Kayden went back out to the hammock. After only one day with Dani, he completely understood why Chase had gone a little nuts. He dozed off, looking at the stars and thinking of Dani and that hot kiss.
After having scorching dreams about pale skin, clear-blue eyes, and vanilla-flavored passion, Kayden woke to bright morning sunlight. He'd been outside all night. It was much cooler than the day before. After a shower and a few more minutes of debating whether or not he could share Dani, he went to knock on the guest room door. Why did the idea bother him so much? He had never been in an exclusive relationship. He was the bad boy, the loner. This should be right up his alley, but the alley was starting to feel kinda crowded to him.
"There you are. I was beginning to worry," Koren Paris said, wrapping her loving arms around her son. Koren was a tall blonde with blue eyes that were always smiling. She was such a contrast to his stoic father, but they balanced each other out. Kayden was beginning to notice things like that. He noticed things he never paid attention to before, like the way his mother could totally disarm his father and have the tiger of a man purring like a kitten within moments of arriving home. He wondered if that was what love did to a person.
Kissing his mother's cheek, he asked, "Why would you be worried, Mom?"
"Your father and Dani were trying to reach you, but you didn't answer your phone. They left without you. Gage was uncomfortable about removing Dani from your care, but she insisted that she go with them to search for the missing boy." Worry lines creased Koren's forehead.
"What? Where did they go?" Kayden was confused, and his pulse began to pound in his ears.
"Apparently the boy that's missing was reaching out for help. Like a telepathic SOS. He reached Dani somehow in her sleep. She woke your father and me before dawn, saying he was reaching out for help. He is trying to lead us to him. She said she could see the room he was in, and she was sure he was by the water from the smell and sounds she was picking up. That girl is really very gifted, and lovely, too."
"I know, she's perfect, Mom. Could you get to the part where they left without me?" Kayden's mind reeled while he listened to his mother recap the morning's events. "She went on a strike with the Wrath! I don't believe this! I never would have allowed this to happen! When did they leave? Where were they going?" Kayden ran toward his room to get geared up, and he dragged his mother along, demanding answers.
Kayden and Koren reached the Enclave not long after the returning Wrath teams. Before they left the house, Koren had gotten a call from Gage's secretary at the Enclave informing her that he would be tied up all day. The strike was over. She couldn't give much detail other than things had gone wrong. The Stafford boy and Danielle had both been injured during the rescue attempt.
Kayden sped the entire way to the Enclave and ran ahead of his mother when they finally arrived. Passing a wrecked vehicle, he noticed the blood smeared down the driver-side window and a small bloody handprint on the hood. He wondered if it was Dani's handprint, or one of the boy's. He wanted to rage at the idea of her being hurt. She'd said he made her feel safe. She'd said he was there when she needed him, and now she was hurt because he had failed on both counts.
Kayden went straight to the infirmary, where warriors waited for word of Dani's condition. There must have been fifty of them lined up in the hall. They had all gotten word of her bravery and came to lend their support. They all looked up at him when he rounded the corner, and Darren, who was a Wrath team leader, stepped in front of the door to the medical wing.
"Get out of my way, Darren!" Kayden growled as several other warriors grabbed him.
"No can do, Superman. The commander said to keep you out here until the warrior is patched up. He said you were too busy to care for your charge earlier, so now he will tend to her until she's ready to be seen." Kayden tried to free himself. Darren smiled, amused, watching Kayden struggle against the warriors who detained him.
Coming up behind the struggle, Koren stepped up. "You said a warrior is being patched up. Who else was injured?" She put a hand on Kayden's chest, willing him to calm down.
"Only the female was injured. She was the only one to see any action. I guess she didn't need all of us trained soldiers. The commander said she went after the boy like he was her charge to protect. She did what she had to do at the risk of her own life to save him. She was as much a warrior as any one of us. So the warrior, Danielle, is being patched up now." Darren spoke reverently of the girl, and the hall exploded with shouts of approval and agreement.
Several hours earlier
Dani tossed and turned fitfully in the plush bed. Every time she drifted off to sleep, she dreamed of a boy calling for help. He pleaded over and over for someone, anyone, to come release him from his prison. His fear seeped into her own heart until she woke screaming for help along with him. Dani panted and crawled to the bathroom to wash her face in hopes of chasing away the nightmare of being enslaved. His knowledge that he would die just like the others was a sour taste on her tongue. In her dream, his horror, his pain, and his fear were hers as well.
Dani jumped when the door to the guest room flew open and Gage Paris entered looking ready for battle. He wore pajama pants and his dark hair was mussed, but he looked every bit the soldier with his double-fisted guns, bulging muscles, and eyes the black of midnight. Her scream must have startled the entire house.
"It's okay!" She stepped out of the bathroom with her hands in the air. Something about having guns pointed in your direction makes a girl want to surrender in a hurry. "I'm so sorry, Gage. I had a nightmare and I screamed."
Gage's eyes continued to scan the room for danger. Dani stayed put while he checked the bathroom, the closet, and under the bed for hidden danger. When he faced her again his eyes had returned to the hazel that was so much like Kayden's, and his guns were lowered to his sides.
"I apologize if I frightened you, Danielle. We're all on high alert with the recent kidnappings." He looked away in deference to her modesty. She wore a nightgown that covered her from neck to knees, but he seemed embarrassed at seeing her like that. "Would you like me to send Koren in to talk to you? I'm sure the stress of recent days contributed to your bad dream. She's a great listener." He stepped into the hall, where he couldn't see her any longer.
"No, thank you, Mr. Paris, I'll be fine. I'm just going to get back to bed. I'm truly sorry for causing such a ruckus." Her cheeks heated. How embarrassing.
"Gage, is she alright?" Mrs. Paris called from down the hall.
"Everything's fine, Koren. It was just a nightmare," he called back. "Go back to bed, honey. I'll be right there." His voice softened when he spoke to his mate. "Good night, Danielle," he said to Dani as he pulled the door shut.
Dani climbed back into bed and sighed. She would never get back to sleep. Her heart still sped in her chest. She took a few calming breaths, trying to clear her mind of everything but the need for sleep. Closing her eyes, she focused on her breathing, taking deep lungfuls of air and releasing them slowly. She imagined all of her stress and worries being swept away by the oxygen so she could sleep peacefully. Her body melted into the mattress. Just as she began to drift off, the boy's faint voice reached her ears again. Only this time she was awake. She sat straight up in bed and listened closely. There it was again, just like her dream. She could hear someone calling for help.
"Where are you?" she asked the room, feeling insane.
Oh thank God! Someone heard me! My name is Christopher Stafford … He kept talking but his voice faded out.
Are you still there? she asked in a panic. This was clearly not a dream. Christopher was the name of the missing boy. Her telepathic ability was doing some good tonight, it seemed. He was talking to her.
I need help! That came through loud and clear. She just needed him to keep it up like that. Okay! I'll keep it up! he told her more loudly.
Dani leapt from the bed and began to pull on clothes. That last bit hadn't been said out loud. She was thinking it. So there was no need for her to talk to the empty room.
You just keep talking to me, Christopher, and I'll get us help. She tried to sound confident so he would stay calm and give her any details he could about his location. She opened the bedroom door and headed in the direction Gage had gone, calling Gage's name because she didn't know which bedroom belonged to him and Koren. He was sure to think she was as crazy as she was feeling.
Thankfully, Commander Paris-that was how everyone else addressed him-and his mate, Koren, believed her immediately. They quickly searched the house for Kayden and both she and Gage tried to call his cell, but they got no answer. Christopher was sounding increasingly panicked, and his anxiety was rubbing off on Dani. They needed to go find him quickly before his captor came to claim him.