by Khloe Wren
A laugh burst out of me. “That’s one hell of an age gap.”
He chuckled in response, his body shaking beneath me with the sound. “That’s one way of looking at it. Since I don’t age, I’ll always look as I do now. I’ll never look my age.”
Lifting my head, I looked up at his perfect face again. “If we did get together, I’d grow old and die while you remained ageless?”
A hint of sadness entered his eyes. “I don’t know. None of my brothers have found anyone like you before. This is all new, but we’ll work it out. I’m confident we’ll find a solution to whatever is using the lightning against you. And we will be together at the end of this. I can’t let you go now that I’ve found you, and I won’t let time steal you away from me, either. I’ll find a way to make us work. To keep you by my side forever.”
I reached up to cup his cheek in my palm. “It’s way too soon to be talking like that, Spark. One thing at a time, and right now, the fact something is snatching me away whenever it feels like it is my first priority. I’ll worry about any potential relationship with you later. Much later.”
He grinned as he turned his head and pressed a kiss against my palm. The action sent a spike of heat through me, landing between my thighs and leaving me gasping.
“I don’t think it’ll be much later at all before you cave into me, rohi. But, yes, we need to focus on what’s after you first. Tell me what you remember about what happened on September sixth. Let’s start there.”
Chapter Six
Spark
She tried to push away from me after I asked my question but there was no way I was letting her move off my lap. She was a sweet little bundle in my arms, and I would be happy if we never left this bed again. Well, if we were both naked it would be even better, but it was way too early for that. She’d been through hell these past twenty odd days. How she wasn’t completely insane was a testament to how strong she was mentally. And it also explained why she was so worn out. Which reminded me, she needed food. Leaning over, I slipped my phone from my pocket and shot a text to Aaron.
“Who are you texting?”
The instant suspicion in her tone set my teeth on edge, but I pushed it aside. She didn’t know me well enough to blindly trust me yet.
“Aaron. He asked me to let him know when you woke so he could bring in some food for you.”
“Not willing to risk leaving me alone again, huh?”
I chuckled at her sly remark. “Not on your life, rohi. Learned that lesson. But thankfully because you’re currently weakened, the lightning couldn’t take you. I’d thought I’d lost you when the lightning beat me to you, but you didn’t have the strength it needed you to have, so I won that round and here you are in my arms, not off somewhere doing who knows what under the compulsion of a spirit.”
“If that’s that case, maybe I should stay weak.”
A shiver of ice ran down my spine at the thought and I shook my head. “No, that’s not an option. You need to be strong to be healthy. I won’t sacrifice your health for freedom. We’ll work it out so you can have both. Now, stop stalling and tell me. What happened that day?”
She took a deep breath and snuggled in against my chest. I shifted my position against the headboard so she had plenty of room to curl up against my chest. She fit perfectly there, and even with the blankets hiding most of her, she looked so right it left me a little breathless. I couldn’t stop watching her.
“For basically my whole life, I’ve lived with my dad on our property outside of town. Drake is a small town in the first place, but we were far enough out that there were no neighbors anywhere near us. I’m normally pretty shy. I don’t like crowds or having too many people around me. I enjoyed the solitude living there. I had my studio where I made my custom timber furniture and would only leave to deliver my stuff or pick up supplies. Even that was rare. Normally my dad would make those trips for me.”
She trailed off and I rubbed my palm down her arm. She pulled my hand into her lap and began playing with my fingers, sliding hers against mine in an incredibly distracting way as she continued her story.
“I was working on a tight deadline on a project, one I’ve totally blown now, but I guess an unhappy customer is the least of my concerns, really. Anyway, I was in a rush to get working on this bed so when I couldn’t find the chisel set I needed, I went looking for it.”
When she paused and flattened out my hand so she could trace her fingertips over all the lines and calluses on my palm, I knew she was doing it to calm herself as she remembered something horrible. I wished I could stop her from having to relive whatever it was, but it was too important.
“Both my dad and I had workshops separate from the house. I’d never been in his before that day. He tanned leather, and let me tell you, that whole process stinks to high heaven.”
With every new detail she revealed, I sensed she was building up to telling me the worst of it. I hated that I was the one making her relive things, but I also knew I needed to hear what happened. Not just so I could work out what was using her but in order to truly know Brianna. I also knew the sooner she got it all out, the sooner I could distract her from whatever it was.
“But that day you went in? To look for your chisels?”
She nodded. “Yep. Turns out my dad is a monster. I never actually found my chisels. The dead woman distracted me.” She jerked her head up and locked her gaze with mine. “He killed her with my tools. He’d pick up his victims when he was on delivery runs for my furniture. He made me part of his crimes.”
Her skin went ashen as she’d said those last words and I realized she was about to throw up just as she bolted up off my lap and sprinted for the bathroom. I doubted there was much of anything in her belly to come up, but dry retching wasn’t any better than being sick. Following her to the bathroom, I kneeled beside her and gathered her hair away from her face, stroking her back with my other hand as she jerked and convulsed through the gagging.
“That’s not on you, Brianna. You didn’t know. You’re as much a victim of your father’s crimes as those he murdered were. There is no blame for you to take in this.”
She shook her head and slumped against the wall, away from me. Fuck that shit. Hitting the flush button, I stood and quickly wet a washcloth before I returned to kneel beside her again. After wiping her face and tossing the cloth in the sink, I picked her up and headed back to the bed. Before I made it, the door opened and Aaron came in. He paused when he caught sight of us.
“You want to bring her out to the kitchen to eat?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
It looked like throwing up had drained the small amount of energy she’d gained from her short sleep. She sagged against me like she had nothing left and that scared the hell out of me. I needed her to be well and healthy.
I sat at the kitchen table, keeping her on my lap, which had Aaron frowning at me as he placed a bowl of soup and a plate with some toast on it in front of us. I shifted her so she was facing the food.
“C’mon, sweetheart, you gotta eat. Get some strength back.”
She gave a slight nod before she reached for the spoon.
“She was sick? Maybe we should be taking her to hospital.”
I shook my head. “She was sick after telling me about her father. It was emotional, not physical. I’m sure she’ll be fine once we get her properly fed and rested.”
Brianna slowly made her way through the soup, pausing to eat the toast between mouthfuls.
“I’ll be heading to the airport tomorrow morning to pick up Falcon. Stone will hang around here to watch your back.”
Great. Just want I needed. Stone with no Aaron to curb his attitude.
“You sure he can’t go with you?”
Aaron shook his head. “You need to look past what comes out of his mouth when he’s lashing out. He’s hurting and has no idea how to deal with it. He’s currently out in the shed working on a little something to help you, so be nice to your brother.”
/> Brianna paused in her eating to look at first Aaron, then me.
“I thought you said you were all brothers?”
Had to agree with her that Aaron was sounding more like a parent than a brother at the moment. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the soft skin on the side of her throat, just above the edge of my shirt she was wearing. Fucking loved she was in my clothes.
“Technically, Aaron isn’t our brother but it’s too complicated to explain that constantly, so we just include him in the mix with the rest of us.”
A wave of unease came from the doorway and I glanced that way to see Stone frozen there with a look of pure fury on his face.
“You’ve told her about us? She isn’t even your old lady yet and you’re spilling all of our secrets! It’s not just you you’re risking.”
What the hell was wrong with him now? He’d been the one to first indicate to her that we were different.
“Uh, you’re the one that started spilling secrets to her. And I won’t lie to her. She’s it for me. She needs to know we’re more than mere humans so she can believe we’re able to keep her protected from whatever is after her.”
Stone threw his hands up and stormed back outside, muttering under his breath.
Aaron sighed. “I best go deal with him. Don’t need any unexplained earthquakes on top of all the lightning.”
Brianna
Setting the spoon down, I stood from Spark’s lap so I could turn to face him.
“That’s the second time he’s referred to me as an old lady. What’s the go with that?”
The only time I’d heard that phrase had been in the biker books I’d listened to, but none of these men wore cuts to indicate they were in an MC. He reached a hand out but I side-stepped it. I didn’t want him distracting me with his touch. With a sigh, he stood and after taking my empty bowl, plate and spoon over to the sink, came back to me. A tinge of guilt hit me that I didn’t rinse off my own dishes, but it was a fleeting thought. I had more pressing concerns at the moment.
“C’mon. We’ll go back to my room and I’ll explain.”
I didn’t want to go back there with Spark. He was way too tempting and I wasn’t sure if I could stay focused if we were back in bed together.
“How about we sit out here and talk? On the couch?”
He looked me over for a minute before he nodded and changed directions. I followed him and when he didn’t immediately sit down, I chose a spot on the couch and hoped he’d sit opposite me. But I knew better. I wasn’t surprised in the least when he sat right next to me.
“So, Stone’s thrown me under a bus. Again. An old lady is what a biker calls his woman. It’s not an insult. In an MC — a motorcycle club—an old lady is respected and protected.”
I sat straighter and tried to wriggle away from Spark, but I was already up against the side of the couch so had nowhere to go.
“I know that. But you don’t look like a biker. Where’s your cut? Your motorcycle?”
“Among other things, yeah, rohi, I’m a biker. I’m a member of the Tampa chapter of the Royal Bastards MC. My cut is safely in my suitcase. I’m not here on official club business and the laws here are different from the US. It’s not safe for me to wear it all the time. And it’s not like I could bring my Harley on the plane with me, so I’m without a bike for the moment.”
It was all so absurd I had to laugh. “Royal Bastards? Really? Because if King Tut is really your dad, you’re royal for real, right?”
He shrugged and looked a little bashful, if that were possible. “Dear old Dad forced six of his female slaves to birth me and my brothers, so we’re all royal bastards. I will admit that when I first found the club, I did join as a bit of a joke for that reason. But I soon discovered that I liked the club life. It’s a family. Every one of my club brothers has my back no matter what, and I have theirs. It’s been good.”
“Tampa’s in the US, right?”
He nodded. “Florida. Why?”
I lifted my thumb to my mouth to chew the nail. “Lots of people in Florida. I don’t think I could live there. Or even visit, for that matter.” I shook my head, dropping my hand to my lap. “There really isn’t any way for us to work. You need to just forget about all your ideas on that score.”
“Absolutely not.” His words were like a whip through the room, causing me to still. “We will find a way, Brianna. Sure, I’ll miss the Tampa chapter if I can’t go back, but there’s nothing stopping me from requesting the national president allow me to go nomad, or maybe even start up a new chapter here. We can go visit any time, for however long you can handle it. And before you say you can’t stand the thought of packed airports, Aaron is pretty handy with a portal. It’s how we got you from Victoria to here.”
That had me frowning. “He said he was going to the airport tomorrow. Why, if he can just use a portal to bring everyone he needs here?”
He winked at me with a grin. “If we’re traveling for official business, we need to have a record of travel or questions will be asked.”
Heat rose up my neck at his response. I should have thought of that.
“Oh, of course.” I shook my head. A biker. An immortal Egyptian royal bastard biker was sitting beside me and claiming I was his. What the hell did that make me? Other than bat-shit crazy.
“I need you to finish what you were telling me earlier. What happened after you found out your father’s secret?”
I blew out a breath. I needed to just spill the whole story. Get it over with.
“After I threw up from seeing all that blood, I got mad. I’ve never been that furious in my life. Discovering what he’d been doing made me question everything. Why we lived where we did, how he felt about me… my world upended in an instant and it was all his fault. Finding his stashes of souvenirs. Boxes of underwear and IDs. That was what really pushed me past what I could process.
“I left his little workshop of horrors to go find him. He worked nights and had returned home shortly before all of this happened, so I knew he’d be sleeping in his room. I’m honestly not sure what I would have done if I’d made it to him. Maybe grab a knife out of the kitchen and stab him?” I shook my head. “I don’t know. Not that it matters, I’d only taken a few steps toward the house when the lightning caged me for the first time, and I blacked out.
“My next memory was waking up in bushland. From then to when you found me, it went like that. Small bursts of time I can recall between periods where I have no clue what I’d done or where I’d been. I often see my dad when I’m lucid. The last time he tried to run me down with a car.”
My eyes pricked with tears as I remembered. Seemed now I’d allowed myself to cry once, I was going to get emotional about every damn thing.
“When we first found you, you were threatening a man. You had him frozen in place, and I think you were going to kill him with a lightning strike. When I called out to you, it must have broken your concentration and you dropped your hold on him. A bolt of lightning streaked above your head as he ran off. When the flash cleared, you were on the ground, out cold. I’m guessing that man was your father, but honestly, you had all my attention. Stone might be able to tell you more. I believe he briefly tracked the man before he came back to help us contain you. Was that day the first time you called the lightning to you?”
I’d been about to kill my father? As evil as he was, the thought of taking a life had my stomach roiling again but I managed to keep my breakfast down this time.
“Yeah. I was scared and wanted to get away from all three of you. I really don’t want to talk with Stone.” He might decide it was easier to just break my neck after all. “Did I really start fires?”
He shook his head. “Not you, whatever is taking control of you is doing that.” He winced. “Maybe don’t go watching the news anytime soon.”
I frowned at him. “Why? How bad are the fires?”
“Well, it’s not just fires lit by your lightning, there are others too. Feels like half the countr
y is on fire at the moment. It’s bad. But it’s not your fault. You didn’t choose this for yourself. You said you questioned why you lived where you did. What did you mean by that? Was that house not where you grew up? What about your mother?”
I appreciated him not wanting me to focus on the fires but shifting the focus onto my unknown mother wasn’t any better.
“So many questions that I have no answers for. My father refused to ever talk about my mum. Ever. I learned pretty early on to not ask about her. As far as why we lived near Drake, Dad led me to believe it was for my benefit. Because I didn’t like being around other people.
“When I was young, a car had crashed into the daycare center I was in, injuring several children. As soon as I was healed enough to leave the city, he took us to the place near Drake and we never moved again.”
The front door banged shut and I turned to watch as Aaron entered, holding a bottle of amber liquid in one hand and a stack of glasses in the other.
“I think I’ve nailed this batch of cognac. Want to test it with me?”
After Spark nodded, Aaron tilted the bottle toward me in question. I was never one to turn down a shot and after the day I’d had, I was more than happy to have one.
“Sure! I could use a drink after my day.”
I smirked at the look Spark and Aaron shared. They no doubt assumed I’d never drank much, but Dad had kept a very well stocked liquor cabinet and we often shared a drink in the evening.
It felt good to focus on a good memory after having to relive all those bad ones.
Chapter Seven
Spark
Aaron set out the glasses in a row on the coffee table and filled each one with a mouthful of liquor. I was grateful he went with such a small amount. While I was sure Brianna could use a drink, as worn out as she was, any more than a mouthful would have her drunk off her ass.
I lifted my glass to Aaron. “Thanks, bro.”
Brianna lifted her glass to him. “Cheers.” Then she threw it back in one hit.
