Free The Darkness Within by Jaime Rush Page B

hers. “Because I’m willing to bet that you’ll give me anything I ask for to save your daughter. Your body. Your cooperation. And even Tucker.”

Chapter Ten
     
    T UCKER LED D EL up the stairs. He stopped when they reached the top, turning and taking her hand. A strange quiver passed through her.
    He turned it palm up. “That’s more than nothing, Del. I should have asked Shea to—”
    She shook her head. “No, that’s all right. It’s fine.”
    “You’ve got bruises on your wrists.” Anger vibrated from him.
    “I wasn’t being very cooperative when he was trying to bind them.” She gently pulled her hand away. “I’m fine. Really.”
    He led her into the last bedroom on the left. His, she guessed. Big furniture was crowded into the small space. Otherwise, it wasn’t far from the way his room had looked when he’d lived with them: clothes draped over the back of a chair, Dean Koontz books here and there, and four decks of cards on top of the dresser. Several cards had spilled out of one box and landed on the wood floor. She saw pieces of paper and business cards with room numbers written in feminine handwriting.
    She followed him to a large, luxurious bathroom. The granite counter had the kinds of porcelain sinks that sat on top like bowls. The large glass shower looked incredibly inviting.
    He let go of her hand and rifled through a medicine cabinet, pulling out salve and antiseptic. Then he ran the water until it was warm and rubbed soap on a washcloth. He took her hand again. In the brighter lights, it looked much worse than it felt, the blood crusted over and the surrounding skin red.
    He kept his concentration on that, but she couldn’t take her eyes from him. His hair was still mussed, and she resisted the urge to comb her fingers through the thick, shiny strands. He was gentle, taking great care with her. Her heart tightened uncomfortably, making the tingle of pain on her arm nothing in comparison.
    He’s unnatural. Supernatural. She had to remind herself, crazily enough, since she’d just seen him turn into something resembling a wolf. But here, he was a man, his humanity in full control, tending to her wound.
    He is a man. You know his heart, once felt his body pressed against yours.
    She shook the thoughts away, catching his attention.
    “Does it hurt?” he asked, catching her off guard with the tenderness in his eyes.
    “A little.” A lot. But not the arm, Tucker. Not even close. “Thank you for helping me. For trying to rescue my mom.”
    “We’re not giving up yet. When you give up, you die.”
    He spoke from experience. He turned back to his task, releasing her from the hold his silver eyes had on her. After rubbing on the salve, he clamped her hand between his arm and his side and wrapped some gauze around her wrist.
    “There, you’re all set,” he said, releasing her.
    Her cell phone rang. She dug in the purse she’d slung over her shoulder and stared at the screen. “I don’t recognize the number.”
    He gestured for her to take it as he came up beside her and pressed his cheek to hers to listen.
    “Hello,” she answered.
    “It’s me. Mom. I want you to know that I’m okay. I wasn’t supposed to leave my people, and I did. I broke the rules and it’s time for me to go back to them, maybe back home. Elgin promised he wouldn’t hurt you, but . . . only if he can talk to Tucker. Alone. He wants to meet his son. He says he won’t hurt him and I believe . . . no, I don’t—”
    The line went dead.
    Del called the number back, and this time a man answered. Elgin.
    “I want to talk to my mother,” she said.
    “You heard, she’s fine. She wants you to go on with your life, and I have promised that if she cooperates, I will let you live.”
    “What are you going to do to her?”
    “She’ll likely go home, where she can’t get into trouble.”
    Home. Her mother had said her dimension was a lot like this one. Obviously, though, she was happier here.
    “What