Blurred Expectations (6 page)

“How did you get into the den?”

He shook his head then sat down in front of the cage, his body drawn and ragged. Good.

“I drank some of Josh’s blood to get through your wards.”

Her stomach revolted, and she barely resisted the urge to throw up what was left in her stomach.

“What? How?”

He sighed and took a gun from his waistband that she hadn’t known he’d had. “I guess I’ll tell you the story from the beginning, shall I? I knew Josh from the team. He was my subordinate when he first started, but then he moved up the ranks, too quickly for my taste. Soon we were equals in rank, though the bastard was so much younger.”

She nodded, trying to keep him going. She needed to give her men time.

“I knew there was something different about him from the get-go. He was too good at his job and used whatever the fuck was wrong with him to find our targets. It pissed me off that he could use that freakiness to surpass me.”

She bit her tongue at the urge to defend her mate. It wouldn’t do any good here.

“When we’d found out the werewolves and other freaks were real, Josh didn’t bat an eye, like he’d found his own people or some shit. I wanted to take y’all out right there, but no, the higher-ups frowned on stuff like that. They wanted to use you or something, but Josh and the others just let y’all live normally.” He snorted. “Or however normal y’all fucking freaks can be.”

“You wanted to kill a whole group of people because you think we’re different?” she asked before she thought better of it. It wouldn’t do good to anger him.

“You don’t deserve to live,” he spat.

He wasn’t so different from Caym, the demon who wanted to take over the world and rule the humans. It didn’t matter that one was human and the other from hell. No, it mattered who they were and what they wanted. Hannah didn’t think this man would appreciate the irony.

“So, you’ve kidnapped me for… what? What good will I do?”

“I’m going to use you to prove to the world you’re all dangerous. Though I would have preferred using a wolf, a witch will do. Plus, I don’t think that bastard Josh, and whatever the fuck the other freak’s name is, will leave you alone with me for too long. I figure I’ll use all three of you if I have to.”

He wanted to show the world that paranormals existed? That would destroy them and maybe even the humans. Humans couldn’t take knowing about the existence of others; it would be too much for them. Wars would break out, and people, no matter their species, would be slaughtered.

Did this man not know what he was doing? He was going to risk the death of millions because he had a grudge against Josh, or whatever it was he hated?

“You’re crazy.”

“And, you’re a freak. Get the fuck over it.”

“You can’t do this. You’ll kill millions of people.”

“You think I care? You deserve it.”

“Why?”

“Because you shouldn’t exist. You’re nothing. You’re just something that needs to die.”

“Why are you using me to do it?”

“Because Josh is a traitor. He shouldn’t have left his men to shack up with a whore.”

She bit her lip and stared at the man who had clearly lost his mind. There was no reasoning with him, no getting through to him. Hannah just had to wait it out and pray Reed and Josh could overtake him.

There had to be a way. It wasn’t just about her. No, it was about their people. Their family.

Josh closed his eyes and opened his mind to the Finding, the pain slamming back at him as it hit a wall.

“Fuck, my Finding isn’t working,” he said as he rubbed his temples, closing his eyes.

He felt Reed’s hand on his thigh, soothing him. “You had it right when we got through the wards. We’re going in the right direction at least. Just relax and let it come to you.”

Josh lifted a lip and growled. “Really? Let it come to me? Fuck, Hannah’s out there, and we can’t get to her because my fucking demon powers, or whatever the hell they’re called, are screwing up my Finding. And, you want me to ‘let it come to me’? Jesus.”

“Feel better now that you’ve yelled at me?” Reed asked as he drove down the winding road where Josh had Found the path leading to their mate.

As soon as Reed had proclaimed that he and Josh were going to Find Hannah, they’d geared up and started driving. It had only taken maybe thirty seconds once Josh was beyond the wards of the den for his powers to work. But, now that he was trying to force it, his powers were fading. He fucking hated the demon bite that had screwed up his Finding. He let out a breath. No, without the bite, he wouldn’t have had the strength to protect those he loved, so he needed to keep it in perspective. But it was hard as hell to do that when his mate was in a dark basement and bleeding.

Yes, he’d seen that when he’d used his powers and cursed. He’d almost caused Reed to run off the road when he’d seen Hannah’s swollen face in his mind because his body had jerked so violently. When his Finding actually worked, he could Find any face he’d seen before and follow that path. But with the demon blood running through his veins, his powers were spotty now, at best.

“We’ll find her, Josh,” Reed whispered as he took another sharp curve.

Josh nodded even as fear clawed at his belly. “We can still feel her in the bond, so we know she’s alive.”

“Yes, and we can use that to find her once we get closer. I know our bond isn’t like Adam’s and Bay’s. They can find each other no matter the distance, but we can find her once we’re closer.”

Josh let out a curse. “We just have to get there. Meaning my Finding actually has to fucking work.”

“It will.”

“Who took her, Reed?”

“I don’t know, but you said the scent was almost familiar, right?”

Pain ate at him, and he cracked his knuckles. “I think so. That means I knew this guy, Reed. This guy came after our Hannah because of me.” The last word cracked when he said it, not because of the damage to his throat, but because he couldn’t hold in the emotion anymore. Damn it, he had to be strong for her.

“No, this guy came after Hannah because he’s insane or because of something else, but this is
not
your fault.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Fine, but dwelling on it doesn’t help your Finding, and it’s not helping Hannah. So get over yourself for a minute and Find our mate.” Reed’s eyes glowed as his voice rose, and Josh reached to squeeze his mate’s thigh.

“Thank you.”

“Find her.”

Josh closed his eyes and summoned his powers, or whatever he did to get them to work. He didn’t have a name for it and didn’t really want to name it. He was the only one of his kind in existence that he knew of, so it had never seemed important. He opened up is Finding, and this time, instead of hitting a wall, he continued down a fraying path until he saw her.

He let out a breath then cursed.

Fuck, she was in a cage and hurt. Really fucking hurt.

He could see only her and the bars around her, and she was talking, though he couldn’t hear what she said. He concentrated, tugging on that fragile bond in his Finding and wrapping it around their trinity bond. He’d never done it before, but he knew it was the thing to do. As it melded, the connection grew stronger, their bond flaring back to life. It sparked, warmed, strengthened.

There.

“Keep going down this road for another mile then take a turn into a copse of trees that looks like a run-off. She’s in an abandoned building three miles past that.”

Reed growled and sped up. “I knew you could do it.”

“She’s hurt, Reed.”

Josh could hear the strain of the steering wheel under his mate’s hands as Reed fought his wolf for control. He was doing his own fighting with his demon.

“Can you see who has her?” Reed asked as he took the turn a little too fast.

Josh braced himself against the door and focused his energy. “I’m looking.” He recognized the cage from a military bunker that he thought he’d destroyed and cursed again. Fuck, this was someone from his team. It had to be. He looked around, though it was hard to do because he could really focus on only Hannah, but he tried. There weren’t any other noticeable marks around, just the cage and her. When she held her wrist to her chest in pain, he growled…then saw him.

Cyrus Ferns.

His old commander.

Fuck.

“I see him. He’s that fucker from my team that was a hot head. He hates paranormals, Reed.”

“We’ll kill him.”

Though Cyrus was a human, and Josh wouldn’t have normally killed a man like that, this was different. This man was dangerous. Dangerous to his Pack, his family…his Hannah.

Reed stopped the car and cut the engine about a mile away from the place where Cyrus held Hannah. Josh nodded then rubbed Reed’s thigh again.

“We’ll go on foot so we have a better chance of getting him,” Josh said, and Reed slid a golden glance at him.

“Okay, soldier-man, I got it,” he said dryly.

“Sorry, I’m just thinking aloud,” he said as he got out of the car and checked his ammo. The need to find Hannah and get the fuck out of there filled him. He wanted to be in his home, his den, and wrap himself around her and never let go.

Soon.

After he took care of this fucking prick.

“Change to your wolf, Reed. We need your senses for traps.”

Reed nodded then stripped out of his clothes and put them in the vehicle. Josh glanced at the tanned body that he loved then forced his gaze away to check his surroundings. From this distance, they couldn’t see the building, but Josh could feel it there. He couldn’t see any surveillance or signs of a trap, and Josh was damn good at spotting those. After all, it had been his job for most of his life, and now as one of Adam’s enforcers, his protection level had increased.

He heard a sharp groan as Reed finished shifting. He knew the change was as brutally painful as it was beautiful in its outcome. The russet-colored wolf came to sit by him, and he rubbed his mate behind the ears. Reed leaned into him as they both surveyed the area with a keen focus.

Reed huffed out a breath and started toward the building.

Good, that meant Reed didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary either.

They slowly made their way to the building, making sure they knew where all the exits were and had an escape path if needed. If they were lucky, they could overpower Cyrus and get out of there with Hannah quickly. But, they were never that lucky.

The building was an old storehouse that must have been part of an older dwelling. It had long since fallen into disrepair. Josh knew she was in the basement, and he could also feel that only she and Cyrus were in the area.

Apparently his demon powers were better than he’d thought.

Reed went first and sniffed around then did an awkward nod. Josh nodded back. Good, there wasn’t anyone around, and Josh agreed. Josh made his way to the door and gripped his gun tighter.

This was it.

Yet it all seemed so familiar.

He’d found his Reed and Hannah by breaking into an abandoned building when Corbin and Caym had taken them. But now he was different, stronger, and not afraid of the things that could kill him.

Well, not really.

He was afraid only of losing Hannah and Reed. They were his everything.

He quietly opened the door and did a quick glance of the hallway. Empty. Good. He went in first, letting Reed creep behind him, protecting him from anything that could come up from behind. Josh followed their bond until he reached another door farther down the empty hallway.

He knew the basement was through that door as well as he knew Hannah and Cyrus were beyond it. He turned the knob and crept down the stairs, Reed on his tail.

Cyrus stood by the cage where Hannah lay. His old friend’s body looked haggard, bruised.

Good, Hannah had gotten some good punches in.

Josh spared a glance for Hannah and noticed her eyes brighten, but other than that, she didn’t acknowledge them. Good.

She would have felt them through the bond as they got closer, so they hadn’t surprised her to the point she would give away their arrival and location.

“I see you’re here, Josh,” Cyrus said as he turned around. “You really didn’t think you could sneak up on me, did you? I trained you, boy.”

“Let her go, and I’ll let you die quickly,” Josh said as he gripped the gun harder.

Cyrus just shook his head. “You’re a fucking traitor and a sick freak. But I’m the one with the gun on your whore.”

Reed growled at the word, and Josh bit his tongue. “Put the gun down, Cyrus.”

“No, I’m the one with the power. You put
your
fucking gun down.”

Josh shrugged. He had another two strapped to him plus his knives, and the fact that he was a partial demon made him faster and stronger than Cyrus. Not to mention that Reed was a werewolf and could rip Cyrus’s head from his body with one strong bite. But Josh put the gun down anyway. He didn’t want to anger Cyrus any more than the man already was. That would risk causing Hannah more harm. Anything but that.

“Good. Now you see that I’m the one in control. You shouldn’t have left your blood with the Navy though Josh. This is all your fault you know.”

Josh made a mental note to visit the base and take care of any loose ends that might have been lost. After he killed the bastard in front of him. He’d also have to tell Edward that even though his blood had changed with the demon bite, there was still a way through the wards with his old blood.

“Let Hannah go.”

Cyrus threw his head back and laughed. “No, I don’t think I will. Things like you and your pussy here need to be put down. Humans are the powerful ones. If we weren’t, why are you the ones in hiding and we’re free?”

“Because we let you,” Josh said and watched as Cyrus growled and tried to pull the trigger.

But, Reed was faster. Before Josh could blink, a red blur bit through Cyrus’s wrist, severing his hand and the gun along with it. Cyrus screamed in pain then went silent as Reed snapped his neck. Reed howled as Josh ran to the cage and broke the lock using all of his strength.

Hannah was in his arms in the next instant, her body shaking as he ran his hands down her body, checking for broken bones. The bastard had broken her wrist and cheekbone, but the rest seemed only bruised, except for perhaps a cracked rib or two.