The Touch of Her Hands [The Wind River Pack 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (13 page)

* * * *

Remus ran his hand over Celia’s head and felt the warmth of her fever. He looked at Marianne Wind River and saw a mother’s anguish in her expression. “How long?”

“As of two hours ago, they are all showing the same symptoms.”

“So it is contagious.”

Tehran shook his head. “I’d stake my medical license on it not being contagious. They were injected with something that their body is trying to fight. It just took longer to overcome some of their immune systems than others. If it were contagious, we’d have several adults including you in a sick bed.”

Remus watched Marianne leave the room. “Is there anything I can do?”

Tehran ran his fingers through his hair. “You can tell me the miracle I heard was coming this way is true.”

“How the hell did you hear about it?”

Tehran shrugged. “You know pack mates are as bad as a dorm full of college girls. Somebody overheard something and repeated it, and somebody else overheard and repeated it, and so on.”

“What exactly did you hear?”

“That Zack’s found some kind of shaman or holy person that can perform miracles in healing.”

Remus snickered. “Not even close. Zack found his mate, and she has a special gift. She can heal through her touch.”

Tehran’s brows disappeared beneath his bangs. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Who the hell sold him that story?”

Remus shrugged. “He witnessed her gift himself. She can lay hands on the skin of someone injured and heal them.”

“Someone injured. What about an illness?” asked Tehran.

“She’s not sure if it’ll work or not, but she’s willing to try.”

“Is it true, Alpha Remus?”

Remus turned to see Marianne and her mate, Jeremy, standing in the door, their faces full of hope. “Is it true that Zack’s bringing back a healer that can make our pups well again?”

Remus sighed and walked over and put his hands on their shoulders. Immediately they relaxed under his touch. “Zack is bringing a young woman that might be able to help, but there are no guarantees. She has special gifts that no one can explain that sometimes aids her in healing injuries. She’s willing to see what she can do for your pups.”

Marianne teared up and pressed her face against Jeremy’s chest. Jeremy looked up at Remus. “Whatever happens, we thank you, Alpha Remus.”

Maddie walked through the door. “Remus, Zander just called and said they’re safely on the council’s plane. He said they’d be home in around eight hours, give or take.”

Remus glanced at Tehran. “I guess we’ll know soon enough.”

* * * *

Zack settled back in the cushy seat and pulled Aurelia closer. No divided seats in the extravagant private jet. They’d been shown to what amounted to a loveseat equipped with seatbelts. The council representative had whisked them off the United flight, down the concourse, and onto the private plane before they could even catch their breath. It had seemed only moments before the door closed and the plane was taxiing down the runway. Zack glanced at Aurelia and frowned. She sat quietly looking out the window, wringing her hands in her lap. He didn’t know what she would do if she couldn’t help the children. The pressure on her was so great, he was afraid she’d break.

Aurelia turned and looked at Zack, her expression troubled. “You have to promise me something, Zack.”

“Anything, love. Just name it.” She looked out the window, and Zack wondered what she saw. To him, there was only blue expanse peppered with billowy white balls.

“Promise me you won’t let them take me.”

Zack wrapped both arms around her. “What are you talking about?”

“The men that are after me. I want your promise they won’t get me. I can’t go back, Zack. I just can’t. I’d rather be dead.”

“Can you tell me what happened to you back then?”

“You never saw the lab?”

“No, I was never allowed inside the building. I was always on guard duty outside. We were housed in a separate location.”

“I may have already told you some of this, so forgive me if I repeat myself. I was only eight when I made the mistake of healing my brother’s pet where my father could see. He was afraid of me after that, but I could also see a kind of glow in his eyes whenever he looked at me. For the next year he acted really strange, and we had a lot of visitors to the house.”

“Where was your mother?”

“She took off after my brother was born. I never heard from her again.”

“What happened after the year your father acted strangely?”

“One of the guys that my dad confided in had government contacts. They came to see us and basically made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” She turned to the window and gave a brittle laugh. “Don’t get me wrong. He made out pretty well. He got some money, and some property signed over to him. All he had to do for it was prove I could do what he said and sign over guardianship to the lead doctor in their facility.”

“How did he prove what you can do?”

“My brother accidentally shot my neighbor’s cat with a BB gun. He didn’t kill him, but the poor thing was in terrible pain. I healed him, not knowing that my father was filming me from the upstairs window of our house. It was only a few days later when they came for me.”

“Who came?”

“Military types. Guys in uniforms with guns at their sides. At first, they treated me pretty special. They gave me all my favorite things to eat and a room any little girl would die for. There was television, and movies and books. There was even a tutor that came several times a week to keep up with my schoolwork.”

“When did things change?”

Aurelia sighed. “I’d been there for about three months when the doc started paying me daily visits. Up until then they’d taken some blood several times, had me pee in a cup or two, and done a bunch of X-rays. Dr. Jackson wanted more.”

“Dr. Jackson?”

Aurelia nodded. “Dr. Conrad Jackson. He was the head of the facility where they held me.”

“I never met him. I was under Sergeant Brian Davidson’s command at the time we met.”

“He wanted to do tests while I was using my gift.”

“How did he manage that?”

“He used himself as a guinea pig. He’d make little shallow cuts on his arm and then have me heal it. There’d be a technician taking blood from me while I was doing it. Apparently, that didn’t give he what he wanted. He started having them hold me down so he could take tissue samples, but it backfired on him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He thought I would bounce back quickly. He hadn’t realized yet that I can’t heal myself. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Man, he sounds like a real piece of work.”

“You don’t know the half of it. It didn’t take him long to figure out that the amount of healing energy I expend is directly proportional to the injury. He wasn’t gonna get much data from his little paper cuts. He had to up the stakes.”

“What did he do?”

“He started bringing in people with injuries. At first, they were legitimate accidents. Some of them were even servicemen. That’s how I met Alvara. He’d received a nasty burn when he dropped a pan of hot water in the mess hall. He was awake for the healing, so they let him stay on as my guard.”

“You said at first they were legitimate accidents. What changed?”

“He wanted to know what types of things I could heal, so he started injuring people and bringing them to me. When I refused, he brought in a little girl around five and told me if I didn’t get back with the program and continue with the experiments, he’d break both her legs every day until I agreed. He said it would also tell him if I had any limits on how many times I could heal the same injury.”

“No wonder you wanted to escape.”

“My decision to leave came from a startling announcement from Dr. Jackson. Remember, I was only fourteen years old, and a little behind in my development than other girls my age.”

“What did he announce?”

Aurelia turned and gazed into Zack’s eyes. “He wanted to reproduce my gift. He planned on taking my eggs when I reached puberty and having them artificially inseminated into some volunteer from his staff.”

Zack growled and pulled her harshly into his arms. “What kind of monster was he?”

Aurelia clung to him and laid her head on his chest. “Is, not was. He’s still alive and running the program. At least he was when I left. He’s only in his early fifties, so he could have a lot of years left in him.”

Zack snuggled her close, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply. “I promise you, love. I will never let him get his hands on you again. I’ll keep you safe, Aurelia. That’s my solemn promise.” He pressed her head against his shoulder. “Get some rest, love. We’ll need to head to the alpha’s home as soon as we get back.” The rhythmic movements of the plane were soothing, and soon he could hear the even timbre of his mate’s breathing as she dropped off to sleep. No matter what, he’d keep his woman safe.

* * * *

Conrad looked up as the chief of security for the Wentworth Lab strolled in. Cecil Woods was a no-nonsense kind of man who had absolutely no scruples when it came to getting any job done. He’d been with the program since its inception. He was, in Conrad’s opinion, the perfect employee.

“What is it, Cecil?”

“Subject 2274 is back in the States, Dr. Jackson.”

“We’ve had this discussion before, Cecil. The young lady is more amenable to the tests if we exhibit a more personal approach. I expect you to use her name and not her file number.”

“Very well, Dr. Jackson. Miss Salazar is back in the States.”

“When can I expect delivery of the little princess?”

“There’s a problem, sir. The men tailing her did not make it onto the same plane. They were able to notify us in time, and we had people waiting for the plane to land.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“She has quite a bit more protection than we anticipated. She was taken from the United flight and placed aboard a private jet that took off within moments of her arrival.”

“Where was it heading?”

“Flight plan sent it to Casper, Wyoming.”

“Who owns the plane?”

Cecil scratched his head. “That’s where it gets strange. It’s registered to a corporation called NCSA. I was unable to find out what the acronym stands for. The CEO is a man called Robert Mavers. Pretty much a recluse. I couldn’t find anything on him at all.”

“Get some people out to Casper and find out where she goes when she leaves the plane. She’s in our grasp now, and we’re not giving up so easily.”

Cecil nodded. “Right away, sir.”

Conrad shut the door behind Cecil and took a deep breath. “You’re coming home, Aurelia. You owe me a few years after running off. I promise your room will be all ready when they bring you in.”

Aurelia leaned against Zack in the backseat and tried to relax. Zack’s brother Macon had picked them up from the airport with orders to drive them to the home of Alpha Remus. The tall, blond-haired young man looked handsome in his double-breasted business-gray suit. He’d driven like a maniac, throwing the car into gear and racing down the airport entrance as the scenery blurred outside her window. Frustrated, he’d slammed the butts of both hands against the steering wheel each time they’d been caught by a red light. Outside was dark, but the vague light from the dash illuminated his profile as he entwined his fingers behind the steering wheel and distractedly tapped a thumb upon it in time to the country music tunes coming from the radio.

The purring of the engine and the faint vibration of the road lulled her into a place halfway between sleep and wakefulness, halfway between worry and peace. Zack’s arms came around her, keeping her from falling to the floor when Macon stepped on the brake so hard her seatbelt jerked tight.

“We’re here, love.”

She wanted to get out of the car and run back down the gravel hill. Anything to keep from disappointing these people. When she got out of the car, the wind ruffled leaves in a small tree nearby. It was quiet. Not even the sound of traffic intruded and she savored it, trying to let it calm her. Her eyes darted to Zack’s face and discovered he’d been watching her.

Smiling, Zack took her hand. “It’s gonna be fine, love. You’ll see.” She nodded and gripped his hand tighter.

Macon motioned toward the back of the house. “Remus said to come on in no matter what time it was.”

“Are the pups here?” asked Zack.

Macon nodded and glanced nervously at Aurelia. “All three of them are sick now.”

“Then let’s get moving,” Aurelia said. “I’ll do what I can.” She held tight to Zack as they walked around the house. Macon opened the back door and went in first, with her following close behind. The house was spacious with a farm-size kitchen dominated by a claw-foot table surrounded by ten chairs. A woman with a clean, wind-blown appearance and fresh complexion hurried into the room, her brown hair swinging with the force of her movements.

Zack moved forward and engulfed the small woman in a hug. “Aunt Maddie, it’s good to see you.”