Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (75 page)

               
Even though it makes her want to vomit, she leans forward and kisses him. 
William freezes for a minute and then kisses her back.  “I will marry you
and have your children, but only if you don’t harm anyone.  Knock them out
with the tranquilizers and then we can leave,” Kayla whispers.

               
“Deal,” William counters.  “Now come here.”  He pulls her down for
another kiss.

               
“No,” Kayla states strongly.  “I’ll only do it after I know you don’t hurt
anyone.  It’s my security.”

               
William runs his thumb over her lips.  All that does is remind her of
Damien and Jackson.  Her chest tightens and it makes her want to
cry.  William eventually agrees. “Fine, deal.”

               
With a heavy heart, Kayla nods and sits down.  “I’ll put this back on,”
she murmurs, tying the scarf around her eyes.

               
“That won’t be necessary,” William smugly says.  “Since you’ll be mine,
I’ll let you see where we’re going.  You were right in what you said, you
won’t be able to communicate with anyone.  Well, maybe in a few years. 
Once I know you are truly my wife.”

               
“Yeah,” Kayla exhales.

               
A little while later, the plane hits the runway.  William stands up. “We
need to make this fast.  The pilot is going to park us in a
building.  I need you to run.  There are underground tunnels that
we’re going to use to get to a car.”

               
“Okay,” Kayla mutters as she stands up.

               
The plane comes to a stop.  Alexander is quick to open the door. 
“Come on,” William instructs.  “Run.”

               
They sprint down the steps of the plane and across the tarmac.  When they
get into the building, Kayla notices it’s an airport hanger.  “It’s this
way,” William states.  He starts to pull her to the opposite wall.

               
“Sir, there are guards coming out of the aircraft,” Alexander shouts.

               
Throwing Kayla behind the plane, William pulls out a gun.  “Get down,” he
growls.

               
Kayla ducks down just as the first shot fires.  Balls of light hit the
plane and William darts out of the way. More gunshots explode around
them.  William dodges between the plane and the wall, looking for a clear
shot. Kayla covers her head, hoping she stays out of the line of fire.

               
“Give her to us, William,” a voice commands.

               
Her heart drops.  She darts out from her hiding space behind the plane,
her feet guiding her toward the voice. She sees seven people.  Five are on
the ground, unconscious. One of them is Jackson.  “Jackson!” she yells.

               
The next voice she hears is Damien’s.  “Kayla, are you okay?”

               
Her eyes flicker to his.  “Yes.”

               
Damien starts to walk toward her, holding some type of weapon.  William
points his gun at Damien.  “Move again, and I will shoot you.”

               
“I’ll shoot you first,” Damien retorts.  “I’ll kill you where you stand.”

               
Alexander appears behind Damien.  “I don’t think so,” he says as he shoots
Damien in the neck.

               
Screaming, Kayla starts to run over to him.  She only gets a few feet when
she feels a sharp pinch in her neck.  Instantly, she falls to the ground.

               
When Kayla comes to, she is tied to a chair.  Her eyes frantically look
around. Five security men are gagged and tied up in the corner.  They have
IV drips in their arms.  Tears swell in Kayla’s eyes when she sees Jackson
and Damien tied up in chairs.  They, too, have IVs in their arms.
 “Damien!  Jackson!” she yells.

               
Damien groggily looks over at her.  “Are…are you okay?”

               
“Yeah,” Kayla exclaims. “Are you okay?  Did you get hurt?”

               
“Only a little bit,” William says from behind her.  “I did have to find
their tracking chips and take them out.  We put them all on a plane to a
far-off place.  It will take the remainder of the guard a while to get
here because they’re going to be chasing the chips.”

               
“Let them go,” Kayla growls in anger.  “You said you weren’t going to hurt
anyone.  That was our deal!”

               
Waving his hand at Jackson and Damien, William says, “I have done nothing else
to them.”

               
“What’s in our arms?” Damien asks.

               
“A special serum,” William replies.

               
From beside Damien, Jackson shakes his head and opens his eyes. It takes him
only a second to find Kayla. “Kayla!  You’re alive!  Are you hurt?”

               
“No,” she cries.  “Are you?”

               
“I said they were fine,” William snaps.  “They only have the incisions
where I took the chips out.”

               
“Why aren’t we leaving?” Kayla spits out.  “Just take me and leave them
be.”

               
Damien struggles against his restraints. “No!  Kayla, you can’t go with
him.”

               
“Oh, but Damien, she’s going to my wife, you pathetic boy.  She even
agreed to it.  Right, my dear?” William asks, trailing a finger down her
cheek.

               
“As long as no one gets hurt,” Kayla agrees, forcing herself
 
not
to flinch away from him.  “We can leave right now.”

               
William taps his chin.  “No, I was trying to think of something sinister
to do to the Merjyet line.”

               
“Why?  It’s the Caster family that you have a problem with.  Leave
Damien alone.”

               
“He threatened to kill me.  I don’t take kindly to that.”

               
“And I will kill you one way or another,” Damien declares.  “Why don’t you
untie me and we can go about this like real men?”

               
Snorting, William says, “I know how good of a fighter you are, and I will not
fall for that act.  I can’t let you out of your restraints, sorry.”

               
“Let me out of mine,” Kayla pleads.  “I’m not going to do anything.”

               
“So you can run to the man you love?  I don’t think so.  I have a
better idea.  We’ll make them pay for screwing up my plans.”  He
walks over to the plane and climbs inside.

               
Kayla pulls on her straps, trying to free her hands.  “I can’t get out of
them,” she yells.

               
“Stop, Kayla,” Jackson demands.  “We’ll get out of here.  Don’t hurt
yourself.”  She looks at him and starts to cry.  “Babe, don’t cry,”
he says softly.  “This will turn out all right, I promise.”

               
“It will certainly turn out all right for my dear fiancée and me,” William
declares as he comes back out of the plane.  Kayla’s heart drops when she
sees what’s in his hand—a long sword. 

               
“What are you doing with that?” Kayla shouts.

               
“Has no one gone over with you how to kill one of our kind?”

               
Kayla shakes her head. “No.”

               
“There are a few points on the body that will do it, but the major one that you
can’t recover from is beheading,” William states matter-of-factly.  He
saunters over to his hostages. “Let’s see…who shall I start with?”

               
“Kill me,” Jackson snarls.

               
Kayla jerks up straight in her chair. “Shut up, Jackson!”

               
Damien interjects, “No, kill me.  Then you will cement your own death,
because everyone of our kind will be looking for you.”

               
“How about no killing.” William takes the sword tip and runs it across Damien’s
chest.  “Maiming would work too.”

               
“No, please stop!” Kayla cries out. “I’ll do whatever you want.  We can
leave right now, and I will never contact them again.  Please, just don’t
hurt them.”

               
William chuckles. “I’m not stupid enough to actually hurt Damien.”  He
turns to Jackson. “But I will hurt you.  You’re the one who sent her the
hidden message.  You messed up everything.”

               
“I don’t care,” Jackson spits out.  “I’ll do whatever it takes to get her
home.  If you have to kill me, so be it, but Kayla won’t be leaving with
you.”

               
“You really don’t have a choice in the matter, though killing you does seem
like a stellar idea.”

               
“Leave him alone,” Kayla shouts.  “I swear to God, I will destroy you if
you do anything!”

               
With an evil smirk, William walks over next to Jackson.  “She seems to
care about what happens to you.  I’m a jealous kind of guy and don’t like
that very much.  Kayla, my dear, say good-bye to your friend. 
Hopefully this will teach you a lesson.”

               
“No, please, no!”

               
William swings the sword back. “She wishes you well in the afterlife, Jackson.”

               
“NO!  WILLIAM, STOP!  PLEASE!” Kayla screams.  “I LOVE HIM.
PLEASE, DON’T HURT HIM!”

               
Everyone turns and looks at her.  “What did you just say?” William asks.

               
The strong realization runs through Kayla.  “Please, don’t hurt him,” she
whispers.

               
“No, not that part, the part where you said you love him,” William
retorts.  “Like, friend love?”

               
She meets Jackson’s eyes.  “Yeah, friend love.”

               
“Not a good enough reason,” William snickers. He brings the sword up again.

               
“No!” Kayla shouts.  “No, I love him.  I am…in love…with him. 
Please, don’t!  I will do whatever you want.  I’ll have your baby
right now.”

               
William sighs heavily and sets the sword down. “Kayla, Kayla, Kayla, you just
secured his death.”

               
“No, please, don’t,” Kayla pleads.

               
Walking over to Damien, William says, “If you love Jackson then it’s all right
for me to kill Damien.”

               
“No!  You can’t hurt either of them.  I’ll leave with you.  We
can go anywhere.  I’ll have as many babies as you want and do whatever you
want.  Just leave them alone!”

               
“Do you love Damien?” William inquires with a grin.

               
“Yes,” Kayla answers.  “Just leave them be.”

               
Stepping between the two guys, William turns from one to another.  “She
loves both of you.  Aren’t you lucky?  One of you has to die, so how
do I choose?”  After a second of silence, William looks at Kayla. 
“Whom do you love more?”

               
“What?” Kayla breathes out.

               
“Simple question. Whom do you love more?  Are you in love with both of
them?  Answer the question honestly, or I will kill them right here, right
now.”

               
“I can’t do that,” Kayla cries.  “Don’t make me answer that.”

               
William looks off to the side. “No, you must choose, my dear.  You answer
and I kill one, or you don’t answer, and both die.”

               
“Kayla, just tell the truth,” Damien whispers, looking down.  “We know
what the answer is.”

               
“Damien,” she whimpers back.

               
He looks up at William.  “She’s in love with Jackson, not me.”

               
“Is that true?” William asks, looking back at Kayla.  “Are you in love
with Jackson?”

               
Kayla looks at Damien.  He just nods his head slightly and then looks
away.  Jackson matches her gaze.  With tears running down her face,
Kayla says, “Yes, I love Jackson.”

               
“Good to know,” William says, pulling back the sword.

               
“NO!” Kayla screams.  “I’ll never forgive you!”

               
William groans. “Enough of the screaming.  I have to think of something
horrible to do to the both of them.”

               
“No killing.  There has to be something other than physical harm,” Kayla
pleads.

               
William looks at her and then down at Jackson.  “Do you love her?”

               
“Don’t answer that,” Kayla snaps.  “It doesn’t matter how he feels. 
I know that I love him and that’s all that matters.”

               
“I think it matters,” William retorts.  “So,
Jackson
, do you love
Kayla?”     

               
Fire ignites in Jackson’s eyes as he looks at her.  “Yes.  I will do
whatever it takes to keep her safe from you.”

               
“So this is what love does to people.  Talk about a bunch of
martyrs.  Let’s do it this way.  What would bug you guys the
most?  I refuse to physically hurt her.”