Unbound (Forbidden Bond Book 1)(52)

Kayden sat in silence at Chase's dining room table with his head down.  He fought the cold pain in his chest and the tears threatening to  shatter his tough-guy image. As soon as the call went out that Dani had  been taken, all the warriors fanned out across the city to look for the  van that had been used. It had been reported stolen, so the human police  were also looking for the vehicle. The human police scanners were being  monitored from the Enclave.

Mason and Griffin grimly discussed defense strategies for dealing with  the attack that they could expect from whomever would be taking  Danielle's life and power that night. How would they defend against  someone who could put them down before they could even see him coming?  How could they defend against someone who could disable an entire Wrath  team at once with just a thought? How could they defend against someone  who could read their memories and steal their defense strategies?

Kayden couldn't even begin to pay attention to Mason and Griffin or help  plan the next move. His future had just disappeared. She had been  stolen in broad daylight, off the street. He should never have trusted  Chase to protect her. Chase couldn't even protect her from his own  fiancée. Chase had shut himself in his bedroom. He blamed himself for  Danielle's disappearance, and he should have.

Debbie entered the dining room with a bag from the dress shop. "Griffin,  do you know how to reach Danielle's next of kin? We should notify them  and send her belongings." Kayden lifted his head for the conversation.

"Actually, she has no family. There is no next of kin for us to call.  Nobody out there will be missing her or wondering where she is tonight,"  Griffin replied sadly. Chase emerged from his room to stand in the  doorway.

"I guess we should give her things to Kayden then?" Debbie walked to the  end of the table and set the bag in front of Kayden. She patted him on  the back.

"Why would you give it to Kayden?" Chase chimed in.

"She gave me a message for you, Kayden." Debbie turned to address  Chase's question. "Her last words before she climbed into that monster's  van were for him. She was so brave. She was trying to comfort J. R. the  whole time. Right up until he stabbed that needle into her leg." She  turned back to Kayden. "Do you want to go talk in the other room?" she  asked him.

"No! Tell me now! What did she say?" he barked and then took a deep  breath to calm himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm  just not dealing with this well, Mrs. Deidrick."

"It's alright, Kayden." She stroked his shoulder. "It was clear to me  that you and Danielle had a special relationship. She told us you were  taking her to the gala as her date, not just as a warrior escort. She  was actually wearing the gown she'd tried on for the event when he took  her. I guess I should have paid for that gown," Debbie said, her  thoughts wandering.

"What did she want you to tell me, Mrs. Deidrick?" Kayden asked, trying to reel her back in.

Debbie reached into her pocket and retrieved the broken necklace with  the warrior charm Danielle had given her and dangled it in front of  Kayden. He took it and couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"She asked me to give you this. She wanted you to know that she was  sorry and said you shouldn't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault."



Nathan felt the glorious thrill of victory when he pulled away from the  curb downtown with his quarry unconscious in the back. He'd stolen the  van to pull off the abduction. It had gone perfectly. It had been too  easy to grab the boy out of the store when he'd stood by the door,  looking bored and obviously unattended. Nathan had received a call from a  trusted source with information regarding the girl's general location  and absence of any warrior protection. How the information was obtained  didn't matter. He had been overjoyed when the call came in. He hadn't  heard from his master since the day his master had tossed him  unceremoniously onto the street. This was Nathan's chance to get back  into his master's good graces.         

     



 

It was a stroke of luck to witness the exchange of affection and  playfulness between Danielle and the unknown boy she embraced. It was  just what Nathan needed. He knew she wouldn't let anyone harm a kid, if  she could prevent it. All he had to do was get his hands on the kid, and  the girl would follow. He hadn't done too much damage to the kid. He'd  cut just enough to make the girl move faster at the slightest trace of  blood on the kid's neck. He had released the boy as soon as she was out,  and slammed the door shut, racing away from the scene. He ran a red  light to prevent either of the two witnesses from following him.

In the rearview mirror he could see the girl sprawled on the floor in  her fancy gown. He laughed, thinking to himself that she was even  gift-wrapped. On the other side of town was an abandoned warehouse near  the port. His master used it as a holding tank for his men and hostages,  as needed. Nathan would go there to get in touch with his master via  his guards. Without a valid phone number or address for his master,  Nathan had no other option. The area was quiet, but he proceeded with  caution. He knew they would see him coming and attack if he weren't  careful.

Rounding the last turn, he was shocked to see yellow police tape across  the main entrance to the building. He pulled over and went to try the  door. It was unlocked, so he pulled down the tape to enter. The place  was vacant. There was no one to report his capture to or help him get in  contact with the master. What was he going to do with her? Shit, he  wasn't sure how much of the drug he had left, but if he couldn't get her  to his master, he was sure he had enough to kill her. He wouldn't allow  anyone else to steal his glory and turn her in, and he knew he couldn't  hold her once she woke. He cursed and stepped out of the warehouse.  Nathan opened the driver-side door and climbed into the seat a second  before a shot rang out, shattering the window and spraying glass and hot  metal into the van.





Chase couldn't take it anymore. They didn't even have a body, and  everyone was acting like she was already dead. She'd only been missing a  few hours. The warriors and Wrath were still out searching. Kayden, the  mighty warrior, should have been out there with them, but he was  apparently happy to sit there and be the grieving widower to a girl who  didn't even belong to him. It pained Chase that he'd driven Danielle  right into Kayden's arms, and there he sat, clutching her shirt to his  face.

If he really loved her, Kayden would know she was still alive, the way  Chase did. He would feel her energy buzzing in his mind. If he had ever  really felt the depth of her soul, he would know her heart still beat  strong.

Taking a deep breath, Chase entered Danielle's room. Her scent was so  strong in there, it took his breath away. He hadn't been in that room  since she moved into his home. The pajamas she'd worn during breakfast  were lying across the bottom of the bed. There was a bottle of pink nail  polish on the bedside table that matched the shade of the toes he'd  admired while she sat with her feet propped up on the chair at his side.  Her closet door was open, and he noticed that her clothes were hung  neatly by color from darkest to lightest. He didn't know why, but that  made him laugh. He opened one of her drawers, and all the socks and  underwear were organized in a similar fashion, neatly folded and  separated by graduating color. Even her dirty clothes were already  separated and ready for the laundry room. She just hadn't seemed that  anal to him.

Chase flopped down on the bed and decided to see if he could reach her.  They had a connection, and if he tried hard enough, maybe he could find  her. Chase realized that he was grasping at straws, but it was worth a  shot. He concentrated on her and called her to him in his mind. He  reached out further and further to find the unique sound of her voice.  Chase concentrated on the sense of oneness they shared when they were  joined and communicating, as if they were two parts of a whole.

He had to smile when he thought of how she would think of him, unaware  that he could hear it plainly. But her ability to control her  projections was improving, much to his dismay. She said he smelled like  happiness, sunshine, and love. He wanted to be all those things for her  and more.

Time passed with no response. The fear built again. Chase demanded she respond to him, but there was nothing but dead air.

He couldn't sit there waiting for news any longer. He got to his feet  and went back to the dining room. "She's still out there, Kayden. I can  still feel her. I love her and I'm not going to stop looking until I  know she's really gone. I know you care for her too." Chase put out a  hand to his oldest friend. "Let's go. We can cover twice as much ground  together."         

     



 



It was unfathomable to Mason. His son, Chase, and Kayden, who'd been his  son's best friend since childhood, seemed to be in competition over his  goddaughter. Mason wondered if they would fight over her if they knew  she was half-human.