Bound by Tears (Cauld Ane Book 6)

by Tracey Jane Jackson

  “You should go home, Jessie. Or back to work. I’ll call you if anything changes, okay?”

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  Megan nodded. “Definitely. There’s no point in you sitting around here. We’re fine. A little banged up, but fine. Why don’t you come back tonight?”

  “Okay, I will.” Jesska leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I love you. Kiss Soph for me, okay?”

  “I will.”

  Her father pulled her in for an awkward hug, kissing the crown of her head. “Let me know about next week, okay?”

  Jesska nodded and headed out to her car. She found herself grabbing for Brady’s ring as she walked through the all-too-familiar halls of the hospital, her stomach roiling as memories flooded her. She sped up, almost to a run, and escaped the halls of death.

  Arriving at her car, she slid inside and laid her head on the steering wheel. She couldn’t stop the tears. Didn’t even try. She still missed Brady, even after all this time, and she was convinced nothing would ever change.

  Her phone rang. She considered ignoring it, but Cameron’s name came up, so she answered. “Hi, Cam.”

  “Hey. You okay?”

  “Yep,” she said, and wiped her cheeks. “What’s up?”

  “They’re letting Jason out.”

  “Megan told me.” She sighed. “When?”

  “He’ll be out on Friday.”

  “What? Really? Why so soon?”

  “I don’t know the details, unfortunately. But he’ll have to wear an ankle bracelet and he’ll be on house arrest.”

  “Is he going back to his grandparents’?”

  “No, they died about five years ago.”

  She bit her lip. “So he’s lost everyone, then.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good,” she said.

  “Jess,” Cameron said with a sigh.

  “What?”

  “You and I need to have a talk, I think.”

  “Nope. I’m good.”

  “Tonight. I’ll pick you up around seven.”

  “I’m having dinner with my in-laws,” she countered.

  “Eight then. I’ll come to their place and you can follow me home.”

  “Why? There’s no point.”

  “What’s that? You’re break-ing…hel-lo…”

  The call disconnected and Jesska dropped her head back onto the steering wheel. She could text him and tell him not to bother, but it would be futile effort. He’d be there at eight whether she wanted him to be or not.

  After fixing her makeup, she left the parking lot and headed back to work. Might as well be at the only place the demons didn’t taunt her.

  * * *

  Jesska arrived at the Kings’ home just before dinner. She’d been eating dinner with them three or four nights a week since that thing had happened, and she loved how close she felt to Brady when she was there. Before they had boxed up all of his personal items, she’d go into his room and lie down on his bed just to smell him.

  She didn’t knock—she didn’t need to—but she did call out as she walked through the door. “I’m here.”

  “Hi, Jess,” Carly said. Brady’s sister was the spitting image of him. A beautiful woman, with dark-blonde hair and a height that rivaled most men. She’d recently gotten engaged after a failed first marriage, and the family was preparing for the wedding.

  “Hi, Carly. Where’s Jude?”

  “He’s working late. He’ll be her in about an hour.”

  “Did you hear?” Jesska asked.

  “About that bastard getting out? Yes. Mom and Dad are in the kitchen. Come on in.”

  Jesska followed Carly back to the kitchen and welcomed the hug that Brady’s mom, Leslie, offered.

  “Have you heard about Jason, honey?” she asked.

  Jesska nodded. “Yeah. Do you have any details?”

  “Not yet,” Brady’s dad said. “Your brother said he’d let us know what he found out.”

  Jesska rolled her eyes. “You know, for a worship pastor, that man can get some serious shi—I mean, stuff, done outside the church.”

  “Yes, he can.”

  “What can I do to help?” she asked.

  “If you and Carly could set the table, that would be great,” Leslie said.

  Jesska spent the next two hours laughing without feeling happy, answering questions about her life that really didn’t mean a whole hell of a lot at the moment, and using diversion tactics in an effort to take the focus off of her. She didn’t know why Brady’s parents had started in with the twenty questions about her love life all of a sudden, but chalked it up to Jason’s impending release and the trigger that it probably pulled.

  Cameron arrived at 7:59, much to Jesska’s irritation. He was never late. Ever. After saying goodnight to the Kings and Jude, who’d arrive an hour before, Jesska agreed to follow Cameron to his loft in the Pearl.

  She spent her drive time plotting revenge for her brother’s nosiness. Laxative brownies were currently at the top of the list.

  She followed him into the underground parking garage and parked in his extra space. Maybe if she just sat in the car, he’d forget about her and she could sneak out.

  Her car door opened and she groaned. “Cam.”

  “Come on. Time for a ‘come to Jesus’ meetin’,” Cameron said, and held out his hand.

  Jesska slid out of her car and locked it. “Can we just have a bottle of wine and call it good?”

  Cameron chuckled, stepping into the elevator and hitting the button for the twelfth floor. She followed him into his gorgeous three-bedroom apartment overlooking the Willamette…one that he could never have afforded on a worship pastor’s salary, but what Cameron did outside of the church was sufficiently vague, highly confidential, and incredibly lucrative.

  She dropped her purse on the granite island and slid her shoes off. Cameron’s place was her home away from home, and if she were being honest, she didn’t really want to go back to her tiny little duplex alone anyway.

  Cameron poured her a glass of Merlot and she took it to the windows overlooking the Steel Bridge. “So, what do you want me to say, Cam? Do you need a rundown of my life?”

  “Not at all. I just want to see where you’re at. We haven’t talked in a while, and I miss my sister.” He smiled. “What’s new?”

  Jesska rolled her eyes. “Nothing, really. I work eighty hours a week, I go home to my charming little duplex in a converted bungalow, I try not to drink several bottles of wine, and then I fall into bed, greatly looking forward to the morning so I can do it all again.”

  Cameron sat on the sofa and patted his hand on the cushion beside him. “Have a seat.”

  “Oh, my god, Cam. Are we really doing this?”

  He smiled gently. “We’re really doing this.”

  Jesska flopped onto the couch, managing not to spill her wine, and twisted her body so her back was against the armrest and she was facing her brother. “Grill away.”

  “Why haven’t you gone back to church?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t like church.”

  “That’s not the reason,” he challenged.

  “Well then, it’s because God sucks.”

  “No, He doesn’t.”

  She forced back tears. “Yes, He does.”

  Cameron squeezed her knee. “What happened was awful, Jess. No one’s saying it wasn’t…isn’t even still, but you’re turning away from the only one who can comfort you.”

  “Says the man who’s all godly and shit. Tell ya what, Cam. When your fiancée is murdered in front of you, we can have this conversation, but you know nothing about pain and losing the only person you’ve ever loved.” She pointed to the ceiling. “He did that. He could have saved Brady, but He didn’t.”

  Cameron tilted his head and nodded. “What you’re feeling is all normal, Jess, but it’s been over ten years, and you need to let it go.”

  “Screw you, Cameron.”

  “I’m not saying you need to forget. I’m ju
st saying you need to forgive him… them, Jason and Brady, and then forgive yourself.”

  “Why do I have to forgive Brady? All he did was die and leave me to live in the world without him…oh.” She wrinkled her nose. “Stop counseling me, Cameron. It’s annoying.”

  He smiled and grasped her hand. “None of this was either of your faults.”

  “I never said it was our fault.”

  Cameron pulled her arm forward and slid her sleeve up.

  “Stop it!” Jesska tried to pull her arm back, the evidence of her non-dealt-with pain etched in the scars.

  Cameron tightened his hold. “This has to stop.”

  “These are old,” she said as she shoved her sleeve back down her arm. “I’m fine. I haven’t cut myself in a long time.”

  Cameron raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  He gripped her chin gently. Something he’d done since she was little so he could look into her soul. “Messka.”

  “What?” She couldn’t stop the tears.

  Twice in one day, damn it. Crying jags were not on the approved list of reactions, but they seemed to come anyway, and at the most inopportune times. She needed to rein in her emotions.

  Cameron sighed, taking the wine from her hand and setting it on the coffee table before pulling her into his arms. “Tell me.”

  “Day before yesterday.”

  “Where?”

  “On my thigh,” she confessed. She always told Cameron the truth, eventually.

  Cameron stroked her hair, praying quietly for peace and acceptance as he promised her he’d always take care of her. She sobbed into his chest until she was sure she didn’t have any salt or water left in her body. After a few minutes of blissful silence, she pulled away from him.

  Cameron gave her a gentle smile. “What are we going to do when you meet someone who captivates your heart, little sister?”

  She snorted, grabbing for the tissue box next to the sofa. “I’m never getting married, so you can just shove that idea where the sun don’t shine.”

  “Will you make me a promise?”

  She picked up her wine. “No.”

  Cameron chuckled. “Then tell me…now that we’ve talked a bit…how do you feel?”

  “Better…jerk.”

  He nodded. “I had a feeling you needed to cry. So, make me a promise.”

  “Still no.”

  He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Call my guy.”

  “Again with this shrink crap, Cameron?” she snapped as she glared at the embossed cardstock.

  “It works.”

  “It doesn’t work and I’m no longer a minor, so you have no power to put me in the psych ward without my consent…again.” Jesska handed the card back to him, but he refused to take it.

  “First, that was not me,” he said with a sigh. “Second, Dad and Denise just wanted to keep you alive.”

  “By putting me in restraints and keeping me drugged up for almost two days?”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. “They were desperate, Jess. You cut yourself so deep, you passed out. You could have died if Denise hadn’t found you.”

  “Whatever. Mom overreacted.” She sipped her wine. “Besides, talking about my problems isn’t going to make them go away.”

  “Neither is cutting the hell out of your skin!”

  She shrugged again, forcing down the shame.

  Cameron took a deep breath. “If you don’t want to talk to someone, come to church with me.”

  “Hell, no.”

  “I’m not leading worship this weekend. Come with me.”

  “No.”

  “I’ll pick you up for the Saturday service. We can do dinner after.”

  Jesska kicked his leg. “I’m busy on Saturday night.”

  “With Merlot or Pinot?”

  “I don’t know, maybe both.”

  “Jess, just how much are you drinking?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry, Cam. I’m not going the way of my mother. I cap myself at a bottle or two of wine a night. If I’m really upset, I use the heroin.”

  “Not funny, Messka.”

  “Not even a lot a bit?”

  “Where did you get your warped sense of humor?” he asked.

  “Television. Where else?”

  Cameron rolled his eyes. “Five thirty.”

  “Why do you go to a church in the ’Couve? It’s so far away! Why not go to Graceland right here in town?”

  Graceland was the church that Jesska attended with Brady, and was one of the largest churches in the Pacific Northwest.

  “Even better,” he said. “You’d probably feel better with your friends around anyway. Perfect. Graceland it is. I’ll pick you up at ten on Sunday. We can do lunch instead.”

  “I really can’t this weekend, Cam. Seriously. I promised Amanda I’d help with Kiana. Marc’s out of town.”

  “Then next weekend.”

  Jesska groaned in irritation. His manipulation was unmatched. “I hate you so much right now.”

  Cameron laughed. “You hate me because I’m right. Let’s pop some corn and watch a movie.”

  “Only if we can find one where the sister murders her brother really slowly.”

  He rose to his feet. “I take back any references to you being normal.”

  She laughed and followed him into the kitchen.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  KASPAR’S DRIVER OPENED the door for him, and he joined his brother in the back of the large SUV. He had a lot to do today and, although Gunnar felt it would have been more convenient for the woman to come to them, Kaspar was a stickler for his privacy and no one came to his home unless invited. “Where are we meeting her?” he asked.

  “Vegamót,” Gunnar said, and raised a hand, cutting off Kaspar’s objection. “There isn’t really anywhere else.”

  Kaspar sighed. “No, I don’t suppose there is.”

  Bíldudalur was a tiny little fishing village on the coast of one of Iceland’s Westfjords, Arnarfjörður. It had one tiny little eatery, slash general store, Vegamót. Kaspar wished there was another option, something bigger, some place they wouldn’t be noticed.

  Kaspar’s grandfather was one of the original Norsemen who emigrated at the end of the ninth century. It was the perfect place to hide what they were and control the information they could provide to the new world. No one expected they were anything other than human. They’d settled in Bíldudalur and the town flourished until the twentieth century, when the fishing industry declined. Only a few families remained faithful to the village and stayed on. For the most part, the Kalt Einn didn’t interact with humans, but on rare occasions such as this one, it was necessary to meet in town.

  Their driver pulled up to the small restaurant and the shop owner smiled, his friendly demeanor a little off-putting for Kaspar. He was wary of people who were overly friendly…they usually wanted something from him.

  “Wipe that look off your face, brother,” Gunnar warned.

  Kaspar tried to do as his brother said as he followed Gunnar to the back of the building. A feminine gasp pulled him from his thoughts, and he looked up to see a tiny woman huddling under the eaves for shelter from the blinding sun. She curtsied, blushing bright red. “Sire. I was not expecting you.”

  At least she was Kalt Einn. “You were not very forthcoming when my man spoke with you last week,” Kaspar accused.

  “I-I— ,” she stammered.

  Gunnar gave him a look of “I told you so” and crossed his arms. “I want you to tell the king what you told me.”

  Kaspar noticed her hands shaking and tried to give her a reassuring smile. “You are safe. No harm will come to you.”

  “I am resigned to my fate, Your Majesty.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “They will find me and kill me. Nothing you do or anyone else does can change that. But you need to know before they find me.”

  Kaspar frowned. “What do I need to kno
w?”

  “The prince…Ari, he had a human woman. He kept her, and she bore him three daughters.”

  “What do you mean, he had a human woman?” Kaspar asked.

  “I don’t know all the details of their relationship. I just know that they lived together and she gave birth to his daughters. The first two babies were taken from her. I don’t know where or by whom. But when she had the third, she hid and then managed to disappear completely.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because they are looking for the three girls.”

  Kaspar’s irritation rose. “Who are they?”

  “We don’t know.” She sighed. “We have been trying to find out, but haven’t had any luck. Your nieces are the Trifecta, my lord. Fire, ice, and earth. Do you know how powerful they would be together? Ari found the first two in Scotland, but he hasn’t located the third. There are rumors that she’s in America. All they have is a first name of the mother. Megan. They called the daughter Ása, but there is no trace of her, so it is possible she changed her baby’s name.”

  “Was she Ari’s mate?” Kaspar asked.

  The woman shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know the particulars. I met Megan just before she left.”

  “Do you want money?”

  “No!” she snapped, and scowled. “You’re not listening to me. They are after them. The two older girls are mated to Cauld Ane’s, but the youngest is not safe. She has no protection. I think your brother has been captured and held by the Cauld Ane who are mated to your nieces. Not that Ari did anything to protect sweet Megan,” she said in disgust. “You are the only one who can save her.”

  “How am I to save her?” he asked.

  She handed him a flash drive. “Everything is on here. Please, Your Majesty. Her name is Megan Shane. She confided in me before she ran. Please help her. She is such an amazing young woman and your brother…well, he took advantage.”

  “How did he take advantage?” Kaspar pressed.

  “She loved him. Truly loved him, but she was young, and he wasn’t always kind to her.”

  “My brother would never harm a woman.”

  She squared her shoulders. “Perhaps not physically, sire, but he hurt her deeply when he pulled away from her.”

  “How so?”

  “From what I understand, they were both deeply in love until she reached ár mökunar. That’s when she was able to get out from under his suggestion and ran. He has been looking for all four of them ever since then. He’s obsessed with them. And I believe he hates the woman now.”