“You want to what?”
I held my ground, staring into the endless pit of rage that was Tobias Banks. “I want to keep him prisoner.”
His lips curled, baring his teeth, as he swung that stare toward the rogue Son. “No fucking way. No Son stays alive.” He jerked his head toward Carven and Colt. “Unless it’s those two.”
“Thanks for the clarification,” Carven muttered, glaring.
I stood in front of Hale’s hunter, protecting him with my body alone. He stood handcuffed behind me, guarded by Thomas and London, with a cross and a gun making him think twice about twitching.
“I say he does.” I held my ground, not once looking my sister’s way.
She shook her head, that same look of revulsion and pain in her eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Ryth. But I had this feeling and it wasn’t that sickening connection I felt between us. It was that dangerous, fragile, hope…
“He doesn’t live,” Tobias urged.
“I say he does.”
Tobias shook his head, glancing behind me to the Son. One look. One breath and it’d all be over.
“T,” Caleb murmured to his brother.
But Tobias didn’t answer, nor did he look away, just glared at the male behind me. Glared and glared and glared.
“T,” Caleb called again, this time grabbing his brother’s arm gently. “We can use him. Find out what he knows and get to Hale that way.”
My pulse thundered. Did he understand? Christ, I hoped so. He glanced at the Son behind me. But whatever he saw didn’t fill him with confidence. His brow pinched with a frown.
There was no way the Son would be intimated. Not by a man…but maybe…he would be by a Daughter. I looked at Ryth and Vivienne. One looked terrified and the other pissed. My pulse raced, knowing if there was anyone who could get the information we needed from this hunter, it was me.
Tobias turned away. “This is on you, Helene. Any blood he spills, you’ll wear. I hope you understand that?”
I did and it terrified me.
“Move.” London pushed the Son away from the others.
I met every stare, the looks of disappointment, pressed lips, hard swallows, grinding teeth. I felt it all as I turned away and froze. Riven was there, watching my every move. Slowly, he stepped to the side, allowing us to pass.
Finley Salvatore led us to a room, much smaller than the massive panic room we’d made into a command center. He pressed in the code and the steel door opened. “This code disengages the locks until you lock them again. I’ll give you the code and only you. You can use this room however you choose.”
He watched Thom and London push the rogue Son inside and force him to sit against a wall. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Helene,” He murmured, then grabbed his cell, typed out a message and held it up in front of my face. 6767, the code filled the screen before he lowered his hand, turned, and walked away.
London was next. “I need to see Vivienne.”
“Of course.” I answered.
The way he said it made me feel like shit. No one wanted the Son here, least of all me. I knew what it meant…
The others would torture and even try to kill him, and they’d force me to watch it happen. I stepped into the room as Thomas rose, looking down at the Son now secured to the wall by a chain.
“Outside, Helen,” He murmured, giving me no choice but to follow.
I met the Son’s stare and that same feeling of belonging filled me. His dark eyes softened with the connection. Whatever it was I felt, I knew he felt it too. But I followed Thomas outside the small room, meeting one of Finley’s bodyguards.
“Ten years in the military police. If he knows anything, I’ll get it out of him.” He said, glancing at the room.
Could I trust him? I wasn’t sure. I needed him, that I knew.
“Nothing will happen, unless he forces my hand. You have my word.” The guard urged.
I had to trust that…for now.
Raised voices came from the main room where everyone waited. I headed back in with Thomas, finding the dull roar quieting the moment I stepped inside. Heads turned my way. No one wanted to see me, not after bringing the enemy through the door. But it was Vivienne and Ryth who broke away and headed toward me.
“It’s okay.” Vivienne ran her hands along my shoulders and pulled me in close. “I know what you’re doing.”
I held her, meeting Ryth’s stare.
“We can’t do it,” My sister murmured in my ear. “So it has to be you.” I pulled away, finding desperate compassion in her stare.
“Thank you.” Ryth said and smiled.
“You feel it too, right?” I asked. I had to know…desperate to find out it wasn’t just me. “That connection to them.”
Ryth eyes widened. Vivienne glanced over her shoulder to where Colt and Carven stood. “Yes.” She turned back to me. “It’s like fate, like you’ve known them your entire life even though you’ve only just met. I don’t believe in past lives or alternate realities. But if I did, it’d be like this.” She turned back to me. “There is a connection between us, one only we can feel. If there’s a way to exploit that connection to end this and be rid of Hale once and for all, then we need to do everything we can. If that means you need to form a connection with this Son, then I’ll do everything I can to help you.” She looked at Ryth. “We both will, but we can’t be part of it…you understand that, right?”
My sister spoke of fate as though it was a tangible thing, but fate, to me, was a hunter just like a Son. One always hunting, desperate for a connection. I’d known it the moment I stepped into the path of Riven’s car and the moment I’d made the decision to become a Daughter in The Order. But my fate wasn’t just tied to the men I loved and the Sons…it was also tied to the two women standing in front of me.
I felt their connection as clearly as I did the Sons’.
“The attack from the tunnels was a damn mess, but this is bigger than that. Whoever he has hiding his tracks is good.” Anna’s voice rose above the groans and mutters of revenge, calling my attention. “He’s good, Fin. He’s really good. But I need to be better.”
“We need to be better,” Harper added. “We need to break this code and find a way into this system. We need to figure out where that bastard is hiding.”
Anna ran her hands through her hair and turned to Kat. “I’ll find him. Believe me…I’ll find him.”
“The moment you do, we’re ready.”
I met my sisters’ panicked stares. But what if she never did? What then? There was no way in hell I was waiting for the moment both of them looked at us, defeated. Hale had escaped once before by pretending he was dead. We all knew he wasn’t…because monsters like him don’t die. They infect. They possess…and they live on through reputation alone.
“I can’t wait for that.” I murmured and turned away. “I just can’t.”
I walked out, leaving those I loved behind. I needed quiet. I needed me. My pulse raced as I headed out of that room and sought a darkened, quiet hallway, one where I could think. My steps blurred as I paced, the movement sanely comforting.
I’d spent my entire life pretending.
First, I was the daughter to a stranger, content to be alone.
Then I was a sister with a loving family.
After that I was a meal to a group of violent and dangerous men…and through them, I became a pawn for The Order. So what was a little more pretending?
“You give too much of yourself.” I stopped walking and slowly turned around, meeting Thomas’ stare. He strode toward me, powerful and sure, slid his hand around the back of my neck and forced my gaze to his. “Too damn much.”
An ache bloomed in the back of my throat. I wouldn’t cry. Not now. Not here. There wasn’t time for that. But as Thomas pulled me closer, that knot of pain moved into my chest.
“We all sacrifice.” My words were thick and husky.
“There’s sacrifice, and then there’s you.”
I gripped his arms, holding on as he pulled away to stare into my eyes. “The moment this is over, you aren’t sacrificing a single thing ever again, do you understand me? Not. A. Single. Goddamn. Thing. You’ll have nothing but happiness. Nothing but safety and love. Nothing but puppies and rainbows and all the vegan food you can eat. I’ll make sure of it.”
My lips curled with a soft, sad smile. The way he said it made me a little scared. Thomas was quickly turning into a man I both desired and feared. But not for myself…no, for others, and I had a feeling this was only the start for him.
“We’re heading to the mountain, gathering supplies, and getting some sleep. Everyone is going to do the same, leaving time for Finley’s man, then Lazarus, to work on Hale’s hunter.”
I held my breath, panic rising inside me.
“They now understand how important he is and they’re smart, really smart. These aren’t your normal men and we need to trust them. I don’t understand this connection you seem to have with them, neither does Riven, but if anything, Finley and Lazarus will set the scene. You can use this to your advantage. Let them try their best and if it’s not good enough, then you use what power you have over him.”
There was that word again…trust.
“Are you ready to do that?” He implored.
I had no other choice, did I? At some point they needed to understand one plan just wasn’t enough when you were dealing with a snake like Haelstrom Hale. You needed more…as many as you could get. There was a fragile pleading in Thomas’ tone, one I heard loud and clear.
“More than ready.” I answered, tilting my head to rest my cheek against the inside of his arm. “I’m ready to be with you…all of you.”
He gave a smile. “I was hoping you were going to say that.”
Footsteps resounded. Doors closed and the faint growl of engines starting sounded. Thomas glanced past me as the steps stopped nearby. I turned around, to find Riven, Kane, and Hunter.
“You ready, Trouble?” Riven said carefully.
He didn’t need to ask twice. We left the Salvatore house and climbed into the four-wheel drive before we headed home. Thomas reached out to grab my hand as I sat between him and Kane in the back seat. Hope filled me, scared and helpless, a scurrying, fleeting feeling. Like it wasn’t quite sure yet.
I guess none of us were.
All we had was this moment…this gathering before the storm.
We were closing in. That I knew.
I met Hunter’s stare in the rear-view mirror.
He felt it too.
The end…
Was finally here.
