Shadow Bound
Page 105
“The minute someone sees your dead marks and reports them, Tower will know Kenley broke your binding,” Ian said, following me into my room. “And he’ll know you’re going after Barker to free Kenley. Beyond that, if we get caught and Vanessa’s binding is already broken, he’ll have no reason to keep her alive.”
I settled my double holster onto my shoulders and adjusted the straps, watching him in the mirror. “So Kenley won’t break Van’s binding yet, and he won’t know she broke mine.” I turned to my sister as I slid the silenced nine millimeter into the custom left hip holster. “Kenni, get a black permanent marker.”
While she rooted through kitchen drawers, I handed Ian a spare double holster and he chose one of my extras to go along with Milligan’s gun, which he obviously meant to keep.
When Kenley came back with the marker, I exchanged it for a slim folding knife. I would have given her a gun, except that she was still bound to Jake, and the gun would be easier for him to make her use against us.
Then I turned to Ian with my left sleeve pulled up over my shoulder and handed him the marker. “Try to stay inside the lines.”
Twenty-Eight
Ian
“How does it look?” Kori asked as I put the cap back on the marker.
“Not bad. Unless he carries a magnifying glass, he’ll never know the difference. How did you know that would work?”
She stood and examined her arm in the bathroom mirror. “I used a wig and a black permanent marker to sneak around the east side a couple of times when I first came to the city, before anyone really knew who I was.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Kenley asked from the doorway, twisting her fingers together. She hadn’t stopped fidgeting since Tower hung up on her, and she kept ducking into the living room to check the clock hanging over the door.
I’d been checking the time, too. Eight minutes until her girlfriend would get cut again. No wonder she was melting down.
“Well, even if Jake doesn’t know my marks are dead, I’ll never make it to the basement like this,” Kori said, patting her guns in their holsters.
“What if we go in from the basement?” I said, from my seat on the edge of the tub. “If I could get down there on my own and call up true darkness, you could come through it, right? We could grab Vanessa and go.”
“Can you do that?” Surprise shone through the shock still lingering in Kenley’s eyes. “Can you make darkness deep enough to blind the infrared lights?”
Kori’s brows rose. “Kenni, he can block out the fuckin’ sun.”
“Not the whole sun,” I amended. “Just a little of its light.”
“Daylight?” Kenley gaped at me. “You can kill daylight?” she said, and I nodded. “No wonder Jake wants you.”
“Well, he’s not going to get me. He’s not going to get any of us.”
Kori nodded, obviously thinking. “Okay, we’ll drop Kenley somewhere safe, then you’ll turn yourself in to Jake. Once you’re in the house, find some excuse to go to the basement. Say you won’t sign until you know Van’s okay, and if that doesn’t work, do whatever it takes to get down there, and I’ll come get you both. But take this gun and leave that one here.” She pulled the pistol from my right holster and replaced it with one from her dresser.
“Why this one?”
“Because they’ll confiscate your weapons, but if you don’t try to bring some in, you’ll look weak. And I don’t mind losing that one.”
I gave her a grim nod, trying not to show how much this plan was growing on me. If Van was in the basement, Jonah would be, too. I would get a shot at him, and that would make the whole thing worth it. But…
“But my brother comes first.”
Both Daniels sisters looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Ian, Van’s being tortured,” Kori said.
“So is Steven. He’s been on the verge of death for two weeks. His organs are failing. He can’t talk. He can’t sleep. He’s so pale you can almost see through his skin. He’s dying, and I’ve made him suffer two days longer than he had to because I didn’t want to hurt either of you. But now that I know Kenley can break his binding, we have to go help him. Now.”
“Wait, he’s in breach?” Kori’s eyes were so big the rest of her features looked smaller in comparison. “You said he was bound, but you never said he was in breach of his binding. How could he survive that for two weeks?”
“Meghan’s a Healer.”
“Who’s Meghan?” Kenley asked, and Kori answered with only a brief glance at her.
“Steven’s girlfriend.” She turned back to me. “Meghan’s been healing him for two weeks?”
I nodded. “Almost two and a half, now. They’re both hanging on by a thread, and I came here to break the binding. And for that I need Kenley.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kenley said, crossing her arms over her chest so I couldn’t see them shake—a clear sign of the resistance pain she was fighting.
Kori’s hard gaze flicked from me to the clock over the microwave—we were all counting the minutes. “But you said she can only break bindings she actually sealed…”
“Yeah. She’s the one who bound Steven. We don’t know what or who she bound him to, but we know it was her. The Tracker recognized her psychic signature—he evidently sees it a lot in this area.” Because Kenley had bound nearly three quarters of Tower’s current employees, according to Aaron’s sources.
I settled my double holster onto my shoulders and adjusted the straps, watching him in the mirror. “So Kenley won’t break Van’s binding yet, and he won’t know she broke mine.” I turned to my sister as I slid the silenced nine millimeter into the custom left hip holster. “Kenni, get a black permanent marker.”
While she rooted through kitchen drawers, I handed Ian a spare double holster and he chose one of my extras to go along with Milligan’s gun, which he obviously meant to keep.
When Kenley came back with the marker, I exchanged it for a slim folding knife. I would have given her a gun, except that she was still bound to Jake, and the gun would be easier for him to make her use against us.
Then I turned to Ian with my left sleeve pulled up over my shoulder and handed him the marker. “Try to stay inside the lines.”
Twenty-Eight
Ian
“How does it look?” Kori asked as I put the cap back on the marker.
“Not bad. Unless he carries a magnifying glass, he’ll never know the difference. How did you know that would work?”
She stood and examined her arm in the bathroom mirror. “I used a wig and a black permanent marker to sneak around the east side a couple of times when I first came to the city, before anyone really knew who I was.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Kenley asked from the doorway, twisting her fingers together. She hadn’t stopped fidgeting since Tower hung up on her, and she kept ducking into the living room to check the clock hanging over the door.
I’d been checking the time, too. Eight minutes until her girlfriend would get cut again. No wonder she was melting down.
“Well, even if Jake doesn’t know my marks are dead, I’ll never make it to the basement like this,” Kori said, patting her guns in their holsters.
“What if we go in from the basement?” I said, from my seat on the edge of the tub. “If I could get down there on my own and call up true darkness, you could come through it, right? We could grab Vanessa and go.”
“Can you do that?” Surprise shone through the shock still lingering in Kenley’s eyes. “Can you make darkness deep enough to blind the infrared lights?”
Kori’s brows rose. “Kenni, he can block out the fuckin’ sun.”
“Not the whole sun,” I amended. “Just a little of its light.”
“Daylight?” Kenley gaped at me. “You can kill daylight?” she said, and I nodded. “No wonder Jake wants you.”
“Well, he’s not going to get me. He’s not going to get any of us.”
Kori nodded, obviously thinking. “Okay, we’ll drop Kenley somewhere safe, then you’ll turn yourself in to Jake. Once you’re in the house, find some excuse to go to the basement. Say you won’t sign until you know Van’s okay, and if that doesn’t work, do whatever it takes to get down there, and I’ll come get you both. But take this gun and leave that one here.” She pulled the pistol from my right holster and replaced it with one from her dresser.
“Why this one?”
“Because they’ll confiscate your weapons, but if you don’t try to bring some in, you’ll look weak. And I don’t mind losing that one.”
I gave her a grim nod, trying not to show how much this plan was growing on me. If Van was in the basement, Jonah would be, too. I would get a shot at him, and that would make the whole thing worth it. But…
“But my brother comes first.”
Both Daniels sisters looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Ian, Van’s being tortured,” Kori said.
“So is Steven. He’s been on the verge of death for two weeks. His organs are failing. He can’t talk. He can’t sleep. He’s so pale you can almost see through his skin. He’s dying, and I’ve made him suffer two days longer than he had to because I didn’t want to hurt either of you. But now that I know Kenley can break his binding, we have to go help him. Now.”
“Wait, he’s in breach?” Kori’s eyes were so big the rest of her features looked smaller in comparison. “You said he was bound, but you never said he was in breach of his binding. How could he survive that for two weeks?”
“Meghan’s a Healer.”
“Who’s Meghan?” Kenley asked, and Kori answered with only a brief glance at her.
“Steven’s girlfriend.” She turned back to me. “Meghan’s been healing him for two weeks?”
I nodded. “Almost two and a half, now. They’re both hanging on by a thread, and I came here to break the binding. And for that I need Kenley.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Kenley said, crossing her arms over her chest so I couldn’t see them shake—a clear sign of the resistance pain she was fighting.
Kori’s hard gaze flicked from me to the clock over the microwave—we were all counting the minutes. “But you said she can only break bindings she actually sealed…”
“Yeah. She’s the one who bound Steven. We don’t know what or who she bound him to, but we know it was her. The Tracker recognized her psychic signature—he evidently sees it a lot in this area.” Because Kenley had bound nearly three quarters of Tower’s current employees, according to Aaron’s sources.
