Bracadyte is here by order of the president. No one else is to know unless cleared by me first. Understood?”

Willie nearly tripped over his chair trying to move back. “Yes, of course.”

“There will be a crew of soldiers coming in shortly. They know what to do and where to set up. Allow them entry and don’t question them on anything.”

Willie glanced at Vaulcron before shifting his nervous gaze back to Jefferies. “They’ll all have security clearances to the building, sir. No questions asked.”

“Thank you, Willie. Also, send Glenn Anderson up when he arrives.” Jefferies trailed off toward the elevators with Mallory and Vaulcron, in tow.

Mallory stood quietly as the elevator took them to the top floor. The doors slid open with a
ding.

“That way,” Jeffries ordered, pointing toward the end of the hall.

Mallory’s stomach flipped as they drew closer to the place Jefferies had indicated.

A massive iron door stood open, reminding her of something she’d seen once in a horror movie. “What is that?”

“It’s going to be your home for a while. Better get used to it.”

“That’s it? You brought us down here to keep us locked up in a padded room?”

“Get inside,” Jefferies demanded, nodding toward the iron door. “I’ll have some food delivered shortly."

Grinding her teeth in rage, Mallory marched into the room, comforted by the feel of Vaulcron behind her.

The door clicked shut, sealing their fate.

Mallory’s gaze traveled around the room, taking in everything from the large bed to the medical equipment situated next to it.

“What is this place?” Vaulcron turned in a half circle, his gaze moving around the room.

Mallory glanced at the bed once again. “It’s looks like some kind of a sleep study lab.”

“I am not sure what a sleep study lab is for, but the door indicates a prison.”

“Yes,” Mallory agreed. “Why have an iron door on a sleep study room?”

“I do not know.” Vaulcron strode to the bed and sat on the edge. “Come sit. I am certain we will have the answers we seek, soon enough.”

Mallory’s shoulders sagged from fatigue. She trailed over to the bed and sat next to Vaulcron. “We have to get out of here. I need to check on Amy. She must be terrified.”

Vaulcron wrapped a muscular arm around her and pulled her head down to his shoulder. He spoke in barely a whisper. “Zaureth is already on his way to your sister’s apartment.”

Mallory’s head shot up so fast she bumped his chin. “How do you know that?”

He lifted a finger to his temple. “He has been with us since we left your house tonight.”

Relief unlike any she’d ever felt before washed through Mallory in an instant. “He knows to be careful, right? I mean she’s not alone.”

Vaulcron nodded. “He is aware of the land walker and his weapons. Do not worry. Zaureth will save your sister.”

Mallory stared into Vaulcron’s guileless green eyes, comforted by the truth she saw there. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

“It is not your fault, Mallory. It is my kind the human military are after.”

“I know, but I brought you here.” She looked away for a moment before meeting his gaze once more. “I need to tell you something.”

When he only stared back at her in open curiosity, she continued. “When I was contacted by you about doing your story, I had all intentions of airing everything about you. Including your location.”

Disappointment entered his eyes, but he didn’t snap her neck. That was a good sign.

“Then why did you not give the information to Jackson? You would not be in this situation now. Neither would your sister.”

“I couldn’t,” Mallory choked out. “I…”

“You what?” he persisted.

How could she tell him that she’d felt an instant attraction for him the moment she’d met him? That something about him pulled her to him like a magnet. That her heart skipped beats when she was in his presence? “I just couldn’t do it.”

He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, tilting her face up to his. “I will not allow them to hurt you, Mallory. I will protect you with my life.”

And that was what scared her the most. She was responsible for him being in the States. If she’d just done the interview in Cuba and walked away, Vaulcron wouldn’t need to risk his life for her. “I’m so sorry.”

The door opened, admitting a frustrated-looking Jefferies carrying a tray of food. He sat it on a table near the entrance. “I suggest you eat. You’re going to be here for a while.”

“Wait,” Mallory called as he turned to leave. “What’s going to happen to us?”

A sigh escaped their captor. He pinched the bridge of his nose before stepping farther into the room. “Since we have been unsuccessful in obtaining the child born from Abbigail Sutherland, you two are going to create one for us.”

Mallory’s stomach lurched. She jumped to her feet in shock as understanding dawned. “You want to breed us? Like cattle?”

“We don’t want to, Miss Cahill. But we’re left with little choice at this point. Unless of course you want to give us the location of Doctor Sutherland’s child.”

Mallory swallowed back bile. “You can go straight to hell.”

“It didn’t have to be this way,” Jefferies muttered, freeing his pistol and aiming it at Vaulcron. “You, come with me.”

“What are you going to do to him?” Mallory grabbed hold of Vaulcron’s arm as he stood and moved in Jefferies’s direction.

Jefferies took a step forward, cocking the gun he held. “He won’t be harmed, Miss Cahill. Now, let him go.”

Vaulcron gently pulled free of her hold. “Do not worry for me. I will be fine.”

Tears of sorrow and fear welled up in her eyes. “Please don’t hurt him.”

Mallory stood paralyzed as Jefferies led Vaulcron from the room, closing the door behind him.