“Will you excuse me, please?” she murmured to her group of colleagues. “I just remembered I have to make a quick call.”
She ditched her glass on a passing server’s tray and already had her comm unit in hand to contact the Order’s headquarters when the phone buzzed with an incoming call. Gideon’s deep voice came on as soon as she picked up.
“Brynne, is Carys with you?”
“No.” And the fact that he had to ask made her pulse tick even faster. She stepped into a quiet corner and spoke just above a whisper. “I haven’t seen her for a while now. Aren’t you in contact with her through the transmitter?”
“I lost the connection about an hour ago, when she was inside Fielding’s chambers. The GPS signal is still reporting from the building, but I haven’t been able to reestablish audio yet.”
“Are you sure she’s here? I’ve been watching for her all this time, and she hasn’t come back to the ballroom or any of the other reception areas.”
“That’s why I called,” Gideon said. “I don’t have a good feeling, either. I was hoping you’d do a quick search for her, just to confirm we have visual on her.”
“Of course.” Brynne was already walking.
“I have your comm’s GPS signal in front of me now,” he told her. “Carys’s signal is due south of yours, moving at a good clip.”
Brynne picked up her pace, trying to walk casually, yet swiftly. She weaved through the crowd of party guests, heading in the direction Gideon sent her.
“I think the kitchens are back this way,” she told him, nearly to the tall, open doors at the back of the main reception room. She’d seen dozens of tuxedoed servers pass through those doors most of the night with food and beverage trays.
As she hurried along, someone called her name and waved to her from within the throng. The Breedmate of her supervisor, smiling and trying to get her attention. Brynne shot the woman an apologetic look and pointed to her phone as if she was on a call that couldn’t be interrupted. Which was certainly the truth.
“Carys just turned a corner now,” Gideon advised. “She’s moving away from you, Brynne.”
“Shit.” She ducked through the tall doors behind one of the exiting servers. She followed the curving corridor, which dumped her into the clatter of the busy kitchens. Catering people and servers were all over the place, hustling here and there with their trays. “Am I getting closer?”
“Yeah, you’re practically on top of her now. She should be right in front of you, not even two yards away. She’s stopped moving now.”
Brynne frowned, pivoting where she stood. There was no one near her except cooks and kitchen staff.
“Gideon, you must be mistaken. She can’t be in here. I don’t . . .”
The words dried up on Brynne’s tongue as her gaze landed on a serving tray that had apparently been recently returned to the kitchen. Used glasses and soiled linens lay heaped on the tray. And there was something else there too . . .
“Oh, my God.” Brynne’s stomach plummeted.
Peeking out from within the folds of one of the white napkins was a small wire and earbud.
“Gideon, she’s been found out. Carys is gone. Someone’s taken her.”
~ ~ ~
Fineas Riordan’s Darkhaven was an ancient, craggy stone castle that looked exactly like the kind of place that would house a monster.
Carys didn’t know what she’d been expecting after her captor—Riordan’s brother—took her out of London in a piloted private jet, then dumped her into the backseat of a chauffeured car that drove them several miles outside of Dublin. But as they drew nearer to the forbidding fortress, her heart bled for the boy who’d been raised in this place under the violent conditions Rune had described.
She ached even more sharply for the man she loved, and she could only pray that Riordan’s brother hadn’t been lying when he’d implied Rune was still alive. That there was still hope he might be able to leave this place unharmed and return home to Boston, where he belonged.
It was that thin hope that had convinced Carys to play her captor’s game by pretending she was, in fact, merely a Breedmate. Everything Breed in her vibrated with aggression and seething hatred. It had been nearly impossible to walk along docilely out the back of Fielding’s house, and to resist the powerful urge to leap on Riordan’s brother and tear out his throat.
She had to admit, the holstered semiautomatic pistol he carried on his hip helped keep her in check too.
He held the gun on her as they exited the vehicle and he took her by the arm. The nose of the pistol jabbed against her ribs was a steady reminder to maintain her composure as she was led across the gravel drive and into the castle’s main entrance.
Carys was taken down a flight of stone stairs that descended from the heart of the fortress to at least a full story below ground. Far enough down that the heavy sounds of mortal combat and bone-chilling, animalistic roars coming from somewhere in the bowels of the keep hadn’t been audible until she neared the bottom step.
Now, the awful sounds filled her ears. Dread made every step seem endless as she walked through the corridor with her captor. Up ahead, two other Breed males waited on a catwalk suspended above an open chamber below. One of them, a hulking guard holding a nasty-looking assault rifle, stood at sober attention. The other leaned forward as though he didn’t have a care in the world, his elbows resting casually on the railing of the catwalk.
She didn’t have to guess who the second male was.
Fineas Riordan shared the same sharp features and dark hair as his brother. The same cold eyes and thin, cruel mouth. He leered at her as she approached, his tongue sliding out to slowly, deliberately, wet his lips.
“Come,” he beckoned. “Ennis, bring her over before she misses the best part.”
A sick feeling gnawed at her insides as she stepped onto the wide catwalk. Just as she didn’t have to guess who Fineas Riordan was when she saw him, there was no need to guess at what lay below, where the sounds of brutal, hand-to-hand fighting emanated.
Carys glanced over the railing . . . just in time to see Rune lunging for his opponent in the pit below. The pit where his father had forced him to fight as a boy.
Death matches, like the one taking place before her eyes right now. The broken, bloodied bodies of two other Breed males lay on the floor as Rune dealt with his current threat.
Oh, God, Rune.
“He’s got remarkable stamina,” Riordan said casually. “I’ve lost track of how many hours he’s been going down there. He always was a tireless bastard.”
Rune was fully transformed, with fangs flashing and eyes ablaze with amber fire. He wore only the pants he’d had on the night before in Boston, but now they were filthy and torn. His dermaglyphs were livid with the dark colors of rage and aggression, seething on the sweat-soaked, bruised and shredded flesh of his back and chest.
Yet as dangerous as Rune looked, his opponent appeared even more so. The big male was wild-eyed, savage. Insane with violence. His fangs dripped saliva, and his glyphs were so saturated with furious color, they looked oily and black.
Rune now had his snarling, crazed opponent in a head lock. One big palm gripped the flailing vampire’s skull, while Rune held the male’s neck in the muscled V of his bent arm. His massive biceps flexed at the same time he wrenched the other male’s head back.
Bone and tendons crunched, severing instantly. Rune dropped the corpse and wheeled back on his bare feet.
Oh, God . . . he looked so battered and weary. His breath heaved out of him, fatigue in every powerful muscle.
He lifted his head to look up at the catwalk and his blazing amber gaze lit on her.
The roar he let out when he saw her shook the stone walls and the rafters high above.
Carys’s hand flew to her mouth, tears stinging her eyes. “Rune!”
“Carys? No!” His outraged eyes went to his father. “How did you get her? Goddamn it, let her go!”
Ennis Riordan chuck
led as he sent a sidelong glance at Rune’s father. “I told you the bitch we saw in Boston was more than just a fuck to our boy, Aedan.”
“Obviously something more than he wanted us to believe. But what was she doing in Fielding’s house tonight?”
“She hasn’t told me anything so far. Said she wanted to see him first.” He smirked at her. “I think we can persuade her to talk now.”
“Let her go,” Rune growled from in the pit. He ground out a low curse. “Don’t hurt her. You sick fuck!”
His father’s brows rose. “You haven’t seen sick yet. When we’re done with you, boyo? Oh, what fun we’re gonna have with her.”
And then, it all happened so fast.
Riordan glanced at his guard. In response, the male reached over to pull a lever mounted on the stone wall at the end of the catwalk. Down below, one of the iron-grated portals built into the wall of the fighting pit began to open.
Another feral Breed male sprang out like a lion set loose in a gladiator’s arena. Bigger than the last one, his massive body was unmarked and fresh for combat. And, like the other, he seemed too unhinged to be fully sane. Bloodthirsty and vicious, he circled Rune, prepared to lunge.
“Now, let’s make it more interesting.” Riordan nodded to his brother.
In a flash of motion, the other male drew his pistol and shot Rune in the shoulder.
Carys screamed.
The sound started out high-pitched and anguished, but quickly changed to something powerful and otherworldly. Her transformation from woman to Breed female was sudden, and unstoppable.
Her fangs punched out of her gums in an instant. Her vision burned red as her Breed nature took over and her pupils narrowed to vertical slits within her amber irises. She leapt at Riordan’s brother, seizing hold of him. Her body slammed against his, lifting him off his feet.
Her immense forward momentum sent them both airborne.
“Holy shit!” Rune’s father jumped back against his guard on a curse.
His brother shrieked in abject terror in Carys’s grasp, his eyes wide.
It took less than a second for Carys to understand why. As they sailed over the railing of the catwalk, into open air, sparks exploded as if they’d crashed into something.
The blast of light was blinding, filling her vision like the blast of a thousand suns.
Then her nostrils filled with the smoky stench of burning skin and hair.
What the hell?
The Breed male she’d held fast in her fists was gone. Disintegrated in her fingers.
Suddenly, she wasn’t holding anything anymore. The ashes of Ennis Riordan’s body rained down around her like snowflakes as she plummeted to the floor of the fighting pit.
CHAPTER 34
Nova’s sketches of Riordan’s castle lay spread out on a work table in the rear of the Order’s private jet. Chase and the other warriors had been gathered around the diagrams for the past hour or so, reviewing entry points and running through possible infiltration plans.
He drummed his fingers on the table as he considered the confined chambers and limited exits on the drawings. “How many guards are we looking at once we get inside?”
“Could be a couple dozen,” Lucan said. “We can only guess, based on the security camera images that Gideon’s been collecting on the place.”
Dante smirked. “Well, shit. We’ve taken out nests of Rogues in bigger numbers than that.”
Chase and the Order’s other longtime members chuckled at the reminder. Two decades ago, missions like this one were commonplace, when they’d all worked together from the original compound in Boston. It wasn’t often they came together on a joint patrol now, but it was always easy to settle back into the old rhythm of the tight brotherhood they still shared.
Rio glanced over at Mathias, a smile stretching the scars that marred his left cheek. “What kind of party favors are we bringing these assholes tonight?”
“My team will have extra arms and ammunition waiting for us in Dublin. They’re also bringing explosives, should we need to blast our way in—or out.”
Kade gave a wolfish grin. “Show of hands. Who besides me wants to play with the fireworks?”
With the exception of Nathan, the team from Boston all thrust their hands up, along with Aric. Then Dante and Brock joined them too.
As the jokes and chuckles traveled the table, Lucan’s comm unit buzzed with an incoming call. He left to take it while the discussion continued.
“It’s going to be close to sunrise when we land,” Hunter said. “Even if Riordan anticipates that we’re on to him, I doubt he’ll be prepared for a full-scale attack in broad daylight.”
Chase nodded. “And we’ll be covered on that front. Mathias’s vehicles are equipped with light-blocking windows, and we’ll be storming Riordan’s gates wearing full UV tactical gear.”
“What about females or young children?” Tegan asked. Once the coldest member of the Order, having a mate and an adult son of his own had added a new, protective dimension to the lethal male. “We gonna have to sweep for civilians once we get inside?”
Mathias shook his head. “Not a concern. Riordan hasn’t been mated for years. Unfortunately, his Breedmates seem to have an unhealthy habit of dying under mysterious circumstances. He does have a brother, Ennis, whose reputation is almost as repulsive.” Mathias cleared his throat. “Then, of course, there is the matter of Riordan’s son.”
Chase grunted at the reminder. He wasn’t about to forget the delicate matter of potentially going into combat against the male Carys loved. Tavia had stressed to him that she and their daughter both expected him to reserve judgment, to do what he could to spare Riordan’s son if at all possible.
He’d given his word. But he couldn’t guarantee the male wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire if things went south inside the stronghold.
With those grim thoughts riding him, he nearly didn’t notice that Lucan had gone markedly quiet, still on his phone call at the other side of the jet’s cabin. But everyone else had stopped talking now too.
Lucan’s sober expression and silence drew more attention than if he’d been roaring vicious curses at the top of his lungs.
He ended the call and walked over, his grave eyes locked on Chase.
“What’s going on, Lucan?”
“It’s Carys.” Two words, spoken so seriously, it seemed to suck all the air out of the room. “She’s gone missing from the party in London.”
“Gone missing?”
Chase felt his veins freeze over. At the table with him, Aric exploded with a shout of disbelief and worry.
“What do you mean, gone missing?” Chase murmured. “For how long? Where would she go? For fuck’s sake, tell me we’re turning that house upside down looking for her right now.”
“Brynne searched the house. Gideon had Carys’s GPS signal on site and active, but when they located her earpiece . . .” Lucan shook his head. “It appears she’s been gone for more than an hour.”
“Someone took her?” Chase knew the answer without asking it. He knew who, as well, and the ice that had settled in his blood turned arctic. “Riordan.”
Lucan’s stark gaze confirmed it. “Gideon’s tap on the security cameras showed her arriving there with Ennis Riordan. She hasn’t been there long.”
“One second in that place is too goddamn long,” Chase muttered. “And we’re how far from touching down in Dublin?”
“A couple of hours. I’ve already told the pilot to push this bird as hard as he can.”
Chase thought about his mate, who’d stayed behind at headquarters with the other women. “Has Tavia been told?”
“Gideon thought you’d want to be the one to break the news to her.”
“Yeah. He’s right.” And Chase should have known Tavia hadn’t yet been informed. He would have felt her anguish through their blood bond. The way she was most certainly feeling his now. “It’ll be best if she hears it from me.”
As he got up from the ta
ble to make the dreaded call, he put his hand on his son’s strong shoulder. He couldn’t imagine what Carys’s twin must be feeling. The siblings had been so close as children. There had been strains in their bond recently, but it was on the mend now and their love had never dimmed.
Aric looked at him with eyes the same green shade as Tavia’s. His gaze was stark, unblinking. When he spoke, his deep voice was firm with resolve. “We’re gonna bring her back. She’s going to be all right. And those fucks who took her are going to pay in blood.”
The other warriors murmured their support, but the assurances did little to numb the dread clawing at Chase. He’d never felt so helpless, realizing that he was hundreds of miles and too many damn hours away from reaching her.
He knew Carys was strong. God knew she was stubborn. His daughter had never backed down from any fight, but she’d never been tested by something like this.
She had never faced the kind of evil that Fineas Riordan was reputed to deal in, and the thought of his little girl being taken—being touched by filth like Riordan—was almost too much for him to bear.
As the jet’s engines roared and the agonizing wait until landing began, Chase found himself pinning his hopes on an unlikely ally.
With him and the Order too far away to help, her best chance of survival could be Riordan’s own son. The same Breed male Chase had been reluctant to accept and all too quick to condemn.
Now, he never prayed so hard to be proven wrong.
~ ~ ~
“Carys!”
Rune’s panic flooded him like electricity in his veins.
Even though his mind knew she couldn’t be harmed by UV light, his heart had seized with horror when the invisible web overhead had exploded like a supernova.
His relief came just as swiftly as he watched Carys drop to the floor of the pit behind him, wholly intact. She landed on her feet with all the grace of a cat—and came out of her slight crouch with all the ferocity and power of a Breed female.
Her fangs glinted behind her parted lips. Her bright blue irises were devoured by crackling amber heat. She glanced past his shoulder in alarm.