by KT Strange
My skin lit up, and Craig grunted an exhalation of pain as I sparked him hard. His muscles contracted, and he fell back to the marble floor of the entryway.
Cash grabbed me, shoving me behind him as Finn growled.
Craig lay on the ground, groaning, one arm reaching out along the floor, like he was reaching for someone, or something.
“Where is she?” His voice was thin, reedy, and barely there. The panic of the moment had faded, with my pack of mostly naked werewolves forming a flesh barrier between me and the man on the ground. It hit me.
He didn’t know Max was dead.
He wasn’t coming to hurt us. He just had no idea how to communicate like a normal person, and thought violent snatchery was the way to deal with heartbreak and loss.
“Get dressed,” I said, pushing past a growling Ace and ducking under Eli’s arms. “Can we not do this with your collective dicks out?”
“I’m wearing pants,” Cash muttered.
“Only because you get grumpy when Finn touches your butt in his sleep,” Charlie replied. On the ground, Craig blinked, his eyes wet, real tears tracking down the sides of his face.
“What happened?” he asked, as I bent down next to him. The guys stiffened, and I waved them off. I had this. No way was Craig remotely a threat to me.
“I hit you with my disco stick,” I said, lifting my fingers to the side of his neck. His pulse was steady, even if it was a bit fast. “How’re you feeling.”
“Like my skin got peeled off from the inside and stuck back on,” he said, voice breathy, but coming back into its own strength.
“Well, maybe don’t go grabbing me next time,” I said, sitting back on my heels. He put a shaky hand on the ground and slowly sat up.
“I-” He looked at me and swallowed.
“How’d you find us?” I asked. “We’re not listed at the front desk. I know. I made sure of it.”
Craig rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.
“Your label,” he said. “One of the front desk girls told me where you’d be staying. She’s, uh… got a thing for me?”
“Well, that’s all she’ll have,” I said under my breath, “once I get her idiot ass fired for sharing NDA’d information.”
“So what the fuck is this asshole doing here?” Eli asked. The guys were coming back into the room, fully dressed this time. Finn flicked the lights on, and Craig winced at the sudden flare of illumination. His head was probably pounding. I didn’t feel bad for him, not after what he’d just done to me.
“You can’t strong-arm me like that,” I said to him. He nodded slowly.
“Sorry,” he said, his voice weary. “Just… I got word that things went down, and that you were all here in England; and that Max-” His throat closed and he shut his eyes. Finn snorted, and I glared at him over my shoulder.
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” I said.
“Don’t say it,” Craig murmured, his eyes still shut. Like, if he kept them closed… then the truth wasn’t going to be there to envelop him.
The grief wouldn’t wrap around him, smothering the air out of his lungs, pulling him down. I knew how that felt. Too well.
“She went down like the goddamn hero she was,” Cash said, his words colored with empathy. Craig’s lashes flickered as he glanced at the werewolf. “You would’ve been proud, I think.”
“They did it?” Craig asked, looking between Cash and me.
“The witch’s council, yes. The people you were helping,” I pointed out.
“Not helping,” he corrected, sounding so raw, like he was about to crack open. “Spying on. Those murderous bastards had their little army of brainwashed psychopaths trawling the country, killing any werewolves or other magical creatures they could get their hands on. Somebody had to stop it. And I couldn’t do that without information.”
He seemed to be taking Max’s death… not well, but as well as anyone could expect of him. Maybe he was still half-stunned from the lightning bug I’d bit him with.
Then he sighed, a shuddering sound, and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with unshed grief.
“Darcy,” Charlie’s voice was a quiet warning as I reached for Max’s ex.
I ignored the warning and wrapped Craig up in a tight hug, pulling him to my chest.
“Did it really happen?” he asked, words hesitant, hopeful.
“She’s gone,” I replied, the hole in my chest opening up like it’d just been the day before, and I’d watched her turn into flame right in front of me. “Took out the witch’s council. She saved us all.”
“She shouldn’t have had to,” he said. “That’s why I fought. That’s why I hid and ran with those fuckers, to keep her safe, to keep everyone like her safe-” His breath hitched, and I held him tighter. His arms crept around me in return, and he clung to me like he was afraid of what would happen if he let go.
“Nothing like that’s gonna happen again,” Ace said, breaking through the tense silence in the room. Craig lifted his head, cheeks red, eyes watery. Charlie moved, and appeared at my side with a box of tissues. I took it from him, and offered Craig one before wiping at my own cheeks. It still hurt, and I wasn’t ashamed to wear my pain openly. I just didn’t want to snot all over Craig.
“Let’s get you up on the couch,” Finn said, his expression grim and stern as he pulled us both up, setting Craig roughly on his feet, and me much more gently.
“I’m good,” Craig said.
“Sit,” Finn and Cash said at the same time, not so much a request as an order. Craig raised an eyebrow and sat at the far end of the couch, looking uncomfortable.
“You’re not one of us,” I said, staying standing. “You can’t barge into our lives like this and expect answers.” I glanced at the door. Speaking of doors, where the fuck was my room service? I guess I should have been grateful it was late.
“I know what it looks like,” Craig said, “but I didn’t just come to… ‘cause of Max?” He shook his head. “You said she took out the witch’s council?”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “What of it?”
“They’re not all dead, the very important ones, it barely touched them,” Craig said, the words moving through me like a blast of cold air. “Whatever she did, it wasn’t enough.”
My mouth went dry, my throat hard.
“What do you mean?” I asked, although in my gut I knew. I knew. It had been too easy. And it wasn’t like Max, or losing her, was easy. But they’d just gone down like dominoes, and we’d walked away like that was it.
Like the fight was done.
No wonder hunters had come for us again.
Craig was talking, but his words were blurry in my ears. I sat, feeling a growing wave of dread and anger in my belly. How dare they live? After all we’d done and sacrificed? How dare they breathe while Max was gone from us, forever.
“Darcy?” Finn put a heavy hand on my shoulder, and I glanced up at him.
“I’m fine,” I said, not even remotely telling the truth. The grief inside of me was raw and raging. My powers were twined with it, begging to be unleashed. I should have brought them to their knees, killed them with my own hands. Ripped them to shreds, each and every one of them.
“Do you know who lived?” I asked, staring Craig down.
He didn’t have to say it.
I already knew.
“Your father,” he said, looking pale. “I’ve been tracking the groups of hunters he’s sent out after you, but none of them have reached Europe yet. It takes time, passports, that sort of thing-”
“So she’s safe for now,” Ace said. When I looked at him, he was glancing at each one of the pack. “What’s stopping him from coming here himself?”
“He’s weakened,” Craig said simply. “He nearly died. I think he might have died, but his powers… I don’t know. I’m not a witch, I don’t know the mechanics of it.”
I shrugged.
“No idea,” I said, my voice ringing hollow in my ears.
“But he’s not gonna stay alive, I can promise you that.”
“Darcy,” Eli sounded like he was about to tell me I didn’t need to face my father down, or that I shouldn’t be the one to take him out.
“I know he killed Max,” I said, “or, rather, she died trying to kill him and save us. I know, Eli.” I swallowed the pain down, deep down, trying to mute it, blot it out so I could focus. “But Craig said he’s weak-”
“What makes you believe this dick?” Cash asked, jerking his head toward Craig. “He’s always popping up, bad news every goddamn time.”
“He loved Max,” I said, certain it was true.
“There’s more to things than you could ever know,” he said, tone going soft. When I focused on him, he looked on the edge of tears again. “There’s more to her than I could even begin to tell you. I’ve known what she was since she was a kid, but, fuck, I couldn’t-” He slammed a fist down on his knee.
“Alright, Romeo,” Charlie said, “enough with the displays of passion. We get it. You loved her, you lost her. We’re all fucking sad about it. But you’re bringing us information that we don’t know is good. And, for all that I want to trust Max’s judgement in her choice of boyfriends, you could be luring Darcy back to her family, and us to hunters.”
“You’re right,” Craig said, meeting his gaze with a steadiness that I didn’t expect him to have. “If I were you, I’d kill me where I sat.”
“We can make that thought a reality,” Finn said, menace in his tone. I sighed.
“Threats? Not helpful,” I said, glancing at Finn. He didn’t meet my eyes, instead, he kept his gaze trained on Craig. I knew the guys were tense, and that it was fair for Finn to feel such high levels of animosity. It just wasn’t exactly helpful in our current situation.
“It’s fine, Darce,” Craig said.
“Yeah, you don’t get to call her that,” Charlie said with a snort. “Nobody calls her that but us.”
And Max. Max used to call me that. Charlie thankfully skipped over that.
“She was my friend before she ever knew you,” Craig said, his eyes flashing with irritation.
Ace clapped his hands together as the tension in the room threatened to detonate.
“Let’s get down to brass tacks,” he said. “Darcy’s people are coming after her, and us, and we don’t know if or when they’ll show up over here. So, we can stay here as a tactic to delay them, or we can go home and meet them head-on when they’re least expecting it.” Ace held my gaze and smiled, his expression sad. He knew that he had to continue his usual role of peacemaker in the presence of our unusual guest.
“We did cancel tour dates,” Eli mused, “if they’re watching-”
“The old Llewellyn bastard’s obsessed. Of course he’s watching. He might be half dead, crawling out of his grave, but he’s following your every move,” Craig drawled. My cheeks warmed.
“The tabloids,” I said. Craig snorted and glanced away.
“If we’re lucky, the shame of it will do the old man in,” Cash half-laughed, half-growled. Finn made a noise of agreement.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what my father was thinking, seeing the intimate details of my romantic life splashed across half the newsstands and all the gossip sites. If he hated me before…
The smile stole across my lips. I hoped it haunted him. He’d survived when he didn’t deserve to be alive. I hoped what I’d done—whom I loved—haunted him. The only satisfaction I could find in him surviving was knowing that he was choking on his own bile over who I was and my relationship with the band.
It was the small amount of fire in my belly that I’d needed to keep going in the face of this setback.
“We could cancel the rest of the tour, but they’d have the heads-up; and I think Troy and Gem would have our heads,” Charlie said. Eli nodded.
“Canceling isn’t an option right now. We could postpone a few dates-”
“This is your life hanging in the balance,” Craig said, in mild disbelief. “It’s Darcy’s life.”
“What’s the point of living if they’ve got us running from our shadows?” Cash demanded, his back steel-straight, bitterness dripping off his tongue. “They chased us like dogs for decades. We’re not going to let them rip the things we love from us. Nah, they can wait to die. They can wait for us to come to them, and the last things they’ll see are our boots descending on their faces.” His hands balled into fists at his hips, and he shook his dark hair out of his eyes. “I hope they spend every night sweating it out, wondering when we’re coming back for them.”
“How will they even know that we know?” I asked, glancing at Craig. “It’s not like you’re going to go back and tell them.”
Craig shook his head with vehemence.
“I followed them for years, and hated them with every step. I did my best to save lives where I could, and take out hunters when it wouldn’t look suspicious. I’m a double agent, but I’ve always been loyal to our cause, Wolfe’s cause.” The earnest passion in his eyes had me believing him. Plus, Wolfe had worked with him. And while Wolfe worked with monsters, they they always had morals…
“We’ll send a message,” Finn said, a smirk playing on his face. “They’re witches. With their spells and their little enchantments. Let’s let them know we know.” He turned to me. “We’ve got a big show coming up in a few days. I say we let them know just how much control we have, and how, when we get back, they’re gonna regret ever trying to take us on in the first place.”
13
Darcy
Charlie was tuning one of the many guitars he had lined up for the show that night. His fingers moved over the fretboard, tapping down on the strings, a frown on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, slipping next to him to sit on the couch. The green room was dimly lit, which helped my frayed nerves somewhat. It was the guys’ first show back after our little mini-break. We’d spent the rest of it holed up in the hotel, Craig visiting twice more to check in with us. I had no idea where he was spending his nights, and he looked unkempt and ruffled every time he showed up. He was taking Max’s death hard, but quietly, not wanting to talk about it much when he did turn up at our door. He said he’d been hearing rumblings in London’s magical underground, which was news to me. I knew pretty much nothing about the witches or the supernatural beings in England, or the rest of Europe. To say that we were isolated in America? That was an understatement.
“The action on this neck is all wrong,” Charlie grumbled. “I don’t like having to work so hard just to get the right note.” I raised an eyebrow at him, and he smiled in response. “I’m not mad, just annoyed. I’ll get the techs to fuck with it so I don’t have to.”
“Oh, look who’s used to being waited on hand and foot now,” I teased. Charlie gave me a heated little glare and set his guitar down carefully before grabbing me. I shrieked as his fingers found my ribs, tickling fast and hard. “Truce!” I croaked.
“Never,” he said, demanding a kiss from me even as his hands fell to my hips. “I’m gonna get you back for that, later,” he promised me with heat.
“If we’re still alive,” I said with a sigh, leaning against him. It was just us two, the rest of the band out doing gear checks or scoping out the room for our crew that held extra catering. The guys had already demolished the platters of food that had been left out for them in our green room.
“We’ll be fine,” he said. I still wasn’t all that enthused about The Plan. We were live streaming the show, and the guys had rearranged the set list to play more of their anthemic, rage-against-the-machine songs. Everything about the show was supposed to be aggressive, from the lighting cues asking for more red in them than the usual cool blues, down to the between-songs banter Finn was planning on using.
About not giving up. About never letting anyone take you down. About how, no matter what, you had to keep fighting. The guys said it would start to send the message. Then I was going to come on stage, which made me fucking ner
vous, because putting myself right in the limelight right then seemed liked the worst idea.
But the guys were all for it. I’d even run the idea by Chels, since we’d had a serious talk with Glory Rev and her about what was going on. She wanted me to do it too. I think, in a way, she felt like I was paving a path for her to follow. Her relationship with Glory Rev was still a closely guarded secret, and I could tell it was wearing on her.
Speaking of that… I needed to talk with her again. We weren’t spending much time together, and I felt the burning urge to confide in someone about all my mixed-up feelings about everything.
“C’mere,” Charlie said, pulling me in for a kiss and startling me out of my thoughts.
“Ew, gross, PDA,” Ace chuckled from the doorway, stepping inside to the dim room. Charlie flipped him the bird as I turned my head to smile at Ace.
“What are you, twelve?” Charlie asked.
“Thereabouts. You ready for your big stage debut?” Ace switched his gaze over to me, running a hand through his hair like he was nervous and trying not to show it. Except he was totally showing it.
I made a face at him and got to my feet, scooting out of Charlie’s orbit in time to just miss him dragging me back down for a snuggle.
“I’m still not exactly sold,” I said, reaching up to Ace for a big hug. He hefted me off the ground, my Vans scraping the floor for a second before liftoff.
His arms were tight around my waist, and my heart soared as my feet left the floor. His mouth was warm on mine in an instant. From the way he kissed me, I knew he was trying to chase my fears away.
I couldn’t help it; I moaned, flicking my tongue over his bottom lip until his belly tightened against mine. He growled in response, setting me down.
“Don’t, or I might drop you next time,” he said, voice rough. I raked my fingers through his hair, the soft blond strands messy and hanging in his eyes.
“You’d never,” I replied, and he offered me a worn smile.
