BRAVE ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  Chapter 24

  Smothering a yawn, I followed Ren into the room next door. We’d gagged Kyle before we left and turned the TV on just in case. He wasn’t going anywhere though. Not unless he developed super special powers and managed to break free from where we left him . . .

  Tied to the pipes in the bathroom.

  “You really going to call Daniel?” Ren asked, stopping in front of the bed that was sunken in the middle. I wondered how many people got pregnant and died on that bed.

  Then I vomited a little in my mouth and decided I didn’t need to think about that. “I think he’s our best option if it gets down to having to open the doors to send the Prince back.”

  “It’s a risk.” He scanned the small, dingy hotel room, his brow raising as he took in the TV that looked like it came from the eighties. “He may not think you’ve betrayed him, but when. . . .”

  As Ren trailed off, I watched him unstrap the dagger and the thorn stake. He placed them on the small nightstand closest to the door. A gun joined them.

  “When he sees what I look like now?” I finished for him.

  Ren turned to me. “It shouldn’t change a damn thing, but it might.”

  I bit down on my lip. “I know. That’s why it’s best if I call him once we get to San Diego. Calling him now is too much of a risk. We could run into another roadblock along the way if I’m wrong about him.”

  “We could.” He toed off his boots. “We can’t stay here long. Other Elite members will be looking for Kyle. We’ve probably got a handful of hours. We need to rest and then get on the road.”

  “Agreed.”

  I think you’re right,” he said, running a hand over his messy hair. “We’ll contact Daniel when we get to San Diego and . . . go from there.”

  I nodded, watching him as he tugged the shirt off over his head, showing off those defined abs and pecs. Something was off about his tone, and his gaze skittered away from mine whenever they met.

  “What are we going to do about Captain Dickhead? Do we really plan on leaving him alive?”

  His lips twitched into a faint smile. “We should kill him. I want to. Badly. For a lot of different reasons.” He sat down on the edge of the bed, and I was surprised when the thing didn’t collapse. “But if you or I kill him, it just proves him right—proves what other members of the Order must believe.”

  “So, we’re just going to leave him here?”

  Thrusting his hand through his hair again, he nodded. “I think that’s the right thing to do.”

  I didn’t think that was the right thing to do at all. Leaving Kyle alive meant we’d be looking over our shoulder every single second while we dealt with Drake and everything else. We needed to talk about this.

  “Kyle was right.”

  Blinking, I frowned. “Right about what?”

  Ren leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. “About me killing the halflings.”

  All thoughts about killing Kyle vanished. “Ren—”

  “You know how many I killed?” He lowered his chin and gave a little shake of his head. “I do.”

  Oh, no. “That doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t? I kind of think it does.” He was quiet for a moment. “I would’ve killed you if I hadn’t gotten to know you—if I had learned you were a halfling before I learned who you were.”

  That was hard to hear, but I walked toward him. “But that’s not what happened.”

  “It could have.” He lifted his head, his gaze so troubled that it made my heart ache. “They were like you, Ivy. Some weren’t Order members, but others were, and they had no idea what they were. No idea why they were seconds away from dying. They never even knew what hit them.”

  My breath caught, and I found myself at a loss for words.

  “Sometimes I don’t know how you can be with me,” he said, and those words broke my heart. “How you can look at me, love me, knowing why I came to New Orleans.”

  I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Well, it helps that you didn’t try to kill me.”

  Ren didn’t smile like I thought he would. I knelt in front of him, placing one hand on his leg and cupping his chin with the other. “Look at me.”

  Slowly, his gaze lifted to mine. “I’m looking at you, Sweetness. Always am even when my eyes aren’t on you.”

  My chest squeezed in response to those words. God, Ren was . . . he was too good for all of this. I saw that with sudden clarity. If he hadn’t been born into this world, he’d probably be a doctor, saving lives, or a teacher ushering in a better youth for tomorrow.

  And maybe if I wasn’t born into this, I’d also be . . . too good.

  “Who you were before and what you did is not who you are now and what you’re going to do.” I dragged my thumb under his lip. “Both of us have done things we wished we hadn’t, and I like to think that we wouldn’t have done those things if we had known differently. We are not who we used to be.”

  Ren’s eyes closed as he turned his head, kissing my palm, but I could feel the tension rolling off him. “We killed people today—people I once worked with. I recognized at least three of them.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath.

  “I know we had to. If we hadn’t, they wouldn’t think twice about killing us.” A shudder rippled through him. “But that doesn’t make it any easier.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

  Ren didn’t respond, and as I stared up at him, I knew right then that Kyle’s blood couldn’t be on Ren’s hands. There was no way I could push the issue of killing Kyle.

  The stress continued to pour off him, and I decided I had to do something. Anything to ease his troubles. Sleep would help, and we both needed that, but all I wanted in that moment was to take his pain and self-loathing away, and there was only one way I knew how.

  I didn’t think about the thin, dirty carpet as I dropped to my knees between his legs and reached for the button on his pants.

  He straightened, lifting his head as he caught my wrist. “Ivy—”

  I shushed him as I stretched up, kissing him softly as I worked on his zipper. I felt him then, already hard and straining. I broke the kiss and lowered back down as my gaze moved to his.

  “Please?” I whispered.

  Ren let go of my wrist, lifting one finger at a time.

  Tugging the zipper down the rest of the way, I grabbed ahold of his pants and boxers. He lifted his hips and I was able to drag them past his knees and off. Then I took him in my hand, marveling at how he could feel as smooth as silk and yet hard as steel.

  He exhaled harshly as I moved my hand from the tip to the base and back up. A bead of liquid glistened. His entire body jerked as I moved my thumb along the tip, and my gaze flew to his. He watched me intently, his lips slightly parted as he reached behind my head, finding the pin in my hair and tugging it out. Curls fell past my shoulders in a tangled mess, and then his hand was threading through them, curling around the back of my head. He used the slightest pressure to show me what he wanted.

  The salty taste of him danced over my tongue, and my ears blistered at the ragged sound he made. I didn’t drag it out. This wasn’t about playing and teasing. This was all about taking his mind out of the dark places it had gone. It was about easing him. I took him in my mouth, and even though I didn’t have a ton of experience with blow jobs, I quickly learned that when a guy was into you, there really wasn’t a wrong way of doing this.

  Well, except for probably using the teeth in a not so seductive manner, but whatever.

  “Ivy,” he growled, his entire body flexing as I sucked and moved up, swirling my tongue along the head. He swore and his body tightened.

  Heat swamped me, slipping down my body. I ached for him in a different way than moments before.

  I took him as far as I could, and that seemed to be enough based on the way his hand tightened around my head and the deep sounds he was making. Then his hand slipped to my neck and his thumb found my pulse, that oddly sensiti
ve spot for me, and he gently massaged the skin until I was squeezing my thighs together. He swelled against my tongue a second before he tried to pull me away, but I didn’t let him, not as he pulsed and growled my name.

  When it was over, I sat back, rather proud of myself. Or, I tried to sit back. That wasn’t what happened though. Ren moved fast, grabbing me under the arms and lifting me onto my feet. I gasped as his fingers made quick work of my pants, and before I could even say ‘yum’ he had my pants, my underwear, and my boots off of me.

  Jesus, he was talented.

  And strong—really strong.

  Ren lifted me up onto the bed as he sat down, holding me up so that a very private part of me was lined up with his mouth.

  He said nothing as I looked down at him. My heart thundered at the fierce, raw intensity etched into his striking features. Stunned, I locked my legs to stay balanced as he gripped my hips—my ass, his fingers digging into my flesh.

  And then his mouth was on me.

  With no warning. No slow build-up. Lips. Tongue. Sucking. Dragging. I gasped, holding on to his head for support. He devoured me, his mouth hot and wet and all-consuming.

  I tried to say his name, but I lost all control as my body coiled tight. I was beyond coherent speech, beyond anything other than what his mouth was doing between my thighs. I felt like I was going to die, that I was dying, and then it happened. I cried out, my body liquefying as release pounded through me, throbbing and pulsing and never-ending. It took my legs right out from underneath me.

  And Ren caught me.

  I collapsed in his arms—limp, sated, and exhausted. I barely processed him twisting so we were both lying on our sides, my cheek plastered to his chest. Not a word passed between us, and that was how he fell asleep, holding me close as if he feared I was going to float away from him.

  I didn’t sleep though.

  I couldn’t as the pleasant haze of release faded away and I thought about what I had to do.

  What I had to do for him.

  Chapter 25

  Ren was still in the shower when I slipped out of the room. I told him that I would check on Kyle and make sure he was fine before we hit the road. I insisted on it, because I didn’t want Ren anywhere near that bastard.

  It was early and the morning sun caused me to wince as it burned up the parking lot. I wasn’t alone when I stepped outside.

  Fabian stood in front of the door Kyle was being kept in.

  “Have you been out here all night?” I asked.

  “On and off,” he replied, face expressionless. “Wanted to make sure he stayed where he needed to be.”

  “He’s not going anywhere. Trust me.”

  “He won’t.”

  The coldness in his voice sent a chill down my spine. I looked around, not seeing anyone else. “Where’s Tink?”

  “Asleep in the room at the end. He’s with Faye.” He inclined his head. “Why do you call him that? Tink?”

  I lifted my brows as I shoved a limp curl back from my face. The question surprised me. “I just . . . well, he never told me his real name and he reminded me of Tinkerbell.”

  Fabian’s mouth twitched. “Interesting.” There was a pause. “I heard you guys last night.”

  My eyes widened as heat poured into my face. Oh my God, we barely made any noise! Well, there was moaning—definite moaning of the sexual variety. The walls in this place had to be as thin as the damn carpet. “I don’t know what you think you heard, but it wasn’t us.”

  He frowned as he watched me. “I heard you and Ren talking to the man inside there.”

  “Oh. Oh.” I let out a choked laugh. God. Now I was just embarrassing myself. “Carry on then.”

  His frown faded, but his stare was still heavy. “That is why I am waiting.”

  My gaze flew to him. A terse moment passed, one full of understanding, and then Fabian stepped aside. I reached for the door.

  “I did hear you moaning also,” Fabian added. “You sounded like a wild moose grazing.”

  My mouth dropped open. “A wild moose grazing?”

  “Yes. That is correct. It was quite . . . disturbing.”

  Oh my God, I didn’t sound like a wild moose.

  Face flaming, I flipped him off and then opened up the motel door. The room was quiet, but we’d left the bathroom light on and I could see him from the entryway.

  He was dozing, his chin resting against his chest, wrists secured to the pipe. The man had senses of a cat though, because I took one step toward him and he woke right up.

  “Good morning,” I said, making my way toward him. “I would’ve brought you coffee and a doughnut, but then I remembered I don’t like you.”

  He snorted, looking away. “If you’re here to finally kill me, just get it over with, because you’re fucking annoying.”

  “I’m not here to do that.” Walking into the bathroom, I sat down on the closed toilet seat. “I want to talk.”

  “And I want to use that toilet, so if you’re not going to, how about you move your ass and untie me.”

  I laughed. “Not going to happen. Not yet.”

  His gaze slowly slid to me. “You know they’re coming for me. They already have to be out there, closing in on all of you.”

  “I know.” I crossed one leg over the other. “So, we don’t have a lot of time.”

  “You’re almost out of time.”

  “Almost.” My gaze flickered over him, and I saw the fine tremor that coursed through him. “You may not believe this, but I was kidnapped by the Prince. I was taken against my will. I fought to stay alive and to not give in. You have no idea what I had to do to do that.” My throat thickened, but I kept going. “You can hate me. You can hate Ren. But we’re the world’s best chance right now. We were on the same side.”

  A muscle ticked along his jaw. “Were?”

  I didn’t address that. Not yet.

  “Are you married? Have children?” I asked.

  “What?” he snapped.

  “Just curious. A lot of Order members marry one another. Have children. Did you?” I rested my chin on my palm. “You don’t look like you did. No wedding band. You’re all about the job. Duty.”

  “Yes,” he seethed. “Eradicating the fae is my duty.”

  “Even the ones that helped the Order? The Summer Court?”

  Kyle didn’t answer.

  “What happened? Why can’t you tell me that? I’ve heard their side, but I know there has to be more. There has to be for the Order to have turned on them.”

  Pressing his lips into a thin line, he tipped his head back against the bottom of the sink.

  Clenching my jaw, I shook my head. I wanted to kick him in the face, but I doubted that would get him to talk. “It can’t be just because they were fae.”

  His head whipped toward me. “It can’t be?”

  I stilled.

  “It doesn’t matter if they weren’t feeding or not or if they helped the Order. They’re a damn abomination infecting our world—a fucking disease. The Order couldn’t see that, but we could.” His eyes flashed. “We did what we needed to do, like we always do.”

  Was he being for real? “You—the Elite turned on the Summer fae because they were fae?”

  “Is there another reason I am unaware of?”

  “Holy shit,” I whispered, shocked to my core. “That’s all? You betrayed them. Killed them. Took their Crystal. You did all of this because they were fae. Wow. I’m really out of words.”

  He cursed and called me an idiot, but all I could do was stare at him. There was no deep motivation, no hidden agenda. Just . . . bigotry and fear. If this was what the Elite were then they were . . . they were no better than the fae that wanted to take over the mortal world.

  I was nothing like him. Neither was Ren. The moment we learned that there were fae out there just trying to live their best lives without harming others, we called a truce. It wasn’t easy, but we were . . .

  We were good human beings.

&
nbsp; On most days.

  Just not today, though. Today I was not a good person. I was the worst of the worst.

  And I was okay with that.

  Kyle sighed heavily. “He’s going to have to kill me, you know that? Sooner or later. Because I will find you and I will kill you. Then he’ll come after me, and if he doesn’t kill me, I’ll kill him. He’s a traitor.”

  I unfolded my arms. This conversation was over. “He’s not going to kill you.”

  Kyle smirked. “You’re a dumb bitch if you think that’s a smart move.”

  “Guess what? I’m a bitch, but I am not dumb.” I rose from the toilet. “I get why he thinks letting you live will help build a bridge with the Order again. He’s just that kind of a person. A good person. He’s better than you.”

  “He’s fucking a halfling,” Kyle spat.

  I let out a cold laugh as I backed out of the bathroom. “And he enjoys it. A lot.”

  A look of disgust crept into his expression. “He’ll do it. I promise you that. He and I will see each other again.”

  “You’re wrong, so very wrong about that.” I stopped in front of the main door. “Ren’s not going to kill you later. I’m not going to allow that.”

  He laughed. “What? You’re going to do it? Then lie to him about it later? Kind of hard to kill me when you’re all the way over there.”

  “No.” I waited until he was looking at me and then I smiled. “I’m not going to do it either, because I made a promise not to lie to him anymore.”

  “Isn’t that sweet,” he spat, shaking his head.

  “It is.” I wrapped my hand around the door and started to open it. “But I didn’t say no one was going to kill you, Kyle.”

  I stepped aside.

  And the Summer Prince walked in.

  Chapter 26

  Kalen had found us one of the large SUVs that could seat a damn soccer team, so we were all in one car now.

  All of us that were left.

  One day on the road and we’d already lost five people. That was hard to think about or even acknowledge.