by Lisa Kessler
“So, we break into Nero tomorrow right before the sun goes down while humans are guarding the gate, we get inside, you two shift into jaguars, and I’m supposed to find Adam and protect him from one hundred jaguars with a handgun? This isn’t going to end well.”
While Sebastian’s eyes were on the traffic ahead, I ventured a look over at him. His face was tight, shoulders tense. And my stupid mind replayed his honest smile.
Nothing about him was honest. I’d been naive to think he wouldn’t lie to me. Look at his father. There was no hope for Sebastian. Somehow I needed to get that through to my wolf.
Finally Sebastian spoke, his voice low and even. “The Pack is coming. Vance and I will go in and locate Adam. You can follow us. I’ll keep the others away from you.”
“The Pack? You invited the werewolves?” I forgot to look away before he glanced over at me. For a second, the pain and worry in his eyes made me forget this was the man who dumped my father’s body in the woods for the vultures.
But only for a second.
“Adam is right about one thing. Shifters should not be enemies. It’s my father’s doing, and I won’t let him taint my niece.”
I’d forgotten about Madeleine. “When do we go inside and find her?”
“Once we get to Adam, you’ll cover him and help free her. Be sure you save some ammunition. There’s a guard with a rifle at her door.”
I crossed my arms, hating myself for even thinking it, but I had to ask, “How are you getting out?”
“I’m tough to kill.”
I glanced back at Vance. “Even Sebastian can’t fight off a hundred jaguars.”
Vance shook his head, staring out the window. “Hope those wolves bring a shit ton of guns.”
Yeah, I did, too.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sebastian
We got back to the hotel in silence. Isabelle entered her room and closed the door behind her, so I followed Vance into the adjoining one. On the other side of the wall, the television blared to life and the volume rose.
Vance sat down at the table. “What did I miss? Is she pissed at you?” He scanned my face and raised a brow. “And who smacked you around?”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my legs, head in my hands. “My father separated us. While I was on a fool’s errand, he was showing Isabelle the file on her parents.”
Vance winced. “’Spose what’s in the file didn’t match what you told her.”
“I did not kill her father.” I heaved a breath and sat up, meeting his eyes. “But I had to make it look like I did.”
“So go tell her.”
I shook my head. “I also wrote in the file that she and her sister weren’t born shifters. Whatever he told her today, I made sure my father never saw that file. He must’ve dug it out of the archives last night, but she doesn’t know that.”
“Like I said.” Vance rested his forearms on the table leaning toward me. “Go tell her that.”
“I can’t prove any of this. Why should she believe me now?” I huffed out my frustration. “Hell, I wouldn’t believe it, either. I can’t ask her to do any different.”
Vance tipped his chair back a couple of inches. I could still remember when he came to us. My father had been anxious to bring him into the fold. A shifter from Australia. But I’d had reservations because Vance didn’t seem to have the temperament for being a quiet killer.
I still wasn’t sure how he rationalized what we did for a living. He was the first to smile and laugh. How did he carry the burden of what we were forced to do?
He finally met my eyes. “That woman in the next room isn’t like the others you’ve had. This one, she knows who and what you are. She accepted you. Do you have any clue how special that is?”
“And now she’s seen pictures of me beside her father’s dead body.”
“Every minute that you let her keep thinking she understands what she saw is another step closer to losing her.” He pointed to the door. “Get your ass in there and talk to her.”
“I don’t deserve her forgiveness.”
“Maybe not, but you need it.” He stood up, running a hand back through his hair. “You and I both know we’re not walking away from that fight tomorrow night. Don’t go into it with regrets.”
His words landed heavy on my shoulders, like an avalanche of truth I didn’t want to see. “You’re right.” I went to the door connecting the rooms and stopped. “Thanks.”
An uncharacteristically sad smile curved on Vance’s lips. “Just don’t want you distracted tomorrow. I’d like to put off dying for as long as I can.”
I nodded and stepped through the door, closing it behind me.
Isabelle glared at me from the bed. “You forgot to knock.”
“Would you have invited me in?”
“Fuck no.”
I almost smiled. “Then I made the right choice.”
She turned off the television. “You’re lucky I don’t have my gun.”
I sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, about everything. I should’ve realized he might recognize you as Sol’s daughter.”
“You’re only sorry I saw the file.”
“I wish you hadn’t seen those pictures, but I didn’t kill your parents.”
“Stop lying to me, Sebastian.” Her voice wobbled, and I ached to pull her into my arms. “You looked me in the eye, and you lied to me.”
“I omitted, but I never lied to you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I read those files. You wrote them yourself.”
“I did.” I looked at my hands. “I had to write it so anyone reading the file would believe I’d done what I’d been ordered to do.”
“More bullshit.” She lurched forward, attacking me. She pummeled my chest with her fists. “Damn you, Sebastian. Damn you.” A strangled sob. “How am I supposed to forgive this? I can’t.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “I’m so sorry, Isabelle.” Her shoulders trembled, but her physical assault stopped. I kissed her hair and closed my eyes. “I told myself I was sparing you the details, but the honest truth is…I was afraid.”
She looked up at me. “Afraid of what?”
“That I would lose you.”
She pulled away from me and got to her feet. “Well, now you have.”
My heart clenched. I ground my teeth and took out my tool kit. Handing it to her, I whispered, “Open it.”
She untied the leather and unrolled the kit, exposing the tools of my trade. At the very end the capsules caught her eye. Her gaze met mine. “Cyanide capsules.”
My gut twisted into a tight knot. “The day I met up with your father, I knew he wouldn’t be bringing you and your sister. We discussed it. He told me to bring my kit. The cyanide was his choice, not mine. Before he took one, he warned me I would need to give my father photographic evidence that I’d completed the mission.”
She tugged her hair back from her forehead. “And my mother?”
“She was dead when I arrived. She’d been gone at least a day. If I had to guess, it was an overdose.”
“Your report said you confronted her while you were looking for us.” She wiped her nose.
I nodded. “I needed my father to believe that.”
Isabelle groaned. “You said you were protecting us, but there’s a report in that file in your own handwriting that says we weren’t born shifters.”
“To cover my ass, but I swear to you, Isabelle, he never saw it. Not until he suspected who you were and pulled it out last night to check.” God, I wanted something concrete to prove it. “Once your parents were gone, you ceased being a high priority for him, and I let it stay that way.”
She sat beside me, shaking her head. “You dumped my father’s body like garbage. If you were telling me the truth and you really did care about him, how could you leave him to feed the vultures?”
And finally, it came to me. I knew how to regain her trust. “I didn’t.”
She turned, meeting my eyes. “
Why should I believe you?”
“Because this is something I can prove.” I rolled up my tool kit and took her hand, grateful she didn’t pull away. “But you’ll have to come with me.”
Isabelle was silent for most of the drive until we crossed into Lovettsville. “Isn’t it risky to come back here?”
“We’re not going to Nero.” I made a right at the crossroads. New moon was tomorrow, so the stars sparkled in a dark sky.
“So where are we going?”
The lights of the town faded in the mirror. “You’ll see.”
I parked on the street. We got out, and Isabelle frowned. “You brought me to a cemetery?”
I nodded and came around the car to her side. “I took those pictures for the file and my reports, but I couldn’t leave Sol’s body there.”
Taking her hand, I walked with her through the gate of Lovettsville Union Cemetery. Run by volunteers and donations, it was always open. I led her to a spot under a tree and turned on the flashlight on my cell phone.
We stared down at the simple marker I’d purchased ten years ago.
Solomon Wood
Father—Husband—Friend
I shined the light on the next marker. “After the fire at Brightwood took my mother, I bought two plots here. One for her and one for me. She’s not buried here. They never recovered her body.” I cleared my throat. “I just wanted a place I could visit with her. After I logged Sol’s death, I gave him my plot. He’s here.”
She looked up at me but didn’t say anything.
I squeezed her hand. “I did write those reports and take those pictures, but they were to satisfy my father. Sol was my mentor, my only friend. I didn’t kill him, and I didn’t dump his body.”
She rose up on her toes and kissed my cheek, whispering, “Thank you.” Isabelle knelt down, running her fingers over his name. “I miss you, Dad. I understand why you had to leave us now.” Her voice broke. “I love you.”
She stood up and walked ahead of me toward the car. I gave her the space, wishing I had some way to ease her pain. When we got inside, she reached over and rested her hand on mine. “Is there anything else I should know?” She lifted her eyes. “Omission is just a step away from lying.”
I pressed my lips together, and my heart gave an uncharacteristic lurch.
Isabelle raised a brow. “You are hiding something.”
I pulled out my kit and untied the leather, carefully sliding a worn paper from the opening at the end. “There was something in your mother’s letter that I left out.” I handed her the worn note. “I was going to give this to you. I guess now is as good a time as any.”
She took the letter, slowly opening it. Her eyes skimmed over the words and rose to meet mine.
I traced my fingers along her jawline. “From the moment you told me your name, I knew you were my only chance at redemption.”
She looked at the note again, her finger running over her mother’s words as a single tear rolled down her cheek. “You kept pushing me away.”
“Because I don’t deserve redemption, Isabelle. I was resigned to my life. It wasn’t worth putting you in danger.” I lifted her chin. “But every minute I’m near you, I want to be a better man. This is my chance to change my path, and I want it…more than I’ve ever wanted anything.”
She leaned closer, and I pressed my lips to hers. Her mouth opened to me, and I deepened the kiss, groaning as her hand slid down my chest. She rested her forehead on mine. “I have to tell you something, and it has nothing to do with the fact that we might not live through tomorrow night.”
The corner of my mouth twitched into a halfhearted smile. “All right.”
“Maybe fate didn’t screw me over after all.”
I laughed and pulled her into my arms.
We got back to the hotel in record time. I grabbed her hand, and we rushed for the elevator. I didn’t even wait for the doors to close before I claimed her lips. Her fingers slid into my hair as I ran my hand down her back, gripping her ass and pressing her tight against me.
When the doors opened on our floor, I scooped her up, carrying her to the room. Her laughter warmed me all over as she wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m capable of walking.”
“I’m well aware.” I stuffed the key card into the slot and opened the door. It slammed behind us as I lowered her feet to the floor.
“You’re so overdressed.” She started unbuttoning my shirt.
“I could say the same thing about you.” I went to work on her pants.
After they were unzipped and open, I guided her jeans and underwear down her legs slowly, enjoying her soft skin as I knelt lower. She placed her hands on my shoulders to steady herself as she stepped out of them.
When she lifted her second leg, I moved my shoulder behind her knee and looked up at her face as I kissed my way up her inner thigh, my fingers rising higher to the juncture of her legs. I ran my finger along her opening, enjoying the way her breath caught, her lips parting.
“You’re so sexy, Isabelle.” I sank two fingers inside her, whispering against her skin, “And you’re mine.” My words faded as my tongue explored her folds.
She moaned my name, and my erection throbbed, making me wish I’d taken my pants off first. Her hands tightened into fists in my hair as her hips tilted forward, offering herself to me. I slid my fingers out, opening her so I could touch and taste, to memorize every whimper she offered me.
I couldn’t get enough of her, teasing her with my tongue and teeth. One of her hands dropped to my shoulder, her nails digging into my skin.
“Yes,” I growled. “Come for me.”
She trembled, her weight a little heavier on my shoulder as her knee went weak. I worked my fingers into her until her orgasm peaked. Slowly, I kissed each thigh and stood.
“I need you,” she gasped against my lips. “Now.” She gripped my shirt and popped off the last couple of buttons before unfastening my pants.
I fed on her mouth as I backed her toward the bed. She sat on the edge, shoving my pants down, and took me into her mouth. My entire body tensed with pleasure. I buried my hands in her thick hair, watching her lips slide along my erection.
I’d never been so turned on.
She ran her hands up the backs of my thighs, her nails dragging over my ass until I pulsed inside her mouth, my body aching for release. Not yet.
I pulled free of her and leaned her back onto the bad, grabbing her legs and hooking them over my shoulders. Half of me wanted to take my time, but the hunger for her was much stronger. I needed her like I’d never needed anyone. I couldn’t get close enough. In one thrust, I buried myself inside her. She was made for me. Mine.
My only regret was her top was still on. I slammed my hips into her once more. “Take your shirt off.”
She stared into my eyes as she complied, then she popped the clasp on the front of her bra and slowly pushed the fabric away to reveal her breasts. I leaned down, catching her nipple and teasing the tip with my tongue.
I straightened over her, on the edge of oblivion, and slammed into her, harder and faster, enjoying the bounce of her breasts with every connection of our bodies. I moved my hand from her thigh so my fingers could find her sweet spot, and teased her until she writhed under me. Suddenly I froze, erupting deep inside her as she followed me over the peak, pulsing around me.
For a moment, I couldn’t move or speak. Time stopped.
Finally, Isabelle’s breathless whisper broke the spell. “That was fucking incredible.”
She was pure magic, lighting up my world. I grinned, laughing as I moved up the bed, taking her with me. She turned to face me on the pillow, her face flushed, and before I realized I was going to speak, I whispered, “I love you, Isabelle.”
Her smile brightened, her lips meeting mine. “Good.”
I chuckled, pulling her closer as I deepened the kiss. I rolled her onto her back and settled between her legs. I stared down into her eyes, a grin tugging at my lips. “I never dre
amed redemption would be this good.”
She shook her head. “Not good. Fucking incredible.”
Yes, she was.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Isabelle
A beam of light came through the opening in the blackout curtains, right across my face. I squinted into the morning light and looked down to find Sebastian’s hand draped over my waist, his splayed fingers covering my belly.
“Morning.” His voice was gravelly in my ear.
I rolled over to face him and frowned. The cut on his lip was swollen, and he had a couple bruises. “You never told me who did this to you.”
“I was ambushed when I came out of Adam’s holding cell. My father must’ve had someone shadowing me so when I disabled the camera, he knew it was me.” He shook his head. “I’m not ready to talk about Nero yet.”
My cell started to ring. “We might not have much choice.” I reached onto the nightstand and grabbed my phone. “Hey, Asher.”
“We just landed at Reagan. Where are we headed?”
Sebastian’s lips teased my bare shoulder, distracting me for a second. “I’ll text you the address to the hotel. We’ve got to lie low until it’s closer to sundown, when the human guards will be watching the gate.”
Sebastian slid his hand down my thigh.
“All right,” Asher replied. “Raven said she rented us a minivan, so we’ll get it and meet you there.”
“See you soon.” I ended the call and rolled back over to face Sebastian. “You’re evil.”
He grinned, but the swelling made it crooked—and damned adorable for an assassin. “You knew that when you met me.”
“True.” I stole a kiss. “But if Asher has landed, that means the backup from Reno is on their way, too, right?”
He sighed and grabbed his phone. “Yes. I have a text from Sasha. They should land in an hour.” He set it aside and cupped my face. “Whatever happens tonight, promise me you’ll get Madeleine back to her mother.”
I searched his eyes. “You can help me.”
“Once you have her, you run. Don’t look back. Go to Reno and wait for me.” He kissed my forehead. “Promise me.”
