Chapter 64

CHAPTER 64

“ M ommy?” Caleb whispered as he trembled in her arms.

“It’s okay,” Jill whispered back as she paused by the entrance of the tunnel leading to the dining hall.

“I want Daddy,” Caleb mumbled sadly as he laid his head on her shoulder.

“I know you do, sweetheart,” Jill said, taking in the large, dimly lit room and made sure that none of Elizabeth’s men were waiting for them before she quickly made her way to the other side of the room.

“What about Emma and Shane?” Caleb asked as she paused by the door.

“They’re going to be fine,” Jill promised him, trying not to panic as she slowly exhaled while she carefully glanced out the door to make sure the coast was clear before she made her way into the hallway.

“I don’t like that lady, Mommy,” Caleb said as Jill paused halfway down the hallway and opened the laundry room door.

“I don’t like her very much either, sweetheart,” she said, quietly closing the door behind them before she placed him down on the floor.

“What are we going to do?” Caleb whispered.

“First, we’re going to get you into some dry clothes,” Jill said, glancing back at the door before she shifted her attention to the dryer.

“And then what?” Caleb asked as she opened the dryer and searched through the clothes she threw in this morning.

“We’re going down to the basement to see what we can find to help Daddy and then, we’re going to get you somewhere safe,” Jill said as she settled on a pair of his teddy bear undies, one of Shane’s tee-shirts, and a pair of Shane’s socks.

“What about Emma, Mommy?” Caleb mumbled sadly.

“Daddy’s going to keep Emma safe,” Jill said as she helped him pull off his wet clothes and tossed them aside.

“And Shane, Mommy?” Caleb asked as he grabbed his teddy bear undies and pulled them on.

“We’re going to find him, sweetheart, but first, we need to get you somewhere safe so that I can help Daddy,” Jill promised him as she struggled to hold it together. “I’m going to need you to be a big boy, okay?”

“Okay,” Caleb said as he held up his arms so that she could help him pull Shane’s shirt on before she helped him with the socks, completely engulfing his small legs.

“Ready?” Jill asked when she was done.

With a nod, Caleb wrapped his arms and legs around her. Releasing a shaky breath, Jill adjusted him in her arms as she stood up and made her way back to the door. She paused by the door, listening for the sounds of footsteps or a heartbeat coming from the hallway. When she didn’t hear anything, Jill slowly opened the door and peeked out, making sure the hallway was empty before she kissed Caleb’s forehead and quickly made her way down the long hallway, pausing by each door and made sure that it was safe before she moved on.

When they reached the basement door, she placed Caleb down and reached above the door for the key and-

“It’s already open, Mommy,” Caleb said, making her frown as she looked down in time to watch him open the door.

“No, Caleb, wait-” Jill began only to have Caleb throw the door open the rest of the way.

“It’s okay, Mommy. I can help!” Caleb said as he raced down the stairs before she could stop him.

Jill opened her mouth to yell for him to stop only to be forced to bite back a scream as searing pain tore through her back, letting her know that Logan was hurt. As she was forced to reach over and slap her hand against the wall when her legs threatened to give out, Jill reminded herself that pain meant that he was still alive. It also meant that she needed to get help. Wondering where her father was, she stumbled towards the basement stairs and went after Caleb, hoping to stop him before he-

“Mommy, I found Shane!” Caleb yelled, making her swallow hard as she grabbed hold of the banister with her good hand and quickly made her way down the stairs to find Caleb standing next to Gray outside the first cell, where Shane was curled up in the fetal position in just his boxer briefs.

“Shane!” Jill said, damn near sighing with relief as she stumbled towards his cell, the pain tearing through her back, threatening to drop her with every step and-

“I killed him,” Gray murmured absently as soon as she reached them, making her swallow hard as she took Caleb’s small hand in hers and pulled him behind her.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jill demanded as a pained groan drew her attention, making her heart break for Shane, knowing that there was nothing that she could do to make this better for him.

“The man that tried to kill you,” Gray said softly.

“Why?” Jill asked hoarsely as she watched Shane release a pained whimper as he mumbled, “Mom,” and-

“That’s what I would like to know,” came the bored announcement that had Jill going still before she glanced back to find Elizabeth standing behind them.

“Shouldn’t you be running for your life?” Jill asked, swallowing hard as her gaze dropped to the knife pressed against Emma’s throat.

“Probably, but then, I would miss Gray’s tale of woe, now, wouldn’t I?” Elizabeth said, once again looking smug, which meant…

She thought Logan was dead.

He was alive, Jill told herself as the pain continued to radiate through her back and down her arm. Whatever happened, she knew that as long as Logan was alive that he would do whatever it took to save their babies. She kept telling herself that as she watched Elizabeth turn the knife over and press the flat side against Emma’s neck and-

She was going to kill her, Jill decided when the move tore a scream from Emma that had Caleb crying as he grabbed onto her wet shirt and had Shane begging Elizabeth to stop.

“Let her go,” Jill said, giving Caleb’s small hand a reassuring squeeze as she met Emma’s terrified gaze.

“That’s not really an option,” Elizabeth said, glancing over her shoulder towards the stairs before she took in the cells lining the wall and the closet door on the other end of the large basement.

“And why is that?” Jill asked as she struggled to ignore the excruciating pain tearing through her back.

“I want to know why Gray would do something so unbelievably stupid when he knew exactly what I would do if he betrayed me,” Elizabeth said instead as she looked pointedly at her mate.

When he only stood there, glaring at her through silver eyes as a muscle clenched in his jaw, Elizabeth released a heartfelt sigh as she sent him a pitying look. “Did you really forget what I would do to her after this was all over?”

“You’re not fucking touching her,” Gray bit out, making Elizabeth’s lips twitch.

“Unless you’ve found a way to get around the mating mark, I really don’t see how you’re going to stop me,” Elizabeth said as she considered him. “I am curious, though, how did you see this playing out.”

When he didn’t say anything, Elizabeth slowly nodded. “The next time you ignore me, I’ll slit this adorable little girl’s throat,” she said, turning the knife back over and placed the edge of the blade close to Emma’s throat as she moved back against the wall so that she could keep the stairs in her sight while she waited. “Now, you were helping us pass the time with that tale of woe?”

“Where do you want me to start?” Gray asked as he released the lock on Shane’s cell.

“We could start by you telling me what happened to the men that I had guarding the rest of the house,” Elizabeth said with a pointed look at the knife held against Emma’s throat.

“I have no idea,” Gray drawled.

Nodding slowly, Elizabeth said, “Lying’s really not going to work for me, but for now, I’m willing to overlook it while you explain why you betrayed me knowing what I’m capable of,” while Jill took in her smug expression.

“Mommy?” Caleb mumbled weakly as Jill looked at Gray and-

“Trust me,” he said, reaching over to take Caleb’s hand in his.

After a slight hesitation, Jill forced herself to let Caleb go, knowing that she really didn’t have a choice right now. She had to trust him. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” Jill said, forcing a smile as she watched Gray pick him up and place him in the cell with Shane.

“Do you really think that’s going to save him?” Elizabeth asked, sounding amused as she watched her mate close the cell door before pulling the key out of the lock and tossed it in the cell with the boys.

“For now,” Gray said as Shane reached up with a trembling hand and grabbed hold of Caleb’s small hand and pulled him closer.

When Elizabeth opened her mouth, most likely to threaten them, Gray cut her off. “She bought me from my Master when I was twelve years old and brought me to New York, where they placed me in a cell a little smaller than this one in the basement of a small bakery. Since she couldn’t risk one of the other shifters stealing my blood, she paid the local baker to hide me and keep my existence a secret. They had their daughter, who was a few years older than, watch over me and make sure that I was well-fed and taken care of to ensure that I survived my first transition.”

“I had to take care of my investment,” Elizabeth murmured absently as her gaze flickered to the stairs.

“Her name was Rory and she was a pain in my ass,” Gray said with a hint of a fond smile as he leaned back against the bars. “Every time she brought me food, she talked my ear off, uncaring that I refused to speak and every night, she snuck into the basement with a candle to keep me company and when her father punished me with a whip, she was there to hold my hand while I struggled not to lose my fucking mind.”

“One night, she came downstairs to keep me company only to realize that I was going through my first transition. Instead of alerting her parents like she was supposed to, Rory snuck back upstairs and stole the key along with a sack of food and half the pennies from her father’s coffers. Before she had a chance to remove my chains, Elizabeth was there with a dagger, ready to drain my blood only to discover that I was her mate as soon as she wrapped her hand around my throat.”

“It was an unpleasant surprise,” Elizabeth murmured, sounding thoughtful as she kept her gaze locked on the stairs. “Since I couldn’t drain him, I punished him by injecting him with silver, hoping that nature would do the rest only to learn the full extent of the mating mark.”

“When I realized that I couldn’t punish him without being left in excruciating pain, I did the next best thing and turned the bitch and killed her parents. I left her chained up just out of reach so that he was forced to watch her suffer. I really didn’t expect her to survive her transition, but when she did, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised since it meant that I now had a way to keep my unwanted mate in line,” Elizabeth said as everything began to make sense.

“You threatened to hurt her if he didn’t do what you wanted,” Jill guessed as she risked a glance back to find Shane watching her through silver eyes as he struggled against the urge to shift.

“And for the past three hundred years, it worked, until now,” Elizabeth said, drawing her attention to find the shifter sending her mate a curious look. “Why is that?”

“Magnus,” Gray bit out coldly, making Elizabeth’s lips twitch.

“I thought I’d have a little more time before you found out about that,” she said with a heartfelt sigh. “That would explain a few things.”

“The moment you sold her, it was all over,” Gray said, making Jill frown in confusion.

“When did you sell her?” Jill asked as she thought about everything that happened since she was taken from the Sentinel compound.

“Right before the auction,” Elizabeth admitted with a shrug.

“So, my transition…” Jill began, letting her words trail off as she waited for them to fill in the blanks.

“He was supposed to let my men kill you, but he stopped them after they broke your arm.”

“He shocked me,” Jill snapped.

Shaking her head, Elizabeth said, “He got them to release you and once they realized that someone put silver in the blood they forced down your throat, they had no choice but to let you live. I thought Logan did it to protect his newest project from the shifters he hired to watch over you, but now I know better.”

“And the blood you fed me afterwards?” Jill asked, remembering just how sick she felt after her time in the closet.

“Was enough to flush the silver out of your system and heal you from the hell she put you through in the closet,” Gray said, making her realize that the glares and the shock that he gave her that day before she was dragged inside the closet had been a warning.

“You knew that she was watching,” Jill said, watching as he slowly nodded.

“Always,” Elizabeth said with a smirk.

“And the junk food you fed the kids?” she asked, watching him frown in confusion.

“They were hungry,” he said defensively.

“I see,” Jill murmured, having absolutely no doubt in her mind that he thought devouring that much junk food was normal for a six-year-old, which was honestly terrifying, but that was a problem for another time.

“As much as I’m enjoying this Hallmark moment, I hate to admit this, but I don’t think Kale is coming,” Elizabeth said with a disappointed sigh.

“Then, you should probably cut your losses and release her so that you can make your escape while you still can,” Jill said, watching Elizabeth slowly shake her head as her gaze landed on Shane.

“I can’t very well leave without my consolation prize, now, can I?”