Last One Standing: Dark Paranormal Tattoo Taboo Romance (The Chronicles of Kerrigan Book 11)

by W. J. May

  It was slow work—one hand over the other, pulling herself to the edge of the mattress at an infuriatingly glacial speed. Once she was there, standing up was another matter altogether. Twice, she had to resist the urge to conjure herself another syringe of painkillers right then and there. Twice, she almost texted Devon for help.

  But she sensed that, of this particular nighttime endeavor, he would not approve. She was in no condition to fend off anyone who might try to stop her, and she needed to get this done.

  One step. Then another. Then a shuffling of two more.

  She was gripping the railing like her life depended on it, but it was working. She was making her way across the room. When she got to the counter, she found exactly what she was looking for: a small ‘emergency exits’ map that gave her the rundown of the facility. It was as she’d hoped. Her recovery room was just a few doors down from the ICU. With any luck, she could make it there and back without anyone being the wiser…

  Just to be safe, she slipped into her prized invisibility tatù when she opened the door. Of course, that didn’t quite explain the scattered drops of blood trailing out behind her, but hey, not her problem. The slight slope of the hallway made it even harder to walk than the flat surface in her room, but there was a wooden railing along the side, and before she knew it she was at the door to the ICU. Lifting up painfully on her toes, she peered inside.

  There were no medical personnel in sight. In fact, it looked basically deserted. With a silent prayer for strength, she pushed the door open and slipped inside.

  The blinds were closed tight so the English sunset couldn’t get inside, and all the lights were off, giving the place an ominous sort of glow. The only sound Rae could hear was a pair of high-pitched alternating beeps coming from a set of monitors by the far wall. She drifted silently forward, drawn by the noise.

  But the second she cleared the final curtain, she suddenly stopped.

  She’d wanted to find her friends? Well, she’d just found them.

  Angel and Gabriel were lying on twin beds. Brother and sister. Side by side.

  Julian sat on a chair in between them. Much to Rae’s surprise, he had one hand on each of them, like he was single-handedly holding the little family together. He didn’t look up when she came in, and, judging by the blank, resigned look on his face, Rae guessed that he hadn’t moved from that very spot since he woke up twelve hours ago.

  “I feel like at any second, they’ll just open their eyes,” she whispered.

  Julian jumped a mile and whirled around in his chair, scanning the darkened room behind him with slightly manic eyes. “Rae?”

  Oh, right. Invisible.

  She slipped back into sight and flashed him a look of apology. His heart rate slowed and he turned wearily back towards the beds.

  “They won’t,” he said softly. “I’ve been thinking that for hours. But they won’t.”

  “Jules, you don’t know that.” She shuffled up behind him and perched tentatively on his lap, gazing down at the two beds.

  It was surreal. Like looking at them in a dream.

  Both were perfectly postured, and perfectly still. Both practically shone with youthful beauty as they lay tethered to the beds by their IVs. Neither one had any visible injury. Neither one bore even a mark to suggest why they might be in such a state. It was as if they had merely fallen asleep.

  Rae glanced behind her and squeezed Julian’s leg. “You don’t know that,” she said again.

  But that…seemed to be the problem.

  “You’re right,” he said painfully. “I don’t.”

  Unlike his two sleeping friends, every inch of Julian’s body seemed to bear witness to the attack. There were deep bruises on both sides of his face, along with a sharp cut across his nose where Rae remembered Devon saying he broke it. His hands and neck were littered with a series of strange lacerations, and his right arm was layered in a stiff, black cast.

  “I can’t see if they’re going to wake up,” he continued. “Either one of them. I keep trying but…it’s like it’s out of their control.”

  Rae bit her lip and nodded, refusing to cry even though her eyes were brimming with tears. “Looks like we’re both powerless on this one.”

  For the first time, Julian glanced down at her stomach, pushing her gently to her feet so he could get a better look. His dark eyes flashed occasionally white as he looked her over, keeping half of himself fixed on the future, and half of himself there with her.

  “Oh, Rae…” He winced sympathetically as he settled on the present. “It won’t heal?”

  She shook her head. “Mallins is immune to me, so my ink won’t work either.” Her eyes drifted again to the sleeping siblings. “We’re just going to have to wait and see…”

  With a silent nod, he pulled up another chair and they both settled in to do exactly that.

  While Julian’s eyes were drawn almost exclusively to Angel, Rae stared unabashedly at Gabriel. She didn’t think she had ever seen him so still. Even the times when he’d been sleeping, he always seemed to have something up his sleeve. Like at any moment, he might spring awake and catch you looking, with that infamous twinkle in his eye.

  But not tonight.

  Tonight he was someplace that she couldn’t reach him. Not her, or the doctors, or even his own unwavering determination could wake him from this sleep. It had him tight in its clutches, paling his skin and deadening every bone in his body.

  The silence was deafening.

  The stillness set her teeth on edge. And Rae didn’t think she had ever been so terrified. A part of her was aching to reach out and touch him. Another part didn’t think she could survive it if she did.

  “Thank you,” she finally spoke, breaking the quiet after what could have been minutes or even hours, “for texting Devon.”

  “Anytime.” Julian gave her a sad smile before his eyes turned back to Angel. “At least one of us should get our happy ending. Right?”

  The sudden pain that ripped through her was worse than Mallins knife.

  * * *

  Rae felt like she had only just climbed back into bed and closed her eyes, when the curtains ripped open and she was awakened by the bright morning sun. She squinted weakly and held up a protective hand, prepared to deliver a full night of dreams alibi to Dr. Roscoe. But instead of the doctor, it was Molly who was perched on the edge of her bed.

  “Hey,” Rae said in surprise, her voice scratchy from lack of use. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” Molly gave her a tight smile. “How are you feeling?”

  It was an interesting question. While the pain had abated slightly from the previous day, all of Rae’s muscles had stiffened to the point where she doubted they would work at all. Perhaps she had overdone it with her late-night excursion.

  Great. And on the day I’m supposed to impress everyone by walking… “I’m actually feeling quite a lot,” she joked, wincing as she pulled herself straighter. “How about you? Devon said you got up yesterday?”

  Now that she mentioned it, Molly didn’t look so good. Yes, she was up and about, but there was something decidedly off about her. It could have been the ashen tint to her skin, or the hollowed out circles beneath her eyes. It could have even been the enormous burn stretching from her elbow to her neck. But Rae didn’t think it was any of these things. Molly had been hurt before. This was just…different.

  “I did,” she answered shortly, “a little before Julian.”

  Even her voice was off.

  Clipped. Splintered. Carefully contained.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up,” she continued, her eyes flickering down to the tight bandage wrapped around Rae’s waist. “I wanted to be, I just…there’s been a lot going on.”

  Of course!

  “Oh yeah,” Rae was suddenly animated, “Luke!”

  Molly’s head snapped up as all the color drained from her face. “What about him?” she asked sharply.

  Rae hesitated, a
little thrown by her lack of enthusiasm. Usually, Molly was so full of excessive emotion it tended to spill out onto everyone around her.

  “His dad…” she continued tentatively, eying her friend with more and more concern. “I can’t believe his dad is the Commander of the Knights.”

  “Oh, yeah. That.” Molly looked a bit relieved. “Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. Some coincidence, huh?”

  “Worked out pretty well for us, though. If he hadn’t called them…”

  She trailed off and both girls fell quiet.

  They stared at the clock. They stared at the machines. They stared anywhere but at each other. Rae didn’t understand exactly why. She wasn’t even sure if Molly really noticed.

  Finally, when it could go on no longer, she tried again. “They’re going to start my physical therapy today.”

  For the first time, Molly showed a bit of emotion. “Physical therapy? Already?” she asked disapprovingly. “You mean like training and stuff? Rae, if this doctor is being too hard on you, just say the word and I’ll—”

  “No,” Rae chuckled gingerly. “In the land of the Knights, physical therapy apparently means walking around…”

  Molly raised an eyebrow, but let it go. “Well, that sounds thrilling. Good luck with that.”

  “Thanks.” Rae grinned. “You know, there’s a meeting later with Luke’s dad and a couple other high-ranking Knights. I think they wanted to talk to us about—”

  “Yeah, you know what? I think I’m just going to take it easy today.” Molly got suddenly to her feet and started backing away. “Try to sleep for a few more hours.”

  Rae stared after her in surprise. “Are you sure?” Her face clouded. “Molls, did I…are you mad at me for what happened? I would totally understand if you were—”

  “No! Not at all!” Molly shook her head quickly, eyes brimming with sincerity. “I swear. I’m just…not up for a big meeting. Not after everything that’s happened.”

  Rae leaned back in relief. “Yeah—of course. Just take it easy. Try to get some sleep.” The door opened and the sound of a dozen or so voices floated into the room as Molly melted quickly away to the far exit. “Molls, I’ll see you later tonight?”

  Molly’s eyes flickered nervously to the crowd, but she nodded, flashing Rae a quick smile as she yanked open the door. “Yeah. See you tonight.”

  The second she vanished into the hallway, Mr. Fodder gave a cursory knock and then pulled back the curtain, flanked by six or seven other people.

  “Miss Kerrigan,” he greeted her politely, “how are you feeling this morning?”

  Rae scooted up higher on the mattress and tucked the blanket around her waist, refusing to cringe at the pain in her abdomen. “Much better, thanks.” She was relieved to see Beth and Devon making their way towards her through the crowd. Carter was right on their heels. “You…wanted to talk? With everyone?”

  Anthony Fodder’s eyes were the exact same color blue as Luke’s. A rare sky blue that you didn’t see very often. But, unlike Luke’s, even when he smiled at her, they were stern. “Only if you’re feeling up to it. Your doctor assures me that the worst is behind you, but I know your mother was…of a different opinion.”

  Rae stifled a grin. Knowing her mother, that was probably understating it.

  “I’ll be just fine,” she replied, more to Beth than to Fodder. “We can talk about whatever you like. You did my friends and me a great service, and I’m sure you have some questions…”

  Fodder’s eyes flashed with the hint of a smile, and Rae blushed. Now she was probably understating it.

  “Very good.” He pulled up a chair and took a seat, seemingly oblivious to the entourage of people behind him. This was a man who was firmly in control of whatever room he set foot in. He was there to obtain his objective, nothing more. It made Rae sit up a bit straighter. “To start, and in the interest of full transparency, I’d like to let you know that I already know everything about you, your school, your family, and your friends. This isn’t from talking with my son; this is because my organization carefully monitors every active tatù—and being rather renowned agents of the Privy Council, the four of you were already quite high on our radar.”

  To be honest, Rae wasn’t surprised in the slightest, only perhaps by the word renowned.

  She knew the Knights had files on them, just like the PC had files on the Knights. She did appreciate him saying it, though. “Right, well,” she cleared her throat, “also in the interest of full transparency, you should know that I don’t speak for anyone or any organization here. I mean, I’m incredibly grateful for everything you’ve done, and I’ll be happy to answer whatever questions you have, but—”

  “Miss Kerrigan,” he interrupted her softly, “neither I nor anyone else within my organization suffers any delusions about exactly who you are and what you represent. I wanted to talk with you for this very reason. So the two of us can build some sort of understanding.”

  ‘Who you are and what the heck do you represent’?! Shit! And what was that exactly…?

  “Um…” she faltered, glancing automatically at Carter. “I’d like that, too?”

  For the first time, Fodder offered her a faint smile. “To be honest, most people who know everything about my family want to have very little to do with me so…” She trailed off, wondering why she felt the need to volunteer that. She’d said it almost as a disclaimer. Maybe it was the drugs?

  Fodder, however, leaned back in his chair and nodded as if this was perfectly normal. “I’ve never been one to judge the children for the sins of the father. Furthermore, I happened to know your father a little. He approached the Knights before he went out on his own. He was hoping to forge some sort of alliance.”

  Beth and Carter exchanged a covert look, but Rae’s jaw fell open in honest amazement. What? “He did?”

  “We approved of his research, just not his methods,” Fodder explained. “The day we refused his offer of partnership was the last we ever heard of him.”

  Rae stared down at the mattress, trying to think of something to say, but Fodder leaned forward again and folded his hands upon his knees.

  “But I don’t want to talk about your father.”

  She looked up nervously, fingers fiddling with her newly inserted IV. “Okay…what do you want to talk about?”

  “Let’s start with something simple.” He studied her critically, and the rest of the people behind him seemed to lean forward an inch or two. “What’s on the computer?”

  Rae blanked. Completely blanked.

  “The computer?”

  Fodder’s eyes narrowed. “You deny there was a computer?”

  “Whoa, whoa—she’s not denying anything,” Devon interjected, slipping past the threatening-looking men in front of him to come and stand at Rae’s side. “Just give her a second to think. She did just get stabbed, you know,” he added, shooting Fodder a pointed glare.

  The computer, the computer? Is he talking about my computer? But it’s back at the penthouse. What computer is he—

  “Oh—the laptop!” Rae exclaimed suddenly. “Of course. It was Mallins’ private laptop. I found it in his desk. It’s the whole reason we went to Guilder. There was evidence on the drive that he and an older version of the Council conducted the exact same hybrid experiments as my dad. We needed it to expose him to the rest of the Privy Council.”

  Fodder’s brow creased with a slight frown. “Why?”

  By this time, both Luke and Molly had filed into the room and were standing quietly against the wall—both in separate corners.

  Why? Why indeed!

  Rae stared back at Fodder, wondering what sort of game he was playing at. “Because now is not the time for us to be divided. There’s a storm coming, and we’re all going to have to stand together if want to have any chance of winning this fight.”

  The room went quiet. Dead quiet. A quiet that seemed to crackle with pent-up hostilities as the ex-members of the PC and the Xavier Knights stared
each other down.

  Finally, Fodder spoke. “What fight?”

  You could have heard a pin drop.

  Then, strangely enough, every single person in the room turned at the same time…to Luke.

  If he had an invisibility tatù, he would have used it then. His tan skin lightened to a guilty shade of chalk as he visibly resisted the urge to take a step back. Instead he stood tall, gazing back evenly at his father.

  Rae couldn’t believe it. Simply couldn’t believe it.

  Luke hadn’t told the Knights about Cromfield. A player as big as that—a shift in the tatù world as big as that—he had kept to himself. To protect his friends. And Molly.

  From the looks of things, Molly was just beginning to piece this together herself. Whatever strange dissonance was going on with her, it melted clean away as she stared at him with enormous, shocked eyes. Tiny tears sprang up, and the next second she was in his arms.

  “I didn’t think it mattered,” he murmured, half to her, half to the room. “By the time I found out about him, he was already going underground. I thought…I thought we had time.”

  Mr. Fodder’s face hardened infinitesimally, but he turned deliberately away, focusing instead on Rae. He would deal with his son later. “What fight?” he asked again quietly.

  Rae took a deep breath, and decided to lay all their cards out on the table. After all, this fight didn’t end with her and her friends. Or even the Privy Council for that matter. It belonged to anyone and everyone who was inked. Any child born into the world of tatùs. “Jonathon Cromfield. The fight is with Jonathon Cromfield. It’s going to be bigger than a fight. A war.”

  Fodder drew in a sharp breath, and without seeming to mean it, his eyes flickered to her morphine drip. “The same Jonathon Cromfield who died over five hundred years ago?”

  This time, Carter stepped forward. He understood Fodder’s confusion, and the simple act alone lent an undeniable air of credibility to what Rae was saying. “He didn’t die. He was a hybrid, gifted with immortality as well as sight.”

  It was quiet for a long time. A part of Rae was terrified that Fodder and the Knights simply wouldn’t believe them—turn them back in for the PC to deal with however they saw fit. Another part was terrified they would believe them—terrified of what would happen next.