Dawn, Dakota - The Desperate Fay King [Kidnapped by a Fay] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More ManLove) (6 page)

While he waited for the right song, he went over his plan one more time. Two songs later he smiled. Cutting his eyes to the right, he made sure the man was still asleep. Yes. He inched his way behind the man on the left and slid the screwdriver into his pocket. Just when the beat blared he struck. Adrenaline rushed through every cell of his body, adding speed and power. In a flash his right hand cupped the drowsy man’s nose and mouth. His left hand slammed into the back of the man’s head. One hard twist and it was over. The snap of the man’s neck was covered by the beat. Chase released the man. His body slumped slightly and looked like he was sleeping. Only his hand twitched.

Chase planned on doing the same thing to the sleeping man, but the van hit a bump and the dead man’s body fell over and startled the sleeping man.
Fuck!
Fast as a striking snake, Chase pulled out the screwdriver and stabbed it through the man’s eye and deep into his brain. The man yelped, and blood oozed out his eye. His body twitched in death. Chase caught movement from the front seat and looked up just in time to see the fire shoot out of the gun barrel. Heat seared his left arm. The van veered hard to the right just as the second shot rang through the van. It missed Chase by an inch. Blood now oozed from his nose and arm.

In a killing rage, he grabbed the dead man’s gun and shot the man in the forehead. Shock transformed his face as his brains splattered across the windshield. Chase aimed the gun at the driver and was about to threaten him when they hit a bump and the leader’s body shifted to the left. The gun fell from his lifeless fingers. As it hit the floor, it went off and shot the driver. The man’s last breath whistled from his body as he slumped forward.

“Son of a bitch! I planned on interrogating him.” Chase was in the process on getting to the front seat when the vehicle suddenly took a nosedive. Chase held on tightly to the backseat as the van came to a jarring stop. All the dead bodies fell forward and smashed out the bloody, cracked windshield. He gulped when he saw nothing but air. Holy freaking hell. He couldn’t even see where the dead bodies were. It must be a hell of a long way down.

His darting eyes spotted the edge of a branch.
Damnation. Could things get any fucking worse?
The van swayed, and his stomach dropped all the way to his toes. With the greatest of care, he slithered his way to the back door and slid it open. The van swayed again and he thought he was going to throw up. Taking a calming breath, he grasped the edge of the opening and pulled himself out of the van.

As he sat on the edge he squinted to see through the darkness. It looked like they had gone over the edge of a cliff and been caught by a tree. The top of the cliff was at least eight feet up. On a good note, the walls were rough cut, which meant he had plenty of handholds.

A gust of wind blew across the van. Chase swallowed hard and stayed as still as a statue. Another gust of wind came up and rocked the van. Fear and frustration pounded through his veins. Surely he hadn’t survived all that just to be killed by a gust of air. His luck couldn’t be that bad, could it?

Crack! At the hideous sound, Chase leapt up and jumped for the tree. As he reached out, the van fell. The branch he was going for moved, and his hands grabbed nothing but air. His feet hit another branch, and he used all his core strength to pull himself toward it. With a thud, he hit the tree and held on for dear life. His right cheek hit hard and felt like it was on fire.

A roaring
kaboom
sounded below him as the van exploded when it hit the ground. The tree vibrated violently from the impact. A piece of bark dug its way deeper into his injured right cheek.

Motherfucker!

If he made it out of here alive, he was going to be one big scab. Carefully, he started climbing up the branch then slid up the trunk. Once he reached the rough side of the cliff, he started slowly making his way to the top.

As soon as he made it, he pulled himself up onto flat ground and lay down until his breathing was under control. He sat up when he was able and moved further away from the edge. The last thing he wanted to do was fall over the edge.

Taking stock of his injuries, he started with his head and winced when he lightly touched his nose. It was swollen, but at least Doc had set it for him. There was a bump that indicated it wasn’t a perfect fix, but he didn’t care. He blinked and realized that his eyes were slightly swollen. “At least I can see,” he mumbled to himself.

His fingers grazed his right cheek, and he cursed when he touched raw meat and bark. Mentally he prepared himself for the pain then quickly jerked the bark from his cheek. Like the tortured man he was, Chase sat there gasping for breath as pure agony encompassed his face. A grim grin turned his lips up. The bark had torn up his cheek in the same spot that Reed’s mark had been. It was gone for sure now. He was attracted to the man, but Reed equaled trouble. And trouble was something Chase didn’t need. Chase knew deep down that he was never going to forget Reed. Marked or not, Reed was in his soul.

Moving on, he glided his hands down his arms and cursed again when he encountered the bullet wound. His shirt was bloody, but it felt like the bullet had just grazed him. Next he ran his hands along his sleep pants and winced when he touched his bruised thigh. If he could kill the guy who’d kicked him again, he would
. Nobody fucks with me and Reed.
The second the thought crossed his mind he wanted to kick himself. They were
not
a couple.

Chase pushed himself to his feet and hobbled down the road in the direction he thought he’d come from.

As the hours passed, he became more and more confused. He’d encountered several forked roads and had to guess which path to take every time. The sky brightened, and he saw a cabin in the distance. He walked in that direction. It took him a good hour to get there. Cupping his hands, he called out when he was fifty yards from the home. Several steps later he called out again. No one answered.

He scouted around the cabin and saw no footprints. One thing he did see though was some of the vegetables he’d had at the resort. Going to the door, he knocked. No one came. He twisted the doorknob and was relieved when the door opened. Stepping inside, he looked around and called out again. The place was dusty but nice. Whoever lived here must have been away for a while. Walking through it, he discovered a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen that opened up to the living room. It was like heaven. He’d been afraid he was going to have to make a camp along one of the roads. He glanced around. This was much better.

He felt a little dizzy and his stomach growled as hunger pains pinched his belly. Chase answered its call by going back outside and gathering some food. After returning with an armload of food, he tested the faucet in the kitchen sink. His heart soared when clear water rushed out and started cleaning the dust out of the sink. Swishing the water around in the sink, he cleaned it out then washed off the food. His search through the cabinet right in front of him revealed the cup he so desperately needed. Chase filled it with water and quickly downed the whole cup.

Taking two of the cleaned vegetables and another cup of water to the table, he plopped down wearily at the table and ate his meal. A yawn escaped his mouth the minute he was done. Pain radiated from every inch of his body. This little adventure had gone from being the best weekend of his life to the worst.

His eyes started to droop, so he forced himself to his feet then headed for the bedroom. Chase dropped onto the bed and planned on staying just like that. Within minutes a chill swept through his body, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. Groaning loudly, Chase pulled the covers back and slid under them. He felt a little better. A couple of hours of sleep and he’d be good as new.

Chapter Six

Reed entered his bedroom and expected to see Chase on the bed. The bed was rumpled but empty. A dark spot on the floor had him rushing over to it. He dropped to his knees and ran his hand over the spot. It was almost dry. He rubbed the area harder, and this time his finger showed traces of blood.

He leapt to his feet and frantically followed the blood trail a little ways down the hallway. When it stopped his heart raged and beat against his ribs. He remembered to call Tate, who was supposed to be tuned into Chase. As he pushed Tate’s button, he scanned for evidence. “Come on. Pick up the phone, Tate.” Going back into his room, Reed looked around more closely. Nothing. “Damn it, Tate. Pick up the fucking phone.” Tate never answered. Dread slithered up from the soles of Reed’s feet and rested heavily in his heart.

Reed pushed Simon’s button as he rushed to Tate’s room. Relief washed over him when Simon answered. “Simon, something has happened to Chase. There’s blood in my bedroom and Chase seems to be gone. Tate’s not answering my call. I’m going to his room now. Gather our best men and meet me there.”

Reed ran into Tate’s room and found him in a crumpled heap on the floor. Dried blood was crusted to the back of his head.

With a shaky hand, he checked Tate’s neck for a pulse. Tears of relief welled in his eyes, and he blinked them back. Next he called the medical team and informed them they needed to come get Tate.

Simon rushed into the room and dropped down next to Tate. “Is he alive?”

“Yes, but his pulse is slow. The blood in my roo…” Reed’s throat cracked and closed, making it impossible for him to continue.

“We’ll find him. They didn’t kill him. He’s too valuable. He’s alive.” Simon must have made sure his voice reflected more confidence than he felt. A shadow of doubt hid in Simon’s dark blue eyes.

More men poured into Tate’s room, and the medical team came in and took Tate to the infirmary.

Reed’s face hardened as he thought about killing the men who took his sweet little Chase. He turned to Simon. “They will all die. Not one is to be left alive.”

Simon nodded. “I agree. We must find these traitors quickly.”

Reed took a shuddering breath. “Let’s get this started. It will be light in an hour. Until then let’s scour the castle and its grounds. There has to be something here that can lead us to Chase.”

They followed the blood and traced every path out of the castle. No room was left unturned. Reed and Simon focused on his location all the time. Nothing.

Pouring rain washed over the castle and all its land right before the sun rose. All tracks were erased. The pearl-colored sun rose in the light purple sky. The day may have turned out bright, but darkness and sorrow hovered over Reed and everyone in the fay community. Tempers were flaring all around the grounds and beyond. Everyone was looking at everyone else. No one knew anything.

Thirty hellish hours into the search, word finally came to Reed. A delivery van had been found fifty miles away. The people of that area hoped Chase hadn’t been in it, because it was burned and at the bottom of Deadfall Cliff. Reed ran a shaky hand through his hair as he hurried to his transport.

To Reed’s dismay, thunder cracked and rain poured from the sky. This was the second time it had rained since Chase had been taken. The rain of sorrow that fell on Reed’s heart had not stopped at all. Hope slowly trickled away. Pain seared Reed’s heart. If he could go back in time, Reed would never have left Chase’s side.

At Deadfall Cliff, Reed looked down at the burnt van and prayed Chase hadn’t been in it. As he looked down at the remains of the van, something in him snapped. The thought of Chase plunging to his death and catching on fire was more than he could mentally take. His chest felt crushed by the weight of so much sorrow and agony.

Simon had remained calm through it all. He was the one who organized the investigative team and held Reed back when he demanded to go with them. “You can’t go, Reed. It’s too dangerous. You are our king.”

Reed knew Simon was right, but he couldn’t control himself. “Let go of me, Simon. I have to go with them.”

“No. I can’t let you do this. You are too important to our people. Think, man. You are needed.” Simon tightened his grip on Reed when Reed tried to follow the team.

“Let go of me. Don’t make me hurt you.”

Simon’s blue eyes glowed with determination. “You know I can’t let you go. Not like this. You’re not yourself right now. Let me handle this situation.”

Deep down Reed knew Simon was right. But, as he watched the last investigator drop out of sight, he lost it. A driving need to see Chase had his fist connecting with Simon’s cheek.

Simon swayed but didn’t let go of Reed’s arm. “Give it up. They are gone. Let them do their job.”

Fury stormed across Reed’s nerves. Simon was keeping him from Chase. In a flash, Reed’s long hair wrapped around Simon’s wrist and tightened until Simon’s hand was forced to relax. Reed turned to the cliff and started running. Simon tackled him in a heartbeat. Reed roared his displeasure. In a quick move he rolled them until he was on top then smashed his fist into Simon’s face. Simon jerked his head out of the way of Reed’s next blow. Reed growled when his hand struck the hard ground.

“Reed, stop this,” Simon pleaded.

After jumping to his feet, Reed headed for the cliff again. Simon tackled him again. Several of their men came over, looking lost. Simon commanded them back.

Reed struggled, then head-butted Simon. “Leave me the fuck alone. I have to get to him.” Reed reared back to head-butt Simon again.

Tears of compassion flowed down Simon’s cheeks. “You leave me no choice.”