Trace's Temptation (RARE Series, #3) (14 page)

Hanging her head in shame, Starr whispered, “When Trace didn’t come back, I got scared.  We waited and waited.  I told Mom we needed to move before we were found, but she insisted on waiting for Trace.”  Turning to her brother, she apologized softly, “I’m so sorry.  In my heart I know you wouldn’t just leave us, Trace.  But it was easier to believe that than to think about you being caught, or worse, dead.”

Pulling Starr close and wrapping his arms around her tightly, Trace whispered, “I understand.”  Leaning back, he smiled gently, “He’s dead, Starr.  I killed the bastard.  You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

As her eyes filled with hope, Angel interjected, “No, but you do need to worry about the General.  Let’s get going people!”

“Wait,” Jaxson said as they started piling into the vehicles.  “Where’s Rikki and Storm?  They should have been here by now.” 

Pain, there’s so much pain,
Jade whispered to them, whining softly. 
It’s Rikki.

“Get in the SUV, Trace.  Take your mother, Starr, Flame, and Jaxson and get the hell out of here!  Get to the plane and get ready to leave as soon as I’m there.”  Turning quickly, Angel left, Nico, Phoenix and Ryker following quickly behind.

Jaxson slid into the driver’s seat and started the vehicle.  Flame took the seat next to him, her gun drawn and ready.  After urging his mother and Starr into the back, Trace slid into the middle with Jade beside him.  Jaxson put the car in gear and headed to the small airport where they’d left the plane.  Reaching under the seat, Trace pulled out a pair of sweats and sat them on the seat beside Jade.  “Shift,” he told her.  “We need all guns ready if the General is sniffing around here.”

After shifting and quickly pulling on her clothes, Jade pulled out an extra Glock from the back of the seat.  Moving to her side of the SUV, she held the gun ready, scanning the area.  Seeing the slight tremble in her hand, Trace promised, “It’s going to be okay, Jade.  Your mom will be back soon.”

Turning wide, tear filled eyes in his direction, she whispered, “I’m not worried about my mother, Trace.  I’m worried about one of the only true friends I have in this world.  I don’t think she’s going to make it.  She’s in so much pain and there’s so much blood.”  As Trace watched, Jade seemed to close in on herself.  She turned her gaze back to the window beside her, scanning the area furtively. 

Reaching over, Trace ran a hand down Jade’s back.  “Rikki’s a fighter, Jade.  She will make it.”  With a small shake of her head, Jade continued looking out the window, not responding. 

A
ngel picked up her pace as she saw Rikki on the ground below the tree she’d been hiding in.  She was lying in a pool of blood, and Storm was nowhere to be found. 

Rikki had a tight hold on the side of her neck, her eyes wide with fear.  Kneeling beside her, Angel took hold of her free hand.  It was bad.  It was obvious a bullet had grazed her neck and nicked an artery, causing Rikki to lose a lot of blood.  If she were a shifter with the ability to heal more quickly, she would have a fighting chance.  But as a human, Angel wasn’t sure she would make it. 

Nico crouched down beside Rikki, opening the first aid kit he’d brought from the SUV.  Grabbing some dressing from the kit, he gently removed Rikki’s hand and applied pressure himself.  “We need to get her to Doc Josie now,” he said as he softly brushed Rikki’s hair out of her face.

“Angel,” Rikki stuttered as she tried to talk.  When Angel tried to tell her not to speak, Rikki frantically started shaking her head.

“Stop,” Nico ordered roughly, “You have to stop Rikki.  We’ll listen.” 

Eyeing him gratefully, she rasped, “General’s men...took Storm.”  Squeezing her hand tightly, Angel motioned for Ryker and Phoenix to case the area.  Unfortunately there was no sign of the General’s men or Storm.  The burning house was causing a commotion in the neighborhood, and Angel could hear the sound of fire engines getting close.  “We have to go,” she said as she knelt back down by Rikki. 

“What about Storm?” Ryker growled, his bear evident in his voice.  Storm was Ryker’s best friend.  If she was hurt, there would be hell to pay.

“She’s gone, Ryker,” Angel said.  “Right now we need to concentrate on Rikki.  We will find Storm.  I promise.”  Looking to Nico she asked, “Can Rikki be moved?”

“Do we have a choice?” Nico shot back.  Phoenix stepped forward and gently lifted Rikki in his arms while Nico held tightly to the bandage on her neck.  “Why didn’t I see this?” Nico asked in despair.  “Why didn’t I fucking see this?” 

Laying a hand on his back, Angel whispered, “It doesn’t work like that, Nico.  You don’t always see everything, and even when you do, it doesn’t mean we can change it.”

“You can change this,” they heard a voice say from the darkness.  Angel froze as Jinx stepped out of the shadows.  “I’m sorry I didn’t get here in time,” he said as he moved closer to Rikki.  “I didn’t know the General’s plans until it was too late.”  Glancing around, he said, “We need to get out of here before someone sees us.” 

Motioning for them to follow, Jinx moved swiftly to where they’d left the SUV.  Slipping behind the wheel, he waited for the rest of them to get in.  Angel slid in the passenger seat while Phoenix and Nico sat in the second row holding Rikki and Ryker climbed in back.  “How did you know where our truck was?” Phoenix asked suspiciously. 

Turning to him, eyebrows raised Jinx asked, “Seriously?  You have a team member bleeding out and you want to know how I found your vehicle?”  Shaking his head in disgust, Jinx turned around and stepped on the gas pedal.  “How about we worry about Rikki now and your useless excuse for an interrogation later.”

Angel glanced back at Rikki, “How’s she holding up?”

“She’s in bad shape, boss,” Nico responded quietly.  “She’s lost a lot of blood.”  Angel swore softly, the idea of losing one of her own breaking her heart.

“Jeremiah,” Rikki whispered weakly.  Oh shit, Angel thought.  Jeremiah.  He was going to go ape shit crazy if they lost Rikki.  “Jeremiah,” Rikki whispered again, a tear slipping down her cheek.

Jinx turned the SUV down a long dirt road heading away from the highway.  Within a mile, they reached an abandoned barn.  “What are we doing here, Jinx?” Angel asked in confusion.  “We need to get to the plane.  We have to get Rikki to Doc Josie now.”

“She isn’t going to make it to your doctor,” Jinx replied as he opened the door.  “Bring her in here.”  Not waiting for a response, Jinx left them and went to the barn.  A small light shone through a window a few moments later. 

“Let’s go,” Angel said as she slipped out of the vehicle, Nico and Phoenix following with Rikki.

“I’m staying outside,” Ryker said as he pulled out his Glock.  “I’ll patrol the grounds until we leave.” He was gone without a backward glance.

“What the hell are we doing here, Angel?” Phoenix demanded.  “Rikki is going to die if we don’t get her home now!”

“She will be dead before your plane touches the ground,” Jinx said from the doorway.  “She isn’t strong enough to fight this kind of injury.  She doesn’t have the healing capabilities as a human to fight the way she needs to fight if she wants to live.”

“So why the hell did you bring us to a barn?” Phoenix growled.

Jinx took a long, thin box from his coat pocket.  When he opened it, Angel got a quick glance of what looked like a small surgery kit containing clamps, a scalpel, and a needle, among other things.  “I’m going to do some minor surgery and then we’re going to change her,” was Jinx’s calm reply.  “We are going to give her that edge she needs to fight and win.”

“We can’t change her, Jinx,” Angel cut in quietly.  “Only mates can change humans, and her mate isn’t here.”

“Not true,” Jinx responded as he led them to a place in the back of the barn.  Motioning for them to place Rikki on the hay piled in a corner, he lowered himself beside her.  Glancing back at them, he said, “Mates can change humans, but so can Alphas if they are strong enough.”

“Her mate will fucking gut you if you have sex with her,” Nico snarled from where he crouched in front of Rikki, still holding the bandage to her neck.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Jinx leaned back on his heels and looked at them.  “First of all, Alphas do not have to have sex with someone to change them.  Second of all, what makes you think I’m changing her?  Angel is her Alpha, she will do it.”

Angel froze.  She’d never changed anyone in her life.  Hell, she hadn’t even known she could.  And there was no way she was going to kill Rikki trying.  Locking eyes with her, Jinx said, “She’s dead if you don’t try, Angel.  I can do the surgery, but she won’t make it if she isn’t turned.  I can’t do it.  If I did, she would always be connected to me in some way, and her mate could reject her.  I’m not saying he would, but there is always that possibility.  It has to be you.”

Falling to her knees on the other side of Rikki, Angel clasped Rikki’s hand with her own.  Staring into her terrified gaze, Angel asked, “Is this what you want, Rikki?  Do you want me to try and change you?  It may not work.  It may end up killing you instead.”

“Already dying,” Rikki gasped.  “Can feel it.  Trust you, Angel.  Want to live.  Want Jeremiah.”

“You know Jeremiah’s your mate?” Angel asked in surprise.

Closing her eyes weakly, Rikki rasped, “Yes.”  As she slowly slid into unconsciousness, Angel made the only decision she could.  “Do it,” she said.

After injecting Rikki with something to help with the pain, Jinx slowly removed the gauze on her neck.  Angel watched in awe as her son painstakingly performed surgery in the back of an old abandoned barn.   

Close to an hour later, Jinx leaned back wiping beads of sweat from his brow.  “Ok,” he said softly, “it’s your turn now, Angel.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Angel admitted as she reached out and softly stroked a hand down Rikki’s pale cheek.  Glancing at Jinx, she said, “I’ve never done anything like this before.  How do you know this is even possible?  Have you done it?

“No,” Jinx said shaking his head.  “But I know someone who has.”

“And it worked?” Phoenix questioned from his seat on a hay bale near them.  “The person that was changed lived and didn’t go mad?”

“Yes, it worked,” Jinx said as he checked Rikki’s pulse.  “You need to do this now, Angel,” he told her.  “I will guide you, but if you want to save your friend, you can’t wait any longer.” 

Taking a deep breath, Angel leaned closer to Rikki.  “Just tell me what to do.”

“I will show you,” Jinx said.  As Angel was bombarded by images in her head, she unconsciously reached out to Chase needing his courage and support.  She sighed when she felt it given freely, no questions asked.  Surrounded by her mate’s strength, Angel opened her mouth, letting her fangs drop.  Hovering over Rikki’s bare shoulder, she tightened her hold on the hand she still held, and bit down.

~

“I
have to go,” Jinx said over three hours later after checking Rikki one more time.  “Get her home and watch her closely.  She will be out for a few days.  Don’t be alarmed.  That’s what happened to the other person, too.”  Standing, Jinx slipped into his coat.  “She’s going to make it.”

“Thank you,” Angel said as she gazed down at Rikki.  She would have lost her tonight if it hadn’t been for Jinx.  Hating to ask more of him, she said, “I need your help with something else, Jinx.”  At his questioning look, she went on, “One of my team was stolen tonight by the General.  Her name’s Storm.  Can you let Jade know if you hear anything at all about where that bastard might be keeping her?  I want her back.”

Nodding, he said, “Yeah, I’ll see what I can find out and get in touch with Jade.”

“Jinx,” Angel called as he went to leave.  Stopping, he waited.  “Who taught you that?” she asked.  “I had no idea it was even possible.”

Looking back, Jinx seemed to be debating something before he finally said, “The same person who has taught me almost everything I know.  My father.”  Then he vanished before Angel could respond. 

“Angel,” Nico said as he walked up beside her.  “Angel, we need to go.”  Angel couldn’t move, couldn’t respond.  Jinx said his father taught him everything he knew.  No, that couldn’t be right.  His father was dead.  The General had killed him years ago.  Hadn’t he? 

J
ade sat in a seat in the back of the plane waiting for Angel to arrive.  She’d tried several times to connect with Rikki, but was unable to, and it scared the hell out of her.  “We need to call Jeremiah,” she said as Trace sat down next to her.  “He needs to know what’s going on.”

“Shit,” Trace swore as he ran a hand tiredly over his head.  “That’s not a phone call I want to make.”

“She cares for him,” Jade whispered.  “She will want him there when we get home.”

Covering her hand with his, Trace promised, “We’ll call him as soon as we know how she is, baby.”  Bringing her hand up and kissing her knuckles, he asked, “You ready to meet my family yet?”

Shaking her head, Jade leaned her head back and turned to gaze out the window.  “Not right now, Trace.”

As they sat there in silence, Jade thought about Rikki and everything she’d been through lately.  From what Jade knew, Rikki had a rough life growing up.  She’d never asked for specifics, but sometimes when she was near Rikki, she projected her thoughts loudly and it was hard to block them out.  But over the past year, Jade had gotten to know Rikki better than anyone else on the team.  She loved her snarky, sarcastic attitude.  She admired her courage and fortitude.  And Jade considered Rikki a friend.  She was really the first and only friend Jade had ever had, unless you considered Flame.  But Flame was too dead set on revenge to really become a good friend to anyone.

Hearing the sound of a vehicle, Jade jumped to her feet and stumbled over Trace.  Running down the aisle on the plane, she raced out the door and down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to wait for the SUV to get there.  When they pulled up, Nico slid out of the passenger seat, opening the door behind him.  Reaching in, he guided a stunned looking Angel to the plane, shaking his head when anyone would have asked questions.