by KB Anne
I sighed and stared out the window thinking about what Ace said about our world being worse than a fictionalized fantasy series. Was he referring to The Third Coming? If so, I needed to escape before that took place.
* * *
Jerry Jr. stood beside the helicopter when we arrived at the landing pad. Rather than act like the gentleman he pretended to be and open the door for me, he waited for Ace to let us out.
“Stay,” Thomas grunted. “Jovie Lynn and I will go out first. Jude and Jovie will remain with you.”
“In case I make a quick getaway?”
His jaw tightened. “Yes.”
He really hated it when I talked to him, especially at my reminder that I slipped from his fingers with the ease of..., well, a Silver Fae. Of course, that was before my industrial strength iron cross.
I quickly climbed out after Jovie. Best to keep everyone on their toes. I hissed when the sunlight hit my eyes. Jerry Jr. better have sunglasses.
Jerry Jr. dipped his head toward me when I looked at him. “Jessalyn.”
“Jerry Jr.,” I replied.
All we needed was for someone to say, “O...kay,” in order to make it even more awkward and uncomfortable. Neither one of us wanted to be here.
Poor Grandmother. She’ll be devastated at lack of spark between us.
I chuckled to myself. I considered it payback for the torture she put me through.
Jerry Jr. and I sat across from each other in the helicopter. I wasn’t sure why we bothered. Without The Great White or my grandmother to harass us, it wasn’t like we were going to talk to each other.
After a short ride, the helicopter hovered over a huge lake. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I took in the expansive blue water and miles of wooded shoreline. The thrill of possibility filled me.
By the time we landed at the helipad, I was positively giddy. Actually, I was a little buzzed from all the elixir. In fact, I was a lot buzzed.
And the hit of elixir before I climbed out of the helicopter only added to it. So much so that I felt extra bold and brazen.
Jerry Jr. invited me to ride in his golf cart. I hoped right in and slapped the dashboard. “Let’s ride.”
After Jude and Thomas got on, he hit the gas.
“Do you mind if I call you J.J.?” I slurred. My tongue stopped working correctly.
He raised an eyebrow. Not in the sexy way Christian did, but still, it was cute. “J.J.?”
“Jerry Junior is a mouthful. J.J. is fun and mysterious.”
His gray eyes sparkled. “Oh, I like fun and mysterious.” His gaze drifted to Thomas and Jude in the back seat.
“Then J.J. it is.”
The caravan of golf carts flew down the path toward the dock. Flocks of people stood on either side of it. Some waved. Others wiped their cell phones out at the ready.
“Are those your fans?”
“They are,” he sighed, sounding bored.
We whirled past them. I waved because why the hay not? Some returned my greeting. Others scowled. Haters gonna hate.
As we approached the dock, a cluster of girls in skimpy bikinis bounced up and down. “Hi Jerry!”
“Want some company?” shouted a large chested girl. She better watch herself or she might wind up with a black eye from one of her boobs.
“Can we go with you today?” yelled another.
J.J. waved back but didn’t invite any of them to go with us.
I leaned over to whisper, “Your girlfriends?”
The golf cart stopped. He climbed out and unlocked the gate to the private dock.
“That’s what they tell me,” he sighed. “And spies.”
That surprised me. “Spies?”
“For the tabloids. They get paid if they take a picture or video of me and who I’m dating. Others want to catch me committing a sin.”
“Sin?”
He rubbed his hands up and down his legs. “If your father was the face of OneTruth, you’d have enemies too. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to them.”
I noted the pang of regret in his voice. I felt sorry for him. It wasn’t easy living a lie.
“Doesn’t sound like you have. Besides, I don’t plan on sticking around long enough to become newsworthy.”
Crap, did I just say that aloud?
“Where are you going, and more importantly, will you take me with you?”
I smiled at him, but that didn’t mean I trusted him. J.J. was likeable when he let his guard down. “I just meant no paparazzi at the Silverlain Estate.”
“No, I guess there isn’t. The only time I can really get away from them is when I go to the Island.”
Treadwell had warned me he’d take me to the Island for training. It didn’t seem like a paradise when he mentioned it.
“Tell me about this island.”
He glanced back at Thomas and Jude, before leaning over to speak to me. “It’s off the coast and super remote. There’s a large mansion on it. Very private and very romantic.”
“I wonder why Treadwell threatened to take me there. He made it sound like punishment.”
“You’re a princess. No one can punish you.”
He was so naïve. I snorted. “Tell that to Treadwell. Wait until you see what he did to me.”
His eyes widened.
“I’ll show you on the boat.”
His forehead pinched together. “There are barracks and training facilities on the other end of the island. I keep as far away from sweat and pain as possible. That was probably where he was sending you.”
“Rain on my fun why don’t you.”
He threw back his head and laughed as the golf cart stopped in front of a large motor boat. It wasn’t the giant yacht I expected. The odds were in my favor. It was much easier disappear into the water from a motor boat without anyone noticing you.
He offered his hand to assist me onto the boat ramp. “I didn’t think you had a personality. Today won’t be so bad after all. My dad seems to think you’re a precious gem.”
Further proof that the old goat wanted to add me to his collection.
“Treadwell would disagree with that assessment.”
“I keep as far away from him. The dude scares me.”
“I don’t have that privilege.”
He narrowed his eyes at me as if putting the final pieces of the puzzle together and realizing I wasn’t here on my own free will.
“What did you do to piss him off?”
“I shaved my head among other things.”
He stared at my wig. “Seriously?”
I nodded.
“Let me see.
Jovie and Sami climbed the ramp unaware of the topic of our conversation. Jude was occupied with unloading supplies, and Thomas was busy guarding me from a respectful distance by standing near the ramp just in case I made a fast getaway.
I removed my wig.
He clapped dancing in a circle. “That is awesome. May I?” He reached for my head but waited for permission to touch it.
“Go nuts.”
Jude didn’t looked pleased with J.J.’s hand rubbing my head. Jovie pursed her lips. Disapproval radiated off her. My wings might be clipped, but there were other ways I could fly.
His hand slid back and forth. “It’s so cool. I bet Lady Silverlain had a fit.” His eyes sparkled with delight.
I snorted. “I came down to breakfast without my wig my second day there. She screamed her head off. I was hoping she’d pass out from shock, but no such luck.”
“Gah,” he laughed with me as he headed toward the bar. “I wish I had the nerve to make radical statements like that.” He slipped behind it, ducked down and pulled out a few bottles and glasses.
“What’s stopping you?”
“You’ve met my father right?” He broke the seal on a bottle, Demon Whiskey (ironic I know), with a strong twist of the cap. “Who wants a drink?”
I was already buzzed from the elixir, and if I planned on escaping, I needed my wits about me. Plus, th
ere was the whole I-don’t-drink-part. “I’ll take a water.”
He ducked down again and reappeared with a bottle of water, a bowl of fruit, and an ice chest. He threw some ice in a glass. “You sure you don’t want something harder.”
“No, just water.”
“Suit yourself,” he said pouring the water into a glass. “Anyone else want a drink?”
Thomas, Jovie, and Jude answered with a unified, “No, thank you.”
Sami, on the other hand, stood with her hand on her hip as if considering J.J.’s offer.
He threw ice into another glass and held it up, shaking it back and forth. “Sami?”
She licked her lips. Bet she’d love to sink her teeth into my neck, but she’d never get the chance.
“No, she doesn’t,” Thomas answered for her.
She scowled at him but didn’t disagree. Sami might be physically standing on the solid deck of the boat but the ice under her was thin.
“Your loss,” J.J. said tossing the ice from the glass over the side of the boat, then poured himself some Demon Whiskey. He toasted imaginary glasses in the air before knocking it back. He winced as he poured himself a second one.
He sidestepped out from the bar and danced in place. I couldn’t tell if the first round of whiskey already took effect or if the boat was his happy place, and he let it all hang out.
“Cap’n, a tour of the shoreline for our guests,” he shouted standing by Thomas. He winked at me as he tugged Thomas’s arm and pulled him over to a bench seat.
“Sit, sit, everyone. Captain knows I like it fast and hard.” J.J. threw back his head and laughed at himself.
Oh, how I’ve missed innuendo.
Thomas side-eyed him but didn’t move away. Poor J.J. set his sights on General Clone—I’ll have to find him some better eye candy who might reciprocate.
* * *
J.J. didn’t exaggerate when he said the captain drove fast and made hard turns. We kept falling into each other as the captain veered wildly away from the shoreline before jerking the boat back toward it at every peninsula. He was either dipping into his own stash of Demon Whiskey, or he honored J.J.’s desire to touch Thomas at every opportunity. Thomas’s jaws clenched as he held onto the railing to keep himself upright whenever the boat swerved toward J.J.
J.J. gripped Thomas’s shoulder, then his knee. He winked at him before he strolled over to the bar for round three. Thomas gave no indication that he was just groped by Great White’s son or that he was affected by it.
I enjoyed his discomfort very much.
“Drink anyone?” J.J. asked raising his glass again. Half the whiskey sloshed onto his hand as the boat swerved again, and he disappeared from our line of sight. Neither Thomas nor Jude ran to assist him.
I rolled my eyes. The males of Team Asshole obviously weren’t secure enough in their own sexuality to help anyone in need. I hurried behind the bar. J.J.’s disappointment with my arrival confirmed he was hoping one of my strapping young guards would rescue him. I offered my hand. He grabbed it with his whiskey soaked one, and I pulled him to standing. “Nice try, but you’ll have to do better than that,” I whispered out of the side of my mouth.
“I’ve got some other ideas,” he murmured to me. “Who wants to waterski?”
Jovie straightened. She grew up waterskiing on her grandparent’s boat. She never liked getting sweaty or exerting herself in the pool, but she loved waterskiing. “I’ll…,” she started.
“Four guards at all times for Jessalyn,” Thomas said.
J.J. drained half his glass. “Four guards for her?” He pointed at me like I was no more of a threat than the melting ice in the cooler.
Oh, he was so naïve.
Jude stood up and crossed his arms. “Yes, for her.”
And he was an asshole.
“Where’s she going to go? We’re in the middle of a huge lake. She couldn’t make the shoreline from here.”
J.J. didn’t know how far I could swim. No one on this boat did. Since I started swimming, I was always able to hold my breath for a very long time. Even with my new iron cross, I suspected I could hold it even longer. Long enough to swim away undetected.
“Come on,” he coaxed them, with extra emphasis on Jude and Thomas, “try it.”
He turned less enthusiastically to me. “Jessalyn, you up to it?”
He really knew how to make a girl feel special. I leapt at the chance even with his less than lukewarm invitation.
“Actually, I would love to, but I was told I couldn’t swim.”
“By whom?”
“My grandparents.”
He glanced over his left shoulder, then his right. “I don’t see them here. How are you supposed to “Wow” me if you can’t even swim on our boating date?” He narrowed his eyes.
Challenge thrown.
I rose from the bench and yanked off my shirt.
Challenge accepted.
He rushed over to me. “What the hell is that?” He pointed at the iron straps. I glanced down at the straps and the connecting bolts that were hammered right through each of my shoulders.
I turned around to show him the iron cross. “To ensure I don’t break free.”
Jovie’s eyes teared up. She’d only seen parts of the iron cross and the straps as she applied the ointment. She hadn’t seen it in its entirety. No one had.
Jude’s hand shot to his mouth like he might be sick. Thomas’s face paled. Even Sami appeared shocked.
“Holy shit,” J.J. said. “You really know how to piss Treadwell and your grandparents off.”
“It’s a gift.”
His fingers hovered over the straps as he traced them. “Does it hurt?”
Like lying on a bed of red hot coals with another layer on my chest.
I glared at Sami. “I’ve had worse.”
Her eyes widened as she realized what I was referring to. If her hate softened at the iron wings, I reignited it.
“Well, hell’s bells,” J.J. said absently mindedly dragging his free hand through his hair.
I observed the shoreline. Definitely doable. “Let’s go waterskiing.”
He snapped out of his moment of sympathy and deep thought.
“I like your style,” he said grinning, then disappeared into the cabin.
“Hey Jerry,” Jude walked over to the open cabin door. “Do you have the set up for tandem skiing?”
“The name’s J.J.,” he said handing Jude a pair of skis, as he carried another pair. “What type of two bit operation do you think I’m running?”
He tried to slip an arm around Jude. Jude successfully ducked out of the way by reaching for a life preserver.
The excitement of waterskiing faded as I realized what Jude intended.
“I don’t know. I’m not really good at waterskiing,” I said.
“You are full of crap,” Sami growled. She didn’t know how to talk like a normal person anymore. “You used to waterski all summer with us.”
I glared at her. I’d like nothing more than to knock that sinister smile off her face. She planned to make my life miserable in ways I couldn’t even begin to fathom.
“I meant I haven’t water-skied this year yet. I should probably warm up.”
“Oh please, Jessalyn. Loosen up.” J.J. slapped my back.
Blinding pain shot through me. I clung to the railing to stop from dropping to my knees. My jaw clenched to avoid crying out.
“Oops, sorry,” he slurred, too drunk to even be sorry, too drunk to remember my newly installed iron cross, too drunk to realize the hurt he caused.
I clutched the railing breathing in and out filtering through the pain. No one seemed to notice our exchange and my reaction—for that I was thankful. As I recovered, I watched the chop of the water. My timing would need to be perfect, but my new plan should still work. I turned back so Sami and Jove wouldn’t suspect my plan. I’d never pulled a stunt like this on Jovie’s boat. I never had too.
J.J. drained the rest of his
glass. Perfect. He’ll serve as the distraction without even realizing it.
“Jude, you’ve obviously water-skied before. Do you want two skis or one?” J.J. asked.
Jude’s testosterone took over. “I’ll go for one.” He ripped off his shirt. His pecs threw their own dance party as he watched me, but his washboard abs and moving nipples were lost on me.
If he came near me in the water, he would lose a testicle.
J.J. slid between us. Not to break up the sexual tension because the air between Jude and I was ice-cold. He wanted to create his own heat. “Somebody works out.”
Jude stepped back. “I’ll attach the tow rope.”
Jovie’s gaze drifted with Jude. It was firmly attached to the front base of his bathing suit. Her and Sami always liked to guess penis size. That’s the real reason why they came to my swim meets. Banana hammocks left little to the imagination. Bathing trunks, on the other hand, were much harder to estimate, but it looked like she was taking a guess.
Jude leaned over the stern of the boat with the rope. Thomas bent down with him. “Do you think this is a good idea?”
“It’ll be fine. I’m an excellent swimmer, and she can’t go anywhere.”
Thomas frowned at the shoreline, as if calculating every possible scenario. He’d never guess what I had in mind.
J.J. clapped oblivious to escape plans and penis size estimates. “Okay, who’s ready to waterski?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Starr
* * *
“Bottom’s up,” J.J. shouted as I leapt off the boat. A giant swell from a passing boat rose to greet me. Accept me. Swallow me whole. I plunged under. The life preserver unable to fight gravity for the initial descent. My skin pulsed as water rushed to mend my broken wings. The water kissed and caressed. It cared for and tended to. It reminded me what it felt to be alive. Its icy tendrils fumbled at the straps of my life preserver, wanting to free me as much as I wanted to break free.
Another rush of current surged next to me. Jude.
As if sensing the reality of the situation, my life preserver sucked me back up to the surface before Jude had a chance to suspect what I had planned.