Текст книги "Tempting Whispers"
Автор книги: T. A. Grey
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 11 страниц)
The frame split, nearly coming off from the top. Vanessa didn’t waste any time. Brayden told her to run, so she was running. She got her head of the window, but her shoulders caught on it. Pain blazed through her muscles, but still she shimmied, until her legs were in the air and half of her torso was out the window. But she never made it any further. With a cry thick with emotion, hands curled around her feet then pulled her back in. Her chin bounced hard off the top of the toilet and something cracked in her mouth.
Blood spilled from her lips. She was turned and the men in swat clothes jerked her arms behind her back. A metal sound clicked and then she couldn’t move her arms.
“No, no, no, no!” she said with rising panic. She slammed her shoulder into the nearest guard, catching him off balance and sending him slamming back into the shower. Glass shattered and exploded around them.
She sprinted for the door, her feet catching on sharp shards but she never stopped. She had to escape. She had to get help. Strong arms banded around her chest. With her arms caught uselessly behind her, she couldn’t do anything. She stomped at the guard’s feet, jacked her body back and forth, and still his grip didn’t loosen.
“Dammit, give her the tranq,” panted the guard holding her.
She fought harder, crying out like a banshee, dropping to her knees and trying to slam the guard back off her with the momentum.
The guard in the shower lumbered to a stand, shaking his head as if disoriented. He reached into a pocket from his cargo pants then pulled out a little gun. It reminded her of a hot glue gun, except the cartridge in this one was a glass vial with clear liquid inside.
“Time to go night night.” He pressed the gun to her arm, then a spurt of compressed air whooshed. Warmth, then frigid coldness swamped her. Her vision darkened, then she slumped.
Chapter 15
“Come on, man, why don’t you sit down. All that pacing is starting give me double vision.”
“Fuck off, Dmetri,” growled Brayden.
“He’s right, you know. Just try to relax. We’ll work something out,” a soft feminine voice said.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Christine.”
Dmetri stood, then gave a pointed look to Christine and she left the study quietly. Dmetri marched to stand before him. Brayden stopped moving, though every muscle in his body jerked with the need to do something.
“You will not talk to my mate that way, drook. Got it? I know you’re angry, but this isn’t her fault.”
Brayden wanted to rip his hair out one big chunk at a time. “I know that,” he said with as much patience as he could muster. “I’ll apologize later.”
“Good, be sure that you do.” Dmetri took his seat again and Brayden sighed a little now that he could finally continue his mad trek across the carpet. “I take it you didn’t learn anything today.”
Brayden sent him a scathing glare. “Of course, not. They refuse to divulge any information to me, even when I ordered it. Even when I threated to start breaking bones.”
Dmetri nodded. “The problem with threats, see, it’s like with kids—”
Brayden paused to give Dmetri a dubious glance. “What do you know of children?”
He shrugged. “Christine wants a bundle around the house. I’ve been looking into it. That’s not the point. The point is, you can make as many threats as you want, but if you never go through with the threat, then they don’t believe you and they’ll run all over you. Should have gone through with it.”
Brayden stopped at the window and looked up at the darkening sky. Early evening still. Dmetri had a point. Should have cracked bones, made them bleed, then they’d talk. Then they’d have to tell him where she is.
“Listen, did you try her father again?”
“Yes, he says he hasn’t heard a word. He just knows the Justicars have her and that Joseph hasn’t returned to the pack.”
“Do you think he ran off with her?”
Brayden squeezed his eyes shut. That same thought had run through his mind a million times. “I doubt it. I’ve searched the city every single night for any signs of her scent. I can’t find her anywhere. I’ve already hired private investigators just in case they managed to sneak her out.” Those humans had come highly recommended to him. He didn’t know if he was relieved they hadn’t found anything or incredibly frustrated.
“It’s been a few days and you’re still wired. Why don’t you take a break?” Dmetri said.
Brayden turned to him, his body vibrating with anger. “Could you, if someone’d taken Christine?”
That took the easy smile off Dmetri’s face fast. “That’s different. She’s my mate. I’d do anything for her.”
“And I’d do anything to get Vanessa back.”
Dmetri cocked his head to the side. Brayden didn’t like the look he was giving him, as if he’d just had an interesting realization. “What?” Brayden asked.
“Why would you do that? She isn’t anything to you.”
“Like hell, she isn’t. I—” he stopped himself before he revealed anything. “I promised her I’d protect her.”
Dmetri nodded gravely, a grin splitting across his face. “You love her.”
Brayden might have laughed if his body wasn’t strung so tight. “I don't love her. I care for her. She’s mine to protect.”
“And I suppose what you guys did in my guest bedroom the other night has nothing to do with it.”
Brayden clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms. “What?” he asked darkly.
Dmetri shrugged. “It’s not like we couldn’t hear. That woman can scream.”
He’d taken several steps toward him before he stopped himself. He had to close his eyes and remember that Dmetri was a friend, if a bit of a jackass. He was just jerking him. Dmetri’s grin fell, his eyes getting a soft look to them.
“I’m happy for you, friend. I didn’t know if you’d ever find someone to fit you. I’d suspected...with Vanessa.”
Brayden stalked back to the window. Better to look outside then at his friend’s face right now, else he might throw his fist at it. “What are you talking about now? None of this is helping the situation.”
“Maybe not, but I’d wondered a bit back when we first met Vanessa. The way you acted around her. I thought it was odd, but now I just see...it was early on attraction.” Dmetri’s low chuckle drifted like a wave. “It’s okay to care for her. It’s okay to let yourself feel for a woman. It might bring you some shit here and there, but none of that matters; none of it even compares to the rest.”
Brayden found himself hanging on to his friend’s words. “The rest of what?”
“All the good stuff that love brings, my friend. I think you’ve found that. That’s why you’ve been going batshit crazy. You love her.”
Brayden didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say.
He listened to the sound of Dmetri standing, his footsteps as he crossed the room. Dmetri rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll work things out. I know you will. Take a break, relax. Do some work, anything. Once your mind clears a bit, the fog will lift, and you’ll be thinking smarter. You’ll figure something out. Best of luck to you.” Dmetri turned and started leaving.
Sighing, Brayden called out. “Thanks, Dmetri. You are a...good friend.”
Dmetri grinned, then closed the study door behind him.
Brayden listened to his friend’s advice. It felt strange being on the other side of it. Usually, he was the one giving orders, giving advice to his younger friend. Yet Dmetri had spotted his problems and feelings more precisely than he ever probably could have on his own. He did care for Vanessa, a lot. The word ‘love’ trickled through his mind like dripping water. Did he love her? Maybe; maybe it explained that suffocating tightness in his chest that hadn’t left since she’s been gone. Maybe it explained the utter humiliation of his actions—that he’d let her get taken away. He’d broken his promise. His manhood had taken a mighty blow with that one—he might never be able to have children now.
Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Dmetri was right. Maybe if he got back on the Brunes case, he could settle his mind enough to figure out what to do. God, he missed her so damned much. It was an actual physical ache in his body. Everything muscle seemed to hurt. Headaches switched to migraines and back and forth, and hadn’t gone away since she was taken. To work then.
He grabbed his briefcase, got in his SUV, and headed to work. He needed something to break in this case. Brunes was guilty and not just of one murder, but two. Brunes’ ex-wife and Justicar Daniel will be the last souls Brunes takes.
* * *
Brayden read over the sentence in the Givens woman’s witness report for the fifth time. Hell, the words were just starting to run together.
“Fuck!” He slammed his fist on the desk, feeling a little better when his pen holder spilled over making a mess. He normally would have righted it straight away, but he didn’t give a shit at the mess.
Well, Dmetri had been wrong on one thing. Coming to work hadn’t gotten his mind off of Vanessa. How could it? He’d even gone over every piece of evidence they had on the Brunes case several times and still nothing popped. They couldn’t even try him on conspiracy to commit murder. The man had no evidence against him, yet Brayden’s gut told him Brunes did it. Maybe if he put enough pressure on him the man would pop and confess. It was looking like that was the only way this was going to work. Brunes was too smart and powerful to slip up. His influence had helped him to get away with the murder of his wife, but damn if Brayden would sit by and doing nothing now.
With that thought in mind, he packed up his briefcase and headed for Brunes’. The LED lights on his clock in the SUV stated it was nine o’clock. Not too late to make an official call, but too late to be polite. Fuck pleasantries, the man was a murderer. His hands tightened over the steering wheel. If he got lucky, Brunes might piss him off enough to start a fight. He could use a good fight to get the unsettled, anxious energy out of his blood.
It was late when he rolled up through the gated driveway of the Brunes mansion. Small spotlights lit the front and sides of the house as if trying to notify the world that a rich person lived there. As if they couldn’t already tell by his massive house. Just the drive to the house itself was ridiculous. Took a good couple minutes before he pulled up in front of the house and jumped out of his SUV.
Brayden strode to the door and without hesitating, beat his fist on it. On the third knock, the door swung open and the old butler waited there. His black suit jacket was off and the sleeves of his white button-down shirt were rolled up.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“I need to see King Brunes. Justicar matters.”
“I’m afraid Mr. Brunes isn’t taking any visitors now—”
Brayden shook his head, then pushed his way past the old man. He looked left and right, finding nothing but empty dark rooms. A deep voice came from the end of the hall. He followed it down to Brunes’ study.
“Uh, sir, I will have to call the Justicars if you do not leave. You are not welcome here.”
If the butler was going for threatening, he did a piss poor job. He sounded about as intimidating as a fledging kitten.
“Go ahead; I might need backup.”
“As you wish...” the butler’s voice trailed away.
Brayden paused in front of the double-wide study door. He cocked his ear to it as he glanced back up the hall. The butler had disappeared. Brunes was speaking inside, but almost as if on cue, the talking ceased once he listened. Brayden didn’t hesitate. His blood had been churning at a slow boil for days. Four days since Vanessa had been taken right from under him. Four days since he failed a woman that meant much more to him than he’d even realized, until she was gone. He opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was brightly lit. Every lamp turned on, even the grand crystal chandelier. Not a shadow appeared. Brunes stood in front of his desk, a small smile on his face. Brayden wanted to grapple the motherfucker to the ground, pound his fist into his face until bones cracked and blood spurted. Yeah, that was about the mood he was in right now.
“How unexpected, Justicar Brayden. What’s brought you all the way out here?”
Brayden took his time searching the room. Brunes wasn’t one to keep his back unwatched. He couldn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean some guard wasn’t close.
“I think you know that already.”
“Then why did you even bother coming here? You and I both know you have no evidence to support your claims. You can’t prove a crime that I didn’t commit.”
Brayden walked to the center of the room. He didn’t want that door at his back. He stood so he kept an eye on Brunes, the windows behind him, and the door. “We both know you did it. Hell, even Sarina knows. What I want to know, is why.”
Brunes’ derisive chuckle skated along Brayden’s nerves like a serrated knife. He moved his tall body around the desk and folded himself into a chair. His smile was cold, but pleased. “My wife and I took a vacation. Left Sarina here with the butler, some guards, a nanny, that sort of thing. Clara and I had a steak meal that she cooked below deck on our yacht. We have a vacation home in Seattle. That’s where we keep our yacht, you know. That night we had dinner. I remember Bach or some such music playing over the system. I went below deck for another bottle of wine, came back and she was gone. That’s all there is to it, Brayden.”
Brayden stared at Brunes with hard, unrelenting eyes. “Do you know what I think?”
Brunes smiled. “Enlighten me, of course, but make it fast. This has been a very rude interruption and know that I am only flattering you with this conversation to be polite.”
Yeah, right. “I think that you learned that your wife had been sneaking out while you were gone on your business trips with council. I think you found out that she’d been spreading her legs open for an eager vampire, one who was more than happy to give her the pleasure you couldn’t.” Brayden paused to let his words sink in. He’d struck a chord. Brunes stiffed in his chair, his lips pulling into a nasty frown, his face deepening with color. “I think she was fucking him all the time. Maybe even sharing her dreams of being free of the great King Brunes. Does that sound about right? Though I do wonder, what makes you angrier? That she was fucking a lousy vampire behind your back, or that she took her daughter to meet him. After all, she was a protective woman, never left her child alone, even in your care. Your own wife didn’t trust you around your daughter. That says something to me, Brunes.”
Brayden took in Brunes’ facial expressions, his tics. He’d finally found a way to apply pressure to the bastard. Most of what he’d just said was pure speculation, part bullshit. There was never any sign that Clara had had an affair, but she might have. And judging from the reddening of Brunes’ face, Brayden had hit the mark spot-on.
“So, let me keep guessing. She finally told you that she wanted to leave you. You threw in the fact that she’d never get custody of Sarina...but then what? How did you get her to agree to the vacation? I doubt she trusted you further than she could throw you if she was smart enough to try to leave you. So, explain to me, just how did you get her to go with you? Did you drug her and fly her out to Seattle on your own private plane? I checked your assets; you do own one. Was your excuse that night all bullshit? No dinner, no wine. You took her out on your yacht with a story you concocted, then beat her ’till she was unconscious and tossed her over the side. Lykaens aren’t impervious to drowning and you damn well knew that. You killed her.”
Brunes’ face paled back to its normal color. He looked down as if thinking...or remembering. “You think you got it all figured out, don’t you, Mr. Erickson?” Brunes stood, his arms crossed, then slowly stepped around the desk until he faced Brayden once more. “Well, you’re wrong about a few things, I’m afraid.”
Brunes uncrossed his arms then leveled a silver pistol on him. Brayden’s only response to the change in the game was a soft breath he let out. Brunes waved the gun around like a witch with a wand.
“Don’t worry, they’re silver infused bullets, just like the Justicars use. They’ll kill you before you can get to me.”
Brayden kept his gaze on the door to his right. “What was I wrong about?”
Brunes’ face morphed into a mask of vicious, seething hatred. “That bitch wasn’t fucking a vampire! She was fucking my guard! My guard! Riding his damn cock like a fucking whore. She was a whore. I am the last king of the lykaen community. The last thing I need is a whore to rule at my side. She did it right here. Right in this house. Under my nose when I went to bed at night. In our bed when I left the house.”
Brayden kept his focus on the gun and the door. Brunes wasn’t one to act alone, that he knew. Some stealthy bastard might be creeping up behind him as they spoke. “How did you not smell him?”
“He was defective. I chose him to be my personal...guard because of a birth defect. Something was wrong with his hormones and he never left a trace. Made him quite useful for certain jobs.”
Yeah, he knew just what kind of jobs a man with an untraceable scent could do.
“How did you find out?”
Brunes narrowed his wild eyes then cocked the hammer of the gun. The hard metal snap made every muscle in Brayden’s body tense, ready. What Brunes didn’t know, was that he was in love and had a woman to find. He wouldn’t be dying here tonight.
Brunes bent over to his knees with laughter. When he stood back up, he was sucking in deep, unsteady breaths. Tears of laughter rimmed his eyes and he wiped them away with his gun hand. “The last person you’d suspect. My own precious daughter.”
Brayden stilled. “Sarina?”
“I’ll tell you...the innocence of a child. She came to me crying one day that she’d seen mommy hugging a man without clothes. It frightened her.”
“Why didn’t you just kill your wife then?”
Brunes’ smile was cold; his eyes dead and vacant. “Killing impatiently leads to mistakes. I’m not an impatient man.”
While Brayden contemplated his escape he asked, “How did you get her to the yacht?”
Brunes smiled wider. “You were wrong about that one, too. I didn’t drug her. She came willingly and compliantly, if a bit sad. I had Sarina taken away. I told her I’d kill her if she didn’t take a little trip with me. Of course, she knew what I meant, but hey, at least I kept my end of the bargain. I never killed Sarina.”
“So you beat her until she was unconscious, then tossed her off the side. Did you pay Daniel to help cover it up?”
Brunes shrugged. “I’ve done many things to see to protection.”
“And you killed Daniel, because...?”
“He was getting soft.” Brunes sighed, then put his finger over the trigger. “You know, you should have left it alone. The case has been closed for a long time. I’m afraid you brought this upon yourself. Just like my bodyguard did by fucking my wife.”
Brunes might have the advantage with the gun, but Brayden had something he didn’t—speed. Brayden dove across the room in a blur of motion. A shot fired. Brayden ducked, then lunged into Brunes. They both slammed into the heavy wooden desk, shoving it across the carpet and into the wall. Wood splintered and cracked. Brayden grabbed hold of Brunes’ arm then slammed it into the corner of the desk. Brunes screamed as the gun fell to the floor. An uppercut slammed Brayden’s teeth together. He tasted blood, but he had anger and determination on his side. He slammed his head forward and caught Brunes’ nose. Bones crunch and blood flowed and some of the anger bunched up inside of him released at the sight.
Brayden stepped back, then hammered two jabs across Brunes. But he didn’t fall. In fact, he laughed a hoarse, wheezing sound as he collapsed back against the desk.
“If only you knew...” he said.
Brayden wrapped his fingers around Brunes’ throat and squeezed applying pressure. Brunes fought him, latched onto his wrist to tug him away, but his strength felt like that of a baby’s next to his own.
Still, Brunes laughed, his eyes wet with pain-filled tears. “I have your woman.”
Brayden’s grip tightened. Flesh, tendons and muscles gave way under his grip. It felt so good he didn’t want to stop. Wanted to keep squeezing until it crushed, collapsed under his fingertips.
“You’re lying.”
The corner of Brunes’ mouth tilted up then his eyes darted behind Brayden. That was all the warning he had before powerful electric jolts shot through his body. His grip fell from Brunes’ throat, his knees went out, then he fell to the floor in convulsions so hard his teeth clanked together and his muscles clenched to the point of pain.
“You can stop that now. Thank you,” said Brunes.
The electrical shocks stopped, but still his body twitched like he was hardwired to an electric shock machine. The convulsions stopped, but still his muscles jumped and spasmed. Arms grabbed his, lifted him, then shoved him into a chair. He couldn’t quite keep his head up. It rolled backwards so that he was staring at the ceiling. No matter how hard he tried to make his neck work, he couldn’t lift his head.
Brunes came into view, towered over him. Then his head slammed left, right, left, then right again as Brunes laid into him with hard fists. The pain didn’t matter. It was a minor flair to the shocks making his limbs twitch. A feminine cry sent his eyes wide. God, he knew that sound. Fuck, no, he couldn’t have her.
“Bring her over here,” Brunes ordered in a hard voice.
A rush of footsteps ran across the room, then there she was standing over him. She’d been crying. Her eyelashes were wet, eyes red. Anger, the kind he hadn’t felt in a long time exploded inside of him. They’d taken her from him, then hurt her. She collapsed against him, sobbing, trailed soft wet kisses across his face before she was yanked away. Finally, his head worked. It hurt like hell, but he lifted his head to take in the scene.
Five heavily armed guards filled the room. Brunes’ face was a bloody mess and that made Brayden smile darkly. Vanessa’s arms were tied behind her back in a way that brought nasty memories of her naked in the forest in a very similar situation. One face, though, he didn’t see in the room.
“Where’s Joseph? I believe he might object to you treating his mate like this?”
Vanessa lunged forward before the guards yanked her back by the arm. She winced and he fervently started moving his fingers, his toes to get his circulation back to normal. If he could buy a few minutes, he could stand.
“They killed him!” cried Vanessa. “They shot him in the head.”
Brunes cast a disgusted glance her way. “Shut her up, will you?”
The guard on her right slapped her hard across the face. Brayden saw red. In a flash, he struck. With two lethal cracks, he snapped the guard’s neck holding her, then shoved Vanessa behind him as the other five guards raised their rifles.
Brunes held up a hand to them. “Relax. I don’t want this to go fast.”
Just then, the windows at the back of the room shattered in a loud explosion. Glass flew across the room. Swat-clothed men stormed into the room shouting commands. One man wore no swat clothes whatsoever.
“Dmetri?” Brayden asked, dumbfounded.
Dmetri’s eyes shone with determination. He flicked him a glance, then swept on the guards with a flurry of attacks and cringe worthy kicks. But Brunes ducked down below the fighting, crawling quickly toward the gun still lying on the floor. Brayden flew to him. He caught Brunes by the back of his long hair, then made his face kiss the floor—hard. He did it again. One for the death of Sarina’s mother, another for Daniel, one for the guard he’d murdered, and twice as many for taking Vanessa and hurting her. He wasn’t finished, but arms flew around his chest pulling him away. He growled at them and launched one brutal kicked to Brunes’ head. The old lykaen’s head whipped back, then he slumped to the ground.
“Never touch my woman,” Brayden growled.
“Relax, man, relax.” Dmetri’s slightly accented voice penetrated through the raging fog in his mind.
He watched Brunes try to lift himself back up, then slump again to the floor.
“We got him. We heard his confession.”
That sent Brayden whirling around. “You were here this whole time?”
“Nah, the butler called the Justicars in. Then they called me. Needed another higher up on the case.” Dmetri grinned, then clapped him on the back. “No way was I going to intrude on his confession.”
A small hand cupped his. He looked down at Vanessa’s face and something inside him broke. He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. She clenched her arms around him as if she needed to be holding onto him as much as he did her. God, it felt good. Almost beautiful.
“Why didn’t you crash in when you heard the first gunshot, asshole?”
Dmetri sobered. “They found Joseph Harrington’s body in a ditch along the highway halfway between here and Justicar’s headquarters. Figured they’d taken her. Figured she was here. We didn’t want to act to soon and cause...any unnecessary problems.”
Meaning, he didn’t want to act too soon and have someone pull the trigger on Vanessa before they’d even stormed in. “Yeah, I got it. Now I’m going home.”
He didn’t even make it to the front door before he lifted Vanessa’s face, looked into her deep brown eyes and kissed her. His heart pounded loudly in his chest.
“I’m so glad you came,” she said brokenly. She gave him a wobbly smile that pulled at all his heartstrings.
“I love you,” he said.
Her eyes flew wide. She gasped.
Then he kissed her again.
