Halflings (33 page)

Voices.
She heard voices in the backyard. Somehow, she knew it was Raven and Mace. The policeman lingered at the front door while Nikki crossed the house, floating on feet she could no longer feel. The back door was a million miles away.
Tunnel vision.
She’d heard that in times of shock, the vision narrowed to almost nothing. She pulled the slider open.

And collapsed.

She awakened in the living room with Mace, Raven, and a police officer hovering over her. They emerged from the haze with frowns expressing the deepest of concern. Mace tilted her up, mumbling something about water.

Her head shook back and forth, rejecting the glass he offered. Words, scattered and strange, filtered in and out of her head.
Her parents
…
a possible robbery
…
bullet holes in the car
…
blood. No bodies.

No bodies?

She’d barely had time to grab a shower and change from her bloody homecoming dress when she’d heard the knock. She’d opened the door to the officer, who removed his hat and asked if he could come in.
This isn’t happening.

Words cemented into place as Mace lifted her shoulders and sat down on the couch beside her. As natural as breathing, she collapsed onto his lap, letting his soothing hand push hair from her face as she processed what the officer had told her at the door.

I’m sorry to inform you of this, Miss Youngblood, but your parents have been involved in an accident.

An accident? Blood, run off the road, bullet holes? That didn’t sound like an accident.

We haven’t apprehended the perpetrator yet. I wonder if you could answer a few questions for me. Is there someone you could call so you’re not alone?

Friend. I have a friend outside.

He’d frowned.
Any family?

I have no family but my mom and dad.

His expression froze her words. Face melting into bottomless despair, his eyes told her the truth, conveying the finality of the situation.
You don’t have them either.

She remembered stumbling to the back door, hoping Raven was still out there.

And waking on the couch. She sprung up from the sofa. “No. There has to be a mistake. My mom and dad were here just a couple hours ago.”

“There’s no mistake, Miss Youngblood. We’ve checked the plates on the vehicle and cross-referenced them to your mother’s driver’s license. We suspect they were robbed — your mother’s wallet had been removed from the purse we located, but there was no cash inside. Also, the trunk had been jimmied.”

Her gaze flittered to Mace, then Raven. “My fault,” she whispered.

The boys shared a glance that didn’t escape the officer’s attention. He sharpened. “Why would you say that, Miss Youngblood?”

Raven took a step toward the policeman, drawing his attention. Nikki shot him a grateful smile she was sure he missed. “She told me the antiques her mom and dad were going to sell tonight were so heavy she had to help her dad load them into the trunk.”

The officer pulled a notepad from his pocket. “Would these items be worth robbing someone to get?” He directed the question to Raven.

His eyes widened. “Duh, they’re
antiques
.”

The officer scowled at him. “Miss Youngblood, do you know who planned to make the purchase?”

She searched her mind for names, though none came.
Bullet holes. Blood.
She shook her head. “No. I don’t know. I don’t feel well.”

Mace rose and grabbed a throw blanket for her shoulders.

“Will you be able to come to the station with me?” the officer asked gently. “I realize what you’ve been through, but our best chance of locating the perpetrator is within the first few hours after the incident, and any information you can give us about your folks’ business may help.”

She swallowed, gaze floating to his. “The incident? You’re telling me my parents may be dea — dead, and you call it an
incident
?”

Mace wrapped his arm protectively around her. “Sir, I can bring her to the station. But I think she’s going to need a little bit of time.”

The officer’s face softened. “Of course. A half hour?”

Mace nodded.

Raven walked the officer to the door and slammed it hard.

Nikki’s eyes scanned Mace’s. Fear twisted her stomach.

“It has nothing to do with you, Nikki. Nothing. They were after your mom and dad’s valuables.”

Wanting to believe him, she slumped against his chest, pressing into his shirt and the firm muscles beneath. After the way she’d left him in the car earlier, she thought she’d never again feel the strength of his arms around her. Never again breathe in Mace’s scent of warm skin blended with cotton and a hint of spearmint. He brushed her cheek with his open palm, easing her pain. Safely enveloped in the place created by the circle of his arms, Nikki cried and cried and cried.

She heard Damon Vessler storm into the police station with all the fury of a wasp in search of the perfect place to plunge its stinger. He thundered into the office of Captain Bernard Gump, where Nikki waited, still wrapped in the throw. It smelled like her dad, and the realization ushered a fresh wave of tears.

Damon slammed his hand on the desk. “What on earth do you think you’re doing, putting a child through this?”

Mace and Raven shared a confused glance after Damon’s entrance. She could feel her Lost Boys bristle.

“Standard procedure, sir,” the captain commented.

“Procedure?” Damon yelled. “My attorney is on the way, and perhaps you can explain to her how harassment of an innocent teen can be considered procedure!” His muscles drew taut beneath his clothing.

Captain Gump swallowed visibly.

Nikki rose on rubber legs. “Damon,” she rasped, voice rough from crying. Her hand slid from the blanket and fell on his shoulder. “I volunteered to come. They don’t know who did this.” When she wavered, he caught her.

He dragged her to him, arms closing on her. He buried his head in her hair and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Nicole. I won’t rest until I get answers.” He nuzzled deeper, something she found she didn’t mind. “And I promise you I will destroy them.” His words sent hot streams of retribution from her head to her heart. “Do you hear me, my lady? I
will
find them and we
will
destroy them.”

At the edge of her vision, Mace rose from the chair. Raven held him back with a firm hand and she heard him whisper, “Maybe he can get her out of here.”

“Now,” Gump interrupted. “We were just asking Miss Youngblood —”

“How long have you been here?” Though Damon’s words to her had been soft, this comment carried a nasty bite of authority, more for the officer’s benefit than hers, no doubt. Damon was obviously used to giving orders. And not accustomed to being challenged.

She shook her head, helplessly. Time meant nothing. Five minutes, five hours. It was all the same.

“About an hour,” Mace said.

Damon pointed to Captain Gump, pinning him to the wall. “Your questions are over. She’s told you what she knows. Or does the idea of a lawsuit not concern you?”

“A lawsuit?”

“You’re questioning a minor without an adult present.”

Captain Gump rose with his hands out in surrender. “She agreed to come. Besides, we have to wait until the social worker arrives. As you mentioned, Miss Youngblood is a minor.”

“And I’m her godfather. She will
not
be leaving with any social worker. She’s going home with me. Right now. Here’s the paperwork to take her with me. If you protest” — he studied the man’s nameplate as he dropped the paper onto the desk — “Captain Gump, your department will be thrown into a legal battle you cannot hope to win.” Damon reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a card, which he slammed on top of the paperwork.

Captain Gump’s eyes widened as he read. “I’m, uh, sorry for any inconvenience, Mr. Vessler.”

Mace took Nikki’s shoulder and turned her to face him, eyes filled with questions.

“It’s okay,” she uttered. “He’s been a friend of my family for years. I recently learned that he’s my godfather.” She leaned closer to Mace. “Besides, if I don’t go with him, they’re going
to send me to a foster home for the next few days.
Strangers
, Mace.” Her eyes pleaded. “Complete strangers.”

He bent, kissed her forehead. “Nikki, we can work something else out. I can have Will come.”

But she was shaking her head. “No, this is better. Don’t worry, I’m safe with Damon.”

She gauged Mace’s reaction to Damon. His gaze left hers long enough to consider the strong, able man beside her. And apparently long enough to decide he didn’t like him. She could read his thoughts as easily as if he’d spoken them aloud.

“You sure?” Mace said.

A smile curled Damon’s lip. “You go on home, boys. I’m sure your parents are worried. There’s an adult in charge now. Everything will be just fine.”

But as she left in her father’s blanket and under Damon’s arm, she heard something so disturbing it was able to cut right through the numbness that had become her chest.

It was Raven’s hushed voice. “That’s him,” he said.

“I know.” Mace agreed. “The one from the art gallery.”

W
hen the females arrived, Will asked them all to gather in the living room. Vegan had stopped to pick up Zero, who was pouting in the corner, arms folded over his chest because there were no juice boxes in the house. Vegan reached over to pat him on the shoulder, but Zero cut her an icy silver-blue stare, and she dropped her hand.

For once, Mace considered joining Zero in his funk. He thought his emotions had swung as far as possible in the course of the night, but knowing Nikki was in that house with that man caused a fresh new kind of anger. And fear. Especially after what Vine had told them.

Winter sat down on the edge of the couch, her legs delicately crossed at the ankles. She was so precise, so pristine in her movements that she truly looked like she belonged in another century, especially with her streak of black hair against her light skin. “Does Damon Vessler own Omega Corporation?”

Will tapped his fingers on his leg. “All we know for sure is
that he owns the land of the smaller facility. From the conversation Vine heard, he had leased it to the scientists.”

“Would be a convenient way to keep your nose clean,” Raven said, and turned to face Vegan. “A lot has happened tonight. Do you know why the hell hounds were after you when Nikki and I arrived?”

Mace sliced a hard stare in Raven’s direction.

Raven returned the look with a slow smile. “She fought like a champ — you’d have been proud.”

Brother or not, Mace wanted to kill Raven for his offhand attitude.

Vegan looked down at her tie-dyed shirt of forest colors and shook her head. “On a whim, I went to the lab to do a little recon. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I entered the midplane to come over here. When I started to leave, however, I felt something wasn’t right, so I touched down in the woods a few miles away. That’s when the hounds showed up.”

Will’s chin dropped a degree as he studied Vegan. “Maybe you sensed things were going to go wrong.” He pulled a long, deep breath. “Was there anything we could have done to prevent the death of Nikki’s parents?”

Silence answered his question and hung heavy in the room. No one knew.

Raven stood. “One thing’s for sure.”

His voice captured the attention of the other Halflings and Will. “Nikki’s in more danger now than she ever was. If Vessler is connected to Omega, we have to get her away from him.”

“One problem with that.” Mace’s heart crumbled as he realized the devastating truth. “We can only help her if she lets us.”

Nikki woke in Damon’s house in a beautiful room overlooking a freshly planted garden. The scent of new earth met her as she pulled the window open to peer outside. Off in the distance, on a faraway hill, she could see the entrance to her neighborhood. She’d entered it with her mother and father over a thousand times, but now she’d enter it alone.