Sid (The Protectors Series) Book #4 (4 page)

Lana tried to tune out the horror around her to focus on the caped man whose head snap
ped up suddenly. His face didn’t show because of the dark hood pulled low; she urged Vincent to move closer, which she knew was useless. This event had already taken place; she was just watching the replay. Dammit, she needed to see who was under the cape. The conversation didn’t last long, and before Lana was ready, Vincent was turning to walk away.

Before Vincent walked out the door
, he turned. The man in the cape was brutally pulling a woman from one of the cages, tossing her on a bed of filth. Standing over the woman, he pulled the hood down in a hard jerk. The complete helplessness on the woman’s face was one Lana would never forget. The man began to turn to show his face, but then suddenly, everything froze and she could no longer breathe.

Another man stepped into view
, walking forward. An immaculate black suit hung on his tall, thin body. His eyes were the same golden hue of the Warriors, but there was an evil wicked light behind them. They sunk into his thin long face. His head tilted as he looked down at Vincent, but something told her he wasn’t looking at Vincent, but seeing her. Lana began to panic. Something wasn’t right, and as that thought crossed her mind, his eyes turned blood red as his mouth opened, showing sharp fangs.

“I see that you will not be joining us this evening
, Ms. Fitzpatrick.” His voice was deep. “It’s a shame, because I was so looking forward to it.”

Lana couldn’t believe it. She could hear him. He knew she was there. Never had this happened before. She
pushed her fear away to study his face so she could describe every detail.

Shaking his head, t
he odd man made a tsking sound. “I can’t let that happen.” He stepped closer. “Such a waste of your talent that you have, and such a shame I will not be able to explore them further, but I cannot let you tell anyone what you’ve seen here, especially the Warriors.”

Lana tried to release
herself from Vincent, but she couldn’t move. She was frozen like everyone else, except she could hear, see and feel. This was impossible. Thank God, he could only read her present thoughts.

“
It’s very possible, silly girl. Are you hiding something other than your gift?” His long bony fingers rose in front of Vincent’s face into her line of vision. “Together, we could have been unstoppable. Unfortunately, because of Vincent’s failure, there is nothing to do, but say goodbye.”

His hand reached for Vincent as a tightness gripped her throat
, squeezing all airflow off. With every bit of strength she had, she fought again to release from Vincent, but it was no use. She was trapped with no way out; she was going to die inside Vincent’s mind. Blackness seeped into her blurring vision. Her last thought, before darkness totally claimed her, was, one way or another, this bastard was going to pay. Chilling laughter was the last thing she heard before she was lost.

Chapter 4

Sid stood talking to Sloan giving him all the information he had found out during his short undercover stint
, thanks to the sexy little number who packed a hell of a punch. A grin split his lips as he rubbed his jaw. She had shocked the hell out of him, and he liked it. Women didn’t hit him. Women loved him.

Turning his attention toward her
, his eyes roamed her body. He was usually into tall, leggy blondes, but there was something about this short, raven-haired woman that got his blood pumping. He would love to have that hair wrapped around him. Her eyes were so round and blue, he had found himself staring at her a little too much when they first met, making him forget what the hell he was doing for a minute.

“
I’ll be damned. It actually worked.” Sid snapped out of his fantasy of what she’d be like in bed, when she headed toward Vincent. Taking off her jacket and tossing it across Vincent’s head, she knelt beside the dead vampire, and grabbed onto the dead man’s wrist, her body going stiff as her head lifted toward the sky. He took off at a run. “What the fuck?”

“Don’t touch her!” Amy shouted
, standing protectively over Lana.

The rest of the Warriors hurried over
, standing in a complete circle around the two women.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Sid took a step forward w
hen Lana’s body jerked as if she’d been shocked; no sound escaped her parted lips. Her eyes were wide without blinking. Even though he pushed her into this, he didn’t know exactly what would happen; he felt like he’d made a big mistake.

“If you break her away now
, she could be lost inside that man’s memories.” Amy grabbed Sid, trying to hold him back. “Please, don’t do that to her.”

Sid glanced around at his fellow Warriors as they watched in fascination, and that
was saying a lot for this group. The small woman knelt in the muck holding a dead man’s wrist in a trance that couldn’t be faked. If there had been any real reason to doubt her before, no one was doubting her now.

“Can she be harmed?” Sid felt his protective instincts kick in, but was at a loss
; he had no idea how he could protect her. Dammit, he could kick himself in the ass for possibly putting this woman in danger. What the hell had he been thinking?

“Not that I know of, but I do know if she is brought out before it’s over
, she can be lost.” Amy looked down at her friend. “It’s the one thing she is frightened of.”

“Then why does she do it?” This came from Jared
, who looked up from Lana.

“
She doesn’t do it much because…” Amy frowned when Lana jerked again. Her back was tilted back in an odd way, as if she was trying to get away from something. “I’ve never seen her do that before, though.”

Sid watched
, fighting every instinct he had; something didn’t feel right, and his instincts had saved his own ass many times. Her body became deathly still, her eyes still unblinking. Frowning, he bent closer.

“Son of a bitch
,” he hissed as bruises formed on her throat.

“Don’t break her contact
!” Amy cried out, trying to block Sid.

“Fuck that!”
Sid grabbed Lana around the waist, pulling her away, but breaking contact didn’t work. “Lana! Dammit, Lana!” He shook her, his eyes not leaving the bruises that were darkening around her delicate neck.

Slade ran over
, nudging Sid out of the way. “Move!” Slade opened his bag, grabbing something.

“What the hell is going on?” Sid watched as Slade grabbed her
shirtsleeve, pushing it up and jabbing something in her arm. “What are you doing?”

“Lana!” Slade’s
voice was firm and loud as he jammed the needle back into her arm. “I need to shock her out of whatever in the hell has a hold of her.”

“Jesus
, Slade.” Jared stood watching, feeling as helpless as Sid looked.

Every Warrior stood ready for battle, but against what
, they didn’t know, and that didn’t set well with any of them. Cursing filled the air as their protective instincts kicked in a hundred percent, with no relief.

“If you stab her with that one more time
, I will kill you,” Sid growled when Slade started to jam the needle back into her arm.

“If I don’t shock her out of this state
, she’s dead.” Slade started to jam the needle in Lana’s arm again when she gasped for breath, her hands flying to her neck, prying invisible fingers from her throat. Her own nails dug deep bloody grooves into her soft skin.

“Lana
, stop!” Sid grabbed her hands, but she fought him.

“Sit her up
,” Slade ordered, grabbing one arm while Sid grabbed the other, keeping her hands away from her neck.

Lana kick
ed away from them, still fighting for breath as she coughed and gagged. Sid took control, grabbing her and holding her close. “Lana, stop!” he ordered, holding her arms tightly against her in a bear hug, pulling her between his legs. “You’re safe.”

Her haunted eyes shot to his
, calming slightly as she saw who had her. She tried to say something, but nothing came out. Her eyes watered and she blinked, trying to clear them. She tried to speak again, but a ragged slip of breath was the only thing that escaped.

“Just give it a minute
,” Sid whispered, watching her closely. As she calmed, he loosened his hold on her. “Do you feel like you’re breathing okay?”

Nodding
, Lana pried her arm out from his, rubbing her throat; her hand moved lower and stopped. “My cross.” Her voice was raw and harsh, but the panic was clear. Pushing away from Sid, she frantically ran her hands through the cold soft mud and leaves. She coughed and gagged again as her breathing sped up in the haste of her search.

Sid watched as Amy
also looked around where Lana had been. Sid watched her for a second longer before looking toward his fellow Warriors. They all looked as confused and helpless as he felt. Not able to watch her shuffle around in the mud any longer, Sid grasped her arms, helping her to her feet.

“What happened
, Lana?” He didn’t like the vacant fear in her eyes. What the hell happened to the strong woman who punched the hell out of his face?

Taking a second
, Lana seemed to pull herself together. She looked around at each Warrior, then to Amy, then finally back to Sid.

“There were
so many women in cages.” Lana’s lip quivered at the memory. She had seen some bad stuff in her life, but never anything like what she just witnessed. Before she could continue, she was pulled behind Sid, the sound of guns cocking.

“You stupid son of a bitch!” Sid shouted
, putting his gun back under his jacket. “You are not supposed to be here, Adam.”

Adam ignored him as he went behind Sid
, getting in Lana’s face. “Did you see a blonde girl my age?”

Lana
shook her head. “I don’t know. There were so many.”

“How long have you been here?” Sid frowned
, realizing that none of them had picked up that Adam was around.

“I followed Sloan.” His eyes never left Lana.

“What are you doing here, Adam? You were ordered to stay away from this mission.” Sloan stepped up, grabbing his arm, but Adam pulled away ignoring him.

“Her name is Angelina
,” Adam continued desperately, his focus never leaving Lana even with Warriors bearing down on him. “Her hair is pale-blonde to her waist. She has light sky-blue eyes.”

“I’m sorry.” Lana shook her head. “I don’t remember seeing anyone like that, but I wasn’t trying to find anyone
, so I didn’t pay attention.”

“What kind of cages were they in?” Adam hissed with barely
-controlled anger. “Were they being taken care of?”

Lana didn’t answer.
If he had lost a loved one to these people, it wouldn’t be her telling him what she was going through.

“Answer me!”
he shouted in her face.

Sid grabbed Adam by the neck
, tossing him away from Lana. “That’s enough!” He put himself between Adam and Lana.

Adam rolled to his feet and rushed Sid, but was stopped when Sloan grabbed him. “You best stand down
, son,” Sloan ordered, his voice full of authority. “You are already on report. Don’t make me cut you from the program or let Sid teach you a lesson you won’t soon forget.”

Every Warrior present was ready as they watched Adam struggle. Sid was pumped and ready. If Adam made one move toward Lana
, he was going to be very sorry. He understood, but the young half-breed needed to learn control, and so far, that had been a big failure since Angelina had been sold.

“Okay
,” Adam replied. After visibly fighting his anger, he calmed down. When Sloan was slow to let go, Adam jerked away. “I said okay.”

Sid took a step closer in warning. “You make one more move toward her or raise your voice again
, you
will
regret it. Now, get the fuck out of here.”

Adam nodded
, looking around before his eyes landed on Lana. “I’m sorry,” he sighed as if the weight of the world was on his young shoulders. “I just have to find her.”

“She was taken by these people?” Lana asked, her voice a little clearer, but still hoarse.

Adam waited a second before answering. “She was sold.” His eyes pleaded with her. “I have to find her.”

Sid watch
ed different emotions flit across her already-burdened features. When her eyes went to Vincent, he started shaking his head.

“Maybe if I try one more time
, I could see if I find her, but I don’t know the location even if I did.” Lana put her hand to her throat, clearly indicating touching Vincent again was the last thing she wanted to do.

Sid’s respect for the woman tripled at that moment, but there was no way in hell he would put her at risk like that again.
“Not happening. Take him back.” Sid took Adam by the arm, handing him off to Jared. When Adam glared at him, Sid nodded. “As soon as we’re finished here, I’ll come straight to you with any information. We’re going to find her, Adam.” Sid remembered saying those same words to Duncan not long ago when they were looking for Pam. Sighing, he watched Jared lead Adam away with the rest of the warriors following, other than Sloan.

“Lana
, you’re bleeding.” Amy broke the silence.

Sid turned to see blood trickling from her nose
, the sweet scent burning its way into his senses. “Are you okay?” His voice took on a harsh, raspy tone; his eyes darkened.

Reaching up
, Lana touched her nose, feeling wetness. Bringing her fingers away, bright blood colored the tips. “I’m fine.” Lana didn’t make eye contact as she took a Kleenex from Amy. “But I have to find my cross.” Her grandmother had given her that cross, and she wasn’t leaving without it.

Sid looked around
, spotting a golden chain by Vincent’s hand. Walking over, he reached down, snatching it up. The chain was broken as if it had been ripped off her neck.

Lana rushed up beside him. “Did you find it?”

Glancing down at her, he reached around, lifting the hair off her neck. He could see the marking where the chain had bit into her skin. “How did this get broken?”

“I don’t know
.” Lana grabbed for the cross, but he held it back out of her reach.

H
e reached out, touching her neck. “I don’t know much about what you do, but I have a feeling this isn’t normal.” His fingers caressed the darkening marks on her neck, making her shiver.

“It’s not normal.” Amy
, who had walked closer, frowned at Lana. “Her sister—”

“Amy.” Lana glared at her shaking her head.

Sid’s eyes narrowed at Amy. “Her sister what?”

“Is no one’s concern
.” She grabbed the cross out of his hand, holding it in a tight fist. “Now, do you want to know what I saw or not?”

Sid’s eyes shot from Amy to Lana. “Yes, I do.” He removed his hand from her neck. “I also want to know how those bruises
appeared on your throat out of nowhere.”

Amy opened her mouth to say something, but Lana took a step
, landing on her friend’s foot. Amy let out a squeal instead of what she was about to blurt out.

“Damn
, Lana, that hurt.” Amy leaned against the nearest tree, rubbing her injured foot.

“I’m sorry
, Amy.” Her voice sounded remorseful, but her eyes shot her a warning. She turned back to Sid. “To answer your question, I bruise like a peach. I probably grabbed my own throat while I was seeing things that were horrifying and choked myself.”

“No
, you didn’t.” Sid shook his head, his eyes watching her every move. “Why are you lying?”

“Listen, I’m cold.” Lana changed the subject rubbing her arms. “And there is no way I’m putting my jacket back on after it was laying over him. So can we get this show on the road?”