Bound Together (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart 6)

She went into the small space between the two buildings, staying low, moving very cautiously. She knew Ben had wedged himself in there, staying quiet. She'd watched him go in. She half expected that he'd run for it, leaving his club brethren to fight without him. He was that kind of snake. Still, he was the kind of man who was utterly dangerous because he was that low. It would be like cornering a wounded animal.

Between the two buildings it was very dark. She paused to listen for heavy breathing. There was none. She waited until her eyes adjusted to the lack of light and then she crept forward, a few inches at a time. She couldn't tell if he was there, but it didn't feel as if he was. She regretted not climbing to the roof, but she would have been exposed to the gunfire.

The sounds of the battle, which had been hot and heavy, were now more sporadic as the Swords crew had been caught in a crossfire between Jonas and Lissa. Lana had been busy taking several out just as she had. They were picking off the men around the edges, trying to keep them contained so none escaped and returned to the camp.

Viktor and the others in Torpedo Ink had enough to contend with. Now, two more men had joined Jonas, and she heard the unmistakable blast of a shotgun as one of the Swords tried to get into one of the buildings. The townspeople were helping their sheriff. Any moment now, any stragglers would break and run for it. It was Alena and Lana's job to stop them.

She got to the end of the building. It opened up into a yard of some kind. Picnic tables were set out under trees for employees to enjoy breaks and eat lunches. The yard was enclosed with a high wooden fence. The gate on the other side was open a few inches. She stayed very still as she inspected the entire yard. There wasn't anywhere for even a child to hide, let alone a big man like Ben.

Satisfied he had to have gone out the gate, she moved along the fence, careful not to make any noise. She had hunted the worst kinds of human beings, and she knew she was now. Men didn't join the Swords unless they were particularly vicious, and if they were borderline, they were soon corrupted into thinking it was perfectly okay to rape young men and women. To sell them. To run drugs and guns, the guns going to terrorists. Evan found them in every country.

Ben hadn't needed to be corrupted. He'd killed a girl he was dating in high school because she had tried to break up with him. He and a friend went on a spree across the country finding young women, beating, raping and leaving them for dead. They'd both found a home in the Swords.

She eased the gate wider with her foot, staying low. The wind moved grass and leaves, but there was no sound. Still, the adrenaline kicked in. He was close. She reached with every one of her senses. He was there. She smelled sweat. Fear. He was only about five feet from her, crouched low in the bush just past the open gate.

Alena took a breath, gripped the knife she was accustomed to using and somersaulted straight into the bush, her blade slashing deep across his stomach and ripping through both thighs in a wide X pattern. She was on him and then gone before he could react.

He bellowed his hatred as, with one hand, he tried to stop the pumping blood. With the other, he fired his automatic, spraying the entire area with as many bullets as he could before his arms wouldn't cooperate.

Alena had rolled away, coming right up against the fence and belly-crawling until she was behind him. His body shuddered; he dropped his weapon and then toppled, hitting the ground hard enough that she felt the small tremor. Taking a breath, she stood and moved back out into the open.

Ben's partner Charles loomed right in front of her. She nearly ran him over, walking toward Ben. She felt the bite of his knife as it sank deep, not once but three times. She had hers in him as well, slashing sideways, ripping through flesh to the bone, seeking arteries. A shot rang out and Charles's body jerked. A second one and he was down, going over backward.

Alena went to her knees, her body suddenly weak. She looked down at the stab wounds. It was bad. She'd seen enough wounds to know she was already dead. It was just a matter of time. A very little time. In a way, she was glad it was over and she'd gone out fighting the kind of men who had robbed her of a childhood.

Lana sprinted across the yard to her, wrapping her arm around her and easing her to the ground, calling out for help. Alena wanted to laugh. Who was going to help them? The only two female survivors of a vicious school made up of criminals, run by a cruel, sadistic pedophile.

Their brothers, the only people they mattered to, were off fighting a war that would probably get a few of them killed.

Lana called out again, her hands pressing deep into the wounds. "Honey, don't do this. Stay with me."

"It's all right."

"No, it isn't. Don't do this. I need you here. We all need you here."

She was so tired. She tried to keep looking at Lana. She loved Lana. They'd grown up like twin sisters, the same age, both knowing the world they lived in was violent and scary. They'd relied on each other.

"No, Alena," Lana whispered, tears in her eyes. "Don't. Don't go. You can't leave us. You can't leave me."

"I'm so tired," Alena said. She wanted to sleep. Not wake up. She was tired of what she was. She'd never have normal. Never have her own family. A man. It wasn't possible.

"I can't do this without you," Lana insisted. "Open your eyes, honey. For me, open your eyes."

Alena tried. She struggled to lift her lashes, but her eyelids were too heavy. She tried to move her hand to touch Lana. They'd been sisters since they were infants. She should have told her she loved her. Funny that she never had. She'd never told her brothers either. They didn't do that. Any of them.

"Never have a life," she murmured, wanting Lana to understand.

"We have Blythe now, Alena. She'll help us. You saw her, isn't she just what he said? Viktor is right, she's magic. We didn't think anyone like her existed, but she's with us. Ours."

Alena wanted to laugh. Lana had never seen Blythe. Even if the others told her about the woman, she was just using any means possible to keep her there. Still, Lana was right about Blythe--there was a kind of magic about her. They believed she could change their lives, or maybe they wanted it so badly they were willing to believe. And they all believed in Viktor. If he believed in Blythe, then she was for real.

There was a stirring behind them. Lana whirled around, her weapon up. Lissa was there with another woman. The woman smiled at them. "I'm Libby Drake-Derrick. I'm a doctor--a healer. Let me help."

Was Lana crying? They'd all learned not to cry. Alena wanted to tell her she had to keep silent or the sound would draw attention to her. That could be fatal. Then there was warmth. A blue light behind her eyes. It burned in the wounds. She closed her eyes and let herself slide into darkness. She'd lived there for so long, it was an old friend. She could hear Lana weeping openly now, but she couldn't open her eyes.

"She's going to live," Libby said softly. "But it's going to take a while to heal completely. I've got to get to Jonas. He was hit as well. It's not serious, but bad enough he needs attention. An ambulance is coming. She'll need a hospital stay and then a place to recover."

"Blythe has a big house," Lana volunteered instantly. "We can take care of her there, no problem."

Even sliding into darkness with burning wounds, Alena found humor in that. Blythe would be taking on another wild child.

21

IN spite of being surrounded by women of power, elements that could call on water and earth, Blythe was terrified. She'd hiked into Jackson Demonstration Forest using one of the old logging roads that would bring them out above the various campgrounds by the river. Viktor had said the Swords had slipped in a few at a time, taking over the campgrounds along the Noyo River and radiating out from there. They were a hundred strong.

No way had any of them expected Evan to bring that kind of firepower with him. Ordinarily, a club respected territories of other clubs, and the Swords claimed the East Coast mainly. They had chapters in various states and countries, but they stayed off the West Coast as far as she knew. She hadn't heard ab

out any clashes or wars going on between clubs recently. Of course the Swords hadn't been wearing their colors when they arrived in the campgrounds a few days earlier.

Jackson and Jonas had made certain the gates leading to the upper campgrounds were locked and the Swords members confined themselves to the lower ones, leaving the higher vantage points to Viktor's birth brothers and the women. He'd assured Blythe that the rest of Torpedo Ink had arrived, coming in with Habit and the chapter from Louisiana, the one Jackson's father had ridden with.

She peered down at the men moving through the woods, preparing to ambush the deputy. There were so many they reminded her of ants marching through the jungle, taking everything in their path. Her heart pounded so hard she feared she might have a heart attack. They looked . . . invincible.

Elle took her hand. "I've never seen you like this."

Blythe glanced down at her. Jackson was her husband and the target, yet she was calm and seemed to have faith. She didn't even know Viktor, but she was putting her trust in him, his birth brothers and the members of Torpedo Ink.

"I lost him once," Blythe said, "and it terrifies me that it could happen again. He isn't always careful. He just goes in like a kamikaze and wreaks havoc." Even as she stated her fear, she knew it wasn't true. Viktor always had a plan. He was meticulous about every detail. So much so that he had a backup plan for every contingency. She shook her head. "I shouldn't have said that. He's fearless and that's not always a good thing, but he plans and he's a good strategist."

"I hope when this is all over, you and Viktor will come visit us and allow us to visit with you," Elle ventured in a cautious tone. "I know Mom would love to see you as well."

Blythe shook her head automatically. She hadn't talked to her aunts since the trial, not even at her mother's funeral. She hadn't gone. They'd buried her and she let them. She hadn't wanted anything to do with her mother, even after she died. She'd taken her child, her beautiful daughter from her, and Blythe just couldn't find it in her heart to forgive her.

"I don't know, Elle." She tried to be honest. "Viktor knows me so well, and if I'm the least bit uncomfortable--" She broke off and then tried again. "He isn't a man to care what others think. He might say something the aunts wouldn't like."

"That's their consequences," Elle said. "You're family. He's family. He has the right to express his opinion and to protect you if he feels you need it. Jackson certainly does. He's not quiet if he doesn't like something. Neither is Ilya or Alek or Jonas. Just think about it. I'd like to stay part of your life."

Blythe found herself smiling. She wanted to be part of Elle's life as well. She'd loved her cousins, envied the way the siblings stuck together, and had always wanted to be one of them. "I hope all of you give Viktor a chance. He's rough, but he's a good man."

"Who was the boy on your front porch?" Lexi asked, catching up with them as they hiked along a narrow game trail. "He was terribly thin."

"That's Kenny. He'll be living with us," Blythe said.

They'd had an interesting talk in the morning after Kenny had arrived, especially after she'd insisted a doctor examine him. Kenny had insisted he was going to stay with Viktor and Torpedo Ink, and Viktor had insisted he was going to live there on the farm and do what kids do. In the end she'd had to make peace between them. Kenny didn't want to back down, and Viktor resorted to physical threats. She realized that was the way his "brothers" handled things between them. She'd had to make it very clear that wasn't going to be the way problems with the children were going to be handled.

"I thought you said you were taking in girls," Lexi said, puzzled.

Elle shot her a quick glance. "Girls? Plural?"

Blythe was resigned to the reaction. "Yes," she admitted. "We're taking in three girls. They're sisters, and two of them were victims of human trafficking."

"Like Airiana's children," Elle said softly. "Ilya thinks she's amazing. How are they doing?"

"They still prefer to sleep in Airiana and Max's bedroom, but they're getting better," Lexi reported. "Airiana was worried they wouldn't be happy when they learned she was expecting, but they're all very excited. She told them Blythe was going to have three girls for them to play and study with."

"Three girls, Blythe?" Elle repeated.

Blythe shrugged. "They need a home and I can give them one. The farm has a way of helping to heal. It's been good for all of us, and I think it will be for them as well."

"And the boy?" Elle prompted.

They were nearly to their destination and began to move much more cautiously. Lexi made certain brush and leaves didn't give them away as the group made their way to the knoll overlooking the Noyo River.

"He was a victim as well," Blythe said, hesitating. She knew that sympathy always ran high with female victims, but not so much with males. Sometimes even parents, especially fathers, could blame the child. She was already very protective of Kenny.

Lexi shook her head and moved ahead of them, but not before Blythe caught the sheen of tears in her eyes. She wanted to put her arms around her youngest "sister." Lexi had a huge heart and she'd gone through so much it was easy for her to understand and sympathize with the children living on the farm.

"You don't seem in the least bit nervous," Blythe pointed out to Elle, needing to change the subject. She didn't know what she'd do if Viktor didn't survive, or how she could possibly cope alone with four traumatized children, two of whom were teens.

"Sarah's with Jackson," Elle said. "She has precog and she'll know when one of the men is in trouble. Ilya's in the truck with the camper shell, along with Lev and Alek, Abigail's husband. He attended the same school with Ilya and worked for Interpol too. I think Maxim and Stefan are also with them. The vehicle has armor plating and bulletproof glass. I've rested for the last month and, although I have to be careful still, I can feel power returning."

Blythe felt the familiar tightening in her belly that signaled trouble was coming. Looking down at the activity below them, she was certain of it.

Viktor?

I'm here. Safe. You stay above that gate and keep to the heavier brush. Evan is a dangerous psychopath. Seriously, Blythe.

Now that she knew she could touch his mind with hers, she could breathe easier. Beside her, Elle suddenly tensed.

Jackson just drove past the checkpoint. There are seven Swords hidden on the main road watching for him. They just radioed Evan. They will have him surrounded when they make their move. Those seven are blocking the way back out. More will join them when he gets in the pocket.

"He's here," Elle whispered. "Blythe, are you absolutely certain you can keep Evan from using whatever talent he has?"

"Yes." Blythe said it firmly. "Tell Jackson there are seven club members coming in behind him and the plan is to surround him and then block him in so he has nowhere to go."

Already she could feel the air charging with energy, and that allowed her to pinpoint Evan. He was in the middle of a swarm of men, at least thirty with him in the center. She found it interesting how men like Evan gave orders to kidnap, torture and kill, but they surrounded themselves with bodyguards in order to stay alive. He certainly wasn't taking any chances.

Evan was down in one of the hollows by the river, a bad position for him, but he had no way of knowing that. He thought he was safe with his psychic gifts, his club members and bodyguards.

They have heavy artillery. He sells guns, so he has access to all kinds of them. All kinds. He's given the order that Jackson can be wounded but not killed. He actually said he'd kill anyone who disobeys him. That gives Jackson some breathing room. No one is going to want to go up against Evan, so they'll hang back and try to keep him pinned down.

Viktor's voice in her mind steadied her and she noticed that Elle had settled as well with Jackson reassuring her telepathically. Still, there was no ignoring that tightness in her belly that signaled trouble. Viktor was down there in the worst of it.

Be safe, she whispered to him, pouring everything she f

elt for him into his mind. He had to know that she needed him that much. That she wanted him that much. That he was forever her choice.

I love you more than life, Blythe. You don't come down from there for any reason. You have to be safe. You understand me? I've been doing this all my life and I'm damned good at it. But you . . .

Blythe glanced behind her. Lexi had settled into the small depression they'd made days earlier, before any of the Swords had arrived. They'd had a couple of days to plan out their strategies. Viktor and his birth brothers had gone over the area where the women would be concealed many times, placing each of their positions carefully.

Lexi put her hands in the soil and Blythe felt, even through the soles of her shoes, the way the earth responded, and the shimmer of power that rushed around them. Leaves on the trees rustled of their own accord without the presence of the wind.

Rikki and Abigail were closer to the river. They'd found a small two-inch steady stream of water leading down to the river. The entire area was wet, moss growing everywhere, and that moisture was all Rikki needed. Abigail had positioned herself where she could direct insects and small animals.

Blythe was mostly worried about Elle Drake. She was a powerhouse when it came to psychic energy, but she'd almost destroyed her abilities just a short month or so earlier. Using psychic energy was risky for her, and Blythe had overheard Jackson cautioning her--strongly--that she couldn't overdo it. He wanted her only to use her abilities when they were desperately needed. He'd constructed a blind for her, much like a sniper might use, one that concealed her completely.

We're in position, she reported to Viktor.

*

EVAN had positioned his club members in a loose circle around the road. It hadn't been difficult. All the campgrounds were off the main road, either down on the river or up above it. He had the various members simply remain in their camps as if they were staying there. It was a simple plan. Draw the sheriff into the middle of the net and then close it around him. The thing was--it could work.

The road made it impossible to travel at high speeds. The terrain was rough. There were narrow wooden bridges a motorcycle could get across, but a vehicle couldn't. The odds were stacked against Jackson, for certain. There were so many Swords, far more than Viktor had ever conceived the man would bring with him. Evan was putting his motorcycle club at risk with this venture, but apparently his hatred of Jackson and need for revenge far outweighed his love of the club.