Smoke and Survival (Best Wishes Book 2)

by A. J. Macey

  “Stay out of trouble and out of our way, kid.” His condescending tone had me seeing red. My claws and horns shot out as my eyes darkened, and I heard Cam snarl again.

  “I don’t think so,” Dante shot back, standing to face off with the arrogant agent. “Either you let us help, or we’ll do it on our own.” His tone was harsh, offering no room for argument. Dean Renaud eyed us with a curious look, but didn’t disagree, showing he wasn’t against our assistance. Agent Bronstand realized this as well, growling deep in his chest before answering.

  “What type are you guys?” Dante listed off what we were and what our strengths were, Agent Jenkins and Dr. Tanner nodding with each new piece of information.

  “Hudson, Dante, you two’ll come with me,” Agent Jenkins said, hitching a thumb over his shoulder, “your emotion manipulation may come in handy with his parents.” Hudson and Dante shot up and followed him out of the conference room despite Hudson looking like death.

  “You and you”—Dr. Tanner pointed to Nik and Cam—“go with Flynn. See if you can work together to find anything. I’ll join you after I call,” he told Agent Garcia. He left without speaking a word, Nik and Cam hot on his heels.

  “You two”—Agent Bronstad waved toward Logan and me, as well as Gerry and the detectives—“and you should scour the wooded areas, try to see if he’s holding her somewhere within the forest.” I nodded and started to follow them out when Sadie’s blue hair came flying into the room.

  “Who are you?” Dr. Tanner asked politely, sending a glare to Agent Bronstad who looked irritated with the interruption and had opened his mouth to snap, I was sure.

  “No time for that,” she huffed, heaving a large canvas into the room behind her. The colors were dark, a single streak of light in the middle of the painting. I instantly knew what it was, one of her premonition paintings. I shot forward, taking in every detail, several destroyed walls, a single light bulb hung down. Finally, my breath caught when I noticed a figure seated in a chair. Long hair hanging down around the bowed face.

  “Lucie.” My whisper was filled with despair. My lemon drop…

  “I just finished it. I listened to Dante’s message immediately after and knew I had to come straight here.” Her breathing was labored after having run here with the large painting.

  “What is it?” Agent Bronstad finally spoke, his head tilting as he looked at her painting.

  “Premonition painting,” I supplied, letting Sadie catch her breath. “That’s Lucie wherever she is right now.” I was sure of it, I felt it deep in my gut.

  “Sadie,” Dean Renaud’s voice caught her attention, “I want you to work with Professor Poll, see if you can trigger another premonition.” He nodded to the assistant dean who led Sadie out of the room, leaving her painting leaning against the wall. “All right boys, let’s get started.” The dean gestured for us to head outside, and to my surprise he followed us. His determined face focused on the woods and the upcoming search. Please let us find her…

  Lucienne

  Time passed. I didn’t know how long I sat staring at the door lost in my meditative breathing. My body had started to go numb to the amount of shivering I was doing. I wanted to be warm, but I would rather sit here and freeze than deal with anything Noah might do.

  Unfortunately, my luck didn’t hold, the lock’s clicking loud and jarring after hours of silence. I refocused my eyes, attempting to catch anything through the crack in the door. The one thing I saw this time was sunlight, bright and shining through a window. The edge of the window was visible right before he shut the door, but all there was outside were trees. That’s not helpful. I nearly growled until I realized that meant we were probably still in Washington, most likely near one of the forests or wooded areas. It was away from people and secluded, the trees giving cover to whatever structure we were in.

  “Lucie baby.” Noah’s taunting voice pulled me back to myself. I made the mistake of looking at him, and his eyes lit up in pure glee. “There you are, Babygirl. Can’t have you off daydreaming, now can I?” I just glared at him, fury burning in my veins. “Now,” he paused, kneeling once more, his hand returning to my thigh. The heat from his hand shot through the numbness, near burning to my icy skin. “I have a few questions for you, and I expect the truth.”

  I scoffed, unable to hold it back. I felt the sting a moment later, the sound of skin against skin echoing in the barren space. My tongue darted out, tasting the copper tang of blood on my lip. My left cheek throbbed in pain from the slap.

  “Ask your questions,” I ground out, my teeth chattering. His cold anger melted into a facade of happiness.

  “See, that wasn’t so difficult, was it.” I bit my tongue as he continued. “Now, my first question is what kind of supernatural are you?” I couldn’t stop my brows from raising, unsure why he would even care. Why does that matter? I didn’t say anything, knowing that if he knew it would be disastrous. After a few moments of silence, he held my jaw once more in a death grip, his thumb digging into my injured cheek. I couldn’t help the cry that fell from my lips at the sparks of pain that radiated through my face. “What type are you?” he snarled, his eyes flashing dangerously.

  “Go to hell,” I bit out. He stood sharply, and I felt my skin prickling under his hard stare. In an instant, his left hand whipped across his body before the ring on his knuckle bashed into my cheekbone.

  “Watch your tone.” My eyes watered from the pain, and his silhouette became blurry. My left eye throbbed and filled with spots, making me dizzy. “I’ll be back.”

  The warm breeze from the area beyond the door flowed over me before the door slammed closed, leaving me in empty solitude again. The sharp noise echoed loudly against the dull thud in my head. I tried to focus through the dizziness even if only for a few minutes.

  Why would Noah ask what type of supe I was? How long do I have before he figures out I’m a Djinn? With that thought, the feeling ate at me that I was forgetting something important. I tried to seize the thought, to hook onto it as an anchor to the present, but my head dipped as the darkness of unconsciousness pressed down on me once more. Oh, shit! I realized with a start. How could I forget I’m a Djinn? Stay awake, I screamed at myself, I can do this, I just need to… try and warp it… but darkness descended before I could find out why the rope wasn’t shifting.

  Dante

  The car ride had been tense, no one talking as we drove from campus to Lucie’s hometown. We arrived at a rundown apartment complex that looked just a few steps away from needing to be condemned. Agent Jenkins hopped down quickly and waved for us to follow.

  “Where are we?” Hudson asked, his voice confused as he eyed the ragged staircase.

  “Noah’s last known residence.” I felt a light bulb click at his words.

  “Lucie had said that he moved into an apartment right after he turned eighteen,” I informed the FSID agent. I hoped and pleaded that she would be here, but I knew that was too good to be true when we entered the one-bedroom apartment. It had been torn apart, a lot like Lucie’s dorm had been. Holes littered the walls and doors, picture frames holding photos of a younger Lucie were smashed, blood splattered on the glass.

  “Jesus,” Agent Jenkins murmured at the destruction. “Try and find anything that could identify where she is.” We nodded, separating into different areas, and started our search.

  After an hour, we had thoroughly gone through anything and everything this asshole owned. Finding photos of a young Lucie beaten, naked, or sometimes both had me struggling to keep my breakfast in my stomach. I collected all photos of Lucie, knowing she wouldn’t want anyone to have them, especially not this psycho. We were shaken as we got back into the black SUV, once again silent on our drive.

  It only took a few minutes to reach Noah’s parents’ house. It was a single-story ranch. The siding was a pale grey, the white shutters and door doing nothing to brighten up the drab exterior.

  Agent Jenkins knocked, but after several minutes of silence he st
arted looking into the windows. We followed quietly, his steps purposeful as we rounded the back of the house. To our luck, the back sliding glass door was unlocked.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery? My name is Special Agent Knox Jenkins with the Federal Supernatural Investigative Division,” he called out. A wave of a pungent, stomach-turning odor permeated the air. Even after covering my face with my shirt, I could practically taste the wretched smell on my tongue. “Stay here,” Agent Jenkins commanded forcefully before walking deeper into the house, his weapon drawn. I shuffled closer to Hudson, making sure we both stayed near the open back door, but not even the waves of fresh breeze could clear the air. Agent Jenkins returned a few moments later, his jaw clenched and fingers smashing numbers on his phone screen. The muffled ringing filled the space before a harsh, brash voice answered. “Yeah, Mase, we just got to the parents’ house.” More talking on the other end cut him off. Agent Jenkins’ dark brown eyes centered on us. “The dad isn’t here,” he relayed, and more harsh commands cut him off as he huffed. “If you wouldn’t cut me off, you would know already, now wouldn’t you? We’re not going to be getting any answers here.” I felt my brows draw down in confusion, but my blood iced in my veins at his next words. “Noah’s mom is dead; she was murdered.”

  25

  December 9th

  Sunday

  Lucienne

  “Lucie baby.” The angry words pulled me closer to the surface. “Wake up.” A blinding pain yanked me into consciousness. Dark spots flashed in front of my eyes at the intensity of the throb in my cheek. When the hand dropped from my jaw, my eyes focused, and my body finally responded. I was no longer seated in the tiny room tied to the ice-cold metal chair. Where I was at now was much worse, my stomach dropping in utter terror as I looked around. My wrists were suspended above me, attached to an anchor in the ceiling, and the balls of my feet were barely able to support my weight on the concrete floor. My shoulders ached with trying to keep my arms from dislocating my shoulder sockets.

  “Hello, Babygirl, welcome back.” I looked around Noah in unchecked panic, my heart beating erratically. The room I was in was bigger than the previous one, but not by much from what I could see. The walls were cinder block and held peg boards filled with a large amount of sharp shop tools. Grease stains littered the floor. A garage workshop. A table behind him was full of scary instruments, looking exactly like how it would in a horror movie. Only this time, it was real.

  “Here,” he bit out, stepping closer to me. A chunk of bread and a small glass of water were clutched in his outstretched arm, and he pressed the food to my lips. I clenched my jaw, unwilling to eat from my psychotic ex-boyfriend’s hand. Anger flared in his cold eyes at my refusal.

  “Fine.” He chucked the food and glass at the wall, the explosive movements and shattering glass making me jump. “Ready to answer my questions?” His eyes re-centered on my face, excitement filling them at the sight of my fear. I dipped my head, not saying yes, but not disagreeing either. If I could string him along long enough, Alex and the guys could find me. I held on to that sliver of hope as Noah got started, circling around me at a languid pace. His fingers brushed against my skin, goosebumps rising in their wake.

  “You have missed me,” he teased as he sauntered back to face me. His twisted mind took my body’s reaction of revulsion and fear to be arousal. “Maybe if you’re a good girl, I’ll reward you,” he paused, and a look I knew too well morphed his features, “or if you’re a bad girl, I’ll punish you. I know how much you liked my punishments, Babygirl.” Memories of him holding me down flashed in front of my eyes. Focus!

  “What was your question?” I mumbled. Stall him, distract him, anything! My brain screamed at me, at war with my fear and memories.

  “What type of supernatural are you?” I took a steadying breath realizing I would have to tell him the truth.

  “Djinn,” I murmured, knowing that the only option to survive was to be as honest as possible. If he knew the truth, and I lied… I didn’t even want to think of his reaction, but I knew deep down what he would do. If what Alex had said was true, that he was working with someone at the campus, then he would know. The fact that his eyes lit up like a little kid’s at Christmas, despite his stone-cold expression, meant he knew.

  “Where are your tokens?”

  I panicked momentarily until I realized I had taken my coin off in my bathroom so I could wash my face and brush my teeth. I had never once taken it off like that, not when I could easily tuck it into my shirt to go through my routine, but something had urged me to take it off. Whatever it was, I wasn’t going to complain.

  “Locked up,” I answered honestly, hoping he wouldn’t have any knowledge of my necklace. “In the dean’s safe.”

  “And your necklace?” His fingers trailed down my neck and over the curve of my breasts. A shudder of disgust ran through me. His first two fingers hooked into the neckline of my tank and yanked down. To his disappointment, it was just skin, no gold coin or chain nestled between my breasts. It was a small miracle that the shirt still covered my breasts since I wasn’t wearing a bra.

  “I don’t know where it is,” I said quietly, not faking the fearful notes that filled my answer. He hemmed and hawed like this was an everyday interaction, his eyes still on my chest. I knew he could see how hard and fast my heart was pounding, my chest raising and lowering in time with its staccato beat.

  “I see,” he whispered, stepping closer. My throat closed, and the burning sensation built behind my eyes. His head dipped, his nose and lips hovering above my skin only a breath away. “You look good enough to eat, Lucie.” Growling, his tongue shot out against the curve of my breast and the scar he had given me on my collarbone, leaving a trail of hot moisture against my pebbled skin. I shrank back from him, whimpering. Please no… “But that’s not what we’re doing, not yet anyway.” His correction had my breath halting in my chest, spots forming in front of my eyes as my panic attack finally took hold. He kept talking, but I couldn’t hear him over the sound of my pounding heart throbbing in my ears. I began to hyperventilate as he neared me shouting angry words, the fear overriding everything but the look of hate in his eyes.

  A rough hand seized my throat and clamped; my breathing stopping abruptly. More stings and thuds sounded, the pain building throughout my body as he continued to strike. My eyes watered, the unwanted tears dripping onto his muscled forearm. After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only a few terrible seconds, he let go and stepped back. My leg muscles had seized up under his hits, the nerves prickling with the force of a thousand needles even after he had stopped. My shoulders screamed in protest as I sagged. The weight of my entire body bearing down on the delicate joint, especially after being suspended for who knew how long, was too much to stand.

  A door slammed somewhere behind me. Noah was gone, for how long I didn’t know, but I was able to calm down a bit, the air no longer charged with negative energy. The sound of my ragged breathing filled the space as I gulped down as much air as I could, my eyesight and hearing finally coming back. I took a tally of my battered body—large throbbing red marks, cuts and lacerations covering my legs, face, and chest, and blood that dripped slowly into a pool on the already-stained concrete. But it was over.

  For now.

  Camden

  “What do you mean she was killed?” My question was directed at Agent Knox who looked much too weary for my liking. We needed these agents at their sharpest to help bring our girl home. We had spent the last half day combing through everything in Lucie’s room, the campus library, the wooded areas, her old dorm room, and nothing had turned up. The only thing we had managed to locate was her wish token necklace. I had the coin secured around my neck under my shirt, unwilling to let it out of my sight.

  “Had been dead for at least a day based on decomp,” he answered, hands rubbing down his face. The rest of the agents, Gerry, Bill, and the guys were scattered around the room getting caught up on what had happened betwe
en the different groups. Dean Renaud had called to say he was on his way with news.

  “Any idea who did it?” Dr. Tanner’s gaze was intent on his teammate.

  “Daemon.” I didn’t mean to, but my eyes slipped briefly to the twins. The rest of the men around the room did the same.

  “Fucking excuse you,” Landon roared, darkening eyes glaring at everyone around the room as Logan’s jaw clenched. “Just because we’re daemons doesn’t mean we fucking did it.” I winced, it had appeared to be that way. Mumbled apologies circled around the room. Landon finally got control again before resuming his pacing.

  “We aren’t sure who did it or where the father is, but right now we need to focus on finding Lucie,” Agent Knox added firmly, looking to Agent Bronstad for orders as Dean Renaud stepped into the room.

  “I believe I have a lead we can use,” he stated, his tone cold. “I found out who the inside man was.” His face was solemn as he looked at Gerry and Bill. “It was Troy.” Eyes widened, and a few gasps filled the room at the news. “I caught him attempting to leave with a duffle bag after finding out Lucie had been taken. I’ve had him contained in the Omnilock since then, monitoring anything he did or said. He finally started screaming earlier this morning about how he’ll give up information on what’s going on.”

  Rage filled the room at the betrayal. He had been close with Lucie since before the semester had even started; she had told us about the time when the security system in the library had gone off for no reason after an update. It was in the middle of the night at the beginning of the summer semester, and Bill and Troy had been the responding security guards. I glanced at Bill, watching the warring emotions taking over his face. Anger and hurt battled back and forth as he processed what the dean had revealed.

  “Cam, Nik,” Agent Bronstad barked, taking command of the group, “go with Flynn and Ryan to research any way to locate her; spells, remote viewing, sensory scrying, anything. Bren won’t be available for at least another week. He’s currently in the middle of Tracking a wanted serial killer.” I nodded, standing with Nik and the two agents. We waited by the door to hear the rest of the orders. “Dante, Hudson, twins, you’re with Knox and Dean Renaud on interrogation. Observing only unless necessary.” Everyone split up, determination surging through us despite our lack of anything useful yesterday.