Taz's Valor, page 2
“Dammit, he has a job to do,” Nitro snarled, slamming his hand down on the table.
We were in the conference room at Night Star, the company I had worked with for the last five years. We were part of an underground network that worked primarily on stopping both human and shifter trafficking, and we have one of the best track records in the business, finding and saving those who have been kidnapped and sold on the black market. Taking down criminals is what we do, what we are all good at.
Demon chuckled, resting his forearms on the table as he met Nitro’s gaze. “Actually, Taz doesn’t work for you. Neither do Shadow or I. You don’t pay us. We could walk out of here anytime we want to.”
“Then why don’t you fucking go?” Nitro snarled, his palms flattening on the table as he scowled at Demon.
“If I go, my mate goes,” Demon said quietly, steel in his voice.
It was something similar to what my own mate had said when I first brought him to Night Star a few weeks ago. He didn’t seem to have that problem now, though. I hadn’t seen him in days. Fuck, I missed him, even though I would never admit that to anyone. I didn’t feel whole without him around.
“Taz had club business to handle,” Shadow interjected, before nodding to the whiteboard behind Nitro. “Now, do you want to continue this little song and dance we have going on, or do you want to start this meeting? We aren’t going to find Reed this way.”
Killian Reed. The sick son of a bitch who could be out there kidnapping another family as we spoke. A crazy bastard we’d tangled with a couple years before who had ended up getting the upper hand and killing one of our own, Risa Daniels. I would never forget her, or the look in her eyes as her life slowly seeped out of her.
Reed had gone into hiding after Risa’s death, but came back with a vengeance a few weeks ago. He was toying with us, playing a game none of us wanted to be a part of. At first it was kidnapping families and killing the ones we weren’t quick enough to find. Now, it was more than that. He’d turned the threat to our own loved ones.
My gaze went to Bastian, the huge grizzly on my team that was really a teddy bear once you got to know him. Reed had gotten to his sister’s family two weeks ago, kidnapping them and hiding them out in the middle of nowhere. If it wasn’t for my mate…
I gritted my teeth together, my hands clenched tightly into fists on my lap. No matter how hard I tried to think of Riordan ‘Taz’ Kilkenny as just Rian’s brother, in my mind and heart, he was my mate. The thought of losing him gutted me, but I had no choice except to push him away. If I didn’t, it could put everyone I cared about in danger. Killian Reed was after our families. I had to keep the bastard away from mine.
“I’m here,” a quiet voice said, and I swung my head around to drink in the sight of my mate. He stood tall, his dark hair short on the sides and slightly longer on top. His deep brown eyes were void of the warmth I was used to seeing in them, his face expressionless. He wore a black T-shirt covered by his cut with the Dark Leopards patch on it declaring him a member of the MC. He was sexy, badass, and supposed to be mine. Fuck, I wanted him.
There was one seat open in the room and it was next to me. Riordan ignored it, walking over to stand behind Rian and his club brothers. Resting his back against the wall, he crossed his arms over his thick chest. He stayed silent, not once looking in my direction, and I couldn’t push down the pain that swamped me. It was too much.
“Can we get on with this?” Jagger asked, his fingers moving over the keyboard of the laptop in front of him. “I have shit to do.”
“Are we keeping you from something, my man?” Roarke teased, leaning over to bump Jagger with his shoulder.
“Yeah,” Jagger muttered, his eyes never leaving his computer, “finding a murderer.”
“Jesus, let’s focus, people,” Nitro cut in, turning back to the whiteboard. “We need to find Reed as soon as possible. He’s gone underground, but he will resurface, and when he does, he will cause death and destruction wherever he goes. We need to find him first.”
“I think that’s in a movie somewhere,” Jagger said, his fingers still flying.
“Do you think this is a fucking game?” Nitro snapped, turning to glare at him.
For the first time since we entered the room, Jagger’s fingers paused on the keyboard. He slowly lifted his head to meet our boss’ gaze. “No, I do not think this is a fucking game. I work my fucking ass off, day and night, trying to find that son of a bitch. My fingers are bleeding by the time I leave my computer, my head full of images I will never be able to erase. But I keep pushing because even though I don’t think this is a game, Killian Reed does. It’s one he is out to win, and I for one, do not plan on letting that happen.”
“He’s out there right now,” Rian said quietly, “and I firmly believe he is trying to decide whose family he is going to go after next. He isn’t hiding. He’s stalking every last person in this room. He wants all of us to suffer. None of us or our families are safe.”
My heart clenched at the thought, my breath catching in my throat. Reed was a crazy bastard, intent on destroying all shifters. His hatred for our kind ran deep, although none of us had been able to figure out why. My mother used to say that people feared what they didn’t understand. Fear was one thing, murder was another. We couldn’t allow more lives to be lost.
“It’s time to find this son of a bitch and put him down,” Shadow growled, showing a bit of fang as he let out a deep growl.
I stayed silent while several people in the room snarled in agreement with his assessment.
“Talia, what’s your take on all of this. Where do you think we should go next?”
I stiffened when all eyes swung in my direction, not wanting to be on display at the moment. I had too many thoughts running through my mind, and I was afraid I would say something I shouldn’t. Let something slip out that could expose the secrets I’d kept hiding for years.
Before I could reply, my cell phone began to vibrate against my thigh. Not my normal cell phone. A burner I had that was changed weekly. My only connection to the two people who meant the world to me.
Slowly, I pulled it from my pocket and looked at the number on the display. Something was wrong. It wasn’t our scheduled time to talk, and when it was, I was the one who made the phone call. She never called me unless danger was near.
“I said no damn phones in this meeting,” Nitro snapped, but I ignored him. He didn’t matter right now. Nothing mattered, except the person on the other end of this line.
Answering the call, I put it to my ear as I raised my head and met Riordan’s eyes that were now narrowed on me. “Tell me.”
“Talia! I hid her just like we planned. I’m running, trying to draw them away from her, but they are going to capture me. Soon.”
“Oh God,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears as my hand began to shake. “Tiana, I’m coming for you.”
“It’s too late, Talia. Let me go. Save Tara.”
“No!” I snapped, rising from my chair so fast I shoved it back into the wall. My gaze raked around the room, my chest rising as a sob escaped. I had not fought since I was seventeen for my sister just to let some asshole take her from me. “No, Tiana! I will not let you go!”
“I’ll be okay. I’ll survive.”
By her tone, I knew it was a lie. My sister was going to die if I couldn’t find her and save her. She’d seen it in a vision. It wasn’t going to happen, dammit. I wouldn’t let it. I’d changed several of her visions in the past, and I was going to change this one, too!
“Talia, what can we do?” Rian whispered, reaching across the table toward me, her eyes full of concern.
Once again, my eyes flew around the room, landing on my friends. People I trusted with my life. Maybe it was time to trust them with those who made up the best part of that life, too. Fuck, I didn’t think I had a choice.
“Where are you, Sister? Tell me, now!”
I saw Rian’s eyes widened in shock, but I blocked it out. I had to concentrate on Tiana.
“It doesn’t matter where I am now,” she whispered.
“Tiana!” I yelled, my hand tightening on the phone. “Please, you have to let me help you.”
“She needs to let us all help her,” Nitro said gruffly. “Put her on speaker.”
My eyes went to Riordan, and I shivered at the hard glint in his dark brown gaze. He nodded once, and I caved. I needed him. I needed them all. There was no way around it, not if I wanted to save both Tiana and Tara.
Quickly hitting the speaker button, I put the phone on the table, then clutched the edge of the table in my hands. “Tiana, my team is here. Please, tell us your vision. We will find you. We will all come for you.”
“No, you must save Tara first. She is the one who matters most.”
She was right, Tara needed to be my first priority, but that didn’t mean I was going to let my sister go without a fight. “You matter, too, little sister. I will go to Tara; the others will come for you.” I hated making the decision of having to choose one over the other, but there was nothing else I could do. Tara needed me.
“I’m so sorry, Talia. I tried to keep her safe for you.”
I didn’t like the tone in my sister’s voice. It sounded as if she were saying goodbye. I couldn’t let that happen. My eyes going to Riordan again, I growled, “None of this is your fault, Tiana. Now, tell us your vision. My mate is here. He is magic on a computer and will find you wherever they take you, but to do that, you need to give him a hint on where to look.”
There was silence, and then, “You found him? Your mate?”
My chin trembled as I admitted, “Yes, Taz is here, ready to come for you.”
“Taz?” Tiana said in confusion. “But that isn’t his name. In my vision, it was something different.”
I huffed softly, shaking my head at her stubbornness. She wouldn’t give anything up if she thought there was any kind of threat out there. Just like me. Giving her the name Taz instead of Riordan had her questioning things. “His name is Riordan Kilkenny. Taz is his club name.”
“Yes, that’s it. Riordan,” Tiana said, growing quieter each time she spoke.
“They are near, aren’t they?” I whispered, knowing it was true.
“Yes.”
“Can you run?”
“No, Sister. I am almost out of time.”
“Tell me where they are taking you,” Riordan demanded, pushing away from the wall to move closer to the phone. “We will find you, Tiana. Just give me something to go off of.”
Talia could hear the sound of footsteps, and then there was a loud crash.
“They are trying to flush me out,” Tiana whispered. “When they catch me, they will hurt me. You cannot let Talia hear, Riordan. She needs to be strong for Tara.”
“I will take care of Talia,” Riordan promised. “Now, let me help you.”
Talia heard Tiana’s breath pick up over the line, and then she whispered, “And Tara.”
“And Tara.” It was a vow; one Talia could tell her mate meant.
“They will take me somewhere outside of a large city, still in Texas I believe, but that is all I know for location. A large mansion with a dungeon beneath it. They will hurt me, but not kill me right away. They want to make me suffer… and they will.”
“Do you know what it’s near?” Jagger cut in urgently. “Did you see any main focal points in your vision?”
“There was what looked like a power plant nearby. And there are some deserted warehouses in the vicinity.”
“Here kitty!” someone called out, and I heard my sister breathe in sharply.
“It’s him,” she rasped, her voice shaking.
“Who?” Nitro growled, walking around the table to stand next to Talia. “Who is it, Tiana?”
“The one who will hurt me.”
Then there was nothing as Tiana disconnected the line.
“Riordan!”
His name tore from my throat as I collapsed to the floor, terror gripping me at the thought of what my sister was going to go through. She was sweet and innocent. She spent her life giving to others, loving me and Tara, sacrificing everything for us, as she was now. She would never hurt anyone. She didn’t deserve what was about to happen to her.
I felt strong arms go around me, and then I was being lifted off the floor. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”
“They are going to kill her.”
“Not if I can help it,” Jagger ground out. “I got this, Taz. You take care of Talia.”
I knew Jagger was more than capable, but I wanted Riordan on the computer. I trusted him. The minute the thought came to mind, I felt ashamed. I trusted Jagger, too.
“Talia?” Rian said tentatively. I turned to look at her, tears blurring my vision. “I thought you didn’t have any family left?”
I looked up at Riordan, then closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his chest. “I lied.”
“I didn’t smell a lie,” Rian murmured in confusion.
“None of us did,” Shadow said, and I could hear the doubt in his voice.
“Because I used my gift,” I admitted, even more ashamed of myself.
“You used your gift on us?” Roarke ground out, and I could tell he was angry. “Seriously?”
My hand clutched Riordan’s T-shirt tightly, and I slowly nodded my head.
“But why?”
I heard the hurt in Rian’s voice, and hated that I’d put it there. Sighing, I nuzzled my head against my mate’s chest one last time before whispering, “You can put me down now, Riordan. I’m okay.”
When he complied, I collected the phone from the middle of the table and turned toward the door. “I have to go. Tara needs me.”
“But who’s Tara?”
I glanced back at the woman who had been my best friend for the past two years. The one I should have shared all of my secrets with, but instead hid them from her. She deserved an explanation. They all did. “Tiana is my sister. When we were attacked when I was seventeen and she was fifteen, and our parents and little brother were killed, we were the only ones who made it out alive. Tara…” I paused, my eyes going to Riordan. Taking a deep breath, I said, “Tara is my six-year-old daughter.” Rian gasped in surprise, but I ignored it. “I keep them both hidden because the bastards who stole the rest of my family from me are still out there. Still hunting for Tiana and me. And now, they have my sister.”
“Either they do, or Killian Reed does,” Shyla said quietly.
I froze, looking over at Shadow’s mate as fear gripped my heart. “Oh, my God.”
“I’m sorry, Talia, but I want you to go into this with your eyes wide open. We don’t know exactly who we are going up against.”
“What you need to know,” Riordan said, hooking a finger under my chin and raising my gaze to meet his, “is that we are all here for you. No more running. No more hiding. No more secrets.”
I bit my lip as I looked up at the man Fate had made just for me. A tear slipped free as I nodded in agreement. “No more.”
“Good. Now, let’s go find our daughter.”
Our daughter.
He claimed Tara so quickly. Without even seeing or talking to her. As if it was his right… and it was. As my mate, he would be Tara’s father. Her protector. It wouldn’t be only me trying to keep my small family safe anymore. I had just pulled Riordan into the hell my life was, and as much as I hated that he would be in danger now too, I was grateful that I wouldn’t be alone anymore.
My heart began to race, tears pricking the backs of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I needed to be strong for Tara and Tiana. “Yes,” I said, holding my head high, “let’s go.”
2
TAZ
I sat in the passenger side of one of Night Star’s fully equipped SUVs, Talia behind the wheel, ignoring everything except the laptop in front of me. I needed my full attention on finding Talia’s sister. I couldn’t allow my mind to wander to everything I’d just discovered about my mate; not with her sister out there somewhere in the hands of a madman. Thank God the SUV had fucking Wi-Fi. My cat was pushing me hard to find Tiana, to make our mate happy. I wanted the same thing.
“Jagger’s looking for her.”
Talia’s quiet voice reached me, but I didn’t reply. I knew Jagger was tracking Tiana, but that wasn’t going to stop me from doing everything I could on my end. Jagger was good, but I was better. That wasn’t my ego talking, it was a fact. All shifters were given an ability at birth, mine was with electronics. Not a lot of people knew, but I could do just about anything with any kind of electronic device. If anyone could find Talia’s sister, it was me.
“Thank you,” Talia whispered softly.
I paused when the scent of her tears reached me. Glancing over, I saw the tight grip she held on the steering wheel, and the tear tracks on her cheeks. Her jaw was clenched tightly, as if she were trying to hold back those tears. She was in pain. Her child was out there alone somewhere, waiting for her mother to get to her. Her sister was missing, and there was a chance she wouldn’t survive this. As strong as my mate was, she was in agony right now. My lynx clawed at my insides, trying to get to her. Wanting to comfort her.
Resting a hand on her thigh, I gave it a small squeeze. “I know you never wanted this, Talia, that you never wanted me, but I will do everything in my power to find your sister, keep Tara safe, and make you happy.” Hell, maybe she still didn’t want me, but I wasn’t going to let her push me away again. I was going to do everything in my power to get her to accept me and allow me to stay in her life.
Those damn tears kept spilling from her dark eyes, breaking my heart, but I didn’t know how else to comfort her. So, I did what I did best and went back to hunting for Tiana. It was close to an hour later that I found her, or where her captors were taking her according to the vision she’d had. I almost missed it because the power plant she mentioned had actually been shut down for several years. It was deserted and off the map. Grabbing my phone, I called Nitro.
