Jarrett, AJ - Miles's Awakening [Warriors of the Light 1] (Siren Publishing Allure ManLove) (12 page)

“Yes, the men that were with me got out. What about you? Did the twins get out in time?”

Ben looked around him. Off to the side he saw Lachlan helping his brother to his feet. He sighed in relief at their luck. Of the six men who entered the building, they all miraculously made it out alive.

“They’re okay. A little banged up but no worse for wear.”

With the knowledge all his men were all right, the man’s last words played back through his head. He said that Malcolm had fooled them and had asked if he’d said good-bye to Miles.

Shit! Not good.
Ben took off running through the trees to his vehicle. They were set up and Malcolm had plotted to use this diversion to kidnap Miles.

Oh god, how could he have been so stupid? The sounds of heavy panting and footfalls followed him. As he neared the cars, he saw Quinn coming through the trees across from him. The minute he met his friend’s eyes, he saw the same realization had hit Quinn as well.

“Load up. This was all a setup. We need to get home,” Ben shouted as he climbed into his car and started the engine. He peeled out, throwing rock and dirt in his wake. The fear of what he would discover upon arrival back at the mansion had his blood frozen in his veins. Never in his life had Ben been so afraid.

Ben and Quinn drove back to the house in silence. Quinn hadn’t admitted anything, but Ben had the distinct impression Trevor meant more to Quinn than just someone he found attractive. If his suspicions were correct, Quinn was worried just as much as he was about what would greet them when they arrived home. The worse of those fears was death, but Malcolm wanted Miles alive, which meant he more than likely abducted Miles and took him to god only knew where. As they neared their estate, nothing looked out of ordinary. The lights were on like they had left them and nothing to raise suspicion such as a broken window or open doors. The only thing Ben found odd was Jensen and Cabot were nowhere in sight.

When out on patrol it was a given to check out any approaching vehicles nearing the property. Anyone could be a threat, and right now they were on high alert.

“Where are Cabot and Jensen? They should have shown themselves by now,” Quinn said, panic making his voice rise. “What is going on?”

With the car parked, Ben flung the door open and jumped out. Taking the steps two at a time, he pushed open the front door. What he saw had him gasping for breath. On the floor, in a puddle of blood, lay Trevor. Miles was nowhere in sight.

Ben was pushed aside as Quinn ran into the room. His shout of pain rang throughout the house. Quinn fell to his knees next to Trevor. He mumbled words into Trevor’s hair, but Ben couldn’t make out the words. His heart beating out of control put a mute on all other sounds around him.

As the room filled with the warriors, Ben came back to his senses. “Abner and Finn, go look out front for Jensen and Cabot. Lawson and Lachlan, check upstairs for any signs of Miles.”

His men nodded their understanding and headed to their assigned destinations. Ben knew it was all for nothing. Miles wasn’t in the house. He could feel it in his bones. Malcolm had snatched his mate away and had plotted so easily to do so. Ben was a pawn in Malcolm’s game, and he got played hard. His need to keep Miles safe had him rushing into action without a thought in the world. Distractions got men killed, and this distraction cost him his mate.

Ben dropped down next to Quinn, who cradled Trevor close to his chest. “Is he alive?” he whispered as he reached out a hand to touch Trevor’s neck.

“Don’t touch my mate,” Quinn growled.

Ben brought his hands up in a surrender-type gesture. Now wasn’t the time to get into a pissing match over trying to help out his friend. The news of Trevor being his mate wasn’t that much of a shock, and later he would question his friend on how that was possible when Trevor seemed oblivious to the mating bond.

“Quinn, is he alive?” Ben asked again.

He watched as his friend caressed his hand down the side of his mate’s face. Tears ran freely from Quinn’s eyes. Quinn lifted his hand to Trevor’s face and pulled up on the man’s lip. Two small fangs protruded from where the upper cuspids hung down. “Yes, but he’s been turned.”

“Motherfucker,” Ben yelled as he stood up to pace the entryway. Malcolm turned poor Trevor against his will. Old laws stated that any human turned by an evil paranormal had to be killed on sight. The thought was if a human was turned by evil, they would be evil. From years of working with good and bad paranormals, Ben knew that statement to be untrue and had convinced the council of such. It was what lived in a person’s soul that made them good or bad, not who turned them. But nevertheless, he would have to get a pardon of sorts for Trevor, and he would have to be magically marked by one of the witches at headquarters to show other paranormals that he wasn’t evil.

Ben watched as Quinn rocked Trevor back in forth in his arms. His dear friend looked so lost. “Quinn, it’s going to be okay.”

“Really? You can stand there and say that to me. Your mate is missing, and mine had been turned into a vampire.” Quinn looked up at him with cold eyes. “Tell me how any of this is going to be okay.” Quinn stood up and carried his mate up the stairs.

Ben ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn’t have an answer for Quinn. His mate was missing, and he didn’t even know where to begin looking for him. His heart skipped a beat just thinking about what could be happening to his mate. He needed to get Miles back.

“Oh god, what will I do without him?” Ben whispered to himself as he continued to pace the marble floor.

“Ben, no sign of Miles upstairs.”

“Or down here or the lower level,” Cason said as he entered the room.

Ben opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Finn carrying Jensen through the front door.

“They’ve been shot. Looks like silver buckshot,” Finn said as he laid Jensen on the floor.

Abner walked in a little slower, carrying Cabot like a small child in his arms. “Cabot didn’t make it, boss.”

Ben ran to his men. Things just kept getting worse. He had known Cabot for over two hundred years, and now he was dead. Lost to a never-ending battle of good versus evil. There was no rhyme or reason why this happened. It just did. Dark and light warriors fought, and when they battled, people died. Sometimes he lost one of his own, but knowing that didn’t make the situation any easier.

“We need to dig it out before it infects Jensen’s bloodstream.”

With all the urban legends surrounding paranormals, silver was the only one Hollywood got right. If silver lingered in the blood for too long, it would poison its victim and kill them slowly and very painfully.

“I got it. Move aside, will you,” Liam said as he came into the room carrying a first aid kit. Before Liam became a shifter, he was a med student. Granted that was forty years ago, but the same principles still applied when removing bullets, or silver in their case.

The sound of someone screaming from upstairs had Ben running up the steps. He threw open Trevor’s bedroom door to see the man clawing at Quinn’s face and arms. This was normal behavior for a newly turned vampire. The changes in their body had them hypersensitive to light, sound, and touch. And the traumatic way Trevor became a vamp had to be swirling around his mind, scaring the hell out of him.

“Don’t touch me,” Trevor shrieked as he moved to the far end of the bed, trying to get away from Quinn.

“Please, baby, it’s me, Quinn. Don’t you remember me?”

Trevor stopped fighting Quinn and stared at him. Recognition flooded his eyes, and Ben stepped further into the room. Trevor jerked when he saw Ben coming closer to the bed.

“Miles.” Trevor’s head turned from side to side and he gasped for breath. “Oh my god, Miles. They took him.” His voice cracked as he started to sob into his hands.

“Baby, stop crying. We’re going to find him,” Quinn crooned as he pulled Trevor into his lap. “But we need to know what happened.”

Trevor nodded as he cried. After a few deep breaths, he started to talk. “You guys had just left. Miles said, ‘Let’s watch a movie.’ We were going to go to the kitchen to pop popcorn when the doorbell rang.” The pained expression on Trevor’s face broke Ben’s heart. “The next thing I knew, Miles was screaming for me to run, but it was too late. This man grabbed me and dragged me to the living room.”

Trevor started to cry again, and Quinn quietly stroked the younger man’s hair as he sobbed into his shirt. “Miles said he would do whatever Malcolm wanted if they just left me alone.”

Ben dropped down in to the side chair next to the window. Miles sacrificed himself to save Trevor. He admired that about his mate, but also thought it foolish. In the end, Malcolm still did as he chose. He turned Trevor and took Miles. There was never any winning when it came to pure evil.

Quinn held Trevor as he cried. After a few deep breaths, he pulled out of Quinn’s embrace. “This man, he was strong, and I couldn’t fight him.” Trevor’s eyes dropped to look at the floor. “He bit me.” He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt then looked up to meet Ben’s gaze. “He said to enjoy it while it lasted because you would kill me since I was turned by evil.”

Ben shook his head. “No, Trevor, those are old laws. I just need to call the council and inform them of the situation. There are procedures that need to be followed but, no, I will not have to kill you.”

The relief on Trevor’s face made Ben feel a little better, but the pain still burned deep inside him. Miles was missing, and he didn’t even know where to begin to search for his mate. Tears stung at the back of his eyes at the thought of never seeing Miles again.

“Boss.” Ben looked up to see Lachlan standing in the doorway. “Jensen woke up.” Ben nodded for the man to continue. “He got a license plate number.” The man shrugged. “It could lead us to Malcolm.”

Ben nodded. “Have Liam and Elias get on it. It’s not much, but it’s all we have to go on.” He stood and walked toward the door. “I want all the warriors out looking for any leads that might point us in the direction of Malcolm’s whereabouts.”

“Ben?”

He turned at the sound of Trevor’s soft voice. “Yes.”

“I’m so sorry.” Tears overcame Trevor, and his words came out broken.

“It’s going to be okay, Trevor. We’re going to find him.” Ben gave him a small smile. “Promise.”

Ben walked out of the room hoping he just didn’t lie to Miles’s cousin. In the end no matter what, he would never stop looking for Miles. One way or another he would find his mate.

Chapter Nine

“How do you play this game again?”

Miles held back a sigh as he once again tried to explain a simple child’s game to Astrid. The man had no knowledge of the outside world and in all rights mentally came off as a child. But Miles knew it wasn’t Astrid’s fault. No, it was Malcolm’s for holding the poor man prisoner for over a hundred years without feeding him knowledge of the outside world.

It saddened Miles to know all the things Astrid had never seen, experienced, or even eaten. When he told Astrid he was dying for a hamburger and chocolate shake, the man asked him what those things were. Astrid had only ever eaten the slop Malcolm allowed him to have.

Miles laid on the floor next to the air vent on the wall. He had discovered a few days back that his room was next door to Astrid’s, and he and the gentle man could talk back and forth to one another without being caught by Malcolm or his goons. Every couple of hours the guards would come to check on him or bring him food. Miles never spoke to them and just gave the men dirty looks. Begging for their help in escape would be a waste of time. The mean bastards were loyal to Malcolm and would never betray him. Even poor Astrid did as he was told, but out of fear not loyalty.

He believed a week had passed since he was brought to this prison but wasn’t quite sure. The only comfort he had was his talks with Astrid. Explaining and describing things to the man kept his mind off Ben.