Destiny, YA Paranormal Romance (Brightest Kind of Darkness Series, Book #3)

by Michelle, P. T.

  I cut my gaze back to Drystan, but he’s staring at the heavy clouds that are ready to drop snow any minute, lost in memories. My heart aches that he could so easily come up with those excuses due to his past experience. “Drystan…” I touch his arm.

  He glances down at me, then rubs the back of his neck and shifts a shuttered look Ethan’s way. “Those are just a couple of suggestions we could use, and yeah, they’d work far better at night.”

  Ethan holds his gaze for a moment, then nods. “It’s good to have a back-up plan, but hopefully we won’t have to use it.”

  “We won’t?” Relief washes through me that he has a better plan than trying to sneak my dad through a crowded hotel lobby. Right now my biggest concern is how the three of us are going to distract his kidnappers long enough to get my dad out of the room.

  Ethan quickly shakes his head. “No. You and Drystan will stay downstairs while I go get your dad.”

  ‘The ‘ell I will,” Drystan says at the same time I say, “No, Ethan. You’re not doing this alone.” I fan my hand between the three of us. “Together we’ll come up with a plan that keeps everyone as safe as possible. Do you know if the room next to 809 is empty? And is it an adjoining room?”

  Ethan’s mouth sets in a stubborn line. “You being anywhere near these guys isn’t an option. They’re professionals and part of a larger terrorist cell. They plan to take out some government buildings on Friday. While the city’s emergency people are responding to those attacks, they’ll hit their main target: the White House. They won’t let anything or anyone stop them.”

  My trembling hand flies to my mouth. “Is—is that why they have my dad?”

  Ethan slowly nods. “It makes sense. With him out of commission, they’ve considerably increased their odds of pulling off their elaborate plan.”

  “How do you know all this?” Drystan demands, his gaze suspicious. “It’s Wednesday. If this is going to happen on Friday, Nara’s dreams wouldn’t have told you that yet.”

  Ethan shifts his attention to Drystan briefly, his gaze hard. “I have my own ways to get information. Let’s just leave it at that.”

  Looking at me, Ethan continues as if Drystan hasn’t interrupted him. “You and Drystan will wait on the back side of the hotel. As soon as I get your dad out of there, I’ll bring him to you, then you’ll drive straight to the hospital and check your dad in under a fake name. Once he’s safe, call the police.”

  I tense my shoulders, worry for Ethan and my dad making my voice wobbly. “We’re not leaving you.”

  Ethan cups the back of my neck, his warm fingers massaging the stiff muscles. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  I grip his jacket and my eyes water. “I won’t leave you.”

  “Yes, you will.” He pulls me toward him, then presses a tender kiss to my forehead. His voice turns harder. “I’m depending on you to get them out of there. Got it?” he demands.

  At the same time I realize his last comment was directed to Drystan, my friend’s Welsh accent floats behind me, resolute, determined. “I’ll get them there. Nara’s my priority.”

  Ethan’s fingers flex, cupping tighter around my neck. “I don’t doubt that for a second.”

  The tension between Ethan and Drystan is so thick my stomach knots. Taking a deep breath, I step away from Ethan and sigh. “If we’re going to be stuck here until after dark, I’ve got to call my mom, and then ask Lainey to cover for me, since her house is where I’ll supposedly be.”

  “What are you going to tell Lainey?” Drystan asks.

  I shrug. “The truth. That I might have a possible chance to see my dad, but I don’t want to tell my mom about it yet.” Nodding to him, I ask, “Do you need to call anyone?”

  He starts to shake his head, then grimaces. “I forgot. I have a thing with my uncle at nine, but I’ll just cancel.”

  I wave my hand. “No, you don’t have to cancel. You can take my car back to Virginia. I’ll ride with Ethan.”

  Drystan nods. “Once I’m back, I’ll leave your car at Lainey’s.” Rubbing his hands together, he glances between us. “Who wants food? Anticipation always makes me hungry.”

  Nara

  Just like Drystan foresaw, he and I are standing in the back parking lot of the hotel we’re staying in.

  Snow falls around us as we both stare at the Reardon hotel across the street. “I hate just waiting here,” I whisper in the darkness and zip my leather coat up to my throat to stay warm.

  “Ethan’s right,” Drystan says without looking away from the hotel.

  “Right about what?”

  He turns to me, shaking the snow off his hair. “To protect you from these people. Though, I’d still like to know how he’s figured out their plan. Didn’t he say they sound Eastern European? Even if he’s been able to listen in somehow, I seriously doubt they’re speaking English the entire time. How does he know their language? Or is that another talent of his you didn’t mention?”

  I shift from foot to foot, stomping the snow beneath my boots to try to calm my nerves. Drystan’s question does make me wonder, but then Ethan plays guitar without taking a single lesson. The Corvus in him will probably always continue to surprise me. “Ethan’s very good at intuiting. I’m sure he’s putting two and two together.”

  As soon as I finish speaking, Ethan rounds the corner of the building carrying my dad. Why is Ethan shirtless? Did he shirt get torn to shreds? I scan his body for wounds as I run to them. Relieved that I don’t see any blood on Ethan, I try not to stare too closely at my dad’s thinner body and ashen color. Instead I wrap a towel I’d pulled from my trunk around him and babble, “Oh God, Ethan. Is he okay?”

  “His pulse is strong. He’ll be fine,” is all he says as he brushes past me.

  Drystan’s already holding the back door open. Once Ethan carefully sets my dad inside, he straightens and stares back toward the Reardon hotel.

  Drystan shuts the door, then eyes Ethan’s bare chest and says in a dry tone, “Might want to put your shirt back on. Walking around half naked in the snow will definitely draw attention.”

  Ethan doesn’t acknowledge his comment as he rolls his right shoulder. “I have to get back.”

  When he walks away at a brisk pace, I’m so stunned it takes me a second to run after him. Once I reach his side, I grab his arm. “Where are you going?”

  “Damn, that had to hurt like ’ell,” Drystan says, eyeing the sword on Ethan’s back.

  Ethan’s gaze is completely black. He’s ramping for battle mode. Crap, what if the sword starts forming right on his back? I use my hold to angle Ethan’s shoulder away from Drystan’s view, then lay my palm on Ethan’s jaw and turn his face in my direction. “Ethan, come with us. Please.”

  My touch seems to pull his focus back to the parking lot. Glancing down at me, Ethan cups his hand over mine. “Get your father to the hospital so they can flush his system of whatever sedation they were using.”

  “I will.” Tears spill over my cheeks. I know I need to get my dad out of here, but I don’t want to let Ethan go. I’m so worried he’ll get hurt…or worse. I glance back to my car, thankful Drystan is inside already warming it up. “Do you have to go?”

  Ethan pulls my hand from his face, his expression hardening once more. “I need to get back before they discover your dad is gone and try to leave. As soon as you get your dad checked in, find a payphone and call the police. Tell them the room number and everything I’ve told you about their plans. I’ll make sure the police will find them. Don’t mention your dad. Since we don’t know who’s involved, it’s best to keep your dad’s identity out of this so they can’t come after him again while he’s still out of it. When he’s ready, he can bring in the big guns to investigate.”

  “You’re learning more, accepting your Corvus’ knowledge, aren’t you?” I ask in a low tone. “That’s how you understand their language.”

  When a confident smile crooks his lips, I sniff back my tears, and the worry squeezing my che
st loosens a little.

  Ethan lifts my hand and presses a kiss to my palm, his gaze never leaving mine. “I’ll be fine, Nara. Now go help your dad.”

  Before he walks away, I pull free and grip his face with both hands. Staring into his deep blue eyes, I speak in a stern voice. “Protect him this time, or you’ll have me to answer to.”

  Ethan folds his fingers around my wrists, confusion flickering in his eyes. “Are you…talking to my Corvus?”

  Releasing him, I shrug. “I talk to him all the time. You’re just usually asleep when I do.”

  As I walk away, I feel the heat of Ethan’s surprised gaze following me, so I call over my shoulder, “Stop looking at me and go save the city.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Nara

  “Please hurry!” I say to the 911 operator, then quickly hang up the phone, my heart thumping.

  Drystan nods to the handset I’d set back in its cradle. “Be sure to wipe your prints off it. They really didn’t want to let you off the line, did they?”

  I grimace. “Considering I just told them about a threat to our nation’s capital, I understand them wanting to know who I am. I’m really glad Ethan suggested this plan.”

  Drystan pushes my dad’s hat further down on my head, then tucks the scarf I’d given him tighter around his face before glancing in the opposite direction we’d come to find this phone. “Let’s go this way, then double back around another building to get to your car. I don’t trust that there aren’t cameras near that convenience store.”

  I scan the empty street, thankful for the snow. No one’s around. Everyone has rushed home to beat the six inches of snow that’s coming.

  We had to drive seven miles before we finally found a payphone. Tucking my hands in my jacket, I hunch my shoulders and say, “You lead. I’ll follow.”

  As soon as we walk into the emergency room and brush the snow off our coats and hair, Drystan heads off to find a vending machine while I go straight to the main reception area and approach the receptionist. “Has the doctor given any information about Mr. Col—lier yet? Do you know what room he’s in?”

  She glances up through her thick curtain of black bangs, then shifts her gaze back to the computer screen to tap on her keyboard. “Let’s see. Yes, your father has been moved to a room. I’ll let the doctor know you’re here and she’ll take you back to see him.”

  “Is he awake?” I ask, hope surging.

  “No, he’s still out, but his vitals are good. The doctor will discuss all that with you once she comes to get you after her rounds are done.”

  When I nod and move to turn away, she taps her pen on the clipboard on her desk. “Did you get in touch with your mother? We need to know what to fill out on the admission form for insurance.”

  I shake my head. “Not yet, but as soon as I do, we’ll get you the information you need.”

  Her question reminds me that I need to call my aunt. Pulling out my phone, I walk out of the reception area and into the heated glassed-in area between the front door and the main lobby. I’m so thankful my aunt picks up quickly.

  “Hi, Aunt Sage,” I say, trying to sound normal and calm. The last thing she needs is to hear me freaking out over worry for my dad or Ethan.

  “Something’s wrong, isn’t it, Inara? I know it. Are you all right?”

  I press the phone tighter to the side of my face. “I’m fine, Aunt Sage. Really. I’m actually not calling about me. I’m calling about Dad.”

  “What do you know about your dad? Did you see something? Why are you just now waiting to tell me?”

  “Take a breath, Aunt Sage,” I say in an even tone, then sigh. “There is no easy way to explain this, so I’m just going to do the best that I can. Can you do me a favor and not say anything until I’m done?”

  My aunt inhales, then exhales slowly a couple of times, bangle bracelets jingling in the background. I can just picture her shaking her hands out and then pressing on her temples. “Okay, I’m ready. Talk away.”

  Sitting down on the wooden bench along a side wall between the outside door and the main lobby entrance, I tell her about Ethan seeing my dream, about Drystan’s part in helping me find my dad, and what happened when I called her and she tried to call the secretary for help.

  Gasping, she begins in a hard tone, “That woman might be involved—?”

  “You’re waiting ’til I finish, remember?”

  “Yes, yes. Go ahead.”

  “But in answer to your question, her involvement or not wasn’t known in my dream, although that’s not why I’m calling. I’m already here in D.C. With Ethan and Drystan’s help, the three of us managed to sneak Dad out of that hotel room and get him to the hospital. He’s safe and under a doctor’s care here at Memorial. Just in case the men who took Dad try to find him, I’ve checked him in under the name Jason Collier—I told the hospital Dad’s ID wasn’t on him when he got home. And yes, I’ve already called the police on his kidnappers.”

  “My God, Nara! What were you thinking doing this by yourself? Anything could’ve happened to you—any one of you could’ve been killed.”

  “Please calm down, Aunt Sage. I did it this way because you know better than anyone that the less variables introduced when changing someone’s fate, the better.”

  “Do you—?” She starts to speak, but has to take another couple of breaths before she can try again. “Do you have any idea why those men took your dad? What they wanted?”

  “I do, but I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here. I’m assuming you’re already packing a bag? I don’t plan on calling mom yet. Not until we hear from the doctor about Dad’s condition.”

  A zipping sound comes across the line. “Yes, I’m packing while trying very hard not to yell at you even more, Inara Where does your mom think you are?”

  “I told her I’m at Lainey’s and we’re having a sleep over to enjoy the snow.”

  “Well, I guess that just leaves one of us in a panic. I’m thankful my brother’s okay, but you putting yourself in harm’s way isn’t acceptable. Not at all. You’re—” She sighs heavily. “Just don’t move a muscle. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. Drive safe. The roads will get worse the closer you get to D.C.”

  Drystan’s in the main lobby area, and after I finish my phone call with my aunt, I step through the sliding glass doors and join him.

  I smile as Drystan holds out a steaming cup of coffee. “Thought you might need this.”

  “Thanks, Dryst.”

  He eyes my shaking hand as I take the cup from him. “Your dad’s going to be okay, Nara. I know it.”

  “So you’re a psychic now?” I say before I inhale the slightly burnt smell of vending machine coffee.

  Drystan stiffens, his fingers bending his cup inward. “Why not? All kinds of people are popping up with abilities I didn’t know about. Ironic considering everyone else seems to know about mine.”

  I wince, then gulp back a sip of coffee, letting its bitter warmth slide down my throat. “I kept your secret. Ethan only knows what you can do because he saw it in my dream last night.”

  Drystan stares at me for a long second, then nods, his gaze turning reflective. “The symbol…on the sword on Ethan’s back? It looks just like that raven yin-yang necklace you wear.”

  “Wore,” I correct him before taking several sips of coffee. Swallowing the bitter liquid along with the memory, I turn and walk down the hall that leads to the emergency room entrance.

  Drystan dumps his cup in the trash by the door, then quickly falls into step beside me and gives me a sidelong glance. “I thought you couldn’t take it off.”

  I shrug and swallow down the last of my coffee. Crushing the paper cup, I drop it into a nearby trashcan and keep walking. “It didn’t belong to me.”

  His brow furrows. “Who’d it belong to?”

  “Danielle,” I say, barely keeping the snarl out of my tone.


  As I start to reach for the door, Drystan clasps my hand and turns me toward him. Stepping closer, he asks, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

  I blink up at Drystan. I can’t take a step back or I’ll run into the door. “What does what mean?”

  “You never did answer my question the other day.” His hazel gaze searches mine. “Are you and Ethan together or not?”

  Just when I open my mouth to speak, Ethan’s deep voice sounds right behind Drystan. “We’re together ’til, right Nara?”

  When Drystan steps back and glares at Ethan, my gaze locks with Ethan’s intense one. I step around Drystan and into Ethan’s personal space to see his eyes better. Black swirls in the deep blue, making my heart thump. “I’m glad you’re okay. Would’ve been nice if you had texted to let me know that.”

  “We always do better in person.” Ethan tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I waited until the police and other elite team members arrived before I left. How’s your dad?”

  I lift my chin toward the door. “The doctor is supposed to come talk to me soon.”

  Ethan, Drystan, and I have only been seated in the emergency waiting room for a few minutes when the doctor comes through the swinging door behind the reception desk and calls out, “Miss Collier?”

  I quickly jump up and approach. “I’m Nara Collier. Is my dad going to be okay?”

  The petite, curly-haired blonde puts out her hand. “Hello, Nara. I’m Dr. Krell.” As I shake her hand, she says, “Your father will be fine. Though you might want to encourage him to join a gambler support group if he can’t stay away from gambling. He might think those underground establishments are exciting and fun, but hopefully the experience of being drugged to collect the money he lost will get him to kick the habit.”

  Great cover, Dad. All I could think to tell them was that my father had been out all night. And when he’d finally come home, he’d been incoherent right before he passed out. Dipping my head in acknowledgment, I say, “Can I see him now?”