Rage roared through him when his friend’s dead empty eyes stared back at him.
Not Stitch. Dear Gods, not Stitch. “I’m so sorry.” His voice was thick with emotion. Rourk gently set his friend down and stood up. His whole body was filled with rage and he could feel his power radiate from his hand to the knife he clenched in it.
Rage sharpened his instincts.
He heard a child cry from a near by house, and women screaming.
The two d’jinns’ eyes were wide and their chests heaved up and down. They shared a glance between them.
Rourk’s face contorted in pain over the loss of his friend. They would pay.
One d’jinn glanced around nervously. “I’m sorry, brother.”
“Adham, do not leave me. Stay and fight,” The d’jinn yelled.
And then in the blink of an eye the d’jinn transformed from a man into a raven and flew off towards the horizon. The body he had occupied fell to the ground in a heap.
The remaining d'jinn’s eyes darted to his fallen comrades, and then to the sky, looking after the coward that had escaped. Rourk could see a twitch of fear in his eyes.
His hands tightened. That’s right, you should be afraid. Rourk stalked forward.
Hand out, Rourk used the momentum of his body to slam the webbing of his hand between his thumb and forefinger into the d’jinn’s throat. He could hear the crunching of his larynx. The demon’s hand went immediately to his throat, dropping his weapon. His eyes bulging in shock. The d’jinn stumbled backwards, but Rourk grabbed him by the collar and swiped his knee. The man yelled out in pain as he dropped to his knees, one knee at an unnatural angle.
“You killed my brothers.” The man cried out.
“And you killed mine!” Rourk roared.
The demon’s eyes pleaded with him.
Rourk debated torturing the man some more, but he wasn’t worth it. The coward that had run, on the other hand, would die a long slow death. Rourk needed to get Stitch back to the base camp.
“For Stitch.” Without ceremony, Rourk walked behind the demon and sliced his throat from ear to ear. Warm blood flowed over the handle and between his fingers. The demon collapsed, dead.
With shaky feet, Rourk walked over to Stitch. He leaned down beside him and felt a rush of sorrow for the loss of his friend. He thought of Stitch’s wife and baby. They were now left alone. The thought made Rourk ill. A discarded bag lay beside his friend’s body. What he saw inside it made his chest tighten. A bright scarf and a wooden rattle. Grief washed over him, and tears stung his eyes. He swallowed, trying to ease his constricted throat, but it did nothing.
Rourk grabbed Stitch and threw him over his shoulder, and with a heavy heart, walked back to the truck. He could feel eyes on him when he passed the bazaar, but he didn’t care.
He couldn’t bring himself to lay his friend in the bed of the truck. He pulled a tarp out of a bag and laid it out on the back seat. “I give you my oath, I will see that d’jinn dead.” He sat in the driver’s side seat, gripping the steering wheel. He had to call his team sergeant.
This was all his fault. Stitch was dead because of him. If only he had been faster.
Rourk took a deep breath and then made the call.
When Rourk got back to the base, he was met by his team. They were all distressed over the news. Stitch had been loved by everyone.
“What the hell happened?” Jamison demanded.
Mirko’s eyes were moist, and the others were in shock.
“I don’t know. The guys came out of no where. There were four of them, and one attacked with a knife. I took him out, Stitch took out another one, and I saw the third raise a gun. But I wasn’t fast enough.” Rourk said, his voice rough.
He wanted Stitch to be remembered as a hero. Hell, he was a hero. It wasn’t his fault d’jinns couldn’t be killed with guns, or that such evil existed right in front of humans eyes that were unable to see them.
The guys looked at each other.
Finally, O’Grady spoke. “It’s not your fault, brother. We all know if you could have saved him you would have.”
Rourk looked at the ground. He would always blame himself for the loss of his friend.
“I have some scotch hidden in my room. Let’s go raise our glasses to Stitch. He was one hell of a guy,” Mirko said, and they all followed him to his room. They spent the next couple of hours telling war stories about Stitch and all the practical jokes they had played on him.
Afterwards, Rourk had to write out mind-numbing reports. Meanwhile he was stewing in his own grief and rage.
He would avenge Stitch’s death if it took his last breath.
CHAPTER 15
Two days later, a banging at the door jarred Keegan from her sleep.
She looked over at the clock. Who in the world would be bothering her at almost three a.m.?
Maybe Anna was in trouble. Keegan grabbed her cell phone, but there were no messages. Maybe Anna had lost her phone or the battery died.
The banging continued, growing louder by the second. She shouldn’t open the door. She knew it, but what if someone needed help?
Rourk.
No response. He was probably working and needed to block her. The timing couldn’t be worse. But what could he do from half way around the world? Knowing Rourk, he would tell her to stay in bed, but she had to make sure someone she loved didn’t need her. Besides, what kind of evil knocked on the door when they could just as easily break in if they really wanted to?
She grabbed the gun from the bedside table, pulled back the slide making sure there was a round in the chamber, and shrugged into her robe. She would just peek outside.
Keegan edged the curtain to the side just a tiny bit and her shoulders relaxed. It was her neighbor, a harmless old woman. She looked slightly eerie under the soft glow of the porch light. Keegan turned off the alarm and flung the door open. The gun still clutched in her hand.
“What’s wrong?” Keegan asked, concerned. The woman had to be pushing eighty. She was leaning on her cane, her back bowed.
Her neighbor stood there, but didn’t say anything. Her eyes looked blank and it was pretty freaky. The hair on the back of her Keegan’s neck stood up. Obviously, Keegan had seen way too many scary movies in her life.
Keegan frowned. “Can I help you?”
The old woman’s eyes suddenly glowed, and Keegan instantly disappeared. What the hell had happened to Mrs. Anderson? What the hell was that thing that was in her house? It sure as heck wasn’t the nice old lady who made her cookies the first Sunday of the month.
She watched as the body of Mrs. Anderson morphed into something entirely foreign to her, a man, with a neck like a tree trunk, and a bald head with the strangest eyes she’s ever seen. Tattoos covered his face.
He looked back and forth. As if she would suddenly reappear. Keegan almost laughed, but that would have given her away.
She felt something prick her neck. She rubbed the spot. What the hell was that? It felt like she had been stung by a bee or something. She shrugged it off and continued down the hallway. She just had to slip into her room and she could go out the window. Only a few more steps. Her knees felt wobbly, and her vision blurred. What the hell?
Rourk!
Blackness descended on her as she crumpled to the ground.
Her mouth was so dry. She licked her lips; her tongue felt like sandpaper. She went to rub her aching head, but her hands were bound. Icy fear coursed through her. She tried to remember what happened, but nothing came.
The room was damp, dark, and smelled moldy, making her nose itch. Where the hell was she?
“You’re finally awake.”
Keegan turned her head slowly. She saw the glowing eyes and tattoos, but had no idea what she was looking at. Panic crashed against her chest. “Who are you?” Her voice was slurred. He must have drugged her.
“That’s no concern of yours.”
“The hell it isn’t! You have me tied up and drugged. I think your nam
e is the least you owe me.”
The thing stared at her for a moment. As if trying to figure her out. He probably wasn’t used to confrontation.
“Very well, my name is Adham.” His deep voice was creepily calm.
“Adham, what are you?” Keegan wanted to get him talking so she could try to figure out where the hell she was so she could think of a way to escape. Once she was alone, she could use her power of invisibility.
“A d’jinn.” He said simply as if it should be obvious.
Keegan scanned her mind, but she had no idea what that meant. “I don’t know what that is.”
“D’jinns take on the form of humans or animals when needed. If you believe the myths, it’s to do bad things on earth.”
Keegan laughed bitterly. “Well, it’s a little hard not to believe that at the moment. Are you saying you aren’t going to hurt me?” A spark of hope came alive in her chest.
“Oh no, I haven’t said that at all, I’m afraid. I’m going to have to bring you much pain, Keegan.”
How did he know her name?
She blinked her eyes a couple of times trying to convince herself this was really happening. “How did you see me?”
He laughed. “You had me for a moment. I wasn’t aware elves could disappear at will. Lucky for me I can see auras. I just guessed where to inject the shot. Not as clever as you thought.”
Keegan dropped her head. She had no idea what this monster’s powers were, and that put her at a big disadvantage. That and the damn rope around her hands and legs.
“What did I do to you?” Her voice shook as she lifted her head and looked into his creepy eyes. “Why do you want to hurt me? I don’t even know anything about you.”
“You? You did nothing to me, I’m afraid.”
“I- I don’t understand.” Maybe this was a whacked-out dream and she would wake up. Was he some crazy serial killer? Her breathing became erratic.
“Your elf mate, on the other hand. He did something very, very bad. And I plan to hurt him as much as he hurt me.”
“Rourk? What did he do?” Keegan’s mind scrambled, but her head was still fuzzy from the drugs.
“He took something very important from me. I am returning the gesture. He killed my brother, and my friends. A brother with whom I’ve roamed the earth with for over a thousand years.”
Keegan’s fear ratcheted up several more notches, if that was possible. She knew first hand that family would go to any length when they felt they were doing the right thing. If he thought torturing Keegan would ease his grief and avenge his brother’s death…
“I’m sorry for your loss. But causing me pain will not bring him back.”
Adham looked at her strangely. She could tell her words had disarmed him, but he quickly recovered. “You know nothing of Syed. He was a good man. Very good.”
“If that is true, he wouldn’t approve of you holding me hostage.”
She didn’t see his hand coming. He hit the side of her face so hard the chair tipped over and her head bounced off the concrete floor.
“You shut up! I don’t want to hear another word from your ugly mouth.”
She instantly recoiled, trying to curl herself in a ball, but her feet and hands were both tied. If her head had hurt before, now pain radiated throughout her body. She could feel the stones around her neck warm up. If it weren’t for the healing stones, she would be much worse off.
His heavy feet echoed through the room, and then with a loud thunk, Adham slammed the door. She heard the deadbolt slide.
Her face throbbed, but she had to act fast, before he returned. He might decide killing her was better than dragging it out.
Closing her eyes, she focused on her ability, but nothing happened. She tried again, and still nothing. Maybe the fear was stopping her? After a few deep breaths, she tried again, and got not even so much as a tingle. Nothing. Somehow he had blocked her gift.
She tried to speak to Rourk through her mind, but was met with nothing but darkness. She was screwed.
Tears fell freely down her face. Her baby. She had to find a way to protect her baby.
“I’m so sorry.” She cried and wished she could move her hand to her abdomen to comfort the living being inside of her.
She stopped herself with a sharp exhale. Think. She told herself. If she remained calm, maybe she could figure a way out of this and survive. Her and the baby.
She didn’t want to be calm. She wanted to attack the evil d’jinn. She yanked her hands until her wrists were raw. There was no way she was going to get out of the ropes. She tried to rock the chair back to standing, but it was useless. Her cheek pressed against the cold floor, she looked around for anything that could help her, but the room was empty and dark.
Maybe she could reason with him. Convince him to let her go.
She felt so helpless. She closed her eyes, but the room was spinning.
Pull yourself together. She would not be a victim.
A wave of nausea abruptly washed over her. More than anything, she longed to be home, safe and sound. Why had she been so stupid and answered the door? She knew that was useless thinking. The d’jinn had wanted her—he would have found another way.
Think, Keegan!
CHAPTER 16
Mirko knocked on the door. “Hey, Kavanagh, phone call.” He handed him the satellite phone and walked away.
“Hello?”
“Rourk, it’s Thaddeus.”
Rourk groaned, and gripped the phone tighter. He knew it. He’d known something was going to happen. “Tell me.” He closed his eyes and tried to brace himself for the bad news.
“Keegan’s been taken.”
“Taken?” Rourk locked his knees in fear that his legs were going to buckle under him. “By whom?”
“Someone with a score to settle with you. A d’jinn you pissed off.”
The world tilted beneath him, and Rourk couldn’t speak. His actions had caused his best friend to die and his chosen to be taken. D’jinns were evil, and this one was fueled on revenge. Focus. He scolded himself. Imagining what could happen to Keegan would only cloud his judgement.
“Rourk, you need to get back here. Take emergency leave.”
“Can you get me there faster? I’m about to come out of my skin. I can’t sit through a long flight. We need to act. Fast.”
“I’m already here. Meet me at the airport. I’ll be waiting for you.” The line disconnected.
Rourk’s body was revving into overdrive. He willed his breathing to return to normal, and strode to his team sergeant’s office. He rapped on the door.
“What’s up?”
“I need to leave. My wife is—missing”
“Missing?” He asked, confused. “You’re sure she didn’t just run off with some Joe? You know it happens all the time. Or maybe just hanging out with her friends or something?”
Rourk flexed his jaw. It took all of his self-control not to grab O’Grady and fling him across the room. “I’ve never asked you for anything. I need to go. If you don’t sign the form, I’ll be forced to go AWOL,” Rourk said, his voice was cold as ice.
O’Grady let out a breath. “Anyone else, there is no way in hell I’d approve this. We’re due home in two weeks. But I know you, Rourk, and you wouldn’t ask if you didn’t feel it was warranted. There’s no need to talk crazy.”
He opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a form. “Just sign here. I’ll fill out the rest.”
“Thank you. You know I hate leaving the team. If I can I’ll return before the rotation is over.”
“Don’t worry about it. You know we’ll just be handing things over to the team rotating in. Go take care of family.”
Family. One simple word made him want to tear apart anyone in his way. Keegan was carrying his child, and someone had dared take her from him. There would be hell to pay.
“Rourk, are you sure this is not about Stitch? There’s no shame if you need to talk to someone.”
Rourk had to bite back
the bitter laughter. Oh yes, this was very much about Stitch. He missed Stitch, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw his haunted eyes, and he would his death. But right now, his main concern was Keegan.
He took the pen and scrawled his signature. “I really appreciate this. I’m sorry I let my temper show.”
“No problem. Good luck, Rourk.”
Anger seared through him as he strode down the hallway to his room. He looked around the room. The sight of Stitch’s empty bed made him feel ill. He tossed what little he had into his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and knocked on Mirko’s door.
“Hey, man. I need a lift to the airport.”
“Everything okay?”
“No,” Rourk said through clenched teeth. A vein throbbed in his temple.
Mirko searched his face before standing. “Sure, ok, let’s go.”
Rourk was thankful he didn’t push the issue. He was not in the mood to talk, and he was afraid he would fall apart if he had to explain the situation.
They made the drive in silence. Rourk stared out the window and hoped he wasn’t too late. If anything happened to Keegan…
He thanked Mirko and jumped out of the truck. He took long strides, walking as quickly as possible. A sense of urgency coursed through him like he had never felt before. He knew the clock was ticking, and he was on the d’jinn’s time.
Thaddeus was waiting inside the doorway. Rourk didn’t like what he saw in his brother-in-law’s eyes: sadness.
“Is she going to be okay?” Rourk asked as soon as he saw his brother-in-law, steeling himself for the answer.
“I don’t know. I just don’t know.” Thaddeus turned and walked towards the men’s restroom.
“How did it happen? How did he get her?”
“Drugs. He tried once, and she used her gift, but he managed to get her anyway.”
Rourk cursed under his breath.
“Gavin called me. He didn’t see it coming. The d’jinn was disguised as an old woman, and they were gone before he could act.”
“Wherever she is being held is cloaked. I can’t reach her, and she will be unable to use her gift.”