by Lisa Kessler
My fingers trembled as I exposed the script.
Sebastian,
One day, my beautiful daughter Isabelle will be your salvation. Treasure her and keep her safe when we can no longer do so. She and her sister were born because of your father, but they will be his undoing.
You will be forced to choose.
Follow your heart.
Stacia Wood
Salvation. As if such a thing were possible. Men in my family line were many things, but redeemable wasn’t one of them.
Surely Isabelle realized that now.
But she still hadn’t drawn her weapon. What if the clairvoyant had been right? What if our meeting the night Isabelle attacked me was destiny? Stacia’s psychic abilities were documented in Nero’s files. The woman had rarely been wrong.
What if Isabelle was my only chance for a new beginning?
And I’d just aimed a deadly weapon at her chest.
Fuck.
I folded the note and slid it back into my kit. Tying it tight, I stashed it in the closet and grabbed the room key before slipping out the door.
Chapter Eight
Isabelle
I didn’t take the elevator down. The stairs were more private. That asshole had pointed a goddamn gun at me. He’d cocked it. And still my wolf was howling, crying out for her mate. I wanted to scream. The farther I got from him, the worse my heart ached.
Maybe the wolf would mellow out in time. I’d run back to my place, pack, and hit the road for Reno without ever looking back.
That was probably Sebastian’s plan from the beginning. He was a master manipulator. I had to give him that.
I hustled past the valet to the self-parking lot in the shadows. Inside my car, I blew out a pent-up breath and put the key in the ignition. Before I could start the engine, a hand tapped on my window.
There was Sebastian, shirtless, his dark eyes locked on mine. “Wait.”
He didn’t yell. He didn’t need to for my keen ears to hear him. Without moving a muscle, I asked, “Why? Give me one good reason.”
He put his hands up and slowly knelt to my level. “I don’t have one.”
I glared at him through the glass. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
He clenched his teeth but didn’t break eye contact. “I want…damn it.” He looked toward the back of the car.
I pressed the button, lowering my window, his scent intoxicating me. “You pulled your gun on me.”
His gaze snapped to my face. “And you didn’t defend yourself.”
“If you wanted me dead, you wouldn’t make a bloody mess in a hotel room, and besides, you didn’t have a silencer on it.” I shook my head slowly. “You’re too good to be sloppy.”
“How do you…”
I rolled my eyes. “How do I what?”
“Understand me.” He searched my face—for what, I had no clue. His voice was barely a whisper. “I was trying to protect you.”
“By aiming a gun at me?” I clucked my tongue. “That’s not usually how it works.”
He struggled to bite back a smile, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach. When he wasn’t a deadly asshole, he was way too handsome. He lifted his head, and his dark hair fell into his face. The smile was gone. Hunger burned in his eyes.
“My father ordered a hit on the last woman I cared about, simply to remind me he had the power.”
My heart thumped in my chest. “What does that have to do with pointing a loaded gun at me?”
“I was too weak to tell you to leave, so I let the gun do it for me. You’re in danger if you keep digging into Nero. I was trying to keep you safe.”
A laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. “You’re obviously much better at killing than protecting.”
He nodded slowly. “True.”
“None of this explains why you’re out here shirtless asking me not to drive away.”
“Because…” He shook his head, staring at the pavement. “It doesn’t make sense.” He straightened up and took a step back from my car.
Damn, even in the dim lighting his muscled torso distracted me, the shadows accentuating every curve and angle.
“Until you stabbed me, I was excellent at”—he held up his right hand, extending a finger for each point—“lying, determining a course of action, and distancing myself from the job at hand.”
“And now?” I raised a brow.
“Now…” He groaned, cursing under his breath. His gaze met mine. “I’m confused and indecisive. I fucking hate it, and it could get us both killed.”
“I’m not sure what you want from me, but I’m not going to apologize.”
“An apology isn’t what I want.” He ground his teeth, his voice a hoarse whisper. “I’ve shielded you from my father for years, but now…I want you, Isabelle. And that could cost you your life. I came to say I lied to my father today, not to you. I couldn’t let you drive away without knowing. You were never a pawn. Not to me.”
He turned and walked away. I struggled to turn the key, but I didn’t move. Deep within my soul, the wolf ached for him, but I’d be lying to myself if I placed all the blame on instincts. This was more.
It wasn’t my wolf making this decision. I was the one who took the key from the ignition and got out of the car.
“Sebastian.” He froze but didn’t turn around.
“Get in the car. We need to talk.”
He turned around and came toward me, regret in his eyes. “If we continue down this path, if you stay, I may not be able to protect you.”
My pulse thrummed, heat pooling low in my belly. I was in way too deep.
And I didn’t care.
“I can protect myself.” I got back in the car and leaned over to push the passenger-side door open. “Get in.”
I wasn’t sure where we were going, but there was no way I was taking him to my place, and after the surprise visit from his dad, I wanted someplace more private. Restaurants were out. I wanted Sebastian to tell me the truth for once. He wouldn’t do that with strangers listening.
The sign for Bell Rock shone in my headlights. Perfect.
When I pulled into the parking lot, he frowned. “Are we sightseeing?”
I chuckled. “Just looking for a private place on neutral territory.”
He opened his door. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“You’re in no condition to go hiking after all the blood loss last night.”
He smirked. “You’re not even mildly concerned that I’ve dug a hole out there to hide your body? I’m disappointed.”
Shit. That hadn’t even crossed my mind, but he was right on point. This mate thing was blinding me. Wake up, wolf, this isn’t your mate.
“Since you said that, I’m betting you haven’t.” Yeah, real smooth. “Why can’t we talk here in the car?”
A blast of cold wind came through the open door. Sebastian closed it and muttered, “My father has eyes and ears everywhere.”
“This is my car, not some rental arranged by Nero. It’s not bugged.” I turned the engine back on and cranked up the heater. He hadn’t said anything, but shirtless in the frigid wind could kill him just as quickly as getting an infection in that stab wound.
He gestured to the mammoth red rocks outside. “This mountain is not working for my father.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, well I’m not, either, so we stay. It’s too cold out there anyway. We’ll freeze our asses off.” He rested his head on the seat, and before I could stop myself, I asked, “Why do you stay if he’s so horrible?”
He was silent for a second, staring into the darkness. “Because I made a promise to someone, and I will see it through.”
More vague riddles. I took the lead. “So tell me what happened to my father that day.”
“We should start well before that day.” He glanced my way. “If I share this with you, will you go to Reno with your sister and stay out of this? No more digging into Nero records.”
I gave it some thought and finally nod
ded, ignoring the protests of my wolf. “You’ll never see me again.”
“All right.” He focused out the front windshield again. “The rapid growth that Caldwell was using for this Pack was my father’s brainchild. You’ve probably been told that only males are born shifters…”
“It’s wired into the Y chromosome or something, right?”
“Something. And male shifters can’t impregnate humans, only other shifters. Even with all his money and laboratories, my father still hasn’t completely unlocked that mystery.” He shook his head without looking at me. “So the dilemma if you want to build an army of shifter assassins would be…”
My throat went dry. “You need to bite women and convert them so you can bring more male shifters into the world.”
He glanced over at me, his dark eyes intense and locked on mine. “For years he’s been trying to find a way around this problem. Kidnapping women is risky. People notice eventually. Until he stumbled onto a woman who got pregnant with a shifter’s child without being bitten.”
I frowned. “What does this have to do with my father?”
He picked a coin from my stockpile of change in the cup holder. “In patience keep your heart, in strength lift up your hand.”
I rolled my eyes. “What is it with you and poetry?”
“My mother loved the written word.” He flipped the coin. “For her it was magic. She believed if I read poetry, the pure essence and beauty would keep me from losing myself in all the death around me.”
“She knew what you do for a living?”
“Yes.” He looked over at me. “She hated it, but life with my father is…complicated.”
I wanted to ask a million questions, but I didn’t. I was also aching to touch him, animal instincts on overdrive. I bit back the desire, again struggling to cage the wolf inside me.
“So your love of poetry is in homage to your mother. Is she…”
“Dead? Yes.” He rubbed his forehead. “Without her influence, my father’s hunger for power at any cost has been insatiable.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer, but I asked anyway. “Do you share his aspirations?”
Sebastian scoffed, his gaze suddenly looking much older than his years. Shifters didn’t age as quickly as humans, but if he was a teen when my father was training him, he couldn’t be more than fifteen years older than me. Maybe less?
He shook his head. “If this is where you expect me to tell you that I’m innocent, you’ll be sorely disappointed.”
“I’m well aware your hands aren’t clean. What I’m asking is, if your father died tomorrow, would you keep up his breeding program and his research on shifters?”
“No,” he answered without hesitation. “I believed in the cause when I thought we were making our country safer, but my father’s ambitions have nothing to do with protecting anyone.”
“Is that how my father got involved with Nero? Did he want to defend his country?”
A muscle in his cheek clenched. “You realize that every piece of information I share could get us both killed.”
“Who am I going to tell?”
“I don’t know, but if I divulge any of this, my life will be at your mercy.” He raised a brow. “Given my upbringing, I have some trust issues.”
Laughter bubbled up from my throat, surprising me. “I can imagine.”
He didn’t laugh or even crack a smile.
I sighed. “Okay, I’m being serious. I’ve wasted ten years of my life hating and searching for my father. Now that I know he’s been dead all this time, I need answers. I don’t want to expose you or Nero.”
I blinked to clear my vision. In my heart, I always held out hope I’d find my father alive. Even though he’d died years ago, the realization was fresh for me. I cleared my throat. “I want to be able to tell my baby sister that our father never stopped loving us.”
Sebastian dropped the coin back in the cup holder and took my hand, lacing his fingers with mine. I should have pulled away, or maybe punched him. For all I knew, he could have been my father’s killer.
But my body had another plan. I leaned over, resting my head on his shoulder. I breathed him into my lungs, my pulse racing, pounding in my ears.
He whispered into my hair, “You and your sister were all that mattered to him. Never doubt that.”
I closed my eyes as his words sank in. Gradually I realized Sebastian’s heartbeat was galloping, too. I pulled back enough to see his face, unable to force myself back to my side of the car.
“I can hear your heart racing. You really are afraid to trust me.”
The corner of his mouth quirked up. “In my defense, you did stab me last night.”
I chuckled, wiping my nose. “You know, I never imagined you would make me laugh.”
He reached over and slid my hair behind my ear. The simple, unexpected touch had my entire body alert, aching for more.
“I had no idea you would be so beautiful.”
I didn’t have a clue what that meant, but before I could ask, he added, “I’m not sure I know how to trust anyone. Even with Vance, I never give him enough rope to hang me.”
“And I bet he’s never put a knife in your chest.”
A warm smile curved his lips. It was probably the first time I’d seen anything truly honest from this man, and knowing he shared it with me…it took my breath away.
“True.” His expression sobered. “I’ve already told you more than I should have.”
I straightened, shocked at how much I missed the warmth of his body. “Look, I understand the danger. You’re hesitating because once you tell me your father’s secrets, if I tell anyone, I could finger you as the leak.”
He looked out the window again. “I wouldn’t lose my job, and my father wouldn’t stop speaking to me. He would mark me for death. And don’t misunderstand—it’s not death that I fear. It’s a world with my father unchecked. He has big plans. Devastating plans. And I am the only one in a position to slow his progress.” Sebastian shook his head. “As you’ve discovered, I’m not easy to kill, but I would be living the rest of my life on the run.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t fathom a father who would send people to murder his own son, but I could understand being leery of putting yourself at risk. And hell, I had tried to kill him.
Then it hit me. “Does anyone else in the world know your feet are ticklish?”
“Of course not.” He chuffed, shaking his head. “My mother took that secret to her grave.”
“Well, I know, and I could’ve told Vance, but I didn’t.”
He chuckled. “That’s hardly the same risk level.”
“Sorry, but it’s the best I can offer.” I shrugged. “You’ll have to take the leap. I have no reason to betray you…” I swallowed a lump in my throat. “Unless you’re the one who killed my father.”
Chapter Nine
Sebastian
“I didn’t kill your father. I met him that day to collect you and your sister. Sol showed up to the meeting empty-handed.”
“Collect us?”
“For Nero. My father sent me to bring you back.” I opened my mouth, but I couldn’t finish forcing out the words. They were to be studied if they were born shifters, and destroyed if they weren’t. I ran a shaky hand through my hair. “This conversation is dangerous. My father has killed women I care about to punish me.”
Isabelle took her hand from mine, running her palms down her thighs as she stared into the distance. “Good thing you don’t care about me.”
I didn’t correct her. Protecting her needed to come first. Admitting that I enjoyed her company—and would be willing to be stabbed all over again if it meant spending more time with her—would only put a target on her back.
“Remember our deal. Once I tell you what you want to know, you’ll walk away.”
She hesitated for a moment but finally nodded. “Yeah, you’ll be rid of me for good.”
I hoped my face didn’t reflect the regret welling in m
y gut at the thought of never seeing her again. But this was the only way to be certain she stayed far from my father’s radar.
“Fair enough.” I cleared my throat and met her eyes. “Your mother was a strong clairvoyant. My father discovered that women with certain psychic abilities could conceive a shifter’s child without being bitten, but we still haven’t found a test to determine a woman’s viability.”
Her shoulders tensed. The revulsion in her eyes hurt, but pain was a way of life for me. Maybe this would ensure she would stay away. Stay alive.
“So my father paired off some of his top assassins with women possessing psychic abilities. Your mother was assigned to Sol, but he insisted he would only participate if they could move off the Nero compound.”
She crossed her arms. “And your father allowed him to call the shots like that?”
“Not exactly.” I pulled my hair back from my forehead. “Sol was my mentor—much more of a father to me than my own. I was still a boy, just beginning to shift, and angry.” I shook my head. “I didn’t want my father to hurt Sol, so I convinced him that I would keep tabs on Sol. It would be my first long-term surveillance assignment. He agreed.”
She frowned. “So my sister and I are just some failed experiment?”
“No.” Without thinking, I took her hand again. “Maybe in my father’s eyes, but never in Sol’s. When he realized neither of you were born shifters, he confided in me, and I covered it up. I would write my reports, of course, but I never mentioned whether or not the experiment was a success. I let my father assume you were shifters.”
She glanced at our joined hands and back to my face. “If you had brought us back to Nero…”
“My father would have discovered the truth. He either would have had you bitten and added to his breeding project or just eliminated you and any trace that you ever existed.”
Stating facts didn’t usually make me uncomfortable, but the thought of my father deciding Isabelle’s fate…it didn’t sit well with me. An ember of rage smoldered in my black heart.
Rather than examine it, I released her hand and pushed on. “Sol didn’t bring you that day, and he gave me a letter from your mother. Then he bit down on a cyanide capsule.” I swallowed the lump in my throat as the memory played through my head again. “He told me to be good to his baby girl.” I looked up at the sky. “Those were his last words.”
