What Lies Beneath

Pain woke me up. My back, shoulders, head — all were sore. I felt like I'd been smashed by a house like the Wicked Witch of the East. I sat up anyway. It was a horrible idea, but I managed to not die.

I couldn't tell what time it was, but the room was still dark. The door to Landon's room was wide open, as opposed to cracked like it normally was. My view of the room was skewed by the darkness, so I didn't know if he was in there. I threw the blankets aside and put my feet on the ground. When I stood, pain radiated through my body. My breathing became labored as I walked to the bathroom. After the door was shut, I took my shirt off and... wow. There was a black and blue line across my chest, making a perfect map of where I'd been hit. My back was worse, bruised all over, and agony when I touched it.

Landon knocked on my bathroom door. "Are you in there, Mila?"

I pulled my shirt back on, wincing the whole time. I opened the door and let him in. I folded my arms and leaned against the counter.

"Are you feeling better?"

I almost laughed. "I was beaten with a baton and thrown against a wall. Oh, and I abandoned my brother. So, no."

His eyebrow went up in that same put-out way. "Sorry if I didn't want to leave you alone to possibly die while I searched for a man I didn't know."

I scoffed. "Why didn't you? You're supposed to be looking for him, not keeping me safe."

"I need your head in one piece, remember?"

Ah, of course. It had nothing to do with me as a human being. Nothing to do with him liking me enough to not want me to die. He just needed his information for whatever fucking reason he had that he wouldn't tell me. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"Bad."

"Can I see?"

I turned around, and he lifted my shirt up. I winced when he touched me, but his cool hands were almost soothing on my skin. I felt him skim the areas that were hurt.

"That'll take a while to heal," he remarked, dropping my shirt.

I turned again. "Only a few seconds if you hand over some of your magic blood."

He snorted in amusement. "Nice try."

"What? You can eat me when I'm sleeping, but you won't help me just a little when I'm hurt?" "Yes."

My nostrils flared. "Not fair."

"It's perfectly fair. Blood isn't something to be played with or transferred frivolously. I'm not going to heal every scrape you get along the way."

My eyes turned to slits. "You know this is more than a scrape, Landon."

"Blood is food. Life. Nothing more than that, and you don't need to get involved in blood exchange. You're human. You can't possibly understand what it means. It's intimate, personal. I can't do this, and you shouldn't be angry about that." "I'm not angry," I said. "I'm annoyed. Don't think I'm just dying to drink blood either. The idea of it is disgusting. It was just a suggestion. I'm in a lot of pain, and it's not like I have anything I can take for it." Jaxon took care of all the medical stuff. We couldn't go to doctors much, but he always knew where to get pills. The really shitty part of this is that if Landon needed blood, I think I would give it to him.

"The conversation is over," he said firmly.

I brushed past him and into the room. I went into my bag, getting new clothes for the day. I'd slept in my jeans, and that was just not right. I pulled out shorts and a hoodie. That ought work for the time being.

I almost bumped into Landon on my way back to the bathroom. He wouldn't move out of the way. "Are you going to pout all day?"

"No," I said vehemently. "I'm going to take a bath and hope that I can get through the next hour without crying when air touches me."

He rolled his eyes. "A little dramatic, aren't we?"

My hip cocked out when I crossed my arms. "How about I take a club to you and see how you do? Maybe if I hit you hard enough, candy'll fly out of you." I shoved past him and into the bathroom, slamming the door.

I dropped my clothes on the counter, went to turn the water on, and set it to a cool temperature. I stripped my old clothes off and got into the too-small tub. Times like this, I really wish I lived in a house.

I distracted myself by thinking about what I'd do once I found my brother. We would find a place to live. Maybe he'd let us live there for a little while. I bet I could push for a whole year. The idea of waking up in the same bed for a year was amazing. It almost made the pain go away.

"Mila," Landon said from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"I'm naked."

"And?"

I sighed. "No you cannot come in."

"I can be naked too, if it'll make things more even."

"Fuck off."

"Mila," he said as if he was speaking to a child. "We need to discuss things."

"And you can't do it from the other side of the door?"

"I'd rather not."

I tapped my finger on the edge of the bath. "Give me five minutes, and I'll come out there."

There was nothing more from him after that.

I washed my hair and finished my bath. So much for something soothing. I drained the water and dried off quickly, not knowing if Landon would bust in if I went over my five minutes. After I dressed, I left the bathroom.

Landon was on my bed, reading a book he'd dug out of my bag. I hadn't even gotten to finish it yet. It was one of my New 52s. "That's mine," I said. "Put it back."

"After I find out if Harley gets away from the Joker."

"She doesn't."

He shut the book. I was lying, pretty much. Joker didn't know Harley got away from the chains. She had to bite through her wrists and use the blood to slip out of them.

"I seem to always piss you off," Landon commented, tossing my book on my bag.

"Cuz you're a dick."

He put his hand to his heart. "You wound me."

I set my hand on my hip. "Just get to what you need to talk to me about."

He crossed his ankles and laced his fingers on his stomach. "The demons are still at the venue. We need to go back before sunset to check for your brother. Are you up for it, or do you need to stay here?"

"I'm not staying here when my brother might be a few miles away. I wanna be the first face he sees when he's free."

"Fine then. We leave in a half hour." He stood and crossed the room, leaving mine and entering his.

I packed up my bag and ate a pack of strawberry snack cakes before it was time to go. I finally got a look at the clock. It was a lot later than I thought. Pushing three in the afternoon. Glad Landon had been so okay with me sleeping with a

concussion.

We got into the van, and Landon drove again. We parked just as far away, only in a different area. Just in case, I guessed.

Landon shut the engine off and put the keys in his pockets. "We're going to need to enter a different way than before."

"Well, I'm hurt, so yeah. I can't climb a tree." Sitting in the seat was a special kind of agony. Every bump made me want to cry.

"I could have carried you, but that's not the point."

We got out of the car, and I looked over the hood at him. "So you'll carry me, that's fine, but blood is too intimate. As opposed to having my body pressed up to yours all snuggly-like."

"Yeah." He grabbed my hand and yanked me around the car. "Let it go because I'm not letting you drink from me."

I gave him a very sexy look. "But it would be so much fun."

It made him pause. He looked me up and down, taking me in with a serious face. I would have given anything to know what was running through his mind. "Just hush and come along."

We were on the sidewalk, and he still didn't let go of my hand. I stared down at them. "I'm a big girl. You can let go."

"I could," he said. "But we need to blend in, lest we look like we're up to something. A couple taking a stroll is a fine cover." He laced our fingers together and pulled me to his side. All I could do was roll my eyes.

I let him hold my hand for the whole walk. He might have been right about the cover thing. I hated thinking he might be right about anything. He always seemed so cocky about everything. Maybe he was just being that way because he actually had someone to show off to now. If he was always alone, then who was there to praise him? Not that I did it now.

We stopped at the front of the building, and Landon smiled at the challenge. "Ready?"

"Aren't we going in a back way?"

"Nope. We're walking in the front door," he said with something akin to glee. His face was like a child's, in that he had pure excitement dancing in his eyes.

I gripped his hand tightly. "Front door? Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Just play along, and you'll be fine."

We walked up the steps to the building, still calm as can be. There were double doors, taller than two of me. He shoved one open with his free hand. He let go of me once we stepped inside.

Around the main entrance was a ballroom. There were a few people scattered about, cleaning and moving things. They started trying to hoist a massive table at the end of the room. It took all three of them to get it, and they carried it out of the room. There was a modestly sized stage on one wall. I bit my lip when I pictured my brother on it.

We walked up to a man with a clipboard. When he saw us, his eyes widened just slightly. "Excuse me, you can't be in here."

Landon smiled at him. "Oh, we were here last night. My wife and I arranged to make a pick-up of our purchase this afternoon. The plane leaves in a couple hours."

The man's eyebrow went up, and he glanced at his clipboard. "Can I get a name, please?"

"Sure, it's Mr. and Mrs. Crane."

I smiled to myself, and the man looked at his clipboard, skimming it with his pen. While he was looking down, Landon hit him in the temple with his hand. The man went down, and I didn't even have it in me to be surprised. "Well... that happened." I sighed. "What now?"

Landon lifted the man up under his arms. "I'm gonna stick him in a closet. Wait here." I watched him drag the man away, even though he was strong enough to lift him off the ground. Not his style, I guess.

My foot was tapping, and I was getting nervous about those cleaners coming back. I couldn't be sure of how much they knew. If they were just random people hired, I was safe enough. Landon came back for me. "All done." He held a hand out. "Shall we?"

I don't know why, but I took it.

He walked me through a few doors, and he found the way to the bottom staircase. We approached another door. This one had a massive lock, along with three that were along the side of it. "This is it," Landon said. "Stand back."

When I did, he threw the bottom of his foot into the door. It cracked loudly but didn't break open. He turned, then he put his hand in my pocket.

"Whoa, buy a girl dinner first, honey," I said, not stopping him.

He pulled my knife out. "Just needed this." He brought the blade out. Mmm.

"You could have asked me for it instead of digging around my pants."

The corner of his mouth went up. "I know."

My special adult place got all tingly, but I ignored it... after a moment or two of some graphic but pleasant images.

Landon started pulling the locks off the splintered door, prying them off with my knife. In the last week, he'd used it more than I had since I'd gotten it. I was mildly ashamed of myself.

The locks were discarded, and the door swung open. Landon found a light quickly. This room was much the same as the last one we found in L.A. Massive cages with emaciated-looking people inside.

"Go on, kid," Landon nudged me. "Find your brother."

I walked in without hesitation. My eyes did a quick scan of the room as impatience took me over. I didn't see him in the first sweep, and my heart sank. Then I looked closer, slower. My eyes met each and every one of the demons in this room. Not one of them was my brother.

I didn't know I was crying until I saw the teardrop hit the floor. First one, then another. Then my eyes were burning. Bitter tears fell, and my shoulders sank. The pain didn't even bother me. It was trumped with something deeper. Feet shuffled, and Landon was by my side. "He's not here."

"No. He's not."

His hand brushed mine before he held it. His fingertips touched my palm as he ran his thumb along the top. "That might not be a bad thing." His voice had that double meaning in it again. I just couldn't see the good in this. "Will you help me?"

I looked at him. He smiled at me. It was different. New. It wasn't cocky or smug. Arrogant or mischievous. He was smiling at me as if I was a comrade. He held up a set of keys. "Way ahead of you, kid." He put them in the hand he was holding. Landon cleared his throat. "Listen up. Any and all of you who don't want to get shipped off to God-knows-where, stand up. My lovely little darling over here is going to let you go."

I hopped to it, feeling lower than low. But this was what I could do. They took my brother from me, so I'd take this from them. No one else would lose their Jaxon if I had any say in it.

The first cage I opened was a girl's. She looked young. My age. She was weak, so I took her hands and pulled her out.

"Thank you," she said.

I sent her in Landon's direction, and he steadied her. I let the others go, repeating the process until everyone was out. They stood at the wall, using it to hold themselves up.

I stood in front of the line. "Okay, we don't know how many people are upstairs that would stop or kill us, so we need another way out."

"There," Landon nodded to a window at the wall. It was ten feet up and small. But it would work.

"How ya wanna do this, honey?" I asked him.

He walked over, examining it with his eyes. "If I lift you up, do you think you can quietly pop the glass?"

"Maybe."

Landon and I walked to the window. I put my hands on his shoulders, and he lifted me up by my hips, turning me so I wasn't facing him once I was up. Then he sat me on his shoulders like a little kid.

"Well..." I said, quiet enough so only he could hear. "...not how I pictured having your head between my legs."

He smiled despite himself and patted the leg that hung over his left shoulder. "Me neither. But this seemed like the best way to keep you steady."

I tried to use my knife to peel away the gunk that was holding the window in. I could only get pieces off. It crumbled under my blade, but not enough. My shoulders were screaming in pain each time I lifted them up.

I looked down at Landon. "I can't get it."

He sighed. "This might end up getting loud."

I mussed his hair with my fingertips. "I guess you can put me down."

A girl stumbled up to us before he set me down. Her hair hung in limp blonde strands. Eyes half open and wild. She spoke with a slight accent, French maybe? "Wait. Let me try something."

She laid her hands on the brick wall and shut her eyes. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then I felt something in the air. I didn't know what it was, but it permeated in my chest, warm and disorienting. When the world shook, I held onto Landon. My fingers weaved into his hair, and he took my other hand.

I felt the ground under me start vibrating. The wall was shaking, and the glass inside of it was loosening. The panel fell out, and the demon girl caught it then set it aside.

"Huh," I said without breath. "What the fuck was that?"

The girl looked up. "Just a little trick. Allons-y."

Landon grabbed my hips again and set me on my feet. "Stand aside, baby. You can't help with this."

The demons gathered in a line, and Landon hoisted them up so that they could grab ahold of the window. They climbed through the opening and waited on the other side until everyone was through. I was last.

Landon looked at me and sighed. "This is going to hurt. A lot."

"I know. But we can't go back the way we came."

He lifted me up as high as he could, and I grabbed the window. He had hold of my feet and pushed while I pulled myself up. My shoulders didn't like the exertion, and I thought I was going to throw up. One of the demons helped pull me the rest of the way through. I thanked them and turned back to check on Landon.

"Got it?" I asked as he was already halfway through.

Once he was out, he dusted himself off. "Yup.”

We stood in front of the weakened demons. "What do we do with them?"

Landon's arms crossed at the same time mine did. "How many of you have someone to go home to?"

All but three raised their hands.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and asked for mine. "We get somewhere safe, and then you can call. Understood?"

They agreed, and we started walking. We went back to the van, and the demons started making calls. The cries of relief were too much for me. The echoing voices saying "I love you" just made me miserable. They would get their families back. I probably wouldn't.

I leaned against the side of the van with Landon. My arms crossed, and my ankles went along with them. "How long before anyone notices they're gone?"

"I imagine once that man wakes up and starts screaming. I removed his cell phone from his person. Along with his cash. Just for fun."

I smiled. "That's sweet of you. That and helping me out with the demons.”

He shrugged like he didn't care. "I knew you'd want to do this. If I fought you, you'd just keep going. This saved time."

"Is that the only reason you did this?"

He waited a moment. Then he said, "No."

I didn't press.

It took a half hour, but all the calls had been made. The demons without families took off on their own. The rest made plans to meet people. Wait for money to get wired so that they could fly home, should they need to. Most were being picked up. Not a lot of them lived more than a state away.

When the girl that helped me was off the phone, I walked up to her. "Are you guys the only ones that were down there?"

Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

I showed her a picture of my brother. "He was taken a week ago. I'm looking for him."

Her mouth scrunched up on one side. "Sorry. I don't know him. They've had me for a month, and I haven't seen him. What's his ability? Maybe I've heard them talk about him."

"He's human."

"Human," she said, sounding troubled. "They took a human?"

"I screwed with the wrong guy. It was a punishment."

Her face dropped with sympathy. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could help you."

"That's all right. Just get home safe. Warn people about this."

"You bet I will. My boyfriend should be here in fifteen minutes. He's been looking for me. After I told him what happened, I could hear the rage in his voice. Vampire. Happens sometimes. When they love, they love hard. He even calls me his mate. So cute. But when he's angry, it's almost scary. Does that happen with yours?" She nodded to Landon. He was talking to a demon man. He looked utterly bored.

"Oh, we're not together."

I was laughed at. "Sorry. I just assumed."

"He's only helping me find my brother. He can't stand me."

She smiled. "I don't believe that for a second."

Once that girl was gone, Talia, I figured it was okay to leave. There were a couple people still there, discussing plans. I gave them a couple-hundred bucks and told them to take off, just in case.

We got back to the hotel, and the first thing I did was change my clothes. I put on a tank top and my sleep shorts. I sat on my bed and the soreness hit me again.

"You okay?" Landon asked as he walked out of his room and into mine.

"I hurt," was all I said.

He sighed and walked up to my bed, then he sat behind me.

I looked back at him. "What are you doing?"

"Helping. Shut up and let me." He hooked his thumbs around the straps on my tank top and pulled it down my arms.

I made a surprised sound and reached for a pillow, covering my chest. "Hey, I'm not wearing a bra."

"I know." He swept my hair over my shoulder. "Just relax." He put his hands on my shoulders, and it hurt worse than before. It only felt better when he gently started rubbing my shoulders. Something about the coolness of his hands was

soothing.

My head hung as I tried to fight off thoughts of where my brother might be at this moment. If he was even still alive. I had to believe he was. It was the only way I could keep going.

When I sniffled, Landon leaned be back, forcing me to look up at him. "Are you crying?"

"No," I lied.

My head ended up against his chest, and his hands remained working my shoulders. "We're going to find him, Mila."

"I'm starting to think that's not going to happen." He didn't say anything more, so I did. "You've done more to help me than it was worth, so I think I should do something for you."

He smiled. "Does it involve you letting me pull this top further down?"

I ignored that. "You have a life to get back to. So I'm calling it. Give me another five days. If we don't find him, then I'll give you what you need. You can go."

His hands stopped, and he wouldn't look at me. "Are you going to stop looking for Jaxon?"

"No. I'm not stopping until I find him. I can't. He's my whole life."

Landon nodded. "I understand." He looked down at me. "Move onto your stomach, love. That might work better."

"If I had a dime..."

He didn't find that funny for some reason. I lay down on my stomach, and he proceeded to pull my top down even more. Without asking, too. I only cared for a few minutes. He was making the pain go away, and it was so worth it. Then I started drifting.