“Where are you? I’m on my way.”
“No, no. Don’t go anywhere. We got out, and everyone’s fine. But don’t go to the house. We’re going to let them think Tucker killed me in the fire yesterday. This is Tucker’s number, so if you need to get ahold of me, try this line. I’ll find a new phone soon and give you that number when we get settled somewhere. I’m with Tucker, Jens and Jamie. The Huldras took Grayson back to their home, so they’re safe.”
I heard Foss pacing on his wood floor. “Tell me where you’re going, and I’ll meet you there.”
“No.” And just like that, I made an executive decision. “If someone wants me dead, being near me isn’t a good idea.”
Foss stopped pacing. “You can’t be serious.”
I clenched my eyelids shut to fend off the ache I felt for him, and allowed Tucker to cradle me. “I’ll call you when we get settled somewhere and sort this all out. Just go about your normal life, but don’t go to our house. I don’t want anyone following you around. Or Britta, come to think of it.”
“I’m coming with you!” Foss commanded in his deep timbre, shouting so loud, I winced.
“I’m doing this to keep you safe.” My words wrapped around both our hearts and squeezed across the distance. “Be good to Britta. Call you soon.” I hung up and turned off the device, burying my face in Tucker’s neck as I handed his phone back. He slid it into his pocket and hugged me, sensing my angst at sending my husband away.
Jens cleared his throat. “That was good, baby. That was the smart thing to do. I’ll be sure to call Britta in the morning and let her know we’re okay.”
I kept my mouth shut and feigned sleep as Tucker and Jens discussed the next plan of attack while we hurtled down the dark highway away from a third of our group.
Eighteen.
Confrontations and Confessions
I was tired but mostly sober when Jens pulled into the lot of a motel so skeezy, it made my skin crawl. Half the neon didn’t light up, and the heavily advertised free porn channels did not inspire confidence in the cleanliness of the sheets. Two windows were actually boarded up with cardboard, and the cars in the lot were all in various stages of disrepair.
Tucker shook his head when Jens cut the engine. “We’re not staying here,” he ruled matter-of-factly.
Jens sighed. “I know it sucks, but these places’ll take cash, and I don’t want to use anything that can be tracked. It’s temporary.” His hand was on the door as he built up the oomph to let himself out and start a life on the run all over again. “But the sooner you can find out who took out that hit on my girl, the better.”
“Jens, you can’t be serious. There’s no way I’m staying here. I can practically feel the bedbugs already.”
“What do you want, Tuck? This is the best I can do. Comfort isn’t the main concern. Keeping my charge alive is. You’re welcome to go off on your own, but you can’t take this car. I stole it fair and square.”
Tucker rolled his eyes. “Like I need a car to get around.” I recalled Uncle Rick’s ability to port from place to place and knew that was how Tucker had gotten us out of the house without detection. “Get back on the road. I’ve got a house not too far from here we can crash at.”
“I thought you lived in Colorado,” I muttered, shifting against him in our cuddled position of me lying on top of him.
“I do, käresta. But I have houses all over. I’m quite old. Get back on the freeway, Jens. Take the Tribeswoman east.”
“Do I get a vote in all this?” Jamie asked, finally speaking up.
“You want me to answer that? Next time you want a vote, don’t go using my sister to torture my girlfriend. You’re best silent for now, Jamie.” Jens was succinct but firm in his ruling. I was just grateful he hadn’t forgotten about the bond and punched his best friend. Or I was bummed about the missed opportunity. It was hard to pick a side. I wagered the pros and cons of taking a good blow to the gut if it would teach Jamie a lesson.
“Don’t bother,” Jamie answered my silent musings aloud. “I already learned my lesson. I’m more ashamed than you can imagine, Lucy. If telling you how sorry I am again would help, I would do it. Tell me what to do. Tell me how to get Britta back!”
Jens reached behind and punched the seat next to Jamie. “I trusted you with my sister!” he bellowed, not bothering to curb the conversation for company. He turned around and drove away from the motel in a hurry. I was just as frustrated that we couldn’t leave Jamie in the crappy motel by himself.
“I’m sorry! I don’t know how to further debase myself, Jens! I shouldn’t have done that to Lucy, and using Britta because I was mad? Inexcusable. I have no reason to deserve your forgiveness, but I...”
“Good!” Jens yelled. “Because you’re not getting it. Do you have any idea how hard my life is? Does anyone bother to think about good old Jens in all this? No! My girlfriend was married to Foss and laplanded to my best friend. It’s hard enough without you purposefully making my life harder because you need your nappy changed! Grow up, palace boy!”
Though I agreed with Jens wholeheartedly and knew Jamie needed a good thrashing, the harsh words made me recoil when they came out of that mouth I only ever wanted to kiss. I could feel Jamie’s deeply rooted and sincere self-loathing, and despite my justifiable anger, I felt for the guy.
“I’ve ripped her from the Nøkkendalig, killed who knows how many Weres, watched her fall in love with someone else, gone without sleep, without a home, gone without so much just so she could be safe! And you knew all the sacrifices I made! Then you just come along and rip her apart from the inside. I can’t protect her from you, Jamie!”
Jamie hung his head, and I could feel the gravity of Jens’s words weighing him down.
“And my sister? My sister? How would you like it if I did that to Jeneve? Gave it to her nice and hard to get back at you for breaking Britta’s heart.” He gave a few pelvic thrusts as he drove. “You could learn a few tricks while you watch me go to town on your sister. How does that sound? You want a front row seat to that? It wouldn’t even be that hard. I mean, Jeneve practically begs men to tear her clothes off every time she sees one with a fat wallet. How about I record the whole down and dirty so you’re forced to watch it? How would that feel?”
“I would never forgive you,” Jamie admitted, head still slumped in defeat.
“And you don’t even like Jeneve! I love Britta! There was a long time when the two of you were all I had! I trusted you with my sister, and you used her!” Jens gripped the steering wheel as he drove us through graffiti-lined overpasses lit only by intermittent streetlights. “I thought I knew your quality.”
Then Jamie did something so shocking, I sat up and stared with my mouth open wide. Jamie buried his face in his hands and started crying. “Something’s happening to me! It’s like sometimes I’m me, and other times there’s a darkness that unleashes parts of me I never knew existed. Then it fades, and I’m horrified to find what I’ve done! As much as you’re horrified, I’m more so! I’m the one doing it, but I’m not!”
Despite my feelings, the late hour and all the other things that worked against me, my brain started to shift the Rubik’s Cube into place until a few tiles were in a neat little row. “Jens, stop the car,” I ordered.
“Not a chance. Get your head down, Loos.”
Tucker looked from Jens to me, his head spinning. “Your girlfriend’s laplanded to the Tonttu prince.” I knew Jens must’ve told Tucker this when he had to port us one at a time. Tucker was still taking in the scope of the mess. “Let me get this straight. Your girlfriend, Alrik’s adopted daughter, slept with one of the four powers and your best friend?” He held up his hand to high five me.
I responded by slapping Tucker repeatedly on the chest. “No, I didn’t sleep with Jamie or Foss! The marriage was for show! I would never sleep with Jens’s best friend. What kind of a girl do you think I am?”
Tucker raised an eyebrow like it was a trick question. “Um, fo
rgive me, your highness, for thinking you’d had sex with your husband. And I’ve never known a man and a woman who’d laplanded who weren’t getting all kinds of busy.”
“I’m a virgin, you pig.”
Tucker shifted. “Oh, well in that case, that’s actually a banana in my pocket. Nothing more lascivious than that.”
“Oh, gross!” I cried, smacking him over and over again as he laughed. “You’re disgusting!”
“Relax, käresta. I’m only kidding. I don’t eat bananas.” He barked out a laugh at my horror.
I was disgusted at his laughter. I turned to Jens, who was not as indignant as I thought he should’ve been. “This guy? You killed the Weres, but this guy gets to live? Where’s the punch-me-in-the-face logic in that, Jens?”
Jens was exasperated, huffing at his friend’s antics. “Knock it off, Tuck. I don’t need you adding to the mix.”
Tucker tried to lower me down to rest on his chest, but I resisted. “Pull over, Jens! Can’t you see Jamie’s hurting?”
“Good! He should feel this! Don’t you dare let him off the hook just because he’s crying, Loos.”
“But it’s not him! Can’t you see that?” I ignored Jens’s protest and climbed over the center console into the backseat. Jamie’s pain tugged at my heart because it was my own. I could see his pain and empathize, sure, but I could feel him on the inside too, and his repentance was sincere, as was his utter befuddlement that he’d committed the crimes in the first place. He was just as confused as I was about the whole thing.
I wrapped my arms around the large man I’d regarded as a big brother and held him while he cried into my hair. “I lost her! I lost her!” He sobbed as I rocked him. “I’m so sorry, Lucy. It wasn’t me, I promise! I didn’t want you to see me in my marriage bed! That was only meant for Britta!” He wept openly in my embrace. “But I was mad at you. It’s hard being bonded to someone. Watching my every thought only to find out I should’ve been watching yours? You shouldn’t have kept that from me! But I never meant to retaliate, only to tell you of my disappointment. How could I have done what I did to you? I’m sick over it!”
“Shh. We’re in mixed company.”
“Something’s inside me!” Jamie shook in my arms, his tension building past a graceful cry. His fists clenched as his stomach heaved in and out. I pressed my hand to his chest to rub the pain I knew surfaced there. “I can’t explain it any other way. It’s taking me over in bits and pieces. Love me less, Lucy! This is impossible! I keep feeling how badly I’ve hurt you, and it’s killing me!”
“Well, keep this up, and I won’t have a problem with that.” I took a breath before stating my hypothesis. “You were fine before we went to Undraland and had dinner with your sister. You’re the only one of us who drank the Gar Jeneve brought. The Gar she begged all of us to drink, but only you did. Dollars to donuts…”
Jens’s mouth fell open. “No. It’s impossible. Jamie did all that on his own long after Jeneve left. No one forced him into it.”
“Like no one forced the Fossegrimens to devolve into depravity? Come on, Jens! You know this isn’t Jamie. I’m in his head, and I can feel the switch between personalities. There’s this black fog that comes in under the door, and a heaviness I feel when he’s being terrible. When he was using Britta, I felt the difference in his mind.”
Jamie started crying all over again. “Don’t say her name! I don’t deserve to even hear the sound!”
“You can’t drink so much, Loos. Jamie gets moody and overly emotional when he hits it too hard. That’s probably all you’re picking up on.”
I shook my head, rocking Jamie. “No, I started drinking to numb the bond when Jamie was getting too aggressive. His shift came first.”
Jens gripped the steering wheel. “Brother, you’d better pray Jeneve poisoned you.”
I heard Tucker say to Jens, “Man, your little group is messed up.”
It was the first time Tucker and I had ever agreed on something.
Nineteen.
Ours
Whatever I had expected Tucker’s house to be, an old lace-bedecked giant Victorian was not it. The curtains were a faded cream lace, the tables were covered with the stuff, and even the coasters were made up of the frilly material. The walls were the same old cream color with dusty pink roses on them. The furniture was all upholstered Victorian style stuff, as well. The moment I walked in behind Jens, I automatically sat up straighter and spoke softer. It felt like a grandmother’s home. Though I’d never had one of those around to give me butterscotch candies, I felt the presence of one in this impressive home.
“Um, this is your house?” I took in the churlish playboy in suspenders with a suspect gaze. “You live here?”
Tucker’s arm went around my back. “This is one of my houses. It’s a hobby of mine.”
“Real estate? Sounds like an expensive hobby.”
“Not the way I do it.”
Jens gave a short laugh as he took my duffel and his from the trunk into the house. Jamie had nothing but the clothes on his back, and I hoped Jens would be up for sharing in the morning.
Tucker showed us the five-bedroom home I couldn’t believe was decorated to his taste. It looked like a little old lady with a flower fetish was given a blank check to deck her home in the pinkest of floral fashions. Everywhere you turned, there were mauve rose decorations scattered among the lace.
“Good enough for a Tribeswoman?” Tucker asked, his hand still on the small of my back.
I nodded, shrugging out of his too-familiar touch. “Sure. Thanks for letting us stay here. Far sight better than the motel in Nowheresville. Your house is real nice.” I wanted to ask about the roses and doilies, but thought that might be in bad taste.
“Make yourself at home, käresta.” He slapped Jens on the shoulder. “Get a couple hours of sleep before the sun comes up, mate. I’ll go into the office at nine when it opens.”
Jens stretched, looking like he needed about a pot of coffee to make it ten more minutes. “No. I need to do a perimeter check.”
Tucker shook his head. “No need. I’ve got the place rigged with my wicked elfin magic.” He wiggled his fingers with a mischievous gleam in his eye. “You’re safe, guys. Sleep. You sound like you’ve earned about a week’s worth of vacation.”
Jens looked torn between punching the clock and breaking it flat out. “I… you’re sure?”
Tucker nodded and then grinned that smarmy Cheshire cat smile that screamed punch-me-in-the-face. “There’s a real live virgin under my roof. Never thought I’d see the day. Something must be done to rectify the situation, my friend.” He slapped Jens on the butt in a “go get her, dog” kind of way.
Steaming, I shoved him hard. “Take a cold shower, Heff!” I turned to Jens and muttered, “Your friend’s a grade-A jackwagon.”
“Which one?” He looked up and sighed. “I miss Linus.” Jens cracked his neck as he ambled up the stairs. He let us into the mauve room with too many roses to count. It was like they were staring at us. He dropped our things on the ground and pulled me onto the bed, wasting no time in molding my curves to his chiseled form. “I really thought we were done running,” he breathed as he nipped at my lower lip.
I nodded, my heart feeling the heaviness of Jamie’s depression and the gut-punch at losing the home I’d waited so long for. In the end, it hadn’t lasted longer than most of our living arrangements. My white picket fence was gone, and there was no fixing that. “Go to sleep,” I cooed, kissing the space between his furrowed eyebrows. “You’ve been through too much. It was your home, too.”
He deflated next to me. “Thanks for saying that. I really didn’t want to leave our house. I mean, it was ours. I built that fence for you. I put up the crown moldings. I got the garden just how I wanted it. We were putting down roots, and now it’s all gone.” He brought me to rest atop him, and I melted around his body, sinking into his sadness to add my salve to the wounds. His leg stuck out and wrapped around my calves as
his arms encircled me. “You really think Jeneve poisoned Jamie?”
“You’ve known Jamie your whole life. In a million years, would you ever guess he’d do something so horrible to Britt and me?”
Jens shook his head. “Never. But he did.”
“I don’t know anything about Undraland poison or magic or curses. That’s all you. But I know when it’s Jamie and when it’s not. Deep down, so do you.”
Jens sighed, pecking my lips once more. “I hate this. I wanted more for us.”
“I know, baby. We’ll get it back.” I kissed his lips, offering as much solace to his sorrow as I could. “And until then, we have this lovely room to make our own. See that rose lampshade? I think I should like to have the exact same thing in our new house. If only it was pinker.”
The ghost of a smile that surfaced on Jens’s luscious lips conjured up enough hope to assure me we would find a way through the devastation. He brushed a stray curl away from my face. “Man, I love you. Thanks for making a joke.” He rested his forehead to mind. “If you want that lamp, I’ll get you that lamp. Hundreds of them in every room.”
“I’d also like a roomful of doilies. If only I knew where the world’s supply of lace was being stored right now.”
Jens kissed me and I felt myself breathe, despite the suffocating fear that was mounting up on either side of me. It’s a good man who lets you breathe.
We dozed off not too long later, wrapped around each other in covetous holds meant to protect and build up as we cherished the fact that, though we’d lost our house, we still had a home in each other.
* * * *
I awoke to a pounding on my fragile mental wall. Let me in! Jamie begged.
He hadn’t needed to ask for this escape in a while. It dawned on me just how much Jamie was suffering, and that I had the power to help him. He hadn’t helped me when I was suffering. No, he’d pointed his finger at me and basically kicked me out of the cool kids club.
Lucy at Peace Page 13