“You need to get out of town.” Colin grips the steering wheel tighter. “This isn’t a joke, Elysia. They’re coming and they will kill you.”
“I won’t let that happen.” Kyle grits his teeth.
Colin snorts. “You don’t know what you’re up against.”
“I can take care of myself,” I say. “I’m not going anywhere until I find him.” I want to grab hold of Colin’s hand, but don’t want to make Kyle uncomfortable.
“It’s not the time to be stubborn,” Colin says.
He pulls into the campground and slows. Deena’s lying on the ground in front of the office.
“Oh my God! Let me out.” I push Kyle out of the passenger door. Deena’s covered in dirt. I lift her head and place it on my lap.
“Is she okay?” Kyle asks. “Feel for a pulse.”
“She’s breathing.” I shake her lightly. “Deena?” There’s a huge red mark on the left side of her face. “Someone hit her with something.”
“That’s not all they did.” Colin stares at the cabin. The door sways in the wind. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“Alice.” Deena’s voice startles me and I look down. She blinks several times as if she’s trying to focus. “I’m…so—so—rry” she stammers. “I couldn’t stop them.” Kyle helps her to her feet. She wobbles.
“Get her a chair.” I point to the wooden chair near the office entrance.
“I’m fine…or maybe not.” Deena reaches up and touches the ugly mark on the side of her head. She eases into the chair.
Once Deena seems like she’s okay, I take off toward the cabin. “Fonso! Nadya!”
“Wait!” Colin calls after me, but I keep running.
“Fonso.” The cabin’s been ransacked. Fonso and Nadya’s clothes are thrown around the room. “Nadya!” No answer. They’re gone.
“Elysia!” Colin runs in. “What if there was someone waiting in here for you?”
“They’re not here.” I run down the hall. The drawers are out of the chest, and my clothes have been tossed all over. “What were they looking for?”
“Fonso’s car is still here.” Colin points out the window. “Someone took them.”
Crackling waves of light dance through the sky.
“Who took them?” Anger boils within me. My brain feels like it’s on fire.
Colin embraces me.
Deena appears in the doorway. “It was a woman and a man. They drove a black Mercedes. I didn’t get the license plate number. The woman got out of her car and popped me one.”
“What did she look like?” Kyle asks from behind her.
“Black hair with short bangs. Wearing leather pants.” Deena touches her brow. “Nasty bitch. And, who the hell wears leather pants in this heat?”
“I know her. She’s…” I sit on the edge of the couch.
“Vadoma.” Kyle says. “Dad is involved. Vadoma is his pet…my ex.”
“Your ex-girlfriend? She’s the one who kidnapped my father and came after me in New Orleans.” I’m more than shocked by his admission. My head feels woozy and I’m glad I was already sitting or I’d be on the floor. Small cyclones of wind mimic my dizzying head just outside the cabin.
“Why are they going after them?” Colin asks.
“I don’t know,” Kyle snaps. “He was traveling for a while. I thought he was tracking the wolves.”
“And your ex, who is career driven. This is her career?” I ask.
“She hates werewolves more than I do. They killed her entire family.” Kyle shakes his head. “I don’t understand why she is involved in kidnapping Roma. She’s one herself.”
“Werewolves?” Deena’s eyes widen. She looks back and forth between Colin and Kyle. “I think I may still be knocked out. This is crazier than my nightmares. Then again, I’m pretty sure I saw Fonso throwing rocks through the air without actually picking them up. It’s been a hell of a day.”
“Where are they?” I glare at Kyle.
“Dad’s compound is on the beach. He’s got to be there.” Kyle steps aside to allow Deena to leave.
“I’m getting a drink.” Deena says.
“Let’s go.” I follow Deena out the door. She walks to her trailer and disappears inside.
“Wait.” Colin squeezes my shoulder. “It’s too dangerous. We need to get you out of town first, where you’ll be safe. I’ll go with Kyle to rescue your cousins and dad.”
“You’d be committing suicide.” Kyle’s mouth twitches. “He’d kill you on the spot.”
“We are going together.” I glare at them both. “I knocked your ex out once before. I can do it again.”
“You did?” Kyle smirks. “I would have loved to have seen that.”
“It’s not safe,” Colin insists. “Please.”
The look in his pleading eyes would haunt me forever, but I have to go. “It’s my family they have. I will get them back.” Thunder booms overhead. “I know it’s asking more than I should, but I need you there with me.” I touch Colin’s face.
“Stop petting the dog already.” Kyle rolls his eyes.
Colin growls.
“Kyle, I don’t know how to say this.” I don’t even want to say it, but I don’t want to give him any more false hope.
“I get it, you’re with him.” Kyle brows furrow. “Regardless of all the bad things he’s done? Roger? My mother?”
I shake my head. “I can’t explain—”
“There’s nothing to explain.” He starts for Colin’s truck. “If we’re going to do this, we need to move now.”
“The packs are coming. I can feel them.” Colin grabs my hand and leads me to the truck.
“This isn’t going to be pretty,” Kyle says.
As we near the truck, three wolves emerge from the surrounding woods. They transform before our eyes.
Chapter 23
“Colin, your father’s arrived,” Kayla says, standing stark naked. “He sent us to find you.”
“Where’s Emilian?” Colin’s expression hardens.
“He’s safe,” Riley says. “We sent him south to the glades cabin. He gave us a hard time about it, too. He made us promise to protect his brother, sister, and her.” He nods in my direction.
“How he expects us to do that is beyond me.” Brayden walks closer. He seems more confident and open. He stands straight while the others maneuver themselves to block their private areas. “We are merely puppets on a string.”
“He wants you to come now,” Kayla says. “He says we are at war. A Rom girl killed your Uncle Silas. He’s angry you’re not already by his side. He’s been calling you all night. Why haven’t you come?”
The three of them wait to hear his explanation.
“Did you hear his call?” Brayden asks.
“I did.” Colin grabs my hand. “I’m not fighting his war anymore.”
“What the—” Kayla stares at our united fingers. “I don’t understand. Are you and her…”
Their faces turn blank.
“I can’t explain it, but being around Elysia breaks the bond.” Colin’s eyes meet mine. He beams.
“Impossible,” Riley says.
“I’m not going back. I’m not extorting. I’m not killing. I’m not going to do his bidding anymore.” Colin moves a stray hair behind my ear. “It’s over.”
“What about us?” Brayden complains. “We’ve been together for years, we’re your family. Her,” he jabs a finger in my direction, “This girl is your kryptonite. She’s going to get you killed by your own kind.”
“We are family. We are also pawns. I know you don’t like what my father forces us to do anymore than I do. So why don’t you come with us and help find her family,” Colin pleads. “We need to get them out of town before more die. Then, if you want, you can go back and tell him I’m gone.” His fingers tighten, squeezing my hand. “You’re all Emilian’s friends and you promised him.”
“We did,” Kayla says.
Colin lets go of my hand. He reache
s behind the seat of his truck, and returns with a bag of clothes. He tosses the bag toward them and they dress quickly.
“If he calls, we’ll have to go.” Riley zips his jeans up.
“I know,” Colin says. “I appreciate your help. It won’t be easy.” He looks at Kyle. “We’re going up against werewolf killers.”
“Is that so?” Brayden laughs.
“I never thought I’d see the day. Werewolves, Roma and, Diner Boy fighting side-by-side.” Kayla winks at Kyle. “How’d you get involved, anyway?”
“Colin killed my mother.” Kyle gives me a sideways glance. “And he stole my girl.”
“Tough breaks, kid.” Brayden smacks him on the back.
Kayla bores in to me. “For the record, I’m doing this for Emilian. Not for you.”
“Yeah, I got it.” I roll my eyes.
“What’s the plan?” Riley asks. “Storm the castle, rescue the Gypsies? That sort of thing?”
“I don’t know of any other plan,” Colin says. “Let’s go.” He hoists me up into the truck.
The others pile into the back. I can’t help but think about what kind of father Colin has. I can’t say I’m anxious to meet him. He’d likely want to kill me on sight. Kyle’s father isn’t a saint either, especially having kidnapped my family. Dad never told me anything of my family or who was hunting us, although I have an inkling he knew more than he said. “It seems we are all trapped in our parent’s battles.”
Chapter 24
As we pull out of the campground, Colin brakes fast to avoid hitting two figures…Aunt Simza and Aunt Mirela. Their colorful, flowing skirts dance in the breeze; their jewelry gone.
“This keeps getting better and better.” Brayden throws his arms up. “Let’s pick up every Rom from here to Timbuktu. I’m sure it wouldn’t attract any of the pack whatsoever.”
“We don’t have time for this.” Colin stares at me.
“We can help,” Aunt Simza says. “Your mother sent us.”
Aunt Mirela glances at Aunt Simza.
“Get in.” Colin waves them in.
Kyle climbs in the back to make room for my aunts in the front.
“Add in a few more people and we can officially say we’ve been in a clown car.” Brayden lets Kayla sit on his lap.
“Put the address into my GPS.” Colin hands Kyle his phone.
“Now, you want to help?” I say. “You couldn’t have given me a hand when I first arrived?” I glare at Aunt Mirela. “You’re the reason my father was taken. All these years, you’ve been helping them find us.”
“I didn’t know about you. I swear it.” Aunt Mirela grabs Aunt Simza’s hand. “It was a mistake. One I deeply regret.”
“Why did you do it? Why go after my father?”
“She did it to keep Bo away from us.” Aunt Simza throws her hand up. “I’m here, aren’t I?” she says into the air. She sounds like she’s been bewitched.
“Is anyone else following this?” Brayden asks.
“Lyuba says hello and that you’re very beautiful and blah blah blah.” Aunt Simza sticks her tongue out. “Are you happy now?”
“I’m lost,” Riley says.
Colin squeezes my hand.
Aunt Mirela closes her eyes. “A man came to me several years ago. He said he would tell Bo, our father, your grandfather, where we were unless I agreed to tell him where Harman was. Needless to say, it made me nervous. I didn’t know where he was and I didn’t care to know after your mother died. He ran off, probably as scared of Bo as we were. Anyway, Nadya has a gift. I used it to keep us safe.”
“And to get money out of it.” Aunt Simza crosses her arms.
“Simza found out a few months ago,” Aunt Mirela says. “She can hold a grudge.”
“Fine!” Aunt Simza yells. “Lyuba says we are wasting time. She says they have Fonso, Nadya, and Harman in one room. She can lead us there, but we will need a distraction.”
“This is better than a damn soap opera,” Riley says. “The Days of a Rom’s Life.”
“If my mother is helping you, why didn’t you come to me sooner?” I ask. “You could have said something when I arrived.”
“Simza has her own secrets,” Aunt Mirela says. “She never told me about your mother appearing to her, so we are even as far as that’s concerned.”
“When Lyuba first appeared to me, it was the day you were born. That’s when I knew she had died. We knew nothing about you. I didn’t see her again until a couple of weeks ago.” Aunt Simza faces me. “At the beginning, she didn’t say anything. It’s hard for spirits to cross planes. It took some time for her to become verbal. Once she did, I couldn’t get her to shut up. That’s why I sent the note and called you in New Orleans.”
“That was you.”
“When I found out your father had kept you away all these years, and that Mirela was being paid to disclose his whereabouts. I became livid and cross. I blocked your mother out,” Aunt Simza says.
“You blocked everyone out,” Aunt Mirela gripes.
“Lyuba is as stubborn dead as she was alive. Ever since your arrival, she’s been pestering me. She even showed up in my damned shower.” Aunt Simza rolls her eyes.
“But, you ignored her, and me?” I ask.
“She wasn’t the only visitor I’ve been getting. I’ve had spirits from all over the world talk with me, in languages I couldn’t understand. It was overwhelming. I knew you were trouble right off the bat.” Aunt Simza leans back. “I wanted to leave. It’s the first time I’ve hated my gift.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Aunt Mirela says. “Why did that happen?”
“Some warning about a storm,” Aunt Simza explains. “I couldn’t understand it half the time. I ignored them like I did Lyuba.”
“How did my mother die?” I ask.
“She says it wasn’t your fault.” Aunt Simza pauses. “There was an earthquake.”
I shudder.
“Something fell on her. A beam in the bedroom, I think.” Aunt Simza blinks, wiping her eyes. “She says it wasn’t your fault.”
It was my fault. Large raindrops hit the windshield.
“She’s gone,” Aunt Simza says. “She vanished.”
“Now?” Colin asks. “Don’t we need a guide here? We’re almost there.”
“There’s only two rooms they can be in and it’s on the south side,” Kyle says.
“She’s back,” Aunt Simza says.
“Weirdest family ever. And, here I thought shifting into a furry animal was weird.” Brayden says.
“Fonso and Nadya are still in the room, surrounded by books,” Aunt Simza says.
“The library,” Kyle says. “We have to go in the south entrance, on the ocean side. You’ll need to go down several blocks and turn around. We have to be able to get away and it’s a dead end.”
“Where’s my father?” I ask.
Aunt Simza shakes her head. “She didn’t see him. They must have taken him somewhere else.”
Colin turns the truck around at the dead end. Kyle points to a spot on the side of the road and Colin parks.
I’m nauseous. I glance out the window to see the waves churning and slashing against the shore.
Colin rubs my thigh. “We’ll find him,” he whispers.
Kyle points to a large colonial structure. “That’s the house.”
“That’s a fucking mansion.” Kayla’s eyes widen. “On the friggin beach, too.”
“I’m guessing we are the distraction?” Brayden asks.
“I’ll go in the front and divert them.” Kyle scoots up on the edge of the seat, closer to us. “Keep them busy for a while. The wolves can go to the north side. Knock over garbage cans, but wait ten minutes. Throw rocks in the windows and run. There’s a stone garden near the service entrance. Seriously, get out as quickly as you can. They will chase you…with guns.”
Riley looks at his watch. “Okay.”
“Colin stays with me,” I say. He’s the only thing keeping my emotions fr
om going all over the place and causing chaos.
Kyle points to the beach access sign. “When you have them, go to the beach and head south. It’ll bring you back to a path that will lead you here. If I don’t come back, leave. I’ll be fine and I can distract them so you’ll get away.”
“Thank you, Kyle.” He avoids eye contact. It hurts, but it’s to be expected.
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry this happened. I didn’t know, and still don’t know why he would take your father. It doesn’t make sense.” Kyle shakes his head. “Anyway,” he looks at each person in the group, “are we clear on what everyone needs to do?”
“Your mother will guide us to the room,” Aunt Simza says.
“Right.” Kyle’s forehead creases. His hand brushes my shoulder. “Then, you get her out of town.”
Kyle and Colin exchange stares for a moment too long.
“I’ll get her out of town,” Colin says.
We all climb out of the truck.
“Ten minutes,” Kyle repeats and walks toward the house.
“Kyle.” Colin jogs to him. They exchange words I can’t hear. Colin clenches his fists. He watches the ground. Then, returns to my side.
“What was that about?” I ask.
“He’s never going to forgive me.” I see the turmoil in his face, and it pains me knowing he’d regret what he had done for the rest of his life. He pushes past the moment and waves the others over. “Cross the street and cut back on the opposite side of the house. Ten minutes.”
“Why are we doing this again?” Kayla asks. “We don’t owe them anything. They’ve been nothing but trouble to us and if your father finds out, we’re dead.”
“Have you felt his pull since we’ve been with them?” Riley asks.
“No,” Brayden replies.
“No,” Kayla says.
“Me neither,” Riley says. “Maybe whatever is working on Colin is working on us when we’re around her.” Colin and the others stare at me. “Since the pack arrived, I’ve heard everything in their minds. But now, I can’t hear anything.”
“What are you saying?” Colin asks.
“Maybe that’s her gift. She’s detaching us somehow.” Riley pulls his fingers apart. “I don’t know how to phrase it.”
Lightning Struck (The Roaming Curse Book 1) Page 14
