Bound by Light (24 page)

“No, love, but I will be.”

Sydney sat next to her and took her
hand.

Uncle Cary’s phone rang and everyone in the
room went still. He put it on speaker. “Hello.”

“So, Sydney’s there,” Zach said.

“Yes, she’s here,” Uncle Cary
acknowledged.

“Hi, Sydney. Do you remember me?”

“Zach?” she said, playing dumb. Thane
scowled at her.

What? He knows I’m here.

“Yep, it’s me. Well done. I told Lucy you
weren’t an idiot.”

Mathew held up a piece of paper he’d just
written directions on.

“Is Lucy okay?” she asked.

“For now.”

Another note and Sydney asked, “Can I speak
to her?”

“She’s a little tied up right now,” he said,
then laughed. “Literally.”

Mathew held up another piece of paper and
Sydney frowned.

“Zach?” Sydney asked. “Have you actually
tied her up? Is she okay? Can she move?”

Seriously? She’s tied up and Mathew wants me
to ask him if she can move?

Just do as he says, Sid. He knows what he’s
doing.

“She’s breathing, Sydney,” Zach said. “She’s
fine, but she’s not awake.”

“Okay, what did you give her?”

“Question and answer time is over, Sydney,”
Zach snapped. “You have eighteen minutes to come here or she’s
dead. Your uncle has the address.”

He hung up and Sydney rose to her feet.
“Where am I going?”

“No,” Thane said.

“I have to do this, Thane,” Sydney stressed.
“It’s not up for debate.”

No, Sydney, it’s not going to happen.

It is, Thane. I can do this. You can be
close.

“Shite.”

“Can you take me?” Sydney asked Nigel.

He nodded and they headed out the door with
her uncle. Thane followed closely and climbed into the back of the
SUV with her. “I don’t like this.”

“I know, honey, but I’m doing it. You know I
can handle it.”

What if it’s hot?

I won’t do anything stupid, Thane. If
it’s hot, I won’t go in.
She grabbed his hand. “I can do
this.”

He clenched his jaw but gave her a slight
nod.

“Thank you,” she said.

“The building is on the right, Sydney,”
Nigel said, and pulled into a parking lot near the dock.

Sydney peered out the window at the shabby
brick building and bit her lip. It appeared abandoned.

“You don’t have to do this, Sydney,” Thane
said.

“Yes, I do.”

“If you feel threatened at all, get out of
there, okay?” her uncle said.

“I will, Uncle Cary.”

Nigel pulled the car to a stop and turned to
face her. “The door is closest to the water.”

Sydney took a breath and nodded.
“Right.”

“Sid,” Thane whispered.

“I’m okay, honey.” She kissed him quickly
and then climbed out of the car.

I don’t like this.

She glanced back at the SUV and frowned.
I got it the first three hundred times you said it, Thane.
Settle.

She made her way around the building and
found the door Nigel referred to. Squaring her shoulders, she
turned the knob and pushed open the door. It appeared to be a boat
house of some kind with an empty boat slip and not much else. She
stepped further inside and the door slammed behind her, making her
jump.

Sid?

I’m okay, I’m okay.

Shite.

I really am okay, Thane.

Another door opened across the building and
Zach walked out. “Well, hello, dear sister.”

“What?” she breathed out.

“Surprise! We’re related.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m not crazy!” he screamed.

“Where’s Lucy?” she demanded, trying to
bring him back to the present.

“She’s safe.”

“Zach, I need to see her. I don’t know what
this is all about, but we’re not talking any further until I see
her.”

What’s the temperature, love?

It’s fine, Thane.

“Well, come on, then,” Zach said, and waved
his arm.

Sid?

I’m fine, honey.

She followed Zach through the door he’d come
out of and once her eyes had adjusted to the dim light, she located
Lucy tied to a chair. “Luce!”

Zach grabbed her arm. “Don’t.”

“I have to make sure she’s okay.”

Sydney?

I’m fine, the temperature’s fine... Lucy I’m
not sure about. Just zip it for a bit.

“She’s fine,” Zach snapped.

Sydney wrenched her arm from Zach and rushed
toward her cousin. Kneeling in front of her, she saw she’d been
beaten pretty badly. “Lucy?”

Lucy groaned and raised her head. “Sid?”

“Hey, cuzzie. You doin’ okay?”

Lucy licked her lips. “I’m so thirsty.”

“Zach, Lucy needs some water.”

“If I give her some damn water will you sit
down?” he snapped.

Sydney took a deep breath. “Yes, if you
untie her, give her some water, and let her go, I will talk to
you.”

Bloody hell, Sydney.

Thane... shut it.

“She stays tied.”

“That wasn’t the deal,” Sydney pointed out.
“You said you’d let her go if I met with you alone... and I’m
alone, so you need to let her go.”

“It’s not even supposed to be her!” he
screamed. “If I could have gotten you at Thane’s house, this would
all be over now!”

“You were at Thane’s house?” Sydney frowned.
“You were the one that night in the storm, smoking.”

This would explain why we can’t get a hit
off the DNA, Sydney.

“No, that was the idiot I hired. Damn
Europeans and their need for tobacco.”

“Zach, you have to let her go,” Sydney said
again.

Zach let out a sigh of resignation. “I’m not
lettin’ her go, but she can have some water.”

“But that’s not what—”

“Shut up!” he bellowed. “Just shut up! She’s
not going anywhere.”

He raised his hand and Sydney scowled. “You
hit me and this is all over, Zach.”

I’m coming in.

No! No, Thane, I’m okay. We’re okay. Just
give me some time.

“Bitch,” he snapped.

“Let her go.”

“No!”

Sydney swore and rose to her feet and Zach
made his way to a small fridge.

“Pretend you’re still tied,” she whispered
to Lucy while Zach has his back turned. Sydney made quick work with
the bindings, grateful for her new Cauld Ane strength. Zach handed
Sydney water and she helped Lucy drink it. “A little more,” Sydney
whispered, and Lucy sipped again. “That’s it. Give it a minute and
you can have more.”

“Sit down, Sydney,” Zach demanded.

He blocked the only way out, so Sydney did
as he said. “What’s this all about?”

“My sister’s sick.”

“Wait. You’ve beat the hell out of my cousin
and you’re threatening me because your sister’s sick?” Sydney shook
her head. “What do you
want
, Zach? Money?”

“I want justice.”

“For what?”

“For my family.”

“I don’t understand,” Sydney said.

“Your mother ruined our life!”

“
My
mother? What do you mean?” Sydney
rose to her feet. “If you can’t explain what’s going on, I’m
leaving.”

“If you move, I will kill her.” Out of
nowhere, Zach produced a gun and pointed it at Lucy. “Sit down,
Sydney.”

Sydney did, but pulled her chair closer to
Lucy, shielding her as much as possible. “It will help if you tell
me everything,” Sydney placated. “Start at the beginning.”

Sydney.

You said I can heal myself, Thane, but I
have to keep him from hurting Lucy.

I’m coming in.

No, you’re not. Just give me a minute.

“Your mother wouldn’t acknowledge the fact
that she stole our money,” Zach said. “It was ours, Sydney.”

“I can’t imagine why she’d steal money from
you, Zach. We had our inheritance from my father.”

“Which was half ours!” he screamed.

“What?”

“Your father is our father!”

“What are you talking about?” Sydney
snapped. “You aren’t that much younger than me, Zach. I would have
known if my mother was pregnant.”

“Maybe you
are
as stupid as your
cousin,” Zach said with a sneer.

“Screw you, Zach. You’re not making any
sense.”

“The story goes that your father met my
mother at a trade show in New York. She was young, naive, and had
only been the States for ten years. Her parents were Chinese and
spoke no English, so she had to translate the world for them. She
was twenty and working as a maid at the hotel where he stayed that
week, and he seduced her. That was twenty-four years ago.”

“No, there’s no way. My parents had been
married for five years by the time they had me. They loved each
other. He would have never cheated.”

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong, big sis.
He did cheat. When Mom discovered she was pregnant with me, he
moved her out to San Jose. He bought her a house, one in a shitty
neighborhood, because she wasn’t his wife, and he wasn’t going to
bring his affair into Menlo Park.”

“My mom wouldn’t have stayed with him if he
cheated. Your mom must be mistaken.”
Or a liar,
Sydney
thought to herself. Pain came and went quickly as Thane obviously
helped ease her discomfort.

You’re an empath, Sydney. You’ll be able to
tell if he’s telling the truth.

Sydney listened a little differently as Zach
spoke again.

“He was with us every other weekend and two
weeks every summer, until he was too sick to keep up the charade.
He’d come for our birthdays, but when he couldn’t we had to
celebrate alone. Then when he was in hospice, we had to sneak in to
see him in the hospital. Do you know how many times we almost
bumped into you?” He settled his hands on his head. “
God
, it
was humiliating.”

Sydney blinked back tears. “You’re
wrong.”

“He promised us he’d take care of us.
Promised
we’d be okay.” Tears welled up in his eyes. “But he
lied! And your bitch of a mother refused to listen to us. Beth’s
dying and we don’t have the money for her meds. Dad’s life
insurance was barely enough for the first six months of
treatment.”

“What do you mean my mother wouldn’t
listen?” Sydney asked, but the truth of what he was saying flooded
in. The memories of her mother’s cryptic phone calls at random
times... the ones she always brushed off... settled in her soul.
Her father
was
gone every other weekend and he always took
two week-long trips during the summer, every year. Sometimes more
on occasion, but always the same weeks each time.

“Dad promised he’d leave us money, but when
it came down to it, your mother stopped it. We never got the big
payout he’d promised, just the small one that my mother had paid
the premiums under her name. Your mom knew, Sydney. I don’t know
how long she knew, but she sure as hell knew at the end, and made
sure we got nothing. Dad had a contingency if that were to happen;
I’d just never expected it would need to be used.”

“What kind of contingency?”

“A little life insurance policy that would
pay my mother should yours have an unfortunate accident.”

“What?” she squeaked.

“One million dollars is going to be paid out
as soon as the cops release your mother’s body, but they’re takin’
a long damn time to do it, and Beth needs help now.”

“How could you possibly have counted on—”
She stopped herself with a gasp. “You! You hired the guy to kill my
mom!”

He shrugged. “Did I? No one will ever prove
anything.”

“But if you’re struggling financially, where
did you get fifty thousand dollars?”

“Hypothetically, should I ever think to do
something so reprehensible,” he said, “I might consider borrowing
from the money Mom got when she refinanced the house to pay for
Beth’s treatment. But that’s hypothetically.”

With a hiss, Sydney stood and headed for
him. “You bastard!” she screamed. “Lucy, get down!”

Sydney heard a thump and Lucy’s groan as she
reached her arms out, Zach’s body slammed against the wall and he
let out a hiss of pain. She didn’t realize she’d done all of that
with her mind as she advanced on him again. She had little time to
focus on what was happening, her murderous intent failing, as
strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her away. Zach was
summarily divested of his gun and shoved onto his stomach. He was
cable tied and made to lie where he was until they were ready to
move him. EMTs took care of Lucy as Thane dragged Sydney from the
building.

* * *

“What are you doing?” she screamed. “Let me
go!”

He held her tighter. “You can’t kill him,
love.”

“Why the hell not? He killed my mom.”

“I know, baby, but we need to find out more
information... turn him over to the authorities.”

“He gave us everything we need,” she
countered. “If we turn him over to the authorities, I can’t make
him pay.”

“Sid.” Thane cupped her face. Her eyes
flooded with green, even the white, and Thane knew he needed to get
her to calm down. “I need you to take a deep breath.”

“Screw you.”

He closed his eyes and concentrated on
breaking down her defenses. She struggled against him, but he held
tight. “Shhh.”

“Thane!”

“No, sweetheart, you need to settle.”

It took several minutes for her to stop
fighting him, but he continued to hold her tight. He’d let down his
guard before and she’d taken advantage of it, so he wasn’t doing it
again.

I hate you.

He grinned. “As soon as you calm down, love,
I’ll let you go.”

“I’m calm.”

“You’re no’ calm.”

“I’m so calm, I’m Zen calm.”

Thane chuckled. “Oh, my love, you’re so far
from Zen calm it’s not even funny.”

“
You’re so far from Zen calm it’s not
even funny
,” she mimicked with a sing-song voice.

He dropped his forehead to hers again,
listening to her heart. “Almost there, love.”

It took a little while, but finally she fell
against him with a sigh and wrapped her arms around his waist.