Guild of Truth 02 - Shield from the Heart Read online

  Fingers sifted through her hair. She tensed. Merrick’s hand froze.

  She wanted to tell him to keep going but the words were lodged in her throat. Her emotions were in such turmoil. She forced her eyes closed.

  She was just starting to drift when she felt Merrick’s hand return to her hair. She smiled sleepily before sleep claimed her.

  • • •

  Vander watched the security footage off the commandeered laptop Regina and Dennis had offered up to him. All four of his prisoners had been taken. Rescued. He sneered at the word. And by whom?

  He zoomed in on the blonde and her brown-haired companion. Sydney Spencer and Joel Kegler. He knew them, recognized them from their last attempt at destroying his work.

  It seemed like Cali’s little Guild of Truth was following him.

  He’d underestimated them, but not anymore. He learned from his mistakes and now more than ever he’d keep his eye on them. After all, they did have something that he wanted.

  “There.” He paused the video: Merrick was holding his hand over the security panel, eyes closed. He was using his powers. Vander had been right; he could learn information from touching an object.

  His phone went off. “What?”

  “Sir, they’re on the move.” Regina’s voice came through the other end.

  Vander resumed the video. “Good, don’t lose them.” They had been smart to go to a public location, a hospital no less. It was a lot harder to apprehend a person there. It was also the perfect destination to lose Regina — with all those different scents even someone as powerful as she would be slowed down. Fortunately for him, his form of motivation kept her performing at her best. There was no room for failure. All he needed to do now was find the proper motivation for Mr. Haskell.

  “And what about the others, sir? They’ve arrived in Oakland and are staying in a hotel.”

  He didn’t have to be quite so tolerant of them. “Pursue them at any cost. Keep tabs on Mr. Haskell and Miss Spencer — you’ll get further instruction on them later. Am I clear?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He ended the call and debated whether or not to fly Jente up to assist with Regina. Jente Mitchell was an invaluable asset. With the ability to go invisible he could tail anyone and learn valuable information.

  He thumbed through his contacts.

  • • •

  “So I was thinking that if Vander is so set on finding this journal that we should get to it first. You live in Anaheim, which is close to where my guild functions out of my clinic. Kevin lived down there too so his things should be somewhere close by. We could pool resources and find this thing. You’d be a great asset if you wanted to help us.”

  “You were thinking all this while you slept?” Merrick asked as they walked Market Street. Ever since they woke up Sydney had kept up a constant chatter. Her bubbly personality was so at odds with the doom and gloom he’d been subjected to for the past four months. It was a welcome change.

  He snuck a glance at her and his cock stiffened. She was so beautiful when she was relaxed and smiling. Waking up with her golden hair spread across his lap that morning had him seeking a private bathroom stall very quickly.

  She’s taken.

  He knew. Hell, he was probably only attracted to her because she was the first woman besides Regina that he’d really been in contact with. His past celibacy before being kidnapped probably wasn’t helping matters either.

  But what about those Mirror Mates she kept referring to?

  He could have sworn that when he asked her about them there had been a flash of fear in her eyes. But why would she fear finding her soul mate?

  Shit, was he really buying into this?

  Obviously she was afraid that he’d jump to the conclusion that they were Mirror Mates when they clearly weren’t. Which he was. She was right to be wary.

  “I do some of my best thinking while I sleep,” she said happily. She checked her phone.

  Waiting for a text message from Joel? Again?

  He’d called earlier that morning to check on Sydney. As if Merrick would have let anything happen to her. His hands balled into fists.

  They were supposed to meet up that day and eventually fly back to So Cal.

  Merrick prowled the streets as he searched for some way to disguise their scent. Joel might think they were in the clear but Merrick knew better. Regina would find them and they had to be ready.

  “Where are you going?” Merrick asked when Sydney stopped at a set of doors.

  “In here.” She disappeared inside, forcing him to follow.

  “Why?”

  Sydney stopped and put her hands on her hips. “You need clothes, remember?” She gestured around the store.

  In his haste to find some way to escape Regina’s tracking ability he’d forgotten about his state of dress. A few employees eyed him, clearly appalled.

  “Can you even afford to buy clothing in a place like this?” he whispered to her.

  “Please.” She waved him off. “I’m not buying you a new wardrobe. We only need an outfit.”

  That didn’t mean he was going to let her spend a fortune on him. He searched for the cheapest clothing available: one pair of jeans, a black v-neck sweater, and a pair of shoes. Simple, affordable, and essential.

  He stepped out of the fitting room, not bothering with his reflection. The clothing fit, he didn’t care how it made him look. He already knew a lot of his body had withered away from his captivity, no need to reinforce the fact. As soon as he returned home he was going to hit the gym and gain back all the muscle that he’d lost.

  “Let’s get out of here.” He approached Sydney where she sat in a waiting chair.

  Her bright green eyes widened. They raked his body from head to toe.

  That really wasn’t helping his situation. When she looked at him like that he wanted to force her back onto a flat surface and take her, driving any thoughts of Joel clear from her head as he drove himself into her body.

  His erection strained against his new jeans. He clenched his jaw, forcing any and all images of her from his mind. He needed to focus on more important things. Like Vander. He’d be damned if he was going to let that fucker get away with what he’d done to him. Four months of his life were gone. His business was probably bankrupt, his bills long overdue. Had anyone gone looking for him? Was there a missing persons out for him?

  He doubted it. No one at the station where he used to work truly cared about him. All those friendships had withered when he’d started succeeding on cases that others had failed at.

  He followed Sydney to the cashier. She paid for his clothes with a card. “I appreciate the clothes. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

  She collected her receipt. “You don’t have to. I like helping others.”

  He held the door open for her as they exited the store. “If you won’t let me pay you back with cash I can at least help you find that journal Vander is looking for.”

  She stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk. “Seriously?”

  He grabbed her arm and kept her moving. The longer they stayed in one spot the easier it’d be for Regina to find them. “Seriously,” he told her. “He fucked with the wrong PI.”

  She pried his fingers from her arm, the touch stirring his blood even more. “So all you want is revenge?”

  “Four months, Sydney. That’s how long I was isolated and tortured.”

  She was quiet for a moment before she stared up at him. “You called me Sydney.”

  He frowned.

  “That’s the first time you’ve used my name … Merrick.”

  He didn’t understand the big deal until she spoke his name. His gut clenched. It was like an intimate caress. Lust seized him but he wrestled it back.

  His gaze caught on a store to his right.

  “Where are you going?” asked Sydney.

  Merrick held the door open and ushered her in. He scanned the crowds before following her but didn’t see any brunettes
with fake blue eyes.

  Sydney’s nose instantly scrunched in that adorable way of hers. “Bath and Body Works?”

  The smell hit Merrick a second later and his own nose screwed up as the sickly sweet scents bombarded him. “We need to disguise our scents,” he told her and started for the tester sprays.

  “You mean to hide from Regina?” Her eyes grew distant as she thought. “You said she was a Tracker.”

  He glanced at her in surprise. She had a good memory.

  She shook her head, her lips curling. “Man, you’d definitely fit in with the rest of the guild.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because you made up a title for Regina.” At his blank expression she elaborated. “You called her a Tracker. Everyone in the guild has come up with at least one title for someone with a power.”

  “What title did you come up with?”

  Her chin rose just a little higher. “My own.”

  “You came up with the term Shielder?”

  “Yup. So far our list of titles include: Shielder, Eraser, Dreamer, Silencer, LockSmith, Veiler, Diverter, and Illusionist.”

  Merrick tried to commit all those to memory. He’d have to ask about each one. Later. “You can explain that after we conceal our scent.” He picked up a spray. Twilight Woods. He gave an experimental sniff.

  He pulled the bottle away from him. Well, it was definitely strong enough.

  Sydney picked up some kind of vanilla fruit blend. He took it from her hand. “You already smell like vanilla. You need a different scent.”

  She studied him. It didn’t take him very long before he realized that he’d admitted to smelling her.

  Shit.

  He thrust the Twilight Woods at her. “Try this.” He spun on his heel to go look for other sprays.

  “Hey.” She trailed after him. “You never explained what a Tracker is.” She doused herself in spray before picking up another stronger smelling one and misting him with it.

  He jumped.

  She grinned.

  He snatched the bottle and squirted her right in the face. “Imagine for a moment that werewolves existed. Their sense of smell? That’s what Regina has.”

  Her smile faded. “Do you think she’ll be able to Track us?”

  Merrick continued to spray himself. A female employee stared openly at him. “She might,” he said at last. “She’s well acquainted with my scent. She was always assigned to bathe me.” Sydney’s knuckles went white around the new bottle she held. “She used to tell me she bought my soap specifically for me. It was Irish Spring. She thought Haskell was Irish. I felt like telling the bitch that my last name was Welsh.” The old anger started to rise, the back of his neck prickling. He recognized the sensation and quickly stuffed his hands into his pockets.

  Sydney’s body was turned away from him, making it hard to get a read off of her.

  He wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder, to turn her around to face him. But he didn’t trust himself to touch anything at that moment. Every time his neck tingled the way it was now it meant his powers were lingering, waiting to read the next thing that touched his skin.

  The clothes he wore had been specifically chosen from the bottom of their piles in the store. It meant fewer people had come into contact with them, which meant there were fewer impressions left for Merrick to pick up. He caught glimpses of bored employees, but nothing too distracting.

  No matter how much he wanted to touch Sydney, he couldn’t. He didn’t want to pick up on her pity or worse … any lingering thoughts about Joel.

  A low growl started in his throat when a flash of brown hair caught his eye. Merrick spun to gaze out the window.

  “Is it Regina?”

  He shifted at the last minute to avoid brushing shoulders with Sydney. He might have his clothes as a barrier but one could never be too careful. “We need to keep moving. What time is our train at?” They were going to take the BART out of San Francisco to meet up with Joel and the rest of the escapees.

  She pulled out her phone. “We still have plenty of time.”

  “In that case,” he made his way toward the exit, “we should switch stations. We can’t afford to linger here any longer.”

  Merrick started making his way up Market Street. There was little time for conversation as Sydney huffed next to him to try to keep up. She was stronger than she looked. Not once did she complain that he was going too fast or ask him to slow down.

  A glimpse of brown hair up ahead had him slipping up the next street they came across.

  “Why are we going this way?” Sydney gasped.

  Merrick double checked over his shoulder. “Regina was up ahead. We can circle around this block to bypass her.”

  A lone man with his hair tied back in a ponytail caught Merrick’s gaze and held it. Merrick’s instincts went into high gear. That man worked with Regina. He just knew it.

  He deviated off course again. Before Sydney could ask he spoke out of the side of his mouth. “There’s more of them.”

  Her postured stiffened. “Is it the man who caught me at the station?”

  “No.” He hoped like hell that fucker wasn’t near. He’d kill him if he laid another hand on Sydney. In fact, he hadn’t caught sight of Dennis either.

  He paused, another suspicious man up ahead.

  Sydney stopped next to him.

  Merrick glanced over his shoulder, his mind realizing what was happening too late.

  More men were behind them.

  Regina stepped out from around a corner.

  “Shit, they herded us.”

  Chapter 7

  Joel paced the hotel room as the sound of Juliet, Luke, and Hazel playing cards lingered in the background of his mind.

  “Joel, you can stop pacing,” said Juliet. “You’re going to wear a path into the carpet. Besides, Sydney will be fine. Merrick’s with her.”

  His nails bit into the palm of his hand. It was that very reason why he was so wired. If Syd had been trapped with anyone else he wouldn’t have been as worried. But he’d seen the way Merrick had looked at her. Fuck, he even had to admit that Syd had looked at Merrick a few times with some kind of emotion in her eye.

  You’re overreacting.

  Was he? He didn’t fucking know anymore.

  More than once he’d wished with every fiber of his being that he and Sydney were Mirror Mates. Then he wouldn’t have these niggling doubts. He’d know for sure that she was the one for him.

  He forced himself to sit with the others.

  Hazel quietly passed him a hand of cards. He picked them up. “Thanks.”

  Three games later Joel was convinced Juliet was cheating.

  She planted her fists on her curvaceous hips. “I am not,” she protested.

  Joel leaned toward her. “Oh yeah?” he challenged. “Then let someone else deal.”

  Luke and Hazel exchanged a smile.

  A knock at the door interrupted Juliet’s stammering.

  Joel’s head whipped around. “Syd?” Had they caught an earlier train?

  The others got to their feet.

  He pulled open the door.

  “Your girlfriend is a little busy, I heard.” A hand grasped Joel’s hand.

  He wrenched back but it was too late. His vision went black. “What the fuck?” He blinked, flailing his free arm. He couldn’t fucking see!

  Juliet and Hazel cried out behind him. He heard shuffling followed by a crash.

  He dropped to the ground and reached out blindly with his hand. He connected with a shoe. His neck prickled and he Locked it.

  “Bastard,” the man growled before Joel was kicked in the chest. He reeled back. The connection between him and his attacker was broken. His vision slowly started coming back into focus. He glanced around the room.

  Vander’s men had found them.

  • • •

  “Nice trick.” Regina strolled toward them, tapping her nose. “Would have worked too if we hadn’t been watching you
since the hospital.”

  Merrick pushed Sydney behind him.

  “What do you mean they herded us?” she whispered up to him.

  He took in their surroundings. “They manipulated me into thinking I was escaping them when really they led me right where they wanted me.” He waved his hand around. “To somewhere much less crowded.”

  They started to close rank around them.

  The man with the ponytail pulled out a long piece of fabric.

  Merrick tensed. “I’m not going back with you.”

  Regina smiled like she used to when he resisted her in his cell. She always found his defiance amusing.

  Her smile was all the warning they got. The men pounced.

  Merrick was far from his peak performance but he wasn’t starved and sleep deprived anymore either. He knocked a man with a buzz cut right off his feet. He could hear another attacker coming up behind him but the man with the ponytail came at him at the same time.

  They locked grips. Merrick could hear the struggle behind him. Every instinct raged at him to help Sydney, but if he didn’t take care of the man he was fighting he’d be no help to her.

  Anger fueled his strength and he kicked out, taking his attacker by surprise. The man’s leg buckled and he dropped to one knee.

  Sydney cried out.

  Merrick whirled.

  Cloth wrapped around his nose and mouth.

  “You shouldn’t have taken your eyes off me,” Ponytail said. He tightened the fabric around Merrick’s face making it difficult to breathe.

  A kick to the backs of his legs had him dropping to his knees. He struggled to get a grip on the hands behind his head. The cloth tightened further.

  Sydney cried out, struggling against the man holding her. Regina walked over to the two of them but didn’t pay Sydney the least bit of attention. Her eyes were for Merrick. She watched him, as if waiting for something.

  What the fuck? What was she waiting for?

  He’d ask, but the bastard behind him was slowly suffocating him.

  “Leave him alone.” Sydney kicked out behind her. The man winced as her heel made contact with his shin.

  A few more seconds ticked by. Merrick started to get lightheaded, his heart pounding.