Redemption (15 page)

Emma sat down on the bed. He talked about this so matter-of-factly.

Will looked up from his laptop, his face expressionless. “You might not like the next part, and neither do I, but I think it’s our best option.”

While she didn’t like the sound of that, she nodded. “Okay.”

“I want you to contact him and tell him that you’ve changed your mind about me and that you want to talk to him about what your options are.”

“You’re asking me to lie to him?”

His steely eyes held hers. “Yes.”

She shook her head. “Not only no, but hell no.”

“Emma, I know how you feel about lying and promises—”

“Then how can you ask me to do this, Will?”

His voice hardened. “Because we are at war, Emma. When you are at war, you use every trick in the book to win. Where do you think the term
all’s fair in love and war
came from?”

“I’m sure Hitler saw it the exact same way when he built all those concentration camps.”

Will released an exasperated sigh. “That is not even close to the same thing, Emma. Alex is a monster. He raped you. He kidnapped your son. He’s killed the previous version of you over and over again.” He ran a hand through his hair, closing his laptop. “Honestly, I’m scared to send you to him. For all I know he’ll try to kill you the moment he sees you.”

“Then why do it?”

“Because the odds are greater that he won’t. He didn’t kill you in California—he didn’t even try. If he thinks he has a snowball’s chance in hell at getting you to help him, he’ll give you the time to talk to him.”

“So then what? Alex and I sit down for tea and you sneak in and slit his throat?” Her words were harsher than she meant.

His eyes cold, he remained silent, watching her.

“Oh, my God.”

Will groaned. “Emma, we’re going to St. Louis to kill him. You know this.”

“It doesn’t mean I have to like it,” she said through clenched teeth. Why was she getting angry with him? This wasn’t Will’s fault and although the logical part of her knew this was a good plan, the decent, humane side of her screamed in protest.

“It doesn’t mean I like it either. I’ve already told you that. But it has to be done. And for the record, I’d do this even if I wasn’t the son of Water and had no stake in the outcome other than your and Jake’s survival.”

“You’d kill him because of me?”

“It’s not the first time I’ve killed for you and I guarantee it won’t be the last.”

How did her life get so fucked up that she would let the man she loved pledge to kill for her? She reminded herself that none of this was her fault, but she also knew the nightmares Will lived with and the coming days would only add to them. If he was willing to do this, who was she to stand in judgment? “So, my job is to set him up. Your job is to kill him. Do you really think it will be that easy?”

Relief flickered in his eyes before the hardness replaced it. “While I hope so, I doubt it. Look what you did to Raphael in that warehouse in Morgantown, and it didn’t stop him.”

“That night in the woods after you had lost your memory, Raphael told me that we could be killed by Kramer’s men and if we died, we weren’t coming back. It might be
harder
to kill elementals since they can heal themselves, but they can obviously be killed. Maybe if they’re weakened, they won’t have the energy to repair their wounds.”

He studied her, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “You’ve actually given this thought?”

She shot him a glare. “Thinking about how to kill them? No. I’ve been thinking about how to help you if you’re injured and weak. I think I can use my power to help you.”

“No, it took too much out of you when you healed James back in Morgantown. We can’t risk you being that weak in a fight.”

“I’m stronger now. I can do it.”

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that. We’ll get rid of him and he—”

“
He
has a name. His name is Alex. If we’re going to kill him, at least say his name.”

Will’s temper snapped. “Goddamnit, Emma. I’m not your enemy here. For fuck’s sake, stop treating me like I am. We have to work together on this and we won’t make any progress if you’re fighting me every step of the way. If you have another idea, I’m all ears. If not, then agree to help me.”

She closed her eyes. “I
know
. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll do anything I can to save you, even if it’s ugly. But know this: If I wasn’t sure we needed to do this, we wouldn’t. You know yourself that killing someone comes with a price you pay with your soul.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

Chapter Eleven

Jake stood next to Aiden on a busy street corner. The sun burned the top of his head and sweat dripped down his neck, making his t-shirt stick to his back. The skin under his bandage itched, but he resisted the urge to scratch.

“This is an experiment,” Aiden said, a happy tone in his voice, a clue that something bad was about to happen. “It’s a test to see what we can do together.” He wore his grin that looked all wrong.

Dread prickled the back of Jake’s neck. He and Aiden had only practiced dangerous things. With so many people around, someone would probably get hurt.

Aiden lowered his gaze and smiled. It looked more real, but evil filled his eyes. “There’s no reason to be afraid, Jake. I assure you if you cooperate, you will be safe and sound. Perhaps you’ll even get to see your mother sooner.”

Was Aiden tricking him? Jake kept the thought buried deep in his head and Aiden squinted in confusion.

Aiden expected a reaction and Jake hadn’t given one. He quickly let himself think of seeing Mommy, the happiness at the possibility, the sadness he wasn’t with her.

Aiden’s face brightened. “I knew that would make you happy.”

They continued to wait on the corner as people brushed past, hurrying to where they needed to go. Although Jake was glad to put off causing destruction, he was confused about why Aiden was waiting.

“Patience, young Jacob.”

Ten minutes later, Raphael appeared around the corner, his black curls stuck to his forehead and irritation wrinkling his nose. “You couldn’t pick somewhere cooler? We have to go to the godforsaken South.” He swiped the sweat off his brow. “You know I hate it here.”

“Then why do you have your estate in Tennessee?”

Raphael’s jaw clenched. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“The sooner you let Emmanuella go, the happier you’ll be.”

His mother’s name got Jake’s attention.

Raphael’s eyes widened and filled with rage. He took a step closer, his hands clenched at his side. “She was your
daughter
, Aiden. How can you be so callous?”

Aiden shrugged. “She was no longer needed. Everyone is replaceable.”

Jake didn’t understand. Aiden had another daughter?

Putting his hand on Jake’s head, Aiden lowered his voice. “Little ears, Raphael. No need to talk about such unpleasantries around Jake.”

“Why not? He has a right to know that his mother is your replacement daughter.”

“Enough.” Aiden’s voice wasn’t loud, but the tone made it clear the subject was closed.

Jake buried his thoughts deep in his head. Mommy was a replacement? And if Aiden replaced his other daughter, did that mean he’d replace Mommy? Or Jake?

Putting his hands on his hips, Raphael walked in a circle, his anger washing over Jake. “Okay, whatever you say, Aiden. So why Little Rock?”

“I have my reasons.”

Raphael looked around the street. “The city seems a little small to get much attention. I take it that
is
your intent.”

“It’s a good start. Emma will appreciate the significance.”

Raphael turned to Aiden with a scowl. “If she even finds out. I suspect they’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“I don’t expect Emma to show up today, and it may take her a few days to figure it out, but I expect her to see the correlation. And she will. Trust me.” Aiden looked around, scrunching his face in disgust. “This really is a small city, but it’ll have to do. Raphael, I want to see what you and Jake can do together.”

Jake took a step back, stumbling on a crack in the sidewalk. He didn’t want to do anything with Raphael.

If Aiden picked up Jake’s thoughts, he ignored them. “Let’s begin.” Aiden clapped his hands together. “Jacob, Raphael is hot. I think we should cool him down with a nice storm.”

Jake focused on the molecules in the sky, pushing his rising terror aside. Fear always made it harder for him to do what Aiden asked. But his worry was like tiny pinpricks poking his insides. There were too many things he didn’t know, too many dangers lurking about. He didn’t trust Aiden and he sure didn’t trust Raphael, yet he had no choice but to do what he was told. There was no way Jake could stop Aiden, not yet. Trying would only get himself and other people hurt.

The shadows were his only hope. They were his friends now. He glanced down at the bandage on his arm. Someday they would help him show Aiden who was boss. Someday soon.

With Jake’s purpose renewed, clouds appeared overhead, puffy white wisps that swirled into thick gray clouds. Within moments, a wind blew, dropping the temperature ten degrees.

Raphael’s eyes glowed and he held his hands at his sides with his fingers spread apart. The ground vibrated under Jake’s feet, building from a gentle hum to a steady shake. People on the street screamed and fumbled around, trying to stand. They held onto buildings and light posts, parking meters and cars.

Aiden’s smile deepened.

A hairline crack split the sidewalk, spreading toward the street and widening until it was big enough to suck in cars.

Jake was scared as he struggled to stay on his feet, but the panic of the crowd frightened him more. Their screams filled his ears and set his nerves on end. They scrambled over one another trying to hide in stores and offices, though Jake wondered how safe that was since the buildings swayed. Across the street, the corner of a building split with a loud crack. Large pieces of concrete slid off, crushing a man on the sidewalk. His screams joined the others as his blood covered the concrete, running into the gutter.

Jake watched in horror, his mouth gaping. He’d never seen anyone die before. Well, someone who didn’t deserve it. The men Will had shot trying to protect him had deserved it. And the men Aiden killed to take Jake away from the Bad Men had deserved it. But the man on the sidewalk was just walking down the street. Probably going home to his own little boy.

Jake’s unbandaged arm began to burn and his gaze jerked up to Aiden’s angry face.

“Concentrate.” Aiden growled.

Shuddering, Jake focused on the air above him. His distraction had caused the storm to lessen. Jake pushed more energy into it and the wind increased as the sky darkened.

The burning sensation went away.

A little girl ran past Jake, her face red and wet with tears. Her long blond hair swung in the air as she swiveled her head. “Mommy!” she screamed over and over again.

Jake’s tummy tightened and his breath caught in his throat.

She ran up to him and grabbed his hand. Blood trickled down the side of her face. Jake tried to pry himself out of her grasp, but she held tight. “I want my Mommy!”

A building across the street collapsed. Dust filled the air and Jake’s lungs.

“
Mommy
!”

A woman ran up and snatched the girl into her arms. The girl still held Jake’s hand, pulling him with her before she let go. Her mother cradled the girl to her chest, tying to cover her head from the falling debris.

Mommy
.

The ache in Jake’s heart exploded, and he gasped as pain and sadness rushed through his body. The little girl’s mother saved her. Why didn’t his mother save him?

Because of Will.

Anger mushroomed, filling his head until he saw red. The wind increased and a funnel cloud appeared, swooping down from the sky.

The screaming grew louder.

The earth continued to shake as rain fell, pounding the earth and stinging Jake’s skin. People fell to their knees every time they tried to get up, yet Jake no longer had trouble standing. Jake looked down in surprise.

He was hovering inches off the ground.

Another building collapsed, smashing more people. Jake cast a worried look toward the girl and her mother, losing them in the crowd.

The tornado moved toward them, destroying stores and apartments in its wake. There were people in those buildings.
I’m killing people.
He sucked in his breath at the horror and the tornado began to lift off the ground.

Jake’s arm burned.

Gritting his teeth, Jake fought back, in spite of the pain. He couldn’t kill people. Killing people was wrong.

The heat moved up his arm.

Tears filled his eyes. Fear washed through him in thick, suffocating waves. How much longer could he hold out?

The tornado disappeared and the wind decreased, but Jake’s entire body burned before the pain just as quickly vanished.

He fell to his knees, the ground shaking violently under him.

Do not defy me
, Aiden said in his head.