Edge of Moonlight (17 page)

“What about—”

“Try not to be freaked out and make sure—”

“God damn it, Kaine, what if you need—”

“You stay at Nica’s.” Her smile tasted bitter. “And don’t worry. I’m pretty damn good at taking care of myself. Lots of practice.”

“
Fuck
, Kaine—”

She didn’t hear anymore as she let herself drop to the ground.

John’s breath caught in his throat as he watched Kaine drop nearly two stories and land on her feet.

She landed like a cat, soft on her feet, and walked in the direction they’d seen Grace Bell disappear.

Fuck
.

It took him a few precious minutes to get out of the tree and he nearly got caught by a tourist with a camera, who looked terrified when John appeared directly behind him as he took a picture of the park.

John sidestepped the guy and hurried after Kaine. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, he tried not to run but she had a lead on him and he was terrified he’d lose her.

Until he felt he warmth of the crystal against his skin. He couldn’t lose her.

Breathing a little easier, he managed to catch up with her after only a few minutes.

And even though he wanted to force her to get behind him, to let him handle this, he kept his distance.

Because she was right. She was just as highly trained as he was. Maybe more so. But without her ability to shift, was she somehow more vulnerable?

Or was she right? Did he really think she couldn’t take care of herself?

No. Absolutely not. He had faith in her.

And the only way he could show her was to follow her lead.

But the thought of something happening to her, of her being injured, made him want to shove her in a hole and keep her there until it was safe to come out.

Yeah, he was an idiot but at least he knew when to take a step back.

Traffic in the park was lighter today than it had been yesterday. Fewer tourists, maybe kept away by the threat of rain in the gray clouds. Little foot traffic along the path. And no cops, at least none that he’d seen yet.

The trio shouldn’t be that hard to find.

And soon enough, he’d spotted them just ahead.

Kaine was nowhere to be seen.

She’d disappeared but he knew she was close because the crystal bled heat into his skin.

He made himself do the same, slipped off the footpath and behind a flowering bush. As he watched, Grace Bell parked the wheelchair at a bench and took a seat herself.

She smiled at the boy in the chair, tried to get him to eat a cup of yogurt that she fed him with a spoon. The boy, who looked to be only eight or nine, didn’t seem to be able to use his hands, which were curled in his lap.

He had copper-colored hair and blue eyes that John could see from this distance.

Eyes that didn’t seem to focus on anything.

Multiple sclerosis? Muscular dystrophy? He didn’t have a clue.

Didn’t matter. He would never hurt a child but Grace Bell didn’t know that and Kaine was right. The kid was the way to get the woman to cooperate.

She obviously loved the boy and from the hair color, John assumed they were mother and son. He also saw the resemblance in the shape of their faces and slope of their noses.

Pulling out Kaine’s phone, he pressed and held the nine button until he heard it dial.

“Kaine.”

The male voice sounded familiar but John couldn’t place it. “No. This is John Simmons. Kaine told me to call this number. We’re in New York City. She said you’d transport me and two others to Nica’s house.”

“She told you that, huh? Well, John, then I guess that’s what we need to do.”

“So I call you and we just magically disappear from here and end up back at Nica’s?”

The guy laughed like hell. “Yeah, that’s about right, son. Just make sure you’re in contact with the two other people when you do. Freaky as hell, huh?”

“You could say that.” John sighed. “I’ll call you back.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

John snapped the phone shut, his gaze still on Grace, her son and the goon. Whose attention seemed to be focused on something behind the bushes to his left.

If this worked, he’d be leaving Kaine behind.

His hands clenched into fists. It went against everything he believed in. You didn’t leave your partner behind.

And you certainly didn’t leave the woman you loved to fend for herself.

Shit.

He really didn’t—

“Sit tight,” the goon said, snapping John’s attention back to where it needed to be.

“I gotta check something out.”

Grace barely nodded, her entire attention on the boy. As if she had nothing to fear.

“We’re not going anywhere, are we, Alex? It’s nice to be out in the fresh air. Do you hear the birds, sweetheart?”

Christ, this was fucked up. The woman who’d kidnapped his sister and made her life hell sat in Central Park cooing at a little boy like she was Mary frickin’ Poppins.

But this was it. The bodyguard turned his back to Grace and Alex and headed across the path, toward the trees on the opposite side, focused on something directly in front of him.

Kaine.

Fuck. His lungs caught in a vise of tension, John’s only move was to play this out like they’d agreed.

He speed-dialed and the phone immediately picked up, just as he got within five feet of his targets.

“On my mark,” he spoke into the phone.

“Your mark,” the man said.

John kept expecting the goon to turn, to see him, recognize him.

It never happened. The guy was too intent on following Kaine.

If anything happened to her…

Forcing the thought from his mind, he walked behind the bench where Grace Bell sat feeding the boy, placed one hand on her shoulder and one on the boy’s and yelled

“Now,” hopefully loud enough to be picked up by the phone he’d stuck in his back pocket.

Grace drew in a breath to scream but never managed it because the world folded in on them.

For a few brief seconds, John honestly felt like he was being drawn through a tiny hole in the fabric of reality. By a fishhook in his stomach. His lungs stuttered to a halt and he nearly released his hold on the boy and the woman. But he’d come this far and he couldn’t fail now.

As everything went black, he gripped Grace and the boy tighter and began to pray that Kaine would be okay until he got back.

Kaine caught a brief glimpse of John, Grace Bell and the boy just before they disappeared into thin air.

As if they’d never been there.

She’d been watching from behind a nearby tree. She’d had to get increasingly closer to her target until he’d noticed her. Whatever it was he sensed, whether it was a magical signature like a scent or a sensation that rubbed against his skin, he’d turned toward her hiding spot with narrowed eyes and an expression of intense concentration.

As he’d come closer, she’d seen John move in on the woman and boy, place his hands on her shoulders and shout, “Now!”

She’d held her breath for the brief second it took Sal to transport them away.

Which of course got the attention of the goon.

Kaine actually thought he might have an aneurism on the spot. His face turned bright red and his hands clenched into fists at his side. The guy had huge hands and curled into fists, they looked almost comic.

But she knew how strong the guy was. She had to stay out of those hands at any cost.

So she ran.

She had a split second to decide which way to go and when she took off at a dead run, she didn’t have time to second guess. She headed away from the city streets and deeper into the park.

Here, the magic in the earth called to her. It sang in her blood and added fuel to her speed.

She kept off the paths and instead stuck to the wooded areas.

Behind her, the goon kept pace. He was big but he ran almost as fast as she did.

People stopped to stare as she raced by, the goon not far off her tail.

She’d thought she’d be able to lose him but realized that the park had too much open space for her to slip out of his sight. She would’ve made out better heading for the city and losing herself in the crowds.

But he might’ve gotten the jump on her there. He had to know the city better than she did. If she took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead-end alley, she’d be fucked.

At least in the park, she had free range. Once she lost him, she’d head back to the city and the car and get the hell out of Dodge.

If I could shift…

No, she couldn’t think about what she couldn’t do. She needed to figure out what she could do.

Behind her, she heard the guy’s feet pounding against the earth, barreling through the bushes she’d leaped over just seconds ago.

Shit. More speed. She needed—

She needed help.

She wasn’t going to be able to outrun him.

What could she do?

Blessed Goddess, she could hear the sound of his breathing, knew he was gaining on her.

Her lungs began to burn, her brain running options. Getting caught was not an option.

Dodging trees and bushes, she saw an open space ahead of her and burst onto a playground. A few small children laughed and screamed as adults sat on benches and watched. Several actually snatched up their children as she and her pursuer ran by.

Putting on a burst of speed, she headed for the next stand of trees.

And caught her foot on a tree root and went sailing through the air before landing hard on her shoulder.

* * * * *

It took a few seconds for John’s vision to focus before he realized he stood in Nica’s living room.

Before him on the floor slumped Grace Bell and the boy. Without his wheelchair.

Both of them had lost consciousness.

John wondered for a few seconds if he wasn’t going to join them.

“Kyle!”

“Right here.” Kyle’s voice came from behind him and John hadn’t even turned before Kyle was bending down to pick up the boy and set him on the couch. “Dane, come here. Now. Damn, I can’t believe you did it. Where’s Kaine?”

“I have to go back. Now.”

Kyle’s head flew up and his gaze pinned John in place. “You left her there alone.”

“She didn’t…give me a choice.”

Shit, the room was spinning. Or he was. Christ, he couldn’t afford to pass out. He had to go back. Forcing the dizziness aside, he grabbed Kyle’s shoulder. “I have to go back
now
.”

“
Vaffanculo
. I’m gonna kick her ass six ways to Sunday. Tam! We need Sal.” Kyle’s mate had a phone to her ear as she came rushing out of the back room, speaking into it as she pushed John into the nearest chair.

“I have to go back.”

“Yeah,” Tam said into the phone, “they’re here but not Kaine. John says he needs to go back. Okay, right.” She shoved the phone into the back pocket of her jeans then cupped John’s face in one hand. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three. I’m fine. I have to get back to Kaine. Send me back.” He’d never felt panic like this. It encased his guts in ice and made his heart beat like a trapped bird. He needed to get a grip but the countdown clock in his head got louder with each second.

“Tam, I have to get back.”

“I know,” she said, her hands gentle as she ran her hands over the back of his head and neck. Nurse, he thought vaguely. “Sal should be here—”

“I’m here.” The voice John recognized from the phone made him look around for the man attached to it. “Shit, son, you were supposed to bring her back with you.” John’s mouth opened but nothing came out. The creature standing in front of him was only four feet tall, had tiny black horns, a man’s upper body…and the legs of a goat.

“No time for explanations.” The creature stopped right in front of him, his hand reaching out for him. “Gonna be woozy when you get there. Try to breathe.” John automatically leaned away until his back hit the chair cushion. “What the—”

“Hey, what’s this?” The creature lifted the chain around John’s neck until the crystal came out of his shirt. “Kyle, did you know he had this?” Kyle moved into the narrow scope of John’s vision. “Yeah, Nortia gave it to him before he left. Said it’d help him find Kaine.”

“Huh. The Lady must like you, kid. Damn good thing she does. I can put you right next to Kaine.”

“What
are
you?”

The creature’s mouth curved in slick smile. “I’m Sal. Nice to meet ya. Now, put your hand on the crystal and concentrate on Kaine.”

John couldn’t move. He could only stare. Until the creature used his very human hand to smack him on the side of the head and rattled his brain back into place.

Kaine. He had to get back to her.

“Hand on the crystal, John. Think of Kaine.”

Ignoring the fact that the…that Sal had hooves, which he’d only noticed about a second ago, John closed his eyes and wrapped his hand around the crystal until he thought his hand would bleed.

He wiped his mind of everything but her, felt the crystal warm beneath his hand.

And then that weird-ass sense that he was falling through a hole in space consumed him again.

This time, he did fall.

He landed on the ground hard, retching, struggling through the pounding headache and the vicious nausea.

Ears ringing, he heard the sounds of a fight as if through a glass wall. On his knees now, he lifted his head and saw Kaine take the full brunt of her attacker’s fist on her jaw.

Fuck no
. Pushing to his feet, forcing himself forward, John ran at the guy. He shouldn’t have made it. He should have stumbled and fallen but the fact that the guy was going after Kaine again kept him upright. At least long enough for John to tackle the guy at the knees.

His stomach threatened to revolt when they hit the ground but he couldn’t let the guy hurt Kaine.

Of course, he might not survive the pounding. As John scrambled to get to his feet, the goon got to his first and swung out with a left hook that took John down again.

“No!”

Kaine’s shout distracted the guy long enough for John to roll out of his path but fear struck him low in the gut as Kaine launched herself at the goon’s back.

“John! Get away.”