It eased from Ashley"s and Emma"s gaze as Shiloh"s explanation sank in.
Chelsea shook her head in amazement as Claire slowly began to relax.
"I watch Breeds fight too," she reminded them all. "Their sparring sessions can get real interesting."
"It can"t be easy sparring alone though,"
Emma pointed out, a frown beginning to mar her brow.
"Tell me about it," Liza breathed out roughly as she collapsed on the mat and took a deep breath. "Do you have any idea how many bruises I"ve gotten down here?"
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It wasn"t a lie. There was no deceit in the statement. That part was easy to cover, espe- cially when she was able to hide her face against her knees and simply concentrate on breathing.
One breath in, one out. One in, one out.
"Well, h.e.l.l, I can actually tell Link now you"re just about ready." Emma gave a short nod. "Claire will take a little longer, but she"s getting there."
"I"ll so obviously not be on the front lines,"
Claire said in amus.e.m.e.nt. "I prefer driving anyway."
And there, Claire was excelling.
"Yeah, she has like f.u.c.king mad driving skills," Ashley exclaimed in sudden excite- ment. "She"ll never lose control of a vehicle again."
The sudden reminder had Liza taking in a hard breath. Her head jerked up, eyes open- ing wide.
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She didn"t want to see that memory flash- ing through her mind again, or feel what she had felt when she had seen the darkness of death opening up around her.
She could swear she"d heard the wails of the dead. And it wasn"t a white light she"d seen. It had been darkness. Nothingness.
Such a void of complete nothing that it had rocked her soul.
The same sight Claire had faced as the car exploded around them, the force of the blast blowing the doors open and throwing them from the vehicle seconds before flames had engulfed it.
"Okay, shower." Liza jumped to her feet, feeling the sticky residue of perspiration drying on her flesh. "How about pizza?" she asked the others. "We could phone in the or- der before we shower and eat it hot."
The others called out their agreement in unison as Chelsea, Claire and Liza headed upstairs to shower.
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The four Breed females made their way to the gym-style shower that had been built in- to the house by the owners before they"d moved, who had left the three-bedroom rancher with a finished bas.e.m.e.nt intended to serve as a fully functional gym.
Liza called in the pizza order before head- ing into her bedroom and quickly stripping.
Stepping into the shower, she let the hot water wash away not just the memories she didn"t want resurfacing again, but also that irritating sensation just beneath the flesh in each area Emma"s hands had gripped her during their sparring.
She felt bruised to the bone in several areas; in others, it felt as though the Breed"s touch had somehow become allergic.
It wasn"t until she"d showered, dried and dressed in loose cotton pants and a T-shirt that she began to feel human once again.
She was quickly twisting an elastic band into the damp strands of her braided hair 256/862.
when a horrified scream pierced the silence of the house.
"Claire!" A breath of fear rushed from her lungs as Liza felt the sweeping autopilot sen- sation rush through her once again.
She didn"t rush.
Claire screamed again, but as though she were watching someone else, Liza quickly slid open her dresser drawer to retrieve the laser-guided, laser-powered, ammo-loaded side arm her father had given her after Isa- belle had been attacked by Holden Mayhew.
The distance between her and her actions slowly receded until she was moving, blessedly no longer watching herself, to her bedroom door. Flipping out the lights, Liza jerked open the door and went out in a roll, her gaze sweeping over the room.
Claire"s cry was weaker this time, the sound of a struggle in a room indicating the danger her friend was in.
Council-controlled Breeds.
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In the next breath, the sound of gunfire rocked the house.
Liza shuddered with each blast, counting four even as she rushed for Claire"s room.
"Chelsea! Emma!" She was screaming out for the others as she gripped Claire"s doork.n.o.b and tried to jerk it open.
Locked.
Claire never locked her door.
The sound of gla.s.s breaking and Breed snarls filled the night as Chelsea burst from her room on the other side of the house, her voice rising in fear as she screamed out Claire"s name.
At the same time, she could hear Ashley, Emma and Shiloh tearing up the stairs from the bas.e.m.e.nt, shouting orders and calling out something to Chelsea as they reached the kitchen.
Liza didn"t hesitate. Lifting the gun, she fired on the doork.n.o.b, watching the metal 258/862.
k.n.o.b shatter and fly from its secured posi- tion as the door released.
Kicking it in, Liza threw herself into the room, her weapon lifting, instantly finding her first target as she brought herself up with her back to the wall and froze.
Blood splattered along the wall on the far side of the room where a Coyote Breed was slumped, staring sightlessly, lifelessly out at the scene before him.
Claire"s scream pierced the night again, but she was backed into a corner, a weapon similar to the one Liza held in her hands, shaking, trained on Stygian, then to Rule Breaker, then the Coyote and finally at Dog.
Her finger tightened on the trigger.
"Claire. Please help me," Liza cried out, keeping the plea just weak enough to pierce the haze Claire was in with the appearance of another"s pain.
"Liza?" Claire didn"t sound dazed or uncer- tain, but the weapon was still shaking as 259/862.
Stygian and the others watched her now, clearly uncertain of what to do next.
"Claire." It was Dog who spoke up, his voice holding a soothing, tranquil tone Liza hadn"t really expected he could possess. "Do you remember me, sweetheart?"
Claire stared at him, wide-eyed, terror whitening her face, though only a cold, hard look filled her gaze.
Claire licked her lips and gave a jerky nod.
"Why are you here? Are you with them?" She gestured to the dead Breed.
"Them?" Dog glanced around. "Are there more, Claire?"
"There were two." A sob broke in her voice. "They were waiting when I came from the shower." Tears spilled from her eyes as she steadied the weapon. "Were you with them too?"
"Claire, Stygian wouldn"t hurt us." Liza laid her own weapon aside, reality setting in 260/862.
as she began shaking as hard as Claire had been.
Her friend"s gaze jerked to her, then back to the Breeds. At the door to the room Ash- ley, Emma and Shiloh were holding Chelsea back and keeping her quiet.
"Liza." Claire"s lips trembled violently.
"They were going to take us," she suddenly whispered. "They were going to take both of us, and they were going to hurt us-"
"I know," Liza a.s.sured her quickly. She had to get Claire calm and settled. She couldn"t say more. "Claire, Dog, Stygian and Rule are here to help us, honey. Let me have the gun."
Liza took a step toward her.
A low, barely perceptible rumble of a growl feathered through the room, causing Liza"s head to jerk around and Claire"s weapon to jerk back up, her finger tightening on that trigger again.
It was aimed directly at Stygian"s chest.
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"Claire, please, don"t hurt Stygian." The sudden terrified tremble in her voice must have pierced Claire"s terror long enough for her friend to finally realize who she was training the weapon on, and who was thrown back against the wall, dead.
They knew that Coyote.
The weapon suddenly fell from Claire"s hand.
In a movement so fast Liza swore he was a blur, Rule caught the weapon a second be- fore he caught Claire in his arms.
She slumped against his chest, uncon- scious, lying limply against him as Stygian and Dog, Emma, Ashley and Shiloh suddenly started moving.
Rule lifted Claire into his arms and rushed through the empty sh.e.l.l of a frame where the large bedroom window had once been. Out- side, lights were swirling, flashing as the sound of a heli-jet landed in the yard outside.
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Stygian was snapping orders into the comm-link at his ear while Dog was quickly going over the dead Coyote"s body.
Then, and only then did Liza see the other body stretched out on the other side of the bed.
Only the boots at first were visible.
Stepping closer, Liza lifted a trembling hand to her lips as she suddenly turned to Stygian.
He was directing the female Coyotes, giv- ing orders in a hard, commanding tone when he turned quickly to her as though he knew exactly where she stood.
His gaze dropped to her feet.
"We have another!" Stygian suddenly called out. "Apprise cleanup we have two as- sailants. I repeat, we have another body."
Stepping over to her, he stared down at the human, stretched out on his back, his dark gaze staring lifelessly up at the ceiling.
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Lank, dark brown hair fell back from his face while the pale, hard-angled planes of his face seemed twisted into an expression of bemus.e.m.e.nt.
"Holden Mayhew"s brother,"
she whispered. "His name is Harlen."
Holden Mayhew had been, Liza had hoped, the only psychotic in the family.
Evidently she was wrong.
The month before, his brother had died at- tempting to first rape, then weeks later, kid- nap Isabelle Martinez.
Holden"s fury at his inability to have the niece of the president of the Nation had so infuriated him that once he"d learned she was a Breed"s lover, he"d attempted to abduct her and sell her to the Genetics Councilloy- al Coyotes who had made the bargain to give him a fortune for her.
It had been his brother, Harlen, who had first warned Holden of Isabelle"s interest in 264/862.
Malachi. Liza hadn"t really believed such in- sanity could be hereditary.
"She killed them both," Liza whispered as she turned her gaze to the Coyote still sitting motionlessly against the far wall, his blood sprayed around him from the chest wound he"d sustained.
"Good for her." Stygian"s tone was savage.
"Her father"s been notified and she"s being flown to a secured section of the hospital now. She"s just in shock, unconscious, but we want to be certain she"s okay otherwise."
Liza nodded. Joe would be at the hospital.
He would ensure only the Nation"s healers oversaw her care rather than the Breeds, who would most certainly use this to their own advantage if given the chance.
"This was my room," Liza suddenly realized.