by Riley Storm
“I know,” Kal said. “I only wish I knew how to comfort him. To tell him I’m not like the others. That I’m not your ex-husband.”
Anne hesitated to answer. She liked Kal, there was no denying that, but she wasn’t sure that trying to patch things up between him and her son was the best idea just yet. There was still so much about Kal she didn’t know. Not to mention everything going on in his personal life that seemed extremely dangerous.
She’d done her best not to dwell on that, not wanting to think it through to its natural conclusion, but maybe now was the time for that thought. If Kal was going to be gone again for some time, back to his home, perhaps she needed to open that box. Maybe she needed to face all the reasons as to why she shouldn’t let things continue at such a breakneck pace with Kal.
“In time,” she said. “In time.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Kal said quietly. “Or him. If your ex comes here, I will be there for you.”
Anne smiled. “I don’t want violence, Kal. I’ve had enough of that,” she said darkly, remembering the final straw that had caused her to leave Alexi for good. “I’m over it.”
“I understand,” Kal said solemnly. “Five Peaks is your home now though, no matter what he might try.”
She smiled tightly, but didn’t answer.
“Um, if you want to, I mean. Like, if you want to stay, that is, then I will do my best to ensure you feel comfortable and welcome here.”
Even if that means you leaving us alone, she thought to herself. Because that might be the safest option right now.
“I haven’t decided one way or the other,” she said honestly. “But right now, I should go find Liam. Time to parent, and tell him that, no matter how he’s feeling, the way he acted there was rude and not acceptable. Which should be a real fun talk with a ten-year-old.”
Kal smiled. “You’re doing a great job mothering. I have faith you can do this.”
She returned the look. “Thank you Kal. That means a lot. Now go.”
He leaned in, gave her a quick kiss, then was gone out the front door.
Anne watched the door slowly swing closed.
Yes, she had a lot of thinking to do.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kal
“You can do this,” he growled to himself as his truck came to a halt in the courtyard out front of the Clan Aterna home.
His home.
The words had little bite to them though, given that he’d pulled off the road halfway up the mountain in a panic at the thought of returning to face everyone. It was almost worse, now, because he’d been gone for so long. Everyone would know he’d run away because he was ashamed of himself, and was just now slinking back home.
Something banged on his hood.
Kal jumped, slamming his head off the roof. “Ow,” he snarled, cursing his clumsiness.
Out front someone was laughing at him.
“Very funny,” Kal said, holding in his anger as he got out of the truck. “You could have dented it.”
Logan rolled his eyes, the head of Clan Aterna not even flinching. “Yeah right. Quit over-reacting.”
Kal shrugged. “What can I do for you?”
“Well I heard you had come for a visit,” Logan said. “I figured I should do my job and come see how you are, how you’ve been. That sort of thing, you know?”
“I don’t buy that for a second. You know full well that I haven’t been back in weeks. That if I came back and wanted to talk to anyone, I would seek them out. Which I haven’t, nor will I, be doing. So why are you really here Logan?”
“Always did like you,” Logan said, beckoning him over with a hand. “Smart, competent, stable. Didn’t surprise me to see you rising in the ranks of the Guard. Always thought that maybe one day you’d take over from Viko.”
Kal narrowed his eyes. “Thanks. I guess. But not an option now. So like I said, what do you want? Let’s get it done so I can get what I came for and head on out.”
“Stop acting like I hate you,” Logan said, tone turning to ice as he fixed Kal with a glare. “I don’t care for your projecting. Understood?”
“Got it,” Kal ground out. “But my point still stands.”
“Get over yourself. Nobody here hates you. We’re all smart enough to see that Viko is an idiot and over-reacted. Once you’re done wallowing in your own self-pity and can accept that too, come on home. Door is open and people are looking forward to having you back,” Logan said, his voice still just as cold. “But in reality, I’m here because I wanted to know if you got it.”
Kal was so focused on the first half of Logan’s statement, that he almost missed the question at the end. “If I got what?”
“The letter,” Logan said.
Kal’s jaw dropped open. “That was you?” He’d still been wondering how that letter had found its way into his possession.
“Yes. Gunnar came here looking for you. You weren’t here. Said he didn’t have time to track you down, had something urgent to do. I said I could get it to you.”
“But…how?” Kal asked. “I was off-grid.”
Logan rolled his eyes. “I am the leader of Clan Aterna, Kal. Please, give me some credit for being able to do my job and keep track of my clan members.”
Kal couldn’t help himself. He snorted, cracking into a little smile at the dry tone. He appreciated Logan as a leader, now as he had before. The man was caring and compassionate, and took no shit when things were serious.
“Alright, fine. Well yes, I did get it.” Kal frowned as a brown blur came racing up to him and dropped an orange ball at his feet, barking excitedly. “Did you get a dog?”
“Pace’s mate,” Logan said. “This is Barton.”
“He’s not afraid of us.”
“No, but if you don’t throw the ball, he’ll get annoyed,” Logan said with a chuckle.
Shrugging Kal picked up the ball and hurled it across the open space down the side of the compound. Barton yelped and took off after it in a clatter of claws on the stone.
“Something is going on,” he said abruptly, interrupting anything Logan was about to say.
Very quickly he filled in Logan about everything that had happened.
“You’re positive about this?” Logan said darkly once he was finished.
“I don’t have anything concrete on Viko, but he’s tried to charge me for two crimes now, neither of which he actually seems to be formally investigating. He’s covering up something. He has to be.”
Logan nodded. “I believe you. I’ll brainstorm, see if I can figure out what his end goal might be, what it is he hopes to get out of it. Being Commander of the Gate Guard is pretty lofty already. The only other thing I could see is him wanting to be in command of Atrox when Victor steps down. But as a former Guard Commander, he should have little trouble achieving that position naturally.”
Kal shrugged. He’d come to the same conclusion. None of this made any sense.
“Get to the bottom of this,” Logan said. “Once you find something, anything, you let me know. We’ll stop this from getting any worse.”
Kal straightened, spine stiffening. He had a mission now. A real, sanctioned one, not just a private quest.
“I’m on it,” he rumbled, a sliver of hope nestling in his gut.
Maybe there was a light at the tunnel after all. A way to prove himself to everyone, to show that he’s worth of their respect.
Now I just need to find out what the heck Viko is up to. Cause I’ve had so much luck so far.
He would get his schedule, then head back into town. The longer he was away, the stronger the call back to Anne was getting.
I wonder if she feels it too…
Chapter Twenty-Five
Anne
“Well this is more like what I expected,” she muttered to herself, surveying the sparsely occupied bar.
Her bar.
It had taken almost the last of her carefully hoarded money to buy the place. A decision that had
haunted her for days on end, wondering if she’d just squandered her last chance to provide Liam with a normal life. Even now he was asleep upstairs.
Am I doing the right thing?
It was a question she was asking herself a lot in the recent days and weeks. By buying something like this, Anne had tied herself to one place for a long period of time. That provided a sense of stability, something that Liam hadn’t known much of over the past few years.
Of course, by working evenings and nights, she was missing much of his life, and that bothered her. But if it allowed her to finally provide a place they could stay, and maybe in time a better life than she’d been able to give Liam so far, then she would accept that.
And then there was Kal.
Anne still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the enigmatic character. There was this aura of mystery about him that was dragging her in deeper with every breath. It was infectious, she couldn’t escape it, caught up in him like a whirlpool. Even now, when he wasn’t around, she couldn’t get her mind off him.
He’d come into her life like a wrecking ball. Literally. His actions a week earlier had destroyed the bar. Anne had no way of coming back from the damage that had been done, and she’d had many dark thoughts after witnessing the destruction he’d single-handedly caused.
Then he’d come through, with money, skills and a drive to make it right that was completely at odds with the quiet introverted drinker who had frequented the bar before then.
It was like he was two different people. The fight had been a wakeup call for him, she hoped. This new Kal was rather likeable. Strange, a little mysterious, but definitely likeable. If he could fix his work situation—without any more wild fights—then things would be looking up for both of them.
Wasn’t that a thought? Things looking up for her, and for Liam. Maybe the bar could start to provide a steady income. Possibly enough that they could move out and begin to have a place of their own. Maybe she could even rent out the upstairs for extra income! Plenty of things to be upbeat about.
Behind her the bar phone rang.
“Rocky’s Roadhouse,” she said politely.
“Anne.”
The voice on the other end should have made her blood run cold with fear. She should have begun to shake and tremble. This time however, buoyed by the positive thoughts and the overall bright outlook for the future, it didn’t. This time Anne had something she hadn’t had before.
Hope.
“Hello Alexi,” she said coolly. “Do you have anything specific to say, or is this just another rant about how you own me and I need to come back and do as you say?”
Her ex-husband sputtered, not prepared for that sort of response. “You talk to me like that?”
“It’s exactly the way you talk to me, but reversed,” she said. “Now what do you want?”
“I give you one last chance,” he growled. “You come back to me now.”
“No,” she said. “It’s not happening. Give it up Alexi. Move on.”
The man didn’t even want her, he just didn’t like to appear weak, by having something—she was a possession to him, not a person—leaving him without permission. That was all it was. A power grab.
“Final chance. Don’t be stupid.”
She rolled her eyes. “No means no, Alexi. Try to understand that. It would do you a lot of good.”
“I gave you chance. Idiot woman.”
The phone line went dead.
Anne sighed and hung up, breathing out deeply, beyond thankful the conversation was over. A sliver of worry hung around in the back of her head. There was always the chance that, now that he knew where she was, Alexi would come for her. She would have to be wary, just in case he tried something.
Still, for now, there was nothing to worry about. Overall, everything was looking up.
There was a loud ripping sound. Every eye in the bar turned to the tarp that was still taped over the front window. A knife sliced through it with ease.
Anne groaned. It wasn’t the first time some asshole vandal had done that, but this was the boldest they’d been. She kept meaning to get Kal to board it up, but they had been so preoccupied with the rest of the repairs it hadn’t been a priority. The new window that he had paid way more than she’d wanted for was supposed to arrive in two days. That’s all she had to put up with it for, two more days.
“I’ll get the duct tape,” she told the customers, reassuring them it was fine. “That stuff fixes everything.”
The patrons—all men in their forties or older—laughed and nodded, appreciating the joke.
She had barely finished speaking when something came flying through the slit tarp. It exploded into flames near one of the tables.
“What the fuck!” one of the patrons shouted, getting up and making a beeline for the door.
Everyone else followed a few seconds later, leaving the bar empty.
“Not this time,” Anne growled, reaching under the bar and coming up with her fire extinguisher.
If this was Alexi’s way of sending a message—the timing was too coincidental to be anything else—he was going to find himself sorely disappointed.
She pulled the pin, took the hose and doused the fire out, covering it in extinguishing foam. Just like that, easy. I probably could have used a bucket of water even.
Proud of herself she put the red cylinder away and reached for the phone to call the police. Whoever it was, she wasn’t going to take this laying down. Whatever goon Alexi had hired and sent after her would be tracked down and arrested. Anne was done bowing to his games.
Her hand paused halfway to the phone as the crackle of fire reached her ears.
The flames came through the tarp, spreading down the wall and across the floor like a living, breathing animal. The fire jumped from chairs to table, coating the surfaces as it engulfed the bar.
Anne looked around in horror. This was too much for her fire extinguisher to fight. The speed it was moving left her little time to do anything but run.
“Liam,” she gasped, dashing up the stairs as fast as she could, shouting for her son to wake up.
“Mommy?” he asked, sitting up blearily as she barged into his room. “What’s going on?”
“Come on Liam, time to go outside,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. It wouldn’t be long before the back door was blocked, they had to move.
She took him by the hand and helped him out of bed. “Come on, let’s go.”
“I don’t want to,” Liam complained as they headed for the door.
“Just do it,” she snapped, some of her worry shining through. Anne could handle dealing with an upset ten-year-old later. His safety now was her primary concern.
They reached the stairs just in time to see the flames licking around the corner and start up after them.
“Mommy I’m scared,” Liam said, suddenly clinging to her as he realized the danger they were in.
“Me too baby, me too,” she said, one hand around his shoulders, trying to figure another way out of the terrible danger they were in.
Her eyes lit on the window.
Rushing over to it she looked out. The flames weren’t on the outside of the building. She could break the window and they could jump.
Then another idea came to her and she raced over to Liam’s bed and began stripping the bedding from it.
“What are you doing mommy?” Liam asked, standing alone in the middle of the room in his pajamas.
Anne tried not to cry, blinking back tears at the sight of her terrified son. She needed to maintain her composure and get the two of them out of there safe. Then, and only then, could she worry about anything else.
“We’re going to climb down hunny,” she said, putting a smile on her face. “Like a ladder.”
“Out the window?”
She nodded.
Liam walked over to it while she worked, tying the two sheets together. It might not reach all the way, but they were only one story up. It only had to get them most
of the way. She could jump the rest after Liam was down.
“Mommy! Fire!”
“I know baby,” she said frantically trying to go even faster. “That’s why we’re leaving.”
“Mommy it’s on the window!”
Fear stole her breath as she looked over to see that Liam was right. The fire was now licking up over the window.
Oh no…
“Come here,” she said as the outside view was obscured by the flames, the red-orange colors flickering wildly, lighting up the room with their deadly promise.
Anne pulled Liam to her, standing in the center of the room. What else could she do now? They were trapped…
“Mommy are we going to die?”
She bit her lip. “No hunny, we’ll be okay,” she lied, stroking his head, knowing that smoke inhalation would cause them to pass out before the fire reached them.
Or it should have. She looked around. There was no smoke anywhere. What was going on?
A might roar sounded from outside, shaking the window violently in its place.
This is wrong, she told herself, wondering if she’d imagined the noise. This is all wrong. What’s going on here?
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kal
He took his time returning to Rocky’s.
Not because he didn’t long to see Anne, he did, but because for the first time in a long time, Kal didn’t feel the pull toward the drink. His mouth didn’t water at the thought of a crisp sip of golden nectar. If Anne was somewhere else, Kal would have wanted to go there instead.
The sky was dark as he meandered through town, both schedules stuffed in his back pocket. He’d grabbed his old one from his room—strangely enough, the only room of the former guards that hadn’t been ransacked—and then left right away. The return had been awkward enough, he didn’t want to prolong it any more than absolutely necessary.
Still, it was good to know that Logan, despite everything Kal had done, was still on his side. The head of his clan had cared enough to ensure that Kal got the warning letter from Gunnar. Maybe there was still hope of Kal returning one day.
Then again, with Anne, what did he care about going anywhere? He was happiest where she was. That was good enough for him!
