Blaze of Honor (RBMC: South Australia Book 1)

by Khloe Wren

  It also proved I’d made the right call to not stay in bed and wait for him. Don’t get me wrong, I loved everything the man did to me. I definitely loved waking up being surrounded by him, and honestly, I’d never slept as well as I had since he’d first brought me here. When he was near, he soothed me and made me feel protected. That allowed me to be able to truly let go, to relax and sleep deeply.

  It was strange how even back in Drake I’d never felt completely safe. I hadn’t realized that fact until Spark had given me his protection. Perhaps, somehow, deep down, I’d known that my father wasn’t a good man. That made me frown. Had he even been my real father?

  “Um, Bri? You’re freaking me out with this shit. What do we need to talk about? Did I fuck up? You pissed at me?”

  I jerked my face up from where I’d been glaring at my hands while lost in thought, shocked to see the panic in Spark’s expression.

  “Oh, babe, you haven’t done a damn thing wrong. No, I wanted to tell you about what I saw when I was, um… out of it yesterday.”

  He turned off the stove and quickly served up the bacon and eggs he’d cooked for us. He set the plate in front of me, and the other next to me before going to grab cutlery for us both. When he finally sat down, he ignored his food and turned to face me.

  “You had visions while you were drowning?”

  The smell of the bacon made my stomach cramp with hunger.

  “Yeah, but can we eat first? Hate for this to go cold after all the effort you went to cook it for us.”

  He didn’t respond for a moment, as if he really wanted to know what I’d seen more than he wanted to eat, but my stomach let out a loud growl and he instantly shifted gears, nodding as he turned back to eat his own breakfast. Focusing on my meal, I made fast work of the delicious food my man had prepared for me. I could barely believe that I had such a wonderful, thoughtful man who seemed to adore me.

  I’d fallen completely in love with Spark and it made me nervous that I didn’t know how the hell he felt about me. We’d only known each other such a short time, but time didn’t seem to matter. We clicked. His reaction to my brush with death made it clear he cared, but how much? How would he react if I blurted out how I felt? I hoped he wouldn’t freak out and leave, but I couldn’t blame him if he did. I mean, it was crazy. Wasn’t it? To fall so completely in love with someone in just a few, short days?

  Then there was the rest of my world. I wanted to return to Drake to at least see what, if anything, was left of where I’d lived most of my life. And my sisters. I’d stopped questioning it. Deep in my soul, I knew it was the truth. Would Spark help me search for them, or would he dismiss the whole thing? Either way, I was going to look for them. I had to find them, make sure they were okay.

  Right after I worked out how the hell we could get this spirit off my case.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Spark

  I’d never eaten so fast in my life. I wanted to know what Brianna had seen. I also needed to tell her what Martin had revealed before he’d died. The moment Brianna put the last of her food into her mouth, I dumped her plate and cutlery with mine in the sink then grabbed her from the table to move to the lounge. I didn’t want to have this conversation sitting at the kitchen table. I wanted her in my arms, so I knew she was with me. Safe and protected. It was likely she wouldn’t want to go back to the bedroom to talk, so the living room it was.

  She laughed as I all but dragged her from the kitchen. I sat on the couch, then pulled her down so she was sitting in my lap.

  “I can sit on my own, you know.”

  I shook my head. “Not today, you can’t. So, you had a vision while you were unconscious?”

  She’d been dead but I was refusing to voice the words aloud that she’d been gone from this world for even a moment. I could barely cope with even thinking how she’d been clinically dead when I’d found her. Thank fuck we got her back before she suffered any permeant damage.

  “Yeah. It was really weird. Things flashed between a few scenes. The first one was me with my sisters.”

  That had me fully focused on her now, and not what had happened to her yesterday.

  “Sisters? From how you’ve spoken, I’d assumed you were an only child.”

  She nodded. “I’d thought so too, until this dream—or vision—or whatever it was I had. Now I’m sure the scenes I saw were all parts of my history, of my mother’s. But it didn’t just reveal I had siblings. Spark, I have two identical sisters. I’m a triplet.”

  Shock rocked through me and I could only imagine how Brianna had felt first seeing her siblings.

  “Tell me what you saw, no matter how crazy you think it sounds. I want to hear about every detail.”

  “The first scene was three little girls, no more than toddlers. They were huddled on a bare mattress on the floor. All three looked dirty, with tangled, messy hair, and they were scared. One said, ‘Shh Bee, she’ll hear you,’ but I never got to see who she was. When the door opened on the room, it swirled away.

  “The next scene was from even further back. I found myself at the Burkeston Park Hospital. It was basically a mental asylum, and it was open from the fifties through to the nineties. I think it was finally closed for good in 1999. I doubt you would have heard about it over in the States, but it was a big deal a few years ago when the story broke about what happened there. How wards of the state were basically dumped there in with the adults and horribly abused. The news got hold of the story after a few of those kids—now adults—sued for damages.

  “Anyway, the scene I was forced to watch in that place was horrible. A teenage girl, naked on a bathroom floor in labor. Two male staff members were talking about her and they said horrible things. I think one of the men had raped her and that set off her labor.” She paused to take a deep, shuddering breath. “I’m sure that was my mum.” She looked up into my eyes, her lashes wet with her tears. “She was so young, Spark. A teen, maybe fourteen or fifteen. Those men kept talking shit about her, about us. They said, ‘She’s just a throwaway having more throwaways,’ how it didn’t matter she’d gone into labor ‘too early.’ They were hoping we’d all die. There was one other nurse there, a woman who was being nice to the teen. Helping her through the labor. She called the teen Cammy.”

  Names would definitely help in the search for her family, but only a first name and a rough age wasn’t much to go on.

  “Did Martin ever tell you anything at all about your mum? Did you know her name prior to that?”

  She shook her head and my heart broke a little more for her. For all the shit I’d gone through, I’d always known who my family was, had my brothers at my back.

  “He refused to discuss her at all.”

  I needed to tell her about Martin not being her dad. He probably hadn’t known who her mother was, either. But I needed her to finish telling me about her dream first.

  “What else did you see? Or did it stop there?”

  “There were two more scenes. The next one was in a normal hospital. The three of us were in a nursery-type room with a big window. The nurse who helped my mum was there, arguing with the doctor. She wanted to take us home but wasn’t allowed to because she wasn’t approved, wasn’t married. The way they spoke made me think we’d been in the hospital for a while and the nurse had taken care of us while we’d been there. I guess since we were born early, we needed extra medical attention. I have no clue of the possible dates of what I saw.” She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “I did get a good look at the nametags on the cribs. Brianna, Emily and Jessica. The last name on each label read Doe.”

  I winced. “As in Jane Doe. The hospital didn’t even allow your mother to claim any of you as her own in name.”

  Another shudder wracked her body and I ran my palm down her back to try to soothe her.

  “Since my last name is different now, I doubt my sisters would still have that name either. The final scene was of Emily as an adult. She was doing some sort of martial arts training. She wa
s a total badass, Spark. Her arms were all inked up and she was bashing the shit out of this frame thing, sure of every move she made. It’s obvious she’s trained a lot and is strong. A man called to her but the dream ended before I could see him. I tried to turn to look. I really did.”

  With a shiver, she cuddled in against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me as I rubbed my palm up and down her arm.

  “Would you like me to see if I can pull some strings and locate your sisters? Maybe even your mother?”

  She stilled. “You believe me, then?”

  “Rohi, I’ve seen a fuck of a lot over my ninety-seven years. More than enough to know better than to discredit anything. If you feel it in your heart and soul that you have two sisters out there, then you do, and I’ll move heaven and earth to find them if that’s what you want.”

  She sat straighter so she could look into my eyes. Tears tracked down her cheeks but the hope in her irises was a relief to see.

  “I do, Spark. I need to find them, to make sure they’re okay, that they’re not with a man, like I was.”

  There would be no other time this perfect to tell her about Martin. Taking a deep breath, I took the plunge, hoping she’d not break under this latest revelation.

  “About Martin…”

  Brianna

  Wiping the tears from my face, I focused back on Spark. Clearly he wasn’t looking forward to telling me whatever this was.

  “What about him?”

  “Before everything went to shit yesterday, Falcon spent some time asking Martin some questions.”

  “I’ll bet he did.”

  I could only imagine what happened in that session.

  Spark cleared his throat before he spoke again. “Brianna, Martin wasn’t your biological father.”

  I gave him a sad smile. “I figured as much after I saw my mother in that place. I remember watching the news reports after a few of the former residents took the hospital to court to get compensation for their abuse. Several teens, wards of the state, were sent there when they shouldn’t have been. They were put in with the adults and were abused by both staff and other patients. It wasn’t hard to guess at how we were conceived. I doubt anyone knows who our father is.”

  Just thinking about it was getting me riled up, but the anger was easier to deal with than the sadness recounting the visions had brought on.

  “And honestly? I don’t want to know. He’s nothing but a monster and I don’t want him to play any part in my life. Ever. I only care about my sisters and my mother.”

  If she was still alive.

  I lifted my eyebrow in question when my response had Spark’s expression relaxing and the tension in his shoulders easing.

  “I wasn’t sure how you were going to take the news, rohi. That’s all. I am sorry both your real and fake fathers were assholes. I wish I could go back and change that for you, but unfortunately none of us were gifted with time travel.”

  He finished with a wink and I couldn’t help but smile at his attempt to inject some humor into things.

  “If I hadn’t seen that vision, hadn’t had time to process what I’d seen, I probably would have fallen apart at the news the man who’d raised me wasn’t who he said he was. But after everything, I’m grateful I didn’t have his evil blood in my veins. Not that being fathered by a rapist is any better, but I’m not going to focus on that. Did the spirit kill him? Martin?”

  Spark huffed and lifted a hand to rub over his face. I took a guess that he didn’t want to tell me.

  “Just tell me. I can handle it.”

  “I know you can, rohi, but you shouldn’t have to. Yes, the spirit killed him. Martin had told Falcon that the spirit was angry with him for not following the directions he’d left him with when he first gave you to him. I’m not sure if you’ve worked it out yourself yet, but he was given abilities by the spirit. Like the power to influence with his voice. He was supposed to use that to make sure you grew up strong, both physically and mentally.”

  “But he didn’t do that at all. He used it to keep me isolated and weak. He was constantly treating me like that accident I had as a child had broken me forever. I knew I was stronger than he believed, but he never once encouraged me to do anything that would increase that strength.”

  No sports, or Girl Guides… hell, most of the time I skipped out on school sports days, too. So much made more sense now. All the times I hadn’t questioned him, all the times I did things that, looking back on now, made no bloody sense at all. Every new piece of this puzzle made me hate him all the more.

  “Yep. So the spirit was super angry with him and wanted him punished.”

  I nodded. “Can’t fault that logic. I mean, if I’d been the one to give Martin that power and a child, only to discover he’d abused the power and not taken proper care of the child, I’d be pissed too. And it also helps me make sense of what I saw Emily doing. Whoever she was given to followed the spirit’s orders, made her strong.”

  He frowned. “That’s not to say she’s happy where she is. Especially if that spirit gave the man who raised her the same power he gave Martin. I really think it’s important we look for your sisters. But we’ll need to be careful. I’ll have a chat with Aaron about what we can do to combat the mind influence thing just in case we come across it again.”

  I lifted my thumb to chew the nail. “It makes sense the spirit gave all the guardians’ that ability, doesn’t it? I hate that I have no idea where Jessica is, or if she’s safe. I also hate that I don’t have my memories back. Surely with Martin dead, his control over my mind is gone?”

  He gave me a sad little smile. “Not much about the supernatural is logical, rohi. Your mind might just need some time to recover and reveal the memories to you, but I’ll add it to the list of things we need to talk to Aaron about.”

  That had me frowning as I thought of something.

  “How come we’re inside without him close by? What about the lightning?”

  He leaned in and laid a brief kiss on my lips. “He told me last night that he’s found a way that you’re safe in the house. No idea what or how…”

  With a chuckle, he kissed me again when I was about to cut him off.

  “Don’t ask, rohi. You’ll learn with Aaron, it’s not worth the effort. He won’t ever tell you his secrets. Just be grateful he’s willing to share the benefits of his gifts with us.”

  He kissed me again and heat flowed through me, washing away any negative thoughts I had and leaving only bliss and arousal behind. Wanting more than a mere kiss, I pulled back and stroked my fingers down his beautiful face.

  “There’s something else I wanna tell you too, but maybe we should go somewhere a little more, ah, private?”

  His lips stretched into a wide grin a moment before he stood with me in his arms.

  “I can do private. Anytime you want me alone, rohi, all you gotta do is say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

  Looping my arms around his neck so I could lean in to lick and nip at his throat, I didn’t doubt his words at all.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Spark

  When my lady looked at me with a heated look like she was currently giving me and wanted to go somewhere private, I was going to do whatever necessary to make that happen. It’d been a struggle to leave her sleeping earlier. After nearly losing her yesterday, I wanted to reconnect with her. Be inside her to confirm she was really here with me and safe.

  “I can do private. Any time you want me alone, rohi, all you gotta do is say the word and I’ll make it happen.”

  With a grin, I made fast work of lifting her and carrying her down the hallway toward our room, with the little minx licking and nipping at my neck the whole way. I had no clue what she wanted to tell me — assuming she hadn’t just said that to get me to take her back to bed — but she was going to need to make it fast. By the time I passed through the door, my cock was as hard as granite and throbbing with my need to get inside her.

&n
bsp; After shoving the door shut, I lowered her to her feet then backed her against the timber before she could blink. Gripping both her wrists in one hand, I pressed them against the door over her head then lowered my face to rub my cheek against hers as I spoke.

  “What do you wanna tell me, rohi? Best make it quick because I fucking need you.”

  She squirmed against me while she let out the cutest little growl.

  “I can’t think, let alone talk, when you’re touching me!”

  “Hmm.”

  I nipped along her jawline then gave her a fast, hard kiss before I forced myself to back off a step. The moment I released her wrists, she lowered her palms to my chest. A shot of heat went through me from each point of contact, making it even harder to resist the urge to tear her clothes off and toss her on the bed.

  Clenching my fists and my jaw, I locked down my body, forcing every muscle to remain still, trying to give Bri this time she wanted. But fuck, it wasn’t easy. I needed her.

  With a gentle smile she stepped forward, pressing herself against me as she rose on her tip toes to press a light kiss to the corner of my mouth.

  “I just wanted to tell you that I’ve fallen head over heels for you.”

  My gaze locked with hers as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her even more solidly against me. “You telling me you love me, rohi?”

  With a nod, she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. She looked so fucking nervous, like she was waiting for me to reject her.

  “Good. Because, Bri, I’m fucking crazy about you. I had no idea you were out there waiting for me. If I had, I would’ve come looking for you years ago. But now that I’ve found you? I don’t ever want to let go. Yesterday scared the shit out of me, babe. I never want to go through anything like that again.”

  With a grin she lifted her hand to trace a finger over my lips.

  “You telling me you love me, rohi?”