“Tell me what else occurred that day,” Sorren said. “A being from the Afterlife cast to Earth is no small feat. The planet reacts from the shift in power. Were there any storms? Tornados?”
“It was raining.” She shivered at the memory of the ice-cold water pelting the sea all around her. She’d nearly frozen to death before a random fishing vessel—not so random anymore—brought her to the beach. Only broken pieces of that day remained in her memory, replaced by so many others. Opening her business. Late nights watching reality TV. Rio. For ten years she’d been lost.
She dropped her hold on Jacob as he sidestepped her. Her skin went cold, but remnants of his heat burned from the inside. She took in the wide expanse of his shoulders, heavily muscled arms, and the slight narrowing of his eyes as he focused on the map. Not lost anymore. “It wasn’t a heavy storm, but one of the locals I spoke to said the rain wasn’t usual for that time of year.”
“Good. Then we’re making progress,” Sorren said.
She didn’t understand. “Progress? How?”
Jacob directed his attention up, a smile twisting at one corner of his mouth. From that simple expression, she read victory. He’d uncovered a small piece of the puzzle. “You think if there was a storm where she fell, the earth would’ve reacted in a similar manner when the Seal fell.”
“Exactly.” Sorren’s armor protested as he set his sword on the table. He lifted the chest piece over his head, and exhaled roughly as he discarded it onto the floor. “There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of ways Mother Nature could react. We’ll have to consider every single one of them.”
“Maybe not.” Her insides fluttered. A lead. She headed to the dilapidated desk shoved under the living room’s window, the only piece of furniture left intact. Determination settled into her stomach. She’d end this once and for all. They could finally get one step ahead of her father and with just a few simple clicks of her computer’s mouse. Footsteps followed behind her, two sets, as she brought up the Internet browser.
Taking a deep breath, Vdarra typed in the date she’d woken in the ocean one more time, but where a sinking feeling had consumed her in years past, hope had replaced it. This time was different. This time she’d have answers. All because of Jacob.
“I’ve searched this date so many times, but I never knew what I was looking for,” she whispered, not sure if she’d spoken to herself or the men behind her. The screen filled with information. Narrowing her eyes, she browsed over the contents of the search results; the same results she’d read over and over.
Of course nothing had changed. History had already been written. She swiveled in the desk chair, faced the warriors standing over her. “I’ve already gone through all of this. The Ukrainians held a vote for the return of their president, a man gunned down a handful of people at a rock concert in Ohio, and a mother drowned her babies in a bathtub because she got high.”
She stood, pushed past them, needing distance from their hulking bodies. Rubbing her hands across her face, she took in the space where her front door used to be before Sorren had kicked it down. Damien, Isabel, her father—all of them had the same kind of strength and neither she nor Jacob could go up against them. They couldn’t fight. How did she ever think she could? They had nothing. She had nothing. The Deceiver would find the Seal before she had any chance of discovering a location and he’d force her to do his bidding, turn her into something she never wanted to be. Even as a demon. “There’s nothing there.”
A hand landed on her shoulder, but didn’t surprise her. His touch had become a comfort, a lifeline. Digging slightly into her skin, his fingers rubbed small circles into her muscles, but the contact had changed. He’d changed. She couldn’t explain it other than a shift in his demeanor, as though he’d locked part of himself up, away from her. “We’ll find it. We have to.”
She turned into his arms, determined not to lose him too. The warmth of his embrace chased the dread into a small corner of her mind. Nuzzling into his chest, she inhaled his scent to calm her nerves. He held her in place, like he used to, but the tension running along his arms and shoulders said he had other things on his mind.
“We haven’t considered another possibility.” Sorren backed away from the computer, faced them.
Jacob pulled away, looked at the floor, then at Sorren, anywhere but at her. No matter how many times she’d tried denying it, the feelings she had for him had become all too real, as had her recent intention of keeping him in her life. Desperation to find answers had pulled him into her world and now, with the consequences of their love hanging over their heads, she found any future without him void of worth. Did he still feel the same? Licking her suddenly dry lips, she shook her head clear. “What possibility?”
Sorren sat in the desk chair, using the mouse to scroll to another spot on the screen. She couldn’t make out what he’d found with his massive form in the way, but the atmosphere had lightened from grave to almost cheerful. “What if the Seal wasn’t cast to Earth at the same time you were?”
…
The change in Vdarra rocked him to the core.
As if a possessive spirit had taken over her movements, she walked toward the computer, stiff, unyielding.
“You’re saying it could’ve come before or after I did?” Her voice rose steadily. “How are we supposed to pinpoint which storm or earthquake or—”
“I already have,” Sorren said.
Jacob straightened, his insides burning him alive. The sooner they found the Seal, the faster he’d lose her to the Father. Without his Afterlife status, he’d most likely never see her again and he wasn’t sure his heart could take another hit. How could she do this to him, knowing what he’d gone through with her death? Grateful for any distraction from the gnawing emptiness spreading throughout his body, he shut down that line of thinking, and became numb. “What did you find?”
Clearing the way for them to see the screen, Sorren pointed to the illuminated headline about a tsunami. “Only something otherworldly would make the Earth react like this.”
Her jaw dropped. “This happened the day after I was found.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, my God. I always searched for the day I was found, not the next day.” She brushed a falling strand of hair straight back and turned toward him. Her voice and fingers shook simultaneously. His heart lurched as her wide gaze finally met his. “Two hundred and thirty thousand people died because of me.”
Her broken expression shattered him. He pulled her into his arms, resting his cheek against the top of her head. Tightening his grip across her back, he tried subduing the tremors raking over her shoulders, but could only offer comfort. “Not because of you. The Father cast the Seal down and the earthquake was merely a symptom. There was nothing you or anyone else could’ve done to save those people from the tsunami.”
“None of this would’ve happened if I’d just—”
He stared down into her watery eyes, framing her face with both hands. Tears dropped onto his fingers, glittering trails of agony. Her betrayal disappeared to the back of his mind, only his undiluted love for her keeping her in his arms. “Don’t you dare utter the words. You know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t rebelled. You’d still be one of them. I know it doesn’t seem worth it, but better those two hundred and thirty thousand people die because you made that choice than billions because you didn’t.”
“They shouldn’t have died because of a decision I made.”
“But they did. And now we have the chance to make up for it by saving billions. Do you understand?”
Small amounts of life returned to her eyes. The tears remained, but unshed. She nodded slowly, her stare unfocused. What he wouldn’t give to gaze into those eyes the rest of his life. “Yes.”
“Good.” He held her, pressed her into his chest, where she belonged. “We have a location. Then let’s finish this once and for all.”
…
The heat coming off his skin sank into her pores. Since
first being kidnapped, she hadn’t been able to catch her breath. Now they had hours ahead of them on the way to Indonesia, giving her mind the first real chance to catch up.
The plane ride thus far had been uncomfortable, the need for his touch excruciatingly enticing. She’d never experienced such desperation before, as though only he could keep her from succumbing to the panic building with every mile. She leaned her arm against his across the armrest. The soft connection instantly slowed her heart rate, allowing her to breathe more easily. The gold band on her right hand caught her attention by reflecting the dim lighting. It seemed worthless now, lacking the sentiment she’d assigned it after her father’s death. Not even Isabel had fallen for its fake value.
“Can I ask you a question?” She locked her attention on her ring, rocking her hand from side to side. It was a great distraction from the darkness draining her energy by constantly searching for the Seal.
“Anything.” His voice resonated low in her gut. Soothing. Exciting.
“Back in that apartment, you said my,”—she licked her lips in an attempt to wrap her head around her next words—“my father formed a connection with me. However untrue it was. Do you think that’s why I didn’t see any memories until he ‘died’?” She used air quotations. “Because of my grief?”
“I believe so, yes.” The pressure of his study forced her head up.
“Why did he wait? He had ten years to start all of this. Why take all that time to convince me that I’m someone I’m not?”
“I’ve wondered the same thing. There are only two possibilities.” He shifted his attention to the back of the seat in front of them, wrapped the hand resting on the armrest in hers. Warmth raced up her arm, settling the confusion and panic. “Either he tried to bring your memories back the entire time and only just discovered how, or… he loves you.”
She couldn’t make her head work, her thoughts frozen. Words formed on her lips, but she left them unspoken. The small window to her left darkened as the plane banked for a slight turn. One breath. Two. The ocean lay below in all its beauty and strength as she formed a response.
“So he faked his death in hopes of triggering my memories, using my feelings for him as a catalyst.” She’d left her hand in his, pulling what strength she could from him. She’d lost her memory once. Only once. “I would’ve remembered him experimenting on me before the injections.”
Thank God he’d found her…she didn’t want to think what Damien and Isabel could’ve done or where she’d be at this moment. A life without memory of who she’d been made it hard to get close to anyone. He’d made it easy, as though her body had settled right where they’d left off, their atoms finding their way back to one another. Perhaps she hadn’t been able to become intimate with any other man because, subconsciously, she’d chosen him before he’d come along.
“Your heart rate just accelerated,” he said. “What are you thinking about so hard?”
She studied the hard planes of his jawline, his dark eyebrows, and slightly chapped lips. She squeezed his hand a bit tighter and motioned toward their clasped hands as the pounding in her head subsided. “Have you always had that effect on me?”
He cocked his head slightly. “What effect?”
“Relaxing me with just your touch. I first noticed it when Damien and Isabel kidnapped me. Even though I was so mad at you for leaving me in Rio, I needed your touch to keep the insanity at bay.”
“It differs. When it comes to mates, the effect on each other varies.”
A smile turned one corner of her mouth upward. “How do I affect you?”
The gut-wrenching smile she’d craved to see again took over his expression. “You give me strength.”
“So you’re saying I have a better super power than you,” she said with a laugh.
He swiped his thumb across the back of her hand and a jolt of desire rushed through her, invigorating her senses and contracting her lower abdominals. “Yes, of the both of us, you’ve always been the strongest. That’s one reason why I fell in love with you. I needed that strength at a time when I wasn’t sure what I wanted.”
Just as he’d done for her. Held in his gaze, she considered their situation. Things hadn’t been consistently horrible. Not with him. He’d followed her to Earth despite the danger to his future and soul. From there he’d searched for her, kept Damien and Isabel off her back until he couldn’t any longer. He’d saved her life, maybe countless times, and the mere thought of his sacrifice forced her to lean further into him.
She brushed her lips against his. Tiny electric vibrations sparked down her body, a sensation she’d never forget. Opening her mouth fully to him, she took his bottom lip between hers. He released her hand and placed his own behind her head, and the soft reverence she’d started with quickly turned into hunger.
Digging her fingertips into his thigh, she fed from his lips in desperation to keep him beside her, sweeping her tongue inside his mouth, making his earthen taste part of her. They’d begun their journey toward certain death, but she wanted nothing more than to turn back, forget about the Seal, forget about her father. Forget who she really was. None of it mattered. Only he mattered.
The plane jerked with a sudden drop and brought her back to reality. They pulled apart, her lips still tingling. What was it about him that chased her problems away? All too soon the captain came over the intercom, explaining they’d be landing in a few minutes.
He ran this thumb under her eye, studied her from her eyebrows to her mouth. Like he’d never see her again. “Time to go.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Can you sense anything?” He hadn’t let go of her hand since they’d landed in Medan, his need to touch her overwhelming rational thought. Yet the comfort he usually brought her had visibly disappeared.
With choppy steps, she studied their surroundings, her hand sweating in his. Wide brown eyes assessed every traveler and taxi through the clear glass. “I have no idea. I’ve never done this before. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be feeling. And there’s,”—she rubbed her fingertips into her temples, squeezing her eyes shut—“so much noise. Wasn’t Sorren supposed to meet us here?”
“He’ll find us when we need him,” He pulled her into him, kissed the top of her head. The scent of her citrusy shampoo calmed him a bit. Her hands fell to his waist, although her touch lacked warmth. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. Maybe we’ll have better luck outside.”
They swung through the doors leading outside. The humidity slammed into him, the ocean mere miles away. Sea-salt coated air revitalized memories of the beach in Greece—their beach. What he wouldn’t give to be there right now. Just them. Free. Happy.
People in brightly colored sarongs brushed past them without a second glance. Hundreds, possibly thousands of locals. Were any of them Isabel? The Deceiver? The senses he’d relied on for the last decade had vanished, but he’d bet his Archangel blood they were being watched.
The creases between her eyebrows deepened. “We’re on a huge island. We can’t search every square foot.”
“Then we start where the epicenter of the earthquake occurred.” He dropped her hand and unslung the backpack he’d stuffed with supplies before getting on the plane. The cords running along his neck and shoulders bunched, his soul begging to be reunited with her, but neither of them had the privilege of time here. He pulled her father’s map from the pack, unfolding it, and adjusted the map to fit their position. “The earthquake started between a western island called Simeulue and the mainland. I’ll see what I can do to get us to that island. Maybe somebody there can help.”
He refolded and stuffed the map back in the bag, shouldering the pack. Her hand sought his immediately.
“You really think we’ll be able to find a ring that landed in the Pacific Ocean ten years ago?” She shook as she brushed a stray stand of hair behind her ear. She stared out over the busy streets, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, and refused to look at him.
“Hey,”—
he pulled her in close, feeling another overwhelming urge to keep her in his arms, and set his cheek against the top of her head—“we’ll find it, but we have to get moving.”
“You’re right. It’s just if we don’t find it—”
“We’ll find it.” The sternness in his voice seemed to force her doubts to the back of her mind. She nodded against his chest then put distance between them, her shoulders pulled back. How long that confidence would last, he had no idea, but without a general location to start looking, they had no chance in hell. “I promise.”
They boarded a fisherman’s boat to the small island of Simeulue. The choppy waves made it difficult to hold onto her for periods longer than a few seconds, but whenever his skin touched hers, the strength he needed to keep going filled him once again. He grinned to himself—her super power.
He planted himself behind her, cocooning her between his arms, the breeze prickling goose bumps along his skin. Never in his existence had he felt anything like it, except with the woman pressed against him. Her agreement to turn herself over to Sorren turned his knuckles white around the boat’s railing. She’d always been the one to sacrifice for the greater good, for him, but when would she realize it was time to take for herself? To enjoy what she’d been given and live her life the way she wanted? With him.
“It’s beautiful out here. Peaceful.” She leaned back into his chest, her citrusy scent simmering the burn building in his lungs. Her body relaxed against him. “Under different circumstances this might’ve been the perfect romantic moment.”
He swallowed hard, gulped for some of that sea-scented air. Under different circumstances they wouldn’t have found each other.
Fishermen waded off the coast, gathering their catches of the day from the decks of their dilapidated fishing boats. Scents of fish, along with salt, brine, and seaweed, hung thick in the air as it brushed through the trees lining the beach. Beautiful. Peaceful. Just as she’d said.
Her Fallen Protector Page 16
