Thirteen
Page 106
“Take your time,” I said. “Looks like it’ll be a long night.” They left. I picked up my magazine. I was still on the first article when a groan from the bed had me leaping up.
Bryce was grimacing. He tried to lift his hand, but it was tied down.
I clasped his fingers. Before I could speak, he croaked, “Water.”
I lifted my water bottle to Bryce’s chapped lips. He drank, then opened his eyes. I texted Sean fast, then turned back to Bryce.
“Hey,” I said.
He frowned. “Savannah?” He tried again to lift his hand. Then he looked over to see the bindings. “Wha … ?”
I undid them. “Sorry. Doesn’t look good, does it? Waking up tied to a bed with me here. I didn’t kidnap you, if that’s what you were wondering. I’m guessing everything’s a little fuzzy but—”
“No.” He blinked. “Yeah. It’s fuzzy. But I remember. The lab. The experiment. The explosion. The pit.” He paused. “I owe you.”
I shrugged.
His gaze moved to the cast on my arm. “What happened?”
“Not much. I killed Giles. Broke up the reveal movement. Got your antidote. Fought Balaam and sent him back to hell.”
A faint smile. “All by yourself?”
“I may have had some help.”
The smile grew and he started to say something, but just then Sean ran into the room, out of breath.
“Hey, bro,” Bryce said.
Sean walked over and embraced him. I started backing out of the room, but Sean caught my arm and pulled me over.
“Welcome back from the dead,” he said to Bryce.
“Actually, it was the undead. But it felt like dead. Still feels like dead.” He made a face and reached for my water bottle. I handed it to him. He took a drink, then asked, “Did they find Larsen and his parents?”
“They did. We’ll discuss that later. I’m sure you’ll have to make amends, but I think you’ve already been punished enough.”
“I’ll make amends,” Bryce said. He turned to me. “Lots of them.”
FIFTY
I headed upstairs, looking for Adam. He wasn’t in the archives and wasn’t answering his cell. I popped my head into the lounge where I’d last seen Lucas. The sofa was back in place. And occupied. Lucas sat at one end, Paige curled up against him. They were both sound asleep.
We’d barely returned from Indiana before Benicio started using the events of the last week to persuade Lucas that it was time for him to take his place in the Cabal. Not as reluctant heir. Not as part-time executive. As CEO. He’d led the charge to avert the biggest threat our world had ever faced. He’d proven to all that Benicio’s crusading bastard son could indeed hold the reins of the most powerful Cabal in the country. Now was the time to seize the opportunity for a smooth transition.
To his credit, Lucas didn’t laugh. He didn’t turn and walk out either, as he would have a few years ago. There was work to be done in the aftermath of this averted disaster. Small fires to be extinguished before they flared up. But he insisted his place was in Portland, running the agency with Paige. He’d do what he could here, then go home with us. Benicio had him for another week. After that, well, the teleconference equipment at the Cabal was top-notch. They’d manage, as they had for the last few years.
Would Lucas ever become CEO of the Cortez Cabal? Maybe. In time. But Benicio was still healthy and there were supernaturals out there who needed Lucas, protector of the underdog, more than they needed Lucas, Cabal CEO.
I looked at them—my friends, my bosses, my foster parents—curled up on that couch. Then I smiled, backed out, and spell-locked the door.
I was calling Adam again when I heard a familiar clicking of stiletto heels and looked up to see Jaime and Jeremy coming my way. “I thought you guys made your escape already,” I said.
“We tried,” Jaime said. “I got stopped by a certain demanding master manipulator.”
“Benicio.”
“No, the Fates. They want me hanging around to act as mouthpiece for your mom while the Cabals clean up this mess. Which reminds me, she wants to talk to you. Your dad does, too. I think they’ve done some manipulating of their own with the Fates. You might get one last face-to-face before the veil closes completely.”
“Ms. Vegas?” a young man hurried along the hall. “Mr. Cortez needs—”
“I know, I know.” She turned to me. “Give me an hour.”
“Wait, first, have you seen Adam?”
“He was with Elena, I believe,” Jeremy said. “They’re …” He looked down the hall. “I’ll take you there.”
Jaime smiled, squeezed his arm, then followed the clerk. Jeremy and I headed the opposite way.
“So are you staying in Miami with Hope and Karl?” I asked.
He shook his head. “None of us care to linger longer than we need to. Once Jaime’s done we’re joining the others in Russia.”
That’s where Antonio and the rest of the Pack had relocated during the trouble here, taking refuge with the Russian Pack.
Jeremy continued, “Taking a baby on an intercontinental flight doesn’t seem wise, especially with one parent still recovering from the birth and the other from near-death. But Karl wants Hope and Nita out of Miami, and Hope wants to go. Benicio will send us in the private jet with a doctor.”
Apparently, then, Karl had resolved his issues with Elena. I’d never doubted it. He might like to play lone wolf, but now that he had a family, his first instinct was to take his wife and child to the safety of his Pack.
“Are you going to be in Russia long?”
He shook his head. “We’ll head home in a few weeks, if you’d like to spend some time at Stonehaven this summer. You haven’t done that in a few years.”
“No, I haven’t. I think I’ll take you up on that.” I glanced at him as we turned the corner. “So, I guess with all this turmoil, you won’t be stepping down as Alpha anytime soon.”
“Actually, I will. Elena’s ready. I already knew she was. She wasn’t so sure. But now there’s no question—she can do this.
It’s time.”
Bryce was grimacing. He tried to lift his hand, but it was tied down.
I clasped his fingers. Before I could speak, he croaked, “Water.”
I lifted my water bottle to Bryce’s chapped lips. He drank, then opened his eyes. I texted Sean fast, then turned back to Bryce.
“Hey,” I said.
He frowned. “Savannah?” He tried again to lift his hand. Then he looked over to see the bindings. “Wha … ?”
I undid them. “Sorry. Doesn’t look good, does it? Waking up tied to a bed with me here. I didn’t kidnap you, if that’s what you were wondering. I’m guessing everything’s a little fuzzy but—”
“No.” He blinked. “Yeah. It’s fuzzy. But I remember. The lab. The experiment. The explosion. The pit.” He paused. “I owe you.”
I shrugged.
His gaze moved to the cast on my arm. “What happened?”
“Not much. I killed Giles. Broke up the reveal movement. Got your antidote. Fought Balaam and sent him back to hell.”
A faint smile. “All by yourself?”
“I may have had some help.”
The smile grew and he started to say something, but just then Sean ran into the room, out of breath.
“Hey, bro,” Bryce said.
Sean walked over and embraced him. I started backing out of the room, but Sean caught my arm and pulled me over.
“Welcome back from the dead,” he said to Bryce.
“Actually, it was the undead. But it felt like dead. Still feels like dead.” He made a face and reached for my water bottle. I handed it to him. He took a drink, then asked, “Did they find Larsen and his parents?”
“They did. We’ll discuss that later. I’m sure you’ll have to make amends, but I think you’ve already been punished enough.”
“I’ll make amends,” Bryce said. He turned to me. “Lots of them.”
FIFTY
I headed upstairs, looking for Adam. He wasn’t in the archives and wasn’t answering his cell. I popped my head into the lounge where I’d last seen Lucas. The sofa was back in place. And occupied. Lucas sat at one end, Paige curled up against him. They were both sound asleep.
We’d barely returned from Indiana before Benicio started using the events of the last week to persuade Lucas that it was time for him to take his place in the Cabal. Not as reluctant heir. Not as part-time executive. As CEO. He’d led the charge to avert the biggest threat our world had ever faced. He’d proven to all that Benicio’s crusading bastard son could indeed hold the reins of the most powerful Cabal in the country. Now was the time to seize the opportunity for a smooth transition.
To his credit, Lucas didn’t laugh. He didn’t turn and walk out either, as he would have a few years ago. There was work to be done in the aftermath of this averted disaster. Small fires to be extinguished before they flared up. But he insisted his place was in Portland, running the agency with Paige. He’d do what he could here, then go home with us. Benicio had him for another week. After that, well, the teleconference equipment at the Cabal was top-notch. They’d manage, as they had for the last few years.
Would Lucas ever become CEO of the Cortez Cabal? Maybe. In time. But Benicio was still healthy and there were supernaturals out there who needed Lucas, protector of the underdog, more than they needed Lucas, Cabal CEO.
I looked at them—my friends, my bosses, my foster parents—curled up on that couch. Then I smiled, backed out, and spell-locked the door.
I was calling Adam again when I heard a familiar clicking of stiletto heels and looked up to see Jaime and Jeremy coming my way. “I thought you guys made your escape already,” I said.
“We tried,” Jaime said. “I got stopped by a certain demanding master manipulator.”
“Benicio.”
“No, the Fates. They want me hanging around to act as mouthpiece for your mom while the Cabals clean up this mess. Which reminds me, she wants to talk to you. Your dad does, too. I think they’ve done some manipulating of their own with the Fates. You might get one last face-to-face before the veil closes completely.”
“Ms. Vegas?” a young man hurried along the hall. “Mr. Cortez needs—”
“I know, I know.” She turned to me. “Give me an hour.”
“Wait, first, have you seen Adam?”
“He was with Elena, I believe,” Jeremy said. “They’re …” He looked down the hall. “I’ll take you there.”
Jaime smiled, squeezed his arm, then followed the clerk. Jeremy and I headed the opposite way.
“So are you staying in Miami with Hope and Karl?” I asked.
He shook his head. “None of us care to linger longer than we need to. Once Jaime’s done we’re joining the others in Russia.”
That’s where Antonio and the rest of the Pack had relocated during the trouble here, taking refuge with the Russian Pack.
Jeremy continued, “Taking a baby on an intercontinental flight doesn’t seem wise, especially with one parent still recovering from the birth and the other from near-death. But Karl wants Hope and Nita out of Miami, and Hope wants to go. Benicio will send us in the private jet with a doctor.”
Apparently, then, Karl had resolved his issues with Elena. I’d never doubted it. He might like to play lone wolf, but now that he had a family, his first instinct was to take his wife and child to the safety of his Pack.
“Are you going to be in Russia long?”
He shook his head. “We’ll head home in a few weeks, if you’d like to spend some time at Stonehaven this summer. You haven’t done that in a few years.”
“No, I haven’t. I think I’ll take you up on that.” I glanced at him as we turned the corner. “So, I guess with all this turmoil, you won’t be stepping down as Alpha anytime soon.”
“Actually, I will. Elena’s ready. I already knew she was. She wasn’t so sure. But now there’s no question—she can do this.
It’s time.”
