Skin Walkers: Taken (8 page)

Chapter 14

Nyree heard voices just on the other side of the door and she stilled with her hand halfway to the handle.

“And you and Nyree?”

It was Fatal speaking.

“What about us?” Rohm responded, and just the sound of his voice sent shivers racing up her spine. 

She’d last seen him when they’d been rescued.  He’d carried her from the building and into the center of an old, rundown mining town.  It hadn’t been what she’d expected, but made sense considering the number of old, abandoned mining towns in the state. 

Teams had swarmed them, and once they’d cleared the building she’d been taken from him so her wounds could be inspected by the medic.  Her ragged gown had been covered in blood, and everyone assumed she was much worse off than she actually had been.  Rohm had a hard time relinquishing her, she could tell, but Commander McCabe had exited the Megalya compound and had been more snarly than ever.  She’d been taken away while Rohm had stayed behind to speak with the Commander and his fellow Keepers.  She’d watched his eyes track her to one of the trucks before they’d lost sight of each other.  Without anyone asking, she’d been driven halfway back to the Estate before Bronco, one of the Walker medics, confirmed that her wounds were superficial.  He’d given her a change of clothes, and by the time they arrived at the Estate and dropped her off with a directive to head straight to the infirmary, she’d felt too stunned to do anything but wander the Estate instead.  Hell, the mere fact that she’d been given a directive to go to the infirmary instead of being
taken
there told her that the things were off at the Estate. 

The destruction was devastating.  Because she and Rohm had been taken, they hadn’t seen the aftermath of the attack, but once she’d arrived back at the Estate, it was enough to bring tears to her eyes.  Walkers, Keepers, men, and women were bundled up against the cold as they worked to repair the many damaged facilities.  Nyree had foregone her required stop at Dr. Jenny’s office to lend a hand.  She’d thought Rohm would seek her out once he’d returned, and she’d worked through the last part of the day eagerly awaiting him.  She hadn’t seen him, and still a day later, he hadn’t sought her out.

“What I think your Ruling Keeper is asking,” Monroe cut in on the other side of the door, pulling Nyree back to the present. “Is if anything happened between the two of you.”

“What do you mean
happened
?  A lot happened.  We were taken prisoner and held against our will.  Nyree was tortured, and they forced me to fight a Walker.”  She could tell by Rohm’s next words that he was getting angry.  “Be more specific!”

“Did anything happen between you and the female
sexually
?” Fatal asked.

“No!” Rohm’s answer was immediate.  “They weren’t able to force us to mate and…the female means nothing to me.  I had no reason to touch her.”

The words felt like ice water dumped into her veins.

“You’re not interested in Nyree?” Monroe asked, sounding skeptical.

Nyree strained to listen to Rohm’s response, and again he answered immediately.  “Not at all.”

Nyree let her hand fall away from the doorknob. 
Not at all?  Not at all!
  Stunned hurt quickly gave way to anger. 
What a mother fuc…
  Gnashing her teeth, she turned and paced back down the hall.  She hadn’t expected him to offer up information that they’d been together, but she certainly hadn’t expected him to outright lie, to denounce her in front of both the ruling Keeper and the Dominant Walker.

She rushed down the stairs, thankful now that she hadn’t just waltzed into Monroe’s office as she’d intended.  Right now, she was crushed and pretending she wasn’t, but adding the humiliation that would have accompanied hearing Rohm’s declaration in front of Monroe and Fatal would have been unforgivable.  As it was, she was having a hard time figuring out why Rohm hadn’t just told her while they were still being held captive that he had no intention of informing anyone of what had occurred between them. That she meant nothing to him.

Outside, she raced to the temporary parking area where the vehicles were being stored until the garage could be rebuilt.  

Nyree found her jeep.  She kept the keys in it, everyone kept keys in their vehicles, it wasn’t like anyone at StoneCrow was going to steal her ride.

She backed out of her spot and hit the gas, kicking up earth as she sped away from the Estate.  The main gate had been the first thing to undergo reconstruction.  It still wasn’t finished, but two Sentry’s stood vigil as she approached.  Slowing, she eyed Bishop as he approached her vehicle. 

“Where you headed, Nyree?”

She didn’t look at him, her eyes pinned on the road ahead of her.  “Town.”

She knew by the quick inhalation that he was scenting her.  “Everything okay?”

She turned her head to stare at him.  “Just need to get away for a minute.”

Moke approached, peeking over Bishop’s shoulder.  “Heard you were taken hostage.  Heard they cut you up.”

She looked straight again and responded in a dead tone. “Yep.”

“If there’s anything we can do…”

Bishop cut off Moke’s words, stepping back to smack the hood of her vehicle.  “Just let us know, Nyree.  Anything!”

Afraid her voice would break, she nodded and when the gate opened, she was gone even as her ears picked up static and then a voice buzzing from a radio in the new guard house. 

Walkers could communicate telepathically, but with so many human staff now, radios were typically always used.

“Anyone seen Nyree?”  It was King’s voice.  She knew it wouldn’t take long for Monroe to realize she’d ducked out on her appointment with him and send his second seeking her out.

Too late!

In the rearview mirror, she saw Bishop cup his hands around his mouth and knew he was calling out to her, but she needed some time alone.

Chapter 15

Nyree drove down through the mountains until her jeep found the paved back road that would lead to the city.  Part of her wanted to call Beth, Thea, Lilly, or even Cindy KillsPrettyEnemy to see if one of them would meet her in town for a drink, but the attack had touched every one of the Walkers, their Angels, and the human staff, and the last thing she wanted to do right now was burden someone with her bullshit Rohm drama.  So, she hit the back roads just on the outskirts of town and simply drove, music blasting Twenty One Pilots.

The landscape was all muted grays, as everything died off with the promise of impending winter.  The dull gray of the sky and the dead fields matched how she felt. The area resembled where the Megalya had taken her and Rohm, and when she passed a run-down barn whose boards had long ago faded from sun exposure and weather damage, she shivered hard. 
Fuckers!
   Had they ruined her Montana?  Would she ever look at it the same?  Could she?

When Doubt came on, she mumbled along with the words.  “Fear leads to anxiety.  Don’t know what’s inside of me.  Don’t forget ab-b-b-b-bout me.”  Then her thoughts went to Rohm and she kept singing.  “Don’t forget ab-b-b-b-bout me.  Even when I doubt you, I’m no good without you.”  Then, quietly, the tears came. 

It was crushing that he’d denounced her, that what happened between them had been so insignificant to him.  It had felt big, like it was something…well, it’d felt that way to her.

She spotted the small Centerville bar and slowed to pull in.  Before exiting her jeep she took the time to wipe her cheeks and suck back her tears before pulling down her visor to check the little make-up she wore. Stepping out, she noted that the temperature had dipped. Sighing, she stepped into the bar. 

A couple of Hutterites who sat at the bar glanced up when she entered before going back to their conversation in thick German.  The bartender, an older female, wiped down the bar and asked, “What can I get ya?”

Nyree took a seat at the bar, closest to the door.  “Draft beer, please.”

The bartender winked before turning to pour her drink. When she came back with a frothing mug, Nyree slid her a five.  “Keep the change.”  She took a long drink of her beer and damn; it tasted way better than it should have.  Hating to sit alone at the bar and look sad like she wanted to talk, Nyree took her beer and moved to the back room where there were several Keno machines.  Typically, she never gambled, but it was a good excuse to have a beer and not be bothered.  She slid a five into the machine, picked several random numbers, set the pace to the slowest setting and zoned out, barely remembering to punch the ‘play’ button every few minutes to keep the machine pinging as proof she was actually playing.  She wasn’t playing though.  She was thinking about that asshole Rohm and what a douche he’d been.  Part of her frantically sought some valid excuse for the things he’d said, some justification that would show he hadn’t actually meant the things he’d said, but there was nothing she could come up with. 
Fucker!

The bartender came to check on her a few times, bringing her a beer each time she came, because if you played the machines you got free draft beer.

Four beers in and the only thing Nyree had succeeded in doing was losing forty bucks in the machines, working herself into a greater emotional turmoil, and conjuring up one hell of a buzz.  Leaning back in her chair she eyed the window.  It was already dark.  In fall, the sun didn’t last long in Montana, and it was worse in the winter when it was dark more hours of the day than it was light.  Knowing she needed to get back to StoneCrow, she declined the fifth beer the bartender brought but tipped her generously before pulling on her thick, hunter-green coat.  When she stepped out of the bar, the sharp bite of air sobered her some, but not nearly as much as what looked like an abominable snowman stalking toward her. 

Snow had started to fall sometime while she’d been in the bar and there was a light dusting of white on the ground, which had her blinking to ensure she was actually seeing what she was seeing. 

Long white hair fluttered in the wind, and angry, ice-blue eyes held her in place as Rohm’s image became more and more clear with each step he took toward her. 

“You left the Estate!” he barked out accusingly.

Nyree’s breath left her on an offended chuff.  “Yeah.”  She dug in her pocket for her keys. 

“
Unescorted
?”

She was fumbling through the mass of keys on her keychain, trying to find the fob to unlock her doors and wishing she’d auto-started the damn jeep so it’d be warm and ready to go right now.  “What do you care?” she muttered.

Apparently that was the wrong response, because he snatched her keys out of her hands so fast she didn’t even see it until her palms were empty.

“Hey!”

“What does that mean?” he asked angrily. 

The alcohol gave her confidence, so Nyree planted her hands on her hips and glared up at the Keeper.  “You know exactly what it means.”

“Why weren’t you at the meeting today?”

“I was,” she bit out a little too aggressively, then turned to hide the emotional tears that flooded her eyes.  She wasn’t emotional by nature, but something about the way he’d denied their relationship ate at her.

When Rohm spoke again, his voice was lower, with less bite to it.  “What do you mean, you were?”

“I was in the hall,” she explained, still facing away from him, staring down the empty road that ran in front of the bar. “I was just about to go in when I heard them questioning you.”

“You heard…”

She spun on him.  “Yeah!”  She rubbed at her chin with the back of her hand.  “I heard!”  Looking down, she saw her keys in his hand and took advantage of his confused and distracted expression.  Quick as a whip, her hand shot out and then her keys were fisted in her palm as she hurried toward her jeep.

“Nyree!” Rohm bellowed from behind her as he followed her.

She didn’t turn, and he barked louder.  “NYREE!”

When his hand gripped her bicep, Nyree acted on instinct.  Turning, she used her free hand to punch the bend in his elbow, breaking his lock on her while she simultaneously dipped her hips.  Her other arm came up with her momentum as she twisted her hips with all her weight, and then her fist connected hard with the underside of Rohm’s jaw.  His head rocked back and when he staggered, she scrambled into her jeep and hit the locks before jamming her keys in the ignition.  All that happened in the space of mere seconds, and Rohm had already recovered. 
Tough bastard!
He was standing at her window scowling down at her. 

“You’ve been drinking.” 

Nyree wanted to laugh at the statement.  She’d just sucker punched him, and all he could worry about was the few beers she had.  “I’m fine!”  She threw her jeep in reverse and punched the gas.  The motor howled as she swiveled her head to look behind her, but the vehicle only lurched.  Turning in her seat, she eyed the shift to ensure she’d actually put it in reverse.  Yep.  She tested the gas pedal again and the motor hummed its cooperation; she felt the tires catch, but again it jerked to a standstill.  Confused, Nyree looked up to find Rohm.  His biceps bunched and flexed, his jaw tensed, and his hands were locked somewhere on her front bumper as he held the front end of her jeep suspended off the ground.

Motherfu…
  Nyree slammed the gear back into park and narrowed her eyes on him through the windshield. “Put my car down, asshole!”

Some of the Hutterites had stumbled out of the bar and now stood staring gape-mouthed at Rohm’s display of power.

“I mean it, Rohm!  Put me down!”

“You’re not driving, Nyree!”

She balled her hands in frustration.  “What the fuck do you care?  I’m
nothing
to you!  Remember?”  She jerked the keys from the ignition. 

All expression fled Rohm’s face as he slowly lowered the vehicle to the ground. 

Nyree knew that he’d just realized exactly how much of his conversation she’d heard.  She climbed from her jeep, slamming the door behind her. 

“Nyree.”  His tone had softened.  “My Light…”

She paced forward and poked him in the chest.  “Don’t you dare call me that!  I’m not your Light. Hell, we’re not even friends.  Remember?  Remember how much you hated me before we got captured?  Let’s go back to that, shall we, because the feeling is now mutual!”

“I never hated you.”

“No.” She shook her head, scowling up at him.  “That’s right.  You never felt anything for me at all.”  Turning, she took off walking down the road that led toward StoneCrow.  If he wasn’t going to let her drive, she’d walk the damn thirty or so miles back.

A deep growl sounded behind her, and before she could react, Rohm’s massive arms locked around her, lifting her off the ground. 

She laughed, a humorless sound.  “Hoooo, you better put me down!”

“I’m driving you home, Nyree.”

“The hell you are!” She struggled in his arms, and it was more effective than he’d have thought, but he should have expected it.  She was a highly trained Sentry after all.

“Do you really want to walk?” he bellowed.

Hell no, she didn’t want to walk.  She wanted to drive, but he wouldn’t let her.

“I’ll drive you home.”

For a moment she considered fighting him, but knew even if she did—by some miracle—get the best of him, he still wouldn’t let her drive herself home.

“Fine!” she snapped, and when he set her down she shoved her keys hard into his chest before crossing her arms as she made her way round to the passenger side.  When Rohm tried to open the door, she slapped his hand away. “Get real!”