Killing Land (Rune Alexander Book 8) (9 page)

Will didn’t move or twitch or blink. He just stared, his
eyes gleaming through the eyeholes of his mask. “I need to speak with you,
Rune.”

“Rune?”
Ellis’s voice was worried,
and Levi and Denim stepped automatically in front of him to shield him from the
assassin.

“The
fuck are
you doing here?” Raze
asked the assassin.

“I need to speak with Rune.” He took a couple of steps into
the room, stopping when her crew pulled their blades.

“You tried to kill her,” Levi said. “The only reason you’re
alive now is because she thinks you might be useful.”

“Push us.” Denim’s voice was soft but dripping with quiet
rage. “Let’s see if you stay that way.”

Jack walked back into the room, his gun already in his hand.
He didn’t say a word, just blocked the exit and waited.

They all knew what a slippery son of a bitch Will
Blackthorne was.

“What do you want?” Rune asked,
then
realized she’d dropped her fangs the moment Raze had spoken. She retracted them
and fought the urge to shoot out her claws.
“To feed?”

Will kept his hands loosely at his sides. “I’m here to join
Shiv Crew.”

“You know you can’t,” she replied. “I told you before
it’s
not happening.”

“Once I was your enemy. I’m not your enemy now. I can add
value to your crew.”

That wasn’t a lie. The assassin was almost magical in his
abilities.
But…

“The answer is no. I can’t trust you at my back, and I can’t
trust you with my people.” She pointed her chin at the door. “Let him through,
Jack.”

Jack moved to the side. “Let’s go, buddy.”

“Wait,” Will
said
.

With two long steps, Denim was at Will’s back. He wrapped
his arm around the assassin’s neck and pushed the tip of his blade into Will’s
throat. “You’re pushing us.”

“I can help you.” Will didn’t move. He surely knew that
Denim wouldn’t need much of an excuse to drive the blade home.

“Nothing will make me fight at your side, Blackthorne,” Rune
told him.

“Try me out.” He stared over her head. “Please.”

She stepped closer. “Why do you want to be Shiv Crew so
badly?”

“To get close to us,” Jack said.
“To get
close to you.”

“Someone has hired him to get inside,” Levi agreed.

Rune nodded. For Will the Assassin to suddenly show up and
practically beg to be one of them, yeah. That was suspicious. Still…

“He tried to kill you, Rune,” Denim said, pushing his blade
further into the assassin’s throat. “Either I kill him or he leaves. We’re not
letting him in.”

“Listen to what I have to tell you,” Will
said
,
“before you decide.”

“Can’t hurt,” Rune said. “Let him go, Denim.”

She thought for a moment Denim would argue. He was so filled
with anger and bitterness at Lex’s abandonment—as well as fear for her
safety—that he wasn’t thinking straight.

Finally, with a frown and a glare, he stepped away from Will
and wiped his blade on his jeans.

Will didn’t touch his seeping wound. He didn’t acknowledge
it at all. But then, Will was used to much worse than a little stick with the
tip of a blade.

“Okay,” Rune said.
“Talk.”

He glanced at the gaping doorway. “Close the door.”

Jack kicked the door shut.

All the crew gathered around, interested despite their
distrust of the assassin.

“You’re being pressured to recruit for your crew,” Will
said
, looking at no one. “I can help you get fighters with
skills you wouldn’t believe.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Rune asked. “That’s what you’ve
got?
Recruits?”

“I’m not finished,” he said, and into the silence went on
with his story. “I
know
Killing Land. The people there are…different.
Unwelcome in society. Nearly all of them are criminals. Some are simply hiding,
but most are stone cold killers. Each of them has a story.” He paused. “Like
me. They are like me. I have a place there, and I can get you in.”

No one said a word.

Killing Land.

“You could hide in Killing Land, if the need ever arose. You
could disappear there. Law enforcement does not bother those inside the camp.
They’re afraid, and they’re right to be afraid.”

“
We
are law enforcement,” Jack said.

Will nodded. “It would be dangerous for you, at first.
Killing Land wouldn’t welcome you. But you could find your place there. You
could find your people there.”

“How the
fuck,”
Rune asked, “do you know I was
ordered to recruit for Shiv Crew?”

“I know things. Another reason you need me.”

“Dude.
What’s the real reason
you’re doing this?”

Will hesitated.

“The truth,” Rune told him. “Or you can get the fuck out of
here right now.”

He looked at the floor. “The Shop and the Next are after me.
My father wants me, and he will have me. Not even Killing Land can keep my
father out. I need protection.”

Orson Blackthorne had resurfaced, and that was a very bad
thing for the world. But it was worse for Will the Assassin.

“I can’t go back,” Will
murmured
.
“God help me. I can’t.”

The last was a whispered plea that shocked Rune to her core.
And, for one short second, caused her to feel a tiny twinge
of sympathy.
“You’re afraid.”

“What he did to me I grew accustomed to. He tortured me from
birth. I am…I am slightly mad. I understand that. I can’t feel things the way
other people feel things. But I can’t go back. If he catches me…” He stopped,
his rusty voice seeming to simply run out of steam. “I can’t go back.”

It was the raw agony in his voice that made her believe him.
The tortured truth was there, and she heard it.

So did Jack. She saw it in his face.

“You want to join Shiv Crew for protection,” Denim said.
“You want Rune to protect you from your daddy.”

“Shut up, Denim,” Jack said, mildly. “How many times did
Rune protect you two from Lex’s mommy?”

Denim’s face paled,
then
reddened.
He backed away, shrugging off Levi’s hand when his brother clasped his
shoulder.

“There’s something else in Killing Land,” Will said,
ignoring the sudden tension. “Accept me as Shiv Crew and I’ll get you inside.”

“What else?” Rune asked.

He shook his head. “Accept me.”

“How the
fuck do
you know all
this?” she asked.

He ignored the question. “Accept me, Rune.”

She glanced at Jack, then Raze. They both nodded.

“On a probationary basis,” she finally agreed. “I’ll give
you two weeks. After that, we’ll decide about a more permanent position.
Or not.”

“Agreed,” he said, quickly.

Roma, watchful and quiet at Rune’s back, moved forward to
stand in front of the assassin. “I’ll be watching you.”

He ignored her completely.

He’d gotten what he wanted.

If he had told them the entire truth Rune would have been
surprised, but it didn’t matter. If there was more to his story, she’d find out
sooner or later.

“One
recruit
down,” Jack said.
“How many to go?”

“I don’t know.
Fucking Eugene.
Two or three, maybe a couple more.”

“What’s the other thing?” Ellis asked, stepping out from
behind Levi.

“What do you mean, Ellie?” she asked.

“Will said there was something else in Killing Land.”

“He did.” She turned to look at the assassin. “Answer the
question. What’s the other thing?”

He was silent for a beat, as though considering whether to
tell the truth or make something up. “Not what,” he said, finally, his voice so
low she frowned and leaned closer.

“Pardon?” she said.

“Not what,” he repeated.
“Who.”

She drew back, her hand to her chest.
“Who?”

God please, please…

Give me this.

“Your ghoul,” he answered, his voice low and dark and full
of something she didn’t want to acknowledge. “Gunnar the Ghoul is in Killing
Land.”

“The town,” Will said, hours later when they were gathered
in Rune’s living room, drinking beer and making plans. “Those people feed the
monster. They can’t kill him but they help keep him…” He paused, then shrugged
and went on.
“Calm.
They help keep him fed.”

“How do they feed him?”

“They feed him outsiders.” He said it so matter-of-factly
that it took Rune a moment to understand the horror of his words.

“Fuck me,” she
said,
her voice
hoarse.

They were killing outsiders to keep their monster from
killing
them
.

Yeah, she was going in.

And Gunnar was there.

Either he’d somehow forced the path to drop her there, or
he’d known it was going to.

Why else would he be there?

The assassin wasn’t the only one who knew things.

“Shit.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Gunnar,
Gunnar.”

Ellis reached across her coffee table and took her hand, his
eyes wide. “The monster is a cannibal. You can’t go, Rune. Please, don’t go.”

“Okay baby,” Rune said. “I’ll just stay here and let the
monster go on eating people. I might even throw him a man or two.”

Levi grinned, put his arm around Ellie’s shoulders, and
kissed the top of his head.

Ellis stuck his nose in the air and crossed his arms. “You
don’t have to be a smartass, Rune.”

“Yes she does,” Jack said, suppressing a smile. “She can’t
help it.” He crushed his beer can and before he could fetch another from the
refrigerator, Roma jogged away to fetch it for him.

Jack winked at Rune when she raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t
help but smile at him.

Roma had been partaking of the alcohol herself, and they
were all trying hard not to laugh at her. She was so earnest in her
drunkenness, so sweet in her bumbling sincerity.

“Very true,” Raze agreed. “Rune’s not the sweetest of
people.”

That’s a lie, sweet thing.

“Hey,” Rune said. “If you’re going to make this Pick
On
Rune Day, you better bring presents.”

“Seriously,” Levi said. “How is it no one in that town can
hunt down a monster?”

“They can’t beat it,” Will said, sitting on a metal folding
chair. “They can only placate it.”

“By feeding it people?”
Rune turned
her lip up. “After I take out the monster, I’m going to kick a little human
ass.”

“That’s not the only reason your ghoul wants you in Killing
Land,” Will said. He hadn’t had any alcohol, but had accepted a glass of water
from Ellis.

“Care to elaborate?” Rune
asked,
anger in her voice.

“It’s just a guess.”

“I hate being fucking manipulated. If someone needs me to do
something, why can’t they ever just ask? And why the fuck can’t people tell me
what they know?”

“Maybe,” Will
answered
, “because we
don’t have enough information to satisfy you. It’s easier to point you in the
right direction—then the desired outcome is almost certain. If you knew
everything, the result would likely be completely different.”

She peered at him. “Gunnar, is that you under that mask?”

Everyone laughed except for Will, and Rune wasn’t entirely
certain he knew how.

He waited for them to quieten. “I think something appeared
the day after you came back from Skyll.”

That sobered her in a hurry.
“What do you
mean, appeared?”

“Appeared as you appeared.
On a storm.”

She leaned toward him. “You saw us enter Killing Land?”

He nodded.

“Something returned on the path with us?” Roma swayed on her
feet, almost hitting Jack in the head with the bottle of beer she’d brought
him.

“Maybe on the path, but not with you,” he said. “And I don’t
know. I have suspicions.”

“What suspicions?” Rune stood and began to pace in front of
him, torn between shaking him and punching him in the throat. “Don’t make me
drag shit out of you.”

He had the nerve to sigh, as though she was the one being
unreasonable. “I cannot explain and describe every single moment and encounter
and thought that led me to this belief.” He held up a hand when she opened her
mouth. “I saw a flash. I overheard your ghoul muttering about paths. I saw you
appear the day before, the same way. I didn’t see another creature but I saw
the…storm. I smelled the path, as you call it. And I have gut
feelings
,
damn you.”

She stared at him for a good minute before remembering to
close her mouth. “Well okay then.”

He stood and walked toward the door. “You may not be worth
the protection.”

She watched him go, unable to do more than shake her head.
Her thoughts weren’t on the assassin.

If he’d told the truth, if indeed something else had come
off the path a day after she had…

But she couldn’t afford to concentrate on something she
wanted so badly when more than likely there wasn’t even a small chance it was
real.

She kicked the thought, the hope,
the
dream to the very bottom of her mind.

And thought about the assassin instead.

She still couldn’t trust him—not even a little bit—but it
was nice to know he wasn’t a machine.

“You know what those in Killing Land seem to hate,” Ellis
said.
“Besides the law.”

Rune nodded.
“Others.”

“You really want to save a town of humans who hate Others,
Rune?” Raze asked.

She didn’t bother answering.

“They’ll give us a hard time,” Jack said.

“We won’t give a fuck,” Rune answered.

“It’s idiotic,” Levi said. “Why wouldn’t the town want us to
help them?”

“They don’t welcome strangers,” Rune told him. “They’re a
rough bunch. Don’t expect them to think the way we do.”

Roma laughed, the beer making her more vocal than she
normally was. “You’re the roughest bunch I’ve ever seen.”

“When are we leaving?” Jack asked.

“As soon as I can run it by Eugene.
I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

He stood and stretched, and Rune noticed Roma’s stare heat
up as she watched him. Her gaze lingered on the band of flesh between his
T-shirt and the top of his jeans. “I’m heading home,” he said.

Rune nodded. “Be safe.”

She wasn’t sure how she felt about Roma’s infatuation with
him.

Jack needed someone, and he deserved the best.

But Roma…she wasn’t sure Roma could handle Jack.

Two hours later, Rune stood and headed toward her bedroom.

“Rune,” Ellis called. “You’re going to sleep?”

“I’m tired baby.”

“Much
be
getting old.” Roma
grinned, her eyes crossing as she tried to focus on Rune.

“I much
be
,” Rune agreed. “One of
you
make
sure she’s in bed before long. And if she
starts throwing up, don’t wake me.”

Their laughter followed her down the hallway, and for the
first time since she’d returned, she felt a certain amount of contentment.

She hesitated before she climbed into bed, dreading the
loneliness of it. She’d gotten used to having a body to warm her and to help
chase away the terrors of the night.

Still, she slept, and she slept well. There were no phone
calls, for once, no emergencies to call her out.

A muffled sound, strangely familiar, kept poking at her
subconscious until finally, reluctantly, she rose from the depths of the best
sleep she’d gotten in months to investigate.

She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face, frowning.

Damn her vampire hearing.

Someone was crying.

She squinted at her cell, almost unable to believe it was
six in the morning and she’d slept the night through.

She left her bed, padding silently down the hall, listening.

Pausing at Roma’s closed door, she rapped gently with her
knuckles.
“Roma?”

The crying stopped immediately, but Roma didn’t invite her
in.

Rune opened the door anyway.

Roma was in bed, and when Rune flipped on the light, all she
could see was the girl’s rather red nose poking out from under the covers.

She sat on the edge of the bed. “Come out of there, Roma. I
could hear you squalling all the way down the hall.”

Roma sniffed. “I wasn’t squalling.”

Her nose was so plugged it was difficult for Rune to
understand her words. It didn’t help that she’d buried herself under layers of
comforters and sheets, either.

“Are you sick?”

“No.” She hesitated. “Yes. Beer is awful.”

“That’s no reason to be wailing like a hungry baby. You need
to go throw up?”

“Already did.”

Rune grabbed a handful of covers and pulled them off the
hungover girl. “Up you go.”

Finally, Roma sat up. Her eyes were swollen nearly shut, her
skin was blotchy, and her hair was a tangled mess.

But that wasn’t what worried Rune. Roma had kicked off her
boots before she’d gotten into bed—fully dressed—and the soles were muddy.

Her shirt was half unbuttoned, as well.

“You went out?” Rune tried to swallow down the immediate
fear and suspicion. She’d get the story first. If someone had fucked with an
intoxicated Roma, they were dead.

Simple as that.

Only it wasn’t.

“I went to Jack’s house,” Roma whispered. She covered her
face with dirty hands, one of which contained a pretty nasty scratch.

Rune clenched her fists.
“How?”
Her
voice was calm, so calm.

“I walked. I think. It’s hard to remember.” Roma shrugged,
then grimaced and touched her head. “My head hurts.”

“What happened before you got to Jack’s house? Did
someone…were you attacked?”

“No. I just…Jack let me in. I wanted in so badly.” She
swallowed hard and fresh tears overflowed. “I’ve had a crush on him from the
moment I met him.”

“I know. Go on with your story.”

Roma lowered her hands. “You’re angry.”

“Yes.”

“At Jack?
Don’t be angry with Jack.
I threw myself at him.”

“Go on.”

“I’m ashamed.”

“We’ve all done shit we’re not proud of. Just tell me the
fucking story.”

“I started undressing before he even opened the door. I
stood there, pathetic, half-naked, begging him to…”

“What did he say?”

“He pulled me inside. I told him…”

“Yes?”

“I told him I loved him.
Oh
God.”
She groaned and covered her face again.

Rune waited, silent.

Finally, Roma took her hands from her face and went on. “I
literally
threw
myself at him.
Jumped into his arms.”
She sighed.
“His big, strong arms.”

“Roma.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.” She gave a sniff that seemed to Rune to go
on for half an hour before she finally picked up her story. “I was pretty much
naked and he…he was just wearing a pair of unbuttoned jeans. I guess he’d
pulled them on when he heard me trying to beat down his door.” She fanned
herself.

Rune cleared her throat.
“And?”

“To make a very long, uncomfortable story shorter, I begged
him to take me to his bed.
Begged.
Me.” Her eyes
widened as much as possible with all the swelling. “Never in my life have I
done such a thing.”

“You were drunk.”

“I won’t touch alcohol again. I swear.”

Rune sighed, unsure whether to laugh or beat someone up.

“Anyway,” Roma said, “he took me to his bed.”

Rune stood, slowly, no longer amused. “Fuck you. Jack would
never
take advantage of a fucking drunk woman.” She leaned down, unaware her fangs
had dropped until Roma’s terrified gaze dropped to her lips.

“No,” Roma said, her hands in the air, trying to push
herself through the headboard. “He didn’t!”

“Why did you say—
”

“He
did
take me to his bed. He tucked me in, patted
me on the head, and then he went to his couch.” And Roma burst into devastated,
heartbroken tears.

Rune retracted her fangs and touched her chest over her
heart. “Shit. Jack.”

“I unintentionally woke him up a while after he put me to
bed,” Roma whispered, when she’d maintained some control. “I couldn’t find the
bathroom and I was throwing up all over his floors. He pointed me toward the
toilet and the entire time, he leaned against the bathroom wall, grinning.
Grinning!”
She started to punch her leg, caught Rune’s look,
and thought better of it.

“Finally,” she continued, “He handed me my clothes, told me
to get dressed, and drove me to your door.” She shook her head. “I’ll never be
able to face him again. I’ve never, ever humiliated myself in such a way
before.”

When Rune remained silent, Roma looked up at her. “You’re
laughing at me. You’re laughing at my pain, my stupidity, my—”

“Hush, baby.
You’ll live through
this, I promise. You won’t find a better friend than Jack, and he can keep a
secret. He won’t make fun of you.” Then she shrugged. “Much.”

She stood, and patted Roma’s shoulder. “Go grab a shower.
You stink. I’ll make coffee. And if you’d like some eggs—”

Roma almost made it to the toilet.
Almost.

Rune whistled as she put on coffee.

She punched in Jack’s number, and he answered on the second
ring.

“Jack,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“I love you, but you are one heartless son of a bitch.”

She could almost hear him smile.