Tangled Fates (23 page)

New York.

Orders were placed and the tension was relieved just a bit.

“So do you still want to put a bullet in my head, Micah, or are we solid and we agree to

live in peace? And you guys stop killing humans.”

Micah studied Noah for a long time, then nodded. “We shall co-exist in peace.”

“And you stop pulling your voodoo shit on women,” Rayner said, pointing at Jael, the

memory eraser.

He shrugged. “I don’t see how I can do that without some of those contacts. I rather enjoy

the female body and the sensations I get when I’m rubbing against one.”

Noah tilted his head. “I’ll tell you what. We’ll give you contacts, you give us Annis and

Cohen.”

Micah smiled. “That seems fair. Very well.”

And just like that the tension was gone. And it didn’t sit well with Blake at all.

“Shall we celebrate our peace? Wine, women, and song, I believe the saying is?” Micah

asked.

Noah shook his head. “We’ve got all the wine, women, and song we need at home. I want

Annis and Cohen.”

“I want my contacts. And for someone who doesn't care about them, you certainly seem

concerned.”

Noah shrugged and turned to Talin.

“Tomorrow,” Talin said. “I can have the contacts done tomorrow.”

Noah reached into his back pocket and slid a card across the table to Micah. “I expect a

call by noon tomorrow with a place for us to meet to make the exchange.”

Micah took the card and put it in his pocket. “Very well. Perhaps we could come to

dinner?”

Noah laughed and stood. “We’ve agreed to peace. That’s it. There’s no way in hell I’m

sitting down to dinner with you.”

The rest of the Warriors stood as well. “It’s been fun, Micah. I expect a call tomorrow.

No excuses. Just think of all the excitement you’ll have when you’re not walking around like you

have a flashlight stuck up your ass. Life gets a lot better with the contacts.”

Brandy came over. “Hey guys. My shift is ending. I was wondering if you could cash

out?”

Blake checked his watch. Midnight on the button. How very convenient for him.

Noah glanced at Blake. “Sure, Brandy,” he said. “My buddy here is going to sign for me

and grab my card. I’m heading home to my woman.”

Brandy smiled and looked at Blake. “Great!”

Blake grinned back.

Yes, it was great.

Chapter 37

Blake waved goodnight to Brandy, not believing he was actually leaving the woman

without bedding her. What the hell was wrong with him?

What was wrong with him was that he wanted a relationship, and not just a one-night

stand consisting of shallow conversation and meaningless sex.

Well, well, well. Look at all that maturity just oozing out of him.

Spending time with Annis had made him realize that somewhere out there was a woman

for him, a woman he could connect with, a woman who he could let his guard down with.

Someone who would accept him for exactly who he was and
what
he was. Who that woman was,

he had no idea. He had thought it was Annis, but boy, he’d been on the south side of wrong on

that one. Maybe this perfect woman was just a figment of his imagination, but he decided he was

done with meaningless encounters. The last one ten months had left him feeling empty and

unfulfilled, and tonight he just couldn’t muster up the energy to do anything but walk Brandy to

her apartment.

What he wanted to do was get on his bike and ride for a bit, and he was glad he had opted

to follow the Saviors into town instead of riding with them in the Hummer. Not that he really had

a choice—watching those five jam themselves into the Hummer had been like watching clowns

get into a car at the circus.

The October air was a little bitter, but it would feel good against his face and help clear

his head.

He reached his bike and his phone went off in his pocket. Looking at the number, he

didn’t recognize it, and sent the call to voicemail.

The phone started ringing almost immediately, and he repeated his actions.

The third time, he was pissed and answered. “Who the fuck is this?”

“Blake! It’s Annis. Oh, thank goodness. I didn’t think you were going to answer!”

Blake’s blood ran cold. Something was wrong—he could hear the panic in her voice.

“What’s going on, Annis? We’re getting you back tomorrow—”

“Blake! Listen to me. We’ve escaped. Cohen is very ill—his fever is so high. The

gunshot wound is infected. I don’t know where we are, but we stole a vehicle and I drove—I’m

not a very good driver—and we’re somewhere, but I don’t know…”

“Annis, look at the street signs. What do they say?”

She recited the signs, and Blake had a general idea of where she was, which just

happened to be on the other side of town.

“Okay, good. Now obviously you’re on a pay phone, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Look around. Are there stores?”

“Yes. I’m in front of a Safeway.”

“Okay. Now Annis, you two need to hang tight. I’m coming, but it’s going to be awhile.

Can you wait in the car?”

“Yes, we can do that. But Blake, there’s—”

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

Blake hung up the phone and got on his bike. He debated calling the Saviors, but decided

against it. They were probably back at the silo now. He didn’t have time to wait for them to drive

another forty-five minutes to meet up with him, then head out to Annis. Once Micah got back to

wherever they were holed up in, he would most likely go out searching for them. Time was not

on his side in this situation.

He didn’t know how Annis and Cohen had escaped, but it didn’t matter. He’d get the full

story after everyone was safe and sound at home.

Chapter 38

A half hour later, Blake found the store and saw Annis parked by the payphone. He drove

over, got off his bike, and hugged her fiercely. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said, stepping back

and looking her over. She looked a little worse for wear, and he was pretty sure that there should

have been more to the dress, but she was alive, and that was all that mattered. “Let’s get out of

here. Where’s Cohen?”

She led him over to the car.

“Who the hell is that?” he asked, pointing at the stranger.

“He’s Nico, part of The Platoon. He helped us escape, Blake. He had nowhere to go.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Well, let’s buy him a bus ticket then.”

Annis shook her head. “Blake, we can’t do that. Nico is my friend. He’s our friend. If

Micah finds him, he’s dead.”

“We can’t just roll up to the silo with a stranger, Annis, especially one who is a member

of The Platoon. What if this is some kind of trick or something?”

“It’s not. He told me that The Platoon are monsters, and he doesn’t want to have anything

to do with them.”

“Then why didn’t he leave?”

“He doesn’t know this world very well. He’s had nowhere to go and no one to help him.

Until now.”

Blake heard the pleading in Annis’s voice, and he glanced over at Nico who sat in the

front seat wearing dark sunglasses. The guy could be a wealth of information into The Platoon,

or it could be a trick. It was a crapshoot, and he decided he wasn’t the one who should be making

that call. That was up to Noah and the rest of the Saviors. However, he did need to get

permission to bring him in.

“Let me make some calls,” Blake said, pulling out his phone and turning his back to her.

“That’s fine, Blake, but let me speak to them. Let me convince them.”

Blake paced, holding the phone up to his ear. Noah first. Voicemail. Jovan second. The

same. He called all the Saviors, and none answered. Talin didn’t even have his phone on. He

cursed, unsure of what to do.

Finally, he looked over at her. “I can’t get ahold of anyone.”

She heard a moan from Cohen.

“We have no time to waste, Blake,” Annis said, panic lacing her words. “Cohen is

dying.”

Chapter 39

When they arrived at the silo, Annis entered first. She heard Jovan and Rayner in the

Great Room playing some game that involved a lot of shooting on the Xbox.

“I can’t believe you just grenaded me, you asshole,” Rayner practically shouted.

“You deserved it after you shot me sixty-nine times. Quit being such a little girl. And

that’s what I want to do to that Micah fucker. You can see crazy written all over the male.”

“Would you two stop it?” Faith said, exasperated. “I swear you two are worse than a

couple of kids on that damn thing.”

Taking a deep breath, Annis went into the room. Rayner’s red eyes flickered toward her,

back at the TV, then to her again. His forehead wrinkled in confusion.

“Annis?” he said, as if he couldn’t believe she was standing before him. Or maybe he

thought he was seeing her spirit.

“Yes.”

Jovan’s gaze whipped around and landed on her.

“Do you see Annis?” Rayner asked.

“Yep.”

“So she’s not caught in the ether.”

“Nope.”

“Then what the hell is she doing here? I thought we were making the exchange

tomorrow.”

“Stop it,” Annis said, wondering what they exchanged her life for. What could they have

given Micah that would be worth her and Cohen’s lives? That could be broached later. “I am

here in the flesh, and we need your help with Cohen.”

“Annis! I’m so glad to see you!” Faith rushed over, and Annis bent down to hug the fiery

redhead.

“I’m glad to see you as well, Faith.”

Both males dropped their controllers and hurried past her, and she followed.

At the doorway to the silo, Nico and Blake had Cohen between them, one of his arms

thrown over each of them, his feet dragging behind him.

“Whoa. Who the hell is that?” Rayner asked, putting himself between Nico and Faith.

Nico looked up at him, his eyes blazing silver.

“This is Nico,” Annis said. “Nico helped us escape.”

“You brought him back here?” Rayner asked incredulously.

“Yes. He has nowhere to go. He can’t go back to The Platoon.”

“I tried to call, but not one of you fuckers answered your phone,” Blake said.

“You can’t just bring strangers in here, Annis,” Jovan growled. He turned and walked

into the other room.

Blake and Nico stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and Nico looked around. Annis

noticed that his stab wound had opened and blood was seeping into his white shirt.

“Fascinating,” he murmured.

Jovan returned, gun at his side. “Rayner, you and Blake get Cohen down to his room.

Nico, you stay right where you are. I’ve never been one to hesitate to shoot first and ask

questions later.”

“There is no need to shoot him, Jovan,” Annis said, as Rayner and Blake dragged Cohen

to the elevator. She wanted to go with them to make sure he was okay, but she also needed to

make sure that Nico wouldn’t be taken out into the desert and shot. “He helped us escape.”

Jovan studied Nico as if he were a new animal in a zoo. “Why is he bleeding?”

“Because I stabbed him,” Annis said.

“And he’s a member of The Platoon?”

“Not willingly,” Nico said.

“And he speaks. What do you mean,
not willingly
?”

“I mean that they are a bunch of animals. Micah is off-the-wall crazy. I haven’t wanted to

have anything to do with them for months, but I had nowhere to go. I don’t know this world very

well, and I don’t know how I would survive.”

Jovan approached Nico and put his hand on his shoulder. “Say all that again.”

Annis knew Jovan was checking Nico for truth.

“I also have a weapon in my pocket,” Nico said. “If you want to reach in and grab it . . .

unless you would like me to.”

Jovan nodded. “Make it really slow, buddy.”

With over-exaggerated movements, Nico handed the gun to Jovan.

The elevator dinged, announcing its arrival, and Blake and Rayner stepped out. “Faith

and Annis: go down and see if you can find Cohen’s
Natwa
powder,” Rayner said. “It’ll be red.”

“We’ll take care of old Spiderman here,” Blake said.

Annis moved to stand in front of Nico and glared at all of them. “Each of you promise me

that Nico won’t be hurt.”

They stared at her and said nothing.

“I mean it. I knew Nico on SR44. I can vouch for him. He’s a decent and honest male,

and would make a fine addition to the Saviors.”

Silence.

Annis nodded. “Very well. But please. Just hear what he has to say. He will be a wealth

of information on The Platoon.”

They each nodded. “Okay, Annis. We won’t bury him. Not now, anyway. You have my

word,” Jovan said.

Annis breathed a sigh of relief. Jovan was a good male, and she trusted his promises.

“Very well,” she said, moving to the elevator with Faith.

“What is a Spiderman?” Nico asked.

Blake sighed, exasperated. “He’s a superhero who has silver eyes.”

“Really?” Nico said. “I thought you were telling me I had a spider on my body.”

“Yes, really. And you better not be harboring any spiders. I hate those little fuckers,”

Blake said, turning to Jovan. “I called Noah. He’s not happy.”

“And this surprises you?” Jovan asked.

“Of course not. I told Annis—”

The elevator door shut, and Annis was in blessed silence as it carried her and Faith

downward.

“Are you okay?” Faith said, putting her hand on Annis’s arm.

Annis sighed. “I am, Faith. Thank you. I would like to stop at my quarters before seeing