“Honestly, I’ve thought about it a thousand times. But I could never do it. No matter how I’ve tried to avoid it, it’s who I am. Just like you were meant to lead.”
“Why? Because Horace deemed it so a hundred years ago? Is that a good reason?”
Charlotte grabbed Triaten’s free hand and entwined her fingers into his. “Tri, I’ve been running, you’ve been running — we’ve been running from the same thing our whole lives. You, from joining the elders. Me, from breeding for them. I don’t know that the running has gotten us anywhere. So maybe, just maybe, it’s time to try a new tactic.”
She pulled his hand up to her face, letting the heat of his skin warm her lips as she talked. “Tri, here is what I know of you. You were meant to lead. It’s always been what you’re best at — no matter that it is what your father wants. Take him out of the picture, and you’d be in the exact same spot. A born leader.”
“But Horace doesn’t want me to lead — he wants me to be him. And he’s mad that I won’t come around to his way of thinking.”
Charlotte spat out an exasperated chuckle. “Do you mean his notion that sacrificing human life is a necessary evil?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Well, you don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. So we work to change it. We will find another way, one that doesn’t involve the constant sacrifice of life that Horace and the other elders have so easily accepted.”
Triaten smiled at her head. “Still think we can change the world, do you?”
She nodded on his chest. “I may have been lost for a while there. But I think I’m back. You lead me back, Tri. You always do.”
“Good, because it’s just in time to pick up the optimism for both of us. For I still have a lot of questions in this brain that need reconciliation.”
Charlotte sat upright, pulling away, but still staring at him. “Are you still questioning us, Tri?”
He gave the seriousness of the question its due thought before he answered. “No, not us. There isn’t an ounce of me that doubts my choice of this fate with you. You — our life together — is worth more than anything. And I will trade, connive, barter, or pummel anything that threatens it.”
His hand went to her hair, tucking a smooth strand behind her ear. “Me. It’s me I question. I’m afraid. Afraid I’ll fail you. Afraid I can’t put you first. When it’s what you deserve.”
“Who’s above me?”
“It’s not a who. It’s a world of whos. The other day with Horace — it just reminded me that protecting the innocents — it is who I am down to the core. And I want to put you first above it, but I don’t know if I can.”
Charlotte’s eyes closed as relief set in. When she opened them, she was smiling. “Tri, that’s where you don’t need to worry. I never asked to be number one in your life — scratch that — I do ask that I am number one when it comes to your bed...and your love. But beyond that, Tri, I only ask to be by your side. You don’t ever have to worry about putting what you were meant to do on this earth above me, because I will be right there at your side, an appendage you couldn’t slice off if you tried.”
Triaten chuckled as his hand went to her cheek, cradling her jaw. “Is it any wonder that you’ve always had a hold on my heart? So we get to make a home together, wherever, through whatever?”
“Through whatever. As long as we’re together, I’m happy.”
{ Chapter 20 }
Triaten stepped into the ranch through the kitchen door. Charlotte had said Aiden and Skye were probably up at the ranch, as they had been when she stopped up there looking for him, so he wasn’t surprised when Aiden was sitting at the heavy wood table, hunched over a map.
He didn’t look up at the cold blast of air coming through the door. “Been wondering when you would show up.” Aiden glanced up, eyes directed pointedly behind Triaten. “You see Charlotte yet?”
“Yes. She’s down at the barn, checking on the horses. She’s staying out of sight for the moment.” Triaten moved to the table to look over Aiden’s shoulder.
“Going to talk to Shiv?”
“Yes. What’s this?” He nodded to the map.
“The Folotto compound. The elders are considering a pre-emptive strike against the Folotto family, as they’ve made no effort to hide the fact that they were behind the massacres in Africa. This is the best surveillance we have of their compound in northern Europe. The mountains around it are angled such that satellite shots are pretty weak. You were gone, so they asked if I could take a look at the tacticals. I’ve been antsy with all the time up here, so agreed.”
Triaten smiled. “You may not want to hear it, but it’s nice to see you involving yourself again. The elders must be pleased.”
Aiden shrugged. “They’re hitting too close to home. We almost lost Charlotte, and I know they’re still looking for an opportunity to take me out after my...rampage before the flame moon. I don’t even want to think about Skye being on their radar.”
Triaten patted Aiden’s shoulder. “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re calling a spade a spade in regards to your ‘rampage.’ Charlotte said things were going better for Skye and Shiv?”
“They are. Shiv’s been more than resistant, but my wife has the tenacity of a wolverine.”
“Good. I don’t take what I have to do next lightly, so it will be good that Shiv has someone she knows is by her side.”
Aiden’s nod was solemn.
“Where are they?”
“They were on a walk,” Aiden answered, “and should be back soon, I imagine. Rafe is out with them. You should check out the library. As much as Shiv has not impressed me with how she has treated Skye, that girl is talented.”
With a nod of thanks, Triaten left the kitchen and wandered to the library. He stood at the doorway, and gave a low whistle at the sight in front of him. The floor was complete. Complete and gorgeous.
The two goddess in the center had an ethereal quality about them, both of them designed with a serenity that seemed to mask a storm. The ground beneath the left figure, with her hand in the soil, swirled from the black of the dirt, into a deep crimson, representing the bowels of earth. The blue sky that the other goddess reached for turned into a pale blue-white as it went higher. Both the crimson and the white flowed around the outer edges of the room, meeting, clashing, and dancing as their colors melded together.
The door behind Triaten opened and he could hear the clip of Rafe’s feet on the wood before he turned around. Both Shiv and Skye stopped short in the foyer when they saw him.
Skye shot a concerned glance at Shiv, and then forced a smile on her face. “You’re back. Good. We were all worried.” She stepped forward and gave him a quick hug and kiss on his cheek.
Pulling back, she looked over her shoulder at Shiv. Skye’s feet stuck, and she suddenly looked unsure about what to do.
“Skye, can I get Shiv alone for a few moments?”
Skye’s eyes darted between the two. She was unwilling to leave the situation until Shiv spoke up.
“It’s okay, Skye. Go find Aiden.”
Skye nodded and went down the hallway, but her walk lingered.
Triaten watched her disappear, then he turned to Shiv. “Come in here with me?”
Shiv dutifully stepped past him into the library, and Triaten slid the door closed behind her. She went to the middle of the room and bent over, pulling the sleeve of her jacket over her thumb to polish a small tile that had an errant smudge of grout on it.
“It’s outstanding. Perfect for this room. I am honored to have the beauty of it in the ranch. Thank you.”
Shiv stood and crossed her arms across her rib cage. She wasn’t smiling at the compliment. “You’re welcome. And?”
“And what?”
“You didn’t pull me in here for nothing, Triaten. Skye wouldn’t tell me what happened when you guys were gone. It gave me a reason to be mad at her, but that’s beside the point. I can already tell by your face where this is headed. So we don’t ne
ed to elongate the pleasantries.” She stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, challenging. “Tell me I’m wrong?”
“You’re an extraordinary woman, Shiv.” Triaten took a step toward her. “You are genuine, and strong, and smart, and beautiful.”
“But not enough for you, right?”
“I’m sorry, Shiv, if Charlotte hadn’t come back –”
Her hand flew up. “Stop right there. You may not mind being second choice, Triaten. But I do.”
“It’s not about first or second choices, Shiv.”
“It isn’t? Really? Do you honestly think she would choose you if her Thomas was still around?”
Triaten winced.
“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?”
Anger flashed across Triaten’s eyes, then disappeared. “Shiv, this is beneath you.”
She shrugged, her arms clasped in front of her again. “Tell me, Triaten. Tell me the time you were with me, that you weren’t freer than you’ve ever been. More free in body and mind. The past has done a number on you, Triaten, but I could see you let everything go when you were with me. Tell me that’s not true.”
“It doesn’t matter, Shiv. It isn’t who I am. Not really. I have been in a crisis of faith — a crisis of life — but I have my center back.”
“And your center is Charlotte?”
“My center is me. What I was meant to do. Charlotte makes no demands, but she reminds me of it.”
Shiv bit her lip as she heaved a steadying sigh, hands on her hips. “And I can’t compete with that?” She shook her head before the words finished. “No, don’t answer that. Forget I even asked it.”
She looked down at the floor, staring at the goddesses. Her hand went to her forehead, rubbing it. Minutes passed, and then, with a deep breath, she managed to look up at him. “I’ll be gone within the day.”
Triaten grabbed her arm as she walked past him. “Shiv, you don’t need to leave. Stay here. I’ll stay at my house.
She jerked her arm away. “I’ll be gone within the day.”
Shiv slid the library door open wide, and walked out the front door. Through the front library window, he watched her get into her car and peel off.
Triaten trudged to the back of the ranch. Skye jumped him the second he stepped into the kitchen.
“God, Triaten.” She shook her head. “I knew this was going to happen, but still...still…damn you. Damn you.”
Triaten took the scold, knowing he had earned it. “She’s gone. You should go after her.”
“She leave in her car?”
“Yes.”
Skye turned back to Aiden. His arm was already out, keys dangling.
She took them and left.
Triaten went over to a cabinet and pulled down two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a healthy dose and sat down at the table.
“Anything I should know about that?” Aiden asked.
“No. It went as expected. I’m an ass.”
“That, you are.” Aiden grabbed the other glass Triaten had set down, and poured a swallow. “Now, do you want to help me figure out these old surveillance shots? I’ve got one nice route in, but I need at least three more options.” He took a sip of the amber liquid. “That, and we need to talk about your father.”
Triaten shrugged. “Until he shows his face again, I don’t know what to think, or what to believe.”
“We’ve obviously kept the information about who he was meeting with to ourselves. But whatever game he is playing, if he’s playing it with Evan, I can’t help but assume they plan to use Skye. And you know that isn’t going to fly with me. No matter if he is your father.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not going to fly with me either.”
“And what the hell was he doing introducing Charlotte to Evan?”
Triaten’s thumbnail started to carve the wood in front of him. “Who knows. It was something, or it was nothing. You know Horace — mind games are his specialty. I imagine he plans to keep me in-line by threatening Charlotte now.” He rubbed his neck and took a dose of the whiskey. “How about DeLisio — what did Edmund do with him?”
“He sent him off.”
“Sent him off or sent him off?” Triaten asked.
Aiden shrugged. “He left him alive. He got him to sign away the rights to the Algeria/Morocco border land — and then sent him off. This should have been terrifying enough for the bastard that we won’t be hearing much from him. Let him crawl into a hole and die alone with his money.”
Triaten gave a satisfactory nod, and then downed the last drops in his glass and stood. “Let me just go give Charlotte the all-clear.”
~~~
It was dark when ranch phone rang hours later. Triaten answered it, and without a word, handed the phone to Aiden.
“Aiden — Shiv is gone. We were at Joe’s and we were fine, but then we fought — god — I don’t even know what about — and she went to the bathroom — but then she didn’t — she wasn’t in the bathroom when I checked — she left instead.”
“Do you know where she went?”
“No, but I guess back up there. All her stuff is there.”
“So that’s a good thing?”
“No, Aiden. She is really drunk. She could barely walk away from me. She can’t drive like this. And you know how dangerous some of those curves and switchbacks are from here to there.”
“Got it. I’ll head down and try to intercept.”
“Good, thank you — I’m coming up after her right now.”
~~~
“Shit.” Aiden tensed. He saw the lights of Shiv’s car haphazardly bobbing against the mountain wall, before he saw her car. The sheer randomness of the lights against the rocky face told him the Mustang was not driving in a steady line.
He was two switchbacks down the steepest stretch of the road, when her car rounded the bend below him. He eased Triaten’s jeep back to the apex of the curve, and threw it into park, turning the hazards on. If she was going to crash, at least Triaten’s jeep might stop her Mustang from going over the sheer edge that dropped off from the road at this spot.
Aiden got out of the vehicle and stood in front of it, walking down the gravel toward the bobbing lights coming at him, hoping she would see the flashing lights and at least slow. It was when the car sped and veered, scraping into the inside wall next to the road, that Aiden knew Shiv was in serious trouble.
Behind Shiv’s car, Aiden’s jeep suddenly rounded the corner, just in time to shed headlights onto Shiv’s car bouncing hard off a rocky outcrop. It sent the Mustang flying to the outer edge of the pass, about thirty feet in front of Aiden. The car flew off the road, the back bumper catching at the lip of the embankment. It hung for a moment, just before it plunged.
The Mustang crashed nose-first into the strip of road below it, and then fell into a nose-over-tail roll down the next embankment.
Dirt flew as Skye screeched to a halt and ran from the jeep. She skidded at the spot Shiv went over, and would have plunged after her, had it not been for Aiden grabbing her arm at the last second.
He pulled her back until her feet were on ground, instead of air.
Choking, she looked up at him, desperate and demanding. “Aiden — can you stop it?
“Yes.”
“I need you ready.”
“Do it.”
Skye closed her eyes.
Instantly, Aiden was standing on the road again, watching the Mustang crash into the wall. He dove into full sprint, and reached the car just as its front tires left the ground for air. He grabbed at the car, reaching furiously for anything to get a solid grip on. Heels dug in, and the car pulled him as it slipped over the edge.
Wheels still spinning, the car hung straight down the side of the mountain when Aiden finally stopped its momentum. He was on his belly, every muscle exploding, fingers clutching the back frame under the bumper.
“Aiden, pull it up! Pull it up!” Skye was screaming as she ran up the road. The headlights of the jeep were aimed at
Aiden on the edge.
They could both hear the screaming coming from inside the car.
Aiden slid his knees through the gravel, getting them under his body. He heaved hard three times, and with a groan, pulled at the car, getting to his feet. Straining, he shuffled his feet backward, steel scraping as it tore along the rocky edge. The wheels were still rolling forward, fighting him with every inch gained.
The car back to horizontal, Skye ran around behind him to the driver’s side. She pulled at the door. It was locked. She pounded on the window, but Shiv was in full-on freak-out.
“Shiv, get it out of gear!” she yelled through the window.
Screams were the only reply.
Aiden was losing grip, but his voice was calm. “Get her out of there, Skye.”
Skye turned, searching the ground. She grabbed the first sizable rock she could find, and turned back to the car, smashing it through the driver window. Shiv recoiled from the blast, scampering over to the passenger side of the car. Her feet wedged onto the center console, pushing her back hard against the opposite door.
“Shiv, get out of the car!” Skye demanded as she leaned in through the window, reaching for the gear shift.
“What the hell is he, Skye?” Shiv screamed back. Horror shook her body. “What is that?” She pointed back at Aiden.
Skye took her own yell down a notch as her fingers fumbled with the gear shift. “You don’t understand, Shiv. Just get out of the car, and I’ll explain.”
“Like hell, you can explain.” Shiv turned and pushed open the door, and then flopped out of the car, tripping and hitting the ground like a rock.
Skye hit neutral with the shifter, and pulled herself back out of the car window. The wheels stopped spinning, and she saw Aiden go down onto his backside, arms above his head.
She flew back to him, skidding on her knees, her face above his. His eyes were closed.
“Aiden.” Fear exploded as her hands went about his face.
He opened his eyes. “I’m fine. Just exhausted. I don’t full-on lift cars every day, you know.”
She couldn’t hide a smile as leaned down to kiss him in relief. “Thank god I married Hercules.”
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