Loving Ean (The Fae Guard Book 2) (35 page)

I LOOK AROUND THE
backyard of the New York City brownstone that Shaylee grew up in. The townhouse has become a base, of sorts, in the human realm. Shaylee’s mom has apparently adopted all of us, and not one of us is complaining about that, especially when she cooks.

We would rather not go after Aodhagan in our realm, even if it puts both sides at a disadvantage magically. So, we’re biding our time in the human realm, waiting for word that he has been located.

Aden is lounging on a lawn chair with Shaylee curled up on his lap, deep in discussion with Kendrix who is leaning up against the wooden side of the large playhouse Shaylee’s father built when she was a child. Aden’s hand is rubbing slow circles on her back, a small smile lights up his face every time she laughs. I hear another sparkling laugh and I feel the same smile on my own lips. Laila walks out the back door with Hayleigh, their hands full of food, and both of them cracking up at something. They lay out our lunch spread and I watch her every movement, entranced—
she’s so damn beautiful.
When we left the bar the other night, the only talking we’d done had been a whole lot of filthy words that I need to stop thinking about right now.

The morning after, we’d been awoken by Brannon pounding on my door, yelling that “sexy time was over and we needed to get the fuck back to work.” I was struggling to remember what it was that compelled me to be friends with him, even more so when Laila rushed to get up and told me she’d shower at her own place. With my fantasies of fucking Laila up against the shower wall officially trashed, I vowed that, one of these days, I’m going to have entirely too much fun cock-blocking that asshole.

Brannon walks over to help the girls and I watch how Hayleigh subtly shifts to put distance between them. Ok, so the guy is getting cock-blocked enough on his own right now, I think he just might get a pass this time.

Laila grabs my attention once again as she walks past me to the chair on my left, swinging her sexy hips and making me uncomfortable.
Dude, think you could go, like, one fucking hour without a hard on around her?
Probably not. I wish I could pull her into my lap and just hold her, but we need to get everything between us straightened out before we tell anyone.

I shift around for a moment and start running through the periodic table of elements. My cell phone pings and I look down to see a text from Kellen, one of his guys spotted Aodhagan. We’ve had several factions of the Ohtar keeping a look out for him on their patrols. My body tenses in anticipation, I don’t like going into this without a solid plan, but Fate hasn’t really give us a choice. Our job is to corner him, like a rat in a maze, and let her take over. I’m actually pretty pissed that he’s going to walk away from this encounter breathing, but I’m not stupid enough to question Fate’s plans right after having to apologize for not trusting her last time.

I text Kellen back, asking for details and wait for another ping. When it comes, I read the contents of the message and have to grip my phone tightly in my fist to keep from throwing it at the wall. “Ean, what’s up, man?” Brannon looks at me with concern in his blues. He must have noticed me tensing. He meanders over and drops into the seat on my right.

“That was Kellen.”

“They get a location on the dipshit?”

My lips press together in a flat line and I nod as I reply to Kellen with a thanks and ask him to have their guys stay on him. Laila’s nose was buried in her kindle, but our conversation has drawn her attention from whatever she was reading (most likely something that I’ll ‘benefit’ from later). She leans forward to speak to us both, but her eyes are on me. “This is what we’ve been waiting for, so what’s the problem.”

I sigh and slump in my seat, trying to calm the riot of emotions inside me. “The bastard knows I’m coming.”

“What are you talking about? How would he even know we’re currently hunting him?” The question comes from Aden and I look up to see that everyone else has stopped what they were doing and are focused on our discussion.

I shrug and run my hands over my head, tugging a little on my hair to alleviate some of the muscle tension on my scalp and avoid a stress headache. I’m so ready to be done with this; I don’t want this asshole affecting my life anymore.

“He’s not irrational enough to think I’ll just forget about him and let him go along his merry way.” I stop to consider for a moment. “I don’t know how he got tipped off that we are making our move right now, but he’s playing games with me, trying to mess with my head,” I insist.

“How?” Kendrix inquires. He’s not doubting me, there is genuine curiosity in his tone; he’s just trying to understand.

“Kellen’s guy found him in Texas.” I can feel my expression getting darker and the anger mounting. “At the place where we found Niall.” Brannon curses and smacks the arm of his chair. He’s the only one who knows everything that went down that day. Although, the rest are not unaware that something went down and it clearly changed me.

It’s time to tell them, I won’t let them go in unprepared, especially if—I can’t believe I’m letting that bastard spark even the smallest doubt—especially if he’s able to throw me off with the location and memories.

“It’s where I killed Rònan and Taran, the girl who turned him,” I explain.

I’m met with silence and I can only imagine what they might be thinking, probably wondering about my stability and whether I’ll be able to handle this. I’m surprised when I look around and see that no one’s eyes are studying me with a questioning gaze, but rather, they all seem to be in a more thoughtful place.

“Well,” Laila breaks the quiet, “this could potentially add a little distraction for you, Ean, but in the big scheme of things, this isn’t such a bad thing. You being familiar with the area can only help us.”

“She makes a good point,” Shaylee muses. “Knowing what we’ve got to work with means being more aware of the obstacles,” she emphasizes.

“Ean,” Laila puts her hand on my arm to gain my full attention, however it has a slightly opposite effect, momentarily distracting me with the spark of electricity her touch elicits, “we’ve got several hours before the sun starts to set, so let’s eat, and sit out here in the light to absorb as much as we can, and you can tell us everything you remember about the location.” There are murmurs of agreement all around. So, we load up our plates and as we eat, I spill every detail I can remember.

I’m assaulted with images as I stand in the center of the meadow where I last saw Rònan. Guilt tries to worm its way in, eroding my confidence, but that is Aodhagan’s intention, so I beat it back and stomp on its face.

Hayleigh had left for Rien to let Fate know we were ready, but the rest of us met up with Kellen’s guy and two others, who are tasked with being on the perimeter, should Aodhagan get by us. We are scattered among the open space and the surrounding forest, trying to get comfortable with where we are before the sun dips any lower in the sky. With two fated couples and three other powerful Fae, we are comfortable facing him at night, knowing it will draw him into a false sense of security.

The pond in still incredibly shallow from my last visit, so this time, we opt to use roots and branches to seal it in so tight, it would take Aodhagan days to unravel it on his own. Covering it up also serves to help keep the images of Rònan, after he fell, from invading my mind.

The sun is down and we are gathered near the tree line across from where the house sits, set back into the woods. As we sit and quietly discuss strategies, Hayleigh appears with a sour look on her face. She marches over and huffs, flipping her long white braid over her shoulder. “Fate is ‘running behind’ and we are expected to ‘keep the animal caged’ until she can get here,” she sneers, using air quotes sarcastically. A chorus of grumbles and curses float into the night air. That woman has made being difficult into an art form.

“Ah, Ean. So nice to see you again,” Aodhagan’s smooth, cultured voice floats over to us as he enters the clearing across the way. Revulsion makes my stomach roil; everything about him is like sandpaper on my mental nerves. “And, I see you’ve brought friends. Oh yes, I do believe I am acquainted with some of you.” He stops about twenty feet away, and I observe his appearance, looking the same as the last time we met: perfectly tailored, black, Armani suit, black dress shoes, and his long, black hair hanging straight to the middle of his back. Considering the evil inside him, I feel like he should at least have greasy hair. But no, the guy looks like a wealthy, high-powered business man. It’s actually a little disappointing. When you face off with a super villain, you want him to look like one; it’s more satisfying. Besides that, there isn’t anything about him that stands out so I can give him a proper title. I mean, what kid wants to read a story about a hero who beat “The Suit,” or “The Snape Wannabe,” and “The Asshole” isn’t unique enough. Well, probably for the best—we don’t exactly look like superheroes in our loose, comfortable pants and t-shirts.

“Yeah, well” I drawl, “I figured, the more the merrier.”

Aodhagan glances around the group, his expression is carefully controlled, but I see the slightest flicker of annoyance. He is the poster boy for pompous and conceited, and I was counting on it. I knew his arrogance would drive him to face me alone, and those same traits are the catalyst for his mistaking my confidence for ego. Most likely, it never entered his mind that I wouldn’t come unaccompanied. If the goal was to fight him, he might have been right. However, restraining a Fae is much harder because you have to bind them in such a way that they cannot make use of their abilities. Fighting is straightforward, go at each other until one of you dies or runs away. “I had assumed that you had the courage to go against me alone. Perhaps you are not so worthy an opponent as I’d thought,” He jeers.

I snort, “You know what they call people who are too proud to accept help? Dead.”

“Or fucking idiots,” Laila adds, as she stares at him, deadpan.

I gesture to him with mocking respect, “Present company excepted, of course.”

Aodhagan begins to back away. “Well, if you ever decide that you possess the qualities to fight without babysitters, I’ll certainly consider giving you another opportunity to best me.”

I start laughing and Aodhagan’s face breaks from the poker-faced shell, his thin, top lip curls up in irritation. I’m too busy chuckling to respond, but it doesn’t matter; he’ll understand when he reaches the edge of the clearing. With his not-so-surprising, display of overconfidence, (particularly since we’ve come at night, when we are typically the most vulnerable) he turns his back to us, then freezes at the sight in front of him.

From the moment Aodhagan entered, the seven of us have been slowly thickening and weaving the trees all around the meadow, building a wall so tight and dense that he couldn’t possibly attempt to work through it without help. Initially, we were worried that he would simply cross realms when he saw the group of us. However, Fate was confident that the Fallen council is after him for pursuing his own agenda, which has resulted in our new knowledge of their activities. We may not have much right now, but we know they are working toward something big and it puts us on our guard, as well as finding out that their goal hinges on whatever it is that they are searching for.

Fate was able to determine that he’d been high in favor with the council and most likely, in line to take a spot should one open up. Which then led her to believe that they will be watching for him to cross. The funny thing about our magic is that when you use it to travel, the ability only applies to moving from one world to the other. So, if you want to get somewhere else within the human realm without traveling like one, you actually have to cross and then cross back to wherever it is you intended to go. So, for Aodhagan to get away from us, he’d have to cross and would most likely fall into their waiting paddy wagon, where they will fit him with his straitjacket, and lock him in a solitary cell. Sometimes death is the more humane (for lack of a Fae equivalent expression) option.

Aodhagan faces us once again and I manage to keep the smugness I feel inside (don’t judge) from showing in my demeanor. It’s hard when you know how awesome you are, I’m just saying . . . However, the thing that truly humbles me in this situation, is the power I feel with Laila at my side. I’ve always felt a rush, known that we amplify each other’s abilities, but feeling the way it surges through you when you are in a situation like this, it’s incredible. And, if I’m going to be completely honest, it’s hot as fuck. When this is over I’m going to—
knock it off, asshole. Focus, for fuck’s sake.

“Look, Aodhagan, I’d love to kick your ass, but I don’t particularly want your shit on my shoes. So, why don’t you just accept your new lot in life and wait here for Fate like a good little boy.” Antagonizing him probably isn’t the best idea, and by the kick to the back of my leg I just received, I’m guessing Laila thinks so too. I can’t seem to help myself.

The wind in the clearing picks up and a dark smile widens my lips.
Oh goody, he wants to play.
Being seventy-eight years old, I’ve passed through a lot of different cultural eras, and like most Fae, I’ve found my groove in each one, so I don’t have any distinguishing habits that giveaway my possible age. However, from Aodhagan speech pattern and the way he carries himself, I’d guess he’s a couple of hundred years, at least. This gives his opponent a step up, having some idea as to the mastery he might have over his abilities. I’m going to assume that Grandpa’s got skills.