Unforgiven (The Forbidden Bond 2) (29 page)

There was no sense in trying to hide. In the barren cell there was nowhere to go, so he sat upright on the steel bench and waited. It would be like shooting a fish in a barrel. When Gage Paris took him into custody, Derek was sure he would be dead with the hour. His Master would not let him live long enough to give any secrets away. The steps slowed and stopped in the darkness outside of his cell. He watched the shadowed figure digging around in a pocket. When the figure silently unlocked the door to his cell Derek’s heart sank. They wouldn’t kill him here. No. He would be taken back to The Nest to be made an example of in front of the other minions. The barred door swung open.

“Are you just gonna sit there and stare at me or are we getting out of here?” A vaguely familiar female voice came out of the darkness.

“We don’t have all night,” she pressed.

Derek didn’t ask any questions. He followed the tall feminine form out of the Council hall though a rear exit and straight into a waiting car. Derek jumped in the back and his rescuer ran around to the passenger side. They pulled away from the curb before the doors were even shut. The wide grin of the driver who peered at him in the rearview mirror had Derek shaking his head in astonishment. He hadn’t seen or heard from Nate since the day he woke Derek from the best sleep of his life with Brandi in his arms on the floor in the Council hall library.

“Where the hell have you been, man? I though the worst.” Derek patted his friend’s shoulder. Nate looked at the stern face of the woman to his right.

“I’ve found better things to do with my time. Derek you remember Karrie don’t you?” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled even more widely.

“Of course I remember her. How could I ever forget the woman that beat us at our own game?”

“Nate, I want both of you off the streets and this car returned to its rightful owner before they know it’s missing. Do you know where you’re going?” Karrie’s face bore a look of total shame and guilt. She licked her dry lips and scanned the nearly abandoned street.

“Sweetheart, I know this goes against the grain for you, but we had to get him out before he ended up dead.”

Nate reached over to lay a hand on her thigh.

“I know that, Nate, but I didn’t do this for him. If I didn’t know what’s coming, I would have let him rot. This is for Brandi and Danielle. They will need him and so will we,” Karrie snapped.

“What do you mean when you say you know what’s coming? And where is Brandi? Where are we going?” Derek was getting nervous. Karrie was not a fan of his and he had already been betrayed by one female that was supposed to love him. Having this armed and obviously pissed off female glaring at him was unsettling.

“I was contacted by a friend that insisted we help you. We are taking you to her so she can explain the rest. I don’t know where Brandi is now. The last time I saw her, she was in the woods surrounding the Enclave, literally burning with shame and hurt because of your stunt with that damn drug. As far as I know, no one has seen her in two days.”

Derek laid his hand on Karrie’s shoulder but she didn’t turn to look at him. This was a friend of Brandi’s who had protected her and taught her to defend herself. It was no wonder she was unhappy with him.

“I know you have no reason to believe me, but I didn’t have anything to do with what happened, other than the fact that I gave the drug to Candice for her own personal use. I had no way of knowing anyone else would have access to it. I meant no harm and I’m sure Candice didn’t either.” He hoped she would believe him.

“Candice may not have meant to drug Greyson, but she took advantage of the situation once it was done. She could have taken him home and let him sleep it off, but that’s not how it played out is it? No. She made sure everyone in the bar knew they were leaving together and she crawled into his bed as soon as she got him to his house. Then, instead of letting Brandi and Greyson work it out, she chased him through the rain in a sheet, just to make sure everyone on the Enclave knew they had been together. She was publicly staking her claim. She’s damn lucky it was Brandi and not me she decided to publicly embarrass.”

While they drove, Karrie filled Derek in on the drama that had taken place at the Enclave. Nate informed him that he was leaving the Master’s service to be with Karrie. He needed to be worthy of her attention or her father and brothers would kill him. Nate had snuck back into The Nest a couple of times to check on his father but no one seemed to notice he was missing yet. They assumed he was with Derek. So when Nate showed up, everyone assumed Derek was around too and he went along with the story. Therefore Derek’s absence wouldn’t have been noticed unless the Master had summoned him. From the looks of things, the Master was busy monitoring Darren and his preparations with his army of flunkies.

They pulled up to the side entrance of a luxury hotel by the park downtown. Derek looked at Nate, who just shrugged.

“I’m only following orders. Good luck, man.”

Karrie handed him a key card.

“Use the card to get in the building. It’s better to avoid the main entrance. Go to the room number on the card. The card will unlock the door. She’s waiting for you. That’s all I know.”

Nate gave him a new cell phone and some cash. They had plans to meet up when the time was right, whatever the hell that was supposed to mean. Derek did as directed,but he stood nervously outside of the hotel room he was supposed to enter. The door opened and he looked down into a lovely and oddly familiar face. She looked so much like Danielle Vaughn, minus the rock star hair and only seemed to be a few years older. But this was not a sister. This was the human mate of Griffin Vaughn, Danielle’s mother. She held out her hand.

“My name is Tessa Vaughn. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Derek. Please come in. We have a lot to talk about.

An hour later Derek sat on the sofa in Tessa’s suite with his head in his hands. He didn’t know why he believed this human woman, but he did. Maybe it was the human in him that wanted to trust her. She needed his help and for him to help her she had to get him out of lock up. The amount of detail she knew regarding the coming rogue offensive was startling. He thought she had a contact feeding her information,but she claimed that she had dreamed it all. If her predictions were correct, much of what was to come was riding on Derek’s shoulders.

Whichever side he chose to fight for would reign. He had choices to make and they were going to be the toughest of his life. Only one of the two women in his life could survive the coming storm, which one was up to him. Did he protect his mother and continue to be a cog in the Master’s machine, or cling to the woman he had come to love? Could he let Brandi’s world fall apart so that his mother could continue to live safely with her delusions?

Derek felt sick. A knock at the door startled him out of his musings.

“It’s okay,” Tessa soothed him, “I have a surprise for you.”

The door opened and a petite woman with the most beautiful hazel eyes strolled into the room stroking the back of the infant resting on her shoulder. Her eyes shot straight to Derek’s and he had the oddest sensation of being a bug under a microscope. She examined his face closely and smiled before looking to Tessa.

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you, friend,” The woman said to Tessa.

“I’ll send her in and wait for you in the lobby.”

Derek had no idea what to make of the woman or her comments. Tessa grabbed her coat and purse before heading for the door. Was she just going to leave him there? What was he supposed to do next? How the hell was he going to sort all this shit out on his own?

“That was my daughter’s mother-in-law. She can be very protective. Remember that everything we spoke of is between us. I will call you when the time is right.” She smiled.

He heard hushed female voices in the hall. Derek knew before she stepped into the room that Brandi was in the hall. The warm honey aroma of her tickled his brain and his heart leapt. Tessa saw the recognition in his eyes.

“I think it’s time you showed her there’s more to you than what the Rogue has tried to make you. I won’t be back until late tonight so feel free to stay as long as you like.” She winked at him and walked out.

Brandi stepped into the doorway and stood there looking forlorn and confused. She was wearing a borrowed sweat suit that was rolled a few times at the ankles. Her skin was too pale and her eyes looked bruised from lack of sleep. He wanted to wrap her up in tissue paper and set her on shelf where no one could ever reach her again. Tears filled her eyes but she didn’t move. She looked lost and unsure.

Taking charge of the situation, Derek walked slowly to her. He guided her gently into the room and locked the door. She turned to look at him and the tears running down her face shimmered and flickered with the heat of her pain. Little flames hit the carpet and Derek had to step on them to prevent a fire. He was lucky she wasn’t too hot to touch. Her mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. He wiped the wetness from her face, wincing when it burned his skin. She was exhausted. Everything else could wait. Right now Brandi just needed to rest.

“It’s alright, Sparky.” He pulled her to him and his heart soared when Brandi immediately wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight.

“You don’t need to say anything. I don’t need any explanations.” He kissed her lips gently and pulled away quickly when she turned her face up to him.

“Let’s get you into bed. I think some sleep will make a world of difference.”

She came without protest when Derek led her to the second of the two bedrooms in the suite. She stood where he placed her by the bed while he turned down the blankets. Like a child, she allowed him to undress her. Derek’s breath caught in his throat when he realized Brandi had no underwear beneath her clothing. Dear God she was perfection. Every creamy inch of her lush body was on display when he tucked her into the bed. Her ample breasts sat up and begged him to lick their dusky peaks. The notch in her waist that flared out to the luscious curve of her hips was made for his hands to grasp and hold tight while he rubbed himself against the firm globes of her ass.

Derek shook his head. This was not about sex. The fact that her sweetly arousing aroma called to him and her soft pink heat could be seen through the neat curls at the apex of her thighs did not mean that he had to act on his lust. His mouth watered. She needed rest and they needed to talk. They needed to spend what little time he had getting to know each other better. The rest of their lives depended on it.

He pulled the blanket up, more to block his view of temptation than to warm her chilled body. He was enjoying the sight of her tightly peaked breasts and the shivers running over her flawless skin entirely too much.

Derek leaned over the bed and brushed another glancing kiss across her full lips. He wanted so badly to delve in and taste her again.

“Sleep, Sparky, I’ll be here when you wake.” Derek backed away from the bed.

“No,” Brandi spoke for the first time. “Don’t go. Please stay with me, Derek. Hold me.”

She pushed back the covers for him to climb in, baring her hip to his hungry eyes.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” His voice was husky and kind of pained. She was tempting him beyond his ability to refuse her.

“Please?”

The look of need in her steel-blue eyes undid Derek. He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes. He approached the bed and Brandi glared at his jeans when he tried to climb in.

“You’re going to kill me, Sparky.”

He growled, but she only smiled when he tugged them off and crawled in behind her in his boxer briefs. He pulled her back against his chest and Brandi sighed contentedly. His best efforts at keeping his arousal from rubbing her ass were foiled when she insisted on tucking herself closer and closer into the curve of his body until her hips were nestled tightly against his. There was no way he would be getting any sleep.

SEVENTEEN

Greyson sat stone-faced in his recliner. The game was on but he stared at the door. He waited in vain for Brandi to come sweeping through the door in a pair of sparkly heels and a designer smile. His heart ached for the sight.

Memories played out around him like reruns of his favorite show come to life in his home. He could see Brandi sitting on the living room floor in her underwear painting her toe nails while he complained about the smell until she left the room. She had put that sofa cover over his beat-up old couch and it made a big difference but he complain it was too girly. She would make them a salad with every meal, except breakfast because she usually skipped it and he had always bitched while she ate it and mostly ignored the pile of protein he put on her plate.

Brandi had a habit of tiding up behind him as he moved through the house, leaving debris in his wake. His clothes always ended up magically in the hamper and the shower curtain he left perpetually open would be inexplicably closed when Brandi was around. She made the bed as soon as he climbed out of it and never left a dish in the sink. For a woman who grew up with maids and servants, Brandi was very self-sufficient. Greyson accused her of mothering him on several occasions.

If she would just walk back through that door and into his life, Greyson would never complain or make fun of her good habits again. In the days that had passed since she walked away in a flaming fury of pain and embarrassment, he’d had time to think about their relationship as a whole. Brandi did everything possible to get closer to him and solidify them as a couple with the exception of publicly introducing him to her peers as her man. That still chapped his ass because he knew it was because he fell below her on the food chain of their society.

Brandi would lie next to him in bed and ask him endless questions that he never really answered. During their first argument, which turned out to be their last, he accused her of keeping secrets and being dishonest about who she was inside. In hindsight, Greyson realized that he never bothered to ask her about herself. She would bombard him with questions that he would swat away because he didn’t know her well enough to answer them comfortably. But he never made the effort to get to know her better. She was right. He showed no interest in their relationship except in the bedroom because he was too tired and stressed out from work to bother doing the hard things required of a partnership. Greyson refused to carry their relationship but maybe if he had at least hauled his own weight, things wouldn’t have ended the way they did. He had never even asked her to be with him exclusively. It was no wonder she believed herself to be nothing more than a plaything to him.