Twilight War (10 page)

“No,” he stated
in a bitter tone. “She helped them of her own free will. The slut
betrayed me even as I was trying to spare her, then she came back
and took me down with her.”

Flame drew a
quick breath, aghast at the level of deception that had taken
place. She could see that the truth was tormenting Ian and she felt
his desire to end the conversation.

“What family
cursed Von? Who was Cassie related to that enabled her to carry
Twilight’s seed to term?”

Ian glared at
her as if she’d suddenly sprouted horns. Their peaceful yet
disconcerting encounter had come to an end.

“Who, Ian?
Please tell me.”

“The crescent
moon will answer your question.”

“What?” She
looked around. He was gone.

Though his
paranormal visitation initially felt like an intrusion, it was good
to speak with him again. Another faint connection to Raef left her
with a strange sense of comfort, as if by seeing Raef’s best
friend, she had made contact.

She pondered
Ian’s vague reply to her last question and a flashback of the mark
on Cassie’s forehead whipped through her mind—an image she could
never forget. The disturbing scene forced its way in, no matter how
much she longed to forget what went down in Ian’s garage—Cassie
mating Ian with the mark of the evil realm glowing eerily on her
forehead—the shape of a crescent moon. A chill slid up her spine.
She did her best to shake it off.

Knowing for
certain that Ian and Von had never been allies made her believe
that both were telling the truth. For some inexplicable reason,
Raef’s passing continued to open doors to the answers she
desperately needed.

“Are you
watching out for me, baby?” She looked upward. “I miss you.”

A sudden crash
startled her. She jumped and spun around. On the floor lay a broken
glass that had somehow fallen off his dresser. Cautiously she
approached, casting guarded looks around the room. “How did this
get in here?” she muttered to herself upon recognizing the crystal
tumbler Raef had been drinking from the previous night. She lifted
the broken base to her nose and inhaled the scent of his favorite
bourbon.
I miss you so much.

While picking
broken glass from the carpet she noticed one of the top drawers was
opened. After carefully discarding the chards of glass in the
trash, she moved to close the drawer. A small box caught her eye.
As if compelled, she removed the velvet-coated box from its hiding
place.

After another
wary look around, she slowly opened the hinged lid. “Oh wow,” she
muttered in awe. “Who did this belong to?” Her eyes beheld the most
beautiful jewel she’d ever seen. Suspended from a gold chain
crafted of antique linkage was a tear-shaped sapphire set in gold
and accented by three dazzling emerald-cut diamonds, one at each
point. A streak of early morning sunlight danced off the multiple
facets, creating a brilliant shimmer. “Where did this come from? It
looks ancient.”

Chapter
Six

“He wants you
to put it on,” Von’s voice came from the doorway.

Flame jumped
again and spun around. Her nerves were seriously on edge after this
morning’s events. “I didn’t hear you come in. Never thought I’d be
glad to see you. Thank God you’re not another ghost,” she breathed
out the words. “Not sure I can handle more visits from the other
side.”

Von cocked his
head in open curiosity. “What’s going on?”

“First the
Twilight Master then Ian. Then a glass fell off the dresser and I
found this in an open drawer. This drawer was not open when I was
in here earlier and I don’t know how the glass got in here or how
it fell. I was nowhere near it.” She cast him an offhanded look.
“What are you doing here anyway?”

“I was
worried.”

“Right.”

“If Ian paid
you a visit from the other side then you know I was telling the
truth. It’s impossible to tell lies from the void. I was
there…twice…remember?”

She held back a
smug grin. “Ian told me a lot. I know what I must do.”

Von pointed at
the box. “Raef asked me to come back here and check on you. He
would like you to accept the necklace.”

“Why are you
being so nice? We are natural enemies.”

“Too many
innocent people are getting killed.”

“Didn’t seem to
bother you before when you used Cassie to make your miraculous
return.”

Shadows of the
past touched his face. “I guess I deserve that.”

“During our
little heart-to-heart chat last night, you hedged a few important
topics.”

“Such as?”

“Cassie’s
betrayal? Aiden’s family joining the evil realm?” She shot him a
questioning look.

“Your
ex-in-laws belong to Twilight?” He looked genuinely surprised.

“Are you saying
you didn’t know? You didn’t have any part in what happened that
night?”

“No and no, I
did not know. I’d never condone hurting a woman. However, their
involvement would explain how Coop’s gang caught us on the road
that morning. I had a feeling someone tipped them off.”

“And you don’t
know if Aiden is with them either?”

Von shook his
head. “I told you everything I know about your ex.”

“What about
Cassie? Did you know about her?”

“If I tell you
what I know…” He stepped toward her. “Will you help me kill
Coop?”

“Revenge is a
negative motivator.”

“Revenge is all
I have left.” His eyes flashed with rage.

“Tell me what
you know and I will consider your request.”

“I’m not your
puppet.”

“Considering
your track record, I have the right to make demands.”

His gaze burned
on her for several long breathtaking moments before he finally
replied. “Yeah, I knew about Cassie. Like me, she was also chosen
as a backup plan. Twilight always has a backup plan, don’t ever
forget that, and right now it’s Raef.” He paused as if giving her
time to process his words. “But
unlike
me, Cassie
wanted
her role in the evil realm and craved the immortality
they offered her. She had a dark heart.”

“Maybe what she
wanted was
you
.”

He arched a
casual brow. “Ian told you everything he knew.”

“Yes…well
almost. He didn’t tell me what bloodline enabled her to carry your
child.”

“That was not
my child, just a seed I was forced to plant. And before you ask, I
don’t know how she got hooked into the realm or what family enabled
her. The infant belonged to Twilight from the time it was
conceived.”

“But you’re the
one who had sex with her.”

“I did what I
was compelled to do. I was their tool. I felt nothing. I hadn’t
felt anything until—” He stopped. His expression shifted from rage
to what seemed like regret.

“Until? Don’t
stop now.”

“I swear if you
use this against me, I’ll take you down with me.”

Her throat went
dry. She swallowed hard. “I won’t…you have my word.”

His eyes
searched hers with an intensity that made her quiver. “The night I
found you in that room beaten into submission, was the first time I
felt anything real since I can remember.”

This was the
unanticipated response Ian had spoken of.
A scant part of
Von’s humanity had been sparked to life that night.
“And that’s
when you devised a plan of your own. Something deep inside told you
to do the right thing.”

“If you say
so.” Denial hung on his voice. “I didn’t know them, didn’t like
them, and if they belong to Twilight, serves them right for what
they did to you. If Aiden is not on their side then he’s in deep
shit for interfering.”

“Do you think
he was in on it? Maybe Aiden lied to you to get me away from Hatch.
Obviously they wanted us to meet.” The possibility that Aiden also
belonged to the evil realm would not surprise her after everything
she’d just learned.

“If that’s the
case, I now have two good reasons to take out your ex.” Von
appeared to drift in thought for a few seconds. “When I decided to
take off with you, they must’ve decided to send you back to Hatch,
which would explain who contacted him. Then Hatch probably called
on Ian, who would’ve contacted Coop to launch their so-called
rescue.”

“Maybe they
thought it was better for me to be with Hatch because he doesn’t
believe in any of this, than be on the run with their own
Satellite.”

“I guess so.”
He scoffed and raised one brow. “Pussy ass Hatch is not a likely
threat to their mission.”

“Weren’t you
afraid of the fallout by taking off with me?”

“Guess I didn’t
think about it. I couldn’t just stand by and watch them torture
you.”

“I was nothing
to you.”

He placed two
fingers under her chin and held her gaze. “You…are everything.
You’re my only hope.”

“Is that all?”
She was afraid to ask but couldn’t help herself. The effect he had
on her was overwhelming. “Just a cure for your suffering, nothing
more?”

“You’re
fishing.” An unexpected grin tugged the corners of his sensual
mouth. “Why don’t you come straight out with it?”

She studied him
briefly then looked away from those entrancing eyes and changed the
subject. “Are you sure that Raef wants me to have this? It looks
like a family heirloom.”

Von smiled
knowingly and she felt him reach into her soul. She couldn’t admit
how she felt about him. She wasn’t even sure herself.

“He said it
belonged to…
Tahira
? Does that name ring a bell?”

Her breath
caught in her chest. “How can this be? They never met. What’s
happening? Why is he using you of all people?”

“You make that
sound like a bad thing.”

“Considering
what you are and who you serve, what do you expect?”

He shrugged in
agreement. “I take it you recognize the name.”

“Yes,” she
barely whispered, then touched the gemstone. Heat radiated off the
sapphire, up her arm and through her body. Closing her eyes, she
embraced the most incredible feeling of peace she’d ever
experienced. In that brief moment she caught a fleeting glimpse of
a woman, then the vision disappeared in a flash of light.
Mother!
Though she’d never seen her, Flame knew without a
doubt that the golden haired woman with vivid blue eyes had to be
her birth mother.
Thank you.
She opened her eyes to find Von
staring intently.

“You mentioned
that you knew my mother. Did you know her name?”

“She went by
the name of Rennie, why?”

“Just curious.
What did she look like?”

Von moved to
her side without a sound, then gently turned her toward the vanity
mirror by placing his hands on her shoulders. “Look in the mirror
and you’ll see her.”

Flame placed
the neckpiece in his hand, then lifted her long hair. “Do you
mind?”

He released a
deep sigh. “Not at all.” His fingers touching her skin sent shivers
down her arms. With surprising tenderness, he latched the clasp at
the nape of her neck then fanned her golden tresses down around her
shoulders. “You are indeed, stunning.”

“I don’t
understand how Raef is able to do this.” Awestruck, she gazed at
the sparkling jewel dangling just above her cleavage.

“Don’t over
think it, sugar. Just accept it.”

“You were
telling the truth about Aiden and I didn’t believe you. I still
don’t understand Aiden’s motives.”

“Does it
matter?” Von stepped back. “Your ex has mysteriously vanished from
the planet. Maybe he’s not innocent after all. You may be right
about his agenda.”

Their eyes met
in the mirror.

“Do you think
his reason for getting me away from Hatch really could have been a
lie?”

“Makes sense
now that we know about his family ties.”

“Yeah, it does.
He could’ve been putting on an act to shift the focus off himself.
He was a master at manipulation during our marriage.”

“Regardless of
what Aiden was up to, I would’ve never turned you over to the
master of darkness. I simply wanted to undo this hellish existence
and you were the key. I had orders to kill if you couldn’t be
swayed.” He turned her to face him. “I don’t know what Aiden had in
mind that night, but I was trying to get you out of that mess. I’d
never hurt you. I was looking for a way to break the curse and—” He
stopped short.

“And what?” She
caught his eyes with hers. “Tell me. What were you going to do with
me if I had fallen for your seduction?”

“Find a way to
overthrow the evil pricks who are controlling me.”

“But you didn’t
know how, right?”

“I was working
on it.”

She turned and
laid one hand alongside his face. “You wouldn’t have found a way
before. But there is a way now. And I can help you.”

“Excuse me if
I’m a bit skeptical,” he countered with sarcasm in his voice.

“Ian said this
house is sacred now.”

Von gave a
slight nod. “True.”

“I will tell
you how if you swear on your soul that it never leaves this room.
If Raef is reaching out to you, then there must be good in you
somewhere.”

“You really
believe that you can save me?”

“I know I
can.”

“How?”

“Give me your
word that it goes no farther.”

“You want that
in blood?”

She smiled for
the first time since losing Raef. “Works for me.” She walked around
the bed to her pile of belongings and pulled her gold daggers from
their leather holsters. It felt good to hold them again, as if the
power in her blades radiated to her soul. The time had come to test
some truths.

“Holy shit,” he
muttered. “You’re serious.”

“I never joke
about blood-bonds.” She grabbed a tin of lighter fluid from her
backpack and squirted it down the length of her Sai. “Let’s see
just how honest you and Ian have been with me.”