Read Cora's Kismet (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 1) Online
Authors: Cheryl Davis
“Is this her?” Cora heard a man with a husky voice ask.
“Yeah. It’s her,” came a reply, in an almost bored tone.
“Where’s the other one? I know she has a twin. We cannot
return without them both,” the first voice asked.
“Want me to scour the house? She can’t be too far away. They
were both here not five minutes ago,” the second, almost bored, voice asked.
Cora felt a chill run down her spine listening to their words. “Our lookout
spotted them through the window, talking.”
“Was anyone else in the residence before they left this
room?” voice number one asked.
“No. They were the only ones home. Patrick and Anna aren’t
scheduled to be back until sometime this evening. We arranged it that way so we
could get the girls out without trouble.” Mr. Boredom assured the one Cora was
assuming was in charge, Voice Number One. None of the others were speaking.
“Good, the diversion worked from what you are telling me. We
need to get these girls away from the Kilpatricks before something terrible
happens to them. Search the house and find her fast. We need to be long gone
before the Kilpatricks get back, otherwise, we’ll have a fight on our hands we
don’t need,” Mr. In-Charge ordered. “You two get this one out to my van and
situated.” She heard shuffling in the room as the men moved into action.
Cora panicked and looked around, with wild eyes, for an
escape route. There was only one staircase leading down from the upper floor of
the house and it was on the opposite side of the door to her bedroom. Swearing
to herself, she looked down the other side of the hallway to see what she could
access. There was one linen closet to hide in on the side of the door she’d hid
against without thinking. She looked around trying to find any other way out,
panic building more and more in her chest. She knew if she was caught, there’d
be no helping Viola, and she had to help her sister.
“Hold on, Vi. I will find a way to save you as soon as I
can,” Cora whispered as she took a chance and slid into the linen closet,
praying they wouldn’t find her there, but knowing it would probably be the
first place they looked.
She crouched down and did her best to cover herself up with
piles of towels and sheets. The rest of the house was a filthy mess. She hoped
they would take the one here in the closet as being no different, but held no
hope of going unnoticed if they did a thorough search through the closet. She
wracked her brain trying to come up with a plan to save both herself and her
sister.
Cora clenched her fists tight to her mouth to keep from
screaming when she heard footsteps approach the door of the closet in which she
was hiding. She figured, if they did find her, she’d launch herself at them and
try to push past them while they were caught off-guard, then do her very best
to make a run for it. All she had to do was make it downstairs to Patrick’s
office to get a gun. Even though Patrick didn’t know it, both girls had made
sure to learn firearm safety and how to shoot. They’d also managed to get their
hands on the key to the gun cabinet and had made copies behind his back so they
could both access the weapons if needed. They both knew it was just a matter of
time before that skill would become a necessity to survive.
Holding her breath, she heard the door ease open and saw
fragments of light make its way to her through gaps in the towels and sheets.
She didn’t know if they could see her, or how many of them were standing there,
so she stayed curled up, as still as she could, holding her breath. She sent up
a silent prayer that she had not been found, but with as hard and fast as her
heart was beating, she was positive they would hear it and know that was where
she was hiding. If that happened there would be no escape.
When the door to the closet closed with a soft click, Cora
gasped in shock. She’d been so sure they’d found her. She listened close as
footsteps faded away from the closet door.
Not daring to move, she waited. She didn’t know how long
she’d have to stay there before it would be safe, which worried her, because
she knew she had to be gone before Patrick & Anna came home.
It must have been at least twenty minutes of lying, curled
up in the closet before she dared to move and try to sneak her way out into the
hallway, though it felt like forever. She quietly shifted the towels and sheets
off of her body and bit back a cry of pain as she stretched out her knotted
limbs. As she tried to stand up without making a sound, she ended up falling
against the door with a thud as her legs refused to hold her weight, because
they’d fallen asleep.
Terrified, Cora leaned against the door, trying not to move
another muscle, until she knew whether anyone had heard her hit the door or
not. After a couple of minutes passed with no one yanking open the door and
hauling her out, she breathed a sigh of relief. She knew they could still be in
the house hiding out, waiting for her to show herself, so she eased the door
open as quiet as the old hinges would allow.
She peeked out and eyed the hallway, making sure none of the
strangers were hanging around, waiting for her. Seeing no one, she moved out of
the closet. Before she could ease the door shut, a shadow moved from the area
behind the door, which she’d missed when she looked, and pressed her into the
corner with a hand clamped over her mouth, effectively cutting off any noise
she could make. Upon being touched, she felt a jolt of electricity shoot
through her body, freaking her out even more.
“Shhh. I’m not here to hurt you, or your sister. I know
you’re scared, but we have to get you out of here now. I need your cooperation;
otherwise, both of us will be dead within the next few minutes. Patrick and
Anna are almost here, ahead of schedule, so we have to be even more careful
than before.” Cora heard the whispered voice of Mr. In-Charge say close to her
ear, in a not-so-bored tone. She didn’t know what was going on. She was
terrified and started struggling against the man’s grip.
Hearing the garage door humming as it started to rise, the
man pressed her tighter against the wall, which Cora had not believed possible.
He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “You have gotta stop fighting me!
Patrick and Anna are pulling into the garage right now. We need to get you out
of here before they come in here. This
IS
life or death.
YOUR
life or death! If you are not going to cooperate, I will tranq you, but I’d
rather not. Will you help me, or not?”
Cora felt chilled to the bone as she turned her head and stared
into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. She knew Patrick and Anna hated both her
and Viola, but she had never understood why. She didn’t remember ever doing
anything to deserve their hostility. Realizing she hadn’t answered yet, she
stared into those angelic eyes and wondered if she should take a chance and try
to trust this stranger, who’d broken into the only home she’d ever known and
claimed to be trying to save her, and her sister’s lives, or not. Somehow she
felt connected to him, which confused her even more. Knowing she had to make a
decision, she nodded her head before she could change her mind. She wondered if
she’d just made the best decision or worst mistake of her life.
Liam eased his hand back from Cora’s mouth, slow and steady,
while staring into her eyes. The shock he’d felt run through his system when
he’d touched her confused and exhilarated him. He couldn’t believe how gorgeous
she was. He knew now was not the time to be checking out a girl, considering the
situation they were in, but couldn’t help himself, there was a pull between
them he just couldn’t explain. With the way she stared, wide-eyed, straight
into his eyes, he felt hypnotized. He knew they had to hurry because he heard
the garage door now closing.
“Follow me and stay as quiet as you can. We’re going to go
out through your bedroom window,” Liam said as he reached for her hand. Odd
that he found he needed the connection to her, and he couldn’t explain to
himself why.
Cora nodded, staying mute, and allowed him to take her hand
as they made their way back into the bedroom she shared with Viola. In the back
of her mind, she hoped that no matter what happened from this point on, they’d
never share this room again as she looked around.
As they entered her room, he noticed she was looking around
frantic, as terror poured from every pore in her body. He felt a strange need
to comfort her, knowing she was looking for her sister, but knew they had to
keep moving. He pulled her along as gently as he could, but the urgency was
still apparent. It was only a matter of time before Patrick and/or Anna came up
looking for the girls, since their piece of junk car was still in the garage.
When they reached the window, he helped to ease her through
it, then leaned close inhaling her soft, floral scent as he whispered in her
ear, “She’s fine. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I’ll get you to
her.”
Cora nodded then slipped through the window and down the
rope ladder hanging there with ease. Liam followed close behind. When his feet
touched the ground, he removed the ladder, folded it and attached it to a clasp
on his pack before turning back to her. He prayed she could hold it together
long enough for him to get them out of there and to safety. Drugging her was
the last thing he wanted to do, but he would if it became necessary.
Grabbing her hand, he leaned out and peeked around the tall
bushes lining this side of the house. He searched everywhere and didn’t see
anyone, so he tugged her hand and led the way out of the bushes, toward the
yard next door. He knew they had to stay off the street now that the
Kilpatricks were home, so he stayed close to the houses that lined the street.
On his orders, his team had moved several blocks over to a
nearby strip mall, where their vans wouldn’t be noticed.
They’d only made it one block before the alarm was raised.
He heard Anna yelling to Patrick that the girls weren’t inside, but their car
was still there. He knew it was only a matter of time before they went out
searching.
He turned to Cora and ordered her, “We have to run now!
We’ve still got a couple of blocks to go, and if we don’t run, they’re going to
catch us. Do you understand?”
“Yes, let’s go. I want to get to Viola now!” Cora replied,
picking up her pace.
Nodding he took off, making sure he still had a firm grasp
on her hand. He shouldn’t have been surprised at how fast she was, unnaturally
fast, like him, and the rest of their kind. He knew that getting her to safety,
like he’d been ordered to do, was his utmost priority, so he redirected his
focus away from her as much as he could and back to making sure they weren't
caught.
They made it to the strip mall and ducked into one of his
teams’ vans just as Patrick turned into the parking lot, swiveling his head
left and right, searching for the girls.
Cora gasped when she saw her sister lying across the back
row of seats, still unconscious.
“What did you do to her?!” she screeched, frantic.
“She’ll be fine. We had to tranq her because she wouldn’t
cooperate with us, and we needed to move fast. She’ll wake up in a couple of
hours, with no side effects. Please calm down and buckle your seatbelt. I’d
hate to have gone through all of this, only to lose you because of a stupid car
accident,” Liam told her in as calm of a voice as he could, as he buckled his
own safety belt.
“You tranq’d my sister?! Are you freaking kidding me? Why?
What’s going on?” Cora demanded, letting her fury replace her fear and ignoring
his request for her to buckle up.
“We had to, we tried talking to her like I did with you, but
she wouldn’t calm down and listen. We had to get the two of you out of there
now, before the moon rises tonight. Then there would be no saving either of you
from them,” Liam responded, as he fired up the van. “We will explain everything
to you later, but right now, I need you to buckle up so we can get out of
here.”
He could tell by the look on her face she wanted to argue
some more, but then she looked out of the window and saw Patrick’s car still
cruising the parking lot at 10 MPH, searching for them. Without stalling
anymore, she reached over and brought the seat belt across her ample chest and
clicked the lock into place. She crossed her arms and pressed them close to her
chest as Liam slowly slid the van out of the parking space and headed out of
the lot.
After being on the road for several minutes, Cora asked,
“What happens when the moon rises tonight?”
Liam took a deep breath and released it in a low whistle. “I
can’t answer that right now. Trust me, you will get the answers you need, but I
need you to be patient because I am not authorized to give them to you.”
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw the
firm press of her lips showing her frustration with his answer. He was thankful
when she didn’t pursue it further. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he noticed
Patrick’s car tailing them a few cars back. “Hold on,” he told her, as he
pressed the gas pedal down further and the van lurched forward.
Taking several turns too fast for Cora’s comfort, he pulled
out his radio and called the rest of his team, “I’ve got a tail.”
“We’re on it,” came a quick reply.
Cora’s head was whipping around, left and right, as she
gripped the handle on the door so tight her knuckles turned white. She didn’t
say a word. He didn’t know if that relieved him, or worried him more.
Liam returned his full attention to the road and their
pursuer, who didn’t seem to be losing any ground, no matter how many turns he
made or how far in front he was. It didn’t matter what he did, he just couldn’t
shake Patrick, and then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Do you and Viola have cell phones?” he asked Cora, his
voice terse.
“Of course! Who doesn’t?” she asked in return.
“Take yours out, take the back off and remove the battery,
then throw it out the window,” Liam instructed, keeping his voice calm and
steady so he didn’t alarm her more than he could see she already was.
Cora stared at him with huge, disbelieving eyes. “Why?”
“Because it is being used to track us. We’ll never lose
Patrick if we don’t lose the phones,” he replied back lightning fast.
She seemed to think about it for a moment and then reached
into her pocket, yanked out her phone and did as he instructed.
“Does your sister have her phone on her too?” he asked as
soon as she was finished getting rid of her own phone.
“I don’t know. She went back into the room to get her purse.
We were leaving,” she replied.
“Ok, I need you to unbuckle, climb back there and check to
see if she has it,” Liam instructed Cora.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” Cora responded
surprised.
“No. I had the rest of my team travel in the other van so
your sister could sleep off the tranq without being crowded by them. You’re the
only one who can do it, unless you want me to pull over and let him catch up to
us?” Liam asked in a clipped tone.
Without saying another word, Cora unbuckled her seatbelt and
climbed into the back of the van. She got jerked around as the van swerved and
hit bumps in the road. Already feeling sore, she knew it would be worse by
morning, but none of that mattered if they didn’t live until morning. Instinct
told her if Patrick caught them, they’d all be dead.
When she reached Viola, she searched her twin’s pockets,
finding her phone tucked into the front, right pocket. Cora swore under her
breath several times as she tried to wiggle the phone loose. After several
minutes, a lot of being jerked around, and her head hitting the roof of the van
several times, she managed to get her sister shifted enough to remove the phone
from her pocket.