Blood Bonds (40 page)

“Where the fuck have you been, Dolby? I’ve been sitting on my ass here waiting for you to check in. Where is Tate? He didn’t report in either.” He waited for a reply and heard nothing. “Dolby? Dolby ... fuck. I can hear you breathing, Alchemist, so say something.”

It wasn’t Dolby who answered. Hell, it wasn’t even Human. The rich, deep, feminine voice could be nothing more than Kin, and the distortions made by an inhuman mouth meant it was a Kin in full form.

“Unfortunately, none of your team will be reporting back to you, Colonel Dobson.” There was a sound like something wet being torn in half. A whimper echoed in the background.

“Who is this?”

“Medan, the Queen of Atlanta.”

Dobson was quiet. The Queen never spoke to him directly.

“Where’s your Link? Why didn’t she call me?”

Something big moved. It came over the tiny speaker like a thunderstorm. When the Queen spoke again, her voice was louder, closer to the speaker. “Colonel Dobson, I do not have a Link, I have never had a Link, nor will I ever take one.
Chetrah
are not even worthy enough to scrape the scat of my hatchlings. There is but one place on this planet for your kind and that is as Food.”

Dobson felt dizzy. Part of him wanted to accuse the voice of lying, but he knew she wasn’t. He could
feel
she wasn’t.

“If you’re Medan, then who the fuck have I been talking to?”

A thick rich chuckle shimmied the cheap speaker. “See, so easy to lead. Cattle, that’s all you are. Tell me, colonel, when I tear the flesh from your bones, will you pray to your God? Will you ask Him to save you? To protect you? I have found that all
chetrah
pray in the end. And yet you still die.” Voices in the background rose and fell. Dobson heard the distinct sound of someone sobbing like a goddamned infant.

“What do you want?” It wasn’t like he really cared. He was more or less trying to buy some time to organize his thoughts and figure out what to do next.

“I wanted you to hear the news from me.”

“What news?”

“Surely you know by now.”

What? That’d he’d been fucked? Yeah, that was becoming real clear, but the problem was, by whom and how. “Are you going to tell me who I need to kill, or are we going to keep doing this dance ‘til daylight?”

Her laughed was accompanied by the sound of whimpering. “You need not be concerned with killing anyone. You see, I’m very good at this game. I never flinch. I never hesitate. So, when I realized Nidia was pulling your strings, I pulled some of my own.”

“Nidia?”

“Yes, colonel. The Queen of North Carolina. Seems she enjoys playing pretend. And since you
chetrah
are so easily led...”

A scream came across the phone, desperate, pain filled, and Human. Dobson jerked the phone away from his ear.

“Oh God, oh God, please, nooo--.” The voice was cut short by a snap, followed by more sounds of something wet and thick being ripped and torn.

“My hatchlings thank you for your gift to them. They are so hungry. Always hungry. You were a fool to lay any faith in Nidia. She knows you plan on killing her, and she will strike first.”

“If you want me dead, why are you telling me this?”

“Because no one takes what is mine. And you, Colonel Dobson, are mine.”

Stuffed in a way-too-small bathtub, Farley cradled Haley’s body with his own.

Steam curled and rolled from the water’s surface. It was hot enough to scald, yet it still wasn’t hot enough. He petted Haley in long languid strokes. Water slapped against his chin when she moved.

“Be still or you’ll get water up your nose.”

She blinked, looking confused. “Where are we?”

“Safe.” At least for now. And if he wanted to keep her that way, there were things that had to be done, decisions to be made.

“How long was I out?”

“About an hour. I had to get you warm. Medan really did a number on you.” He petted her cheek and stared into her haunted eyes. She was thinking about Tate. This close, it was impossible not to see the images whirling through her mind like a blender. Her regret, her fear. It burned in Farley’s chest, but the need to keep her safe burned hotter. “Haley.” Farley pulled her chin up. “Garrett called. He said something is happening downtown. Dobson is moving Alchemist teams and three of the Bureau’s board members have gone missing from their homes. He wants us ready to leave in two hours.”

“But Dobson will have him charged--”

“Garrett said we have to take that chance. With Dobson’s behavior, and the missing board members, it’s going to be hard for anyone upstairs to ignore him now. Dobson’s world is crumbling, and you just have to stay hidden for a week, maybe two. He can’t risk the colonel getting a hold of you. He’s panicked and that means he’s even more dangerous.”

Haley made a face.

“What?”

“I’m having a hard time picturing that man panicking about anything.”

But he was. That much Garrett had been sure about.

“What?” she asked.

“There’s a good chance Garrett won’t be able to get you out of the country.”

“Wait. What happened to
us
leaving? As in you and me?”

Farley shushed her and pressed his cheek against the side of her head. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled their bodies as close as possible. “That’s part of plan B.”

“Plan B? We haven’t even tried plan A yet. How come something tells me I’m really not going to enjoy plan two?”

Farley kissed her to make her stop talking. Now she was just looking at him with large dark eyes, afraid for him, when she should have been afraid for herself. He sighed. “I didn’t know what to do when Garrett told me this might not work. If Dobson somehow gets to you, the only Kin strong enough to save you will be Medan. So I called Justice.” Haley tried to look away, but Farley wouldn’t let her. He kissed her again and rubbed his thumb over her windpipe. “You’ll have to bond with her. Become her Enforcer. She can protect you, Haley.”

“At what cost?”

He gave a little up down with his shoulders. “As long as you live, what does it matter?”

Haley shuddered. “I can’t go back to her.” A deep worried frown weighed down her full lips.

“You won’t have to. I can act as your vessel.”

“What? No! She’d kill you.”

Farley plastered a mask of calm on his face. If he was lucky, Medan would just kill him. If he was unlucky she would make him kill others first.

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I won’t go alone. Justice will be with me.”

“No.”

“Haley, please, let me--”

“I said no! I can’t live through losing you.” She buried her face into his neck.

Farley couldn’t help but think the exact same thing. Well, almost the same thing. Not only would he not live through losing Haley, he wouldn’t want to.

Justice had warned him that she wouldn’t agree to this. Farley hadn’t argued because he knew the Male was right. But this had to be done. He was too weak to keep her safe from Dobson, too weak to keep the Queens at bay. With a little flesh and a little blood, Medan could. Justice had been worried about him getting it. Farley grinned because if there was anything he could do, it was convince Haley to surrender herself.

Justice had promised to keep him safe, so that meant all he had to do was collect what he needed and get it to the Queen. The only problem was, he didn’t trust Justice either.

That Kin was hiding something.

Farley took her mouth, parted her lips, and ran his tongue along the inside of her cheek. Every happy moment he’d ever had tasted like that. A growl licked in the back of his throat and he heaved her up and out of the water. Steam billowed and hissed off of his skin.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“The floor.” He held her to him, kissed her, moved her over the edge and onto the floor. The bath mat squished under his knees from the water running off their bodies. “I’d drown trying to do this to you in the tub.” Farley eased her back until she lay on the rug. The bathroom was small and narrow. He couldn’t stretch out his legs, and was forced to crouch. “Haley...” There were so many things he wanted to say, but this time wasn’t about talking. Farley wanted something to think about if Medan decided to kill him. He wanted somewhere to retreat to in his mind.

Farley stroked her stomach with his fingers to remember the softness of her skin. He circled her bellybutton with his thumb and bent down to suck along the edge. He caressed her curves, following the lines of her body until he reached the juncture between her legs. He kissed her at the top, then slipped his tongue into the folds.

With one hand he pushed her legs wider; with the other he stoked her lower, lavishing in the wetness, the scent of her arousal, and the taste of her pleasure. He slipped one finger in and she arched her back. Heat bloomed over her, and a deep moan crawled out of her throat. The sound of her coming almost took him over the edge. Farley forced himself to keep control, even as she thrashed and cried out his name.

He moved up, positioning himself over her. He wanted more, wanted it now. But this might be the last time he touched her like this.

“Farley?” She looked at him, eyes glassy, her energy flaring. “I can’t Roll you so soon.”

“Shh--this isn’t about me. Just you.” He flicked his tongue over her right nipple and rolled the other between his finger and thumb. “Just you. I want you warm, Haley. I want you burning inside.” He looked at her. She was bathed in the crystalline light he only saw through dragon eyes. Her hands slid over his neck and between his shoulders. She pushed there and he barked in surprise. So close, so close. He willed himself back down. Haley surprised him by flipping him over.

“Wait, Haley ... oh God of Man...” Her mouth wrapped around the tip of his cock and sharp points grazed as she swallowed him down. Farley kicked, sending the heel of his foot through the layers of the pressed wood door. He came without warning, arching off the floor, trying his best not to scream.

And failed.

No more waiting. He couldn’t hold out anymore. He cursed the small room, fought for position. He finally just pulled Haley up and pushed her over the tub. She threw her hands out against the wall as he pushed himself inside. Her body clenched until it was a struggle to move. Farley wanted her closer, needed to feel her against him, so he pulled her back. The angle brought her quick, over and over, but Farley didn’t want it to end. Ending it meant this terrible thing was going to have to happen. That she might die. He might die and there would be a great void of nothing. An eternity without his own. Without her. Farley sank his teeth into Haley’s shoulder, consuming bits of muscle.

Farley’s mouth locked, his throat spasmed and he drank her down. He didn’t sate himself even though he wanted to. Justice had warned him that if he did that, his body would spend it instead of holding it for Medan.

Farley popped his jaws free, licked the wound and stayed where he was, inside her, the connection now more of a comfort than a needed pleasure.

After a while he pulled her to the floor so he could hold her while he sat propped against the wall. His insides ached, his sex ached, and every bone from the top of his skull to his toes was on fire. Farley shut his eyes and breathed in her scent. Relishing it, committing it to memory. He wanted to tell her he loved her, even though she hated the L word. Kin can’t love...

But Farley wasn’t so sure of that.

She looked at him and he knew. She felt it too--a burn so hot that it made the heat of metaphysics quiver. A Human emotion and they weren’t Human. “Haley--”

A hard knock on the pressed board door cut him off.

“Hey, if you two are quite through in there, Garrett’s here.”

“Ken?” Haley looked at Farley with wide eyes.

Farley shrugged. “His apartment was close, and I didn’t have any money for a cab.”

From the outside Ken asked, “Oh, and by the way, who’s going to pay for the hole in my bathroom door?”

At least Garrett had sense enough to bring clothes from Haley’s locker at work. They were only sweats and a flimsy t-shirt, but it was better than naked. No matter what Farley thought.

“I just think you should try going bareback more.”

“I’m naked enough.” No underwear, no bra. Yeah, this was about as publicly naked as Haley wanted to get.

They came through Ken’s bedroom. It looked like a war between Apple and PC had taken place on his desk. Both computers suffering heavy casualties. The living room wasn’t much better. Haley counted eight different game consoles, including a 1980’s Atari 64.

“They still make games for this thing?” Farley poked it with his foot.

“Hey! Be gentle with that. It’s an antique.”

Garrett was at Ken’s kitchen table. When he stood up his head whacked the overhead light, adding a second welt to the one popping up on his forehead.

“I brought you a couple of jackets from the PD. They won’t miss them.” Garrett nodded to the extra wide chair posing as a couch. “We need to hurry. The plane will be leaving in about an hour.”

Haley picked one of the jackets and put it on. At least it covered her, unlike a certain pink T-shirt she was wearing. She handed Farley the other one, but he just held it.

“Put it on.”

He shook his head. “I have to stay.”

She looked at him, then Garrett, waiting for someone to tell her this was a joke. “Put the coat on, Farley.”

When you’re safe, I’ll follow. Until then, I’m staying here.”

“You can’t be serious.” But he was. The expression on his face was deadly serious. She remembered what he said; he could act as her vessel. And Medan would need her flesh and her blood to form a bond.

But he didn’t have that. Did he?

You
fed
him, she reminded herself, because he’d made her. The same way Farley kept himself alive on the Hatching grounds, convincing Males he was worth keeping around by manipulating the
need
.

“You bastard! You think getting yourself killed will make all this better?” How dare he, how dare he use her like that, especially now!