Redemption (23 page)

A metallic taste coated her tongue. “What? How do you know?”

His gaze held hers. “They attacked another city about an hour ago.”

She shook her head. “No.”

He grimaced. “This one had more damage. The death count is much higher.”

Oh, God.
“How many?”

“Little Rock had a couple of hundred fatalities.” He paused. “Today’s incident looks like it might be a thousand. Or more.”

Jake had been forced to participate in killing a thousand people. Nausea rolled in her stomach.

Emma, I’m coming now.

No. Wait
.

“Are you okay? You look like you’re about to pass out.”

“Just give me a moment.”

Alex stood and poured a glass of water from a pitcher on the table.

Emma rubbed her forehead. “Don’t you have to get back to your dinner?”

“Not yet.” He took a sip, watching her.

She took a deep breath and her stomach settled. “What city was it this time?”

Alex set his glass on the table. “Jackson. Jackson, Mississippi.”

The blood rushed from her head. “
What
? Are you sure?”

“Emma, it’s all over the news. My security team came in to tell me and I had them bring you down since I couldn’t get away for very long. I wanted you to hear it from me first.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“I already told you that I want to work with you on this. You need to trust me. Maybe this is one way of me proving it.” He leaned toward her. “I’ve sent men out to see if they can track Raphael and Jake to their next location.”

Raphael was leaving a trail in neon lights. Could it really be so easy? “I know where to find Jake.”

“Emma, they’ve left Jackson. Raphael has no intention of getting caught.”

She shook her head. “No, not Jackson.” Should she tell him? “I know what they’re doing, but what I don’t understand is how Raphael would know. Jake wouldn’t know. He was too little to pay attention, and I purposely kept some of the names of the places we lived from him.”

“Emma. What the hell are you talking about?”

The room spun and she lifted her hand to her forehead. “They’re destroying cities I lived in. They started with Little Rock. I lived there when the Cavallo first showed up. Then we moved to Jackson.”

Alex rubbed the back of his neck. “You think they’re following a pattern. Why?”

“I have no idea. To distract us? Maybe they are trying to keep Will and me from preparing for the end.”

His body tensed and he lowered his voice. “I thought you weren’t with Will.”

“How would they know that? You didn’t.”

“Well, good job on their part. However, I don’t think Raphael is orchestrating this. He’s not smart enough.”

“You can’t be saying Jake would—”

Alex looked grim. “No. Not Jake. Aiden.”

“
Aiden
?” Would Aiden really work with Raphael? “
Why
?” She had no doubt that Raphael would agree to whatever Aiden wanted. But the fact that they dragged Jake into this sickened her.

“You think they are going to the cities you lived in starting from the beginning when you went on the run? In order?”

“Yes.”

He gazed down at her for several seconds. “Isn’t it obvious? They want you to come to them.”

Her pulse thrummed in her temples. “I don’t understand. Why?”

He sat down in front of her again. “You said it yourself. Maybe they’re trying to interfere with you and Will. But we’ll have the element of surprise. They won’t expect the two of us.”

“You’ll help me?” Her disbelief drenched her words.

Alex’s face softened. “Emma, he’s my son too. Now tell me where they’re going next so I can have my men make the arrangements. We’ll leave as soon as I’m finished here.”

“What about your schedule?”

He stood and waved a hand. “Let me worry about that. Where are we going, Emma?”

She hesitated. While it seemed like insanity to trust Alex, she couldn’t deny he was convincing.

The door opened. “Mr. Warren, you need to get back.”

“Emma. I have to go,” Alex pleaded.

He said he’d help. Three against two were better odds, right? Even if Will would never agree to work with Alex, and Alex would be furious when he found out Emma lied about Will. But the most important thing was Jake.

“
Emma
.” He stood at the door, his eyes imploring.

“Shreveport. They’re going to Shreveport.”

Chapter Seventeen

Emma, what the fuck is going on
? Will shouted toward her. He was about to burst into the room, whether Emma wanted him to or not.

The door to the Magnolia Room opened and Alex exited, then walked toward the ballroom.

I know where Jake is
.

Will paused.
Alex knows
?
That’s why he wanted to talk to you
?

No. He told me Jake and Raphael destroyed part of Jackson, Mississippi this afternoon
.

Will held his breath. Another city? So soon? Marcus had to be right about their motives, and the timing of the attacks suggested urgency.
Emma, by the time we get there, he’ll be gone.

I know. Raphael’s targeting cities I lived in with Jake while I was on the run. In order.

You’re saying that you know where they’re going next
?

Shreveport. We need to go now
.

What to do with this information? Alex was so close that Will couldn’t back off now. Especially if Alex really trusted Emma. Will might not have this opportunity again until the end, and they couldn’t afford to leave Alex alive that long. Getting to Shreveport would take eight to ten hours. Raphael probably wouldn’t stage another attack until tomorrow. They had time.
No.
Not yet.

He felt her confusion, then her fury.
No?

We need to finish what we started.

Let’s be clear, Will. You and I have two very different objectives at the moment. You’ve known mine since the day we met. I came here to find out where Jake is and now I know. Alex wants to help and I want to let him. Three of us stand a better chance of saving Jake than two.

Will leaned against a wall and closed his eyes. Shit, Marcus had been right.

Her anger poured through their connection, prickling at his nerves. What the hell was he going to do? There was no way he would agree to work with Alex. Will came here to kill him and he wouldn’t leave until he’d accomplished that task. But she’d never agree to any of it, so he’d have to keep her in the dark.
You said Alex wants to help you get Jake?

Her irritation faded.
Yes.

Did he say what he wants to do
?

He says as soon as he finishes his fundraiser, he plans to go to Shreveport.

And he wants to take you with him.

Yes. He thinks I left you
.

Then stay with him for now
. Emma was going to be furious once she realized what he was planning. He hoped he could make her see this was the rational course of action. Marcus was right. Emma was thinking with her heart when they needed to be using their heads.

You want me to go with Alex to Shreveport
?

Hell, no, he didn’t want that. He’d never let it get that far, but he couldn’t tell her that now.
I need to figure this out. For now, unless you’re in danger, stay with Alex.

How easy it was to slip into the callous, heartless man he’d been years ago, but he didn’t have time to think about the ramifications now. Jake had once told him that good and bad were just words. Who was to determine what was good and bad? The consequences were what mattered in the end.

Will was counting on that.

***

Antonia had fussed over Jake from the moment she saw him get out of the car at the airport. She stood next to the waiting plane, her lips moving without sound, her hand in her pocket. He walked to the steps and she approached, tsking in her nervousness, the rosary beads clinking in her skirt. She tried to wrap an arm around his shoulders, but he jerked away. He didn’t want anyone to touch him. Not even her. Especially her.

He didn’t want her love. Love never helped him. Love had only hurt.

The plane took off within minutes of their boarding. Jake and Antonia sat in the back row by the restroom and Aiden and Raphael sat in the front, just like last time.

The plane flew past the smoke that covered part of the city, flying far, far away and leaving the ugliness of the afternoon behind. Jake had watched a Superman movie once after Mommy fell asleep on the sofa after working late. Superman had flown so fast around the world that he made the bad thing that happened to his girlfriend not happen. Maybe their plane could do that too. Fly faster and faster so that the buildings didn’t fall and the wind didn’t blow and the people on the streets weren’t covered with blood.

But that was a movie and this was real life. Besides, even if the plane could do such a thing, Aiden would never let it happen.

Jake hated Aiden.

He kept the thought buried deep in his mind, so deep it dug a tunnel to his heart. He kept it hidden close to the mark on his chest. The spot that was always cold, no matter how hot it was outside.

Antonia fretted next to him, mumbling under her breath and driving him crazy. He ignored her and stared out the window. The fires were gone, but now there were squares of land that reminded him of a mixed-up quilt. He leaned closer to the glass and saw tiny houses and trees. Jake imagined he was a giant and stomped on the houses, smashing them into the ground.

That was what he’d done this afternoon.

He hadn’t done it with his feet, but Raphael’s earthquakes made the buildings collapse and Jake’s wind had destroyed the rest. Maybe Jake was looking at this wrong. He wasn’t weak because he did what Aiden made him do. No. He was like a giant. Jake could do things most people couldn’t. Not even Will.

Jake was powerful.

Marcus had told Jake that he was special, but he didn’t believe it. Not really. Grownups were always telling kids they were special, but they didn’t really mean it. But Marcus had meant it.

What else had Marcus said?

He’d said that Jake was the key to winning the game. Jake was the king. He liked the sound of that.

We can help.
The shadows tickled his ear as they whispered.

Marcus had told him that too.

Antonia tried to shovel a spoonful of food into his mouth. To Antonia, the answer to anything was food or hugs. Jake wasn’t hungry, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her hugging him right now so he opened his lips. Soup slid down his throat, warming everywhere in his chest except for his mark.

As if reading his mind, Antonia reached over and brushed some crumbs off his shirt. She jerked her hand back when she touched the place where his mark was.

Her eyes widened with fear. “
Demonio
.”

He shook his head. “No, Antonia.”

She lowered her face to his, tears in her eyes. “Let me see your chest, Señor Jake.”

What would she do if she saw his mark? Tell Aiden? He couldn’t let that happen. He looked deep into her eyes, his mind reaching into hers. “You are going to forget about the cold spot on my chest. You aren’t going to ask about it anymore.”

Her eyes glazed over. “
Sí,
Señor Jake.” She sounded like a robot.

Jake grinned. “It is nothing.”

“
No es nada
.”

But it was everything.

***

Emma had resumed pacing. The guards had taken her back to Alex’s room and soon after someone had brought her a tray of food. Her anxiety made her too nervous to eat, but she forced herself to choke down some of the sandwich. She needed her strength to fight for Jake. She needed nourishment for the baby.

There wasn’t time to think about the baby. She had nothing but time to think at the moment, but she needed to figure out Will’s sudden change of mind. Had he really decided to let Alex help him? Should they actually trust Alex to help them?

She needed to be productive. No harm doing a little snooping as long as she didn’t get caught. She flipped through a stack of papers on a table, finding nothing but information on Senator Warren’s campaign and poll results.

There was a knock at the outside door and a moment later, it opened. A maid entered the bedroom, ignoring Emma as she placed a suitcase on the bed and began to pack Alex’s clothes.

She watched the maid folding shirts.
Alex told the truth. A maid is packing his clothes.

But no sign of Alex.

No.

Any sign of anyone else
?

Human or elemental?
Other than the maid and the man who brought me food. No.

The fundraiser is wrapping up. Alex should be back soon, so be ready.

Ready for what
?

Two seconds passed before he responded.
Ready for anything.