Find Me If You Dare (Dreamcatcher Book 2) (36 page)

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I paced next to Kayla, waiting for some sign that she was either in Richard’s dreams or waking. For hours, my heart had raced, and it was still picking up speed.

Kayla’s eyelids fluttered, and her chest rose and fell rhythmically. To anyone else, she looked like she was sleeping, but for me, all I could think about was her not waking, that I would fail again.

That I would be alone for the rest of eternity.

I crouched next to Kayla, my elbows on my knees and my forehead in my hands. A sea of nausea tossed in my gut, and my mouth dried with each passing second.

Come on, Kayla…

I jolted when she whimpered. Hair lifted on the back of my neck as lines broke Kayla’s forehead, and her whines turned into groans. Her fingers spread apart on both hands, stiffening, and her head thrashed from side to side. I pressed a fist to my mouth, fighting to stay in control, to not touch her or call her name.

Lian clasped my shoulder. “You can’t wake her.”

I nodded and paced again, my hands jammed into my hair. I couldn’t do this. I wouldn’t leave her in there with him. I had to get her out.

Dropping my arms, I jerked toward Kayla, but Ivan stepped in my way. “Don’t make me knock you on your ass,” he said.

“I’m pulling her out. Move!” I tried to shoulder-check him, but he shoved me backward.

Kayla’s lids snapped open, and I stumbled onto my hands and knees. Like when Richard was in Seth’s head, her eyes were black as shiny coal. Her body contorted, twisting into an impossible arch, her head almost touching her heels.

“Fuck—Kayla!” I shouted, jumping to my feet. Ivan slammed into me, pinning my arms in his, keeping me from reaching her. I struggled against him, my heart in my knees and my lungs in a vise.

The air around us chilled until frost covered the grass, yet the flames from our campfire exploded high into the sky. A loud, guttural moan escaped Kayla’s lips, and her body rose, levitating inches off the ground.

Wind ripped past my ears. I swore, my legs shaking beneath my suddenly-too-heavy weight.

“Don’t let him watch!” Lian yelled at Ivan. He spun us around.

The trees wavered like a tornado blew through, and then Kayla screamed, loud and raw, the tone high and unearthly. A vibration, like the
boom
of a shock wave, barreled through me, and I whimpered through clenched teeth.

The world stilled.

Ivan’s arms fell away. I spun, my pulse deafening in my ears. Kayla lay on her back again, her face soft and peaceful, almost too serene.

So terrified that I couldn’t feel my legs, I plopped next to Kayla’s motionless body and placed my fingers on the side of her neck.
Please, God, please.

A soft rhythm beat against my fingers.

I slumped onto my feet and pressed my palms to my eyes, bowing my head. I didn’t care anymore if the spell failed. She was alive.

Kayla’s hand shot between my arms. She gripped my throat, stronger than she should’ve been able to squeeze. She sneered at me, her eyes narrowed and her irises molten gold.

“Kayla, no!” Lian yelled, rushing us with Ivan close behind.

I extended my hand, palm out, stopping them in their tracks. The corners of my vision darkening, I pried her fingers from my throat as much as I could and tried to speak. “Kayla, it’s me. You’re all right, love.” My words were strained, pinched off by her fingers digging into my neck. I forced a swallow, dizziness overwhelming me. I pushed through the pain, forcing my voice to strengthen. “Baby, let go.”

The sneer fell from Kayla’s face like she’d been zapped with a Taser. Her eyes focused, the glow in her irises diminishing. Her gaze dropped from mine to the hand she still clenched around my neck. She let go with a shout. Oxygen slammed into my chest for the second time in one night, and I rolled onto my back, coughing and gasping for air.

Kayla was on her knees in seconds, her hands resting on my chest. “Oh my God—Daniel, I’m so sorry.”

I put a hand over hers when I caught my breath, closing my eyes. I tried to swallow and winced. Lucky she hadn’t crushed my throat. Fifteen more seconds, and she probably would have.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah.” My eyes watered. Someone might as well be scraping the inside of my throat with long, jagged fingernails. “What happened?”

The look that lit up her face bordered on a leer. “He knew I was trying to figure out where he was, but I don’t think he realized how strong I’d gotten. He attempted to push me out of his mind and trap me in limbo, but I was able to hang on somehow. And now, I don’t even need to do a locator spell. Richard’s in Columbus, Daniel. In that old warehouse where you said you killed Giovanni. He’s been there the whole time.”

I pounded my fist against my forehead. I was such a bloody fool. How had I not thought to check there? He’d loved Giovanni as much as I loved Kayla. As evil and cunning as Richard was, he was still as human as the rest of us. We hadn’t given Giovanni a Catcher’s funeral—we’d left him lying in a pool of his own blood for Richard to find. Not surprisingly, Richard had chosen to hide in the last spot his one true love had been alive.

Elation filled every muscle and joint in my body. After all these weeks, we finally found him. Sure, he could leave and find another place to cower, but given the sentimentality attached to his current whereabouts, I’d bet my afterlife he’d put up a fight to stay.

Grinning, I grabbed Kayla’s face and smashed my mouth against hers. We finally had a chance to end this, and all because of her—her power, her strength, her love for those she cared about.

“I’m so proud of you,” I said when I pulled away. “Let’s go save the world, shall we?”

Attaching my weapon belt to my waist, I put out a distress call to any of Trishna’s followers who might be listening.
For anyone who can hear me, this is Daniel Graham. My team has located Richard, and I’m requesting assistance from any willing volunteer. Please reply if you’re able to fight.

Lian and Ivan spoke quietly in a corner of the room while Samantha, Seth, Vinny, Bernice, and Ashleigh shuffled weapons around. We’d established the possibility of Richard binding the Magus’ abilities, so even they were padding on as much ammunition as they could carry.

I closed my eyes and again called out.
I repeat, this is Daniel Graham, and we’ve found Richard. Can anyone hear me?

Once Kayla adjusted her dark hair into a bun, she stepped toward me, handing me the belt I’d stocked for her. “Can you help me?”

I smiled softly. She didn’t need my assistance. But who was I to pass up a moment of intimacy with the girl I loved?

Taking the belt, I wrapped it around her waist and secured the leather strap, positioning the holsters and sheaths into positions I felt would be most comfortable for her. I tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and stared down her body, letting my palms linger on her hips, my thumbs caress her waist. The feel of her curves had become so familiar, like my hands were shaped to fit her, to hold her and never let go.

Kayla stroked my chest. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

The corner of my mouth twitched. Since when had our roles reversed? “I know.”

The early-morning sunlight bounced off the golden flecks in her hazel eyes. God, I loved her. I let the image of her pink cheeks and delicate features burn into my memory. When I lowered my mouth to hers, I opened and closed it with mine, memorizing her taste, her scent, the feel of her lips.

“Man, get a room!” Seth fake-gagged.

“Leave them alone,” Lian replied. “We don’t know what the next few hours are going to bring.”

I groaned. The last thing I needed was for a hundred possible scenarios to run through my head again or to think about how the next time a Nightmare ripped through Kayla’s body, it would actually be her. A few more times, I kissed Kayla, my heart heavy. When I pulled away, I ran my knuckles along her soft cheek. “Whatever happens, I’ll be right by your side.”

Kayla grabbed my hand and kissed my fingers. “I’m counting on it.”
I love you.

I pressed my forehead to hers.
Ti amo, rosa mia
.

With a smile, she twined her fingers with mine, and I nodded to the rest of the group that it was time. I held my other hand out to Samantha. She glared at me before taking it. Unlike Kayla, she hadn’t yet warmed up to me after Nolan’s death. I didn’t blame her. I’d robbed her of her happily ever after. Again.

“Last chance for anyone to back out. I won’t judge you,” I said.

“You’d die without me, man,” Seth replied, grabbing Samantha’s other hand. Lian and Ivan followed suit, as did Vinny.

“We’ve come this far,” Bernice said. Taking Ashleigh’s pale hand, they joined the rest of us.

I gave Kayla’s fingers a squeeze. We were no more than nine strong, but every gaze that lingered on me was ready, fierce. And no man should ever underestimate a person willing to die for something they believed in.

One last time, I called out to any surviving members of Trishna’s coven, hoping someone would answer.
For anyone willing to help, we’ll be at the old automobile factory in Columbus, Ohio. Please at least pass along the message to Bartholomew.

I met the gazes of my comrades one at a time. “Let’s go kill that evil son of a bitch.”

olumbus was more depressing than I remembered. Six hours behind Switzerland, the city was still dark, and where Bern still looked like a city—albeit it, a destroyed one—Columbus was an absolute wasteland, wiped off the map, like a town demolished by a hundred-mile-wide tornado. The street was now gravel and dirt. There were no sounds at all, not even crickets, and the air was rancid with the smell of rotting flesh and sulfur.

I had to press my lips together to keep from gagging.

Let’s go
, I said to the group. Plucking two blades from the belt around my waist, I led my team toward the factory, my palms sweaty.

Two large, black figures slithered across the street from the warehouse, fifty feet in front of us. The hairs on my arms rose. I raised a hand, stopping the group’s momentum. Of the nine of us, six could see the Nightmares. But Vinny, Bernice, and Ashleigh watched my every movement, waiting for my signal to alert them if we were not alone.