Dream - Dream Specter Part 4

"The deed please."

"Christina first."

"You are not in a position to make demands."

The arctic tone of his voice was grating on her nerves.

"Neither are you. If you can't show her to me then you'll never see that land deed."

Her mind suddenly became alight with several new sensations. Having never truly attempted to develop her extra senses, Rosh.e.l.le struggled to understand just what she was picking up.

Her eyes helped by picking up the movement of at least two other men. They treaded on silent feet as they came closer to her. One made an abrupt movement and pulled a third figure from the darkness. The person stumbled slightly before hastily placing as much distance between her escorts as she could. Her hand eagerly grasped the shaking one of her friend as Christina stumbled alongside of her.

"Now give me the deed."

Rosh.e.l.le began a slow retreat with her friend at her side.

"That's far enough."

Her original antagonist stepped forward with her retreat down the mountain. There was only a sliver of moon tonight, but as he stepped out into the open the meager light washed over the gun that he held at the ready.

Curling her fingers into her friend's hand, Rosh.e.l.le played the only card that she had been able to think of.

"It's nailed to the tree behind you."

Enclosed in a dark blue envelope, the packet of paper went unnoticed in the dark. All three men turned and gave their attention to retrieving it. Spinning on her heel, Rosh.e.l.le propelled herself down towards the road and her car. She'd left the keys in the ignition in the hopes that her ploy might buy them enough time to escape.

A sharp pop from behind them drove them faster. The heavy tread of booted feet was gaining on them, but they weren't waiting to overtake their prey.

More bullets sailed through the night air, most of them finding targets in the trees. The women had the advantage of size, as they maneuvered the obstacle of redwoods faster than their larger male pursuers. The advantage was not enough. They would never make the distance to the road. With no other choice, Rosh.e.l.le turned and fired the weapon she held. Panic held her arm steady as the overwhelming need to survive gave her the strength to pull the trigger.

Her first would-be a.s.sa.s.sin became a victim of his own failure to identify her as a threat. Twenty feet separated them and her aim proved true. His body slumped to the ground with graceless force.

His companion immediately took cover and returned fire. He would have found his target if Christina hadn't pulled Rosh.e.l.le behind the cover of an ancient tree.

"Where did you get a gun?"

"Findlay's; how many are there?"

"A lot." Christina locked eyes with her friend as she divulged that horrifying truth.

The approaching sounds of reinforcements drove panic into the hearts of both women. The tree they were pressed to currently provided cover but with more opponents they would be able to surround them very quickly.

Pressed to the ground in their search for survival they clung to each other as they felt the grip of a death trap closing around them.

Abruptly silence rained supreme.

The cease-fire was almost deafening coming as it did while she was antic.i.p.ating her death.

The slow sound of a single person applauding drifted down to their ears. The man continued his slow appreciation as his feet made the slightest of crunching sounds along the forest floor. He stopped a few feet short of exposing himself to Rosh.e.l.le's line of fire. At the moment, she would gladly trade her own safety for the knowledge that she would be taking this animal with her into eternity.

"I must say I am impressed."

A single shot pierced the night. The round hit the tree just three inches above her head causing her to violently pitch her body away from the tree. Rosh.e.l.le was unable to judge her landing and ended sprawled face-first on the forest floor. She flung her arms out in a vain attempt to prevent her face from taking the brunt of her fall. Pain exploded from her right arm as a booted foot descended on the limb, grinding her flesh into the unyielding ground.

Her hand released its grip on her weapon in response to the torment. The pressure was increased momentarily before being removed. Pulling her arm towards her chest, she slowly flexed the limb trying to decide if it was sound. Pain was coursing along its entire length but her attention was caught as she was yanked to her feet by the waistband of her jeans.

"Yes, I am quite surprisingly impressed." His eyes looked even colder than his voice. They raked over her before returning to her face. "Now, where is the deed?"

"I never brought one!" Rosh.e.l.le spat her defiance into the face of her tormentor. "You will never get it now."

Despite the darkness of the night, Rosh.e.l.le clearly saw the corner of his mouth lift up in response to her statement. That simple action sent a chill down her spine. She brutally shoved her fear aside. She refused to die a coward!

"Ah. The will you have so recently had established. It is a pity that you escaped the death we planned for you."

A cold hand reached out and ran the length of her cheek. Rosh.e.l.le recoiled from the blackness that communicated itself through that single point of contact. Maybe it was the fact that she had deliberately opened her mind tonight, but she felt the sickness that inhabited his soul as he touched her. The twisted evil permeated the very air between them, causing her stomach to turn as she was forced to endure his presence.

Rosh.e.l.le didn't believe that she had ever truly understood the very definition of hate until that moment. Compressed into the creature that stood in front of her was more evil than she could ever believe possible. The blackness seeped from his flesh until the stench choked her.

His hands had directed so much pain. Rosh.e.l.le found herself gagging in response to the horror.

"Don't count on it. Unless I go to the deed office myself, that land will become church property."

"You do not listen to directions very well. But we will have to see just what you have managed to do."

Chapter Four.

The way a helicopter vibrated was an old familiar motion. Jared lifted his eyes and watched the mountains of Was.h.i.+ngton come into view. He was at home in the combat aircraft. While most kids were turning their bicycles into airplanes, he'd been flying in the real thing.

Helicopters mostly. Their ability to land and lift off with the minimal amount of land made them idea. His mother was one of a kind, a psychic bloodhound. Her efficiency rate made her workload heavy. The second he'd learned to use his own talents, Jared had found himself in the field helping to lighten that load.

Not that he minded. It was raw. The edge. The constant struggle. With adrenaline pulsing through his bloodstream, he took to the hunt with a driving hunger. He'd been born for it.

But tonight his mind was wandering again. His body was throbbing, but not for the same kind of mission. Oh, he wanted to hunt all right. But the prey he had in mind was a female.

Society had all of its polite words for it. Courting, romancing, dating. Jared didn't live his life within the comfortable armchair of civilian life. His life was balanced on the edge. He wasn't interested in anything as tame as dating. He wanted Rosh.e.l.le. It was plain and base but incredibly intense.

Tasting her was a miscalculation. It was still clinging to his mind. His fingers still pulsed with the memory of exactly how soft her skin was. Her little moans were the s.e.xiest thing he'd ever heard. He wanted more than s.e.x. Something that would break the barrier of mere penetration. Sure, he was going to enjoy the slide of his staff into her body but the way their minds linked just seemed to make it far more intense. Maybe even intimate.

Desire was slowly burning along his skin. Jared enjoyed its rising tide.

Jared opened the aircraft door the second it touched the landing pad in front of his home. He shouldered his way out and made it exactly four paces before his mind erupted with emotion.

Something was very wrong.

Fear floated on the wind. It was almost thick enough to taste. Pulling his gun from its holster, he surveyed his home. The emotions were so thick, he had trouble pinpointing the exact location.

A sharp whistle broke his attention momentarily. Shane was alerting his men to the possibility of a threat. The unit fell into sharp attention in an instant. Nothing moved as Jared struggled to untangle the jumble of emotions that a.s.saulted him.

Her.

His eyes widened with pure enjoyment. So, the little vixen wasn't afraid to come looking for him? That fit his mood just about right.

Dropping his gun back into its holster, he moved towards the unit's trucks. He would answer her call, but he wasn't going unprepared this time.

And to the victor went the spoils.

Rosh.e.l.le never knew that thirst could hurt. The tissues that lined her mouth were screaming in agony as every bit of moisture evaporated.

Her hands were bound behind her. Numbness had long ago robbed her of feeling in her arms. Rosh.e.l.le rubbed the rope along the rock she sat next to, hoping to wear away the binding. She didn't want to think about just what the continued motion was doing to the flesh of her wrists. The damage wouldn't matter if she were dead.

Christina had been in the company of these animals far longer. Rosh.e.l.le could just imagine how much more uncomfortable her friend was by now. Her friend sat besides her, using her body to s.h.i.+eld Rosh.e.l.le's attempts at freedom from their captor's eyes.

It took a full minute for Rosh.e.l.le to notice that she had worn through the last layer of her bindings. Her hands pulled away from each other as pain announced the return of blood circulation. Her eyes rose to meet the hopeful ones of her companion.

Not sure just what success they could have against the armed men that held them, Rosh.e.l.le still set herself to relieving Christina of her bonds. However unlikely their chances, they still had a better one with the use of their hands.

Darkness still covered them giving them a slight advantage. The men sat cl.u.s.tered about a campfire, while the women were left in the dark.

Searching her immediate surroundings, Rosh.e.l.le noted that they were placed with the rest of the baggage. Tightly lashed backpacks made from green and brown camouflage fabric were lying on the ground next to her. The canteen strapped to the closest one caught her eye. Rosh.e.l.le forced herself to ignore it. She couldn't waste her one opportunity on comfort.

Everything was tightly secured to the packs. Something caught her eye on the top of the nearest pack. Small and round it was set carefully in one of the straps that ran across the top of the pack. In the darkness, Rosh.e.l.le couldn't quite make out what it was. But she could reach it.

Watching her captors, she timed her move with care. Her hands closed over the item, bringing it between her body and Christina. A small ring sat atop it, one just about half an inch in diameter.

It was a grenade. At least she thought it might be.

Their captors were sprawled along a ten-foot area. Even if it was an explosive, she doubted she could disable them all with the single charge. Her eyes moved over their surroundings, seeking any means of utilizing the weapon. Her eyes landed on the two trucks they'd parked just downhill from her. Hefting the explosive in her palm, she moved her eyes between the gravel that separated her from the machine. If it exploded under that truck, they just might be able to escape into the night while their captors were busy trying to decide if they were under attack.

"Do it."

Barely audible, Christina's words echoed her own desperation. She had no idea how long a fuse on a grenade was. But life was worth the risk of finding out.

Her fingers firmly pulled the ring from the top of the ball. Leaning forward, Rosh.e.l.le sent it rolling down

the hillside.

Their ignorance ended seconds later. The force of the explosion ripped into the metal body of the truck.

Orange flames shot out in every direction as the ruptured fuel tank yielded its flammable load to the display.

Her eyes were frozen on the scene of destruction. Heat washed over them in a thick wave.

"Come on, Sh.e.l.l!"

Christina pulled her to her feet and both women clumsily forced their bodies to perform after hours of

cramped inactivity. With no idea where they were, they darted among the trees with nothing but the fire

behind them showing the direction to flee from. Gunfire erupted in the night causing them to double their pace. Another explosion reached her ears but Rosh.e.l.le didn't have enough rational thought to question it.

She had to escape. She could feel him on her heels. Panic rose inside her mind securing her in its hold. Nothing mattered; she pushed her body further, demanding more speed. Her lungs burned as they tried to supply enough oxygen to her demands.

But he was closer. Her terror erupted in a scream as she was caught by her nightmare. Her frantic run was abruptly halted as she was pulled from her feet. A solid wall of flesh connected with her back as she was pulled into his confining embrace. A brutal hand slapped across her face to seal any sound from escaping into the night. Recognition was instant. Rosh.e.l.le struggled against the hold of her nightmare, as it became terrifyingly real. Her dream specter held her in a steel grip that increased his domination over her will. "Clear!" The single word was echoed about on the tones of deep voices. Nothing else reached her ears as she struggled against her mind's terror. Her body was held to the solid incarnation of that fear. Now she was his. Pure pleasure snaked through his body. Jared moved his hand down the column of her throat securing his grip on that sensitive area driving her capture home.

He could taste her fear-it flowed between their bodies at every point of contact. The remains of the encampment caught his attention as he ran a sharp eye over it. His face twisted into rage as he noted the evidence of impending attack.

The heavy vehicles coupled with the best weapons. All staffed with the sort of men that would know how to deploy such equipment.

The bodies of her conspirators lay where they fell. His men were quickly collecting any equipment that was present. Those explosions would bring curious eyes far too soon. Shane would make certain there was nothing for them to find.

As for the little doctor, Jared would extract the details of her plans. Before he was finished with her, he would know exactly who posed the threat to his family.

Her scent drifted up causing Jared's anger to increase. She was good. Very good.

The perfect bait and he'd bitten into it. It was like poison, sweeping into his blood. The evidence of her treason didn't seem to be working as an antidote. Instead his lungs pulled in a deep breath to capture her spicy scent.

His fingers were slowly contracting around her throat. The five digits decreased her ability to draw breath even as she felt the rage burning brighter inside him.

Abruptly he released her throat allowing her to suck in the oxygen her lungs craved. Her relief was short-lived as that hand clawed into the strands of her hair gaining a brutal hold. Pain flooded her, as she was pushed forward by that hold.

Her wrists were next. The torn flesh registered his grip with amazing ferocity. Rosh.e.l.le was unable to contain the cry that escaped her lips. Her parched vocal cords responding with little more than a croak.

It might have been the strained sound that she issued, but coupled as it was with the uneven feeling of her wrists, Jared found himself hesitating. He felt the slickness of her flesh but attributed it to perspiration.

"Light." His command met with instant compliance. Instead of the beaded sweat, her wrists were bathed in her blood. The soft flesh was abraded and torn in multiple spots.

Blessed relief flooded her brain. Just what had caught his attention, she wasn't sure of. The hold he retained on her body was bearable, that was all that mattered. Bending slightly forward she let her captor pulled her arms in back of her. Her eyes moved over her surroundings as she attempted to make sense of the night's events.

It was frustrating to discover she was back in the clearing. The only satisfaction she found was to notice the smoldering remains of the truck. Smoke rose from several spots in long thin tapers that dissipated into the night. The twisted metal that remained resembled nothing more than a heap.