Carpathian 09 - Dark Guardian

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    gave them things to do and a place to go when their parents weren't home or when there was trouble. He didn't deserve what Drake did to him."
    Lucian felt her falter then. She crumbled inside, her silent screams louder than ever. On the outside she appeared calm, but she was sick, fighting back the nausea gripping her. Immediately he wrapped his arms around her, turning her against his chest. His heart matched the exact rhythm of hers. You are not alone, never alone. Drake can never separate us. You can reach for me over time and space, and I will be with you .
    I can't bear this. Sid was so sweet. You would've liked him. Tom and Shelby were nice people.
    They had no children, and they treated me like a daughter. Their only sin was that they liked me.
    And you met Mrs. Kramer. There was no one nicer. This is all because of me. If I hadn't gone to your house, let them publish our engagement in the newspapers, Drake wouldn't have done this.
    Drake is totally responsible, honey, not you . He was patient, repeating it over and over, wanting his words to sink in.
    He'll get to you. He will. You and Barry . She stiffened, her eyes suddenly wide with terror. "He's going after Barry, Captain. Drake will do it—I know he will. He'll access your computers, torture someone, I don't know how, but he's going to go after Barry. Drake's different now. I can't explain it—I just feel it.
    Something's wrong with all of this. In the past he always killed because he perceived others as a threat to his family. This was rage. This was because he wanted to kill. Part of him was Drake, because he performed like Drake, he took their eyes, but he wasn't exactly the same. He doesn't kill with this kind of rage. He's different." She shook her head. "I have to get to Barry. He isn't safe."
    "No one knows where we stashed Radcliff," Daryl protested. "I want you to go to the station and write up your report. Every detail. We need it, Jaxx."
    "Someone knows where he is. There's a paper trail. There's always a paper trail. You think he can't find Barry? It's what he does. I'm going to him." She was absolutely firm.
    "He can't find him," the captain reiterated.
    "I could find Barry," Jaxon said confidently. "Lucian, we have to protect him."
    "You go back to the station, Jaxon," Lucian said softly, his voice as mild as ever. That voice that no one could ever resist. "I will go with Captain Smith to get Barry and bring him to safety. Antonio will go, also, so there is no need to worry about protecting me. I will keep him safe, Jaxon." The black-velvet voice was gentle. "You will be safe at the station, and I will concentrate on picking up Drake's trail."
    She clung to his hand, knowing he was right, but afraid it was just what Drake wanted. Afraid Drake was using the threat to Barry as a trap to lure Lucian out into the open. She felt so sick inside. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you, Lucian."
    He brought her hand to the warmth of his mouth. "Nothing can harm me, angel. Go to the station where it is safe, and allow me to do this small thing for you."
    "Drake is different, Lucian. I don't know how, but it changes everything and makes him much more unpredictable. He is a monster, a true monster, with every skill of our best fighters and all the cunning of wild animal. Our engagement must have driven him over the edge."

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    "He was already over the edge," Lucian said quietly, deliberately allowing his voice to drop an octave so that it soothed and calmed her. He walked with her to the squad car. "I will stay with you until I see that you are safe within the station house where no one can harm you. Then we will go to Barry."
    "You have to hurry, Lucian. Drake could be stalking him right now." She was anxious, but his voice held that strange, mesmerizing effect that made her feel as if everything would be all right.
    Daryl Smith cleared his throat, determined to protest. He had allowed Lucian Daratrazanoff onto the crime scene because Jaxx clearly needed him there, but that he be allowed into the middle of a police crisis was going too far. But there was something dangerous about Lucian, something powerful, and it wasn't his money. The eyes were too watchful, the face too still. Smith was frankly wary of denying the man anything.
    Daratrazanoff turned his head toward the captain, almost as