by C. R. Jane
Siren Redeemed
Thief of Hearts Book 4
C.R. Jane
Mila Young
Siren Redeemed by C. R. Jane and Mila Young
Copyright © 2021 by C. R. Jane and Mila Young
All rights reserved.
Cover art created by Covers by Aura
Edited by Briann Graziano
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Contents
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Thief of Hearts
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Acknowledgments
Meet C.R. Jane
Books by C.R. Jane
Meet Mila Young
Books By Mila Young
Dedication
For our readers who saw the cages they'd created for themselves and decided to set themselves free.
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Thief of Hearts
Siren Condemned
Siren Sacrificed
Siren Awakened
Siren Redeemed
Siren Redeemed
One man broke me. One led me to sin. And one killed me to save me.
I grew up under the iron fist of a vampire. And when I betrayed him, I ended up in Nightmare Penitentiary.
Multiple attacks, my death, and four psycho men later…I’m done being everyone's target.
I have to escape the monsters who surround me within these walls. So a deal has been struck, and failure to fulfill my part of the bargain is not an option.
With my fae prince, incubus, hellhound, and serial killer, I’m set to unleash hell on all of who’ve done me wrong.
I’ve had enough of the cages that surround me.
Sometimes all you need is a second chance to make things right. But in my case, I was given four…
Chapter 1
Selena
The sky seemed to darken the closer we got to the Chicago skyline. I'd always hated this city, hated everything about it. My feelings hadn't changed while in prison.
The breeze coming off Lake Michigan pushed hair into my face. The car we were in traveled the road that ran right by the shore. I sighed enviously as I watched the families frolicking in the sand. I couldn't fathom that level of carefreeness. And the sight of the water just did something to me. Water always had that effect on me.
The car all of a sudden turned off the main road and headed towards a parking lot right by the water.
"What are we doing?" I asked Keon in surprise. I half expected to burst into flames from whatever spell the Warden had put on me to make sure I didn't get away.
The Warden didn't realize that I'd left a few pieces of myself behind at the prison. I missed Seth and Alaric… and Laz. I still was having trouble admitting that one to myself.
"We have some time before the funeral, and I know how you like the water."
My heart did a funny pitter-patter in my chest as I stared at Keon in amazement. "Is this allowed?" I asked, a little bit of sarcasm leaking into my voice.
He pulled the car into a parking spot, and put the car into park. He stared at the water for a long moment, so long I thought that he wasn't going to answer my question.
"Just say the word, and we'll get out of here," he finally said. "We'll run as far away as we can, and we won't look back." His voice took on a pleading tone. "I'll find a way to remove the tracker. We'll be free." Keon took my hand, and pulled me towards him. "Say the word, Selena, and we'll do it."
For a second, I let myself imagine what it would be like, Keon and I on the run. I imagined always looking over our shoulders, a life in crummy motels where we had to pay in cash, a life where we always expected someone to crash through the front door.
The Warden would get tired of looking for us at some point, right?
Alaric's face appeared in my mind. Then Seth's. Then Laz's. Every moment I'd experienced with them ran like a movie through my mind.
"I can't," I finally whispered, a bit of heartbreak leaking in my voice. I felt like the biggest idiot on the planet. I wasn't just the girl who'd fallen for the bad boy. I was the girl who'd fallen for four of the worst kinds of bad boys, and who was literally willing to throw away a chance at freedom to stay with them. What was wrong with me?
Some of my mother's words chose that moment to rear their ugly heads. "The day you give your heart away is the day you become the biggest kind of fool." She'd said it once when she'd come back from a visit with a client who liked to rough up his girls during sex. Apparently, he got off on his lover's tears and screams. My mother had a haunted look on her face when she'd come into my room that night, a giant black eye that had taken forever to heal on her face. I'd come home from school, excited for some reason to tell her about a new boy that had shown up, and how he'd said I was pretty. She'd snapped at me when I'd told her, and then gave me those words. I guess it made sense that I would think about that now.
She'd be so disappointed if she could see me right now.
"Selena, baby," Keon whispered, and I realized that I had tears streaming down my face.
"I don't know why I'm crying. She was a terrible woman who seemed to thrive on my misery," I told him haltingly. "I think it's because I still must have been holding out some hope that someday she would change. That someday, maybe, she would have loved me. And now that's not possible." A hiccuped sob burst out of me. "It's so stupid that I would still feel that way."
“Before my mother left, she used to beat me when I would visit her,” Keon told me, and my gaze flicked up to his face, shocked. “When she left for good, I still missed her, even though she was a monster. Even though she tried to beat the demon out of me. It's just ingrained in us as living beings, this desire to be loved by our parents. We're taught from birth that they're supposed to love us more than anything. So, when they don't, it twists something inside of us, creates a chasm that's impossible to fill. It's not stupid to miss the prom
ise of someone, Selena. Even if that promise was probably not going to ever come true."
A wave of affection rushed over me. It was nice when someone gave you permission to feel. That didn't happen very often.
"I love you," I said softly, the words tasting strange on my tongue.
Keon's entire being lit up like a freaking Christmas tree. "I love you too, Selena. Always."
We stared at each other, probably looking like a pair of lovesick fools to anyone passing by our car. But I didn't care.
"If there weren't people everywhere I’d strip you naked, and fuck the living daylight out of you," Keon suddenly swore. A snort slipped past my lips.
Ever the romantic my guy was.
"Let's go for a walk in the sand. We're running out of time," Keon said, a smile on his lips.
I nodded and walked out, still in shock at how amazing the sun felt on my skin. I took off my heels and threw them on the seat, desperate to feel the sand and the water on my skin. A giggle burst out of my throat as I ran towards the water's edge, practically shrieking in joy as a wave brushed across my legs. The bottom of my black dress got soaked, but I didn't care. Even a siren without her magic could feel the power in the waves. Humans experienced a small piece of it. Doctors in the old days had been onto something when they'd sent their sick patients to stay by the ocean for long periods of time. The water really had been healing them.
If only it could heal a heart.
"Someday I want to see the ocean," I told Keon as he caught up with me.
"You've never been to a real beach?" he asked, surprised.
"Nope just this," I said, gesturing to the lake.
"We'll go one day," Keon promised, and I smiled at him because even if he couldn't really make that promise, I knew he wanted to. And man, it felt good to have someone who wanted to.
We were only able to stay for a few minutes more, but something inside me did feel recharged as we left the beach. The city didn’t even look quite as menacing afterward.
At least until the cemetery came into view.
Julian's "hosting" the funeral. I didn't know that was a thing, but apparently because Julian was my mother's master, he paid and planned her funeral, even though he was also her murderer.
The supernatural world has its own graveyard in Chicago, just beyond the largest human one, Rosehill Cemetery. From the outside, it looks like there are just rows of skyscrapers. But if a human were to walk towards it, they would suddenly remember something urgent they needed to do. Who knew the supernatural world was responsible for helping humans to remember all the things they'd forgotten about?
However, as soon as you pass through the ward surrounding the supernatural cemetery, the illusion of the skyscrapers disappears and you find yourself in Jonestown Cemetery. Every supernatural who was anyone in Chicago was buried here. At least Julian was giving my mother that.
A shiver passed over my skin as we moved through the ward, the magic pricking at my skin like it was trying to jump into my veins. Keon acted nonplussed as we went through, and I frowned at how unaffected he seemed about most things... most things except for me.
It had been a sunny day, but passing through the wards you would never know. It was like the creators of the cemetery wanted the weather to reflect the feelings of its occupants. The sky was a stormy grey color, no sign of the sun, and there was a light mist falling. The air was cooler as well, and I shivered as we began to make our way down the path that wound through the gravestones. Keon wrapped an arm around me, and I snuggled into his warmth. He always seemed to be on fire.
There wasn't a sign of anyone until we walked up a hill, and then we could see the honorary red canopies set up to protect the attendees from the weather. My stomach squeezed as we got closer, and I could see the hole dug in the ground. There'd been a viewing earlier. I hadn't been given details about how Julian had killed her, but evidently, it wasn't anything ghastly enough to prevent the viewing. My mother's face popped in my mind. She was beautiful, but it was a cruel beauty. Had I ever seen her give me a genuine smile? Had she smiled when I'd been born? Had she looked down at my face and felt any hint of love?
There was a crowd of people gathered under the tents. I recognized some of the other sirens, but soon noticed they weren't excited to see me. Each of them averted their eyes like they'd catch something just by looking at me. Why had I worried so much about helping them again? Their feelings were obviously not the same.
Many from Julian's clan were here as well. A lot of them had used my mother personally when she hadn't been busy with clients. Their hungry eyes followed me as Keon led me to two empty seats, and I struggled not to shiver under their stares. At least I hadn't seen...no sooner had I thought it than Julian appeared from behind one of the drapes hanging off the canopies. His face lit up when he saw me, but not like Keon's did. Julian's face was lit up in the way a cat lit up when it saw a mouse.
I ignored him to stare at the casket sitting in front of the canopies. My heart beat furiously in my chest as I looked at it. It was made of dark mahogany wood. Red roses were draped over it. More blood-red roses were strewn artfully around the casket. It was gaudy and impressive, and Jocelyn would have loved it. There was light classical music streaming from hidden speakers, and everyone was whispering as if they were trying to be respectful of the moment.
It was such a joke.
The priest from the local church that Julian had made us attend most Sundays stood up in front of the crowd, and everyone quieted down and found their seats.
"God doesn't know why some are chosen to be taken from us so soon," the priest began. Fury rushed through my veins. Fury and incredulousness that this farce was actually happening. God had nothing to do with my mother's death. Only Julian did, and he was sitting front and center on the first row, people patting his back like he had lost someone important or something.
The priest droned on and on, his gaze darting among the crowd, stopping every so often on the other sirens. He was probably thinking about his next "appointment" with one of them. I knew for a fact that Julian sent him a girl every Saturday night. The priest was no more celibate than I was.
"Julian will now grace us with a few words," the priest finally said, and Keon growled next to me. For a second, I allowed myself to imagine letting the serial killer I had at my disposal lose. But I knew it wouldn't be as easy as that. Julian was a walking weapon, with many of the siren's powers at his disposal in addition to his own. Even with Keon's brutal strength, and whatever that monster was inside him, I didn't think that he would be a match for a Vampire Grand Master.
But it sure was nice to imagine.
Julian's gaze was mocking as he stared at me while he gave a glowing eulogy for my mother. The Jocelyn he described was a stranger, a lie... and he knew it. I looked around, still expecting someone to think it was ridiculous and insulting for my mother's murderer to be speaking during her funeral, but no one seemed to care. Julian finally finished, and a freaking choir that appeared out of the woodwork, began to sing some sad old song that I'd heard at funerals before.
At least it would be over soon. One of the siren girls, Kayla, walked up and down the aisles, dropping off roses to each of the guests. I guessed to place on the casket. The guests stood up and dropped the roses off one by one as Julian stood by the casket, nodding at everyone as they paid their respects.
"Maybe we should slip out now," I suggested.
"You deserve the chance to say goodbye," Keon said through gritted teeth. "He's not going to touch you."
Keon kept his hand firmly on my lower back as we approached the casket, my rose gripped tightly in my hand. Julian's jaw clenched as he stared at Keon's familiar touch.
I pointedly ignored him, walking steadfastly to the casket and laying the rose down on top of it with the hundreds of other roses already there. My hand shook as I released the flower.
"I hope you found some peace wherever you are. Some peace... and some happiness, mama," I whispered, the old e
ndearment from what felt like another life popping from my tongue. A flicker of a memory popped in my head as my fingers traced the wood of the coffin. A memory of her face... smiling down at me.
I let the memory sink into my skin, letting it soothe away the years of hurt and the pain. I let myself forgive her. I would never forget all she had done. But somehow, I thought that it would give the both of us, my mother and me, the peace we needed if I was able to forgive.
A smile flickered across my face.
"I've missed that pretty smile," Julian said from way too close to me, shattering the momentary feeling of peace I'd been experiencing. Keon yanked me away and pushed me behind him. I could just imagine the glare Julian was giving him.
"Hiding, Selena?" Julian asked in a voice that was supposed to sound amused, but mostly just sounded annoyed.
I huffed a deep breath and then pushed myself from behind Keon. "Hello to you too, Julian. This was a lot, even for you," I said, gesturing to his presence at the funeral.
He put on a mock sad face. "You gave me no choice. The prison doesn't seem to be teaching you the right lessons, so I decided to help you."
