A Final Touch: The Complete Series, page 63
As I’d already said, this building didn’t have a back. It pushed up against the two establishments beside it. Jace revealed a storeroom. Silently, he grabbed me and pulled me through.
I turned over my shoulder, staring at the corridor in time as people burst through it. But Jace twisted me around before they could see my face.
They immediately gave chase, but the werewolf was faster. He ran right through the business to the back. This one, fortunately, had its own rear entrance in a tight little alleyway. There were plenty of cars pressed right up against the wall.
The nearby building was only one story in height. That was nothing compared to Jace’s powerful legs. He pumped them and jumped right on top of it. He let out a grunt as he carried me with him in his arms. Then Jace, without turning back once, ran. He took me with him.
We were in this together. From the beginning. And dammit, we’d be in this together until the end. Mark my words, because I would never leave the wolf’s side again.
Chapter 8
It wasn’t exactly hard to make it back to the safe house fast. It was literally only a few businesses away. Jace was smart and didn’t go in the front. I hadn’t known there was a back way, though it was a seriously unpleasant route. Jace took me down into a dusty basement belonging to the apothecary. Then he climbed up an old elevator shaft. He had to pause and constantly deal with magical enchantments hidden in the metal. One could only assume if you didn’t know they were there, they would fry you on the spot. He reached the top, pulled the shaft doors open, reached a small room, chanted a few words under his breath, and opened it.
It led to the back of his apartment’s closet. I hadn’t investigated sufficiently and had no clue it was there. As I blinked in surprise, he walked me through until we arrived on the other side.
The bed was just there. God, did I want to collapse into it. Instead, I clamped a hand over my mouth. “Jace… what the hell happened?”
“We got a wake-up call.”
“Is that what you call it? The city is going to hell. We need to—”
He turned quickly. In a few short steps, he reached me. The powerful werewolf clamped his hands around my shoulders. I knew what he’d say before the words slipped from his lips. “You promised not to go down the flood tunnels.”
“My sister could be down there. You know that, right?”
Jace wouldn’t speak.
“We have to do something. We know where the Kings are.”
“You really think I’ll ignore this information?” he asked in that deep tone.
No, I didn’t. But for the past week and a bit, I’d felt like I was getting further away from Karen, not closer. This was the first piece of usable intel I had. My brain screamed at me to use it. The look in Jace’s eyes promised he wouldn’t let me.
A wave of anger struck me right in the chest, and I swore.
Jace simply shook his head again.
He took a step, but the powerful werewolf winced. A strong move crumpled his brow, even made it down to his throat. It revealed the damage the spell had done.
That immediately snapped me out of my anger. “Jace—”
He lifted a hand, waving me off. “I’m fine,” he lied.
“Fine? That spell almost crushed you.”
Jace didn’t like the implications. He stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then he turned quickly. He ripped his shirt off, right then and there, but this was no come-on. As he went to pull on another shirt, he stopped. Injuries had spread down his chest, across his abdomen, and over his back. The spell had burnt him badly.
I slammed my hand over my mouth, surprised. “It wasn’t even holding you for that long. Where the hell did it get that kind of power from? That weak wizard was producing the enchantment. It makes no sense. That guy wasn’t strong. He almost stopped me from using my power on him, too. Jace,” I whispered, “what the hell is going on here?”
Jace didn’t want to make eye contact. Probably because he was so freaking tired. He still made it out of the room. We walked into the kitchen. Everything started to catch up to me. Though I seriously didn’t want to cry, thick tears welled in my eyes. A few leaked out – then the rest came gushing down.
Jace quickly prepared me some water. He handed it over. I didn’t know how this would help. “Feels like the city’s going to go to hell tonight.”
“I won’t let it,” he promised.
“Then you know how to stop it. What if we go to the other heads with this information—”
“Whoever is helping the Kings will immediately tell them, and they will disappear from their current stronghold, likely going further underground.” He leaned against the bench, clamping his hands around the edge. He stared at me, and a large part of me wanted to turn away. The rest couldn’t. It promised we’d started this together. Jace and I had to end it that way.
The glass of water at least helped me calm my nerves. I wouldn’t say I felt great. My brain was a seesawing mix of fear, anger, and plain mental anguish. I kept making mistakes. Do it again, and the Kings would sweep in and end this.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’m going to go back to the pack, figure out who I can trust, gather an army, and go down there.”
“Virginia—”
“She’ll help,” he said without pause.
I stared at Jace. Why was Virginia such a blind spot for him? I’d already told him what transpired between us.
Jace said nothing as he fixed himself some food. He didn’t deal with his injuries. Because he hadn’t put his shirt back on, his chest was on full display, but mark my words, it wasn’t a pretty sight. Every time my eyes strayed down to it, I wanted to gag. “Jace, you need to go to a clinic—”
“I’ll head to the hospital.”
“The second you get out of here, the Kings will make a move, I swear.”
“I have to do something,” he said in that familiar quiet tone. It spoke of the Alpha who was so trapped, he could never get free.
I don’t know what possessed me to do it, but I moved. The part of me that wanted to soothe that ache pushed me out of the chair. In two short steps, I reached Jace. Without a word, without an invitation, I collapsed against his bare chest, locking my arms over his burnt hips and closing my hands behind his back.
I shouldn’t be doing this. Kelsey had warned me never to get close to Jace. Virginia was probably waiting in the wings. Right now, none of that mattered. Jace froze and said nothing.
I could hear his heartbeat. It was steadier than it should’ve been. He was injured, but he wasn’t down. His body knew that. And this short physical contact reminded me of that essential fact.
“Sorry,” I hissed, knowing I had to move back.
As I went to, his hands immediately reached around and held mine in place. They practically glued them against his skin.
A twitch traveled through my shoulders as I stared at the man I’d randomly embraced.
I moved my eyes up and across his face, down his lips, across his chin. His throat was tense, a breath trapped halfway through it. But it wasn’t in anger, fear, or surprise. Jace looked like a man paused at the beginning of a race, ready to run. He just needed the first signal.
“Jace,” I whispered, my voice hoarse despite the water I’d sucked down.
“Anything,” he hissed, though it wasn’t a good response. I hadn’t asked a question. He had volunteered the most important information anyway.
Jace had told me it didn’t matter if I didn’t know what I was. How I acted was more important.
I wondered if he’d ever actually tell me the truth about Virginia. But their relationship seemed transactional. He didn’t love her, that much was clear.
And now I accepted that, right here in his arms, it gave me space to look up and appreciate how he stared at me. The softness, the eternally open edge. It was like he’d carved out a space for me, right beside him.
My clothes were in his closet. He had saved me a thousand times. Regardless of how often I betrayed his trust, he always let me back in.
Pushing up onto my toes, I went with the moment, even though it would likely ruin everything.
And I kissed the werewolf.
I didn’t throw myself at him in a burst of unending lust. I simply let my mouth open and press against his.
It seemed so innocent at the time. I was misjudging one essential fact: I was opening the door to a hormone-driven Alpha. And he sure wouldn’t hold back.
As I inched gently through, Jace picked me up by my hips and set me down against the bench, pressing between my legs. His lips locked over mine, his mouth opening hard. In a rush, it went from a gentle kiss to the hardest one I’d ever enjoyed. It was like the werewolf hit play on all of his lust and hunger.
His lips broke away from mine and moved down my throat in a warm line. He gave me time to gasp.
“Jace,” I hissed.
“Don’t you dare mention Virginia,” he said in a low growl.
“What if she finds out?”
“She can cook up another method to keep me locked by her side.”
“Why did you even agree to marry her?”
His mouth stopped. “Because it’s her or my pack. There’s no other way to save it. If I don’t save my pack, I can’t save Mythos.”
That hung between us like a hook, like a dagger. I had abandoned mine on the couch. Now, my eyes traced toward it, reminding me exactly of the kind of world I’d wandered into. Maybe reminding me of the exact reason my sister had told me to stay away from the shifters, no matter what. This wasn’t a world where you could love freely, where you could choose your path. You were swallowed up by other people’s desires and spat out, if you were lucky. If you weren’t, you were sold to the highest bidder for power.
Jace’s eyes met mine. Then he picked me up and headed for the bedroom. But before we reached it, a frantic knocking rang out on the door.
Nobody else was meant to know about the safe house. But I could guarantee you that knocking belonged to one person, one she-wolf, one woman who would never stop.
Chapter 9
Jace froze. He didn’t make a single movement, his eyes locking on the door, his brain struggling to catch up. Mine lurched straight toward the window. It was a stupid thought, but I wondered if I could jump out in time. Would Virginia ever let me?
“Jace? Jace?” Her frantic voice pounded on the door harder. “I know you’re in there. You have to answer. The hospital’s been attacked. They’ve taken Kelsey.”
Damn. It felt like someone shot me right between the brows. My mouth opened to hiss Kelsey’s name, but Jace smartly clamped a hand over my lips. I didn’t know what kind of trouble he’d get in from his soon-to-be wife for sleeping with me, but it sure wouldn’t be pretty. I hadn’t thought of a far more important fact: what kind of trouble would I get in?
I couldn’t be certain, but I think the pause between Virginia’s impassioned words was her smelling the air. How powerful was the she-wolf? Could she smell me through the door? Quite probably. While most other wolves couldn’t smell me, I imagined at some point Virginia had done the hard work of learning how.
“Jace? I know you’re in there. Answer. We have to do something bold right now, or Mythos City will be lost.”
I closed my eyes. Virginia was right. That sense we were standing on a precipice got way worse until I swore I could hear the air roaring beneath my feet.
Jace swore under his breath.
Then he put me down. The exhilarated rush of being with him, of having him choose me, all ended in a single smack like a slap. Had I ever thought this would go anywhere? Could it go anywhere? Jace had literally told me that he had to do whatever he could to keep the pack and Mythos City safe. I’d lost myself to him anyway.
He swore under his breath again. Then his eyes locked on me, likely realizing he’d never get what he wanted. He walked toward the door.
But I made a cutting motion across my throat. “Don’t let her know I’m here. She’ll kill me,” I hissed.
He got that look again. The one I should know by now. It promised Virginia wasn’t like that.
Oh, my freaking God. How could I have been so stupid? I’d let my hormones get in the way of my better sense.
Jace went to reassure me it was fine, but I took matters into my own hands. I raced into the closet. While Virginia knew about this place, I hoped like hell she had no clue about the mysterious second entrance. I opened the door. Jace would hear it. If he didn’t want me to go through here, he’d say something. But he didn’t.
I knew he didn’t open the front door until I’d already reached the elevator shaft. I’d been smart enough to pick up my dagger. I pushed it into the elevator shaft doors, opened it, and paused. I wanted to hear what they were speaking about. But Virginia would smell me, I swear. She would wait until Jace wasn’t paying attention – then she’d rush over and snap my freaking neck.
“You have no other choice,” I mouthed and inched into the elevator shaft. This was the perfect time to remind myself I wasn’t a massive, capable werewolf. My magic sure had grown over the past several days, but I would never be able to produce incredible feats of athletic strength.
Then I heard Virginia’s voice getting closer. I think she walked into the closet.
With no other option, I threw myself forward. And somehow my scrabbling fingers caught the shaft wire. It of course wasn’t on. My skin should’ve still shredded as I slid down.
Weirdly, it didn’t even hurt. But ignoring the urge, I somehow descended. Where did this burst of strength come from?
My brain could only revert to one pertinent topic: Jace’s kiss. It was still all over my lips. And my throat. If my fingers weren’t currently distracted with navigating through certain death, I’d slide my hand down and savor the sense of the kiss still embedded in my skin. It had burst through any questions I had. Did he like me? Enough to pick me up by the hips and walk straight into his room?
I had to ignore that immediately. Because it would never count for anything.
By the time I reached the base of the elevator shaft, I was so freaking surprised, I could barely breathe. Planting a hand on my chest, I stared up the way I’d come. I shook my head several times. “There was no way the me from yesterday could’ve climbed down that shaft.”
I hadn’t appreciated how high it was. Jace, of course, had climbed up it in a heartbeat. “Jace,” I mouthed. My body twitched strangely. Then my hand immediately clamped over my lips, locking in the kiss. It was like I’d shared his power, as if he’d given me some as a gift.
That was a crazy thought. It wasn’t one I had time to think.
I wouldn’t put it past Virginia to smell me all the way down here. What would she do if she followed?
Mark my words, she’d come to the apartment to catch Jace. And do what?
I couldn’t ignore what she’d said. The hospital had been attacked. Kelsey was gone. It was time to do something bold. What exactly would be bold in Virginia’s books?
Only one thing: she’d want to marry Jace faster. Why did it feel as if everything was perfectly programmed to get Virginia what she wanted? Maybe it was. You know what? I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
Jace had specifically not wanted me to go anywhere without him. I could hardly stay here in this crappy basement, waiting for Virginia. My only choice was to go back on the street.
Ah, why hadn’t I immediately changed my clothes? They were smelly, burnt, and torn here and there. At least my boots were sturdy. When I hit the street outside, I was seriously thankful for that, because unbeknownst to me, it’d started raining. The clouds hugged the horizon, the kind that tried to choke the sky.
Tilting my head up, I looked at them and cursed under my breath. Why was it always the case that when I needed to strike out on my own, the heavens opened up in holy retribution? Probably because they didn’t want me to do this. “What choice do I have?” That repeated in my freaking head on a loop. What choice did I freaking have?
The answer was none. I shoved my hands into my pockets, pulling my collar up higher. Then I raced across the street. I should hang around. Maybe Jace could smell me. But I’d underestimated Virginia.
Luckily for me, I looked around to the right street to see her driving past. Jace was in the passenger seat. Neither of them spotted me. I was ensconced in the shadows.
The second I saw Jace driving past with his soon-to-be wife, my heart kicked and sank. He’d been seconds from pulling me into his bed. Now he was with the only woman who could ever secure his future.
As he drove past, I swear he dug out part of my freaking chest and took it with him.
I stood there on the side of the road, brain empty, gaze foggy, mind so stupidly empty, it was like someone had poked a hole in the side of my head and let my freaking thoughts run out.
It took an age to move my feet, to drag them a step forward. Then another. I picked my direction. There was only one place I could go. I’d be damned if I let Kelsey get taken again.
I’d head to the hospital, find out what happened, then track her down. I owed it to the werewolf. I wouldn’t be here without her help and belief.
My mind made up, I quickly judged where the hospital was. There were plenty in Mythos City. I could guarantee Virginia was only talking about one specific hospital. It would be that big magical one right in the middle of town. All the tricky cases were taken there. I imagined it was rushed off its feet with this new era of violence. It would also be a great target to attack to really reduce the population’s confidence.
If anyone takes out your primary hospital, then what happens when the war spreads and everyone gets injured? I had to remind myself the Kings ultimately wanted to spread fear. The faster they got the population to believe only they could bring peace, the quicker their rise to the top would be.
So I pushed into a run, ignoring my tired, weak limbs. Hell, I had to ignore the pounding headache that struck me a moment later. Turns out a girl can’t keep giving and giving without getting any relief in reply.
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