Honor Unraveled (33 page)

“Let’s go look for them.”

Casey nodded. She turned to the two boys she’d been dancing with, but they were gone. She followed the boy across the dance floor, leaving it on the side that was nearest the woods. There wasn’t a torch on that side of the concrete platform, so they were able to slip into the woods without anyone noticing.

Casey hurried to follow the boy. The woods were shadowy. And he was wearing dark clothes. If she were more than a few steps behind him, she’d lose him fast.
 

He paused and waited for her. “I saw them come this way.”

“So did I.” Casey looked around. She didn’t think Davy and Zoe would go too far into the woods. It was supposed to have been a quick kiss. “I think we should go back and get a counselor. I don’t think they would have come this far.”

“No.” The boy took her arm and led her still deeper into the woods. They weren’t moving in a straight line. The sound from the dance was fading behind them. Casey looked back, trying to pinpoint where it was—to the left or the right behind them?

“Zoe! Zoe! Are you here?” she called out. They were far enough away that no one from the dance would have been able to hear her. “Zoe!” She stopped, forcing the boy to stop with her. “I think we should go back. This isn’t right.”

They could hear a noise behind them. Something large was running toward them. Fear knotted her muscles. This was so not good.
 

“C’mon! Something’s coming. Hurry! Follow me!” He let go of her and took off running.

Casey tripped on a branch and fell flat on her face, sprawling out across the hard ground. Whatever was chasing them was close. She gathered herself into a ball, desperately trying to remember what the counselors had told her to do if confronted by a bear. You were supposed to stand and roar and wave your arms and make yourself look big. Not run. But it couldn’t be a bear—they weren’t nocturnal. Or were they? Maybe it was a mountain lion. How did you protect yourself from a mountain lion?

She scooted over to the base of a wide tree and dug the emergencies-only alarm out from her shirt. She pressed it. Then pressed it again. Then simply squeezed it. There was no way her dad could get to her before the bear, but he could get someone who could help her.

* * *

Kit was the last to come to the table. Ivy looked up when he entered the room. The tension eased from her face when she saw him. He wondered what she was thinking, and how much longer she was going to take to come to him. If she was going to come to him at all.
 

He pulled a chair out at the table. As luck would have it, he was sitting directly opposite her. Kelan passed him a bowl of mashed potatoes. He scooped a spoonful onto his plate, then followed it up with slices of roast beef and broccoli. He shifted his focus to his food. Kathy had mentioned to Ivy how food-motivated he’d been as a kid, but now, eating was a lot like sleeping. Not something he did out of enjoyment. It was purely mechanical; he ate to fuel his body.
 

He’d gotten halfway through his meal when his phone went off with the ringtone he’d set for Casey’s emergency pager. “Shit.” He lurched to his feet and cut out to the living room to phone Selena. Her phone rang and rang without an answer.
 

He dialed Fang Lee.

“Lee here.”
Sounded like the guy was running.

“What the fuck’s going on? Selena’s not answering.”

“Some boys lured your daughter into the woods. Selena followed them. I’m cutting them off. Can’t talk now. Will call shortly with an update.”

“Dammit.” He looked up to see everyone had gathered on the steps from the dining room. “Angel, gear up. You’re with me. Greer, keep an eye on the WKBers. Let me know if they’re on the move. Rocco, get the dependents to the bunker if there’s any suspicious activity. Have the Jacksons stay here at the house just in case. Val, Kelan, Blade—get into town and position yourselves. I have a feeling the storm we’ve been waiting for is about to break.”

The guys left to gear up for their duties, leaving four frightened women standing with Rocco. Ivy came forward. “What’s happening?”

Before he could answer, Selena’s ring sounded. “Go, Selena.”

“I’ve got Casey. She’s fine.”

The tightness eased from his chest. “Let me talk to her.”

“Daddy?”

“Hi, baby. You okay?”

“I am now. I’m sorry I panicked. I got scared. And Selena sounded like a bear coming through the woods,”
she said with a choked laugh.
 

He knew she was crying and he fucking hated that she was scared. “Case, that’s why I gave you the alarm. I’m glad you used it.”

“Okay.”
She sniffled.
“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too. Put Selena on, baby.”

“Go, Kit.”

“Bring my daughter home tonight. I’m heading out to meet you.”

“Copy that, but I don’t need an escort.”

“She’s my goddamned daughter. I’ll tell you what is or isn’t needed concerning her.”

“The situation is under control. Fang and I have this covered. Come out if you want, but it isn’t necessary.”

“Call me when you hit the road.”

“Roger that.”
Selena hung up.

He looked over at the women again. Something clued Rocco into his need for private time with Ivy. He drew Mandy, Fiona, and Eden back into the dining room.
 

“What’s going on? Is Casey okay?”

“She is. She sounded her alarm, but Selena—her guard—is with her. She’s fine. Angel and I are going up to get her.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Kit reached forward and gripped Ivy’s face, his thumb at her jaw, his fingers beneath her hair. He shook his head. “No. I don’t know what we’re heading into. You’re safer here. It’s probably nothing. I could be overreacting. But if I’m not, I don’t want to have to worry about you and Casey both.”

Kit left to change into night-ops clothes and to gear up. When he came back, Ivy was standing with Angel and Rocco in the entranceway. She looked as big as a minute between the two warriors. She watched him approach. He forced himself to look away. For once, just once, he wished someone he loved would choose him first. He nodded at Rocco, ignored her, and turned to the door.

Ivy grabbed Angel’s sleeve, stopping him from following. “Keep him safe.”

He grinned, then took a step back toward her and kissed her cheek. “I always do.”

“What was that for?” Kit snapped at Angel, blocking the doorway.

“None of your goddamned business.”

“You kissed my woman.”

Angel slowly grinned. “Why, yes I did.”

“Seriously?” Val grumbled as he joined the group. “You two are fighting over a toy when we’re heading out for a mission? Do I have to ground you?” He pushed past them and went outside.

Kit tore his gaze away from Angel and glanced at Ivy. Fear chilled him in the seconds it took his gaze to connect with hers. What if it was Angel she was watching with those worried eyes? Kit had been so arrogant to think he could seduce her into remembering what they’d had.
As kids.
Didn’t she keep saying that to him?
 

And then, before he could change course, his eyes caught hers. She was smiling. At him.

An urge so primal he could no more have resisted it than he could quit breathing, pulled him across the foyer to her. He caught her around the waist in a one-handed grip, lifting her for a kiss. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, closing the distance between them. He took her mouth forcefully, in full view of his men. She laughed into their kiss, spilling her joy into him.

When she pulled away, she kissed his cheek, his jaw, then lifted her mouth to his ear. “I love you. I asked him to keep you safe.”

Heat, like from a supernova, exploded from the center of his chest. “I love you, too. I always have, Iv.”

“I know. I was a coward before. I want us, Kit. I want forever.”

He huffed a breath of air, almost afraid to believe her. “No doubts? No fears?”

“Doubts, fears, thorns, and all.”

He nodded. “Wait up for me, ’kay? If things go smoothly, we won’t be late.” He stoked her cheek. “And don’t worry; they will go smoothly.”

She smiled as she released her hold, slipping down his body back to her own feet. “I will. Bring our girl home safely. I’m sure she’s scared.”

Our girl.
Kit grinned.

“Fucking finally, you two,” Angel snapped as he went outside. “Can’t believe you found someone more stubborn than you, Kit.”

Kit reluctantly turned his attention to the night’s mission. He pointed at Rocco. “You keep her safe tonight.”

Rocco smiled and put a hand on his chest. “I’ll guard her as if she were my own. Now quit yammering and head out.”

Selena took the alarm pendant out of Casey’s hand and shoved it back beneath her T-shirt. She looked around them, her senses primed. The woods were silent. Even the crickets and frogs were quiet. They weren’t alone. And if it had been Fang, he would have identified himself.

“Casey, we have to get back. Let’s go quietly, ’kay?”

“Sure. I’m so glad you’re here,” Casey whispered as Selena gave her a hand up.
 

“We’re gonna grab your gear and head out.”

“I have to check out, or else Ms. Parker will be worried about me.”

“We have a protocol in place in case I had to bug out with you. I’ll take care of checking you out.”

“Okay.” She looked at Selena. “I didn’t know you worked for my dad.”

“Now you do. No more talking.”

Selena sent a look around them again. The moonless night was dark, the shadows cloying. She hoped suddenly she hadn’t lied to Kit about his daughter’s safety. She had her Maglite, but she didn’t want to give away her location if someone was tracking them visually. They took a step forward. The woods shifted subtly around them, as if the trees sighed.
 

As fast as that, they weren’t alone. People stepped out of their cover. Soundlessly. Not people. Children. They were dressed in black and all but one wore ski masks. Where the hell was Fang Lee? He’d come into the woods with her. They’d separated almost immediately as he went after Casey’s friend Zoe. He should have caught up to her by now.

She backed Casey to a tree, then stepped in front of her. “Casey, I know that you can fight,” she said, speaking over her shoulder. “I’ve been sparring with you for a month. These aren’t friends. This isn’t a game. These are enemies. No one who accosts females in the woods at night is a friend. Got it?”

Casey made an affirmative sound. Selena didn’t take her eyes off the hellspawn surrounding them as she speed-dialed Lee. No answer.
 

One of the boys, taller than the others—taller than she was—stepped forward. He removed his mask. His hair was shaved close to his head. Something was wrong with his eyebrows, but in the dim light, she couldn’t quite make out what it was.

Another boy came forward. He held something coiled in his hand. He walked around them once, twice, shining his flashlight on Selena’s breasts. “So,” he said to the tall boy, “what can we do with them? They’re our captives, after all.”

“Nothing,” the tall one said. “We can follow our orders.”

Selena laughed. “Your parents know you’re out here playing Hunger Games? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Shut up, bitch,” the short boy snapped.

“Fucking make me.” Selena opened her arms and gave him an insolent shrug.

The kid uncoiled his riata and sent it slashing through the night. Selena instinctively moved to keep it from Casey, letting her body take the hit. He was fast, getting in two strokes before the tall boy grabbed his arm on the next downward swing, though not before the tip sliced across her jaw.

“Enough, Mouse. You forget yourself.” He took the riata away and tossed it into the woods. The boy rushed after his weapon.

Selena flashed her Maglite at the leader, cataloging his features. Something told her this wouldn’t be the last time she saw him. Instead of shying away from the light, he walked into its path, stopping barely a foot away from her. The beam splashed across his face. She realized what was odd about his eyebrows. He had none. Where they should have been were scrolling blue tattoos that formed the words “Fear The” and “Lion.”

“Who’s the lion?” Selena asked.

“I am.”

“Why should I fear you?” she scoffed.

He ignored her insult. “You’re a warrior.” Where that was going, she couldn’t guess. “And you’re a female.” He frowned, his head tilted slightly.

“Huh. You have an amazing grasp of reality. Shocking for the Lord of the Flies, really.”

“It’s time, Lion,” another of the boys announced.
 

The boy named Lion reached for her flashlight and turned it off. In the instant darkness, there was another sigh among the trees around them, then the boys were gone. Selena cursed a blue streak as she grabbed Casey’s arm and pulled her into a jog beside her. “That was too fucking weird. Are you hurt?” she asked Casey.