The cell in his pocket vibrated. “What?” he answered.
“Nick, it’s Helene. We have a situation.”
He rose slowly to his feet as those fucking scars on his back began to tingle. “What’s happened now?”
“Marissa wandered off this morning. Search parties are out looking for her. But the woman you brought here yesterday? Casey? She and the Argonaut are out there now too. And they’re the only pair that hasn’t checked in yet.”
Nick’s hand tightened around the phone. “Fuck me.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop her from going.”
“I’m on my way back.”
“Did you find Dana?”
Nick glanced down at Dana once more and buried the pain deep inside as he did every time one from his colony was killed. The anguish from her death would last longer than the rest, but he was half Argonaut. His son-of-a-bitch side would get over it soon enough. “I found her.”
“Is she—”
“Ready the fires, Helene.”
He closed the phone just as Helene began weeping.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The hours blurred together. Casey didn’t know how long she and Marissa had been holed up in the cave, but she was sure it was dark outside by now. They must have been in this cave at least six hours, and still not a word from Theron.
She’d already envisioned all the horrible things that could have happened to him, knew he could be out there suffering as she sat here hiding, but she couldn’t force herself to get up and look. He’d told her to stay put. And every time she’d thought about ignoring that order, Marissa’s strange warning from yesterday lit off in her brain.
What they’ll do to you will be worse.
Why her? When that daemon had dropped in her path as they’d been running from the barn, he’d acted as if he knew her. Come to think of it, the ones in her store and even the ones the night she’d met Theron had all acted as if they knew who she was. How was that possible? And what did it mean?
A scraping noise from out in the tunnel brought her head up. She reached for the flashlight on the ground by her thigh. Though she’d flipped it off hours ago to conserve battery life, she wanted to be able to see what was coming at her. Hands shaking all over again, she grappled for the knife as she inched her way around the corner and into the main room.
Whatever was coming through the tunnel was big. She could hear it grunting and scraping along the tight tube. She didn’t dare flick on the flashlight now, so she prayed she was pointing the knife in the right direction.
The shuffling stopped. Her heart pounded so loud she was sure it was giving her away. Whoever, or whatever, had come through the space lifted to its feet and drew in a ragged breath.
“Don’t cut me, Acacia.”
“Theron!” Casey dropped the knife and flashlight and lunged for his voice.
His strong arms caught her and pulled her close. She choked back a sob, never so happy to see someone as she was at this moment.
A soft chuckle came from his chest, vibrating against her until she felt it in her toes. “Miss me, did you, meli?” he whispered into her hair.
Oh, God. The sound of his voice. Like music. Her hands closed into fists against his damp shirt. “It’s been hours. Where have you—?”
“Where’s the girl?”
“Sleeping. Finally. Theron. God. How did you know where to find us?”
One strong hand ran down the length of her hair. “I told you. I’ll always be able to find you.”
She didn’t have a clue what he meant by that and didn’t want to get into it now. She was just so thankful he was here. She pressed her forehead against his massive chest. “Theron. I was so…” She didn’t want to say “worried,” because that made her sound like a weakling. But she was. Out of her mind with worry over him. She gave her head a small shake. “What happened?”
“I told you. This is what I do.”
What he did? And he expected her not to freak out over it when monsters from one of Stephen King’s novels were coming after him? Yeah, right.
“It took so long. I thought—”
“They were sent back to Hades shortly after you and the girl left. There was nothing for you to worry about.”
Shortly after. Casey pushed back from his chest and looked up, wishing she could see his face, but lucky for him, it was too dark. “Shortly after? What the hell have you been doing since then? Getting a pedicure?”
“Waiting,” he said. “To make sure there weren’t any stragglers.”
Her adrenaline chose that moment to come crashing down. Screw worried. Now she was mad. “While I sat in here for the last six hours imagining you drawn and quartered and going out of my mind with fear?” Jackass! “Thanks a lot!” She hauled off and kicked him in the shin as hard as she could, then turned on her heel and headed for what she hoped was the archway into the next room. It’d be just her luck to run headfirst into a rock wall instead.
He caught her before she made it three steps, those beefy arms of his wrapping tight around her waist and picking her up off the floor until she was running on air.
“Put me down!” she hissed so as not to wake Marissa. “I’ve already been manhandled enough for one day.”
“Hold on, meli.” He shifted her so she couldn’t kick him in the balls, repositioned his arms until he had both of hers pinned. She struggled, but even she knew it was useless. He was a thousand times stronger than her when she was healthy. Now, with the combination of fear, exhaustion and sickness coursing through her body, she was like a toothpick blowing in the breeze. “I’d have come for you sooner if I’d thought it was safe.”
“Word to the wise. It’s not safe for you here now, so just go back out the way you came in.”
He gentled his hold but still held her firmly. “Meli.”
Dammit, why did that one stupid word make her go all soft and gooey inside? Especially when he said it so tenderly?
The fight rushed out of her in a blur. She bit her lip hard so she wouldn’t cry like a blubbering baby. “You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
“Shhh.” He eased his hold and turned her gently toward him. “And in the dark too.” He brushed her hair back from her face in a move that was so damn sweet, she was glad she couldn’t see his eyes. He’d saved her life twice now, and though she didn’t understand him in the least, she had a sinking suspicion he was right: some kind of fate or destiny she couldn’t see and wasn’t sure she believed in was pushing them together.
The only question was, why?
“It’s over now, meli.”
“For you,” she whispered. Thank God there was anonymity in the dark. “But those things…Tell me the truth, Theron. They’re looking for me, aren’t they?”
When he wrapped his arms tight around her again and pulled her close without answering, she knew she was right. For some reason, those daemons were hunting her. And she suspected it had something to do with a father she’d never known and a world that was as foreign to her as China.
“What happened to the flashlight I gave you?” he asked.
Casey knew he was changing the subject, but was too exhausted to call him on it. She eased out of his arms when he loosened his hold—not because she wanted to but because it was either that or fall on her ass. “I dropped it somewhere.”
His big boots shuffled along the rock floor. Seconds later, a single beam of light pierced the darkness. Theron shone it around, checking out the cave.
Casey pointed toward the smaller room and lowered her voice. “Marissa’s sleeping in there. I gave her my coat.”
Theron pointed the light in that direction. “That’s good. It’s dark out now. We’ll let her sleep till morning, then head back to the colony.” He turned and picked up something from the ground behind him. Minnie.