Emma, you can help him. You have power that you don’t even realize. Find your power and you can heal him. Use the pendant.
Raphael had told her she could save Will. Was it possible? What if it was a trick?
The pendant glowed a brilliant red in her hand, brighter and hotter yet not burning her palm. She had nothing to lose by trying, but she didn’t know how what to do. She gripped the stone tight in her fist.
Heal him.
Will’s breath gurgled and his hand on her arm grew limp.
Hysteria swept through her mind, stripping away all reason. Then anger replaced it, searing with an intensity that rivaled the stone in her hand. I can’t lose him. A blaze filled her chest, electricity rushing behind it. She gasped in surprise.
Will turned his head toward her, eyes wide.
The fire and electricity built into a raging inferno until she felt herself burning on the inside. The power was going to kill her. She reached out her free hand to Will’s side, his abdomen jerking as he fought for breath.
She concentrated on his breathing. “Heal him.”
Electricity burst from its dam and raced through her arms and legs, through her left hand into Will’s side. His body jerked in response and his wheezing stopped.
She snatched back her hand, leaving a red mark on his chest. Oh my God, I killed him. The room spun and blackness closed in around her.
***
“Emma,” someone said her name softly. “Emma.” It grew louder and more insistent.
It was Will’s voice, but it sounded so far away. She stirred, her eyes fluttering open in her confusion. Will leaned over her, his grim expression relaxing as he studied her face.
“Thank God. You scared the hell out of me.”
“Are we dead?” she whispered.
He cupped her cheek. “No, far from it. You healed me, but you nearly killed yourself in the process.”
She remembered the electricity coursing through her body. Into him. “I thought I killed you.”
His face softened and his eyes filled with love. “No, Princess. You saved me.”
She sat up and pain ricocheted throughout her head. “Oh.”
Will wrapped an arm around her back. “Are you okay?”
“I just need a minute. I feel like I have a massive hangover.” Her tongue lay thick in her mouth and her head throbbed.
“Emma.” He gently lifted her chin, searching her eyes. “What did you do?”
She stared at him in confusion.
“Do you remember what happened?”
“I thought it was a dream,” she whispered.
“It wasn’t a dream. What do you remember?”
She closed her eyes. “My head... just give me a moment.”
Will handed her the water from the nightstand.
She took a sip and handed it back. “Seriously, Will. What are you doing out of bed? James is going to kill me. Where is he, anyway? He was supposed to be getting the car to take you to the hospital.”
“James walked in and saw what you did. Once he realized I was okay, he left. What you did completely freaked him out. What did you do?”
She told him what happened, and shook her head in disbelief. “I was sure it was a dream but it seemed so real. Like my other one.” Her body tensed at her mistake.
“What other one?”
She ignored his question. “It really happened? You don’t have any pain?”
“Yes, it really happened. You healed me.” Will looked down at her trembling hands. “Emma when was the last time you ate?”
“I don’t know… dinner before you got attacked?”
“That was over twenty-four hours ago.”
“You haven’t eaten either.”
“Yeah, but I was unconscious a good portion of it. I’m going to get you something to eat. I’ll be right back.”
Emma watched Will leave, the room spinning. Did she really heal him? That was impossible. Impossible. Yet, so many crazy things had happened over the last month, it was conceivable. And undeniable.
But why now? The obvious answer was the pendant. Jake said Will made everything change and while he started it all, the pendant continued the evolution. The Vinco Potentia thought her only purpose was to have the baby, but Will always insisted there had to be more. Even Raphael said she had powers.
Raphael. Just thinking of him made her stomach twist with dread, but if she was honest with herself, something else happened inside her too, adding to her growing anxiety.
Will handed her a sandwich. “Emma, eat this.”
“I should be taking care of you, not the other way around,” she said, taking a bite.
“I’m telling you, other than feeling exhausted, I’m better. My broken ribs are gone.”
She looked up at him and shook her head. “How can that be possible?”
“I don’t know, but it’s true.”
They ate in silence until Will said, “Emma, what other dream? You said it happened in another dream.”
Stuffing the sandwich in her mouth, she chewed slowly, stalling. There was no way she could tell him, especially after her encounter with Raphael. She could try to change the subject again, but Will was smart; he’d figure out what she was doing, which would only make it worse. Maybe she could tell him part of it.
“I dreamed I had electricity flowing over my skin, just like I felt when I touched you.”
“And?”
“I was outside, in the woods. In front of a fire.”
“And?”
“I told you, I dreamed I had electricity covering my skin.”
“That’s it? What were you doing when this was happening?”
“I don’t know, Will, it was a friggin’ dream. Everything’s all weird and crazy in dreams.”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you. My head hurts and it’s making me cranky.” She reached out her hand and laid it on his arm. “I still can’t believe you’re okay.”
She scrutinized his face, noticing the cuts and swelling was better as well, his face covered with only mild bruising. Her fingers gently caressed his cheek as she searched his eyes. He sucked in his breath, covering her hand with his.
“How do you do that?” he whispered.
“What?” she asked, lost in his steady gaze.
“How do you drive me crazy with just a single touch?” Leaning down, Will brushed his lips on hers as he wrapped an arm around her. He pulled her tighter, deepening the kiss.
Emma braced her hands on his bare chest and pushed away. “Will, we can’t do this.”
“I’m sorry. I forgot about your headache.”
“No, it’s gone.” she said, surprised it was true. The pain in her head faded when she touched his cheek.”But you...”
Will kissed her again, more insistent and she sank into him, needing his reassurance. That he was here and she hadn’t lost him. “I’m fine so I don’t see a problem here.” He pulled off her t-shirt and tossed it to the floor as he gently pushed her down.
Would she ever get used to the way he looked at her, a mixture of adoration and hunger? “James will—”
“I don’t give a shit about James.” He growled, lowering his mouth to her breast.
She gasped and arched her back, her stomach tightening.
“You’re what I need, when will you realize that?” His eyes narrowed as they pierced hers. “You’re mine,” he said with a guttural sound.
Emma’s stomach dropped. Did he know about Raphael? Did he suspect? But his mouth and his hands assured her that she was his. She belonged with Will. He entered her possessively and she answered with a possessiveness of her own. She needed him, needed his claim to drive away her demons.
They lay together when they were done, Will’s arm tight around her waist, holding her close. She breathed in the scent of him, pushing away the memory of someone else.
***
Will held Emma’s naked body flush aga
inst his, marveling that she was his. Had he imagined the flicker of fear in her eyes when he told her that she belonged to him? He wondered again about the man who helped them and Emma’s reaction to him. He looked down at the profile of her face, lying against his chest. He pulled her closer, telling himself Emma was here with him.
He was being paranoid.
***
Jake lay on his bed with his eyes closed, but he wasn’t sleepy. His days were boring.
Even though Alex told him that he was going to find his mommy, he didn’t trust him. The man in his dreams had told him to trust no one. So he didn’t. But he was tired of waiting.
Mommy had called to him again in that afternoon. She felt so sad and hopeless that he almost talked to her. But he stopped in time. He didn’t want Alex to find her.
Jake buried his face into the dog that he had renamed Rusty and cried. He missed her so much that his stomach had a constant ache, like part of him was missing.
He fell asleep, his cheek pressed into the damp stuffed animal. Once the darkness enveloped his mind, he dreamed of her. But it wasn’t a real dream, it was like the dreams he showed Jake after Will showed up.
Mommy ran down a crowded street at night, wearing a blue skirt with tiny white flowers he’d never seen before. She never wore skirts unless they were part of her waitress uniform. She was so pretty and her hair was down, not in her usual ponytail. She stopped on the street corner next to him, looking over her shoulder. Her eyes were hard, the way she looked when the Bad Men showed up. She was so close he could hear her panting, close enough to touch. He wanted to hug her and tell her he loved her and how pretty she looked, but he knew she couldn’t hear him. His chest burned. He was this close yet not close enough.
She ran again and another man pulled her into the shadows and kissed her. Jake was confused. Where was Will? But Mommy held onto the man until she fell backward and the man held her arm.
The scene changed. Mommy stood in the woods. A fire lit her face, but something else shone in her eyes. Her face glowed, a golden light shining around her body. Her hands reached toward the fire. She was pretty in a white nightgown that fluttered in the wind, and her hair blew around her. A man appeared from the darkness in the trees. He crept behind her and kissed her neck. Someone else stood on the opposite side of the fire, watching. The shadows covered their face but the figure’s hands clenched at its sides.
Everything faded to black and Jake heard his voice. Finally. After all these weeks, He had come back.
“Jake, I’m so proud of you. You have been so patient, but you must be patient for a bit longer. Soon we will all be together.”
“Alex said that, too.”
“Yes, Alex wants your mommy to be his, but he is a bad, bad man. You saw that when you touched him, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” Jake whispered.
“You must not help him. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but I want my mommy.” Tears stung Jake’s eyes and burned his throat. “She keeps calling to me. Can I talk to her?”
“No, your mommy isn’t ready yet. First she has work to do and then you can see her. But I will give you a gift for being such a good boy.”
The darkness gave way to a bedroom he had never seen. Mommy wore a t-shirt and slept next to a man, curled up into his side. Jake released his breath, happy to see it was Will.
“Would you like to stay with your mommy tonight?” the voice asked.
Jake nodded, in awe that he stood next to her. He climbed onto the bed, pressing his tummy to her back. He breathed in the flowery scent of her shampoo as the warmth of her body seeped into his. Tears ran down his face and wet the sheet. This was only a dream, but it felt so real.
“Thank you,” he whispered, wrapping his arm around her stomach. He touched her belly, knowing a baby grew inside her. Would she love the baby more since he was gone? Would she love the baby more since Will was its daddy?
Even in her sleep, she sensed his arm and reached down, grabbing his hand in hers. He closed his eyes grateful that he could be with her, even if it was while she slept. Even if it was just a dream.
Jake fell asleep, wishing the morning would never come.
Chapter Eleven
Will woke up with Emma curled against his side. Her slow, steady breath warmed his skin filling him with a foreign sentiment he struggled to name. Contentment. He marveled at this place of belonging as he studied her face, the tension smoothed away while she slept. Her hand draped over her abdomen, her fingers curled as if she held onto something. Leaning his face into her hair, he breathed in her scent, committing it to memory as his lips brushed her forehead. The desperation to cling to this moment only reinforced his conviction of what he had to do. As tempted as he was to stay, he needed to go before she woke. And he needed to talk to James.
He eased himself off the bed and pulled a shirt over his head. The pendant lay on the nightstand, reminding him of the events the night before. It should provide him with a sense of victory, that the stone was more than just a necklace. That it was an incredible source of power. But the fact they knew so little about it gave him more hesitation than relief. Everything came with a price. What was the cost of the stone?
He grabbed a cup of coffee and stood on the front porch. The sun still hung low in the eastern sky making the peaks on the water glisten with gold. James sat on the dock in a camping chair, a fishing pole in hand. An empty chair sat to James’ left with a rod beside it on the deck. The old ritual soothed the edges of Will’s anxiety.
James ignored him as he approached. Will sat down, sipping his coffee as he watched the dragonflies dance on the water’s surface. “No clients today?” Will already knew the answer. James was a fishing guide and if he’d had a client, he’d be gone already.
James’s gaze stayed out on the lake. “Lucky for you, my clients have been a little thin lately. Damn economy.” He paused for a moment. “I see you’re all better.”
“Yeah.”
James reeled in his line and recast. “Who the hell is she? Or maybe the more appropriate question is what is she?”
“Her name is Emma. And she’s a person, just like you and me.”
James shook his head, slow and deliberate, his mouth set in a grim line. “She is not like you and me.” His face reddened then he erupted with a slew of questions. “Where did you meet her, Will? A crappy bar? On the side of the road? Was she a job?” He paused and sucked in his breath. “Shit, she was a job, wasn’t she?” James’s eyes widened and he turned to look at him. “Oh. My. God. She was your big job. The job you said you’d retire on. You didn’t finish it, did you? The people who beat the shit out of you are the people who hired you. Shit, Will. You fucked up big-time on this one.”
Will took a deep breath and shook his head. “No. For once I got it right.”
James’s eyes filled with hatred. “Who is she? Who wanted her? What did she do?”
“She didn’t do anything. They wanted her for her potential.” He spat the last word with disgust.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“News flash. I saw your girlfriend glowing in the bedroom. Try me.”
Will understood his anger and his confusion. If it were the other way around, Will suspected he would react the same way. “I’m telling you, James, it all sounds crazy. You just have to trust me.”
“That’s just it, Will. I don’t trust you. Before you showed up with that woman, I would have trusted you, but this isn’t you. This isn’t the Will I know, cussing me out in my own kitchen over a woman. It’s always been you and me, dude. You and me. We agreed to never let women get between us and look at you.” James sneered in disgust. “How long have you known her?”
“Almost a month.”
“Almost a month? You’re throwing your life away over a woman you’ve only known for a month?”
“Yeah, but I’m not throwing it away.”
James doubled over
with laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“You. You’re a fucking idiot.” James reeled in his line. “I never thought I’d see the day Will Davenport got snared by a woman.”
He understood James’s reaction and he considered arguing that Emma saved him, but he knew it would be a waste of breath. James needed time to see how important Emma was to him. Will took a sip of coffee, averting his gaze. “James, I need your help.”
“I’m already giving you my help.”
“I need more.”
James groaned. “Of course you do.”
“Is there any chance you can do a little investigating for me?”
“What kind of investigating?”
“Just computer sleuthing. My laptop burned up when my truck exploded and I haven’t had time to replace all of my contacts.”
“Your truck exploded?”
“Yeah, old news. But I need you—”
“Old news for you maybe, but not me. Let me guess, this had to do with Emma.”
Will tempered his growing irritation. “James, I told you, she hasn’t done anything wrong. A group of powerful people want her because of the things they think she’s capable of. She was completely clueless to any of it until the Vinco Potentia tried to hire me to work for them as part of their security team. I was the one who told her.”
“Who?”
“The Vinco Potentia. They’re a secret organization of politicians and influential businessmen. And from the members I’m aware of and the money backing them, they’re powerful. I want to figure out who else is in their group. That’s where you come in.”
“And they’re the people that hired you? They hired you to take Emma to them?”
“Yes, but there’s another organization after her, too. They’re the ones who caused my truck to explode.” Will decided it was best to leave Jake out of it at this point. He could only imagine James’s reaction to that. No need to overwhelm him any more than necessary.
02 Hunted - The Chosen Page 10