Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 3

  Unfortunately, the guard obviously believed the man to be passed out and no harm to him so he turned his attention on Jacqueline. “Looks like I have you all alone.”

  Jacqueline backed up until she felt the wall behind her and hoped her face showed a bravery she was definitely not feeling at the moment. “You know you can’t touch me. My father will kill you if you do.”

  “I don’t see daddy or anyone else around right now,” the guard said as he leaned into her.

  She waited until she felt his breath on her neck before moving. Over the guard’s shoulder, Jacqueline saw the man getting up to come to her rescue, and she knew she had to move fast. The last thing she needed was for the two men to fight and draw attention their way. At the moment the halls were clear of guards, and she wanted to keep it that way. Lifting the syringe out of her pocket, she quickly jabbed it into the guard’s neck and pressed the plunger. The guard pulled back and stared at her, his eyes wide just before they rolled into the back of his head, and he fell, unconscious before he hit the floor.

  “What the hell was that?” the man whispered furiously as he pressed her back against the wall.

  Jacqueline was so caught off guard by the man moving so fast that it took her a moment to figure out that he was upset with her. “What did I do?”

  “You put yourself in danger. You will never do that again. Do you understand me?”

  “Yeah, but—” Her words were cut off when the man shook her.

  “No exception. You will never put yourself in danger again. You stay behind me from now on and let me handle it. It’s what I’m trained to do.”

  She was about to open her mouth and let the man know she was twenty-six years old and had been taking care of herself for most of her life. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t a child until she felt him trembling and saw the look on his face. The man wasn’t angry with her. Instead, if she wasn’t mistaken, it was fear she saw on his face. He had been worried about her. No one had ever cared for her well-being, and Jacqueline didn’t know how to handle it. At the moment, she decided ignoring it was the best option. She needed to focus on what was important, and that was getting out of what she thought was hell in one piece.

  “We need to go.”

  The man nodded and headed to the door. He looked out before turning back to her. “Which way?”

  “We need to go left. There will be a hall on your right about twenty feet down. From there, the supply closet will be the third door on the left. Inside there should be a fuse box on the wall. Inside, there will be a switch marked Ostium.” Jacqueline paused and giggled when the man snorted. It was the exact response she expected. “I know. My father is a very conceited and arrogant man. Somewhere along the way he got it in his head there was no one smarter than him, hence the switch that opens the secret passage marked with the Latin word for door.”

  “Okay, let’s move.” The man turned her and placed her bag on her shoulders. “Grab the belt loop on the back of my pants and don’t let go. Stay on my back.”

  Jacqueline nodded and tried to keep her knees from shaking as she did exactly what the guy asked when he turned toward the door. She practically plastered herself to his back and clenched his pants in a death grip. There was no way she was getting left behind. As they left the room, she spared a glance for the guard they had left lying on the floor. He wasn’t dead, just unconscious. Jacqueline didn’t have the heart to kill the man when she was the one who’d made him the way he was in the first place. Still, the guilt ate at her because she knew the man’s death warrant had been signed as soon as he had failed her father by letting them escape. Her father tolerated no mistakes, and he would make an example of the guard.

  The prisoner moved swiftly, and she had to jog to keep up with him. When they neared the next hallway, the man paused before peeping around the corner. The curse she heard rumble from him let her know that whatever he saw wasn’t good. It seemed their luck had just run out.

  “Three guards are headed this way,” the man whispered. “When I move, I want you to stay behind me and move as fast as you can to that supply closet. Get inside and get that tunnel open. Something tells me we’re going to have to run for it.”

  Jacqueline could only nod for fear that if she opened her mouth hysterical screams would come out and she wouldn’t be able to stop them. Danger was not her friend. She wasn’t the type who went out and looked for trouble. Every day of her life, she followed her father’s commands without question for fear of what would happen if she didn’t. It didn’t matter that she died a little each time he brought someone in off the street for her to inject. All that mattered was that she lived to see another day. What have I done? Not only am I going to get myself killed, but I’m going to get this man killed as well.

  Her thoughts were interrupted when the man started to move. Jacqueline had no choice but to move with him since her fingers were still tangled in his belt loop. She let go as they neared the supply closet and ran to the door. To her relief, the door was unlocked and came open as soon as she pulled. She ignored the sounds of fists hitting flesh and grunts coming from behind her as she spotted the fuse box on the wall and ran over to it. Jacqueline prayed the file she had found on her father’s computer was correct and there was really a secret passage, or they were screwed.

  As she scanned the labels on the panel, her heart beat frantically in her chest when she didn’t see the one she was looking for. Forcing herself to calm down and not panic, Jacqueline started at the top and slowly read each switch again. Just as she was about to give up and admit defeat, she spotted a tiny switch off to the side. It didn’t have a label, but when Jacqueline leaned forward and looked closer, she could see the word Ostium etched into the metal.

  Afraid to get her hopes up, Jacqueline crossed her fingers and flipped the switch. She stepped back when she heard something behind the wall click and watched in awe as a small section of the wall next to the fuse box detached itself and swung outward. The opening was about three feet wide and about five feet tall. She tried to peer into it, but it was pitch black as far as she could see.

  Jacqueline felt a hand on her shoulder and opened her mouth to scream. Before anything could come out, another hand covered her mouth. Panic set in, and she decided if she was going to die she would die fighting. She began clawing at the hand covering her mouth, all the while thrashing to get out of the grip the guard had on her shoulder.

  “Shh, calm down. It’s just me,” the man whispered in her ear.

  He grunted in pain when Jacqueline caught him in the ribs with her elbow. That sound was enough to snap her out of her blind panic. She turned and looked at the prisoner trying to escape with her. He had cuts and bruises on his face, and one eye was already turning purple and beginning to swell. He also had several scratches going down his bare chest, but what worried her the most was the deep set of claw marks that he had going down his side. They started just under his armpit and led all the way down to just above the waist of his pants.

  “Oh, God, you’re hurt.” Jacqueline reached out to touch him but stopped herself, not wanting to hurt him further. The sight of blood running freely down his side scared her more than anything.

  “I’m okay.” He waved off her concern. “We need to move before any more guards come and see the bodies out there.”

  Jacqueline nodded, ran over, and shut the closet door. Hopefully it would buy them a little time before the guards figured out they had come into this room, but the way the man was bleeding, she doubted it. All they had to do was follow the blood trail. She closed the door to the fuse box as well. No need to make it easy for them. Once she was done she went back to the opening.

  The man looked as though he was barely on his feet and would pass out at any time. He was losing too much blood, and Jacqueline had no idea what to do. She wasn’t a doctor. She was a scientist. She was used to spending her time in a lab alone with her chemicals and computer. She took her bag off her shoulders and quickly pulled her jacket and
shirt off.

  Pressing the shirt to the man’s side, she grabbed his hand and placed it on top. “You need to hold this in place.” Once the man did as she asked, she put her jacket back on and continued speaking. “This tunnel should go on for about a mile. The end should come out in the woods that surround the bunker. From there, we have to go about another mile to a service road where I left a car. Do you think you can make it that far?”

  The man stared at her a moment before speaking. “I can’t remember your name.”

  The question caught Jacqueline off guard. Here she was worried about how she was going to carry this gigantic man when he passed out because there was no way she could leave him behind, and he wanted to know her name. “My name is Jacqueline.”

  “Okay, Jacqi—”

  “No, Jacqueline,” she said, cutting him off.

  “Jacqi, I’m Benjamin, but my friends call me Ben. I’m trusting you, so let’s go. A mile of tunnels and then a mile of woods. I can make it.”

  Jacqueline had her doubts on whether he could make it or not judging by his grayish, pale complexion, but she didn’t say anything as she followed him into the tunnel. Once inside, she rubbed her hands along the walls next to the entrance until she felt the switch to close the door. As soon as the door slid shut, dim lights came on in the tunnel, making her want to jump with joy. She hadn’t been looking forward to feeling her way through it in the dark.

  “Do you have a cell phone, Jacqi?” Ben asked as he began walking.

  She was tempted to ignore him since he insisted on calling her that ridiculous nickname, but Jacqueline couldn’t bring herself to do it. Ben was in pain and getting weaker by the moment. He had one hand gripping the shirt on his side, and he used the other to support himself on the wall as he walked.

  “I have one hidden in the car. You can use it to call whoever you need to once we get there.”

  A grunt was his only response. As they walked in silence, Jacqueline realized she had never been able to take the time to look at the man in front of her. Every time she had seen him, she was in and out of his room as fast as she could. Now, nothing was stopping her from admiring the back side of Ben, and it was definitely a nice back side. He was shirtless, and she saw each muscle in his back move with each step he took. The fact that Ben had been down there so long and still had muscle definition was a testament to the man’s size. He was wide at the shoulders, but his back tapered down to his narrow hips. He wore a pair of what looked like black military pants that cupped his ass nicely. Jacqueline had no idea what his legs looked like, but she could tell they were long, and she’d bet they were just as muscular as his top half.

  Her admirations were cut short when she slammed into the back she had been admiring and bounced off. Ben didn’t even budge, but she almost went flying backward. “What’s wrong? Why are we stopping?”

  “We’re at the end of the tunnel. There is a hatch here, but before I open it, I need to know what I will find on the other side. Will there be cover? Any guards that I’m going to have to deal with?”

  Jacqueline hadn’t thought of any of that. Her main goal had been just making it that far. “As far as I know, there shouldn’t be any guards. No one is supposed to know about these tunnels except for my father, so they don’t need guarding. I didn’t even know about them until I hacked his computer. As far as cover goes… We should be in the woods so hopefully there are plenty of trees around.”

  Ben turned and opened the hatch, and Jacqueline had to throw her arm over her eyes as the bright sunlight flooded in. Ben yelled and covered his own eyes. If the sunlight was bright to her, she knew Ben had to have been in pain from it. He had been locked in that bunker for almost three months without seeing daylight.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t think to tell you to shield your eyes.” She hovered over Ben, afraid to touch him.

  “It’s okay. I just needed a moment to let them adjust.”

  Jacqueline didn’t believe that Ben was all right, but she didn’t say anything as she followed him out of the exit and into the woods. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw they were completely surrounded by trees and no guards. “We need to walk straight ahead about a mile to get to the car.”

  Before Ben could answer, he collapsed on the ground. She ran over to him and had to use all of her strength to roll him over on his back. “Ben, come on, you have to get up. There is no way I can carry you.”

  Ben’s face was pale and covered in sweat. His lips were tinted blue, and Jacqueline knew he wasn’t moving any farther on his own. She knew he was going to hate her and probably try to kill her, but she had no choice. She had to get him up and moving. Pulling the last syringe out of her pocket, she yanked the safety cap off the needle with her teeth.

  She hesitated when she heard a growl rumble from Ben’s chest and looked up to see his half-closed eyes glowing amber through his lashes. “I’m so sorry, Ben, but I have to. I can’t carry you, and I can’t leave you here.” Ignoring the tears running down her face, she lifted her arms and slammed the needle into his chest as hard as she could.

  When Ben’s back bowed off the ground and a deep growl began to vibrate through his body, Jacqueline quickly stood and backed away as fast as she could. She held her hands out in front of her when Ben stood and began to stalk toward her. Her back slammed into a tree and she closed her eyes. She had no doubt he would follow through on his threat to kill her. Jacqueline gasped when she felt his breath against her cheek.

  Chapter 4

  “What the hell did you just do to me?” Ben tried to keep the growl out of his voice, but he was tired and in pain. He was also tired of his mate injecting him with god knows what, although whatever was in that last injection had worked wonders on his body.

  “I basically gave you a shot of adrenaline that I designed for shifters,” his little mate squeaked out.

  “When this is over, and we are someplace safe, you and I are going to have a long talk about this needle fetish and the need to stab people with them that you seem to have.”

  Ben heard his mate gasp, but he ignored her as he pinned her against the tree with his body. He ran the tip of his nose along her neck and took a deep breath of her scent. She smelled like warm cinnamon, and it was enough to make his mouth water.

  “If you aren’t going to kill me, then we really need to go. That drug won’t last long. Your body will burn through it fast, and then we will be right back where we started with you on the ground. We need to be in the car before that happens.”

  Ben knew his little mate was right, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. Her warm body felt too good against his. He felt the drugs coursing through his veins, giving him strength he hadn’t felt since before he was captured. Unfortunately, along with that much-needed energy came one hell of a hard-on, and his mate’s scent was not helping.

  “Can you run, little mate?” he asked as he stepped back. Jacqueline paused and frowned at him. When she finally nodded, he grabbed her hand and took off in the direction of the car.

  Ben felt his strength leaving him with each step he took. The pain in his side was almost unbearable, but he kept moving. His wolf was no longer responding, so shifting to heal himself was not an option. He would have been worried if he hadn’t been able to feel his wolf, but he felt the pup in the back of his mind. It seemed he was just as weak as Ben at the moment. The fact that he could still feel his wolf was the only thing that had kept him from killing his mate when she had injected him.

  The helplessness he’d felt as he watched her plunge the needle into his chest was something he never wanted to feel again. Instead, his mate had been trying to save his life. She probably had. Now, it was his turn to do everything possible to save hers, starting with giving her all the information she needed to get in contact with his friends. With Percival being a traitor and not knowing if he still had any followers in the Council, they were the only ones he could trust with his life as well as his mates.

  “Listen.” Ben panted
for breath as they ran. “When we get to the car, I need you to drive and get as far away from here as possible. Once you’re sure you’re safe and no one followed, I need you to call Mitch Ericson. He’s a council enforcer and one of my best friends. He will help us.”

  “Why are you telling me all of this? Where are you going to be?”

  Ben heard the panic in his mate’s voice and smelled the fear coming from her. Unfortunately, he needed to tell her the information because he felt his body starting to shut down. The drug she had given him was rapidly wearing off. His goal was to get his mate to the car. From there, he hoped she could handle everything else.

  “For some reason, I can’t shift to heal myself. I don’t think I’m going to be conscious much longer, so I need to know you can handle all of this. The only person you can trust is Mitch until we get to safety. Do you understand?”

  Before he could get Jacqi to answer, Ben led them out of the woods and into a clearing. There was a narrow lane of gravel that he assumed was the service road his mate had been talking about. He looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a small silver SUV parked about two hundred feet to his right. Just a little farther, he chanted in his head as he ran toward the car.

  Once there, Ben opened the driver’s door and sat his mate in the seat. He kneeled down in the gravel and grabbed her hand. “I need you to trust no one but Mitch. Don’t talk to anyone and don’t stop until you’re sure we’re safe. Once you call Mitch, do exactly what he says. Promise me, Jacqi.”

  His mate nodded, and Ben had to accept that was the most he could do. For someone who didn’t hesitate to tell anyone who would listen to him that he’d never wanted a mate, it killed him that he wasn’t capable of taking care of her now that he’d found her. It took every ounce of his strength to stand and open the back door. He lay on his uninjured side and shut the door. He watched as Jacqi put her seatbelt on and started the car. The last thing he remembered was staring at the white knuckles on her tiny hands as they tightly gripped the steering wheel.