Redemption (24 page)

What did that mean?

W
e don’t know what Alex is really up to so you should be ready for anything he throws at you
. Will paused.
He just left the ballroom. He’s on his way up.

And then what
?

Be ready
.

Be ready.
She would never be ready for any of this, even if she had a hundred years to prepare.

Several minutes later, Alex came through the door, loosening his tie. He stopped several steps inside the room and studied her. “You’re really still here.”

“You keep saying that.”

“That’s because I’m surprised every time I walk in to find you.”

“Why would you be surprised? You said you’d help me get Jake.”

His mouth twisted into a frown before he walked into his room. “So I did.”

Emma followed Alex and stopped in the doorway. “Does that mean you’re not going to help?”

He released an exaggerated sigh. “No, Emma. It’s a reminder that I shouldn’t expect anything more from this arrangement than getting Jake to safety.”

Her back knotted. “What else do you expect?” Sarcasm hardened her words.

He unbuttoned his shirt, shaking his head. “Not what you’re thinking. I meant at the battle. I hoped we could work together.”

“So that’s why you’re helping get Jake?”

His fingers stopped and he squinted in irritation. “Why can’t you accept the fact that I want to save Jake? I took him from the Cavallo and kept him safe until Aiden found him in Montana. He’s
my son
, Emma.”

Confused, she didn’t answer. Her head told her not to trust him, but he seemed so sincere. He was dropping everything to go find Jake. But surely he knew that keeping Jake safe now wouldn’t guarantee anything in the final battle. Only two would survive. Maybe he planned on himself and Jake being the survivors and he was using Emma to make that happen.

Would that be so bad? If Jake survived?

Alex looked down, his fingers resuming their task. “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I don’t want you to team up with me, but why can’t we treat this as two separate things? Jake’s safety first, the battle second.”

“So we’re leaving tonight?”

Alex pulled a dark t-shirt out of his suitcase and shrugged out of his dress shirt. “As soon as I finish changing, we’re flying to Louisiana. I have my team checking for a location. Aiden and Raphael have been targeting downtowns, so we’ll stay in a hotel in that area.” He glanced up. “In adjoining rooms, just like Kansas City.” His gaze lowered to his suitcase as he pulled out a pair of jeans. “We’ll register under different names, of course. But I still wouldn’t be surprised if Aiden figures out we’re there.”

“And then what?”

“Then we wait.”

“Can’t we try to find them first?”

“Sure, if you have any ideas how to do that, I’m all ears.” Alex unzipped his pants and started to pull them down.

Emma turned her back and went into the other room.
We’re getting ready to leave.

Leave to where
?

Why did he sound so surprised?
Shreveport.

A pause.
Stall him.

Why
?

Trust me
.

Trust him. It worried her that he had a plan and wasn’t sharing it with her. But in the past she hadn’t trusted him and it had nearly killed them both.
Okay.

She felt his relief before he shut off their connection.

Alex came out of the room carrying a suitcase.

She pointed to his bag. “Somehow I expected you to have someone else do that for you.”

He set the case down and packed his laptop into a messenger bag. “I usually do, but I decided the fewer people who knew about our departure, the better.”

She watched him gather a stack of papers and stuff them in his bag, thankful he hadn’t noticed they were out of order. “Do you have the book?”

He looked up in surprise. “Is that why you’re here?”

“I don’t give a damn about the book. But I presumed you would keep it close.”

He gave her a tight smile, but his eyes were cold. “Don’t worry about the book. It’s safe. Somewhere else.” Alex slung his laptop bag over his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Will had said to stall Alex, but how could she do that without looking suspicious? Especially after she’d been so eager to go get Jake since the moment she’d walked in the door hours ago.
Will, he’s ready to go.

Go with him
.

Did Will expect her to go to Shreveport with Alex?

Alex’s eyebrows lowered in confusion. He looked suspicious.

She resisted the urge to tense. “What?”

“I asked if you have a bag somewhere that we need to pick up. You showed up without one.”

“Um…yeah.” What was she going to say? The truth. She was sick to death of the lies. “It’s in a hotel a couple of blocks away.”

“We can swing by and pick it up. I should have had someone go get it for you. I wasn’t thinking.”

She tried to hide her surprise. “That’s okay.”

He released a derisive laugh. “You think I’m incapable of thoughtfulness?”

She scoffed. “Do you really have to ask that?”

Alex opened the door and motioned for her to go into the hall.

Emma expected to find the two guards incapacitated and Will waiting, but they remained on watch and there was no sign of Will. She wasn’t sure whether to be anxious or relieved.

Alex led her to the elevator and they waited in silence until the doors opened. Alex motioned for her to step inside.

The guards remained at the door to Alex’s room.

She eyed them and raised her eyebrows. “We’re going alone?”

Walking into the elevator, he motioned for her to follow him in. Alex lowered his voice. “They work for my father. The less they know the better.”

The doors closed and Alex pressed the button marked B.

Her heartbeat pounded in her ears. “The basement?” Was this a trick? Had he made her think he was going to help her, intending to kill her somewhere they wouldn’t be discovered?

“I have to get out unnoticed.”

We’re going to the basement. Alone.

No guards
?

None
.

I’ll meet you there.
She heard the smile in his voice.

Was Will still planning to kill Alex or use him to help find Jake? She wanted to ask but was afraid of the answer.

Alex stared straight ahead, adjusting the strap over his shoulder. His gaze shifted to her and he smiled.

If Will carried through with his original plan, the man standing next to her would be dead within a few minutes. And she would be an accessory to his murder.

Her chest tightened and she forced herself to take slow breaths.

“Emma, are you okay?”

Whether she faced him now or in another week, did it matter? Either way, she’d fight him to the death. That fact didn’t make her feel any better. The light over the door flashed fifteen.

When the elevator opens in the basement, I need you to touch Alex
.

Panic gripped her. It was the perfect plan. The basement was probably empty. Alex was unprepared and off guard. She would touch him and put him under her control and steal his power. Then Will could kill him.

Ten. Nine. Eight. The remains of her dinner rose and she swallowed it back down, coughing from the bile in her throat.

“Emma. You really don’t look well. Do you need to sit down when we get out?”

“No.” Tears burned her eyes. She had to get herself together.

Three. Two.

If she did this, she crossed a line she could never uncross. When she’d killed men before, she was fighting for their lives. She was protecting Jake and herself.

But wasn’t she doing that now? Protecting Jake?

Except the man next to her said he was taking her to save Jake.

One.

She only had seconds before she had to choose. She had to trust Will.

B.

The doors slid open and the florescent lights flicked. The hallway appeared empty.

Emma froze.

Confusion filled Alex’s eyes. “Emma?”

Touch him, Emma
!

She lifted her hand and reached for his arm, her hand trembling.

“Emma…”

Goddamnit, touch him
!

Concern darkened Alex’s eyes. He was genuinely concerned about her.

She shook her head.

EMMA!
The force of Will’s anger sent pricks of pain into her skull.

“No,” she whispered.

Alex cocked his head, confusion covering his face. “What are you talking about?”

She stabbed the button for the first floor on the elevator panel, then repeatedly punched the door-closed button.

Alex reached for her hand, trying to intervene. “Emma, what the hell are you doing?”

The doors were almost closed when a hand stuck through, wrenching them open.

Dropping his bags, Alex jabbed a button on the panel, freezing the doors in place. Will’s face appeared in the six-inch opening.

“Touch him!” Will shouted, straining to open the doors.

Alex’s eyes bulged as he glanced from Will to Emma. “You set me up? You made it all up?”

Emma shook her head frantically. “No! I swear! I want your help!”

Hatred danced across Alex’s features. “You have a funny way of showing it, Emma.”

A gust of wind filled the elevator car.

“
Touch him
!”

Emma’s chest involuntarily constricted, forcing the air out of her lungs.

Alex grinned, but his eyes were colder than she’d ever seen. “Granted, having control over air isn’t as handy as I’m sure fire is, but it does have some advantages.”

Fear swamped her as she fought for breath. “Will,” she wheezed.

Hatred oozed from Alex, flooding the elevator. “Will can’t help you now.”

With a gasp, Emma concentrated on her power and grabbed Alex’s wrist, forcing heat into his flesh. Smoke billowed off his arm and pain flashed in his eyes.

Her chest still refused to expand. Her vision faded.

Gathering her energy, she pushed it toward Alex, igniting his shirt. His hold on her lungs vanished and she fell to the floor, taking in deep breaths.

“Blast the control panel!” Will called through the crack.

She concentrated on the control panel. Sparks shot into the air and the elevator was plunged into darkness before a dim emergency light switched on overhead.

Climbing to her feet, she watched Will still working on the doors before she was slammed into the elevator wall by an unseen force. A vortex of air spun in the enclosed space, sucking her into its center.

Will was no longer at the door.
Will?
she cried out to him in terror. He wouldn’t have left her. What did Alex do to him?

The air currents pulled harder and she grabbed hold of the bar on the wall.

Alex stood in the corner, his contempt palpable. “You’ll regret that decision, Emma.”

“Alex, please. I couldn’t do it.”

“But you knew about Will. You knew the whole time. You stood in my room. You let me tell you…”

“I’m sorry!”

The wind stopped and Alex took a step toward her.

“I couldn’t do it. Alex. I swear. I tried to stop him.”

“Where is Will now? He’s run off and left you all alone with me. Coward.”

She backed into the elevator wall. “Alex, I know you’re angry.”

“Am I?” His hand reached for her neck.

She waited for the rush of power she’d felt before when she touched him by the creek, but there was nothing except the pressure of his fingers on her throat.

Alex grinned. “Sur-prise.”

“How can you touch me?” This changed everything, but then again, if she was about to die, it didn’t matter.

Alex laughed. “Lost your advantage, huh? Didn’t you know? Will’s power counters yours, making your control over me neutral. Evens the playing field a bit. The good news is that you’re immune to Raphael, just like you wanted. If you live long enough to see him again.”

She gave Alex a hard shove. To her amazement he dropped his hold and took a step back.

“How did you know that would happen?”

“The book.” He grinned. “See? I don’t need you for anything.”

“I didn’t—”

“Save it for some idiot who will listen,” Alex sneered. “I’m not falling for your
help me save Jake
act anymore. I can’t believe I ever did. You know,” he rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. “I actually believed you.” His hand dropped. “I really did. Bravo, Emma. You fooled even me, and that’s saying a lot.”

His words ripped her heart into shreds. “I swear to God, Alex—”

His voice lowered. “Haven’t you figured out that there is no God? The only deities are the sadistic bastards you’re about to face. Is Shreveport really the next city? Did you make that up as part of the trap?”

“It’s real. We lived there next.” Where the hell was Will? Was he so angry with her for not touching Alex that he left her here? Maybe he thought she was getting what she deserved for not following through with his plan.

“I think I was a little hasty when I said I don’t need you for anything.” An evil grin lifted Alex’s mouth. “I’m curious if killing you kills Will. But for now, I wonder if he feels what you feel.” He took a step toward her again and grabbed her wrist. “If I hurt you, does it hurt Will?” His hand tightened, the pressure intense.

She gasped from the pain. “Alex, please.”
Will!

“Don’t beg me, Emma. It only pisses me off.” He bashed her arm into the handrail, pushing her hand backward until her arm bent at an unnatural angle.

Intense pain shot through her wrist and her knees buckled.

Alex jerked on her broken hand and she screamed.

“Can you tell if it hurts him, Emma? Don’t you have a connection?”

“I can’t… feel him…” Her vision was fading. No, she couldn’t pass out. She tried to find her power but only came up with small sparks.

“Try harder.”

Will!

“Maybe the pain wasn’t strong enough.” His hand cupped her head, striking her right temple into the wood panel.