Phoenix's Fate (RARE Series, #2) (8 page)

Jeremiah nodded back, his gaze on Rikki, drinking her in.  Reaching out, he wrapped a long strand of her hair around his finger.  “You okay?” he asked Rikki as he tugged on the curl gently and then slowly let the shiny dark hair slide free to fall softly on her shoulders.  Phoenix watched in amusement as Rikki’s eyes widened and she struggled to speak.  Then she seemed to close down.  Reaching over, she grasped Phoenix’s hand in a tight grip and quickly letting go, she hurried out of the room without a backward glance.

Jeremiah’s phone rang, and swearing under his breath, he walked over by the window to answer it.  After a few minutes, he hung up and turned towards Phoenix, the frustration clear in his voice.  “That was the office.  We have a lead on a case I’ve been working.  I need to go.” 

Phoenix looked at Jeremiah in surprise.  “Aren’t you going to tell Rikki that you’re mates?  I think she should know.” 

“Look,” Jeremiah growled.  “She’s obviously still not ready.  Before this happened, I was ready to pressure her into mating with me, but I have decided I am not going to push it.  I don’t want to lose her before anything even gets started.  She means too much to me.”  He walked over to the door and then turned back.  “Keep an eye on her for me, please?” he asked shoving his fingers through his dark hair.

Phoenix laughed.  “She’d roast your balls on a stick if she knew you asked me that, man.  You know she likes to think she can take care of herself.  But yeah, I got your back.”

Wistfully looking at the way Phoenix held his mate, Jeremiah turned and left the room.  Phoenix sighed deeply.  He did not know for sure what had happened to Rikki in her past, but he knew that she and Jeremiah had a difficult road ahead of them.  After running away from foster care at 15, Rikki learned to rely only on herself.  It was very hard for her to trust anyone.  As far as Phoenix knew, Rikki had never been in any kind of a personal relationship.  It was going to be interesting watching Rikki dance around Jeremiah, and he was going to sit back and enjoy the show.  He just hoped there was a happily ever after for the two of them.  He planned on making one for himself and Serenity. 

Leaning down, he gave Serenity a kiss on the tip of her nose, and then he closed his own eyes and drifted off to sleep.

S
tanding near the back corner of the hospital, Rikki watched as Jeremiah Black walked out the door and moved towards where Jaxson stood talking to Nico by the SUV.  Her heartbeat sped up as she traced his body with her eyes, from his thick brown hair, to his broad shoulders, down his back to the tight butt she wanted to reach out and squeeze.  She was curious, was it as hard as it looked? Rikki wanted to go talk to him; she loved the low tones of his voice.  But she was scared.  Jeremiah made her feel things she had never felt.  Every time he was around, she froze.  Her body, her voice, her mind; everything froze.  She felt off balance, and Rikki hated that feeling. 

As she watched, Jeremiah said something to Jaxson, climbed into the back of the vehicle and slammed the SUV’s door shut.  Raising his eyebrows, Jaxson sent Nico a short wave.  Moving around to the driver’s side, Jaxson opened the door and slid behind the wheel.  As he backed up, Jeremiah glanced over and found Rikki.  When his eyes met hers, he lifted his hand and placed it on the window.  Slowly, she lifted her hand and held it straight out, mimicking him.  The last thing she saw was his sexy grin as Jaxson drove away. 

A
ngel was at a loss as to what to do.  In one room, Trace was with Jade.  Jade, the daughter Angel had not seen in too many years.  The guilt Angel felt over not being able to find Jade, then discovering she had been the General’s captive for the past 20 years, was excruciating.  She had gone over the night Jade was taken numerous times in her mind, wondering what she could have done differently to change the final outcome.  In her mind, it always turned out the same, but she could not stop punishing herself with the ‘what if’ scenarios.  Angel was afraid to go into Jade’s room to find out her daughter would never forgive her for not keeping her safe. 

In another room, Serenity lay in bed suffering from healing Phoenix and absorbing his pain.  Phoenix would be dealing with an intense sense of fear and probably self-condemnation.  He would need someone from the team to be there with him and help him get a handle on his emotions so he could concentrate on Serenity.  As much as Angel wanted to be there for Phoenix and Serenity, she did not want to be away from her daughter any longer.

Then there was the unresolved issue with Chase.  Angel’s wolf was pushing her to go find Chase and finish what she had started, but Angel was fighting it.  The issue was that the mating bond was not complete yet, and it was killing her wolf to be apart from him.  Until the bond was fully in place, she and Chase would both be in hell.  Angel had really messed things up this time.  She wanted to be near Chase, but she had fucked that up and had no idea how to fix it.  Being near Chase would pacify her wolf, and Angel wanted to lean on him and soak in his calming presence.  She was about to see her daughter for the second time in 20 years, and Angel did not want to do it alone.  Her pride would not allow her to ask Chase for his help, though.  She had been on her own for most of her life; she could handle this herself.

Without another thought, Angel made her way to Jade’s room.  Yes, she was definitely going to see her daughter before doing anything else.  Angel was not going to be separated from Jade for another moment.  Too much time had already passed. 

Walking down the hall of the hospital, Angel stopped at the door to her daughter’s room.  There was no doubt in her mind that Jade was hers.  She had held her every single night, rocking her to sleep and inhaling her scent, for four years.  Jade had been her life, her reason for getting up every morning.  She had lived to see the joy in Jade’s beautiful green eyes, to see the dimples in her cheeks flash with her laughter.  Angel had been searching for Jade ever since she had been taken 20 years ago, but everywhere she’d looked had been a dead end.  No matter how hard she had tried, after that first year, she could no longer connect telepathically with Jade. 

Now that Angel knew Jade had been the General’s prisoner, she was sure he’d had something to do with her inability to connect with her daughter.  It was too much of a coincidence that Angel had not been able to connect with Jade for the past 19 years and then she was unable to connect with Rikki after she was taken.  She made a mental note to talk to her team about it later.

Pushing the door open, Angel quietly entered the room.  The doctor was beside Jade’s bed softly asking her questions and checking her vitals.  Trace was standing with his back to them staring out the window.  He did not turn around when Angel entered the room, but she figured it was because he was trying to give Jade some privacy. 

Angel started towards her daughter, but stopped when Jade shook her head once and motioned toward Trace.  Obviously, Jade wanted her to check on Trace instead.  Walking to Trace, she stood quietly at his side and waited.  She could feel the tension pouring off him.  Angel thought about asking him to tell her what was wrong, but she knew with Trace you had to wait until he was ready to talk.  Trace was a very private person.  If he wanted you to know something, he would tell you.  Otherwise, whatever was going on with him was off limits.  Angel knew that part of that was his cat.  They were solitary creatures.  Being around a lot of people bothered him and he did not completely trust anyone.  Another much bigger part of it was his past. 

Angel knew some things about Trace’s past.  When she conducted the background check on him, she had gone far enough back to find out where he came from.  Who he came from.  Trace had a big target on his back.  He was being hunted by a Columbian drug cartel.  As though being hunted was not bad enough, the situation was much worse.  The cartel’s leader, Philip Perez, was Trace’s own father.  Because of this, Angel had known when she hired Trace that it could come back to bite her in the ass someday.

Trace had been groomed early in his life to take over the cartel.  Unfortunately for Trace’s father, Trace had been born with the morals that his father was lacking.  While he had no problem pulling the trigger on some lowlife piece of shit who deserved it, there was no way he was killing innocents. 

Trace left Columbia when he was 25 and had been on his own until he had hooked up with RARE.  His father had refused to let him go, though, and continued sending his lackeys after him to try and either take him back or take him out. No one had gotten close enough to catch Trace yet, not that had lived to talk about it anyway.  Angel even had a hand in eliminating a couple of them herself.  She had never told Trace about the ones she took care of before they could get near him.  He was a part of RARE, and RARE was her family.  She took care of them.  Not once had she regretted her decision to allow Trace to become a part of her family. 

Angel also knew that Trace had a mother and a sister somewhere.  From what she had figured out, when Trace had left the cartel, he had taken them and hidden them so that his father would never find them.  That was probably the only reason his father wanted him alive if possible.  He wanted to torture him until Trace gave up his family.  Obviously, his father did not know Trace at all if he thought any amount of torture would make him turn on them.   

Sometimes Trace would leave for a couple of weeks.  When he came back, he would not talk for days.  Normally Trace was not big on talking, but this was different.  Angel had connected with him once when he was gone for a full month just to make sure he was still alive.  It was the last time she had done it.  She had felt so much emotional pain and despair that she had tried to reach out and comfort him through the link.  He had slammed a wall up between them so fast that it had physically hurt her.  They had not talked about it later, but from then on Angel had respected his privacy and trusted that he would return to them when he was able.

As far as Angel was aware, no one else on the team knew anything about his past, and she respected that. But, she had a feeling that his past was about to cause a problem with the present.   

We need to talk,
she heard him whisper into her mind. 

Is she yours?
Angel asked him.  She was sure Jade was Trace’s mate.  She had never seen him act even remotely protective or possessive over anyone before.  He cared about his team members, but he acted as if finding and saving others was just a job to him.

I need to leave,
Trace said without answering her question. 
I have some things I need to take care of so that the people I care about are safe.

Angel did not respond right away.  If he was Jade’s mate and he was leaving her already, this was not going to go over very well.  However, knowing what she knew about his past, she had a good idea as to what he was going to do. 
When?
She asked.

Now.  The sooner I get it handled, the sooner I can get back.  It should take me two months tops. 
Looking over at Jade he demanded,
Take care of her while I’m gone, Angel.

That was all Angel needed to hear.  Trace had just confirmed her suspicions.  Not once had he ever demanded anything of her. 
I would ask you to take someone with you, but I already know what your response would be.  Be safe, Trace.  Check in with me if you can.  And...come home soon.  My daughter needs you.  We need you. 

Trace walked over to Jade.  She and the doctor were just finishing up.  “She is doing well,” Doc Josie said.  “A little malnourished, but that is easily fixed.  You take care of yourself, Jade.  If you need anything, call or stop by.  I am almost always here.”

As Doc Josie left the room, Trace moved closer to Jade.  Bending down he nuzzled her cheek and breathed in deeply.  Cupping her face gently, he kissed her softly on the lips.  “I have to go,” he whispered.  “I’m going to be gone for a few months, but I will be back for you.  Stay with Angel.  She will keep you safe for me.”

Jade’s beautiful dark green eyes filled with tears, but all she said was, “Be safe.”  After one last kiss, Trace left the room without a backwards glance. 

“He is protecting you,” Angel told Jade softly.  “He will be back as soon as he can.”  Jade nodded but Angel knew she did not fully understand.  If you asked Angel, having a mate was a huge pain in the ass.  She had not even wanted one, and now she was mated to an alpha.  Well, halfway mated, anyway.   

“Hey,” she said taking hold of Jade’s hand, clutching it tightly as tears filled her eyes.  “This will just give us a chance to get to know one another.  I’ve missed you so much, Jade.” 

Taking a hold of Jade’s chin and lifting her head so that she could look into her eyes, Angel told her, “I looked for you, Jade.  I looked everywhere.  You were just gone.  I was devastated.  You were my life.  I wasn’t sure I could go on without you, but I pushed forward.  I pushed forward even when I couldn’t connect with you.  I still believed you were out there, somewhere.  I never gave up on you.”

Jade threw her arms around Angel and held on tightly sobbing.  “I never forgot you either,” she whispered.  They sat like that for what seem like hours.  Finally Angel pulled back and whispered, “Let’s go home.” 

S
erenity was in so much pain.  Her entire body ached, and she was afraid to move.  Waking up like this was becoming a habit, a bad habit that she definitely needed to break.  As Serenity tried to push through the pain, she struggled to remember what happened to put her in this condition.  Before opening her eyes, she wanted to know what kind of shit storm she would be facing this time around.  She prayed it was not as bad as the last one she had found herself in with the General when his minions had kidnapped her intending to use her in the breeding program. 

As the pain pounded through her temples, Serenity slowly started to remember.  The General had drugged her and taken her to a building out in the middle of the desert.  Rikki, a woman who had been a part of the group that had tried to rescue her originally, had been shot.  Serenity had used her special abilities to take Rikki’s pain and heal her.  That was how she had ended up in the same situation last time that she was in now.  She’d had Rikki to protect her then, but who was going to protect her now?