Maya Banks - Whispers in the Dark

 He stroked her hair, not wanting to touch any other part of her for fear of hurting the wounds. His wounds. The knot in his throat threatened to choke him.

 You don’t need to be so horrified. Her voice was shaky but there was a thread of steel infused into her words. It isn’t as bad as you think. The pain is already receding. The wounds will disappear soon.

 How could she be so calm about it? She’d just had a knife taken to her body because she was protecting him. Who the hell did that for someone they didn’t even know?

 You shouldn’t have interfered, he said fiercely.

 She smiled and put her small hand to his chest. You have to be strong if you’re going to escape. I’m going to keep you strong. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind.

 I’ll never be able to repay what you’ve done.

 You going back home to your family is payment enough.

 Are you feeling better yet? He couldn’t keep the anxious note from creeping into his voice. Her pain was still very much present in his consciousness but it seemed more distant. He didn’t know if it was because he wanted so much for it to be gone or if she was in fact recovering.

 I’m better. I told you it wouldn’t last long. I’ll be weak for a bit, but it’s nothing for you to worry about. I want you to concentrate on getting stronger so you can escape.

 You’re a bossy little thing.

 She smiled again. My sister says the same thing.

 As soon as the mention of her sister echoed through his mind, sadness came right behind.

 Where is your sister? Are you both in trouble?

 Again he sensed her withdrawal. It frustrated him that she was so tight lipped about whatever difficulties she was having. She was very alone. He sensed her loneliness—and her fear. He wasn’t mistaken about that. He should be helping her but instead he was stuck in this hellhole with her taking the brunt of his torture.

 She’s safe, Shea finally said. We can’t be together right now, but she’s safe and that’s all that matters.

 And are you safe? Are you taken care of? Or are you completely on your own with no protection and no help?

 I’m doing what I have to do.

 And what is that, Shea? Talk to me. What are you running from? Why are neither you nor your sister safe? Damn it, I can help you just like you’re helping me.

 Your family’s focus has to be on helping you. They can’t help me. I can’t afford to trust anyone. I don’t even know for sure who is after me and my sister.

 Nathan blew out his breath. His helplessness was pissing him off. It was obvious that she absolutely believed she was in danger, and it infuriated him that she was helping him, which made her even more vulnerable.

 You seem to be focused on protecting an awful lot of people, Shea. Me, your sister. What about you?

 I’m only doing what needs to be done. Grace is special. I can’t allow her to be exploited.

 Does she have your abilities? Is that why people are looking for you?

 He latched on to the implication in her statement and felt her immediate regret that she’d been too careless with information.

 She can do far more than I can.

 Shea went silent after that announcement, refusing to offer more.

 More than Shea could do? Nathan couldn’t imagine anyone being able to do more than Shea had done for him. She was able to talk to him, touch him, take his pain, bear his torture for him. What the hell else was there?

 But he sensed the truth in Shea’s words. Whether her sister could do more or not, Shea believed it. She grew fiercer when she thought of Grace, and Nathan had already learned that Shea was nothing if not intensely loyal to the people she chose to protect.

 Are you still bleeding?

 She stirred and then shook her head. No. The marks are disappearing. It doesn’t hurt much anymore.

 You should rest.

 As should you. Whether you feel the pain or not, they made cuts to your entire body. You’ll be weaker and now you risk infection. You have to stay strong, Nathan. Don’t let them defeat you. Not when escape is so close.

 Then rest with me. I’ll sleep better if I know you’re here with me. I may not be able to protect you, but at least I’ll know you’re safe.

 She yawned and he pulled her a little closer, liking the way she fit so well against him, even if it was all in his mind.

 For the space of a few moments, he could forget that they were thousands of miles apart, that he was imprisoned in hell and that she was somewhere he couldn’t protect her.

 Just for now, they were together, her much smaller body curled into his.

 As ridiculous as it sounded, he could forget his present circumstances. He could forget the endless pain and suffering because holding her was like holding a ray of sunshine.

 She gave him hope when nothing else had been able to penetrate the dim world he’d descended into. And so he hung on with all the fierceness he could muster, because now that she’d found him, he wasn’t going to let her go.

“SON of a bitch, this is pissing me off.” Donovan stared down at the email message on his phone and let loose another string of expletives that had his brothers wincing.

 “What’s going on, Van?” Ethan demanded.

 Donovan looked up to where his brothers were packing gear and loading up their packs for the trek into the Afghani Mountains. There was grim acceptance of their possible fate. Each of them knew there was a good damn chance they wouldn’t come back, but there wasn’t an alternative. Not for them.

 “He’s in a cave or so the latest email says. A fucking cave. Like there aren’t a million of those in these mountains?”

 Garrett frowned. “But are there that many capable of holding prisoners? There are a few here that have been used as outposts for the Taliban.”

 “We’ll question the locals and hope to hell we can buy information,” Sam said. “Our guide should be here soon then we’ll take out.”

 Behind him, Rio stood quietly talking to his team while Steele and his team stood to the side, waiting. They were all mostly silent, their faces impassive.

 A few moments later, a young man dressed in tattered pants and shirt appeared out of the dark. He wore a Western-style hoodie, but it was thin and holes riddled the sleeves and back.

 “You are Sam Kelly?” the boy asked.

 Sam took a step forward. “Yeah, that’s me. Are you Aamil?”

 The boy nodded solemnly. “We must hurry. It is too open here. I’ll take you into the mountains.”

 “Whoa, wait a minute,” Donovan said.

 The boy turned, a slight frown on his face.

 “What do you know about caves around the Korengal Valley? A big enough cave to house prisoners.”

 Aamil swallowed nervously. “I know of a few, but they are heavily guarded. It’s too dangerous.”

 “To hell with dangerous,” Garrett said. “P.J. and Cole can take them out with their hands tied behind their backs.”

 “Glad you’re so confident in our abilities,” P.J. said dryly. “Do the rest of you plan to do anything or are Cole and I going in alone?”

 “Smart-ass,” Cole muttered.

 “I want to question the locals,” Sam said to Aamil. “I need to know where those caves are and what kind of activity is around them.”

 Aamil hesitated. “It will cost you double what we agreed upon.”

 “I don’t give a damn what it costs,” Sam growled. “Just take us there.”

 “We should go then. It’s better to travel in the dark.”

 “Fall in,” Sam called softly. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

 As they melted into the night, Donovan adjusted his rifle and stared into the darkness. He hoped to hell they weren’t getting jerked around. It pissed him off that this asshole emailing him obviously knew enough about Nathan’s family and situation to send a fucking SOS email but he couldn’t supply more than Nathan was in some cave in Korengal Valley?

 It didn’t make any goddamn sense. Why not be more specific?

 And if he knew so damn much about Nathan and had obviously talked to him, why wasn’t he doing more to help than just sending an email? For that matter, how the hell did he have the ability to send an email from here? He’d obviously talked to Nathan. Either he was one of the assholes holding Nathan captive and was helping him on the sly or…or the entire thing was a damn setup.

 The more he thought about the situation, the more he didn’t like it. Now the entire KGI organization was on the ground in Afghanistan. In the most dangerous area. No backup. No help from Resnick. No way to guarantee that any of them would get back home.

 Donovan glanced over at his brothers. They had no business coming on this mission. They had wives. Garrett had a fiancée. Sam had a daughter. They should have let Donovan come with the rest of KGI and stayed their asses at home.

 “Quit looking like you just got a hand job from a drag queen,” Garrett muttered beside him.

 “How the fuck do you know what I look like?” Donovan asked irritably. “It’s dark as shit out here.”

 “Don’t need to see you to know you have that pinched, tight-ass look on your face. You weren’t coming without us. No way we’d let Nathan rot in some goddamn cave any more than we let Rachel stay in that shithole in Colombia.”

 “Yeah, I know,” Donovan said in resignation. “But I don’t have to like it. You and Sam and Ethan have families back home. You’re needed.”

 “Nathan is family and so are you. No way we’d leave either of you without as much protection as we can muster, so shut the fuck up and let’s go blow the fuck out of those goatherding motherfuckers who have Nathan.”

 Donovan cracked a smile. “Yippee ki-yay.”

 “Fuckin’ A.”

 “Sarah’s been on you about the language, huh.”

 Garrett snarled in response and then muttered a few more F bombs for good measure.

 “Yeah, you better get them all out now because when you get back home, no more F words for you.”

 “Fuck you, Van. Just fuck you.”

 SHEA spread the map out over her bed and studied the highways intently. She chewed absently at her bottom lip as she tried to decide where to go next.

 If only she knew more about the people after her and Grace. She didn’t dare go to the police. What was she supposed to tell them? That she and her sister were telepathic and some maniacs were after them but, oh by the way, I don’t know who they are.

 For all she knew, it could be the government. It could be the police or the FBI or the CIA or whoever the hell would be interested in Grace’s powers.

 What she did know was that she wasn’t going to allow them to take her or Grace and she damn sure wasn’t going to let them use her to get to Grace.

 A foreign country sounded nice if she could get out of the United States undetected. She had a passport, but of course, it was in her real name and going to an airport and getting on a plane was like holding up a neon sign that said, “Here I am! Come get me!”

 She shook her head in disgust. The only thing she could do was keep moving, at least for now. Until…until when? Without a plan. Without someone to help her, how was she ever going to feel safe again? Whom could she trust?

 The million-dollar question. The short answer was no one.

 She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment to collect her thoughts. She stared at the map again and mentally traced the path she’d traveled for the last year. The longest she’d stayed in one place was a couple of months.

 At first she and Grace had run together, but Shea had quickly surmised that the only smart thing to do was split up. They were too noticeable as a pair. Grace drew enough attention on her own. The contrast between the two sisters was striking. Shea was petite, blond, paler skinned. Grace was taller, darker skinned with long raven hair.

 The hardest part had been convincing Grace that not only did they need to split up, but that it was imperative that they not know where the other was at any time.

 Grace had been infuriated, much like Nathan had been, that Shea sought to protect her. In the end, Shea had forgone trying to make Grace see the logic behind Shea’s idea and had simply taken off.