Dawn's First Light

Already she'd lost feeling in her legs. And her bladder was getting that achy feeling that told her she'd have to go before too much longer. Nice. It wasn't exactly like her holding cell had a porta-potty. Hell, there wasn't even a distant vacant corner for her to do her business in. She'd have to marinade in her bodily functions. And didn't that just add a special touch to her captivity.

Frustrated and panicked to the point of pulling her hair out, Lori screamed a vacant, hollow sounding wail. She ran her fingers along the smooth, cool surface of the wall, clawing at the paint out of desperation. Beneath her fingertips she felt the rough etching of a letter scratched into the wall. She pressed her fingers to the letters beneath them and made sense of the gauges. 'K. A. Y.' The 'L' was a little shallower and the A barely discernable. Kayla. The letters spelled out the word Kayla. Somebody else had been in this same hellish place. Eager for the distraction, she ran her fingertips along the wall to see if there were other names. Other girls like her. She felt an 'A' as she worked her way down the wall. 'N. G. E. L.'

She flopped down onto her butt in shock. "Angel," she whispered into the darkness. Trembling, Lori realized what the name meant. Angel was the name of the vampire that had dragged her off the bluffs. She just assumed Roark killed his victims. She would have never guessed that he had anything else planned for her. A new wave of panic assaulted her. It wasn't that she was anti-vampire. She was anti- an eternity of service to Roark. What better way for him to exact his vengeance on Keene then to turn her with into a rogue? The thought terrified her to the very core of her soul. There were some things worse than death it seemed. And an eternity as a blood-sucking agent of pure evil was at the top of the list.

She had to stay calm. If she got a chance to escape, it wouldn't be a very wide window of opportunity. And she needed to keep her wits about her to save her life. Keene would come for her. She had little doubt of that. But, it was up to her to stay in one piece till he got here. His emotions battered her mind. Like a turbid ocean storm surge, they beat at her and pulled her beneath the swell. She could hardly keep her head above the undercurrent of his rage and fear for her.

Lori pressed her back into the corner and closed her eyes. There were good things to focus on. Happy times locked away in her mind. She had to concentrate and use the happiest memories she could find to chase away the bad. There were lots of times, big moments and tons of small ones. But, the memories that finally came forward and brought a smile to her lips were the recent ones. The time she'd spent with Keene. "Keene," she whispered. Even saying his name brought her to a place of contentment and joy. She cuddled in the warmth of his imagined embrace and the tingling memory of his lips on her mouth. Roark might do things to her. He might take her life. But, this was hers and it was something he couldn't have. Ever.

For a brief moment, she wasn't a victim locked in a dark hole awaiting her death. She was a woman in love. The memory of his voice was a gentle caress. His love for her infused her with strength and gave her the courage to open her eyes to stare into the darkness and see it for what it truly was. The dark wasn't scary. It was nothing when it was filled with the light of the love they shared. Pictures of places she'd only seen on TV flashed through her mind. Beautiful sun drenched meadows dappled with colorful wildflowers in full bloom. Flawless brilliant blue skies with fluffy white clouds and images majestic mountaintops seeped in mist filled her mind. Keene was with her. And she was not alone in her suffering. She'd never be alone again. "I love you Keene."

As Keene with drew from their shared link, Lori shifted her weight and felt for a blank spot on the wall. There were other names etched into the surface besides Kayla's and Angel's. It seemed only fitting that she add hers as well. Her nails were way too short to effectively etch through the coat of paint. Somehow, as funny as it seemed to her now, her tennis shoes had managed to stay on her feet. She jimmied her body around and unlaced her shoe. Stripping the tip of the lace free with her front teeth, she finagled a workable point out of the plastic. Focusing on nothing else but carving her name into the wall, she dug and dug a cursive L as deeply as she could.

******

"Ok," Toby said as he made a few final adjustments to equipment. "This should work." Toby gently eased the button free from Kayla's jeans and worked the audio feed into the seam of her waistband. He was a professional. Damn good at what he did. But, she was a very pretty girl and although he was happily married he blushed crimson at the intimacy of the contact. The wire was coated with a sticky substance that should make detecting it almost impossible once he managed to work it into place along the thick denim seam. Even if she took her jeans off, they should be able to hear her loud and clear. But, he wasn't about to go there. No way. Anna had a bit of a jealous streak. Possessive and territorial. And she had the ability to charbroil his favorite appendage with nothing more than a thought. Uh huh. Not thinking about Kayla in any other way but one hundred percent professionally.

Kayla held up her arms and turned in a circle as Toby tucked the almost hair thin wire into place along her waistband. His fingers wandered a little too close to the 'no zone' and in reflex she slapped the back of his hand. "Watch it, Bub!" she snapped. She was nervous enough without being man handled by a tech geek. And seeing herself through Mr. Smile's eyes on the monitor really didn't help matters any. Of course, being frisked by the undead was nothing compared to the show they were going to get once Roark got his hands on her.

"Sorry," Toby mumbled. He had to hand it to Kayla. The girl had a set of stones on her. She was willingly placing her self in danger to help. The least he could do was swallow his embarrassment and make sure she was properly wired up. He snapped the button off her jeans and replaced it with the dummy one he'd rigged up. Being very careful with the needle and thread, not wanting to damage his equipment or poke her belly with the point, he sewed the replacement button into place. He loved a job well done. And in the center of the button he'd hidden a pinhead-sized microphone. He fastened her jeans and crouched on his knees to admire his handiwork. "Testing one...two...three...testing," he said, speaking into the button.

Kayla rolled her eyes at the absolute absurdity of a vampire crouched on his knees speaking into the button on her jeans. Toby rose to his feet and moved to the keyboard to make a few adjustments. Lowering the headset on to his ears, he began reciting the Gettysburg Address. "I can't believe I agreed to this."

Bryce lounged against the wall frowning in disapproval as he watched Toby work on Kayla. Using a human, especially her as bait made his stomach wretch. They were deliberately putting her in harm's way. "I can't either," he grumbled.

"She's wired and ready to go," Toby said. "I'm not quite happy with the range. But, it should be good enough." He didn't doubt that his toys would work. But, it never hurt to be overly cautious. Kayla was human and it wouldn't take Roark but a split second to end her life. They couldn't afford any mistakes. He had one more gadget he'd like to try. Secret government trials were very hopeful. And through his connections he'd managed to get his hands on a few samples.

Ok, so the microchip tracking devices didn't jive well with a vampire's accelerated healing abilities. He'd voluntarily been the first test subject and it hurt like a bitch when his body rejected the microscopic circuitry. But, on a human, should be fine. Should be. He'd had to settle for implanting the trackers into their boots. Eh, what did it matter? A hero always died with his boots on, right? And in a battle the last thing the enemy would think about would be the brotherhood's choice of footwear. "Can you lift your hair off your neck, please."

"What's that?" Kayla shrieked as she watched Toby pull a syringe from the packaging.

Toby shrugged and opened an alcohol packet. "Tracking device. No big deal." He squirted the air bubble out of the tip of the syringe and moved behind her.

"Tracking device?" Kayla didn't like the sound of it at all. "Ah, how do you get it out?"

"You don't. It's got a lifetime guarantee. Just like a Timex...takes a licking and keeps on ticking." He didn't get it. Humans got so squicky about a teeny tiny shot. It was one of the reasons the government hadn't sprang their newest invention on the general populous, yet.

"I don't think so," Kayla huffed. She defensively placed a few paces between Toby and her. The last thing she wanted was anyone having the ability to track her after this was over with. She might want to move on and actually get a life. Not likely to happen with the brotherhood could find her wherever she went.

"I'm just going to inject it under the first layer of skin. It won't hurt any worse than a mosquito bite. I promise. If it makes you feel any better, you can always have Thomas cut it out when you get back."

"What?" Kayla squeaked.

Bryce ground his molars at Toby. Yeah, tech geeks did not make good people persons. The tracking device was the only part of this whole mission he did agree with. Toby should have probably bypassed the whole part about cutting it out of her. They could not guarantee her safety if they couldn't find her. As his prisoner, Roark could take her anywhere and do anything he wanted to her. And Bryce didn't want to think about. The brothers needed a foolproof way to locate her if things went badly. "Kayla, its for your safety." He reached out and gently gathered her hair off her neck. "Please."

Reluctantly Kayla nodded and buried her face into the warmth of Bryce's chest. She'd always hated needles and anything having to do with doctors. It wouldn't be so bad. Really. She'd rather take a dozen needle sticks then one bite from a vampire. Dressed as the old Kayla it was hard not to revert to her behaviors. No one expected the old Kayla to be brave. No one expected anything out of the old Kayla at all. She wasn't the old Kayla. The new Kayla was brave enough to risk her life for someone she'd never met. A shot? Hell, nothing to it. "Fine."

Toby prepped the injection site and pinched up the skin. Bryce watched him with the hint of warning tinting his gray eyes as he distracted Kayla by rubbing his fingers through her hair. It was just a shot. Hell, she would hardly know when he pierced the skin. One would think by the way Bryce hovered over her Toby was about to perform brain surgery. Toby pricked the skin on Kayla's neck and injected the microchip. He nodded to Bryce to indicate that he was done and ran a sensor over the spot. The sensor pinged and her location popped up on his monitor. Now, if they failed to locate her, it would only mean one thing. There wasn't enough left to bother locating. "We're done here," he said, handing Kayla a sucker.

The little kid in Kayla reached out to snatch the cherry flavored sucker from Toby's hand. Bullshit if the shot hadn't hurt. Her neck stung and itched. She fluffed her hair and tore the wrapper from the candy. Popping the sucker into her mouth she tucked the new Kayla away and reverted to the eternal teenager Roark expected of her. "Where's everybody else?"

Bryce handed her the bear. Toby was a true genius and the camera he'd stuffed into the bear wasn't noticeable in the least. "Waiting for us." He walked down the hall with Kayla toward the garage where the rest of the team was assembled. "Kayla, are you sure you want to do this? You can still change your mind."

"No, I can't," she said. She wiped her sweaty palms on the bear's soft fur. Backing out was a reasonable option. No one would blame her for not wanting to go through with this, least of all not Bryce. It was a tempting thought. But, one she didn't have the luxury of considering. As long as Roark lived, she didn't have an out.

"You know what to do?"

Yes, she knew what to do. Coax Roark into trusting her. Lure him into his bedroom. And put on the best performance of her life. "Yeah, don't die."

*****

"I'm here with you. You're not alone. You'll never be alone again. I'll always be right here beside you," Keene said the words aloud as if Lori were standing next to him. He sent her every warm thought and bit of love he could muster through the overshadowing clouds of his rage. He smiled as his thoughts filled with images of her. Her lips, fresh and sweet as a sunny meadow damp with cool morning dew, her body was soft and pure as a brilliant blue sky filled with white fluffy clouds, and her love, rugged and unchanging as the mountain peeks. Sure it was hokey. But, he was not much for the words of man. There were only three words that mattered in the entire human vocabulary and he'd never grow weary of hearing them or saying them. "I love you."

Keene shut down the link between them as Bryce and Kayla entered the garage. He walked over to them and nudged Bryce out of the way with the protectiveness of an older brother. He hated seeing her dressed in the skimpy top and skin-tight jeans. And he especially didn't like the way Bryce looked at her like a starving dog eying a juicy steak. He pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing the bear in between them. "You ready for this?"

Kayla nodded and extracted herself from Keene's embrace. Actually, she was terrified. But, she needed to have her head on straight and breaking down wouldn't change a thing. "I'm good."

Dane surveyed his team. Brave. And damn fine members, all of them. Bryce, John Mark, Keene, Patrick, and, of course, Kayla and himself, six of them against a Rogue Master older than their combined ages put together. Not good odds. Scrubbing his hand through his hair, he pushed back his lingering feeling of doubt that he was sending them off to a slaughter. And with half of their force gone. The compound would be defenseless against the first Rogue Master that invited himself to dinner. He checked his comlink and confirmed Toby was reading them loud and clear from the tech room. "All right, then load 'em up and let's hit the bricks. I don't know about you guys. But, I'd like to be in bed with my beautiful wife before dawn."

"Amen to that!" Patrick shouted. Janine was always particularly affectionate when he returned home for a mission. And the thought of a little sack time with his new bride. Not that they'd be sleeping. Sounded good to him.

"Lock and load boys, lock and load," John Mark said, taking his place behind the wheel. They were chasing the night. And if luck were with them, they would be home before dawn. Robbie was pissed at him for leaving her behind. Maybe, it was the 'he man' part of his psyche that was reluctant to place her in the middle of the action. And the whole she had more responsibility here than on a mission was his way of rationalizing his biggest fear. That something would happen to her.

He liked to think not. Robbie was a warrior. And he'd faced her off against Keene in the trials. And she'd kicked the big ox's ass. Here was no safer than there. If they failed, and God help them if they did, keeping the compound and everyone in it would fall on her shoulders. She'd have help. Will and Chance weren't exactly pansies, neither were Toby, Anna, Alex, Janine, Chris, Candace, and Lance. Marcus and Sam were still on Lori's father's trail. But, if the mission failed, they and a handful of humans were the only thing standing between the Rogue Master and the rest of the world.

Keene wedged his big body into the rear passenger side seat and gave Kayla a hand to climb into the bench seat beside him. Smelling of bubble gum, cherry suckers, and fear she buckled up and shot him a weak smile. Tonight this ended. Either he'd succeed and live or he'd fail and die. But, one way or another, he planned to send Roark to the gates of Hell where he belonged.

Bryce helped Kayla up into the backseat of the SUV and parked his ass in the seat next to her. As John Mark pulled out of the garage and into the darkness, she slid her hand across the space between them and locked her fingers around his. He squeezed her hand in return and held it gently in his palm. The contact didn't seem like nearly enough. He eased his arm around her shoulders and guided her to rest her cheek on his chest. He wanted to tell her everything was going to be ok. But, he couldn't lie to her like that. The comfort of holding her for just a little while was all he had to offer. What happened when they arrived in the city and delivered her to Roark's doorstep, he didn't want to think about it. She saw herself as tainted and damaged. To him, what she was about to do was the bravest thing any human being or vampire for that matter ever could. And no matter what that bastard did to her. She'd always be the bravest woman he'd ever had the privilege of knowing.

Kayla reached behind her and grabbed Keene's hand. Her fingers trembled as the SUV merged onto the interstate. In less than three hours she'd be back where she first began. Keene squeezed her hand in reassurance. The fabric of Bryce's Kevlar combat gear was rough and itchy against her cheek. But, the warmth of the man beneath it and the silent strength of the warrior gripping her fingers in his big, rough palm grounded her. Tonight, Roark would die. And that she'd have some small part in it was more than enough to make her brave.

Keene and Bryce exchanged glances over the top of Kayla's head. The unspoken agreement between them was clearly understood. She was walking out of that penthouse whole and in one piece and there was no other alternative. She'd suffered enough. And it didn't really matter how. Tonight, Roark died or they died trying.

Chapter 51

Lori threw her arm over her eyes to shield them from the sudden infusion of light. Roark stood over her, tsking as he crouched to wipe away the tearstains from her cheek. "It really doesn't have to be this difficult for you," he said in the most sincere, sympathetic tone she'd ever heard. "All I require is a small boon in exchange. Call to Keene and all this can end. I'll feed you. Give you some new clothes and send you home to your mother. You'd like that wouldn't you? To go home."

Lori rubbed her cheek against the soothing coolness of Roark's fingertips on her heated skin. At home there was birthday cake and chocolate ice cream, along with people who loved her waiting for her. Home and safety sounded like miracles so close to her grasp. All she had to do was betray Keene. He could take care of himself. She was weak and desperate. Her lips parched with thirst. Her body ached from being in such a cramped position for so long. Keene would understand. He wouldn't hate her for saving herself. And he was coming for her anyway. She could spare him the trouble. "What time is it?"

Roark chuckled and glanced at his watch to indulge her. "A little past eight." He smoothed her hair from her forehead and toyed with the soft strands. Usually, a bit of time in his guest suite softened up even the most determined of souls to his gentler form of persuasion. If not, he had a few other things in mind to sway her. "I want to help you. I truly don't enjoy hurting people. Give me what I need and I'll let you go. I swear on my honor no harm will come to you. What kind of man is Keene if he hasn't shown up by now to rescue you? He's betrayed you. Return the favor."

"I've been in here over twelve hours," Lori croaked. Roark's voice was as gentle as his touch as he ran his fingers through her hair. Maybe, Keene and the brothers had sold her out. And they weren't coming for her.