Redemption (14 page)

Sam sat in his translucent cage wearing only his dress shirt and slacks. He wasn’t sure how his prison had been constructed or why it was actually containing him, but he knew there was something more powerful than himself at work. That fact alone terrified him.

A break in the stark white wall appeared and Liam walked through. Sam’s eyes met his, but he wouldn’t give him the respect of rising to meet him.

“Sammael, I see you’ve woken from your nap. How are you feeling?” Liam walked up to the barrier with his hands behind his back.

“Let’s cut the crap, shall we? What do you want?” Sam rested his forearms on his raised knees.

“Cut to the chase, I see. Well, we are waiting for your friend, Lily, to arrive in Reading. Once she’s put her cold little hands on the book I need, there will be an exchange.”

“Exchange? You make it sound like a bank transaction. These are people’s lives. What about Ian and Becca?”

“Don’t worry, your precious companions are just fine. They are together, if that makes you feel any better.”

Sam sighed and let his chin fall to his chest. Ever since he had awoken, his thoughts were in a million pieces as he feared any type of suffering Becca could be in. He had failed her in so many ways in her lifetime; he vowed this would not be another.

“When can I see them?”

“As soon as Lily and I make the exchange. Don’t ask when that will be because I don’t know at this point. I’ll give you updates as soon as I have anything to report.”

Liam left through the same break in the white wall as he had entered.

Sam’s head fell backward and hit the wall of his cage, his eyes staring upward. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing. I can’t let Rebecca down – not again.”

Ian flexed his stiff fingers as his eyes fluttered open, his gaze following down his arm to notice what his fingers had between them. He could feel warm, soft flesh beneath the sheet. As his eyes moved up, he admired the black cotton sheet that barely covered the voluptuous breasts underneath. Once he reached her face, he saw an expression he was nowhere near prepared for. Even though the memories of being transported somehow and chained up were vague, he knew the situation they were in shouldn’t be a happy one. Yet, Becca radiated complete contentment.

Her long dark lashes wavered just slightly as her eyes moved beneath their lids, her lips slightly parted, curved upward at the corners. Her hair was swept behind her in a loose ponytail, and his eyes followed the flowing strands to see the sheet was not covering most of her back; her scar plainly visible. His fingertips moved on instinct to trace the raised skin, and were honored with an unexpected moan.

Heat flushed throughout his body at the sound of Becca’s unconscious vocals. He tried to move his hand, but for some reason he couldn’t make himself – he was a man after all. His body was bound to react to a beautiful, mostly naked woman lying just inches from him. He wanted to chalk it up to his hormones, but he had a nagging feeling that was nowhere near what was happening.

He concentrated on why he was even in the situation he was in. Lily. Her smile, her laugh, her love… He’d come halfway around the world to find a woman he had wanted to spend the rest of his life with, after knowing her just a few months. That brought his thoughts to the reason why she left; her secret. She had run away from him, from her life in Boston, even from her own daughter. A sickening knot formed in his stomach at the realization that he hadn’t really known Lily at all. She ran before he really had a chance.

He let his mind wander to why it was that Becca had even brought him with her. Becca wanted Lily’s happiness more than anything, but at what cost? He knew how much Becca loved Lily, but what about her own happiness? After all she had been through, why wasn’t it Lily who was running after Becca helping chase her happiness?

This brought up the question of what he had really seen in Lily to begin with. Was it just some vampiric spell or was it really her? Did she love him for who he was, or was he just acting like the man she wanted? His mind was swimming in questions and doubt, wondering if any of the months they spent together were real.

He swallowed hard as Becca’s hand moved from grasping the sheet between her breasts to limply exploring what was around her. Once she found Ian’s shoulder, she pulled herself close and snuggled onto his chest. He turned to lie on his back so her cheek would rest on his bare chest. Her hand snaked across his stomach to gently grasp at his hip.

He couldn’t stop the thoughts of Becca racing through his mind. She was insanely smart as well as devastatingly beautiful. The first moment he saw her he felt something he knew he shouldn’t. The whole reason for going through everything was for Lily, but after the pretense of being Becca’s fiancé and finding out her horrific experience with Gideon, he couldn’t help feeling closer to her than Lily. She seemed to trust him instantly. Admittedly, he felt the same or else he wouldn’t have left his life to follow her halfway around the world. Even though his heartache had been excruciating in Lily’s absence, he was starting to think it had all happened for a reason. Becca.

His thoughts of confusion about his feelings for Lily and Becca were interrupted when he heard the door on the other side of the room open. Liam walked in and closed the door behind him before making his way over to Becca’s side of the bed.

Ian held onto Becca tighter as he saw the disgusting gleam in Liam’s eyes as he took in the view of her backside.

“She’s so beautiful while she’s sleeping, don’t you think?” Liam raised his gaze to focus on Ian.

“I hope she can sleep through this entire ordeal.” Ian uttered quietly through clenched teeth.

“I don’t think she can sleep that long. The preparations that need to be made might take a while.” Liam’s fingertips grazed Becca’s spine.

Ian’s muscles tensed as he pulled at his chains while attempting to pull Becca in closer.

Liam softly laughed as he pulled back from the bedside. “I thought Lily was the one you were after?”

“We were looking for her. We both need answers.”

“If things go as planned, we will all get them.” Liam made his way towards the door before Ian called out.

“Hey, is Lily coming? What about clothes and food and a bathroom? Where is Sam? Why isn’t he in here?”

Liam turned back towards the bed with a disturbing grin. “Lily will come and we will make an exchange. Once Becca is awake and I can trust the both of you, you’ll be released from the chains and brought food – no clothes I’m afraid. As for Sam,” he rubbed at the back of his neck while letting out a short chuckle. “I don’t think it would be very appropriate for him to see the two of you like this. He also needs a different sort of confinement given his special abilities.”

With another snarky chuckle, he left Ian with Becca in his arms wondering exactly what the hell was going on.

Becca slept for a few more hours in Ian’s arms as he contemplated all the ways they could get themselves out of the predicament they were in. Unfortunately, Ian had no clue what to do. He had just about given up on the thoughts of escape when Becca began to stir.

She felt her brain throbbing in her skull as she peeled her cheek from the warm skin it had been stuck to. Her eyes blinked slowly, her surroundings blurry and barely distinguishable. She felt the tug at her wrist as she lifted herself up, seeing she was cuffed to something and the sheet slipped lower as she became upright. Her eyes shut tightly for a few seconds so she could attempt to clear the film that had gathered over them. Once she opened them again, things were much clearer. She was staring at Ian lying bare-chested, with a sheet that covered just above his hips.

She looked again up to where her wrist was cuffed and discovered Ian had his wrist cuffed also. She looked back down at Ian who had a very concentrated look on his face, staring straight into her eyes. His breathing was labored as he attempted to sit up next to her. A sudden wave of nausea overtook her before he could get that far.

“I’m gonna’ puke!” She turned, frantically swinging her legs off the side of the bed while her arm stretched and the dry heaves began.

“Just a sec. Shit!”

She felt him move behind her on the bed as she tried to swallow down what was attempting to rise.

“Here!” He thrust a pillowcase into her hands.

She opened it just seconds before she let go. What little she had eaten over the past twenty-four hours spilled out until there was nothing left. Ian’s hand held her hair at the nape of her neck, making sure to keep it from getting doused in the mess spewing from her mouth.

Once she felt she was done, she took several deep breaths and took in her surroundings.

“Where are we?”

Ian rested his head on the back of her shoulder as he took a few cleansing breaths of his own.

“I don’t know. Liam came in a few hours ago and said some bullshit about making an exchange with Lily. He seems to think she’ll come after us. He says Sam is safe, but won’t be with us. Considering the way we’re being kept, I think that might be a good idea.”

Ian lifted his head, his breath trailing down Becca’s spine. Pinpricks of heat spiked in each of her vertebrae, a fluid warmth possessing her body.

The second she turned to look at him was when she realized she was only wearing underwear, and looked down to see a tiny pair of black lace boy shorts clinging to her hips. She yanked the sheet up to cover her breasts, and then covered her face as the tears begin to flow.

“No, no, it’s okay. I know it doesn’t look that way right now, but-”

Becca cut him off with the sharp rise of her head. “It’s not okay!” She brought the sheet up to her eyes to wipe her tears. “We have no idea where we are, no idea how we got here. We are cuffed to a headboard, half-naked…” She let out another sob before continuing. “And I don’t know about you, but these were
not
the undergarments I was wearing the last time I was conscious.”

“I’m going to
kill
that fucker! He was-”

“Oh, don’t worry. That little shit is going to get his.”

That was the moment Liam decided to greet his newly awakened detainee.

“I wouldn’t say such things, if I were you. I’ve come to help.”

Liam brought boxes of supplies in on a hand cart from the hallway.

“I’ve got bottled water and some food. Some hygiene products and a portable toilet complete with tissues. That should hold you for a while.”

“What about clothes?!” Becca shouted.