Separation Zone Read online

  Jon caressed her cheek. “Tori, look around. Is there anything else you see that can help us find her?”

  Tori did as instructed. “Water. Dripping down the sides. Cold.”

  She jerked back to awareness and clung to Jon. Her eyes were wide, fearful he’d be scared of what he’d just witnessed. Jon kissed her forehead and pushed her hair back and off her shoulders.

  “You okay, sugar?”

  She nodded, staying close to him, her hand finding his as she reflected on her vision. “I think she’s in a well of some sort. An old one. I saw boards at the top, the moonlight peeking in through the slits. It’s outside and….” She thought back to any sounds she heard. “Near the highway.”

  Jon tapped the mirror. “If you’re done staring at my Tori like she’s a circus freak, you might want to gather your men and have them start searching for abandoned wells along the highway.”

  His Tori?

  She would have commented, but he picked that moment to press his lips to hers and keep her silent. She didn’t fight him. Heck, Tori wasn’t even sure she could have if she wanted to. Not that she did.

  Jon picked up the tiny white shoe and put it back into its evidence bag. He stared at the mirror. “This piece comes with us. No objections. You need to decide if you want an airtight case or the little girl back…alive.”

  The sound of a PA system kicking on caught Tori’s attention. A stranger’s voice came over it. “We want the little girl alive. Take the shoe. I’ll get you a radio so you can stay in contact with us, Agent Reynell.”

  Agent Reynell?

  Tori stared up at Jon, thoroughly confused. Jon was an Immortal Op. Her father had explained as much to her. Her father had also explained in detail how classified it was. How the government would kill to protect its secrets. Her father knew that firsthand. Just how many aliases did Jon have at the ready?

  He kissed her lips again before pressing his mouth to her ear. “Let’s find her and get her to her momma.”

  He laced his fingers through hers and a feeling of being totally complete came over her for the first time in her life. This man had seen all of what she could do and he hadn’t batted an eye. Hope welled in her and silly girlie thoughts of forever with him began to creep into her mind.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jon drove, keeping his senses high and his sights out for signs of the little girl. He’d sensed her fear through Tori and it tore at his gut. He wanted to take this burden from her, to make it better somehow, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t do what she did.

  He could see and hear the dead. He couldn’t get impressions from objects. She was truly remarkable, and right now he wished he could take it all away if only to save her from the pain he knew she felt. Save her from her sense of obligation. If this ended poorly and the little girl turned out to be dead, Jon knew Tori wouldn’t bounce back from it. He’d only known her briefly, yet he felt as if he understood her—understood how tenderhearted she was.

  He gripped the wheel tighter. The last time they’d been in the SUV together, he’d been obsessed about her ankles. Now he simply wanted to wrap his arms around her protectively and keep the big bad world away. But he couldn’t keep it all from getting to her.

  “You okay?” he asked, worry running through him.

  Her lips pressed into a thin line as she nodded. “I’m good. She’s close.”

  “I know,” he returned, sensing as much, knowing his shifter side was picking up on the girl’s faint scent already. He’d demanded to keep the shoe so he’d have the little girl’s scent near him. The shifter in him could help find the child way before the others. He was sure of that.

  The windows of his rented SUV were down. He was thankful for that, otherwise he’d smell only Tori and her scent drove him mad with lust and need. He’d been so close to taking her, to fucking her, but when he’d heard her thoughts and her inner struggle, he’d pulled back.

  It would happen. He was sure of it. She just needed a bit more time. Then he’d claim her for his own—warnings be damned.

  He’d protect her at all costs.

  He drew in a deep breath, picking up on the little girl’s full scent the same moment Tori grabbed his thigh. “I feel her.”

  “So do I, sugar.” He swerved off the road and parked. He grabbed his off-duty weapon and handed it to Tori. “Here. Do you know how to fire one of these?”

  Her dark eyes grew wide.

  “This is the safety. If a bad man comes at you, point and pull the trigger. Easy enough?”

  She refused to take it.

  “Tori.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m coming with you. She’s scared and I think seeing me, a woman, might be less intimidating.”

  Jon growled, he wanted to shout at her and make her understand, but he held back. A niggle in the back of his head grew larger and larger, warning him something wasn’t right. This whole entire ordeal stank of no good, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. All he knew was he wanted Tori safe and away from any possible danger.

  “Someone took her. She didn’t just happen into that well. Whoever did it might still be close. Besides, I, umm, I can’t track her if you’re with me.” He could, but explaining the hows and whys didn’t appeal to him. Not yet anyway. He understood that she knew what he was, but actually seeing it happen before her eyes might scare her. He didn’t want that.

  She grew quiet and then nodded. “You think I’ll reject you for what you can do? Because you can change your shape into a tiger?”

  He paused. “I think I might scare you. Knowing I can turn into an animal and seeing it are two different things. I’ve seen it terrify big guys. I’m not about to do it in front of you and scare you.”

  Her eyes grew moist and she looked far away in thought for the briefest of moments. “Daddy sometimes did. Before he left, he did it fully once. It scared him more than it scared me.”

  “Left?” he asked. She didn’t say die. She said left. It felt as if someone had punched Jon in the gut. She’d seen Vinnie’s struggles with controlling his beast? He had so many questions, but now wasn’t the time.

  “I understand you don’t want me to see right now, but I won’t be afraid or reject you,” she said, her hand going to his thigh again. “You didn’t reject me and I’m different.”

  “You’re beautiful,” he said. “I could never reject you. Ever. I can’t fully explain it to you right now. Later I will. But know this, Tori, never would I turn you away from me. Got it?”

  She blushed.

  “The way your cheeks pink up so pretty tells me I was right,” he said softly.

  “Right?” she asked.

  He kissed her cheek, but what he really wanted was to put his mouth on hers and sink to the ground with her, kissing her, and then making love to her. To hold back on telling you that you’re so fucking sexy that I look at you and want to sink into you.”

  She gulped, her innocence refreshing. “Go do your tiger thing.”

  He laughed, knowing he’d sample her soon enough. He also knew just one taste would never do. She’d be his forever soon enough. He just needed to assure she was safe first. “Here, take the weapon.”

  “No.”

  Damn woman. She was as headstrong as her grandmother. Jon glanced around quickly, wondering if the old woman was watching them. He saw no sign of her and half-wished she’d appear out of thin air again just so he could have backup on getting Tori to stay put and protect herself.

  No such luck.

  He set the weapon on the armrest, the safety still on, and touched Tori’s cheek. He wanted to kiss her again, but knew better. Each time his lips made contact with any part of her, he wanted to claim her. Now wasn’t the time for that.

  Soon, though.

  Very soon.

  Reluctantly, he pulled away from Tori and got out of the SUV. He drew upon his heightened senses and sniffed the air, picking up on the child instantly. Jon ran in that direction, waiting until he was out of
Tori’s line of sight before doing a partial shift. He ran with inhuman speed through the wooded area, the strong smell of cedar trees threatening to drown out the smell of the child. He pressed onward, increasing his speed until he came to a break in the trees. The child’s scent was so strong he half-thought she’d be right there, before him. She wasn’t, though he knew she was close. Afraid of scaring the little girl should he come upon her too soon, he shifted back into human form and spotted the boarded-over well.

  He approached slowly, his inner alarms tripping as if there were a five-alarm fire in progress and he was the first responder. He was a trained soldier, and every fiber of his being screamed at him to pull back, to take a higher vantage point and assess the situation. He nearly ignored his inner warnings, wanting instead to please Tori and find the little girl for her. But years and years of training won out. He backed into the tree line, sniffing the air, picking up on unfamiliar, faint scents. Ones that did not belong to a little girl, but rather grown men.

  He stayed in the shadows as he picked up on faint whispers.

  “Anyone have her in sight?”

  “Negative,” another voice responded, this one sounding as if it was coming through a radio, turned down too low for anyone human and not sitting directly next to it to hear.

  “Dammit, she should be here by now. She’s good. Too good not to have found the kid by now. Our records say her psychic abilities are off the charts. We need to catch her in action. The higher-ups want to try to breed her. The little bitch came from one of those Outcasts they’re so hot to get their hands on again.”

  “Everyone have their tranq darts loaded?” asked the first man.

  A round of low murmured yesses followed.

  Jon’s heart raced as he realized it was a set up. One meant to catch Tori. He should have realized this was the danger Vinnie had warned of. He knew damn well the enemy was hunting females who were gifted, and what more of a gift than the by-product of one of the I-Ops experiments. If they thought for one minute they were going to get their hands on his woman, they had another think coming.

  He’d kill every fucking last one of them with his bare hands, even if it was the last thing he did.

  Jon shut off, going into the “zone.” He approached the first man in total silence. Jon rendered the man unconscious and took his tranq gun. He fired one into the man’s leg, assuring he wouldn’t be a problem anytime soon, and moved in the shadows toward the next man.

  He dropped two more men before he noticed a tugging deep within his body. He looked around, unsure what was causing it. When he spotted Tori approaching the well slowly, he knew what it was.

  I sensed my mate coming and she’s in danger.

  “Tori, no!” he shouted a second too late. He’d given away his position.

  The pinching of a dart in his neck would have worried him if he didn’t know human portions of the drugs would do little to him. His metabolism wasn’t anywhere near human. As Jon became lightheaded, he realized then that they’d planned to drop Tori, knowing she wasn’t human.

  Another dart struck him, this time in the leg. Jon reached out, trying to get to Tori as blackness surrounded him. The last thing he heard was the roar emanating from the back of his throat before everything shut off around him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tori tried to lift her head. It felt too heavy to do much of anything. Confused and disoriented, she moaned softly, trying to figure out why she was on the ground and what had happened. She’d been in the SUV, and then she’d decided to help search for the child. She’d heard Jon shout her name, and then blackness came.

  Nothing but blackness.

  She opened her eyes and groaned, the low light of morning seeming too bright for her to handle. Whatever had happened had left her head throbbing and her eyes sensitive to the light. Worry for the child and for Jon washed over her. What had happened? Why had Jon been shouting to her? What had he yelled again?

  She gasped.

  No!

  He’d yelled no to her.

  Danger.

  She understood it then. Something had been wrong and he’d tried to warn her, but she’d not listened. There really hadn’t even been time. She’d heard his voice and then something had pricked her neck.

  She’d been shot with something!

  Crickets mingled with the sounds of rushing water. She tried to move her arms, but found her wrists secured.

  “Child, let them think you’re sleeping.” Grandma’s voice sounded around her though she couldn’t see her. She couldn’t see much of anything with the way everything around her seemed to be spinning. “Bad men have you. Be still and be quiet.”

  “Where is Jon?” she asked softly.

  “Child, hush.”

  She wasn’t about to be quiet. Not if Jon was hurt.

  “He’s here, child,” said Grandma. “They got him with the same stuff they shot you with, but they used a whole heaping amount more on him. He’s here. He’s close, and for the moment unharmed. Don’t go making a big fuss right this second or you’ll end up hurt before he can help you.”

  Her gut clenched. “Are you sure he’s okay?”

  “He’ll be fine, but not if you go and get yourself killed. Be still now.”

  Footsteps approached and Tori closed her eyes, pretending to still be asleep, doing as her grandmother had instructed her.

  “Who the hell is the guy?” a deep male voice asked. “And why isn’t he dead? We shot him full of enough darts to kill a human three times over.”

  Tensing, she fought to remain calm. She wanted to grab Jon and assure he was, in fact, alive. Moving was a bad idea and she knew as much. Still, her concern for Jon grew.

  “What do you think they’ll do with her?” another asked.

  “They’ll study her, of course. They’ve been dying to get their greedy little hands on something like her for a long fucking time. I’m not sure they’ve ever had a chance to examine something born from their mistakes. I can’t decide if we should kill the boyfriend here or take him back too. They might want to figure out how it is he’s still breathing.”

  Fear edged away and anger began to take place. How dare they speak about her in such a way. And if they thought they were going to hurt Jon, they had another think coming. She wasn’t a fighter, but she’d do her best to protect him.

  “What are we gonna do about that detective?” still another inquired.

  Oran?

  “He didn’t seem to buy the excuse Abe gave him that these two took off on their own?”

  “He’ll be dealt with. According to our records, the bitch was with him for a long time. He knows what she can do, we know that already. If he refuses to leave this alone, we’ll silence him ourselves. We need to worry about the current fuck toy she has here first.”

  They planned to wipe out anyone who knew about her?

  “How much longer will she be out, and why the hell isn’t pick-up here yet?”

  “Who knows? They’ll be here, though.”

  “Damn,” one said. “Look at her. She’s fucking hot. You sure she’s a freak, because sinking into her would be something to remember, man.”

  A clear sounding slap lit the air. “You think they won’t notice if she’s got a belly full of your juice? They pay way too good to piss ‘em off. They want their property delivered in prime condition. It’s what they’ll get.”

  “Yeah, but aren’t they gonna assume anything I unload in her is actually his?”

  Tori fought to keep from being sick as her anger continued to mount. One of the men grabbed her and rolled her around to her other side. It took all her willpower to remain ragdoll-like and let him think she was still out cold when all she wanted to do was kick, scream, bite, whatever she could to protect herself and Jon.

  “We need to decide on keeping or killing the boyfriend here before we worry about whether or not your dick can be crammed in her.” He paused. “Check him to see if he’s still breathing.”

  Tori peeked o
ut through tiny slits and waited, planning to do whatever she could to protect Jon. She spotted Jon then, his body lifeless not even six feet from her. Had her grandmother not sworn he was fine, she’d have thought him dead. When a hand came into view, going toward Jon’s neck, she watched Jon come to life, roaring with a sound so much like a large cat that she was shocked one wasn’t near. He broke free of his restraints and yanked on the man’s arms.

  She had a half second to be nauseous as blood splattered before she sensed danger coming at him fast. Pushing to her feet, Tori slammed her body into the attackers. Her wrists were tied, but it didn’t stop her from turning sideways and using her joined hands to strike the man in the face. He went down hard and she glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Jon jerking on a man’s head, snapping his neck instantly. Gasping, she went perfectly still.

  His amber gaze locked on her and he tilted his chin, his expression more animal-like than human. She should have been terrified of him and the fact he could kill without so much as flinching. She wasn’t.

  Lifting her hand, she pointed behind him at the guy trying to get the jump on him.

  He attacked the next man with a vengeance, and when it was done, Jon stared around the wooded area, not making a sound, looking like a predator. Time ticked by as he continued to listen to things she couldn’t possibly dream of hearing. Then, slowly, his gaze found her, locking onto her, making her breath catch as he stalked toward her.

  Yanking on her bound wrists, he ripped the rope to shreds and she blinked down at it, before dragging her gaze up to his face. There was so much she wanted to say. So much she wanted to ask, but no words would come. Only tears. She seemed to have those in spades.

  His fingers found her cheek. “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice sounding deeper than before.

  “N-no,” she whispered. “Who are these men? Are there more?”

  He didn’t respond, but rather he grabbed her to him, his lips crashing down on hers. She didn’t fight him. Couldn’t even if she’d wanted to, which she didn’t. The comfort of his scorching kiss helped chase away the fear and anger over what had happened.