Revealed (2 page)

As Riley thought
about the woman that had given birth to her, she felt cold. Her mother was
anything but loving and caring. She
’
d
only given birth to Riley to appease her father, and she had made sure that
Riley knew that growing up. If not for her father giving a heavy buffer between
her mother and herself, Riley wasn’t so certain she would have made it out of
childhood alive. No, Riley’s mother was all about herself, all about the looks
and—more than that—she was all about money. She didn’t care about Riley, only
the money Riley had inherited, money that Helena could utilize while Riley
lived.

It had been easy
to start the distraction—all Riley’d had to do was shoot a spit ball at one of
the women who was certain there were invisible aliens that were trying to get
to her. Once it had hit the woman, she
’
d
immediately risen to her feet, which had caused the table—and the puzzle on
it—that four of them had been sitting at to topple over. The confusion, sound,
and pieces that had gone flying had the others shouting and jumping up and
running around.

From there the
hysteria had grown and soon everyone in the day room was having a fit.

Once the
orderlies came in, there would only be a couple of moments before they would
start to drag people to their rooms. That would be her chance to get away.

She had also
timed her escape perfectly with shift change. In a few moments, the day shift
nurses would be entering the building. She hid in the shadows, waiting for the
front doors to open. When they did, she slid the small stop she had fashioned
into the jamb to keep it from closing fully. Then, once more, she put her back
to the wall and breathed in a slow and measured pace while waiting for the
perfect moment to dash out.

Her eyes widened
when two men walked in. They were massive. Both were dressed in military garb,
but it wasn’t right. She
’
d
met more than one military man while her father had been alive, and while the
men looked as if they were warriors, they didn’t look like they fit into an
ordered regime. Instead they seemed to own the façade they put forward.

The taller of
the two was, well, he was stunning. With his military short, dark brown hair
and his icy green eyes he was remarkable. She could see the power all but
radiating off him and, oddly enough, she could see more.

A small, golden
cord suddenly arced from him to her. This scared her for a moment and had her
pressing her back to the wall again.

Odd.
Very odd
. She
listened to the men talking in their low, modulated tones and smiled when the
chaos began to spill into the halls.
Perfect
!
Exactly what she needed. She
would owe some serious karma points to the people that were fighting and that
were going to be drugged because of her, but she had to get out. Someone had
found the perfect hunting ground in the sanitarium. They found people that no
one would think twice about.

Once all eyes
were toward the erupting chaos, she took off in a run, her long, curly blonde
hair flying behind her like a cape as she disappeared. Grabbing her makeshift
doorstop, she raced down the stairs and turned left into the wooded area that
surrounded the facility.

The dark woods
closed around her protectively. The scent of the damp soil surrounded her as
she relished the quiet that ruled in that hidden world.

“Perfect
getaway,” she said with a small laugh as she ran for the roadway. From time to
time she looked behind her, careful and watchful.

Chapter Two

Riley stopped
and put her back to a tree. It was enormous and would hide her from whatever,
or whoever, was out there. She frowned, cocking her head to the side and trying
to think of who it might have been that had followed her. No one had seen her,
she was sure of it. She
’
d
been so careful to hide herself.

No longer
hearing footsteps, she twisted slightly and looked around the trunk, gasping
when she caught sight of the massive man who stood there with his arms across
his chest. “Holy balls,” she muttered, then bit her lip. “Crap.” She might have
been able to get away if she hadn’t spoken, but now he would know she was
there.

She frowned. “What are you?” Not
who, because while he seemed human, he also seemed far more. He was powerful,
impressive, incredible … and mouthwatering—if she really wanted to be
completely honest with herself.
Damn it
.

One of his dark
eyebrows went up as he stared at her. “Why did you slip out of there is the
better question. I’m also going to leap to the very plausible conclusion that
you’re somehow responsible for that fiasco inside. A cover for your grand
escape, was it?”

“I slipped out
because I have things I have to do. I have to make sure that the truth is
told.” She didn’t think to lie. She never did. She hated lies with a passion.
They hurt her, physically, to tell. “I have a ride waiting for me. I have to
go. Please don’t tell?” she asked softly. “I’ll come back, but it’s best if
they don’t realize yet that I’m gone.” Again, truth. “What are you?” She
repeated her original question, curiosity killing her. “You aren’t fully human,
but you aren’t one of the monsters either.” Her voice was slightly husky, so
she cleared her throat.

His attention
sharpened on her, the ice in his green eyes becoming even more chilling as he
moved closer. He didn’t uncross his arms, though. Then he stopped suddenly and
pressed a hand to his chest, to the left and just under where his heart would
be, frowning.

An instant
later, something flashed over his face—a hundred emotions, thousands of
thoughts, blasting across his harsh features—before he was once more nearly
unreadable. “I’m a guardian,” he said. “You, little runaway, you though, are
something even more interesting, and I can’t let you go off alone. Not to face
what’s out there without some way to stay safe. It goes against all that I am.”
He seemed to be choosing his words with care, yet not one of them was a lie.

“I have to.” She
stepped nearer by a small stride. “Guardian. I don’t know what that is,” she
admitted.

She knew monsters,
though. Monsters seemed to seek her out, likely because she saw and felt the
truth of what and who they were. “There are people being killed and their
families are being told that it’s suicide. That’s just not right. These people
might have had mental issues, but they weren’t suicidal. I knew them. I lived
with them. They wouldn’t kill themselves any more than I would.”

He seemed to
accept her words with nothing more than a nod. “We’re here because we don’t
believe they’re suicides either. There’s something more going on here. We came
to find out what that is and to put a stop to it before it’s too late. If you
know something, you need to tell us what it is so that we are fully aware of
everything going on. Any piece of information is potentially useful. Anything
left out can be deadly in a battle.”

Riley chewed her
lower lip for a moment, a nervous habit of hers. “In the security office,” she
whispered, defeat a living and breathing thing inside of her. “There are hidden
tapes. Ones the staff don’t know about. The doctor had the cameras put in a few
years ago. They are hidden behind a false wall. Watch them. They all run off
their own power and feed. I couldn’t see well, but they weren’t suicides.”

He inched
forward, so close that she could feel the heat from his body. He touched her
chin lightly, tipping her head up so that they were staring into one another’s
eyes. “I need you to show me. I’ll get my friend to move the security and
others along. He has his ways. We’ll remain only long enough to get what we
need. Anything and everything is useful. Including your name, little one. What
is it?”

“And you
guarantee that these people who killed my friends will be brought to justice?”
She was rewarded with a nod from him. “Okay. And I’m Riley. Who are you?” She
noticed that he had ignored her question about what a guardian was. He was far
more than human, though, and she itched to touch him. And she had never liked
touching people.

“I’m Hector,” he
answered. His thumb brushed over her skin before he dropped his hand. “I will
make those who did this pay with all they have to give and more. I will also
protect you, Riley. It is my honor and privilege to do so, for however long we
will be together in this endeavor.”

“I couldn’t ask
you to do that,” Riley replied with wide eyes. “If you want to watch over me, I
won’t argue. But when it’s over I’ll have to give up my safety.” She sighed.
“Come on, I’ll show you.” He radiated honesty, but she sensed his determination
as well. It matched her own. She was determined to remain healthy, alive, and
safe.

He followed her
back to the building. “You didn’t ask it of me,” he said softly. “I offered
freely.” When they reached their destination he urged her into the shadows
surrounding the doors. “Stay here until I return for you. I must speak with my
friend without any of them knowing what’s going on.” He waited for her to nod
before he pulled the door open and stepped inside.

Riley hugged the
side. She chewed her lip and wondered at her willingness to remain. When the
door opened again, she pressed her back to the wall, waiting to see if it was
Hector or one of the guards.

“All clear.” His
deep voice reached out to her. Hector held out a hand and waved her inside. “We
need to be quick, though, and won’t be able to leave out the front doors, so I
hope you have another way. Even if it’s secured.”

“There is
another way—I can sign myself out,” she admitted as she slipped into the
facility. The moment that her hand slid into his, however, she stopped dead in
her tracks and stared up at him.

“Oh God,” she whispered. “You
are… What is this?” The golden thread was back, very lightly shining between
the two of them.
Maybe I’ve lost my mind.
Maybe this is my breaking point.

Hector pulled
her close to his body and gazed down at her. “I will explain everything later.
We’re not safe here, especially you. We need to get to the tapes and then leave
quickly. When we have the time, after we have left, I will tell you all that I
know. Will you trust me for a little longer, Riley?”

“Yes,” she
whispered, because she felt the honesty in his voice. Felt the truth that
flowed from him. “I will have to sign myself out. I can’t just walk away.” She
stepped back, and the thread that spanned between them thinned almost to
nothing. She licked her lips and felt the loss of that odd connection, which
had felt like home, plain and simple.

He was frowning,
but nodded. “Will that cause you any issues? I mean, with anyone here, or out
there in the world? I know this is a lot to be asking of you, even though you
were clearly heading out to do your own thing.” He shot her a look with a hint
of amusement in his eyes. “I just don’t want any of this coming back to bite
you in the ass.”

She shrugged.
“Delta is worth it. Besides, as long as I steer clear of dear old Mom, I should
be okay.” But there were others too. The monsters that she saw—the visages of
the beasts that they truly were, as they were able to hide nothing from her.
She saw the truth of a being instead of the façade they gave the world.

That earned her
a scrutinizing stare. “You don’t get along with your mother?” he asked. He
peeked around a corner and waved her on to continue leading him where they
needed to go. Then at another, he did the same.

“No. She’s
rather peeved off that Daddy left me with his fortune, and she can’t touch it.
Not a nice woman, my mother. She has proclivities that no one should ever
mention. She’s a terrible person.” She didn’t mind putting it out there for all
to know. “Believe me, if you never meet the woman, it’ll be far too soon.”

At the door to
the security office, which was of course locked, he shot her another look
before crouching down. He dug in his pockets and pulled out a little packet
that he unzipped. He drew out two little, silver pieces of metal. “See, you say
that sort of thing, which only raises my curiosity more.” He worked the thin
strips in the lock before grinning at a soft
click
. Turning the knob, he
rose to his feet and pushed the door open. “Ladies first.”

She stepped into the room and
put her back to the wall, watching him as he stepped in. “Well, you
are
a very attractive man, and Mother is
a beautiful woman, thanks to her plastic surgeons. You would likely enjoy
meeting her.” The thought of her mother sexing up the man she felt so connected
to made Riley physically sick.

Hector strode
right up to her until she was snugly sandwiched between his body and the wall.
Bracing his hands by her head, he leaned in to stare into her eyes. “You think
I’m attractive?” A little tick at the corner of his mouth told her he was trying
not to smile.

“Do you not have a mirror?”
Riley asked with a frown, tilting her head to the side. “Yes, I think you’re
very attractive. You’re the type of man that Mother would love to have as a
lover—hard all over, kind, and very generous.” She shrugged. “Do you want her
number?”
You wouldn’t be the first one to
want my mother instead of me.

“No. Yours, on
the other hand…” His lips curved into a small, lopsided grin as he lightly
bumped his forehead to hers. “Stop looking like you’re going to throw up. It’s
hard on my sensitive ego. You say I’m attractive, and yet you’re throwing me
toward another woman. On top of it all, you look nauseated just being in this
room with me. What’s going on, Riley?” His tone was light, but his eyes voiced
his true concern.

“More than one
man has tossed me over for her,” she whispered, cheeks heating. “And you can
have my number anytime you’d like it. But we should do what we came in here to
do.” God help her, but she wanted to step in that little bit closer to him,
wrap her arms around his middle, and let the world fall away.

“They were
unworthy of your attention if they were so easily swayed by false advertising,”
he said. Then he grinned. “Didn’t think I’d ever have occasion to use that
sentence. You’re right, though. We should move quickly. We need to gather all
the tapes. We can review everything later, from a more secure location. Gaius
will only be able to hold the staff off for a little longer. Where are they?”
He pushed away from her, but slowly.

She pointed to
the hidden entrance and nodded. “You won’t need me to come with you, will you?”
She had questions, and he had promised her answers, but she was shaken.

Hector lifted a
hand to cup her cheek, the roughness of his fingers and palm a direct contrast
to her soft skin. “I don’t need you to, but I would like you to. Very much,
actually. It must be your choice,” he whispered, his hand sliding away from her
face as he took another step back. His eyes pinned her in place for a long
moment before he turned to go to where she’d indicated. He said nothing more as
he collected everything from within.

When he was
finished, a large and heavy bag was slung over his shoulder, and he closed the
door to the room. Stepping up next to her, he held out a hand, palm up. Still
he said nothing, just gazed at her, waiting for her decision.

She slipped her
hand into his and turned her face up to him. “I’ll come with you. I don’t know
you, but I trust you, and I want to know more of what this is.” She motioned
between them, the very thin, golden thread stroked by her fingertips.

That earned her
another frown, this one confused. “We’ll talk once I have you someplace safe.
We’ll take the time to get to know one another well. Very well, I hope.”

He lifted her
hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. The smallest of bites
caused her to jump, and he smiled slowly. “For now, let’s get you signed out of
here. You’ll need to do that part yourself. I can’t be seen lugging around a
bag I didn’t have before, so I’ll find myself another way out. When you leave
the building, head for the parking lot to your left. I’ll meet you under the
lamp there with my friend.”

“You won’t leave
me, right?”

In a quick move
he let her hand go only to wrap his arm around her waist and drag her into his
body. Lowering his head, he brushed his nose to hers. “I’m not going anywhere
without you, Riley. If I have to, I’ll tear this place apart, brick by brick.”
He stared into her eyes for a long moment before he pressed the barest of
kisses over her lips. “No more than fifteen minutes, or I’ll be coming back
inside, and I won’t be a very happy or pleasant man.”

Riley shivered
at the kiss he’d given her. The promise of what might come next had her eyes
searching his, then a smile forming. “I’ll hold you to that.” She touched her
fingertips to his lips. “But you have to let me go first,” she teased.
“Although, truth be told, I kind of like being here in your arms.”

In the end,
though, Riley watched Hector as he left the facility. She had to get her stuff
in order so that she could follow quickly.