Guild of Truth 02 - Shield from the Heart Read online

  She patted the side pocket of her cargo pants. And if all else failed then it was a good thing she’d brought her own supply of Propofol.

  Joel shoved his laptop into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “Ready?” He looked positively delighted. Sydney couldn’t understand how he and Felix could get so excited about playing super hero. It was downright terrifying.

  Maybe you should have let Cali come instead.

  She could hardly keep the water in her stomach down.

  “Syd?” Joel asked when she hesitated.

  No backing out now. You can do it.

  “I’m ready.”

  He gave her an encouraging squeeze on the arm.

  They crept out from the bus stop when there was a lull in traffic. This late at night on a weekday there weren’t many cars on the street. They reached the chain-link fence and Joel pulled out a master key that he’d programmed to open the gate. He slid it past the sensor. She held her breath. The gate rattled open on its rusty wheels.

  They slipped inside the parking lot and made their way along the wall of the building to remain unseen to those driving along the street.

  Any minute she expected a car to drive in and spot them.

  Did her heart always sound this loud?

  She shook herself. Stay focused.

  A loud burst of laughter came from down the street. Sydney spun.

  Joel got to work on the entrance lock. “Don’t worry.” He seemed to sense her nervousness. “No one from the street can see us.”

  The gate started to rattle closed.

  “Joel — ” she started.

  “It’s supposed to do that,” he reassured her. “It’s set on a timer as if a car was driving in.”

  Right.

  Stop being so childish. Remember why you’re doing this.

  She recalled to mind the way her mystery man had been drugged, sitting all alone in that cell, suffering.

  The image bolstered her confidence.

  Joel cracked the lock on the front door. “Go in easy,” he whispered as she passed by him to enter the dim lit lobby.

  She hovered near the door while he propped the door open an inch for an easy escape. He turned around to survey the area.

  It was like any other office building, Sydney supposed: empty lobby, two hallways leading in opposite directions to lead up behind the main wall. There were no decorations whatsoever. Along the ceiling was the impression of inverted stairs, which meant that they were above them behind the wall they were facing.

  She pointed to the ceiling. “Do you think they’re being held upstairs?”

  Joel tilted his head as if listening for something. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m a little more worried about where the workers on duty are at.”

  Neither one of them spoke the one doubt that she was sure they were both thinking: What if no one was being held here at all?

  Footsteps came from down one of the hallways.

  Joel flew to the opposite hall and motioned her over.

  They slipped behind the cover of the front wall just as a man came around the other end. He was average height with dark hair, but with the poor lighting she couldn’t tell if it was black or brown.

  She exchanged a glance with Joel. They were both thinking the same thing.

  The man was too thin to be a hired guard. That left only one other option. He was hired because he had powers.

  Joel motioned for her to use her ability. She nodded.

  The man strolled through the lobby, his gaze catching on the ajar door.

  Joel crept out from behind their hideaway and carefully made his way over.

  The back of Sydney’s neck gave the appropriate tingle, letting her know that her Shield was up.

  Joel tapped the man on the shoulder. He spun. “You picked the wrong place to rob, buddy,” the man said as he grabbed Joel roughly around his neck.

  Joel wasn’t the least bit concerned. The man stared at Joel, his arrogant smile slipping when he realized his powers, whatever they were, were useless.

  “Something the matter?” asked Joel before he clocked him.

  The man went down.

  Sydney lowered her Shield. Not that Joel really needed his powers. That right hook took his opponent down. But just to be on the cautious side she ran over and injected him with her sedative.

  “Questioning my fighting ability, Syd?” Joel asked as they propped the man up in a dark corner.

  “Not at all,” she huffed. “Simply covering all possible means for interference.”

  “How much did you give him?”

  “Not too much, he should be out for a good half hour.”

  There was the scrape of a chair being moved upstairs, followed shortly by footsteps.

  Joel eyed their unconscious friend. “Coming to check on him?”

  Sydney strained her ears. What she wouldn’t give to be able to use Cali’s powers right about then to hear better. “I don’t think so.” The steps were getting further away.

  “We should move slowly then. There’s still two more up there.”

  She followed Joel as he took the stairs two at a time. The second floor opened up to a long hallway with doors on both sides. Some were open, others closed. The footsteps they heard could have gone into any number of those rooms.

  A chill slid down her spine. Were they being expected?

  Joel cursed under his breath.

  She joined him down the hall. “What?”

  “I think we found where they’re holding their captives.”

  He jerked his thumb at the sideways folder that rested in the holder that was mounted to the door. It was the same type of paperwork a doctor would have for their patients.

  Sydney’s stomach twisted. Was this it? Was her mystery man inside?

  Joel already had one of his gadgets out that would hack into the electronic lock on the door. “You should watch this,” he told her.

  “Why?”

  “Because we have no idea where the other two guards are and I’ll be a better look out. You can get everyone out of their cells.”

  He didn’t give her time to argue. Not that she would have. “See this?” He held up some kind of card that was connected to a small device he held in his hands. “Jam it into the slot here.” He motioned to the designated spot on the lock. “When the card’s in, it’ll scan the proper code and unlock the door. When you’re all done pull the card out and open the door. Simple.”

  He handed her the stuff as he opened the door he’d been working on.

  Sydney’s heart leapt into her throat.

  A young man lifted his head.

  She exhaled. It wasn’t her man.

  “Who’re you?”

  Joel pointed to himself. “I’m Joel, this here is Sydney. We’re here to bust your ass out.”

  She rushed over to the kid. The lighting was poor in the cells, more so than out in the hall. “What’s your name?”

  “Luke. Luke Teagan.”

  Luke had hair that was either a sandy blonde or a mousy brown. His sky blue eyes watched her carefully as she worked on the ties at his hands. He had the smallest cleft in his chin.

  “Nice to meet you, Luke.” Sydney ripped at the knots until they came undone. His fingers were nearly purple and swollen from poor circulation. She cringed inwardly. “Can you stand?”

  He got slowly to his feet. He towered over her.

  Kid must still be growing.

  “This way.” She ushered him out. “Stay with Joel, all right?”

  He nodded.

  She rushed down the hall past an open conference room and stopped outside the next locked door. She shoved Joel’s key card into the slot and waited as the machine ran through its algorithms.

  There was a faint click and she pulled the key from the slot and opened the door.

  Peering up out of a face shrouded in ink black hair, ice blue eyes locked with hers.

  Sydney’s heart hiccupped.

  Chapter 4

  R
egina must have gotten bored, Merrick thought as the lock disengaged. He went to straighten his posture then thought better of it.

  Screw it.

  What good was showing defiance, anyway? Regina just seemed to enjoy it more.

  The door opened. Merrick felt a kick to the gut when she walked in.

  It couldn’t be …

  Yet his eyes told him a different story. Dressed in a black shirt, green cargo pants, and black … Sketchers? His blonde beauty stood in front of him like a dream come to life. For a handful of heartbeats she stood in the doorway watching him, as if afraid to breathe.

  There was a hiss from down the hall. A male voice. It snapped her into action.

  She raced around his chair, her soft fingers working at the knots binding his hands, brushing against his skin every now and again. Merrick repressed a shiver. The warm scent of vanilla wafted over from her. His cock stirred.

  “Who the hell are you?” he finally found his voice. It was a little rough.

  There was a hard tug on his wrists before the bindings fell away.

  “Sydney Spencer.”

  He massaged feeling back into his hands. She watched him openly with a mix of curiosity and fear.

  He stood, for the first time realizing how tiny she was. She didn’t even reach his shoulder. “I’m Merrick.”

  She stared up at him, swallowing visibly. She forced a smile. “Nice to meet you.”

  She booked it for the door.

  “Where are you going?” He took a step and had to reach out for the wall as a sudden surge of vertigo hit him. Damn drugs, malnutrition, and dehydration.

  “I have to free anyone else,” she threw over her shoulder.

  He followed her into the hall. At one end there stood two men. One was dressed in scrubs like him. Another prisoner. The other man motioned for Merrick to join them but he followed Sydney.

  She was busy deactivating another lock.

  He came up behind her. “Where did you get that?”

  She stiffened fractionally. It was a small tightening in the shoulders, but Merrick saw it. Did his presence upset her?

  “I got it from Joel, the man over there. He’s really good with electronics.”

  “And what do you do?” he found himself asking, wanting to know the answer. Who was this woman that looked so incredibly young and why was he so drawn to her?

  She pulled a wired card from the slot in the door and twisted the handle. She turned to face him and his gut clenched as their eyes locked. His whole body prickled with awareness.

  There was a flash in her green eyes, gone before he could identify it. “I’m a vet,” she said before disappearing into the room.

  He decided to stay outside the cell. He heard Sydney introduce herself and ask the girl’s name.

  “Hazel Benedict,” came the answer.

  A girl a little taller than Sydney came out of the room. She had thick, straight black hair, with a full set of bangs that brushed into a pair of deep forest green eyes. Hazel eyed him hesitantly before she noticed he was dressed in scrubs. Same as her.

  “Right that way.” He pointed down the hall where the man named Joel stood with the other freed captive.

  Hazel went to join the others. Merrick continued to follow his blonde.

  “Who do you work for? Why are you doing this?” he asked as she worked on the last locked room.

  She shot him a frustrated glare. “Can’t I say I’m doing this out of the goodness of my heart and be done with the interrogation?”

  She vanished into the last cell where another girl named Juliet Arden was being kept. She had long, wavy brown hair and deep blue eyes. She was nearly the same height as Sydney, but unlike Sydney, Juliet was gifted with curves and an ample chest.

  Any further questions Merrick would have asked were put on hold as Juliet conducted her own interrogation. “What’s going on? Why am I here? Those people kept asking if I have any powers. I don’t! Who are you really?”

  Sydney looked like she was holding back an eye roll. She gave Merrick an annoyed look as if the girl’s curiosity had been his fault.

  “No more questions,” she hissed to shut Juliet up. “We need to get out of here first.”

  Juliet’s blue eyes widened as she realized they weren’t out of the woods just yet.

  Merrick held his finger up to his lips to signal her to be quiet then pointed to the group forming at the other end of the hall.

  Juliet scurried to meet them.

  “Where are you going?” Merrick whispered.

  Sydney continued down the hall investigating all other rooms. “I thought I said no more questions.” She sighed. “I’m looking for the other guards on duty. We only took down one. There’s supposed to be three.” She paused when she came to the end of the hall.

  “What is it?” He followed her gaze. It was another set of stairs. “You think it leads somewhere else?”

  She shook her head, blonde hair flaring out to brush his arm. He inhaled sharply. How long had it been since he’d been with a woman? Fisted her hair? Obviously too long if he was this riled up over a woman he just met.

  “The building is too small for those stairs to lead anywhere else but the bottom floor,” Sydney answered. “The only problem is that we left an unconscious man on the bottom floor.”

  That was certainly going to give them away.

  “Maybe they’re in a break room,” he offered optimistically though he highly doubted it.

  She nodded absently. “Come on.” She went back the way they’d came to join the others.

  “Joel,” the man with rich brown hair and midnight blue eyes introduced himself. His hands and forearms were covered with scars. Now wasn’t the time to ask questions, though Merrick did catalogue it for later.

  “This is how it’ll go down.” Joel rallied them into a small circle. Merrick noticed with some discomfort that Sydney positioned herself at Joel’s side. “Syd and I will go down first and make sure the coast is clear. You guys follow after, okay?” There was a collective nod. “Only after we give the all clear,” he stressed.

  More nods.

  They made their way to the stairs. Merrick slid to the front to speak with Joel who seemed to be the obvious leader. “I can help,” he whispered.

  “I appreciate it, man,” said Joel, “but — ”

  Merrick cut him off. “Look around you, the others are just kids. I’m not. I’m trained.”

  Joel studied him. Merrick didn’t back down. Finally Joel leaned into him and lowered his voice. “Do you have powers?”

  Merrick froze.

  Joel waited with a “no bullshit” expression on his face.

  Could it be possible that these people were like him? His first instinct was to lie. Self-preservation and all. But then his eyes slid to Sydney. His heart quivered in his chest and he rubbed at it absently.

  He forced his gaze back to Joel’s. “I do,” he said just as quietly.

  Joel nodded. “Stay close and don’t do anything stupid. My power allows me to Lock a person if I touch them. That means if I can get my hand on their feet they won’t be able to move from wherever it is they’re standing. It’ll be a lot easier to take down an opponent that can’t move. You feel me?”

  Merrick couldn’t believe he’d been found by more people with abilities. “I understand.”

  They proceeded down the steps. The building was in dire need of repair. Cracks lined the walls, dirt marred the floor. Where the hell had they been keeping him? He was tempted to ask but they reached the bottom floor. Joel and Sydney split off in opposite directions to search for their two missing targets.

  Merrick trailed Sydney. There was no way she’d be able to take on another person. She barely looked like she’d be able to fight off a twelve-year-old.

  “Why do you keep following me?” She raised her hand as if to shove him away but stopped herself before her hand could make contact.

  For some reason that bothered him, he wanted her hand to touch him. He
wanted her skin on his again.

  He shook himself.

  “You look like you could use some help,” he said.

  Anger sparked in her eyes. “Because I’m small?”

  Merrick was smart enough to know wounded pride when he heard it. He refrained from answering.

  They came across no one in the few hallways that eventually connected to the second set of stairs. They rejoined Joel and the others by the first set. Joel’s eyes flickered from him to Sydney and back again, a frown forming.

  Shit.

  Were they together?

  As if in answer, Sydney crossed to Joel and laced their fingers together.

  Fuck.

  Merrick’s lungs constricted, an unwanted burst of anger bubbling up inside of him.

  “No one,” Sydney reported.

  It’s better this way, he told himself, unable to tear his gaze away from their clasped hands. It may have been a while since he’d been with a woman, but he reminded himself that there had been a damn good reason behind why he avoided them.

  “All right then,” said Joel. “Let’s go.”

  They circled around to the front.

  An unconscious man lay off to the side. A small noise from his right caught Merrick’s attention. Hazel’s eyes were locked on the male, burning bright with hatred.

  Merrick took a closer look at the slumped over figure and balled his hands into fists. He’d endured a lot of pain at the hands of that man. He had some kind of ability to cause excruciating pain on contact. The idea that that man’s hands had been on someone as young as Hazel made Merrick see red. He was pretty sure if he had seen any kind of fear or tears in her eyes he would have gone over and broken the fucker’s unconscious neck. As it was, Hazel’s bottom lip didn’t so much as tremble. She simply glared.

  Joel came to an abrupt stop.

  Sydney dropped his hand. “What is it?”

  “I left that open.” He gestured to the front door.