“He’ll come,” she said stubbornly. “I’ve been hurt. He’ll come.”
“You know better, Missy.” He had to break her belief in him. It hurt him to do it. It hurt him to use her own pain against her. He hated this, but he needed to catch his brother.
“He said I was his best friend.”
“He said I was his brother,” he murmured.
That made Missy go still, a small gasp leaving her lips.
They sat in silence as the realization settled in on Missy. Axel would kill his father, his brother, his son, his best friend, and his most loyal to get what he wanted. Any loyalty to him was never returned.
“Pawns. That’s what she called us,” Missy whispered. “I never thought I would go from trusted confidant to pawn.”
“I never thought I would go from brother to pawn.”
She lifted a hand and hit her forehead right in the middle of the mess. He grabbed her wrist and pulled it away, stopping her from trying again. He was thankful she didn’t have all her unnatural strength.
“Missy, stop. Stop.”
“I loved him,” she cried. “And he never loved me!”
“Don’t hurt yourself, please,” he whispered. He couldn’t manipulate her anymore. He couldn’t even try. The idea of trying to get information from her disgusted him. Everything he said now was from the heart. “It’s going to be okay. He hurts people, Missy. That’s what he’s always done. It’s what he’ll always do. You’re just another victim, but you don’t need to hurt for him.”
“I gave him everything. I gave him Felix and Talyn, and connections, and everything I had spent centuries building up for the perfect man. And he’s thrown me away like a PAWN!” The last word was a screech. “Like HER!”
Vincent winced at her pain and anger, but he just kept saying what he would tell anyone in this position. He didn’t think about what Missy had ever done for Axel. He didn’t think about any of her past or her behavior.
“Don’t hurt yourself.” He slid on the bed next to her. “He manipulated me into killing my father, remember? Then he and I fought, and he tried to kill me. Remember? And you know what? I didn’t let him defeat me. And you hate her, but Sawyer didn’t let him defeat her either. If you do this, he wins. He gets away with hurting you this bad.”
He slid an arm carefully over Missy’s shoulder as the half-baked crazy doppelganger began to bawl and curled up in the fetal position. He just held on to her. He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t expected this to be what he walked into.
Missy had really wanted him to be Axel there to take her away and be with her. She had been loyal…to a point. She had loved Axel more.
His heart couldn’t handle how his brother drove people to this. Vincent couldn’t do it, couldn’t use this in his favor. He just held a woman who had been his enemy for so long, fed by his brother into the crazed monster she could be. He thought of Sawyer too.
Axel had a way with women, that was obvious.
The bitter, sarcastic humor was the only thing in that moment that kept Vincent from falling down a dark hole of despair. This wasn’t how he planned on the night going.
Missy finally cried herself into a deep sleep. Vincent untangled himself from her, feeling weak. What had he been thinking, coming here and trying to use her? Why had he done this?
“How long until she’s healthy?” he asked the nurse, keeping his voice down so he didn’t wake her.
“She’s not going to heal quickly,” the nurse said quietly, walking closer.
“Why not? There are healers here.”
“The tissue…It’s not responding to healers.” The nurse sounded disturbed and Vincent looked away from Missy to find the nurse.
“Excuse me?”
“The reason we told Thompson is because she wasn’t healing. It’s like someone had just pumped so much magic into her that her body can’t accept any more to use for healing. Which doesn’t make any sense. She hasn’t been healed that extremely any time she’s been in our care.”
Vincent’s heart began to race. Elijah had a similar problem. There came a point where magic couldn’t do anything else and the body just needed to work it out on its own since there could only be so much magic in the vessel.
But what had done it to Missy?
As he was lost in thought, Sawyer walked through the door with Sombra, glaring at him, pain in her eyes, like she was a wounded animal looking to lash out. The pain in her eyes echoed what he’d just seen in Missy. This was the sort of pain Axel loved to inflict on people. He’d seen it in those dark eyes before. He knew it was always there with her, even while he and the guys tried to heal it, love her, care for her. The pain had been dragged back up from where she had laid it to rest because of the WMC and Axel. Because his brother had decided he wouldn’t be defeated yet.
In that moment, he knew what he needed to do, and everything settled into place.
He had promised her anything. He’d meant it.
Now he had even more people to fight for. Missy in the hospital bed. The woman he loved standing in the doorway, reasonably angry with him. Both women, like so many other people, who had once cared for a man who only left them for dead.
12
Sawyer
“It’s hard enough dealing with this case,” Sawyer hissed as she walked in, “without you wandering off without telling anyone.”
Sombra had yanked her awake. The wolves were scampering around. Quinn had looked frenzied and upset. It had only taken seconds for the entire team to be awake, trying to find him. She had never felt more terrified. Had he been taken? Had he been hurt? Was he running? Did he have a break and decide to go deal with it himself?
“I had several moments wondering if you were driving into a trap set up by your brother. That you were out there, about to die.” She was over the fear already. She had gotten over it the moment she called the prison and found out he had already contacted them and was on his way.
Now she was just angry.
“I’m sorry. I had wanted to talk to Missy alone, but-”
“But you knew none of us would ever allow you to go out and do this by yourself!” She wanted to strangle him. “Because it’s not safe, Vincent! Because we don’t know if he’s going to target us or when!” She glanced at Missy, trying to not wince at the state of the doppelganger. “You could have been anywhere and we would have never known.” She looked back at him, trying to find anything on his face that could tell her why he did this and if he understood the pain he’d caused her. She’d left the team outside, saying she would deal with this.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. She saw that he was pale. He was tired. He hadn’t yet slept at all.
“Why did you come here?” she asked.
“I wanted to see if she would…flip. Help us. I didn’t think she would be…” He waved a hand at her. “He did this.”
“I know he did. I tried to tell her that he wasn’t going to come, but she’s loyal-”
“She’s not loyal,” he said, cutting her off. “She’s madly in love with him.”
Sawyer just nodded. She knew that. Loyal, in love, it didn’t matter. Missy wasn’t going to flip for them.
“It could have been you,” he whispered, still looking at Missy.
“Yeah, it could have been,” she agreed softly. “Let’s get out of here, Vincent.”
“No, I want to stay,” he murmured. “I want to be here when she wakes up. They say she’s not healing as quickly as she could be. Something about how her body is already too full of magic. Like what happened with Elijah when he was healed. This is going to have to heal the normal way.”
“Okay, we’ll stay. Let me tell the guys. They can go to the condo for the night and we can stay here.” She wasn’t sure why he wanted to stay, but she would stay and let him. She could be here for him to keep seeing the aftermath of his brother.
It took a moment, but she ran back out and sent the rest of the team on their way. She and Vincent would meet them later. It
was all safe. Everyone would be okay. When she was back inside, Vincent was sitting at the bedside again and the quiet nurse was gone.
“I came here to try and manipulate her onto our side,” he admitted. “I came here to try and play the same games he does. I couldn’t. Seeing her like that, Sawyer, all I could think about was you and what he’d done to you.”
“Missy and I are like Axel and you. Two sides of the same coin. Do you know what you and I have that they never will?” She pulled a chair beside his.
“A moral compass?” he asked.
She nearly laughed by the sarcastic way he’d said it. “No.” She leaned into him. “Though…yes. Actually. We do have that on them. I was thinking more that we have each other. Axel and Missy, and the rest of them? They might be a tight-knit inner circle, but they still hold each other at arm’s length. They never truly liked each other. They crumble under the pressure, alone and without anyone they’re supposed to trust to back them up.”
“We could pick them off one by one…” Vincent gasped.
Sawyer felt it hit at the same time. “We could…”
Vincent’s eyes were wide and she knew her expression mirrored it. “His inner circle would know everything.”
“I know.” She took a deep breath. “We have two here. A lot of them died that day in the hangar bay, but Felix is still out there. Whatever he means or does, I don’t know, but…”
“We need Missy’s help.” Like that, Vincent was deflated again. “I’ll stay here with her, but I don’t think I could ask her for…her help. I mean, look at her, Sawyer.”
Sawyer had been trying not to look too hard. She was of the same mind as Vincent, though. The doppelganger had paid enough, doing this to herself.
“What did she say when you got here?” she asked softly. “Do you need to talk about it?”
“She finally realized he’s not coming for her.”
“Well, damn,” she mumbled. “That could kill her in its own right. I never thought she would…be this way. I thought she would die to prove herself to him. I never…” She felt awful. She had never realized Missy loved this deeply. “I’ll stay here with you and we can wait for her to wake up.”
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I don’t…want her to be alone.”
“I understand.”
And so, she waited with him, reaching out to take his hand. She squeezed it gently and he responded in kind, letting her know he was still with her.
Dawn was breaking through a window when Sawyer saw Missy’s eyes begin to open. A soft groan left her mouth. For once, Sawyer didn’t dread having to deal with someone she used to work with. She genuinely hated that Missy was in this state. She had given so much to Axel, just like Sawyer had, and for what? For him to want her dead. The only difference was that Axel expected Missy to do it herself while he’d tried to kill Sawyer repeatedly.
“Good morning, Missy,” Vincent greeted her kindly. “How are you?”
“Upset,” she snapped, reaching to gently touch the broken bones of her face.
“Why?” he continued calmly.
Sawyer remained quiet. She didn’t know what she could possibly say to the doppelganger.
“I was really hoping…” Missy shook her head as rage came over her face. “I was hoping you were him for a moment. He’s never going to come.”
“I’m sorry. I really am, Missy. I know what you’re going through.”
She knew Vincent meant every word of that. Sawyer knew what she was going through too. She was glad, and yet she hated, that Missy was finally dealing with the harsh reality.
“I want him dead,” Missy growled. “You’re going after him. You’ll do it.” Those last lines were said to Sawyer.
“I will,” she agreed. “Now you understand why.”
“He…It was okay for him to treat other people this way. I never thought…” Her sentences became broken and fragile. Oh, Sawyer knew this so well. She knew how bad it hurt to realize nothing ever mattered. Nothing was ever good enough to truly make Axel care.
“I know.” Sawyer looked away, down at her hands, leaning over on her knees. She didn’t want to look at the doppelganger anymore.
“I thought I was important to him. Even when I made mistakes, I thought he would never…”
“Yeah.”
“Kill him, Shadow.” Missy’s voice went angry again, hard and vicious.
“Can’t. Need to find him first.” Sawyer had found her in.
Vincent coughed, realizing she was going to do this. She wasn’t going to allow Vincent to become his brother, to use people. But Sawyer was willing to cross those lines to make sure she could keep the people she loved safe and their souls clean. She was going to cross all of them if it meant she saved them in the end. She hadn’t thought this would be Missy’s attitude when she woke up, but she was going to use it.
“I…” Missy trailed off as she must have realized what Sawyer wanted.
Looking up, meeting the other woman’s eyes, Sawyer didn’t back down. Silence descended over them, this time heavy and agitated. It was nothing peaceful like it had been while Missy slept.
“What would you like to know?” Missy asked, raising her chin in the same way Sawyer always did when she was willing to die for what she wanted. Sawyer had more respect for her in that moment than years of being colleagues.
“I need to know who’s a Ghost right now. I need to know where they are. I need to know everything.”
“I can tell you that,” Missy agreed. “On one condition.”
“You want to live through this,” Vincent finished for her. “We’ll protect you. For this, we’ll make sure you live for centuries more.”
“Good. That man doesn’t get to toss me aside like I’m nothing. I’ve seen times he could barely comprehend. I taught him everything I know. I cultivated his greatness. He doesn’t get to do this to me.” Every word was bitter and biting. Every word held all of the pain Missy felt.
Sawyer could relate. Deep in her soul, she knew exactly what Missy was going through.
“And for all of this, I’m also going to ask you and the WMC to work together for the betterment of our longer-lived Magi, like yourself and Talyn. Would you be willing to work with Talyn and the research team? It would give you a good life, secure.”
“I would. More than Axel ever promised us.” Missy began to laugh. “Looking back, it’s so obvious that he played me.”
“Yeah,” Sawyer mumbled again. That she understood well, too. Every word out of the doppleganger’s mouth reminded Sawyer of a time when she had been the same way. All the pain, the betrayal, the hurt. But there was a shred of hope in her too. Missy had flipped.
“I can get the team. We can bring in our information and start collecting everything we need. If we move fast…”
“I don’t know where Axel is hiding right now. He jumps between the homes of the Ghosts, as we would each look over his different organizations. I was normally involved with his non-Magi arms dealings.” Missy smiled. “I can give you where all the Ghosts like to hang out, those traitorous assholes.”
“That’s enough. That’s more than enough.”
Sawyer didn’t have words. She got up and went out to make the call to the team.
“Sawyer?” Jasper answered, groggy.
“Missy’s flipped. Get here.”
“Seriously?” His voice was suddenly sharp as if she took a cattle prod to him.
“Yeah. We’re going to pick Axel’s organization apart, piece by fucking piece.” She was grinning as she ended that. “We’re going to get this son of a bitch.”
“I wouldn’t call him that,” Jasper chuckled. “That’s also Vincent’s mom.”
“He’s a son of a bitch too for disappearing last night.” She looked back into the hospital room. “I’ll forgive him for it, though.”
“All right. We’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Tell. No. One.”
“Of course. We can’t have this leaking.” J
asper hung up on her then.
Her heart raced. Axel’s own detached, monstrous ways would finally be his downfall. She could feel it, and it felt good.
She walked back into the spacious medical wing, glad Missy was the only patient there and the single nurse was gone.
“Missy, before we continue, how are you alive?” she asked, sitting back down.
“You mean, how did I live through the day at the hangar bay in Atlanta? I didn’t. You killed me.” Missy snorted. “Felix. Necromancy. It’s rough. He had to get a group of healers to fix the body while he brought me back to life or I would have died again immediately. We have some on standby, Magi we have blackmail on. Every bit of magic I have right now is his while my body tries to expend it and replace it with my own. We were warned that if it ever had to be done, it could take up to a year for it to resolve. I’m not the first he’s had to bring back. If you want to finish Axel’s organization, you need to finish him.”
Sawyer nearly dropped her phone. Vincent was just speechless, his jaw even dropping open as he stared. Just gaping, they considered what Missy had just told them.
“No fucking way…” she mumbled finally, shaking her head. “I always thought he was just a pet. He never…He’s such a coward.”
“Of course he is!” Missy laughed. “He can’t bring himself back. We brought him that day just in case one of us went down dealing with you. We never expected to lose. We had never really lost. He told me the rest of what happened that day. I died. They showed up.” She nodded to Vincent, implying the team. “Everything went to hell. When Felix realized it was a losing game and Axel would be captured, he grabbed my body, setting in motion an emergency plan. Bring me back first. I can get in and out of anywhere. A simple kill, replace a guy. Easy. I never thought…”
“That Axel would then just leave you here.”
“I figured he would get out and come back for me when he stabilized. I didn’t think he expected me to go all the way through with his execution.” Missy looked away. “Bring me back just to let me die after all I’ve done for him.”
The Redemption Saga Box Set Page 144