Unbound (38 page)

“Why would you give it Cayden?” Chase chimed in.

“She gave me a message for you, Cayden.” Debbie turned to address Chase’s question. “Her last words before she climbed into that monster’s van were for him. She was so brave. She was trying to comfort JR the whole time. Right up until he stabbed that needle into her body. Do you want to go talk in the other room?” she asked Cayden, assuming he would want privacy to deal with her message.

“No! Tell me now! What did she say?” he barked and then took a deep breath to calm himself. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just not dealing with this well, Mrs. Deidrick.”

“It’s alright, Cayden.” She stroked his shoulder. “It was clear to me that you and Danielle had a special relationship. She told us you were taking her to the gala as her date, not just as a warrior escort. She was actually wearing the gown she’d tried on for the event when he took her. I guess I should have paid for that gown,” Debbie said, her thoughts wandering.

“What did she want to you tell me, Mrs. Deidrick?” Cayden asked, trying to reel her back in.

Debbie reached into her pocket and retrieved the broken necklace with the warrior charm Danielle had given her and dangled it in front of Cayden. He took it and couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.

“She asked me to give you this. She wanted you to know that she was sorry and that this wasn’t your fault. She said to tell you that she wished she had been given the chance to find out what the two of you could have been together. Then she was gone.”

* * *

Nathan felt the glorious thrill of victory when he pulled away from the curb downtown with his quarry unconscious in the back of the van he’d stolen to pull off the abduction. It had gone perfectly. It had been too easy to grab the boy out of the store when he stood by the door looking bored, obviously unattended. He’d received a call from a trusted source with information regarding the girl’s general location and absence of any warrior protection. How this information was obtained didn’t matter. He was overjoyed when the call came in. He hadn’t heard from his master since the day he had tossed him unceremoniously onto the street.

This was his chance to get back into his good graces. He circled the area until he spotted her leaving a bookstore with a man that was obviously impressed by her charms. He couldn’t blame the guy at all. Nathan had personally been the recipient of that sweet affection before he tried to grab her the first time. It wa
s very difficult to pull
away from her dark kiss to do his duty for the ma
ster. He’
d had no idea that night what he was dealing with or how important she would be. He had followed the couple from a safe distance. They walked together and talked while she rested her hand on his arm. Nathan knew she was checking out the guy’s thoughts to see if he was a danger. He wasn’t
,
but danger had been following close behind. It didn’t take her long to wrap up business with her new friend. When she emerged, it was obvious that she’d fed. She radiated beautiful energy and vitality. Nathan felt a pang of jealousy for the man that had hosted her hunger and wondered if both her physical need for blood and sexual need had been sated by the stranger. No matter. He would have her soon, and the master would reward him handsomely for this gift. She had all the power he was seeking and would no longer need him to stalk the vampire youth. He would have the object of his desire by nightfall and would accept Nathan back into the fold of his protection. No more running the streets, trying to evade the relentless vampire that hired him at the club. He would live a comfortable and happy life at the side of his master after completing this task.

It was a stroke of luck to witness the exchange of affection and playfulness between Danielle and the unknown boy she embraced. This was just what Nathan needed. He knew she wouldn’t let anyone harm a kid if she could prevent it. All he had to do was get his hands on the kid and the girl would follow. He hadn’t done too much damage to the kid. He’d cut just enough to make the girl move faster at the slightest trace of blood on his neck. He had released the boy as soon as she was out and slammed the door shut, racing away from the scene. He ran a red light to prevent either of the two witnesses from following him.

In the rear view mirror, he could see the girl sprawled on the floor in her fancy gown. He laughed, thinking to himself that she was even gift-wrapped. On the other side of town was an abandoned warehouse near the port. His master was using it as a holding tank for his men and hostages, as needed. He would go there to get in touch with him via his guards. It was his only option without a valid phone number or address. The area was quiet but he proceeded with caution. He knew they would see him coming and attack if he weren’t careful.

Rounding the last turn, he was shocked to see yellow police tape across the main entrance to the building. He pulle
d over and went to try the door. It was unlocked so he
p
ulled down the tape to enter. The place was vacant. There was n
o one to report his capture to or help him get in contact with the master. What was he going to do with her now? Shit, he wasn’t sure how much of the drug he had left but if he couldn’t get her to his master, he was sure he had enough to kill her. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to steal his glory and turn the girl in
,
and he knew he couldn’t hold her once she woke. He cursed and stepped out of the warehouse. Nathan opened the driver side door and climbed into the seat a second before a shot rang out, shattering the window and spraying glass and hot metal into the van.

EIGHTEEN~

Chase couldn’t take it anymore. They didn’t even have a body and everyone was acting like she was already dead. She’d only been missing a few hours. The warriors and Wrath were still out searching. Cayden, the mighty warrior, should be out there with them but he was apparently happy to sit there and be the grieving widower to a girl that didn’t even belong to him yet. It pained Chase that he’d driven Danielle right into Cayden’s arms, and there he sat clutching her shirt to his face while everyone looked on in sympathy. If he really loved her, Cayden would know she was still alive the way Chase did. He would feel her energy still buzzing in his mind. If he had ever really felt the depth of her soul, he would know her heart still beat strong. Chase had been in his room trying to reach her telepathically to no avail. He supposed she was still unconscious from the drugs but she was still humming for him across the distance.

“Why are you giving away her things? He wasn’t her family and she is not dead yet! She’s still out there and we’re all sitting around grieving her passing. I refuse to grieve until I have proof of her death.” The group gathered around his table looking at him with sympathy and some contempt.

“I realize you were close to Danielle. This is upsetting to all of us. We were all getting to know her and care for her but…” Griffin was saying when Cayden cut him off in an angry tirade.

“She was almost my family! She left her other boyfriend for me and we were talking about the future and bonding!” Cayden bellowed while he made an advance on Chase. Gage and Mason jumped up to get between the boys.

“Maybe you should go pick out her casket then, Cayden?
!  Since you’re the only family
she had. I bet she’d be happy to know you gave up without even searching for her yourself! You would make as good a mate to her as you were a protector!” Chase spat back.

“Just because she was forced to live under your roof doesn’t mean you know shit about her! She couldn’t stand to look at you anymore. And it’s your fault she’s gone. She was under
your care when they took her, n
ot mine!” Cayden was doing his best the get past his father. His fangs extended in anger, he glared at Chase with black eyes.

“You’re such an idiot,
” Chase was laughing sarcastically. “The only reason she was with you is because I’m engaged. She didn’t want to be near me because we were in love. It was too hard for her to be near me when she thought she
couldn’t be with me. Trust me. S
he didn’t have any trouble looking at me this morning. And you’ll never know her the way I do. I was in her head, Cayden, and she was in mine. I was allowed to see her most intimate thoughts and memories. Did she ever share herself with you that way?”

“She was with me because I loved and respected her in a way you c
ouldn’t. I didn’t lie to her just
to get in her pant
ies
even though
I was betrothed. I didn’t start a relationship knowing I
could do nothing but hurt her in the end. No, she didn’t share her mind with me. After the way you hurt her and the shit Lucas did, trust was an issue for her. You wouldn’t know about what happened with Lucas though, would you? She didn’t talk to you anymore did she?” Cayden was pushed back to the other side of the room and Griffin pulled Chase out of the dining room.

“Alright, that’s enough, you two. The pissing contest is over. This isn’t helping anyone.” Gage’s tone dared further argument.

“She’s still out there, Cayden! I can still feel her!” Chase shouted from the other room.

Taking a deep breath, he shook Griffin off and stormed into Danielle’s room. Her scent was so strong in there it took his breath away. He hadn’t been in that room since she moved into his home. The pajamas she’d worn during breakfast were lying across the bottom of the bed. There was a bottle of pink nail polish on the bedside table that matched the shade of the toes he’d admired while she sat with her feet propped up on the chair at his side. Her closet door was open and he noticed that her clothes were hung neatly by color from darkest to lightest. He didn’t know why but that made him laugh. He opened one of her drawers and all the socks and underwear were organized in a like fashion, neatly folded and separated by graduating color. Even her dirty clothes were already separated and ready for the laundry room. She just didn’t seem that anal to him.

Chase flopped down on the bed and decided to see if he could reach her. They had a connection, and if he tried hard enough, maybe he could find her. Maybe it wasn’t just her that caused them to find each other in their sleep. She had found him several times against her will, but he had been dreaming of her anyway. It could have been him that caused it and he just thought it was her. Chase realized that he was grasping at straws but it was worth a shot. He concentrated on her and called her to him in his mind. He reached out farther and father to find the unique sound of
her voice. Chase concentrated on
the sense of oneness they shared when they were joined and communicating as if
they were two parts of a whole. They could hear
each other without speaking and seeing each other’s memories. He had to smile when he thought of how she would think of him, unaware that he could hear it plainly
. B
ut her ability to control her projections was improving, much to his dismay.  She said he smelled like happiness, sunshine and love. He wanted to be all those things for her and more. Time passed with no response. The anger built again. Chase was demanding she respond to him but there was still nothing but dead air.

* * *

It was unbelievable. Two guys, including his son, were fighting over his goddaughter. Her father was right there refereeing and no one but Mason knew who she really was. Mason wondered if they would be fighting over her if they knew she was half human. He doubted either one of them deserved her either way.  He should tell them all now. He should but he wouldn’t. It was going to be hard enough to tell Tessa what had happened. It would do more harm than good now that Danielle was gone to tell them the truth. So many lives would be affected and for what reason if she isn’t here anymore? Griffin’s bond to Sarah would be in question because he had already been bonded to Tessa and his reputation would be damaged due to the scandal of having a human mate. Griffin would also likely kill him for keeping this secret for all these years.  Tess
a was going to blame him. He
promised to protect Dani and
he assured Tessa
no harm would
come to her under the
protection
of the warriors
. Ho
w could he tell her mother Dani was
gone?

He’d needed to go to Tessa. This wasn’t something he could do over the phone, but he was hesitant. Chase was right. They don’t have a body. What if she fights her way out? What if she was released her like the Prince girl had been? On the other hand, if his child were missing he would want to know. Tessa had been through so much pain in the last nineteen plus years. He did not want to put any additional stress on her until he had some solid facts.

Mason was b
lown away by the exchange he
witnessed between Cayden and Chase. C
hase had come to him repeatedly
looking
for a way out of the betrothal
to Samantha. He believed he was in love with another girl but Chase had never told him the girl’s name. Mason hated to see his son so unhappy but the u
nion was very important to the H
ouses. Mason consoled himself wi
th the knowledge that after Chase was
bound
ed he would be happy and he wouldn’
t think about the other girl anymore.

If he’d known before that
Danielle
was Chase’s new love
it would have changed everything. Tessa would need to be willing to go public with their story but he was sure Dani’s happiness would be the most important thing to Tessa. Danielle was Griffin’s daughter, also. Chase could bond to Danielle and it would have the same meaning as if it were Samantha, with
one exception. She isn’t a full-
blood vampire. How would Griffin feel about the switch? Mason suspected Sarah would lose her mind if Chase selected the half-breed child of Griffin’s secret first uni
on instead of one of her girls.