Embracing Silence (7 page)

“And look what that got you,” he muttered. Still, he couldn’t really blame her. He’d captured her and kept her captive. She’d had no way of knowing he’d planned to release her and return to her home with her.

Grabbing his coat, he slipped it on. At least she hadn’t taken his knife from his boot and gutted him with it. All the other weapons were hidden in the ruins of the building. That meant Silence was running around in the outer city, unarmed.

Leaving everything behind, he headed for the door and was pleasantly surprised to find it unlocked. He’d half expected her to bar him in and keep him prisoner until she could return with Adrian and his band of rebels.

One corner of his mouth turned up as he slid out the door. It was dark, about midnight by the look of the night sky. It was a fairly clear night for a change. A rarity to be sure. He looked up at the vastness, enjoying the sight of the moon.

His head snapped back down and to the right. Someone was there.

Moving silently, he ghosted through the ruins, gathering his weapons from where he’d stashed them in several locations. When he was armed, he went up. Most people never thought to look up, not when the building was unstable. But Tienan had thoroughly explored the area when he’d chosen it as a base. He knew where to step and where to avoid. He’d also set some traps to discourage any curious trespassers.

The clear night was now a curse and he found himself wishing that the air was heavy with smog and fog as it usually was. But there was no changing Mother Nature. All he could do was work with what he had. Fortunately, that was his specialty.

He could hear more of them now, and see them. An entire squadron of security police was spreading out around the building. His muscles tensed as he caught a glimpse of the man at the head of the squadron. General Caruthers.

The man might be in his late fifties, but he was in better shape than a man half his age. His iron gray hair was cut ruthlessly short. His lips were thin and hinted at the cruelty of the man himself. Tienan knew the General’s face as well as he knew his own. He’d fantasized for years about killing him. His enemy had come to claim him.

How had they found him?

Silence.

He didn’t want to believe it, but there was no other explanation. She hadn’t locked him in the building because there had been no need to. She’d turned him in to the General and his security force.

Betrayal hit him like a sledgehammer. Breathing was almost impossible. His chest felt as though it were being ripped apart. He ignored the pain, channeled it, used it to fire his determination as he slowly worked his way toward his escape route.

There would be a reckoning. Silence would pay for her betrayal. He’d make sure of it.

“You’ve got to help me,” Silence pleaded with Adrian for what seemed like the one-hundredth time. “The security police were just moving in when I slipped out. I think General Caruthers himself was there.” The glimpse she’d caught of the man was enough to chill her blood. His cruelty and ruthlessness were the stuff of nightmares. She couldn’t bear to think of Tienan caught in his clutches.

“I barely got out as it was. I couldn’t go back to warn him without being caught. There’s no way Tienan could have escaped.”

“Then he’s gone and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Logical as ever, Adrian sat at the head of a scarred wooden table, legs stretched out in front of him and his elbows propped on the arms of his chair. His fingers were steepled together as he contemplated her. “And after what he did, I’m not inclined to mount a rescue.”

“He didn’t hurt me.” For some reason, she felt compelled to defend Tienan. Maybe it was the guilt she was feeling for leaving him.

She closed her eyes, not wanting to think about that. He’d been sleeping on the pallet, legs sprawled, arms wrapped around the blanket she’d bunched up and left beside him. It had taken all her willpower to make herself leave the warmth and comfort of his embrace. She felt safe there. And that was crazy considering he’d all but kidnapped her.

It had been her duty to escape and to return to the base camp and tell Adrian about him. Then why did she feel as though she was betraying him?

“Are you sure?” Her eyes snapped open to find Adrian watching her. He reminded her so much of Tienan at that moment, she wanted to cry. Not in physical appearance. Adrian was blond haired and blue eyed. But in temperament.

“I’m sure.” Her voice softened, but she could do nothing about it. Memories of the time she’d spent in Tienan’s arms were ones she’d treasure for the rest of her life.

“I see,” Adrian responded, his voice neutral. And she was afraid he did see. He knew her better than anyone else.

“Please,” she begged. Going to his side, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’ve never asked you for anything since I first met you.”

Adrian stared up at her, unblinking.

“I’m asking now. I need to know what happened to him. Maybe he escaped them. Maybe we can still intercept the security squadron that took him.”

He shook his head.

Silence fell to her knees beside him. “I’m begging you to do this one thing for me.”

Adrian sighed and leaned forward, cupping her face in his hands. “You mistake me, Silence. I will do this for you, but it’s useless. If he’s not dead, he’ll soon wish he were. If you’re right and General Caruthers has him, then there’s nothing we can do for him.”

They both knew the General would torture Tienan. And it would be a long and painful process. Tienan had escaped from the inner city and the General would make an example of him. Whatever happened to Tienan wouldn’t be pleasant.

She sprang to her feet. “We’ve got no time to waste.”

Adrian pushed to his feet and called his second-in-command. Derrick was at his side in an instant. “Sir.” He stood at attention, awaiting orders.

“Get a squad together, we’re going out.”

Derrick glanced at Silence but asked no questions. They’d all known she’d been missing for over two days but no one knew exactly where she’d been or what had happened to her. She’d rather keep it that way.

“Sir,” he responded again before turning on his heel and hurrying off.

Impulsively, Silence hugged Adrian. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” He brought his hand up to rest on the crown of her head. “We haven’t found him yet. And if we do, he and I are going to have a little chat. He may wish the General had taken him by the time I’m done with him.”

Her stomach lurched at his deadly tone, but she ignored it. One problem at a time. First they had to get to Tienan.

Pulling away from Adrian’s embrace, she hurried to her duffle bag beside her pallet to rearm herself. By the time she got outside the abandoned warehouse that was their current base, a group had assembled. She knew them all. Every last one of them was a battle-hardened veteran.

Giving them a nod, she took her place at the front beside Adrian. “This way.” Not giving herself a chance to think about what they might find, she led the way through the twisting streets of the outer city. She skirted around buildings and through alleyways. They had to stop twice to let security patrols pass. There seemed to be an abnormally high number of them out and about. Usually they would have engaged the enemy but not tonight.

It seemed to take forever for them to reach the ruins of the building where Tienan and she had first met. It was almost dawn. The sun was just starting to break over the mountains in the east. Silence felt her heart pounding so hard against her chest she was afraid everyone else could hear it.

The quiet was disturbing. Not even a rat scrabbled down the alleyway where she and Adrian had hunkered down. “This is the place,” she whispered, barely making a sound.

“Wait here,” Adrian ordered as he began to silently glide toward the building.

For the second time since he’d taken her in and given her a home and a purpose, she disobeyed a direct order. Moving from her spot behind a rusted Dumpster, she followed him. He turned and glared at her, sensing her presence the moment she got within a few feet of him. She shrugged and crept by him, leading the way.

The door was wide open, but still she moved with caution as she entered the basement, her feet making no sound on the gravel and brick. The table and chairs were upended on the floor, the remains of the candles smashed beside them. The pallet was still in the corner, the blanket that had covered her tossed aside.

Walking blindly toward it, she picked up the blanket and held it to her chest. It smelled of damp earth and sex and Tienan. Folding it carefully, she tucked the blanket beneath her arm. “We have to see if we can catch the squadron that captured him.” Not looking at Adrian, she headed for the door.

He caught her in his arms before she had one foot outside the room. “It’s too late, Silence. Either they have him or he’s gone.”

“No.” She wouldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe it. Not Tienan.

“Yes.” Releasing her, he squinted into the darkness. “There is nothing more we can do.” Leaving her there, he headed toward the door and the light of the day.

Tears burned her eyes but she wouldn’t let them fall. It was useless to cry. That was one lesson she’d learned at a very young age. Her steps were leaden as she forced herself to follow Adrian. All she wanted to do was curl up on the pallet they’d shared and cry and scream and curse the fates.

She did neither.

She was stronger than that. Pausing, she took one last look around the room. Her prison really. But it had been more than that, as Tienan had been much more than her foe and captor.

“You only knew him a couple of days,” she reminded herself.

It didn’t matter.

Somehow, against all reason, she’d fallen in love with her dark warrior. Her chest ached with a longing that would never be filled. She’d never see Tienan again.

Gripping the blanket tighter, she held her head high and stepped out of the room. Taking hold of the door, she let it fall closed with a solid thud. Adrian was waiting at the edge of the ruined building. Several sentries were keeping watch, but Silence could feel their eyes on her, watching for a sign of weakness.

Keeping her expression blanket, she walked past Adrian, neither of them speaking as they headed back to the rebel camp.

Chapter Five

Tienan watched the comings and goings from the shadows as he had for the past three days. He’d caught a glimpse of Silence once. She’d had her head down, walking beside a man who oozed confidence and control. This had to be Adrian, the leader of the resistance movement.

She’d had a blanket clutched tight to her chest. He’d recognized it as the one they’d shared. Anger burned in his gut. So the traitor had returned to make certain he was gone. He pushed all soft thoughts of her aside. She was treacherous, a betrayer of the worst kind.

He wouldn’t be satisfied until she’d paid for her transgression. His need to meet with Adrian had been superseded by his need to punish Silence for her betrayal. All his intellect and energy was focused on that goal.

They were a well-organized group, he’d give them that much. Who came and went from the dilapidated warehouse seemed to be carefully controlled. Patrols went out and came back on a regular basis.

There was one oddity. A slender man in his mid-to-late twenties seemed to come and go at odd times, slipping out and returning with no one seeming to be the wiser. Perhaps he was sneaking off to be with a lover.

Outwardly Tienan was calm and in control. Inside he could barely contain his fury. He was overdue for his meeting with Logan, but he couldn’t make himself leave the outside of the rebel camp. Even as he loathed his weakness, he longed for a glimpse of Silence.

His empty belly protested, but he ignored it. Food and sleep had become secondary to his need to recapture Silence. She’d go out eventually and, when she did, he’d be ready for her.

He’d followed them back to their compound three days ago before heading off to another one of his safe houses around the outer city. There were dozens of them scattered for miles. It was a precaution he and Logan had set up as soon as they’d arrived. That way, if they were being pursued they had bolt-holes where they could wait out the heat.

Thankfully, there was one not far from here and it hadn’t been compromised. Tienan was careful to always check to make certain no one else had been there. He and Logan left signs for one another if they used one of the safe places so the other one would know it was still okay to use it.