Blood Bonds (36 page)

Haley got her arm around Farley’s neck and pinned him against her chest. Farley continued to thrash and her Female instincts flared in response. This was her Male, her
disobedient
Male, and she had to get him under control. Going on instinct she sank her teeth into the
mark
and struck bone.

Farley keened. The barriers he’d thrown up to close her out crashed, and she could feel him: every emotion, every ounce of anger, every fear, the sense of abandonment. A sob jerked her shoulders and tears rolled down her cheeks. No wonder he was out of control. She tasted herself in his blood and the metaphysical ties that bound them hummed.

Haley pulled, drank him, and took from him all his
rage
. Farley sagged against her, languid.

After a moment she released her bite, and rocked him, petting him up and down. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t understand.”

“I know.” His breath blew against her skin. “You can’t help it.”

Movement made Haley look up. Creyal was on the floor now. He crawled closer.

“Stay right there.”

“You said you didn’t have any Marks.”

“He’s my First and it’s sort of a new arrangement.” The Male reached out and Haley growled at him.

His lavender gaze pleaded with her. “I just want to ... touch. Please ... please...”

“Get out.”

Creyal dropped his eyes along with his hand. “And go where? The Clinic was burned to the ground by a bunch of EFM people. Dr. Meyer was going to help me get a place. If I go back to the Dens, the people who tried to kill me will find me.”

“Was anyone hurt in the fire?”

Creyal shrugged and sat back against the bed. “I don’t know, I was ... sort of out of it.”

“Stoned.” Haley made it a statement because she knew damn well there would be no reason for pain meds.

Creyal rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I was chemically impaired.”

“I thought you were going to quit.”

“Didn’t work out for me.” His hand inched forward and just when he was going to touch her shoe, she pulled away. A deep frown pulled at his mouth.

Farley sat up, rubbing his face, and looked at Creyal. “Fuck, you’re still here?”

“Seems
To Whom you Belong
isn’t very good at controlling you.” Creyal leaned back and propped his head on his hand. “And I know it’s not because of your strength or age, so what is it?” His gaze slid to Haley. “Or maybe you’re just really bad at being Kin?”

“I’ve been called worse.” She stood up and helped Farley to his feet. “C’mon, I’ve got OJ in the kitchen, and I’ll call for pizza.”

“You’re leaving?” The feral looked up at her and he stroked his stomach with a wide hand. “I don’t please you?”

“Creyal! Out!” Haley pointed to the door. “Get out of my house now!”

Creyal grinned, showing fangs. “I remember how you held me in the basement of the PD. You really don’t want me to leave. You’re just like any Human woman. You want me and you know it.” His hand went down and he stroked his denim covered erection.

“You know what? You’re really starting to get on my nerves.”

“You said I was worthy.” Creyal rolled over and came up on his knees. His head swung from side to side and he thrummed. “You said I was a beautiful Male and any Female would be proud to
own
me. I want to be
owned
.” He reached for her, but she backed away. Creyal’s face fell and his hand trembled. “Please... Let me touch you.”

“Get out, Creyal!”

“You
marked
him, why not me? He’s nothing but Food.”

“Get out now!”

In a blur of speed, Creyal shot right for her. He seized her by the shoulders and pinned her against the wall.

“What kind of Female are you? What Female is weak ... submissive, and stinking of
chetrah
sweat?” His elongated teeth grazed her neck, leaving small nicks in her skin. Haley had the urge to tear out his throat.

Yeah, like that was going to make her day go better.

Creyal opened his mouth and stroked her neck with his tongue. “The little Male can watch. I’m used to an audience.”

Haley growled. “This is your last chance, Creyal.”

“To what?” He undulated against her. “If you were anything like a real Female you wouldn’t be standing here, too afraid to stop me.”

“I’m not afraid. You’re just too stoned to scent the difference between fear and pissed off.”

He laughed. “I think I like this. You’re almost as easy as Food.”

Haley hit him. One knee into the stomach, then her palm cracked him in the nose. He went backwards and she followed him down. Her teeth punched through his windpipe, esophagus, grazed his spine. She pinned his arms, holding him immobile. The Male kicked once, then twice before falling still.

Haley felt him swallow, gag, and struggle for air. She gave him a minute to think about death, then unlocked her jaws and climbed off.

Creyal lay there trying to breathe and bleeding all over the carpet.

Looks like another job for Manny. Two cleanups in a week. It was a record, even for her.

“When you can stand, I want you out. Next time I won’t stop.” Haley paused at the doorway. “And one more thing. You have my
chetrah
Mother to thank for me not ripping out your throat. She taught me kindness above cruelty.”

When Haley walked past Farley, he smiled.

Thirty minutes later, Haley paid the pizza guy, tipped him, and carried four boxes of Pizza Hut’s best to the counter. Farley was perched on the bar stool, angled so he could see into the bedroom.

She put the boxes on the counter. “Is he still on the floor?”

Farley nodded, seized one of the boxes and popped the top. “Mmm--anchovies, my favorite.” He ate while keeping his eyes in the other room.

Haley checked the clock. She’d called Garrett five minutes after the order and he still hadn’t called back. Which meant he was busy. Hopefully he was busy with whatever he needed to do to get Dobson’s order tossed out. The idea of showing up in the morning left a heavy, sick weight in her stomach.

“He’s up,” Farley announced.

Creyal appeared in the doorway, head down and rubbing his bruised throat. He moved across the living room and towards the door. Now that all the swagger and bravado was gone, he was awkward. He paused a few feet from Haley and gave a small, timid apology before heading for the door.

Haley sighed. “Wait.” Creyal flinched. “Eat first, and then you can go.” He stayed where he was. With all his hair in his face, she couldn’t see his eyes. “Creyal, you need to eat. You look like a centerfold piece for
Vegan National
. I mean, unless that’s the look you’re going for.”

His head turned in her direction “Why?”

“Because you’re not taking care of yourself. Besides, you’re already wearing Deshi’s pants and Farley’s shirt. You might as well eat a little pizza.” She shrugged. “Completes the whole home invasion package.” His shoulders fell and he opened the door. Haley hopped off the bar stool to stop him. “Wait. I was kidding. You know, funny ha-ha? Creyal, please. Sit down and eat.” He let go of the knob and she bumped it shut with her hip. “It’s all right.”

Haley pushed him onto a stool and moved a box of pizza under his nose. He still didn’t move. When she looked at Farley he was stock still, a piece of Italian genius in one hand, his eyes frozen on Creyal, watching him.

“How come you never act this way around Deshi?”

Farley took a tentative bite of his pizza slice. “Deshi’s never been disrespectful. Him,” he pointed, “he’s done nothing but dish out disrespect.” Creyal still wasn’t eating.

“Damn it.” Haley stood up and pushed his hair back out of the way. Maybe if he could actually see it, he’d eat. She checked the glass jar on the bar that collected every paper clip to forgotten pen that came out of her pocket at the end of the day, and found a rubber band. Haley pulled his hair back, and slid the rubber band in place. It wasn’t perfect, a few stray hairs hung out across his eyes. “Eat.” Now he was staring at her. “Oh for Christ’s sake, what now?” She glanced at Farley, who shrugged.

Creyal said, “Females do not tend to Males that are not theirs.”

Haley let out a groan. “Can you please stop? This isn’t the Dens. I didn’t grow up in the Dens. I don’t use the same rule book as other Kin, so you might as well get used to it. Now eat. It’s getting cold.”

The phone rang and she almost knocked the pizza to the floor diving for it.

“Hello?”
Please be Garrett
.

It was.

“Haley, are you watching the news?”

“No, why?” She looked around for the remote and saw it on the arm of the sofa. “What channel?” She turned on the flat screen.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s on all of them.”

It took a minute for her to realize what she was seeing. Fire, lots of fire. “What’s going on?”

“Dr. Meyer’s clinic was fire bombed. They say that the Earth For Humans group is claiming responsibility, but I’ve got a couple of eyes on the scene. That’s not your typical truck and fertilizer combo. Whoever did that knew what they are doing.” Haley glanced over at Creyal, who was huddled over the pizza, tentatively picking at it, like he was scared he’d mess it up.

“Is Dr. Meyer okay? And her staff?”

“She’s alive.”

Haley learned a long time ago, that for Humans, being alive can be worse than being dead. “How bad?”

“She’s burned over fifty percent of her body. At her age, she’s in bad shape. But someone pulled her out of the fire and whoever it was wasn’t Human. Witnesses claim he got her to the parking lot and went in for the others. They don’t think all of them will make it. A few are worse off than Dr. Meyer. There are at least eight patients unaccounted for, including Creyal. So, he may be dead.”

“Creyal’s fine, sir.”

Garrett was silent for a second or two. “You say that like he’s sitting in front of you or something.”

“Actually, he is. I came home and found him in my apartment.”

“Haley, all the evidence that Dr. Meyer collected was in that building. I think Dobson may have arranged for it to be leveled. And I’m sure he meant for Creyal to die.”

She sighed. “We have another problem. June Dowery sent the email for me to do the interview with Niles.”

“June was killed this afternoon pulling out of the D.A. office parking lot.”

“I know, Farley saw it happen. He went to help. Garrett, June was a Link.”

Her boss made an unhappy sound. “As in a Human Link to a dragon?”

Was there any other kind? “Yeah, specifically the Queen of North Carolina, Nidia.”

“And why do I have a feeling this isn’t all the bad news you have for me?”

“Farley stole her PDA. It has Dobson’s number in it and a list of calls. They’ve been talking back and forth on a regular basis, and I doubt it’s been conversations about the weather.”

“Damn it.” Something shuffled in the background. It sounded like Garrett was throwing things around on his desk. “How did she get into the D.A.’s office?”

“It might have been a recent bonding.”

“You don’t sound too convinced of that.”

“No, I’m not. I’m no expert, mind you. There’s a lot about my people that I don’t understand. Especially the Females.” Marking Farley had shown her there was a lot about the metaphysical bonding that couldn’t be gleaned from books. “Garrett?”

“Yeah, Haley.”

Haley shut her eyes and sank to the sofa. “He’s going to kill me, isn’t he?” She waited for Garrett to say something, anything. The continued quiet the worst kind of confirmation she could have gotten.

When he finally broke the silence, he said, “You need to consider disappearing.”

She laughed. “Garrett, I can’t run. If I do, you wind up in the pen.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ve been in worse places. Look, I know a guy who does private charters. He owes me a favor. I can arrange for you to get out of the country.”

“And go where? I’m Female. I was kicked out of the Dens. I’m from unknown blood. That means no Queen will have me. I may have a lot of pull with the Males of my people, but to the other Females I’m just high ranking Food. The safest place I can be is in Atlanta. Medan wants me as her Enforcer, and until she is pissed enough to have me killed, it’s unlikely the others will get too close.”

“If you’re her Enforcer, the other Queens won’t touch you?”

Haley thought about that. “It’s a bond. I don’t know a lot about it. I’ve never met an Enforcer. What I do know is to attack any one bonded to a Queen is considered a direct attack on the Queen they speak for.”

“Would Dobson be able to get to you?”

“I don’t think Dobson follows the rules of the Dens, but Medan may take it as a personal insult and go after him.”

More shuffling echoed over the receiver. “Haley, if you won’t leave the country, then do what you need to do to survive.”

“Garrett, sir, if I become her Enforcer, I may compromise the CFKR, the Bureau, and every case I’ve ever worked on dealing with illegal trades. I don’t know how much control she will have over me. I don’t know if I will be able to keep secrets from her.”

“You marked Farley, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you control him?”

Haley glanced over. Farley was talking to Creyal in a low voice. How much control did she have over him? Something had gone wrong this afternoon. Biting him had stopped it, but she had no idea why his behavior even happened in the first place.

“Garrett, that’s knowledge Females are
imprinted
with by a Queen. I had a Human adoptive Mother. I
imprinted
on her. So to tell you the truth, I don’t have a clue.”

“Haley...” His sigh belonged to a defeated man. “Do what you have to do to protect yourself. I’ll worry about the back lash.”

“But--”

“No. No excuses. Do it. If the Bureau won’t protect you from Dobson, then they don’t deserve your loyalty.” His words surprised her and at the same time made her realize the depth of his concern. His friendship.

“I’ll think about it.” It was the best she could give him. Sad thing was, it seemed like the only choice she was left with.

“One more thing. I need you to get that PDA to Ken.”

“I can drop it off on my way to the Dens.”