He stayed in the coffee shop when she left. The SUV didn’t show up so she took her time crossing over to the other side of the street. Going into the busy doors of her work place, she stepped back, then looked out the windows, watching. They must have taken enough time to pick up the guy, then after a few minutes, the SUV slowly went by, moving with the traffic.
She knew they couldn’t see her through the heavily tinted glass of the lobby, but she stepped further back just in case. She went back to the last elevator that took workers to the bottom two floors.
Each worker in the lower floors had special cards, like credit cards. This not only let you into the proper floor, it opened the locked doors as it registered your hours, acting as a time clock. If you left the building, you were off the clock. If you went to another floor, you swiped the card at that floor. This way, you didn’t have any time deducted. If you forgot, it was a big hassle to report it on your company computer. Then you had a supervisor sign off. You didn’t forget very often.
There were eight exit doors for public use with four additional for the hired help, including service outlets, in this large modern building. Besides the corporation that she worked for, which owned the building, there were many offices leased out to legal firms or other companies doing business in downtown Atlanta. Her card would let her out of any of the doors, although the public doors didn’t require identity swipes except after hours. She always took the front main entrance because it was closest to the bus stops. She could walk a couple of blocks in either direction to find a standard covered bus stop that Atlanta kept clean and up to date with four color posters.
Today, after seeing the government alphabet car, she took a service exit, thinking she would hail a cab.
Everything looked normal—busy sidewalk with office workers heading for home along with a few shoppers. Traffic, heavy on the six-lane street flanked by the wide sidewalk, whizzed past in both directions showing no black SUV’s—well maybe a fancy Cadillac SUV, but not the type used by the government.
The fancy Cadillac Escalade was waiting by the curb, and leaning against the front fender was the
big guy
. By the back opened door was Noble. It took her a full minute to realize she was not breathing. As she sucked in life-saving air, she looked in both directions.
She heard the deep voice of Noble, even though he was a distance away. “You are not going to make a
big guy
like Tern chase you down these busy streets? Think of all the people that will look and talk about it later.”
Beth felt the hairs on her arms rise. The heat burn in the lower part of her stomach was agony. His voice always called to her—this was so not fair. Sometimes she thought she might be running from herself as well as running from him. Beth took a deep sigh. She then began, slowly, to walk towards the car. She could outrun the circus guys, she could outsmart the government alphabet guys, bit all she could do was surrender to Noble and his tribe.
It took her fourteen steps to reach the car, and every other step had a
shit
mentally stamped into the cement with the left foot. The right one had the question, but
why
? She was grateful that he didn’t touch her, just waited as she slid onto the soft leather and moved across the seat. Then, he ,too stepped in.
Beth was not aware of when the
big guy
had gotten in the driver’s seat, but the powerful car moved out into the traffic. She did finally know his name, Tern. She sat silently, grateful that Noble was also quiet. She didn’t think, letting herself go numb as the miles flew by. The smooth highway was like a drum on the wheels, the faint noise within the vehicle.
The only disturbance she felt was a pull of lust towards Noble. She needed out of this vehicle, to put a distance between her and the tall, slender man sitting so silently beside her. She refused to look at him. She sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to speak first.
“Where are we going?” she asked, biting her tongue after the words came out.
She flinched as he turned towards her. It was getting dark out, but in the reflection of the headlights, she could see his eyes. They were golden.
She heard his deep sigh as he turned away. “Don’t worry, we are just taking you somewhere safe.”
She thought about the last safe house that had been safe for about two years. How long would this one be safe?
“Noble, how do you stay safe?” She had often wondered about this as she sat in the basement, carrying out repetitive work. If they chased her with a couple of men, they must chase him with an army.
She was pleased that he turned back towards the front and didn’t look at her as he continued their conversation.
“Beth, we are a lot harder to catch and to hold. Even if they do catch us, half the people guarding us don’t believe what we really are and get careless. No matter where they take us, others of our kind can find us and retrieve us. Some of us have the ability to convince people to do things. Not bad things, just sleep or turn around, see things that aren’t there.”
Beth would not look at him either, but stared out at the last of the evening, the dark tree line against the sun finally sinking below the horizon. She had to ask. “Things like sex?”
She felt his eyes on her, but she didn’t turn away from the tinted window. She wished she hadn’t asked the question. “Don’t answer, Noble. I know what happened. I know what I initiated in that cabin. You warned me. I am sorry I even said that.”
She knew his eyes had again moved toward the front. She allowed air into her lungs. That was when the SUV filled with a flash of bright light as she saw the two headlights only long enough to recognize what they were. Then, the Cadillac, solid at it was, was all metal crushing in on her side as the other vehicle slammed into their vehicle..
The noise was now deafening as tires screeched, metal screamed and blaring horns from other cars caught up in the melee. The collision pushed her over against Noble when she actually saw the second set of lights coming in. She had only seconds to wonder why big vehicles were driving at an angle on this highway? The second slam rolled the Cadillac. Her head hit the padded top as her neck bent. She actually heard the crack of her own bones before pain followed by blackness took her.
* * * *
The clinic was on the outskirts of Atlanta, set back with manicured lawns surrounded by hand-trimmed bushes. It was the expensive type where the name was on a small, gold-on-black sign hanging on the brick wall next to the guardhouse. The guards stopped everyone. The visitors had to prove with identification, whether they were doctors, nurses or loved ones.
Besides the unusual guards that the facility provided, Noble had his own staff outside her private room. This facility provided medical service for movie stars and foreign dignities. Anyone who could afford the price, but wanted to remain anonymous, would find this the place to heal. You got what you paid for at this clinic. The best care, the best doctors, and the best equipment.
Even with this, they could only do so much. Miracles were not on the menu. He could not leave her side, even as the meds worked on her. They had her hooked up to so many machines she had her body immobilized by support devices. The doctors fed her liquids by multiple tubes inserted in both arms and in one ankle. Her pale color was interrupted everywhere with bruises that surround the gashes, pulled by stitches or small strips of tape. Dark circles surrounded her eyes. Her lips were blue, not the deep red he wanted to see.
He finally felt his pack enter her room. He wanted to be alone with her, but he didn’t mind the support. He heard one of them speak.
“The doctors want to speak to you, Noble. It is time.”
He knew what they wanted to say. They had her in an induced coma to help with the healing. It had been too much for her body. She was dying.
He nodded and got up to lead the way to the end of the hall where there was a unique meeting room. One wall was a waterfall. The family was to sit on soft leather couches with low tables that contained water and wine. Fine linen handkerchiefs were available in several discreet folded sets on the corners of the tables. The doctors could sit in chairs across from them, giving them the good, bad or hopeful news.
Noble refused to play the game. When he entered the room, one doctor sat in a chair facing the low table across from the couch. Two other doctors sat flanking him, only a bit behind him, showing support. Noble swept the table clean with one stroke. He stepped over it to sit, knee to knee against the doctor.
His voice was low as he demanded the truth.
“Can you save her, yes or no?”
There was only a short silence, then the answer he did not want.
“No, sir. Her will is strong, but the body is gone. We are so sorry.”
Before the doctor could say anything else, Noble raised his hand.
“Can you wake her so that I can talk to her before she dies?”
The doctor shifted in the seat as if to recede from the touch of Noble’s knees. He looked over his shoulder at one of the others behind him. Noble shifted his attention to that man.
“Can she be awake?”
This man began to stammer, then shake his head. Noble was up. He had the man on his feet. Two of his people prevented the other doctors from interfering.
“Can you bring her to consciousness enough to understand me before she dies? I need to ask her a question.”
This doctor drew himself up as he pushed against Noble. “You understand this is against our oaths. I will be honest with you. Yes, I can bring her back. There is a small likelihood that she will be able to understand you, but it will hasten her death. She is so close now, and not in pain. If I bring her out of the coma, she will be in pain, and her system will shut down because of it. As I said, it will hasten her death. Yes, you might have a lucid moment or two, but is it really worth her pain?”
Noble let the man go. “There is something you don’t understand, I can do something that could save her. I have the authority, now wake her.”
While they moved her to a special room, Noble let his team bring him up to date on the clean up.
Tern was his right hand, the one Beth thought of as
the big guy.
He was not sure why that information had come to him from her brain, but at the time they both had smiles. So Tern was the one to bring all the information together.
“Some of the men in the vehicles that hit us were either killed or injured, but others escaped. They were immediately moved over the embankment to retrieve anyone they could pull from our car that they had pushed beyond the wall. Our second vehicle was able to miss the pile ups and Burd, Tun and Tanny were with us before they could bring up their reserves.” He looked around at the rest, then continued.
“Because you and I were able to shift, we were safe except for some bruises. You shifted back to get her out to the second vehicle, which got her out of there and to the doctors faster than any ambulance could have done. We killed as many as we could in the confusion of the continued crashes on the highway. Then, we put their bodies into vehicles that we set on fire. We kept two for interrogation. They were good—government men from some obscure project funded by some Senator who we are doing research on to study him further.”
Someone brought them in coffee. Tern reached for one, taking a small sip of the hot brew before continuing. “Because so many other innocent vehicles ended up in the crash, it will take them a while to get things straightened out. The fact that their men disappeared will make them hesitate. It might give the Senator something to think about.”
Tanny spoke. If Beth had been awake, she would recognize her as the small woman from Mexico. “So, now it is up to you. Will you turn her?”
Noble looked at all of them for a long moment. “If it is not too late. If she agrees. You must keep the medicals away once she is awake.”
Standing in the hall, they knew when she was out of the coma because there were moans, telling them she was conscious. Noble pushed through the doors with speed faster than was humanly possible to be beside her. His people took care of clearing the room, against all protests.
He was around the bed and gathered her in his arms, feeling her body fighting the pain. He knew the moment she was awake. He’d heard the moans before, now deeper after she woke.
“Beth, sweet, it’s me.” He kissed her dry lips as the moans came from deep within. Her eyes fluttered.
He heard her try to talk. “Shhh, sweet one. I know it hurts so much, but if you understand me, try to nod your head, just a little.”
Her head, too cold against his arm, did nod
yes
. Her body jerked with pain as he tried to hold her to take some of it into his own system.
“I am sorry, little one, but I need to tell you the truth so that you can make a choice. Do you understand my words?” Against the palsy that shook her, he felt her faint nod on his arm.
He slid onto the narrow hospital bed, holding tightly, kissing her cold wet forehead, feeling his own hot tears leaking down.
“Beth, sweet one, you are dying, there is only one way to save you. The doctors can’t do anything for you. I can, but you may not want it. Please, baby, let me know you hear and understand.” His voice was harsh, but he could do nothing to change it. The emotions and the fears tightened all the muscles in his body. He wanted to shift, he wanted to tear this room apart, this clinic to shambles, to hunt and find the men who had done this so that he could rip his talons into flesh.
During this time of sitting by her, he had come to know one important thing in this world. She was his mate. For him to lose her now was something he was not ready to endure. He could give up anything, being Alpha, living on the farm, anything but her.
He felt her head move again. He pulled back, trying to clear his eyes to look at her. Her one open eye, the color reminding him of the forest, green and red brown—on her license it said hazel. Not for him. It was the color of the forest.
Her dry mouth moved weakly, as no words came out around the tube.