Page 26 of Snapped
The tension in the small room dissipated with the departure of Aiyan and Sawyer, and August was able to breathe again. Answering that question; putting the blame of Rian being kidnapped on his own shoulders would surely be a death sentence. But August felt safe with Hector, knew he could share the secret with this man and he’d keep it safe, between them. “When all this first started, I was the one who told Cillian what he needed to do if he really wanted to hurt his brother.”
Again, a look of disappointment flashed in those brown eyes and August felt…ashamed. “Well, let’s go right this wrong, shall we?”
Chapter 16 | Way Down We Go
“Da, please, sit down for a minute and humor me?” Aiya begged. After storming into the kitchen and barking orders, Cirian had dragged August outside to the greenhouse. Broken pots and trampled plants made them all fairly certain Rian had been taken from there. But taken where? Everything that happened, aside from August going after Maeve, had happened inside the palace. None of the guards on the wall or outside the gates had seen or heard anything. Cillian and Rian had to be somewhere within the palace walls; there was no other explanation for how Gorilla Man could evade them still.
With Cirian’s dagger at his throat, August told them of the guard, Elliot, and Cillian’s plan to use him to gain entry to the palace, as well as the assistance they’d been given by Cook’s grandson. Leading the way to Elliot’s room, Aiyan stopped short at the door, a pained expression on his face. “What is it?” Hector asked.
“He’s dead, throat slit. That seems to be the theme for the evening’s events.” Aiyan turned to glare at August.
“What? I didn’t do it!” he protested.
Aiyan advanced toward August, eyes murderous once again, stopping short when Hector blocked his path. “You’re really starting to piss me off, Hector. Wh…” Aiyan didn’t finish the sentence, his eyes glazing over momentarily before he shook off whatever it was that had distracted him. Moving past Hector and August, he called out over his shoulder. “Come with me; Aiya wants us.”
Cocking his head to the side, August watched Aiyan round the corner. “How, precisely, does he know Aiya wants us?”
Hector snorted, shaking his head. “Don’t ask, long story. Let’s go.”
Aiya was arguing with her father when they followed Aiyan into the library a few minutes later. “My angel, I love you, but I don’t have the time or energy to play games right now. That son of a bitch has my husband and I mean to find him and then kill my brother, slowly, painfully.” The gleam in Cirian’s crystal blue eyes worried August. The ruler of House Gaeland took two steps toward the door before Aiya grabbed him by the arm.
“Da, I’m serious. Now shut up and sit down!” August was concerned for the petite blonde. Judging by the look on her father’s face, his concern wasn’t unwarranted.
“I think you should listen to the wee lass, son.” An older man with an accent thicker than Cirian’s stepped up beside him.
August took a moment to take in everyone in the room. Three people stood beside the raging fire, two men and a woman, quite possibly the most stunning threesome August had ever seen. Statuesque with dark skin and long black curly hair, the female watched him with morbid curiosity. Her two companions had dark curly hair as well, the older gentleman graying around the temples, and bronzed skin. The tall one though, God almighty damn! He was absolutely edible with his deep brown sparkling eyes that were both intense and inviting, chiseled features and a pair of lips that had August entertaining positively filthy thoughts.
The Ambassadors to House Orion, brother and sister if August remembered correctly, sat at a table on the other side of the room pointing things out on a large map they had set out before them. The Outkast stood behind Aiya, but Maeve and the baby weren’t in the room. The big guy with all the ink, Tanis, looked briefly his way, and August could tell by the look of utter contempt that Tanis didn’t care much for him. Beside him was a man with black and purple hair and amazing blue eyes. A squirming toddler was precariously perched on his hip.
August jerked when he felt a hand on his arm. Looking down, he stared into violet eyes that smiled up at him. If ever he had to describe what an angel looked like, this would be it. The woman was small with a head full of black waves circling her round, cherubic face, for lack of a better term. She spoke to him with an accent he couldn’t place, using words he didn’t understand. He gasped, taking a step back when her eyes went white, the violet circles turning blood-red. “He no longer means us any harm,” she told Hector as her eyes faded back to violet. Turning, she walked over to the couch to sit down beside Cirian.
Aiya was sitting on the coffee table facing her father, his hands in hers. “Okay, close your eyes and concentrate on Dad. I need you to use the connection you two share; I need you to feel him, Da. Then reach out to him through that connection.”
What in the hell was going on?“What...”
Invisible fingers reached out and caressed his spine as Hector leaned into him and whispered softly, “Just watch.”
The feel of Hector’s lips on his skin, against his ear, caused a visceral reaction inside August. In spite of his current predicament, his most base instinct was to grab Hector and kiss the ever-living shit out of him right then.Focus, August!he mentally berated himself. How in the hell was he supposed to concentrate on anything when Hector was standing so close? Rolling his shoulders, August attempted to pay attention to what Aiya was doing and saying instead of the man beside him that smelled like sand on a warm summer day.
Wait—the smell of water and sand…Hector.It was the scent that had hit him hard in the garden, God, mere hours ago. It felt like days had passed since he first laid eyes on the infuriating, imposing, stubborn man standing beside him, looking like sex on a stick, and August definitely wanted a taste.Focus now, fuck later if you’re lucky,his inner voice shouted.
“Think about Dad. Picture his face in your mind. Do you feel him? Feel the thread connecting the two of you?” Aiya held her father’s face in her hands now. Cirian’s brow was furrowed, but then his face softened, a small smile played out on his lips as he nodded. “Good, now pull on that thread and follow it; tell me where it leads.”
“I don’t know…wait…he…he’s close.” Cirian’s eyes opened. “I can feel him everywhere, Aiya. What does that mean?” There was so much pain in his voice.
“It means Rian is here, at House Gaeland. We just have to find him.” The big man from Greece called out, never looking up, eyes still focused on the map in front of him.
“All right, here’s what we’ve found.” His sister motioned everyone over to the table and started pointing things out, telling people where to look. But August stood rooted in place, watching Cirian.
He stared at the platinum band on his ring finger, speaking softly. “I’m coming, My Love. I’m coming. I will find you; stay strong.”
A little piece of August’s heart broke at the sight of someone as imposing and overbearing as the ruler of House Gaeland in so much pain. He’d caused this, the pain that man was feeling. But Hector was correct when he said August could fix the wrong, and that’s exactly what he intended to do.
***
Cillian paced the length of the small room they were holed up in, eyes darting around in the darkness every time there was a sound or the slightest noise. The underground shelter that had been used to protect the citizens of America at the time of GWI was old but not lifeless. Rian hadn’t been inside the bunker since he was a boy, and he could have gone the rest of his life having never returned. The air surrounding them smelled stale, and the chill made Rian’s bones ache, he was so cold. There was little light, save for the few torches Cillian had lit when they first came down—how long ago was it?
All concept of time was lost on him and his head was throbbing. Rian could remember being in the greenhouse, cultivating the latest batch of allive plants, but things got hazy from there. Had he left, or was he still inside the greenhouse when something slammed into his head? The world went black, and then he’d woken up in the bunker, a trickle of water trailing down the metal wall from a jagged tear in the roof dripping on his cheek. Forcing his limbs to cooperate, he pushed and pulled his aching body until he was leaning somewhat upright, the cold from the metal at his back making him shiver.
