“I have them,” she mumbled, shaking her head.
He knew that much. His wolves would try to sleep up here with her, and he would be bombarded by the scents they picked up while she slept. They liked her room since it was always unusually colder than the rest of the house. Standing there now, he realized why.
Her magic stuck to every object. A chill. A level of emotion in that magic that rocked him to his bones for a second. Horror. Fear. Pain, both physical and emotional. Violence. When she’d first arrived, the room hadn’t been so claimed by her yet. While many described his magic as wild, her magic was dark, deadly, and cold. He wondered if she knew her magic had such a distinct feeling. Every Magi’s magic and Source felt different, but it took a certain something more to make it so obvious.
“You have them frequently.” He met her eyes, glazed from the drink. She gave him a bitter, off-kilter smile. He needed to remember that she was incredibly drunk and that a serious topic was inappropriate.
“Every night.”
“I’ll leave the wolves up here for you in case you need assistance.” Quinn moved on. He needed to get out of this room. He didn’t want to take further advantage of her state to get questions answered that he had no right asking to begin with.
“They’re cuddlers,” Sawyer snorted, looking at Shade, who was already claiming an entire side of her bed. Scout was waiting for her to lay down, so he could curl up between of them. Quinn mentally touched the connection he had with his brothers and let them know to alert him to anything out of the ordinary. Scout’s bouncing enthusiasm echoed back while Shade just gave a vocal huff in acknowledgement.
“They are, and they will let me know if you need to get up for anything, like the bathroom.” Quinn nodded and shuffled out of the room, closing the door quietly. She could undress herself.
He hit the second floor and considered his next move. He knocked once on Elijah’s door, then walked in.
“Sleeping in here tonight?” Elijah asked without looking up from what he was doing.
“Yeah, I left the boys with her in case she needs anything. I want to stay close.” Quinn pulled his shirt off and began to fold it carefully.
“You don’t need to do that in here,” Elijah chuckled, watching him now.
“Vincent told me humans fold their clothing, so I do,” Quinn huffed. “I know you think it’s unnecessary.”
He placed the neatly folded shirt on top of Elijah’s dresser. Elijah’s room was his second favorite in the house after his own room. Elijah used natural wood with minimal treatments for all his furniture, and Quinn liked the scent of them. He unbuttoned his pants and pulled them off, folding them as well.
“Vincent needs to stop telling you weird shit he does,” Elijah laughed, taking Quinn’s pants and tossing them on the floor. Quinn sighed, looked to where his jeans landed, and saw Elijah’s pile of dirty laundry.
“Was that necessary?” Quinn met Elijah’s stare and watched Elijah’s large shoulder raise in a shrug.
“No, but neither is folding them.” Elijah turned and claimed his bed. Quinn couldn’t stop the small curl of his smile at the oaf. Oaf, such a Vincent word. “You could have stayed up there with her. No one would have tried to stop you.”
“I feel you are incorrect in that assumption.” Quinn narrowed his eyes. “They all would have wanted to stop me, but none of them want to get into that fight.”
“I think you’re right,” Elijah yawned.
“And you haven’t gotten couches up there, yet,” Quinn mumbled under his breath.
“I heard that, and you said you didn’t care.” Elijah pointed at him. “And you know what, if I’m ‘required’ to crash in her room for a night, I don’t want a couch to be an option. Now turn off the lights and come to bed. Or brood, your choice.”
“I think I’ll brood,” Quinn chuckled, flicking the lights off. He went to Elijah’s window, which looked over the woods. He pondered for a moment before speaking again. “Her magic… it doesn’t feel like just a thief.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Elijah whispered in the dark, “and the fact that she throws that much off, even with an inhibitor, says something about how strong she really is.”
“It does.” Quinn nodded to himself.
“Well,” Elijah groaned, “no Magi or any inhibitor can truly stop the natural flow of magic from a Magi’s Source. Only death ends the flow of magic in a real way. The inhibitor just robs her of being able to use her abilities and controls that flow of magic more carefully.”
“But that doesn’t explain why her magic feels the way it does,” Quinn mumbled. “Have you talked to Vincent about it?”
“I think he’s too wrapped up in Axel, Atlanta, and Jon to worry about it right now. Zander finds it alluring in his stupid way. He likes playing dangerously, and her magic is danger. Jasper… he’s been different. Something’s off him with and I’m not sure what’s going on.” Elijah kept his voice low so that only Quinn could hear him.
“She has nightmares,” Quinn whispered back.
“Well, that could definitely be a problem for Jasper,” Elijah sighed. “With how strong she is, he probably can’t block his mind properly while he’s sleeping in order to dream his own dreams.”
Quinn leaned on the window, using his arm as a rest for his forehead. He saw creatures moving, eyes reflecting light as they looked toward the house. He was in charge of everything within thirty miles of the house, so all of those animals knew who he was, but he had less of a connection to the nocturnal animals. They were elusive and independent. Like Sawyer. Creatures of the dark, owners of the shadows, all of them.
“Her magic feels like the night,” Quinn whispered.
“Come to bed, Quinn,” Elijah sounded muffled. “Discover the secrets of the world tomorrow.”
“Fine.” He pushed off the window and slid into bed next to Elijah. As Elijah drifted to sleep, an arm thrown carelessly over Quinn’s abdomen, Quinn absorbed the feel of Elijah’s magic. Warm, like a low-burning fire, and masculine, something to fight the chill that he’d experienced with Sawyer’s.
He paid the most attention to how magic felt, out of all the members of the team. Elijah, warm and masculine. Vincent, still and calm, almost not there, even though he was strong. Vincent had the most control over the flow of his magic, so Quinn didn’t pick it up very often. Jasper’s magic was airy and peaceful. Zander’s magic was like him, reckless. It was really the only way to describe it.
Elijah’s arm tightened, and Quinn pulled him closer. Quinn ran his fingers through Elijah’s light brown hair slowly.
“Go to sleep,” Elijah mumbled, and Quinn stopped playing with his hair.
“You go to sleep,” Quinn whispered.
Elijah growled and pushed up on the bed to stare down at Quinn.
“I’m trying, but you’re thinking too loud.” Elijah put his forehead to Quinn’s. “My wet dreams are more important than whatever you’ve got on your mind right now. Go to sleep.”
“I’m trying.” Quinn pushed him off and bounced a little when Elijah’s huge body hit the mattress.
“Liar,” Elijah mumbled, his head now stuffed under a pillow. “If you are going to keep me awake, we might as well burn off whatever excess energy you seem to have.”
“Not feeling it tonight,” Quinn sighed. “Too much on my mind.”
“Worry tomorrow,” Elijah’s speech was slurred, and Quinn knew he was out the moment a soft snore began.
He touched the connection to his wolves and smiled at the happiness they felt. Sawyer was sleeping just fine. With that, he rolled into Elijah’s back and finally found some sleep himself.
22
SAWYER
Sawyer stared at the Range Rovers with a frown as Elijah and Zander threw in a couple of suitcases.
“Do I really need to go?” She looked to Vincent, standing next to her.
“Alas, yes,” Vincent sighed. “The entire team is required to go, which means we can’t leave you here alone.�
�
“Fuck,” Sawyer mumbled.
Atlanta, Georgia. It wasn’t a bad city, not really. She’d grown up just outside of it with Zander and Jasper. She didn’t like it, though. She loved New York more, and she wanted to keep her distance from the secrets Atlanta held.
“We’re ready to roll, someone just needs to find Quinn,” Elijah called. Vincent looked over at her and she rolled her eyes, walking off to find the feral man.
It didn’t take her long. He was stretched out on the back porch with his wolves, both of whom were asleep.
“We’re ready to go,” Sawyer told him, looking down on him. He normally wore jeans, but no shirt and no shoes. Today he was in his official uniform, the simple, all black outfit every IMPO agent wore when on duty.
He looked wonderful in it. Black was definitely his color, though Sawyer thought black was everyone’s color. She was a little biased.
“Fantastic,” he growled, opening his ice-blue eyes. Sawyer thought they looked more vibrant when he was wearing black. Yeah, it was definitely his color. She stepped back, giving him space to stand up. “I hate the city.”
“Atlanta?” She frowned. “Why?”
“All cities,” he growled, snapping his fingers and making the wolves jump to attention. Sawyer was seriously impressed with his command over them. She had never had such obedience from… She stopped the thought before it continued.
“I’m sorry?” She wasn’t sure what she was sorry for, but it felt like the right thing to say.
His look told her that she needed to walk away. She did just that. That movie night had been really fun, but she felt like she spoiled it with her whiny shit at the end. She normally didn’t do that, talk like that while she was drunk, but she was nearing a breaking point. The secrets, the nightmares, her body’s reaction to these guys. It was overloading her and getting drunk had seemed like a good way to forget it. She hadn’t counted on the fact that alcohol also had the tendency to amplify emotions, and, once she’d gotten to her room, those emotions flooded her.
She didn’t have any nightmares that night though, so that was a plus.
“We shouldn’t be staying the night, but it’s good to be prepared,” Vincent was whispering to Elijah. “I don’t like this. I don’t like any of it.”
“Me neither, boss, but the big guys say we need to sit down with Jon and review our capabilities to do the job we’ve been tasked,” Elijah groaned.
“He’s been on our ass since day one with Sawyer,” Vincent snapped. Sawyer raised an eyebrow. Really? “And then there’s the fact that we have evidence of Axel’s people in New York, of all places. They didn’t cause any trouble, but it’s concerning.”
Sawyer stopped, still out of sight of Vincent and Elijah. No. Axel’s people couldn’t be in New York. Her chest tightened.
“I know,” Elijah mumbled. “Have you told her?”
“No,” Vincent growled. “Are you mad? She’ll make a run for it to go back and save them, even if they aren’t in any danger. And they probably aren’t. There’s no reason for Axel to target a bunch of non-Magi children and a retired healer.”
Damn right I would, she thought, feeling a bubble of anger well up in her.
“And now we need to take her Atlanta, near the fucking airport of all place,” Vincent sounded frustrated.
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop,” a growl came from behind her. She jumped and mentally cursed herself for letting Quinn sneak up behind her. “It’s rude.”
“You all have been keeping secrets from me,” she hissed quietly.
“Of course.” Quinn made it sound like she was stupid for not figuring it out sooner. “And you have no idea how many.”
He walked past her, and she followed him. Vincent’s eyes went wide when she met his stare. That mother fucker knew her people in New York were in danger and didn’t fucking tell her.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Quinn growled back to her.
“Why would she do something stupid?” Elijah’s eyes narrowed on her, and she winced at that. She didn’t like that even he was suspicious. He was normally one of the guys saying she was alright.
“She overheard you both,” Quinn told him mildly as he opened a door to one of the Range Rovers. Sawyer watched Shade and Scout jump in and climb to the cargo area, where they looked at everyone through the back window.
“Sawyer,” Vincent whispered. “Please. We’ve got it covered.”
“You should have fucking told me,” she snapped. “I had the right to know.”
“And if I could trust you not to run, I would have,” Vincent snapped back. “Get in, we’re heading out. You are riding with Quinn and me.”
“Whatever,” Sawyer mumbled, climbing into the Range Rover. She was a little mad that he didn’t trust her, but he was also right. Knowing about the potential danger only made her want to find a way to escape them, damn the consequences, and go help her people.
“See you there, Elijah.” Vincent nodded to the cowboy, who was wearing his cowboy hat with his uniform. Sawyer wished privately that he accidentally set it on fire or something.
The long ride was silent. Sawyer listened to the audiobook that Vincent put on, but she didn’t follow the story because it was bland. It was also in Italian, which annoyed her.
“Is Italian your first language or are you one of those people who’s obsessed with the language of your forefathers?”
“I was born in Rome,” Vincent told her softly. Quinn had fallen asleep within the first ten minutes of the drive. “So, yes, Italian is my first language.”
“I haven’t been to Rome in years,” she sighed. “Gorgeous place.”
“It is.” Vincent nodded. “When were you there?”
“I’m not telling you that,” Sawyer mumbled. Axel once had his home base there, and she’d lived there with him until he decided to move them. Her heart squeezed for a moment. Midnight was buried there. Two thoughts about her in a single day. Sawyer wondered what special hell she was in.
“Of course,” Vincent mumbled with disdain. “You know, life could be easier for you if you just… talked to someone.”
“We have a deal, Vincent,” she hissed.
“I know,” Vincent sighed, turning the audiobook up. She leaned into the window and watched the trees fly past.
She didn’t sleep this trip, her mind going a mile a minute about what was going on.
“What happens if they decide you aren’t fit for my protection?”
“Jon will take you into his custody and back to wherever they would hide you,” Vincent told her as he pulled off the freeway. “We’ll go and pack all your things up and arrange a place to give them to Jon’s team for you.”
“Why did we come all the way to Atlanta?” She was curious. Not many people knew too much about the special IMPO teams that people like Vincent and Jon ran.
“Our homes are secure, even from each other. Only the team knows where they live. Only the top five people in the IMPO know where we live. And our handler, James. You haven’t met him yet; you will today.”
“Oh goodie,” Sawyer sighed. “So, it’s not normal for me to know where you all live.”
“No, it’s not normal, but we wanted you as secure as we could make you.” Vincent turned them into a parking garage. “I’m going to make a simple recommendation. Do not engage with Jon or his team. If you have to, bother Special Agent Hamble. He’s the nice one.”
“Alright. Can I get a smoke before we go in?”
“Yeah.” Vincent parked the vehicle and tapped Quinn. “We’re here.”
She got out and met Vincent at the back of the Range Rover. She opened the back and let the wolves out to stretch as Vincent lit two cigarettes.
“Here.” He handed her one and she took a drag.
“Why did these guys come?”
“Quinn doesn’t like leaving them home alone.” Vincent scratched Shade behind an ear.
“I just realized something,” she chuckled. “I haven’t met your rave
n.”
“Really?” Vincent raised his eyebrows. “He’s always close by.”
“Seriously.” Sawyer flicked ash off the end of her smoke and took another pull.
Vincent whistled, and Sawyer narrowed her eyes. A huge black bird soared into the parking garage and landed on his shoulder. Its head tilted to the side as it stared at her.
“Why has it taken weeks for you to introduce yourself to her?” Vincent turned to the bird, and it bumped its head to his forehead. “You know better than to follow people around where they can’t see you. I didn’t want you spying on her.”
The bird gave a shake, puffing up. Sawyer’s heart broke a little as she heard Quinn finally get out of the Range Rover.
“Kaar.” Quinn smiled, reaching out to the raven. It nipped his hand, but Quinn didn’t seem to mind. “Keep an eye on everything, will you?”
“Don’t tell my raven what to do.” Vincent slapped Quinn’s hand away. “He’s getting fat since you keep giving him food.”
“I like spoiling him,” Quinn chuckled.
“Spoil the wolves.” Vincent glowered, stepping away from Quinn.
Sawyer watched the exchange with a raised eyebrow. Kaar was hopping around on Vincent’s shoulder like he was trying to dance. Vincent looked regal though, with the large bird propped there. Vincent and Kaar were both sleek and professional while Quinn and his wolves were very much the opposite.
“I’ve been here for nearly an hour!” Elijah walked over to them, grinning. Sawyer sighed.
“Thanks for not making me ride with him,” she whispered to Vincent, who actually laughed.
“Yes, I felt the day was too serious for you have to endure that hell,” Vincent whispered back. Sawyer watched Elijah frown and grinned at him.
“What? Couldn’t find something to do to pass the time?” She winked making Elijah sputter a little. She started laughing after that. She found herself too funny sometimes.
“Heartless woman.” Elijah put a hand over his heart, putting on the wounded cowboy act.
“There’s Zander and Jasper.” Quinn jerked his chin.
The Redemption Saga Box Set Page 24