Through The Veil (34 page)

Bethany tilted her head. “What do you mean he sped up
Brooklyn’s healing?”

“I need to do more tests on his blood, but I was able to run
some preliminary checks. He’s different. He definitely has the markers like
Lori, which is what I assume makes him an Other. We have some of those same
markers, but he also has other things going on. I don’t have a clue what it all
means yet. The only thing I do know is that he heals incredibly quickly even
compared to us, and now, so does Brooklyn.”

“Why?” Aaron asked.

“From what I can tell, they were wounded and bleeding in the
back of the truck. They both had open wounds which resulted in some sort of
blood exchange. Just like with the team that went into the ES, that exchange of
blood must have meant an exchange of gifts. I honestly don’t know. I need to
talk to him when he wakes up and ask him some questions.”

“How long will it be before that happens?” asked Marcus. “I
need to ask him about
Griff
.”

“He should be out for several more hours and when he wakes
up, it could be another few hours before…”

“You need to get back in bed!” a woman yelled from within
the next room. Something crashed into the door, and Aaron shoved Bethany behind
him. All the Warriors stood and drew their weapons, ready to kill anyone who
threatened her.

The door jerked open and Jonah staggered through it, looking
ready to drop dead at any second. Malcolm rushed to his side. “What the hell do
you think you’re doing? You shouldn’t even be conscious, much less able to move
out of your bed.”

“Savannah,” he gasped out. “Where is she?” His expression
appeared frantic and he kept shaking his head as if to shake off the effects of
the drugs Malcolm had used on him.

Jonah stumbled and swayed grappling unsuccessfully at the
edge of the door to keep from dropping to the floor. Marcus came over to his
other side to help Malcolm support him. It was obvious that Jonah was only
conscious through sheer stubbornness and will.

“She’s fine. Lori’s with her.” Marcus nodded to Garrison.
“Can you go get Savannah and Lori?” He’d seen enough of this man to know that
he wouldn’t settle until he knew she was safe, even if it might kill him. He
could respect that level of devotion.

“Let’s see if we can get him back in his bed,”
Malcolm said, obviously not wanting Jonah to know their plan.

Jonah jerked out of their grasp and stood up straighter,
despite the worrying grey color to his skin tone. “No, I’ll wait here,” he said
weakly, but suspicion and distrust clouded his features. It was obvious that he
may feel like crap, but he wasn’t going to give on this.

Malcolm frowned at him. “You won’t do Savannah any good if
you end up dead. That would be such a waste after I spent so much time trying
to save your life. You really shouldn’t be so rude about it.”

As Jonah stood there, his complexion—which hadn’t been
exactly healthy-looking in the first place—paled more and more. It wouldn’t be
long before he collapsed again.

“At least sit down, so you don’t fall down, okay?” Malcolm
begged.

At a nod from Marcus, Eric shoved a chair behind Jonah.
Everyone in the room relaxed when Jonah relented and collapsed into the chair.

Malcolm pulled a chair up beside Jonah and measured his
blood pressure. “It’s low, but that’s to be expected,” he muttered. “How the
hell are you already awake? You should have enough drugs in your system to be
out at least for the next four hours or longer. That’s not even considering
your substantial blood loss.”

Jonah’s gaze didn’t waver, his eyes hard. “I metabolize
things quickly,” he replied drolly.

“That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

Jonah ignored Malcolm and watched the front door. “If any
harm has come to her, I will kill you all.”

Marcus crossed his arms. “Those are big threats from a guy
who can’t even stand on his own for any length of time.”

“It’s no threat, it’s a promise.”

Savannah shot through the door. Jonah pushed himself out of
the chair and she flung herself into his arms, missing the wince of pain on his
face when she hit him. She sobbed and he wrapped his arms around her, his eyes
filling with tears, also. Viewing this level of emotion from the man who hadn’t
shown many so far felt intrusive.

Lori came in the door behind Savannah with tears filling her
eyes. “It never occurred to me,” she whispered to Marcus. “Savannah and
Shar
always talked about their older brother. They aren’t
related by birth, but when the Veil fell, he took them in, protected them, kept
them safe and secure, and helped to hide their gifts. I don’t remember her ever
saying his name, so I didn’t realize…”

Savannah didn’t seem to be any worse for wear, unlike Jonah.
Within two minutes, she had her shoulder under Jonah’s arm and dragged him back
to his bed.

Marcus followed along, holding Lori’s hand. He needed to
find out what Jonah knew about
Griff
before he fell
back asleep.

“Did your men get
Shar
out?”
Savannah asked Jonah. “I can’t feel her anymore.”

Jonah’s eyes closed in obvious exhaustion and pain. Marcus
thought he’d passed back out, but instead he answered in a low, anguished
voice, “No.
Shar
and the man she was with escaped the
explosion, but they were trapped by the ES troops as they went out the back
door. My men saw it but were outnumbered so they couldn’t get them back without
getting caught themselves. And there just aren’t enough of us yet to risk high
casualties. But
Sav
, we’ll go back and we’ll get her.
I promise.”

“I know, but you can’t do anything until you get better.”
Savannah kissed Jonah’s forehead and with her voice full of tears, she said,
“Sleep now and heal. We’ll figure it out together. We’re together again.”

Two days later and Lori eyed Marcus worriedly as they
headed over to the house the Others occupied now. As of this morning, Jonah
lived there, too, since Malcolm discharged him from the clinic.

Once Jonah knew Savannah was safe, he’d passed out and slept
for a full thirty-six hours. Malcolm kept telling them to relax and not worry
because that’s simply what his body needed to heal. But for Marcus, the wait to
hear more about
Griff’s
status had been a strain. The
dark circles under his eyes and the worry lines that marred his beautiful face
told the story of just how little he’d slept since they got back. Lori could
feel the pain emanating off him.

Ironically, she and
Griff
never
got along, but she felt his absence almost as much as Marcus. The few days
they’d all spent as a team and mentally as part of each other left her with a
hole.
Griff
being gone felt like missing a limb now.

Even Brooklyn felt it. Malcolm continued to be completely
astounded by exactly how fast she healed. But she wanted to get
Griff
back, a rescue mission that Malcolm flat-out refused
to let her be a part of. She hadn’t accepted his edict yet although if Bethany
had any say, Brooklyn would definitely be following her doctor’s orders.

The three Others had their own difficulties. Like Marcus,
Savannah was frantic with worry over what was happening to
Shar
in their absence. She also had to deal with her worry over Jonah’s condition,
although he healed so much quicker than normal. But every day the circles under
her eyes became more pronounced and she barely touched food.

Because none of the Others had wings the house they lived in
was one of the cottages with a ground locale built within the farm walls. As
Marcus knocked on the door, they could hear raised voices from within.

“Malcolm’s here,” Marcus said, frowning at the door. “And
he’s not happy with Savannah.”

“You want to drug me?” Savannah screeched in outrage from
within the cabin.

Lori’s eyes widened in surprise. If Savannah didn’t want to
do something, she had the advantage with her gift. She could manipulate the
minds of others to her way of thinking, unless someone drugged her like they
did back in the lab. Lori could understand her reluctance to take any kind of
medicine.
 

Marcus frowned as he knocked, but the inhabitants inside
were too caught up in their argument to hear the knock. Something shattered
against the door.

“
Goddammit
, woman, calm down,”
Malcolm yelled.

This argument needed to come to an end before someone got
hurt. Lori gave Marcus a sharp nod of agreement as he reached for the doorknob
and let the door swing open.

Neither entered, not sure what they’d find. Instead they
stood in the doorway and peered in. Lori’s mouth dropped open when she saw
Savannah and Malcolm.

Savannah lay on the floor, her bright red corkscrew curls
spreading like fiery tendrils licking across the floor. Malcolm straddled her
waist, holding her hands in a punishing grip above her head. They were consumed
in a passionate kiss that was quickly becoming so much more. Savannah slid one
of her hands out of his grasp to slide into the hair on the back of Malcolm’s
neck. When he groaned, Marcus obviously decided that was enough.

“Ahem,” he said loudly.

The two scrambled apart and off the ground. Malcolm at least
had the good conscience to appear chagrined. For her part, Savannah did her best
to kill him with the daggers shooting out of her bright blue eyes. Red
blossomed high on her high pale cheeks. She looked so damn tired even with the
arousal flaring across her skin.

“Why doesn’t it work with you?” she spat at Malcolm.

“Darling, I don’t know what you’re complaining about.” He
adjusted his pronounced erection. “But that worked just fine for me.”
 

Lori couldn’t help her snort of amusement. Savannah had to
be talking about her ability to manipulate thoughts in other people. Curious
that it didn’t work with Malcolm. As far as she knew, it had always worked with
everyone.

Malcolm cocked an eyebrow at Savannah, but he frowned with
concern as he watched her. Then he softened his voice, his concern bleeding
through. “Maybe if you unwound a little, you could find a more natural way to
fall asleep.” He shrugged. “It’s an option and you need to do something. You
can’t keep going like this. You need some rest. You need some sustenance. If
you don’t do something on your own, you’re going to end up in my clinic anyway
because of pure exhaustion and then you won’t have any say in the matter
anymore.”

Savannah tossed up her hands in frustration and looked like
she couldn’t decide between taking him up on his offer or decking him. Knowing
Savannah’s temper, Lori figured violence was probably winning out on this
internal debate so she reached around Savannah to give her a hug and try to
distract her. “Hey, you. Why are you guys fighting?”

“He,” she threw a hand and glare at Malcolm, “wants to drug
me up to make me sleep, but I’m fine. No. More. Drugs.”

“He’s just trying to help,” Lori told her gently. “He’s a
doctor. Drugs are their thing. He can’t help it.”

“Thanks,” Malcolm muttered, running a hand through his hair
and looking completely flustered and discombobulated in a way she’d never seen
him before.

Lori rolled her eyes at him. “But, Savannah, I know you’re
exhausted. We can all see it. Are you having nightmares?”

“Of course I am. How does anyone expect me to sleep when
Shar
is somewhere I can’t protect her? Lori, you know what
they’re like, what they’re doing to her and to your friend.”

Lori suppressed a shudder. Unfortunately, all the Others
knew what they were capable of. Nothing good.

Savannah continued. “I’ll be fine until we get
Shar
back. Then I promise I’ll sleep for days. I just want
to know that we’re going to do something soon.”