Broken Butterflies (20 page)

She stared, eyes wide. “Everything was so beautiful.”

“Yes.”

“You picked that vision on purpose didn’t you?” She accused.

“I don’t pick what you see, you do. That was a good one,” he said smiling.

She shifted uncomfortable. Watching her past life made her feel like it was happening now, in the present.

“If you liked it so much why did you let it end?” she asked.

“I could feel you getting tense. It’s been a while since I saw you naked, very nice.”

Why would I pick that to remember?
Ilisha’s head crinkled.

“Maybe because you wanted to know if we were really together.”

Her eyes bulged. “Don’t do that.”

“Sorry, can’t help it.”

She looked around, untangled her legs from his and stood up. “You’re in my head all the time?”

“Only when you let me.”

“What? What the hell does that mean?”

“Whenever you’re stressed or in trouble your walls come down and you let me in. Apparently horny counts in the stressed department.”

“I’m not—” She cut herself off knowing it was a lie. “Were you in my head before you fell?”

“First of all I didn’t fall, I came as myself. And yes, our connection can’t be broken by time or space.”

“This is so f’ed up.” She paced back and forth, kicking at pine needles as she went.

“Sorry, I know it’s a lot to take in. We can take it slow.” He stood up and dusted his butt off. “I’ll leave it up to you when you want to try again.”

He took her hand to stop her pacing. “Let’s get you home.”

Bram knocked on Ilisha’s door. She answered smiling, and his shoulders relaxed.

“I need to get some stuff,” he said as she held the door open.

She followed him upstairs to the bedroom and sat on the bed while he sifted through the dresser and closet. He shoved clothes into a duffel bag not saying a word.

“Bram, say something.”

He turned and dropped the bag to the floor. “I’m so sorry, Ilisha. Nothing I did was out of malice. I did it all because I love you more than all the blessings I would have gotten had I not fallen.”

“I know you didn’t intend to hurt me. That’s why I asked you to give me some time.”

“Can I kiss you?” he asked leaning in.

“Sorry, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t think we will ever be together again, friends maybe.”

Disappointment filled his face and he looked down. Ilisha stood and hugged him.

Her hair was spread out across her shoulders and he picked up a bunch and smelled it. “Lilac,” he whispered as he breathed in. Bram left her embrace. “I better get going.”

“Don’t think just because I wanted you to release me from our marriage I don’t love you. I will always care what happens to you, but you broke any trust I could have.”

He leaned into her again. “I released you from the marriage, but I kept our bond. I need to be able to protect you.”

Bram picked up the duffel bag. His boots hit the stairs.

“Bram!”

He spun around and she met him at the bottom of the stairs.

Ilisha wanted to take the pain from his eyes, but she couldn’t. She knew that trust and connection she felt for him would never return, and she could think of nothing to say. He spoke instead.

“I love you more than you can ever comprehend.” He closed the door behind him and left her to the silence of the house.

She turned and walked to the couch and turned on the TV. As she flipped through the channels the control dropped from her hand and she gasped. She ran for the door and threw it open, causing it to hit the wall.

She paused on the porch as she watched a scene play out in her head. Bram was walking back to the barn. A car pulled up. Four large men got out and took a hold of him, shoving him in the back seat. They weren’t human, they were angels.

“Bram,” she said running for her car.

Damon met her at the driver’s door.

“Someone took Bram, we need to go,” Ilisha said shoving past him.

“You won’t find him in a car. I need to know what you saw.”

Ilisha hesitated.

“Trust me,” he said looking down at her.

“Four angels. I’ve never seen them before. They were really big; like football players. They all wore dark suits.”

“Shit,” Damon said running his hands down his face.

“What, what does that mean?”

“It means Azriel is getting smart.”

He leaned his hands on the hood of the car.

“What do we do?” Ilisha asked panicked.

“If you want to save him, you’ll do what I ask you to do.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“You’re my only link to find him. He’s pushing images into your mind. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Come with me. You’re getting a crash course in hacking someone’s mind.” He took her hand and led her back into the house.

“Who were they?” Ilisha asked as he pulled her to the couch.

“Angels that not only fell, but they are evil. They’re a hit squad. They’ll kill anyone for the right price. I assume Azriel thinks it will save his ass to get rid of Bram himself.”

“Azriel paid them?”

“If he did, it was very handsomely.”

Damon grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. He crouched in front of her. “I need you to concentrate on him. Not from a memory, but right now, in the present.”

She closed her eyes and tried to think of him, but the only thing that came was seeing him shoved in the car. She shook her head knowing it wasn’t working.

Damon bit his lip and let out a big sigh. “Our minds are fully connected.” He motioned between them with his finger. “I’m going to force myself into yours and show you what to do.”

She leaned back eyes full of fear.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“When Bram did this to find me in the woods. The pain was so excruciating I thought my head was literally going to explode.”

“He did it fast and swift. I’ll go slow. It won’t hurt, I promise.”

She nodded.

She gripped Damon’s hands as he knelt in front of her. He looked her in the eye and she felt pressure across her skull. The pressure turned to a dull ache and she squeezed his hands hard waiting for the extreme pain, but it didn’t come.

“Still doing okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Good, let go of the finger breaking grip on my hands,” he said smiling.

“Oh sorry.” She released the firm grip, knowing it would do nothing to actually harm him, but kept hold of his hands.

His mind eased through her memories as he looked for specific images. The rolling waves of the ocean are all she could think to describe the sensation. Every move his mind made she felt it lap against her own. Damon sifted through tons of memories, stopping for a second on one because it caught him off guard. Ilisha felt him tense physically and mentally. It was the first night Bram made love to Ilisha, but Damon stopped at the point where Bram shed her clothes.

“Could have done without that,” he said and continued.

Knowing full well what he saw, Ilisha shifted, uneasy. Though she had just met Damon in this life she felt a loyalty to him that she couldn’t wrap her mind around.

Damon went further into her memories and arrived at the present time, seeing himself crouched in front of her.

“Do you see how I got past everything to get to the present?”

“Yes.”

“Good, now expand yourself to find Bram. Use my mind to help you.”

Their minds moved as one collective, linked together. They left the house and were traveling at great speed down roads and past landscapes. Her mind was pushing toward Bram like a magnet.

She caught up to the car; a silver Mercedes with black windows. Ilisha propelled her mind and breached the car, slamming into Bram’s head.

He was bound somehow. She recognized when he felt her presence. Bram’s eyes scanned the area around him. They were driving down a windy road, through a mountain pass.

“They’ve gone west,” she said still watching.

The car stopped at a tall fence with a no trespassing sign. A guard came out of a shanty, with the same attire and stature as the angels in the car. He looked inside and smiled, then opened the gate. They drove up to a large concrete building that was built into the mountainside. Many armed guards stood outside, some of which looked like the creature Damon had killed in her house.

Two of the men grabbed Bram, who was bound at his wrists and ankles, by the elbows and drug him across the floor. They threw him to the floor in a small room, laughed, then shut and locked the door.

The room was pitch dark and Ilisha could no longer see anything.

Bram pushed her out with such intensity that she fell back against the couch.

“Why did he do that?”

“Because he knew you couldn’t see anything and if you stay to long they will know what we’re doing. He’s smart.”

“So how do we find him?”

“I need to find out what that facility is.” Damon stood up.

“I’m coming with you.”

“Let’s go.”

He walked out her back door. It was dark now. Damon unfurled his wings and Ilisha gasped. His shirt was customized to allow this. His magnificent body glowed in the moonlight.

Bram’s wings were pure white. Damon’s were pearl. Different colors shimmered and sparkled with each little movement of his body.

“How do I know you didn’t have him taken?” she asked.

“It’s true I’m not fond of Bram right now, but I’m also his prince and I have a responsibility to find him.”

Ilisha looked in his eyes to see if she could see any sign of deception.

“You can stand here all night, or take my hand.”

She stepped toward him and he pulled her close. The heat from his skin permeated into her and she couldn’t help but realize how breathtaking Damon was.
You need to focus on Bram, he’s in danger.

Damon smiled a little, but shifted his face when she noticed.

“Shit. You heard me again.” Ilisha balled up her fists in aggravation.

“Sorry, like I said, it just happens,” Damon replied smiling sinfully.

Ilisha’s feet left the ground and his wings pushed up and down through the air. Ilisha closed her eyes and held tight, burying her head.

“Still don’t like to fly, huh?”

With her eyes pinched shut she shook her head.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, Ilisha, you’re not going anywhere. I need you to look around and tell me which road we saw them drive down,” Damon said putting a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

She held tight to his arms and looked below her. They circled above the mountain range a few times before she pointed. “That’s the one.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I recognize the campground sign they passed.”

He took them in a nosedive and her fingers dug into his skin. Her body kicked into fight or flight mode. Adrenaline pulsed through her and nausea hit her. Just before they hit the tree line Damon leveled back out, before going vertical, feet down. Not a sound was made as they drifted through the trees.

He placed Ilisha on the ground. She began to hyperventilate. Instinctively she placed her head between her knees. Her fingers gripped her hair as she forced her breathing pattern to slow. Damon curled himself round her back, and wrapped his arms around her. His mouth was at her ear.

“You’re going to be fine.” His voice was cool and soft and her body relaxed. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and he moved the hair from her face.