His Redeemer's Kiss Page 5

  “You’re doing wonderful.” The gentle encouragement warmed her, even though she couldn’t stop from boring the night ahead of them for more dangers, expecting the soldiers laying in wait to jump out at them at any second.

  “Keep going, Laney. We’re almost clear.” She could see the open path ahead of them in her mind’s eye. A path that would widen into a drive of sorts, leaving no room to doubt the help, or why. Or how. For the immediate moment. There’d be time for that later. Much, much later. When they were all safe again.

  Laney nodded in answer, her hands gripping mercilessly around the wheel until her knuckles were bloodless. Every little nudge of the steering wheel moved them. Every moment took them a little farther from those behind searching for them in their wake.

  “A little further, then you can increase your speed.”

  “How do you know?” He sounded so sure when she still couldn’t see more than a few feet into the swirling mess outside.

  “There aren’t any more trucks left in front of you. Diego has halted the remaining vehicles on the other side that were waiting to cut off your escape. He has removed those which could harm you at long range. Once you were free of his barrier, their long-range guns would have reached you too easily. He’ll be able to catch up soon. I’ll keep you hidden until you are safe.”

  She shook her head, mystified. “How did you manage that? How did you keep us from being seen? Where are you?”

  “You called them gifts,” he replied, adroitly bypassing the majority of her questions. She heard the whisper of his voice low and deep, the first hint of exhaustion weaving through his words as he spoke. “For the first time, I can also.”

  “Your curse?” she asked with a shiver of awe, unable to comprehend what he had done to protect them. Yet, there had been no mistaking the way the night had made way for them, embraced them, cloaked them in the swirling murkiness making up the drenched view of the pathway ahead of them, soaked with rain and shadows. It was a heavy blanket of darkness and moisture and she could only guess it was what had kept them invisible. Those same shadows continued to circle around the road and the front of the bus, almost like an amalgamation of shifting ghosts and darkness swirling and circling them ceaselessly. The rain thinned to a mere downpour.

  “That and many more.”

  Wow, was her first thought, and he chuckled in answer.

  “Just a few more minutes to make sure you won’t be followed,” he cautioned.

  Lily touched Laney’s leg, daring to feel a brief flare of relief at his latest news. “We’re almost clear. When we are, speed, but no lights. Not yet.” Laney nodded in understanding, her attention not faltering once. She’d handled the bus with finesse and skill, every inch precious in their escape.

  Miles rolled beneath the bus tires, leaving the mess of the cabin and several confused truckloads of men behind. It would take them time to know they’d missed their quarry by not just a little, but by hours and miles by the time they realized they could finally reach the cabin. They would also discover they had accumulated dozens of unaccountable casualties and losses caused by some force none would be able to explain.

  When the way opened up in front of the bus, headlights flicked on and Laney put the bus into a new gear, widening the gap of their escape by even more.

  * * * *

  Joaquin sank to his knees on the bus’s roof, trembling hands catching him when he collapsed forward. His head hung limply as he rode the silver and black beast while it gained speed, the rain he’d called flying in the wind behind him in streaming rivulets off of his head and shoulders. He was soaked to the skin and couldn’t find it in him to care. He was too drained to change his shape right then to leave the bus behind anyway.

  The second he released the shadows, Lily told the driver to turn on the headlights. Now, speed was the most important thing. Dizzy from expending so much energy, unused to being taxed in that capacity, he simply sagged on his hands and knees, weaving with the lumbering motions of the bus as they cleared the hidden dirt tracks for paved roads, then highways. He felt the burning trails biting into him from the thin branch ends that had sliced against flesh, tearing at his clothes as he’d kept his vigil over the people in the bus. He pushed the remaining pain out of his thoughts, their razor-sharp bite already beginning to fade as his body sealed the thinnest cuts. His fangs had extended long ago, craving to replenish his drained and wounded body, having awakened already in need. Yet, beyond the hunger and exhaustion, he felt exhilarated, felt alive in a way he hadn’t felt in centuries. And he would do it all again if needed for the caring beauty behind Lily’s voice, to know she was safe.

  He became aware of the vampire’s arrival as a pair of black boots landed at his shoulder. The boots, thankfully, were worn by probably the only other vampire Joaquin would care to meet in his weakened condition and not worry about his safety.

  The rest of the clouds ceased to tumble and roll overhead, a few splitting into fluffy charcoal masses as the fury and energy Joaquin had used dissipated, the same as the rain itself faded to mist, then nothing.

  A strong hand lowered and grabbed firmly, yet respectfully, around Joaquin’s arm, hefting him to his feet once more.

  Diego stared at him in silent contemplation for a moment or two, showing no sign of his thoughts in his bright eyes as they locked on Joaquin. Then, with little warning, and with Joaquin too exhausted to care to fight and not greatly worried over the outcome, Diego simply lifted him off the rear of the bus and carried him into the night.

  Chapter Four

  Lily slipped from the tiny bathroom on the bus wearing a clean band logo sweatshirt from the drawers to replace her nightshirt, feeling a little more human. David sat at the foldout table next to Laney, talking with Amy and Kathy on the opposite side. Houston had taken over driving, giving his wife a break after the stress of the escape. It wasn’t hard for Lily to figure the bus had been one of Tani’s tour buses for the band.

  Not long after their rescue, Titania had explained about being kidnapped, as well, by Albert Tenorio. Their band had had to cancel the second half of their tour, essentially vanishing from the public eye to keep the girls safe. Titania had never once whispered a word of condemnation for the change in her plans. It sometimes struck Lily out of the blue that so many people would change their entire lives for the four girls they had saved from the clutches of Hell. It surprised her more how much she thought of them as her friends now when she’d doubted ever having any such freedom in her life again. Lily crossed her arms over her body, leaning to stare out the slit that made a window between the side wall of the bus and the bedroom partition where Tabitha lay ignorant of the world around her. Night had fallen thick and dark as far as she could see. She had no idea where they were.

  “How long will it take to reach the new house?” Amy asked. Lily listened, but didn’t join the group. She felt too keyed up to sit.

  Laney shrugged now that she was sitting with them and everyone was a little calmer. “I imagine between twelve to sixteen hours depending on how hard it is on the mountains.”

  There was a collective sound of relief.

  “We’re just leaving ahead of schedule,” David quipped with a light joking tone, trying to downplay the seriousness and help them all relax.

  Lily glanced at him, then swept away before he connected with her gaze. She was pretty sure the lightness of his tone was forced, however well it was hidden. David hadn’t been left unscathed by Tenorio’s hands. She wasn’t entirely at ease around him regardless that he was Titania’s drummer and one of her best friends. Something about him just didn’t feel right. For the most part, Lily could ignore it, but she was completely tied into a knot at the moment. In the confined quarters, it was harder to fight the twitch reflex to avoid being close to any man.

  Lily remembered the story she’d heard from them. With Tenorio trying to draw Titania out, he’d kidnapped David and had taken him to the compound where Diego and Tani had then found the girls also being h
eld. David’s tortures were well hidden, most of them healed beneath his own clothes, the same as hers now were. Only hers covered her entire body, a winding, slashing tapestry of thin cuts, lash scars, and gouges.

  “At least Nathan is already there. The security will be in place and it’s even better camouflaged than the cabin was.” Lily wasn’t ready to accept any place would be better, no matter how positive David sounded.

  Kathy’s expression was pensive. “How did he find the cabin?”

  Silence pervaded the small space of the interior cabin. Lily closed her eyes against the threatening rise of bile, her fears surging to the front. Tenorio had found them, and a lot faster than any of them had anticipated. He could do it again. A hidden location was no guarantee of safety. Even if she had to remain on the run for the rest of her life, she’d never let herself become one of his test subjects again.

  “I don’t know,” Laney said, interjecting some soothing warmth into her own words. “Diego may know by the time he catches up with us.”

  “Are they okay?” Lily asked, speaking for the first time. It had been hours since she’d felt Joaquin’s withdrawal. Tani hadn’t said a peep in as long. After relying on both of them, it bothered her that they’d left her in silence since the last words she’d shared with Joaquin.

  Laney focused on her clutched hands on the table for a moment. “I feel them. They are okay, just not real close.”

  Lily wished Joaquin would say something, but didn’t want to reach out to him, unsure about her sudden depth of shyness or her unordinary craving to connect to him. He was a block of unanswered questions, one she feared finding all the answers to.

  Like how had he kept them from being seen? How had he created a storm, any storm, of that magnitude? Why did she want to feel his touch, hear his voice in her thoughts? Why did she feel any level of comfort whenever she spoke with him? It only happened when she was talking to him. No one else. How could she feel at ease with him now, when even the thought of being near David left her feeling clammy and edgy? She didn’t feel quite so threatened by Joaquin any longer, but why? She was wary. That was an irrefutable fact, but now she was also intrigued by him, by his gifts. She hadn’t actually met him, yet he’d risked his life to help them escape the sneak attack on the cabin simply because he’d heard her yell at him.

  Where is he now? Her eyes drifted shut and she let her confused mind relax, calming the tumultuous heaves of her stomach, all delayed reactions to the last few hours. Fear had become such a constant in her life. It felt surreal to realize she had unbelievably begun to live outside of that box of fear in the last few months. It should have been no surprise, then, that when the source of those known fears reared up like a demonic specter and dumped a backlash of pain and fear on her lap, she felt like the same person she’d been when they’d first rescued her.

  Beaten. Broken. Scared to breathe. Tipping forward, she rested against the cool glass, watching the reflection of the stars in the glass flicker as they swayed along the imperfections of the highway. She regained her equilibrium a heartbeat at a time.

  The sensation of the bus slowing a little later startled her and she yanked her pensive gaze forward to the front of the bus. “What’s happening?” Her mouth suddenly felt dry. Had they hit something? Was something wrong with the bus?

  Houston slowed and pulled cautiously to the side of the road. A moment later, he opened the door to what appeared to be an empty highway.

  “Someone order takeout?” she heard Tani say with a cheerful lilt in her voice as she clambered on board, her arms full of bags and cartons as she appeared through the split doors. “I hope you guys like Chinese.” Lily felt the tension leak out of her shoulders, trying to relax, and finding it to be a lot harder than she would’ve imagined.

  With her on board, Houston closed the doors and started moving forward again. Lily let out a breath seeing her, almost wistfully, searching beyond her to the door, half hoping that… The truth smacked her with a dose of reality.

  No. She wasn’t. She didn’t…couldn’t. Could she? Was she really looking for Joaquin? Was she expecting him to be with Tani? Did she want to meet him? Was she ready to see face to face the man who she’d connected with, the man who had done so much to help them escape? Unable to answer herself truthfully, she focused on what Tani was saying instead.

  “Sorry I couldn’t catch up sooner. Diego wanted to take some time to slow down any chance of pursuit. We’re all clear now.”

  “They were from Tenorio’s compound, weren’t they?” Kathy asked, a panicky twitch causing her to wrap her hands together.

  Tani set the aromatic bags down on the Formica table with David lending a hand to help her spread them out for everyone to enjoy. “Unfortunately. We’re still searching how they found us.”

  Lily caught Tani’s automatic inclusion into their problems. They were all in this together. The truth of hearing it eased Lily’s apprehension a little. Returned some of her waning strength that she’d lost in the last few hours. She knew they wouldn’t turn their backs on them because Tenorio was heating up the hunt, but her realm of experience was short and warped anymore when it came to steadfast friends.

  “He’ll find us again,” Lily stated, her gaze raking the group, then returning to stare out the small window she’d claimed, hoping she never saw the extremes it would take to lose her closest friends. “He’ll never give up.” She had no doubt to that, none in the least.

  Motions slowed, then ceased, stilling the preoccupied drag of Styrofoam across the table with all eyes finding her once more. Then, Titania purposely flipped cartons open and produced plasticware to eat with, not letting the dire predictions deter her intentions.

  “No, he won’t, which is why we’re trying to find out as much as we can from the men who were sent tonight. Diego is searching them now, looking for the people behind the orders. If it goes straight to Tenorio, we know who he is. We only need the chance to find him. Nathan’s last report was that he hadn’t returned to California yet. If it was someone else who ordered this attack, then we will know, and can protect you better.”

  Tani sat down on one of the long cloth benches, her hands lying easily on her lap as she continued. “We never promised this would be easy on any level, Lily. We did promise you protection and stability to heal.”

  Lily’s shoulders shrunk in. “I know.” She looked over her shoulder, catching the other woman’s almost blank blue stare. “I can’t go back, Tani. I can’t. And I won’t.” No one would understand the terrors Lily had seen. Tabitha would know, but she laid silently, no more than a breathing corpse barely feet from where Lily stood. Not even Amy or Kathy knew the deepest atrocities Albert Tenorio had inflicted on his ‘subjects’. They hadn’t been there as long, less than a year each. Tenorio hadn’t begun to do his worst to them. They should be thankful.

  Tani stood and approached to stop at her shoulder. A tender hand swept a wave of red hair away from her shoulder and face. Gentled, her voice lowered to make the conversation private between them. “It won’t come to that, Lily. Tenorio will be stopped. He beat us to the first punch. It’s an advantage he won’t be able to exploit twice. We just need to find out what gave him that advantage.”

  “You believe Diego can do that?” She desperately wanted to have that same blind faith in her benefactor, and almost could, but she’d, at best, rarely seen Diego and had spoken to him even less. It was like he was doing his best to not overwhelm the women. He was a very imposing, intimidating figure when he looked a certain way, which was fairly often. It was his nature. He was a leader, undoubtedly the one who protected them all. Being considerate and soft of his charges was unusual for her to see. He was the protective force, while Tani was the caring part of the pair. His kind had been the vicious type she feared the most at the compound. Silent stealth and strength, and there was no way to win against that fear.

  Absolute conviction warmed Tani’s usually pale features, bringing a brighter sparkle to her dark blue eyes.
“I believe Diego can do anything. I’ve seen him do the impossible. Just have a little faith in your future, Lily. It’s just beginning. Don’t let it slip through your fingers so soon.”

  “I know.” Lily nodded, but wasn’t sure she believed it yet.

  “Come eat something,” Tani offered, beckoning toward the table where other conversations were about anything but their near escape. “I brought plenty to get us through to breakfast.”

  Lily cast a glance at the table full of people, but even them and the scents of orange and cashew chicken couldn’t help her drum up even an interest of an appetite. “Maybe later,” she answered, swinging around to look sightlessly out the window. “I’ll check on Tabitha.”

  Tani’s expression was understanding, giving Lily time to find her feet again after the rushed departure from their cabin. No one else may have known how shaken she felt over the near escape, hearing the shattering whistle of the incoming missiles that had been meant for them, and their total destruction. There had been no subdue and capture in their plans. Refusing to let the chilled knowledge escalate into something she wouldn’t be able to keep at bay, she turned and opened the bedroom door to disappear into the private mini-room where Tabitha lay.