Unbound (Forbidden Bond Book 1)(43)

     



 

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.