Meadow's Keep (The Gatekeepers Series) (37 page)

Jasmine put her arms around herself, pushing off the cold
fear trying to take hold. When Eryk pulled her into his arms, she didn’t resist but took comfort in his strength and closeness. She felt his energy flow through her and back to him. It warmed and comforted. She stepped away when it began to change to something more sensual.

“Now that we
’re connected, I can sense your feelings. You sure you’re all right?” His voice was soft and soothing.

“Just letting my mind go places it shouldn’t.” She tried to smile up at him.

“You do understand that, given what you’ve been through, you have every right to be wary of what’s going on. Why don’t I call Bask and go on my own, or get someone else?”

Jasmine stiffened. “No. One—we don’t have time. Lily’s life is in danger. I can promise you that. I’m not letting anything happen to her if I can help it. And, two—whatever I’m dealing with I’ll just deal with. Later, if I have to, I
’ll have Dr. Browne help me sort it out. One thing I learned from her is not to be afraid to accept help.”

“You also have me,” Eryk said
and, rubbing his hands up her arms, he kissed her on the forehead.

“I know.” In her mind she added
for better or worse
, then chastised herself for the sarcasm and instantly wondered if he’d read her mind. A slight flush warmed her face. Damn, she’d blushed more around him than she had in her entire life.

“I like the glow that gives your cheeks,” he said
, a twinkle in his eye.

Had he read her mind?

Jasmine figured they’d have plenty of time to figure things out once Lily was safe and sound.

Surprised she hadn’t heard from Bask, she pulled out the phone. It chirped in her hand. “I was just going to call you.
” She told him what they’d found. She had a mental image of Bask brushing it off, deeming his more significant.

“I
SP was a good idea. She made several searches for ‘getaway’ locations. I’m betting on the one she went to several times. It’s not too far from the first place you were. I’ve downloaded the coordinates into your GPS. John Davis is on his way now. He’ll meet you there.”

Knowing John was going to meet them made Jasmine feel better. Although he was a descendant
from the Native American side, he didn’t seem to have “traits,” as far as she knew. However, he was in charge of Ruthorford’s security and now had a license in Virginia, since becoming affiliated with Safe Harbor. Abbott House was very careful to keep law enforcement connections current wherever they needed to be.

“Eryk had a vision of the vehicle Morna might be driving. Here. Talk to Eryk. I’ll go get our stuff together so we can leave.” She hand
ed the phone to Eryk and headed upstairs.

After throwing her few things back into her bag, and careful not to touch anything, she took a last look around
, and went to put together Eryk’s bag. It was sitting at the foot of the bed, packed and closed. She smiled. He was definitely going to be the neater of the two of them in this relationship. Allowing only a moment to let the long term implications settle in her mind again, she looked around and, grabbing the bags, headed downstairs.

Eryk was leaning with his back against the island. “Thanks. I appreciate it. We’ll get back to you.”
He saw her holding the bags. “I’ll trade you. You take the phone and the two coffees I nuked from this morning, and I’ll take the bags. Oh, and grab that box of Nilla Wafers. I’m hungry. I figure those are probably the safest thing we can eat at this point.”

Jasmine was dying to know what he was thanking Bask for but didn’t
want to sound that snoopy. It was probably something to do with his business. She stuffed the box of cookies under her arm, grabbed her purse and the two coffees and followed Eryk out to the vehicle.

She heard a loud screech
and watched as a large bird circled above.
Please, not now.
When her vision didn’t shift, she sent of a whisper of thanks and joined Eryk in the vehicle.

They’d gone a good twenty miles when Eryk glanced over at her. “Penny for your thoughts.”

“You mean you can’t read them. Dorian and Morgan can read each other.”

“Do you want me to try?”

“Not particularly.” She looked out the window.

“Okay…for now…I’ll stay out of your head and you stay out of mine.”

“I don’t think I can get into your head.” Jasmine pushed down the urge to try. “I can sense some things when we’re touching….”

“…hmmm…,” he mumbled, then added, “So, what were you looking so pensive about?”

“I was thinking about Lily. I don’t know what shape her father is in or what’s wrong with him. I don’t feel comfortable sending her back to the stepmother, even if the stepsister is out of the picture. She’s still underage, so the authorities could get involved…”

“Bask is working on it.” Eryk said simply.

Jasmine smiled. That must have been what he was talking to the old man about. “Thanks.”

“
Don’t thank me yet. I don’t know what he can do, if anything. I don’t know if she can stay at Safe Harbor. I hope Bask can have something worked out by the time we get her back. I mentioned Brandy to Bask. Maybe she could stay with her.”

Eryk’s phone rang. “Hi
, John. We’re about thirty minutes out.” He listened for a few moments. “We’ll figure something out when we get there.” He laid the phone on the console.

“It’s a secure compound. John’s about a mile away at a diner. We’ll meet him there.”

****

John rose from the back booth as they walked into the long diner. Jasmine couldn’t help but smile a
t the gorgeous man that had been her friend for as long as she could remember. His warm brown eyes twinkled as he pulled her up off the ground in a bear hug. “You are lookin’ good.”

Once again, Jasmine felt her cheeks tinge. This blushing thing was definitely becoming a
nuisance. John looked over Jasmine’s head at Eryk. “You better take damn good care of her or you’ll have me to answer to.”

“John…,” Jasmine moaned.

“What? It’s Ruthorford. You’re descendants. ‘Nuf said.”

Jasmine looked at the floor and rubbed her fingers over her brows before she slipped into the booth. Eryk slipped in next to her. As his leg settled against her
s, she felt the rush of longing and, as inconspicuously as possible, put her hand down and pushed his leg away. He shifted slightly, giving her a few inches between them. Not nearly enough.

“Think we can eat while we plan
?” Eryk reached across Jasmine and pulled out a menu.

“You ate almost the entire box of cookies.”

“Meat, woman. I need meat.”

John just shook his head and laughed
.

They ordered burgers and fries all around and coffee. As much as Jasmine longed for
something other than coffee, she remembered Teresa’s suggestion and kept her mouth shut. The edge was off, as long as they didn’t touch. However, there was still this rumbling she felt inside, as well as this desire to lick his body from one end to the other. Jasmine grabbed the coffee the waitress had set in front of her and downed it, scalding her tongue. She followed with ice water and asked for more coffee.

“Sure, honey,”
the waitress said, “but you look pretty edgy as it is.”

Eryk choked on
his coffee.

Jasmine closed her eyes and took a deep breath before forcing herself to be polite and smile at the waitress.

John waved his hand over a map of the compound he laid before them. “It’s as secure as Safe Harbor. I’m not sure how we’re going to get in. I have Bask working on it.”

“Does
n’t he delegate?” Eryk asked. Bask seemed to have his hand in everything and he’d swear he was handling it all personally.

“Oh, yeah. He has legions of little Bask
ettes running around.” John laughed.

“
Good, cause I can’t figure out when or if the man sleeps.”

John
stopped laughing and turned serious eyes to Eryk. “Bask
is
Abbott House which
is
Ruthorford. I can’t remember him not being in charge. And he does a damn good job.”

Eryk nodded. There was so much he didn’t know about the place and the people he was
suddenly a part of. He’d figure it out. He looked over at Jasmine, who was attacking her cheeseburger like she hadn’t eaten in weeks and felt a sudden surge of protectiveness. She, too, had become a part of him and God help anyone who tried to hurt her.

John answered his phone. He listened for a moment. “I’m sure that will work. It has to.”
He hung up and turned his attention to the couple across from him. “You two just eloped. Eryk, being famous, wanted his honeymoon to be private. Bask made reservations for you to arrive in about an hour. I’m the bodyguard who’s going make sure it stays private. Apparently, the compound is set up with individual residences, set away from one another. He took one as far in the back as possible. They said they had one other residence a little more secluded but it’s currently occupied.” He ate a French fry. “I’ll bet my lunch that’s Morna’s. I don’t have any idea where the two places are in relation to one another.”

“Here’s the deal,” John
continued. “I’ll lead the way in. You follow me to check-in but I’ll do the checking in. The less they see of you the better. I’ve got Eryk’s business card. Let’s get this show on the road.”

They waited in the car while John checked them in. He walked over and hand
ed them a key card. Apparently, this place has a small cabin behind it for
the help
,” he laughed. “I guess that’s me. Bask went out of his way to make our story plausible. Gotta love a detail man.”

The compound was gorgeous. Trails
meandered off from the small road that wound around through large trees. A small post with a number indicated their drive. Their building was not visible from the road. They pulled in front of a large log building set among a stand of trees. As Jasmine stepped out of the car, she could smell pine and the faint odor of a fireplace being used somewhere in the distance. They stepped inside to a cozy great room with a large fireplace to the right and a kitchen and dining area on the left. Straight back a hallway led to the bedrooms and a cut-log stairway led up to a loft/library. She walked back down the hall. “I’ll take the room under the steps. You two can decide which of the other two you want.”

“You
sure you don’t want me to take the cabin and give you
honeymooners
some privacy?” John teased.

J
asmine glared at him before slamming the bedroom door. Her head was still pounding and her nerves were taut. She dropped onto the bed and put an arm over her eyes, trying to shield out thoughts of Lily being tortured. She felt like she was transferring what had happened to her, but she couldn’t be certain, and that was scaring her to death.

Someone knocked lightly on her door.

“Go away.”

The door cracked. Eryk stepped over to the bed. “You forget that I can feel you.”

She pulled her arm down and glared at him.

“I’m not reading your damn thoughts but I feel the pain and uncertainty coursing through your body.”
He sat down on the edge of the bed.

Like it was the most natural action in the world, Jasmine rolled to her side
and curled her body around his, seeking comfort.

Eryk ran his hands through her soft black hair. He was always amazed at the feel of it. Like ebony mink.
He moved his hand down to her back, sent a soothing push, and felt her inhale.

“Why don’t you rest?” It was more than just a vocal suggestion; it was a command, low and
compelling. He followed it with, “John’s driving around to see if he can find out anything. I promise I’ll wake you when he returns.” He felt her head shift as she nodded and he started to rise from the bed.

Her hand touched his leg. “Thank you.” Her voi
ce came in a soft whisper, slurred slightly by the lull of sleep.

He patted her hand and eased it back onto the bed. For an instant
, he stood above her, looking down and he felt his heart swell with emotion. Worried that she would sense him, he pushed away the feeling and walked out of the room, pulling the door shut.

As sleep overtook her, Jasmine’s lips curved in a slight smile. She had felt the
swelling of emotion and liked it. She liked it very much.

Chapter
Sixteen

Jasmine walked into the
great room as the sun sank low in the sky. She felt rested, albeit a bit rumpled, but at least the headache had lifted. Eryk and John were sitting at the dining table sipping coffee.

“Want a cup?”
John asked.

She nodded yes, although
, she doubted, when this was over, that she’d ever want it again. She took a seat at the end of the table and John placed the cup in front of her. Her stomach constricted at the strong smell. “Any chance we have some milk and sugar?”

John turned and pulled some cream out of the refrigerator and set a spoon in front of her. Eryk eased
the sugar bowl in her direction with a smile. “Later, we’ll try tea.”

As she slowly stirred the sugar into the light
ened brew, John filled her in. “They have cameras around the entrances of all the residences. Moreover, they have their own security cruising the area. Twice I had to explain that I was doing the same thing as your private bodyguard. They didn’t like it.”

“Do you think we could go on foot?”

“I don’t see any choice, but be advised, this is one large complex.”

She took a sip
of the sweetened coffee and found she liked it. A faint sound caught her attention. She rose as she set the cup down, almost spilling its contents. “I just might have a solution.” Jasmine moved to the side door and opened it. The screech sounded again.
Could it be?
She stepped onto the deck that wrapped around the cabin and looked toward the sky. Her view diminished by the foliage and the darkening sky, she could, just barely, make out the shape of a large bird circling above. She could feel its heart fluttering in its chest and she held out her arm.

“Are you crazy?” Eryk rushed forward to pull down her arm.

“Stay back. I mean it,” she ordered.

He stepped back. Either she knew what she was doing or she’d be torn to shreds. John joined him and placed his hand on Eryk’s shoulder. “
We have our legends. I think I’m about to see one come to life,” he said in a low voice, barely audible.

As they watched, a flutter of massive wings
beat the air and a large falcon took its place on her arm. Talking softly to the bird, she eased it onto the railing of the deck. Very slowly, she ran her fingers down the soft feathers of the falcon’s breast. When she spoke, it was soft, “This is Bryn. We met at the fair.” She switched back to the bird, her voice quiet and melodic, “What are you doing here? Aren’t you far from home?”

The bird proceeded to clean its beak on the wooden rail, acting as if it were totally at home with the three humans on the deck. Jasmine glanced around and, seeing a chair
nearby, stepped over to it, sitting down. “Now let’s see if Bryn will give us a hand.” She closed her eyes. The bird stopped, took a few slow blinks, turned, and took flight.

Jasmine gripped the arms of the chair, fighting off the dizziness.
They rushed through the trees to open water.

“It seems we but
t up to a lake of some sort.” Her voice was jerky, her breathing shallow and quick.

The bird circled higher and Jasmine
tried to acclimate to the movement. Remembering the experience at the hotel, she moved her eyes to the left. The urge to open her eyes to look was immense, but when she tried, the vision doubled and became blurry. She kept her eyes closed. They flew past several cabins, set further back in the woods. Although she could barely see them, they all appeared to have a lot of windows facing the water. She tried to urge the bird closer. At that moment, they flew past a two-story building sitting right on the lake. She could see movement inside. As she urged the bird to circle higher, she spotted a vehicle on the other side of the cabin that looked just like the one in Eryk’s vision. “I think I’ve got something,” she whispered, afraid her voice would break the connection.

The bird circled up and over the water, too high to look in the windows.
However, she could see light and movement. Suddenly, the bird focused on something moving on the ground and circled closer. Not wanting to be part of the bird’s dining rituals, she opened her eyes and broke the link. Almost in protest, a loud screech came from the sky.

“Another time, Bryn. Another time.”

Jasmine would have leapt from the chair, except her equilibrium was off. Instead, she leaned forward and hung her head between her knees, letting the nausea pass. She felt Eryk’s hand on the back of her neck and the nausea was gone. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. “Thanks,” she said before sitting up.

It was a few more seconds before she turned to her
companions. “It’s not much but it’s more than we had a few moments ago. I think I saw the silver SUV in front of one of the cabins. She jumped up and leapt off the deck, racing through the trees in the dark. Eryk grabbed her hand and her surroundings brightened.

“
You are becoming convenient to have around,” she said with a chuckle.

“Hey, guys. I can’t see in the dark.”

Eryk smiled at her and they stopped, waiting for John to catch up.

“Besides, I have the gun
,” he added.

Eryk and Jasmine held up their unlinked hands and sparks jumped from the fingertip.

John shook his head. “Oh, yeah. I forgot. I’m with the human Taser team.”

Eryk laughed and slapped John on the back.
“Don’t worry. I have a feeling you’ll come in handy yet.”

Jasmine link
ed hands with both men and they made their way through the trees, finally stepping into the clearing along the lake bank. There was about a three-foot drop to the water. Jasmine wondered why she thought they’d be walking down a beach. She looked to her right. Because there was a beach, four houses down. “That’s it, she said, pointing.”

“That’s quite a ways from here.
We have to get past at least three places. We can’t go by way of the road. Too much security. The moon’s too bright to take a boat—even if we had one. Looks like we’re on foot,” John commented.

The three started walking along the river’s edge until they came to a small clearing
that ran from the next house down to the water.

John spoke in a whisper.
“We might want to turn off the phones.”

“Good thinking,” Eryk pulled his out and hit the button.

“Last thing I want is Bask calling to check on us and waking the neighborhood.” Jasmine switched hers off as well.

“Yeah, he does have
some impressive timing…,” Eryk said, laughter in his tone.

There were no lights on in the cabin next to theirs, but they crossed the yard one at a time
to play it safe. The moment Eryk let go of Jasmine’s hand, the world darkened. Damn, she liked having his night vision. John went first, then Jasmine, then Eryk.

As they got to the third lawn, Jasmine grabbed Eryk’s arm. “Why don’t you just use that invisible thing?”

“What invisible thing?” They had John’s attention now. “You two are getting more interesting by the moment.”

“It’s not an invisible
anything. My energy can shift light energy.” He said in a hushed whisper, then turned to Jasmine. “Operative word—light. We don’t have enough.”

“Oh,” she replied and shrugged her shoulders.

“Shhhh,” Eryk hissed and put his finger to his lips. When he spoke it was very soft, barely audible. “I think I hear an animal approaching.”

Jasmine turned to John.
“Looks like you’re up.”

“What?” Eryk asked.

“Shhh.” Jasmine repeated his gesture and pointed to John stepping away from them into the trees.

Eryk tuned his hearing toward John. He listened
as the animal moved through the brush and John moved to intercept it. He heard what sounded like a cooing sound, but with a deep resonance to it, then the shuffle of feet as the animal moved off.

Jasmine said in a voice she knew Eryk would hear but was barely audible, even to herself. “He’s sort of an animal whisperer.”

John stepped back up. “Guard dog. They have several running at night. Shouldn’t be a problem.” He led them out into the clearing and crossed it.

Eryk was amazed at how quietly a man of
John’s size moved. He motioned them to stay behind him as he went on ahead. When they joined him on the other side, Jasmine spoke. “Next house is it. Do we have a plan?”

“We’ll play it by ear
,” John said. “First, we locate Lily and assess the situation. How many people. Weapons—type and number. They we’ll move back here and see what we want to do. Eryk, since you have the most acute vision and hearing, you go first. Jasmine and I will check the perimeter from here.”

Eryk moved off without another word.
Between the tension pouring off Jasmine and John and the energy from Jasmine bombarding his senses, he was glad to step away from them for a few moments. He listened. He could hear John and Jasmine moving down the property line toward the front. He stepped closer to the house, behind a small group of trees in the back. It gave him a good view of the windows. Light shone from the downstairs. Someone was moving around in the kitchen, mumbling.

“Why do I have to do all the work? If she’
d gotten rid of her like I told her to do at the lake last summer, we wouldn’t be having these problems. But, nooooo, she lost her nerve. Shit. Do I have to do everything for her?”

The rest became garbled. It was a woman’s voice and
it sounded edgy and tight, like a violin string pulled too taut. It had to be Morna and she was obviously planning to dispose of someone. His guess would be Lily.

She came into view, crossing the
room with a tray. He watched her as she mounted the stairs. Blinking he looked at the aura. Pitted and jagged there was a lot of red in deep purple. He blinked again watched as she crossed the loft, stopping to open the door. That’s where Lily had to be. He listened again. She’d left the door open so he faintly heard her speaking.

“I’ve brought you some dinner, little sister. If you’ll behave, I’ll take off the
tape and feed you.”
The voice got harsher.
“Don’t try to fool me, you little bitch. I know you’re not asleep.”
He heard a moan and a muffled scream.
“You made me spill it. Now I have to make some more. Don’t go anywhere.”
The last was singsong.

He watched her rush down the steps and cross back into the kitchen. They needed to get to Lily now.
He ran back to the side and met John and Jasmine.

“No other cars.
The front of the house is dark. I don’t see anyone else. I think it’s the woman and Lily.” Jasmine’s voice was rushed.

“We have to go now. Morna’s up to something. Front door will be the best.”

They stepped up to the front door. Eryk held his hand over the knob. “It’s got a sensor, damn it. When you go in, go to the back stairs. At the top, Lily’s room is across the loft on the right. I’ll head to the kitchen. We’ll have to move fast. This thing could be silent or raise all kinds of hell.” With that, he let his energy flow through the knob. He heard a ping and the door opened under his grip. He pointed them to the back stairs and he turned left toward the kitchen.

Cutting through the dining room, he listened and didn’t hear anything
. He stepped into the kitchen. Contents of cabinets, food, and chemicals were scattered all over the island. Whatever the woman had fixed, it was probably lethal. She wasn’t there.

He
ran back out and raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. The door stood open and John’s frame filled it, his weapon aimed inside.

“Put it down and step away from her,”
John’s voice came out in a command.

Eryk stepped up behind Jasmine, whose energy was spiking
like an aura around her body. Across the room, Morna had yanked Lily in front of her by her hair and had a knife against her throat. Her green eyes swirled, wide and skittish, as she watched the people in the doorway.

“You back off or I cut her,” she yelled.
Spittle flew from her mouth.

Lily’s mouth was covered in duc
t tape and her hands were behind her, probably also taped. Eryk could hear her moaning against the pain. Her face was swollen, one eye a mere slit.

Eryk could feel the energy pouring off Morna,
erratic, frantic and mad. When she spied him, her eyes stopped roving and focused on him, staring hard.

He stepped around Jasmine
, putting her behind him. He looked Morna in the eye, sending out a push.

“You. You’re like me.” The voice
, at first amazed, took on a warbling sound. She looked to John and back to Eryk. Her eyes grew darker, filled with heat.

Jasmine could feel the energy pulsing off Eryk. He was trying to compel a madwoman.

Morna’s eyes softened and she glanced down at Lily, almost as an afterthought. “Let me tidy up here….”