Chapter Twelve

“You’re staring.”

Caden gave her that smile that made her heart beat a little faster and her body flood with warmth. He was right she was staring, but she couldn’t help herself. She was being pulled in his direction, all she wanted to do was lean over and put her head on his shoulder or hold his hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I like it.”

And there went her heartbeat it was off to the races. She was attracted to him, cared about him. Was it the trading of blood? Now that she was his mate, was that what she felt? If that was the case, then what explains how she felt before all this happened?

For five days, she stared at him every night wondering who was he and what was his story. Then he saved her, picked her up when she fell and took her back into the apartment. It took a while but the memory of her hitting him and kicking him finally resurfaced. At first, she thought she’d die of embarrassment, but he never mentioned it. He acted like it never happened. That was the night, she learned something important about him. He would never hurt her.

After that, there were days and nights of watching television and talking. So much talking, she got to know him while he was getting to know her. Her heart, the one she thought was so battered and bruised, began to like him. It was his laugh and the gentle way he treated her. Not like she was a porcelain doll, more like she deserved to be treated well because she was a female, and he liked what she was made of.

Every time he helped her up or took her elbow to steer her, or even held her hand, she felt closer to him. Caden was important to her. He was also a logical thinker. He loved making plans. Even if he was simply planning the meals of the day, he did like it was a strategic exercise, and he never got mad when she teased him about it.

“What are we going to do when we get to my old building?”

“I want to look around your old apartment. There may be items you overlooked because they didn’t mean anything to you that may mean something to one of us.”

She nodded that made sense. Jim came off as crazy to her in the end, so she wasn’t looking for anything to make sense.

“Xander and I are going to go in first. You’re going to come in with Ven. Stay by his side.”

“Are you expecting trouble?”

“I hope not, but Jim has proven that as far as he’s concerned, you’re the most valuable person around. He wants you and won’t stop at the word no.”

Why her? Couldn’t he sacrifice someone else? Not that she was advocating another person’s death, but if she needed a sacrifice, she’d move on, find someone else less prone to run or put up a fight. Was there something that was different or rare about her? Was it her coloring? Red hair and green eyes were a rare combination, but was it so rare that he couldn’t find another if he looked?

What was it about her that attracted him? It had to be more than her eyes and hair.

“We’re here.” Xander pulled into the parking space that used to belong to Fire. Which meant they were on the front of the building, not the back.

“Why did you park out front?” She was trying to control the shivers going through her body. This was the one place she never thought she would see again.

Caden moved closer to her and took her hand. “If we park out front, then no one can accuse us of trying to hide our presence. Furthermore, Jim can’t look out the window and see us coming.”

She smiled at him. He was working a plan, one he probably put together with his brother when she was distracted by her thoughts. He came around and opened the door for her.

“Are we taking the elevator?”

They had just walked in the building, and no one was in the lobby.

“I’d feel safer in the stairwell.”

She nodded her head in agreement with Caden and stood back as he and his brother went first. Ven was standing close to her sweeping the area as if he had been part of the military unit Caden, and his brother served in.

“You look like you know what you’re doing. Did your father teach you that?”

“In a way, we call it on-the-job training.”

She was following him to the stairwell and stopped in shock. “You fought in the war?”

“Everyone fought if they wanted to live. Come on I don’t want to get too far behind.”

She hurried so they could catch up. Whether she liked it or not, she was at war, she just didn’t know who the enemy was beside Jim. For a minute, she felt sorrow. Memories of a time when things were good between them flooded her mind. She could remember laughing with him, kissing him, even making love to him. She was so sure that she had won the lottery, and this was as good as life could get.

Ven stopped her at the top of the stairs. He was looking out the door waiting for a signal. When he got it, he allowed her through, and they went into her old apartment. She stepped in and expected either nostalgia to overtake her or fear. Neither attacked her. She walked around feeling unattached to what she was seeing it was like another person had lived this life.

“That’s the symbol I was telling you about on the floor. It has changed some. Before I left it was done in white. The red lines traced around the white paint are new.”

“It’s how the finished symbol is supposed to look.” Caden picked up a book from a table with a picture of it in there. “Are these the books you were talking about?”

She looked to where he was pointing. On the coffee table were three books in a language she had never seen before.

“Those are the ones. Do you know what they are?”

“No, but I’ve seen the language before, just bits and pieces of it.”

“Where?”

“I’ve seen this in some remote parts of my planet and even on battlefields. It’s an ancient dead language, or that’s what Kur’iks believe.”

“How did it come to my planet?”

Caden exchanged a glance with his brother. “I don’t know Sageray; I wish I did.”

Xander walked over and picked up the three books. “Let’s take them back so Jasper and Chase can have a crack at them.”

“Sounds like a plan. Sage, what are you doing?” Cade was watching her as she sat on a chair that was in a corner.

“This is where I used to sit. When Jim and I first got together, I would sit with him on the couch and watch television at night. We were the cute new couple. I had silly dreams back then. Eventually, I was told to sit here as if I didn’t mean anything, but now I think it was more than that.”

Caden went to go get her, but Ven stopped him. Instead, he moved closer to her.

“I can feel it.” He was kneeling in front of her.

She met his blue eyes with a look of relief. “I’m not crazy?”

“No, you're as sane as I am.” He gave her a wide smile. “Maybe I should use a different example. When we get you out of this apartment, don’t ever come back.”

“I won’t.”

“Caden I’m going to break the circuit, and I need you to grab Sage’s hands and pull her out the chair. Xander, do you have your pen light on you?”

He threw it to Ven, who caught it and turned it on. Ven aimed the light overhead, and several beams of electrical manifestation showed up. They were flowing in and out of Sage’s body.

“Caden are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Ven rose and used his body to disrupt the beams while Caden pulled Sage out of the chair. Xander grabbed Ven and pulled him out. They all ended up on the floor on the other side of the room.

“I will kill him.” Caden had his arms around Sage holding her close. “Ven, how the hell did you know that beam was there?”

“I could feel it. They use something like this on Kur’ik. Did you ever wonder how part of the population was content to do nothing but have or father children?”

“I always wondered,” Xander said getting up.

Caden stood and reached down for Sage. “We need to get out of here. Do you have the books?”

Xander nodded yes while Ven picked up several items he found interesting.

“I sat on that chair almost every night,” Sage said out loud as she followed Caden and Ven brought up the rear.

“You have strong mental shields.”

“I do?” She stopped to look at Ven for a minute before continuing down the stairs.

“You have to, that is what it would take to resist what he was trying to do to you.”

“Brainwash me.”

“Sort of, he wanted to make sure you didn’t fight whatever he was planning for you.”

What had he been planning? Did he really mean to sacrifice her? Why should she doubt him? Jim did everything in his power to get his hands on her.

“What happens if he sacrifices me? What does he become? Does it have some effect on the Earth or will it only enhance him somehow? Then there’s that basic question of how does sacrifice enhance anyone? Am I the only one confused?”

“No, we all are. I want to wait until we get back to the compound to talk it over with everyone who has been involved so far. Maybe all of us together can come up with a working theory.” Caden reached out and pulled her closer. He couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her, and he was alright with that.

He loved the way her mind worked and how her green eyes clouded and cleared as she worked through a problem. He was still waiting for her to break down about being his mate but so far, she had taken it with no problems.

Her hands would reach out and touch him, he was sure she wasn’t aware of what she was doing. There was a soft caress to his arm or a gentle pat on the back of his hand. It was like she was reassuring herself that he was real. Every time she did that her mind drew a little closer to his. Soon she would be able to mentally communicate with him.

He changed positions in the car trying to make it easier for him to sit since his dick was rock hard and rubbing painfully against his jeans.