Lover's Betrayal: Misfits of the Lore Series (30 page)

Suddenly the noise stopped. Reysa pushed him off of her. She looked at Alejandro, who nodded. “It’s gone now.”

The rest of the group met them on the lawn. “What the hell was that noise!” Corinne asked. “My ears won’t stop ringing. It sounded like a screaming banshee.”

“That was the one we were looking for.” Reysa stared at a furious Kaden, who looked ready to rip her to shreds. “Now the trap has been set, so we wait for her next move.”

“You devious bitch.” Kaden rose to his feet and stood face to face with Reysa. “This was a setup. You played me.”

“Yes. You would not cooperate willingly, so we had to get you to cooperate without your knowledge. The end result was the same. She saw us and now she’s gone. Now we can wait for her to strike.”

“We should go inside,” Lucian suggested. Everyone followed his lead back to the house.

As soon as Kaden closed the door, he stalked over to Reysa. “How did you do this?” He was seething and barely in control of his volatile temper.

Reysa showed no fear. “Alejandro helped spread the word that you and I have a thing. I needed to get you out in the open alone so that I could kiss you, hoping that your little killer ex would see us together. We knew she couldn’t stay away. She’s obviously quite obsessed and unstable. Once Alejandro sensed the presence of a stranger, he signaled me and then I knew to kiss you.”

“It won’t work.” Olivia walked over to the fighting duo. “She’ll know it’s a trap. We were all out there watching. She must know that was a setup.”

“My mother’s right,” Kaden agreed. “This girl can’t be so stupid as to believe that you and I would make out in front an audience which included my mother.”

“Did you know your mother was there? Or Corinne, Lucian, Lorenzo, Julian, or Alejandro?”

Kaden was bewildered. He had not realized they had all been watching until his mother spoke. “How long were you there?”

“Lucian and I were there only for an hour or so, but everyone else had been there for some time. You didn’t notice us or hear our laughter?”

“No.” Kaden looked incredulously at Reysa. “How’s this possible?”

“Glamour. One of my girls conjured a spell that made the porch seem empty to everyone who looked at it except for me. You could not hear or see anything on that porch and neither could the killer. She would have to be some powerful immortal to undo that spell or see beyond it. That was a chance worth taking. Considering how she bellowed after witnessing our kiss, I think it’s safe to say it worked.”

“Do you realize how dangerous and stupid this was? You could get yourself killed.”

“Or, we could catch a killer.”

Kaden stormed around the room kicking Julian’s furniture out of his path.

“Would you mind not destroying my things?” Julian lifted the couch that Kaden had just knocked over.

“You’re such a whiny brat.” Kaden knocked over the antique glasses on the fireplace mantle.

“Kaden, stop!” Olivia’s fierce expression caused him to pause. “Don’t take your frustration out on Julian. I understand why you’re angry, but it’s not your brother’s fault.”

“The fault is your spineless boyfriend.” Kaden kicked over a nightstand table, breaking Julian’s lamp.

Olivia’s hand stilled Lucian. He reluctantly heeded. “You’re acting like a child in the midst of a tantrum. I understand you’re upset, but everyone here is doing what they can to save your butt. Reysa is risking her life, Lucian is risking his career, and all of us are devoting all our time and resources to helping you. Stop acting like an ungrateful brat.”

Kaden stilled and focused his fury on Olivia. “Your boyfriend came here with the sole purpose of destroying me -- and yet, that didn’t stop you from taking him to your bed. Thanks Mom, for all the support.”

Those words were like a slap in the face that left a painful bruise. “You bastard,” Lucian roared, and he punched Kaden hard, slamming him into the wall, splintering some of the wood. Lucian braced himself for Kaden’s attack, but none was forthcoming.

Kaden rose, but did nothing other than wipe the dripping blood from his face. “That is what I am, isn’t it?” Kaden admitted, trying not to see the pain in his mother’s face. She was the last person he wanted to hurt and he knew how badly he just shredded her heart. His father would hurt her like that. He was the one who was supposed to protect her. “Mom…”

Alejandro growled in warning as an arrow shattered the glass and headed toward Reysa. Julian knocked her to the ground just in time and the arrow landed in one of the books.

Reysa rose to her feet. “Is she still out there, Alejandro?” The cat nodded. “Let’s go find the psycho bitch.”

“Wait!” Lucian said. “Let’s all go. We can split up and corner her so she can’t escape. Cori, Lorenzo, and Julian, you head north. Reysa, Kaden, and Alejandro can head east, and Olivia and I will go west…”

“No,” Reysa objected. “I’m not going anywhere with Kaden. I don’t trust him. Alejandro and I will go alone.”

“No. Someone else should go with you.”

“I will go with them,” Olivia offered.

Lucian grabbed her shoulder. “No. Reysa is the target here. I will not let you be in harm’s way.”

Olivia shrugged his hand away hard. “I’m not asking you, and I don’t need your permission.” She marched over to Reysa. “Let’s go.”

Before Lucian could object, Reysa dematerialized them to the woods.

“Shit!” Lucian slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a sizeable dent. “We have to stop them before Olivia gets hurt.”

“That’s one thing we can agree on,” Kaden admitted.

The two raced out, searching for Olivia.

II

Olivia, Reysa, and Alejandro landed in a riverbank. “Sorry, but this was the only place I could remember, so I had to land us here.”

“That’s fine. We should look for the reaper.” Olivia emerged from the water. As much as she wanted to find the killer, the reality was that she wasn’t much of a hunter or fighter, but she was willing to die trying. This crazy bitch had caused enough problems for her family. She wanted to silence her once and for all.

“You should grab one of my blades, just in case.” Reysa handed her a gigantic sword. Olivia accepted the mammoth weapon, but knew she was more likely to slice herself rather than the killer.

“I’m sorry for what Kaden said to you. I know it must’ve hurt.”

“He didn’t mean it,” Olivia hoped. “He was just lashing out.”

“He meant it, Olivia. He practically called you a whore in front of everyone.”

Olivia continued walking, refusing to let the voice distract her.

“He can be a real ass,” Reysa added, “but there’s another side to him. It’s hard to see it and he will only show it for about a second at a time, but he’s not all obnoxious.”

“Sometimes, he will even let you see that side of him for a whole minute,” Olivia quipped. “You care about him, don’t you?”

Reysa did not want to care for Kaden. “I care about all of you.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Reysa shrugged. “He’s not my type. We couldn’t last one day together without one of us ending up with a stake in the heart. He’s so not my type.”

“The lady doth protest too much, my dear.”

“I’m serious. Kaden may be gorgeous and physically perfect, but he is a royal pain in the neck with serious baggage. I need someone normal, like my best friend Christian -- or someone like my Alejandro. Kind, compassionate, loving, fun, sane. The basic qualities.”

“You be surprised who ends up stirring your heart. Don’t foreclose any opportunity.” Olivia paused and stared at the proud woman who was risking so much for her son’s safety. She had always wanted a daughter and would have liked her to be just like Reysa. “Whether it’s Kaden or someone else destined for you, don’t ever lose yourself so much in that relationship that you cease to know who you are. Don’t let anyone ever change you or weaken you. Your strength is to be admired, Reysa. Any man who can’t appreciate that does not deserve you, whether it is my son or another sorry fool.”

“Thank you. Your sons are lucky to have you.”

“Yet neither of them wants you.”

The three of them continued strolling, looking for some sign of another’s presence, but the woods were eerily quiet. Olivia could sense Lucian was near. She knew he must be fuming, the way she stormed off like that. Her emotions were raw after her confrontation with Kaden, and she needed to get away. Being with Reysa and Alejandro, two people who had no reason to look upon her disappointment or resentment, seemed the best option.

Olivia had not realized how vast Julian’s property was nor how truly isolating. Julian could shut out the world here and hide from his family. After what they had put him through, she could not blame him for his need to escape.

Not paying attention, Olivia tripped over a rock and landed face down on the ground. Embarrassed, she started laughing. Reysa reached to pick her up and just missed another arrow flying past her head.

Alejandro roared. He shifted into a cheetah and sprinted in the direction of the arrow. Reysa and Olivia raced after him, but the cheetah moved at a lightning pace. Despite their supernatural speed, the cat was remarkably quicker. Suddenly, they heard the piercing scream again and followed the direction of the yell. The cloaked figure was on its back with a very pissed-off cheetah trying to rip out her throat. The figure’s hair tangled in Alejandro’s side, piercing his flesh. He leapt off of her and then fell to ground immobile from the sting of the snake-like tendril.

Reysa struck the demon with one of her famous right hooks, shattering the demon’s jaw. She carefully dodged the locks of the figure’s hair that struck out, trying to rip into her flesh with their sharp fangs. One swift jarring kick to the demon’s midsection and the creature fell to the ground trembling.

The demon’s hood fell and revealed a face of a beautiful blonde woman with pale blue eyes who looked like a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model rather than the ghastly ghoul they imagined. Her face was nearly flawless but for the broken jaw courtesy of Reysa. Suddenly, the woman shook and her beautiful face turned a horrid shade of red, with disgusting oozing boils. Reysa jumped back, not wanting to touch any part of that nastiness.

The others appeared and surrounded the monstrous figure. “This is the reaper?” Corinne asked. “I think we just insulted the real reaper. Girlfriend, what happened to your face? Proactiv® couldn’t even fix that mess.” Corinne turned to Kaden, who seemed transfixed by the vile figure. “Please tell me that even in your drunkest craziest moment you were not so desperate as to shag that hot mess over there.”

Kaden did not respond and moved closer to the woman, who stared intently into his face. “Recognize me, lover?” she asked. Kaden continued staring, at a loss for words.

“Ewww, maybe he did do her?” Corinne surmised.

“Shut up, Cori.” Olivia walked away from her childish friend although she had to admit she shared her surprise that this woman could have been part of Kaden’s past.

Kaden just stood there silently watching as the woman rose. Reysa pointed her sword at the woman’s head just in case she launched to attack.

“I guess you don’t recognize me like this. Maybe this would help.” The woman trembled again and the horrid skin was replaced with perfectly smooth porcelain. The snake-like tendrils were now long flowing locks. The gorgeous blonde Reysa first encountered was standing before them again.

“This can’t be,” Kaden finally spoke. “I saw you die. You did not survive the transformation. I saw you die, Helena.” Kaden wrapped his hand around her neck, enough to limit her movements, but not enough to harm her. “How can you be here?”

“I came back for you, my love,” she purred. “You’re mine, Kaden. Always mine.”

“Are you the one who killed all those women?”

Helena laughed. “Of course.” Focusing on Reysa, she said, “As soon as you let me go, I will kill that bitch too.”

“I’d like to see you try it,” Reysa challenged.

“I won’t let you hurt her, Helena, or anyone else.”

“You love her more than me, don’t you? You never loved me. You used me.” Helena’s hair transformed again, but before the coils could reach Kaden, Reysa sliced through them, leaving the remains scattered at Helena’s feet. “What have you done?” Helena bawled.

“Gave you a much needed haircut,” Reysa replied.

Helena’s hair immediately grew back just as long as before. “I like my hair just the way it is,” Helena smirked. “It’s not that easy to stop me.”

“Helena?” Julian slowly walked over to where Kaden held Helena. Julian had been the last to arrive. He had remained in the shadows, too shocked to believe his Helena was alive again. He approached cautiously, keeping a close eye on Kaden, who looked ready to attack. Julian would not allow Helena to be harmed. He would protect her always.

Kaden reversed his position, keeping his hand tightly on Helena’s neck, but placing her in front of him so he could keep a close eye on Julian. As shocking as Helena’s reappearance was to him, it must have been even more confusing for Julian.

“Julian. My sweet Julian.” Helena reached for him, beckoning him to come to her. “Help me. Stop them from hurting me.”

Olivia could see the agonized expression on her son’s face. He clearly still loved this deranged woman, and this beast knew how to manipulate him.

“Help me, darling. Kaden is going to kill me again.”

“What are you talking about?” Julian questioned. He never fully understood what happened that night Kaden tried to transform her. He just knew Kaden failed, and Helena was lost to him forever.

Helena batted her lashes and looked at Julian with all the false affection she could muster. “Kaden forced me to leave you for him. He threatened me, Julian. Then he forced me to turn into a vampire even though I begged him not to. He said that was the only way to keep me forever. The transformation was horrible. He left me there to die alone. I was so scared. I had no one to turn to. I was too ashamed to face you.”

“You lying bitch.” Kaden squeezed her neck tighter.

“Leave her alone, Kaden,” Julian demanded.

“Listen kid, this isn’t the time for you to play hero. Certainly not to save this deranged bitch. She’s the one who butchered all those women whose only crime was to want me. She’s the monster we have been searching for. Don’t fall for her games again. She’s played us enough times already.”