The Gathering (15 page)

So why did he affect her the way he did?

She saw him move out of the corner of her eye
and looked up. They stared at one another until Rayna felt tingles
race up her spine and her breath caught in her throat. He crossed
the room, stopping when he reached her and raised his hand to her
cheek. He stroked it with the back of his fingers. His skin was
cool but not cold like she’d thought it would be. Her heart started
hammering in her chest. He was too close. “What are you doing?”

He leaned in, his gaze falling to her lips.
“Just testing a theory I have.”

Sabriel’s mouth slanted over hers. Rayna
sucked in a breath while a voice in the back of her head screamed,
“No!”

Rayna felt powerless to stop him. As much as
she didn’t want him near her, a part of her seemed to crave it just
the same. She wanted to know what his kisses tasted like. Wanted to
feel his skin under her palms and the guilt that came along with
those thoughts finally snapped her out of whatever spell he always
seemed to weave around her.

She pushed him away and walked to the other
side of the room. “Don’t do that again.”

Sabriel smiled and nodded his head. His eyes
were sparkling with laughter. He looked pleased about something.
“As you wish.”

Rayna stared at him, took in the way his hair
fell around his face, the breadth of his shoulders, and the
slimness of his hips. This man was dangerous. If Garrett didn’t get
here soon she was sure she’d do something she’d live to regret.

Inhaling deeply, she looked away and steered
the conversation into neutral territory. “What did Victor mean
exactly by calling my wolf?”

He sighed. “It’s exactly as it sounds. He can
call the wolf. Make her come to the surface.”

Rayna looked back over at him. “Like, force
the change?”

“Yes.”

That’s what she was afraid of. She'd heard
some of the others talking about a forced change but wasn't sure
how it was done or why. No one seemed to want to talk about it.
Shifting was painful enough without the wolf being forced to the
surface and now, it seemed, she would be on the receiving end of
that painful ritual.

She shuddered and changed the subject again.
“Catherine said Victor had the grounds guarded. Do you know by
what?”

His body went still, like it had when they’d
been in front of Victor. “Things you don’t ever want to meet.”

“What sort of things?”

“Demons.” His gaze hardened and he took a
step closer to her. “Please don’t try to leave the house. Even I
won’t venture outside without guard here.”

Rayna sighed and ran her hand through her
hair. Leaving wasn’t an option, then. If Sabriel was afraid to
leave, she’d be stupid to even try.

She’d never met a demon but the way people
talked about them, she wasn’t looking forward to it, especially in
the dark. She turned her head and glanced out the window. The sun
was setting and the forest seemed to loom closer to the house now,
bringing with it things that scared other monsters.

Sabriel moved, Rayna seeing him out of the
corner of her eye, and she watched him cross the room to the
dresser and inspect the items on top. He lifted several things,
looked at them, and then put them down again. When he made no
attempt at conversation, she leaned her head to one side and said,
“What are you doing here?”

He turned to look at her. “What do you mean?
You know why I'm here. I'm a guest of Victor's, just as you
are.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I meant in my
room.”

“Oh.” He smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“I thought we’d covered that already.”

Other than him trying to kiss her, nothing of
importance had happened or been said. “No, we didn’t. Now what do
you want, Sabriel? You wouldn’t be here without a reason.”

He sighed and turned his back to her. “Fine.
I just wanted you to know that regardless of what you may hear, or
may think about me personally, I don't want you harmed. That was
never my intention.”

“And will I be harmed?”

“That is yet to be determined.” He grew still
for long minutes before turning to face her. “A forced shift is
painful. Its also very traumatic.”

He was changing the subject. Rayna let his
purposeful steering of the conversation go. “So I'm in for
excruciating pain and will have nightmares afterwards. Sounds like
an adventure.”

“How do you stay so optimistic?”

“Beats crying like a girl. I tried that once.
Just made me look weak and gave people reason to treat me as if I
were insignificant.”

The look in his eyes softened a bit then and
a tiny smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “I can't imagine
anyone thinking you insignificant.”

She shrugged her shoulder. “Doesn't matter
now. I just do what I have to and worry about crying later.”

Neither said a word after that for long
moments. Rayna still wasn't sure what Sabriel was doing in her room
or why he was staying. He looked troubled about something and
common sense told her it wasn't any of her business, but using
common sense wasn't her forte. She was a reporter after all. “At
your house earlier, you said you had no choice but to go along with
the Breed leaders. What did you mean by that?”

His eyes flashed with surprise before he
averted his gaze. “They have something I want. I can't get it until
this is all said and done.”

“Is this something worth my life?”

He looked mortified and she was sure, if he
could blush, he would have. “It's nothing like that, Ms. Ford.”

“Rayna,” she said. “You make me sound old
calling me, Ms. Ford all the time.”

He smiled and nodded at her. “As you wish,
Rayna. And my part in this has very little to do with your life. I
wish it could be avoided all together but I’ve waited a very long
time. I’ve been jumping through hoops for the Collective since day
one and I will have what is due me.”

“So you'll use me, how ever you can, to get
what you want?”

His eyes turned cold then. "You make me sound
like a monster."

“Aren't you? You're using me as a bargaining
chip. What is it you want? Money? A cozy seat on the Collective's
high council?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“It makes little difference to you what it
is.”

“Fine. Keep your little secrets.” She crossed
her arms over her chest, and tilted her head to one side. “Why do
you act as if this whole ordeal is a burden to you?

“I wasn’t aware I was.” He stared at her for
long minutes and she was almost positive he was going to say
something else. He shook his head instead and walked toward the
door, looking at her over his shoulder. “I'm sorry things have to
be this way, Rayna. If I were able to change it, I would move hell
and earth to see you weren't harmed but there's nothing I can do. I
just wanted you to know I wished things could be different. That I
don’t want to see you harmed and that I'm sorry. For
everything.”

He left then, leaving Rayna with more
questions than answers. What did Sabriel get out of this other than
the public knowing vampires were in fact real? If not for fame or
money, what?

She sighed and crossed the room before
sitting down. She needed to get out of here. Now. Once the other
Breed leaders arrived, their plan would be set into motion and her
wolf was as good as born.

* * * *

Garrett hadn't waited on the others. He left
Bryce to deal with informing the pack of what was going on and left
the house soon after taking care of the rope burns. He'd walked
clear to the creek, and up to Jacob's cabin, and hadn't picked up
one trace of Rayna’s scent. Nothing new, anyway. He’d just rounded
the side of the cabin when he saw Jacob dart into the trees.

“Jacob!” Garrett gave chase and sighed in
relief when the boy stopped running. “Where's Rayna?”

“Rayna? How the hell should I know?”

Before thinking, Garrett grabbed him by the
shirt and lifted him from the ground. “Where is she, Jacob? I know
Carmen had something to do with this.”

Jacob struggled, his feet kicking uselessly.
“I haven't seen her, man, I swear it.”

Garrett let him go, stalking away from Jacob
several yards before he turned back around. “She's missing. She was
leaving yesterday and Gavin found Mitch's car this morning. Someone
ran it over the cliff up on the high ridge.”

Jacob fixed his shirt and took a few steps
back. “You think Carmen had something to do with it?”

Garrett laughed and ran his hand through his
hair. “I don’t know. I’m guessing. I just don’t know who else to
blame.” He paced the small clearing and tried to calm the wolf. It
was howling inside his head, wanting out to find his mate. Garrett
didn’t blame him. He wanted the same thing but running head first
into Carmen’s pack was the worst thing he could do.

He faced Jacob again and saw a few of the
buttons on his shirt missing, the material hanging a bit sideways
on his thin frame. “I did find Stan's hat in the car, though, so I
may be pointing the finger at the wrong person.”

Jacob's eyes widened. “Stan? He's with her.
Carmen, I mean.”

“Damn it,” Garrett hissed. “Why the hell
didn't you tell me before now?”

“I don't know. It didn't seem important.”

“It probably isn't.”

Jacob shifted on his feet and moved closer to
where Garrett stood. “Rayna isn't at camp. Or, I haven't seen
her.”

“Where is the camp?”

“Down by the old logging road.”

“Show me.” They left then, running through
the densely packed trees until they saw the camp. Over twenty
people milled around, Carmen right in the center. She was laughing
and preening like a princess. Garrett snorted a laugh at her. “Does
she ever get tired of hearing the sound of her voice?”

“No.” Jacob laughed. “She's been celebrating
for the last few hours about something. If she had something to do
with Rayna’s disappearance, then I guess we know what that is
now.”

Garrett stared down at the camp and wondered
what to do. If he walked down there and questioned Carmen about
Rayna, then the woman would know Rayna was gone. But what if Carmen
knew where Rayna was? He couldn’t just leave her in Carmen’s
hands.

“What do you want to do?” Jacob asked.

“I don't know. If we wait, she may lead me
straight to Rayna.”

“Unless she's already done something with
her.”

The thought made him sick. Carmen would not
hesitate to kill Rayna but Garrett knew she’d want an audience. It
would do her no good to just kill her and dump the proof. She’d
want him to see, which made him think whatever Carmen had done,
Rayna was safe. For now. “Go down there. Mention you found a car on
the high ridge. I want to see what she does.”

He watched as Jacob jogged down the hill and
joined the others. He walked close to Carmen before he started to
speak. Carmen turned to look at him a moment later. The smile on
her face told Garrett she was responsible for Rayna’s
disappearance. The question now was, what had she done with
her?

* * * *

Rayna sucked in a breath and flattened
herself against the wall. The man who walked past her didn’t even
blink and she exhaled when he disappeared around the corner.

The fear of getting caught made her want to
turn around and scurry back to her room but she had to let someone
know where she was. She’d paced the confines of her bedroom for
nearly half an hour before the answer to all her problems lit her
with enthusiasm and drew her into the hall and down the main
stairs.

She’d only encountered the one man and seeing
the door Catherine said was Victor’s office, Rayna was torn on
whether to take a peek inside to see if the wiry old werewolf was
in there or if by some miracle he’d walked away.

The gods must have been smiling down on her.
Before she could make a decision, Victor stepped from the room into
the hall. He hobbled in the opposite direction, away from where she
was hiding, and disappeared around the corner.

Rayna only hesitated a moment before she
dashed to the office door, peeked in, and ran to the large desk
sitting near the back wall and ducked down behind it.

Staring at the windows, the curtains drawn
closed, she tried to get her racing heart to calm. When her
breathing was under control, she leaned up, peeked over the desk
and looked for the phone. When she saw it, she snatched the
cordless handset up and crawled under the desk.

She had to redial twice to get the number
right. Her hands were shaking. When the ringing stopped and the
name, “Burrows,” was said, she wanted to cry.

Chad Burrows, police detective and Garrett’s
old partner on the Bluff’s Point police force for nearly ten years
was her only option. If he couldn’t help her, she was as good as
dead. “Chad. It’s Rayna Ford. I’m in trouble.”

“Rayna?” Chad said.

“I need you to trace this number.”

“Trace the number… why? What’s going on?”

“Chad. Listen. Don’t talk,” she said. “I’m in
serious shit here and I don’t have time. Trace the fucking
number.”

“Rayna… you know as well as I do how this all
works.”

“Chad, I’m begging you. Please.”

He sighed. “Give me one reason.”

Rayna rolled her eyes. He could be as big an
ass as Garrett when he wanted to be. “I’ve been kidnapped. Is that
good enough?”

“Kidnapped?”

“Don’t involve anyone else, Chad. Please. I
just need you to trace the number, get the address, and call
Garrett.”

“Rayna, if you’re in trouble the police is
who you want, not your boyfriend. Give me a second to call the
Chief…”

She growled and wondered if it sounded the
same over the phone. “No one else,” she hissed as loudly as she
dared. “I mean it, Chad. Just trace the number and call
Garrett.”