Blaze of Honor (RBMC: South Australia Book 1)

by Khloe Wren

  “Sure looks different from Tampa.”

  I nodded. “It’s different to Drake too, but I like it. It’s this blend of town and country, you know? Like in Drake, I loved the solitude, but I hated that it was at least an hour drive for Dad to go get any supplies I needed. But here? You can live outside of a town and have your peace, while being only a short drive from a bigger town with all the shops you could need.”

  It was strange. In Drake, I’d hated the idea of leaving the property at all, but now that I had, now that I’d seen all this beauty, I was looking forward to being able to go buy my own timber and supplies to make my projects. When Spark stayed silent, I got nervous and glanced over to see what he was doing. He was frowning with his fists on his hips, staring blankly out at the view, clearly deep in thought.

  “Do you think you’ll move back to Drake after all this is over?”

  I gave him a sad smile, trying to push aside my emotions. “I doubt there’s anything left to return to. If the first lightning strike started a fire at our place, it would have had plenty of time to burn before anyone noticed it. With how dry things up there are, I’m guessing it’s all gone. I still want to go and check, though. But I don’t think I could live there ever again. Not after what my father did there.” I paused to clear my throat. “What about you? What are your plans? Back to the States?”

  He shrugged. “Not sure. Originally, I’d planned to make this just a short trip away but now, well, now, I’m starting to see the benefits of living in Australia.”

  He gave me a heated once-over that had me laughing. He was so crazy. But he was also exactly what I needed. I was falling hard for this man and would be devastated if he did go back to the States, where I’d never see him again. But I didn’t want to get all melancholy and deep, so I resisted the urge to tell him that.

  “Let’s head back. Your brothers should be back soon, assuming his flight wasn’t delayed.”

  As I turned to take off, the wind picked up and the clouds gathered quickly overhead.

  “Oh, no. Not again.”

  I looked around but couldn’t see anywhere safe to stand. I was in an area surrounded by leaves and twigs. All flammable. I didn’t want to be responsible for destroying this beautiful place. In desperation, I ran back toward the road, hoping to make it to the hard-packed dirt before the lightning took me.

  Chapter Eleven

  Spark

  With a sharp curse, I pulled the heat from the flames the lightning had ignited, then transformed into my phoenix and cloaked my presence before I rushed back to Aaron’s place. I’d been unable to do a damn thing to prevent the lightning taking Brianna. The magic-based lightning hadn’t been affected at all by my pulling all the heat from beneath it. It had blasted down and snatched her away right in front of me.

  As I came in to land, I noticed my three brothers already standing outside, Falcon looking off into the distance as though in a trance. I landed beside them, dropping the cloaking as I transformed back to human.

  “The lightning took her again. I couldn’t stop it. Do you have a lock on her, Falcon?”

  He cocked his head to the side and was silent for a few more moments.

  “I’m tracking the storm that’s taken her.”

  Aaron was looking back in the direction I came from. “Spark, did you put out the fire?”

  I nodded absently. “I pulled the heat from the ground, so it should be out. I didn’t stay as long as I normally would to make sure, though. Finding Brianna was my first priority.”

  “Go with Falcon, track the storm. I’ll monitor you and when you locate her, I’ll join you and bring Stone with me. Until then, he’ll help me go make sure that fire is out.”

  With a nod, I shifted back to my phoenix and followed Falcon as he took to the sky in his bird form. Unlike me, he didn’t need to hide himself from the humans. Anyone who saw him would assume he was an eagle or some other large bird of prey.

  Once in the air, we headed south. When we hit the coast and kept going, I started to get worried. Where the hell had she been taken this time? We flew over to the far side of an island that was densely wooded. The sky was still roiling and angry, lightning flashing between the clouds as I followed Falcon down to land on a large rocky area of the coast. Smoke already hung in the air as the flames from where the lightning had landed took hold in the thick, clearly dry vegetation.

  “Where is she?”

  Falcon was all business as he lifted his head and did his thing, searching the area for life. As Aaron and Stone appeared beside us, I pushed aside my panic for Brianna and fucking focused. Using every instinct, skill and ability I had, I joined Falcon and threw out feelers, looking for my woman. If Aaron was right, if she was my mate, my other half, I should be able to fucking find her whenever I wanted to.

  “Got her.”

  Like a beacon, her light shone in my mind, calling me. It was muted, but solid enough for me to trace it. Moving forward, I didn’t bother to check if the others were following. They could take care of themselves. All that mattered was making it to Brianna. The smoke was getting thicker the further inland I went and almost without thought, I drew the heat out of the area in front of me while Falcon brought in a breeze to blow the smoke from our path.

  When I heard the murmur of her voice, I sped up. The four of us broke through into a clearing at the same time to see Brianna was in a stand-off with the same man as last time. Her father. He didn’t look well, clearly suffering from a lack of sleep. Which made sense, considering how far he’d traveled since we’d last seen him in Victoria.

  “You thought crossing water would stop me? Me? Nothing will stop me. The first time we met, I gave you your powers, a life that you wasted and abused. Now I’ve returned to take it all back.”

  She had to know we were here but she was ignoring our presence, staying focused on the man, who seemed to be frozen in place. His eyes were wide and glazed with a crazed fear but his body was motionless.

  I called out to her, trying to distract her as I’d done last time. “Brianna!”

  Her shoulders stiffened but she didn’t shift her focus.

  “It’s not Brianna, it’s whoever takes control over her.”

  I nodded at Aaron’s quietly spoken words.

  “We need her father alive to question him about Bri’s past. To work out who this fucker is who keeps snatching her. If we don’t stop this, he’ll be dead and I have no idea how we’ll get the answers we need.”

  Stone moved beside us. “I have something back at Aaron’s that’ll keep the lightning away from her. Finished it this morning.”

  Falcon nodded. “Containing the father won’t be an issue. He’s weak and scared. Let me know what you want to know and I’ll get it for you.”

  The pressure in my chest eased a little at his show of support. I’d never been more grateful than I was in that moment to have my brothers beside me, standing with me. It’d been a long time since we’d worked together, but the way they stepped up and joined me without question proved that time apart made no difference in how well we worked together. And trusted one another.

  As was his way, Aaron took control, instructing us all what to do.

  “Okay, Falcon, you grab the father. Spark, you grab Brianna. She will most likely fight you, so be prepared for that. Stone will back you up. I’ll create the portal and we’ll go back to my place. We’ll have to leave the fire to the locals to manage, unfortunately.”

  With how heavy the smoke was, it didn’t bode well for how big this fire was going to get. But we couldn’t do everything, especially without Croc here to control the water. If we didn’t stop whatever was taking Brianna, there would be a lot more fires. This was a bigger picture-type of situation. By hindering the lightning from taking Brianna, we’d be preventing any future fires it would have otherwise started.

  “Let’s do it.”

  On Aaron’s command, we all leapt into action. I wrapped my arms around Brianna from behind a moment before Falcon
grabbed her father. The clouds above us churned and darkened, but before the lightning could strike, Aaron had the portal open. Lifting Brianna off her feet, I ignored the kicks she delivered to my shins and her screams as I strode through the portal and back to Aaron’s place.

  “This way.”

  I followed Stone around to the back of the bigger of Aaron’s sheds to discover a large cage made from metal mesh. He opened one side up and indicated I put her inside.

  Without a word, I pressed a kiss to the back of her head as I set her within the cage and quickly backed out before she could turn on me. The moment I was out, Stone slammed the door shut, bolting it, before he stepped back to stand beside me.

  “It’s a Faraday cage, which will block all electromagnetic fields. Once whatever has her leaves her, it won’t be able to take her again.”

  As if to prove our point, lightning cracked through the air, making us both jump to move further away, out of its path. It hit the cage and sparked, but didn’t make it inside.

  “You go see what Falcon’s up to with her father. I’ll stay here and guard your woman. I’ll call out when she’s back.”

  With a nod, I forced myself to look away from Brianna’s furious gaze. It wasn’t her. She wasn’t the one mad at me, it was whatever had possessed her that was pissed off. As I walked over to another smaller shed, I hoped Falcon was able to get something useful out of the asshole.

  I wanted my woman safe and free from this shit so we could settle down and enjoy life.

  Brianna

  I woke with one thought filling my mind.

  I needed to work out where the fuck I was and plan on how to get back to him.

  With a groan, I rolled over and took in my surroundings, frowning when I realized I was completely surrounded by wire mesh. A cage. I was in another damn cage, but at least it wasn’t made from lightning. There also wasn’t any smoke in the air. Another bonus.

  “Bri?”

  Jerking up to my feet I spun toward the sound of his voice. “Spark?”

  The strain on his face melted away as he tore open the cage and stepped inside to wrap me in his arms.

  “Thank fuck, you’re back.”

  He peppered kisses all over my face while he ran his palms over my body as if he was searching for injuries. Or making sure I was real. With a laugh, I pushed him away.

  “Stop it! You’re not stripping me or fucking me outside for all the world to see!”

  Stone’s deep voice filled the air. “I’d certainly also appreciate if you didn’t do that. Bring her inside, brother. Aaron’s making some dinner for us. If the clouds form again, he’ll teleport her back into the cage.”

  I frowned at Spark. “Why, exactly, was I in a cage to begin with? What did I do this time?”

  He gathered me up in his arms, cradling me against his chest as he strode toward the house. I thought about telling him I could walk, but he seemed to need to hold me, and hell, it was kinda nice being cared for by this sexy, protective man.

  “You did what you always do, you tracked down your father. We found you over on Kangaroo Island about to kill him again, before we brought you back here. You were in a Faraday cage. Its special construction stops any electromagnetic fields. The lightning tried to take you from within it soon after we put you in there but couldn’t reach you through the mesh.”

  Relief flowed through me. “So, there’s actually a surefire way to stop me being taken again?”

  “Looks like it. Just make sure you have Aaron close by when you’re not in the cage. He can open a portal and have you in there in seconds.”

  I licked my lips as he strode up the stairs to the front porch. Asking wasn’t high on the list of things I wanted to do, but had to know. “What about my father?”

  “We caught him too. Falcon’s been spending some quality time with him. I haven’t checked in with him for a while. Initially, I was going to stay with Falcon and help, but quickly discovered I couldn’t stay away from you.”

  Stone scoffed as he opened the door for us. “Pussy whipped.”

  “You’re just jealous, brother.”

  Spark bumped his shoulder against his brother’s as he passed him, and I looked up in time to see the flash of hurt in Stone’s gaze. Spark had spoken with humor in his voice, but it had struck the other man. Was he really jealous? Hurt that he didn’t have his woman like Spark had me. That was just crazy and couldn’t be right. Could it? Surely a man as big and sure of himself as Stone wasn’t pining away for a woman.

  Shaking those thoughts free, I nuzzled my face in against Spark’s chest, inhaling his sage scent deep into my lungs, allowing it to soothe me.

  “Spark, put her down. Pretty sure the girl can walk all on her own.”

  At the new voice I stiffened and twisted my head to see who it was, as Spark lowered me down so I was standing between the men. He was as beautiful as each of his brothers, but looked so different. His face was all angles and sharp lines, and he looked like he was of Middle Eastern or maybe Native American heritage. Stone appeared more like he had African blood in his history somewhere, while Aaron and Spark’s skin was a stunning golden brown that I honestly wouldn’t have been able to place if I hadn’t known they were both Egyptian.

  “Why are you all so different looking if you share the same father?”

  Spark pressed a kiss to my temple and set me on my feet.

  “Our father had slaves from many different races and we all have different mothers. My mother was Egyptian, Stone’s was from Africa, while Falcon’s was from the Middle East. None of the six of us look related.”

  Falcon shook his head. “Not at all. Croc’s real dark and unlike Spark, he likes his hair. Keeps it long and in braids. Women fall all over him. Seth looks more Asian than Egyptian. And Haizam is even darker than Croc. Add in your lily-white self and we have all the cultures from around the world pretty much covered.”

  He gave me a wink before he came over and held his hand out.

  “I’m Falcon, by the way. It’s nice to meet you, Brianna.”

  I shook his hand, not sure what to say to all of that.

  “Um, hi.”

  “Grub’s up!”

  Aaron’s shout from the kitchen broke the awkwardness of the moment and we all headed that way to eat. Once we were all seated and had plates full of food, conversation erupted as the brothers conversed. I grinned, listening to them all discuss their lives with each other, catching up. Growing up an only child, I’d missed out ever having something like this. I’d never have guessed it was something I would have wanted, but the longer I was away from Drake and my father, the more I was learning about myself. Like somehow my father had managed to mute my inner dreams and desires.

  I would have thought that was an impossibility, but I was sitting at a table with four immortals, having just been saved from lightning that liked to snatch me at will. At this point, I was open to believing anything was a possibility.

  The men’s chat about club runs brought me out of my thoughts. I could hardly believe all three had ended up joining the Royal Bastards MC, although in different chapters. Well, it didn’t sound like Stone had a chapter he called home. He roamed as a nomad. That had me thinking about Christine Feehan’s Torpedo Ink again.

  “We’re missing a Russian.”

  Spark jerked to look at me. “Sorry, what?”

  “Falcon said we have all the cultures of the world covered now, but we don’t. We’re missing some. Like Russia.”

  The men laughed before Falcon spoke up. “I said we had the cultures pretty much covered, not completely covered. With only five of us in the room, we can’t possibly represent them all. I was just messing around saying that shit. But now you’ve got me curious. Why were you thinking of Russians?”

  Heat crept up my neck. “I, uh… well, I’m a little addicted to audio books and I’ve been listening to some romances about an MC that’s made up of men and women from Russia. You guys kinda remind me of them. All of you are handsome an
d sexy, with your tragic backstories and are now fighting for the greater good… You know, book hero stuff.”

  Heat radiated from my face and I let my words trail off and in the silence picked at my food. I shouldn’t have said anything. Now they’d all think I was an idiot for comparing them to fictional characters.

  “There’s actually romance books about MCs? For real?”

  I looked up at Falcon to see he was genuinely curious.

  “Oh, yeah. So many of them. They’re kind of my favorite genre at the moment.”

  Aaron frowned and set his fork down. “Why don’t you have your phone and headphones? Surely if you listen to them that often, you were listening to one the first time the lightning took you.”

  “I was, but when I woke after I was taken for the first time, they were gone. I guess the spirit didn’t like my taste in reading material.” I shrugged, trying to play it off as nothing, but my eyes stung as I thought over everything I’d lost thanks to this shit.

  Spark leaned over and pressed a kiss to my temple. “As soon as we get all this sorted, we’ll go shopping and get you everything you need. Everything you’ve lost. Phone, clothes, tools…”

  I shook my head. “Don’t be crazy. That would cost way too much.”

  He gripped my chin between his thumb and finger and turned me so I faced him. “Rohi, I’ve had over ninety years to earn and invest my money and I’ve never lived lavishly. Trust me, I’ve got plenty to cover whatever you need. I want to take care of you, to give you everything you need, okay?”

  Tears pricked my eyes again, but this time out of happiness and joy. This man was so bloody sweet. Cupping his cheeks between my palms, I pulled him toward me and kissed him as gratitude and the stirrings of love for him bubbled up within me.

  Chapter Twelve

  Spark