Embracing Silence (17 page)

“He told him where we were. Sandor, that is. The captain wouldn’t know where we were unless someone told him.” Mouse was talking so fast he was starting to hyperventilate.

“Take it easy, Mouse.” Adrian put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Sandor gave the captain our location?”

“Yes.”

Derrick was standing beside Adrian, awaiting orders. From the look on his face, he wanted to kill Sandor too. So did Adrian. It was simply a matter of which of the three men found him first. Silence was betting on Tienan. He didn’t have the same restrictions as the other men did, wasn’t responsible for anyone but himself. She didn’t count as a responsibility, at least not in her mind. She could take care of herself.

“We need to move and not to any of our known locations. We have to assume they’ve all been compromised.”

“Where do we go?” Derrick asked. “You can’t hide a group this large just anywhere.”

“To the southeast of the river is a group of warehouses,” Tienan offered.

“They’re not safe,” Derrick snapped.

“No, they’re not,” Tienan replied evenly. “Except for the second to last one on the end. It looks as bad as the rest but the roof and walls are sound. There are some leaks in the roof, but it will work as a temporary shelter until you can scout some new ones.”

Adrian nodded. “Do it.” Derrick glanced at Tienan but said nothing, nodding at his leader. He headed toward the group, who were mostly assembled and ready to move. He turned to Mouse. “Can you find the groups on patrol and tell them where we’re going?”

Mouse nodded. “I know where at least two of them were headed and I’ll find the others.”

“Be careful and don’t get caught.”

For the first time since he entered the building, Mouse grinned. At that moment, he looked like the teenager he was. “I won’t.” He scampered off, full of purpose.

“Why?”

She glanced up at Tienan. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

“Why would Sandor betray us?” Adrian shrugged. “Who knows. The promise of power? Money? Revenge?”

“It’s me.” She couldn’t keep silent any longer. “I think it’s my fault. It’s why he found Tienan and now betrayed this group.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. So many people could have been killed because of her.

“Why do you think it’s your fault?” Adrian’s voice was gentle. “There is nothing you can say that will convince me you betrayed any of us. Your loyalty is unquestionable.”

She knew he was responding to what she’d heard earlier today, making a point. She appreciated it, but it didn’t negate the truth. “It is my fault,” she insisted. “Sandor pursued me for several months.” Silence wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep from shivering. “He wanted sex. But mostly I think he wanted to get closer to Adrian and the way to do that was through me. He was probably following me when I went out alone, which is how he discovered Tienan.”

Tienan said nothing, but she felt the blast of emotion emanating from him as solidly as though he’d bellowed in anger. Heat poured off him in waves as he leaned down and captured her face in his hands. “Did he force you?”

She tried to shake her head but it was impossible with Tienan holding her so tight. “No. I just spent several months being very careful never to be alone with him.”

“I’ll kill the bastard,” Adrian spat.

“He’s mine.” Those two words sent a shiver down her spine. There was a wealth of promise in them. This was not a man anyone wanted as an enemy. Tienan would be ruthless and brutally efficient.

“You have a week.”

Both men stared at one another and Tienan nodded. “Fair enough.”

“I’m sorry,” she offered. “This is all my fault.” There were no words to convey how heartsick she was over this betrayal.

Tienan bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “No, it’s not,” he countered. “You’re not responsible for the actions of someone else.” A deep-seated anger flowed through his veins. He used it. Channeling it to make his senses sharper, his mind faster. He needed a safe place for Silence. She was coming with him. He wouldn’t trust her safety to anyone else.

Derrick came jogging over, a large duffle bag gripped in one hand and Tienan’s satchel in the other. He dropped them beside her. Both bags landed with a thump, raising a cloud of dust. “These are your belongings.” He turned to Adrian. “Your things are packed and waiting by the door.” With that, he was gone again.

People had already left in small groups of about ten or twelve, many carrying boxes or pushing small carts filled with supplies. Tienan knew they’d all take different routes to their new location. It was easier to avoid detection that way. It’s what he would have done in Adrian’s place. The group moved so easily and efficiently, Tienan knew this wasn’t the first time they’d had to evacuate a location quickly. Everyone knew what to do and what they were responsible for.

Adrian tugged her away from Tienan’s side and gave her a hug. “It’s not your fault. You have to go. Now. It’s only a matter of time before a huge security force is mounted to destroy this place.”

Although he knew Silence thought of Adrian as a brother, he didn’t like seeing the other man holding her. Irrational, to be sure, but the emotion was there. He resisted the urge to tear her out of the other man’s arms. Barely. Thankfully, it was over quick.

“I’ll contact you in a few days,” Tienan promised.

“Take care of her. Anything happens to her and I’ll kill you.”

Tienan expected nothing less. “If anything happens to Silence, you won’t have to worry about it.” The implication was that he’d be dead too. That was the only way he’d let any harm come to her.

Adrian nodded, turned swiftly and strode away. He didn’t even slow down as he scooped up a large knapsack and slung it over his shoulder. Then he was gone. He didn’t look back.

Silence was stiff and still beside him. “We need to go.” He grabbed both their bags, wrapped an arm around her waist and urged her toward a side door he’d seen when he’d first arrived.

She went easily, naturally quiet and careful with her steps as they left the warehouse behind them. Tienan was worried about her. She’d had so much thrown at her in the past week, from her original kidnapping to almost dying to finding out a scorned man had betrayed all of them.

He kept an eye on her as they traveled through the streets and back alleys. They hid and watched as five security patrols went by, obviously all headed toward the warehouse they’d just come from.

Silence gave a small gasp when one group passed. Tienan scanned all the faces, recognizing one. The slender man in his early twenties who he’d seen coming and going at odd times when he’d been watching the resistance camp for a sign of Silence. From her reaction, Tienan knew this had to be the betrayer—Sandor. Tienan committed the man’s face to memory.

Perhaps the General would do them the favor of killing Sandor himself. He didn’t tolerate failure and this would be one of massive proportions. Most likely, he’d send Sandor back to infiltrate the resistance camp again. As far as they knew, no one knew about Sandor’s betrayal. They had Mouse to thank for that.

Night had fallen by the time they reached a two-story brick building. Tienan scouted the perimeter security he’d set to reassure himself that no one else was in the building, nor had anyone been near it since he was last here.

He retrieved a ladder he’d hidden, hoisting it into place. It wasn’t stairs, but the next best thing. “Up you go.”

Silence stared at the ladder, seemed to gather herself and put one foot on the bottom rung. She clasped the sides and started up. One rung at a time, she climbed with him close behind her. When they’d reached the top, he pulled the ladder up behind them, setting it aside.

“You’ve been here before.” It wasn’t a question but he answered her. It was the first time she’d spoken in hours.

“Yes. I’ve got places like this all over the outer city. When the heat dies down, I’ll show you all of them.” He dumped their packs on the floor beside a rickety table and went to pull out a box of supplies. There were blankets, water, candles and food enough for at least two days.

“You’re very prepared.” It was almost an accusation. Silence stood beside the table, arms folded over her chest, chin tucked down. She’d closed herself off from him. He wasn’t having it.

He lit the candle, mostly for her. He could see easily but knew she couldn’t. He unrolled the blankets and set out the food and water. “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head, still staring at her feet.

“I am.”

Her head popped up and she looked at him, mouth wide open.

Tienan walked toward her, sliding off his battered leather jacket and tossing it over the end of the table. His shirt followed. Her eyes widened, her pupils dilating as she stared at his bare chest. She licked her lips and his cock jumped to attention. One look from her, one whiff of her sweet scent and he was painfully aroused. He knew it would always be like this for as long as he lived. Silence had been made for him.

“Come here, woman.” He pulled her into his arms, unable to tolerate the separation any longer. “Are you sorry?” Tienan couldn’t bear the thought that she regretted loving him, being with him.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, gripping him tight. “Never.” Her voice was filled with fierce longing. But more than that, it was filled with love.

“Then nothing else matters.” He captured her mouth with his. Her lips parted eagerly, her tongue twining with his.

Desire exploded. He didn’t remember moving them to the pallet or removing their clothing but they must have done so. Next thing he knew they were both naked and he was buried balls-deep in her silken sheath. Her pussy squeezed his cock tighter with each thrust.

“More,” she gasped. “Harder.”

He gave her everything she wanted and more, pounding into her until she cried out. He covered her mouth with his, capturing her cry of completion. It took two more thrusts to find his own. Hot semen flooded her slick channel as his cock jerked within her.

Tienan wrapped his arms around her waist and rolled onto his back, being careful not to dislodge himself from her heat. He wanted to stay connected to her as long as possible.

“Love you,” she whispered. Her fingers made damp circles on his chest just over his heart, which now belonged to her.

“Love you too,” he whispered. He knew she’d heard him because she gave a sigh of pleasure, snuggled closer and drifted off to sleep.

He held her like that for several hours. Finally, he knew he had to move. Sliding her to the pallet, he waited as she snuffled and rooted around before finally finding a spot she liked. Minutes later, when he was certain she was asleep, he stood, making sure the blankets were tucked around her before he dressed.

Blowing out the candle, he gathered his weapons and went to the far end of the room. There was a hole where another set of stairs used to exist. Tienan crouched and pushed off on the balls of his feet, grabbing beams and exposed brick as he climbed down. His feet hit the floor without a sound. It was time to go hunting.

It was the cold that woke Silence and told her she was alone in her bed. Tienan always kept her nice and toasty. She lay there listening to the moan of the wind as it blew through the cracks and holes in the building. It was dark, but she wasn’t afraid. Tienan wouldn’t have left her here if she wasn’t safe.

She knew where he’d gone. Silence didn’t want to think about it too deeply. Sandor deserved to die for betraying his people. He’d given them all up to the security police. There was no reason that could justify that.

Still, she didn’t want to think about what Tienan would do to him before he killed him. Tienan would interrogate the traitor, finding out how deep his betrayal went.

Shivering even more, she huddled beneath the blankets. She was hungry, but she didn’t have the energy to get up, light the candle and eat. She stayed awake for hours, staring into the darkness, finally falling asleep just before dawn.

When she woke again, she was toasty warm. Tienan’s big body was curled around hers and his strong arms held her against his chest. This was home. This was safety. This was love.

She turned in his arms until she was facing him and opened her eyes, tilting her head up so she could see his face. He was wide-awake, watching her out of bottomless green eyes.

“You went out last night.”

“You don’t need to worry about Sandor anymore.”