by Susan Illene
Lucas waved off a waitress who started to head toward them. They didn’t need her help. Emily’s gaze was already on her father, who sat on the far side of the room by himself.
Patrick appeared to be in his late thirties. He had medium-length brown hair the same shade as his daughter’s, light skin, and a freshly shaven face. Wire-rim glasses covered his sensor-blue eyes. The suit he wore didn’t fit his lean frame well, but Lucas suspected he bought it off the rack just for this occasion. Was he really a father only wishing to connect with his long-lost daughter, or was he something else? Nothing about the studious man appeared sinister. In fact, he looked rather nervous, but it could have been an act.
As they reached the table, Patrick stood. He met Lucas’ eyes and his lips thinned with a grimace. The power waves coming off of him were likely hitting Patrick full-force now that they stood a mere two feet apart. Sensors who were used to being around powerful supernaturals built up a tolerance, but those who avoided them felt their presence more strongly. Where had Patrick been all these years that meeting with one nephilim would hit him this hard?
“Welcome,” Emily’s father said. “Please have a seat.”
Lucas noted he hadn’t offered to shake hands. Did he have a problem with supernaturals or did he want to avoid touching someone with power? There was no way to be certain. It made Lucas second-guess the idea of coming here, but he wanted to learn more about this man who claimed to be Emily’s father. This was the best way to do it without upsetting the girl. She wouldn’t like it very much if he started off with the torture ideas milling around in his head.
Emily sat opposite from Patrick and Lucas took a seat next to her. The tension in the air was thick between them. Emily was casting nervous glances at both of the men as if she expected a violent outbreak at any moment. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility—humans present or not.
“Let’s skip the pleasantries and come to the real reason you are here,” Lucas said, resting his arms on the table and leaning forward. “Tell me how you found Emily and why you came to see her.”
Patrick stiffened. “I didn’t know about her until two weeks ago when Stephanie tracked me down and told me. She said you all forbade her to see Emily, but she thought I might have a better chance of checking on our daughter.”
“You mean she never told you about Emily until recently?” Lucas had heard a different version, but that had come from what Stephanie told Emily—before her sensor abilities began working.
Patrick nodded. “I admit I was shocked at first, but I got over it quickly. I knew I had to come see her and find out if….” He shifted his gaze to Emily and he gave her an earnest look. “If she turned out like me.”
Sensors inherited their gifts from their parents, but not every child became one.
“Do you understand why we sent her mother away?” Lucas asked.
“She’s a vampire now.” Patrick grimaced. “Not that you raising my daughter is any better.”
“Mom didn’t care about me,” Emily said defensively. “She left me home alone all the time and hung out with a bunch of crazy vampires and witches. Lucas and Melena saved me.”
“And where is Melena now?” Patrick ran his gaze around the room before returning his attention to Emily. “You mentioned yesterday that she’s a sensor.”
“Um, she’s gone right now, but you can meet her when she gets back.” Emily darted a quick glance at Lucas. They hadn’t discussed what to say about Melena, but this wasn’t the time to get into that. He gave a subtle shake of his head.
“When Melena found Emily, she was in a dangerous situation.” Lucas gave Patrick a hard look. “Your daughter was just discovering her abilities and she was surrounded by a rabid band of supernaturals who might have killed her if they found out—or worse. Never mind what her mother could have done. We took on the responsibility of protecting your daughter when no one else would.”
Patrick folded his hands on the table. “Do you know I’ve heard of you and your mate even in the remote area where I live? You two haven’t exactly stayed under the radar. It’s a miracle my daughter is still alive, considering your social circle.”
Lucas’ hand twitched with the urge to wrap itself around Patrick’s neck. The man must have gotten past his nervousness rather quickly to talk to him this way. “You dare judge us? If you had paid more attention to whom you impregnate, perhaps we wouldn’t be sitting here now.”
“Fairbanks is a cesspool for supernaturals,” Patrick said, glowering. “I’ve lost count on how many of them I’ve sensed since I arrived. If you really care about my daughter, you’ll let me take her to my home where she’ll be safer.”
“Wait.” Emily held up a hand.
Lucas leaned forward until he was inches from Patrick’s face. “Over my dead body—and I assure you, I am not that easy to kill.”
“Where there is a will there is a way,” the male sensor said, unflinching.
Lucas almost had to respect the man for standing up to someone considerably more powerful than him. Was it for Emily’s sake? If Patrick had just learned about her and her situation, his reaction could be construed as natural for a new father. It was also rather foolish, considering he lacked the power to put up a good defense.
“Seriously?” Emily stood up. “This is ridiculous!”
“You’re not leaving with him.” Lucas gave her a stern look.
“Of course, I’m not. This is my home and I’m staying here.” She pointed a finger at Patrick. “And you can’t just show up and take over like you haven’t been gone my whole life.”
“I’m only trying to do what is best for you,” he said, earnestness in his gaze.
She sat back down. “Then stick around and get to know me.”
“I’m not sure if that is such a good idea.” Lucas was already plotting ways to make Patrick leave. Not all of them required the man to be alive.
Emily set her jaw. “It’s not your decision.”
“We don’t know this man or his motives,” Lucas replied. “The peace spell will be coming down soon and we must prepare for what may come next. Distractions will not help us.”
Patrick stiffened. “The spell is already beginning to dissipate. I expect it will be gone altogether in the next week or two.”
“Is that right?” Lucas looked to Emily.
Her brows furrowed. “It has been feeling weaker the last few days, but I’m still getting the hang of judging that stuff. Patrick, I mean…my father, really believes it’s going down, though.”
Emily was still young. It took Melena years to master her sensor abilities after they began at puberty. Emily had less than three. If Patrick was right, they were running out of time.
“Perhaps it is best we save any future meetings for a few months from now once things are calmer.” The last thing Lucas wanted was to deal with Patrick when riots and protests might break out again soon.
Patrick shook his head. “There are things you don’t know about.”
“Such as…?” Lucas glared at him.
“There is a cult forming that is led by a sensor named Grant. His goal is to gather all the sensors who are left, along with humans, to fight against supernaturals. He hasn’t had much luck until recently when the spell started coming down, but his ranks are filling up now.”
Patrick’s arrival now appeared even more suspicious. If this cult was forming, he could be a part of it and want his daughter at his side. Lucas didn’t like the timing of this at all.
“How is Grant finding people?” Emily asked.
“Mostly the internet, but he also travels around recruiting people.” He darted a glance at Lucas. “Sensors have always had ways of communicating if you know what to look for.”
Lucas glowered at Patrick. “Did you join his cause?”
“Of course not. I was raised to avoid supernaturals and keep to myself. The main reason any of us are still around is because we hid, but some of my kind are getting restless. They don’t want to hide anymor
e and let bad things happen to humans when it’s our job to protect them.” He clenched his fists. “I won’t say I wasn’t tempted, but I made a promise a long time ago to stay out of it.”
There was a story there, but this wasn’t the time to ask. Lucas was more worried about this new cult and what it might be planning. Could Melena’s brother be involved? They’d never been able to get his name or whereabouts from her father or other brother. He would have liked to question them again, but the Department of Homeland Security was holding them in their facilities in New Mexico. With Lucas confined to Alaska while training the nerou and wearing a spelled band around his ankle, he couldn’t leave the state. Until Melena returned, there was no way to reach them.
“Where do you live?” Emily asked.
Patrick hesitated. “Montana.”
The address had been right after all, though it didn’t mean he used a P.O. Box close to home. Montana was a large state with a lot of remote areas. With some assistance, he could be tracked to his house. It would just take longer than the two days he’d had so far. Emily’s mother had years to search for him and the benefit of knowing personal details from their time dating. She’d been human then. A young Patrick might have confided quite a few things to her.
“Have you had any interaction with this group?” Lucas asked.
“I met the leader, Grant, a long time ago in college. That’s actually where I met Emily’s mother as well—before she ran off. I haven’t talked to him since graduation, but I’ve been monitoring the group online.”
Emily cocked her head. “Why keep up with them if you’re staying out of it?”
Lucas was about to ask the same question. She hadn’t called him out for lying yet, but Patrick was certainly holding back some information.
“He was always a little on the fanatical side—him and his family.” Patrick shook his head. “Since the rest of them disappeared a few months ago, he’s become even more active. I worry that he might be going too far. There were some things in college…well, let’s just say I wouldn’t want my daughter anywhere near him.”
Lucas narrowed his gaze. “What do you mean his family disappeared?”
“Rumor has it the government took them.” Patrick sat back in his seat. “But that was before supernaturals came out so I haven’t put much faith in it. They probably got themselves killed.”
Emily jerked her gaze to Lucas, a question in her eyes. He knew what she was asking. Could Grant be Melena’s missing brother?
“It is possible,” he said, speaking low.
Lucas had suspected the man would pop up eventually from the way Jerome and Brennan had talked after they were captured. They wouldn’t reveal what Melena’s brother was up to, but they’d indicated it wouldn’t be good for supernaturals.
“What is possible?’ Patrick asked, knitting his brows.
“Nothing,” Lucas replied curtly. “Do you have idea where Grant might be?”
“Without becoming active in the group there’s no way for me to find out.” His gaze shifted to Emily. “But I don’t want him finding my daughter. You have no idea the things they’d do to her.”
“Actually, we do. We’ve run into them before.” Lucas didn’t bother to elaborate further. Patrick didn’t need the whole story about Melena’s less than pleasant meetings with her family.
They’d learned all about what Grant and his kind liked to do to female sensors. They forced them to breed more of their race—whether they wanted to or not. Melena’s mother gave up her life to ensure her daughter didn’t have to face that kind of future. She might have anyway if Lucas hadn’t rescued her in time.
“They won’t come near Emily,” Lucas swore.
“There’s no denying you’re strong,” Patrick conceded. “But I can’t leave here knowing my daughter is in danger. I failed to protect her for the first seventeen years of her life. This is my chance to be there for her now.”
Lucas lifted his brows. “If you stay here, it could turn bloody. You might have to fight your own kind or humans. Can you do whatever it takes to protect Emily?”
Patrick looked away. For a full minute, he said nothing as he seemed to mull over how far he was willing to go for his daughter. If he truly wanted to stay out of the fight, there was nothing he could do here. Emily needed warriors at her side, not pacifists.
“Yes,” Patrick finally answered, looking at his daughter. “The vow I once made can’t include leaving my daughter vulnerable. For a long time, I thought I had nothing left. Now that I’ve found her, I’m willing to fight for her.”
Patrick reached across the table and put his hand over Emily’s. She twitched under his touch, but she didn’t pull away. The expression on her face could only be described as cautious hope. “You don’t know me.”
“No, but I want to,” he replied.
Lucas remembered Micah acting in a similar manner when he saw Olivia for the first time after more than six centuries apart. He would have done anything for his daughter—and did by invading Purgatory to free her. This was despite the fact he hadn’t seen her since she was a baby. Did Patrick have that same parental instinct as Micah? Could Lucas trust the man’s intentions?
He turned to Emily. Whether he liked it or not, she did have a say in this. “What do you think?”
“He’s not lying.” She chewed on her lips. “I think we should give my father a chance.”
Lucas was afraid she’d say that. This meeting would have gone much smoother if Melena could have been here. She was better at guiding the conversation so that her senses could detect any falsehoods. He often wondered how he’d survived without her for so long.
“Very well.” Lucas scrutinized Patrick. “You may stay in Fairbanks for now, but there will be conditions. The first is that you will show me everything you’ve found on Grant. Hold anything back, and I will force you to leave town.”
“And my daughter? You’ll allow me to see her?” Patrick asked.
“For now, your visits with Emily will be supervised. When Melena returns she can decide how trustworthy you truly are,” Lucas said.
Patrick didn’t appear pleased, but a look of acceptance crossed his features. “And when does she return?”
“Soon.”
His brows furrowed. “Where is she?”
“You haven’t earned my trust enough to tell you that.” And Lucas was thankful word hadn’t spread of her whereabouts. They’d managed to keep that secret safe thus far.
“I’ll give you my hotel information,” Patrick said with a sigh. “You can stop by tomorrow and I’ll show you what I’ve found so far.”
“Very well.” Lucas didn’t bother to reveal he already knew where Patrick stayed.
“Can I come?” Emily asked.
“No,” Lucas replied, “you’ve got school.”
Emily’s face fell.
Patrick smiled at her. “How about we order breakfast? You can have anything you want—I’m buying.”
“Excellent idea,” Lucas agreed. It was best to let food distract her.
She glanced between the two men and saw that she’d lost. “Yeah, okay, but you’re going to tell me more later.”
“We’ll see.” Lucas waived the waitress over.
Chapter Six
Lucas
Lucas stood in front of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office. It was a small branch located inside a downtown Fairbanks office building on the first floor. Through the glass entry door, he could make out a sparse room and the corner of a cheap desk. They’d done little to modernize the seventies decor before moving inside, but the division for supernaturals was still in its infancy. It would take time for them to get the funding for better accommodations.
They had made one major change. Lucas was annoyed to discover a protection ward three feet from the entrance to repel supernaturals. He’d wondered why he couldn’t flash directly into the office and had to go to the main building corridor instead. Once again, the witches were proving a little too usefu
l to humans. There weren’t any of them in Fairbanks, but there were plenty in other parts of the state. He wouldn’t be surprised if they offered a delivery service. First the potions against compulsion and now this—not that either was entirely effective.
Lucas checked the dimly-lit corridor to be sure no one was around. The office was at the far end of the building and not too close to any open businesses. Satisfied no one would come upon him, he pushed against the invisible barrier, grunting in intense pain as high magical voltage shocked his entire body. His knees shook with the effort to keep moving forward. Lucas swore that when Melena returned he’d have her track the witch signature on the ward so that he could punish whoever did it. They were good—he’d give them that.
More than a minute passed as he pushed and fought his way into what resembled an electrical field. Years of being tortured in Purgatory helped him to cope with the pain, but the shocks reverberating through him were still blinding. It was a rather powerful ward that had to be fought physically to pass—not that anyone weaker than him would survive the crossing.
One inch at a time, he pushed a little more of himself into the boundary. His head was the first to make it to the other side. Lucas got his left leg and arm through next. He grabbed the door handle in front of him and used it as leverage to pull himself the rest of the way. Even then, it took every ounce of strength he had before he was free. The door was open and halfway off the hinges by the time he finished. Lucas stood there, breathing hard and waiting for his muscles to stop twitching. That had been less than dignified.
He’d avoided coming to this place for as long as possible, but with the information Emily’s father had just given him he needed to talk to Agent O’Connell in person. Time was of the essence if he wanted to act on it. Lucas might not be able to leave the state, but he could use the DHS agent to help him track down the new cult.