Pisces: Book 1 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) (15 page)

Chapter Twenty

‘The lovebirds have arrived,’ Leo announced as we entered the kitchen.

‘What’s it like?’ Cancer squealed as she rushed up to us.

‘Have you…you know?’ Scorpio said to Antony.

‘Scorpio…!’

My cheeks flushed as my brother patted my twin flame on the back.

‘What? I think you’re the only one that hasn’t had—’ Scorpio was cut off as Aries punched him in the arm. I smiled at the tall handsome warrior. He might be a bit of a ladies man but he looked out for his family.

‘We were followed for part of the journey. I managed to lose them but only just,’ Antony said.

The boys gathered around to talk about Father. I wanted to listen but the girls dragged me to the living room to talk about men.

‘What’s it like?’ Sagi asked as she sat on the arm of the sofa.

I laughed and patted her thigh. ‘It’s amazing.’

The others crowded around and started to throw questions. I answered them as best as I could. There were still many things I couldn’t explain.

‘We’re not quite there yet. We’ve only just started this stage. Give me a chance.’

My cheeks were hot. I fanned myself to try and cool down. At one point, I looked up and saw that Antony hovered in the doorway. He watched me with a small smile on his face. When he caught me looking, he ducked out of the room.

‘It’s so amazing though! You’ve done it within a few months. Usually it takes years,’ Cancer said.

‘That’s the old way. We’re not going to fail this time and to be honest, I still think it will take years. It’s something we need to work at for the rest of our lives.’ I clasped Cancer’s hands in mine when she tried to get me to say more. I wanted to join the men to help with Father’s rescue. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have met Antony.

‘It’s so romantic,’ Virgo said in her matter of fact tone.

I left them to see what the boys were up to. It was my turn to spy on my boyfriend. My whole body hummed at the thought. Most of the others had experienced a relationship but not me.

‘I saw Nick head towards north London,’ Leo said.

They were gathered around the island in the middle of the kitchen. Antony fitted in so well that I struggled to spot him amongst my brothers at first. Aries moved to reveal him. He looked up at my brother. His face was serious and ready for battle. He held his head high, even though he was shorter than Leo, Scorpio and Aries.

‘We need to go back to the house that he kept Pisces in. I doubt very much he’s still there but it’s worth going over,’ Scorpio offered.

‘Can I just finish the song I was writing?’ Leo asked, going to walk away from the group.

‘No, you can’t.’ Aries grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

Antony studied Leo’s tattoos. He had sleeves on both arms and they stood out on his bulging biceps. There was a question in Antony’s eyes. How could such a big, hard looking man, be such a creative softy?

‘Come on, mate, the album is almost done,’ Leo whined.

‘Our father is more important than your album, Leo.’ Aries scowled.

‘I’m happy to go and check out that house,’ Gemini said.

We all turned to study Gemini, the most suave and least warrior-like of them all. He was usually lost in his own world, absorbed with himself.

‘Really…?’ Aries glanced at Leo.

The two smiled and I felt sorry for Gemini.

‘Yes, I want to be involved,’ he said as he tapped his fingers on the work surface.

I almost laughed when the others blinked in surprise.

‘I’ll go with him,’ Taurus said, glancing back at me. ‘I’m sure we’ll find something.’

The others noticed I was there but carried on with the conversation as if I wasn’t. Taurus had a shaved head and square jaw. He was meant to be a fitness trainer. He had dropped out of university when he started to smoke marijuana.

‘Okay, head over there now, but be careful.’ Aries gestured for them to leave.

Gemini threw a smart coat over his suit and Taurus put a cap on his head.

‘Do you have to wear that? You look like a thug,’ I heard Gemini say as they closed the front door behind them.

I marvelled at how well Aries ran the operation. My mind zoned out and I stopped following the plans as I watched Antony. I was a brilliant listener when it came to one on one but I was easily distracted when I wasn’t directly spoken to.

‘What do you think, Pisces?’ Leo addressed me.

I shook my head and blinked.

‘She didn’t hear you.’ Aries clapped him on the back. ‘See, I told you that you were boring.’

Leo pushed Aries and he stumbled back a few steps.

‘I’m sorry.’ I joined Antony.

He reached out and took my hand. ‘I told Aries what you said about Nick and your mother.’

‘We could try and lure Nick by using you as bait. If you go out and about in London, he might try to grab you again. Especially if he sees you with Antony,’ Aries said.

I nodded before he finished speaking. I wanted to do anything to help rescue Father. If that meant being bait, well…I would do it. My body shivered at the thought of Nick kidnapping me again but Antony squeezed my hand at just the right time.

‘There will be two of us guarding you at all times. Just try not to go out in public on your own. Unless you stick to the back roads, but even then, it’s dodgy.’

‘Do you think Bev and Derek will be all right? Daniel knows where Father lives and he’s probably told Nick,’ I asked.

Antony’s eyes widened. ‘I forgot that Daniel knew where your father lived.’

He stepped away from the group and dialled a number on his phone.

‘That might be the ideal place to lure him to,’ Aries said.

‘No answer. Derek always answers his phone. We need to go back.’ Antony grabbed my hand.

‘Wait. We need to finalise everything,’ Scorpio said.

I watched them as they spoke. My mind couldn’t keep track of what they said. All I could think about was Bev and Derek. I hoped they were safe and we were just being paranoid.

‘Right, I think we all know what we’re doing. Pisces, you go with Antony. Take Leo and Scorpio just in case.’

Grabbing my bag, I decided not to say goodbye to the girls. I didn’t want them to get involved. It was my fault Father had been kidnapped. I didn’t want to risk them being caught too.

‘Pisces, remember to keep your head,’ Aries said as I was about to leave.

I frowned at him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘Antony might have to fight and you’re going to have to let him.’

He knew me well. The idea of Antony being in danger had crossed my mind and I didn’t like it. However, it was part of his job. It was part of his mission. He had also signed up before he had come down to earth. We had both decided that we would fight to bring more love to the world.

‘I’ll be fine.’

‘We can do this,’ Antony whispered, waving to Aries as the door shut behind us.

Chapter Twenty One

‘How does this sound? Trapped heart of sorrow beats, with tenderness and misery streaks…’

‘I love it.’

Leo grinned and it felt like the sun shone on my face. Antony squeezed my hand as I looked at him. The words resonated with us more than Leo knew. I was amazed at the lyrics that came from my brother. He was upbeat and serious but his songs spoke of a deeper nature than no one ever saw.

‘Who do you think will find their soulmate next?’ I asked when Leo sat back and tucked his notepad away.

‘Aries of course,’ Scorpio said. His words were mumbled as he chewed on a chocolate bar. A peanut flew out of his mouth and landed on the floor. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered.

The train sped through stations on the way back to Surrey. My gaze caught on the green scenery as it whizzed past. I raised my eyebrows when Scorpio shoved the rest of the bar into his mouth. ‘Why do you think it is Aries?’

He shrugged as he swallowed. ‘Because he’s already met his.’

Leo nodded his agreement. Why hadn’t I known about this?

‘He has no idea, though.’ Scorpio clicked open a can of fizzy drink and downed it.

‘How can he not know?’ Antony said.

It had only been a few hours since he had admitted that he was my soulmate but I didn’t say anything.

‘Did you know when you met Pisces?’ Scorpio raised his eyebrows.

Antony looked away from him. ‘Deep down somewhere I did but I fought against it,’ he said, stroking my palm with his thumb.

The train slowed. ‘Our stop,’ I called. The others followed as we alighted from the train.

‘What do you think Aries is doing then?’

Scorpio fell into step beside us as we commandeered a taxi and asked the driver to take us to Father’s house.

‘Yeah, Aries is probably fighting it, too,’ Antony said as we shared a secret smile. ‘I hope Derek is okay. I still can’t get hold of him.’

A shiver ran over my body and the others saw it.

‘That means something’s not right,’ Scorpio said.

Leo nodded. ‘Yeah. Pisces has this freaky intuition she never listens to. In fact, if I want to know something, I should start to ask Pisces and see how her body reacts.’

‘I don’t know if I like the sound of that,’ Antony mumbled.

I laughed at them as the taxi pulled into the street. The driver stopped and let us out before we got to the house. My skin started to tingle as my stomach knotted. Derek and Bev were in danger, I simply knew it.

‘We need to be careful,’ I whispered to the others.

‘Why are we whispering?’ Leo ducked down to my height.

I pushed him as Antony put an arm around me. ‘You’re really shaking, baby, what’s wrong?’

My whole body heated at the endearment and I smiled up at him. He had never called me a pet name before. The blast of warmth echoed through my muscles, relaxing them.

‘So cute…’ Leo sang.

Scorpio rolled his eyes and turned away from us. ‘Come on, we’ve got to get on with it.’

Antony tried Derek’s phone one last time but there was still no reply. There was no answer from the home phone either.

‘Do we sneak in? Or shall we pretend that we have no idea that something’s wrong?’ I asked.

‘You two go to the front door. You’re probably expected. We’ll go round the back and try to see what we can,’ Scorpio said as he studied the house.

The rest of us agreed and separated. Antony and I walked down the street, hand in hand.

‘I know this might be hard for you but try not to look so scared,’ Antony said.

I glared up at him. The smile on his face made my defences melt. He smoothed the lines on my forehead with his finger.

‘Am I that obvious?’ I asked as we neared the gate.

‘I can tell exactly what you’re thinking.’

‘Really…? Can you tell what I’m thinking now?’

He glanced down at me as his back muscles went rigid. I laughed but he didn’t see the funny side of it. He was busy worrying about what was going on inside the house.

‘You’re thinking that when this is done, I’m going to take you to bed and ravish you.’

The gasp that left my mouth echoed around us. It was his turn to laugh. My hand tightened on his. He pulled me into his arms as we paused on the path.

‘Antony! What are you doing?’ I squeaked, before his lips came down and crushed mine.

‘I’m tricking them into believing that we have no idea they’re in there. I’m also taking advantage of your weird mood. It’s not often you tease me.’

My stomach flipped as I pulled him down to kiss me again. My phone beeped with a text. I ignored it.

‘You will soon discover that will change now we’re together,’ I said, flicking out my tongue and licking his lips.

‘So you’re a bit of a tease under all that seriousness, are you?’ he whispered against my ear as he pulled me to his chest.

‘I can’t wait to get you—’

Another text beeped on my phone. Antony pulled it out of my pocket.

‘That’s Scorpio asking what the bloody hell we’re doing snogging in the middle of a rescue mission.’ I laughed.

‘He has no idea, does he?’

We pulled apart and made our way to the front door. Pretending to laugh at nothing, we knocked.

‘Play along with me, okay?’ he whispered as the door opened.

Bev greeted us with a smile on her face. It was false. Her whole body shook. She had opened the door slightly. I could sense that someone was behind it.

‘Bev, we’re home!’ Antony said as he stepped forward.

The door started to inch open but Bev didn’t say anything.

‘How are you?’ I followed Antony as Bev let go of the door and stepped back to allow us past.

When Antony was in line with the door, he thrust his whole weight against it. The door crushed the person against the wall. There was a grunt and Bev shrieked as we ran into the hallway.

There was another man at the top of the stairs. He had a gun aimed straight at Antony. ‘Stay where you are!’ he shouted.

We froze. Bev watched us, her gaze flicking to the open door.

‘Bev, come here,’ the man ordered when he saw her checking out the quickest escape route.

I willed her to stay still. The man in the black outfit looked like he wouldn’t be afraid to shoot her if she tried to run.

‘What’s going on?’ Antony called.

‘Close the door, Bev,’ the man shouted.

She did as she was told. The man behind it was sprawled on the floor. Antony had managed to knock him out.

‘I have brought Pisces in exchange for her father. I spoke to Nick and he told me to bring her here,’ Antony announced as Bev started to climb up the stairs.

Biting my lip was the only way I managed not to look shocked at the lie. I glanced back at the fallen man, so the one with the gun couldn’t see my face.

‘I told Nick that I didn’t want to be with her,’ Antony said when the other man grunted.

‘Really…? Why wouldn’t you want to be with her? She’s gorgeous in a strange sort of way.’ The man was quite young and I wondered at Nick’s intelligence. Did he trust these men or were they the only option he had? I didn’t know that much about the Dysfunctionals. Maybe they recruited them from a young age.

‘What do you mean in a strange sort of way?’ I called.

Antony glared at me. I hadn’t meant to say anything. I tried to stay quiet but I was genuinely interested.

‘I’ve watched you. You dress in random clothes and you’re a little weird. I’d still give you a go.’

I let out an involuntary laugh. It was cut off when a gunshot echoed around us. The man clutched his chest and fell to the balcony floor. I looked at Antony. His gun was clutched in his hand.

‘Antony…?’

‘No man ever speaks like that about my woman.’ He grunted, pulled his phone out and tapped a message. I assumed that he texted the boys outside. My insides quivered. Blood had spurted from the man’s chest. How could Antony shoot someone so cold heartedly?

‘Are there any more of them?’ I asked Bev.

She was crouched on the stairs, hugging her knees to her chest. She came and wrapped her arms around me. ‘Yes, there’s another one guarding Derek. They’ve been here since you left this morning. He was told not to leave his post.’

Patting her back, I watched Antony as he crept up the stairs and checked on the man. He shook his head when he looked at me. Bile rose in my throat. Antony had killed someone because they called me weird. What would the police think? Would he go to prison?

‘We need to get you out of here,’ I said as Bev pulled away from me.

Leo and Scorpio came in the front door, making us both jump. Antony gestured for them to follow him upstairs. They all disappeared. I suddenly felt cold at the thought of them being in danger. Bev’s eyes widened when she saw the tall lads disappear from the balcony. She grabbed my hand and tried to pull me away.

‘I’m scared,’ she whispered.

‘It’s okay, Bev—’ I started.

The blunted sound of an impact vibrated next to me and Bev slouched to the ground.

‘Don’t say a word.’ The hiss of a voice I recognised but couldn’t place, filtered into my ears. The breath on my cheek made me shudder. My body was frozen. I couldn’t see my captor. A cold object was pressed against my temple as a strong arm wrapped around my chest, pulling me tight against a hard male body. I squealed but didn’t say anything.

‘Nick wants to stop you and your soulmate. The easiest thing to do is to kill lover boy.’

I shivered again, unable to stop my body reacting to the hard whispered voice. Antony couldn’t die. There was no way I could live if he wasn’t with me. I loved him more than anyone and we had only just harmonised.

‘Don’t kill him, kill me. Nick won’t have to worry about dealing with me ever again if I’m gone. You’ll be a hero if you do that.’

His muscles stiffened at my words. He stepped back, hauling me away from Bev. She was out cold on the floor but her chest was moving.

‘I’ve got Derek,’ Antony called from one of the rooms.

My mouth opened. The pressure of the gun increased against my head so I clamped it shut. I was surprised Antony didn’t know that I was in danger. According to the book, we should be able to feel how the other person felt, even if they were miles away.

‘When he comes out, I’m going to shoot him and then I’ll shoot you,’ the man told me.

I tried to pull air into my lungs but my shivering body struggled.

‘You should just kill me and get it over with. My brothers are big men and they have weapons. If they see you, they’ll kill you.’

His arm weakened slightly. I still couldn’t place who he was but I felt his fear of death as it vibrated through his body.

‘Nick told me that he couldn’t kill you.’

‘No, he can’t kill me, but you can. Whatever you do, make it quick. Nick tried to drown me once. It really scared me…he was so annoyed he couldn’t finish me off.’

Lying was easy when I was around the negative men. The others were taking their time. I had to distract him. He started to drag me out of the front door. The boys had left it open when they had come in. He closed it behind him and put his hand on my shoulder to guide me.

‘There’s a lake over there. I’m going to drown you in it.’ He nudged my head with the end of the gun.

He couldn’t see my face so he didn’t see the smile that I couldn’t hold back. Men were fickle. I allowed the shivering to overtake my body. At least that wasn’t something I had to fake.

‘No, please don’t! If you’re going to kill me, just shoot me, please,’ I cried.

‘Shut up and get a move on,’ he hissed, hitting me on the head when I tried to glance back. ‘And don’t look at me.’

My plan had better work. I was being sincere when I told him that I would rather die than live without Antony. If I died, it didn’t matter. As long as Antony was alive, I could watch him from above.

When we approached the lake, I heard my captor take a deep breath. ‘Nick’s going to be so pleased.’

I opened my mouth to plead. He hit me again. It wasn’t hard enough to knock me out but my skull ached at the impact.

I was about to spin when he wrapped his arms around me and rushed forward. We pitched into the lake. I didn’t have time to think. The deep water could be used to my advantage.

I heard a shout from the house just before my head disappeared underwater. I hoped Antony caught on to what I was doing and allowed me to get on with it.

Fierce heat rushed over my body as I twisted and saw the face of the man that was trying to push my head down. Daniel’s gaze met mine and I screamed. He had betrayed me in so many ways. He had even threatened Antony. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

Daniel started to flay his arms when I took in a deep breath and didn’t drown. I pulled on his black jumper as he tried to kick to the surface. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I linked them together. He struggled against me and tried to wrench himself free but I wouldn’t let go. I would never let him threaten us again.