Night Visions (Night Series) (25 page)

Had Sam connected with a wolf spirit? If so, then nothing she told him made sense. If she wasn't a prisoner, why would she jump out of the window?

"Okay." Ian pushed himself to his feet, anxious to find Sam. "Let's start there. Mack and his team can hit the north side and we'll circle round and meet in the middle." He raised a brow in Trent's direction. "Think you can handle the guards on the perimeter?"

"No problem. Once they've been dispatched, I'll give you the signal."

"And what about Scott?" Logan asked.

Swinging his hardened gaze around the group, Ian met eyes with each person that would risk their life for Sam. "If anyone comes across Scott, leave him for me."

A smidge of guilt burned in his gut. If Sam honestly loved Scott, destroying him would hurt her. Something Ian swore he'd never do again. But could he stand by and let him kill his friends? Would Sam?

While Ian waged his own internal battle, the first line of defense had already broken the estate's perimeter. No matter the outcome between Ian and Sam, he would find another way to make Scott pay.

* * *

A full moon hung in the night sky. It's beam cast an eerie glow over the vast ground in front of Sam's window. On any other occasion, she would have thought the sight beautiful. Would have sat curled up on her porch with a blanket and a glass of wine, basking in the tranquility of the moonlight. But not tonight. Tonight the air was charged with unease. The voices in her head unsettled.

She wouldn't find tranquility tonight.

The lock on the door clicked behind her. She spun from the window, waiting to see who would enter, but the door remained closed. Crossing the room, she rested her hand on the knob, listening for a sound from the other side.

But all was quiet.

Taking a chance, she twisted the knob, surprised to feel it turn freely in her hand. She eased the door open, sticking her head out into the hall. Whoever unlocked it had disappeared.

While she didn't know if that was a good thing or not, she refused to waste an opportunity for escape. She started down the corri
dor then stopped in her tracks. A faint smell burned her nose.

Tipping her head back, she inhaled the scent. Antiseptic. She couldn't mistake that smell, since most of the rooms held a trace of it. But here, it was stronger. And the more she moved forward, the more intense the scent grew.

She slowed her pace as she approached a landing overlooking a two-story foyer. A chandelier with hundreds of twinkling crystals hung in the center. She pressed her back to the wall when a guard crossed the floor below.

Damn. That was close. She needed to be more careful.

Crouching low, she hurried to the other side. She sucked in a breath when her hip grazed an antique table, causing a vase to wobble back and forth. Crashing glass would echo off every wall if it fell to the floor. Then she could kiss her freedom goodbye.

Pressing her palms to the smooth glass, she set it back in place before continuing down the hall. With a quick glance over her shoulder, she prayed that no one heard. Her nose twitched as the smell amplified. It had to be the wolf in her.

She stopped at the first door. Glancing from side to side to confirm she was still alone, she angled her head until her ear pressed against the cool wood. She listened for voices or movement. The only sound was the steady beep of what sounded like a heart monitor.

With great care, she pushed the door open, crossing the threshold into a room similar to hers. Floral comforters were folded at the foot of twin hospital beds on opposite sides of the room. Thick matching draperies masked the moonlight outside. The soft glow from the bedside lamps cast shadows across the room. With her heightened senses she could hear the slow drip of saline from the IV bags.

Who were these people? She approached the bed on the far right. A young woman with auburn hair rested peacefully. A quick scan of her body revealed no visible wounds. She shot a glance across the room where a young boy lay. Judging by his smooth skin, he couldn't be older than seventeen.

What were they doing here? Jason said he needed to stop the evil going on at the hands of Dr. Kingston. Is that what he meant? To save these people? Was Dr. Kingston performing some kind of experiments on them?

She reached a trembling hand forward, resting it on the woman's arm. At Sam's touch, the woman flinched, her heart monitor chirping in protest. Sam's eyes dropped to her face. She jumped back when she found her staring.

"Are you okay?"

"Help me," the woman whispered.

"Who are you?"

The woman licked her lips then her eyes fell closed. Sam thought she had passed out, when she opened them again.

"My name is Amanda. Where's my brother?"

Sam gestured toward the bed across from her, now noticing the same auburn hair. "He's here. Do you know what happened to you?"

Shaking her head, the girl's eyes fluttered shut again. Sam waited for them to open, but the girl remained frozen.

As her stomach clenched, Sam fought the urge to throw up. How could Scott be involved in something like this? She needed to get help. To find Jason.

Looking from Amanda to her brother, she warred with her conscience. How could she leave them here? Even for a moment.

Raised voices accompanied the thump of footsteps running through the hall. The noise drew her attention to the door. Her nerve endings began to hum as heat coiled through her body. An explosion outside the window rocked the building.

Ian.

He'd found her.

CHAPTER 23

Ian's chest constricted when he entered the deserted room. He knew before he opened the door that Sam wasn't inside. His steady heartbeat
confirmed it. If she had been there, his bond to her would have caused a change in his pulse.

"Maybe this is the wrong room." Cara s
aid, following him inside.

The unmade bed and
discarded sheet confirmed they were in the right place. But how did she end up in this room again? Why escape and then come back to take a nap.

A splash of white against the cream sheets caught his attention. Walking to the bed, he found a gauze bandage, tinted with blood. Sam's blood.

Fire snaked through his veins. They'd hurt her. Did this happen after their conversation? Was she still alive? Spinning, he raced toward the door. Cara caught his arm, stopping him before he exited the room.

"What's wrong?"

Flinging his hand toward the bed he growled, "They hurt her. The game has changed now." His promise to not hurt Scott was terminated when they shed her blood.

"Ian
, we have to be cautious. You have to set your feelings for her aside if we are going to get through this."

Jerking his arm out of her grasp, he stormed toward the door. "We've been cautious and look where that got us."

As he entered the hall, the floor shifted beneath his feet. The deafening boom rattled the windows. Shouts erupted from the floor below.

Sam.

So much for the element of surprise. He raced to the end of the hall. Before he could reach the back stairs, a man in camouflage stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Without stopping, Ian's fist lashed out, slamming into the man's nose. His eyes rolled back in his head, his body cracked against the wall before sliding to the floor.

Ian's feet skimmed
the steps, taking them two at a time. He didn't need to look behind him to know Cara was only a step away. What had gone wrong? They were supposed to enter undetected. But something had gone wrong.

Shouldering through the door, he squinted through the thick smoke engulfing the compound. The fumes burned a path to his lungs. Cara gripped his shoulder, her eyes wide with fear.

He settled his hand over hers. "Once we find her, you take her and run."

A shout across the yard drew his attention away from her. He narrowed his eyes, st
udying the form in front of him. Blood pounded in his ears. Scott stood twenty feet away, barking orders to one of his men. All sound left the compound, except for the rapid thump of Ian's heart. He stalked toward him, ignoring everything around him. This was the man that put Sam's life in danger. That stole her away from him. And right now, all that mattered was kicking his ass.

* * *

Without thinking, Sam flung open the door and raced into the vacant hall. She hesitated, turning back toward the two occupied hospital beds. With a heavy heart, she swore she would come back for them. The only way to accomplish that was to prevent her premonition from coming true.

Running toward the stairs
, she prayed to Adirah.
Please tell me what to do! What is the point of knowing the future if I can't change it?

Familiar faces greeted her in the foyer. Trent's ranch hands battled Scott's guards. A battle that didn't look good considering they were outnumbered two to one. Still, they seemed to be holding their own. She scanned the group, searching for Ian. Where was he?

A tightening began in her belly, urging her forward. She slipped past the fighting men and followed the corridor leading to the back of the house.

Muffled grunts filtered through the back door. Her bond with Ian intensified with each step she took.

Pushing open the door, Sam stumbled back at the sight in front of her. A thin haze of smoke hovered over the left side of the compound. Dozens of men scattered across the landscape, sparring with one another. Some lay unconscious or dead on the ground.

Sucking in a deep breath
, she entered the war zone. Cara's blonde hair caught her attention just as her foot connected with a man's stomach, knocking him off his feet. Sam shouted a warning as another man approached her from behind.

"Behind you, Cara!" she yelled, crossing the compound in her friend's direction. Hearing Sam's warning, Cara shifted into wolf form. Turning
, she vaulted at her assailant's neck, her teeth tearing his jugular. The man didn't have time to scream before he collapsed to the ground. Within seconds another enemy had taken his place.

Continuing towards Cara, Sam's eyes darted back and forth, unable to locate Ian. She felt his presence tug at her core. But why couldn't she see him? She'd almost reached Cara when a cougar ran straight for
Sam, teeth bared like that night in the woods. Familiar eyes pierced her heart.

Eve.

Damn
... She shouldn't have trusted her.

Her hands swung up in front of her, as if they alone could stop Eve. Maybe if she were in wolf form she could, but there was no time to change. She braced for the impact, but Eve raced past her. Sam spun just as Eve slammed into a wolf that approached from behind. They nipped and clawed at each other. If Eve hadn't sealed her fate before by helping Sam, she definitely welded it shut tonight.
There would be a bounty on her head now.

Drawing her attention away from the battle, her bond with Ian tugged at her core again. Letting the pull guide her, she dodged the fighting bodies. Her only concern, reaching Ian in time.

And then he came into view. Along with his opponent.

She sucked in a breath, fighting to keep her knees from buckling at the sight of Scott and Ian. She stood frozen, watching the two men she loved locked
in battle. It tore at her soul.

But the longer she stared, the more something seemed off. Scott didn't advance on Ian, only deflected his blows.

She wanted to scream at both of them, to beg them to stop this madness when arms banded around her, pinning her in place. She dug her heels in the soft earth, as she was dragged backward. The screams meant for Scott and Ian lost among the chaos unfolding around her.

Chaos brought on because of her.

Jason crossed her line of vision. Two men circled him, one with a knife gripped in his hand. The assailant's arm stabbed at Jason, he deflected it, but not before it grazed his side. A seam of blood stained his shirt. Trent joined him, taking on the second man. His lips curled in a snarl.

More men filed out of the mansion. Scattering across the compound. Sam kicked her legs back, her fingers digging in to the arms tightening their hold on her.

She had to help. Before it was too late.

Fire uncoiled inside her, burning a path through her veins. Voices traveled through her mind, shattering the lock that held her prisoner for so long. Her lips parted as a foreign chant spilled free. Her fury bubbled to the surface, directed at every evil being around her. The man holding her
began to spasm, then collapsed to the ground.

Allowing herself to draw strength from the Goddesses, lights exploded all around, showering sparks over the compound. Clouds rolled in from the south, covering the light of the moon as sheets of rain released from the sky. Each cold drop against her face nearly blinded her.

Thunder rumbled above, drowning out the screams that sliced through her head. Then a crack boomed so loud the earth shook like the force of an earthquake. The light that followed lit up the compound, revealing bodies littering the ground. Volts of electricity slashed out and then all was silent.