That sweet child was nude. The only scrap of cloth on her was the panties that had been pushed down to her knees. Her body was covered with cuts and bruises. Her neck was the worst-looking injury. Griffin grabbed the blanket off the bed and covered her before he scooped her up off the floor and laid her across the bed.
"Somebody get her some clothes. Kayden, get your ass over here and help me dress her," Griffin barked. He could see Kayden leaning against the end of the bed in bewilderment. Danielle look like death, but she was still breathing.
"She's not dead, Kayden." Chase then let out a huge sigh of relief from the doorway. Griffin leaned over the girl on the bed and examined her neck. It was clear she had been strangled, and more than once. It struck him as he looked down at her dark hair all spread out with the white and traces of red fanned through it that she did indeed resemble his family, and him in particular. It sent an adrenaline-charged sense of protective fury shooting through his veins. His head spun, and that's when he heard it. That voice in the back of his mind that whispered sweetly to him at night. But it was no whisper of devotion and love. It was of devastating loss and pain. It was a heartwrenching cry of agony that clawed at his chest, until he was forced to take the girl up into his arms and hold her against his chest. He sat on the bed, rocking her, and listened to the pained whimper in his mind.
It's okay. She will be fine. We will fix this, I promise, he told the voice. He was truly beginning to think he was going insane. When had he started responding?
Several warriors, along with Mason and Chase, looked at him in confusion. He continued rocking the girl and holding her tight. Mason's cell rang, and he cursed under his breath on the way out the door. Danielle stirred in Griffin's arms, and he pushed the hair out of her face.
"Hey there, sunshine." She opened her eyes and looked at him. Those ice-blue eyes were breathtakingly pale and bright at the same time. She laid her head back down on his shoulder.
"You came for me. You heard me," she rasped. The sound was like gravel in her damaged throat.
"Of course I did. I'll always come when you call me. We are kindred spirits, sweet girl. I hear you clearly when you call." He comforted the trembling slip of a girl in his arms. Everyone looked at him. It was so quiet. Everyone wanted to hear her explanation.
"He wanted to take me to the hunter. His master, he called him. He had to take me alive, so they could drain me later. We fought until I couldn't fight anymore, and then he tried to rape me. He wanted to teach me a lesson before he turned me over. I would rather die than be taken alive or raped. He said they're everywhere, and they watch every move I make. He's a warrior, Griffin. I saw him every day, but he never talked to me."
"I know, Danielle. Don't talk anymore. Kayden is here to help you get some clothes on, so we can get you out of here," he soothed. Her eyes shot open and the name came soundlessly across her lips, but it was unmistakable and tears began to flow instantly, as she tried to search the room with her eyes until she found him.
"Kayden!" She reached for him, and Griffin stood to allow Kayden to sit and hold the girl. Griffin transferred her to Kayden, who promptly nuzzled his face into her hair and murmured comforting pledges of love and apologies for failing her. Chase left the room as if it were on fire. When the body of the rogue warrior was removed, Griffin cleared the room to allow her privacy to get dressed and gather her things.
The Wrath had left, but Gage stayed behind to give the desk clerks and human police officers who had been called for a disturbance a thorough mind scrubbing. Chase paced the hall and cast glaring looks at the door that concealed Danielle and Kayden. Mason's phone rang again and he ignored it. Griffin stood outside the door and pondered the strange sense of recognition he felt, not to mention the faraway cry in his mind that had since faded.
"We have a huge problem here, Griffin," Mason said without looking at him. "People, warriors in particular, and council members whose families have been protected by this warrior, are not going to be happy when they hear of his death. You know the law, Griffin. We'll have to take her to trial."
"I can't believe this shit," Chase murmured, more to himself than to anyone else.
"I don't even think she realizes she killed him, Mason. Did you see her? She was brutalized and bloody. How can we fault her for defending herself against abduction and rape? We can't do that to a girl who has sacrificed herself repeatedly to protect our children," Griffin cursed.
"If the rest of the council calls for it, we'll have to comply. Murdering another vampire carries a death penalty, and the other warriors are not going to stand for the death of one of their own without investigation, no matter what she says happened. I just think we should be prepared for all possibilities."
Griffin knew Mason's reasoning was solid. They needed to be ready to appease the public and convince the rest of the council to see things their way if this went south.
The elevator door opened and Darren leapt out, followed by Gage, who was explaining the situation. Darren held on tightly to his barely leashed rage. He pushed the broken hotel room door open to find Kayden sitting on the bed with Dani on his lap. This pissed him off even more. That little shit shouldn't have the right to touch her. Kayden couldn't even keep her safe for a few hours. He wasn't worthy of holding her shoes, much less her.
"You wanna tell me what the hell you were doing that you could have missed an assassin in the room? Some warrior you are!" Darren barked.
"If you must know, we were in bed, and Dani began projecting. We were a little distracted." Kayden tucked her face into his neck.
Danielle gingerly got up from Kayden's lap and grabbed her duffel bag. Darren put an arm around her waist and guided her to the wall, removing her bag from her shoulder and tossing it on the bed. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and said, "I hate to do this to you, but it's necessary."
Kayden jumped up to protest, but Dani halted his efforts. "It's alright, Kayden. I've been catching everyone's thoughts, so I was kind of expecting this. I didn't realize I killed that man. I don't understand how I could have killed him, but I did." Tears ran down her face. "I know I'm not above the law. I did nothing wrong, so I'll go quietly," she sniffed.
"You don't need to cuff her, Darren." Griffin stepped forward. Mason and Chase came to back him up.
"Yes, I do. There are warriors downstairs in the parking lot. The news of a dead warrior spreads quickly, and they expect justice. If the public finds out that a warrior was killed with no recourse, there will be lawlessness and open season on the warriors." Darren glared at Kayden.
"I think if she gets special treatment because of her relationship with everyone here, it will send the wrong message to the rest of the warriors regarding their importance to our society. We defend all in our race. If our leaders don't defend us against the possibility of foul play, it will drag down morale and cause mixed emotions. It's too bad she was left alone with no witness to her assault."
He cuffed Dani's hands behind her back as loosely as possible. Her wrists were so small she could wiggle out of them with some effort and a few bruises. Every other man in the room looked on in shock. The "Angel of Wrath" looked directly at each of them with those stunning ice-blue eyes that overflowed with tears as she passed them on the way out of the room. Each one of them felt the sting of her grief for having taken a life, and her fear of the consequences rolled off of her in palpable waves. She was so overwhelmed that she couldn't stop herself from projecting her pain into their minds, and each one of them wavered under the strength of her emotions.
Chase stepped in front of the doorway and wrapped his arms around Dani's shoulders. He was surprised, and a sweet pain shot through him when she laid her head on his chest and nuzzled her face against him, embracing him the only way she could with her hands bound behind her.
I love you, Danielle, my Lovely, he told her telepathically, stroking her hair and back.
She blinked away more tears and sent back into his mind, And I will always love you, Chase. I will still love you, even after you've forgotten me in the throes of your blood bond. Danielle told him the truth of her feelings, minus the attitude she normally used to deflect her pain. Darren nudged her to get her moving, and she was pushed against Chase to get past him.
I'm sorry you witnessed all of this between Kayden and me, but you and I were over before we even got a chance to start. My heart can't handle missing you anymore. I can't continue longing for something I will never have.