Sacrifice (30 page)

She knew how upset Will was over her meeting, but there was no way around it. “Of course.”

He turned, anger flashing in his eyes. “No, Emma. It is
not
of course. What if this is a trap? What if Alex got you away from Raphael so you could grow stronger for his benefit? What if he led you to me so that you’d be halfway content and focused on training, then set a trap to collect his bounty?”

She couldn’t be sure of anything and they both knew it. But it didn’t matter. It all boiled down to one fact. “I promised.”

He rose from the chair, shoving it into the desk.

Wringing her hands in her lap, she looked up at him. “Maybe it’s not a trap. Maybe it’s a chance to get more information. Think about it, Will. Alex is the linchpin for all three of our variables. His father is head of the Vinco Potentia, he’s part of the Cavallo, and he’s one of Aiden’s playthings. If I can get him to talk, even just a little, we can learn more than we’ve learned all week.”

Will rubbed his hand through his hair, releasing a heavy breath. “It’s dangerous on so many levels, Emma. First, Alex Warren is bound to have a big security detail under his command. They could take you into custody on any trumped-up charge. Second, even though you say you have control over him, what if you’re wrong? What if he hurts you? And third, what makes you think he’ll even talk to you?”

The muscles in her back cramped, thinking about meeting with Alex, but she had to put her personal discomfort and feelings aside. Jake’s and Will’s lives depended on her to keep it together. “He won’t hurt me because he thinks he needs me, but that’s not to say he won’t hurt you. He may have put us together, but he did it for his own benefit. He could easily change his mind and decide to kill you.” She paused and lifted her chin in resolve. “Which means you can’t be with me when I meet him.”

Anger flashed in his eyes. “The hell I won’t.”

She walked over and rested her hand on his arm. “After what happened this afternoon, I want you as far away from all of this power shit as possible. That includes me when I practice.”

“Emma—”

“Think about it, Will. He has too much to gain from me. I’m safe, but I can’t take the chance with you. I can’t lose you again.” She cupped his cheek and looked into his eyes. “I’m stronger than I was the last time I saw him. You know this. I have control over him. I can defend myself.”

His face hardened. “No.”

She hated hurting him this way. Her back stiffened. “I’m sorry, but you don’t get a say in this. It’s my decision.”

Will jerked his arm from her grip and stared into her face, anger blazing in his eyes. “What the fuck, Emma?”

“I love you, Will, and I won’t let you get hurt. I know you want to protect me, but your love for me is clouding your judgment. Before you lost your memory, you were the stronger of the two of us. Now, I am.”

His jaw tensed.

“It’s not a slam against you. In fact, if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be this strong at all. Jake is counting on me to win this thing, and your life hinges on this too. Then let’s not forget the entire world. I know too little about way too many things and frankly, I’m tired of living in fear. I’m ready to take the offensive and develop a strategy to win this thing. But I need to know what I’m facing, on all fronts, to do this effectively. So like it or not, I’m going to Albuquerque tomorrow and I’m meeting with Alex Warren.”

Will’s chest expanded as his pupils narrowed. Without a word, he grabbed the keys off the desk and walked out of the motel room, slamming the door behind him.

Emma watched the metal door, stunned not only by Will’s actions, but her own. Still, when she replayed her decision in her head, she stood by it. It was the right thing to do.

Hours later the sun began to set and Will hadn’t returned. She was hungry and tired but mostly worried about Will. He left the cell phone on the desk when he stormed out, so she couldn’t call him to make sure he was okay.

She opened a bag of pretzels, nibbling as she looked up directions to the Fairmont Hotel. Albuquerque was over a three-hour drive, which meant that she’d have to leave early in the morning if she wanted to get there in time.

What if Will hadn’t come back by then?

Then again, maybe that was his plan to keep her from going. Could she leave him? It occurred to her that maybe she should.

***

Will drove aimlessly for hours, too mad to go back to the motel room but not mad enough to drive away from the pain-in-the-ass woman he’d left behind.

Will was not a man to take orders. He issued them. Yet, when he let himself cool down enough to think things through, he knew she was right.

And it killed him.

Will’s job before his memory loss was to protect Emma, and from what he’d heard, he’d done a piss-poor job of it. He’d failed her before. He didn’t want to fail her again. But how could he protect her if she went off alone? Still, Will realized that he was no match for Alex. Emma was better equipped to handle him. It wasn’t that his pride couldn’t handle that Emma was more skilled than he was for this situation. It was that he wasn’t the one to protect her.

And the realization stung.

He loved her. Worried about her. Even defended her. But the desire to protect her came deep from within. It wasn’t a want. It was like a physical need. Emma had told him that’s what it had been like before, when he bore the mark. His eyes darted down to his arm to see if a mysterious brand had appeared. Nothing.

He knew she’d made the promise to meet Alex before she knew Will was alive, and he knew how important it was for her to keep her promises. But he’d bet his life that Alex wouldn’t think twice about breaking a promise. While Alex had set Will free, rescued Emma from Raphael, and ultimately put the two of them together, Will knew without a doubt that Alex only did it to serve a greater good. His.

When the growling in Will’s stomach refused to be ignored any longer, he pulled into a truck stop and ordered dinner, watching the rolling banner across the bottom of the news channel. A devastating drought in Africa that was killing thousands every day. A war raging between India and Pakistan that had much of the world looking on with bated breath, both countries a hair-trigger away from nuking each other. Another massive earthquake, in South America this time.

A nagging feeling in the back of his head told him that this wasn’t all just one big coincidence. This all came back to Aiden and his twisted scheme. Emma had said that Aiden’s power was weakening. Will knew enough about power to know that it didn’t weaken, it merely changed directions. It flowed from one pole to another.

Aiden was losing control, and the world was suffering.

He ate, barely stopping to taste the food, his mind whirling as it began to piece things together.

Four shall fight, two will remain.

Emma was stronger than she had been in the beginning. This afternoon was evidence of that. Still, he wasn’t sure she was strong enough to win. Perhaps she was right. Maybe taking the offensive, seeing where they stood and trying to get more information from Alex, was the best course of action. Lord knew that in Iraq it had chafed his ass to hole up and do nothing while known terrorists had lurked about. Wasn’t this the same? And if his deductions were correct, Emma’s survival depended on using anything and everything she could to arm herself.

But when she won, because he refused to accept the alternative, who would rule with her? Would they find Water in time? None of the other three were trustworthy.

When he left the restaurant the sun had set, making him realize how long he’d been gone. He reached into his jeans pocket to pull out his cell phone, then remembered that he’d left it behind at the motel. He felt an urgency to get back to Emma and make sure she was okay. He knew that she was probably worried about him too. He climbed into the car and started the engine, totally unprepared for the voice in his ear.

“Hello, Will. Your time’s up.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jake sat in the gardens, waiting for Aiden. His nanny had brought him outside ten minutes early. She’d made him change clothes twice, brushed his hair three times, and placed him on the bench, moving him inches to either side until she was satisfied with his position.

Now she paced nervously behind him. He was used to it because everyone on the household staff were terrified of Aiden. Until his visit from Water, Jake had been terrified of Aiden too. He’d been practicing, hiding tiny little thoughts from Aiden, deep in his mind. So far it had worked, and it had opened the door to something he’d been missing for weeks. Hope.

Aiden appeared on the path leading to the vineyard, the setting sun basking him in a glow. The nanny stopped, chanting in Spanish, the clinking of her cheap rosary beads giving away her terror.

Aiden smiled as he approached. “Good evening, Jake.”

“Good evening, Aiden,” Jake said as Antonia had instructed minutes ago. Not that Jake needed reminding.

“Antonia, you may leave us now.” Aiden flicked his hand to the side path that led to the house and Jake expected Antonia to fall over dead. He never knew when Aiden would kill one of the staff as punishment for Jake, or just to prove that he could. Jake was surprised when she scurried away, hurrying without a backward glance.

Jake waited for the berating that he knew was coming. Aiden had instructed him to create a thunderstorm the day before. After hours of concentration, he’d managed only a small shower that lasted five minutes.

Aiden bent over a rose bush and inhaled. “There’s nothing like the smell of old-fashioned roses. Why do men think they have to tamper with genetics to create what they see as a perfect, yet odorless imposter?” He snapped a bright red bloom off the bush. “Don’t they realize that there is more to a rose than its beauty?”

Jake remained still, unsure what answer Aiden was asking for.

With a faraway look, Aiden peered over the hedge and into the rose garden. “Do you miss your mother?”

His eyes widened in surprise. Aiden never showed concern for his feelings. How could he not miss her? She was an enormous hole in his heart.

Twisting the rose between his thumb and index finger, Aiden inhaled. “It occurs to me that you and your mother need to be reminded what’s important.”

Jake closed his eyes, his back tensing with fear.

“You didn’t answer my question, Jacob. Do you miss your mother?”

She was his everything. His world. Without her, he was empty and lonely and scared. Always scared. She was the one who kissed his head when he woke up with bad dreams. She was the one who held his hand and made the bad things go away.

Jake reached out to her in the darkness, surprised to find a crack in the wall that separated him from her. He felt her presence, basked in her goodness. After weeks of living with the stench of evil, she was a breath of soothing air.

Jake opened his tear-blurred eyes and nodded, overwhelmed with her love.

Aiden slowly turned his head to Jake and smiled, crushing the rose in his fist. “And now you remember what you have to lose.”

As Aiden’s fingers uncurled, the petals caught in the wind and blew onto the path. Aiden ground them into the pea gravel as he walked away.

***

Emma woke with a start, lying sideways on the bed, the TV broadcasting a middle-of-the-night infomercial. She’d stayed up waiting for Will, but exhaustion had finally overcome her. Sitting up, she glanced around the room for any signs of him, on the off chance he’d snuck in without waking her.

Nothing.

Terror stabbed in the pit of her stomach as she bolted off the bed and ran to the cell phone on the desk.

Nothing.

She paced on shaking legs as she tried to reason with herself. There had to be a reason Will hadn’t come back, and several came instantly to mind. None of them were good.

Nausea gripped her abdomen and she raced to the toilet, barely making it before her meager dinner made a reappearance. As she rinsed out her mouth, she stared into the mirror, questioning if her nausea was from nerves or her enemy.

“Calm down. Freaking out isn’t helping anything.”

She took several deep breaths through her mouth, the discomfort in her stomach easing. But was it from her fear or had her warning of approaching enemies come and gone?

Will’s bag sat on the floor in front of the closet. Rummaging through the contents produced a shotgun and a handgun, along with enough bullets to get her through a major gunfight. She loaded both and moved to the window, peeking through the cracks.

Vacant cars sat in the dimly lit parking lot, but one in particular caught her eye.

The sedan they’d stolen in Morgantown.

She stood with her back to the wall between the window and the door. She had to think this through, clearly and rationally. Will could have come back and still been so mad he might have decided to sleep inside the car rather than face her. Or someone could have abducted him on his way in. She shook her head, panic bubbling in her brain. No, don’t think like that.