Unbound, page 24
part #1 of Forbidden Bond Series
Cayden was burning, too. Her kiss was sweet and tender. It was as if she were trying to absorb the moment in case he didn’t let her kiss him again. Her honesty floored him and made him insanely jealous at the same time. She was dating and she would continue to do that for now. She wouldn’t play games with him. All her cards were out on the table. He wondered if he could be so honest if he were in her shoes. He needed to think. When she released him from the kiss, they were both breathless. She padded off to the kitchen in search of food and Cayden went back out to the hammock. After only one day with Dani, he completely understood why Chase had gone a little nuts. He also got why the human guy had been so possessive. He dozed off looking at the stars and thinking of Dani and her sweet kisses that would not belong solely to him.
Cayden woke to bright morning sunlight. He had been outside all night. It was much cooler than the day before. After a shower and a few more minutes of debating whether or not he could share Dani, he went to knock on the guest room door. Why did this idea bother him so much? He had never been in an exclusive relationship. He was the bad boy, the loner. This should be right up his alley, but the alley was feeling kinda crowded to him.
The door was open so he walked in but she wasn’t there. All her things remained. The little pink thing she was wearing the night before was on the bed. On his way to the kitchen, he ran into his mother.
“There you are. I was beginning to worry,” Koren Paris said, wrapping her loving arms around her son. Koren was a tall blond with blue eyes that were always smiling. She was such a contrast from his stoic father but they balanced each other out beautifully. Cayden was beginning to notice things like that. He noticed things he never paid attention to before, like the way his mother could totally disarm his father and have the tiger of a man purring like a kitten within moments of arriving home. He wondered if that was what love did to a person.
Kissing his mother’s cheek he asked, “Why would you be worried, Mom?”
“Your father and Dani were trying to reach you but you didn’t answer your phone. They left without you. Gage was uncomfortable about removing Dani from your care but she insisted that she go with them to search for the missing boy.” Worry lines creased Koren’s forehead.
“What? Where did they go?” Cayden was confused and his pulse was beginning to pound in his ears.
“Apparently, the boy that’s missing was reaching out for help. Like a telepathic S.O.S. He has no telepathic ability but he knew if anyone in the area were a strong enough telepath, they would hear him. He reached Dani somehow in her sleep. You do know that Christopher Stafford is missing, right? Obviously, the Stafford family is in hysterics. Dani woke your father and me before dawn saying he was reaching out for help. He is trying to lead us to him. She said she could see the room he was in and she was sure he was by the water from the smell and sounds she was picking up. That girl is really very gifted and lovely, too.” Koren shook her head in awe of the young woman.
“I know she’s perfect, Mom. Could you get to the part where they left without me?” Cayden was getting pissed. He had left his phone in the house and didn’t want to stand here lollygagging when he should be out with Dani.
“Ok, don’t snap at me like that. She was able to establish a connection with the boy and she felt like she could find him through that connection. Your father gathered the Wrath and got Dani fitted up to go with them. I followed them to the Enclave. She was very nervous, and wanted to find you, but they had to go. I suggested she try to find you with her mind like she was doing with the boy but she was afraid of losing the connection with Christopher. She still doesn’t know these gifts well enough to take the chance. If she could only reach one person at a time, she might not be able to find him again. You should have seen that sweet little girl in all black and a bulletproof vest standing in the middle of all those huge men with a pistol on her hip. She was trying so hard to be brave.”
Chase’s mind reeled. “She went on a strike with the Wrath?! I don’t believe this! I never would have allowed this to happen! When did they leave? Where were they going?” Cayden was running toward his room to get geared up and he was dragging his mother along, demanding answers. The Wrath was an elite group of warriors trained to deal with the more dangerous situations that faced his kind. If the warriors were like a cross between the police and military, the Wrath was a cross between the human Navy SEALs and a police S.W.A.T. team. They were a deadly force. Nobody wanted to have the Wrath come down on them.
“They left a couple of hours ago. Dani said they needed to head to the wharf in town. She was hoping the connection would get stronger if she got closer to him. She wanted to attempt to zero in on his position.” The house phone rang. Koren grabbed the line in Cayden’s room while he was strapping on guns and knives. “Gage, honey, I was just telling Cayden what was going on.” She stopped as Gage spoke over her. He spoke for several moments. Cayden tried to take the phone.
“Give me the phone, Mom.” His mother slapped his hand away. “Ok, I’m on the way. I know that girl has no family. I will sit with her. See you soon.” Koren hung up and ran out of the room yelling, “Let’s go, son. Your charge is in need of our comfort.”
“What happened? Is she hurt?” Cayden felt sick.
“Something went wrong. They saw the strike coming somehow. Gage made Dani stay in one of the strike vehicles, but after the Wrath entered the building, several vamps dragged the boy out a side-door and peeled off in a car. Dani hopped in the driver’s seat of the strike vehicle, pursuing the escaping car, and radioed for back up. She somehow stopped the car but there was an accident. They’re on their way back to the Enclave. Our doctor on call can treat her injuries. The Stafford boy is banged up, but fine and on his way home to his family where Doc Stevens will be waiting for him. That girl is my hero!”
Cayden and Koren reached the Enclave not long after the Wrath. He ran ahead of his mother. Passing the wrecked vehicle, he noticed the blood smeared down the driver’s side window and a small bloody handprint on the hood. He wanted to rage at the idea of her being hurt. She’d said he made her feel safe. She said he was there when she needed him and now she was hurt because he had failed on both counts. Cayden went straight to the infirmary where warriors waited for word of Dani’s condition. There must have been fifty of them lined up in the hall. They had all gotten word of her bravery and came to lend their support. They all looked up at him when he rounded the corner and Darren, who was a Wrath team leader, stepped in front of the door to the medical wing.
“Get out of my way, Darren!” Cayden growled as several other warriors grabbed him.
“No can do, Superman. Gage said to keep you out here until the warrior is patched up. He said you were too busy to care for your charge earlier, so now he will tend to her until she’s ready to be seen.” Darren loved denying Cayden the right to be with the girl. He smiled, amused, watching Cayden struggle against the warriors that were detaining him.
Coming up behind the struggle Koren stepped up, “You said a warrior is being patched up. Who else was injured?” She put a hand on Cayden’s chest, willing him to calm down.
“Only the girl was injured. She was the only one to see any action. I guess she didn’t need all of us trained soldiers. Gage said she went after the boy like he was her charge to protect. She did what she had to do at the risk of her own life to save him. He said she is as much a warrior as anyone of us. So the warrior, Danielle, is being patched up now.” Darren spoke reverently of the girl and the hall exploded with shouts of approval and agreement.
* * *
Two hours earlier…
“I can feel him, Gage. We’re close. This is it! Christopher is in this building!” Dani pointed to an abandoned warehouse by the docks.
“Are you sure? Maybe we should circle the area again.” Gage surveyed the street and surrounding buildings.
“I can’t explain it but I know he’s here and something is going on in there. He needs us now!” She was shouting and trying to get the door open while the truck was still rolling. The Wrath warrior named Garrett grabbed her around the waist and planted her back in the seat. His partner Troy rolled his eyes in annoyance and gave her a look that promised consequences should she try it again. The truck she rode in carried a standard six man Wrath team, plus her, and Gage, who drove. Two other teams followed in separate vehicles. Most of the warriors were wary of having a civilian female on a strike but Garrett and Troy seemed to have adopted Dani as a little sister. They taught her how to gear up properly in her flak jacket and thigh holster. While the rest of the teams gathered, they’d taken her into the firing range for a quick lesson. Good thing, considering she’d never even held a gun before and she still wasn’t sure she could pull the trigger on a person.
“You’re staying here, child. We’ll handle this. You stay out of sight in the truck. Do you understand? I have never lost a person in my charge and I’m not going to start today.” He telegraphed his insistence with his eyes in the rear view mirror.
“Yes, Sir.” She sagged back into the seat defeated. Dani wanted to go in. She wanted to help find Christopher not sit here like a scared little girl. All the warriors entered the building as a fierce unit that she hoped would never come looking for her. Every one of the large men was a nightmare in black. The truck sat parked on the corner at an angle that allowed her to see two sides of the building. Not thirty seconds after the team disappeared into the building, a door on the other side opened and three men emerged. Two of them were dragging a guy with his arms and legs bound; the third jumped in the driver seat and started the engine. “Shit. They’re getting away.” The car sped past her and she knew she couldn’t sit there and wait. If she lost him, they wouldn’t find him again. Dani jumped behind the wheel and forced the truck into reverse to go after Christopher. Trying to keep the wheel steady at a rate of speed she’d never think of driving on the street, Dani grabbed the communications device that was left in the truck and called Gage.
“This is Dani. Can anybody hear me?” It seemed like all nineteen voices came back at once. “Christopher was brought out a side door and they’re moving out fast in a car. I’m following them in the truck,” she said, spitting out the names of the cross streets she passed. She had to catch them before they got out of the industrial area. It would be impossible to drive like this in civilian traffic.
Gage came over the radio, “Stand down! Stand down! Do not pursue! We’re heading out!”
She ignored him, dropping the device. The bad guys were driving toward the water. She knew they would have to circle back on the only other street that came away from the water. Dani sent a fierce mental command for Christopher to brace himself for a collision and wished that she had put on a seatbelt. When the bad guys turned up ahead before they hit the water, she turned down a narrow alley between two buildings, racing for the intersection to block their escape. They hit the intersection at the same time and the getaway car plowed into the front driver’s side of Dani’s truck. She flew forward cracking her head on the windshield and banging her still aching ribs against the steering wheel.
It took her a minute to shake off the cobwebs. Two of the bad guys were trying to get Christopher out of the car, and he was fighting. The third was slumped in the front seat. She felt the blood running down her face and the knot on her head, but she had to get out of the truck. Dani put all she had into a telepathic command to “STOP!”
The abductors froze in place. Cautiously, she crept over to free Christopher from the car. Thank God, he’d been wearing a seatbelt so he wasn’t injured badly. She would never have forgiven herself if her stunt had killed him. With the men frozen on the ground and Christopher out of the car, Dani grabbed the knife holstered along with the gun Gage had given her and cut the tape from his hands and feet. They supported each other, staggering back to the truck. She was trying to back the truck out of the tangle of metal and shattered glass when another strike vehicle pulled up behind them. The Wrath jumped out with their guns drawn, ready for a fight. The last thing she remembered was leaning against Christopher in the front seat while he thanked her and tried to get a look at her injuries.
After all that, she just wanted to sleep, and the annoying constant beeping wouldn’t stop. Her head felt like she’d cracked it against a windshield. Oh yeah, she had cracked it against a windshield. Slowly she pried her eyes open to find Mrs. Paris holding her hand. Cayden’s mom ran out to the hall and called for help. The beeping that had woken her was a heart monitor. Mrs. Paris came back with a big smile and kissed Dani’s cheek.
“We have been so worried about you, honey. You’re at the Enclave, in the infirmary. You’ve been out for more than twenty-four hours.”
“Christopher?” She croaked without much sound.
“Christopher is home with his family. You saved him. He’s been waiting for you to wake up so he and his parents can come see you. We’re all very proud of you,” she praised. The room was suddenly swarming with nurses and a doctor. Koren backed away from the bed, smiling at her from the wall she leaned against.
“Cayden?” Dani croaked again.
“I’ll get him as soon as the doctor is done. He’s been waiting on pins and needles. His father has kept him away in punishment for not being there for you,” she said sadly.
“Get him now. I need him now,” Dani struggled to tell her.
“I’ll go get him and make a few phone calls. Several people have been by to see you. Griffin and Mason were here most of the night. I think Chase is still here. I’ll call Griffin and tell him you are awake.”
* * *
Chase had been driving back and forth to the Enclave for the past couple of days since Danielle woke up. He had waited for hours after she woke to be let in to see her. When he was finally admitted to her room, it was a shock to see her and Cayden together. Chase stood by and fumed for days while Cayden hung over her, holding her hand and kissing her lips, getting her drinks and running to get the food she liked when she had finally felt like eating. Griffin had been there every time Chase visited so he couldn’t very well express his annoyance. It’s wasn’t good for your future father-in-law to see you lose your mind over another girl. Chase had won a huge victory yesterday. He had convinced Griffin and Mason that the best thing to do was to go with the original plan of having Danielle stay with him. She would be close to school and would only need a warrior when she went out. His building was secure and he had a room ready for her. Griffin arranged to have a nurse look in on her for the first few days. Chase was now happily on his way to pick her up. If Cayden were coming, he would have to follow them. Her room in the infirmary was full of flowers and get-well wishes. She was alone for the first time when Chase arrived.
“Are you ready to go home, Lovely?” Chase smiled his obvious pleasure.
“I asked you not to call me that and your home is not my home. It’s your fiancée’s home though, isn’t it? How’s she taking the news that I’m staying with you?” Dani quipped.
“Don’t be like this Lovely, please.” Chase picked up her hand and looked her in the eyes because she’d avoided looking at him for days. “You know I love you. You know I meant what I said to you,” Chase demanded fiercely.
“Did you mean the part about it being just you and me with no one else between us? Because when Griffin came to see me this morning, his wife was talking about your bonding ceremony. I didn’t realize you were marrying into the Vaughn family.” She pulled her hand away. “Just stop bullshitting me. That isn’t how you treat someone you love.”
“I suppose you think Cayden loves you?” he snapped.
“I think Cayden cares for me and I know I care for him. If you’re thinking of coming between us, you can forget it. I will call your fiancée and invite her over every day if you mess with me. I can date anyone I damn well please.” Dani closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Sudden tears streaked down her face.
“I don’t want to fight with you, Chase. You know I care for you and half of my attitude is jealousy. This will be easier for me after you’re bonded and you don’t want me anymore. Please don’t ruin the happiness I might have once you’ve moved on. If you really love me don’t try to hurt me anymore than you already have.”
Chase couldn’t respond at first. This was the first time she had let him see her real feelings since she’d left his bed that fateful day. Just as he opened his mouth, Cayden ruined the moment.
“Hello, beautiful. I see you are up and all dressed.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from Chase to sit on his lap. “I have a gift for you.” He kissed her and rocked her in the chair.
Chase watched enviously, hating every brush of Cayden’s hands against her skin. Every press of his lips to hers was making him sick. He wondered if the jealousy she was fighting hurt her this badly. She knew he would love Sam after they were bonded, whether he loved her now or not.
“Alright Lovely, are you ready to go?” he broke into their moment.
“Stop calling me that,” she huffed.
“I haven’t given her my gift yet. Relax, would ya?” He eyed Chase. “You shouldn’t be stressing her out, ya know?” Cayden admonished.
“You didn’t need to get me a gift, Cay.” She blushed and nestled against his chest.
Cayden handed her a box that contained a necklace with a warrior symbol hanging from it. “These are normally pins we wear on our dress uniforms but I had it made into a charm for the most beautiful warrior in the world.” He practically gushed with pride.
