Chapter Seventeen

Chapter 17

G ryph ran to keep up with Selene, her sisters not far behind. She'd taken the tunnel leading toward the sinkhole. If he didn't catch her soon, she'd fall to her death in the reservoir beneath the city.

When they arrived at the turn in the tunnel that would have led her to the sinkhole, the troll and D'na Ileana, she continued straight, her flashlight bouncing light off the walls, her breathing growing more labored.

The dust grew thicker the farther along they went until Selene slowed to pull her shirt up over her nose. Then she ran on, the beam of her flashlight barely penetrating the swirling dust filling the tunnel.

A distant pounding reached them. If he wasn't mistaken, this section of the tunnels had been declared off-limits to the inhabitants of the Lair long ago. The walls were breaking up, water leakage from the older city streets above ate away at the mortar between the bricks and weakened the support beams.

Gryph racked his memory for where they were in relation to the city above. He recalled a construction site in downtown Chicago.

Oh, hell. His company was tearing down an old hotel that had fallen into a terrible state of disrepair. Even the historical society had deemed it unsalvageable. He'd hired a demolition team to take the building down. They were due to set off explosions to implode the building in place. His assistant had marked the day on his calendar in case he wanted to be present for the event.

It was as clear in his mind now as if he read the calendar all over again. Today was the scheduled date. There would be police barricades set up for several blocks surrounding the building, but none in the tunnels. Most people thought the tunnels too deep to worry about, and uninhabited. Just like the folks of the Lair liked it. He'd informed Balthazar to keep people away from the forbidden zone.

If Selene's abilities were taking them directly to Jillian, there was a good possibility this was all a trap.

It didn't matter. They couldn't stop now, not when a little girl's life was at stake. At the very least, the sisters should know what they were up against.

Gryph caught up with Selene, grabbed her and pulled her to a stop. "Wait."

"No time." Selene sucked in air. "Jillian's in danger."

"I know." When she tried to pull away, he tightened his grip.

Her sisters stopped behind him, breathing hard into their shirts to keep from inhaling all the dust.

Gryph spoke loud enough to be heard by all five of them. "The noise you were hearing is from the surface. They're preparing a building for demolition. They're going to set off explosives today."

"Damn." Selene's eyes rounded and glanced from him to her sisters. "I'll go in alone. You should all stay here."

"Like hell." Brigid sucked in a lungful of dust and coughed.

"I agree," Gina said. "You can't continue on your own."

Aurai nodded. "It's all or none."

"A child wouldn't have wandered this far," Selene said. "Whoever did this wanted someone to come after her."

Gryph's jaw tightened. "It smells like a trap."

"Who are they trying to catch?"

"Me," Gryph said. "I can't let you all go in after the girl. We could be up against more than collapsing tunnels and debris."

"You won't find her without me." Selene touched his arm. "Not in time to save her and possibly yourself."

Where her fingers rested on his arm, warmth spread throughout his body. At least he knew she cared and that grounded him, giving him hope.

"I have to go. Jillian's fate is my responsibility. Someone is using her to get to me." His hands clenched into fists. "I mean to find him, and when I do, I'll kill him."

" After we get Jillian out." Selene started forward, moving as quickly as she could with limited visibility. Her flashlight beam only lit two feet ahead. Navigating over old rails, crumbled bricks and debris became increasingly difficult.

When they arrived at a junction, Selene stopped, closing her eyes.

Gryph and her sisters waited silently, the sounds of collapsing rubble and dripping water the only noises. The pounding had stilled.

Selene opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. "They're about to set off the charges."

"We don't have time. We have to get out of here," Deme said.

"Not without Jillian." Selene turned left and took off at a run, tripping and stumbling as she went.

Gryph forced the change, dropping down on all fours, and ran ahead of Selene, his vision no better than hers with all the dust, but he was more sure-footed on four feet instead of two.

At another junction, not far from the previous one, he paused and listened. Was that a whimper? He glanced back as a fuzzy light pushed through the murky passage. Then he ran in the direction he'd heard the sound coming from.

He hadn't gone ten yards when he practically tripped over Jillian, lying on the rail tracks, her arms duct-taped to her sides, her legs bound together in tape, as well, a rag tied around her eyes. She was sobbing quietly, coughing every time she took in a breath of air.

As Gryph came to a halt, Jillian grew still. "Hello? Who's there? Please, help me."

Gryph changed back to human, his skin and muscles stretching, reshaping until he could stand. "It's me—Gryph."

Her sobbing began anew. "I knew you'd come. I knew."

Gently, he pulled the rag off her eyes and extended a sharp claw to slice through the tape on her legs and around her arms.

Selene and her sisters reached him as he gathered Jillian into his arms. "We have to get out of here."

"Now," Selene agreed. "They've begun the countdown. Even if they want to stop, they can't."

"Move!" Gryph followed the sisters down the long tunnels. On their way back, they didn't have the directional pull that had led them to Jillian. Twice they hesitated at junctions, until Gryph pushed past them and followed his feline sense of smell, clouded by the fog of dust.

"Get down, everyone! Cover your heads and brace yourselves," Selene called out and dropped to her belly. "The charges are about to go off."

Gryph lowered Jillian to the ground and between him and Selene, they covered her body with theirs.

Several rumbling booms shook the earth as, one after the other, the charges above went off. Bricks fell from the ceiling, crashing on and around them.

Gryph used his body and hands to cover Selene and Jillian, protecting them from the debris as it fell. Several large bricks pummeled his back, the pain nothing compared to the thought of losing Jillian or Selene.

As soon as the resonant booming stopped and the earth stilled again, he was on his feet.

"We have to move fast. The second round of explosives will go off in ten seconds." Selene staggered, helped Jillian up into Gryph's arms. Together, they ran back the way they'd come.

The second round of charges went off, pitching Gryph forward. He turned and hit the ground on his back, quickly rolling over to cover Jillian's body.

Selene stumbled to her belly beside him, her flashlight gripped in her hand but shedding so little light in the gloom as to be ineffective.

A brick fell with a soft thud.

Selene grunted beside him.

"Are you okay?" he said as more shaking loosened additional bricks.

"Yes." With her hand over her head and neck, she shined the light back toward her sisters. "Deme?"

"I'm still with the living." She called out, "Aurai?"

"I'm okay. Might have a shiner tomorrow, but I'll be okay, if this doesn't get any worse."

"Gina, Brigid?" Deme continued.

"I'm good," Gina said.

Brigid moaned. "I think I sprained my wrist, but I'll live."

"Are they done?" Aurai asked, her disembodied voice seeming to hover in the murk. She'd climbed to her feet and was shining her light upward. "If not, we could be in a heap of trouble. Get a load of that ceiling."

Selene glanced up. The beam barely penetrated the dust cloud filling the tunnel. They were all covered in a fine layer of dust, appearing like so many ghosts.

Another string of rumbling booms shimmied the earth.

"Get down, Aurai!" Deme shouted as loosened bricks gave way.

Gina swept her hands in the air, directing a wall of stagnant water over their heads, knocking the bricks to the side.

Deme followed with a movement that wove a tight web of vines covering the remaining masonry, stabilizing it long enough for them to get out from under the collapsing tunnel.

Gryph stood, clutching Jillian to his chest. He hunched over her as a stray piece of brick found its way through the blanket of vegetation and bounced off his shoulder. "We need to keep moving. If the falling bricks don't hurt us, breathing the dust will."

"We're right behind you." Selene touched her hand to his back as they moved single-file over the rails and fallen bricks.

He liked knowing she was there. Her compassion for a child, almost a stranger to her, captured Gryph's heart and refused to let go.

The farther they moved away from the demolition site, the easier it was to see, and soon they left the thickest dust behind and were able to breathe more freely.

When they emerged into the switching station that was the Lair, a crowd gathered around them.

Mrs. Martin reached out for Jillian, but the little girl wasn't ready to let go of Gryph. She hugged his neck so tightly, he was afraid he might choke yet again.

When she finally loosened up enough to lean back and look into his face, her tears were making trails through the dust on her cheeks. "You saved me." She kissed his dirty face.

"Not me..." He turned to Selene and pulled her into the curve of his arm. "Selene was the one who led us to you."

Jillian tipped out of his arms into Selene's. "Thank you."

Selene chuckled and held the child, her own tears trickling, making mud tracks down her face. "I'm just glad I could help."

Mrs. Martin engulfed Selene and Gryph in a bear hug.

Gryph handed Jillian off to Mrs. Martin and stepped up to Balthazar's door, where the older man stood, regarding the dispersing crowd, his face grim. "Who would do that to a child?"

"It had to be someone we know," Gryph said. "Someone familiar with the tunnels and what's going on at the surface."

"But, why?"

The why baffled Gryph, as well. "It has something to do with me." Who had he angered so much so that he'd use a child to get to him?

"Why do you think that?"

"Why else would he leave the note on your door?"

Balthazar rubbed his chin. "He could have been targeting me."

Shaking his head, Gryph said, "No. He took Jillian to the forbidden zone. The very area I warned you would be unsafe while demolition and construction is going on at the surface. It's one of the construction sites my company is responsible for. He did it deliberately to get me there at that exact time, knowing the demolition team would blow the building today. He knew I'd go and you would stay here to keep the people calm." He stared out at the emptying space. "I don't know who did it, but I intend to find out."

"It has to be someone who knows the people of the Lair and your business on the surface. Someone privy to your warning to stay clear of the forbidden zone."

His back stiffening, Gryph stared out at the junction station that had been his home since before he was old enough to remember. Though he'd thought it before, it was clear, now. "It's one of our own."

* * *

Selene stood with her sisters as the people of the Lair thanked them for helping rescue Jillian. The whole time, her head hurt and she had difficulty forcing a smile.

At first she thought the pain an aftereffect of breathing too much dust. But the longer it persisted, the more convinced she was that it was something else. Something evil and so angry it created a darkness that threatened to cloud her mind. She glanced around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Her gaze was drawn to the mouth of one of the unlit tunnels. Something moved in the shadows. Or at least she thought something moved. She stepped toward it, but a hand gripped her arm.

"Selene, are you okay?" Aurai leaned close. "You're shaking." She lifted one of Selene's hands. "And your hands are so cold."

Deme, Brigid and Gina gathered around, each of them examining her as if she was under a microscope.

The pressure of hatred increased at her temples. With as much conviction as she could muster, she said, "I'm fine." Her focus was drawn once again to the dark tunnel.

"Let's get you home and into the shower. Then you can take a long, much-needed nap."

Selene wanted to push away from her sisters and investigate the tunnel, but her siblings weren't going to take no for an answer, and after all they'd just been through, Selene didn't want to alarm them.

Before she knew it, they were hustling her back toward the tunnel they'd navigated from the stairs to the Lair.

Gryph fell in step beside her and took over, letting her lean on his arm. "Did that brick hit you harder than I thought? I can have a doctor pay a house call."

"No, no, I'm okay, really. It's just a bruise and barely hurts."

"Then why are you so quiet and weak?" He stopped, bringing her and her sisters to an abrupt halt.

"I..." She glanced back over her shoulder. The evil presence, filled with so much hatred that she'd sensed before, was gone. She straightened, her strength returning. "I felt something...but now it's gone."

Gryph gripped her arm and pulled her to a stop. "What did you feel?"

She shrugged. "Anger. Hatred." Selene grimaced. "Malevolence."

"Should I check the tunnel?" Gryph turned to do that.

Selene grabbed his arm. "No. Whatever it was is long gone. I need to get home and check on a few things before it gets any later."

"If you're worried about the charity ball, don't. I can have anyone you need sent to assist you."

"I don't need help. I just need to be back at my home."

Gryph hesitated a moment longer and then led them up the steps into his apartment.

Brigid tapped her fist into the punching bag hanging from the ceiling in the exercise room. "Quite a place you have here, Mr. Leone."

"Call me Gryph." He shrugged. "It's okay."

"Who drove?" Selene asked.

"I did," Deme responded. "Ready?"

"I am." Selene headed for the elevator, without turning back. After all that had happened between her and Gryph, the angry presence in the tunnel and with her sisters there in Gryph's apartment with them, their parting could be nothing but awkward.

As she stepped into the elevator car, Gryph's hand reached out and stopped her. "Selene, promise me you'll stay with your sisters."

She stared into his deep golden eyes, the electricity crackling between them.

"Don't worry, Gryph. One of us will be with her at all times," Deme said.

Gryph didn't let go of Selene's arm, his gaze never left hers.

"I promise," she whispered, her glance dropping to his lips, the urge to kiss him more than she could hide.

His hand slipped to the back of her head. "I'm going to kiss you, but not because you want me to, which I know you do. I'm going to kiss you because I want to."

Despite the dust, the muddy tear tracks and dirty hair, his lips claimed hers, bearing down on her mouth, the pressure soft at first then increasing in its intensity.

Selene leaned into him, all will to resist gone. She wanted him, and to hell with her reservations. She couldn't get enough of him and didn't want the kiss to ever end.

Someone cleared her throat behind Selene.

"You want us to wait in the car?" Brigid asked.

Selene pushed away from Gryph and brushed her dust-caked hair back from her face. "No, I'm ready." He let go of her arm and she stepped out of the doorway and back into the elevator. The doors closed and the car rose.

"Want to tell us what's going on between you two?" Gina asked.

What was going on and where would it go? Selene wasn't sure herself. She touched a hand to her lips and shook her head. "No."

* * *

Gryph showered, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and hurried back down into the tunnels. Whoever was causing him problems, threatening the people he loved, would pay.

Jillian had been the pawn in this latest game. Amanda had only lived long enough to identify Gryph as her attacker. The killer had finished her off after she'd had the police forensics artist draw a sketch of him. Almost being run over by a truck at the pool hall hadn't seemed like an attack by the Devil's Disciples, either.

Since the attack on Amanda, the more recent attacks had hit closer to home. Closer to Gryph, making it more personal. And when he entered the Lair, he went directly to Balthazar's house. Balthazar had been his father, his mentor and the man he went to whenever he had a question or problem he couldn't resolve himself. Now was no different. In fact it was even more important. The people around him were in danger for just being around him. It had to stop.

He entered without knocking, Balthazar's home was just as much his as when he was a child. Voices sounded from the den on the opposite side of the home. Gryph followed.

"Gryph, I'm glad you came back." Balthazar waved toward the man standing behind him and stepped aside.

His brother, Lucas, sat at the table, his lip curled up on one side. "I understand I missed all the excitement."

The anger Gryph had held in check bubbled up and spilled over. "Damn it! This isn't a game. Someone is targeting me and the people around me for some very sick reason."

"And yet you always manage to come up smelling like a rose." Lucas grinned. "My big brother, the hero."

"I'd rather none of these things were happening. There's a dead woman and a terrified child who suffered because of me." Gryph paced the length of the den, across a red-and-gold Persian rug, without seeing the beautiful Victorian antiques Balthazar had collected over the years.

The room was a warm study in the culture and taste of a bygone era, a contradiction to the gloom and darkness of the tunnels, where it was located.

"Why would someone want to hurt these people? What have they done to deserve it?"

"Come, brother." Lucas rose from the table and draped an arm around his shoulders. "You've conquered every obstacle in your rise to power. Surely a little mystery won't stump you for long."

Gryph shook the arm from his shoulder, his jaw clenched so hard it twitched. "I will find the one responsible."

"Now you're talking." Lucas grinned. "That's the self-assured brother I know and love. It's that certainty that has made you the man you are today. The rich philanthropist that gives all his wealth to the needy."

Gryph stared at his brother. Had there been a thread of contempt in his tone? "Is there something bothering you, Lucas?"

"Of course not. My life is just the way I like it."

Gryph had spent a considerable amount of time counseling Lucas on college and course work that would help him land a good job that would pay for the things he loved, like fast cars and expensive restaurants.

So far Lucas had been as human as any of the surface dwellers. Regrettably, he'd been raised in the Lair with little connection with the world above until he was a teen, venturing to street level at night when no one was looking. He'd fallen in with a gang of miscreants who'd rather deal in drugs than do an honest day's work. "Have you finished those online college courses I helped you sign up for?"

"I'm working on it. You and Father won't have to put up with me much longer."

"We don't put up with you . You're family. And a degree will go a long way toward building a career."

"With you as my role model, how can I go wrong?" Lucas smiled, which looked more like a sneer. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to work."

"You might check in on occasion," Balthazar said. "Things haven't been right lately and people are getting scared."

"Of what? That their safe little hiding place isn't so safe anymore?" Lucas shook his head. "We can't hide forever. Sooner or later, the world will know we exist."

Gryph knew it was only a matter of time, but the folks living in the Lair didn't want to be exposed any sooner than they had to be. The surface dwellers tended to be cruel when it came to people who were different on the outside.

What they didn't know was that while they might look very different on the outside, they were all the same on the inside, with emotions, fears and desires that transcended gender and species. An image of Selene filled his consciousness and his desire spiked and was immediately squelched as another thought hit him.

If he was the target of all that was happening, and the people around him were the collateral damage, Selene could be caught in the crossfire. He couldn't let that happen. Gryph left the Lair and headed back to his apartment. There was only one way to ensure Selene's safety.