Shadow Soldier (24 page)

Kicking and twisting, she cried out for someone to help her, but her screams were muffled against the man’s huge palm. As the man carried her away from the fight, she frantically searched for someone, anyone, but her friends remained engaged in their own battles. Not even Deke looked in her direction.

As her kidnapper dragged her into the dank alley beside the bakery, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d ever see any of them again.

* * * *

The gashes in his side from the Warden’s claws had started to heal, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch. Dried blood flaked from his skin, and two of his ribs had been cracked, but Deke wouldn’t let the pain stop him.

His best friend was dead, and his mate had been kidnapped. He couldn’t even properly mourn Peter’s loss because every part of him demanded the blood from the Wardens who had taken Roux. They would pay, every one of them. He’d tear apart the entire fucking state to find her if he had to, and the goddess help anyone who stood in his way.

Only Lynk had stopped him from charging the Diavolos estate when he’d found Roux missing from the Square. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and most of them were barely standing. Lynk didn’t know of any type of jail on the grounds, and he couldn’t say where the Wardens would keep Roux and Abby. Without a plan, they’d only end up getting themselves captured or killed, and that wouldn’t help anyone.

The longer they sat in the second-level basement of the Bastille without any progress, the more anxious he grew. It had been almost three hours since the confrontation by the fountain, and though Deke couldn’t see outside, he knew the sun would be setting soon. While everyone had been bandaged, stitched, and otherwise patched up, they were no closer to reaching a decision than when they’d started.

Once he’d realized Roux had snuck into the Square, he’d wanted to strangle her. When Lynk had marched her right into the middle of the fray, it had taken every ounce of willpower he possessed not to eviscerate the man where he stood. He understood why Lynk had done it, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Everyone around the fountain had caught her scent. Deke had seen it in Captain McLemore’s eyes. If not Lynk, then another Warden would have grabbed her and Abby, and he doubted his little hellcat would have come as willingly. To add to the clusterfuck, they’d still needed Lynk at his post within the estate, and disobeying an order from the new captain would have raised a few eyebrows.

Then everything had gone to fucking hell. Deke should have expected that the Wardens would want Roux. It had been his fear all along that someone would use his mate against him, and he’d fallen right into the trap. There had been no way to win, though, no decision he could have made that would have led to a different outcome. Even if Roux hadn’t ventured into the Square, the captain would have sent someone for her.

It was just a gut feeling, nothing he could prove, but Deke’s instincts told him this was personal. The Wardens had been watching him. A new captain had come in to take his place. His best friend had been murdered and discarded like day-old leftovers. Then, to pour salt in the wound, they’d taken his mate, only to dangle her just out of reach, before offering her up to for slaughter.

“This is bullshit!” Jumping up from the metal, straight-back chair, Cade kicked the seat, toppling it over with a loud clang. “What the fuck are we even doing? The longer we sit here, the less chance we have of seeing Abby and Roux alive.”

For once, Deke actually agreed with the male.

“And if you get yourself killed, it won’t matter.” Standing as well, Gabriel dragged his fingers through his hair and growled. “I want to get them back, too, but we have to be smart.”

“We need supplies,” Brody added in a quiet, reserved tone. “Once we get them, we’re going to have to haul ass, and my guess is that we’ll have every Warden in the city chasing us.”

“So, we need to move quickly.” Gabriel bobbed his head. “We’ll need vehicles.”

Deke shook his head. “We only have access to two SUVs.”

“So?” Cade shrugged. “With Abby and Roux, there are only eight of us. Even with supplies, we’ll fit.”

“And what if we find more survivors?” Gabriel questioned, folding his arms over his wide chest. “Zerrik is still out there, and aren’t a couple of your people missing as well? Or have you already written them off?”

“It’s been weeks.” Cade’s upper lip curled as he snarled. “Yeah, it fucking sucks, but I’m being realistic.”

Fighting amongst themselves wouldn’t get them anywhere. It sure as hell didn’t get them any closer to finding and rescuing Deke’s mate. Maybe they were looking at it wrong. Everyone wanted to storm the gates and rescue the girls, but a stealthier approach might work to their advantage.

“I’ll go,” he announced, raising his voice to be heard over the bickering. “Alone.”

“No.” Lynk shook his head defiantly. “I know you think you’re invincible, but you’re not.”

“We can’t all go. I’ll have a better chance if I go on my own, and I can feel Roux. I can find them.”

Their mating bond was the only thing keeping him going. He didn’t know how to explain it to anyone not mated, but it felt like a tiny spark in his chest, just a flicker of life that didn’t belong to him. As long as that flame continued to glow, he knew Roux was still alive, and only that knowledge kept him from losing his mind.

“Say you do find them.” Stepping back, Lynk held his hands out to the side in challenge. “What are you doing to do then? How are you going to get them out on your own?”

He hated when the asshole used logic against him. “I can’t do nothing!” he exploded. More subdued, he added, “I can’t lose her.”

“Captain, we’ll get her back, but…” Trailing off, Gabriel shifted his eyes toward Lynk.

“We’ll have a better chance of getting them out alive if we wait until they’re moved,” Lynk finished. “In fact, it might be our only chance.”

The rational part of Deke’s brain agreed. The part of him willing to do anything to save his mate—even die—wanted to tear out the shifter’s throat.

“You said you can feel her?” Relaxing his stance, Cade approached him with caution. “So, you know she’s still alive?”

Deke nodded.

“Then there’s a chance. They’ll know you’re coming for her, so they won’t keep her at the estate, not for long.”

“They won’t risk it,” Lynk agreed. “They’re ruthless, but they’re not stupid.”

“It makes sense, Captain.” The muscles in Gabriel’s shoulders tensed, but he looked resolute. “They’ll move her soon, Abby, too, and like Lynk said, that’ll be our best chance.”

“They won’t kill her.” Lynk spoke slowly, drawing out each word as if tasting them before he spoke. “If they killed her, it would only make you more dangerous. With her just missing, you’re distracted.”

It sounded plausible, but Deke couldn’t pry his thoughts away from Roux long enough to see the bigger picture. Which was exactly what Lynk had just hypothesized.

“Distracted from what?”

Lynk arched a pale eyebrow. “That’s what we need to find out.”

“As much as I hate that Roux and Abby are caught in the middle of this, I have to agree.” Scrubbing both hands over his face, Brody sighed. “We’re missing something, but I don’t think we can worry about that right now. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it when we get there.”

“Agreed,” several men said at once, and even Deke bobbed his head a couple of times.

Brody rested his hands on his hips, his gaze sweeping around the room. “I saw a van behind the bakery, one of those big, white delivery rigs.”

Gabriel snapped his fingers. “Right, Peter uses…used it for deliveries. It only has four seats, but we can load it with supplies.”

Everyone began talking at once, planning how to get to the van, the SUVs, what supplies they needed, and how to gather everything without drawing unwanted attention. The more they talked, the more Deke’s temples throbbed, and his frustration, fear, anger, and impatience came bubbling to the surface in one explosive wave.

“Shut up!” he yelled. “Everyone just shut the fuck up!”

Instantly, the room when tomb quiet, and all eyes turned toward him. They always looked to him, but he couldn’t lead them when all he could think about was Roux. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a choice.

“Gabriel, take Cade, and you guys get the van. The SUVs are parked behind the Bastille, so at least there’s that.” He turned to Brody. “Thea is standing watch outside. Find her, and you two gather enough supplies for at least three days. Lynk, you’re with me.”

Gabriel, Cade, and Brody nodded in unison and started toward the exit. They still needed weapons. The Coalition allowed only one handgun and one dagger to each guard, but they maintained a small armory in the back of the unused county jail just a few blocks from where they stood.

Unlucky for them, it was guarded around the clock by two, armed Wardens and video surveillance. With Roux and Abby’s lives on the line, it was worth the risk, especially if he intended to get them out of the Diavolos’ territory once he had them.

“What are we doing?” Lynk asked after everyone else had left the room.

Deke clapped his friend on the shoulder and shoved him toward the door. “We’re going to break into the armory.”

Abby’s sobs had quieted hours ago, but Roux could still hear her sniffles coming from the cell across the stone walkway. Other than sporadic reassurances that Roux would get them out of their predicament, neither of them said much. Talking about it wouldn’t solve anything, and it wouldn’t lessen Abby’s pain.

Deke and the others would come for them. She just hoped they reached them in time. The underground prison had no windows, but she guessed it was getting close to sundown. Her back and hips ached from sitting on the cold, stone floor for so long, and her stomach ached with hunger. The shackles around her ankles allowed her to stand, but the chains connecting them to the wall only stretched a couple of feet in any direction. A menacing-looking Warden with a shaved head and a perpetual frown had allowed her one bathroom break, watching her the entire time as if she might pull a weapon from her vagina to use on him.

“On your feet,” the guard barked, stomping down the walkway in his giant, black boots. He stopped in front of the bars to Abby’s cell and inserted a key into the lock. “Time to go, princess. Face the wall, hands behind your head.”

“Hey!” Roux shouted, jumping to her feet and pressing against the iron bars of her own cell. “What are you doing? Where are you taking her?”

Abby did as she’d been told without a word of protest. After the Warden released her from the metal shackles, he shoved her ahead of him hard enough to nearly topple her to the ground.

“Leave her alone, asshole!” Pulling against the bindings on her legs did nothing more than chafe the skin, but Roux didn’t care. “Abby, I’m going to get you out, okay? Be brave. You’re strong. You’re going to be okay. I’ll find you. I promise I’ll find you.”

Passing under the naked bulb over the door of Roux’s cage, Abby offered her a small smile. “I know you will.”

The Warden shoved her again, cackling when she jerked and stumbled forward. Within seconds, they’d both disappeared into the shadows at the end of the corridor, leaving Roux alone in her empty, dimly lit prison. She didn’t mind being alone. It was what came next that worried her.

After what she’d seen, and after facing the Ravagers and the Wardens, it seemed ludicrous that she had once thought Deke was a monster. To some degree, she pitied the Ravagers. They hadn’t asked for what had happened to them. In some ways, they were as much victims as the humans.

The Wardens, on the other hand, were simply greedy, high on borrowed power. Without the Diavolos family backing them, they had no authority. Moreover, they took pleasure in causing pain and strife, evident by the ease in which Captain McLemore had disposed of Peter—an innocent who’d simply been standing in her way.

Roux pushed away thoughts of Peter. If she thought about him, broken and bloody, his lifeless eyes staring blankly back at her, she’d fall apart. When she escaped her prison, when she’d fulfilled her promise to find Abby, then she’d allow herself to cry, to scream and rage and let the pain consume her.

She turned her thoughts to Deke. He’s been wounded. How badly, she didn’t know, but she kept reminding herself that he’d been on his feet, still fighting, and he healed quickly. He’d come for her. Hell, he’d move mountains to find her, just as she’d do for him.

Absently, she closed her eyes and traced two fingertips over the scars on her neck. She’d fought him so hard. She couldn’t pinpoint when it had happened, when she’d fallen head over feet for him. It hadn’t been a bright, blinding epiphany, or any one definable moment. Little by little, he’d chipped away at the walls she’d constructed, until one day, she’d woken up to find them nothing more than dust and rubble.

Even before he’d said the words, she’d known he loved her. Of course, she hadn’t been able to admit it, but she’d seen it in the way he looked at her. She’d been resistant, stubborn, as he liked to say, but he’d never pushed. Not once had he been so arrogant as to insist that she trust him, not without reason, but with each promise kept, he’d proven that she could.

He’d taught her to love.

Maybe more accurately, he’d taught her
how
to love. Not just him, but everyone around her. Deke tried to see the good in people, even when they didn’t deserve it, where she’d always been ready to condemn first and ask questions later. Second chances were rare in life, especially after the Purge, but he’d given her a reason to believe in the impossible.

Relationships and feelings created entanglements she’d once thought she couldn’t afford. Deke had shown her it was okay to care about people, and that she didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. She could share her burdens, others would share theirs, and together, it made the load a little lighter.

She’d see Deke again, and she’d tell him all of those things. Then she’d tell him again. Every day, she’d tell him she loved him, and every day, she’d mean it a little bit more. Because without love, she might survive, but she’d never truly live.