They talked a few more minutes and Jessica hugged Marisol. About to depart, she had a final thought. “What of Max? I can feel how close he is to the edge.”
Marisol’s expression filled with sadness. “He is four hundred years old, Jessica. He’s very strong and has fought hard to save himself. But he’s been alone a long time. Max, I’m afraid, is a walking time bomb.”
Chapter 19
Hours after Marisol had left the dig site, Des stood by the river, lost in his thoughts. A light breeze offered relief from the burning temperatures, his skin welcoming the cool touch. But nothing offered him relief from the torment he felt.
He’d tried to work out his frustrations by helping the team dig, and for a while, it had worked. Jessica had been studying the map and diaries for hours and he’d wanted to help. But he knew in his heart of hearts that he had some soul-searching to do. That knowledge had driven him to seek a bit of solitude. Jessica shouldn’t have to go to Marisol for answers, and the fact that she had proved he had to deal with what was between them, one way or another. He wasn’t being fair to Jessica.
Over and over, he replayed her words. Replayed her saying “how very human of you,” trying to convince himself that was true. He loved Jessica and had no doubt she was his mate. But wasn’t love about protecting that person? And how would he ever live with himself if he hurt her?
The sound of gravel behind him put him on alert. But he didn’t reach for the blades sheathed at his hips. He knew instinctively who was there. Knew Jessica had sought him out.
He turned as she stepped into the clearing. In her hands she held one of the diaries. “Hi,” she said softly. “I was hoping you might look at something for me. Since you seem to know this territory so well. I swear you guide us better than the map.”
She’d given him an opening, and Des didn’t let himself back out of what he knew had to be done. “It was near here that I lost my human life.”
A stunned expression took over her features. “Will you tell me about it?” she asked tentatively.
A sudden dryness destroyed his voice, so he nodded and swallowed. “I will.”
He motioned to a shade tree, and they sat down beneath it. She placed the diary on the ground beside her and hugged her knees to her body. Des leaned against the huge oak tree, needing support in an out-of-character way. And then he started talking and talking. He didn’t stop until he’d told her about his mother, about being sent away from her, about Arabella and the day he’d lost her and then his life. When he was done, his chest expanded with emotion.
“Do you know what I think?” Jessica asked. No, and Lord help him, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. He shook his head slowly. She continued, “I think a lot of feelings you attribute to the Beast are really quite human. I think over the years you dealt with the pain of that day by deciding it was all about the Beast. And I think you have to deal with the guilt you feel and face it like the man you are. When you do, Des, I believe you will be free of the darkness.”
“I wanted to kill him,” Des said, speaking of Arabella’s father.
“I know,” she said and reached for his hand, releasing her legs and tucking them beneath her as she sat on her heels. “I do. We all have those types of feelings. The difference between good men and bad ones is that the good ones deal with those emotions and don’t act on them. And I might remind you that you had those feelings as a man. Not as a Beast. But I don’t think you want to remember that part, do you?”
His gut twisted. God, how right she was. “I wanted him dead. I don’t even know why Salvador saved me.”
“Because you tried to save his life despite all that anger and hurt. Forgive yourself, Des, but in the process realize you are forgiving the man. No Beast is a part of this equation.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. This was the thing he’d tried not to remember. The part of his life he’d buried beneath the Beast. Suddenly, he felt the soft touch of Jessica’s lips on his eyelids. When she pulled away, he gently eased her to her back, settled beside her, legs aligned. He kissed her then, long, hot and passionate. “I want you so much,” he murmured between kisses.
Her lips parted, the charge of arousal thick between them, wrapping them in a blanket of warmth. “Enough to keep me around for eternity?”
God, yes. “I’d die if I hurt you,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion.
“You won’t,” she promised, her lips brushing his. “You won’t.”
“I so want to believe that,” he said, their breath mingled together, “to make love to you the way you deserve to be made love to.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I just have to be sure I won’t hurt you.”
Her fingers slid into his hair, stroking his scalp, soothing his nerves. The sound of rocks falling and the men yelling drew their attention. “So much for convincing you now,” she said, in the midst of a sigh.
Reluctantly, Des agreed. “I would have enjoyed letting you try a little longer.” He sat up and helped her to do the same.
“You say that now because you have your escape.”
Des funneled his fingers through her hair, framing her face. “I don’t want to escape. Okay?”
She nodded, her eyes filling with emotion. “Good. Because I don’t plan on letting you.”
Jessica walked with Des to the dig site, her hand in his. She smiled to herself, having the distinct impression he didn’t want to let her go, amazed and thankful for all that had transpired.
They found Rock and Rinehart arguing. Why, Jessica didn’t know, but no one seemed hurt so that was enough for her. Apparently, not for Des. He stepped forward and got in the middle of it, quickly drawing the harsh words to an end. “Knock it off before I knock your heads together.”
Jessica shook her head. Diplomacy evidently wasn’t his high point. Good thing it was hers. She glanced at the sky, noting the sun quickly disappearing into the horizon, not surprised when Des called an end to work for the night.
Claiming a seat under a canopy covering folding tables and coolers, Jessica was pleased when Des joined her only a few minutes later. “Frustrations are high and everyone is tired,” he commented.
“I feel to blame,” she said. “I found this location in her work on Solomon’s son, Prince Menelik. She’d somehow come across many of his personal affairs. Anyway, the prince wrote that when his father gave him the box to hide, he took it to a far-off land, which somehow my mother surmised to be modern-day Mexico.”
“I remember reading that,” Des commented. “And the section about the river meeting two mountains fits this location perfectly. And she even had this spot marked on the map.”
“Yes, but look at this,” Jessica scooted the diary toward him. “Several pages back she had a note with a question mark. River, mountain, pond. There are some coordinates as well but they’re smudged. Maybe Max could run some searches and see if there is a place like that nearby, still within the radius my father marked?”
Des stared down at the page for several silent moments before looking at Jessica. “He doesn’t have to.” His voice was scratchy, hoarse. “I know that area well. It’s still inside the mountains your father marked, still in Guerrero. This is the city of Ixcateopan.” His lips thinned. “This is where the Beast stole my heart.”
Time to hit the road and face the ghost of the past. “Load up, everyone,” Des yelled. “We’re leaving. Now!”
Greg paced back and forth in front of his tent, trying to figure out where he’d gone wrong. They’d finally gotten to the last spot on Solomon’s map, finally unraveled all the clues, but no box, no list. He’d taken them so far, so fast. Decoded five clues and each led to another, the final, here. If he had the other clues right, why not this one?
He ran his hand over his face, his eyes tired. He couldn’t look at the map or the text anymore. He was seeing double, and it was getting him nowhere fast.
When he thought it could get no worse, Segundo appeared in his Beast form. That oversize eye of his glared at Greg, hi
s intention to cause pain gleaming in the red center.
Panic overtook Greg, his heart almost jumping out of his chest. “Black Dog!”
Segundo laughed, evil. “You’re such a fool, Greg. You live only because I’ve let you live.”
Black Dog appeared, a gun in his hand. The minute he saw Segundo, he shoved it into the holster at his shoulder and made a primal growling noise that had Greg backing away.
“What the hell are you doing here, Segundo?” Black Dog demanded.
“Game’s up,” Segundo said snidely. “Seems you were so busy chasing Greg’s ass, you didn’t cover your own. The Knights just arrived. They’re only a few miles down the road setting up camp.”
Greg had no idea who the Knights were, but he suspected they were those men from the museum. All he knew for certain was he’d been a fool. Black Dog obviously knew Segundo. To think he could hide from a demon. But then, what choice had he had? Segundo would have killed him if he’d handed over the journal. He was going to kill him now.
Black Dog cursed. “Do they know we’re here?”
“You mean, has your stupidity caught up to you yet?” Segundo asked. “Not yet, but it will.” He snapped his fingers and five additional Beasts charged forward, all wearing shiny suits and swords. “Adrian wouldn’t want me to sit by and see you destroy this mission. I plan to take care of things.” He smiled. Evil. “I plan to take care of you, Black Dog.”
Without warning, Black Dog turned on Greg, grabbing his shirt and yanking him forward. Greg’s teeth jammed together and he bit his tongue. Blood spilled into his mouth.
“I don’t like being made a fool,” Black Dog half spoke, half growled. “We’ve been here longer than any other location. You said this was the final spot. Where is that damn box?”
Greg could barely breathe, let alone speak. He was shivering from head to toe. He was going to die. He knew it. He didn’t want to die. “I…It should be here.”
“Wrong answer,” Black Dog said and shoved Greg to the ground. He looked at Segundo. “He’s worthless now. This is the end of the road on that map. We don’t need him.”
Out of nowhere, two snarling black Hounds charged at Greg, their faces horrid and distorted. He backed up on his hands, scrambling as best he could from his ground position, no time to stand.
“Wait!” he screamed, certain he was about to die, his survival instinct kicking in. “You need me!”
The Hounds stopped at his feet, their teeth bared. “For what?” Black Dog asked.
“Kill him or I will,” Segundo challenged.
“No!” Greg screamed. “I’ve studied Solomon,” he lied. “That’s how I got here so fast. The list will be encoded like the map. You need me.”
“The list we don’t have,” Segundo said dryly. He fixed Greg in a hard stare. Seconds passed. Seconds that felt like hours. Then, “Keep the human alive for now,” Segundo said, shifting his gaze to Black Dog. “Send your Hounds to scout the Knights’ camp. We need to know if they have the list.” He glanced at Greg. “Get him digging with the rest of your men. If that box is here, we need to find it now.”
“My Hounds are digging. Send your Unit.”
In a flash of movement, Segundo was in front of Black Dog, his hand around his neck, lifting him in the air, feet dangling. “Do not test me, Hound. You’ve screwed with my plans all you are going to.” He dropped Black Dog with a hard thud. Segundo turned then and walked away, his men following in his footsteps.
Greg watched the whole thing in awe, almost forgetting the Hounds perched at his feet, ready to attack. He wanted to be as strong as Segundo, to have that power.
He still had the journal, which he had to hide and do it fast. And he still had the leverage of decoding that list. One way or the other, he’d get his immortality.
And then no one would push him around again.
Chapter 20
Des started the hunt for the box as soon as they arrived at their destination in Ixcateopan. Based on the diary notation, Des had them begin searching on the side of the pond closest to the river. It seemed the most logical choice.
With nightfall fast approaching, they’d set up spotlights in order to keep going. Des knew deep in his soul, this was the location. The coincidence was too extreme for it not to be. What were the chances he knew this location would be significant to him and show up in those diaries if there wasn’t a connection. Very little, in his opinion.
When they had found no signs of Greg upon arriving, Des had sent Rock and his team to scout. They didn’t need any surprises and it made sense that Greg would be near if they had the right location this time. After all, Greg had the map. But Rock had been gone damn near two hours without communication. The deep canyon had cut radio connection and Des was starting to get worried.
His gaze settled on the oak tree on the other side of the water. His tree. The one symbolic of so much in his life. Around them, mountaintops sculpted the horizon. It was a beautiful location, a perfect location for love, if not for the taint of death. He could almost still smell the blood of that day. Almost hear the screams, as the Beasts attacked.
Jessica’s hand touched his back. “Hey,” she said. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, taking her hand. He’d told her what the location meant to him, about the day he’d been turned to a Beast. That he’d been saved by Salvador. “Any word from Rock?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Should we look for him?”
Des had been thinking the same thing, but he didn’t want to leave their camp with limited security. “We’ll give him a few more minutes.”
“That’s the tree?” Jessica asked softly, her attention on the big oak.
“Yes,” he said. “That’s it.”
She slid her arms around him and joined him in his inspection of the tree. The gentle but unyielding strength she possessed calmed him beyond belief.
“I’m here if you need me,” she whispered.
He was about to tell her just how much he did, indeed, need her, when Rock charged into the clearing. “We had Hounds snooping around the camp.”
“Chingado,” Des cursed under his breath, pulling Jessica close, his hand going to the saber sheathed at his hip. “How many?”
“They’re gone,” Rock said. “Took off the minute they caught our scent.”
“They’ll be back,” Max said.
“And where there’s a Hound, my guess is there’s a Beast or two,” Rinehart added.
“Or ten,” Max said with a grimace. “You find their camp?”
“I found more than that,” Rock offered, setting a bag on the ground. “The journal’s inside. I saw Greg hide it.” He snorted. “Not very well, either. In a rotted tree trunk.”
Jessica dropped to her knees and unzipped the bag. “Oh God. It would have been destroyed by weather and animals.” She pulled out the journal, running her hands over it. “The map is inside.”
Rinehart smacked Rock in the head. “Good work, kid.”
“I need light,” Jessica said. “Quick. Before they come back.”
Des waved one of the trainees forward, and he stood over her, holding a flashlight. She flipped through the pages with less care than Des expected she would have used under different circumstances.
When she found the map, she studied it in silence, the Knights surrounding her, the one female among them. And Des had the strangest feeling she held all their destinies in her hands, not just his. He wondered if the rest of them felt it as well.
When Jessica finally looked up, her eyes locked with Des’s. “It’s under your tree.”
Des felt his breath lodge in his chest. He couldn’t even find his voice. Had that box been beneath his feet the day of his beating, the day the Beasts had come? It had to have been. Destiny, this day, his life, had been set in motion long before now.
The last of his fears over mating with Jessica fled during that moment. He knew, like that box, that she was his destiny. Des helped her to her feet and kissed her before
grabbing a shovel to dig. Twenty minutes later, despite many others working by his side, Des was the one who hit something solid in the ground. And Des was the one who uncovered the exterior of the box.
Jessica walked to the side of the hole and stared into it, tears coming to her eyes. “I don’t believe it. We did it.”
“Yes, mi amor,” he said softly, “we did.”
Now they just had to get it to the ranch safely.
Black Dog lay on the ground, having returned from the Knights’ camp to be beaten by Segundo. “Adrian will make you pay for this,” he proclaimed vehemently.
“See. There’s where you’re out of luck,” Segundo said, slicing a saber down Black Dog’s stomach. “While you were scouting, Adrian departed for the Underworld. He’s visiting Cain, promising him he will soon have that list of bloodlines I had intended to deliver.” He cut Black Dog again, barely containing his desire to kill him. Black Dog grunted with pain. “If you want to live, tell me everything you know. If that list becomes mine, if I am the one to hand it to Adrian, then I’ll consider letting you beg for mercy. But if you dare cross me, Hound, I will kill you.”
Segundo started to slice Black Dog again. “Wait!” Black Dog held up his hands. “The woman from the museum, that Jessica lady. She was at the Knights’ campsite, helping them. I saw her myself. She’s using her mother’s research on Solomon to find the box. I can bring you that research. I’ve seen it. I know what it looks like.”
Segundo cut Black Dog again, deep this time. Black Dog cried out in misery. When Segundo was satisfied he’d caused great pain, he added, “You just don’t get it, do you? I want it all. The journal. The research. The list. The woman. And while you’re at it, I want Greg dead.”
He sheathed his blade and kicked Black Dog. “Now get up. We have work to do.”
Segundo grimaced as he walked away, beyond angry, beyond frustrated. He had no choice at this point but to earn Adrian’s favor back. His chance to steal Cain’s favor had been destroyed.
Knights of White Bundle Page 40