Blood's Refuge (Book 2 of Blood Ties Novels)

The Chase

“They’ve got my brother. He’s with Ands. We have to move now.” I nearly ran out the back door to surpass the slow, human means of travel, when I realized Andy hadn’t moved an inch and his wary gaze hadn’t changed. What’s wrong with him?

“He’s scared.” Andrea’s thoughts rushed. “Tell him to read my last entry. He’ll understand everything, but make him get in the truck to read, I think Seth is pretty bad off.” It was still pitch black through her vision, so that meant that she couldn’t see any better than I could. She was working on touch alone.

“Tell Seth I said hold on, I’m coming.”

“I already have,” she whispered. She was becoming braver with every minute, now that she had someone that needed her to be thoughtful and strong. Her strength made me love her even more.

“Andy, she told me to tell you to read the last entry on our way to Seth’s house. You need to go with me. If I find any more clues, then I’m going to need you there.” He nodded and headed for the door. His wary eyes never left me. I jumped into the driver’s seat to force Andy to read his sister’s last entry.

How can he be so damn determined to find them? A normal person wouldn’t be able to concentrate on any one thing long enough to be of any help in a kidnapping case, especially when two loved-ones are missing.

I refused to look away from him for more than a minute which made reading Andrea’s last entry a little difficult, until I came across a part that helped change my mind about Gabriel and whether or not he was evil.

May 15

We’ve talked about every possible way we can stay together. I still don’t know what I want to do. My family is the only reason I can’t make up my mind. I don’t know what I would tell them if I chose to change, but I also don’t know how I would explain the fact that Gabriel doesn’t age. Gabriel doesn’t want me to change. He’s working on a cure every night, but he’s also been working on it for decades, and still no luck. I’ve asked him to do it before, but he refuses to do it while he knows I’m so undecided about my family.

After the trial, I’m going to talk to Andy about it. He should be the first to know anyway. I know he’s noticed the differences in Gabriel, I just hope he doesn’t go berserk over it. He’s so overprotective, like mom. I hope he can help me with this decision, because now that I can hear Gabriel’s mind so much clearer, I know he’s the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, or maybe longer.

He doesn’t want to kill my sister. He really does love her as much as he says. I could feel a smile twitch at the corners of my mouth. I could feel it in my bones that this realization was correct. Another thought crossed my mind; He’s going to find my sister and Seth. It was like dawn approaching an endless night. Gabriel would be able to save them when others would not because of his exceptionality.

When Gabe pulled into Seth’s drive, I looked up to see him changing again. It was unnerving to see his typically tan skin turn pallor and his eyes turn to a burning red, but the creepiest part was watching his teeth sharpen. He truly looked like a killer, not my friend. “Why…”

“This form makes everything ten times sharper. I’ll sense anything out of the ordinary immediately this way,” he answered before I had finished the question. It made me wonder if he could hear my thoughts, but he’d never known what I was thinking before. “You’re very easy to read,” he answered again.

Can you hear my thoughts? Answer me now if you can.

“Are you ready to go in?” he asked quickly. “We don’t need to lose any more time.” He jumped out of the truck without my response and headed straight to the house.

He moved so quickly I thought I had imagined seeing him at the house’s door before he entered. I followed directly behind him. He was nowhere in sight, but I started my usual search of a crime scene. I started searching for clues in the foyer, but found nothing. I headed to the living room and found a letter half opened on the couch. I kicked it open, so my finger prints wouldn’t be on it. “We warned you!” stared me in the face. I stepped away from the letter. I could feel the anxiety swallow me.

I came into the room just as Andy was about to lose his cool. I saw the letter standing open next to the couch where he was balling his hands into tight fists. He had recognized the handwriting immediately. It was the same lettering from Andrea’s letter. I slowly went to his side and made him sit down. “I think I’ll finish the search.” I grabbed the letter and sniffed it. Just like at Ands’ place, roses and soil. “This letter has the same scent to it. Do you think you can stay here and watch the place while I search for roses and soil again?”

He just nodded. He didn’t look like he was going into shock, but I ran to the kitchen and brought back some juice, just in case. He took it without a word, just holding it and staring off into space. Just as I was about to leave, he whispered, “She’s gone.”

“She’s going to be fine. I’ll find her and bring her back, I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Andrea’s voice broke my concentration. “My brother deserves more than that. He knows the likelihood of finding us alive. You also have to remember that he’s lived through this once before. He promised me last time that this would never happen again. Let him process.” Her thoughts were relatively calm. Seth had awakened and was helping her piece things together.

Between the two of them, they knew they were in a hole in the ground. The ceiling was too high for either of them to reach, so they weren’t sure what exactly was above them, but the walls and floor were dirt laden. Both had been stripped of their clothes and put into long shirts that felt like burlap. Andrea had been completely out when she was deposited into their holding cell, so she couldn’t remember anything; but Seth had been there for weeks, though he didn’t hear when she was left. In one of the far corners, there was a large pipe. This is where they sent down food and bottled water. They also gave orders from this pipe. It had to lead somewhere.

They had hurt Seth the first night, trying to get information out of him about me. They knew that I was different, but didn’t know how. He had told them that he thought I was on steroids. They hadn’t questioned Andrea, but the person who had taken her also knocked her out, so they couldn’t. They hoped that the men would come back to question her.

I was outside sniffing the wind, trying to find the rose and soil smell again. “Do you hear anything?” I asked as I turned the corner toward the house.

“Never, it’s like being in a black hole. You didn’t find anything, did you?” She knew I hadn’t, but I think she needed me to tell her.

“No, but I’m not giving up. I will find you, my love.” I felt the warmth of her thoughts wrap around my words. She had complete confidence in me.

“I know you will. Be safe, you have my heart.” She yawned. I knew it was very late and Seth had fallen asleep again, I was afraid the thugs had really hurt him. His old age wasn’t equipped for this kind of thing, especially when he was beaten. Andrea hadn’t slept well in days because of the trial and now she was taken. I knew she would fight sleep the entire time she was gone, but I hated to feel her mind in pain.

When I got back into the house, Andy was up, pacing the floor. “Did you find anything?” All traces of shock had left his system while I was out searching.

“No, but we know more about the holding area, and they are being fed. I don’t think they want to kill them, they want information about me.”

“What kind of information?” He was just as confused as I was.

“Someone knows I’m different and they’re investigating. I have a feeling it has something to do with our extracurricular activities. It’s the only thing that makes sense.” His surprise was plain. It hadn’t even occurred to him that their kidnapping had anything to do with our investigation; like me, he had assumed it had to do with the Sequoia Kim case.

“Wait, do you think that maybe Seth was taken because of you, and Andi was taken because of me? They don’t have to both be gone because of you. She is my only family and Seth’s your only family. Maybe they’re after information about both of us?” His epiphany rocked both me and Andrea.

“He’s right. It makes perfect sense,” Andrea blasted almost automatically.

“Yes, I think he is,” I answered. Her sisterly pride resonated into me. “She thinks you’re right too.” All of a sudden, panic and fear shot through me. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a door in the ceiling! Someone’s lowered a ladder, they’re coming down. What do I do?” The panic gushed through her.

“Stay calm. Look through the hole; learn as much as you can. Use your previous experience to your advantage.” That kicked her in gear. She lost the panic as fast as it had come. The fear still radiated from her, but there was nothing she could do about that.

I watched through her eyes. A man’s foot came down the ladder, blocking the view above him, but there was light radiating above him. When he came down a little further, the outside view was perfect. There was a full moon out and it was lighting up the night sky. There was a small artificial light source, possibly a flashlight or a lantern. The tree tops were visible from where Andrea stood under the ladder. The trees were all alike, possibly pine or fir. The light never wavered, meaning the man may be alone. She moved away from the ladder to the far corner when the man was low enough to stand on the ground. Her fear had overshadowed her need to learn everything she could about where she was.

“Ms. Bell, you need to come with me. I don’t want to hurt you.” The voice was familiar to both of us, but neither of us could place him.

“Go with him. Don’t push your luck.” I told her. She was so nervous that her arms were shaking.

She stepped out of the corner and walked toward him. She put up a very brave front. She still couldn’t see who it was, but she was determined to help me as much as possible. “Thank you for cooperating. It makes this easier.”

“Whatever you need to make your life easier.” Her sarcasm dripped off every word. Instead of a weak, inferior voice that most would have suspected, hers came out strong and controlled.

“Don’t be like that. We can be civil and be done with the mess soon enough. We just need information about your brother,” the voice in the dark explained.

“Well, kidnapping me probably wasn’t the best way of doing that.”

“Stop antagonizing him. Let him ask the questions.” I interrupted her next words. I was glad that she thought her words through carefully before she spoke. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t have appreciated the fact that she recognized his voice.

“We know this, but we figured it was the fastest way to get the information we needed.” He was silent for a moment, I was sure to see if she would say anything back. When it was clear that she didn’t plan on saying anything else, he continued. “What do you know about Andy’s involvement with Gabriel Haden?”

“They’re friends. Gabriel and I are dating and he and my brother became fast friends,” she answered as truthfully as the outside world would know. “Why?”

“I ask the questions. Do you know about their evenings out?” he questioned again.

“Of course I do. I’m not a moron. They leave me alone those nights to work. I basically have to kick them out to get any work done.”

“Do they tell you what they do on their nights out?”

“It’s got something to do with the investigation,” we both realized at the same time.

“Not really. I mean there are only so many crappy martial arts or Adam Sandler movies I can stand to pay attention too. They quit telling me about their nights out months ago.” “Do they really think if I knew anything, I would be stupid enough to tell them anything with this line of questioning? I mean, I’m a lawyer for Christ’s sake,” she moaned. I could just see her eyes rolling.

“Do you know if either of your men is on drugs?”

“They would never do something so stupid,” she spat with all of the sisterly righteousness she possessed.

“Are you sure?” he pressed.

“I’m positive. What is all of this about? Do you have evidence that they are? Who are you?” Her acting was blatant, but he didn’t seem to see through it. She stepped forward, closer to the man.

“I said, I ask the questions and you can stop right there. If you know what’s good for you.” But he stopped her too late. She saw his face.

“I can’t believe it. Why would he risk his future like this?” she asked when she backed away from him.

“I don’t know, but Frank better watch his back next time I see him,” I growled.

“I’ll be back, Ms. Bell,” Frank said as he left the hole.

Just as he was dragging up the ladder, Andrea stepped toward the hole. There was a door being lowered over them. She looked passed the door toward the clear sky. She stared at the constellations. “Centaurus is directly above me. Do you see it?”

“Yes, I’ll get there as soon as possible.” I quickly looked out the windows, trying to find the misshapen horse. I found it lying over the forest behind my brother’s home. “Andy, someone came to speak to Ands. She got a good look outside before they closed her up again. I know where to find her.”

“Let’s go.” Andy was out the door before I could tell him that it would be faster for me to go alone. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he couldn’t help, so I followed him out to his truck. He jumped into the passenger side, knowing it would be better if I drove. I revved the engine as I pulled into reverse, nearly hitting Seth’s mailbox. “Careful, we don’t need to be in an accident right now.”

I drove around the block and headed straight for Centaurus. We were heading back to the cemetery. “This is where I found her clothes earlier. I can’t believe I was that close to finding her.” When we had driven as far as we could, Andy and I jumped out of the cab and chased the constellation by foot. “We have to be directly beneath Centaurus.” The confusion on his face let me know he didn’t know anything about constellations. “It’s a star formation that looks like a warped horse with a missing back leg. It may have moved a bit, but we will be in the general vicinity of the hole.”

He nodded and started toward the trees where the head of the constellation began. Before we could get there, two men came out of the tree line, Frank and Brandon. “We were told that you may actually be able to find them,” Brandon fumed. “I didn’t believe it, but I guess you two are special after all.” Brandon pulled a gun from behind his back. At the sight of a weapon, Frank made a mad dash out of the area and Andy acted on instinct, pulling his own gun out of the holster.

“Drop it, or I’ll shot. Brandon, you know I’m an officer…” Andy didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence, Brandon fired. He missed, but barely. I felt the breeze of the bullet as it zoomed by my arm. He knew who was more threatening. Someone had told him about my kind. I was sure if I looked at the bullets, they would be pure silver.

Andy’s replying shots echoed through the trees. He, however, didn’t miss. Years of police training and days at the target range made him almost as deadly as me. Brandon dropped to ground, releasing the gun. I could still hear Frank running through the woods.

“Andy, I’ll be back. Frank is getting away.” I turned away from him and ran toward his footfalls. I caught him quickly and threw him to the ground. I knew what he was seeing, and it was terrifying. “Tell me where she is,” I growled.

“In a hole in the ground, covered by moss. If she’s talking at all, you’ll hear her. I did it for the money. She said that they’d be released after she got all of the information she needed. Please, I didn’t know that Brandon had a gun,” he sniveled. His tears were running fast and his body quaked in fear.

“Who is she?” I pulled him closer to my face, opening my mouth, uncovering sharpened teeth for effect.

“I don’t know. Brandon was the only one I ever talked too. He said his employer needed someone new to help and that I’d get a hundred thousand for going in the hole, asking the questions, and lying a bit. Brandon said that we were just getting some information. That Ms. Bell and her brother were drug dealers and he was working to get rid of them. He said that you’d been involved with her intimately, so you knew all about it. That’s why Seth had Robert hire her.” His pupils never dilated, his heart rate never changed. He was telling the truth. He was just an innocent man, trapped in the middle of very bad business.

“You’re coming with me,” I hissed. He whimpered a little and then collapsed. I lifted him off the ground and ran him back to Andy. “Cuff him. I don’t think he really knew what he was doing, but you can never be too cautious.” “Ands, start yelling for me and Andy. We’re near.” There was nothing. She was unconscious again. I knew this time, I’d find her. “She’s out again,” I told Andy. I smiled because I foolishly thought that she’d passed out, but I was sorely mistaken.

We scoured the ground until Andy found the ladder leaned against a tree. He started kicking the ground around him until his foot hit a piece of wood covered with leaves and moss. We joyfully opened it and expected to see Ands lying under the hole, but she wasn’t there. I jumped in without the need for a ladder and found the hole empty and a strong smell of roses and hay left behind. I released a mighty growl as I leaped out of the pit already flaring my nostrils in search for which way the scent took me. “They’re gone!” Andy’s face flushed.

He let me go on my hunt, but I soon realized that the rose and hay scent mingled with Andrea’s scent I was following led in circles. It was odd how there were no singular branches off the circular path. There was most definitely another immortal involved, and an older, more experienced one at that. Frank had referred to their employer as a she. Who could it be? I went back to inform Andy of the trail loss.