Jace (34 page)

“Why are you smiling?”

Tobias put the cell phone away.

“Just a touch of optimism.”

He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. “Wake me when we get within five miles of the exchange site.”

JACE
parked the SUV at the base of the caves. He glanced in the rearview. He could feel Tobias’s presence, but couldn’t pinpoint it, hadn’t been able to since the Enforcer had gotten out of the car five miles back. He’d just disappeared into the trees like a shadow conjured from his imagination. Jace shook his head. The man was good.

Tugging the energy shield with him, he got out of the car. With a smooth arc, he threw it over the car. Immediately the mechanical energy reading winked out. Hopefully, anyone scanning the area would assume the shield blocked Brenda Lynn’s energy, too. Otherwise, his plan was dead in the water.

The path to the caves was on the right. No weres dotted what he could see of the dirt trail before it disappeared into the heavy wood, but he could feel their presence as soon as he entered the forest. About twenty-five in all, soundlessly pacing him in the woods. A hundred feet up the path they came out, encircled him. They were all young, all heavily armed.

Jace stood, hands at his sides, his vampire rising at the threat.

“You were supposed to bring the girl.”

He jerked his chin over his shoulder. “She’s in the car.”

“Get her.”

“Not until I see my daughter.”

The speaker, a handsome were with young energy, motioned with his gun to two others, who immediately headed back down the trail.

Jace met the leader’s gaze. “They touch that SUV and that kid in the car is going to be bits and pieces all over the landscape. Along with your pack mates.”

The leader’s eyes narrowed. “You’d kill a child?”

Jace smiled. “I’m vampire, what do you think?”

“I think someone should take you out.”

“Bigger men than you have tried.”

The kid didn’t rise to the bait. Just hooked his teeth over his lower lip and let out a short whistle. The two weres stopped and looked back. He waved them in.

A rifle muzzle dug into Jace’s back. “Get moving.”

Jace looked over his shoulder. “Is this the part where I’m supposed to say, ‘Take me to your leader?’”

“This is the part where you get your arrogant ass in gear, or I’ll blow it off.”

Jace glanced over his shoulder. “You do that and you’ll lose your ticket to pack status.”

The were stared at him. Surprise tinted his scent.

“You didn’t think I’d find out about Brenda Lynn’s parentage. The little Alpha female you’re counting on for ascension? The one tied up in my booby-trapped SUV? The booby trap that only I know how to disarm?”

The were snarled again and shoved him forward. Jace went, sheer force of will keeping his breathing regular and his heartbeat slow as their destination became clear. The third cave on the left. That was where Faith was.

Caleb? You here?
Caleb had been the only one of his brothers he could summon because only Caleb could manage the exposure to sunlight to get here in time. It seemed to take forever for him to answer. In reality it was about five seconds.

About thirty feet on your right.

The third cave on the left.

I’ve got it.

Remember, no matter what, you get my daughter out.

I’m getting you both out.

Worry about Faith.

I’ll worry what I want.

Jace ground his teeth as Caleb severed the connection. He needed to know Caleb would put Faith first. A man appeared in the cave entrance. Long dark hair blew away from his face. Even from this distance Jace could make out the eerie silver of his eyes. Tobias’s supposition had been right. There was an Enforcer mixed up in this. The man had something in his arms. He came down the path with an easy grace, meeting them twenty feet from the cave entrances.

“Jace Johnson?” he asked.

Jace couldn’t take his eyes off the baby, wrapped in a khaki blanket. She had the sweetest face, was actually the spitting image of Miri. He touched his energy to hers; it meshed perfectly. His daughter. His knees almost buckled. This was his daughter.

Caleb’s energy immediately bolstered his, sliding along their private pathway.
Steady.

Jace blinked, tearing his eyes away from Faith’s rosy cheeks and the wild tuft of hair on the top of her head that just begged to be smoothed down. His apparently healthy daughter. God, he wished he could transmit that fact to Miri.

“Is this her?” he asked the rogue.

“Didn’t you just get that answer for yourself?” A spill of energy accompanied the question. So the rogue could sense energy but not control it. Jace could use that.

“Just verifying my suspicions.”

“Where’s the girl?”

“I told you. In the car.”

The wolf who’d brought him up the mountain sneered, “He threatened to blow her up.”

The rogue studied him. Jace felt the probe of his energy. He was skilled, and probably could be lethal, with training, but he wasn’t trained now.

“You endangered a child?”

“I did what I had to in order to get
my
child.”

The rogue glared at the men. “Duncan, you left a child bound in a car rigged with explosives?”

“There wasn’t anything else to do until he saw his daughter. He’s a damn vampire, Broderick. We believed him when he said he would blow her up.”

Broderick grunted.

Interesting that the rogue’s scent changed at the thought of a child in danger. He might not be as rogue as Tobias feared.

“You’ve seen your daughter. Let the other girl go.”

“I’d like to hold my daughter.”

“I’d like the last ten years back. Neither is going to happen.” Broderick motioned with his hand. “Let’s go.”

“Hand me my daughter now, and I might just be persuaded to forget all about your holding her hostage.”

Duncan poked him in the back with the gun.

Glancing over his shoulder, Jace warned, “Do that again, son, and you’re going to be eating that thing.”

“Brave words from a man who’s outnumbered.”

“Dumb words from a man who hasn’t studied his enemy.”

Broderick’s laugh was more of a growl. “One thing’s for sure, the rumors of your arrogance are bearing out.”

Jace pinned him with his gaze, letting his vampire roar beneath the flames. “The only reason you’re still alive is you saved my daughter’s life, but be advised, you endanger her again, and I’ll take you out.” He paused and added, “Slowly.”

The rogue didn’t flinch. “And you be advised the only reason you’re still alive is because of the way your mate sees you.”

“And how’s that?”

“Worth something.”

Jace chewed on that. Even when she’d thought he’d left her in the labs, Miri had believed in him. Damn, the woman didn’t know the meaning of the word “quit.”

It was faster going down than up. They approached the spot where he’d left the SUV. It wasn’t visible.

The rogue stopped studying the area. “Your brother found a way to shield it.”

“You know of my brother?”

“Everyone knows of Slade Johnson.”

That was not good news. “Yes, Slade found a way.”

He glanced over at Jace. “It doesn’t leave a trace?”

“Not a bit.”

Broderick frowned again, studying harder, unconsciously jostling Faith when she squeaked and fussed in the blanket as he did so. The latter was totally instinctive. Jace wondered if the rogue knew the damage holding the little girl did to his macho image. He doubted if Broderick understood that he’d just saved his own life with that betraying gesture. Johnsons didn’t repay a debt with betrayal. And like it or not, they owed the rogue a debt that could never be repaid. His daughter’s life.

The rogue Enforcer isn’t to be hurt,
he told Caleb.

Jesus, Jace. Why don’t you just tie my hands?

He’s the reason Faith is alive.

Son of a bitch!

He felt Caleb shift positions. There still was no sign of Tobias.

Pointing to the copse where Caleb lurked, he ordered, “Get my daughter out of range.”

Broderick’s chin snapped up. “You’re not in charge here.”

“I’m the one who created the bomb, and I’m saying my daughter will be safer over there.”

The rogue snarled, revealing sharp canines. His energy whipped out. “Disarm the bomb. Now.”

Jace blocked the wild thrust of energy and smiled inside. The rogue had the weres’ love of children combined with an enhanced need to protect. It explained a lot, most especially why he’d risked everything to save Faith.

Jace jerked his chin in the direction of the woods where Caleb waited. “Take Faith back.”

The rogue handed the baby off to another were with young energy. Jace frowned. All the weres had young energy.

“Where’s your pack?”

“We have no pack.”

“Travis saw to that,” someone else muttered.

Which explained the interest in Brenda Lynn. These were Tragallion weres. Members of his pack. Killing the group wasn’t going to be the clear-cut joy that he’d been looking forward to. Damn it. Either he was getting old or life was getting complicated.

He walked toward where he’d left the SUV, relying on memory as the vehicle wasn’t visible. He reached for the cover. The rogue pulled him back. “I’ll do it.”

Jace shrugged. The man leaned forward. There was a hiss of sound and the cover slid off the SUV. Jace leapt back, reflex saving him from being crushed under the fabric. Broderick wasn’t so lucky. Breathless curses came from under the cloth. Tobias seemed to appear out of thin air beside the fallen man. In his hands were two nasty-looking weapons, on his face a smiling invitation to the cursing rogues to join his party.

Another curse came from the edge of the woods where Jace had sent Faith. A quick glance showed the were down and Caleb holding the baby, but he was surrounded and going nowhere. With a snarl, Jace dove into the wolves. In slow motion he saw the muzzles turn, heard Tobias’s shout, Caleb’s warning. He paid no mind, surging forward to the weaker corner, his only goal to create a route through which Caleb could escape with Faith. Snarls came from the woods, blending into the mix. The fucking rogues had reinforcements.

Guns fired in rapid succession. Jace leapt into the hail of bullets, grunting as they tore through his flesh, ripped open his organs, not caring, his total focus on gaining those precious few seconds that Caleb needed to get Faith out. He just needed a few more so his brother could get her to safety.
Please God, a few more.
A rogue lunged for Caleb. He went down in a slash of Caleb’s talons. Another appeared behind him. Two more to the left. The snarls grew louder, collided. Men hollered. A rogue reached Caleb. Grabbed for Faith with bloody claws. With the vicious skill he was known for, Caleb sliced off his hand. The next rogue pulled up, staring at the severed appendage and the spray of blood. Caleb leapt into the hesitation and broke free, a blur of motion heading east.

Jace fell into the gap, snarling and whirling around, filling the space with all the aggression inside. Any son of a bitch that was stupid enough to try was going to die here and now. He threw back his head and howled his challenge. The Tragallion battle cry roared over the other sounds of battle.

All around, were voices picked up call, echoing it off the mountains. Over and over the cry swelled as voices reinforced the challenge. Tragallion voices lifted in the Tragallion war cry spilled into the clearing, came closer. Blood dripped in his eyes and poured down his side. Jace swayed, wiping at his face, clearing his vision. Ready for the next wave.

Except there wasn’t anyone coming. The clearing was filled with the hard-eyed faces of men he recognized. The reinforcements hadn’t been rogue, they’d been pure pack Tragallion. Only one person could have arranged that. Miri must have given instructions for them to follow him.

He spotted Brac, knee planted firmly in another man’s back, ruthlessly tying up a rogue. As if feeling his gaze, he looked up. Jace ignored the black edging his vision. He nodded his thanks. Brac got to his feet.

To Jace’s right someone called his name. Sweet and feminine, he’d recognize that voice anywhere.
Miri.
He closed his eyes, struggling to maintain his balance as blood soaked the ground at his feet. She shouldn’t be here to see this.

“Jace!”

Her footsteps were light on the ground, soft punctuations to the touch of her energy. It wrapped around him in a desperate hug two seconds before her arms came around him. As he swayed, she gasped and widened her stance, her shoulder wedging under his in a too-short support. “Don’t you die on me, Jace Johnson.”

He licked his dry lips, striving for strength. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“What I shouldn’t be, is here this late. You should have told me about this, not forced me to read your mind.”

Her grip slipped through the blood. She gasped again and then her hands were all over him, checking wounds, sobbing when she found them. “Oh, God.” She patted his chest. His cheek. “Oh, God.”

“Caleb!”

It was a high-pitched shriek that reverberated in his head and his ears. Jace’s knees buckled. She tried to catch him. He had just enough strength to throw himself backward to avoid falling on her. The pain was intense. “I’m okay, Miri.”

“You’re bleeding out.” She tore at her shirtsleeve.

There was no bleeding about it. He was about out.

She held her wrist to his mouth. “Feed, Jace.”

He reached for her hand, missed the first time, caught it the second. He brought it to his mouth, pressed a kiss to her palm, then shook his head. “I’d drain you and bleed out anyway.”

She pressed harder. “Caleb will be here in a second.”

Even Caleb’s blood wouldn’t be able to keep him alive long enough to recover from this. That would take a lot of blood. A steady supply. “It’s okay, Miri.”

Tears dripped off her face onto his.

“No, it’s not.”

“Don’t cry, princess.” He raised his hand to her cheek. Blood smeared through her tears. “I hate to see you cry.”