Untamed (14 page)

Chapter 14

Jonah’s
frantic gaze shot up to meet theirs. “Thank God you guys made it back.”

He pushed from his seat and hurried into the conference room
, turning impatiently to wait for them to follow him. He pushed the door shut behind them and plopped down into a seat, running his hands through his hair.

“They took him.” Jonah clenched his eyes closed. “And there wasn’t anything I could do to stop them.” His eyes popped open. “Oh
God….someone has to tell Gracie.”

His face paled, his eyes bulged and his mouth parted.
“Please don’t make me do it. She’s going to kill the messenger.”

Brody exchanged a glance with Tara before they both sat down at the table. “Calm down and explain what happened from the beginning.”

Tara listened and digested what Jo
nah was saying. Veronica’s helpless act was just that…an act. She’d used them to get inside the compound and had been working with the men who had attacked Tara at the bar. And now they had taken the General as a hostage, as if that wasn’t enough reason to be concerned. But Veronica had compromised their security system and now knew where their base was.

Jonah dropped his h
ead into his hands. “Before the system crashed, I tried to register her fingerprints in the system, just to have her set up in case she stayed to work with the unit...” He looked up. “…like I always do. You know I like to be prepared.” He ran his hands over his face. “Her name is Veronica Black. And before you ask, yes, I think she’s related to the notorious Mr. Black.”

“Shit.” Brody shoved out of his chair and started pacing the room. “Do we even know where they are? Where they might have taken him?”

Jonah released a sigh. “I blocked her out of our mainframe and took back control of our systems. I was working on that just as you guys showed up. They took one of the SUVs, and I’ve located it abandoned on the other side of town. I don’t know where they’re headed.”

Brody paused and placed his hand on the back of the chair. “I need to see what we’re up against. I need to see the footage of when and how they took the General. Since
we don’t know all of her gifts, we need to be prepared.”

Jonah nodded and walked out of the room. Tara placed her hand on his arm
, stopping Brody from following. “I can find him, Brody. Just like I teleported to you during the fire, I can go to him.”

Brody crossed his arms over his chest. She’d seen that look on his face
enough to know what he was thinking—that she’d had a bad idea. So she braced herself.

“No, absolutely not.
You don’t know what you’d be ‘popping’,” he did the air quotes, “into the middle of. And not only that, it’s not like you can save him by teleporting him out of there.” He placed his palms on her arms and kissed her forehead. “Sweetie, I know you want to help, but first we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

He left her standing in the conference room. Never in all her life
had someone made her feel so useless, helpless and so weak. This was an unfamiliar feeling, one she didn’t like. Just who the hell did he think he was, telling her that she couldn’t do something? He might have been right that she needed to take precautions, but she wasn’t going to let him underestimate her, not when her best friend’s father’s life depended on it. She’d never forgive herself if there was something she could have done to prevent him from being hurt or, worse, killed. Yes, she was doing this.

Tara left the room and patted Brody on his chest as she walked by. “I’m going to check on Gracie. I’ll be back soon.”

She didn’t even wait for him to respond, not that he would have been able to change her mind. She closed her eyes and in seconds felt the pressure she knew she would. She could have driven, hell, she could have even walked, but this was quicker, and the situation was dire. She needed answers, and she needed them now.

The pressure pushed in on her, and every part of her body felt as though it was squeezed into one tight place. She tried not to think about the effects the shimmy would have on her body. She kept her thoughts on Gracie. She reached through the abyss and grabbed hold of her best friend’s life force and frequency. Just like she’d always done, just like she knew it would take her right to her friend.

“Gracie.” The name was a whisper on her lips
, and then she felt it. The popping in and out of place, the ringing in her ears. Her body felt like a feather drifting on the wind. Her muscles bunched, and when the pressure eased, she opened her eyes.

Gracie was asleep in the hospital bed. Ridge had his back to the wall
and his gun in the air, pointed at the door. Ready to shoot, ready to kill anyone who came near his sleeping wife. Good husband, good father, good brother, and soon he would be just like family to Tara. A sudden bloom of respect overcame her. She could feel the power that washed off of him in waves. He might look exactly like Brody, but they were as different as night and day. 

“How is she?” Tara whispered as she moved to the bed.

Ridge released the hammer and shoved the gun back into the back of his waistband. “She’s fine, but I could have killed you.”

Tara tilted her head. “You had your gun out even before I showed up.
How did you know that something was about to happen?”

Rid
ge moved across the room to the two bassinets. He reached in and stroked the sleeping baby’s cheek. “I felt the energy shift.” He cocked his brow. “Does Brody know about your little trick?”

She lowered her lashes
, fighting against the flush creeping into her cheeks. Brody knew a lot more about her than she’d originally planned on telling him. He knew her intimately.

“I
’ll take your silence as a yes.”

Tara walked to the window. The sun had set,
and the night was coming in hard and fast. Her heart raced even as a wave of nausea rolled over her. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to find Ridge staring at her, lost in his own thoughts. She gestured to his gun. “I take it you are already aware of the General’s situation?”

He nodded and clenched his jaw.

“Does she know?”

“No, and I want to keep it that way until she regains her strength.”

Tara’s heart sank into her stomach. She’d wanted to talk with Gracie and plan what to do next. It was a no-brainer that Tara would be popping to his side, but she’d only had limited combat experience.

“You need to get her and the babies as far away from here as possible.
Just until this is over.”

Tara could see the war raging in Ridge’s eyes. He was torn between
taking care of his wife and children and helping his friend and his brother. He remained silent.

“You know I’m right.” She crossed the room and placed her palm on his arm. “You have new priorities
, and your brother would expect nothing less.”

The man was torn between duty to his wife and duty to his brother. She’d hate to be the one in his position
; but regardless, Gracie and those babies needed to be as far away from there as possible. If Black got his hands on her or the twins, all hell would break loose. It was bad enough Veronica had the General.

Tara moved over to the bassinet
s and peeked in on both babies. One was wrapped in a pink blanket, the other in blue. Tara grinned. A boy and a girl, when they’d all been told to expect boys. The little girl quietly fussed. Tara’s mouth dropped open as she watched the pacifier lift in the air. The baby opened her mouth, the pacifier eased inside, and the baby started sucking.

Tara’s head jerked up.

Ridge was grinning. “Convenient, isn’t it?”

“She takes after her uncle.” Tara moved to the other
bassinet and peeked inside. “What about this little guy? Has he shown any signs of abilities?”

Ridge reached in and picked up the little guy and clutched him close to his chest. “He’s the oldest. He has gifts.” Ridge placed a kiss
on the infant’s forehead and closed his eyes. “I can feel it simmering just below the surface.” He moved to the rocking chair over in the corner and sat down. “I just don’t know what it is yet.”

“He’s got a protective barrier.” Gracie’s voice broke into the spell that the babies had over Tara. “Any
time his sister is upset, he throws it around both of them, blanketing them and protecting them from any harm.”

Ridge stroked his son’s cheek. “If you can’t see it, then how do you know?”

Gracie pushed herself up in the bed. “Did you forget what I’m capable of? I can borrow anyone’s gift in my vicinity, and I’m telling you that it’s just one of his
many
gifts.”

The baby
’s eyes popped open, and he wailed. Tara watched as another pacifier flew through the air and slowed down before entering his mouth. “They look out for each other.”

Gracie grinned
as Tara moved the bassinet within reach. Gracie lifted her daughter out of the basinet and clutched the small body close to her chest.

“Yes, they do.”

There was a light knock on the door before it opened. Cathy and Ethan stepped inside, carrying a bouquet of flowers and two balloons, one reading,
It’s a boy
and the other reading,
It’s a girl
.

She needed to get Cathy
and Ethan alone to tell them what was happening at the base. They needed to be warned about Veronica, if they didn’t already know, but there was no way she could have this conversation here, not in front of Gracie, not until she had more answers.

Tara glanced up and met Ethan’s hard gaze. Somehow it was
as if he knew there was a war waging in Tara’s mind. Her body itched to fly into action, but she didn’t want to let on to Gracie that her father was in possible trouble.

Ethan cleared his throat
, leaned over, and whispered in Cathy’s ear. Her gaze met Tara’s before she glanced back at Ethan and gave a slight nod. He gave Tara a not-so-subtle, meet me outside, we-need-to-talk head tilt toward the door.

He hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m going for coffee.”
His gaze never left Tara’s face as though he was talking solely to her.

Her brow hitched. “I’m on my way out. I’ll walk with you.”
She leaned over and hugged Gracie, “I’ll be back to visit later when I can stay longer.”

Gracie nodded. “You be sure you do that.”

Tara placed kisses on both babies’ cheeks.

Neither one spoke until they made it to the elevators. Maybe her actions had given her away or
maybe it had been the lip biting she did when she was nervous. Either way, she was aware that he knew something was up.

He leaned against the back wall of the elevator as the doors dinged closed and the
numbered lights of the elevator started counting down floor numbers.

“Start talking.” His voice held an even tone and didn’t even hint that there was a problem. The man was always calm and collect
ed; something with which neither she nor Cathy were very familiar with.

“The General has been taken.”

Ethan’s jaw twitched and he crossed his arms over his chest. “By who?”

“Veronica and her m
erry band of thugs from the bar.”

Ethan gave a slight nod, but Tara could tell that his mind was turning over the information in some sort of a methodical way.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Ethan placed his palm on her back and steered her toward the cafeteria. “What’s the rest?”

She turned her head. “Excuse me?”

“I know there’s more. You might as well spill it.”

They walked into the cafeteria, bought coffee
, and sat down at a table away from the crowds. “I can help, but Brody doesn’t agree.”

“Ah.” He gave her a knowing look. “You two have slept together
, and he’s worried about you. Is that it?”

Tara’s eyes bulged. Was it that obvious? Did she have it
tattooed on her forehead that she’d slept with the playboy, or was Ethan aware of Brody’s mad seduction skills.

Tara sipped her steaming coffee
, ignoring the burn from his question and the liquid.

“Everything is going to shit. The resident seer is in a coma, the General has been kidnapped
, and I can’t even tell my best friend that her father has been taken. Not to mention, that since I’ve slept with Brody, he now thinks I’m incompetent.” She bit her lip. “I can do this.”

Ethan propped his elbows on the table and raked his gaze over her face. He sat in silence
, as if contemplating whether she was right, even though she knew she was.

“
Gee, Ethan, you’re just a fountain of help,” she said sarcastically and moved to push out of the booth. “I’ve got to be getting back.”

He placed his hand on her arm and stopped her retreat. “Yes, I believe you’re right. You can rescue him, but you need to be smart about this and have a plan.”

He inclined his head for her to retake her seat. For the next thirty minutes, they sat there, and she told him everything, including her ability to shimmy and that she intended to find the General using that ability. At first Ethan had been concerned but, as they continued to talk, he gained more confidence in her idea.