by Tanya Holmes
“Vigilantes. You’ve got a lot of enemies, you know?” She folded her hands. “Antonelli’s death was justified. They found no fault with Xavier’s actions, but the Ëâpsut…”
“They’ll get over it.”
Janette shrugged. “You’ve given them no choice, so they’ll honor it. That is, if the subject is amenable. Has he agreed?”
“He’s still mulling it over.”
She looked worried. “Well, he’d better decide soon, because time is running out. For all of you.”
* * *
XAVIER’S SAFEHOUSE/BUNKER
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
Denieve
____________________________
The gun shook in my hand. “What did you just say?”
“That if you want to see lover boy again, you’d better shoot.”
“Huh?”
“Did I stutter?” Xavier’s eyes were like silver ice chips. “That’s why you got the gun, isn’t it? To kill me, right?”
Deep down, I’d known I didn’t have the stones to kill him. Scare him? Yes, but not murder. I’d never shot anyone in my life. Didn’t matter that he was immortal. I couldn’t do it. He had Braeden’s face. Braeden’s voice…
Argh! I screamed at the top of my lungs and tossed the gun on the dresser. “Just take me to him, please.”
“I already told you. I can’t do that. But you can have him right here. All you have to do is point and click.”
“Not fifteen minutes ago you told me to put the gun down!”
“Now I’m telling you to fire. What are you afraid of?”
Everything. I was angry and grieving—teetering over the edge. He’d seen so many of my weaknesses the past few days. I’d be damned before he’d hear me voice them, so I lied. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
His brows shot up, but his gaze remained hard. “Fine, then let’s go back to the book.” He tipped his chin. “Read the next paragraph.”
His patience was wearing thin, but so was mine. Trying to process all this information was impossible. Yet I couldn’t stop. I had to see the entire picture, so I read the damn paragraph.
Consequently, the longer Alpha and Beta remained divided, the more likely they were to succumb to strange diseases and insanity. In the end, the Halved soul either reunited or perished as separation proved fatal. However, once reunited, if the internal war resumed, one or both faces would perish.
Love was the only power great enough to subdue them.
“This is where our hand conditions came from,” Xavier said. “The mutations. Mine wasn’t so bad, but Braeden’s was devastating. We put up with this shit because being apart was way better than the constant battles. So decades ago we decided we’d rather die than Re-Join. And that was the plan. But then you showed up and shot everything to hell.”
Something else finally clicked. “Caryn said Braeden and I would die without each other. So is this part of what she meant? That the two of you would die unless you reunited?”
“Yeah. If we don’t Join, we’ll die. And if you don’t carry to term, you will too.”
“But I want this baby.”
“Wanting and keeping are two different things. You tested positive for Braeden’s virus, so if you lose the child, you lose your life.”
My heart skipped a few beats. “A miscarriage you mean?”
“Yeah, and if that happens, you’ll get sick.”
Desperation set in. “But Braeden said the Yoreck are immortal, so how would I miscarry?”
“You’re not Yoreck yet.”
“I know that but—”
He flashed a palm. “And you won’t be until about a month before you give birth. This may be where your part of that prophecy comes into play. There’s only one way you could miscarry. And that’s if you’re not Sealed.”
“What does ‘Sealed’ mean?”
An extremely pregnant pause later he muttered, “Now would be a good time to shoot me.”
At this point, I really wanted to. “Will you stop playing games?”
“This ain’t a game, doll. Braeden needs to fill you in on the rest, ‘cause you sure as shit won’t believe it coming from me.”
“Just say it!”
Xavier cast his eyes downward as if wrestling with a decision. Finally, he gestured toward his crotch and his perpetual erection. “Remember what I said about this not going away until I do my part?”
I looked him in the face. “No.”
For too many damn seconds all I got was a slow, but definite nod. His stone-cold expression didn’t waver. Not once.
The man was dead serious.
CHAPTER 19
XAVIER’S SAFEHOUSE/BUNKER
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
Denieve
____________________________
Last night I went to sleep to a new reality, and when I woke, I faced another, only this one was a nightmare. My best friend was dead and the love of my life had been arrested for his murder. And yet, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. So what was on repeat? Surprise, surprise: Xavier’s latest pathetic attempt to get inside my pants.
This time he’d outdone himself.
I watched him, my blood boiling, as he went on and on about ancient rituals and other Halves and holy laws with a seriousness that made me want to vomit. When he got to the part about his magical semen, and how we’d have to “come” together for it to work, I’d heard enough.
“Stop it,” I hissed, my voice tighter than a bowstring. “You don’t quit, do you?”
He gestured at his crotch again. “If you’re talking about the boner, like I said, it’s here to stay. My body’s only responding to your pheromones. It knows what needs to be done. I’m the only one who—”
“Shut. Up.” His matter-of-factness fanned my rage. “I can’t believe you said all that with a straight face.”
“See, I was right. You think I’m lying.”
“Of course I do! You’re a devious bastard whose been trying to get between my legs for weeks. Do you have any idea how disgusting—” I snatched a huge breath and slammed my palm on the book cover. “Where is it? Where is this Sealing nonsense? Chapter and page number please so I can read it for myself.”
He looked at me like I was an idiot. “It’s not in there.”
“Why not? Everything else is.”
“Because it’s not a fucking sex manual!”
“How convenient!” I screamed back.
No one plucked my emotional guitar strings like Xavier, or worked me into such a desperate frenzy. And that’s what made him so dangerous.
I tossed the book aside, shoved to my feet, and grabbed the dresser to catch myself when the room pitched. On the verge of losing it, I kneaded my temple. I’d had enough. “You’re vile and despicable, and I’m getting the hell out of here. Away from you. I’ll find Braeden myself and—”
“I’m telling you the truth. We have three days to get it done. Three days after the Fever. That’s when the window closes.”
He had the nerve to look earnest.
I stabbed a finger at him. “No. This is just another one of your demented schemes.”
He stared at me long and hard. “Okay, I’m over this shit. You don’t believe me. Fine. I’ll let Braeden explain it. Look in my bathroom—in the medicine cabinet. There’s a vial of Viagra. Bring it to me.”
“What?”
“Viagra. Go get it.”
“I will not.”
“D?” Xavier said with exaggerated patience. He pointed at his crotch again. “Does it look like I need any help here? I’ve been hard for you since we left Severna Park. Viagra has the opposite effect on Yoreck males, especially during resurrection. It’ll keep us from wanting to rip your clothes off. But it won’t stop the pheromone, so you’ll still need that mask. Go on. Get it.”
I eyed him doubtfully.
“I’m not lying, damn it! Get the medicine.”
Believing anything this man said was a challenge so I didn�
��t move. I couldn’t. He’d fooled me many times before. Specifically when he gave that heartfelt truce speech. He was a trained assassin: a profession that required honed skills in deception. For all I knew, I’d been kidnapped, Luke was alive, and Braeden was looking for me. Maybe Xavier created this elaborate ruse just to get me into his bed.
My skepticism finally made him snap. “Excuse me for trampling your ego,” he yelled, “but you’re not all that. My dick is hard because of biology. Nothing more. That’s my baby you’re carrying and I’m just trying to save it!”
“No, it’s not. It’s Braeden’s!”
“Think again. I was there that night.” He jabbed a finger. “I put that child in there. I came inside you. So it’s mine just as much as his. Now stop bitching and get the fucking Viagra!”
Something in his voice gave me pause, a hint of vulnerability, of fear and panic. I searched his eyes, weighing the pros and cons, concluding my choices were nil. Though I had the gun, I didn’t have Braeden. I was sick and weak. Unsure of where I was. And even handcuffed, Xavier still held most of the cards.
When I came back, he said, “Pop the top and shake four pills into my mouth.” I did this while keeping a safe distance from his free hand. “All right,” he said. “What are you waiting for? Shoot.”
Not this again. I inched away from him, and when the back of my legs bumped the chair, I plopped into it.
“Are you listening?” he yelled. “I said shoot.”
I shook my head. “I-I can’t.”
“Then why the hell did you point that gun at me?”
“Because. You pissed me off.”
“That’s just Fever rage idiocy! Your hormones are fucking with your brain.” His fierce expression darkened even more. “Don’t ever pick up a weapon unless you intend to use it. Now stop being a coward and shoot.” When I still didn’t move, he rolled his eyes. “Do you actually think this bullshit can hold me? That I couldn’t have crushed that gun from here? Or stopped you from pulling the trigger?”
I jumped when he snatched his hand from the cuffs as if they were made of cotton. “How—”
“I was just trying to gain your trust—to talk you down.” His voice was cold and flat. “Now shoot me.”
“B-but you said you couldn’t get through steel!”
“Um, no. I meant I couldn’t dematerialize through it. Bending and breaking it is another matter.” He nodded at the gun. “Pick it up.” When I hesitated, he scowled and banged his head against the bedpost. Out of nowhere, he said, “You know, Antonelli’s not really dead.”
My heart smacked my chest. “What?”
“Well…” He hitched a shoulder. “Technically he’s dead, but not really.”
After that, silence. He wanted to pull the next question out of me. “What do you mean?”
Xavier picked at his fingers. “Braeden did Ëâpsut on him.”
“Ip what?”
“Ëâpsut. He snatched Antonelli’s soul before the angel of death could claim it. And he’s keeping it to put in another body. His body. Because after the Join, he won’t need it anymore.”
He spoke of more incredible things—about the process of body possession. It was impossible to comprehend, so I clung to words I could understand. Like, “Technically” and “not dead.” Like “new life” and “a second chance.” He concluded by saying if I wanted to know how Luke was doing, I’d have to ask Braeden, and the only way I could do that was if…
“Shoot me, damn it!”
I picked the gun up with an unsteady hand. The weapon shook as I tightened my grip, but I just couldn’t do it.
Xavier sighed hard. “Will you please put the fucking mask on and shoot?”
No matter how many times I told my finger to move, it stayed frozen. I knew he’d resurrect. I’d seen it happen the night of the big storm, but that was Braeden’s face staring back at me. In my heart, it would be like killing him. And deep down, I didn’t want Xavier dead either. I was angry and raging before, but now that my mood had stabilized somewhat, just the thought of him dying made me sick inside.
Xavier bolted from the bed and loomed over me—it happened in the blink of an eye. His expression was twisted and dark as he yanked the mask over my face and roared, “Shoot me, bitch!”
The man was all too familiar with my buttons—which ones to push and when—especially the one labeled “bitch.”
I don’t remember pulling the trigger, but just before the bullet slammed into his forehead, he whispered Braeden’s name. Then I heard myself screaming as a warm spray of blood hit my face.
* * *
A DETENTION CENTER IN MARYLAND
BRAEDEN
____________________________
“Braeden, I have to give you props. You played this brilliantly. It was like a round of twelve-dimensional chess.” Sikes scooted closer and grinned. “The Elders hate being backed into a corner. After the Vogel situation, they voted for Detainment. It was unanimous, but you threw them a curveball. A baby and a Join. How Hitchcockian of you.”
Twelve-dimensional chess? No, it was just how things played out. Call it luck perhaps. Sure, he’d known the baby and Ian McBride would be his only hope for avoiding Detainment, but he didn’t mastermind anything.
The law was plain. That he—they had a Yoreck child on the way, a child who needed a Yoreck father, tossed the Elder’s Detainment plans out the window. Halved Yorecks were forbidden to marry and father children, which meant Xavier and Braeden’s Join was now mandatory.
Even sweeter? A Halved Yoreck couldn’t suffer for the actions of his other half. Since Xavier hadn’t broken Yoreck law, Detainment wasn’t a possibility. If the Elders were anything, they were tradition hawks. Apart from advancing and protecting the Yoreck race, maintaining a strong family unit was an equal priority to those dried up old thugs. They were notorious racists who viewed mortals as inferior. Halved Yorecks only fared slightly better. Denieve would get a taste of their disdain soon enough, but they would accept her, albeit begrudgingly. This too was a holy law.
Yoreck society was unapologetically patriarchal. Unless a Yoreck father was incompetent or insane, Detainment was out of the question, especially since Denieve would be a Made Yoreck, and in their eyes, as helpless as a newborn. As a Made Yoreck female, she would need her mate to protect her and their offspring, and teach them the ways of their kind. To the Elders, Made Yoreck women were too inferior to live on their own, hence their many attempts to find Angela a suitable mate. She’d rejected them all. To this day her heart still belonged to Ian’s father, Dathan Teale McBride.
“So it’s Asylum,” Jeanette said. “You’ll be—Ian will be quarantined for a little while after the Join, just to be sure there were no complications. They’ve already booked the procedure date. They’ll be picking Xavier and the woman up within the week.”
Braeden gestured. “But I have other obligations, things I have to check on before I depart—the relatives of the nineteen, the children. I need to—”
“You know that’s impossible now. All ties to this life were severed. Your practice is gone. Your house torched. Your assets liquidated. You don’t have any resources left to help anyone, Braeden, except for what the Elders provide until your money can be funneled back to you.”
Braeden didn’t think his heart could break twice, but it sure felt like it had. That fire destroyed everything. All Yoreck fires did, including the one he’d set at Antonelli’s. They were supernatural flames designed to eliminate anything threatening the masquerade of their existence. Firefighters could’ve dumped the Pacific Ocean on his house and it still would’ve burned to the ground.
Yes. It was time to move on.
His life as Dr. Braeden Frost was over.
“So be it.” He raked a hand through his hair and sighed. “But I do have one request that I pray you’ll honor. There’s an old man. His name is Samuel Nowak and he lives in Rockville.” He pulled a paper from his pocket and pushed it across the table. “His address is in
the phone book. I need you to send him this after my ‘death.’”
She slowly shook her head. “You know the rules—”
“Please. No one has to know,” Braeden said. “You’ll be doing this for Xavier too.”
Janette picked the paper up.
Nie jesteś szalony.
“Jadą dzieci, jadą droga”
Na zawsze,
—Ian
She read the first line aloud, “‘You’re not crazy…’” Then looked up at him. “What is this?”
A cheerless smile touched his lips. “Just reassurance for an old friend.”
“Well, I…I can’t promise anything.”
“But you will try.”
One protracted nod later, she folded the paper and stuck it into her briefcase. “Yes. I’ll try.”
“Thank you. It’s all I—”
His words died as shadows engulfed him, darkening the room. Sikes was sitting at the other end of the table. Her face held the same quizzical expression, her mouth poised to speak. Frozen. Tables and chairs were still there too, but intangible. They looked like a shrinking photograph. Only it wasn’t shrinking, he was drifting…away from Sikes…away from the room…from the jail….from his body…
* * *
XAVIER’S SAFEHOUSE/BUNKER
FREDERICK, MARYLAND
Denieve
____________________________
Braeden!
I heard the name through my screams. Xavier had whispered it with the firepower of a cannon. So much longing and desperation rang in that name, as if he were calling Braeden forth from a distance time couldn’t measure. Even more shocking? It took a few minutes before I realized he hadn’t uttered a word. He’d thought it, and somehow the name had leaked into my mind.
I fell to my knees and tugged his lifeless body into my arms as hot blood poured from the crater-sized hole in the back of his head and seeped into my jeans. Doubt whispered that I’d had a psychotic break, that I’d just murdered my lover’s twin. Or maybe I was still hallucinating. Maybe none of this was real. Maybe I was strapped to a bed in a mental ward, living out a hellish version of Wonderland in my own mind.