Inferno (SKALS) Read online

  “I believe he is under Dr. Jacob’s, care. Would you like me to check on his status?”

  “Yes, please,” Sebastian stated quietly.

  The silence and stillness that followed was numbing. Dropping into a chair stationed near the vacant slot where the bed used to be, he scrubbed a hand over the tension and worry that tightened his face. His eyes burned with unshed emotion and his breath left him in a shaky exhale. The hustle and bustle of the hospital echoed around him, the sound of soft sneaker soles slapping against linoleum, the ragged coughs and groans of the elderly and ailed, the rhythmic whir and beep of machinery, but his world—his entire life—stood completely and utterly still.

  ~*~*~*~

  The sense of being somewhere unfamiliar and strange filtered through the fragmented dreams surrounding Taylor. A cool, comfortable darkness enveloped her, but the faint medicinal smell clinging to the inside of her nose pulled her from her slumber. Fighting their leaden weight, she forced her eyes to flutter open and blinked against the elongated shadows blanketing the room. The gentle whir of machines and rhythmic beeps set her heart pounding in her chest. A keening whimper pushed past her lips, and her body throbbed in protest as she struggled to sit up. Lifting a shaking hand, she fingered the Steri-stips stretched above her left eye and winced at the searing pain still shooting through her skull. Her eyes darted around the room before settling on the hazy outline of the man dozing beside her bed. The memories came crashing back full force and Taylor pressed a hand to her mouth to smother her cry.

  The other flew to her abdomen in a moment of blind panic.

  Her stomach churned, and for one terrifying moment, she feared she would get sick as the sounds of crunching metal and splintering glass replayed in her ears. It all still felt so real. So fresh. Horrified, she winced as Sebastian’s sleeping form came into view.

  The five o’clock shadow usually dotting his face had darkened to a seven, and his pristine uniform hung disheveled and rumpled on his frame. Thick, sandy curls stood on end in wild disarray and it looked like he’d aged years since the last time she’d seen him. Her eyes settled on the dull glint of the silver skull and crossbones still clipped to his collar and a crushing guilt consumed her as Taylor realized he hadn’t been home.

  Her brow knitted as Sebastian sat up and stretched with a grunt. Yawning, he ran his hands over his hair to smooth it down and glanced her way. He rocked forward with surprising speed and grace, his sage eyes widening. She watched him glance at the monitors beside her bed and her breath caught as those piercing green pools once again swung her way.

  “Baby, thank God you’re awake. How are you feeling?” he asked. His voice was husky and broken with remnants of sleep and concern.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “My head hurts.”

  “I know, sweetie.”

  The back of her throat closed around a lump. Her eyes drifted shut and she tensed as she felt him slide into bed beside her. The burgeoning sense of guilt she felt threatened to crush her. So many questions burned unanswered on the tip of her tongue. She struggled to find a way to fight through the fog and spit them out, but she was so scared the answers wouldn’t be ones she wanted to hear. The mere thought alone made her want to cry.

  “The baby…” she choked, her hands fluttering instinctually to her stomach.

  “Shh. It’s okay, sweetheart. Both of you are going to be okay. You’re all right,” he soothed, pressing a tender kiss against her temple.

  Relief swept over her and the lump strangling her lessened enough that she could breathe.

  “How?” she trailed off, uncertain how to ask. Talking alone felt so foreign and draining.

  “I had them do an ultrasound while they still had you listed as a Jane Doe. Your doctor is a very kind and understanding man who promised to keep those results separate from your records. Our little one is healthy and safe. Everything is fine, sweetheart.”

  “You got to see it?”

  She could feel him smile against the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her and nodded. “I did. They let me hear the heartbeat and everything. You’re around eleven weeks along,” he murmured.

  “Eleven weeks,” she whispered. “That’s almost three months.”

  “I know. You must have gotten pregnant the very first time we were together after the attack.”

  She smiled, comforted by his words and the memories that came with them. “In the shower,” she mused.

  Sebastian’s soft chuckle filled the room. “More than likely.”

  She peered at him, trying to contain her amusement.

  “What?” he asked, pinning her with a questioning look.

  “You weren’t kidding about the super breed. Your little guys really do know how to swim.”

  Laughing softly beneath his breath, he offered a knowing wink.

  “I’d hate to see what happens when you try.”

  The comment drew his attention. Turning slightly, Sebastian leaned over her, his lips curling with a contented smirk. Trapping her beneath his stare, he let his gaze roam over her at a leisurely pace.

  “You’ll find out someday, darling. That much I promise,” he said, issuing the last word in a hot whisper against her ear.

  Taylor’s cheeks flushed as she shifted against his side and tried to nudge him away. “You’re horrible.”

  “Mmm. That I am,” he agreed, tracing a reverent path along the underside of her jaw. “But you love me.”

  “I do. I’m just trying to figure out why.”

  He clicked his tongue at the barb and tipped her chin up with an admonishing shake of his head. “Careful, sweetheart. You’re going to make me feel I have something to prove.”

  Her shoulders jerked with silent amusement. Turning her head, she rested her cheek against the warm, reassuring strength of his body. The movement brought a fresh wave of pain and she stiffened. Sebastian adjusted her, turning her slightly into him and soon, his cool fingertips settled above her brow and rubbed in gentle circles. It amazed her how much relief the subtle pressure brought.

  “Rupert,” she asked. “Is he…”

  “Shh. He’s fine, Taylor. He has some cuts and he took a beating, but he’s going to be okay. They released him this morning.”

  “How long have you been here?” she asked, bracing herself for the answer. The last time she woke up in a room like this, she’d learned she’d lost three weeks of her life.

  “Since yesterday,” Sebastian stated softly. “You’ve been in and out for the last few hours. They wanted to keep you comfortable and keep an eye on your head. We should be able to go home soon though now that you’re awake.”

  She let out a thankful breath. “Good. You really need to wash up and change.”

  The teasing helped lighten the atmosphere some. A small smile curved her lips as she felt Sebastian shake beneath her.

  “It’s probably not my best look,” he admitted with a sheepish smirk. “But it’s nothing a hot shower and a shave won’t fix. Now you on the other hand…”

  “I…” she faltered, her words fading as she fingered the butterfly sutures stretched above her eye. “Is it really that bad?”

  Sebastian sighed. “No, baby. You will always be beautiful. Especially to me. I was just trying to be funny and failed.”

  She fought a smile. “I hate to say it, but you did. You really do need a better sense of humor, Sebby.”

  “So I’ve been told.” A long silence spanned between them, filling the minutes with an uneasy tension. Sebastian broke it by burying his face in her hair and pulling the scent of her deep into his lungs. “I need you to tell me what happened, Taylor. Whatever it is, no matter how bad or how upset you think I will be I need you to tell me the truth.”

  She stiffened, ignoring the pain rolling through her battered body as she tried to focus. The details were fuzzy but bit-by-bit they started to filter back to her. The memories chilled her to the core and spawned a bone-numbing fear. Fear of Marx, of SKALS, of all the unseen thr
eats that seemed to lurk, waiting, around every turn. Part of her wanted to cry, to ask God one simple question: Why? Hadn’t they been through enough already? Caution advised her to keep silent. For whatever reason, posing such rhetorical questions only tended to make things worse, like you were tempting fate.

  They had done enough of that lately, too.

  Settling against him, she let her eyes drift shut once again and released a shaky sigh.

  “I don’t know, Seb. I really don’t.” She bit the inside corner of her mouth for a second and shook her head as much as she could muster. “It’s kind of blurry, but I remember the car started acting funny. We hadn’t even made it halfway down the road yet and it started shimmying and shaking. I was trying to make it to the shopping plaza so I could pull over and pop the hood. I’m no expert, but I had to jimmy things in the pickup truck so many times I thought I might be able to figure it out. The stoplight changed, but when I tried to brake, nothing happened. I put the pedal to the floor, I tried pumping it, but nothing,” she said, her breath coming quicker as she remembered gliding through the open intersection and the absolute panic that came before the deafening crunch of metal and splintering glass. “I tried everything, but I just couldn’t stop, Sebby. I couldn’t stop…”

  “Shh. Okay. It’s okay.” He frowned against her temple, his fingers never stopping their soothing massage. “I’m trying to understand here, but it doesn’t make any sense, baby. The car is brand new. It didn’t even have a hundred miles on it yet and an issue with the motor wouldn’t affect the brakes.”

  “I know…but that’s what happened, Seb. I swear. I’m so sorry. The car is totaled, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, sweetheart. It is, but I don’t give a damn about that. All that matters is that you and the baby are okay. I’m just trying to figure out what happened here, Taylor. That’s all.”

  “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

  “Okay,” he murmured, his voice coming in a calming rumble. “I’m sorry I’m pushing, but this is important. I need you to think back for me. Think back to the beginning. Did you notice anything strange before you got in the car? Anything at all.”

  She frowned. The throbbing inside her skull intensified as she struggled to fight her way through the hazy memories crowding her brain. Then she sat up, a cold trickle of fear crawling down her spine. Turning as much as she could against his chest, she searched his eyes through the shadows.

  “This wasn’t just some freak accident, was it?”

  “I don’t know. Right now, I just want to take every precaution. Think for me, sweetheart.”

  Her brow knitted in concentration. She winced feeling the small beads of sweat condense on her forehead. It was bad enough being in the hospital without stewing in your own fluids.

  “There was something strange,” she said, “but I don’t know if it has anything to do with what happened or not.”

  “No detail is too small. Tell me what you remember,” Sebastian coaxed.

  “There was a man who caught my attention when we were putting the cart away. I probably wouldn’t have noticed him, but his hair was a blindingly bright silver that glinted in the sun. He was walking at a brisk pace and he didn’t have any groceries that I could see. Just a funny briefcase. That’s what really caught my attention.”

  “Funny how?”

  “It wasn’t a typical business binder. It was boxy and looked like it was plastic. In fact, I remember standing there, almost half expecting the supermarket to blow. I felt silly afterwards when nothing happened. Like I had watched one too many Hollywood action movies. I even made a joke to Rupert about it when he asked what was wrong. I guess it wasn’t as farfetched as it seemed.”

  Sebastian’s forehead knitted. She could almost see him skimming through his memory, seeing if anyone he knew fit that description. They must not have, because he sighed with a frustrated shake of his head.

  “Did you see him get into his vehicle?”

  “Yeah. It was a sleek SUV. Black, a Navigator I believe. Like I said, it was so typical it wasn’t funny.”

  “What about a license plate? Do you remember anything about it? Any of the letters or digits?”

  “No. I looked. I know I did, but I can’t remember now. I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore, Seb. I’m so tired and everything hurts.”

  “Okay, sweetheart. You did good. I’ll look into it. I promise. You just rest and get better,” he said, rubbing her temples. “The only thing I want you to worry about is taking good care of yourself and our baby.”

  Her heart sank upon hearing mention of their child. Her insides twisted as the cold reality of their situation settled over her like a wet blanket. Trying to still the tremble of nerves and pain shimmying through her, Taylor fought to find her voice.

  “Do you think Marx might have had something to do with this?”

  His hesitation and the deep creases forming in Sebastian’s brow gave her all the answers she needed. After a long moment, his shoulders fell with his exhale and he shook his head. “I don’t know, baby. I wouldn’t put anything past that smug bastard at this point, but one way or another, I swear to you, I will get to the bottom of this. I don’t care what it takes or what I have to do, I will find out who is to blame, and I will make them pay. I don’t care if it’s the dealership or Marx, himself. Someone is going to answer for what they’ve done.”

  The vehemence and anger in his icy rasp sent a cold chill down her spine. Shivering, she draped her hand over his corded forearm and stroked the light dusting of hair there in an effort to soothe them both. “Don’t do this, Seb. Not now. Just stay here and hold me…please?”

  He stiffened behind her. “Do what, Taylor?” he asked. “What is it you don’t want me to do?” He craned his head in an attempt to study her face.

  She tried to turn away, but the gentle strength of his fingers wrapped around her chin and brought her gaze back to his.

  “I won’t just let it go, Taylor. I’m not you. I’m not wired that way. You’re all about forgiveness and compassion, but I can’t afford that luxury. In my line of work, those sort of things will get you killed. I’m not weak, and I’m not going to look the other way. I protect what’s mine.”

  Closing her eyes, she tucked her head beneath his chin and offered a mute nod. There was no point in arguing. Sebastian was smart. Deep down, he had to see it was nothing more than an ugly cycle they were both churning in. Violence and anger only perpetuated more of the same. Someone always had to do one better, to get the last laugh, until, in the end, there was no one left. He knew that. They both did, but there was no changing his mind.

  As surprising as it was, it didn’t take much to still her thoughts. Pushing her frustrations aside, she contented herself with focusing on the strong, steady beat of his heart, the familiar comfort of his clean, woodsy smell, and the tiny life the two of them had created. As if sensing her thoughts, his hand spanned across her stomach in a protective cradle. His dimpled smile stretched against her hair in the darkness and his contented rumble vibrated against her.

  “I love you, baby. Both of you. No matter what, please remember that.”

  “I will,” she promised. “We love you too. That’s why I’m begging you to be careful.”

  “Always, sweetheart,” he assured her softly. “Now close those beautiful eyes and get some sleep. I’ll be right here with you. I promise.”

  Wrapped in his arms, knowing he was there and would let no harm come to her, the rest of the world seemed a million miles away. Nestling closer, she let Sebastian’s all-encompassing presence envelop her and lull her back into the blissful numbness of her dreams.

  CHAPTER 2 ~

  No amount of whiskey could tamp down the hatred and disgust battering his system from the inside out. There was no point in even trying. Every time he looked at Marx, accusations burned hot and flashes of an unspeakable future played out like a kaleidoscope of horror in his head. Lending voice to either right now or giving into the urge to pic
k up a bottle and dull his senses would only get him killed. He needed his mind sharp, even if that meant feeling every nuance of bitterness and pain. Until then, his only hope in all of this was to play along and continue to be an invaluable asset in their director’s eyes. Unfortunately, that was not an easy façade to maintain when he couldn’t even look at the man. Even a few feet away, Marx’s presence was smothering and Sebastian had to keep his back turned as he stared out the window.

  “I will be docking your pay for skipping out early,” Marx warned.

  “Do what you have to,” Sebastian countered dryly.

  “This isn’t a personal vendetta against you, Baas. We have standards here and rules to maintain.”

  “I am well aware of both. As I said, do what you have to.” He watched Marx’s stalwart nod in the reflective glare of the windowpane.

  “How is she?” the director asked, crossing the room to settle his heavy bulk onto one of the leather armchairs.

  Sebastian bit his cheeks to keep his sarcasm and hostility at bay. As much as he wanted to think Marx was innocent, he’d seen nothing so far to convince him the man was. Not with Taylor’s accident, and not with Project Blue. In fact, he could take the sudden act of concern and shove it straight up his ass as far as Sebastian was concerned.

  “Let’s skip the friendly banter,” he growled, turning from the window with a cold gleam in his eye. “Taylor is alive and we both know that’s far from the outcome you desired.”

  The guards stationed in the room shifted, but said nothing. Their presence alone was a good indication Marx knew where this conversation was going to go.

  The commander’s lips twitched at the corners and he stroked a finger over his close-cropped moustache. “That may be true, but you are sorely mistaken if you think this botched assassination attempt had anything to do with me.”

  “Am I?” Sebastian asked. A hard tremble ran through him and he locked his hands behind his back to keep from reaching for his gun. “This wouldn’t be the first time someone in my family has died at the hands of an unfortunate car accident.”