Awakening Fire: The Divine Tree Guardians (The Divine Tree Guardians Series Book 1)

by Larissa Emerald

  Funny, she looked forward to calling Todd and officially ending it. Better yet, given the hour and everything she had going on with her grandmother, she decided to email him this minute. She sent the missive from her phone, sharing with him about Grams's illness, too, and telling him that she'd call him later.

  Now at least she wouldn't feel guilty, and she’d be free to pursue whatever Venn had in mind.

  The idea made her giddy, warmth building in her chest and spreading to her limbs and head. And not just because he was sexy as sin and irresistible but because little things like a well-planned picnic could make a girl feel special.

  And loved.

  * * *

  Within the Divine Tree, Venn sat in his recliner with his laptop across his thighs, engaged in an online search. As the low battery warning flashed on the screen, he reached for the plug. Although the oak was not wired for electricity per say, the living area was powered by a large battery bank housed in a garage across from the park. Another benefit of modern times. It worked just fine, and a hot spot connected to his phone gave him the internet connection. He needed to know where Io lived, and County Records was a good place to start.

  His mind racing, he’d given up trying to zone-out and escape his pent-up lust and desire. After he’d left Emma last evening, he had launched into another punishing run and kept it up for hours, staying to the woods, leaping over fallen logs and debris, diving recklessly through briars that ripped and cut through his fur.

  When that wasn’t enough he’d transformed to hawk and flew to Atlanta and back again.

  But nothing alleviated the sense of urgency to be with Emma. Lie with her. Hold her. Love her.

  Eventually he came to the realization that he’d have to live with his intense longing and frustration for now. One day soon, she’d be his completely. Stay in his home, share his bed, and he would protect her forever.

  Despite the fact that he was unworthy. He had failed to keep her safe before.

  Guardian.

  Protector.

  Fraud.

  He shoved the inner demons aside. Not. This. Time.

  But hidden in his thoughts, the bothersome voice whispered that he was immortal. She wasn’t. An issue they had not had the opportunity to deal with before. Which brought to mind how fragile their relationship was.

  On the next mouse click, a sprawling country mansion home filled the screen. No bank loan, it had been a cash purchase seven years ago, and it was practically located in the next county. Venn positioned the address at the top of his mental list. Io would have used a fictitious name, perhaps the Jacob Price identity he was using now. That was inconsequential. Venn needed only to sniff around a bit for the right stench to know if the beast lived there or not.

  It seemed he should have paid more attention to the local politics given Io was on the City Council’s development committee and Venn hadn’t even realized it. Then again, the demon worked that way, damned underhanded.

  He checked his watch. Time to head to the hospital.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Emma strolled into the hospital at six thirty in the morning. The doctor made his rounds at seven, and she was going to be there when he showed up in Grams’s room.

  Venn greeted her in the lobby with a cup of coffee, looking incredibly handsome with his hair combed back, yet finger-worthy disheveled. He must have seen her arrive. How else could his timing be so impeccable?

  She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she was already floating from too much brew, so she accepted the paper cup. “Thanks.”

  She inhaled deeply. Day three. Grams would be better today. She had to be.

  “They moved her to the third floor,” Venn told her. “Room 304.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  He shrugged. “Good, I think. It’s not an ICU floor, at least. The receptionist downstairs didn’t know anything.”

  They walked to the elevator side by side, and he hit the “up” button. “Did you get a good night’s rest?” he asked.

  “Not really.” Because of an incredibly sexy shape-shifter that she wanted to make hers, all hers. She didn’t even want to share him with Amelia. “I woke early and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

  The elevator doors opened, and he waited for her to enter first, then they were shut in.

  “How about you?”

  “The usual.”

  She refrained from asking what that was. Did immortals sleep?

  Repositioning her purse strap on her shoulder, she glanced up at the yellowed light fixture on the ceiling. The drag of gravity as they moved up made her swallow nervously. She wasn’t a fan of elevators. It wasn’t so much claustrophobia, but trap-o-phobia. She didn’t fear small spaces, necessarily; as long as she knew she could get out, she was okay. But being trapped somewhere, that was a different matter altogether. She was certain the fear had a professional name, something with phobia attached to it.

  The elevator dinged, signaling their arrival at the third floor. The doors opened, and she gave a silent sigh. Again, Venn motioned for her to precede him.

  She led the way into her grandmother’s room, her heart racing in anticipation of the whoosh whoosh of the ventilator. The sound got to her every time. Without it, would Grams be here?

  Inside, everything seemed still, and too quiet. Panic gripped her as she looked around and realized Grams was free of the breathing machine.

  Emma ran her fingers along the top of the blanket, smoothing the covers. The beep of the monitors set an uneasy yet at the same time reassuring tone.

  A sense of helplessness gnawed at her. She went to the curtains and tugged them open. Like her, Grams appreciated the sunrise. Maybe that’s who she got it from, even.

  She heard the lazy scrape of feet on the linoleum and turned as Dr. Myer entered.

  “Good morning.” He sounded almost cheerful.

  Emma and Venn reciprocated with less enthusiasm.

  “Well, I have some good news. Claire woke up earlier this morning. She’s not out of the woods, yet, mind you. But we weaned her off the ventilator. I’ve prescribed enough medication to keep her comfortable.”

  A raspy, mumbled whisper came from the bed.

  Emma took her grandmother’s hand in hers. “Hey there.”

  “Quit talking about me…as if…I’m not here.” After having the trach, Grams sounded very hoarse. She spoke with hesitations to breathe in between phrases.

  “I’m glad to see you’re awake,” Dr. Myer said.

  “My teeth,” Grams demanded as best she could.

  Dr. Myer nodded and marked something on his chart. “I’ll let your nurse know.”

  “I’ll see to that,” Venn added and stepped halfway out the door.

  Grams gave a painfully weak chuckle, which turned into a cough. She glanced at Emma. “Noble aura.”

  Dr. Myer ignored the comment. “If things go well, we’ll begin reducing the pain meds tomorrow.” He gave Emma and her grandmother a genuine smile. “I’ll check back this evening.”

  A spark of promise and hope ignited in Emma’s chest. “Thank you.”

  As Dr. Myer’s went out, Venn ushered in the nurse. With the same unexpected tenderness he’d shown last night, he came over and draped his arm around her shoulders. She easily relaxed into him.

  He tugged her closer. “See, I told you she’d pull through,” she said.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Grams opened her mouth like a baby bird, allowing the nurse to slip her teeth into place. A second later, she moaned and rolled her eyes in an oh-no expression. Something was wrong.

  Emma leaned in and bent over the bed for a closer look. “I think you’re holding the teeth upside down. That looks like the lowers to me.”

  Grams half smiled with a confirming nod. The nurse rotated the dentures and they slipped easily in place.

  Emma and Venn chuckled, making light of the silly error. A flicker of happiness and extreme gratitude melted away her doubt. There was something to smi
le about, after all. Things could have been much worse.

  “Izzy?” Grams mouthed.

  “Is fine,” Emma told her, and because it felt good to talk to her, she offered an update about the statue. “We unboxed the statue the day before yesterday. Mr. Price says everything is perfect.”

  Emma took her grandmother’s head movement to be another nod, and then she seemed to drift in the hands of sedation.

  Venn seated himself in one of two wooden chairs with a padded seat and back. “What are your plans? Will you hang out here throughout the day?”

  “Until lunch. Then I’ll need to let the dog out and check on the project.”

  “I don’t like you being alone with that man.”

  “He’s okay. Just a bit odd at times,” she confessed.

  “No. He’s more than odd. I want to accompany you.” His eyes flashed a golden warning.

  She drew back. The flex of his jaw was a clear indication he’d boxed up his emotions. She could definitely sense his displeasure, though.

  Her back straightened as memories of her controlling father surfaced, a warning signal blaring in her skull. Venn’s insistent tone grated on her already-frayed nerves. She turned her back to him and focused her attention to her grandmother, on anything other than Venn.

  Over her shoulder, she said, “I don’t need a chaperone.”

  * * *

  Venn watched Emma fuss over a brush and comb on the nightstand, lining them up perfectly side by side. Pushing the subject might distance her and he knew he should let the topic drop, but he couldn’t.

  “Jacob is bad news.”

  “Who’s Jacob?” a baritone voice rumbled from the door.

  “Dad!” Emma crossed her arms like a shield. “What are you doing here?”

  Venn could nearly hear the hairs on her body raise as she tensed. Like any animal on full alert. Animosity rained from her pores. Seeming frozen in place, the absence of affection conveyed the nature of the relationship. There was no hug or embrace. Only cold space.

  Her father moved into the room. “Were you going to call me?”

  “Only if I needed to.”

  “In which case, I’m glad the chief of police phoned me,” her father returned, his tone emotionless. “Or else I wouldn’t have known.”

  Venn stepped forward. The place had just turned into a furnace. He extended his hand. “I’m Venn Hearst.”

  “Carl Grant.” He offered a firm, quick handshake.

  “We have Venn to thank for saving Grams. He pulled her out of the well.”

  “Indeed. Thank you.” Mr. Grant gave him a curt nod, which Venn responded to with a tight smile.

  “Glad to help.”

  “Dad owns a law practice in New York. I didn’t want to bother him just yet, as I know he’s very busy,” she explained, her voice thread-like and anxious. Her hands and fingers flexed and wriggled at her sides.

  Anything that made her this uncomfortable didn’t sit well with him, even if the guy was her father.

  Emma scowled as Venn assumed a possessive stance beside her, arms folded and feet set wide. He wanted to mark and guard his territory. He could practically see those lawyerly wheels turning in the man’s head, summing things up. Mr. Grant didn’t seem to miss much, his eyes shifting several times between Venn and Emma.

  “Has the doctor been in yet?” he asked.

  “Yes. A few minutes ago,” Emma said. Her voice lightened as she relayed the latest information on her grandmother’s progress.

  Mr. Grant traveled to the chair Venn had vacated moments earlier, sat, and crossed one leg over the other. “Well, good. It sounds like she’ll be okay. Perhaps I made an unnecessary trip.”

  Emma paced, but with the smallness of the room, there wasn’t anywhere she could go. “I’m surprised you could get away.”

  “So, who is Jacob?” her father asked bluntly. “From Venn’s tone, the man seems like one of the maniacs I’m up against in court.”

  She stopped pacing, her shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor. “Wait a minute. You lost the right to interfere in my life years ago.”

  “Touché.” Her father tossed up a hand, his gaze slanted sideways and his mouth pinched, clearly unhappy.

  Venn suspected the man didn’t appreciate airing the family’s dirty laundry in front of strangers, but he didn’t press the issue.

  Tension swirled in the room as the silence stretched. Venn could almost taste the bitterness between the two of them. The urge to gather Emma in his arms and protect her surged through him. It didn’t matter if it was family or not, no one was going to hurt his Emma, physically or otherwise. She clearly had problems with the man. And he trusted her judgment.

  The glares firing between father and daughter felt like lightning ricocheting inside the four walls.

  As if it just occurred to her, she asked, “Where are you staying?”

  He raised his brows. “In my old room.”

  She nodded. “Fine. Let’s just stay out of each other’s way, okay?” Emma grabbed her purse and headed out the door without waiting for a reply.

  Venn hustled to match her quick steps. “Wow, you two must have some serious baggage.”

  “When you have a couple of free days, I’ll fill you in.”

  “Promise?”

  She marched past the elevator in favor of the stairs. When he lifted his eyebrow, she said, “It’s only three floors.”

  “Right.”

  Their footfalls echoed the staccato rhythm of flight—her fast clip-claps, his heavier tromps. He didn’t speak, giving her space, until they were at her car and she clicked the remote to pop the lock.

  He opened the door. “Stop. You need to calm down before you get behind that wheel. Take a couple of deep breaths.”

  When she looked up at him, her dark eyelashes were wet. Damn. His chest tightened.

  Her slender neck contracted as she swallowed. Whatever her SOB father had done was obviously still painful, and she had yet to get over it. She was working so hard to hold it together. Venn’s hands curled into fists.

  For once she didn’t argue and inhaled deeply through her nose. Again. And again.

  He cupped her face in his large hands and smoothed back some loose strands of her hair. “Excellent. Okay. The plan hasn’t changed, right? You’re going home and then to the park?”

  “Yes.”

  The keys jangled in her hand. She was still worked up but at least not ready to blow apart.

  “When you’re at the park, I’m going to be there shadowing you.”

  “That’s—”

  “Yes. It is necessary,” he said, anticipating her objection. He dropped his hands to her shoulders. “The hawk or wolf will be just out of sight. Trust me, Emma. Jacob isn’t what he seems.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  When Emma arrived at the park a few hours later, she sat in the car, gripping the steering wheel long after the purr of the engine ceased. Her stomach rolled through spasm after spasm. Jalapeño peppers? Hadn’t eaten any. More like her father’s unexpected arrival.

  This visit with her grandmother sure wasn’t what she’d imagined it would be. She centered the heel of her hand against her chest and rubbed. Then she disengaged the keys from the ignition and made a mental note to stop at the drugstore on the way home to pick up some antacid medication. If only everything were that easy.

  At least Grams was showing so many signs of improvement. Emma tenderly ran her thumb over the warped-butterfly key fob while clutching that encouraging thought to her breast. On a heavy sigh, she stepped out of the car.

  With her attention finally focused on the park, she was shocked to discover the amount of work that had been done in a few short days. Pretty soon it would challenge the gardens in Paris. The place had been transformed, the earth smoothed and covered with new grass. Fresh off-white sidewalks led the way to granite benches, and a restroom facility had been partially erected. Someone obviously had major connections.

  Jacob? He seemed to
be in charge, but could he have pulled this off? Did he have that kind of clout? She inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly. If the guy was as bad as Venn alleged, then what had her grandmother bought into? Was there something going on behind the scene? As far as she knew, he was just on the city planning committee.

  Emma thought of Venn’s warning. Unease grew as she neared the statue platform in the shadow of the oak. Venn’s “Divine Tree,” as he called it.

  Within her peripheral vision, Jacob slithered from behind another tree. Emma gasped. “What’s with the sneaking around?”

  He chuckled. “My goodness you have an active imagination.”

  “No. You’re just behaving oddly.” Emma couldn’t help the rude remark. Now, more than before, he was putting off a creepy vibe.

  “We were scheduled to meet here, right?”

  Emma swallowed her angst. It was simply Venn’s attitude transferring to her. Jacob had never done anything to her. Then again, Venn wasn’t what he’d seemed at first, either.

  She controlled her breathing. “Yes. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just stressed over things.”

  “How is your grandmother?”

  Emma lifted her head as the muscles along her spine bunched. “Doing much better, thank you.”

  “That’s cool.” But his voice sounded hollow and stilted, like he didn’t use those words often.

  A slip of irritation kicked along her nerves. She couldn’t stand talking about Grams with the guy. He didn’t seem to genuinely care, and it was none of his business.

  “So, what do we need to cover?” she asked, directing the conversation to their business.

  He smirked a little. “The dedication on Saturday is all set. The mayor and even a state senator will speak. Three days and you can head back to Paris.”

  “Okay,” she replied, wishing the ceremony could be postponed. There was no way Grams would be well enough to attend by then. But maybe it was best to keep the two things separate. She’d snap lots of pictures so her grandmother wouldn’t miss out entirely, and perhaps the local news would cover the event.