Tangled Fates (18 page)

tried to twist the doorknob, but it was locked. As she turned to go back down to Cohen, the door

flew open and Jael stood in front of her, a gun to her forehead.

“And don’t try anything funny, Annis,” he said. “I’m right here just waiting for an

opportunity to shoot you.”

Annis squared her shoulders, defiant.

“Head back downstairs, Annis,” Jael said, cocking the hammer of the gun.

Weighing her options, Annis decided that not only was she outnumbered, she also didn’t

have a weapon except the heel of those damn shoes. Unless she was going to take someone’s eye

out with them, they were useless. However, if she could disarm Jael, she would have his gun and

then she had a chance. She didn’t know the layout of the house, or what other weapons The

Platoon had. And if she was hurt, or killed, Cohen was a dead man for sure, and she didn’t want

that. Sometimes it was better to wait and get the lay of the land, so to speak, then to act without

knowledge. Humans had a saying of “knowledge is power,” and she believed that

wholeheartedly.

Turning, she made her way down the stairs without another word to Jael. She heard the

click of the door behind her when she reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked around the

windowless basement, then up the stairs, which was the only way out, and knew that the sun

would be rising in a few hours.

She needed to get her bearings. She paced the basement length-wise, counting her steps,

and making a mental map of the room in case she needed to get up when daylight hit.

She thought about the members of The Platoon she had seen.

Micah, Jael, Simon, and Titus had all easily fallen in line behind Micah on their trip to

Earth. However, there was one member of The Platoon that she hadn’t seen yet: Nico. She had

been very surprised when Nico had joined up with The Platoon on their trip to Earth, as she

knew him and trained with him in the SR44 military. The others she hadn’t known until they

began their journey. Nico was a quiet male, who mainly kept to himself, but one of high morals

and intelligence. What had become of him? Where was he?

Sighing, she counted her paces while walking the width of the room and wondered

exactly how she was going to get out of there, and how in the world she was going to do it with

Cohen.

Chapter 27

Blake paced the War Room in Fernley, Nevada. He was so cranked up he felt like putting

his head through the three-inch glass door to take the edge off. Or maybe he would get lucky and

it would just knock him unconscious.

He’d gotten off the phone with Jovan two hours ago and was not happy with the

conversation. Cohen and Annis had disappeared from the shindig last night, and no one knew

where the fuck they were. If that cocksucker laid one hand on her, if he hurt her in any way,

Blake was going to flat-out kill him. He didn’t care if Cohen was a Savior—he was going to

eviscerate him.

No, there might not be a romantic future for Blake and Annis—no matter how badly he

wanted one—but he could sure as shit look out for her. He felt a protectiveness for that woman,

and he could only imagine it resembled the feelings an older brother would have for a younger

sibling. That made him laugh out loud, as Annis was close to three hundred years old, and Blake

was a mere thirty-six.

But whatever.

Cohen was dead if he hurt Annis.

Certainly one of them had to check in at some point. Didn’t they?

It was then he realized he didn’t have his phone.

With a litany of curses, he ran down to the quarters he shared with Talin. The guy was

still lying in bed, except this time he had a laptop with him. He didn’t give Blake a second

glance, and Blake caught a whiff of body odor as he headed for his own bed.

With the Annis situation, his patience had flown the coop. After grabbing his phone, he

turned to Talin and walked over to the bed. He took the laptop from him, and Talin looked up at

him, startled.

“This is the last time I’m saying anything about this,” Blake said in a low tone. “You get

your ass in a shower today, or I’m taking you in. Do you understand me? I will shower with you

and soap you up, and that includes the underside of your balls. So, chew on that, you fucking

genius. Do you want me rubbing soap all over your sack?”

Talin glared at him. “Fuck you, half-breed.”

Blake tossed the laptop on the end of the bed and headed for the door. “My hands, your

balls. You think long and hard about that, Talin.”

As he rode up the elevator, he tried some deep breathing to calm himself. What was he

going to do if Talin didn’t get in the shower? He didn’t think he could follow through on his

threat. The thought made him nauseous.

The elevator came to a stop, and Blake stepped out into the kitchen, almost running into

Hudson while searching for bars on his phone.

“Watch where you’re going,” Hudson said with a gentle push and a half-smile.

“Sorry, Hudson. My bad. I’m a little jacked right now.”

“How come? What’s going on?”

“Cohen and Annis are missing down in Phoenix.”

“No shit?”

“Nope.”

Hudson took a few steps back and leaned against the black marble counter, crossing his

arms over the black silk covering his chest. “When did that happen?”

“Last night.”

Hudson’s brows came together. “Are you sure they’re just not . . . getting acquainted

really well?”

Blake closed his eyes for a second, feeling his temper rise, then met Hudson’s stare.

“They better not be.”

“And why is that?”

“Because Cohen has been nothing but a Grade-A cocksucker to Annis. He better not lay a

hand on her or—”

“Or what?”

As he stared into Hudson’s dark eyes, he felt a little bit of calm. Here before him seemed

to stand the voice of reason, and he needed that right now.

“He’s not going to physically hurt her,” Hudson said quietly. “He’s not that type of male.

I’d bet money that he’d hurt himself before he laid a hand on her.”

“Sometimes words can hurt worse than bruises, Hudson. And we all know Cohen is

pretty proficient in that area.”

Hudson nodded. “Words can cut deeper than a blade, got it. However, Cohen is a male in

great pain, my friend. He’s bound to lash out. He’s a Healer, which makes him the sensitive type,

and he lost his mate, and he hasn’t been faithful to her. I can’t imagine the ugly he’s got going

on: guilt, sadness, more guilt, probably lust for Annis . . . and then more guilt. You’ve got to cut

the guy some slack, man.”

Blake really wanted to. He wanted to think of Cohen as a good guy, but he wondered if

he was too far-gone into his own oozing caldron of emotions.

His phone beeped, and he held it up so he could read it. Damn it all to hell and back.

He’d missed two calls, but the number came up as private.

“What’s going on?’ Hudson asked.

Blake stared at the phone, willing it to ring. Annis would call, he was certain of it.

He just didn’t know when.

Chapter 28

“Call them.”

Annis stared up a Micah, defiant. She and Cohen had spent the day in the basement, both

of them curled up on the small bed together. Her thoughts had swirled at what he had said earlier,

and her heart swelled. He didn’t hate her; however, it irritated her that he was so hard on himself.

Of course keeping a vow was important, but sometimes circumstance didn’t allow for

vows to be honored. She imagined being in a place for a length of time all alone. If one were

used to having physical companionship, she imagined it would be so difficult to go through day

after day and night after night of loneliness. At some point, something would have to break and

one would reach out for someone to hold on to.

She had thought of her lonely existence. No, she’d never been in love before and ached

for it. Perhaps that was why she latched on to Blake so quickly. He was kind to her and

accepting, and at the end of the day, didn’t we all just want to be loved? Yes, they cared for each

other, but it wasn’t the feelings of lovers, of that she was certain.

Cohen had groaned and she pushed her fingers through his soft hair. She didn’t

understand her feelings for the male who had been so awful to her. She cared deeply for him, and

him coming forward and explaining himself only deepened that feeling. She had heard that SR44

males fell in love hard and fast, and perhaps that was true of SR44 females. What she did know

was that she had never felt this way about another male before—or anyone for that matter.

Before she had lost her sight for the daylight hours, she grabbed a washcloth and wetted

it down. Every now and then she wiped his face with the damp rag. Otherwise, she lay behind

him, not really sleeping, as her hearing became so acute with the loss of her sight. The Platoon

was a noisy bunch as they went along with the daily activities upstairs. She heard the muffled,

deep rumbles of voices, some laughter, and their heavy footsteps.

“Call them. Now,” Micah said, his voice laced with impatience and anger.

In the daylight hours as she lay in bed, her thoughts had shifted. If she could keep the Six

Saviors away from The Platoon, no one else would be hurt. She and Cohen would simply be

collateral damage, and there was too much at stake for everyone else within the Six Saviors’

realm. She didn’t like this option, as perhaps she and Cohen could find peace within themselves

and in their relationship now that Cohen had explained his feelings for her. However, the rest of

the Six Saviors, except Talin, had mates. Her and Cohen were alone and might very well always

be. They could sacrifice for the greater good, because she didn’t see a way out of here with

Cohen in the shape he was in.

As she turned and looked at Cohen, who was curled up on his side, his bare, broad

shoulders glistened with sweat, she realized that he hadn’t exactly said he was on board with the

idea. In fact, he’d said nothing at all as he was still unconscious. Having said that, his breathing

was labored and his face was flushed. She was making the decisions for both of them.

She looked back up at Micah.

“Last time, Annis. Call them.”

“No.”

She saw his big hand coming, but did nothing to stop it. Her head swung as his open palm

connected with the side of her face. Closing her eyes, she let the pain run through her, giving her

strength.

After a few seconds, she looked up at Micah.

“Like I said, Annis, call them.”

She said nothing.

Micah nodded to Jael, who withdrew the pistol from his waistband and pointed it at

Cohen.

“I’ll kill him, Annis. Make the call.”

Annis was surprised at Micah’s words. The look in his eye told her that he was dead

serious. She couldn’t watch Cohen be killed.

Grabbing the phone from his hand, she decided which number to dial: Liberty or Blake’s.

It was a simple decision. Annis knew Liberty would be worried, as would Blake. However,

Blake had the training to keep a level head, whereas Liberty didn’t.

Annis needed to talk to someone with a level head who would listen to what she had to

say.

The phone rang twice. “Hello?”

Annis couldn’t help but smile at the deep voice.

“Blake, it’s Annis.”

“Where are you?” She could hear the concern in his tone, and she also noted a bit of an

edge.

“I’m in Phoenix, although I couldn’t give you an address.”

“Is Cohen with you?”

“Yes.”

“Has he hurt you?”

“No. But I need you to listen to me, Blake.”

“Because if that cocksucker has laid a hand on you, I will—”

“Blake. Cohen has been injured.” She looked up at Micah. “He was shot by The Platoon.

We are . . . guests of theirs.”

There was a long stretch of silence. “Are you kidding me?”

“There is nothing funny about what I have said.”

Annis looked back down at the floor.

“Guests?”

“Yes.”

“Well, if you’re a guest, then leave if you want to.”

If only she could. “I guess I used the wrong word.”

There was more silence. “So you are a prisoner.”

“I suppose that would be an accurate term.”

She listened as Blake let out a string of colorful curses and yelled for Hudson.

“What do they want?”

Annis inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “They want Noah and the rest of the Six

Saviors.”

“Oh, fuck.”

“Yes.”

Chapter 29

Blake paced the War Room, staring at his cell phone on the black marble table. Hudson

sat on one side and Talin on the other. Hudson tapped his fingers on the table while Talin stared

into space. They were waiting for Noah, Jovan, and Rayner to call so Blake could deliver the

news of what had happened to Cohen and Annis.

He shut his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose. This was getting fuck-all ugly.

Micah was still under the impression that the Six Saviors were responsible for the

decimation of SR44 and was hell-bent on getting his so-called revenge. What a dumb-shit.

He especially wanted Noah, but to make him really happy, he wanted all the Six Saviors.

Blake really didn’t see this ending well.

He knew from his run-in with The Platoon that Micah was lacking in common sense and

probably a few brain cells. The guy was dumb, and dumb was dangerous. Dumb didn’t have the