The Siren's Eyes (The Siren Legacy Book 2) Page 18

  She knew what he was getting at. If she took Katerina’s place, she would be his personal assistant, office manager, general plaything, and his personal floozy.

  “Thank you, Mr. Fields, but I am happy in my current position.” It was the response she used whenever he brought it up.

  “If you ever change your mind, say the word.” He smiled at her as though he was offering her a donut, not a world of luxury in exchange for sex. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend to. I trust you can entertain yourself for the drive.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Robin watched as he pulled a thick document from his bag and began reading. She turned away. How many years did she have left now? Eight? Ten? She would need to look at the calendar she kept hidden in her room.

  Anytime she suspected he had added or taken away years from her contract, she noted it on there. She honestly didn’t know how she was going to survive the rest of her contract. Right now, she was having enough trouble from day to day.

  The scenery rushed by as she looked out the window. She didn’t know where they were going exactly, but she knew that most of the staff were kept in the dark about this side of things. The egg harvesting and medical testing for furthering the goals of Mr. Fields and probably the Order of Talos were a mystery to most of her coworkers.

  She wrestled with if she should tell them all the time, but whom would she tell? It wasn’t like she had any friends in the office. Who would believe her? With her luck, someone would report her and she would get another few years added to her contract.

  Buildings began to become more and more spaced out as they traveled, going from the bustling city to suburbs to country. She knew that Mr. Fields called the medical facility The Farm, but she had never thought it was a literal farm.

  The idea that they were harvesting eggs from supernatural creatures they found valuable and breeding them like livestock—that was why she thought they called it the farm. Maybe both reasons were behind the name and Mr. Fields thought he was being clever.

  Her thoughts ran circles in her head as the landscape flew by outside. There had been a cluster of buildings when they got off the highway, but now it was tiny driveways that split and went to a few different houses.

  The lush greenery of New England in the summer made it hard to make out if there was anything else around. She doubted it. If she had been sitting facing the front of the car, at least she would have seen the road signs. As it was, she couldn’t see anything.

  The houses became more and more spread out as they went along. The last largest structure she’d seen was a church that was being repaired, but didn’t look like it was going to be hosting any services any time soon.

  Finally, they pulled off the road onto a driveway. The car passed a couple dilapidated houses and came to the cul-de-sac. She thought they had arrived, but the driver turned off the circular driveway onto what didn’t even look like a road.

  If you didn’t know what to look for, you might have missed it. The trees brushed the sides of the car, their leaves shushing against the window and occasionally a branch screeching its protest at their passing.

  A moment later, the trees parted and they were in a clearing.

  “Here we are,” Mr. Fields said. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  He glanced at Robin, who nodded in return.

  “Surrounded on three sides by forest preserve and a lake. The tenants of the houses we passed on the way in were well compensated for their land, I assure you.”

  She felt like he was trying to impress her, but she didn’t understand why. She’d already turned down fulfilling his needs multiple times.

  The driver came around and opened the door, something that made her feel exceedingly strange, and had to help her out. Stilettos were not her friends.

  The house in front of them was massive. House might have been the wrong word. Complex might fit it better since she knew what went on here. The bright white siding gleamed in the bright summer sun, and the red roof capped off the old farmhouse look. The house proper connected to what were probably outbuildings at one point, and all of it was beautifully landscaped.

  As they walked to the house, Robin noticed The Surgeon standing on the front porch. Next to him were the two security guards who had been handling Aster. Her stomach knotted. She knew that at least one of the security guards was guaranteed to die in the next few hours, which made her wonder why he was here at all.

  “I didn’t tell them what your scream meant. Do not share whatever you think you saw or know with anyone. Understand?” Mr. Fields’ voice was low enough that only she could hear him, and threatening enough that she knew if she broke this rule, there would be hell to pay.

  They walked into the house as the guards and The Surgeon greeted them, while the driver scurried behind them with their bags. She wasn’t used to being taken care of like this, and it made her feel useless and guilty all at the same time. Not to mention the guilt of the security guard’s death on her conscience. Her stomach rolled.

  Before she was conscripted to work for Eclipse and Mr. Fields, whenever Robin screamed for someone, she always told them. Begged them to get their affairs in order. Pleaded with them to believe her. Sometimes they did, a lot of the time they didn’t, but at least she always knew she’d tried her best to help.

  The inside of the farmhouse was sleek and modern. Clean lines and hard woods accented with metal were the order of the day here.

  “Is the girl cooperating?” Mr. Fields asked, turning to The Surgeon.

  “Yes, but she is also heavily medicated.”

  “Fine.” Mr. Fields nodded.

  Robin tried not to look at The Surgeon. She knew he had been the one who’d performed the same process on her. If she thought about it too much, it made her sick. She had accepted that she would never have kids, but she still struggled with what was actually done to her.

  She could feel him looking at her, though, with those dark eyes that didn’t hold a single spark of life. Mr. Fields’ eyes were full of life compared to his. She could see the cuffs of his navy suit out of the corner of her eye. He was always impeccably dressed, just like Mr. Fields. She had often wondered if they were related somehow, since they had a similar look, but was never able to find any evidence of it. Since then, she just assumed that like attracted like.

  The Surgeon’s voice was much higher than Mr. Fields’, and when he spoke, it grated on Robin like nails on a chalkboard, and she guessed that he knew that.

  “Hello, Robin. It’s a pleasure to see you again so soon.” His hand squeezed her shoulder. As she pulled away, his fingertips trailed down her arm.

  “Hello.”

  “Have you ever been out to my facility before? When you weren’t a patient, I mean?”

  “No.”

  “Well, feel free to look around. I’m sure Randall told you that we are surrounded by forest preserve, so you are welcome to explore outside as well, if you would like. You can set up your work wherever you would like. The staff here can work around you.”

  “Thank you.”

  His smugness at making her uncomfortable radiated off him. All she wanted to do was hit him and run for the hills, but she knew better. If she did try and run off and the security guards didn’t catch her, then the black bears would. Plus, who could run in these damn shoes?

  She settled down to work and hack into whatever she could find here. If Robin went exploring, she would see parts of life she wouldn’t be able to touch again for years, and she couldn’t handle that right now. She knew Aster was in trouble, but there was nothing she could do to help at this point without getting them both killed. Robin prayed to anyone who would listen that Hyacinth showed up soon, or there would be no point in showing up at all.

  Dem had tracked the car’s most frequently visited GPS coordinates and stuck them on a map, which was currently plastered over Thad’s kitchen table. Cin stared at it like it could tell her something she didn’t already know. But she did alre
ady know—the main coordinates were the pickup location, Eclipse headquarters, and a random location a couple hours north of Boston.

  They had made a plan earlier to jump to the clearing closest to this random location, and then one of the brothers could fly over the area and report back. Right now, all she was waiting for was for them to get suited up.

  Thad came back in with a small bag in his hand and holsters strapped to his thighs. Cin assumed the guns were in the bag and he just didn’t want to scare her or something. Honestly, at this point she wasn’t sure anything he did or said would scare her. It sure as hell wouldn’t send her running for the hills. He was fighting for her and her sister, and she’d be damned if she didn’t have his back the whole time.

  Thad had only seen a small amount of her Krav Maga training at the apartment when they were attacked. She could be a damn good fighter if she had to be, and with her height and weight, she could easily put guys down. So yeah, she’d have his back. She just had to convince him of that as well.

  “What, nothing for me?” She smiled sweetly at him.

  “Sorry, babe, nothing for you.” He paused. “I’ll have something for you when we get home, though.”

  The heat in his eyes made her toes curl.

  “I hope so, mister.” She walked up to him as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and slid her arms around his waist so she could whisper in his ear. “One thing you should know, I want more than just sex with you. I want to explore this, and I plan on doing exactly that when we get back.”

  “Well, then you should know that I think of you as mine. I protect what’s mine. That being said, if you could make my job easier by not doing anything stupid that might get you killed, I would sincerely appreciate it.”

  “I don’t plan on dying tonight.” She kissed the shell of his ear. “I’ve got too much living to do.”

  An appreciative noise rumbled through his chest into hers, making her heart kick up.

  “We should get going,” Thad said as he turned around in her arms. “Are you sure you want to come with? You can stay here; we can handle it.”

  “Hell no. I’m coming to kick ass and save my baby sister. They might be a big company, but they messed with the wrong girl.”

  “Damn straight.” Thad smiled and kissed her nose. “Hold on tight.”

  She roped her hands around his neck and gripped his T-shirt. A rushing sensation consumed her, and she shut her eyes. For a moment, it felt like drowning or suffocating. Either way, she couldn’t draw breath, and then, just like that, oxygen flooded her lungs. The scent of nature was heavy in the air, and when she opened her eyes, it was no surprise why.

  They were surrounded by huge trees. It was one thing to see it on a map and understand that they were jumping to a clearing in a forest. To see it in person was something else entirely.

  The rich green leaves blotted out most of the sky as she stood and stared, still amazed by this ability. The bird song and general nature noises tentatively began again, only to be hushed again as Dem appeared by their side.

  Cin had to admit she was developing a soft spot for this gruff giant. He slung a bag onto the ground and pulled out his phone.

  “Hal will be here in a couple,” he said, reporting back on whatever message had appeared on his screen. “By the way, Alec isn’t coming,” Dem ground out. Someone was feeling especially surly this afternoon.

  “Yeah, I figured. He’s got too much attention on him right now. The last thing we need is Zeus poking his nose in right at the wrong moment.”

  “True.”

  “Like for real Zeus?”

  “Yeah. Guy is bored out of his mind without people worshiping him anymore, and since he doesn’t have the juice to punish us for having soulmates, he’s taken to butting in whenever possible. Trying to annoy his way into breaking up Alec and Ellie. And trust me, that isn’t going to happen. They are joined at the hip in more ways than one.” Cin didn’t miss the undercurrent of jealousy in Thad’s voice or the look of death that Dem shot him.

  “Wow. You guys lead crazy lives,” Cin said, shaking her head. The little nugget of information Thad had dropped burrowed into her, though. They could have soulmates, but what, nothing else? She would have to ask him about that when they got back.

  Hal appeared next to Dem. All three of them together looked terrifying.

  “Hal, this is Cin. Cin, Hal,” Thad said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

  “Pleasure to meet you,” Hal said.

  For a split second, all Cin could do was stare at him. The guy was bigger than Thad and Dem. He looked like a surfer who had decided to become a body builder. Big puppy dog eyes stared down at her, and her brain kicked back in.

  “Th-Thank you so much for doing this.”

  “Beats the pants off staying home and getting into an argument with a goddess.”

  “Uh, sure.” Cin looked up at him again, something she wasn’t used to having to do. He had a bit of an all-American look to him—brown hair, bleached by the sun, and big brown eyes combined with a physique that would make a pro athlete jealous.

  Thad cleared his throat next to her. “Who wants to get in the air?”

  “I’ll go,” Dem said, taking off before anyone could stop him.

  It was probably best that he went since he had a better idea of where the place was. His big gray-blue wings glinted in the sun briefly before he blinked out of existence.

  “Um, where did he go?” Cin asked quietly.

  “Oh, he’s still up there. He stretched his glamour to hide his body as well as his wings. I’ve never been able to do that, but the others can. Although, from what I understand, it’s a challenge.”

  “It feels like you’re flying while in a bubble. Not pleasant,” Hal chimed in.

  “Yeah, that doesn’t sound great,” Cin agreed.

  “It’s not.” Hal’s voice was not as deep as Dem’s, but almost had a richer quality to it.

  They all stood staring at the sky for a moment, and then Dem reappeared. The way his wings curved to slow his descent was fascinating. Cin couldn’t help but wonder if the boys had more muscles than regular humans to accommodate the extra appendages.

  “There’s a farmhouse in another clearing about a mile or two from here. Security guards at entrances.” He took a deep breath. “Wish Ellie was here to kill the power.”

  “That would be handy,” Hal agreed.

  “We’ll have to go in the old-fashioned way. Sneak attack.”

  “Okay. You hang here with Cin. Hal and I will deal with the outer guards. Just give us a couple minutes. They’re too relaxed and don’t look well trained. This should be a piece of cake.” Dem said with an eagerness in his voice she hadn’t expected.

  “Agreed.” Thad nodded.

  Dem and Hal took off, and the gusts of wind from their wings was almost enough to knock Cin over.

  “Promise me one more time, don’t do anything stupid,” Thad said, turning to her. The look in his eyes chilled her.

  “What have you seen?” She knew. She just knew he’d seen something and not told her.

  “Nothing that can’t change.”

  “Yeah, Aster says something like that when she’s giving me the brush off too.” Cin folded her arms over her chest.

  “I’m not giving you the brush off. I don’t want to worry you with something that isn’t set in stone. That’s all.”

  “Right.”

  Before Thad could respond, a gunshot sounded.

  “Shit. Come on.” He wrapped his arms around Cin and launched them into the air. “Don’t let go.”

  “Not a chance.”

  Under any other circumstances, Cin would have been thrilled and enjoying every second of this amazing experience. Right now, though, she was worried that one of Thad’s brothers was dead and it was her fault for dragging them into this.

  They soared over the trees, and Cin could feel them descending. It surprised her that they were going down so soon. Surely it would take longe
r than a minute to fly two miles? She watched as Thad’s blond wings curved to slow them down.

  “Pick your feet up.”

  She pulled her knees to either side of him and, a moment later, felt him land, the shock absorbed by his bent knees and the few steps he took to smooth it out.

  “Okay.”

  She hopped down and turned toward the house where the commotion was happening. A sudden fury filled her. The anger at her sister being taken, at her mother lying to them their whole lives, at the possibility that Dem or Hal might be hurt or worse, all combined to form this white-hot core that made her ache for a fight.

  “Easy tiger,” Thad’s voice sounded behind her. She didn’t even realize that she had taken off at a slow lope toward the house. Slowing down, she stayed low to the ground. Her height and hair made it possible to spot her from a mile away. She resolved to get her hair back to normal when they got back. No more crazy stand-out colors if people were coming after them.

  Thad passed her and lead the way. Cin didn’t miss the few bodies scattered around.

  “Are they dead?”

  “No. We use tranqs.”

  “Smart boys.” She grinned but could still feel that feral edge inside her clawing to get out.

  She yearned for a fight, and she wasn’t going to let Thad take that away from her. Thad motioned to her about two guards up ahead. He wanted to take care of them—she knew that—but she also knew she could help. She followed behind Thad as he approached the two guards. He went left, so she went right.

  The approach to the other guy was silent, her anger feeding her ability to be stealthy. They had been looking for something or someone. She heard the thud of what was most likely the man Thad was subduing hitting the floor. This was her moment.

  Her arm snaked around the man’s neck as she put a choke hold on, gripping her arm with the opposite hand and pushing his head with the other. Cin’s legs wrapped around the guard from behind as he flailed, desperate to get her off, but her weight and height had the advantage. She clung tighter to her target and pressed his head further down. He backed into a wall. The picture frame that hung there dug into her back.