Lustful Cravings (The Seven Sin Sisters) (19 page)

“I
will do what you say for the return of both women
.”

“Very well.
I would let you speak to your woman
,
but I am afraid she’s taking a bit of a nap at the moment.”
Madden wanted to reach through the phone lines and throttle this man. The saving factor was Madden’s certainty he wasn’t aware of their Breed status. That gave Madden the advantage.

“
I will do what you asked
,
but it will be a few hours for me to make the accommodations necessary
.
”

“I will call you back then. Two hours.” The call was disconnected. The room was silent for one
millisecond
before everyone
sprang
into action
.

Lucas’s voice came across the room on speaker.
“Madden, we picked
Nassir
up three days ago and secured him
. I’ve informed the lines we have him
.
” He
already knew
. He had been following the entire mission from his handheld even though he hadn’t physically come into his office.

“I
am aware of
this.
”
Madden’s voice was strong despite the crushing panic he felt inside for his mate. He needed to retrieve her and then he would never let her go again. This was his worst nightmare come to fruition. It was up to him to see it to the end
—
and to get his mate back.

“You have a plan.”
Lucas
’s voice came across strong though he was thousands of miles away
.
T
he confidence
Madden
heard in his
brother
’s voice humbled him.

“Bring him in as planned. Stay on
the
mission and I’ll handle this end.”

“
I’m o
ut
then
.
” Lucas
was disconnected with a simple stroke of Caedon’s finger.

“We’ve got
Ste
f
an and Tomas on the phone,” Nicolaus
called out
.
“
What are your orders?”

“Speaker
phone.
Now.
”
As soon as Caedon threw the switch
to connect them to the command center’s communication line
, Madden spoke
.
“How’d the son of a bitch get to my mate, Stefan?”

“Some type of missile device crack
ed the glass. Then it seemed
like a gas. It knocked us out
.
M
y guess is an average human might still be out
,
but we woke pretty quick
ly
. I caught the plate on the van as it pulle
d away. He’s got Layla and Grac
i
e.”

“We know.” Madden paced as Gage filled Stefan in on the phone call with
Nassir
’s guy.

“Stay down
, Stefan
.
Caedon, g
et me her location. No one goes in but me.”

“Dumb ass didn’t disconnect her tracker. She’s moving north towards that old mining road.” Caedon pointed to the screen that showed her location.

“I’ll get one of the vehicles ready,” Gage said as he moved for the exit
.
“I’m going with you, brother.”

“What can I do?” Madden turned from where he was securing some weapons to see Anton standing in the doorway.

“Be ready to treat her when I return with her. I don’t know if there will be any injuries
.
” Madden shook his head as his voice broke.
Madden felt the weight of this rescue square
ly
on his shoulders
.
S
o many people were counting on him
to
bring
Layla home, the least of which was
Anton, his best friend
.
Now was not the time to fold
,
but internally he was beating himself up over
allowing this to happen. He was her protector and he’d failed.

Madden’s fist went through the wall like a knife through butter
.
Without a single scratch to show
for it
and still not feeling any better, he sat down, sighed and hung his head between his legs to think. He needed to think through his plan to be certain it was solid.

The room was quiet and a peacefuln
ess filled Madden while he took a few deep breaths. Smiling a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, he connected with Anton from across the room and shook his head at his friend who’d used his powers to calm him.

“A clear head is all you need. You are her protector and you will protect her. You have not failed.” Anton’s words gave him the strength he needed to see this through. He nodded his thanks and stood.

“I’ll let your parents know
all is being handled and wait
with
them until you return with her
.” Anton left the room as quietly as he
’d arrived.
Madden turned to his men, his focus on finding his mate.

“Granger, take Nicolaus
and
get into
position
above the mine. If he comes out before me, shoot to kill.” Madden walked out
of
the room to c
atch up with Gage already sitting in the running SUV. Granger and Nicolaus jumped into the SUV sitting next to them.

Turning on his earpiece, Madden explained
the plan
to his men
. It was simple. He
did not intend to allow
the son of a bitch t
o live.
Best-case
scenario, Madden killed him and brought the women home.
Worst-case
scenario, Granger took him out instead. Either way, he’d go down.

*
*
*
*

“Wha
t the hell?” Layla came alert with a start, her heart racing like she’d run a marathon.
Looking around the darkened room
—
actually, more like a cavern
—
she saw Gracie
as her eyes
adjusted to the muted light
. Her head spinning, Layla tried to think. What was the last thing she could remember? The car
—
she was in the car with Gracie. And there was a
blast, or a s
iren. Oh Goddess
, what had happened to Stefan and Tomas? Instinctively, Layla knew it was bad. Whatever had happened was bad and she needed to get them out of this place. Fast.

She shook her sister gently, placing her hand on her arm, “Gracie, wake up swee
tie.” No movement. Layla looked around again, twitched her nose and called, “Mother.”
Still no movement
.
I
f her mother could hear her, she’d be
here. They must be blocked somehow.

Layla searched around the cavern on her hands and knees
.
Crap.
T
here was limited lighting and she couldn’t determine an exit. Tears of frustration crept from her eyes as she sat back down until she heard Gracie begin to mov
e.

“Layla,” Gracie called out and reached for her.
Grac
i
e’s hand was cold as ice and she was shivering. Whatever sedative they had been given was wearing off
,
but Layla was fairly certain some of its effects remained.

“Oh, Gracie, I don’t know where we are. It’s all so foggy and I can’t even recall
exactly
what happened to us.” Layla’s voice was definitely not reas
suring. Her fear laced every word.

“There was a blast
—
I remember that
—
and
then
this
terrib
le
smelling
smoke
.
” Gracie’s gravelly voice was a mere whisper as she tried to sit up. She took in their surroundings. “We must be up in the mountains.”

“Yes. I tried to reach out to mother but she didn’t answer me.”

“Then we’re in one of the caverns along the western ridge. I’ve hiked up here a dozen times and they’re so steeped in boulder it must be blocking the link.”

“We need to move and find a way out. Whoeve
r took us is not here
,
so we might have a chance.
”
Layla continued feeling her way around the cavern, gaining more sight as her eyes continued to
adjust.

“Do you know who would’ve done this?” Gracie blinked as if an idea suddenly struck her,
he
r eyes wide with shock.
“Wait. Is this why you had security? Did Madden suspect this?”

“No. Well, actually,
maybe
. He has a dangerous job and h
e’
s made enemies, Gracie
.
” Layla stopped to think thi
ngs
through
.
“
B
ut I don’t think he
actually
believed this would happen. If there’d been an immediate threat, he wouldn’t have let me go without him today.”

“Do you think he knows? How deep is your connection to him?”

As Layla considered this, her entire center heated.
Like a light switch, everything inside her flipped.
No longer scared, she was angry
—
pissed
—
yes, freaking pissed. How dare whoever did this. She was a Sinster, a Primary Witch
and a Valendite breed mate
, not an ordinary weak human. And she was not waiting around in this disgusting cave to be rescued.

“
Gracie, mother said I have
likely come into my full powers.”

“What?”
Grace was as shocked as Layla had been when her mother mentioned it to her.

“Yes. I was telling h
er about some changes after my
Claim
ing
and she seemed to think my connected respons
es
could be
magnified from the
Mat
ing
.
H
er powers became stronger
when she mated with father
.”

“Oh Goddess
.
You think you can teleport as she does?”
Gracie’s hope bolstered Layla. She knew she could do this. She absolutely had to. There was too much
to lose.

“I’m going to try.
First
we have to get out of the cavern’s depth so the rocks aren’t weakening any links.
Mother said I could call upon
my connections with each of you
for strength
but I don’t think I can do that in here
.”

“Then let’s go.”
Taking one of the tunnels that seemed to hold the most light, Layla held Grac
i
e’s hand as they worked their way slowly
forward
.
Layla watched for any wood on the ground that she
could
use to make fire.

Finally
she found a stick and
lit
it to
give them light.
They moved slowly until
they
could
hear voices
and
stopped to listen
.
Oh, Crap.
Layla knew one of the voices was Madden but couldn’t make out the other. Staying quiet, they
continued to
move forward again.

Layla snuffed out their
light
as they reached the end of the tunnel. A formation of rocks hid them from view and with a bit of climbing, she was able to see Madden squared off with
a dark-haired man she didn’t recognize.

“You were not supposed to find me. I wonder how it is you did this.” The greasy dark-haired man spoke in a broken accent of the Middle East.
Layla remembered hearing Madden mention the name
Nassir
. Perhaps this was that same man.

Madden sai
d nothing. His eyes shifted to where she hid and he gave only a
slight nod. He knew she was there.

“I also wonder how it is you do all that you seem to do so easily. I was se
nt here to watch you and your secret band of men. You know they are not so very secret, no?”
Layla couldn’t believe this. She was used as a pawn to push Madden to let down his guard and expose the Breeds. Had he done this?
For her?