Wicked Legends: A Dystopian Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by hamilton, rebecca

  Ace spun back, rage flowing freely across his face. “I’m going, Agent. You said you could keep her safe. So go find her. Or all bets are off.” He turned and strode away, his heels beating against the ground. “And if she shows, I’m making you no promises. Not anymore.”

  “I am the only one—”

  Ace didn’t slow, just waved him off and turned the corner, his long stride carrying him away.

  Alex shook his head. The day had gone to hell. It was time to do what he did best and turn it around. Of course, it would be helpful if he had all of the information he needed.

  At the top of his to-do list, right behind getting Lena out of Azcon and covering his own ass, was figuring out what Lucas, Hernandez, and the Councilor were a part of that he hadn’t even known about. The fact that he wasn’t aware of any other factions operating within the Council or on behalf of any individual Councilors left him cold. They had plenty of reports about the Tribulationist influence on Councilors Four and Two, and on Two’s panic as the Native Nations carved away her arable land. But an unknown internal faction operating at this critical point? Not good.

  It wasn’t far to her sister’s grid with the tiny new homes that were meant to emulate the old neighborhoods of Santa Fe and Los Alamos. He parked and approached Teresa’s earth-toned adobe home on foot. Just inside the gate to the little private plaza, a large earthen bowl of pecans still in their brown and black striped shells overflowed onto the terracotta tiles. Alex cocked a brow at the extravagance.

  The nut somehow affected the brains of Sparks, giving them a boost in strength and longevity between grounds. The valuable commodity grew almost exclusively in Zone Three. Their trade value dictated most of the crop be earmarked for shipment out of the zone. The overflowing bowl on Teresa’s porch was meant to say a great deal about her, though she made sure they were out of reach of anyone at the locked gate. He sourly shook his head.

  He pulled the rope to the side of the gate, and the bell clanged. Through the front window, he could see two shadows, one large and one small, moving in a back room. Not Lena small, though. Child small. As the notes of the bell sounded, the shadows melted to the walls. He shook his head and pulled the bell again.

  After the bell sounded a third time, he raised his voice so Teresa could hear him from inside. “Teresa Gracey Luevano? Council Defense Agency. Open the door.” He pulled the rope another time for good measure. He wasn’t going away. He repeated himself, louder, deliberately throwing his voice so her neighbors could hear him as well.

  The larger shadow peeled itself away from the wall and hurried up the hall. Locks flipped, and an attractive young woman in her late twenties came out and hurried across the courtyard.

  Teresa looked like Mercedes, all large dark eyes and thick black hair worn loose and long. Their mother had been tired and likely sick, but he had still recognized the faded beauty of the woman beneath the sallow skin and timid demeanor. Teresa had her mother’s beauty. But Teresa did not have her mother’s manner.

  She stopped and stood back from the gate, her arms crossed tight across her chest. “Show me your badge.”

  Alex had anticipated her demand and already had his wallet out. He slapped it open with an irritated flick of his wrist. She leaned closer to see it better, as if anyone else had the capability to make a mock-up of the rare metal blend with a stamped engraving of his face.

  “Teresa Gracey Luevano?” He made sure his voice still carried and nodded at the gate between them.

  “Do you mind?” She darted forward to unlock the gate, looking quickly up and down the street behind him. She closed the gate then turned away from him to hurry back into the house.

  He followed her.

  Once he’d crossed the threshold into the cool house, she swung the door closed behind him and whirled to face him. “What do you people want? I already told the other agent that I have nothing to do with my sister!”

  He held up his hand. “When was this?”

  Her nostrils flared with her emotion. “This morning. Early.” She spat the words at him. “When agents came to my home and took me away like a criminal. When they pulled my son from his bed and carried him away.” Teresa gestured down the hallway. The smaller shadow, no doubt, was her son making himself scarce.

  If Lucas had picked them up, Alex couldn’t blame her for being angry. But she wasn’t just angry. There was fear. Fear and—? Her hands trembled. The pulse in her neck was racing. Her eyes were red and her lashes wet.

  Fear and grief. She knew her mother was dead. And only one person could have told her.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” Alex said.

  She swallowed hard, shaking her head, as if to deny it.

  “Lena? Lena!” He called out to her, his voice a bellow of frustration. Why could she not have gone to Ace’s place like he’d told her? Why did she have to push every step of the way? He pressed his hand up against his ribcage and stalked down the hall.

  “She’s not here,” Teresa called after him.

  Her footsteps slapped the floor behind him as he called out again.

  She raised her voice over his. “She’s not here! I threw the little bitch out of my house!”

  Alex turned. “What did you say?”

  Teresa folded her arms across her chest again. Her jaw set, and her lips turned down with hate. “I threw her out. She’s not here anymore, and she won’t be back, so you can go, too.”

  “You threw her out?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your own sister?”

  “Half-sister!”

  There was nothing in the file to reflect that, so he merely filed the lie away. “And where was she going?”

  “To one of the stupid boys she sleeps with? To her awful friend? To my idiot brother? I didn’t ask. If they’re smart, they’ll throw her out, too.” Teresa tossed her long hair back behind a shoulder. “Maybe she ran to the park or the market to creep around pretending to be a normal person like she used to do. How should I know? And why should I care? She got my mother killed!”

  He felt his disgust mirrored on his face. He continued to the back of the house, a long open space with a kitchen at one end and a living area at the other. Teresa stalked after him, ordering him to leave her boy alone and spewing half-formed threats. The room was empty but for furniture and the small boy squeezed between the wall and the back of a wooden chair. Alex crossed to the boy.

  “Joseph.” He squatted, back straight to ease his ribs, as he regarded the scared child half hidden behind the slats of the chair. Wide, dark eyes stared back at him. “Was your aunt here?”

  The boy peeked at his mother.

  Alex had to have his attention. “Joseph!”

  The boy jumped.

  “Do you know who I am?” Alex asked.

  “A bully!” Teresa spat at his back.

  Alex ignored her. He focused on the boy, hating that he needed to question him. The pit he’d waded into kept getting deeper and deeper. “Joseph, do you know who I am?”

  Joseph nodded. “Council agent.” His voice was so faint as to be barely heard, especially with one eardrum still healing.

  “That’s right. And if you lie to me—no matter who tells you it’s okay—it is very wrong. Do you understand?”

  Joseph nodded again.

  “Okay. Now, was your aunt here, Joseph?”

  “Yes.” Joseph kept his gaze fastened upon Alex’s.

  “And is she still here?”

  Joseph shook his head. “She had a fight with Mama.” Tears welled. “She said my ’buela was gone. She said the Council killed her.” He sneaked a glance at his mother and then back again. “But Mama said no. That Tia Lena killed her?”

  “Actually, she tried to protect your abuela. Okay? It was a terrible accident, but she did try.”

  Joseph nodded. His small hands, still baby fat, curled around the back bars of the chair he hid behind.

  “She tried, Joseph.”

  Alex rose. He made a quick circuit t
hrough the two tiny bedrooms and the bathroom joining them. No Lena. Her sister really had thrown her to the wolves. Some family.

  On his way back out to the main hall, he paused where Teresa stood, her chin high, nostrils flared, and eyes dark. The woman hadn’t even bothered to comfort her own child.

  “How long ago did she leave?”

  Teresa shrugged. “I don’t know. Thirty minutes? An hour? I couldn’t tell you.”

  Alex didn’t bother to answer her disrespect with words. He paced across the room, moved into her space, pushed forward even as she stumbled backward. Alarm replaced anger on her face. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t stop, either, until she had moved back and caught against the far wall. Movement flashed in the corner of his eye as Joseph ducked down further with a whimper. He hated Teresa for this. If she gave a single damn about her child’s well-being, she would have cooperated. He’d have searched the house, been on his way to find Lena. But no, she had to try to prove how clever she was.

  Except she wasn’t clever, or strong, or tough. She was nothing like her sister. He had a new appreciation for why Lena had fled Azcon to make her home in an abandoned gas station in the middle of Kewa country.

  “How long ago did she leave?” He breathed the question directly in her face as he stared down at her.

  Teresa swallowed. “Twenty minutes. Maybe almost thirty? No more.”

  He waited, holding the invasion of her space, drawing it out.

  “I swear,” she blurted. “Twenty, twenty-five minutes. She ran out of here. And she really won’t be back.”

  He understood. He was leaving, and he never wanted to return either.

  He backed away. His heart wanted him to check on Joseph, but his head knew what he’d see: a terrified child, shrinking away from the Council agent, marked for life by the encounter. His lips twisted. Generally, he could assure himself that the things he had to do in order to change the world for the better didn’t make him a bad person. Sometimes, like today, he couldn’t avoid the truth. He was a very bad man. He did bad things. That he did them for a good reason didn’t pardon him.

  He left them. The gate swung open behind him. He hoped her neighbors scuttled over and stole all of her damn pretentious pecans.

  Alex rapped at Ace’s apartment door, holding himself stiff. He’d experienced the pain of broken ribs before. He’d also been under the gun, literally and figuratively, trying to make things happen against the odds. The fact that Lena had him wound so tight was not good.

  He raised his hand to knock again, his ire rising. Would they have the audacity to take off on him?

  Ace opened the door. He stood framed in the narrow opening for a long, silent moment, his eyes hooded and smoldering with banked anger. Finally, he stepped back.

  A long breath eased from Alex. She was here.

  He only made it a few steps into the living area before he felt the shift in pressure behind him as Ace moved in fast. His ribs slowed his reaction. Before he’d even managed to make a quarter turn, he felt the hand drop to the back shoulder of his shirt, and Ace spun him around. Alex gasped, and then held his breath.

  “Stop doing that,” he managed to grit out. “My damn ribs are broken.”

  “Good. That’s an excellent start. Because I tell you now, more than your ribs are going to be broken if you don’t explain yourself in the next five minutes.” Clearly, Ace had been catching up with Lena.

  He took a shallow, tired breath. This would be pointless. Nothing he could say would appease the big man. “I did what I had to under the circumstances.”

  Ace scowled, shaking his head.

  “And actually, I did exactly what I told you I would.”

  “You told me you’d protect her.”

  “I told you I would get her to safety. And I did. And if you’ll notice, I’m still working on doing that.” Alex pointed a finger in Ace’s face. “I also told you I was running out of time and at some point my hands would be tied.”

  “Your hands would be tied? You shot her. You shot her. Then you handed her over to them.” Ace’s chest heaved. His lips thinned.

  “I stunned her. And at that point, I had to. Lucas would have had her in custody in a matter of moments, and I had to be sure I would be included in her interrogation. It was the only way I could think to buy the time to figure out how to get her out of there.” It sucked. It did. But it had been the first step to saving her. Did he even stand a chance at making Ace understand it?

  “You stunned her? You betrayed her.” Ace all but snarled rage and frustration at Alex.

  Nope, not a chance. He sighed. “I never intended for her to stay in custody. It was just something that had to happen to buy time. There is more at stake than—”

  “Like Mercedes’s death?” Ace’s voice rose now, enough that any neighbors at home might hear. Alex needed to end the conversation now. But Ace shouted, “You said you would keep her safe—”

  “And you think I haven’t?” Alex interrupted. “I’ve risked everything to help her. Who the hell are you to tell me you don’t like the way I’ve done it? She would be dead right now if not for me. Dead or worse.”

  “Or worse?” Ace scoffed. “I’ve got news for you, man. There ain’t anything worse than dead.”

  Alex snorted his disdain. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I’ve got news for you, simpleton. There damn well is.”

  Ace’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Get out. I’ll keep her safe myself.”

  “You’ll get her killed,” he told him calmly. “And you’ll die with her.”

  “Get out!”

  “Stop it.” Lena’s voice, tired but strong, carried from the arched hall leading to the rear of the apartment.

  Alex swept his gaze over her, checking her small body for injuries. She was whole, but she still wore her dead mother’s dress. Somehow, it made her command more effective. He snapped his mouth shut and bit back the words he’d been about to growl at Ace.

  Ace wouldn’t give up. “I’ve had enough of his lies and doubletalk. I want him gone and—”

  “I said stop!”

  They stared at each other. She didn’t move. She didn’t so much as blink. Ace did, looking away.

  “He helped me, Ace. Even when he was hurt, the first thing he did was help me.” She was matter-of-fact, as if she’d been turning the thought over and over until it became clear. “You’re focusing on the wrong part of the story, Ace. I get it. The whole time they tortured me, I blamed him, too. But as soon as he had the opportunity, he’s the one who got me out.” She shrugged. “And if I’d listened to him and come straight here instead of going to Teresa’s….”

  She shrugged again, but her focus scattered. It darted away from them, across the room, touching on a chair, a picture, the floor. She lifted her face back to them again with a sigh. The blue-green of her eyes was darker.

  “Are you okay?” Alex asked her. He immediately winced. Stupid, stupid question.

  Ace stared at him incredulously.

  She laughed, the sound a little hollow. She reached both hands up to her face and pressed the heels of her palms against her brow. When she dropped them, she shrugged with her hands. “I am. I guess I really am. Wonder what that says about me.” It was a statement, not a question, as if she’d already decided what it said about her. No doubt she’d had Teresa’s help in coming to whatever conclusion she’d reached.

  “It says you’re a survivor.” He looked from Lena to Ace. “So now we have to make sure you survive, no matter how motivated they are, and get you somewhere the Council can’t reach.”

  “I’m pretty motivated myself,” she said. “You say you have a place safe from the Council. Are you and your people working against them?”

  “We are working for Sparks—”

  “Yes, but are you working against the Council? I’ll go with you if I can help destroy them.”

  Her soft voice filled with an intensity that took his breath away. The Council had carved a hole deep within Lena
Gracey, and she wanted to fill it with vengeance.

  Alex nodded at her. He could give her vengeance.

  “Lena, no. He just wants to use what you can do.”

  “I want this. I want this. So let them use me. It turns out I’m a pretty good weapon.”

  She was an exceptional weapon.

  “I can get you out,” Alex swore, making the promise to all three of them. “I have a safe house. You get to it at dusk, when the streets are full of people heading home or to night shift. Wait for me there. I can get you out.”

  “Dusk is really soon,” Lena said. Her hands picked at bits of the hospital room wall still embedded in the weave of her mother’s dress.

  Alex nodded. “Shower. Do you have any clothes here?” At her nod, he continued, “Good. Change. Then you and Ace can go for a walk. Take some food and water. I should be able to come for you tomorrow, but it may not be until late. Once Ace leaves, sit tight and wait.”

  “You expect me to just take her somewhere and leave her?”

  “I expect you to do what needs to be done in order to assure her safety. You know, like I’ve been doing all along?” He was nonchalant, but the words were meant to dig.

  Ace bristled.

  “No, Ace, you aren’t leaving me anywhere.” Her voice had gained strength.

  “That’s exactly right.”

  The man had no idea how dangerous it was to give Alex that look.

  “Stop smirking, Ace.” Lena tossed out. “You aren’t leaving me anywhere because you aren’t going. You’ve risked enough. And I can take care of myself, as you well know.”

  Ace shook his head and opened his mouth. Alex turned away and tuned them out. He ignored the argument behind him and crossed to a desk. Deliberately slanting his letters far to the left and shifting his neat block lettering to a casual scrawl, he dipped a pen in ink and jotted down the address of the safe house. If she got picked up, this wouldn’t come back to him. He couldn’t save her ass again if he was in the cell next to hers.

  He blew on the ink until it dried, then folded the paper and turned back to them. She stood serenely, as if waiting for him. Ace was still infuriated. Alex held the slip of paper aloft between his first two fingers, waving it back and forth between them as if unsure who would take it. After several seconds, he made as if he’d finally realized Ace would not be going along. He pulled a sad face at the man before crossing and giving the address to Lena.