The Barrier Between (Collector Series # 2) (27 page)

“Usually?”

“Generally.”

“Generally?” I exclaimed.

“Mostly.” Ryker shrugged, drawing me into him. “This
doesn’t look like one of those times.”

Dark fur glinted in the dying light. Their long claws
drove into the earth as the pack moved slowly toward us. The front
cat snarled, displaying long white fangs.

The back of my neck prickled as more fae surrounded
us from behind.

“We have no dispute with you. Let us pass. I don’t
want to spill fae blood tonight,” Ryker called out to the
shape-shifters. They couldn’t talk back in this form, but they
could understand us.

The cats hissed, the exhibition of sharp incisors
reflected the twilight.

“Yeah, they seem terrified of you.”

Ryker cast me a look.

“It will be your blood spilled tonight, Wanderer. You
and your human’s,” a heavily accented voice came out of the
darkness. A tall willowy man appeared wearing a long white cotton
abaya, customary to the men in Turkey or the Middle East. His dark
skin only highlighted his white, wiry hair and beard. The man
stepped in front of the pack. His eyes glowed with the same
unnerving yellow as the jaguars behind him. The aura around him
confirmed he was also a shape-shifter.

“Kanaima.” Ryker shoulders tensed at the sight of the
man.

Again the word
Kanaima
struck a familiar chord
with me, but I struggled to place it. There were many fae to learn,
along with their names and powers.

“I have no quarrel with you, shaman. I already found
the one I need.”

Right!
Kanaima was a South American shaman,
and if I remembered correctly, leader of the jaguar shape-shifters
and not a nice guy. Evil. Goody for us.

“Unfortunately, Wanderer, we have a dispute with
you.”

“What did you do now?” I demanded.

“Nothing.” Ryker shook his head. “I swear.”

“He seems to think you did.” I waved at the man. “Is
there anyone you haven’t pissed off?”

“Only the ones
you
haven’t yet.”

“Then your list should be a hell of a lot
shorter!”

Kanaima cleared his throat, his staff striking the
ground with force. “Enough!”

I drew back, but Ryker tensed like he wanted to rush
the man and tackle him.

“What is it you want? My patience is running thin,
old man, and we have enough people after us.”

“We want the same thing as the others... the
stone.”

Ryker’s brows furrowed. “How would you learn of the
stone’s whereabouts? You live in the middle of the jungle.”

A slow, frightening smile crept upon the Kanaima’s
mouth. “We have our sources.”

“Why would you even want it?” I couldn’t help but
ask. They didn’t seem like the take-over-the-world type. Their
intent might be simpler, but the stone had different plans. It
wanted power and dominance and would twist, corrupt, and suck you
dry till it got it.

“Probably the same reason as you, human. To change
the fates. We want to return to a better time when our land wasn’t
being ripped from us and destroyed by humans. We were the alphas of
this land once upon a time. We should be the rightful leaders
again.” He tilted his head, examining me. “Fascinating. There is
becoming less and less of you that can still be called human.” He
licked his thin lips and took a step toward me. Ryker growled,
triggering the pack of jaguars to recoil, though they were still
ready to pounce.

Kanaima put his hand out, indicating the
shape-shifters to stay put. He didn’t advance toward me again.

“You are extremely intriguing. I have never seen this
before—a human procuring fae powers in this way—stealing them away
from their master.” His yellow eyes scanned my body. “The more you
gain, the more he loses. Bit by bit you are stripping him.
Forever.”

Ryker bristled and subtly shifted his weight closer
to me.

“I have seen many humans become fae by eating
Otherworld food, but this is not what I observe here. I see
electricity. Fire. Light. Boom!” His excited voice rang into the
evening sky, raising goose bumps along my flesh. The moon peeked
behind the mountains, shining an eerie light around us. “You are
strong, human, hindering and pushing against all that wants to be
claimed.”

Huh?

“I think it’s time we were going.” Ryker’s hand went
around my hip. “It is better for both if we walk away
peacefully.”

Kanaima chuckled, his eyes wild.

Ryker took a step back and those same eyes narrowed
into a pinpoint focus.

“I want the stone, Wanderer, and you cannot speak
falsehoods to me. I see its power
on
you.”

“Zoey,” Ryker said.

“What?”

He shoved me behind him, lunging at the
shape-shifters. They reacted instantly to his threat and leaped for
him.

Seeing Ryker threatened inflicted anger in me I could
not control. The mass of objects coming at him from all different
angles reminded me of the night Marcello and his men used me as
bait. Even though each swing Ryker executed had been lethal, there
were too many of them at once. I think it was that night, thinking
he was dead, when my feelings for him started to take root.

I kicked, hitting a big cat in the side and toppled
it to the ground, swinging around to the threat behind me. My
dagger nicked at the new danger, ducking out of the way of the
searing claws swiping at my head. Ryker fought next to me, trying
to keep close, but the cats came from all angles, creating a wedge
between us.

“Zoey!” Ryker bellowed, fear struck his face as he
looked past me.

The instant I heard my name I knew I was in trouble.
My neck and back prickled. I whipped around. All I saw were claws,
a large pink tongue, and enormous white daggered teeth barreling
toward my face.

Oh hell. This is it.

I shut my eyes, anticipating the moment the teeth and
claws would find their target. A force knocked me off my feet, my
head smacking on the rocky trail. The dagger flew out of my hand,
resonating across the rocks as it tumbled into the bushes. My head
spun from the impact. My lids squeezed even tighter and waited for
the jaguar to sink its teeth into me... and waited.

Then I sensed cold stone rigid underneath me, my skin
instantly suffering the harsh chill of the air.
Cement?
Cold?
I blinked, opening my lids. Only gray metal was in my
line of sight. Blood leaked from my nose and I sat up, wiping it
away. My head tumbled around from the sudden trip and the hit it
took on the ground. When the room halted, my eyes fixed on the
space around me.

Oh God, no.

I rubbed my red fingers on my pants as I clambered to
my feet, circling around in utter astonishment and fear. I had
gotten used to returning to our room, a place of safety. It never
seemed like it was a big jump when I was still in the same town.
Almost like it didn’t count.

This was a big jump. Of all the places in the
world—what brought me back here? Why this place?

“Hey,” a woman’s voice bellowed from the top of the
stairs. “What the hell are you doing in here?”

I whirled around to face the girl. Both her eyes and
mine widened into saucers.

No. This can’t be real.

Her shock quickly fell from her face, replaced by a
smirk. “I knew you’d come back someday.”

Jump, Zoey. Jump now!

Nothing.

“You’d miss the excitement too much. Money, drugs,
security. It will always be a stronger pull than freedom.” The
woman took a step down. “Not that I won’t punish you first for what
you did to my brother and to me, but you bring in far too much
money to do too much damage.”

Brother. Marcello.

Maria’s lips curled in a malevolent grin. “The
Avenging Angel has come home.”

My boots squeaked as I turned to run for the door. A
high-pitched laugh bounced off the metal, assaulting my
eardrums.

Men came from all directions; some I recognized, but
most I didn’t. I kicked out at one, using his leg to twist myself
around and jab at an Asian guy behind me. The man fell back, and I
dove into him, using him as a plow, pushing a few more men behind
him to the ground. A punch slammed into my ear, another into my
gut, and I stumbled to the side. Weaponless, I was fighting a
losing battle. The knife Ryker gave me was still on the ground in
Peru.

Ryker. Was he all right? Did he make it out?

Dozens of hands grabbed at my shirt, arms, and hair,
stopping any further movement. Pain stung my head as one yanked my
ponytail back with a sharp snap. Then I felt pressure against my
temple, cool metal pressed into my skin. “Don’t move.”

I stilled. I couldn’t outrun a bullet.

Jump. Dammit. Jump!
I screamed at myself.
Again, nothing happened.

My focus locked on the girl approaching me. I tried
another tactic, repeating over in my head,
Let me go. Forget you
ever knew me.

Maria didn’t even flinch as she slithered through the
throng of men, a sneer playing over her red painted lips. “Talk
about predictable. You really think you could escape?”

You will let me go,
I demanded. She only
folded her arms, shifting her weight. What was happening to me? I
could no longer jump
or
glamour.

“I gave it the ol’ college try.”

She nodded. Her long, curly brown hair bouncing as
she did. “I understand it’s in your nature to do what you do best.
Fight. No matter the odds. It’s who you are. You will never be able
to leave this life behind... and by the looks of it,” she motioned
to my bloody nose, “you haven’t.” A strange mix of understanding
and kinship filtered over her features before she turned aloof
again. Her eyes wandered over me, a sneer wrinkling her nose. “I
love
what you did with your hair. Fits you. The Avenging
Angel looks even more ethereal, like you don’t belong to this
Earth.” Her voice was soaked with mocking and jealousy.

“Tie her arms.” She nodded to my hands. “Use the
cuffs. You don’t want to underestimate this one.” She motioned to
the men around me and pivoted, heading back for the stairs. “And
bring her to my office.”

Her office? For the first time I really took in the
people and changes around me. Maria was in charge. She would only
be running things if Marcello was dead. I wasn’t too surprised;
Ryker had bashed his head in with his axe.

Some of the men I recognized from my days here with
Marcello, but more than half of these men were Asian. During my
last stay here, all of Marcello’s men I encountered were Hispanic,
Italian, or Caucasian. It didn’t really make sense Maria would
change that, but it wasn’t really important, my mind was centered
on more crucial things. Like getting the hell out.

Maria’s crew dragged me forward, but stopped at the
bottom of the stairs. A skinny dark-haired boy stepped in front of
me, handcuffs in his hands.

“You will pay.” The boy glared at me with unabashed
hatred. “My sister will never be the same because of you.” He
squeezed my wrists so tight against the metal, I cried out.

Sister?

“Hiro.” The man next to him nudged his arm. Neither
one could have been more than eighteen.

Hiro’s lip crooked, and he begrudgingly stepped to
the side. The men behind pushed me up the stairs. I knew my way.
This wasn’t the first time I had been locked in this warehouse.
Fear for my life and my anger at putting myself here made it
difficult for me to keep a clear head. All I knew was I had to
escape.

Only five of the men who attacked me downstairs came
upstairs with me. Guess they figured I’d be obedient handcuffed
with a gun to my head.

The office I stepped into was not the one I had left.
It still had the old wooden desk, but several chairs were placed on
the opposite side of the desk, allowing visitors to sit. Two file
cabinets had been added, along with several detail maps of Seattle.
Red ink and flags decorated the charts. A small generator sat in
the corner, and on top were a dozen walkie-talkies being charged.
More sat on the shelf. On the upper shelves behind the desk were
ten to twelve black binders, some labeled: Outgoing, Payments,
Received, Fights, Girls.

Compared to Marcello, Maria looked to be running a
business. When I was here last, she was managing the underground
fight club. She was more efficient in business, coordinating and
handling the fights. Marcello liked the presentation, to be seen,
and have the hoopla feed his ego. Maria was the one who did all the
work.

“As you can see, I am running things now.” Maria
leaned against the desk, staring at me with regard. “How is it one
insignificant person can bring such destruction and havoc? How were
you
capable of completely changing my life?” Fury flashed in
her brown eyes.