Redemption (11 page)

The kids all nodded quickly.

“That includes him.” She motioned toward Deimos. “Understood?”

“But he’s…”

“Understood?” Camryn’s voice rose. They all nodded and took a step back. “Excellent. Now, Mira here doesn’t know who Deimos is and neither will anyone else who enters this cell.”

“But—” Caleb interrupted.

Camryn grabbed the boy’s shoulder and squeezed until his gaze latched onto hers. “This isn’t up for discussion, Caleb. I’m in charge from here on out. You’ve done an excellent job, but it’s time to follow and learn. A leader’s primary objective is securing his squad, which means knowing when to cede control to a more experienced warrior. When we have time and are alone, you may ask whatever you’d like so you can learn. Okay?”

The boy nodded.

“Good. Now, Lorn and Remy, I need you two to focus your energies and learn how to hold the shield I’m about to construct around
Deimos
. The three of us will maintain it until we reach Redemption, or until he wakes up. It won’t require much strength, but it’ll mask his aura and identity from everyone to keep him safe until he’s awake enough to defend himself.”

“He needs to heal more even after he wakes up,” Nessie said.

“Yes, but by then he can tell us who we can and can’t trust. Did he give any names? Did you see anyone specific at Rum River we know can’t be trusted?”

“No,” Kandon growled. “Even with his shield, he’ll be vulnerable. I will shadow him until the traitor is identified and destroyed. No one will harm him unless they come through me.”

“How many people survived Rum River?” Nessie asked.

Camryn regarded them with a grim expression. “Kadal lived after months of healing. There were no others.”

The kids regarded one another. Horror and terror crossed their faces, followed quickly by rage. They closed the distance between them and Deimos.

Rum River. Deimos had spoken about the battle, implied there’d been a betrayal much like the one Mira had experienced. He’d never assigned guilt to anyone, only said the one person he could trust was Kadal. Whoever he was, he wasn’t here, which left Mira wondering what she should do next.

“Mira!”

The thundering shout made her jump. Adrik.

“Fuck, he noticed you gone quicker than I expected. Quick, run what interference you can. I need a couple more moments with my team.”

Mira nodded. Clearly the woman had been around children enough to understand how critical it was to include them. Despite the filth and evident starvation, they all beamed with pride and determination to keep the ravaged husk of a man she’d known as Deimos alive and safe.

She moved quickly down the corridor toward Adrik. They’d paused and entered her old cell. Fractured shards of her horrific experience flashed within her mind, but she kept moving until the warmth of his embrace pushed the terror from her bloodstream.

Peyton, Ren, Marek, Blade and all his crew were with him. Uncertainty made her study them all a moment. Was trusting Camryn to do whatever she was doing wise? She didn’t exactly know the woman, yet she’d saved her from Hank. And handled the children Mira hadn’t realized existed.

Seemed to know who Deimos was, and had agreed no one should be trusted.

More importantly, it’s what Deimos had wanted, so for now, Mira intended to say nothing. Follow along like a compliant member of the pseudo team Camryn had concocted.

“What the fuck is this place?” Marek looked around. “Christ, there’s blood everywhere.”

Ren walked over to the corner where she’d… “I’m gonna be sick.”

“That’s disgusting!” Peyton held her nose and glared at Mira. “What the hell are you doing down here?”

“Fulfilling my promise.” Mira looked around, determined to add a few moments to Camryn’s working time—for Deimos’s sake. “And I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my cage cleaner. They didn’t exactly care.”

“This was where you were kept?” Adrik asked, rage in his voice.

“I want to kill them all over again,” Ren said.

“Agreed,” Marek added.

Peyton remained silent.

“Mira. Why are you down here?”

“Because the one I vowed to come back for is down here. I-I never knew who he was, what he was—anything about him. All I knew is he protected me, somehow kept me sane and alive. He could speak with me in my mind. He made the pain go away when they were hurting me too bad.”

“What?” Adrik demanded.

“H-He m…”

“I heard you the first time.” Adrik’s disgust thickened the lump in her throat. Confusion muddled her brain a moment.

“You fucking bitch!” Peyton screamed.

Tension thickened the room. “What?”

“One of our kind wouldn’t expend energy that intensely in these conditions unless the person being protected was important to them—a family member, team mate, mate. Pack.”

“Lover,” Peyton spat. “You whored yourself out to one of our kind, then turned on him to whore yourself out again to Adrik to get your first lover out? Jesus, you’re fucked up. I knew I should’ve strung you up by your toes and skinned you when I saw you.”

“Enough. Let her speak.” Marek glared at Mira. “Is what Peyton charged true?”

“No! He was a friend. Hell, I’d never even seen him until a few minutes ago. He was a voice in my head. For the longest time I thought he was a figment of my imagination, but he saved me. Every. Single. Time.”

“A telepath, a strong one. Probably a red dragon, then.” Marek crossed his arms. “Where is he?”

“Down the corridor. Camryn’s attending his injuries. He’s out, she said it’s something your kind does when they need to heal.”

They all growled and lunged for the door. Hopefully Camryn was ready for them. Mira jogged to keep up with them. Curses echoed in the corridor when they entered the cell. Terrified for Deimos, Mira clung to Adrik.

“Please, please keep him safe.” Tears trekked down her cheeks.

Shock and anger harshened Adrik’s face when he turned around and set her away from him. “Don’t touch me right now, Mira. You’re better off staying the fuck away from me.”

Pain streamed through her soul, drowning her heart in acidic fear. No. “You believe what Peyton accused me of?”

His jaw twitched. “I know none of my kind would ever place themselves in mortal danger for an Impure in these conditions. We’re conditioned from an early age to remain as strong as possible, escape. He could’ve gotten away. The only reason he would’ve stayed and endured this shit is if you gave him a reason to.”

“I didn’t. I’d never.” Mira shook her head and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Please, you have to believe me. You’re the only one who matters, Adrik. I only wanted to save Deimos. He saved me. I owed him, but he’s nothing more than a friend. I swear.”

“I’ll take her above ground,” Ren stated.

Adrik nodded and walked away. The cut his departure rendered on her soul destroyed her more savagely than anything she’d endured down here.

* * *

Adrik seethed in silence. His wolf wanted to shove everyone aside and sink his teeth into the man’s jugular, yank his throat out and end this bullshit. Deimos. What kind of fucked-up name was that? He glared down at the man.

“Who the shit is this anyway?”

“No clue.”

“He doesn’t seem familiar,” Marek stated. “Maybe one of the new lower-level red dragons we had on tap to fill the ranks for Rum River. The fledglings here were with first-years learning the ropes, so it makes sense.”

“He’s out cold. I tried to revive him.” Camryn stood and stepped aside for the others to crouch beside him.

“He’s gone under fully. We’ll have to cart him out of here,” Ren stated. “Any serious injuries or can we jet? I don’t like leaving you at risk.”

“I’m fine,” Adrik growled. “We will remain here until this man is in adequate condition to move safely. He may have the answers we’ve sought. We must ensure his safety.”

“I’ll secure the perimeter,” Marek stated as he exited.

Peyton followed without comment. Thank fuck. His sentinels knew he needed space. Yet Ren hovered, a silent shadow Adrik doubted he’d lose anytime soon.

“I’m fine,” he growled.

“Sure.” Ren crossed his arms and looked behind him to the pale, frail shell of female he’d left in the corridor. Fuck. Mira looked lost, terrified and drowning in a sea of sick, twisted shit in her mind.

Adrik’s wolf grumbled, demanding to ease the fear and need filling her expressive gaze. But he couldn’t risk going there, not when he was already neck deep in forever. His wolf had already bonded with her.

“Whatever this was or wasn’t, the girl’s into you, man. Believe that until Deimos, or whatever the hell his name is, wakes up. Either way, if you want her, fight for her. Nothing about this place was normal. Everything done and decided here was about survival.”

“Keep her away from me.” Adrik wiped his face and battled the urge to quell the order. Jesus, what was he supposed to do with this shit?

It wasn’t like they’d stood a real chance at white picket fences. He didn’t ever have the luxury of permanence, safety. Family.

Love.

He’d been playing house the past couple of days, giving in to a deep-seated need to nurture his inner pussy or some shit. He was a warrior, a fucking Alpha—about to be
the
Alpha
Commander
. Getting lost in the sweetness of Mira, a human, was lunacy.

As always, he couldn’t afford the luxury of being crazy. His pack needed him.

Marek had commandeered a couple of NAH buses Mira was pretty sure had “attack us” painted on the side. Then again, they’d traveled to the facility on a bus, so maybe they were common enough in the area to be safe.

After a harrowing journey from the facility—which included two terrifying battles with succubae, NAH and just about every other lawless faction in the world—their vagabond caravan of rescued detainees and rescuers finally pulled over. The sun flirted with the encroaching night.

Unease pooled in Mira’s belly. She’d hoped they’d keep traveling for a while. They were too close to the facility, right? Peyton had shoved her into the backseat of the second bus with a gruff, “sit down and keep your mouth shut or I’ll skin you.”

The seats around her were all empty, as though she were an enemy the Impures they rescued had to be protected from. Peyton was responsible, no doubt about it. What a freaking bitch. Dizziness assailed Mira when she stood up. Each breath pained her.

How long had it been since she’d eaten?

She’d skipped breakfast to… Regret flared within her. Would she ever get to spend a morning wrapped around Adrik again? She should’ve trusted him, told him about Deimos.

Hindsight sucked.

Isolation stung. This was ridiculous. She’d done nothing—not one damn thing—to justify the treatment she’d gotten since they’d left the facility. Damn them all and their swift judgment. They didn’t understand what she’d suffered, endured. Survived and remembered to get Deimos out.

Surely they would’ve done the same thing.

Annoyed with herself for falling in line with their stupidity, she grimaced when she stood. Each step ricocheted pangs through her as she made her way down the aisle and paused at the exit. Ren leaned against the side, legs kicked up in the seat to where he faced her.

“Problem?” he asked.

“Yeah, where’s Adrik?”

“Busy.”

“Whatever, I’ll find him myself.”

“He needs some time, Mira.” Ren stood and followed her as she hobbled her way down the stairs.

“Why? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You never mentioned Deimos protected you, or that he was one of us. It doesn’t seem big to you probably, but it is. It speaks to intentions.”

“It wasn’t like that. We only had each other, or so I thought. He didn’t mention the others with him.”

“He was protecting them, and you. To you they’re kids.”

“They are.”

“They’re warriors in training, big difference to my kind. I won’t stop you, but tread carefully.”

Whatever. A couple of campfires beckoned from a clearing too far away. Each step made her wince, but she forged onward. Adrik was here somewhere.

I wish you were awake, Deimos. You’d clear everything up.

Guilt kept her brain silent. She had no business thinking of herself when he was in a freaking self-induced coma because he was so badly injured.

“Hey. You okay?” Camryn asked.

“Yeah. Just looking for Adrik.”

The succuba mage pointed toward the first bus. “He and Marek are talking to the fledglings, trying to get a sense of what was going down at the facility. Pretty sure they’re trying to get more info on Rum River.”

“And Deimos?”

“We’ve done what we can to help him. The man should’ve taken better care of himself,” Camryn groused. Her cheeks reddened. “Sorry, I forget myself at times.”

Mira nodded and pointed toward the bus. “Get some rest. I’ll see you later.”

She paused a few moments later and took a few deep breaths before tackling the monumental task of going up the few steps into the bus. Her bum leg trembled from overexertion by the time she negotiated the stairs. Her side burned, her pulse banged furiously. Shallow breaths took the edge from the discomfort. Sweat dampened her brow by the time she stood in the bus.

Peyton lounged in the driver’s seat, long legs draped over the wheel. The female wolf slid a derisive glance over Mira. “You’re working the gimp leg angle pretty hard tonight.”

“It’s my thing.”

Fuck her. Mira didn’t owe her shit. Hell, she didn’t owe anyone anything, except maybe Adrik. Thoughts of him made her gaze roam the bus.

Heat settled in his eyes when he looked at her. He closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around her side, drawing her into a half embrace. She hid her grimace in his shoulder and inhaled his scent. She surrendered to the weakness in her limbs and leaned into his strength.

“Fuck, sweetheart. I was an ass.” His hot breath fanned her earlobe and she shivered as a trill of pleasure swept through her. “Seeing that place and knowing you were there, suffering and defenseless, did something to me. Adding
Deimos
into the mix awakened my wolf, made me snarl and spew shit I shouldn’t have.”