Reid's Deliverance (20 page)

She stumbled, stopping short of entering the room. Horror clutched and held on tight.

The door slammed shut in her face.

“No!” She twisted the knob, banged on the door, but Dalir wouldn’t open it.

Sobbing, she slid to the floor and laid her cheek on the cool wood. What had Kell done?

Celine hugged her. “It’s okay.” Her voice cracked. “Dalir will help him.”

“Did you see his hands?” Nausea rose. “And his back. He beat him.”

Celine trembled as she tried to pull her up. “Thane will come get us.”

“I can’t leave him.” She squirmed out of Celine’s grasp. “He sacrificed himself to save me. If he dies, it’s my fault.”

Celine wrapped an arm around her as she cried.

Finally the tears ceased, but words lay buried under numbness. She couldn’t speak. The silence on the other side of the door unnerved her. What was Dalir doing? Why didn’t Reid groan or cry out?

The windows at the other end of the hall darkened with the setting sun. A needed bathroom break forced her to leave.

Celine got up, too, and flipped on the light. She left, and they met back at the bedroom door. Celine held a glass of water and a sandwich cut in two on a saucer. “It’s your favorite. PB and J.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You have to eat.” Celine held out the saucer. “We’ll share.”

Lauren relented and accepted half the sandwich. She took a bite.

“
When it comes to the art of PB and J, I’m a purist.”

Her remembered words echoed. It was as if she could hear the timbre of Reid’s deep chuckle in response. Salty tears intermingled with the taste of smooth peanut butter and grape jelly. What she’d give to go back to that moment. Unable to finish she dropped the sandwich back on the saucer. She accepted a napkin from Celine and dried her cheeks.

All she’d thought about was herself and what not to do. Don’t date guys on the hell-no list
.
Don’t get hurt like her mother. Don’t end up in a failed relationship. But at the same time, she didn’t want to let him go. Fear ruled every step, making it convenient for her to deny the obvious. She’d fallen for Reid.

Her eyes grew heavy. As she leaned against the wall, she dozed on Celine’s shoulder. A hand grasped her elbow. She jumped. The hall light was on.

Dalir knelt in front of her. “He needs you.”

“He’s awake?” She sat up.

Celine mumbled in her sleep.

Dalir placed his hand over Celine’s and she stilled.

Lauren eased away from Celine. “What is it? What’s happened?”

He guided her into the room. A soft glow emanated from a recessed area at the top of the walls.

Reid lay on the double bed, eyes closed. The white sheet was pulled up high on his chest. His hands were bandaged.

She grasped Reid’s arm. He didn’t move or open his eyes. “Is he unconscious? In a coma?”

“He’s barricaded himself in his mind. It’s a protection mechanism I taught him to keep his thoughts safe. He won’t let me in. He still believes Kell is a threat. If he stays where he is much longer, he won’t return. You have to let him know he’s out of danger.”

What if Reid didn’t want to listen to her? Guilt washed in. “I shut him down when he tried to tell me the truth. He might not want to see me.”

“When he couldn’t remember where to go, he sought you out. When he got his memory back he could have walked away and said nothing, but he wanted you to know. Reid doesn’t trust anyone beyond his brothers, but he trusted you. He’ll let you in.”

“How do I reach him?”

“I will get you there. You have to convince him to see the façade. He’s recreated a place that he knows well. He feels comfortable and safe. It will seem ideal with everything he could ever want.”

She’d felt that way with Reid in Mazree before he’d saved the girl. She’d believed that she could forget about everything and stay there with him forever.

“He has to leave willingly. If he perceives you as a threat, he’ll retreat deeper into his mind. You must say whatever is needed. Do whatever it takes to bring him back.” Dalir’s direct gaze held hers. “Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

Dalir pulled back the sheet.

Her stomach clenched hard in revulsion and grief.

Mottled black, purple, and yellow splotches and welts covered Reid’s torso. More of them continued past his briefs down his legs.

“Lay beside him.”

As she climbed in her trembles shook the mattress. Hardly any places on him remained unscathed; even his face had bruises. A cut marred his lower lip.

“Move closer.”

“I don’t want to hurt him.”

“You won’t. I’ve started the healing process. I can do more once you bring him out. Touch him. Let Reid feel that you’re here.”

She curled to his side and lay her head against the tattoo on his shoulder. His body heat bled through her clothes. Her palm rose and fell with his even breaths and the solid beat of his heart. A rush of gratefulness threatened tears. She blinked them back. “Now what?”

“I’ll merge you into his consciousness.” A slight smile softened Dalir’s face. “You’re safe. If you can’t get him to agree or something’s wrong, call my name. You’ll immediately come back to reality. Otherwise, Reid will take you out with him.” His gaze took on an otherworldly glow. “Relax.”

The sudden urge to sleep tugged down her heavy eyelids. Reid had endured torture after saving her and had fought to come this far. Now it was her turn to take care of him. She’d find a way to bring him home.

Reid sat at the grand piano, running up and down the octaves.
Hanon exercises.
His grandfather had sworn by them as the perfect warm-up for the hands. Strange. Today his joints ached. As he stretched his fingers, he fumbled the reach for the keys. The wrong chord echoed across the sunny valley in front of him. Pristine acres of green unfolded to the top of the mountains cresting into the sun-drenched sky of Mazree.

He flexed his hands and tried again. This time, a concerto came straight from his heart and flowed through him. Chords combined into fluid musical phrases that intertwined into resonant beauty. The notes floated in crisp, fresh air scented with pine. He inhaled and let it marinate in his lungs.

A space in the underbrush opened. Lauren walked into the clearing.

Happiness tinged with apprehension rose. No. She shouldn’t be there. He’d saved her. She was with Thane and Dalir. His heart beat faster. He needed to retreat deeper and stop Kell from breaking into his mind. The scene in front of him shifted to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. Fluffy clouds hung in the sky, obscuring the highest peaks. Oak trees replaced the pines. Lauren started to fade.

“Reid.” She wrapped her arms around him. “You’re here.”

He didn’t sense the ancient probing into his thoughts. A new tactic? But she felt so wonderful and real.

“Where else would I be?” He built the light quiet notes of the piece into full sensual chords. No. She shouldn’t be there. It was a trick. He should go, or pretend a bit longer and enjoy the illusion of having her close.

As she sat beside him on the bench, the mountains of Mazree crystallized again. “What are you playing?”

“Rachmaninoff’s ‘Piano Concerto No 3.’ It was my grandfather’s favorite.”

“It’s beautiful.” She slid closer and her leg brushed his. “Did he teach you about music?”

He could tell her everything here. All the things he’d never told another woman about his life but information he wanted to share with her. Would share with her if she were really there. “Yeah. He could play anything, jazz, blues, popular songs, but he loved classical. It surprised people. Here was this tall, lanky rocker sporting a beard and a ponytail down to his ass mastering concertos on piano, violin, or guitar.”

“He sounds wonderful.”

“He was. He adopted me when I was eight months old. My parents were still in high school when they found out I was on the way. They hid the pregnancy. My father’s family didn’t see me as his responsibility. My maternal grandmother had her own issues. She’d split from my grandfather when my mom was really young. I was a minute from a foster home when he showed up and fought to adopt me. He played keyboard in a rock band. Being on the road didn’t mix with taking care of a baby, so he switched to teaching music. Performers from all over the world sought him out.” Sadness and resignation swept in. “When he died, I promised to honor his sacrifice by living a good life.”

“You have, but don’t forget, your grandfather loved you. He didn’t see that as a sacrifice.”

“Some people don’t until it’s too late.” Like his ex. He took his hands from the keys. “Why are you here?”

Her hand rested on his thigh. “Because I care about you.” Tears misted her eyes.

“I care about you, too.”

“I want us to be together.”

“We are, beautiful. We can stay right here forever.” Reid kissed her and need hit like a punch. Sweetness, goodness—with her he could lay it all down and just be. He massaged her breast and squeezed her nipple. An arousal grew with the desire to suck and tease the hard peak.

She pulled back but he chased down the kiss, exploring the smooth warm hollows of her mouth.

Lauren held him back. “Reid, wait.”

If the great outdoors wasn’t her style, they could take it the bedroom or any place she wanted. “Let’s go back to the cabin.” He swept kisses down her cheek and moisture wet his lips. Alarm shot through lust. He’d made her cry. She might leave if he pushed too hard. “If you don’t want to make love, we don’t have to.”

“I do.” More tears leaked from her eyes as she grasped his arms. “But I want it to be real.”

“What I have with you is more real than I’ve had with anyone.” He cupped her cheek, hating the bleakness in her gaze. Somehow, he’d caused it. “How can I prove it to you?”

“Let this go and come back to reality with me.”

Kell.
A trick. Mazree wasn’t safe. He had to get to Virginia, but he couldn’t leave her here. “You should go.”

“Not without you.” She glanced over her shoulder at the Blue Ridge Mountains shimmering in the distance. “No. Reid. It’s okay. Please. Think about it. You were hurt, but now you’re not. Why? Because Dalir healed you. You’re not with Kell. You’re in The Drift. We all are—Thane, Celine, me. You don’t have to protect us anymore. ” She clutched his hands. “Dalir sent me. I’m here for you. Please. Come back.”

The clouds above the mountains shifted to a silvery gold mist.

He wanted to believe it. Home, the team, Lauren all waiting for him. “Have you been to the maze?”

She nodded.

“What’s in the maze?”

“A circular pool with a stone shaped like a triangle in the center.”

Kell wouldn’t know that. Hope intensified. “What’s the symbol on the stone?”

She held his hands tighter. “An infinity symbol.”

A fog obscured the mountains.

Reid rose from the bench and walked to the edge. Was it real? Could he go to The Drift with Lauren?

She came to his side and intertwined her fingers with his. She smiled through tears. “Let’s go home.”

Home.

The silvery mist shimmering with gold swirled faster. He couldn’t take his gaze from it or Lauren. Both of them were so damn beautiful, and he belonged with them.

He wrapped his arms around her. “Hang on to me and don’t let go.”

She squeezed hard and laid her head to his chest. “I won’t.”

Holding her close, he leapt.

* * * *

She floated in a cocoon of quiet and mist into moonlight. It poured through the sheer curtains floating over the window, casting an ethereal glow over the room. She sat up on the bed. Reid lay beside her, unmoving, eyes closed, fingers loosely intertwined with hers. It hadn’t worked. A hollowness opened up, engulfing her with sadness. She kissed his shoulder. Smoothed her hand over his chest. So much warmth, but he wasn’t there. He’d stayed, heading into a place where they’d never find him.

His hand curling over her nape snapped her head up.

“Lauren?”

The rasp in his voice brought shivers. Her own voice was lost in the intensity of his gaze, glittering in a soft beam of light.

In an instant, he had her flat on her back. His muscular thigh crossed over her legs, pinning her down.

Her heart raced.

Confusion took over his expression as he stared at his hand, free of bandages. He curled and flexed his fingers as if surprised to see them moving. Doubt shadowed his features as he lowered them to her cheek. He sucked in a breath. A shaky exhale collapsed tension from his shoulders. “You were really there.”

“I thought I’d lost you.”

“Shh.” He traced through the tears leaking down her temple and stared at the wetness on his fingers. “You could never lose me.”

She reached for him.

“No. Wait. He caressed her brow. “Just let me touch you. Please?”

The trace of uncertainty in his voice and the moisture in his eyes made it impossible to refuse. Breathless. Motionless. She willed him with the featherlike stroke down her cheek to her throat to fully believe.

One by one, he flicked open the buttons of her blouse, exposing her plain, white bra. She should have on something sexier, especially picked out for him.

The front closure gave way under his expert touch. He cradled her breast lovingly, like a work of art. “Perfect.”

The pressure of his mouth drawing in her nipple poured heat into her belly. He opened her jeans and slipped his hand into her bikinis. Everything stopped on a breath. Waiting. Aching. He glided two fingers into her sex.

His rumbling moan of approval vibrated into her. “Baby, you’re so wet.”

“Reid…Reid.” Her hips rose with the mantra as she met each stroke. Need splintered into tiny fragments, spreading fire over her skin. Soon, her orgasm uncoiled and snaked up her legs, exploding into pleasure.

She came down from a sensual high to soft kisses over her eyelids, cheeks, and lips. He undressed her slowly, gliding his hands and lips over newly exposed skin. His weight settled over her. Gentleness switched to passion as he swept his tongue into her mouth, consuming air, reason, her soul.

He fit his thick head at her opening. Unhurried, decadent, pulses pushing deeper and deeper.