Courage Read online

He shook his head. "Whitney will get in touch with her when she can't contact me. We'll just have to hold out until then."

  I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. It sounded like "then" might be a long way off. What would I do if they hurt Courage the way Olivia had talked about? I'd probably lose my mind. I met his gaze and saw the same emotions mirrored in his eyes.

  "If anything happens to you…" he rasped.

  "I know," I whispered. "I feel the same way about you."

  "We're going to be alright," Defiance insisted in a low growl. "One way or another, we're going to get through this. Olivia will screw up."

  "Why do you say that?" I asked.

  "Everybody makes mistakes," he muttered, his gaze fixed on the floor. "I know I've made my fair share. When I first arrived in America, I…misjudged people. I doubted everyone. I didn't trust when I should have trusted." He lifted his head and searched my face…like he was hoping I'd back him up.

  And I backed him up because he was right. Obviously, I'd made plenty of mistakes in my lifetime. Like those bad wishes I made when I was a kid. Like the bad wishes I failed to make when those guards came roaring down the stairs a few minutes ago. And look where that one had gotten me—hanging on a hook from the ceiling. "Everybody makes mistakes," I agreed solemnly.

  "Everybody makes mistakes," Courage said.

  Defiance lifted his chin. "Olivia's over confident. She's underestimated us before. She'll make a mistake. We just need to be ready to take advantage of the situation when she does."

  I didn't know if he was just trying to rally our spirits or if he really thought we could maybe turn the tables on Olivia, but I needed some sort of hope to cling to so I took him at his word. Olivia was going to make a mistake and when she did, we needed to be ready.

  This time when the door opened at the top of the stairs, it was almost a relief. Good or bad—I was ready to get on with whatever little drama Olivia had planned for us.

  She came down the steps with a white mug of coffee in her right hand. One of the guards followed her with a tall-backed barstool made of polished metal. He wasn't the guard I'd knocked out earlier. He was tall and slender and dark but seemed just as threatening—maybe more so. Bjorn-the-blond had looked like the sort of guy who'd do all his talking with his fists. This guy looked silent and sinister—like he'd slide a knife between your ribs and kiss your cheek while the blade opened your heart. Still, I wasn't exactly surprised. It was hard to believe that Olivia had any nice people working for her.

  Before he climbed the stairs back to the upper level, the guard used the chair to replace the light bulb overhead. Then he repositioned the chair between me and the wall where the boys were chained. Olivia set her coffee on the cushioned leather seat and turned her attention to the boys.

  Courage and Defiance were on their feet, straining at the ends of their chains, trying to get to her. The murderous looks in their eyes suggested they'd throttle her with their bare hands if they managed to reach her.

  But Olivia kept her distance, at least for the time being.

  "I decided to move up my schedule," she murmured as she sauntered a few steps toward them. "I was going to wait until morning but we might get another earthquake and another guard might fall down the stairs and you might find a way to escape between now and then, right? Not too likely, but stranger things have happened and I don't want anything strange happening before I find out where I can pick up a few more gargoyles."

  "You guys never fail to surprise me," Olivia continued conversationally. "Somehow, you're always one step ahead of me. Somehow, you always seem to track each other down even when I've gone out of my way to create a new secure location. And when I finally do get the upper hand, you turn my guards to stone and threaten to bring the FBI down on me."

  Turning her back on the boys, she pulled a yellow lighter from her jacket pocket and thumbed the flame to life. For several seconds she studied the bright blade of heat. "But the good news is that I've learned a lot about gargoyles over the last few months. I know they're brave and loyal and…good. Ridiculously good. And I'm counting on that to work in my favor."

  "What do you mean?" Courage rasped.

  "Why don't I show you?" she said, and stepped toward me. "Actions speak louder than words, don't you think?" And with that, she held the flame to the bottom of my dress.

  Chapter Twelve

  The dress was some kind of spandex-polyester blend. I was just glad it wasn't cotton. Otherwise, I would have gone up like a torch. But the fabric was two layers thick at the hem and it took a few heartbeats for the flame to take hold…which was lucky for me. But as the flame flickered to life, there was a lot of screaming going on. And none of it was coming from me because—one—I was too stunned to react and—two—the flame was still several inches from my skin. I wasn't in any pain; not yet. So, Defiance and Courage were responsible for all the noise that echoed in the empty room. But I assumed I'd be joining them soon enough.

  Olivia seemed amused by the boys' reactions. "Would you like me to put out that little fire?" she asked.

  The look in Courage's eyes was frantic. He knew what it was like to burn. Right now, this was probably worse for him than it was for me. "Yes!" the boys screamed together.

  "What do I get in return?" she murmured while the flame crawled a few inches higher on the skirt of my dress and a thread of smoke curled up toward my nose.

  "Anything!" Courage roared. "Anything. Just stop hurting her."

  Olivia slanted a look at her small blaze. "The girl doesn't appear to be suffering yet. Maybe we should give the fire a few more seconds to get going."

  "Stop it," Courage shouted, his eyes wide, his voice hoarse. "Stop the fire now!"

  "If you like," Olivia said with a casual little smile, and used her hands to pat out the small fire she'd started.

  "Lorissa," Courage croaked and searched my eyes. "Are you alright, lass?"

  "I'm okay," I answered swiftly, wanting to reassure him, wanting to cry at the pain I saw in his eyes. "Really, Rage. The flames didn't touch me."

  "She's fine," Olivia summarized flatly as she faced the boys. "Now, let's talk. Tell me what I want to hear."

  "Wh-what do you want to know?" Defiance asked, clearly shaken but just as obviously trying to pull himself together.

  "Why don't we start with your names?" Olivia suggested.

  "My name's Defiance," he muttered. "And this is my brother, Courage. The girl is…Lorissa."

  "She shouldn't have been dragged into this," Courage insisted in a panicked voice. "She's just a rancher's daughter who tried to help me. There's no reason to harm her. Let her go."

  "Oh, sweetheart," Olivia cooed and wandered closer to cup Courage's chin in her palm. She forced his face up to meet hers. "That plain little pumpkin is the key to all the answers I want. You'd tell me anything to save her life, wouldn't you?"

  Courage shook his head free from her grasp, the veins on his neck standing out like thick cables.

  She grabbed his chin again and her fingernails sank into his skin, leaving marks. "Wouldn't you?" she snarled.

  "If you harm her," he whispered while violence burned in his ice blue gaze. "You'll die."

  "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that," she said smoothly, and backed away a few steps. "Now tell me where I can find more of your kind."

  "There are four more of us," Defiance offered in a growl, eyeing his brother with a look of concern. "Three of my cousins and one of my brothers share a house together in Boulder."

  "Names," she demanded.

  "Victor, Reason, Chaos and Force."

  "Force," she echoed. "I assume he's the one we tracked down in Denver."

  "That's right. Your brother captured him and took him to your lab in Boulder." Defiance hesitated before he continued. "How's Rafe doing these days?"

  Olivia's eyes narrowed into thin slits and her fingers clenched into fists.

  Defiance watched her closely as he spoke. "The last I heard, he was badly wounded
. I think he ran off with my cousin's knife in his shoulder. It was a long blade."

  "That's not the only thing he ran off with," Olivia snapped. "He took most of the venom I pumped out of your brother."

  "Do you know if Rafe survived?" Defiance persisted.

  But Olivia didn't answer.

  A trace of a smirk was on his face. "You don't know, do you?"

  "All I know is that he was responsible for losing the gargoyle," she answered coldly.

  Defiance slanted a look at Courage and snorted, "Close family."

  Olivia didn't like that. She stepped away and paced to the end of the room and back, clearly fighting for control. Finally, she lifted her head and started talking again. But she still sounded angry. "So, you're trying to tell me there are no other gargoyles in Colorado besides the ones I already know about. The ones you probably know I know about—Victor, Reason, Chaos and Force. And yet…I've never seen you before. You didn't come to the art event I planned for your cousin, Reason. And I told him to invite his entire family."

  Defiance didn't waste any time answering. "That's because I was sent to Limon to search for my missing brother." He shifted his gaze to Courage. "But you found him before I did."

  She stared him down. "Right," she said like she wasn't buying it. Slowly, she lifted the lighter again. She flicked the small wheel with her thumb and brought the flame to life as she turned back toward me. "I'm not sure I believe you, Defiance. I think you're holding out on me. Let's heat things up a bit and see if it helps you to remember a few more details."

  "No!" the two boys roared together before she could touch the flame to the blackened edge of my dress.

  "No," Defiance shouted. "I'll…tell you more."

  Olivia killed the flame and smiled as she turned around again. "I knew you would."

  Defiance took a deep breath and got ready to spill. I assumed he was going to tell Olivia where she could find Valor and his brothers.

  But Courage cut in before he could say anything. "Stop," he commanded. "Just stop…for a minute. None…of this is necessary."

  Olivia lifted her eyebrows.

  "He doesn't know anything about anything," Defiance shouted, a wild look in his eyes as he stared at his brother, like he knew what Courage was going to say and he didn't want him to say it.

  I held my breath, wondering what could be so bad that it would scare Defiance. My heart started slamming around in my chest, afraid of what Courage might be getting himself into.

  "That's true," Courage rasped. "I don't know anything about any other gargoyles. But I can make you an offer. A good offer. And after that, you won't need any more gargoyles."

  "No," Defiance yelled and tore against his chains, a smear of blood coloring the manacles on his wrists. "No, Courage. You can't do this!"

  Olivia looked from one brother to the other, a curious expression on her face. "Okay," she said. "I don't know what's going on here, but I'm definitely interested."

  Now it was Courage's turn to take a deep breath while I held mine in growing terror. "Let Lorissa and Defiance go," he said. "In return, I'll stay with you…forever…and provide you with a lifetime supply of venom."

  Forever. For a few seconds the terrible word echoed in the room before it was swallowed by heavy silence.

  Olivia didn't appear to be impressed. Her hand fanned the air dismissively. "Don't make me laugh," she snorted. "If I release your brother, he'll bring back the rest of your family to rescue you."

  "Maybe," Courage whispered in a voice that sounded dead. "But they'll have to kill me first, before I let them touch you."

  "You can't do that," Defiance hissed.

  "Do what?" Olivia snapped, her suspicious gaze traveling between the two gargoyles. "Do what?"

  "In return for the life of Lorissa and my brother, I'm offering you my rune," Courage said, and lifted his shackled hands toward the symbol on his neck. "After I use my barbs to mark it on your arm, I'll be bound to you forever. I can never harm you. In fact, I'd kill anyone who tried to hurt you."

  "Shut up!" Defiance ground out from between clenched teeth. "What are you doing? What are you thinking? Why would you tell her that? Why would you share that secret with her?"

  "To save your life," Courage said quietly. "And the life of Lorissa."

  "Not like this," Defiance howled as if he was two heartbeats away from losing his mind. "You can't do this. I won't let you."

  Courage lifted his gaze to me. "You can't stop me," he whispered.

  Silence settled across the room again, broken only by the sound of Defiance's rough breathing.

  "Interesting," Olivia murmured. "Very interesting. And not a bad offer. I might even take you up on it. But before we take this any farther, I have a question."

  Courage's eyes were still on my face, like he was trying to memorize my features.

  I shook my head at him, wanting to tell him this was not the way it was supposed to end, wanting to tell them there had to be another way, wanting to tell him to wait. Wait for another option. He didn't need to memorize my face. There would be plenty of time for us…in the future.

  But the message in my eyes didn't reach him. "I'll tell you anything," he told Olivia.

  Olivia's smile was smug this time as she said, "Can I bind more than one gargoyle to me?"

  The color drained from Courage's face. Realizing he'd made a mistake that might affect others in his family, he started stammering. "Not…not if the gargoyle has already given his rune to another female."

  Holding my breath, I counted off in my head the other gargoyles who'd given their runes away. Valor—certainly. Dare, Victor, Chaos, Reason—probably. But Force had only recently connected with Camie and he might not have marked her yet. That left Havoc and Courage. And what about Defiance? He'd mentioned a girl named Whitney. But he hadn't had a chance to tell us if she was wearing his rune.

  Olivia targeted Defiance with her gaze. "And how many of the gargoyles are already bound?"

  "All of us," Defiance barked back at her. "Victor, Reason, Chaos, Force. All of us."

  "Really?" she questioned him disbelievingly. "Really? You're all so young to make that sort of commitment. What's wrong with girls nowadays? Where's their sense of independence?"

  Courage cut in. "I'll only give you my rune if you let Defiance and Lorissa go," he insisted.

  "Oh, darling," she said, and wheeled around in my direction again. "You're in no position to negotiate."

  And flicking the small wheel on the lighter, she lit my dress on fire again.

  The flames took hold right away this time and licked quickly upward toward my waist. And now, I have to admit, I was feeling the sharp burn of heat searing my thighs. I wriggled on the end of my hook, trying to twist my legs away from the bright sting of agony only to have it swipe at my waist and flicker across the tip of my breast while smoke filled my lungs. But Courage stopped her before the pain got too bad, before I started screaming.

  "Alright," he roared, his voice broken. "I'll do whatever you want. Just…stop hurting her. Stop burning her!"

  "You'll give me your rune?" Olivia asked.

  "Anything!" Courage screamed, wrenching against his chains, blood streaming from his wrists where the shackles cut into his skin. "Anything!"

  Olivia turned on her heel and picked up her coffee mug, throwing the dark liquid at the center of the blaze and dousing the fire. With her hands, she patted out the edges that glowed around the stain on the skirt of my dress…which was considerably shorter than it had started out, and showing a lot more leg than I normally display. The bodice was streaked with black but was thankfully intact.

  "So, you'll give me your rune," Olivia murmured, turning back toward the boys.

  Courage lifted his head with a look of devastation on his face. "Will you let Lorissa live?"

  "Of course," Olivia answered, a victorious smile twisting her mouth while the heavy mug dangled from two fingers. "I promise."

  Courage slanted a desperate look at his bro
ther.

  Defiance shook his head. "Her promises aren't worth crap," he growled.

  Olivia just laughed. The cold sound put a chill down my spine and made my skin crawl. And I wondered how I could have ever thought this monster was a pretty woman.

  Olivia swung her hips in a victory walk back to the barstool, and set her empty mug on the seat. With an unruffled air of elegance, she removed her red leather jacket and hung it on the stool's tall back. A ring of keys dangled from the belt around her waist. She unclipped them and left the metallic mass beside the mug. And as she rolled up the sleeve of her white silk blouse, she went ahead and got a little gloating out of the way.

  "We'll just leave these keys here, shall we? I know how fast you boys are and I wouldn't want you to get hold of them. I also know how strong you are. Stronger than human kids your age. But unfortunately for you, you're not quite as powerful as I am. It's that darn old harpy bloodline. My DNA makes me stronger than most Olympic weightlifters. Sucks for you," she finished with an insincere pout on her lips.

  "This is going to be sooo much fun," she continued as she sauntered back toward Courage. "I'm looking forward to wearing your rune…to start with. And Defiance's, of course. And after that, I'm going after Victor."

  Victor's name lingered on her glossy red lips as if she associated him with some sort of grand prize or maybe the ultimate revenge. It was hard to figure out what was going on inside her twisted thinking. But one thing was clear: Olivia had a thing for Victor. A dark, ugly obsessive thing. And I didn't envy the pack leader one little bit.

  "That won't work," Courage argued. "A gargoyle can only bind himself to one lass."

  "So you say," Olivia laughed. "And I believe you, Courage. But it won't hurt to try out the whole family, just in case one of them happens to be unbound and available. I won't know until I try, will I?"

  "Well, you're wasting your time on my brother," Courage growled stubbornly. "Because he's already given his rune away. Tell her, Defiance."

  But Defiance didn't answer right away. He jerked his chin upward, watching the ceiling as he blinked back the moisture that had gathered in his eyes. It was remarkable how vulnerable he suddenly looked. Because he was…Defiance. Tough, hard unforgiving and—above all—defiant. "Her name's Whitney," he said, his voice low and gravelly. "She wears my rune."