Unbound (Forbidden Bond Book 1)(33)

Griffin rose from his chair in disbelief. He strode around to Kayden and  lifted his face. He called his name and gently slapped him to get his  attention. It didn't work. "Release him, please," Griffin requested  politely.

Kayden then continued, as if he had never stopped, "Italian cold cut sub  with chips and cream soda. Hey, how did I get on the floor?" He jumped  up, embarrassed.

Ignoring Kayden, Griffin watched in bemusement. "Is there anything else you would like to share?"         

     



 

Without moving her lips, she spoke to him telepathically, "Is this  normal? I have the most trouble with answering people's thoughts and  unintentionally letting them hear mine. It kind of comes and goes, but  mostly I get pictures instead of words."

Shaking his head in astonishment, he replied verbally, "It's more common  than your other abilities. To block your thoughts, you should imagine  building a wall around your mind, or maybe locking your thoughts behind a  door. It will take practice, but it will help."

Kayden looked back and forth between her and Griffin. "What am I missing here?"

Griffin continued to ignore him. "I wish I had more information about your family. These things are usually hereditary."

The conversation was heading in a direction she wasn't going to go. "Is  there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Vaughn? I have an appointment  this evening, and it takes me several hours to get there, so I need to  get going." Dani went for the door, when it shut, untouched, in front of  her. She turned and eyed Griffin.

"There's a problem we need to discuss, Ms. Scott. You are a very  talented young lady, who has already been identified by whomever is  kidnapping our youth. We have already lost a talented young male. Two  females were abused and returned, and we are now missing two others.  It's not safe for you to be roaming around alone. Particularly since  your attacker promised to return for you."

"I'm not a member of your youth and will not be hiding in a corner from  anyone. As I'm sure you've noticed, I was completely capable of  defending myself."

Griffin came quickly toward her, his hand out as if he might grab her. "A young lady of your talents in the wrong hands-"

"Stop!" Danielle halted him with one word and a frantic need to escape his attempt to control her.

Both Griffin and Kayden froze, and she left the room quickly, hoping she  would be able to hold them long enough for her to get off the property.  She had no idea how far she could go before her ability gave way. On  the way out, she passed the boy, J. R., as Kayden had called him. They  smiled at each other, and he followed her to the door, working a  handheld video game. He smiled and waved as she jumped in her car. Even  in her hurry, she couldn't help waving back at the boy's sweet face and  dark-blue eyes peering at her from under long, dark lashes. He was her  brother. There was no questioning the resemblance, and she felt a  connection to the boy.

Dani shook herself. She had to get out of there. Her heart hammered when  she pulled up to the security gate. She smiled at the guard who had  admitted her and Kayden earlier. He gave a flirty wink and opened the  gate for her to exit. She was safely a few blocks away before she  thought to release her hold on the men she'd frozen. She didn't even  know if it was still in effect from that distance.

Dani drove a few miles in the wrong direction, nervously checking her  rearview mirror to be sure Kayden or the security guard weren't  following her before she finally hopped on the freeway and headed toward  home. She extracted her cell from deep in her jacket to call her mom,  who had a lot of explaining to do.





Griffin snapped out of Danielle's trance, confused at first and then  pissed off. He and Kayden began searching for her immediately. She had  just been there. Then she disappeared.

J. R. was playing in the entry hall when Griffin rushed in and quickly  scanned the area. "Who ya looking for, Daddy?" he asked with a grin.

"I'm looking for Danielle, the girl who came in with Kayden. Have you seen her?" Griffin ruffled his son's hair.

"Do you mean the really pretty girl that looks like you, Daddy?" J. R. managed to look away from his game.

Kayden and Griffin looked at each other. Griffin thought what he saw in  Danielle had been his imagination. He looked at Kayden for a reaction.

"It's probably just the hair, Mr. Vaughn," Kayden added.

"Yes, that girl." Griffin sighed. "Did you see her?"

"She left a little while ago. I walked to the door with her. I like her,  Daddy. She's pretty and she smells really good. Will she be back?" J.R.  returned his attention to the game.

"Hopefully she will be back very soon." Griffin ran into the study and  grabbed the phone to call the gatehouse. She couldn't have gotten far.  When the guard answered, Griffin said, "Stop the girl who's on the way  out. She needs to come back to the house."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Vaughn. A girl left about fifteen minutes ago. Is there another girl on the way out?" the guard asked.

"No, never mind." Griffin hung up the phone and went back into the hall  shaking his head, irritated but impressed. "She left fifteen minutes  ago. I can't believe she was able to use her power on me, an adult  vampire. I thought it was funny when she did it to you, but I figured it  was because you're young. I have been shielding my mind for years."  Griffin had this intense feeling of foreboding he couldn't comprehend.  He had become a hard-edged man after the loss of his first family. He  didn't take to new people, and he only really cared for his immediate  family.         

     



 

As soon as Griffin was sure the girl was gone, something began to turn  in his gut. He knew it was his duty to look after the talented girl in  that dangerous time, especially since she had no family. But it was more  than that. He felt the need to protect her, to shelter her. The last  time he had that feeling was a long time ago, in a dark alley when those  pale eyes stared up at him from that same petite frame. That must be  what was tweaking his nerves. Those eyes had reminded him of a lost  dream.

"What do you mean, when she did it to me?" Apparently Kayden didn't see the humor.

"How exactly did you think you ended up sitting on the floor facing the  wrong direction in my office?" Griffin smiled in spite of himself.

"She did that to me? Damn, I should have known. I saw her do it before."  Kayden scratched his head. "What should I do now? Do you want me to go  check the school?"

"No, she said she was going to an appointment several hours away. Do you have any idea where she was going?" Griffin asked.

"She didn't tell me, but I am going to search for her. I assume that you want her to be protected now."

"I think it's very dangerous for her out there alone. It's also  dangerous for us if she ends up in enemy hands. She was able to enthrall  both of us at once and hold it for fifteen minutes. She also has  telekinesis and telepathy. If there really is someone after talented  youth, she would be a target." Griffin scowled and tried to beat back  the anxiety tightening his chest.

"I would like to be her guardian, Mr. Vaughn. She's a friend of mine,  and I won't stand out in her circle. It will be more comfortable for her  to have me nearby than a stranger," Kayden explained.

"That's right. Your father called me earlier and requested I put you on  the job, if necessary. Congratulations on your entrance into the warrior  class. I know your father is very proud. You'll be a fine warrior,  maybe even a Wrath guard one day.

"This is an important assignment, Kayden, more so than I believed when I  spoke to your father, but I always defer to Gage's judgment in these  cases. I know you've been training with Gage your whole life, so I  believe you're up to the task. I just hope you can keep up with her. But  first things first, we're going to need to find her. You will need to  practice guarding your mind. She could be slippery." Griffin was still  in disbelief at how easy it was for her to walk out and disappear  without a trace.



It was a long ride home. Dani worried about Kayden and Griffin. She  hoped they weren't still frozen in the study. She pulled up to the curb  in front of her house and fished out her cell to call Kayden. She  understood the reason behind them wanting to protect her, but she  wouldn't be hiding while they dealt with the situation. She wasn't a  part of their world and had no plans to join the black-eyed freak club.

"Hello?" Kayden answered.

"Hey, Kayden, it's Dani. Are you guys okay?" she asked sheepishly. She  was waiting for him to yell at her, but he didn't. He was kind, even  playful.

"Yeah, that's a neat trick you played on us. We're fine, but I wish you  had waited for me. I could have gone with you, wherever you needed to  go. When will you be back?"

"Sunday afternoon. I'm sorry about what I did, but I have some personal  issues that couldn't wait. Mr. Vaughn is kind to want to protect me, but  I'm really not one of his people."