Merrick's Maiden (20 page)

I love you, Addie,
he murmured.
Thank you for coming into my life.

Anytime,
she chuckled, sleepily.
Just so you know, I love you, too.

I know. I read your thoughts,
Merrick responded, teasing her.

I’ll never be able to surprise you,
she complained before releasing a big yawn and tucking her hand in his.

Sweet dreams, my mate,
Merrick whispered, pressing another kiss to her shoulder.

He stared out the window of the bedroom waiting for his body to relax enough to pull out without waking her. From the light snores she was emitting, he doubted very much if anything would wake her. It had been a traumatic and busy day.

Restlessness moved through him. He didn’t want to tell Addie, but he had sensed they were being watched back on the beach earlier. His natural warning system, heightened by living among the mountains, was never wrong.

Pulling away with regret, he rolled over and stood up. Taking care not to disturb her, he picked up a blanket lying on a nearby chair and covered her. He lightly stroked her hair before turning away.

Returning to the bathroom, Merrick quickly rinsed his body, dried, and dressed. He checked the weapons he had brought. Satisfied with what he had, he quietly checked the house to make sure it was secure before he exited through the rear door.

Moving silently down the back steps, he headed into the woods that surrounded the house. There was a light, northeasterly breeze blowing. It was time that the predators, who thought to hunt him again, became the prey.

Addie sat up, disoriented for a moment before she twisted and pushed her hair out of her eyes. Something had woken her up. Turning again, her eyes swept the room for Merrick. He was gone. Glancing at the clock, she frowned when she saw that it was almost eleven.

Addie, someone is knocking on the door,
Merrick said.

I’m coming, don’t….
Her voice died when she realized that Merrick must have answered the door because she could ‘hear’ his side of the conversation with whoever was downstairs.

Scrambling out of the bed, she was jerking on her clothes. Grabbing her hairbrush out of the bathroom and a hair-band, she brushed it as she hurried down the stairs. An unfamiliar woman stood at the door, talking to Merrick as if she knew him.

Who is that?
Addie asked with suspicion.

She says her name is Trudy Wilson,
Merrick replied, turning to look at her.
She says she works for Cosmos Raines.

Well, what does she want?
Addie demanded, turning to glare at the woman.

“Hello, Addie,” the woman said with a smile. “My name is Trudy Wilson. I work for Cosmos Raines Industries as part of his security team. I’m sorry to disturb you, but we have reason to believe that both you and Merrick are in danger.”

“How did you know where I was?” Addie asked, coming to stand next to Merrick.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out where you might go,” Trudy responded, turning to look at Addie. “Unfortunately, we believe that those responsible for the attack on you this morning are also aware of it. A text message was sent to an unlisted number with this address.”

“Who….?” Addie started to say before she remembered what Merrick had told her this morning. “Weston.”

“Yes,” Trudy replied with a nod. “RITA thinks that Weston Wright and Karl Markham are working together. If that is true, we need to get you both to a safe location as soon as possible.”

Addie opened her mouth to ask Trudy where she suggested when Trudy’s body jerked forward and her eyes widened in surprise. A small scream escaped Addie when Merrick suddenly wrapped his arm around her waist and took her to the floor. Trudy collapsed next to her, holding her side.

“Son-of-a-bitch,” Trudy groaned. “Avery and Rose are going to toast my ass if I die.”

“How bad is it?” Merrick asked, releasing Addie long enough to roll over to the wall so he could turn out the light.

“Hurts like hell, so that is a good sign, I guess,” Trudy muttered. “I’d be more worried if I didn’t feel anything.”

“How bad?” Merrick demanded again, scooting across the floor so he could see for himself.

Trudy cried out when he rolled her onto her stomach and pulled her shirt up. Addie crawled over to see if she could help. Swallowing back the bile rising in her throat, she watched as Merrick tore a small section of Trudy’s shirt and pressed it against the wound.

“The metal is still inside you,” he said grimly.

“Thanks for that information, Doctor Alien,” Trudy muttered sarcastically. “I think it is safe to say, we are in a shit load of trouble.”

“Do you have a communication device on you?” Merrick asked.

“Yeah, left back pocket,” Trudy moaned, lowering her head to the floor. “Right now would be a good time to call in some re-enforcements.”

A deadly smile curved Merrick’s lips. “I think that is an excellent idea,” he said. “What is the code to get in.”

“Thumb print,” Trudy mumbled, holding out her hand.

Addie watched as Merrick frowned down at the cell phone before glancing back at Trudy. Understanding what Trudy meant, she took the phone from Merrick and pressed Trudy’s thumb to it. The moment it unlocked, she pressed the icon for the phone and punched in the number Merrick had given her before.

She held the phone out to Merrick when it showed it was connecting. Turning her attention back to Trudy, she laid her hand on the young woman’s shoulder in comfort. Worry ate at her when she felt the woman’s body begin to start shaking.

Merrick, I think she is going into shock,
Addie sent to him.

Help will be here soon,
he said.

Surprise widened Addie’s eyes again when the sudden shimmer of light appeared. Glancing at Merrick, she saw the look of grim satisfaction on his face as several huge warriors stepped through the colorful doorway. Her lips formed a circle when she saw the figure of a slender woman slip through at the last minute before it close.

Addie recognized the woman from Reno. A large hole appeared in the wall next to where the door had been. The woman ducked, pulling a weapon from behind her back.

*.*.*

Merrick scowled at Core. A look of inquiry on his face. He had expected only his cousin, not the three other warriors and another human female.

“Who is she and what are Teriff, Derik, and Hendrik doing here?” He growled in a low voice.

“Teriff and Derik came to inform us that the council wants to meet with you tomorrow,” Core snapped out. “Hendrik tagged along, and the female is Cosmos Raines’ Head of Security and my bond mate.”

“I am no one’s mate,” Avery snapped back. “Shit, Trudy. What the fuck are you doing here?”

Trudy turned her head with a moan. “Getting shot, what the hell does it look like?” She answered, before her head sank back to the floor. “It hurts. I knew it would, but damn, no one said it would hurt this bad.”

“You two stay with Trudy,” Merrick ordered. “There are at least two men. If possible, I want them both alive.”

“Why?” Teriff demanded.

“They are the ones who held me captive. It is my right to seek Justice against them for the harm they have done,” Merrick replied.

“Trudy needs medical attention,” Avery said. “We have to get her out of here.”

“I can open the Gateway for you,” Core said with a relieved nod. “Derik, take the females back to Baade.”

“I have a Portal device,” Avery stated. “If he can carry Trudy, we’ll get her to your medical unit.”

Addie glanced frantically back and forth, trying to understand what they were saying. She ducked when another shot fired into the house. A hand threaded through her hair and she turned her head to see Merrick’s glowing eyes staring fiercely at her.

“Go with them,” he ordered.

Addie nodded, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes.
Where will you be?

I am going to kill them,
Merrick said, looking intently into her eyes.
I will not let them threaten or harm any others.

Be careful,
she whispered.

Addie watched as Merrick, and the other three men disappeared down the hallway toward the back family room. She jerked around when she felt a hand on her arm. The woman from Reno was motioning for her to follow as the younger male carefully lifted an unconscious Trudy into his arms.

The woman counted down from three before pressing the top of a silver cylinder. Addie’s eyes widened as another shimmering doorway appeared. She could see movement on the other side. The woman rose and hurried through it, followed by the man carrying Trudy.

Addie rose to follow when a volley of bullets struck the walls around her. Crouching down, she glanced up in time to see the cylinder in the woman’s hand, shatter as a bullet went through the doorway. As if by magic, the door disappeared.

Horror washed through Addie as she realized that she was alone. Turning on her hands and knees, she crawled further down the hallway until she was safe from any windows. Pressing her back against the wall, she glanced back and forth. The front room was out. Turning to look toward the back of the house, she decided to head for the family room.

Addie rolled onto her hands and knees and continued crawling. The moment she could, she struggled to her feet. One of the back windows was missing. She suspected that was how the men left the house. Unsure of what to do, she decided finding a place to hide was the best option. She and her siblings used to play hide and seek all the time and there were plenty of places throughout the house.

Glancing around, she tried to think of the best, and hardest to find, place to hide. Her eyes lit on the bookcase next to the fireplace. Her parents had remodeled the house years ago. The fireplace had a huge area behind it that was wasted space. Her dad had designed a false wall with built-in bookcase that was also a door to a storage closet.

Hurrying over to it, Addie pulled the candlestick latch and pulled it open. Stepping inside, she pulled the door closed behind her and turned on the light. The room was an odd shape, almost like a triangle, growing narrow and had a low ceiling toward the back and on one side. It was filled with beach and lake gear. She stepped around the chairs propped up against one wall and scooted the netted basket storage container on wheels out of the way.

Picking several beach blankets out of the basket, she piled them on the floor under the curved lower section of the staircase. Pulling a flashlight out of another basket, she turned it on and turned off the overhead light. Soon she was settled on the blankets in the corner. Afraid that even the dim light of her flashlight might somehow show where she was, she turned it off and settled down.

A shiver ran through her body. She didn’t want to distract Merrick and fought the urge to reach out to him. Instead, she pulled one of the thick towels up around her shoulders and laid down. It didn’t take long before her eyelids grew too heavy to hold up and her breathing settle down as she fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Merrick moved silently through the darkness. He was in his realm when it came to tracking and hunting. Earlier today, he had scouted the area while Addie slept. The house was positioned between the ocean on one side and a small lake on the other. The closest house was at the beginning of the narrow road and was empty.

Teriff and Hendrik would take the back area around the lake, while he and Core would take the front that led to the ocean. They would make sweeps until they found the humans. Core paused, moving in a slow sweep about a hundred yards from the house.

He bent and picked up something off the ground. Merrick nodded when he saw the outline of the bullet casing. Pointing, he nodded for Core to go up into the tall trees. Within seconds, Core was moving swiftly upward.

Merrick paused again as the wind shifted. There was a faint scent to his right. Crouching, he moved slowly, making sure he stayed in the shadows. While there was a moon tonight, there were also clouds and a faint breeze. The combination made it more difficult to distinguish between natural and unnatural movement if a person knew how to use the shadows and the wind in their favor.

The Eastern Mountain Clan were renowned for their ghost-like movement through the forest. No one saw them unless they wanted to be seen. A whistle, too high to be heard by human hearing, sounded.

Core had seen something forty yards to the right. Merrick replied and changed course. There was a small patch of open ground between him and where he wanted to go. He could either go through it, or work his way around. Deciding it would be better to go around, he was about to turned and worked his way silently through the tall ferns when Core quietly called out.

The whistle warned him that there were three figures spread out. Merrick saw one of the figures rise up and throw something toward the house, before sinking back down into the tall ferns. Rage built up when a short time later, another figure rose up. This one had a long weapon, similar to what the men used during his captivity.

Focusing on the dark-clothed figure, he burst through the opening toward the male. He hit the male hard in the side, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing. He heard a loud roar and knew that Core had dropped down out of the trees and taken another male out.

Merrick knew immediately that something was wrong when the third person emitted a loud, terrified scream. Throwing the male in his arms away from him, he ignored the sickening thud and low cry of pain and fear.

“We didn’t mean anything,” the male he had thrown cried. “Please, it was just a joke! We were just joking.”

Merrick released a low, menacing growl and crouched down in front of the crying boy. Core pulled the other two over and pushed them down on the ground in front of the tree. Merrick glanced at the weapon the one boy had been using.

Rising, he stepped over to it and picked it up. He looked at the metal and plastic toy before turning and walking back to squat down in front of the trio. Their being there was more than a joke.

“Who sent you?” Merrick demanded.

“Some… guy… He was at the gas station. He said he had a friend staying here and wanted to play a trick on him. All… All we were supposed to do is fire some paintballs at the house,” the boy cried, holding his right leg. “He gave us a hundred bucks and told us there was another hundred after we got done.”

Merrick lifted the paintball gun in his hand. With a quick twist, he broke it in two. Looking at the three boys, he snarled, feeling his teeth elongate in warning.

“Holy shit,” one boy whispered. “We’re gonna die.”

“You will if you remain here,” Core snapped in a quiet voice. “Run home.”

The boys all nodded at the same time. Merrick stood and stepped back, glancing around the area. Something was wrong. Why would Weston and Markham use children? He glanced at the three boys. Two of them were helping the one he had thrown through the high ferns and onto the road.

“Addie,” he whispered, turning to Core. “They wanted a distraction to get to Addie.”

“She is safe,” Core pointed out, looking back at the house.

“Yes, but they don’t know that,” Merrick replied, turning toward the house.

*.*.*

Addie jerked awake. Her hand slid to the wood floor beside her. She didn’t know what had woken her, just a feeling that she wasn’t alone any longer. Her heart raced with fear, but she forced herself to remain calm. Keeping her hand on the wood, she felt the slight vibration. Someone was inside.

Carefully twisting, she sat up and scooted further into the corner and waited. Her eyes flickered upward when she felt the slight brush of dust fall from above her head. Raising a trembling hand, she placed her palm against the underside of it.

She felt just the slightest vibration before it moved. Unfortunately, the dust that fell tickled her nose. Her hand flew to it just in time to muffle the sneeze that escaped her. Addie froze, glancing frantically upward wishing once again that she could hear. Raising her hand, she covered her nose and mouth to protect it from the dust.

Fear raced through her when she felt the shift in the wooden stairs above her head. This time, the movement appeared to be coming down. Closing her eyes, she reached instinctively for Merrick.

Merrick! Oh, God, please. Merrick!

Addie?
Merrick’s deep voice answered in surprise.
Where are you?

In the house,
she frantically thought back.
I think someone else is in here. I felt someone on the stairs, but I think they heard me sneeze. I can’t hear them! Please, I’m scared.

Where are you?
He asked in an urgent voice.

There’s a bookcase in the family room. Behind it is a storage closet. It is next to the fireplace,
she responded.
Use the candlestick to open the door.

I will come for you,
he replied.
Do not move.

I won’t,
she whispered, pulling her legs up and squeezing as far as possible into the corner.
Merrick…

Yes, Addie.

I just want you to know that I love you,
she said in a faint voice.
Please be careful.

I love you, as well, my mate. I will be with you soon,
he replied.

Addie leaned her head back, not wanting to know any longer where the bad guys were. Merrick was coming. That was all that mattered.

*.*.*

Merrick signaled to Core to find Teriff and Hendrik. Moving toward the house, he paused, looking up. One of the bedroom windows was open. Crossing around the back, he used the bannister and climbed up onto the roof over the wrap around porch. He stepped lightly up to the window and looked in. Fragments of broken glass lay on the carpet inside, while the twisted screen lay to the side of the window on the outside.

Stepping gingerly through the window, Merrick listened. The faint sound of footsteps below told him that the intruder was searching the house downstairs. He moved out of the bedroom and down the hallway. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he listened again. His head tilted when he heard the slight crunch of glass against the wood floor.

Whoever it was, they were in the foyer near the front of the house. The shot had shattered the small glass window in the front door, hitting Trudy. Turning the opposite way, he moved down the second set of stairs leading to the kitchen.

Merrick moved silently down the narrow staircase. It would be impossible to protect himself in the narrow space as there was no place to hide. He rounded the back of the kitchen which lead into the family room. His eyes scanned the area, stopping on the bookcase near the fireplace.

Addie,
Merrick called.

Yes.

I am here,
he replied in a gruff voice.
Stay hidden. I am on the other side of the bookcase.

Be careful,
she finally whispered.

I will. I promise.

Merrick slid back against the wall when he heard the sound of footsteps in the kitchen behind him. Reaching down to his waist, he pulled several small knives from his belt. Holding them in one hand, he slipped the first blade into the palm of his right hand. Waiting, he rounded the corner and tossed the blade.

The sickening sound of metal against flesh and the strangled cry of the male proved he had drawn first blood. A wild scattering of bullets swept the wall where Merrick had been standing only moments before. He had jumped over the long couch and ducked as the bullets ripped the plaster and sheetrock.

Rising up, he darted around the corner and back down the hallway. Turning the corner, he slipped up behind the kitchen from the other direction. A dark shape was bent over the center island. In the dim light, Merrick could see the blade sticking out of the man’s shoulder.

Palming another blade, he cleared his throat. The man swiveled, off balance and raised the rifle in his hand. Merrick quickly threw three more blades. One hit the man he recognized as Weston in the left shoulder, the other embedded next to the one in his right shoulder and the third in his right thigh.

The rifle clattered to the floor of the kitchen just seconds before Weston slid down. He stared back at Merrick as he stepped into the room. Kicking the rifle to the side, Merrick knelt down in front of Weston.

“Where is Markham?” Merrick asked in a quiet voice.

“Fuck you,” Weston replied.

Merrick reached out and twisted one of the blades in Weston’s shoulder. Hoarse, agonizing screams pierced the air. Grabbing Weston by the neck, Merrick pushed his head back against the cabinet behind him.

“Where is Markham?” Merrick repeated.

“I… I… told you… to… fuck off,” Weston bit out over the pain.

Merrick gripped the blade in Weston’s thigh this time and turned it slowly. Weston’s high pitched screams filled the air. Merrick turned slightly on his heel when a whistle warned him that Core had returned with Teriff and Hendrik. Pulling Weston up by the front of his shirt, he braced him against the cabinet.

“Are you going to kill him?” Core asked, looking at the pale features of the human and the blood pool under him.

“Not until I get the information I want from him,” Merrick replied, glancing at Teriff. “I demand the Right of Justice.”

“Granted,” Teriff replied just as a neat hole appeared through the glass in the kitchen window and Weston’s body jerked.

“Down,” Merrick demanded, dropping Weston’s body.

“That had to have been over two hundred yards away,” Core cautioned. “I have been studying human weapons. There was no report so he must have a silencer on it.”

Merrick’s face turned grim as he studied Weston’s lifeless body. This would not stop him from finding Markham. Turning his gaze to the other men, he looked at Teriff.

“That human is mine,” he snarled.

“I do not think the human President of this country will complain if you take him out,” Teriff replied. “If he does, I will send Borj and Tilly Bell to deal with him.”

“I need to get Addie and take her from this place,” he said, remaining low as he stepped into the other room.

“I thought she was already safe,” Teriff replied, startled. “Did she not return with Derik?”

“No, and I wish to know why,” Merrick retorted angrily.

He was carrying Trudy when the room was sprayed with gunfire,
Addie explained.
Can I come out now?

No, we will come in to you,
Merrick said.
It is still too dangerous for you to come out.

Weston?

Dead, but Markham is still out there,
Merrick replied, pushing the candlestick down.

“Oh, Merrick,” Addie murmured in a husky voice filled with relief when she saw him step through the opening.

Merrick opened his arms and wound them around her, resting his cheek against her hair. Briefly closing his eyes, he breathed in her familiar scent. Looking up, he nodded to Core who activated the Gateway.

I am going to take you to my home now,
Merrick murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist.

*.*.*

Markham lowered the rifle in his hand. A brief sense of regret filled him before he pushed it away. Life was made up of life and death moments. As far as he was concerned, it had been Weston’s time to die. Turning, he rose and moved away from the house.

His younger brother had gotten sloppy. He should have been in and out of the house in minutes. He had taken the shots, including the one that had hit the woman who had arrived unexpectedly, in an effort to warn his brother and give him time to escape.

A cold fury burned inside him as he strode back to his car which was parked at the deserted house at the entrance to the drive. He had realized immediately that things were not as they appeared. He had caught a brief glimpse of two men he didn’t recognize heading toward the lake. They moved with a stealth and speed that reminded him of some of the big cats he had hunted.

He had quickly packed up, but he didn’t have time to warn his brother. When he saw Weston’s body hanging limply from the huge alien’s grip, he knew that he couldn’t chance his brother talking. He had taken the shot.