Mending the Rift (25 page)

Flesh connected with flesh, and Luca whimpered when Nicholas’s head snapped to the side from the impact. He couldn’t do more than sit where he was as the hand in his hair kept him easily in place. His dad sucked in a deep breath while he brought a hand up to his left cheek, which was flaming with a red handprint. Where was his father? Or Keith? Or anyone from security? What about Marcus? How long would he be unconscious? How badly was he hurt?

The man holding Luca in place pulled him up and fastened a hand around his biceps. The guy who’d slapped his dad bent him over and whispered something into Nicholas’s ear that sent a shiver through his dad. Without another word, the masked men shoved them toward the door.

When they passed Marcus’s prone body, one of his captors asked, “What about him?”

“I don’t care. Kill him or leave him, that’s up to you.”

Luca dug his heels in and pushed against his captor. “No! No, please, don’t kill him. What do you want from us? We didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Aw, listen to him cry,” the man holding him said. “What will happen if we kill him? Will you go into premature labor? Yes?”

In answer, Luca’s abdominal wall hardened and forced him to double over with a pained moan. “Please,” he repeated, “please, don’t.”

Someone close to him laughed, and seconds later the telltale buzzing of a stun gun became audible. If set on high, and used for more than a minute, it would turn into a deadly weapon.

Whimpering, Luca straightened up and clutched his captor’s biceps. “Please, I’ll do whatever you say if you spare him.”

Cold, dark eyes scrutinized him. Blood rushed into Luca’s ears as he waited for the other man’s reaction; then there was an almost imperceptible nod.

The man waved his hand, and the buzz stopped. “Leave him be. He’s probably more docile that way.”

“He won’t do anything stupid. He’s almost due to have his baby. I’ve never seen a breeder jeopardize their life when they were pregnant,” another man pointed out.

“Are you challenging my decision?”

It took the other man a moment to form a coherent sentence. “No, of course not.”

“Good.” Luca’s captor touched his earpiece. “Tiger 2, did you secure Target Three?”

Target Three? So, Luca and his dad were Targets One and Two? Who the hell was Target Three, and who were these guys?

A satisfied smile tugged up the corners of Luca’s captor’s mouth before he said, “Meet us up front.”

Luca chanced another look at Marcus. He discovered a dark lump forming on Marcus’s right temple. What if he needed immediate medical help? What if he was bleeding internally? Luca’s insides froze into an icy knot. He needed to help Marcus, to make sure he was okay, but how?

“You can’t just leave him like this! He needs a doctor,” Luca cried as the men dragged him out of his room.

He caught a glimpse of his dad struggling against the two men guiding him down the stairs, then one of the men slipped on the steps and crashed down the staircase headfirst. Nicholas kicked his other captor before he vaulted over the baluster, vanishing from sight. Shouts and yells followed his dad’s escape.

Several men stormed after his dad, cursing up a blue streak. Luca’s insides coiled even tighter than before. If his dad got out, he could go for help, or at least alert the authorities or… someone. Was that even possible? Or had these kidnappers cut all communication? They must’ve done something smart to outmaneuver the Walkers’ security system and personnel.

“Daddy sure didn’t beat around the bush. Guess you’re not as important to him as we were made to believe,” Luca’s captor said, glee obvious in his tone.

Luca fought against the emotions surging up, threatening to take him over. His dad would have a good reason for leaving him. No way would he allow anyone to kidnap Luca. Still, his captor’s words planted a seed of doubt in him.

His captor laughed. “Oh, I know that look. You think I’m nuts, and Daddy must have a good reason for leaving you, right? He did—he wanted to stay alive at all costs. What happens to you isn’t ranking so high. After all, he’s got a whole flock of children. It doesn’t matter if you’re alive or not.”

Luca’s patience snapped. With a cry, he slapped his captor’s cheek. The man reared back but never let go of Luca’s arm. After a moment’s silence, he said, “Nice try. Get going.”

The man shoved Luca forward, almost causing him to lose his balance on the top stair. Only the iron grips on both sides prevented him from tumbling down the staircase.

The man at his other side said, “Cool down. We need him in one piece and without any injuries.”

“Why? A few slaps here and there won’t damage him.”

“Because,” the other guy said in a tone that was usually reserved for the terminally dumb, “if we fail, and the Northern Confederacy captures us, I don’t want to face his father.”

“Gregory Walker?” A derisive snort followed. “The vice president is a diplomat through and through. What’s he going to do?”

They reached the bottom step, where they stopped. “He loses all common sense where his family’s concerned. I’ve heard stories…. And anyway, I’ve witnessed Walker throw a fit after we took his husband many years ago. The man is scary.”

Before his captors could go on with their arguments, two men walked up to them, shaking their heads. “He’s gone.”

“Fuck!”

HIS CAPTORS
dragged Luca to the front door, where they collided with another troop of men. One of them carried Kyle in a fireman’s carry.

“Kyle!” Luca reached out for Kyle, but someone slapped his hands away. He glared at the people surrounding him. “What have you done to him?”

“He wasn’t cooperative, if you get my gist,” the guy carrying Kyle replied. “He—”

A siren blared. Luca jumped at the sudden noise, and so did several of his captors. The big one next to him swore when another siren in the distance blasted to life. Seconds later, a third one wailed, quickly followed by many others. Luca knew this siren. It wasn’t connected with their high-tech security system. It was an old-fashioned alarm system, well hidden in the basement and had to be started by hand. Everyone hearing this particular siren would know Nicholas or he had issued the alarm. Help would be on the way immediately.

“Fuck!”

“Told you we should’ve killed him. Nicholas Walker is nothing but trouble.”

Luca’s captor huffed. “I’m thinking you were right. It doesn’t matter. Get in the cars. We’ll split and meet at the meeting point. Go!”

“This is insane,” Luca cried. “Every available soldier will be looking for you. There’s no chance for you to get out of this alive.”

“Yes, there is. We still have you
and
Smith’s partner. Neither the Northern Confederacy nor the Southern Union’s interim government will do anything that could harm one of you.”

“What do you want, then?” Luca asked as he was dumped into the back of a black van. The sliding doors clanged shut. Luca shivered. Marcus had promised him nothing would ever happen to him, and now? Now he was kidnapped for the second time in just a few weeks. He swallowed the sob that rose in his throat, and instead grabbed Kyle to prevent him from falling off the bench he’d been dumped on.

“We want the regular Southern Union government back. We want everything to be as it was before that whole mess, and we especially don’t want new laws regarding breeders. You’re there to bear children, and maybe you’re a good fuck, but that’s about it. You don’t have any rights, and you sure as hell don’t need any,” his captor spat at Luca.

Luca’s mouth fell open. He felt the car speed up and clutched the bench with one hand and Kyle with the other hand. Was this guy for real?

“Why do you hate breeders so much?” Luca asked when he found his vocal cords working again. “Without us, your society would be extinct.”

“I don’t mind the female breeders, and I wouldn’t oppose giving them some rights, but you? You’re a genetic abomination.”

“Yes, a genetic abomination caused by a virus that circulated hundreds of years ago, from genetic experiments conducted by scientists. Many of whom later belonged to the Southern Union. Why don’t you ask your fucking scientists why they worked so hard to create male breeders instead of females?” Luca shot back.

Even though he saw the slap coming, the biting sting caught him by surprise. Tears welled up in his eyes as he pressed a hand against his burning cheek. “That’s your answer for everything, huh? If you can’t argue, use violence to shut people up.”

His captor raised his hand again, his eyes flashing with fury. Before his hand connected with Luca’s flesh, someone intercepted it. “Stop that. He’s riling you up. He’s just a fucking breeder, and you’re stooping to his level. Don’t do it.”

The car rumbled on in silence as everyone settled on the benches lining the van’s interior. The sirens’ sounds were muted inside. Though Luca heard helicopter blades and shots echoing around him, nothing mattered. Marcus might be dying right this moment from a head injury. Their baby would never meet his father, the man Luca loved more and more every day. He leaned his head against the cool window and squeezed his eyes shut. At least, he wasn’t suffering from any contractions. The baby moved about, although he wasn’t as exuberant as usual.

Why did this always happen to him? None of his siblings had ever been kidnapped twice; actually only one of his siblings, his oldest sister Julietta, had ever been kidnapped. He opened his eyes when Kyle groaned and moved under his hand. “Hey, careful there.”

Kyle blinked his eyes open and grimaced. His hands went to the back of his head, probing something. He pulled his hands away and held them up for inspection, then sat up. His movements were stiff, and he swayed back and forth for a moment before he rested his face in his palms, a soft moan escaping his lips.

“Kyle, are you okay?”

Kyle lifted his head and gave Luca a tiny smile. “I’m not sure. What’s going on?”

“We got kidnapped.”

“No shit. I kinda figured that out for myself. Why? I’m done with being kidnapped, it’s doing nothing whatsoever for my temper,” Kyle groused.

Luca choked on a laugh. “It’s doing nothing for
your
temper? These guys are completely insane. I don’t know what happened to my dad, or to Marcus, and—”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed. “What happened to Marcus?”

Luca filled him in quickly, keeping his voice low, casting a glance at their captors. They hadn’t liked him talking earlier, but they didn’t seem to mind now. When he ended his explanation, Kyle remained silent as he studied the men.

Finally, Kyle spoke up. “So you’re going to press the two governments for decisions, otherwise you’ll kill us?”

Luca jolted and rested his hands atop the baby bump. “Kill us?”

“That’s the plan,” Luca’s earlier captor said.

“What if it doesn’t work?” Kyle asked.

“Like you said: then we’ll kill you. That should put enough fear into the population so they demand to get back to the status quo. The Northern Confederacy will go berserk if we kill a breeder and his baby. They’ll fear more kidnappings.”

Luca’s vision blurred as he fought to maintain his composure. His heart beat in a rapid staccato, hurtful in its force. His muscles locked, leaving him rigid and at the same time trembling in horror. What had he ever done to anyone that warranted so much hate they wanted to end his life? His life and that of his baby?

Kyle slid his hand on Luca’s right knee and squeezed. When he gazed into Kyle’s light gray eyes, another wave of trepidation hit him. His lower lip quivered as he thought about another pair of the same-colored eyes. Marcus. He wanted Marcus.

“Hey,” Kyle murmured as he pulled him sideways into an embrace. “Don’t despair. We’ll get out of this—alive. Marcus will come for you, never doubt that.”

Some of the men sitting next to them grinned. Obviously, Luca’s mini-meltdown caused them great joy. Fucking bastards.

Kyle tightened his hold, and Luca turned his face into his chest to avoid any of the jeering looks. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing him cry. Not anymore. He’d hold it all together until Marcus came and rescued him. Again.

THE RIDE
in the van took several hours by Luca’s estimation. Although they were chased, none of the shots fired at them went through the car’s armor. Luca didn’t know whether he was relieved or pissed off about that. At some point they must’ve escaped their persecutors because the fire ceased and only the engine’s steady rumble remained audible.

The men brought Luca and Kyle from the van through a maze of corridors into a large room that resembled command central. The walls held no windows. Instead, technical equipment lined the walls. In the middle of the room stood a square cubicle. The walls consisted of glass and showed the interior: three beds, a shower, and a toilet.

Luca blanched at the sight. Openmouthed, he pointed at the cubicle. “What’s that?”

“That’s your home for the foreseeable future. Or at least until Smith has stepped down and your father agrees to leave the Southern Union alone. If they follow our demands, you might even be able to deliver your baby. Keep your fingers crossed everything will work out quickly. I’ve heard it can get nasty for a male breeder if the contractions start and no one can perform a C-section.”

Luca hunched over and curled around his swollen belly. Would they really do that? Wouldn’t they offer help if he went into labor?

“Rot in hell, you asshole,” Kyle snapped. “Maybe try getting laid to boost your confidence instead of scaring a highly pregnant breeder. Oh, but maybe you can’t get it up? Or maybe your performance is lacking?”

Luca’s captor shoved him aside, and he landed heavily on his butt. By the time he looked up, Kyle and his captor were locked in a fierce battle. What Kyle lacked in muscles, he made up in speed and agility. None of that helped when the guy whirled him around and pressed a large knife to Kyle’s throat.

Luca got back to his feet, hissing. A small trickle of blood ran down Kyle’s throat, and his eyes bulged as he obviously struggled to keep calm. His captor whispered something into his ear, and Kyle’s face lost all color.