Release Me (Storm Lords Book 3)

by Nina Croft

  And her son, Marcus, had died because of her sins. She thought of Jacob sitting next door, trusting her to keep him safe. Was she putting his life at risk by being with Finn?

  Why hadn’t Finn told her the truth? Would she have believed him if he’d told her he was an angel? Back then he’d been…angelic. There had been a goodness and a radiance to him. That was gone. There was nothing of the angel left of him now. What had they done to him that day? How had he lived since? She’d come here for answers, and now she was drowning under the weight of all the questions whirling in her mind.

  She scrubbed her hand over her face. “How long was I under?” she asked.

  “Nearly two hours.”

  “Jacob?”

  “Don’t worry, Mary is good with children. He’s fine.”

  “I have to go.” She searched her mind for a plan. Some way to make sense of it all. She wanted to run to Finn, feel his arms around her, have him tell her everything would be all right.

  But there was something she needed to do first. The only thing she could think of right now was making sure that Jacob was safe. Her love for Finn had cost the life of her son. She would make sure history didn’t repeat itself.

  The professor made no move to stop her as she scrambled to her feet. She wiped her hands down her jeans. “Thank you.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I’m hoping you’ll come back and we can talk some more.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know where I’ll be…”

  She hurried out of the room. Jacob was kneeling on the floor. Someone had given him some paper and crayons and he was drawing. He looked up as the door opened.

  “Mummy been crying,” he said.

  “I was just thinking something sad, but it’s gone now.” She crossed to him and held out her hand. “How would you like to go see Papi?”

  He nodded, then frowned. “With Finn?”

  “Not this time. But I’m sure we’ll see him soon.”

  And maybe he would give her some answers. There was also Bella. She’d been her half-sister back in that first life. Soraya. She had presumably died that day as well. Had she also gone through countless lives since? Though she was reunited with her husband now.

  First though, she had to make sure Jacob was out of danger. She’d take him back to the place she had always felt safe. To the forest and Papi. She just had to find a way. Afterward, she’d come back. She would confront Finn with what she knew. And she would get her answers.

  Chapter 23

  She was still searching her mind for a way to get back to Haven as she came down the wide stone steps from the university building. She had a little money, but she was pretty sure it wouldn’t be enough to get her and Jacob back home.

  She wasn’t ready to face Finn yet.

  Finn, the angel.

  Just the thought made her head swim. An echo of those long-ago feelings washed through her; she’d loved him so much. But that had been another life.

  Then she remembered him making love to her, the night before last. The intensity of his touch, the feel of him on her, in her, consuming her. It had felt so right, and she knew her emotions had followed her through all the lives that lay between them.

  But she wasn’t ready to face those feelings yet, not until Jacob was safe. There was too much that Finn couldn’t or wouldn’t tell her, things he was hiding. With all the secrets between them, how could she trust him with Jacob’s life? With her own, yes, but not with her son’s.

  Which meant asking Bella and Phoebe for help was also out. They would presumably go straight to Finn.

  Of course, there was always her other grandfather, the senator. But everything inside her shied away from having any contact with him at all. Even his own son had said not to trust him.

  She’d call Papi; maybe he could send her some money and they could get the bus. While it might take some time, what difference would a few days make?

  “I’m hungry, mama.”

  There was a café opposite, and she took Jacob, sat at a table by the window, and ordered him a sandwich, coffee for her, and juice for Jacob. As he ate, she counted her money. She wasn’t sure how long it would take for Papi to organize some funds, but likely, it wouldn’t happen before tomorrow. Hopefully she’d have enough to pay for a cheap motel tonight.

  As they came out of the café, Jacob tugged on her arm, and she glanced down at him. “What is it?”

  “That man, over there. He’s staring at us.” He pointed across the street.

  Her gaze settled on the man they’d met with Finn yesterday. Tall, with black hair and blue eyes. He returned her gaze, then strolled over, coming to a halt in front of her.

  “Are you following me, Mr. Dawson?”

  “It’s just Dawson. And yes.”

  He didn’t elaborate. And she had a feeling that if she asked him directly why, she wouldn’t get an answer. It seemed to be a habit of people here in the big city. So much that wasn’t said. She tried a different tack. “What did you mean when you said I might be the end of your people?”

  He shrugged. “You must ask your…man the answer to that one.”

  “Finn?”

  “Do you have another?”

  Actually, she wasn’t sure she had the one. “And what is my life worth?”

  “Again, you must ask Finn. I’ve been forbidden to speak of it.”

  “By Finn?”

  He nodded.

  “And do you always do what Finn says?”

  “Always.”

  He didn’t sound too happy about it. What hold did Finn have over the man? “You don’t like me?”

  “I don’t dislike you, personally. I fear the power you hold.”

  She gritted her teeth. “I don’t hold any power, Mr. Dawson. Not that I know of. And no one is telling me anything, so you can stop worrying I’m going to do something you don’t like. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

  “You don’t need to know it to wield it.”

  Why did everyone have to be so goddamn cryptic? She’d go back to the start of the conversation and try again. “Why are you following me?”

  He shrugged. “We’ve been ordered to keep you safe.”

  “By Finn. You work for him?”

  “In a way.”

  “What way?”

  “We come when he calls. There have been people following you since you left the Storm Lord’s protection.”

  “Stormlord’s? That’s Finn’s company?”

  He smiled, but the expression held no amusement. “That’s Finn and his friends. The Storm Lords. I’m guessing you’ve met their leader, the Destroyer, by now.”

  “The Destroyer?” A shiver ran through her at the name.

  “Torrin Stormlord.”

  Bella’s husband. She wanted to ask why he was called that, but maybe some things were best not known. He’d been an angel once and was now known as the Destroyer. But Bella loved him still, that was obvious. And he wasn’t evil. She would have felt it. Nothing made sense.

  She took a deep breath and calmed her mind, then reached out with her inner senses and probed the man in front of her. She got no sense of wrongness. Whatever and whoever he was, he wasn’t a bad man.

  She made a decision. “I need to take Jacob home to his grandfather,” she said. “I don’t think he’s safe here in the city.” Dawson said he’d been ordered to keep her safe. “I’m not safe in the city. I don’t have much money, but I can get some, and I’ll pay you for your time.”

  “Why not ask Finn?”

  “He thinks we should stay. But I have a feeling that I need to get Jacob away from here. Once he’s safe, I’ll come back and get some answers.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  He sounded as though she would need it. “You’ll take us then?”

  He thought for a minute. “Do you need to collect anything?”

  “No. We just want to go.”

  “Then I’ll take you. But there is one condition.”

  “What?
”

  “I need to tell Finn that you’re with me.”

  “Can you wait until we are on our way?”

  “Let’s go.”

  ***

  Finn knew as he let himself into the apartment that she was gone. The place had an empty feel. He walked into the bedroom. Her clothes were still there. She’d either decided she wanted to take nothing from here, or she was coming back. Or something had made her run. His head was going to explode.

  He was going to tell her. Everything. Give her the choice.

  He’d made the decision, built himself up to saying the words, and now she was gone. And he didn’t know how long his resolve would hold.

  Fuck.

  He punched the wall with his fist. Then forced his brain to clear. He had to find her.

  Maybe she’d taken Jacob to visit Phoebe and Sophia. He pulled out his phone and hit their number.

  “Phoebe, it’s Finn. Is Rachel with you?”

  “I haven’t seen her today.”

  “Thanks.”

  Next, he phoned security on the front desk. She’d gone out with Jacob over four hours ago.

  Where the hell had she gone?

  She knew no one in the city except the senator, and she was unlikely to go there.

  Why hadn’t he thought to confine her to the building? Tie her up, lock all the goddamn doors. Handcuff her to his side.

  That might have taken some explaining. He’d told her the senator was no longer a threat. What reason would he have had to stop her going out? But he’d told Dawson to watch out for her. He would have had someone monitoring the building. He punched in Dawson’s number, but it went straight to voice mail. “It’s Finn. Call me back.”

  He stood in the middle of the room, trying to decide what to do next. He wanted to be with her. He needed to be with her, needed to know she was safe. There were things she had to decide.

  And there was the smallest chance that she would decide to live. She loved her son. Maybe she would consider it worth the loss of his life and that of his wolves, to stay with the boy.

  But he didn’t think so.

  He knew her too well.

  Which meant she needed to decide what she wanted for Jacob. Whether he would stay with her grandfather at the settlement, or whether she would prefer him to have a different life. Fin’s brothers would ensure he was safe. Bella and Phoebe would take care of him.

  Or maybe once she heard the truth, she would want nothing to do with any of them. He’d betrayed her by not offering her the choice all those years ago.

  Where the hell was she?

  He sank down onto the sofa, scrubbed a hand through his hair. All he could do was wait.

  He had no clue how long he’d been sitting there when he heard the sound of footsteps outside, and he jumped up. The door pushed open and he held his breath. But it was Bella who stood there, Torr behind her.

  “We heard you were back,” she said as they entered the room.

  He pressed his fingers into his scalp. “She’s gone. I don’t know where.”

  Bella bit her lip, shifted from foot to foot. Torr wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulled her against him, so she fitted beneath his chin. “Tell him,” Torr said.

  She took a deep breath. “I did something, and maybe it was wrong, but she’s my sister, and I know her, and she’s going to either die or be broken by this. If you take Gabriel’s offer, and she lives, then finds out how you sacrificed your life, she might as well have died.”

  “My life is over anyway. I’ll never go back to Lilith.”

  “Well, if she ever finds out about the wolves—how many have died because of her—she’ll never forgive herself.”

  “I know. I was planning on telling her the truth. Giving her the choice. And I know what she’ll choose. Now I don’t know where she’s gone.”

  Bella licked her lips. “I might.”

  Hope flared to life. If he could just find her, go to her. She had less than a day remaining. Maybe he was wrong to tell her. But he knew her and knew that she would want to know the truth. “Where is she?”

  “I’m not sure now. But I gave her something.”

  “What?” he asked, trying to keep the impatience from his tone.

  “I know we’re not allowed to tell her anything, that it would break the terms of the Covenant. But I thought if she found out herself, then maybe she’d remember, and…” She gave a helpless shrug. “Everything would work out.”

  He shook his head, wishing she would get to the goddamn point. “What did you do?” He almost yelled the words, and Torrin’s figure stiffened, but he remained silent. He’d been through this. He probably knew how Finn was feeling and would make allowances.

  “I gave her an article on regression hypnosis.”

  “What they hell is that?” Though he could take a guess.

  “There’s this professor at a university here in DC. He hypnotizes people into remembering their past lives.”

  “Is he for real?”

  “From what can gather. It’s a subject that interests me, so I’ve read up about it. He’s the leading man in his field. He’s got a good reputation. And I’ve talked to some of the people who have worked with him. Here’s the number. A professor Kauffman.”

  He took the piece of paper. “You think she went there?”

  “Maybe. She was pretty frustrated with everything. That no one would tell her what was going on.” She shrugged. “I would have gone.”

  Had she gone? And if so, what had happened? Had she remembered? Would she even believe it was real, or would she still be convinced her memories were nothing but dreams?

  He phoned the number, but there was no answer. It was after six, they’d probably left for the night. He had to get over there. At least it was a starting point.

  Anyway, there was no way he could stand around and wait for her. It would drive him crazy. He’d go to the university, see if he could pick up a trail. Keep trying to get hold of Dawson.

  “Is there anything else?” he asked Torr.

  “The others have reported in. Lilith is nowhere to be found.”

  “She thinks she’s won.” It would make no difference anyway. Lilith was too filled with bitterness to ever show any mercy.

  “But Cassia has been seen in the city. At the senator’s place.”

  “She must know now that he hasn’t got either Jacob or Rachel.”

  “He has resources, though. While her power is limited here on Earth. Maybe she’s using his people.”

  He couldn’t worry about Cassia now. He had to find Rachel. What had she remembered? How was she feeling? He paced the room for what seemed like an age. There had to be a better way to find her. She could be anywhere.

  Bella stepped up close to him, rested a hand on his arm. “You’re hurting. Let me take the pain.”

  “I want to hurt.”

  “You need to stop punishing yourself.”

  “I will. Soon.” When Rachel was gone. And he’d found a way to cut his tie to the wolves. Then everything would end. He almost welcomed the idea.

  Torr’s cell phone rang. He picked up and listened for a moment, a frown pulling his brows together. When he ended the call, he crossed the room and picked up the TV remote. “That was Bryce,” he said. “He told me to take a look at the news.” He switched on the TV and flicked through the channels. Finn paused his pacing to watch. A picture of Senator Danvers came up on the screen.

  Breaking news: the body of Senator Jeremy Danvers has been found in his Washington, DC office, only weeks following the death of his son, Congressman Michael Danvers. We’ll be bringing you more….

  Torr switched off the TV. “You think the senator committed suicide?”

  “Hell, no,” Finn said.

  “Lilith?”

  “More likely Cassia. She seemed to have been heading this particular party. She obviously didn’t warn the senator that failure wasn’t an option in this.”

  He couldn’t feel sorry for the senato
r’s passing. The man had been evil through and through. Likely responsible for the death of Rachel’s mother.

  His phone rang, and he glanced at caller ID. Rachel. For a moment, weakness washed through him. “Rachel,” he said. “Where are you?”

  “I’m taking Jacob back home. Your…friend, Dawson, is driving us.” He’d fucking kill Dawson. “I need Jacob to be safe,” she continued. “I’ll stay a few days and make sure he’s settled, then I’ll come back, and we can talk.”

  She’d be dead in a few days. But he couldn’t tell her that over the phone.

  “Come back, Rachel. Please. There are things we need to talk about. Right now.”

  “So you’re willing to talk now?”

  “Yes, I’ll tell you everything. But it needs to be now. Please come back.”

  She was quiet for a minute, though he could hear her slow breathing. “I remember,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Everything. I remember you’re an angel. And you loved me. And they killed me for it, but I don’t know why. And they killed my son. I’ve got to make sure Jacob is safe. I won’t lose another son because of you. Just give me some time.”

  And she ended the call.

  There is no fucking time. It’s gone. Finished.

  He pressed redial, but no one answered, and he hurled the phone against the wall and threw back his head.

  She still didn’t know the worst of it. She still wasn’t aware of his betrayal. He had to tell her. And afterward, he had to let her know that she had a choice and the decision this time was down to her. To die, or to live with the consequences.

  Outside, thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed in the sky. A bolt hit the building and for a second the lights went out. When they came back, Torr stood in front of him. “Get a fucking grip,” he snarled.

  He gritted his teeth, and his fists balled at his side. But slowly, calm settled over his mind.

  This wouldn’t help Rachel.

  He had to go to her. First, he had to call Brandon. Tell the alpha that Rachel was coming, and he needed to watch out for her and keep her safe. For just a little while longer.