Shadow's Awakening: The Shadow Warder Series, Book One (An Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (35 page)

Safe in her locked room, Hannah opened her eyes. Her captivity had just made the jump from bad to catastrophic. Everything they’d done to her had been miserable enough, but there was no way she would live with her child subjected to their cruelty. A flash of images illustrated their future: giving birth in that lab, her child strapped down as she’d been, violated, stuck with needles, growing up in captivity. Or even worse, taken away at birth and never seen again, held by these men, this demon, and raised without even her love for consolation.

Hannah’s options had narrowed to a single choice. She would have to escape or die in the attempt. Her life and the life of her unborn child would be worth nothing if she couldn’t get them out of this place. She missed Conner with a desperate ache. Hannah had never wanted to be the helpless female, standing on the side of the action screaming in high-pitched squeals while the hero swept in and saved the day. But this one time she really wanted someone, anyone, to miraculously appear and get her the hell out of there.

Who was she kidding? She wanted Conner to save her. He’d given her his info before he’d dropped her off. She didn’t remember his address, but she’d memorized the phone number. She could find him if she could get to a phone. But Hannah knew she had to deal with stark reality. No one had any idea she was in trouble. So no one was coming. If she was going to escape the lab, she’d have to do it on her own.

Dreams aside, Hannah wasn’t sure how to read Conner. The way they’d parted, she had no idea how he felt about her. Her heart ached. Conner might not care if he saw her again. And Hannah was pretty sure she was in love with him.

She sighed. All the times they’d had sex and not once had she remembered protection. So stupid. Never in her life had she been so careless. Conner hadn’t mentioned birth control either. Maybe he just didn’t care. What if he had kids scattered all over the place? The picture didn’t fit, but how well did she know him? Hannah pushed away her concerns. Conner might not want her, might not want their child. But Hannah was sure that at the very least, he’d help her get somewhere safe. First she had to get out of this lab and find him.

Hours later, when the lab was quiet for the night, Hannah tried to contact the Shadow girl who had spoken to her before. It had been days since she’d heard anything from the girl, but Hannah didn’t have time to wait. She had to find out if the girl knew of anything that might help her escape. Sending mental messages over and over, Hannah began to feel stupid. She had no idea how talking like this worked. Just when she was about to give up, she heard the voice in her head, high-pitched, faint, and more than a little annoyed.

“You’re going to give us away,” the girl said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. I have to get out of here. Is there any way out you can think of?”

“If I knew a way out, I would have told you.”

“Try harder. They just found out I’m pregnant. I can’t stay here and let them get the baby. You’ve been here a long time. Think about everything you’ve seen.” Silence stretched until Hannah thought she’d lost the connection to the girl.

“I don’t know,” the girl said finally. “You can try the elevator. That’s at the same end of the hall where you turn to get to our rooms. But the one time I saw Michael get in, it looked like he did more than push a button to get it to go up. Back when they still brought us out of our rooms, I saw a door. Way down your hall, past the labs and the kitchen room. It’s white like the hall. I don’t know where it goes. It might be locked. But I always thought that if I got the chance, I’d try that door.”

“Okay. If I get out, I’ll try to help you.”

“No. Don’t worry about us, just try to escape before he can take your baby. The collar makes you weak. You’re running out of time.” The girl trailed off. Then, even quieter, “He’s been trying to get my older sister pregnant. Since we’ve been here. She doesn’t talk to us any more. He wants a child from a Shadow and a Warder. He’s not going to give your baby up.”

The connection broke with an audible pop. The young Shadow’s despair when she spoke of her sister hung in the air, weighing on Hannah. For almost a year. Was he using artificial insemination? Hannah desperately hoped so. The other option was too horrifying. But given that the girl’s sister had withdrawn enough to stop speaking, Hannah guessed Michael wasn’t trying to make her baby in a lab. So he’d been raping the girl’s sister for almost a year, wanting a child just like Hannah’s. She couldn’t begin to imagine why Michael wanted a baby with combined Shadow and Warder genetics. She didn’t care. This was her child, hers and Conner’s. Her only purpose in life now was to keep it safe. Trying to push away her growing fear, Hannah began to plan.

“Do I want to know how you learned to do that?” Conner asked, watching over Kiernan’s shoulder as Kiernan methodically picked the lock on Alexa’s downtown condo. Kiernan flipped open the lock, pocketed his tools and grinned up at Conner.

“Since you’re a former Academy instructor, I’d say no, you don’t.”

“Figured that.” Conner followed Kiernan into the condo, carefully shutting the door behind them. Confronting Alexa in her office at the Citadel had seemed like a reckless idea. She was due back to her condo any minute. Unless she stopped for dinner, to run errands, or meet someone. Making himself comfortable on her sleek gray leather couch, Conner prepared to wait. Kiernan hopped up on the kitchen bar that faced into the living room, looking, despite his size, like a teenager ready for an afternoon snack. They didn’t have to wait long. Minutes later, Alexa let herself in. She drew up short when she saw them, her neutral expression shifting into a frown.

“What the hell are you two doing here?”

“What have you found out about Hannah?” Conner shot back, not interested in pretending to have an actual conversation with Alexa. He’d been as patient as he was prepared to be. Several days with no dreams and no progress had strung Conner’s nerves to the breaking point. Both he and Kiernan had tried to track Michael, with no success. Alexa shook her head and took her time removing her coat, setting her purse and briefcase on the side table in her tiny entryway.

“What’s your interest in this?” she asked, looking straight at Kiernan, ignoring Conner for the moment.

“Just here to support a friend,” Kiernan replied evenly.

“He’s on the verge of seriously fucking up. You’re going to go down with him if you don’t walk away from this. I hope you understand that.”

“What do you know?” Kiernan asked, not bothering to respond to her warning. She ignored his question as she had Conner’s.

“I know all you soldiers think I’m a joke.” She shrugged, heading into the kitchen behind Kiernan to make herself a drink. She collected a chilled martini glass and a bottle of vodka from the freezer. Two olives and a splash of brine. She emptied a third of the drink in one indelicate slurp before she spoke again.

“I’m not good at being a handler. I get that. But I’m trying to do you a favor here. Walk away from this. It’s way bigger than you can deal with. You’re going to get burned and I won’t be able to help you. And for what? Some Shadow girl? Just let it go.”

She reentered the living room, facing the two tense soldiers, holding her martini glass. Conner surged to his feet in an athletic, liquid movement. Alexa took another long sip of her drink, pretending that she wasn’t intimidated. Conner knew she was. He didn’t often use his size and strength to frighten anyone other than the enemy. This was a special circumstance. He was willing to do what he had to if it would lead him to Hannah.

“Stop fucking with us and talk, Alexa.”

“Fine.” She set the glass down on a side table with a click and gave them both a long look. “I’m fairly sure that you’re right. Your Shadow never made it to her people. I can’t find any surveillance record of her leaving the building or an unidentified person entering.”

“We already suspected that. That’s why I came to you in the first place.” Conner gave a growl of frustration. “We also think she’s being held in a lab somewhere. And there may be other Shadows there. But Hannah has no idea where it is.”

Alexa paled. “How did you know about the lab?” she asked in a whisper.

Conner resisted the urge to cross the room and choke the answers out of her. “Tell me,” he forced out. He’d come to believe the dreams were real, believe in Hannah. But hearing confirmation was a dizzying relief.

“I followed Michael. I found a lab a few floors beneath the Citadel. I don’t think anyone knows it’s there. I certainly had no idea anything like that existed.”

“Did you see Hannah?” Kiernan asked as Conner rubbed his hands across his face.

It had to be the right place. They knew where she was. Remorse that her pain from the dreams was real fought with satisfaction that they finally had a solid lead on Hannah’s location. Conner would help her heal from anything if he could just get to her.

“No,” Alexa said, looking at her empty glass. “I did see what looked like a lab assistant bring a tray of food into a room. I’m guessing that’s where she’s being held.”

“Tell me how to get to the lab,” Conner demanded.

“No. It’s heavily warded and neither of you have the skills to break the wards. If you go in there guns blazing, you’ll get everyone killed, including your Shadow.”

“Let us worry about the plan. Just tell us how to get to the girl,” Kiernan said, casting a wary look at Conner.

“I can make you tell me, Alexa,” Conner said, his voice low and menacing.

“First, you tell me how you knew about the lab,” she countered.

“Hannah told me in a dream.”

“Shadow bullshit.” Alexa laughed, her words dripping scorn. “I should have known you’d give me some Shadow bullshit. Fine. Take the fire stairs all the way down to the bottom. There’s a hidden metal door in the wall at the garage level that will take you down another set of stairs. The fire door to the lab is at the bottom.”

“Were the wards the only defenses you saw?” Conner asked.

“I didn’t stick around long enough to spot anything else. Doesn’t mean it isn’t there. By the way, if you two get caught I won’t step in for you. And if you get away but you’re identified, I’ll send a Sicarius after you myself.”

“Got it, thanks. Not going to wish us well?” Kiernan hopped down from the bar, following Conner who was already headed for the door.

Conner turned back and scowled at him. Kiernan sent Alexa a grin. Even annoyed and wishing they’d leave, Alexa couldn’t stop herself from returning his grin with a half smile of her own. Kiernan’s charm was hard to resist.

Holding the door open for them, Alexa shook her head. “Nope. I think this is a fool’s errand and you’re going to get yourselves killed. Have fun.” She swung the door shut behind them with a definitive thunk.

Conner heard the bolt turn. As long as Alexa didn’t try to stop them, he couldn’t have cared less what she thought.

Back at his small apartment, Conner turned their problems over in his head. This wasn’t the first time Conner had wished he had an aptitude for spell craft, but he’d never wanted it this badly. If the lab was heavily warded, they had no good way of getting in unnoticed. Alexa hadn’t known what kind of wards they were dealing with. Some wards just set off an alarm if they were breached, like those he’d used on the cabin. Given that those wards were the most basic kind, Conner doubted that was what Michael was using on his lab. There were wards that could trap them inside once breached. Wards that would kill the intruder and anyone else inside the bounds. If they couldn’t figure out which kind was protecting the lab, then Alexa was right. Barreling in might get everyone killed.

Conner sat on his couch staring at the half-eaten pepperoni pizza on his coffee table. Beside him, his duffel bag strained at the seams, stuffed with everything he owned of importance. Once they went after Hannah, there would be no coming back to this apartment. Conner didn’t much care. This was just a place to sleep. His home was with Hannah. He shoved away the problem of the wards for the moment in favor of practicalities. “Did you take care of a vehicle?”

“Yeah,” Kiernan said. He rested in one of Conner’s armchairs, boots propped on the coffee table. A half-drunk beer hung loosely in one hand, a piece of pizza in the other. “I got us an old truck. Ugly, but it runs well and it can’t be tracked to us. Don’t ask.”