“Yes. His kiss is just as I remembered it, though my husband would be very angry if he found out. They’re only dreams, but he’d not like it one bit.” Her smile faded as did the light in her eyes. It twisted Lilly’s gut to hear the fear in her voice, and could only imagine what it must do to Jack.
“And can you send Jack a message?”
“Yes. He showed me how, though he does not always come to me when I ask. He said it is sometimes difficult.” A frown marred her beautiful face.
“I want you to tell him you had a visit from his dear friends, Mason and Lilly. Can you do that for me as soon as we leave?” When she nodded, he continued. “You will remember nothing else, my dear.”
“As you wish.”
Chapter Eleven
Mason concentrated on gathering the energy he needed to build a mental wall around the home and surrounding area. If Jack passed through it, Mason would know.
“Now we wait.” He gave Lilly a hand into his carriage and then slipped into the seat by her side. His driver took them for a short ride, like he’d been instructed. By the time they returned to their original spot outside the house, the carriage would no longer be detected—not even by Jack.
“Do you think him an idiot? He’ll know it’s a trap, even if he can’t see us waiting for him.” She spoke with such incredulity, he wondered if she was right.
“He may know it’s a trap, but I guarantee he’ll not be able to resist checking in on his wife to make sure she’s still safe.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips, her skin delicate with a lingering scent of lavender. Then in a moment of honesty, he said, “I know I’d not be able to stay away if I thought you threatened.”
By the light of the street lamps, he saw her brows furrow as she pinned him with a questioning stare. “Even if it meant you may not survive? I highly doubt it, Mason. After all, you are chancellor, and I suspect you’d not make any rash and emotional decisions.”
“Believe what you will.” He placed her hand on her lap and let it go, annoyance creeping into his chest until every breath took an effort. Why it should bother him, he knew not. She was nothing more than a distraction in a life lived too long. And yet, he had to fight the urge to shake her until her teeth rattled. The girl must be blind.
But blind to what? Surely nothing he’d willingly admit, even to himself.
He thought of Damon’s revelation about the child, and felt his heart ache. Mason wanted to believe him mistaken, but knew it’d be nothing more than a feeble attempt to deny the truth. He had not been the one to bring her over after her death, but recalled that she had died of fever. No mention was made of a child.
He thought of Lilly’s difficulty to adjust to this life and give up her past, and he now understood why. Yet she’d never said a word to him. Not even with their recent relations—and he hated that it bothered him as much as it did.
He should have checked into the life she’d lived, but it wasn’t something they bothered with unless there was a problem. It had been a mistake to not look into it further, especially when she was so hesitant to leave her past behind.
“So we’re going to just sit here and hope he shows up?” Lilly pulled him from his thoughts, shifting to face him, her movements stiff with tension.
“What would you have me do, Lilly? By all means, if you have a better idea, I’d like to hear it. How would you catch Jack? Because I’d like to know—as chancellor, since you like to remind me every chance you get.”
“Hmph.” She crossed her arms, and looked straight ahead.
He knew he shouldn’t be annoyed with her. After all, why should she open up to him? Their relations, though more frequent as of late, had not ever turned towards the serious.
Or had they?
He looked at her, and it was as if he was seeing her again for the first time. His heart pounded a rapid beat, even though she sat there annoyed with him. Truth was, it made her all the more irresistible—and already he found it hard to resist her charms. But there was more, he suddenly realized, even if he refused to acknowledge it for long.
“Tell me, my love, how would you catch Jack?” He leaned in and nipped at her ear, ignoring her when she swatted at him like she was ridding herself of a pesky fly. “I did not think you’d want me to force his hand by doing something extreme.” His lips trailed down her neck, and though she pushed him away, it was half-hearted, her defenses weakening. “I’ll not let you get bored while we wait… I promise.”
“Damn it, Mason.” She shifted far enough away to hold him in her gaze—a gaze that halted his very breath. “I can no longer play your games. It’s one thing for us to pursue a casual relation, but it leaves me dizzy, for it never feels casual. Instead I feel like I’ve been swept away by a winter storm into a tumultuous sea—and I’m drowning, Mason. I cannot do this.”
It wasn’t what he’d expected, and his heart tightened as if it no longer had the space it needed to beat. “Lilly… I don’t understand.”
It had been a long time since fear gripped him like it did just now, and the thought of losing her left him wondering how he could have put himself in such a vulnerable position. He cupped her cheek, his eyes searching hers for a glimmer of hope. “I’m confused as to whether you want to see less of me or more.”
“I wish I knew, Mason.” She leaned against his hand, her eyes half closing. “The truth is I’d feel a fool to give you my heart for I do not think you can keep it safe, and yet…”
“What, love?” He pulled her close and nuzzled her, desperate to not lose the little they had between them. “And yet?”
“… my heart breaks to think of not having you in my life.”
When she turned away from him, his frustration sparked in fear. “Have I not proven my loyalty to you? I do not understand what more you want. You certainly seemed to have few qualms when it came to pursuing something with Jack.”
With a shake of his head, he cursed himself for letting his emotions get the best of him. From the moment he set eyes on her, he’d known she’d cause him nothing but problems and heartache.
“It was different with Jack.”
“Different, indeed. For who could resist his good looks or his penchant for murdering prostitutes?” The woman was infuriating.
“Yes. Those were my exact thoughts when I took him to my bed.” Lilly’s eyes blazed, no longer looking away, her voice edged with anger. It took all he had to not kiss her then and there. “For such an intelligent man, you certainly are a fool.”
“A fool, am I?”
And then his nerves were set alight with warning, his body going tense. “It’s Jack. He’s heading for the house.” He was already out of his seat and heading for the door. “Stay here.”
“I’m coming with you.” She was right behind him, gathering her skirts up out of the way as she prepared to follow him.
“I’ve no time to argue with you. You’re to stay here—that’s an order.” He’d not risk her getting hurt.
“Back to chancellor, are we?”
He ground his teeth, his patience with her gone. “Stay. Here.” Her growl of frustration was enough confirmation as he exited the carriage and moved towards the house.
He drew his pistol and held it at the ready. With a bit of aim and luck, it’d be enough to immobilize Jack so he could be captured. Though they could not die like mere mortals, they could still be wounded and feel pain—a none too pleasant experience to live through something that should kill you. The body would heal itself, and recovery would take only a fraction of the time.
Mason kept to the shadows as he moved towards the back of the home where the breach in his wall occurred. With a final glance over his shoulder to make sure Lilly stayed put, he turned his focus on finding Jack.
Had he gone into the home or was he still lurking outside? Mason mentally felt around for Jack’s energy, and followed the breach towards the back gardens. He let himself in through the back gate when the rusty hinge squeaked, breaking the silence of night.
He’d barely turned around, when the tackle came out of nowhere. Catching him off guard, he was knocked into the gate, the pistol sent flying out of his hand. The iron points of the gate tore into his back as Jack pinned him with a shoulder, landing blow after blow into his guts and ribs. Mason fought back, but pinned as he was against the gate and with Jack carrying an additional three stone of muscle and several inches, it was impossible to get any power behind his shots or shift free off the irons.
Gathering what energy he could, Mason shot a mental blow at Jack and then another, though it did little to slow Jack who was riding a wave of anger and had his mental defenses up.
“You fucking bastard.” Jack landed another blow, and pain erupted across Mason’s side as a rib cracked. Mason threw more mental blows at him, and though he knew he was hitting his mark, Jack was in a rage unlike anything Mason had ever encountered. “Go near my wife again, and I’ll find a way to fucking kill you.”
“Jack. Let him go.” Mason barely registered Lilly’s voice as the blows continued, when a shot tore through the night. “I said let him go.”
Mason would have laughed had it not hurt so much. For there she stood on the other side of the gate, looking like fury unleashed, the pistol he’d dropped held firmly in her hand. His dearest Lilly, come to the rescue.
“Come to defend him, have you? Go ahead then. Shoot me.” Jack took a step back as Mason struggled to pull himself upright. “But you’d better be quick.” A pistol appeared in Jack’s hand, the metal catching the light.
And then another shot rang out in the silence of night.
Chapter Twelve
“Stay clear of my family.” Jack turned and vanished into the night, as Lilly stood there, her shot firing after he’d already gone, too late to stop him.
“Mason!” Lilly frantically tried to push the gate open, but Mason’s body was slumped against it. The blood poured from his chest and sent her pulse racing in panic, ignoring her mind as it told her he could not die. Using the weight of her body, she managed to get the gate open enough to squeeze through.
Mason’s head lolled forward as he faded in and out. “Go after him… don’t let him get away.” Blood trickled from his mouth as he spoke. “Follow his energy.”
Lilly crouched at his side, unsure of what she should do to stop the bleeding. “I’m not leaving you.”
She did her best to pull him upright, the weight of him difficult to move. With the shots fired, she was sure it would not be long before someone came out to investigate, a complication she did not need.
“Even if I catch up to Jack, what then?”
“You shoot the bastard.” He coughed, surprising Lilly when he didn’t spray her with blood. His healing abilities appeared to surpass those of most reapers, though it did little to reassure her.
“He’s long gone. It’s more important that I get you someplace safe so you can heal, before Jack returns to finish you off.” She got her shoulder under his arm and helped pull him to his feet, a task that nearly toppled the two of them. Just then Mason’s driver appeared and took Mason’s other arm, muttering his concerns for his employer.
They got him into the carriage, while Lilly tried to ignore the tightness in her chest and queasy feeling in her gut. Mason had been terribly injured, and had he not been a reaper, he’d have surely died in her arms. The worry she felt was just one more reason why she should keep her feelings for him at bay. As chancellor, he would always be in danger, and though he’d not get himself killed, she could not stand to watch him suffer through the pain.
He grabbed her arm as he shifted towards her, pain etched on his face. “You need to go find Jack. Now, Lilly, while you still have time to track him.”
“What I need to do is get you help. You’re still bleeding.” She tried to stay calm, but the sight of his blood soaking his clothing was more than she could bear.
“Please do as I ask, love.” He brushed her cheek. “I’m healing as we speak, but if I have to go back to the Elders to let them know I let Jack escape, these injuries will be the least of my worries.”
“Mason…” She gritted her teeth in frustration. “I cannot leave you like this.”
“I need you to do this.” He brought her hand to his lips. “I promise to make it up to you.”
“In the condition you’re in, I doubt it.” But already his battle was won, and they both knew it.
“Do you still have my pistol?”
She felt the hard metal through the cloth of her jacket, though it was little comfort. “I have it. But I swear, Mason, if you die on me, I’ll not forgive you.”
He pulled her in for a hard kiss and then let her go. “’Tis hard to kill the already dead, love.”
***
Lilly managed to find Jack’s energy, faint as it was, and followed it down the garden path. She was surprised no one had come to investigate the sound of gunshots, though she knew people were disinclined to get involved in things that might be deemed unsavory—or worse, that they might somehow be implicated in a crime. It was always better to let someone else deal with such disagreeable and common matters.
Jack’s trail followed a straight path out of the garden and down the road. When she got to a small green, his energy seemed to tangle and scatter, as if he’d paced the area in every direction possible. Cursing, she tried to clear her head and think of the matter logically, instead of relying on his energy. There were six roads that fanned out around the green, but she knew not which to pick.
Circling the green with the hope Jack’s energy would return to a single thread, she soon realized he’d likely walked the entire area before triggering Mason’s spell, knowing he may need to get away without being followed. If he also took a carriage, it would sever the trace, making it impossible for her to track him, especially with her limited abilities. His sharp intellect had been one of the things that attracted her to him. Now, she found herself cursing him for it.
Walking down the dark paths of the green, she stopped suddenly when the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She spun around, but there was nothing other than the shadows of night.
“Jack?” Silence. “Jack, if that’s you, I swear you better answer me.” Something didn’t feel right.
And then she knew why. When he stepped out onto the path, Lilly took a step back, her breath catching as her heart thundered away, her pulse deafening.
“A lady should not be walking alone so late at night.” He took a step towards her, the moonlight catching on the planes of his face, casting his angular features in shadow. “It could be dangerous.”
Lilly knew it would do no good to glamour him, for he had already proven himself unaffected by a reaper’s protection. Perhaps she’d have better luck with Mason’s pistol. She took another step back as her hand closed around the cold hard metal. Steadying her nerves, she pushed aside her fear.
In one fluid motion she pulled the pistol from her pocket and leveled it at the man standing before her, refusing to be intimidated. “Who are you and why are you following me?”
“I’m sorry if I’ve frightened you, m’ lady. I mean you no harm. My name is Stefan.” He slowly spread his arms out in front of him as if to show her he had nothing to hide.
“You’ve still not answered my other question, for I doubt your presence, time and again, has been a coincidence.” Lilly’s grip on the pistol tightened when Stefan shifted sideways, stepping into the dark and away from the moonlight.
“With such beauty, who could stay away?” Lilly strained to see his movements, with little luck. “Soon, m’ lady, we will meet again and will have more time to ourselves. I promise.”
A shiver crawled down her spine and then she could see him no more. Fear clenched her tight in its grip, leaving her scared he would catch her with her guard down. Where was he? Was he still there? She thought she heard the crunching of dried leaves underfoot.
Chastising herself for letting him slip away, she moved in the direction he’d gone, the dark of
night swallowing her. When she heard footsteps walking towards her, panic rose tight in her chest, her hand sweaty around the pistol’s grip. She swore she’d happily let Jack go free if he’d step to her side and keep her safe, for she knew nothing about defending herself. The footsteps neared and she raised the pistol once again, her grip tight on the trigger, ready to shoot.
“Mum?” Mason’s driver came into view, and she let out a sigh, her limbs turning to jelly with relief. “Lord Archer sent me to find you. Is everything all right?”
Lilly gave a final glance at the darkness, but Stefan must have made his escape by now—and good riddance. Hopeful she’d not need it again, she slipped the pistol back into her pocket. “Yes, I think everything is fine now.”
Jack - A Grim Reaper Romance Page 9
