Darkest Ecstasy (27 page)

T
wenty seconds.

Fifteen.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two.

Time was up.

Talen hoped this would work.

Carrying the small wooden case he'd bought from a local antique mart, he stood at the prearranged meeting place, an empty, abandoned parking lot on the fringe of a small town. Inside the box was some little piece of rusty metal he'd gotten for a buck. The dealer had told him it was a part from an old steam-powered engine. He didn't care, as long as Angela didn't know what it was.

All he needed was for it to fool her long enough to get to Michelle. That was all.

As the dark car pulled up, he said a little prayer.

The vehicle stopped. The door opened. Angela stepped out. Her gaze locked on the wood box in his hands. So far, so good.

“What do you have there?” she asked, standing back slightly.

“It's the item you asked for.”

“Set the box down.”

He followed her direction.

“Open it.”

He unfastened the old latch and slowly lifted the lid.

Still standing far back, by the car, she commanded, “Take it out.”

He scooped out the old piece of junk and lifted it, as if it was the priceless relic his brothers and his father and uncles before them and countless generations before them, had committed a lifetime to protecting.

Her brows furrowed. Her lips curled. “That's it? That piece of rusty trash?” Without waiting for his response, she raised her phone and snapped a picture.

“What did you expect?” he asked as he gingerly set it back in its box. “It's a few millennia old.”

“It looks like it's steel. Was steel in use so long ago?” she asked as she poked at her phone.

“Yes, of course it was. Maybe not worldwide, but the people who created it were advanced. That's kind of the point. They created it. They knew how to use it safely. But humanity did not.”

“Hmm.” She took a step closer, and another. Just as she was taking a third step, her phone chimed. She turned her attention back to the screen.

“This is The Secret, the item my brothers and I have been protecting since our father died. Whether it's steel or something else, I couldn't say. We didn't have it analyzed. For obvious rea- sons.”

She laughed. Hard.

He didn't take that as a good sign.

“A crankshaft,” Angela said as she strolled over to him.

Oh shit.

She took the fake relic in her hands and inspected it. “How fitting. It isn't even that old.” Her expression condemning, she shook her head. “Really, did you take me for such a fool?” She let the piece of junk fall to the ground at their feet. It landed with a heavy thud.

“No. I would never take you for a fool. It was a matter of necessity.” What the hell was he going to do now? What the hell? “The truth is, I can't get what you want. My brothers have left town and have taken it with them, as they have been trained to do.”

Her jaw clenched. “Of course they have. Contact them.”

“It won't do any good. They've already changed their phone numbers.”

Her jaw clenched tighter. “Try it. Now.”

“Sure.” Putting his phone on speaker, he dialed the number he'd called only a few hours ago. An irritating tone played, followed by a familiar recording: “The phone number you have dialed is no longer in service—” He hit the button, ending the call.

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You intentionally misdialed.”

“No, I didn't. You can try it yourself.” Knowing there was nothing on his phone that could put his brothers at risk anymore, he handed it to her. He'd planned ahead, deleted everything but his brothers' initials.

Her squinty eyes narrowed even more. “Your brothers would not abandon you. They wouldn't.”

“They will if it maintains the safety of their families.”

“I don't believe you.”

He shrugged.

After studying him for several moments, she poked the phone's screen. “You've deleted their real phone numbers.”

“No.”

Her eyes were as cool and lifeless as steel. “Then I guess you've got a problem. Because if you don't get The Secret here in the next twelve hours, your precious little Michelle will be dead. And so will that beast she's carrying in her stomach.”

Beast. Who was that woman calling a beast? Who was less than human? Who?

Dammit, what the hell was he going to do now? He'd failed to protect Michelle and his child. Both Michelle and the child were innocent. Neither deserved this.

I should have let her be. It's because of my weakness that she's going to die. My failing.

He was left with only one option. But was there even a shred of humanity in that woman?

Lifting his arms in surrender, he said, “There's nothing I can do. Not in twelve hours. Not in twelve thousand. You have nothing to gain by killing her.”

“That's what you think.” Turning, she started back toward her car.

His blood turned to ice. He had to do something. Anything. “Take me instead,” he yelled to Angela's back. “Maybe if you take me into custody, my brothers will find out and come to my aid. It's the only hope you have of luring them here.”

Seeming skeptical, she considered his suggestion for a handful of heartbeats. “Well, fuck it.” Swinging her arm up, she struck him in the shoulder. Sharp pain shot through his body. His gaze snapped to the shoulder she'd hit, and he spied the needle, thrust deep into his flesh.

Black blotches obscured his vision.

He heard her speaking as he went completely blind. Felt air brushing against his skin. Something hard slamming into his body.

 

“Shit, that was one hell of a fall,” Drako whispered. He was staring into the binoculars, his body wedged between two trees. Malek was in the truck, listening to him via a wireless headset.

“I saw it. What a bitch,” Malek said.

“Okay, they're dragging him into the car. Ready?”

“Yep. The engine's running.”

“I'm coming.” As Drako sprinted toward the waiting vehicle, he unzipped his pocket and slid his hand inside. It was still in there. Smooth. Hard. His finger traced one of the edges. He wasn't sure yet what he would do with it, or how it all was going to work, but this was it. He had sensed it for some time. The moment was coming, quickly. Two enemies would face off for one final time, and nothing would be the same afterward.

When he reached the car, Malek slammed the driver's side door.

They were off. To save their brother.

To change the future.

 

“Wake up, sleepyhead.”

A voice. Female. Did he recognize it?

Maybe.

“Wake up.”

No, he didn't know that voice.

“Damn, why is it taking so long?”

Wait, he did know that voice.

Memories started trickling through Talen's mind. Slowwwwwly. They moved like thick molasses. Images. A face. A woman's face.

Her. Angela.

A parking lot.

Had they met? Oh yes. They had.

Michelle. Where was she?

Angela wanted The Secret. And he'd tried to pass off a piece of old junk as it. It hadn't worked. He remembered everything now.

“Wake up, dammit.”

Oh hell, his head hurt. Where was he?

His eyelids felt like they were glued shut. With huge effort he managed to slit them open.

“There you are. What a lightweight,” his captor sneered. “Wake up. You're no use to me napping like a kindergartner.”

He opened his mouth to speak but his throat was dry. All that came out was a painful cracking sound. He coughed.

“At least I know you can be easily subdued now.”

“Where's Michelle?” he croaked.

“Get the hell up. We have work to do.” Angela gave him a shake. “We need to find a way to communicate with your brothers.”

“There isn't any. I told you, they disconnected their phones. Just let Michelle go. She's no use to you now.”

“Wake your ass up and find a way to get your brothers here, and then I'll think about it,” Angela snapped.

It wasn't easy, but he opened his eyes fully, avoiding direct light. Every beat of his heart pounded in his skull. It felt like the bones might shatter.

Get his brothers here? Wasn't going to happen. He was going to have to think of another way to get Michelle to safety. But how? His mind was still too foggy to think.

Sitting upright, he dropped his face into his hands and curled his fingers into his hair. At the moment, he was feeling defeated, powerless, lost. What the fuck was he going to do?

“You really don't know how to reach them?”

Face still covered, he shook his head. “I told you that. More than once.”

“Fuck!” Angela left, slamming the door hard. His head felt the vibration in the air. Every fucking wave. His stomach twisted, and he almost heaved. When the nausea passed, he opened his eyes to stare down at the tile floor.

White.

His gaze slowly crept across the floor, then up a wall.

White tile.

Michelle was here somewhere. Close by. But he couldn't get to her, couldn't reassure her or protect her. They could do anything to her. Absolutely anything. And he was powerless to stop them.

This was hell. Pure and simple.

 

Someone was coming in her room. Again. Was it lunchtime? Dinnertime? Without anything to entertain her, distract her, hours dragged. Days dragged. Minutes dragged. Time had no meaning anymore.

Sleep. That was what Michelle did. As often as she could. In her dreams, she could go anywhere, with anyone. With Talen. Her mother.

Her stomach wasn't burning yet. She wasn't hungry. It seemed as if she'd just eaten lunch.

“Good afternoon,” Angela said as she flounced into the room. The door slammed shut behind her. “How's your day going?”

Michelle didn't bother answering. Angela couldn't care less how her day was going. She pushed herself upright and hung her legs over the side of the bed.

Angela sat next to her. The thin mattress sank under her weight. “Well, I have a little good news for you.”

Good news? Right. Sure.

“I'm going to let you speak with Talen,” Angela announced.

Talen?

Michelle's heart jerked. What did this mean? Was he here? Would she get to see him? Or would she talk to him on the phone? Most importantly, why did Angela want her to talk to him? This woman, as evil as she was, wouldn't let her do anything unless there was some ulterior motive. “You're going to let me call him?”

“Better than that. I'm going to let you
see
him. Face-to-face.”

See him! “Is he here?”

“He is. Not far.” Angela
click-clicked
toward the door in her little pointy-toed shoes. “Not far at all. You can go right now. This minute.”

What the hell was this woman up to? “Why are you doing this?” Michelle asked.

Angela shrugged but didn't say a word. Instead, she knocked. The lock clicked. The door swung open, and she stepped one foot through the doorway. Pivoting, she asked over her shoulder, “Are you coming?”

Michelle hesitated for a moment. Was this a trick? Would she be lured to a room and killed? That didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Nervous, but hopeful that somehow this was a sign that Angela had given up trying to use her to get what she wanted, Michelle walked through the door.

This was the first time she'd been out of her room, at least, while she was conscious. She checked out every little detail, in case she needed to describe where she was.

The corridor was narrow. White-walled. Institutional. There were no windows, no signs, and no way to see where the building was located or what kind of structure it was. She followed Angela through a series of turns. Right. Left. Another left. A right. Several more. Right, left, right. She was soon completely confused and sure she could never get herself back to her room.

The place had to be huge, with so many hallways. A hospital. It reminded her of a hospital. The old kind, where everything was tiled white.

Old. Yes, the building was old. The linoleum floors showed signs of wear. Gray grunge had collected in the corners. Occasionally, a locked metal door would interrupt their progress, and Angela would have to unlock it with a key card to pass through.

Maybe it was a jail or prison.

Finally, Angela stopped at the end of yet another corridor that looked exactly like the last ten they'd walked down. “Here you are. You have thirty minutes.” She slid her key card in the locking mechanism on the door and turned the knob. Smiling, she jerked her head. “Go ahead.”

Michelle peered into the room.

There he was. It was him. Sitting on the bed, his head tipped down, elbows on knees. He didn't look up.

Something made her approach him slowly, cautiously. Was he sick? Angry?

Finally, he raised his eyes. Then he jerked his head upright. “Michelle.”

She felt herself smiling for the first time since she'd been brought to this awful place. “Talen.” Acting on pure instinct, she dashed to him. She leapt, catching her arms around his neck when she finally made contact. His arms wrapped around her, and their bodies melded. Oh, it was magical. He was here. Really here. Holding her.

“Tell me this isn't a dream,” she whispered as she tipped her head back to look him in the eye.

“It's real.” He lowered his head, lips hovering over hers. “This isn't the time or place, but now that I have you in my arms . . .” His mouth claimed hers. Hard. His lips smashed over hers. One of his hands cupped the back of her head, holding it in place. The fingers of the other dug into the flesh of her side as her back arched over his arm.

When his tongue pushed into her mouth, she couldn't help moaning. Her bones were softening, turning to mush. Her blood was simmering, blasting through her body in huge hot waves.