‘It’s good to have you back. It was getting pretty dull at the Agency.’
Chuckling, I raised my brows. ‘I don’t know how much excitement I’ll bring. I don’t even know if Illarion will assign me to the field.’
‘I think he’ll assign you wherever we can keep an eye on you.’
‘You think someone’s going to come for me inside the Agency?’
‘You don’t know?’
‘Know what?’
When I said that, he tried to backpedal but it was too late.
‘Daniel. What?’
‘You really should talk to Illarion about this, I’m not the right person, believe me.’
‘Yet here you are. Spill.’
‘Ace—’
‘Don’t make me fight you for the information.’
‘You so would, wouldn’t you?’
‘Without hesitation,’ I said firmly. ‘Spill.’
He stopped us both and he pressed one hand to his hip while he ran the other through his light brown strands before finally bringing his eyes to me.
‘There was talk about treatment.’
‘What do you mean? Who was doing the talking?’
‘A few sources informed me.’
‘Who is your source?’
‘That’s not important.’
‘The hell it isn’t.’ I crossed my arms, staring him down. ‘Someone is talking about shoving me in a cage and shooting me full of Serum!’
Daniel stopped in front of me with a pained expression but all that mattered to me, was the source, the person who was so ready to lock me up and throw away the key.
‘Who’s your source?’
‘I cannot tell you that.’ He said sternly. ‘That’s my personal contact, I cannot break that trust.’
‘Fine.’ I snapped, taking a different approach. ‘Who was the source talking about?’
‘Arcos.’
He studied my face and I thought for a second that he’d start laughing, tell me this was all some sick, fucked up joke. But he didn’t and that tense, nerve wracking feeling hit me again, tying my stomach up into knots.
It’s what Illation said, he was worried about Aurel and that he was going to end up hurting us. I couldn’t accept that, I knew he was having a hard time trusting me, or even believing what I’d said. But I couldn’t believe he’d be the one turning against me.
No.
There had to be some mistake.
He wouldn’t do that to me…I was one of them, I was their prophesied warrior. I was his friend.
No…
‘It’s not just him, though.’ A muscle flicked along his jaw. ‘Ace, people are talking about Illarion’s loyalties.’
‘I know.’ I whispered. ‘He said.’
My heart rate tripled, and I felt the color draining from my face.
‘We won’t let them do that to you. You know that.’
‘Doesn’t matter though, does it?’ I whispered. ‘That’s what they want…that’s what they think they have to do.’
‘Just them, Ace. Not everyone.’
When I pulled back, he caught my hand. ‘Hey, not everyone. I mean it.’
Our eyes met again, and I’d just noticed how intently he’d been looking at me, his gaze hadn’t faltered once.
‘It’s good that you’re back, Ace. And please don’t take this the wrong way, but you shouldn’t have come here.’
‘Yeah, no kidding.’ A half laugh filled the space between us.
Daniel’s eyes flicked away for a moment, pain slicing through him, before he returned his attention to me.
‘Illarion doesn’t want you alone with Arcos, so when you go into the field, I’m going in with you.’
So, this was it, this was happening. I started walking and Daniel followed.
‘Well, this is one hell of a welcome home then.’ I muttered, walking ahead. ‘It’s good to be back.’
***
Ace
It took less than a minute to track Illarion down. He was hanging by the bar, showing Alex around and the scene made me stop dead in my tracks, they were chatting quietly without the overshadowing doom being the topic of conversation.
It almost made me wish I was never introduced to either of them. Their friendship, or what it used to be was painful to see. They were close, it didn’t matter now how much had changed, he was, and always would be one of Illarion’s closest friends. And now, knowing the impending betrayal we both faced from Aurel, it was important now, more than ever.
Illarion’s eyes slowly traveled across the room and stopped on me. Alex’s not far behind. Giving him a quick smile, I walked over coming to stop beside Illarion.
‘We were discussing the best vintage.’ Illarion nodded to two bottles set on the counter.
As much as I wanted to discuss wine and pretend the fate of the world and my untimely death weren’t on the horizon, I couldn’t find it in me.
‘Can I talk to you, please?’ I said to Illarion.
Alex looked slightly taken aback for a moment before placing the bottle he’d been looking at, down. ‘I should check on Clair.’
Illarion sat, pulling out a stool for me which I promptly refused earning a look.
‘Were you going to tell me?’ I asked when Alex cleared the room.
His brows raised in confusion.
‘About Aurel? The treatment.’
A cord in his neck tightened at the same time his eyes grew dark.
‘Daniel.’
‘Don’t blame Daniel.’ I shot. ‘He told me because I asked, were you even going to say anything?’
‘Of course I was.’
‘When?’ I pressed. ‘When I was drooling into the floor?’
‘That’s not going to happen.’
‘Well. The way I see it, they’re already planning it. So, it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?’
‘No.’ He shook his head, keeping his voice firm. ‘Daniel doesn’t have all the information. Which is why he should have kept his mouth shut.’
‘Seriously?’ I stepped off to the side, cocking my brows.
‘Yes.’ He snapped. ‘Let me show you.’
Without giving me a moment to argue, he took me by the hand and led me out and down the hall to the office. ‘Sit.’
Obliging, I sat and took the moment to glare at him, while he ignored me, he keyed something into his laptop before he looked up at me and spun it toward me, showing me the screen.
‘What am I looking at?’
‘Elena, Aurel and Raymond—talking about keeping you off the grid because of interested parties, also, discussing the possibility of putting you in treatment, “on the books”, which of course, isn’t going to happen.’
My mouth dried up.
‘They want it to appear that way.’ My voice shrunk.
‘Yes.’
‘Illarion—’
‘Don’t worry about it.’ He shook his head. ‘I get that you’re scared, I am too. But I’m not going to put you in harm’s way.’ And when I remained silent, he shook his head. ‘Did you really think I’d call you back here if I knew this was waiting for you?’
All I could do, as my heart slammed in my chest, was stare up at him, at the man whom I’d repeatedly let down, lost trust in and hurt.
He got up and moved toward me and every muscle in my body locked up. He immediately stopped.
‘I’m so sorry, Ila.’
‘Don’t be.’
‘I am. I’m a terrible person.’
‘You’re not.’ He said simply, kneeling before me. ‘You’re under a lot of pressure, we both are.’
He softly closed his hand over mine.
‘I don’t know how to do this.’
‘Together.’ He smiled, cupping my cheek. ‘Like we should have to begin with. I’m sorry.’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘You did what you thought was right.’
Apparently, it took stupid, life changing events to make my head stop talking me out of everything and start mak
ing sense. Illarion smiled, noticing my slightly more relaxed state.
‘What’s the plan now? I know you’re assigning Daniel to me?’
‘Yes.’ His eyes coasted across my face. ‘I don’t know what Aurel’s recent attitude is about, but I’m not taking any chances. Alex, as far as they still know, is dead. So he’ll be an asset from here.’
‘They’re going to be holed up here, then?’
‘It’s not ideal. But it’s the safest. They understand that.’
‘Alex understands. Clair’s a young woman who should be going out, enjoying her life, enjoying the world.’
‘And she will, when we make sure there’s a world for her to go and enjoy.’
Touché. I looked around, taking in the sight. Illarion’s office hadn’t changed a bit. There were still piles of paperwork, unfiled and scattered across the desk, though there were slightly more now.
Being the Director was a full-time gig, no coming home and switching off, not that he’d done that even when he was a field agent. He was always working extra cases, keeping tabs on his friends, making sure everyone else was safe so that they didn’t have to do what he did.
It made a small frown cross my face. He’d taken on too much. He didn’t need to do all of this; he didn’t need to stop living so the rest of us could.
Looking over at him, I decided.
That was it.
I was done being afraid, I wasn’t going to be scared of the outcome.
One way or another, we were ending this.
‘Aurel said he wanted me to visit?’
Illarion nodded, a small frown creased his brows.
‘Good. Let’s go and visit.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aurel
Illarion called a few days after he landed back in New York and again, when Ace and Alex returned to his house. Clair was tagging along which was a good idea.
Whoever was coming for us now, wouldn’t be stopping at agents alone, they’d be targeting all Sensitives and especially those close to us.
The nerves constantly rippling through me were the least of my worries. Anna was stressed out, a lot more than usual. Lucy kept her up most nights and the workload from the Agency was out of control though she’d never admit to that.
She was the one who insisted Ace and Illarion come over, she said it’d be good for both her and Ace to have a normal, quiet night in.
But given the situation, I wasn’t comfortable having that much Agency talk and a walking target in a building I hadn’t secured myself.
So, for the weekend I brought my family home, like I’d told Illarion before we even moved. Anna seemed a lot more at ease as did Lucy.
It was strange, she was just a baby, but she knew where home was. That brought a definite smile to my face and when Ace and Illarion pulled into the driveway, a sensation I’d hated myself for feeling, settled deep in the pit of my stomach making it tighten into angry coils.
Ace stepped out of the car first, her dark sunglasses hid most of her features from me, though she was doing a good job hiding the rest of herself too.
Her aura was completely shielded as was everything else. Illarion forced a very neutral expression to his face as he walked toward me, his hand on the small of her back.
This was going to be an interesting dinner.
***
Illarion
Aurel rushed around the house, following Anna around taking orders and carrying a load of washing. He cursed when a sock fell off the pile and disappeared under the table.
Ace got up and shook her head with a soft laugh and placed the sock back on Aurel’s pile. If anyone told me that two hours earlier we were talking about the lack of trust between me and one of my oldest friends, I wouldn’t have believed we were talking about this man.
But the truth was still there, underneath the façade of laughter and small talk. The cracks were evident every time he looked at her, there was a certain distrust, almost suspicion, and when she looked at him, everything inside her lit up with anger.
All of us were as skilled as each other—and this just proved that lying to those closest to you was nothing more than an afterthought.
For a moment we could pretend that everything was the way it was before. A perfect charade filled with perfect friends with perfect smiles.
‘I can take care of Lucy for a bit. Give you both a chance to get dinner ready.’ Ace offered.
Anna’s eyes widened with joy and a quick glance at Aurel told me he was as shocked as she was. But he nodded, placing the pile of clean laundry on the chair.
There was a hint of hesitation on his part, but he hadn’t told Anna about his issues with Ace, so turning her down would have raised more questions than he was prepared to answer.
‘That’s a great idea.’ He looked at Ace and then back at Anna.
She nodded and gently placed Lucy in Ace’s arms. ‘Thank you for this.’
‘You don’t have to thank me, just go, do your thing. I’m starving.’ Ace’s mask was infallible.
She turned back to me with a small smile and walked over with Lucy, sitting beside me. I repositioned a cushion under her arm and leaned back, just watching.
She spoke to Lucy in quiet whispers, occasionally tracing gentle lines across her tiny arms before both broke out into giggles.
Despite the lightheartedness of the situation, my stomach tightened as I watched her with my best friend’s child. A life we would never have, a life which so beautifully graced Aurel and Anna.
Ace turned to me as soon as the thoughts formed and the beautiful smile that was on her lips moments ago was replaced with sadness.
If I could trade places, and take all the pain she’d ever gone through, I would.
‘I’m so sorry.’ My voice shook.
‘Don’t.’ She shook her head and brought her eyes back to Lucy and smiled, tickling her feet. ‘Things went the way they were meant to. We can’t change that.’
‘To hell with that.’ I shook my head. ‘How can we just accept that?’
She brought her eyes back to me and a very sad smile formed. ‘I have.’
Aurel walked in sans washing, silencing everything that was on the tip of my tongue.
‘Thanks for watching her.’ He said.
He chuckled when Ace made a face at Lucy and stopped to sit beside me on the arm rest.
For the moment, it was just us. No weapon, no looming war.
‘It’s okay.’ Ace whispered, keeping her eyes on Lucy.
She looked so peaceful and content, but I felt the pain, she couldn’t hide that.
Aurel didn’t miss it either. He blamed himself and no matter how many times I told him that it wasn’t his fault and that the things that happened were out of our control, he didn’t listen, and that guilt never lifted.
Another presence, heavier than his guilt, filled the room like an entity. Ace picked up on it before I did, the guilt wasn’t just from before, and what he blamed himself for, this guilt was for thinking Ace wasn’t the same person anymore. That guilt carried through the brick and mortar of his home, through the blood and bones of his body.
Aurel cleared his throat, bringing Ace’s attention back to him. He was trying hard to be positive, to give her the benefit of the doubt.
‘Has she been giving you hard time?’
‘No, she’s been keeping my mind off how hungry I am.’ She replied softly.
She arched her brows at me with a smirk.
‘How is dinner coming along?’
Aurel laughed. ‘Yeah great. So I’ve been told.’
‘You’ve been banished from the kitchen.’
‘Yep.’ He shook his head. A mock look of disgrace found his face.
‘It’s probably for the best.’ Ace cooed, tickling Lucy.
‘You’re right.’ He added, walking over to Ace.
He knelt beside her and swept his hand over Lucy’s smiling face.
‘I really appreciate your help.’ He said softly.
&nb
sp; ‘I didn’t do much.’ Ace said with a gentle shake of her head. ‘It was no trouble at all.’
We both knew that wasn’t all he meant. She smiled just the same and nodded, gently placing Lucy back in his arms.
‘Dinner will be ready soon.’ He said quietly turning to me.
I replied with a nod and when he left, I walked over to Ace and pulled her up against me.
‘Want to take a walk?’
She nodded, threading her fingers through mine.
Together we walked silently through the halls I’d walked thousands of times in my life, the familiarity struck a chord and reminded me how much things stayed the same while other times, they changed so much I found myself holding on as the world rushed by.
‘You okay?’ She asked quietly beside me.
‘I’m fine.’
‘Want to do something fun?’
The glint in her eyes told me that whatever she was about to suggest, was going to be great. I grinned, letting her lead the way.
A few minutes later we were crossing the small stream in the ground and stepping down onto the training pitch. She pulled her hand free and slowly unzipped her leather jacket and dropped it at her feet.
The lump in my throat doubled and a warm flush spread over my body.
‘It’s dark.’ I whispered; my voice thick.
The moon above us illuminated the pitch enough so I could see her face but not much else.
And then, like a dull light slowly brightening, I watched as the light rose from within her, my breath stalled it bathed us both. She was manipulating light, bending the natural lines around us.
‘I’ve got you.’ She breathed through a smile. ‘Come on.’
Slowly I moved toward her with purpose driven steps. Her eyes focused on me, fierce determination and passion sparked behind her green orbs.
I bit down on my lip as I squared off with her.
I lunged forward with a smirk, knowing she’d block my right hook with a cross grab and she did, just as I’d anticipated, I swatted her arms back and forced her into an offence. She grinned, coming at me with a left-hand jab, as I narrowly missed that, she came again with a right hook. I ducked just in time to wrap my hand around her wrist.
She pulled her arm free and dropped to her knees going for my leg, she pulled my knee toward her and in one fluid motion she’d brought me down to my back. As she moved to get on top of me I pulled her elbow down and flipped us, so our positions were reversed.
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 33