Trace's Temptation (RARE Series, #3) Page 5

  Shrugging nonchalantly, Jinx told her, “That’s what I told him a long time ago. He won’t question it unless I am away longer than a couple of days. Besides, as long as I go back and kill the next person on his list, he won’t give a shit.”

  Seeing the pain Jinx tried to hide from her, Jade lightly touched his arm. “It will all be over soon, Jinx. And you haven’t killed anyone that didn’t deserve to die.”

  Covering her hand with one of his, Jinx stared out over the farmland surrounding them. “I kill to survive, Jade. I don’t want to do it, I sure as hell don’t enjoy it, but I have no choice. And I will keep doing it until I shut that bastard down.”

  Laying her head gently on his shoulder, Jade stood in silence while they waited for Angel and her team. She would give anything to get her brother away from the General. Jinx could kill the General now, but there would be another mad man in the wings waiting to take his place. You had to cut off the tentacles of the monster, not just kill the monster. The General had several people invested in his breeding program, and they could not all be eliminated at once.

  Raising her head as Angel walked out of the house, Jade decided to forget about the General and his psychotic schemes for now. She had more important things to worry about. Like her mate.

  Chapter 6

  Trace groaned as he slowly woke from a deep sleep. Shit, his head hurt. Frowning, he tried to figure out what had awoken him. Gypsy slept fitfully on the hard ground in the cell next to his. There were soft moans of pain coming from a couple of the other cells, but everything else was quiet. Letting his eyes slowly close again, he suddenly stiffened. There was another presence in his mind. The only two people that ever merged with him like this were Angel, and most recently, Jade. This was a male, a very powerful male if he had made it past Trace’s shields. Not recognizing him, Trace tried to push him back out, but after the last torture session, he was too weak.

  Stop, the man ordered. You can’t get rid of me, so stop your sorry ass attempt.

  Breathing heavily, Trace snarled, Who the hell are you? What do you want?

  Jinx, the man responded. Jade’s brother. She sent me to track you.

  Jinx, Trace thought. He’d never heard of Jinx. But then, Angel hadn’t told them about her daughter, so maybe she’d neglected to tell them about her son, too. Not willing to fully trust someone he didn’t know, Trace growled, So, you found me. Now get the fuck out of my head.

  You are just as stubborn as my sister, Jinx retorted.

  That wasn’t true, Trace thought. Jade wasn’t stubborn. She was an Omega wolf. They did everything in their power to keep peace and harmony in a pack.

  Now Jinx was laughing. That’s just what Jade lets everyone believe. She isn’t an Omega wolf. She is something altogether different. I taught her to give off the impression she was Omega years ago so the General wouldn’t use her gifts against her.

  Trace gritted his teeth together and clenched his hands tightly into fists. He was in pain, a constant pain that never left. His head was pounding, his arms felt like they are going to be pulled from his body, his legs were weak and sharp pains were shooting through them, not to mention what was going on under all the damn chains that were crushing his chest. Growling, he tried to block the pain out so he could respond to Jinx, but it was getting more and more difficult by the minute.

  Look, Jinx said, I know you don’t trust me. I would think less of you if you did right now. But I AM Jade’s brother. We’re on our way to Colombia to find you, but I need to know where you are. Jaxson has looked up everything he can on Perez, and nothing is leading him to you. Angel wasn’t able to reach you for some reason. You are stuck with me. Now, you can either tell me where you are, or I will get the information myself.

  Get the information yourself? Trace questioned with a snarl. He did not want someone digging around in his head. If Jinx could do as he suggested against Trace’s will, he had to be very powerful.

  Yes, get it myself. Make no mistake, I can and I will, Trace. My sister is hurting right now and I won’t allow that to continue. Now, for the last time, where are you?

  Deciding there was no other option, Trace gave Jinx the information he needed, including the layout of the mansion. Last, he showed Jinx The Dungeon, where he and several other prisoners were being held. There are two females here that need to come with us, Trace demanded. My father has one with him. She’s a young girl named Sari who he stole from her family to keep as his mistress. The other is her older sister, Gypsy. Glancing in the cell next to him, Trace showed Jinx the spot where Gypsy lay. She is stuck down here with me, beaten daily and starved half to death. I won’t leave without them.

  They will come with us, Jinx agreed, letting Trace see the sincerity in his mind. I will make sure of it. The other prisoners are on their own, though. My top priority is my sister. If shit goes south, I’m getting her the hell out of there.

  Jade? You brought my mate into battle? Trace growled. What the hell were you thinking?

  I was thinking she would kick my ass if I left her home, Jinx responded sarcastically. Jade’s not one to sit on the sidelines when someone she cares about is in danger. Remember that.

  Trace collapsed as he felt Jinx’s sudden withdrawal. Laying his head on his arm, he struggled to stay awake. His body felt like it was on fire and sweat beaded up on his flesh. He had a fever. On top of everything else, he was now infected with some kind of virus. Trace knew then that his body had gone to shit. Shifters didn’t get sick. He was in trouble.

  Glancing over at Gypsy lying on the hard concrete floor, her legs pulled up and her arms wrapped around them in the fetal position, Trace whispered, “It won’t be long now, my friend. I’m getting you out of here.” Closing his eyes, he pictured his beautiful mate, praying he would see her soon. He imagined her snuggled close to him, before slowly allowing himself to lose consciousness again.

  ~

  Jade sat in a seat next to Jinx on the plane staring out the window into complete darkness. They had been flying for hours and her wolf was clawing at her, demanding she hurry and find Trace. Lost in thought, she jumped when Jinx grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go. “I found him,” he said with a slow grin. Jade’s eyes widened and she grabbed his arm tightly.

  “Talk to us, Jinx,” Angel ordered as the rest of the team turned in their direction. Jinx’s lip curled and a low growl escaped.

  “Please, Jinx,” Jade begged softly, knowing he was pissed at the authoritative tone in Angel’s voice. “We need them.”

  Glaring at Angel, Jinx snarled, “I take orders from no one.”

  “You take orders from the General. That piece of shit,” Phoenix retorted.

  Jinx let out a short, low laugh. “Do I?” he asked with a cocky grin, eyebrows raised. Leaning back in his seat, Jinx nodded to Jaxson. “Trace gave me the coordinates to the place where he is being held. I will send them to you.”

  Eyes narrowing, Jaxson asked, “Exactly how are you going to...” before he finished his sentence his eyes widened and his fingers started flying over the computer keys. “Thanks man.”

  Turning to look out the window while Jaxson went to work, Jinx told them, “He’s in rough shape. His body is breaking down. He has been held and tortured for so long that if we don’t get him out of there soon, he isn’t going to make it.” At Jade’s gasp, he raised his hand and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look in his eyes. “We are going to get him out of there, Jade. I promise you.” Sighing, she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. Jade had gone through hell the majority of her life, but nothing had ever scared her as much as the thought of losing Trace. She would take a deep dark hole full of scorpions and rattlers over this fear any day.

  “There’s more,” Jinx continued, glancing up at Angel. “There are two innocent females being held against their will. Trace insists on bringing them back with us. That sick bastard, Perez has made the youngest girl his mistress. The sister, Gypsy, is being held in the cells
with Trace.”

  “Cells?” Angel inquired. “What do you mean by cells?”

  “The impression I got was of a basement with approximately 10 steel cells. Big cages really. It was dark, but I could make out prisoners in a number of them, including Gypsy in the one next to Trace. I will be surprised if she makes it. She looked weak and broken. The problem is, Trace won’t leave without her. He cares about her. He doesn’t really know the sister, but this woman he won’t leave behind.”

  Jade couldn’t control her reaction. The thought of her mate going to such lengths to care for and protect another woman had her wolf pissed off. As a growl escaped, her claws punched through her fingertips digging into Jinx’s arm. “Stop it, Jade,” Jinx ordered roughly. “Stop and think. He has been stuck in that nightmare for months. That woman has been there for him, she’s been his rock.” At Jade’s vicious snarl, he let some of his power out, slowly pushing her wolf back. Jade watched as her claws receded, but even though her wolf had backed off, she was still pissed. “Jade, she is his friend. She has taken beatings that should have been his, stood up for him while he was being tortured. She has a broken arm because she tried to feed him when he was starving. I saw it. I felt the terror in him when he couldn’t protect her. But it was never the love of a mate, only the love of a good friend or sister.”

  Calming at Jinx’s explanation, Jade hung her head in shame. She had let jealously get the best of her and become someone she was not proud of. Even though she knew it was because their mating bond wasn’t complete, she was still ashamed of her actions.

  “I got his location,” Jaxson interrupted excitedly. “Holy shit, this place is huge. It’s like a fortress. I’m going to see if I can find blueprints for it. Do you know where he is being held?”

  “He’s in the basement. That’s where all of the prisoners are.”

  “Perez keeps his prisoners in his basement?” Phoenix asked incredulously. “What jackass designed that? Why would you want your enemies right below you?”

  “Control,” Angel responded grimly. “He wants to know that he has control at all times.”

  “That’s just fucked up,” Phoenix spat angrily. “This whole situation is fucked up.”

  “I agree,” Angel responded. “Now, Jinx, if you could please tell us what else you know so we can come up with a plan, I would appreciate it.”

  Acknowledging her request with a quick nod, Jinx went into detail regarding everything he knew about the place and people in the mansion where Trace was being held. He had a lot of information, because no matter what he might have told Trace, he’d dug deep and came up with all he needed to know to infiltrate the place. Jinx was a soldier. He would use whatever means necessary to extract the information needed and take down an enemy. He didn’t care who he crossed or pissed off in the process, as long as he got the job done.

  By the time the plane landed an hour later, a plan was in effect and RARE was ready to roll. Jade insisted she be a part of not only planning the mission, but also the rescue itself. They were not leaving her out. With Jinx backing her, RARE had no choice except to agree, knowing the twins would go off on their own if they didn’t. The only requirement Angel made was that Jade stick close to either Angel or Jinx. Jade let Angel think she was in agreement, but if she had to get to Trace, she would do so no matter what. She was not going to sit around and wait for someone to hold her hand.

  Chapter 7

  Trace jerked awake to the painful sound of Gypsy retching. She had somehow managed to drag herself to the far side of her cell and proceeded to empty her stomach of the small portion of food she’d forced herself to consume that morning. The same thing happened when she’d eaten three days before. Her body was rejecting nourishment now and she was slowly starving to death.

  As she sobbed quietly in the corner, her entire body shaking with chills, Trace whispered into her mind, It’s ok, girl. My friends are on their way. We’re getting out of here soon.

  Trace had discovered there was a reason the woman was named Gypsy. She had certain gifts herself that she’d never been allowed to share with anyone, not even Sari. Gypsy’s mother met her father at the young age of 17 and they fell instantly in love. They were married just two years later and that’s when he shared his secret. He had gypsy blood in his veins. He thought of it as magic. Magic that was passed to his daughter when she was born. After her father was murdered by modern day witch hunters when Gypsy was four, her mother grabbed her and fled. Eight years later, her mother met and came to care deeply for Sari’s father. They were married within six months and Gypsy was legally adopted by her stepfather. For the first time in several years, both Gypsy and her mother felt safe. Then, several years later, Philip Perez killed Gypsy’s family, all except Sari whom he held as a mistress now, and ruined her life.

  Although Gypsy hadn’t shared with Trace exactly what her gifts were, she’d slipped up and used telepathy with him on his first torture session. That was now Trace and Gypsy’s preferred means of communication as long as they were strong enough to hold the link. There were cameras in The Dungeon and Trace did not want his father’s men catching them talking.

  Did you hear me, Gypsy? Trace asked. We’re getting out of here. My friends are near.

  It hurts, Gypsy responded weakly. Everything hurts. I just want the pain to go away. Why are they doing this? Why?

  Trace had shared parts of his past with Gypsy. There was nothing to do but talk on the days they were left alone over the past few months. They talked to try and focus on something besides the pain and heartache they were enduring. They talked to remind themselves they were still alive and could. He hadn’t told her everything about his past. She didn’t know the details regarding his escape with his mother and Starr. She also didn’t know how deeply involved he’d been with his father’s cartel before his escape. Some information he trusted no one with. Not even RARE. However, he did tell her what it was like growing up as the son of a notorious drug lord. He’d told her about barely making it through some days. How when he was just eight years old, Trace’s father ordered his men to beat the hell out of Trace; to do whatever it took to make him a man. Trace suffered weekly beatings until finally he was strong enough to fight back. Gypsy knew Trace was a shifter. He couldn’t hide it from her after she was moved into the cell next to his. Trace had to fight his cat not to take over during the torture sessions, and when he was put back in his cell he couldn’t fully keep his cat in. Sometimes his eyes went panther or his claws would come out, but Trace would fight it. The chains surrounding him were bound too tight to allow Trace to shift. He would only injure himself and possibly not be able to shift back. Trace also told Gypsy about Jade. She knew Trace was fighting to get back to his mate and she vowed to help him get to her. Gypsy constantly encouraged Trace to fight, to survive. Now she needed someone to encourage her.

  They’ll be here soon, Gypsy. Trace promised her. Then we will take you home. There’s a doctor there, Doc Josie. She’s with the White River wolf pack. She will take care of you. You push through that pain, Gypsy. You show me how you fight. You show me that gypsy magic.

  I’m too weak, she whispered back. I can’t use my magic.

  Yes you can, Trace promised. You can use it if you need to defend yourself, and you will. You are stronger than you think, Gypsy. Closing his eyes tightly, Trace took a deep breath. Fighting to push away the roaring pain in his head, he continued. Let me tell you about my team.

  Team? Gypsy asked confused. With everything they’d discussed, Trace hadn’t mentioned RARE. But he figured now would be the time to do it since his team was about to make an appearance. She needed to know she could trust his teammates to get them out of there. She’d been through so much already, he didn’t want her to be terrified of them too.

  Yes, my team. We call ourselves RARE. It stands for Rescue And Retrieval Extractions. That’s what we do, Gypsy. We find people that have been kidnapped and we rescue them. My team will find us. They’ll get us out of here, he p
romised.

  You never told me about them, she said softly. You were protecting them.

  They’re my family, he responded. I will protect them with my life. Slowly, Gypsy raised her head and looked at him. Reaching out, she carefully, painfully, inched her way back over to his cell.

  Tell me about them, she said weakly as she pushed herself into a sitting position and leaned back against the hard concrete wall. Tell me what they are like.

  Well, Angel is our leader, our Alpha, he started. She’s tough as nails and you obey her orders or you are out. But she’s fair and she is the first one there if anyone messes with her family. That’s what we are, a family. Smiling ruefully, he said, Angel is also the first one to kick your ass if you mess up. Nico is her right hand man. He found his mate back in April when her daughter, Lily, was kidnapped by the General...

  The General? Gypsy interrupted in confusion. Aren’t generals good guys in the army or something?

  Growling lowly, Trace said, Normally they are, but this guy is as messed up as they come. A psychotic son of a bitch that gets off on having his men beat and rape women. He has some kind of breeding program going on... At Gypsy’s startled gasp, Trace decided he’d better start at the beginning. As he told Gypsy about their first encounter with the General he silently prayed his team would get there soon. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out.

  Chapter 8

  RARE fanned out, making their way silently through the jungle under the cover of the night. Jade made sure she was on Jinx’s six like he’d taught her years ago. No matter what anyone else thought, this wasn’t her first mission. She’d gone with Jinx on several ops, none sanctioned by the General, of course. The General had no idea what Jade was capable of. If he did, he would be fighting a lot harder to get her back.

  They were a mile out from the mansion and the closer they got, the harder it was getting for Jade to control her wolf who wanted to get to Trace now. I need help, she admitted reluctantly to Jinx. As much as she wanted to prove to the team that she could handle the mission, right now if she didn’t get her wolf under control she would blow the op for everyone.