Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (205 page)

One impulse came across stronger than
mind control. I punched her, right in the eye. Probably a lot
harder than necessary, considering she staggered into the wall
behind her, screaming. I didn’t pause long enough to
care.

Delmari…

I took off down the hall and ripped
open the first door. Through the sea of shocked faces turned in my
direction, one came in clear. Blond ponytail. Bright blue eyes.
Black Kember uniform. Ian.

“
Taylee!” He stood abruptly
from the highest judge’s bench.

Only a few people could brag about Ian
putting a name to their face. For me, it wasn’t something
brag-worthy. Like so many others, the majority of the time it left
his mouth in a yell.

I sprinted down the aisle and leapt
over the gate that separated the bench and the audience.

The two burly Kembers who stood on
either side of the podium rushed toward me. One grabbed my arms and
twisted them tightly behind my back. I stepped forward—or tried
to—but the Kember jerked me back so hard I nearly fell
backward.

“
D-Delmari,” I said,
sucking in jagged breaths. “He’s b-been a-at-tacked.”

Ian’s jaw clenched, and I swore I’d
never seen anyone go so long without blinking. For a moment, it
seemed he didn’t know what to do. Beside him, the Authority with
auburn hair, Favian—if I remembered right—leaned over to Ian and
whispered something.

In the middle of the room, not far
from where I struggled, a heavyset man, wearing shackles and an
orange jumpsuit, smirked at me. A jury consisting of at least fifty
Dreas and Kembers lined the wall on the left. They all looked down
their noses at me. Some shook their heads. Others’ mouths hung open
in shock.

Great. Nothing like stealing the
entire courtroom’s attention. They might as well have handed me a
microphone and put me under a spotlight. I glared back, hoping they
got my “go off yourselves” message.

I knew the Authorities constantly had
Kembers and Dreas to discipline, so a trial wasn’t all that
shocking. The rules had to be enforced somewhere. Depending on the
laws broken, a Kember could be stripped from their guardian rank
and thrown in the slammer. Dreas also had a prison. I heard it was
literally hell in there. Special walls confined them, trapping
their mental abilities inside with them. Some went crazy and
eventually killed themselves; others were moved to asylums. Yeah,
not a place I ever wanted to be.

Ian stepped away from his chair and
nodded. Xander, the second Authority, pushed his dark,
shoulder-length hair behind his ear and took Ian’s spot. Relief
flooded through me, even though I knew a “talkin’ to” was coming.
Ian would know where Del was. He’d know who attacked
him.

Did he
really have to walk
that
slowly?
Come on!
I wanted to yell at him. Since when did a
fifty-year-old Kember move like a half-dead bear? As his foot made
contact with the last stair, Ian nodded at his fellow Kembers. He
freed me.

I jerked my arm away and rushed toward
Ian. Before I could say a word, he gripped my elbow and dragged me
into a room to the side of the courtroom. His office.

“
Taylee.” He released me.
“That was unacceptable. Do you realize—”

“
Yeah” The more important
question was: did I care? Not in the least. “I’m just doing what I
was told.”

“
Delmari told you to barge
in my courtroom screaming?” He folded his arms across his
chest.

“
No, but—”

“
Where’s Delmari?” He
raised his hand. His cell phone zoomed from his desk and landed
into his palm. Telekinesis. Cool.

“
Didn’t you hear a word I
said? He’s been attacked. This guy, he—”

Ian held his finger to his lips,
flipped his phone open and put it to his ear. Apparently he’d heard
enough. I tapped my foot until, seconds later, he closed his
cell.

“
No answer.” He secured the
phone on his belt next to his special gun and knife. All Kembers
carried them. The Titanium bullets and blade acted as instant
poison when piercing a Rygon’s flesh. They were the only things
capable of killing Rygons.

“
Are you gonna listen? Fire
and water were exploding like geysers! There’s no way his cell made
it through.”

Now
Ian
didn’t answer. He pressed a button on his desk and talked into
a speaker, “Cindy, come sit with Taylee. Find out what
happened.”

“
Where’re you going?” I
stomped toward him.

He pointed to a chair. “Sit and don’t
talk.”

“
No, that’s—”

“
Now. Before you really
find out what ‘not fair’ is.”

I didn’t like being threatened, not
even from Mr. Badass-Head Honcho himself. I planted my feet
stubbornly where I stood. Before I could retort, the door opened
and in walked Cindy.

Ian froze upon seeing her. I did,
too.

Strands of frizzy red hair sprung from
her head like she’d been electrocuted. She held an ice pack on her
left, swollen eye and cast me a murderous glare with her good one.
Her knuckles blanched against the thick binder she gripped, most
likely preparing to use it as a weapon.

An hour
later, Cindy’s nasally voice still assaulted my ears. By the smirk
on her face, she probably thought the bitch-session made us even. I
watched the door Ian left through, assuming he and Delmari were
having one of their long, drawn-out conversations. They were
possibly even coming up with a punishment for my punching the Norm.
I sighed.
Come on, Del, let’s get out of
this hellhole already.

“
Taylee, pay attention,”
Cindy snapped.

“
You’ve
already asked me these questions.
Twice
!” I balled my fists to keep
them from flying in her direction. Again. “I’m done. Where’re Ian
and Del?”

Her round cheeks flushed. Whether she
felt embarrassed or pissed off, I couldn’t tell. “One more
question.”

I kicked my feet up on the glass
coffee table and slumped back onto the leather couch. “That’s what
you said five questions ago.”

Cindy smoothed her blouse over her red
pleather skirt, scowling. I had that effect on people. In fact, I
felt the urge now to point out to the poor thing that plastic
leather died with the ’80s. Glancing down, I bit my tongue. I
didn’t have any room to talk in my mud-splattered jeans and torn
green hoodie.

“
I need you to tell me what
happened after you got to the cabin.”

I stared around the office,
remembering how stupid I thought it was when Delmari made me
practice escaping. Who knew I’d ever be grateful for those middle
of the night interruptions. “I grabbed the cash he hid, jumped into
the car and followed the GPS he programmed for me, to
here.”

“
He prepared you
well.”

“
Duh, it’s Delmari. He
plans for everything. He built the cabin not far from our house and
left everything I’d need there in case of an emergency.”

“
How lucky we are he did.”
I didn’t miss her condescending tone as she brushed her hand over
her black eye. She cleared her throat and scribbled notes in her
binder.

I craned my neck to see what she wrote
about me. Probably nothing good. She snapped the binder closed and
narrowed her eyes. “Now—”

The door swung open. Thank
goodness.

I put my
feet down and reached for my bag.
Finally
. My hand stopped midair. I
blinked. A man, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, stepped
inside the room and closed the door. Standing in front of it, he
held his hands behind his back and stared at the wall across the
room.

Black
slacks and button-up shirt. All muscle: A Kember
.
A
hot
Kember. Maybe Ian sent him to
make sure I hadn’t rendered Cindy unconscious. Whatever the reason,
it was fine with me. My eyes wandered over his shirt, which he left
untucked, concealing his weapons. His dark, shaggy hair held a
slight wave and curled around his ears, almost covering them
entirely.

I’m a
Drea. I’m a Drea. I’m a Drea.
I quickly
averted my gaze, feeling heat rise to my cheeks. Did I really need
to remind myself how messed up being attracted to a Kember was? No.
I didn’t. I risked another glance at the dark-haired hottie and
cursed myself under my breath.

“
Are you my relief?” Cindy
asked.

“
No.”

I think I sighed louder than she
did.

Why was she here again? Norms didn’t
know about us—not usually, anyway. She probably slept with one of
the Authorities to get the job. What else explained it? After about
ten minutes of listening to Cindy gripe and tap her pen against the
folder, the door opened again. This time, Ian walked
through.

“
About freakin’ time,” I
muttered.

He whispered something to the Kember
and then proceeded over to where Cindy and I sat.

I looked at the door for Delmari, but
the Kember closed it before I could see into the hall. This wasn’t
the time for Delmari to go all social on me. Hadn’t I been here
long enough? Putting my feet down, I stood, hands on my hips.
“Where’s Del?”

Ian pointed at the couch.

Never a good sign. My stomach
tightened. “I-I’d rather stand.”

He settled into the chair across from
me. Leaning forward, he stared at me for several seconds without
saying a word. “There’s no easy way for me to tell you this,
Taylee…”

Immediately, my suspicions snapped
into place. I’d punched his receptionist. What was with the gentle,
rabid-animal approach? Shouldn’t I be getting reamed? The fact I
wasn’t made my heart hammer. “What do you mean?”

“
Our officials in your
district discovered his...” He swallowed. “His body about forty
minutes ago.” Ian’s gaze dropped to his hands, and he took a deep
breath. “He’s gone. I’m sorry.”

Gone? Delmari?

I laughed. No one could kill a
god.

“
Look, I’m sorry for
punching your Norm over there.” I motioned to Cindy. “I’ve learned
my lesson. Fists away.” I shoved my hands into the pouch of my
hoodie and took a step toward the door. “Catch you guys
later.”

“
Taylee. Sit.” Ian pointed
to a chair. “This is no time for jokes. Delmari’s gone, and I need
you to focus.”

I stared at Ian. My smirk gradually
fell. The normally stern, authoritative glimmer in his eyes
disappeared. Now there was only pain and…pity. I kept waiting for a
wink or the long lesson on self-control he had down pat.

When none of them came, I collapsed
onto the chair.

Chapter 3

I just stared. He couldn’t be…A heavy
feeling hit my core, cutting off my ability to breathe.
“Wh-What?”

“
I’m sorry, Taylee,” Ian
whispered. “Truly, I am. I know you two were close.”

A throbbing pain filled my chest.
No—impossible. My head refused to process such a ludicrous concept.
He couldn’t be gone. Not Delmari.

Images streamed through my mind—his
smile, his laugh, the sound of his voice...My life couldn’t go on
without them. If he was dead, I should be, too. I needed him. I
didn’t have anyone else. Determined not to lose control in front of
Ian and the redheaded bitch, I silently inhaled.

When I opened my mouth to ask another
question, Ian interrupted. “We have a couple options. There are
some wonderful Drea families who will take you…”

This had to be a dream. This couldn’t
be happening—not to me. I shook my head, a sob building in my
throat. “D-Drea families? Like a foster home?”

“
It’ll only be a few
months—until you’re eighteen.”

I got to my feet and jerked my bag off
the floor, breathing hard. “No. I-I’m going home.” Delmari would be
there. He had to be.

“
All that’s left is ash and
cement.” He reached for my bag and, with a fast, gentle tug, took
it from me. “I won’t place you with a family against your will.
Heaven knows you’d be halfway across the U.S. by nightfall, but I
can’t let you wander alone, either.” He motioned to the Kember
guarding the door. “Taylee Pierce, this is, Aiden Oltman. He’ll be
your new Kember and legal guardian.”

Aiden stepped forward, towering over
me. He folded his arms across his chest and gave me a curt
nod.

No. No. No.

They
weren’t going to replace Delmari. They couldn’t. No one could
protect me like he could. The sting in my eyes and the pain in my
chest swelled into rage. Maybe I overestimated Ian all these years.
He was an idiot. “You think I’m gonna go with
him
? I-I don’t need a new
Kember!”

“
I know it’s fast.” Ian
held my gaze, like it was supposed to reassure me. “You can’t go
unprotected. Aiden’s best-suited for your situation.” He turned
away, obviously thinking I’d go quietly and addressed Aiden.
“Oakridge, Oregon will accommodate you both. I want you to steer
clear of the Boise area—”