Redemption: Alchemy Series Book #4

by Augustine, Donna

  "Well, that's unfortunate for whoever objects, since it's still my casino." He was smiling as he said it, as if the idea of someone telling him to get out of his place made him want to laugh.

  "I object." The idea of him strolling back into our lives enraged me. Or maybe it was because I felt like a bundle of raw emotions and he was acting blasé.

  The smile fell from his face and he stared back at me.

  "I didn't want to leave. I had to."

  "For such a dire need, you seem quite unchanged." I made a show of eyeing him from the top of his thick black hair to the rugged boots on his feet.

  "I needed to go." His voice was strained as he said the words.

  "I don't believe you." I stared straight ahead.

  "Why? When have I ever lied to you?"

  "I don't want to hear the bullshit. Obviously you worked out whatever little problem it was. It must have been horrible."

  "So that's how it's going to be? I don't know why I thought you might have grown up."

  "Did you think it would be anything else, after you walked out? Did you think I'd be one of your little girlies, just thrilled to have you back paying attention to me? Why am I being like this? Because I have 'grown up.' I've been taking care of things while you were gone."

  "I told you. I had to."

  "So, what horrible things happened? Did you go on some murdering rampage?"

  "No." His jaw was tense and he wasn't looking at me either now.

  "Did the magic make you rape and pillage entire villages or some other equally evil deed?" I arched a sardonic brow.

  "No, but that doesn't mean…"

  "Then like I said, save it."

  I turned my face toward the window, signaling that I was done speaking to him, but he kept going anyway.

  "I know you. You're upset but you'll get over it."

  I wasn't sure if he said it for me or himself. I didn't respond. I wasn't interested in talking this out with him. He'd made his choice.

  When we finally pulled up as close as we could to the castle, my hand paused on the truck door handle and I felt a burning need to disabuse him of his conclusions. "You're wrong on both points. You don't know me, not anymore, not who I am now. And I won't just 'get over it.’"

  I didn't wait for a response but hopped down out of the truck. Partly I rushed because I was dying to get away from him and clear my head. But mostly, I was afraid if he pushed me, I'd collapse into his arms and beg him to stay.

  I ran ahead, but he wasn't too far behind. He was close enough, in fact, that I could hear the warm welcome of cheers that went through the castle at his entrance. I didn't stick around long enough to listen to the hoorays and happiness as his presence churned up muddier waters within me.

  When I stepped into the penthouse moments later, I saw Dark and Dodd there. I told them their boy was back, with an extra added reminder to keep to the storyline. Even knowing the truth of what I considered his betrayal, they practically trampled me to get out the door and get to Cormac as quickly as they could.

  The king was home, and apparently, I was the only person who wasn't overjoyed.

  Chapter Eight

  Long Live the King

  "Someone just dropped this off for you," Kever thrust a note at me and rushed past on his way to seek out Cormac.

  "Wait! Have you seen Chip and Colleen?"

  "Yeah, they're with the Fae doctor. They showed up unconscious on the stoop a few hours ago babbling about giants. She had to sedate them."

  "Are they okay?"

  "She said they'd be fine." His eyes kept darting down the hallway in the direction of where everyone was heading.

  I grabbed the note and told him, a bit impatiently, to go. He was off before I got another word out.

  I fingered the thick paper with a wax seal. Pocketing the note, I hurried back to the penthouse. I'd have some privacy, since it would take a while for Cormac to make his way through the throng of admirers. I broke the seal but already knew who had written it.

  I need to speak with you. Meet me at two a.m. in front of the ruins of New York.

  I didn't need a signature, not that he'd bothered. It was from the senator. I also understood he meant the ruins of the casino, not the city. Besides not having any possible way of getting to the east coast in twenty minutes, there were no ruins to mourn the loss of that historic place.

  I threw the note into the fireplace, wondering who was to thank for the blazing flames. I grabbed my jacket and left the penthouse without a word to anyone and headed back out into the frigid weather.

  When I got there, the senator was standing alone in front of the ruins of a casino that used to be one of the main attractions on the Vegas strip. Wrapped in a black mink, his blond hair cascaded down his back as his gaze wandered over what was left of the building.

  "You summoned me?" It wasn't a question so much as a sarcastic statement.

  "You know, I didn't want it to be like this." He motioned toward the destruction. "I didn't have a choice." His voice, always cultured, sounded softer than usual. As if he really did regret the chaos he'd wrought, and disliked caring about it even more. "I wouldn't have done it if they'd given me any other choice. But no. There was no speaking to them."

  I knew "them" was the Keepers. It was horrible to know he and I shared this link, this mutual regret and responsibility for something so horrific. He might have been the designer but I had completed the plans.

  "Why did they banish you?" I waited, wondering if he would reveal what had happened so long ago with the original Keepers. It was a history not even Cormac truly knew.

  He let out a long sad sigh before he finally spoke. "They couldn't control me. They thought they could create me and then I would do whatever they wanted. They weren't prepared for me to have my own desires. They wanted me to be a slave. When I wouldn't, they banished me to a dimension that is unfathomable to most humans. Imagine a thousand years among creatures like the rippers and worse. I was doomed to living eternity in a living nightmare." He looked at me, lids lowered. "When someone has a child, shouldn't that child be able to become their own person?"

  I didn't want to feel for this creature, whatever he truly was, but I found that I suddenly did. He seemed so human right now, in his beautiful form. Then I remembered Rick and his senseless death at the café, the needless murder just to make a point. The senator played the victim, but I knew better. He killed and took without a qualm. He wasn't the victim.

  I didn't have a safe answer and didn't want to get dragged further down the rabbit hole, with its morally confusing twists and turns, so I changed the subject.

  "Did you bring the rippers to this world?"

  "No, not I." The corner of his mouth twitched and I knew he was holding back some information.

  "What did you want to speak with me about?"

  "I've heard Cormac has returned." He gave me his full attention then and the look I saw in his face sent a tremor through me before I could get a hold of my reaction.

  Why such rage? What did it matter to him?

  "Yes." There was no point in lying. I was sure the spies were quite up to speed after Cormac's grand entrance although it was quite unnerving that he'd found out this quickly. We'd barely just returned.

  "How did you know?"

  "You think you are the only one I watch?"

  "Is that going to cause a problem with our agreement?"

  "Why should it?"

  He was lying. I involuntarily went to move a step back but stopped myself. I didn't want the senator to know I was aware of his true feelings, or worse, that I feared him. When he didn't continue, I asked, "Is that all you wanted?"

  "I know he has sway over you." It was a condemnation.

  "You're mistaken. I do exactly what I want." I watched him as he took in my reply. For something wholly inhuman, he had very mortal reactions. His brow furrowed and his eyes seemed to sink deeper. I had a strange feeling, that regardless of what he said, this would be the day I'd mark dow
n on my calendar that our truce had ended.

  He didn't speak again but simply walked off. I watched his back retreat, knowing somewhere deep inside, all hope of peace was disappearing with him.

  I sat by the ruins after he left, trying to convince myself I was wrong. When I couldn’t after an hour, I gave up and headed back to the castle, the feeling of impending doom stronger than ever. I'd almost made it back when the lightning bugs appeared.

  "Jo." They sang my name out like usual.

  "What are you guys doing out here tonight? Don't you have somewhere warm to bed down?"

  "We have to talk to you, Jo."

  "What's wrong?" I asked, pausing about a half a block before the castle.

  "We're hearing strange things."

  "Strange how?" I couldn't wait to find out what would seem odd to talking lightning bugs

  "He's coming. Gotta go."

  I turned to look but I already knew who they meant.

  Cormac was walking toward me with a purposeful stride as the bugs were already zipping down the block. I started walking forward, not toward him but to the castle.

  It was impossible not to have him in my vision as he approached from the direction I was headed but I probably would've watched him regardless. Everything about him drew me in. The way he moved jarred loose buried memories. The way his body felt, moving over mine. His hands wrapped around me, pulling me still snugger to him as he had relentlessly drove deeper. His desire stripping down everything I was, all my pretenses, until nothing was left but pure need. Claiming. Being surrounded by the unleashed intensity that was him, normally so controlled, it swallowed me whole as I'd bathed in the force of who he truly was on a primal level.

  I'd felt the full force of him, had succumbed to his raw appeal. And I'd relinquished everything I was. I'd laid myself bare to him in those moments, and he'd accepted and relished in everything I offered.

  How do you step back from that? How was I supposed to be near him and be less? I'd let him in and now I didn't know how to keep him out.

  I felt the flush of my skin even as I told myself to keep my distance. My brain screamed to stay away but my body, maybe even my soul, craved his nearness.

  "Where've you been?" he said as we approached each other. He didn't touch me but stood so close, as only someone intimate would. His eyes moved over my face and then seemed to fixate on my lips.

  "Out." It was curter than I'd intended but my emotions were throwing my senses into turmoil.

  "I can see that."

  I went to move past him; I needed distance. I wasn't ready for this, whatever it was.

  He stopped me with a hand on my arm when I would've kept going. "With who?"

  "I'm not your concern." I yanked roughly away from him and he let it go.

  "Whether you care to acknowledge it or not, everything that happens here is my business. I deserve to be told what is going on."

  I'd planned on telling him. He did need to know but his demanding, his strolling back in here after months away, sent my temper into a flare.

  "That you gave up. I've been the one keeping things together for the last few months while you ran off to deal with your issues." I made a point of looking him up and down as I said this. "Issues that didn't seem to be much of anything, from the look of things."

  "This is still my place."

  I threw my hands up. "You're right. It is. And if I do something that concerns this building, I will make sure to consult with you. But I'm not. My business isn't yours. Stay out of my life. Don't have people keeping tabs on me. And don't worry about how I'm doing. I can take care of myself."

  "It doesn't have to be like this. You're overreacting."

  I shrugged and crossed my arms. "Fine. Go ahead. Explain."

  "I was afraid of what I'd do if I stayed. I was afraid I'd hurt you."

  "Because you went so crazy? Yeah, I remember now. You look like you really went through the wringer while you were gone." It was an absurd statement, considering he was glowing in good health.

  "I didn't know what I'd do."

  "You were so afraid of hurting me but leaving was the most hurtful thing you could've done."

  "Why are you being so stubborn?"

  "Cormac, it's over. You and I are done." I just had to try and convince myself as hard as I was trying to convince him. Because I felt a lot of things right now: raw, hurt, crushed. But nowhere, in all of the emotions swirling to the surface, did I feel even the slightest bit finished.

  I turned and headed into the castle with Cormac on my heels when it hit me, we were both headed to the same place.

  I continued to walk even though I had no clue as to what I was going to do and Cormac continued to follow me. I wrenched open the door, and the smiles of the guards as they looked at Cormac with hero worship just made me more agitated.

  I made it to the penthouse, Cormac silently following. When I walked in, and saw the door to the guest bedroom open, I remembered Dark had guard duty at the side entrance tonight. It was a relief to be able to fight this out in private, if that was what it was going to come to.

  I watched Cormac walk into the living room and relax onto the couch, like time had stood still. He'd already changed into his white shirt and pants and looked just like he had before he left.

  "You need to find a new place to sleep." I tried to avoid looking at him as he folded his arms behind his head and crossed his ankles.

  "Can't do that." His voice was in complete control again. Any weakness he'd shown outside was walled off. He was digging in and I could battle him or not, but I knew him well enough to know he'd set his course.

  "Why?"

  "Because you told everyone I was out searching for a place for them while I was gone. I've since informed them that this still seems to be the best location, which, by the way is truthful. How do I explain getting booted from my penthouse after returning?"

  "I don't care. Make something up. I'm not giving up my bedroom."

  "And even if I were willing, which I'm not, where would I go? This place is packed tighter than a sardine can."

  "I don't care. You found somewhere to sleep for the last three months, go back there."

  "No." He managed to shrug somehow while he was reclined.

  "You gave it up. It's mine." I knew it was useless. Why was I even bothering? He wasn't going to budge.

  He made a loud show of yawning as he stretched and got up.

  "You aren't sharing my room," I said, seeing where this was heading and walked into the bedroom first, shutting and locking the door before he could come in.

  "If you refuse to leave, you can sleep on the couch," I yelled it through the door. "And besides, when the hell did you start sleeping again, anyway?" I didn't get a response but was too chicken to open the door back up and see how he was reacting.

  I collapsed on the bed, prepared to be awake for the rest of what was left of the night, knowing Cormac was on the couch. I fell asleep not two minutes later.

  Chapter Nine

  Bunkmates

  I felt the arm around me, the body against my back and I stirred. The arm tugged me closer into its warmth.

  "Burrom, I told you-" my brain kicked into gear just as Cormac's yell filled the room.

  "Burrom?" he roared as he leapt from the bed as if it had burned him. I hoped no one was in the living room. Maybe the whole floor, ‘cause he was loud, and also gloriously naked.

  "Shhh! I don't want anyone to hear you."

  "That you're fucking him?" He didn't bother lowering his voice.

  I heard a noise by the bedroom door right before I heard Dark's voice. "You're fucking Burrom?"

  I was out of bed with one hand on my hip and another pointed at Cormac. "See?"

  Cormac, ignoring me, turned to inspect the stone wall and the wooden door.

  "Dude, the walls aren't sound proof anymore," Dark said from the other side of the door. "We've got more of the vintage acoustics these days."

  Cormac stopped by the door a
nd swung it open. "Dark, you've got five seconds to get the hell out of the penthouse."

  I couldn't see Dark's face, all I heard was. "Dude, you got it. All you had to do was ask."

  Cormac slammed the door shut.

  He stood unmoving, looking like he might burst a vein as it throbbed in his neck.

  "I'm not sleeping with Burrom," I said in hushed tones, not because I thought he deserved an answer but because I wanted to shut him up.

  I toyed with the idea of letting him think I had been sleeping with Burrom, just for a little payback, but it wasn't worth the strife it would cause. I didn't want the entire place to think I was messing around with him. I knew there were already rumors, with the amount of time we spent together.

  There were other entanglements I'd prefer not to have any light shed on and it would be a lot harder if the entire castle was watching us all the time.

  But that didn't stop me from adding, "Not that you have any right to care or say anything about it if I did."

  "He's out of here. Today."

  "No, he's not."

  He wasn't screaming anymore. He hastily threw on his pants and walked out of the bedroom.

  "Shit, can I ever wake up in peace anymore?" I ran out of the bedroom after him and had to go all the way into the hall before I caught up. At least he wasn't disappearing.

  "Stop," I yelled at him as he was opening the door to the stairwell, but he didn't listen to me. I rushed forward and grabbed his arm. I stepped in front of him, psychically blocking his way. He could have easily pushed passed me but he paused.

  I dropped my hand quickly, self conscious of touching him, of what being this close to him did to me.

  "I need him here. Even if I had slept with him, which I didn't, I couldn't allow you to kick him out. It's bad business."

  He stared down at me, trying to read my face.