Gods and Mortals: Fourteen Free Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Novels Featuring Thor, Loki, Greek Gods, Native American Spirits, Vampires, Werewolves, & More (304 page)

I slid into the cool interior and he returned to the passenger seat up front. I felt someone watching me and I looked up to see a pair of angry dark eyes in the rearview mirror. The driver turned his head toward me and I sucked in a sharp breath when I recognized the man who had attacked me yesterday at the rest stop. Tarek’s face bore the bruises from his fight with Peter and his eyes told me he was itching for payback. Instead of speaking to me, he muttered something in Arabic to his companion and they both laughed. I wrapped my arms tightly around me and stared blindly out the window. Part of me wanted to take one last look around, to drink in the picture of the place I had called home for most of my life, but a bigger part did not want to accept that this was the last time I might ever see it. I was willing to trade my life for Nate’s but that did not mean I was giving up yet. I’d survived too much these last weeks to go down without a fight now.

It took us less than five minutes to reach our destination and I was surprised to find us outside an empty three storey building with a ‘For Rent’ sign in the window only two streets away from mine. The Escalade parked on the busy street and the blond man turned to me before he opened his door.

“Do not make a scene if you value your uncle’s life,” he said in halting English.

I nodded and we got out. He led the way into the building where I had to strain to see through the dimness. Before my eyes could adjust, he took my arm. “Haism is waiting for you,” he said leading me toward a lit doorway at the back of the building.

“Nate!” I cried as soon as I saw him in his wheelchair beside a large metal desk. I broke away from the blond man and ran to kneel in front of Nate. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m okay.” He held me away from him and gave me a searching look. “Sara, what is going on? How do you know Mr. Bakr?” he asked in a lowered voice.

“Mr. Bakr?”

“Haism Bakr,” said a familiar voice with a crisp, Middle Eastern accent. I straightened and faced the hawk-nosed man I’d seen on the monstrous yacht at the marina. He was sitting behind the desk with his hands clasped in front of him and a scowl on his face. His dark eyes glittered with rancor as they swept over me. “My employer is very displeased with you, Miss Grey.”

“You work for that sheik.” I could not keep the disgust out of my voice.

His scowl deepened. “You have robbed him of something he went through great trouble to obtain,” he growled.

My hackles rose. “That
something
was little children.”

“Those creatures are not children,” Haism spat. “The sheik is a powerful and important man. What are the lives of those things compared to his?”

“Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” Nate exclaimed. He turned to Haism. “What does my niece have to do with you and your employer and why are you holding us here like this?”

“Remember what I told you about the man who took the trolls? Haism works for him.” My mouth twisted in disgust. “You used that whole oil exploration thing as a cover to snoop around here, didn’t you?”

Haism shrugged. “It made our presence here more believable. I do whatever is necessary for my employer.”

I bit my lip to keep from saying what I thought of his employer. I wasn’t going to help Nate by antagonizing this man. “I came as you asked. Please let my uncle go now.”

Nate jerked forward in his chair. “What are you taking about?”

Haism’s smile did not reach his eyes. “Do you really think you are in a position to negotiate, little girl? You have caused me nothing but headache and because of you I have to go back to my employer empty-handed.” He stood and came toward me. “In my country, a female is beaten for interfering in the business of men.”

I heard Nate’s sharp intake of breath as his hand gripped mine. Drawing strength from his touch I replied, “In my country, a man who does not keep his word has no honor.”

Haism scowled darkly but stopped his advance on me. “I serve my employer. That is where my honor lies, so do not talk –.”

A cell phone rang and he pulled his from the front pocket of his pants. Something like fear flashed across his face when he looked at the screen. His eyes met mine as he put the phone to his ear.

“It’s done.”

The caller said something to which Haism replied, “Not so fast. My employer made a contract with you but I am not so foolish as to trust you. I will tell you where to pick her up after my people and I are safely away.”

My heart plummeted to my stomach. Her? He meant me. I thought he was taking me to his employer because they’d learned I could heal but he was going to hand me off to someone else.

Haism let out a short laugh. “You have waited this long, vampire, a few more hours will not matter. I will call you and tell you where you can find her.”

He hung up and tapped his chin with the phone. “For one so young you have drawn a lot of attention from some powerful… people. I do not know what you have done to bring this upon yourself but what is done is done.”

I barely heard his taunt because of the fear gripping me. Black spots floated before my eyes and I gripped Nate’s hand so hard he grunted in pain. After everything I’d been through, all the escapes and being watched around the clock, I was going to end up in Eli’s clutches after all.

Nate pulled me closer to him. “What kind of people are you?” he demanded fearfully. “She is just a child.”

Haism looked like he was going to answer but then he turned away. He said something in Arabic to the two men flanking the door and they nodded then took up positions just outside the door. Then he began to walk out of the room without a backward glance.

He’s going to let them have Nate too.
The realization almost sent me to my knees.
No, I won’t let that happen.

The idea came to me out of sheer desperation and I clutched it like a lifeline. “I want to make another trade,” I called after Haism.

“You have nothing of value to me,” he replied dismissively without looking back.

“How about the sheik’s life?”

Haism stopped mid-stride and spun to look at me with narrowed eyes. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. How much is your beloved sheik’s life worth to you?”

He stared at me and I said, “I know he has Alzheimer’s. It must be terrifying for such a powerful man to know he’s going to slowly lose his memory, his mind before he dies.”

He strode back to me, stopping inches away, his face contorted in fury. “Do not speak of him!”

I laughed coldly. “Or what – you’ll kill me? Get in line. But that won’t save your employer.”

He studied me, trying to see if I was lying or trying to stall him. I stared back confidently and he blinked first. “What do you have?” He could not disguise the hope in his voice and I hid my triumph.

“Not more trolls if that’s what you think,” I said, reading the question in his eyes. “But I have the next best thing.”

He stared at me blankly until realization finally dawned. “You have troll bile.”

“Three whole ounces. Enough to keep your evil boss alive and kicking for many, many years.”

There was no mistaking the hunger on his face at the prospect of redeeming himself in the eyes of his beloved sheik. “Where is it?” he hissed.

“Yeah, not so fast,” I scoffed, determined to make this work. “First we make a deal.”

“Name it,” he replied way too easily. Like I was going to trust him a second time.

“First, you let Nate go. One of your goons takes him home and once he is safely inside he calls me to let me know he’s there.” There was no way Haism’s men could get past my wards; their mauled hands were proof of that. The only way to assure Nate’s safety was to get him inside our building.

Nate pulled me closer to him, his eyes wide with fear. “Sara, I’m not leaving you here alone with these people.”

I squeezed his hand. “I’ll be fine. Once I know you’re safe I’ll take them to the bile and they’ll let me go. That’s all they want.” It was probably the last lie I would ever tell him so I might as well make it count.

“How do I know I can trust you to do this once I deliver your uncle safely home?” Haism asked.

“You don’t,” I replied and his mouth tightened as his earlier words came back to him. “But can you afford not to?”

He glared at me, his eyes inky pools of hate. Haism was a man used to getting what he wanted and he wanted what I had. He was also a very proud man and I could see it rankled him a lot to not have the upper hand. However, it did not take long for his need to please his employer to overpower his pride. “We have a deal.” He called to the blond man. “Gerhard, you will return Mr. Grey to his home. When it is done, I will tell you where to meet us. Tarek, you will come with me.”

He looked at me again. “If you think to stall here until your friends find us you are mistaken. We will take a ride until your uncle calls. Then you will take us to the bile.”

Nate clung to my hand. “No. I’m not letting you do this, Sara.”

I kneeled in front of his chair again and took both his hands in mine. “I know what I’m doing and I’ll be okay.” I had no illusions about Haism willingly letting me go once I delivered him to the bile but this was the only way. I had a better chance of escaping Haism on my own if I didn’t have to worry about Nate’s safety.

A tap on my shoulder made me look up into Gerhard’s unsmiling face. I stood and gave Nate a quick hug before the big blond man started to push the wheelchair out of the room. I fell in behind them with Haism and Tarak behind us. Nate didn’t say much until we reached the exit where he tried again to talk me out of it. Nothing I said to him convinced him I would be alright and his face was drawn and fearful when Gerhard lifted him into the Escalade. My chest ached at the thought that this might be the last time I ever saw him and I wanted to run to him and hug him one last time. But Haism kept a firm hold on my arm and I could only smile reassuringly at Nate as they drove away.

Haism led me to a white Cadillac sedan and told me to get into the back seat. He climbed in beside me and Tarak got behind the wheel. He said a few words in Arabic to Tarak who started the car and began driving with no apparent destination in mind. Haism did not try to talk to me and I was happy not to talk to him.

I thought about Nate and the vial of Ptellon blood still hidden in my room. If only I had given it to him yesterday none of this might have happened.
It wouldn’t have helped
, I told myself
.
Ptellon did not work against humans. I’d thought to protect Nate from monsters but I forgot they came in human form too.

It felt like an eternity passed before Haism’s phone rang and I held my breath as he answered it then handed it to me. I saw my home number and exhaled deeply.

“Nate?”

“I’m fine. I’m home and that man is gone.”

“Good.” My throat closed up in relief and I could barely manage that one syllable.

Nate’s voice shook. “Sara, he tried to come inside and he couldn’t. Why?”

I shot Haism a glare. I’d suspected Gerhard had been ordered to deal with Nate once I thought he was safe. Getting what he wanted wasn’t enough for a man like Haism. He needed to control everything. Not this time.

“I’ll explain it when I get home,” I replied, proud of myself for keeping the tears at bay.

I hung up and practically threw the phone at Haism.
I won’t cry.
I would not let this man see me break down.

“My part of the deal is done,” said Haism, his eyes glittering with anticipation. “Now you will do your part.”

Nodding, I gave Tarak directions and he immediately turned the car and headed south of town. It usually took me twenty minutes by bike to get to where we were going. It took five in the car. We turned off on the narrow dirt road that led to the abandoned mine and branches whipped at the car as we passed. Soon we reached the spot where I usually hid my bike and I told him to stop. “We have to walk from here.”

Haism stared around suspiciously then fixed me with a hard look. “We are in the middle of nowhere. I pray for your sake you are not trying to deceive me.”

“You think I’d hide troll bile at my house, or maybe in my school locker?”

He did not respond to that. We stayed in the back of the car until Tarak got out and came around to my side. They were obviously not taking any chances with me making a run for it.

“Check her,” Haism said harshly and I gasped as Tarak pulled me from the car and started to pat me down. My mouth went dry when his hands felt the weapon concealed inside my coat. He yanked open my coat and pulled out the silver knife to show Haism.

Stars exploded before my eyes and pain shot through the left side of my face as a fist came out of nowhere. My ears rang and I staggered backwards and would have fallen if Tarak had not caught me. Blood dribbled down my lips from my nose and I dabbed it away with my sleeve.

“
Sharmoota!
” Haism shouted, his spittle spraying my face. “You think you can trick me?” He reached for me again and I flinched, waiting for the next strike. Instead he pulled a plastic cable tie from his pocket. He wrenched my arms painfully and tied my hands behind my back. When that was done he bent down and pulled off my sneakers and threw them into the woods.

“There. Try to run away now,” he jeered. He took the knife from Tarak and flung it after the sneakers then barked an order at the black-haired man. Tarak nodded and took up a lookout position near the car.

Haism grabbed my arm and pushed me hard so I stumbled and almost fell again. Jerking me upright, he shoved me forward again. “Which way? And do not try anything. I will think nothing of breaking your neck and leaving you here for the animals to feed on.”

I nodded in the direction we needed to go. “That way.”

Walking over uneven terrain with your hands tied behind your back is difficult. Doing it with no shoes is excruciating. Within five minutes my socks were bloody from the rocks and sharp sticks jabbing me mercilessly. The left side of my face had gone numb and my eye had swollen and half closed up making it harder to see where I was going. Haism yanked me forward viciously every time I faltered and I pressed my lips together to keep from crying out. I would not give him the satisfaction.