She looked him straight in the eye. “Absolutely, Tariq. I won’t let you down.”
“It could get bad. Bloody. Your impulse will be to do whatever Fridrick tells you. If things go bad, they’ll hurt her in front of you to make you compliant. You have to trust me then more than ever. Our job is distraction and getting the safeguards down. The others will take out the guards and engage the army. Val will get to Liv. Believe that. Val will get to Liv.”
“Whatever it takes. I can be strong for her.”
He searched her mind and saw only acceptance. She would stand with him. Do whatever it took to bring Liv home, even if it meant seeing her suffer.
“These men that came to aid us are our personal security. You’ll see them around the club when we go there, and they’ll be training here off and on. We need them to protect us during daylight hours. They are aware of what we are. I’ve taken their blood and know each of them and their hearts and souls. They’re good men, Charlotte, and today they risked their lives for us.” He wanted her comfortable with them. They would always need a security force to help in their protection during daylight hours.
She nodded. “What about the two men that helped Emeline? I saw them in the tunnels. You’re worried about what to do with them. They helped her.” She made it a statement.
Tariq could see she was concerned about what he might do to them. “Sielamet, you are such a kind, compassionate woman, unlike your lifemate. If they threaten us in any way, or if Vadim or Fridrick have planted them here to try to harm us, they will be killed. There is no arguing that point. I want to give you the moon, anything you ask for, but granting them mercy if they are our enemy is not something that can be done.”
She lifted her chin at him, and he found he liked that little gesture. Maybe he just was so far gone he liked everything about her, especially now, when they were both so focused on getting Liv back.
“If they are enemies, Tariq, threatening our family, what you decide to do with them is entirely up to you. Have no worries that I might protest. I’ve seen what these people do, and remember, I was in that tunnel when Vadim threw Liv to that disgusting, vile puppet and no one lifted a finger to help her.”
He wasn’t about to point out that no one could have helped her and lived. The tunnel was filled with vampires and puppets. There was no aid for a hero. He was fairly certain the two men despised what was happening and had wisely bided their time in order to maximize their chances to escape and maybe lend aid when they could. He didn’t say that to Charlotte, although she caught his thought, because she gave a little sniff of annoyance.
Hiding a small smile, he took a breath, shoved his sunglasses on his nose, made certain hers were on and opened the door. At once a thousand needles pierced his skin. His flesh was seared to the bone, even with his long sleeves and gloves. The pain burst through him and then he contained it, tuning his mind to Charlotte. He heard her gasp, but she cut off her admittance of pain and tried to pull her mind from his.
“No, beloved, you have to allow me to aid you through this.” On her, the sun felt as if it burned through her skin, raising blisters instantly. He had made certain her clothing covered every inch of her body, but still, she was scorched right through the heavy material.
“Tariq, it is no more than when I was a young child and stayed swimming too long in the pool,” she assured. “I can take it. I’m starving, though. All I can think about is putting my mouth on you.”
She said it to distract him, forgetting he was entrenched in her mind, regardless of whether she tried to protect him by throwing him out. It couldn’t work now that they were lifemates and she was fully Carpathian. He knew her inside and out as she did him—or would, once she got over her shyness of touching his mind.
He took her hand and allowed her the untruth because she thought it would spare him and she needed that right now when her child was in a cage surrounded by monsters. He took her to Emeline’s first. As they crossed the compound, he waved his hand to repair any damage done to the buildings. In spite of the rockets and grenades, there was very little damage—his defenses had held. The dragons were back on the playground, a few scratches and dings in their scales, but no real damage had been done to them.
Emeline lay in her bed, her face so pale she looked almost translucent. Maksim leaned against the wall in the corner farthest from her. One ankle was crossed over the other and he stared out the window rather than look at the gaunt woman in the bed. Emeline’s head was bandaged and clearly Blaze or Maksim had cleaned her up in the way of their people because there wasn’t any evidence of blood anywhere on her.
Blaze sat on the edge of the mattress and swept Emeline’s hair from her face with gentle fingers. “I love you, Emme. Don’t slip away from me,” she murmured softly as they entered the room.
Emeline’s gaze jumped to Tariq’s face as he entered, and she looked frightened. Threatened. He sighed and smiled at her as gently as possible. “Thank you for saving Liv, Emeline. She would be dead if you hadn’t risked everything to save her.” He wanted her to know it wasn’t just her life she’d risked. She knew Fridrick’s army was there to take her to Vadim and still, she’d launched herself out into the open and saved Liv’s life.“She’s mine, too,” Emeline said and then gasped for breath. She wheezed with every breath she took.
Tariq knew she didn’t want interference, but he couldn’t be in the same room with her and not help. He waved his hand to calm her breathing, to ease the terrible tightness in her chest. Before Emeline could protest he leaned down to brush a kiss across Charlotte’s mouth. “Excuse me, ladies, I must feed. We need to get moving as soon as possible to put our plan into action.”
“You have a plan?” Emeline’s gaze jumped to his face again. This time there was the beginning of hope.
“We do. We’ll bring her home, Emeline,” Tariq assured. He jerked his chin at Maksim and the two left the house together. “How hurt is she?”
“She didn’t want Blaze to examine her, but the medic said concussion. She won’t allow us to use our skills on her. She wants nothing to do with Carpathians, Tariq. Nothing at all, especially with the men. She tolerates me because of Blaze, but she’s uneasy with me in the room. I thought it would get better, but it’s actually gotten worse.”
“It hasn’t been that long since she was attacked, and it probably didn’t help that Fridrick’s army penetrated our defenses and managed to take Liv again. There is no way she feels safe now.”
Maksim casually used his lengthening fingernail to cut a long, deep line in his wrist. He offered the blood to Tariq rather absently. They’d been partners for a long time and hunted together frequently. That meant they shared blood and saw to each other’s wounds. Neither thought much about it although Maksim murmured the ritual words.
“Saasz hän ku andam szabadon—take what I freely offer.”
“You can spare this? We have to be at full fighting strength.”
Maksim nodded. “I fed twice, first for Blaze and then again for myself. Our security team was very cooperative.”
Tariq bent his head to Maksim’s wrist, accepting his answer. Maksim knew what was at stake. They were far from the Carpathian Mountains and had to create their own sense of family. Maksim and Blaze were part of Tariq’s family just as he knew he was part of theirs. They relied on one another to guard their lifemates. Blaze was precious to them. She had represented hope for Tariq, another reason to hang on no matter how long he had to endure that gray world of nothing.
Blaze was a warrior through and through, and Tariq found it interesting that Charlotte was as well. Charlotte wasn’t skilled in fighting as Blaze was, but she had the spirit and courage of a fighter. He would never forget that moment in the parking garage when she’d tried to protect him.
When he’d taken enough blood to feed Charlotte, he closed the laceration on Maksim’s wrist and stepped back, looking around the compound. His first order of business was to make certain they had every single splinter from the carousel. He didn’t want there to be any mistakes. The children couldn’t accidently stumble across one of Vadim’s evil shadows. He waved his hand and sent wind swirling through the yard, a magnet for the ancient splinters of wood. His security team had handled the larger pieces but there was no way for them to get every splinter. He had to do it. He sent the debris into the basement, where the rest of the carousel was waiting.
“The two men aiding Emeline,” he ventured as they continued across the compound toward the small guardhouse where the prisoners would have been taken. “They were both in the tunnel when Liv was thrown to the puppet.”
“I remember,” Maksim said. “Vividly. That child has endured far too much in her short life.”
As they approached the house, the head of security, Matt Bennet, stepped out to greet them. He was armed and looked grim, but Tariq had always noted the man rarely smiled. “Sir, we picked up three other prisoners just a little while ago. They claim they’re friends of yours and have information you need.”
Tariq wanted to groan aloud. He knew exactly who those men were. Idiots. Had they witnessed the attack? More than likely. He knew they wouldn’t leave it alone. They’d all but told him they wouldn’t. He had two of Vadim’s human soldiers locked up, a child missing and now the three vampire hunters.