“This is bigger than you and me, Skylar. We’re both just playing our many roles.” He wiped a hand down his face, rubbing his bloodshot eyes.
This situation, this David, none of it made sense. He’d always had such a commanding presence, but at this moment he was acting afraid, vulnerable, even somewhat fragile. His demeanor was hard to place, foreign to everything she knew about him. It was as though his control was teetering on the edge of either a confession or condemnation. She pushed her advantage, hoping to retrieve some information she could use against him later. A name connected to David’s past jumped into her memory. “Is it the Dread Lords? Are they behind this?”
He chuckled, but it sounded lifeless. “The Dread Lords are nothing but a small-minded operation. There is so much more to this, don’t you see? It is all part of a deeper source of power than mere Truth.”
Although she didn’t understand his riddles, she knew she needed to keep him talking, hoping he’d say something that would make some sense. “What do they want with me?”
He shuffled her off his lap, placing her next to him on the bed. His shoulders slumped, hands resting on his knees. His voice was quiet, weary, as he began to speak. “It started out as a simple switch. You for Mariah.” He cast a glance in her direction, but didn’t turn his head, seemingly afraid to look her in the eye. “I made you believe that you—as Mariah—had been abused, to create confusion and buy time. And to make Stephan look bad in Talisman Bay society. But things didn’t go quite as planned.”
“You mean your plans were ruined when Dusty rescued me.”
“Dusty and Twyla.” He shook his head, an amused grin lifting the corners of his pinched lips. “Twyla…she continues to amaze me. I won’t underestimate her again. But she wasn’t the only one I underestimated. If only we’d discovered the truth about you earlier…”
“What truth?” Skylar asked on a mere whisper. Excitement and a twinge of fear made her tremble.
“Mariah’s twin sister…” He shook his head. “Not that it matters anymore. Plans have changed. Hell, you’ve changed.”
Skylar bit her lip to keep from shouting at him to tell her more. She was Mariah’s sister? How? A part of her wanted to deny it, yet she knew he wasn’t lying. Not because she had any reason to trust him but because she just knew.
Turning to face him, she caught him watching her. His eyes were a mixture of darkness and light as he studied her intently. Suddenly the deeper realization hit her. “But if I’m Mariah’s sister…”
At her utterance, his dark eyes sparked maliciously, all traces of vulnerability disappearing from his demeanor. Skylar shivered and subtly moved an inch away from him. With one lightning quick movement, his hand clamped down on her knee, painfully holding her in place. “The prophecy has changed and I need to verify your place in it. So do you stay or do you go? Is it more prudent for you to return to Providence, to forget your life here? Or do I let you stay and love Dusty?” He smiled, and all light seemed to retreat from the room. “Maybe I’ll keep you instead. The possibilities are endless.”
“You’re not in control of my destiny,” Skylar ground out.
“We’ll see about that,” and before she could struggle, his lips were fastened over hers.
* * * * *
Playing dominoes with Skylar is my favorite pastime.
What do you mean you ran out of Kool-Aid? I thought that’s all you have here.
Skylar was supposed to bring some to the park, but she’s gone tobogganing instead.
Skylar? I love her. She’s wonderful.
Trouble. Lots of trouble.
What? Damn, I’ve got a headache. What did you say?
You are in too deep. Are you deaf? You should go.
Why?
Because Skylar’s there and she really needs you because she’s crazy in love with you and—
She’s here with me and I’ll love her forever.
Wake up! There’s work to be done. We can’t find Skylar a pineapple.
Wake up!
“Wake up! Dusty!” Jake’s voice permeated the cacophonous din in Dusty’s skull as loud banging came from somewhere nearby.
Get your eyes open, Dusty!
Dammit, Dusty. Wake the fuck up! Where the hell is Skylar?
Dusty managed to get his eyes open but nothing was making sense. There were voices in his head. They sounded urgent. Hell, they also sounded like Stephan. And Jake sounded like he was close by, but was he clicked-in?
Clicked-in. Is Stephan clicked-in to me? Jake’s clicked-in? What?
Glass shattered all over the room as Jake came crashing through the window. Dusty jumped out of bed, incredulous, and promptly lost his balance, falling against the wall. He tried to scramble back to his feet, unsure whether he was being attacked by friend or foe, but certain there was a huge problem because Jake never broke anything when he entered.
“Dusty! Holy shit, man. What the hell happened, buddy? You okay? We’ve been trying to get to you and you wouldn’t wake up. You’re scarin’ me.” Jake hoisted Dusty up.
Dusty blinked. That was all he could do. He knew something was real bad somehow, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it or even find the right muscles to move. There was broken glass everywhere.
You gonna make it? What’s going on? Stephan’s voice held incredible worry. I know you’re there, Dusty. Come on. You gotta tell me what you need. I can’t help you unless you help me. Do you know where Skylar is? We just learned that she’s actually Mariah’s twin sister. You gotta tell us where she is. Talk to me, man.
Dusty’s alive, but there’s somethin’ wrong with him. Jake paused. It’s like he’s fuckin’ drunk. He’s awake, but he’s not responding to me. And Skylar’s not here. I dunno what happened but it doesn’t look good. Jake’s voice was in Dusty’s head, too. How did that happen? And who was drunk? Nobody drank around him anymore.
“Dusty? What happened to Skylar? What happened after I left you two here last night? I thought you guys were good. Did she leave you? You need to tell us what happened. Dammit! Hello? You there, man? Your eyes are open, but are you seeing me?” Jake waved his hand in front of Dusty’s face. He squinted and tried to focus on Jake’s three very concerned heads. Why did he keep mentioning Skylar? Where was she? That’s right, she went to the bathroom…
Jake’s heads disappeared and Dusty rubbed his blurry eyes. Suddenly, a pair of jeans and a T-shirt were thrust in his face and Dusty figured he should probably put them on, but he wasn’t entirely sure why.
Stephan’s voice once again blared in his head. Bring him to the compound for Fiero. And keep tryin’ to get him talkin’ about Skylar.
Dusty shook his head to try to clear a fog that wasn’t easily lifting as he pulled up his jeans. Skylar was taking a long time in the restroom. Maybe she wanted him to join her in the shower. Hot water. Hot Skylar.
Jake brought a pair of boots and Dusty sat back down on the chair to put them on. Everything was hazy. If Jake hadn’t leaned down to tie Dusty’s boots, he would have just given up and stuffed the laces inside. Dusty slid on his T-shirt and shook his head again. The fog, not nearly as dense as it had been.
But what was he forgetting?
Jake helped him up and they took two steps before something crunched beneath his boot. He looked down and saw a crushed syringe.
Images of Skylar limply flung over Craze’s shoulder as he stabbed the needle into Dusty’s thigh. Trying to reach out to Skylar or punch Craze. Everything going black just before he could click-in to the guys.
Click-in. Find the words. Talk. Find the words.
C’mon man, talk to me. I gotta know what happened to you. Where’s Skylar? Stephan had remained clicked-in but Dusty couldn’t find a way to reply. All he could think about was Skylar in that evil bastard’s clutches. All he could think about was finding her.
Before Dusty was aware of leaving the building, he was in Jake’s car, but they weren’t heading toward David’s house to get Skylar. They were hea
ded toward the compound. “No!” Dusty found his voice to shout as he pointed across Jake’s face. “David. Now!”
Jake glanced over at Dusty, then turned the car in the direction that Dusty had pointed out. “You comin’ back to us, buddy? Talk to me.”
“Craze. The needle. David. Skylar.” Dusty managed to formulate a few words as he fought mind-over-matter to gain control of himself.
Jake had told Stephan that Dusty was acting drunk. But he wasn’t. Didn’t. “I didn’t drink. It was Craze. Set me up. Took Skylar.” He didn’t know what was thicker, the fog or all the red. “I’m gonna bust his fucking skull in.”
“You’ll get your chance, man. I’m takin’ ya there, but you gotta get a hold of yourself. Can you even see straight yet?”
The anger pulsing through him helped dissipate his mind’s fog and made his words fly out clear and sharp. “I can see well enough to beat down his door and take back what he stole from me. I don’t need to see anything else.” Dusty gritted his teeth as more feeling returned to his body. Random parts of him tingled and a few more were sore.
Talk to me, guys. What the fuck is going on!? Stephan persisted.
Jake replied before Dusty could figure out how to get his click-in connection functioning properly again. Shit, sorry. Dusty’s good to go. Craze took Skylar and fucked Dusty up. We’re almost to Craze’s. “Well damn, Dusty. Looks like Marlin’s already there.” Jake nodded toward Marlin’s car parked where Dusty had left it the day before.
“No, he isn’t. And don’t tell him I left his car there yesterday when I was lookin’ for Skylar.”
Jake snorted. “Well, shit. You were a day early.”
Jake was taking too long to park his damn car. Dusty pitched himself out of the still-moving car almost drunkenly. Skylar needed him. He gained his balance as he charged toward Craze’s door. Jake’s hollering was only heard in some distant corner of Dusty’s mind. “Get your fucking ass back here. Wait for backup! You tryin’ to get yourself killed?”
Raising his fist, ready to waste the door into oblivion, Dusty watched the brass knocker shake. Then, his punch swished unobstructed through the air as the door was opened by Craze.
“Hello, Dusty. Three times in three days. Maybe I should just give you a key.”
Dusty wrested himself upright as the force of his punch took him over the threshold and past Craze. Whipping about, Dusty readied himself for an attack.
But the man just stood there, his hands in his pockets, a snide grin on his face. Craze looked…different. Far from put-together. And it wasn’t just the black eye Stephan had given him. Craze’s clothes were rumpled, his eyes bloodshot…for once his looks matched his name. Almost like he was slowly losing control.
“Where is she?” Dusty demanded.
“Shhh… She’s resting.” Craze lifted a finger to his lips, illustrating his words. “I’m sure she’ll be down soon.” His demeanor was too relaxed, too comfortable, and it pissed Dusty off even more.
“What the hell did you do to her? Why is she here?” Dusty growled as he advanced toward Craze.
“I needed to confirm my suspicions about her. Things are changing, the prophecy is evolving…” He shrugged. “She is of no use to me anymore.”
“No use? You fucking bastard! You stole an innocent woman’s life—”
“And you stole her innocence. Who’s the real fucking bastard here?”
Dusty landed his fist squarely under Craze’s jaw then hooked upward, knocking him backward against the wall. But it wasn’t enough. He launched himself at Craze, the rage taking over.
Two strong arms grabbed him from behind, pulling Dusty away from his prey. “Don’t, Dusty,” Stephan said harshly as he hauled Dusty backward. “I want to kill him, too, but we can’t. Not like this. Who do you think would be the first one questioned if he were found dead? Not to mention Jake and Marlin’s cars are out front. We’d be setting ourselves up.”
Craze stood up, rubbing his jaw, but his smile didn’t falter. “Now if only you’d realized that at the ball the other night. The past few days haven’t been a complete waste. I may not have gotten Mariah, but I did get something I wanted. My brother is no longer the golden boy of Talisman Bay society.”
“But you didn’t get what you really wanted, now did you, David,” Skylar said calmly as she walked down the stairs wearing nothing but a T-shirt that fell to mid-thigh.
Crossing the room, Dusty pulled her into his arms, inhaling her sweet scent, wanting to caress every inch of her to make sure she was okay. “Skylar, did he hurt you?”
“No, but I’m sure he wanted to when he realized he couldn’t use me like he planned.” She kissed him. “I love you. Things are going to be better now. I know this…” She pulled out of his embrace and stepped toward Craze.
“You say you have no use for me anymore? Isn’t it more that you can’t control me? I’m not the pliable weak puppet you thought I was. You can’t climb into my mind and make me do things I don’t want to do.” She stepped closer to Craze while Dusty shadowed her every move. And it wasn’t even really about protecting her. Skylar was every bit strong enough to fight this battle. He just didn’t want to miss a moment of her getting her punches in.
Stephan watched from the sidelines, a look of intent interest on his face.
“It took you two months to get me to believe I was Mariah. Two months of daily mind torture. And you still couldn’t control me. Not really. You made me believe I was someone else, you put outside memories into my head, but you couldn’t make me act a certain way. You couldn’t control my reactions. You couldn’t make me betray the Shadow Walkers and you couldn’t get to Mariah through me. All that time you spent, all the effort you put into manipulating me, and nothing. Did that bother you? Did it drive you just a little bit crazier to know that my mind was that strong?”
Craze lifted a hand toward her face, and Dusty reacted immediately, pulling Skylar out of his reach. Smirking, Craze said, “You are most definitely Mariah’s sister. The similarities go beyond the physical. Her strength lies in her eyes, yours in your mind. I should have recognized it earlier, but Fate hid her plans well. But the ride was fun now, wasn’t it? I would have loved exploring your mind a bit more, but Mariah and you are no longer my primary concern. Things are changing in Talisman Bay. Having you here makes things a lot more interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing how this little drama plays out.”
Craze stepped past everyone, dismissing them as he placed a hand high on the edge of his opened door. “Now that you’ve gotten what you came for, it’s time to leave. Stephan, shouldn’t you be at home tending your woman? I’m going to be an uncle soon—”
“You will have no part in my child’s life.” Stephan’s words were spat like venom.
“Funny, that’s what I hoped your mom would’ve said to my dad.” David lounged against the door.
This time it was Dusty who held Stephan back. “Remember what you told me. He’s still gonna be an asshole even after you deck him.”
“He lost,” Skylar said dismissively as she turned her back on David. She tucked her hand in Dusty’s. “Let’s go home.”
The trio walked out the door, leaving David behind them. His quiet words echoed after them. “I always win, one way or another.”
David’s yard had become a Shadow Walker meeting place. Marlin, one hand in his jacket, probably on his .38, Jake crouched near a window looking ready to hop up on the side of the house, Ryan with hands in pockets, switchblades ready to strike, Ana, hands fisted at her sides, eyes full of angry fire. The entire crew had come out in force, prepared to do whatever necessary to get Skylar back.
Jake jogged by. “You must be cold. Let me get a blanket from my car.”
Dusty pulled Skylar to him. “Shit. You got goosebumps. Do you even have anything on under that shirt?” He ran his hands up and down her arms.
“I’m fine.” She smiled up at him. “I don’t think I’ll ever take this shirt off.”
Dusty g
ave her a questioning stare.
“David tried to wipe my memories again, tried to see if he could turn me into Mariah. But he couldn’t, because of you.”
Jake interrupted with the blanket and Dusty wrapped it around her. “Now what were you saying about what Craze did?”
“David tried to force himself into my mind. Just like he did before. But I fought back. I wouldn’t let him take you from me. I could smell you on the T-shirt, and with your scent filling me, I focused on every memory we’ve shared, everything between us. And I won. We won.”
The thought of all he could have lost hit him, and he pulled Skylar into his arms, needing her close to him. He kissed her upturned face. “I love you.”
Stephan’s Mercedes S65AMG whipped around the corner, pulling up across the street. Mariah bolted out of the passenger side and dashed toward David’s house.
Skylar let out a quiet gasp. Dusty looked down at her face as her eyes widened and she whispered, “Mariah?”
The two sisters approached each other slowly, their faces matching expressions of awe and wonder. And then they were in each other’s arms, hugging and crying and talking so fast no one could understand a word they were saying.
Stephan faced Slade. “I thought you were going to keep her in the compound?”
Slade met Stephan’s intense gaze with a matching one of his own. “You should know by now you can’t stop her when she wants to do something.”
They both turned, watching the women chatter while they moved toward the cars. “And now there are two of them,” Stephan said with a wry chuckle as he began to follow them. “Fate definitely has a sense of humor.”
“Hey! What the fuck is my car doing here?” Marlin asked.
Dusty didn’t answer. He just wrapped an arm around his woman and smiled.
Epilogue
One month later
“I want to watch you while you come, Mrs. Clements.” Dusty slid his hands up her thighs, pushing up her white silk sheath dress and bunching it around her hips. She raised and lowered herself almost lazily on Dusty’s cock, enjoying the slow glide of hard flesh moving in and out of her.
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