Dark Wolf Unbound (Heart of the Shifter #2)(34)

But as she had the thought, she noticed a family photo of her, with her  mom, sister, and grandmother on the mantle. Her gaze settled on her  sister, and sudden realization crashed over her. Lucius hadn't strung  her up so he could hurt her. He'd done it so that Seth could kill her.

She would be the trigger that turned her nephew into the monster that  had already destroyed so many lives. She didn't know how Lucius was  planning to coerce her to sing, but she knew he would have a way. Who  would he bring in there to torture? Her grandmother? Seth? Jace? Forcing  her to make the choice between turning her nephew into a killer, or  letting someone she loved suffer.

Screw him.

She wasn't going to let him win this time. She'd let him win so many  other times, but not this time. Resolution pouring through her, she  looked up at the chains binding her wrists, quickly assessing them for  weakness. She tugged experimentally at them, testing their strength. The  bolt was reinforced in the ceiling, and the chains were tight around  her wrist. She pulled at them, using the weight of her body, until blood  ran down her wrists, but they didn't budge.

Damn him!

She swung around, searching the room. The shades were drawn. She  couldn't even reach the floor to stomp on it. "Help!" she screamed, even  though she knew that Lucius was too smart to leave the other unit  occupied. He'd thought of everything, leaving her defenseless once  again.

She was out of options … unless Jace had somehow survived. She closed her  eyes and reached out to him with her mind, just as she'd done when he'd  spoken to her telepathically at Kiernan's. Jace! Help! I'm at my old  apartment. I need you!                       
       
           



       

But he didn't answer.



* * *



Fear tore through Jace, a dark, penetrating fear of something horribly  wrong. He jerked upright, then gasped as pain tore through him.

"Hold him down!" Kiernan shouted, and Jace swore as Drake and Savannah pushed him back down, pinning him to the cot.

Jace swore, fighting off Drake. "Let me up! Abby's in trouble!"

"He just got the second bullet out," Drake snapped. "Give him a second to get the rest of the silver out!"

"I don't have time." Jace shoved Drake away from him and rolled off the  cot. He landed on his hands and knees on the wooden floor, and staggered  to his feet. The room spun and he grabbed the edge of the cot to keep  his balance. He was unfathomably weak, but a tremendous sense of  foreboding pressed down upon him. Urgency coursed through him. He could  feel Abby's fear, a deep, penetrating fear. "What time is it? What day?"

Drake shoved him back. "Sit the fuck down for five minutes."

Swearing, Jace sat down, more because his legs wouldn't hold him than  because he was feeling accommodating. He closed his eyes as Kiernan set  his hand on Jace's side, pouring heat into the wound. "How long do we  have?"

"Not long," Drake said.

"How long is that?"

Drake ignored the question. "While you were unconscious, Savannah and I  went to the place he'd held her before. Neither the boy nor Abby was  there. You need to track Abby."

Jace swore, and immediately opened his mind to her. He tapped into her  soul, the warmth of her spirit that she'd shared with him so completely.  He surrendered to her, abandoning his attempts to keep himself distant  from her. He'd never forget how she'd come to him when he'd been under  the influence of the song, pressing her face against his and whispering  how she believed in him, even though he would have killed her if he  hadn't been debilitated by the silver bullet.

She'd seen him at his worst, and yet she'd still not believed it was all  he was capable of. She'd put herself directly within reach of his jaws,  utterly disregarding the possibility that he might hurt her.

And he hadn't.

It would have been so easy for him to have moved his head and bitten  her. She'd been so close, within range even of his depleted body, but  with her fingers gripping his scruff and her words whispering to him,  he'd been caught by her spell, the real spell, the spell of their  connection, not the bullshit of that song. He'd been able to lie still  and not hurt her, even with the song screaming in his head. It was her  belief in him that had given him the strength to destroy the sound box,  to battle that cursed song, and summon strength into his devastated  body.

She'd accepted him completely, and now, he did the same for her,  breathing in deeply the fullness of their connection. He allowed himself  to think about how much she mattered to him, how she was the reason his  heart still beat. He absorbed her terror, taking it as his own,  reaching across the distance between them, opening his very soul to her.

He took a deep breath, opening himself still further to her. Abby.

He felt her startle, and then her mind reached for his. Jace!

Where are you?

My old apartment. She rattled off an address, not too far from the alley  where Jace had killed her sister. It was only two hours away.

I'm on my way, sweetheart. Stay alive until I get there. He broke the connection and sat up. "We're leaving now."

Kiernan scowled, but he stepped back, allowing Jace to stand. Drake was  already dressed, armed with several pistols that Jace knew were loaded  with silver bullets. Drake met his gaze. "Don't ever order me to shoot  you again," he said, his eyes dark. "I won't fucking do it."

Jace nodded. "I won't." And he knew he spoke the truth. He'd been weak,  not the alpha he'd needed to be, when he'd ordered Drake to take him  down. "I take responsibility for myself."

"Good." Drake handed him a gun. "You might need this."

Jace shoved it in the waistband of his jeans. "Let's go." They turned  toward the door, only to find their path blocked by Savannah. She was  dressed for combat in dark pants, a dark turtleneck, and black boots.  "I'm coming."

Drake stiffened beside him. "You're not."

She lifted her chin. "Seth matters to me."

"I know." Drake walked over to her. "But I got this one. You and Kiernan  need to get your brother to a new location before Lucius comes back.  He's still in danger."

Regret flickered through Savannah's eyes, but she lifted her chin. "You better get Seth," she warned.

"I will." There was a moment of hesitation, and then they both stepped  back. Drake turned away without another word, striding purposefully  toward the stairs.                       
       
           



       

Jace glanced over his shoulder at Savannah. She was watching them go,  her face a mask of yearning and fear. Jace frowned as he followed Drake  up the steps. "Something happen between you two?"

"No." Drake's denial had a hard edge, telling Jace there was more to the story than he was planning to share. "Where's Abby?"

"At her apartment." He shoved the door of the closet open and stepped  out into the now abandoned cabin. It stank of Lucius and other shifters,  of greed and death. What had they killed while they'd been up here? Not  that it mattered. They had no time. He sprinted through the cabin,  jerked open the front door, and then clenched his fist in victory when  he saw his SUV was still there. "Let's go. It's about two hours from  here." He knew what kind of damage Lucius could inflict in two hours,  and every second passing by was tearing him up.

"Two hours?" Drake swore as he yanked open the passenger door. "We'll never make it."

"What?" Jace stared at Drake as he leapt into the driver's seat, fear  suddenly gripping his spine. He realized Drake had never actually told  him what time or day it was. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and  looked. Son of a bitch. "Seth turns five in an hour and forty-five  minutes." He slammed the key into the ignition as fierce calm settled  over him. "We'll make it."

Drake gripped the dash. "Damn right we will."

Jace hit the gas, and the truck tore forward, churning up the gravel.  "Call Cash. We'll need backup if Grigori is there." He didn't just want  Lucius. He wanted Grigori, the depraved bastard who'd masterminded all  of it. Before he'd met Abby, he'd burned to stop Grigori on behalf of  all the innocents he'd killed, but now it was personal.

He wanted both Grigori and Lucius to be there, and he wanted to be the  one to destroy them. Not for himself. For the woman he loved.





Chapter 21





Abby heard the footsteps on the landing outside her apartment. Two sets,  both heavy, both clearly men. Dear God, was Grigori with him?

She swung to face the front door as the knob turned, fighting against  the fear trying to consume her. Lucius walked in first. Sleeping against  his shoulder was Seth. At the sight of him, Abby choked back a cry of  relief, not wanting to awaken the boy from the protection of sleep.