Daylight, a Timeless Series Novel (31 page)

“It’s
…it’s from Colt,” I murmured. Daniel appeared at my side, holding my shoulder.

“
Yes, it’s his handwriting,” Daniel said.

I blinked back the tears. How? Why? What was it? My fingers traced the words and I looked to see the return address—the cabin.
It was postmarked from there too. I pushed the package onto the ottoman.

“What if it’s a trap
?” I looked up at Callon, begging for some sort of judgment.

“That’s why we’re in the library,” Callon replied. “We’re protected in here.”

“It’s safe then?”

“Yes.”

“What if something leaps out and attacks us?”

“I’ll whisk you away, Cheyenne,” Daniel said
, squeezing my shoulder.

I stared at the package, my thumb rolling over my Servak ring. Colt would never do anything to harm me, but Marcus would do just about anything to get me. Callon said we were protected…I had to find out what Colt sent me.

I lifted the small square box and gently pulled the brown paper away, revealing a cardboard container. I carefully peeled away the tape and opened the lid. A small black velvet jewelers box sat protected by packing peanuts. I set the box down and slowly pulled the black velvet box out. I hesitated, not sure what to expect.

My heart raced
, and I tried to still my shaking hands as I opened it. A single glance was all it took. I lost all ability to breathe and dropped the box, spilling the contents. I blinked. Daniel had jumped me further away, near the entry, his arm around me.

“It’s okay,” he said.

Callon strode over, picking up the fallen item.

“It’s—it’s my bracelet,” I murmured.
Callon nodded, his fingers tracing the stones.

“What is it?” Brogan stepped closer. “It looks like a
harmless piece of jewelry to me.”

“It is
.” Callon turned towards me. “It’s a bracelet Colt gave Cheyenne last Christmas.”

“
I left both halves of it in Montana,” I said. “I…It was too much to bring it with me.”

“
So it’s a trap,” Maes said.

“
No, it means we know where to start looking for clues,” Koda countered.

“
Clues that will lure you into Marcus’s grasp,” Maes growled.

“
Wait,” I replied. “Why would Marcus care what was in the cabin? He’d know Callon wouldn’t have left anything behind.” I swallowed. “These wouldn’t have had any meaning to him.”

“He could have forced it out of Colt,” Brogan broke in
. “I agree with Maes. Marcus is trying to bait you.”

“
Enough!” Callon said. “Cheyenne has a point. I don’t doubt Marcus would have had the cabin searched from top to bottom to find something to use against us. They wouldn’t have bothered with the bracelets.” He glanced at me. “There’s a chance Colt must have found a way to send this, to let us know he was alive. He wouldn’t know we saw him through Tre and Jayna. He probably wrote the address himself so the information wouldn’t leak.”

Maes scowled.

“I still don’t buy it,” he said. “If Colt found an ally, why wouldn’t they have made themselves known to us?”

“Who cares?” Daniel blurted. “It means Colt’s still on our side, and he’s asking for help!”

“We can’t just ignore him,” I added. “He must’ve risked a lot to get this to us.”

“So Callon,” Brogan said, “what will you do?
How much are you willing to risk for your brother?”

Callon was silent for a long while.

“We’re not in a position to do much right now,” he said at last.

“But Callon…” I began.

“Cheyenne, this isn’t something we should rush into,” Callon interrupted. “The bracelets might have come from the cabin, but we saw that Colt was in the forest with Marcus. It could be the forest near his compound. We need to gather more data.”

I clenched my fists. We had the proof we needed
, and he still wanted to wait around?

Daniel bent close to my ear.

“I know, Cheyenne,” he whispered. “I want him back too. We’ll bring him home.” He kissed my cheek. “I promise.”

Chapter 16

Helena, Montana
. I typed in the arrival destination on the flight search. I tapped my fingers impatiently on the kitchen counter, waiting for the details of the search to pop up. Rain splattered on the windowpane, and I stared out into the dreary landscape. What I wouldn’t have given for a good snowfall. The monotonous months of fall and winter were dragging on. I could only hope spring brought some sunshine.

It
had been weeks since Callon had sent Quinn, Skylar, and Clayton out to dig up more information, weeks that had passed with little to no contact. Weeks that we could have been doing something, anything, except sitting here and twiddling our thumbs, as my mom used to say.

I knew where
I’d start looking—the cabin was the most obvious place—but they wouldn’t listen. I thought with my heart; they thought with facts. I wasn’t going to win this battle easily. Yet I had to start something. I was going crazy just waiting…

The kitchen door swung open.

“What are you up to?” Koda asked.

I jumped and slammed the laptop closed.
Hopefully he hadn’t seen the search window.

“Stop scaring me like that!” I snapped
, brushing the hair from my eyes. If I was caught trying to do this on my own, I’d never hear the end of it. I could hear Brogan now, “
Well, our little princess thinks she can just run out and save her knight in shining armor…”

Koda strolled closer, his eyes on the laptop.

“Whatcha looking for?”

I averted his gaze.

“Stuff.”

“Like?” He raised a brow.

“Wedding stuff.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the counter.

“Don’t lie. It doesn’t suit you.”

I looked down at my hands
. I shouldn’t have lied, but…

“I was searching for a new invisibility cloak.”

Koda let out a bellowing laugh. At the same time, Daniel pushed the kitchen door open.

“What’s going on in here?”
he asked, a smile plastered on his lips.

I cringed, now I had to deal with the two of them.

“Cheyenne’s searching the internet for an invisibility cloak for me,” Koda snorted.

“Oh?” Daniel stepped beside me, his eyes filled with laughter.

“I felt bad that I’d lost it.”

“Any luck?” Koda chuckled.

“Maybe.” I pressed the laptop to my chest. “Now leave me alone.” I took a step when Daniel swiped the laptop from my hands.

“Hey!” I reached for it, but he’d already jumped to the other side of the kitchen island.

“Let’s see what you’ve found,” Daniel said and opened the laptop.

I ran around the island
, trying to close it, before he saw what I’d been searching for.

Daniel grew still
, and I stopped beside him. He was staring at flights times to Helena, Montana. Koda leaned over my shoulder.

“Well,
I didn’t really think you were searching for invisibility cloaks,” he said. He turned me to face him. “Nor did I believe it was wedding stuff.”

I looked down, my thumb running over my Servak ring. I’d been caught.

“Did you think you could just walk out of here, Chey?” Daniel asked softly. He pulled his sweater sleeves up, exposing the scars on his arms. “You do remember how we got these? You think Raina and the others won’t swarm you the minute they get the chance? Not to mention the fact that you don’t have your passport. Callon does.”

I kept quiet.
There was nothing more I could say.

“We’ve been sitting here when we could have been searching for Colt, Daniel
,” I sighed. “I just want to do something. He’d have done the same for us.”

“You may think we’ve
just been waiting, but we’ve been planning,” Koda replied.

“Then why haven’t I been told?”
I argued.

“You’ve been told, but you’re not listening. You’ve had your mind locked in on one thing and one thing only,” Daniel said.

“It’s not fast enough.”

“And you need to have some patience,” Daniel added. “Don’t you think Callon and I are just as anxious to find Colt?” Daniel drew me into a hug. “I promised, Chey, and I won’t break it. We’re going to find him and bring him home. So no more searching for flights or invisibility cloaks.”

I managed a smile.

“Wasn’t having much luck in finding a replacement anyway.”

“Come on.” Koda tugged on my elbow. “Let’s see if we can torment Andre about Maes. That always provides great entertainment.”

We
left the kitchen and found Brogan and Layla in the dining room.

“
Evening, Princess,” Brogan said dryly.

Layla elbowed him.

“Cheyenne, we were waiting for you,” Layla said. Her long dark braid tumbled over her shoulder as she stood.

“Oh?”

Koda and Daniel moved on.

“With so much going on, and the fact that you can’t really leave the estate, I wanted to offer up my services to you. I’d like to make your wedding dress if you’d allow me.”

I blinked. Despite my earlier lie, I hadn’t even thought about wedding preparations, I honestly didn’t know if they would want to risk hosting anything elaborate.

“So I get to wear a wedding dress? I—I guess I just thought it would be nothing more than Dex
marrying us in a simple ceremony.”

“Well, if
we were under different circumstance, this would be the wedding of all weddings,” Layla said. “We haven’t had a clan leader marriage in a very long time. However, even though it will be a small simple ceremony, it’s just that I, no, we…” She looked up at Brogan. “We want to make it as special as we can.”

I couldn’t help but feel a bit of warmth swimming inside me. This
was what family did for each other, loved and tried to make everything that was important as special as they could, regardless of the circumstances.

“So you’d make me a wedding dress?”

“I am a good seamstress. Andre, Lilly, Nakari and Bree can attest to it. Of course I’d show you some drawings first after we figure out what you want.”

I smiled. “I’d love for you to make me a dress.”

Layla’s blue-green eyes lit up, and she rushed forward, wrapping me in a hug.

“Thank you, Cheyenne. I won’t let you down.”

She stepped back, and I looked at Brogan. He had his usual brooding expression, but at least now he didn’t eye me like a speck of dirt on his shoe. Maybe I was making progress with him, but then again…

“How long have you and Brogan been married, Layla?” I asked.

She smiled lovingly at Brogan. “A very long time.”

“Was it an arranged marriage?”

“Yes.”

I smirked. “Well, I think you got the short end of the stick on that one.”

Brogan’s lip twitched, and it almost looked like he was about to smile.

“Yeah, I know I did,” Layla replied
, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hey now,” Brogan grumbled.

I turned and headed for the library. I needed to tell Callon the good news, although chances were he’d asked Layla to make a dress for me.

The library door was open, and as I stepped in I found Callon on the couch. A few large books lay open on the ottoman. He turned and smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I moved closer and leaned over the back of the sofa, placing a small kiss on his cheek.

“Hey,” I said softly and eyed the books. “Doing some research?”

“Always.” He patted the seat beside him. “Why don’t you join me?”

I stepped around the front of the couch and plopped down beside him. He lifted my hand and placed a tender kiss on my knuckles.

“You and Layla talked?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“She asked me if you’d be open to the idea
,” he revealed.

“Ah, I thought maybe you’d asked her.”

He brushed the hair behind my ear. “No, this was all her idea. She really is quite talented. I don’t think she’ll disappoint you.”

He pulled a large book into his lap
, and I leaned in closer, trying to see what he was reading. It looked like a medical journal, but not a modern one. The pages were yellowed, and corners tattered, like they’d been folded over at one time or another. Even some of the text seemed to be smeared with a brownish substance.

“You searching for something?”

“More of a review if anything.”

I lifted a brow. “Review?”

He placed his arm on the back of the couch, his fingers touching my hair.

“The magic Marcus uses is ancient. At one point in time
, we knew how to treat certain ailments or injuries caused from it. If we’re going to battle him again, I need to make sure I have as much knowledge as possible to help where it’s needed.”

“
This has the potential to be bad, doesn’t it?”

“Yes
,” he said grimly. “I don’t want to repeat what happened on the ridge.”

He sighed and then opened his mouth to
continue, but then closed it.

“What?”

He shook his head.

“Callon, don’t hide things from me.”

His hazel eyes held such turmoil.

“Please, Callon, just tell me.”

He stroked the back of my head.

“I don’t want you to get your hopes up, Cheyenne, that Colt will…” He looked down.

I pulled his stubbled chin towards me. “Will what?”

“That Colt will be the same. Honestly, I’m not sure what to expect.”

“You think Marcus has damaged him?” I worried.

“No one leaves Marcus untouched, no one.”

“But don’t you think that we can bring him back?” I pressed.

“I want you to be prepared for what you may see.”

“You don’t want me heartbroken again.”

“Yes.”

I stroked his cheek. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to find him, bring him home and have a complete family again.”

Callon held my hand against his jaw, and nodded slowly. We spent a moment in comfortable silence, when the library door opened.

“Callon, Cheyenne,” Koda said anxiously. “Clayton’s sent a message.”

Almost at once
, I jumped up and hurried towards the sitting room, Callon directly behind me. The room filled quickly. Koda stood in the center.

“Clayton
says he’s got proof that Colt is still alive and that he knows where he’s being held prisoner. They’ll be back in about three days.”

“Where?” I moved closer, my heart racing.

“Montana.”

Daniel jumped beside me and squeezed my hand. “See, I told you,” he whispered.

It was just as I’d been telling them all along. I knew Colt was in Montana, and it wasn’t just from the package’s postmark. He was calling out to me, to us, and soon we would be bringing him home.

“Where in Montana?” Brogan asked.

“Possibly the cabin,” Koda replied.

“Possibly?” Maes
rose to his feet. “We’re supposed to go on possibly?”

“They’ve been moving around a lot. It’s hard to pinpoint, but we have proof.”

“So how are we going to leave here? We had the element of surprise last time. I don’t think it will work again,” Brogan said.

“Quinn’s had the helicopter repaired. It’ll give us enough lead time to board the airplane and be on our way,” Koda replied.

“He has a helicopter large enough for all of us?” I asked. “I mean, I thought more than just three of us would be going.”

“It’s large enough, Cheyenne,” Callon said. “I’m assuming he has all the clearance paperwork done for the jet too, Koda?”

“A jet?”

“Yeah.” Daniel smiled. “There are perks to being Timeless. Private jets, helicopters, estates in foreign countries.”

I blinked. I had no idea, but it shouldn’t have surprised me. My parents had always been able to afford a comfortable home for me. A private jet wasn’t that much of a step up.

“So, we leave by means of the helicopter,” Maes said, “and board the jet. Then what? Marcus is going to be right behind us.”

“He’ll be right behind us alright.” Koda smirked. “Hours behind us. Quinn’s been keeping an eye on activity at the airports, not just the ones in Ireland. We’ll know the moment his team departs.”

“But won’t he know that we’ll be heading to Montana?” I asked. “I’m assuming that Quinn will have to file some sort of report stating where the jet is heading.”

“Like I said before, Quinn has helpers out there. A false report will be filed,” Koda said.