FALL (The Senses) (38 page)

Balen cursed. “We won’t let that
happen. He has sacrificed enough in his life for us.” He pulled out his cell.
“I’ll have the jet readied. Galen can work on finding the exact location on the
way to Brazil.”

****

She stood rock still, every
molecule pierced with revulsion as she stared at the knife Tarek held in his
hand. The serrated blade she knew so well, her body recalling it intimately.

“A present for you. I thought it
would give you some sort of…what shall we call it? Hmmm…an offering? Yes,
offering, I like it. I will even help you.” He held up the knife, the rising
sun glimmering off its steel blade. “What is it Delara? You look upset.”

“I’m going to gut you like a
fuckin’ Long Neck.”

Tarek threw back his head and
laughed. “Ahh, nice to see some spirit, my love.” He held out his hand. “Now,
don’t be difficult or I will have to go to the basement.” He tweaked his finger
at her. “I know you don’t want that, do you?”

She walked towards him, eyes
resolute. She’d do like he wanted for as long as he wanted. But there would be
one moment; he’d falter and she’d be ready. She was patient. Calm. Waiting for
the right moment, just like a saltwater crocodile.

He grabbed her hand and turned
her around, pulling her up against him so her back was snug to his chest. He
wrapped his arm around her waist then held the knife in front of her. She
stared out the window, watching the waves hit the rocks on the shore. She matched
her breathing to the soothing rhythm of the water.

He grabbed her arm and pulled it
out straight. “You always tried to hide the cutting from me, but I knew. I saw
the cuts and I knew why you did it.” He breathed heavily into her ear and cold
shivers slunk down her spine. He teased the side of the blade down her arm then
back up again. The steel felt like a shackle against her skin.

His lips grazed over her neck,
then nibbled on her ear. “Mmmm, I forgot how amazing you taste.” She counted
the waves. “I missed you so much.” She closed her eyes focusing on her
breathing to stop the urge to break free and risk Waleron’s life in the
process. “I want you to bleed for me, sugar.”

Her breath hitched as the point
of the blade pierced her skin and dragged down her arm. She felt the blood rise
to the surface, then slip over the barrier of the separated skin and descend
the inside of her arm like warm maple syrup.

“Do you like it, Delara?” he
whispered.

No. She hated it. She hated what
it reminded her of. The weakness of being unable to face her emotions. The loss
of the proud woman she once was. The feeling of hopelessness.

Tarek ran his finger across the
wound, blood clinging to the tip. “You see, I care about you. I know what you
need.”

Inside she screamed and shouted
and then in her imagination she grabbed the blade and tore open his throat. He
pushed her away from him and she stumbled to her hands and knees. She cursed
under her breath and fought the urge to go running at him.

Waleron.

He came up behind her and she
could hear him removing his belt.

Waleron.

His pants dropped to the floor.

She closed her eyes and counted
the waves.

Chapter
20

Delara stood looking out the
window. She was numb to Tarek’s hands and his lips on her neck, but the anger
simmered like a pot of water on low heat. Slowly boiling. Waiting for the
moment that it would finally boil over.

And it would. She would. He’d
nearly had his way. If it hadn’t been for his cell ringing… She fought him in
her head, a war of intense hatred played out, but physically she couldn’t. Not
when Waleron’s life was in the balance.

She had to find a way to escape
this room. The window was out of the question, even using physical strength and
her telekinesis she’d never be able to get through lead bars and Tarek knew
that.

Zurina’s betrayal was worse than
Tarek beating her to a pulp. She trusted Zurina, they all had; Zurina was an
ancient, a Taldeburu, a Healer and yet she’d broken it all for what—an oath?
Wasn’t loyalty to all the Senses an oath?

“Delara?”

Waleron’s voice tap danced across
her mind and she felt his warmth encase her body as if he was holding her in
his arms. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself, the warm,
humid breeze drifting through the window and clinging to her skin.

Her lungs finally breathed at the
sound of his voice.

They were like a broken jigsaw
puzzle. They appeared as if they should stay apart, but their pieces kept being
shoved together—the wrong way. They were disjointed. If they stopped fighting,
maybe they’d put the pieces back together. Because like it or not—they fit.

She was his whether he let her
back into his life or not. It just was.

She opened up her mind and let
him in, her shields crashing to the ground. He’d see all of her. Naked. Open.
No more hiding behind shields. She looked at the fresh cut on her arm and ran a
finger along the length of it. All of her.

She heard his gasp as she opened
herself up completely. She’d always felt him within her mind, but not like
this. This was raw.

“Jesus, Maitagarri.”
Waleron’s words were barely a whisper across her mind, a light
touch of his fingers caressing his skin.
“God, baby. What did he do to you?
Tell me he didn’t—”

“No, he hasn’t, but he will
soon.”

“Baby, no.”
She heard the anguish in his voice.

“I’ve always been yours,
Waleron.”

He lit up her insides like a city
on fire. No, like a goddamn country
. “Yes,”
he whispered.
“You have.”

“And we’re going to get out of
here, so you can prove it to me.”
She walked around
the room and lightly tapped on the walls, searching for any hollowness
. “If
I can reach you, can you open the door again?”

“No. The drugs have worn off a
bit now, but I suspect before long he’ll give me more so I can’t Trace. A blast
would be difficult at best. Listen to me Delara, if you can get out of here I
want you to do it.”

“No—”

“Yes. You must do this. I
survived Jasmine, and I will survive him. Besides, he won’t kill me if you are
still alive. He needs me. So—”

“No Waleron. I won’t.”
She raised her voice in her mind.

She heard him sigh and take a
deep haggard breath as if it was painful to inhale.
“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes okay. We will find a way
out together.”

That’s it? Okay? He was agreeing
with her?

“Yes, I’m agreeing with you.”

Letting him into her thoughts
freely was an odd feeling. No lies. No hiding. She just hoped he wouldn’t
either.

“I won’t hide anymore, Delara.
You will see every part of me.”

She never thought that she could
ever smile in a situation like this, but one emerged. It made her stronger.
That was all she ever wanted. To finally see him for whom he’d become and love
him just the same.

“I can take him, Waleron.”

Silence.

“It’s that rope I can’t get
around, but he hasn’t brought it here. He trusts that I’ll behave. I can take
him.”
She heard the denial in his head, the fear
for her life, but she also felt the acceptance of who she was—a Senses. This is
what she’d trained for. What he’d trained her for. Take all emotion out of it
and she could defeat Tarek.

“He brings a knife with him.
He carries another on his belt and the tranquilizer gun.”

“I know you’re capable,
Delara. You are one of the best, I suspect.”

“Not one. I am the best,”
she teased.

Silence.

“Delara?”
His voice was quiet and calm. Too calm.

“Yes?”

“When we get out of here…I
can’t…I can’t survive you leaving me. Please…I can’t breathe any longer without
you, but when you see what I’ve become…just don’t give up on me, baby.”

“Oh God, Waleron.”

Footsteps.

She turned to face the door.

“It’s him, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I love you, baby.”

The door swung open and Tarek
walked in. He locked the door behind him.

Chapter
21

“Got it!” Galen shouted.

Jedrik sighed with relief and he
and Balen were the first ones out of their seats and hovering near Galen. He
had his computer open with a picture of a rustic wooden three story house with
lush vegetation surrounding it.

Jedrik read the screen aloud, “An
island one hundred meters off the South coast of Brazil. The area surrounding
Ilha do Magalhaes is known as BaÃa dos Golfinhos—Dolphin’s Bay—Florianopolis.”

“She bought it ten years ago,”
Galen said. He clicked the mouse and took them to another page. “See here.” He
clicked again and it brought up a bank account. “And here is the transaction.”

“Brilliant,” Jedrik said,
slapping Galen on the back. “Friggin’ kick ass hacker brother you have here
Keir.”

Keir’s brows rose as he sat with
his seat belt tightened and his face looking green. Anstice held his hand, but
her comfort offered little support for his obvious fear.

“You know, it’s the safest way to
travel,” Balen offered. “Just think…if we go down it will be pain free.
Instant.”

Keir glared and Balen and Jedrik
laughed.

Ryker paced the aisle of the
plane, his long, agile legs easily covering the jet’s length in ten strides.
Jedrik was uncertain whether it had been wise letting him come. It would be his
first mission back since Hannah, but with Damien’s vanishing act and Kilter with
Rayne, they had no choice. They had no idea what they were walking into.

Xamien sat alone at the front of
the plane. He never said a word, but he did have a book in his hand. Jedrik
never saw a page turn in the ten hours of flight.

****

Tarek had been thorough, leaving
nothing in the room that could possibly be used for a weapon. There wasn’t even
a light bulb to smash and slash across his throat or a chair to break a leg off
of and plunge into his chest. The room consisted of a bed with one sheet and a
nightstand with a book which she hadn’t bothered to look at. What did he
think—she’d read?

Her eyes watched him carefully,
taking in where he had his weapons, looking for areas under his clothing where
he could be hiding others. There was a slight bulge on the outer side of his
boot on the left—a knife. The tranquilizer gun sat on his right hip with a
blade next to it and he held her blade in his hand. She suspected he had
throwing stars on him somewhere, but they were so small and flat that she’d
never distinguish their location. Her best guess was they were within reach of
his right hand. If it was her, she’d put them in the mid-thigh pocket of the
army pants, or attached to her left wrist. Since he was wearing short sleeves
that was ruled out.

“Apologies for the interruption
earlier. It seems that my supplies won’t arrive for another day or two.” Tarek
walked into the room and shut the door. He stopped beside the bed and toyed
with the edge of her blade watching her. “You aren’t a strong telepath and
Waleron is drugged. I suspect he can’t reach anyone further than a stone’s
throw. So, why do you look defiant? You know I don’t like that, Delara.” He
nodded to the bed. “Lie down. Hands above your head.”

If he tied her up she’d have no
chance. She walked slowly to the bed.

He nudged the bed with his knee
when she hesitated. “Down.”

Delara knelt on the bed, her mind
working at warp speed. Could she take him with his weight on top of her?
Waleron had taught her how to dislodge someone who had her pinned. They’d practiced
thousands of times; a few times had led to something other than grappling.
Delara lay flat on the mattress and calmly raised her hands above her head, linking
them together.

“Waleron is a danger to us.”
Tarek kept her blade in his hand as he slid onto the bed, his legs on either
side of her body, each palm holding his weight as he hovered over top. “I want
us to be happy here, Delara. Like we used to be.”

Like he used to be.

He leaned his weight to the right
so his empty hand could caress her cheek. The moment his fingers touched her
skin, she reacted, slamming her fist into his throat at the same time she
rammed her left knee into his hip, sending him off balance and to the side of
her. She pushed out from underneath him, making a lunge for the knife in his
hand.