Living with the Dead Part 43

"I need to move my a.s.s."

He smiled, a genuine smile, the first she'd seen from him, his eyes crinkling. "Exactly. Now, if we go this way "

He wheeled, head jerking up as if hearing something. Then he spun back, big hand slamming her between the shoulder blades, and hissing,"Down!" She hit the ground, her sore shoulder knocking against a tree trunk. She swallowed a gasp of pain as he dropped beside her.

"Isn't this where they're supposed to be?" a voice asked.

Another answered, more distant, m.u.f.fled. Robyn tried to listen, but all she could think about was Damon, here, right here with her, watching her, and everything she wanted to say, and how much she'd give to hear his voice, just hear hear him. She squeezed her eyes shut. How greedy was that? Only hours ago she'd have given anything for him. She squeezed her eyes shut. How greedy was that? Only hours ago she'd have given anything for this this much the chance to know he was truly and beyond doubt someplace, that he was okay, that they would get the chance they'd been denied that night on the highway, those last moments to say everything that hadn't been said, that it always seemed there'd be time days, months, years to say. much the chance to know he was truly and beyond doubt someplace, that he was okay, that they would get the chance they'd been denied that night on the highway, those last moments to say everything that hadn't been said, that it always seemed there'd be time days, months, years to say.

"s.h.i.+t! It's Solheim. He's been knocked out."

That snapped Robyn back to the present. She tried to creep forward for a better look, but Finn laid his arm over her back, holding her down.

"Solheim, come on, wake up."

A groggy "Wha ?"

"G.o.dd.a.m.n it, you were supposed to take care of them. You f.u.c.ked up, didn't you? They saw you pull your sidearm."

"Wha ? No, I never It's right here. I I was looking through the binoculars, then..."

Robyn didn't catch the rest, her mind looping back to the first bit. Take care of them? Pull his sidearm? She remembered trudging through the forest, Finn glancing back at Solheim, her thinking he looked like a prisoner being led to a firing squad.

Because he was.

No, that was crazy. Why would ?

Why not? Finn was right. These men weren't police officers.

Running footsteps crashed through the forest. "Solheim, Barrett, Mac! Alvarez needs you up front. Something's going down." The footfalls stopped. "You took care of them, right?"

"They got away. We were just "

"s.h.i.+t! No. We need all hands up front. Their car is disabled, right? You managed that, I hope."

A chilly, "Yes, sir."

"Then, Solheim, scout the perimeter. Don't let them escape. Barrett, Mac, follow me."

When they were gone, Finn helped Robyn to her feet.

"We need to warn Hope and Karl," she said.

"I know. You still have the gun?"

She reached into her jacket. It slid out easily now. All in the angle, she supposed.

"Any idea how to use it?" he asked.

"I'll figure it out."

HOPE.

After what Rhys told them about Adele, Hope supposed she should have been able to dredge up a few ounces of sympathy for her, growing up in a cult, believing she'd been sold by her mother.

But she'd given her "sister" birth control pills so she'd be forced into what Hope could only call group rape. She'd preyed on Colm's infatuation, then abandoned him, knowing he'd been conditioned to avoid capture with suicide. She'd murdered Portia Kane, Judd Archer, the bike officer and, if Rhys guessed right, an innocent bystander at the fair.

So as Hope stood in a garden and watched Adele battered and bowed, her gun in the hands of the young woman she'd betrayed, her arm in the grip of the woman whose son she'd gotten killed there was no mercy in her.

With each new accusation, Adele's terror spiked. And Hope guzzled it down.

"You have betrayed the k.u.mpania," their leader, Niko, said. "You've maliciously interfered with your sister, Lily. You've caused the death of your brother, Colm. And you've committed the ultimate betrayal, conspiring with a Cabal "

"No! It's not true. None of it. I "

Neala cuffed the side of Adele's head. As Adele cried out, Neala's expression didn't change. When she'd first dragged Adele to the meeting place, delicious chaos vibes had danced around her, her grief mingled with the thrill of bringing her son's killer to justice.

Rhys said Neala had been a beautiful woman, but the years had been harsh, and she looked a decade older than him, her bright red hair pulled back tightly, making her appear all the more severe.

"The evidence has been presented and accepted, Adele," Niko continued. "I've rendered my judgment and now it's time to pa.s.s sentence. As our laws dictate, you will be stoned by those you betrayed "

Adele's scream drowned out the rest, her terror so pure the demon gobbled it down and clamored for more, writhing in antic.i.p.ation of such a gloriously chaotic death, such a Neala smacked Adele again and the girl blacked out, that momentary cutting of the chaos cord enough for Hope to fully realize what was going on.

"No," she said, stepping forward. "You can't execute her. She's going into council custody."

"Yes." Adele shot straight, steadying herself against a birdbath. "That's right. I claim council protection as a supernatural "

"Adele?" Lily said. "Shut up."

"That's enough, Lily." Niko turned to Hope. "I'm sorry, but Adele is ours and we do not recognize the council's authority. We have the right to execute "

"By what law? Not council, not Cabal, not human, and maybe you don't like to 'recognize' those, but you sure as h.e.l.l better start. There's an innocent woman accused of Adele's crimes, who could go to jail if Adele vanishes off the face of the earth."

Karl moved up beside her. "Hope is right. We're taking "

"No, you're not. I'm sorry about this woman, but she's not our concern. Adele is, and we're going to "

"I'm pregnant," Adele blurted.

"Oh, G.o.ds," Lily muttered. "Here we go with the lies."

"It's not a lie. You have pregnancy tests in your room, don't you? Go get one. I'll take it right now and you'll see."

"The father." It took a moment to track the whisper to its source and even then, Hope didn't need to pinpoint the sound, just the face it came from Neala's, a note of hope in her voice that wrung Hope's heart as no sob story from Adele ever could. "Is it Colm?"

Hearing that, Adele went still, like a predator catching a scent, and in her eyes Hope saw a beast less human than her demon, than Karl's wolf, stripped of humanity, only instinct remaining, eyes glittering with a cunning that could pa.s.s for intelligence.

"No, it's not Colm." She looked around and Hope swore those bloodied and swollen lips smiled. "It's Thom."

Niko strode forward, bellowing, "Blasphemy! How dare you ever suggest such a "

"Because it's true." Now that curve in Adele's lips couldn't be mistaken for anything but a smile. "You can run any tests you want. I'm carrying Thom's child." She turned to Rhys. "Congratulations. It may not be Colm's, but you're still going to be a grandfather."

Silence. The chaos came in uncertain spurts.

"What?" Rhys said finally.

"Thom. Your " Adele's horrible smile stretched. "Oh, that's right. You don't know. Really, Neala, now would be the time to tell him, ease the loss of one son by letting him know he still has another. His firstborn."

Rhys turned slowly. "Neala?"

Neala's pain hit Hope like an energy bolt. Karl grabbed her.

"You remember your firstborn, don't you?" Adele said. "The one Neala told you died? He didn't, but he's a r.e.t.a.r.d. They keep him locked in a bomb shelter under the property, so they can use his powers."

"Neala?" A plea now, Rhys begging her to tell him this was another of Adele's lies.

Neala's pain hit Hope again, knocking her back into Karl's arms, her eyelids fluttering, seeing Neala step toward Rhys, her lips parting in an apology that Hope heard, over and over, in Neala's thoughts, but wouldn't reach her lips. Then, behind her, Adele spun, grabbing the gun from Lily's hand.

A scream. A shot. Neala staggered, eyes rounding, that apology stuttering in her head, desperately trying to find a way out, and then the chaos, the sweet, sweet chaos...

"Neala!" Rhys shot forward, grabbing her.

Hope tried to focus, but the chaos was so sweet, so perfectly sweet...

"Call an ambulance!" Rhys shouted.

It wouldn't help. Hope could feel Neala's life seeping away, her terror, chaos thundering all around, then a young man's voice yelling, "Niko! Niko!"

Footsteps pounded across the patio stones.

"Niko! Men " Panting, gasping for breath. "Armed men. Guns. Hugh saw them. They're they're all around "

A scream cut him off. Then another.

Niko's voice rose above them. "No! It's all right. They aren't here to hurt us. Stay calm. Everyone stay "

A shot. A crack. The peppery smell of tear gas. A long, keening scream. Then the smoldering pit of chaos detonated.

FINN.

Finn got himself and Robyn close enough to see what was going on, but they couldn't hear it. He'd sent Damon for that. Damon hadn't been pleased; he wanted to watch over Robyn. Finn could have pointed out that if they were attacked, there was nothing Damon could do, but that would be cruel. Instead, he told Robyn they'd need to get closer, so they could listen in and, at that, Damon decided he could handle eavesdropping duty.

They were still in the small strip of woods bordering the property. Finn had caught a glimpse of Solheim, patrolling the fence. He was sticking to his post, though. His only task now was preventing Finn and Robyn from leaving.

As for who Solheim and the others really were and how they got here and where Madoz was, those were questions for later. With cell reception and the route to his radio blocked, he was on his own. As he watched the drama unfolding in the distance he had a feeling that being alone might be a good thing. Bringing in the law could turn a touchy situation into a tragedy. If Robyn was right, Adams and the others operated outside the law for good reason.

Adams, Marsten and Rhys stood in a garden between a cl.u.s.ter of four houses. Finn counted six people with them. There could be more standing at the perimeter, but his angle wasn't good, the houses partially blocking it.

He could clearly see Adams and Marsten, and that was the important thing. Together with Rhys, they were bookended by men with rifles, but those weapons dangled, a perfunctory threat. The only other gun he could see was held by a dark-haired girl, pointed at a young blonde whose face he'd never forget.

That face was now bloodied and battered, which brought a smile to Finn's lips. He felt a twinge of guilt at that, hearing his mother admonish him against ever taking pleasure in the misfortune of others. But it was a very small twinge.

Clearly Adele Morrissey's crimes had been exposed and now they seemed to be negotiating to turn her over to Adams and Marsten. And though they didn't seem to be in immediate danger from the commune people, he had to get a warning to them about these these guys. guys.

At a movement, he glanced over to see Damon jogging back. Perfect timing. He'd get a report on the whereabouts of the fake police squad, then "They're going to stone her!" Damon called, still running.

"Stone?" Finn said.

"A stone what?" Robyn said, popping out from behind the binoculars. A sheepish smile. "Sorry." She paused, then said hesitantly, "Is Damon back?"

Finn nodded. Her gaze traveled past him, searching for some sign of Damon. Disappointment flickered through her eyes, so sharp it was like an ice pick, a breathtaking jab of empathetic pain.

"Finn?" Damon waved his hands in front of Finn's face. "Could you stop staring at my wife and listen to me?"

Finn thought he heard a bite in Damon's voice, but when he glanced up, the ghost just looked impatient.

"I said they're going to stone stone Adele." Adele."

"You heard wrong."

"No, I did not. Her group, those people, they call themselves a company or something, they just held a trial. They convicted her of a whole pile of s.h.i.+t and sentenced her to be stoned by the whole group. Hope's arguing. She wants to take Adele back to that council and "

A shot. A scream. Damon wheeled with a, "Holy s.h.i.+t!" Robyn lifted the binoculars, but Finn s.n.a.t.c.hed them, ignoring her cry of protest and pus.h.i.+ng her down to the ground as he lowered himself to his knees.

He swung the lenses to Adams and Marsten. Adams lay in Marsten's arms.

"Finn?" Robyn yanked on his sleeve. "What's happening?"

"They're down taking cover," he added quickly. The lie came easier than any he'd ever told. "They're okay. Just "

Another scream. Another shot. Armed gunmen rushed from behind the buildings, shouting orders. A mushroom cloud of tear gas exploded.

Finn shot to his feet. Robyn grabbed his pant leg. He put his hand on her head, keeping her down.

"Stay here."

"I'm not "

He dropped to one knee, his face coming down to hers. "You need to stay here, Robyn. Please. Do you still have the gun?"