Just Breathe (28 page)

Water flowed in earnest.

No, no, no…wrong reaction… He had to put Zoe out of his mind.

Fire. I need Fire.

Scarlet met his eyes, then shifted her gaze lower. She dropped to her knees and brought his cock to her lips. Balancing her attention between stroking and sucking, she worked him for a solid minute, to no avail.

Of all the times for Zoe to ‘interfere’… This wasn’t good. Not at all.

Fuck. He looked down.
Come on, you bastard. Come on!

His Water wanted nothing to do with Scarlet.

“Give me what I need!” Scarlet shrieked, her face a hideous mask of malice. Flames licked the fringes of her aura. He’d never seen her so angry.

She pumped her wrist, strangling his limp dick in her hot grip.

He clenched his jaw. Grabbed her tits. Concentrated as hard as he could. Conjured images of strippers, hot lap dances, groupies he’d banged, porn movies—even scenes from the times he and Zoe had gone at it. He dipped into every available well for stimulation but came up short.

For the first time in his horny male rock star life, he couldn’t get it up.

The foreign Fire embedded in his soul fought against relentless waves of Zoe’s blue, and there was nothing he could do to stop the Water.

God damn it. He was so fucked.

Scarlet’s furious onslaught against his most precious bodily possession ceased. She released his cock and stood slowly, her murderous gaze narrowed on his. “If you deny me my right, more people will suffer.” Her cold voice lowered in pitch and volume. “Fulfill your duty to me—your
wife,
by Incendius’s decree—or witness the greatest slaughter in human history. Millions of lives are at your mercy.”

Her vow wasn’t lost on him. She would do it.

He looked down at his limp cock and willed it—begged it—to comply.
Gods, please.

It refused.

His thoughts turned to the countless Wyldlings who’d already paid the ultimate price, and a bone-chilling wave of deep regret washed through him. “I can’t. I don’t know what else to say.”

She shoved him backward. “I do. You just doomed your precious humans to death. I’ll slaughter them myself as compensation for the Fire you refuse to give me. I’ll torture and maim the Wyldlings as they sleep—innocent babies, children, old, young. By the gods, I’ll kill them
all
. Just for you. And before each life is snuffed, I’ll tell them they died because their disappointment of a protector, Gavin Cassidy, wasn’t man enough to save them.”

The weight of her threat hung like a lead cape on his shoulders. Frantic, panic-stricken, he said, “Make yourself look like Zoe.” He’d never fucking forgive himself for this sacrilege, but he had no other recourse.

Her jaw tensed, and her gaze cooled. Scarlet’s face melted into Zoe’s. She assumed Zoe’s stance, kissed him, stroked him.

Not even a goddamn twitch.

In a burst of flame, Scarlet shifted back to her normal form, her cheeks red with fury. “You’re useless to me. Go back to
her
and ponder your sins.”

“If you have an ounce of compassion inside you,
please
don’t do this. Give me an alternative. Anything.” He hated begging, but he was so fraught, he would have sold his fucking soul.

“The time for making deals is over. Get the fuck out of here. I have Wyldlings to claim.” Shoulders quaking, she turned away from him.

He clasped her shoulder, and she flung his hand off. Short bursts of steam billowed from her nose with each huffing breath. The temperature in the room peaked. Staring at the back of her head, he stuffed himself back into his jeans, zipped up, and grabbed his jacket.

There was nothing else he could do.

Gods help him. Literally millions of lives depended on him, and he’d fucked up his only real shot at saving them.

Gavin Cassidy, Wyldling protector, had just signed humanity’s death sentence.

Chapter Twenty-nine

September 20

At one-thirty a.m., Gavin dashed into Jack’s place without knocking and rushed straight into Zoe’s arms. He crushed his lips to hers with such intense, warm passion, she thought he might throw her down on the floor and do her right there in front of Jack.

Not that she’d have minded much after he left her at the research house, wondering whether she’d ever see him again. What the hell was going on inside his head?

His tongue dipped in and stroked hers. The hard metal of his lip ring activated the heater in her core’s thermostat, and a warm blush flushed her cheeks. Worries melted away as breaths mingled and hearts raced together. She let out a little moan to get his attention, but he kept going, apparently oblivious to her father’s eyes blinking at them.

“Gavin—” she breathed against his mouth, then sighed when he deepened the kiss with another taste of tongue. Half-heartedly struggling to free herself from his steel grip, she guessed things could have been worse.

Strong hands drifted to her butt and scooped her pelvis toward his. Oh, hell. Wetness pooled between her legs. If he kept this up, she might tackle him to the carpet and indulge in an all-you-can-eat rock star feast for a couple hours.

Her nerve endings lit up and called for a meeting of minds and bodies. Waves of desire flooded her as their mouths churned in an erotic ballet of give and take, hot and cold, bump and grind. She fixed her hips tightly against him. Yep, things could be
way
worse.

Jack cleared his throat.

Zoe’s heart
clippity-clopped
in an awkward stumble as she hit the brakes on the hungry hip hula. Breathless and a little embarrassed she’d let herself go like that in front of her father, she drew back and wiped her mouth with the flat of her hand. Gavin angled his forehead against hers in his sweet, intimate way for a long moment. The relief was intoxicating.

Jack stepped up and scrutinized both of them in turn. “I approve.” His hand swung to his mouth, and he bit into an apple.

Zoe giggled at the ridiculousness of this entire scene, opened an arm, and pulled him into an awkward three-person embrace. Gavin and Jack flinched in sync and grudgingly hugged. Zoe was grateful to share a cherished moment with her two favorite men.

After a moment, the tangle of limbs dissolved, and she smiled at Gavin. “That was quite a hello after our rushed goodbye earlier. I missed you, too.” She curled a stray wisp of hair around the back of her ear. “Did you find Scarlet?”

Gavin disengaged from the cozy circle and burrowed his fists into the front pockets of his jeans. The dark circles under his eyes deepened. Just like that, the big happy balloon popped, and the mood snapped back to tense as hell. The recoil was painfully palpable.

“No. No sign of her.” He shot a glance at Jack, who lifted his head. The apple chewing slowed.

Zoe straightened. Enough of this walking on eggshells crap. “Okay, I don’t know what’s up with you lately, but I want my Gavin back. The
stable
Gavin who doesn’t get all shifty every time I ask a question. I never know which version of you is gonna pop up. Care to fill me in?”

Jack’s eyes narrowed, but he kept quiet.

Gavin worked his jaw to and fro. “I’m still here. Just a little concerned about our situation.” He faced Jack. “What’s the story with Whetu?”

Way to deflect a question.

“We moved her to your place so we can keep an eye on her,” Jack said. “There’s no change in her condition. Still totally out of it. Vexx can’t even get a stray thought out of her.”

Gavin rubbed his hair spikes three times in quick succession. “Fuck.”

There he went again. One moment, he was ready to take her to bed or lose her forever, the next, he was Mr. Agitation wearing an itchy wool sweater. She didn’t know what had gotten into him, but she wanted it out.

“Zoe’s research team will stay here so our Sentinel brainware doesn’t interfere with their sleep. Vexx, Jet, and Byrn are holing up at your pad, too. Hope you don’t mind.”

Gavin tensed and scowled at the mention of Byrn. “Do I have a choice?”

“Nope. You’re stuck with that asshole like the rest of us.” Another crunch of apple.

“I won’t leave Zoe here without protection. The Fyres are after her. They’re sure to come back, maybe even tonight.”

Jack shook his head. “I’ve got the girls covered. My Wæter Elemental friend Xanthos will monitor the house from the outside. He has a talent for blending into scenery. The dude is like the Predator. He’ll keep watch over them twenty-four/seven.”

Zoe hadn’t met Xanthos yet, but she’d sensed his ‘presence’ outside. If a little old Wyldling like her could feel him, he must’ve been really strong. Exactly what they needed, should Scarlet or the other Fyres try to mess with them.

Gavin turned to her, and the lines in his face softened. “What are you going to do about work? You lost everything in the fire.”

“Not everything. Adriene, God bless her, downloaded the info from the DTAGS on one of our rain days this week and stuck the tags and camera equipment in the trunk of our car. We lost all of our data up to this point, but at least we can start over. Vexx got us a high powered computer, downloaded the imaging software we use, and set us up here.” She gestured with her chin to the makeshift desk in the corner of the living room.

Jack had been wonderful in the aftermath of the fire. Without his and Vexx’s help, it would’ve taken days to scrounge the parts and labor needed to get the team back on its feet. And then there was the mysterious Xanthos volunteering to play bodyguard. And Jet loaning them clothes until tomorrow. And Byrn…well, he was good for comic relief.

“I’m glad you were able to save at least some of your work.” Gavin said absently. He paced the stretch of carpet between the front door and edge of the living room. He seemed lost in his own headspace.

Zoe exchanged glances with Jack.

“If Whetu isn’t coming around, then we have to find the Dreamweaver. Tonight.” Urgency blared through Gavin’s tone. “She’s our only other option. People are dying by the dozens, Jack. Every hour. We have to do something.”

Gavin’s work as a Sentinel was taking its toll. A crazed look began a slow crawl across his face. It scared the shit out of her. He looked like he was about to shatter.

Jack swallowed his last bite of apple and chucked the core across the room. The rim of the corner trashcan caught it, and gravity did its thing. Score. Jack wiped his hands on his shirt. “Then, into the Dreaming we go. Though, if we can’t locate the Dreamweaver, we’ll have to come up with another plan.”

“No.” The word stabbed like a knife. “No other plans. This
has
to work. If it doesn’t, I’ll wake up Whetu myself.”

“Can’t risk it. You heard Vexx. Digging around in her head could kill her. Then it’ll be impossible to find the door.”

Gavin met Jack’s hard stare. “Whatever it takes, mate.”

Zoe stepped between the two and laid hands on their tense arms. The second she made contact, some of the tightness in Gavin’s frame eased. Good. He was seriously freaking her out.

“Four more days until the equinox,” she said. “Getting there is dependent on us keeping our wits about us. Let’s not do anything rash.”

“Getting
to
the equinox isn’t what worries me,” Gavin said. “What happens afterward is the big unknown.”

She nodded. That was the damn truth. “You guys hit the Dreaming hard and heavy for the Dreamweaver tonight. I’ll find out tomorrow how the Wæters are faring with their tithes. Last I heard, things were moving along smoothly, but something still bothers me. The Dreaming wanted our whale friend in place as the Archelemental, but I haven’t fulfilled my responsibility to get her there.”

Because Zoe hadn’t finished her job, the Dreaming must’ve still expected her to. How could she convince a hundred or more Wæter Elementals to reverse a decision they’d fought over for so long?

“That’s been weighing heavy on my mind, too,” Jack said. “I got a feeling this is only the beginning of a very long, bloody conflict.”

Scarlet had raised the stakes tonight with the house fire, but the game was far from over. And with the shitty hand they’d been dealt, Zoe, Gavin, and Jack might have no other choice but to bluff their way to victory.

* * * *

After hours searching, patrolling, and defending, Gavin headed toward his rendezvous point near the Sentinels’ castle. He fought Fyres until his Water stores ran dry, and then he fought some more. He improvised, relied on his other Elements. Air sharpened his wits. Earth provided physical strength. Fire kept him moving when he wanted to quit.

The Dreaming’s night sky lit up with a toxic orange-red glow. Wyldlings fell around him. Everywhere he went, he found evidence of Scarlet making good on her threats—instability, destruction, maimed bodies, and lots of blood.

His attempts to help the Wyldlings had failed. Even the back-up plan with Scarlet—the one he’d prayed he’d never have to enact—had bombed.

Yet he couldn’t give up.

A male cry reached him. Familiar. Gavin spun around, worry sharpening his senses.

A tormented scream.

Trevor, Just Breathe’s drummer.

Fuck. Scarlet had been screwing Trevor in recent weeks.

Gavin bolted in his mate’s direction, goose bumps chilling his flesh. He and the drummer had never gotten on well, but he certainly didn’t wish ill on Trevor. Especially not the kind Scarlet would deliver.

It wasn’t hard to nail down Trevor’s location. The rising temperature in Gavin’s gut suggested Scarlet was indeed the prime source of his friend’s pain.

Pulling on Earth reserves, Gavin increased his energy level and doubled his running speed. When he skidded to a halt in front of his mate, hope took a nosedive into a shallow puddle of desperation.

Scarlet leaned over Trevor’s prone, twisting body. Her claws gripped his throat. Fire lit her eyes. Red energy coursed from the drummer up her arm and collected in her glowing chest.

“No!” Gavin aimed his dripping blue fist at Scarlet’s face. “Let him go, Scarlet.”

More screams jerked and hissed from Trevor’s lips. His back arched off the blackened ground, hips flailing left and right.