Chapter 3
2292 Words
Even as he followed hunches and leads that led him nowhere, his thoughts were never far from Christy. He missed her with an intensity that surprised him. He wondered if she were ok and if she thought of him as well. The chirping of his cell pulled him from his thoughts.
“She’s gone, Vlad.” Alex’s words froze his heart.
“What do you mean, gone?”
“I mean she went in search of Brendan. She left a note stating she would contact us once she located him.” He could hear the fear in her voice and it only succeeded in making the knot in his stomach tighten.
“Vlad, I told you once before that impulsiveness was her weakness. With Brendan being involved, it’ll only make her more impulsive.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“You share a unique connection with her. She’s blocking us, but I believe that she won’t be able to block you. Will you come back to the island so that Cullen and I can use you to connect to her?”
“I’m on my way.” Vlad disconnected the call and made his way back towards his rental. He broke all rules of the road as he raced back to the abandoned hangar where he hid his plane. His only thought as he made his was back to Nunavut was that Christy had to be ok.
Christy reached the states filled with determination. She didn’t know how she was going to find Brendan; she just knew that she had to. There was no other alternative. She figured she’s start at Olympia and then go from there. Christy made her way through the crowded terminals of Lambert International Airport and headed towards the nearest Starbucks. She’d use the caffeine to boost both body and mind before she made her way to a hotel to plan her next step, but as she heard someone speak behind her, it was obvious she was going to have to rethink her options.
“Christy Montez.” The warm, pleasant voice had her heart freezing in her chest as she slowly turned around and looked into the face of the enemy. Amusement shone at her out of clear blue eyes and a handsome face. The man standing before her had a body to die for, a voice like warm honey, and the heart of a snake. She knew from experience that those sensuous lips lied easily and that those rough, masculine hands could kill with grace and skill. It was initially what had attracted her to him.
“Donovan Tal.” She matched him charming grin for charming grin as she forced her body to relax. He wouldn’t try anything in a crowded place filled with security. Donovan was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” She sipped lazily from her coffee cup as she headed towards the patio and the chairs beyond the sliding glass doors.
“I’m going to do you a favor.”
“Yeah right.” Christy snorted at that as she sat down. Donovan pulled out a chair across from her.
“I’m going to tell you where to find Brendan.” His comment had the laughter dying out of her as hope sprung to her chest. But with the hope came suspicion.
“Yeah, and why would you do that?”
“Because after you get him, you’re going to come and turn yourself in to me.”
“Boy Donovan, when you dream, you dream big.” She let out a hearty laugh as she slammed her cup onto the table.
“Because if you don’t agree to my terms, the doctors in the hospital he’s currently residing in are going to find out about his very unique DNA.” Donovan continued on as if she’d never spoken. “And then it’ll be a matter of time before he wind up in a lab.”
Donovan’s words painted a chilling and accurate picture. IF Brendan was in the hospital like Donovan suggested, his DNA was going to raise a lot of red flags.
“And what if I don’t keep up my end of the bargain?”
“The tracer that I’m going to implant in you will insure that you do.” She grew cold at his words. If she agreed to his terms, she’d never see her family again, but if she didn’t agree, Brendan could die.
“Deal.” She muttered in disgust, watching as pleasure lit his eyes. How could she have ever believed herself in love with something like him?
“You made a good choice.” He removed what looked like a harmless medicine kit from his brief case and extracted a syringe.
“You make me sick.” She muttered with feeling as he jabbed the needle into her arm.
“You loved me once. Maybe you will again.” Chris felt the coffee curdle in her stomach at his words.
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Oh well.” He gave a careless shrug as he extracted a manila folder from the briefcase.
“That’s all the intel that I have. Clock’s ticking.” With that, he pushed up from the table and walked away. Christy scratched absently at the injection site as she pulled the folder open. The picture of Brendan lying prone in a hospital bed, dark lashes closed down over compelling brown eyes, was her first indication that Donovan was telling the truth. She quickly read through the information and felt her heart flip in her chest. He was in a hospital in Orlando, Florida. She had to take the next flight out.
As his plane touched the tarmac, he could see Alex waiting for him. He quickly cut the engine and deplaned.
“Thanks for making it back so quickly.” She looked at him out of desolate eyes.
“Come Ptichka.” He took her into his arms and felt her sag into his embrace.
“Don’t worry, we will find her.” He muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple before leading her back to the two men standing by the trees, watching them. He released her into the arms of her fiancé before turning to face her brother.
“So what do you need me to do?”
“I’ll try to explain it on the way back.” Cullen responded, turning to lead the way back through the dense woods.
“We all connect on a cellular level. It allows us to locate one another in the field, but our connection has a range limit.” Cullen began. “But when Allie and I connect, the range limit disappears.”
“Then why haven’t you found her yet?” Vlad snapped impatiently.
“The same reason we can’t find Ava. She’s blocking. We’ve learned to block to keep the others out of harms way.” Cullen explained easily as he led the way back into the estate and towards the workout room. Vlad felt his body tense as he thought of the last encounter he had with Christy in this very room. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he formed his next question.
“So, how can I help?”
“By opening yourself up to what you feel for her.”
“What?” He asked in shock. He couldn’t lay his emotions bare for her siblings when he couldn’t even face them himself.
“I can feel it inside of you. Its complicated, confused, but it’s there.” How had he known? He thought he was doing a better job at controlling his feelings. “I can feel the connection between the two of you every time Chris enters the room.”
“Please, Vlad.” Alex’s quiet plea reminded him that they all wanted the same thing. They all wanted Christy safe.
“So, what do I need to do?”
“We’re going to establish a mental link with you and you’re going to reach out to her.” Cullen gestured to the floor where Ethan already sat.
“Let’s do it.” He muttered as he crossed the room and took a seat. Alex and Cullen sat next to him.
“What do I need to do?”
“Just focus on her until you get a clear image of her.” Cullen spoke to him. Vlad knew that it shouldn’t be too hard to do as he dreamed of her nightly.
“Ugh, could you pick a different image. I’d prefer not to see my baby sister naked.” Cullen’s words had him flushing as he heard Ethan snicker. He quickly adjusted his image of her, going back to the first time he saw her, his tiny warrior with the mysterious midnight blue eyes.
“Better.” Cullen muttered. After a few moments he felt a sensation like he’d never experienced before. Shock had him pulling back.
“No, don’t break the connection.” Cullen commanded sharply. “Hold on to her.”
Vlad did as he was told and reached back out for her.
“Vlad?” Her voice sounded in his head, full of shock. “How?”
“I’m connected with your siblings. Tell us where you are, Dorogaya.”
“I can’t. I screwed up.” There was sadness in her mental thought and he could feel her gently pushing him away.
“Please don’t shut me out.”
“I don’t have a choice. I won’t put all of you in danger. I’m going to save Brendan and send him to the island. Goodbye.” With that, the mental connection snapped.
“Dammit.” He swore, trying to push to his feet as a wave of dizziness swamped him.
“Don’t try to move.” Cullen clamped a steadying hand on his arm and pulled him back down.
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a Mack truck and we still don’t know where she is.” Vlad groaned, gripping his pounding head.
“Yes we do. She’s at St. Louis Lambert Airport.” Cullen responded, making Vlad’s gaze shoot to him.
“What? How do you know? Are you sure?” He shot out.
“While her guard was down to you, I got a good look. I heard her thoughts. I gleaned that she was anxious to get to Orlando before she kicked me out.”
“Then let’s get going.” He pushed to his feet, this time ignoring the dizziness.
“We need a plan first.” Cullen reasoned. “She said she screwed up, she felt regret. Someone got to her.”
“More of a reason for us to get going. We can plan on the flight.” Why were they still there talking? They should be in the air and headed to Christy.
“Vlad, it’s not like you to rush into any situation blindly.” He knew that Alex was right, he never rushed into anything blindly, but he’d never been in love before either.
“That’s because he’s thinking with his heart and not his head.” Ethan smirked at him as he read his thoughts. Vlad slammed the door shut on his thoughts and scowled in his direction.
“It’s sweet.” Ethan continued on, unperturbed by Vlad’s murderous looks. “Stupid, but sweet.”
Before he could comment, Alex was wrapping her brother upside the head.
“Stop teasing him.” Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I’ll do whatever it takes for you.” Compelling green eyes focused on his face, swamping him with memories. They were the same words he uttered to her, so long ago when he met her at the orphanage refugee camp in Russia. She had saved his life in so many ways that night.
“Ya tak lyublyu tebia.” He muttered to her, emotions swimming into his eyes.
“And I love you.” She responded back in English as she pulled away and shot him a warm smile.
“It’s a good thing Dodge there knows you’re just friends. Otherwise, you’d be a dead man.” Ethan called out, drawing his attention away from Alex and towards the man with the steel gray eyes. Despite the situation, he felt amusement flow through him, making his lips twitch.
“The way he’s looking at me right now, I don’t think it matters.” He chuckled as he released Alex and watched as she crossed the room and sank into Dodger’s embrace. As he watched the couple kiss, his mind worked coolly. They needed a plan and they needed one quickly, because there was no way he was going to allow anyone to take Christy away from him.
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