Redemption (38 page)

Anger flashed in his eyes. “No. You say you’re not giving up, but even talking about it is giving up.”

“No, Will. Talking about it is being practical. People buy house or car insurance and hope to God they never have to use it. But they’re prepared if they do. How is this any different?”

Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “I can’t… I just can’t think about the possibility.”

“Will. Please. I need to do this. I’m begging you.” Her voice broke. “I need to know that if something happens to me, you’ll take care of Jake.”

His eyes opened, full of love and pain. “You know I would. How can you even doubt that?”

“I don’t. You told me in Colorado that you’d find him for me if I’d died from the infection, but I need to hear it again. I need to know that you’ll love Jake and raise him and not let him forget about me.”

“Emma.” He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering a moment before he moved to meet her gaze. “I will raise Jake, with or without you. I will love him as though he’d been mine since birth. I will always talk about you with him, whether you’re in the next room or you’re…not.”

Biting her lower lip, she fought her tears. “Thank you.”

“You have to promise me that you won’t give up. No matter what, you have to fight as hard as you can, and we’ll pray for a miracle that will allow all three of us to survive. I need you, Emma. I need you more than anything I’ve ever needed in my entire life. You’re my reason for living. Life without you is pointless.”

“No. You’ll have Jake.”

Tears filled his eyes. “Emma, he’s not you.”

“I know. But you promised me.”

His mouth lifted into a small smile. “I did, but it doesn’t mean I’ll be happy if I have to live without you. You can’t expect that from me. I swear to you that I’ll love Jake and give my life to protect him, but you can’t expect me to be happy if you’re dead.”

“I don’t expect you to be happy. Not at first, but you’ll learn to live without me.”

“Emma.” Will’s voice broke. “How does someone live with only half a heart?”

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. His arm tightened around her back, pulling her body flush against him.

This would be the last night she ever touched him. Staring into his warm and loving eyes, she told herself she had to be grateful for this. Her love with Will was more than most people got in a lifetime.

She pushed him backward and down on the bed. He brought her with him, twisting her so they lay face to face on their sides. “I love you, Will. Do you know how much I love you?” She brushed his cheek with her thumb.

His mouth found hers, and she didn’t need their connection to feel his fear and devastation. They were always so desperate for one another. Was that a good thing or bad? They’d both spent their lives hoping to find someone to fill the empty spot in their hearts. It didn’t seem fair that they had so little time, but there was one thing life had taught Emma and taught her well.

Nothing in life was fair.

***

Will held Emma in his arms after they made love. She’d fallen asleep, but he lay awake, watching her sleep in the soft glow of the city lights outside the hotel window.

He couldn’t accept that she might die. He’d give his own life first, but what if they both died in the process? Jake would end up with Aiden or Marcus and neither was an acceptable parent. Anxiety clawed at his skin. He needed to get up and move around to dispel his excess energy, but to do so meant losing precious time with Emma.

He needed a plan. But he had no idea what to plan for. Ideally, he hoped to eliminate Aiden before the competition began, but that seemed unlikely. Especially if Marcus was correct and Aiden had received Alex’s power.

The best-case scenario was if Will could get Raphael in as the fourth. He was sure that Jake and Emma could destroy Raphael together. Will would let Raphael kill him first. It was the best plan he could come up with before he finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Will woke up to Emma nibbling his neck.

“Good morning,” she sighed into his ear.

“Good morning to you too.”

They spent several hours in bed, ordering room service for breakfast. Emma refused to talk about what would happen later that night.

“Just a few more hours, Will. Please. Just let me have two hours where I can pretend tonight won’t happen.”

He agreed only because he wasn’t sure what he could do that was more productive than spending time with her. But foreboding hung in the air, tainting what little happiness he felt.

Her two hours were up close to eleven, and Will pulled her off the bed. “Let’s get lunch and check out the park.”

She gave him a soft smile, realizing what he was asking. “Sounds like a romantic date to me.”

Their hotel was close enough that they decided to walk. The sky was overcast, lowering the temperature from the sweltering heat they’d dealt with for the past several days. They walked along the edge of Lake Michigan, and Emma smiled as she looked out into the water.

“I know you’re the one with the inclination for water, so is it strange I’ve always been drawn to it?”

He gave her his cocky smile. “Maybe it’s because you’ve been waiting for me.”

She laughed. “Is that the best you got, player? I don’t fall for your cheesy lines.”

“Oh yeah, what do you fall for?”

She answered him with a kiss. “How could I pass up a man who kept saving my life?”

Her words sobered them both and they continued on to the park.

Will glanced around at the crowd. “Grant Park is pretty big. Did Aiden happen to mention where we’d meet?”

“Buckingham Fountain.”

They found the fountain, then investigated nearby parking lots, electrical lines and anything else they imagined that they might need to know.

Will rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I can’t think of anything else.”

“I think we’ve covered it all.”

They were fighting for their lives and to prepare, they’d walked around a park. It felt so inadequate.

Emma put her hand on his arm and leaned into him. “There’s nothing else to do, Will.”

He refused to accept that. “We can work on your power source. You can try to learn to use something other than anger.”

She leaned over the railing, watching the water shoot up from the fountain. “This late in the game? Do you think it would help or hurt? You made me work for a week in the desert so my actions would come naturally, and I still struggle with it. What’s going to happen tonight when I panic? I might end up with nothing at all.”

He rested his arms on the rail beside her. “But it might not hurt to try.”

“And what am I going to use as a source? What do
you
use?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just there.”

“Lucky
you
.”

“Marcus said my power is pure because I’m his first child. He said that you’ve been reincarnated so many times, your power is diluted.”

“Lucky
me
.”

“That doesn’t mean we should believe him. We can’t believe a fucking word that comes out of his mouth. He knows that you struggle with your power and he might have said that to psych you out. He told me that it was in his best interest to keep Jake alive. Until it wasn’t.”

She stood up. “What do you mean?”

“Marcus tried to kill Jake and Raphael in Shreveport.”

“What? You’re just now telling me this?”

“He didn’t succeed. I stopped him. That’s how I lost Jake. That and a building collapsing between us.”

Her eyes were wide with terror. “But—”

“He’s fine, Emma. I promise you.”

“But how do you know that Marcus didn’t follow him?”

He put a hand on her arm. “Because Aiden had already left you, and you know that he went straight to Jake. Marcus isn’t going to engage Aiden until tonight. And I’m sure he’s going to hope one of us kills Aiden first. Otherwise, why didn’t he try it years ago?”

Lowering her gaze from his face, she sighed. “Maybe.”

“I want you to practice using another source of power.”

She glanced at the crowd near them. “With all these people around? Are you crazy?”

“No not here. We’ll find somewhere else.”

“Do we have time for this?”

“We have to try something.”

He suspected that she agreed to appease him. He didn’t care why she did it, just that she did. They walked back to the hotel and got the car and drove north, finding a secluded park.

She sat on top of a wooden picnic table covered with peeling paint. Leaning forward, she gripped the edge, determination on her face. Her eyes closed and she looked strained as she concentrated.

Will watched her, tempering his rising frustration. “You’re trying too hard. It’s just there for me.”

“It’s never been just there for me, Will. You know this better than anyone.”

“Maybe if you relax.”

She opened her eyes with a sigh. “I’ve tried it relaxed. I’ve tried it tense. I’ve tried is just about every way possible.” She pointed to his hand. “At least you still have your ring. Maybe it gives you more power than you know.”

He grabbed the ring on his finger and began to frantically tug.

She sat up. “What are you doing?”

“Testing your theory.”

Getting the ring over his knuckle, he pulled it free and handed it to Emma. He stepped away from her and called to the water in the ground. He could feel it, but not as well as he could with the ring. Releasing an exhale of frustration, he shook his head. She was right. Now what the fuck was he going to do about it?

He grabbed the ring from her palm and shoved it onto her left ring finger.

Her eyebrows rose with a smirk. “Is this a proposal? It’s all so sudden.”

“Very funny.”

“This is
your
ring, Will. It’s yours for a reason.”

“Indulge me anyway.”

Sighing, she stood, grabbing the ring with her other hand. She closed her eyes again. “Am I supposed to feel something?”

“Please take this seriously.”

Her shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry. I just don’t expect anything to happen.”

“Try it anyway.”

She stood still, her face calm. It was the most relaxed he’d seen her in days, and his hope grew until she opened her eyes and shook her head. “Nothing.”

He knew it had to be too good to be true, but he still wasn’t ready to give up hope. “Where was the last place you saw your pendant?”

“In Montana, when James handed it over to Scott Kramer.”

“James.” Will dug his cell phone out of his pocket.

“He didn’t have it, Will. Kramer did. Besides, you don’t even know if he’s…”

“Alive?” Will looked up from his phone. “I’m about to find out.” Will was surprised when the phone actually rang. James answered on the second ring.

“So you made it out of the parking garage.”

James scoffed. “As if there was any question. You screw me and don’t call me the next day? A guy could get hurt.”

“I could say the same thing.”

“So what do you want now?”

Will felt like an ass. James was right. The only time he called was when needed something. He vowed to change that starting tomorrow. When this whole mess was over. “I have a question for you.”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

“It doesn’t matter. The answer is no.”

“Don’t be a dickhead.”

“What can I say? It comes naturally.”

“My question is about Emma’s pendant.”

The line went silent.

Will took that as a positive sign. “Emma says the last time she saw it was when Kramer took it from you in Montana. Did you ever see it after that?”

“So you two are still playing Bonnie and Clyde?”

“Did you ever see the pendant after that?”

James sighed loud and long. “Yeah, I saw it in South Dakota when they held you and they wanted me to get information from you about Emma. Kramer had it in his office.”

“Do you think it’s still there?”

“Oh, fuck no.”

“Is that a fuck no it’s not there?”

“It’s a fuck no, I’m not getting involved again.”

“You owe me.”

“I owe you? How the hell do you see that?
You
fucking owe
me
, leaving me in that parking garage to reenact the shootout at the O.K. Corral.”

“You deserved that and more. You were going to hand Emma over to them. I won’t even get into you turning her over in Montana, and you lying to me, and—”

“All right. We both know I’ve never been a Boy Scout.”

“You’ve also never liked any girl I’ve brought home to meet you, Mom.”

“Not true. I liked that one girl.”

“Which one?”

“Oh wait. That wasn’t you.”

Will smirked. “You do this for me and we’ll call it even. In fact, if I can survive the night, this whole deal is over and we can try to live a normal life. Maybe I’ll be a fishing guide with you.”

“You suck at fishing.”

“Screw you.”

“What do you want?”

“I need the pendant.”

“Want me to grab you a couple of gold bars from Fort Knox while I’m at it?”

“Sure, why not? Gold bullion never goes out of style.”

“When do you want it? A couple of days? Where the fuck are you?”

“We’re in Chicago and I need it tonight.” Will pulled the phone from his ear as James released a long string of curses.

“Have you lost your fucking mind? That’s impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible for you.”

James released some guttural sounds then grunted. “I love that you have such confidence in my abilities. Lucky for you I swiped the damn thing when I saw it. Where do I bring it?”

“Buckingham Fountain, in Grant Park.”

“In Chicago? Please tell me you don’t expect this by dinner time.”

“No. I need it by ten.”

“Well, that’s relief.” His words dripped with sarcasm. “You realize it’s an eight-hour drive. And that’s ten hours from now?”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Call me a sucker for damsel in distress.” He paused. “You, not Emma.”

“I owe you.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” James hung up and Will grinned, feeling more hope than he’d felt in a long time.