Getting my breath back, I checked the alley in case they decided to surprise us. It was quiet, even though an explosion had just taken place. Had the witches hidden the sound to the outside world? They must have done.
“Are you alright?” Chloe asked Jack, her hands shaking as much as his.
Both of them were used to being protected, especially Jack. I doubted he had ever had to worry about the witches. Especially as he employed several of them.
“Boss, is everything okay?” one of Jack’s men asked as they rushed into the corridor.
Jack put his hands on his hips, his shoulders pulled high and his ruffled state not looking that ruffled at all. “Yes, thank you, boys. I know that must have been hard for you.”
“They helped us a lot, Jack, you need to give them a promotion!” Chloe spoke my mind as the men came over to the gap in the wall.
Offering his hand, the one who had alerted me to how many witches were inside the club, tugged me back inside. Waving his arm, he muttered a few words. I stared as the wall behind him rebuilt at a superfast pace, one brick at a time.
“Well, then, if Chloe believes you shall have a promotion, a promotion you shall have, my men. You’ve done me proud. And, what the lady wants, the lady gets. Don’t you, babycakes?”
Pushing my way past the others, I went back into the club. The hostages were gone and so were the bodies.
“We cleaned up. The people have gone home, their minds a little hazy over what happened today.”
Smiling to myself before I turned back round, I approached the bouncers, offering my hand to shake. “Thank you.”
It may not have been my place to speak to Jack’s men, but they had chosen a side, even if they tried to make it look like they hadn’t. There was still the risk of being outcast by their coven if Jerry and that woman decided to waste their time with the likes of the bouncers. Even if they were strong witches.
There were a lot of witches in London. Each city had its own coven. One witch ruled over each group. There had been peace between the covens for many years. It felt like there was something brewing in the air, something way beyond my measly mission.
“Let’s get out of here in case they come back,” Jack said, patting his bouncers on the shoulder.
“It’s okay, boss, we’ve put up a very strong protection spell. They won’t be able to break it. Plus, witches rarely go back to the place they’ve been defeated.”
The other bouncer shook his head quickly. “Exactly. Don’t worry, they’ll just find another way to kill you.”
The naive statement made Jack rub his lips together. The famous informant of the underworld had never had an enemy before. Me, I was used to people wanting to hunt me down and kill me. My friend on the other hand, he was the one that everyone liked…until now. How would he cope with a bounty on his head?
7
Truth Untold
“THERESA IS ONE OF the leaders that have gone missing. Jerry had an interesting piece of paper with him, I almost regret that I didn’t steal it. I would’ve done if that bitch witch hadn’t been standing right beside me the whole time. I ain’t going to risk my arse like that, you know?”
Jack thumped the side of the running machine, his face screwed into a scowl. His hair was freshly washed, and his clothes were normal for a change.
“I’m sorry, I can’t take you seriously wearing that,” Chloe said, indicating the grey tracksuit he wore.
We were in my gym, twenty-four hours after the fight with Jerry. Jack had crashed on the sofa, too interested in sleeping and making himself semi-pretty again. He had refused to talk until he had caught up on his sleep. The man was a pussy sometimes.
I had paced the living area most of the night, trying to wake him up enough to talk about his little visit. If he wanted to stay safe, he needed to start playing ball with me. I was sick of waiting for people to tell me information, when they should be giving it to me as a priority. I was getting soft. If Chloe hadn’t been sitting in the armchair most of the evening too, I would have woken him up by plunging him into the fucking river.
“You need to sit down,” I told him, my patience finally snapping when he looked into the mirror and played with his hair.
His hand paused in mid-air, his gaze meeting mine in the reflection. Chloe already sat on the small bench, her hands daintily in her lap. She lived in her workout outfit now, hardly ever wearing her floaty skirts and tops anymore. Part of me missed the meeker version of her, she was a bit less annoying, although not by much.
Jack’s eyes became hooded as he retreated to the bench, his shoulders sinking as he sat, putting an arm over the back. Chloe scooted forward, her gaze regarding him sideways before she looked at me. She was suspicious. What she had found out about Martin and the club had made her suspect him.
“Why is it that neither of you are telling me everything straight? Chloe, you prolonged telling me about the journal, when it was a very important, no…a fucking crucial…thing to tell me. Jack, you’ve refused to talk in the last twenty-four hours when there could be something vital I need to know. Before recently, I was getting on with my own thing, but now, I’m wrapped up with you two…”
My sentence trailed off when Rusty got to his feet and nudged my hand with his nose. And the dog…I also had a fucking dog now.
Jack cleared his throat as he sat forward, leaning his arms on his thighs. Chloe shifted, looking uncomfortable under my stare.
“I’m sorry, mate, I am. You know what I’m like when I don’t sleep. I hadn’t slept for well over twenty-four hours yesterday afternoon and that bastard knocked it out of me. I’m ready to talk now.”
Chloe shuffled like a schoolgirl waiting to be told off. I didn’t speak, ready for her to explain why she had kept so much back.
“I didn’t trust you,” she said, slumping on the seat when I frowned.
“Well, fuck you, too.”
I spun away from them, pissed off for no particular reason. Chloe not trusting me wasn’t a surprise, I hadn’t trusted her. Still didn’t to some degree. Jack on the other hand, he had some explaining to do.
“Trygger, look…I’ve never had an enemy before, let alone such a powerful one. When I realised that Jerry would have it in for me, I got scared. I ain’t prone to being scared, it ain’t an emotion I enjoy…as I’m sure you know yourself. When was the last time you got scared?”
It was unusual for Jack to show weakness. Admitting that he was fearful wasn’t such a clever idea when he was the main informant of the underworld. People had to trust that he would keep his shit together. It was the only way they would trust him with their secrets. Seeing my friend succumb to the one emotion that I hadn’t faced for centuries, I paused.
“So, have you shaken it off, now?” I ignored his question, not even bothering to skip back to the memory of when I was last scared.
My brain had other ideas. An image of a woman I had been involved with came into my mind. A Fallen One held her, not unlike how the man had held Chloe in the club yesterday. My woman wore a pretty red dress, the skirts rich in colour and texture for the time. I had made a choice that night as fear shook my insides.
“I can see how scared you are to lose her…if I jump into her body, you’ll have to kill her and oh, that would make me…untouchable…at least until her body rots…”
In that moment as I looked into the eyes of the woman I cared about, although, probably not loved, I made a choice. It was my fault for allowing myself to care. She shook her head, knowing what I had chosen. She knew who I was and what I had to do. Closing her eyes briefly, she nodded, giving me the signal. Charging forward, I screamed as the Fallen One plunged his knife into her chest. There was no time for him to jump into her body, so he had decided to try and emotionally disarm me, but it was too late. I had made up my mind. It had been between the Fallen One and her. I had chosen my own eventual death.
“Hey!”
The shout from Chloe snapped me out of the memory. My heart hardened as my ga
ze focused on the pair of them. I couldn’t care, not if I wanted them to survive. They wouldn’t understand, but I had to let them go. Jack may have got dragged into the war because of the disappearing leaders, but it was me Jerry wanted.
“Jack, do you know anything about these disappearances that you’re not telling me? Why did Jerry want me? I’m not interested in excuses, I want the fucking truth.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I stretched my T-shirt across my back. Chloe watched the movement in the mirror behind me, her face expressing understanding. Somehow, she could feel that I had just switched off. My emotions had come back on, just slightly, which wasn’t okay.
“Jerry wanted you because of what was written on the paper. It was a fucking ransom note. If you would just listen without getting all high and mighty on me, I can tell you what the fuck it said, alright?” Jack’s anger level rose the more he spoke.
He was feeling victimised. Jack had never been one who liked pressure. Life was easy for him, always had been. But, when it got hard, he sometimes cracked. Often, he wasn’t too involved with anything, always staying on the outskirts of most underworld situations, but this time, he had no choice…he was smack bang in the middle.
“Go ahead.” I may had diverted the information he had started to tell me a moment ago, but I had to let them know that I wasn’t playing.
Jack glanced at Chloe, not smiling like he usually would when she smiled in sympathy. They felt sorry for me. Which was stupid. But at the same time, maybe it wasn’t. I felt sorry for me having to put up with them.
“The ransom note said to find Thunder Hunter if they wanted to get their leaders back. I’ve messaged my other contacts. The leader of one of the crime units…yes, the police department…he’s gone too. The most corrupt copper in the city. Well, they got the same note.”
Chloe clenched her hands together, her teeth biting down on her lip in an attempt not to say anything to interrupt Jack. He looked at her anyway, putting a hand on her bouncing knee to still her.
“And, the last leader? Who was that?”
They both looked at me, their eyes watching for signs of pressure, of cracking under it…but, it wouldn’t come. I was used to people being used for bait to capture me. It had been a long time since it had happened, but it had happened before.
“The last leader is Samuel Polegate, the most powerful wizard in London. He owns a lot of properties in the city, so he’s well sought after. And, again, the person who took him wants you.”
“Talking of properties,” Chloe piped up. “Why didn’t you tell us that Martin has shares in the club?”
The tension in the room grew thicker as Jack glared at Chloe. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Freya’s descendant glanced at me, her eyebrows pulled high. His response was one of innocence. The man knew nothing about the Hagalaz leader’s involvement with his own club. His father must have made the deal.
“Chloe found evidence that Martin recently purchased shares in the club. Right around the time he started to remember his dreams of Odin.”
“Maybe Odin told him to do it in one of his dreams. There were times he told Martin’s mother to do things that seemed random at the time, but maybe he was planning something.” Chloe stroked Rusty’s head when the dog put his chin on her knee. Even he was getting annoyed with her nervous bouncing.
“What the fuck? The bastard!” Jack opened and closed his mouth as he stared at the floor.
His phone beeped suddenly, three times. He frowned as he dug it out of the pocket of the grey bottoms. The tracksuit he had borrowed really didn’t suit him. He needed his own clothes to look his normal self.
“Shit…look,” he said, passing me the phone instantly.
A picture of a piece of paper popped up on all three messages. There wasn’t any writing on this piece, just a painted rune. Hagalaz.
“It’s got to be him.”
Chloe snatched the phone out of my hand to get a look. She swallowed when she saw it, giving the phone back when Jack held out his hand.
“Hang on,” he said, looking again. “That’s not the same groups. This is… Shit…”
I stepped forward, although, I wasn’t sure why. “Spit it out!”
Looking up at me, Jack shook his head. “This is another three leaders. They’ve been taken in the last three hours, too. Fuck!”
“What?” Chloe got to her feet. “You’re saying that six leaders have now been kidnapped? Three of them have notes asking for Trygger, the other three have pictures of the Hagalaz rune? Martin has had access to us, so why would he want people to find him?”
Stepping away from them, I moved towards the door. If Martin had a message to send, why not just contact Jack. Either way, I would find out instantly.
“Trygger, wait!” Jack called.
I paused by the door, my back turned to them both. My veins throbbed with heat as it travelled throughout my body. I should have killed Martin the first time I set eyes on him. The man was a threat to me and Chloe. Even if he was fucking crazy.
“Think about it, Martin had us there, he could have done anything to us, but he didn’t for some reason. Either, his daughter is playing a game he doesn’t know about…or someone is setting him up. Maybe they don’t realise that we’ve had contact with the leader of the Hagalaz cult.” Jack got to his feet, handing me his phone.
I took it to examine the messages again. The pictures of the ransom notes were clear, the writing neat and tidy. The others of the Hagalaz rune were a different type of paper, the painting rough. It looked like there was a copycat kidnapper. Great, that made my job easier.
“I owe the leaders nothing. The ransom will go ignored and if they’re not returned, the groups will find new leaders. You mention a good point about Martin’s daughter. I may have had fun with her once, but maybe a chat with her would enlighten me.” Tapping my chin, I glanced at the others. “Stay here.”
“No.” They both spoke in unison, getting to their feet.
Rolling my eyes, I shoved past them to go into my magic room. They followed, Jack making a sound of awe when he saw my magical weapons.
“No wonder you didn’t let me in here, mate, I would’ve swiped a few of these.”
Chloe laughed, smacking his hand when he went to reach for a dagger. “I wouldn’t, Idiot, they’re full of Thor’s magic. You’ll die instantly. Only I can touch them. Well, and Trygger too.”
I glared at her, the hairs on my arms standing up. I hated that she could touch Thor’s magic, it made me slightly less invincible for some reason.
“Alright, show off, I get the message. I’m a measly fucking human, and you’re both god worthy. Well, I ain’t bowing down to no god or goddess, no matter how sexy they are…and that includes you two.” Jack moved to the metal wall, leaning against it in an effort to stay away from the temptation of touch. His dark nature was desperate to see what would happen if he did put his hand on one of the weapons. A part of me wanted him to, just so I could see the consequences, but I needed the annoying bastard more than I liked to admit.
“We’re not gods,” I said, selecting a gold dagger from the wall.
Plucking it from its shelf, I fastened the knife sheath around my chest, the leather clinching over my muscle. With my jacket done up, no one would see the band, or the handle sticking out of my side.
“What’s the plan?” Jack asked, clearly ready to assist me.
Shaking my head, I turned to them both. “I’m doing this alone. It’s my name on those ransom notes. Chloe, you’re a hindrance. Sorry,” I said when she went to protest. “But, you are. I mean, who puts fucking UV colours in their hair when they’re going on a stealth mission in a club?”
Chloe’s jaw dropped open as Jack chuckled to himself.
“You’re joking, right?” he said when he clocked my straight face.
I shook my head, waving away Chloe’s explanation as I headed towards the door. “No, I’m not joking. Her funky hair got her caught, didn�
��t it, love?”
“Don’t call me that!” she snapped, following us out of the room.
Locking the metal door behind me, I turned, ready to leave. They stood before me, their arms crossed, their feet firmly on the wooden floor of the gym.
“You’re treating us like shit. Like children!” Chloe stamped her foot, causing me to raise my eyebrows, just like a parent would to their spoilt child.
“That didn’t help,” Jack chimed in.
“Will you at least tell us your plan?” My apprentice was wound up tight, she could do with some help to release the pressure. Maybe if I left them alone for long enough, they would shag it out between them. That way they would leave me the fuck alone.
“Yes. My plan is to go and pay a visit to Martin and his daughter. She’s the one I want to speak to. I’ll lure her into bed, then get some needed answers. If it’s the Hagalaz cult pissing around, which I think it is, I’ll sort it all out before bed tonight. Any questions?”
Jack looked at Chloe, a smirk on his face. Her gaze bore into him, her lips screwed up in annoyance.
“Yeah, how about we make it a threesome? I wouldn’t mind jumping on that bit of arse.” Jack wiggled his eyebrows at me, his usual humour returned.
“You’re disgusting,” Chloe snapped, turning towards him and throwing a punch straight into his gut.
He bent double, a groan escaping his lips as he looked up at her. “What was that for?”
I opened my mouth to laugh when her fist flew straight into my stomach. I winced when her little hand collided with the muscle on my abdomen. She also cringed, clutching her hand.
“I’ve never know two men so fucking disrespectful of women. You know what, you woman haters? You can go and kill yourself for all I care!”
Running from the room, Chloe slammed the door of her bedroom. Rusty went after her, whining at the door until it opened to allow him access. I stared after her, strangely affected by her words. My chest squeezed as I realised that she was right. I did come across as a woman hater, but only because I had to keep my distance. Couldn’t she see that?
Lightning Seeker: Viking Soul Book 2 (Viking Soul Series) Page 7