Free Guild of Truth 02 - Shield from the Heart by Mary K. Norris

Dennis either.
    He paused, another suspicious man up ahead.
    Sydney stopped next to him.
    Merrick glanced over his shoulder, his mind realizing what was happening too late.
    More men were behind them.
    Regina stepped out from around a corner.
    “Shit, they herded us.”

Chapter 7
    Joel paced the hotel room as the sound of Juliet, Luke, and Hazel playing cards lingered in the background of his mind.
    “Joel, you can stop pacing,” said Juliet. “You’re going to wear a path into the carpet. Besides, Sydney will be fine. Merrick’s with her.”
    His nails bit into the palm of his hand. It was that very reason why he was so wired. If Syd had been trapped with anyone else he wouldn’t have been as worried. But he’d seen the way Merrick had looked at her. Fuck, he even had to admit that Syd had looked at Merrick a few times with some kind of emotion in her eye.
    You’re overreacting.
    Was he? He didn’t fucking know anymore.
    More than once he’d wished with every fiber of his being that he and Sydney were Mirror Mates. Then he wouldn’t have these niggling doubts. He’d know for sure that she was the one for him.
    He forced himself to sit with the others.
    Hazel quietly passed him a hand of cards. He picked them up. “Thanks.”
    Three games later Joel was convinced Juliet was cheating.
    She planted her fists on her curvaceous hips. “I am not,” she protested.
    Joel leaned toward her. “Oh yeah?” he challenged. “Then let someone else deal.”
    Luke and Hazel exchanged a smile.
    A knock at the door interrupted Juliet’s stammering.
    Joel’s head whipped around. “Syd?” Had they caught an earlier train?
    The others got to their feet.
    He pulled open the door.
    “Your girlfriend is a little busy, I heard.” A hand grasped Joel’s hand.
    He wrenched back but it was too late. His vision went black. “What the fuck?” He blinked, flailing his free arm. He couldn’t fucking see!
    Juliet and Hazel cried out behind him. He heard shuffling followed by a crash.
    He dropped to the ground and reached out blindly with his hand. He connected with a shoe. His neck prickled and he Locked it.
    “Bastard,” the man growled before Joel was kicked in the chest. He reeled back. The connection between him and his attacker was broken. His vision slowly started coming back into focus. He glanced around the room.
    Vander’s men had found them.
    • • •
    “Nice trick.” Regina strolled toward them, tapping her nose. “Would have worked too if we hadn’t been watching you since the hospital.”
    Merrick pushed Sydney behind him.
    “What do you mean they herded us?” she whispered up to him.
    He took in their surroundings. “They manipulated me into thinking I was escaping them when really they led me right where they wanted me.” He waved his hand around. “To somewhere much less crowded.”
    They started to close rank around them.
    The man with the ponytail pulled out a long piece of fabric.
    Merrick tensed. “I’m not going back with you.”
    Regina smiled like she used to when he resisted her in his cell. She always found his defiance amusing.
    Her smile was all the warning they got. The men pounced.
    Merrick was far from his peak performance but he wasn’t starved and sleep deprived anymore either. He knocked a man with a buzz cut right off his feet. He could hear another attacker coming up behind him but the man with the ponytail came at him at the same time.
    They locked grips. Merrick could hear the struggle behind him. Every instinct raged at him to help Sydney, but if he didn’t take care of the man he was fighting he’d be no help to her.
    Anger fueled his strength and he kicked out, taking his attacker by surprise. The man’s leg buckled and he dropped to one knee.
    Sydney cried out.
    Merrick whirled.
    Cloth wrapped around his nose and mouth.
    “You shouldn’t have taken your eyes off me,” Ponytail said. He tightened the fabric around Merrick’s face making it difficult to breathe.
    A