Soul Bound (36 page)

Naked, embraced by nothing but damp air and the memory of his touch, Diane gathered her torn clothing and draped what was left of it around her figure. “As you wish, Your Excellency. Please know that I am always at your service.” Doing as she was told, she left his chambers, battered and used, yet strangely satisfied.

Tonight, she’d become Athanatos’s mate, but she had yet to become his queen. A situation she had every intention of rectifying.

We need to destroy everything she loves.
Those words resounded in her skull, an emboldening mantra.

Diane knew exactly how to ascend to the proverbial throne, and Lia Benson was the springboard she’d use to propel herself to Athanatos’s side.

Since the Watchers’ complex was no more secure than the mansion on Siletz Bay, Jace checked them in to a seedy motel for the night. He gave a fake name and made sure to pay cash this time. He wasn’t sure how long he and Lia would remain on the run or how long the money he had on hand would last, but for tonight they were okay.

The place was pretty rundown, the bed hard and lumpy, the carpet grimy, but it was the only establishment that didn’t require a credit card.

“We can’t hide forever,” Lia said as she plopped onto the king-sized bed.

“I know. But as long as Athanatos lives and breathes we don’t have much of a choice.”

He retrieved the vial of angel’s blood Regan had given him, filled with the last few drops they had on hand, and placed it safely in the nightstand drawer. He’d already used some of it to recoat the switchblade in his jacket pocket, the one he made a point to always carry with him since the incident at the library. Hoping to distract Lia, he flicked on the television set, which turned out to be a really bad idea. Every channel was abuzz with the latest breaking news.

“A massive tidal wave rose from the Willamette River this afternoon,” the newscaster was saying, “flooding the Rivershore Hospital and surrounding areas. So far, two thousand five hundred and forty-seven have been reported dead, and the death toll keeps climbing. Several meteorologists and geologists are standing by with possible explanations for this baffling and shocking disaster.”

Lia scampered to the edge of the bed, her face a broken mask of sorrow. For a few minutes, shock robbed her of speech. Then the floodgates opened, and a gush of words escaped her lips in breathless succession. “Dear Lord. The hospital, my patients, my coworkers.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Katie.” She swallowed hard, finally met his gaze. “How could she do this?”

There was no doubt in either of their minds as to who was at the root of this latest attack. “Diane.”

Lia’s palm rose to cover her mouth as she watched a slew of experts try to rationalize what had happened. Some blamed it on seismic activity. Others insisted the so-called tsunami was a result of mass movements at the earth’s core. A few even entertained the notion that a meteorite may have struck the earth, though how it had entered our atmosphere without being detected remained an enigma.

The mattress sagged beneath his weight as Jace sat on the bed beside Lia. He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, but she jerked away.

“I’m to blame for this.” Her tone oozed with self-recrimination.

“What? No.”

“Yes. They want me, so they’re hurting all the people who matter to me. How can I let them do this?”

“It’s already done. Making yourself a target won’t bring any of those people back.”

Her back went ramrod straight. “Cassie. I’ve got to warn Cassie.” She dug her phone out of her purse, quickly dialed her sister’s number.

Jace ripped the phone from her hand, closing it before the call went through. “They’ll trace it.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do.” He noted the pain on her face, felt it arrow through him. “I’ll call Regan, ask her to send someone to guard her. That’s the best I can do. Getting yourself killed won’t protect anyone you love.”

He quickly dialed Regan’s untraceable cell using the motel phone. “It’s done,” he told her. “A Watcher is on his way to Cassie’s place as we speak.”

Lia’s eyes were two deep pools of misery. “How can I just sit here and do nothing?”

Frustration shot through his veins. Biting back an oath, he stood and stalked the room. “You don’t have a choice, for tonight at least.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

He went to stand by the window, gazing outside, where a hundred lights speckled the black stretch of night. For the first time in his lousy life, he knew what he had to do. “Tomorrow I embrace my destiny.” Regret soured in his throat.

“Which means what, exactly?” The floor creaked as she made her way across the room to him.

Energy passed between them, made every inch of his skin prickle. Fisting his hands, he rested his shoulder against the frame and stared at his blurry reflection in the glass. He was nothing more than a shadow, a shell of his former self, and yet whenever she was near, he felt more whole than it was possible to feel.

How will I ever bring myself to walk away from her?

“You’re planning to join them. Cal and the Watchers.”

The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, but if ever there was a woman who deserved honesty, it was Lia. “The only way to stop this is to take Athanatos down. I can do that. But first, I need to join forces with them.”

Lia bit her lower lip and shook her head. “After everything we’ve been through, you’re just going to walk away from me?”

He turned around, and his heart folded at the sight of her. “Marcus was right.” The words stung, but he had to say them. “I don’t belong in your world. I never did. And you’re not safe in mine.”

A mirthless laugh echoed from her chest. She gestured to the television screen, pain sliding into anger. “Take a look what’s happening out there. I’m not safe in my world, either. No one is. Not with these creatures running free.” She reached out and clutched his hands in hers. “You know why I became a doctor? To help people, to heal them. But this past week I realized I’ve just been fighting the symptoms instead of dealing with the actual disease.”

She squeezed in close and nestled her head against his chest, her cheek to his heart. “I have a role to play in this,” she whispered. “And if I see it through, maybe I’ll help prevent many of the traumas I struggle every day to fix. Don’t shut me out. Please.”

His arms rose to surround her despite himself. She fit so perfectly in the circle of his embrace, as though she’d been born to fill all the empty spaces in his life. He knew he was being selfish in his blind obsession to protect her. He couldn’t place her in a bubble, and she wouldn’t want him to. Lia wasn’t the kind of woman who shied away from life. She jumped in with both feet and fought to make a difference. But after what he’d witnessed today, the thought of her dying plagued him more than ever.

He ran his palm up her back, cradled her head with his fingers. He hadn’t truly known what it meant to be human till he’d met her. Now he couldn’t seem to stop himself. The universe could crash and burn for all he cared, as long as Lia was safe. Not a very noble thought, he knew, but he’d never claimed to be noble.

She inclined her chin, and he had no choice but to meet her brilliant gaze. It sucked him in like a riptide. She was meant for him. He saw that now. Across time and space she’d always been his, waiting for destiny to send her careening toward him.

No more words were spoken, and none were necessary. They were connected at a level that transcended speech. His mouth found hers, soft and supple and sweet enough to hurt. Her halo stretched to engulf him, a silent welcome, beckoning him home.

With a gentleness he never would’ve believed himself capable of, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed, where he could love her with a passion born of fear and desperation, and something else. Something he’d never been blessed enough to experience until now. Hope.

Chapter Thirty-Three

At first Cassie had been worried sick. Now she was royally pissed, at the world in general and at her sister in particular. It wasn’t like Lia to go MIA. Her kid sister had always been responsible to a fault, a real stick in the mud.

Cassie wrung the water from her hair and slipped into a black pair of tights and a white silk Donna Karan tunic, aiming a frantic glance at her bedside clock. She was going to be late opening up the store. Again.

She’d never been big on punctuality, partly because she didn’t work well with a gun to her head and partly because she didn’t understand why people allowed themselves to be ruled by something as mundane as a clock. It was an inanimate object, time itself an abstract concept invented by people to keep the world running at a certain pace.

Cassie danced to her own tune, lived life at her own rhythm.

The stupid clock was the least of her worries. She had to figure out what had happened to her sister. The cops were no help whatsoever, especially since the hospital had confirmed that Lia had requested a few days off. But Cassie knew something was up. She felt it in her bones.

She grabbed the blow-dryer and styled her hair in that sexy, windblown look men favored, then seized her purse and a low-fat muffin on the way to the door. No time for coffee this morning.

In case she’d missed a call from Lia while she’d been busy running the hairdryer, she dug out her cell phone and checked her messages. Nothing. Just a babbling come-on from some guy she’d met at that happening bar last night. She considered calling him back, then decided to make him sweat it out a little first. Over the years Cassie had learned to play the game. She definitely knew how to hook a man. It was holding on to him she couldn’t seem to get a handle on.

Her heart gave a painful squeeze as thoughts of Jace slammed into her. She’d had high hopes for him, had truly believed he was the one, but he’d tossed her aside like yesterday’s news. Her stomach twisted at the memory. Why the hell was she always the one who ended up getting hurt? All she’d ever wanted was to matter to someone. Why couldn’t a man come knocking at her door for once?

With an indignant huff, she slid her feet into her high-heeled pumps and yanked the door open, only to stumble back in surprise. A muscular man stood in the hallway, a bramble of spiked blond hair crowning his head. The dark intensity in his eyes should’ve frightened her, but it didn’t. For some reason he reminded her of Jace, though he looked nothing like him.

“I’ll have to ask you to stay in today,” he said in a voice that was as hard as the rest of him. “It’s not safe for you to go out.”

Cassie had always had a thing for forceful, brooding men, but today being told what to do annoyed the crap out of her. “Who are you, and what business do you have loitering in my hallway?”

His gaze didn’t waver. “I was sent to protect you.”

“Protect me? From what?”

He didn’t get a chance to answer. Those dark, glittering eyes glazed over, and he plunked at her feet, a blade lodged in his back. Behind him, a tall, lithe figure stood. Black hair streamed over her shoulders, half concealing her face.

When the murderer looked up, Cassie recognized her instantly.

“From me,” she said.

Lia awoke in Jace’s arms, sweet pleasure dueling with sorrow. It seemed wrong to feel so alive when so many had lost their lives yesterday, but she couldn’t help it. Being with Jace awakened every dormant cell in her body, roused every atom in her spirit.

She ran her palm down his chest, reveled at the combined feel of coarse hair and smooth skin. Everything about him was perfect, from the hard, muscled planes of his body to the depths of his soul. His touched banished the loneliness, completed her in ways she couldn’t have imagined possible. Their essences were so intricately fused, she barely remembered who she’d been without him. His presence brought her immeasurable comfort in a world where safety was nothing but an illusion and life could be snatched away in a heartbeat.

How could she stand by and let him join the Watchers? How could she go on without him now that she knew what it felt like to be loved by him? And how would she find the strength to be selfless and allow him do what he knew in his heart he should?

A low buzz disrupted her heavy thoughts, and she reached for her vibrating cell phone, stealing a glimpse of the display screen. Relief momentarily chased away grief. It was Cassie.

Lia’s sleep had been troubled, riddled with disquieting images of violent floods, serrated, blood-drenched blades and creatures of such immense stature they blocked out the sun. One dream after another had scrolled through her mind like a frantic slideshow, ending with a close-up shot of Cassie’s face, her eyes flat and lifeless.

Even though Jace had reassured her that Cal had sent one of his Watchers to stand guard outside Cassie’s door, she still couldn’t help but worry. She’d seen far too many Watchers fall at the hands of the Kleptopsychs recently not to be concerned.

The phone continued to hum. She had to answer it. She needed to hear her sister’s voice and know she was all right. Placing the pad of her thumb on the
Talk
button, she glanced over at Jace’s slumbering form and hesitated. Rumpled sheets surrounded him, covering his hips but leaving his splendid chest and powerful legs beautifully exposed. A heady blend of desire and guilt buffeted her. By the time she caught her breath, the phone had gone silent. Less than a minute later the screen lit up, signaling that she had a message. Punching in her password, she settled back in bed and listened to the voicemail.

“Hello, Lia.” Diane’s silky voice echoed in her ear. “I thought you’d like to know I just paid Cassie a visit, and we had a nice heart-to-heart. Guess what? I told her all about your little fling with her ex. As I suspected, she didn’t take the news too well. I would’ve had her call you herself, but she’s busy at the moment—standing on the ledge of her tenth-story balcony fighting the overwhelming urge to jump. Listen.” There was a rustle, then Cassie’s broken sobs filled the line.

“If you don’t want your sister to paint the sidewalk red, meet me at her apartment. You’ve got two hours. Come alone. If I sense Cutler anywhere near you, your dear sister will go skydiving without a parachute.”