Sacrifice (35 page)

Raphael leaned his elbow on the table, his head moving closer to hers. “You know, if we joined together, there would be no secrets. We would know everything there was to know about one another. No secrets, no way to lie.”

“Everything? Why would anyone want that?”

“I’m sure it has its advantages.”

“Maybe, but I guess you’ll never know. With me, anyway.”

Raphael frowned. “Why are you being so difficult? Surely you see the advantages of joining together to fight your father.” His mouth pinched in disdain. “Unless you’ve decided to join with Alex.”

While she understood his persistence, she was weary of the debate. “What if I sided with Water?”

Raphael’s face paled as his eyes widened. “What did you say?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Air, earth, fire. Water? There are four elements. Where’s Water?”

Relief crept into his eyes and he released a breath. “He was one of us many years ago.” He looked down his nose, skeptical. “Why the sudden interest?”

“If this is my world now, I should know more about it. Don’t you think?”

Raphael shifted in his seat. “There was never any love lost between any of us, and while he would enjoy nothing more than to defeat Aiden, he’d never side with either of us to do it. Water will not show up.”

The gears in her head kicked into overdrive. From the new prophecy, it sounded like Water
was
coming back. Which made sense. If he wanted his realm back, he’d definitely turn up for the showdown of the millenniums. What happened to him if he
didn’t
show up? It sounded like Raphael didn’t want Water to show up. And Aiden probably didn’t want him around either. Her breath stuck in her throat.

Could Will be Water
?

She made herself calm down. “What is Water’s name?”

Narrowing his eyes, Raphael’s voice had a sharp edge. “Why?”

Emma shrugged and tried to look nonchalant. “Why the big secret? What are you afraid of?”

“Why would I be afraid of anything? This is ridiculous, Emmanuella.”

She stared into his face, waiting. “So then why not tell me?”

“Marcus. His name is Marcus. Happy now?”

No, she wasn’t happy. But then again, she couldn’t trust that he was telling the truth, either.

“What else did you find in the book?”

It was Emma’s turn to feign confusion. “What book?”

Raphael grabbed her arm on the table, leaning closer. “Don’t play stupid, Emma. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “What does it matter anyway?”

He sneered, clenching his jaw. “With the added information in the book and joining our power, we could not only defeat Aiden but use our unlimited power to achieve
anything
.”

Her mouth gaped.

He snorted, seeing the horror on her face. “Don’t get all self-righteous on me. What good is power if you can’t use it?”

She rolled her eyes in disgust. “Maybe you and Aiden should hook up after all. You both have the same belief system.”

“Really, Emma. What do you plan to do with it?”

“Honestly, Raphael, I hadn’t given it much thought. I’m trying to get past the saving-my-ass part, thank you very much.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Now, are you going to tell me the real reason you want to get rid of Will or not?”

He leaned forward so that their foreheads almost touched, and grinned. “There’s nothing to tell.”

She sat back. “You bastard.”

He chuckled. “Technically, I think that title goes to you, love.”

Grabbing the backpack, she stood. “I’m done here. Stay the fuck away from me, Raphael. Don’t stalk me. Don’t come near me. If I see you before hell freezes over, it will be too soon.”

“I’ll be around anyway. To keep track of Will and make sure he’s not impeding your progress.”

“No worries, Daddy dearest has taken care of that one as well. When Aiden’s men hand him over tonight, if I don’t tell him goodbye Aiden will kill him.”

“Well, there’s one way to take care of the threat.”

She paused then sat back down, leaning toward him. “Wait.
Threat
. What threat?”

His eyes widened in mock surprise. “I didn’t say anything about a threat.”

“Oh, yes you did. I heard it plain as day. Why does Aiden think Will’s a threat?”

“I never said he thought that. Enough nonsense, Emmanuella.” The tremor in his left hand belied his self-assured attitude.

“You think he is too or you wouldn’t be so nervous.”

“Who the hell says I’m nervous?”

“Please. Sweat is oozing from your pores. What has you so worried?”

He grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Enough questions, Emma. I’m done with questions. Join me or not. I’m done persuading you, but be warned. I’m not doing this on my own so if need be, I
will
team up with Alex. The two of us together are still stronger than just you.”

Too bad he didn’t seem entirely convinced of that.

She stood and started to walk past him when he grabbed her arm. She jerked away.

“And one more thing.” He looked up into her eyes. “I’m going to need that book.”

Curling up her upper lip in disgust, she glared. “Get your own.”

“I tried. It’s gone.”

“Wait, you don’t have the original?”

“No, which is why I need to look at the one in your bag.”

“As I told Alex, possession is nine-tenths of the law. It’s mine.” She walked to the front door.

“I’m sorry, Emma, but I really need that book.”

The floor pitched violently and she fell to her knees as ceramic cups rattled off of shaking tables. Customers squealed and dove for cover.

“Earthquake!” a man yelled.

But Emma knew better.

She spun around, ducking out of the way of a toppling chair.

Raphael stood in the middle of the room, unaffected by the commotion.

“Have you lost your mind?” she shouted.

Judging by the crazy look in his eyes, he had.

She ran out the door before he could do any more damage inside. Instead, she led him straight into downtown Albuquerque.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Will had a headache that threatened to crack open his skull. It pissed him off that he didn’t see the guy hiding in the back of his car before he smashed a flashlight on his head. While he didn’t know who had tried to smash in his head, he had a pretty good idea why.

Emma. God knew where she was or if she’d gone to see Alex. She might have thought Will left her and she’d moved on. Or she might be sitting at the motel waiting for him now.

From the looks of the room he was in, he was in a place similar to what he and Emma stayed in. Dark and seedy. A man sat in the chair by the door, his beefy arms crossed over his chest as he watched a game show on the TV chained to the dresser. The other guy was in the bathroom and had been in there too long, from the irritated looks the first guy kept shooting at the closed door.

So far during the few hours he’d been conscious, they hadn’t given him any indication why they’d taken him, although after he woke up they tossed him a crumpled bag with a cold hamburger and soggy fries. Food meant they didn’t plan to kill. Yet.

There was a knock at the door and the man in the chair jerked upright. The bathroom door opened within seconds and the second guard emerged, drying his wet hands on his jeans.

Will presumed it was a shift change. He’d only been aware of his surroundings for a few hours, but they’d already changed guards twice. One new guy in and one old guy out. However, the attitude of his current guards suggested otherwise.

The man by the door looked through the peephole and jerked back, scrambling to open the door.

Will swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting upright, his head swimming with pain and dizziness in the process.

A man dressed in a dark suit walked through the door, casting a look of distain on the furnishings. He glanced at Will and smiled. “Hello, Will. Good to see you again.”

Will squinted. “I’m not sure I can say the same. For multiple reasons.”

The man lifted an eyebrow in amusement. Whoever he was, he reeked of money with his expensive suit and perfect hair. “No, I’m sure you can’t, but I daresay you’ve been an interesting find.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Of course you wouldn’t remember me.” He tilted his head to the side with a smirk. “I’m Aiden.”

Unable to contain his surprise, Will’s eyes widened. “
Aiden
? As in Emma’s father?”

“One and the same.”

Raphael and Alex he could understand kidnapping him, but Aiden? “Why did you take my memory away?”

He laughed. “No wonder Emma likes you. The two of you are so much alike. Direct and to the point. I did it to protect you both. You really don’t know what you’re dealing with and I plan to keep it that way. There’s much too much at stake.” He squinted and inched closer. “There is a resemblance. I wasn’t close enough before to see it.”

Aiden’s words meant nothing other than he saw a connection between Will and Emma that he saw as a threat. Will couldn’t ignore that Raphael saw it too.

Will grinned. “I’ve got one of those faces.”

Aiden smiled, but his eyes were cold. “He’s a flippant, arrogant ass as well.”

“Sounds like he’s a lot more fun than you are, whoever he is. Mind telling me what this is all about?”

“You’re a threat to my daughter’s safety. You are a distraction at best and will get her killed at worst. She refuses to listen to reason and send you away so I’ve had to force the issue.”

Fear squeezed Will’s chest. “What did you do to her?”

Aiden snorted. “Do to her? Nothing, other than shake her up a bit and make her see reason. I’ve convinced her that she no longer needs you. However…” A shadow fell across his face. “She has refused to cut her ties with you until she sees that you are safe and can tell you goodbye.”

Will looked around the room, shaking his head and sending a fresh wave of pain rippling through his brain. “I don’t get it. Why go to all this trouble? Why not kill me last night or the night you took my memory away?”

Aiden’s eye twitched. “Are you suggesting I kill you and be done with it, William? That does surprise me. I never took you for suicidal.”

“Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.” How much manpower had it taken to kidnap him and bring him here? And the round-the-clock guards? All of that took time and money. Sure, Aiden was notorious for his mind games and he was obviously loaded with cash, but this seemed like too much effort, even for Aiden. “Why go to all this trouble?”

“Because I hope to rule eternally with Emma, and she’d hold a grudge against me forever if I killed you.”

“Won’t she hold a grudge for forcing her to make this choice? Emma doesn’t like to be forced into anything, especially something she would never choose for herself.”

Irritation swept across Aiden’s face and Will knew that his questions were getting too close to the truth.

“You can’t kill me, can you?”

“That’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever heard. Of course I can kill you.”

Will knew he was playing a dangerous game, but he needed answers. “I don’t think you can or you would have done it already. A half a dozen times. The question is
why
.”

“I refuse to waste my time on this discussion, William. I am here to tell you that you will be seeing Emma tonight. If you care anything about her, make it as easy as possible when she tells you goodbye.”

“And why would she do that?” But he knew even as he asked.

“Because I’ve threatened to kill you if she doesn’t.”

This made no sense. There was something here Will was missing, but he couldn’t place his finger on it. “And if I don’t?”

Aiden shook his head. “You’re only making it harder on Emma.”

Will glared, refusing to promise anything. There was no way in hell that Aiden cared anything about Emma or her feelings. “Cut the bullshit, Aiden. Why are you really here?”

Aiden studied him with cold eyes that would have made a lesser man shrink in fear. “You know, Will, I think under different circumstances we could have been allies.”

“Again, that doesn’t answer my question.”

“You’re hardly in a position to demand answers, but lucky for you, I’m feeling generous.” He grinned. “Let’s just say curiosity. After all of this time, I had to see you for myself.”

There was a knock on the door and a guard poked his head in the crack. “Sir, we’ve become aware of a situation in downtown Albuquerque.”

Will’s gaze jerked to the man. Alex was in downtown Albuquerque and Emma had planned to go see him.

Aiden shot the guard an impatient look. “Go on.”

“Sir, they’re reporting multiple earthquakes and explosions.”

“Anything else?” Aiden asked with a bored tone.

“Well, no…but…”

“Thank you. That will be all.”

The man shut the door.

Aiden sighed. “They’re trying to accelerate the timetable. I’m going to have to go put a stop to this.”

“Who?”

Aiden’s brow furrowed. “Raphael and Emma, of course.” He turned toward the door.