Between Good and Evil

by Jasmine Wylder

  Dane snorted. He tugged Rune up, putting her between the two of them. As she curled one of her hands in his and the other in Isaac’s, he couldn’t deny there was a certain rightness to it. But even so… there was more to this story than just the three of them. He frowned at Isaac over Rune’s head. Second chance. Maybe he had read the situation wrong when he found Isaac feeding on James, but everything else…?

  “Why did you run?” he asked.

  Isaac didn’t need to be reminded of how he had reacted when Dane found him bent over James. “Because I was ashamed. Afraid. I saw the look in your eyes. You assumed that I… and I thought you would try to kill me. And I wasn’t certain that I’d fight back when I realized what I had done. I thought I killed him. I thought…”

  Dane nodded. He understood that well enough. And hadn’t Isaac tried to reach out after? Only by then, Dane had the sequence of events he thought had happened firmly entrenched in his mind and wouldn’t let go of it.

  “Will the two of you be able to forgive each other?” Rune looked between them. “I know a lot has happened, but surely, you can…?”

  Neither of them spoke for a long moment. Dane considered it. Could he forgive Isaac? The anger was such a part of him now, he wasn’t sure who he’d be without it. And even if he could, there was more to this than just that one event.

  “There have been plenty of reports about you feeding on homeless individuals,” he murmured. “Feeding on them when they don’t have the opportunity to say no…”

  “That’s not true.” Isaac’s voice whipped out, harsh and low. “I always ask. I always make sure they’re willing. I would never feed on someone who told me no. I took them to hospitals, to make sure they received the care they needed. And I pay for it. I always ask them first how much they want and then put a couple of zeros at the end.”

  “They’re still homeless and with that sort of pressure—”

  “I couldn’t feed on the vampires I lived with.”

  This time, Rune was the one who asked. “Why not?”

  “Because when vampires feed on each other, it creates a bond between them. It means that all your thoughts are shared. And since in the Starlight Mountains all vampires feed on each other at one point or another, they’re basically a hive mind. King Gregory would kill me in an instant if he knew what I was thinking.” Isaac paused, shook his head and snorted. “I’m dangerously close to the kill list because I refuse to feed on other vampires, anyway. He knows that there are things in my head I don’t want him to know about. He can’t stand that sort of loss of control.”

  Dane digested this information, stunned. “You’re working with King Gregory?”

  “Working for is more like it.”

  Dane leaned forward around Rune. “Since when?”

  Isaac’s gaze was dark and haunted. “Shortly after we parted ways. As I was wandering around, trying to figure out how to survive in a world I didn’t understand, he found me. At that point, I was so desperate for some sense of safety… I went with him. At first, he treated me grandly. I felt like his son, and I turned him into my hero.”

  An uncomfortable twist in his stomach made Dane stand. He gestured for Isaac to continue as he moved to the chair across from him. Rune remained by Isaac’s side. She shot Dane a nasty look before her expression melted into one of sympathy as she looked back at Isaac. He kept her eyes for a moment before he continued to speak.

  “At first, the things he asked me to do were small. They were right in my skillset, and he gave such good reasons that I didn’t question him. I reasoned that it wasn’t hurting anybody, really. Just destruction of public property. As long as I wasn’t hurting any people, that was all that mattered, right?” Isaac shuddered. “And I thought since he was a king and cared so much for his kingdom… Who was I to question him?”

  Rune shuddered as well. “Isaac, it wasn’t your fault. You were tricked and betrayed and—”

  “My actions were still my own. Yes, I was tricked and betrayed. But that doesn’t mean that I didn’t destroy the things I destroyed. And it wasn’t just public property. Gregory has a certain relationship with the mafia. Sometimes they’re friends, other times they fight each other. When they were friends, sometimes I’d… get rid of people. Gregory always said they were criminals, and from what I’ve found later, that checked out. But they still had families. And what right do I have to take justice into my own hands, to go above the law?”

  The twist tightened. Wasn’t that exactly what Dane had been doing? Saying that his idea of justice was better than the law’s? At least as far as Isaac was concerned. More and more he realized, he didn’t need to forgive Isaac… Isaac needed to forgive him.

  “Eventually, I couldn’t turn a blind eye to what was happening,” Isaac continued. “So, I tried to run. Several times now. I’ve tried to escape, to get away from Gregory and what he demands of me. I can’t ever seem to stay away for more than a month or two. Then he finds me and drags me back. Every time, he says that might be the last time he’s able to forgive me for my actions.”

  Rune clung to both of his hands. “We can help you, now. Remember how I said the future was in flux? I’m certain that means that you can escape him.”

  Isaac smiled, half wondering, half bitter. He brushed his fingers behind her ear as he shook his head. “Gregory wants you. He’s planning something big and he wants your abilities. If we were to run together, we’d only have an even bigger target on our backs.”

  A swell of protectiveness rose up in Dane. He was on his feet, pacing before he even realized what he was doing. No. No way in hell. He wasn’t going to put Rune in danger. He wasn’t going to let Gregory get his hands on her. And… his gaze slid to Isaac… he wasn’t going to let Isaac fall back into his clutches, either.

  “We can figure something out,” Rune said stubbornly. “What I did sense in your future is the freedom to make that choice. And it’s not one of those ‘I’ll be free from this only to die’ sort of futures, either. Granted that’s a possibility, but it’s not the only possibility.”

  “Does it matter?” Isaac ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t come to you for answers on my future. Gregory is plotting to take over the world. And what you saw… it only confirms that it’s going to happen. There isn’t anything we can do. There isn’t…”

  Rune gripped his hands, murmuring reassurances.

  Dane strode over and clipped him upside the head. Isaac jerked to his feet, raising his fists. Rune gasped. The two men glared at each other before Isaac dropped back down. He glowered at Dane.

  “What the fuck was that for?”

  “Because you’re acting like a fucking idiot.”

  Isaac snorted. “Really? You think you can do better, then?”

  “I can.” Dane nodded decisively. “Maybe I’ve got the fatal flaw of being the kind of person who makes assumptions and holds to them, but at least I’m not a moping, pessimistic, emo, brooding—"

  “I am no emo!”

  “Yeah? Then why are you wearing all black?”

  Isaac glanced down at himself. A faint blush tinged his cheeks pink, but he snorted derisively and folded his arms over his chest. “This helps me to move about at night without being noticed. As anybody with basic knowledge of camouflage knows.”

  Dane had to grin at that. He could press, but he had a feeling that wasn’t going to get him anywhere. “Whatever. The point is, that you are pessimistic. Didn’t you think it was impossible to take down the agency?”

  “This is far bigger than them, with far more potential shockwaves. If we kill Gregory, then—”

  “Then you become king.”

  Isaac’s jaw dropped. “What the fuck?”

  “Isn’t that vampire law? Whoever kills the king becomes the next one?”

  “No!”

  Dane shrugged, unperturbed. “Fine, then. I’ll get in contact with Rainer Weiman and he can be the king. We just need a plan to take Gregory down. One thing’s for certain, we can’t just le
t him take over the world. So, buck up, Fisher. We’ve got some planning to do. And if we’re successful, it might just be enough to earn you a presidential pardon, so you don’t have to spend the rest of your life in jail for bombing central park.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “I didn’t bomb central park!”

  Rune smiled as Isaac stood again, but her relief at seeing her two boys arguing animatedly—but with a slight teasing tone to their words, rather than the previous ‘I want to kill you’ vibes she had gotten from them—soon dissipated.

  Because Isaac was right. If it was, in fact, King Gregory she had seen in her vision, and there was no reason to think it would be some random weirdo wearing a crown, then they had some big shit to figure out. The tempo of vibrations in her spine and skull were still there, and she knew there had to be more that she was supposed to be doing right now. What it was, she wasn’t entirely certain.

  As Isaac and Dane started discussing the weakness of the vampire king, she got to her feet. She blocked out their conversation. Right now, she needed to concentrate on what the universe was trying to tell her. Right now, it was akin to if she and another person were standing at opposite sides of a room with a thick sheet of glass between them, and the other person was jumping up and down and waving their arms.

  She needed to get through that glass, so it could be clearer.

  It soon became apparent, though, that there was no point in it. If the universe was jumping up and down trying to get her attention, she was rushing against the glass again and again. Far too agitated to stop and look closer. What she needed was to step back, calm her mind and hope that she got a strike of inspiration.

  “We have to figure out a way to stop him,” Rune said, interrupting the boys.

  “That’s what we have been talking about,” Dane said impatiently. “Weren’t you listening?”

  She blushed and shook her head as she wiped her hands over her thick thighs. “I was trying to tune in with the universe. It’s not working.”

  Dane sighed. He tugged her to the couch again and frowned. “You’re as wound up as a spring. Isaac, why don’t you bring our Rune up to speed?”

  Our Rune? She had to smile, liking the way that sounded. Even if everything was going to hell, there was one thing she could be sure of. That if they survived this, then she and her boys had a chance at it after all. She struggled to push that aside—right now, she had to make sure that they had a future to look forward to!

  “From what I can tell, Gregory has been planning this for centuries. He feeds on many of the vampires in his kingdom but will allow nobody to feed on him in turn. I don’t know what his plans are.” Isaac knelt at her feet and started rubbing them absently. “I don’t know where to even start to try to stop him. I have no evidence. And even if I did, who would believe me?”

  Rune nodded her understanding. “Well… I don’t know how we’re going to do it yet, either, but there is one thing I do know.”

  “And what is that?”

  “A weapon raised to protect, and a weapon raised to destroy can certainly destroy a king and protect the kingdom.”

  Isaac and Dane studied each other. Isaac’s brow had a little furrow in it like he was assessing Dane, and Dane stared back with such a blank face Rune was tempted to wave her hand in front of his eyes. They didn’t speak, and she rolled her eyes. Didn’t either of them realize that they had just been working on coming up with a plan moments ago? Why was it that as soon as someone else suggested it, they suddenly didn’t know if they could work together?

  “We’ve hated each other for so long,” Isaac said as he shook his head. “I don’t think you understand what that means for us, Rune. There has been so much—”

  “I know.”

  Dane squeezed her hand. “And even if we can work together for this mission… I am still duty bound to hand him over to the police when I can, because of everything he’s done. That’s not to do with me,” he added quickly as she gave him a venomous glare. “It’s the law. You heard him yourself. He’s been involved in criminal activity.”

  Isaac nodded. “And I would be bound by self-preservation to try my damnedest to stay away.”

  “For God’s sake!” Rune pulled away from both of them. “Honestly! I know you’re all obsessed with past and present and all that baloney, but get your heads out of your asses and just think for one fucking second!”

  Neither of them spoke, both with dropped jaws and wide eyes. Good. Maybe if she shocked them enough, they’d realize just how illogical they were being.

  “This isn’t about what happens after. The future will take care of itself. The three of us are meant to be together and we will be together. The only thing that will stop that from happening is you and you.” She poked them both in the chest at the same time. “There is a bond between you. I can feel it as much as I can feel both of you right now. You’re acting like that bond was severed, but it wasn’t.”

  “I know that’s what you want to believe,” Dane started.

  “Honestly, don’t you believe me yet?” Rune threw her hands into the air. “I am a physic, Dane Hemmerick. Even the freaking vampire king knows that! Why else would he be coming after me so he can know about the future?”

  Isaac nodded. “She’s got a good point, there. I was skeptical, too, but Gregory’s thousands of years old. He believes that she’s got powers, and from what I have seen, I have to believe it, too. It only makes sense. And…” Here he hesitated before plunging ahead. “We have always been circling each other. From the start. It’s been you and me. How else would we end up here, like this, after so many years?”

  Rune could see the wheels turning in Dane’s mind. He frowned, crossed his arms, uncrossed them, then crossed them again. Eventually, he spoke. “Okay. Okay. I can accept that you’re a psychic and yeah, you’re right about us always circling each other but that doesn’t mean that we can just go back to how things were.”

  Isaac snorted and rolled his eyes. “Nobody is saying that.”

  “Actually, I am.”

  Rune shifted so she was on her knees, facing both of them. She was sick and tired of this resistance from them. Couldn’t they see? What made them so blind as to not feel the draw between the three of them? Or did they feel it, but they were just denying it?

  As far as she could see, there was only one way to kick them in the pants.

  When Dane opened his mouth again, Rune cut off his argument with a searing kiss. She pressed her body against his, loving the feel of his hard chest, his strong arms. He let out a surprised sound but was kissing her back as quickly as a snake’s strike. His tongue ran over her lips, and she opened her mouth for him. Heat built in her core, tightening quickly. When Isaac’s hand slid between their bodies to fondle her breasts, they seemed to swell and tighten.

  She turned her head to welcome Isaac’s mouth. They kissed passionately, tongues dancing while Dane buried his face in her neck. Both their hands roamed her body, making her skin tingle and pulse with pleasure. It felt so good that she forgot what they had been arguing about. For the first time, she could see the future laid out before them. Her body was on fire, they had years and years and years of happiness ahead. And nothing was missing. They were complete, the three of them. Perfect.

  As Dane started to tug her T-shirt up over her head, Rune pressed her elbows to her sides and shook her head. Both men leaned back, looking disappointed.

  “We can’t until you both understand.” She ached so badly to shed her clothes and welcome them both into her body. “Got it? The three of us are meant to be together. Do you understand that now? We’re meant to be together. And unless you both understand that and make the commitment to make this work, no matter how hard it might end up being, then it doesn’t go farther than this. I don’t think my heart can take it.”

  Dane and Isaac glanced at each other. For a moment, Rune thought they would agree just so they could finish what they’d started. She was relieved, though, to see them both truly c
onsider it. Eventually, they both nodded.

  “We can make it work,” Dane said. “Even if I have to put Isaac in jail.”

  “We can,” Isaac agreed. “Even if I have to regularly beat his ass to avoid going to jail.”

  That wasn’t exactly what Rune had been hoping to hear, but when both of them started kissing her again, she decided that it was as good as it was going to get.

  They fell back into their fevered embrace, both men suckling and kissing the sensitive skin on her neck while their hands moved all about her body. Isaac lifted her and shifted her to the side, so she was straddling Dane, and then he moved up behind them. Both of them thrust against her, and she felt their arousals through their clothing. Her shirt was removed and tossed to one side. Isaac started kissing down her spine while Dane removed her bra.

  “We should move to the bed,” Isaac rumbled.

  “Don’t wanna,” Dane moaned back.

  Rune had to agree with both of them. She didn’t want to take the time to go to bed, but it would be a lot more comfortable. She moaned as Dane took one of her nipples in his mouth, making it harden as he sucked on it. Isaac slid a hand down her pants, quickly finding and stroking her clit. Everything seemed to shiver inside of her, and she let her head fall back with a hot gasp.

  “Bed,” Isaac insisted again. “We don’t want your brothers to walk in on this.”

  Rune gasped again, this time from embarrassment as she imagined that happening. Dane grunted but nodded his agreement. He stood, picking her up with him. Isaac grabbed her shirt and bra and followed them into the bedroom. The king-sized bed was just big enough for the three of them. Rune undid Dane’s shirt, as Isaac was still shirtless.

  “Lie on your backs,” she ordered, kneeling.

  Both of them obeyed. Their arms brushed each other, but there was enough room farther down on the bed for Rune to kneel between their legs. She ran her hands down each of their chests. Then she kissed Dane’s neck, followed by a kiss to Isaac’s. Switching between the two of them, she kissed and licked down their chests and abdomens. Both grunted and groaned in similar fashions.