‘No, Ace. We’re not doing this.’
‘I need you to know,’ I continued. ‘That if it is me, I love you, Illarion. And I wish to God we had more time, I wish we got to have our wedding, I…’
He pulled me against him and that’s when I broke. I started to cry, and I swore I’d never be able to stop.
Together we stood in the silent, gentle breeze. A billion stars above us reminding me of what it was to feel so small, yet so, so powerful.
‘We will, and it’ll be ridiculous, just like Troy said it would be. There’ll be models, alcohol as far as the eye can see, gaudy decorations.’
I laughed.
‘I promise you Ace, this isn’t going to end with you dying.’
‘Don’t promise me that.’
‘I do. And I’m not going to break it. Come on, we should get inside.’ He said gently.
Together we walked in and I flinched when the heavy steel doors shut behind us with a loud thud.
Following him down a set of stairs, I took in the sight. This was an old, scarcely used military bunker. We passed through three retina scanners which I had no doubt were hacked by Josh and James, two finger print scanners and several pass-coded doors.
Once all the high-tech gadgets were out of the way, we entered the old base. This room was filled with dust covered chairs, old desks and discarded piles of paperwork—once important war documents, WWII, if I had to guess.
When we were finally alone, I allowed myself to breathe. Illarion’s eyes followed my every move, there was nothing that he didn’t catch, and I couldn’t say I was surprised.
‘It’s not pretty,’ he nodded to the bunker, ‘But it’s secure.’
A small smile spread across my lips. ‘I don’t care, Ila, I’m just glad to be here, with you, alive.’
‘How are you feeling by the way? Still sore?’
‘Not so much, the Tramadol helped.’
‘Good, Peyton gave me a box in case you need more.’
‘It’s so funny.’
‘What is?’ He asked.
‘Peyton, all of this. I wouldn’t have believed it if you told me this six months ago.’
‘Yeah.’ He agreed. ‘I wouldn’t have either.’
Six months ago, was very different for both of us and dwelling on it was unwise.
I shifted my focus onto the present.
The underground shelter was musty and dark and only small, dim bulbs suspended from the ceiling lit the room. Ancient computers lined the once advanced bunker discarded after years and years of neglect. Dust covered almost every surface save for the one desk to the far right that contained the bags and tablet Illarion brought in with us, that desk was brand new, set up and prepared for us.
‘I’ll check in with Elena, and then we’ll set up here.’
‘Got it.’ I smiled, ‘I’ve got a few things to do as well.’
With that, Illarion disappeared into the adjoining room with the laptop leaving me with the bags.
I took the dye out and found the instructions and spread everything out around the small basin. With the very small amount of space I had to work with, I managed. Guess the military didn’t really need room for these sorts of things.
Once I was satisfied with the instructions and that I wouldn’t burn my hair off, I got to work.
***
‘Ace?’
‘In here.’ I called.
Illarion rounded the corner and stopped, his eyes wide and taking me in completely.
I touched the wisps of new red hair, admittedly a little self-conscious.
‘Wow.’
‘Do you like it?’
‘I love it.’
He crossed the distance between us in a few, quick strides, his eyes narrowing with anticipation.
‘I thought we’d need to be prepared, go incognito.’
‘Well, lyubov, if your idea was to blend in, you’ve failed.’
‘How so?’ I chuckled.
‘You’re going to turn heads wherever you go.’
I laughed and playfully shoved him. ‘Damn, shouldn’t have listened to that woman.’
‘What woman?’
‘Some gorgeous redhead told me to buy it when I was shopping for supplies.’
‘A new crush, is she?’
‘Jealous, are you?’
He smirked. For the moment, we had this, the Agency were no doubt already out there, scouring the city, looking for us. It was going to be hell, trying to stay off the radar.
We were alone as far as back up went, but we still had Josh and a few good men on our side. And after everything, I was thankful for Peyton and Matt and the FBI team watching my back.
But my heart sunk deep into the ground, everyone had something to lose and I didn’t deserve their sacrifice.
‘Where did you go just then?’ He asked gently.
‘It doesn’t matter.’ I said, running my hands across his arms and easing him toward me. ‘Where were we?’
‘Somewhere between me telling you how beautiful you are and wanting to show you?’
‘Ah,’ I smiled. ‘Yes, I remember.’
Like the air was suddenly charged with both our emotions, I felt him tense in my arms and then I was in the air, he was carrying me through the bunker.
‘Tonight, it’s just us, I want to forget everything.’
‘Everything.’ I agreed.
***
Illarion was gone when I woke up and I couldn’t work out why I felt so alone, so cold and confused.
I swung my legs over the edge of the cot and ran my fingers through my hair.
There was nothing here, it was just me and somewhere in the bunker, I heard Illarion working. But it was different to how it felt in here last night. It was cold, off. I felt like something was lurking in the shadows, hidden behind every corner and whenever I blinked, I was afraid he would be there.
No, that was just the paranoia talking. I had control of myself, for the moment. I got up and dressed in a simple button down shirt and plain yoga pants, tied my hair back and went in search of Illarion.
‘Ila?’
‘In the front.’
There I found him, seated at the computer and my mouth kind of hung open.
‘Your hair.’ I muttered.
He smiled, looking at me. ‘You hate it.’
‘No.’ I whispered. ‘It looks great.’
He’d cut it short, leaving it messy and tousled, his stubble now more prominent and my breath kind of stalled in a pathetic mess.
‘Thought I’d join you with the incognito hair approach.’
‘You’re amazing.’ I chuckled. ‘I love you.’
‘I love you too.’
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and ran my fingers through his hair, looking at the screen he had up.
‘Got anything?’
‘I found the link to Burt Davis.’ He said.
‘No shit?’
‘He’s responsible for sending the Sensitives to your apartment, he was also the one who paid off Palmer and Whiley.’
‘Well, that explains a lot.’ I mused. ‘Did you find out why?’
‘Yeah, a direct link to the director of the CIA—your name was on top of his most wanted list.’
My mouth dried up. ‘He was also the one who organized your meeting with the Senator.’
‘Holy hell.’
‘The rumors about your blood and Project Adam have been circulating right under our noses, Ace, the whole time, and they have been playing us.’
‘We couldn’t have known Illarion.’
‘No, but we know now and it’s our time to fight back.’
‘Agreed.’
‘What about the Legion and that thing about the realms crossing?’
‘Nothing yet, but I’ll keep going.’ He closed the laptop and turned to me. ‘Did you sleep?’
‘A little bit.’
‘We need to be as rested as possible, tomorrow we go out.’
‘We’re leaving?’
‘We
have to. I don’t know how secure this place is.’
‘I’m taking it you’ve got transport arranged?’
‘I do.’
‘Where are we heading?’
‘Missouri.’ He said softly cupping my elbows, drawing me down into his lap.
Sadness rolled through me and I hung my shoulders.
‘Hey, what’s going on?’ He asked.
‘You lost your position…you’ve worked your whole life for that—’
‘It’s just a job, Ace.’
My eyes were wet with tears and before I could stop them from falling, Illarion wiped them with his thumb.
‘It isn’t, it’s a calling, it’s your passion—’
‘You’re my passion, believe me. I would rather be penniless and on the run with you than living alone in that cold and empty house.’
‘The way we’re going, we’ll both be penniless soon…’
‘They’re just superficial things Ace, I just need you.’
His words pierced through all the shields guarding my heart, so much had been so wrong, for so long, but he was right, he was always right, and I was so damned lucky to have him.
‘We all believe in you, Ace.’ He said. ‘We’re on your side.’
‘What if I can’t fight back?’ It was a very real possibility, one that chilled me to the core. ‘Then all of this is for nothing.’
‘It won’t be for nothing because you will fight.’
‘And if it has to end with me saying goodbye, can you do that?’
‘No.’
‘Ila…’
‘I refuse to believe that this is how it will end.’
‘You saw and heard the same things I did; everything is pointing that way.’
‘We’ve been misguided before.’
‘It’s my blood they’re talking about Ila, my blood started it and it can end it.’ I exhaled. ‘And I don’t think they’re talking about a drop.’
A deep sigh settled between us and he swept my hair behind my ears. ‘I know you think that, but there’s always another way, there’s always another answer. Sometimes it isn’t obvious at first and sometimes it takes a few attempts to understand. But it will not end with you dying.’
‘You can’t know that.’
‘I do know.’
‘How?’ I pulled back knotting my brows.
‘I just do.’ He pressed a kiss to my cheek.
‘Sometimes I feel like you’re hiding things from me.’
He pulled back and tenderly brought his hand to my cheek, bringing our lips together.
He kissed me deeply, letting his lips linger when he drew back. ‘Never.’
I smiled, closing my eyes, letting my hands slip under his shirt and graze the taut lines of his abdomen.
He sucked in a sharp breath with each touch of my fingers and slowly, as though instinctively he brought his hand to the nape of my neck letting his fingers tangle through my hair. ‘I don’t want to be cautious anymore.’
‘We shouldn’t do this.’ I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch, reveling in the way his body felt against mine. ‘I’m dangerous…’
His lips brushed mine again, and a hot breath escaped when I drew him closer.
‘I don’t care.’ He ground out, firmly pulling both my legs down, so that I was straddling him on the chair.
Fire sparked to life inside me immediately.
A long moment later he slipped his hand under my shirt, grazing the skin on my back drawing a broken sigh from me.
Through everything we’d been through we were stronger than ever, if he was with me, I believed that I had the strength I needed to fight and do the impossible.
With that thought in my mind and everything else fading to a dull hum, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.
His breath caught with each kiss and each touch, his hands roamed my body feeling every mark across my skin and I showed him with every caress how much he meant to me.
After that, he moved quickly, standing up and carrying me with him, his strong arms tensing with each movement and each kiss I eagerly took. Words were lost as each action spoke more than anything we could say.
He moved us backward to the wall until my back roughly hit the cool cement and a breathless gasp escaped, quickly devoured by his hungry kiss.
As I threw my head back, letting my body catch up, his fingers wrapped around my throat and travelled down, over my breast stopping on the collar of my barely buttoned up shirt. He moved quickly undoing button after button and eventually slipped the shirt off my arms. Another cry was lost when he greedily pulled my face down to his and thrust his fingers through my hair.
The Darkness was consuming and terrifying when I wasn’t in control, but when I was, it was breathtaking.
Every touch, every caress was heightened. Everything coursing through me was on an entirely new level.
The connection didn’t care about the world outside when it felt Illarion. The connection was alive between us and sparks pulsed, bringing static into the air. As a breathless gasp left my lips, I felt the shift in the air, the energy flowed from me, bringing everything that wasn’t bolted to the ground, up around us like gravity didn’t exist.
Illarion’s eyes drank everything in and as they swung back to me, a pull of energy crashed into me, he always had the power to undo me.
His eyes darkened and the dangerous look in them shook me and then his lips were on mine again. His tongue sweeping across mine tasting and devouring everything I could give him.
The lights in the bunker burned bright, flickering erratically with each and every sigh and breathless gasp and when his hands slipped between us, shattering my walls a broken cry left my lips and with it, an explosion of energy erupted blasting outwards from within.
The foundation shuddered like it too was reveling in the most wonderful experience, like it too was collapsing and folding inward.
Illarion’s hands moved expertly, his fingers twisting and winding, exploring every inch of my being. I brought our lips together, his mouth crashing into mine like no water would quench the thirst and no food would quell the hunger.
In little less than a second, he’d lowered me to the ground, pulled my yoga pants down and I eagerly stepped out of them, a moment after that, had me back against the wall, my hands working equally as quick to unbutton his jeans. The sound of the zipper was heaven to my ears. I released a calculated breath and dove right back in.
The hunger in his eyes forced a new spark to ignite within me, I pulled him against my body and gave in when he lifted my leg up, hooking it around his hip.
A broken breath was lost when his hand slipped to my back and eased our bodies together.
He let out a low sound, breaking my barriers when our bodies moved together. I didn’t know what would come next, what tomorrow would bring but knowing he was by my side was more than enough for me. I loved him, I loved that he believed in me and that he fought by my side.
‘Touch me.’ I whispered, grabbing his hand and guiding it to my breast. ‘I need to feel you.’.
He lowered his lips to my pulse while his hand slipped under my bra coasting across my breast.
‘God.’ I ground out, holding on tightly. ‘I never want to forget this.’
As he brushed his fingers across my cheek, I gripped onto his arm, holding tight as each wave rolled through us, pushing us closer and closer to the torrent that would capsize us.
His body tensed and snapped with tension as a wave of heat rolled through me beginning from deep within, building and burning with a desire I couldn’t control, an ache that consumed me and throughout it all he held on, moving and encouraging, breathing with me until it came, like a flood, rushing through me, exploding deep within.
I buried my face against his chest, suppressing a cry.
He held on to me, protecting me.
His voice broke as he whispered a sigh of my name.
Our breaths slowly evened out as we rode through the tremors, I he
ld on to the fleeting moment, gripping his body against mine as a feeling I couldn’t place, crept up, pushed its way through my logical thoughts and there I felt it; this would be the last time.
I didn’t know how I knew or why it was so definitive. I just knew in the darkest recesses of my heart; this would be the last night Illarion and I would ever spend together.
The distress lacerating the air around us, forced a cold, heavy blanket over the previously warm room. He gently eased me down and brought my face up to his.
‘What’s wrong?’
What was I meant to say? Shaking my head, I pushed him away and quickly shoved my feet through my yoga pants and started buttoning up my shirt. When I looked back, Illarion was getting dressed too.
‘Ace?’
I swallowed back the lump in my throat and forced my eyes back to him, almost like if I spoke, if I tried to tell him, it’d all be over, it would come true.
‘You’re scaring me, Ace, what’s going on?’
The words refused to form. Instead, only tears.
‘Ace?’ He encouraged. ‘God, you’re scaring me, please say something.’
‘He’s coming.’
A dark look flashed across his eyes and then his hands were around me, pulling me against his chest. His heart raced wildly against mine.
‘I won’t let him.’
‘I can’t stop him.’ I felt the rise inside me and all I could do was push him away and hope to God and Beings that he would be safe.
Illarion’s eyes widened and the look in them cut me. He stepped back, almost unsure of what he was seeing.
The shift inside me came quicker than I’d expected, a Darkness, stronger than my own was suddenly growing and then, as though a dark thought dawned on me, I realized it wasn’t the Darkness, it was Light. Dalca’s light—he was here and this time there was no going back.
As Illarion tried to come to me, panic reared its ugly head. We were stuck underground in a bunker meant to withstand nuclear war with a Divine Sensitive who was about to go postal.
When I brought my eyes to Illarion’s he stepped back, moving away from me, arms outstretched in surrender.
“I told you I’d be seeing you soon, Acacia.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Illarion
My eyes widened. No. Please God.
But I knew as soon as I’d stepped back and the connection between us dimmed. Dalca was here and Ace was gone.
Jack of Hart- Wild Card Page 43