Never Again (34 page)
“I’m coming with you,” said Trent.
“Kid, go home and let your uncle know you’re not dead.”
“You don’t get it, do you? Ren was setting me up to take the fall for the café fire. He knocked me out somehow and tossed me in a ditch. He knew I’d wake up without a memory, and I wouldn’t have an alibi.”
“Why would he—” Taylor’s eyes went wide. “He wasn’t sure if we’d buy the story that Cathleen torched it.”
Gray nodded. “It makes sense. He told us that Trent woke him up to report the fire. He made sure Trent disappeared long enough to look suspicious.”
“Bastard had a plan B ready.” Fury etched Taylor’s expression.
“So I can go?”
“Not a chance.”
Trent opened his mouth—probably to argue—but Ember reached out and patted the boy’s arm. “This is not your journey to take, but you’ll be needed soon. Help me take Ant back to the shop.”
Trent sighed, his shoulders sagging. “All right.”
Ember took Gray aside, laid her hands on his shoulders, and looked him deeply in the eyes. “You must close the circle Ren opened with his avarice. Bring peace to Nevermore, and to yourself.”
“I will.”
“Good luck, Guardian.”
Ember and Trent helped Ant to his feet. Then Ember opened the portal with a wave of her hand, and they all disappeared.
“C’mon,” said Taylor. “Let’s go find us a traitor.”
Chapter 14
Lucinda woke up to the sounds of two men arguing. She immediately recognized one voice—she knew too well the cadence of Bernard’s fury. As her eyesight adjusted to the dim lighting, she realized she was in a barn—tied up and placed upright against a rough wood wall. The scent of manure was thick enough to stick in her lungs. She tried to breathe through her mouth to dampen the awful stench.
A few feet away, she spotted Happy lying on a decrepit door that had been propped on two sawhorses. The girl was sweating, her body quivering. She wasn’t tied up, but Lucinda sensed the magic keeping her flat against the surface. Bernard was powerful—and he’d done something awful to her friend. She couldn’t let Bernard hurt Happy. She’d failed the girl’s mother, but she wouldn’t fail her.
Think, Lucinda. Think!
Think, Lucinda. Think!
But her mind felt too foggy, and pain throbbed in her temple. Her head ached where the gun had impacted. She couldn’t believe Ren had hurt her. He’d seemed so nice. Everyone liked him, trusted him. And if betraying his friends and his hometown weren’t enough, he’d been in league with Bernard.
“Gray will come for her. We have to summon Kahl.” He pointed to a rickety table where various items gleamed. “I have the eye, and the spell.”
“But not the magic.” Bernard laughed, and a chill went through her. He got that kind of amused only right before he did something nasty.
Apprehension flashed through Lucinda. Ren had made a deal with Kahl to take Gray? She had to stop them before they called the demon lord. She’d fight to her dying breath to protect her husband from suffering through all that again.
“You shouldn’t have taken the girl.” Ren’s anger was tainted with alarm. Lucinda guessed that he’d figured out how dangerous Bernard was—but the realization was surely too late.
“Can’t a father reunite with his daughter?” Bernard reached down and stroked Happy’s hair. “Now my daughter sustains Lucy’s curse, and I’m free to become Guardian of Nevermore.”
Ren screamed, cocking his fist and aiming toward Bernard’s sneering visage. Bernard aimed his hand at Ren, palm out, and said, “Electrify.”
The air went thick and hot. Goose bumps broke out on Lucinda’s flesh and she bit her lower lip to keep from crying out. Her heart pounded fiercely as the familiar beat of fear pulsed within her.
Blue magic sizzled out from Bernard’s palm and hit Ren full in the chest. The man lifted off the ground and flew across the barn. It was too dark to see where he landed, but she heard the crash.
Then nothing.
Bernard turned toward her, smiling.
Everything inside her went cold.
“Well, my darling. Here we are. Together, at last.”
Lucinda swallowed the knot clogging her throat. She wouldn’t show her terror even though it crawled inside her like a living thing. “What did you do to Happy?”
“I’ve told you many times that my daughter is not your concern.” He walked toward her, his gaze fastened on her mouth. “You are still quite lovely. It’s too bad I have to kill you.” He paused and lifted one elegant shoulder. “Maybe I’ll just let my pain-in-the-ass kid die and keep you instead.”
“No!” She wouldn’t let Happy die. “Tell me what you did!”
“I can’t resist you,” mused Bernard. “It’s that delicious Rackmore charisma, I suppose. All right, then. I’ll indulge my little ice queen. Your curse requires feeding. Think of it like a vicious pet. Happy’s life force is its food. The thing is, it feeds on a bloodline—in this case, her mother’s. I was trying to figure out which of my children should help out Daddy when who do I discover? My missing daughter. And here you are, too, my missing lover. It’s been a very good day.”
Lucinda sifted through the information. She’d never learned much about curses beyond the idea of “Curses are bad; don’t use them.” Then she understood. She felt sickened by Bernard’s selfishness. The man had no conscience. “It was feeding on your bloodline. Oh, Goddess. You transferred to Talia’s?”
“Well, Talia was the only child of two only children, whose parents and grandparents are all dead. If Happy dies . . . so does your curse.”
“And if I die?”
“She lives.” He squatted next to her. “I’m surprised that I’m suffering from indecision. I’ve dreamed of killing you for so long. Slowly, of course. Just imagining your screams . . . mmm . . . delicious.” In his gaze swirled fury and lust and all those terrible emotions that made Bernard so powerful and so terrifying. He was going to hurt her, just like he’d hurt her all those times before. “You know, I didn’t think I would enjoy the countryside that much, but Nevermore has a certain . . . magic to it. Don’t you think?”
“Gray will kill you.”
“Doubtful.” Fury flashed in his gaze. “You ungrateful bitch. You married him—knowing that you belong to me.”
He raised his hand and slapped her hard. Her head snapped back and she tasted blood. Anger spiked through the icy ghosts of her old fears. Lucinda thought of Gray, of how he made her feel, and she latched on to those emotions. Duty. Trust. Loyalty.
She glared at Bernard. “I belong to him,” she said. “I belong to Gray.”
He leaned back on his heels and studied her. “You’ve gotten some of your old spirit back.” His eyes went dark, and he licked his lips. “That was my favorite part, you know. Breaking you. At the end, when you used your power to save Talia, I was . . . enthralled by your rebellion. And rather looking forward to the challenge of breaking you all over again. Then you disappeared. And you kidnapped my own flesh and blood. It was arrogant and foolish.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, and she flinched. He grinned as he leaned forward, his lips angling toward hers. “You need to be punished.”
“So do you.” Lucinda reared back and slammed her forehead into his. Stars burst behind her eyes, and her aching head imploded with agony. She sagged against the wall, trying to push down the nausea. Damn it. That hurt a helluva lot more than she thought it would.
Bernard was knocked on his ass. Even though Lucinda’s vision was wonky from her head-butt, she snapped out her bound legs and managed to nail him in the crotch. With her ankles duct-taped together, the kick wasn’t hard enough to cause real damage, but the connection still hurt him. He rolled onto his side, roaring in pain. “Bitch,” he wheezed. “I’ll kill you.”
Good. She wanted him to. Because then Happy would live. And Gray would conquer Bernard. She knew he would. Bernard didn’t know true power, didn’t understand it. She wished she’d be around to see Gray kick his ass. Soon, the Raven bastard wouldn’t hurt anyone else ever again.
Taylor barely restrained Gray from blowing up the barn. When they saw the department’s decrepit SUV parked in front, they knew Ren had taken Lucy inside. The house was nearly a mile away, with a separate driveway accessed from the main road.
Harley had been passed out drunk on the couch. They’d wasted precious time getting the old man upright and pouring coffee into him. Harley wouldn’t say anything against his son, but mentioned that Ren had been spending a lot of time at the abandoned barn at the edge of the property. They’d left Harley in the kitchen with orders to finish the whole pot.
The doors were closed, but even so, there was a sliver of space between them. They paused there and heard voices—a man’s and a woman’s. They were too muffled for Taylor to understand the words, much less whom the voices belonged to.
“Lucy,” whispered Gray fiercely. He lurched forward, his hands splaying out as magical fire licked his fingertips.
“Hold it.” Taylor grabbed his friend by the shoulder and then yelped. “Shit. Why are you so hot?”
“It’s my magic,” said Gray, but he frowned, and Taylor realized that Gray wasn’t sure why his skin was overheating. “I want my wife.”
“If we burst in there without knowing what’s going on, we could get her killed. C’mon, man. Think.”
Gray nodded. “You’re right.” He studied the building. “Look.”
Taylor followed Gray’s line of sight. On the barn’s left corner, several boards had rotted away, leaving a huge gap. It was big enough for them to squeeze through. Hopefully there was a place to hide while they checked out the situation.
Taylor was trying really hard not to think about Ren’s betrayal, or what might’ve already happened to Lucinda and Happy. And he couldn’t begin to figure out the identity of Ren’s partner—whoever it was, he owed him payback for what he’d done to Ant. Fury boiled inside him. He might be acting coolheaded, but it was an effort. Like Gray, he had the impulse to rush in and shoot someone.
They picked their way through high grass and uneven ground. Taylor stepped through the jagged opening, trying to be as quiet as possible. Gray followed him. Luckily, a rusted tractor and moldering haystacks blocked the makeshift entrance. The dirt-packed floor concealed the sounds of their footsteps. They stayed close to the wall. The conversation between the man and the woman continued. The man’s tone was smarmy, and Lucy’s was constrained.
They heard a low moan, then a ragged, pain-filled cough. They paused, staring at each other.
This part of the barn was filled with shadows. Taylor’s eyes adjusted to the lack of light. He and Gray searched the hay-littered ground for the source of the noise.
“Taylor.” Gray jerked his head to the right.
Ren lay in a tangled heap of barn debris. He’d landed on a spike of wood that pierced his chest. Taylor’s stomach roiled. The metallic stench of blood was overwhelming, especially mixed in with all the smells of mold and manure.
Taylor knelt next to Ren. The boy’s gaze tracked him. Even though Ren had betrayed him, had betrayed all of them, he couldn’t stop the waves of horror. “He’s alive.”
Gray’s expression was ice-cold. “Not for long.”
“Brother,” Ren whispered. Blood bubbled from his lips. Then his eyes glazed over, and what little light was in them faded.
Taylor wished he had Gray’s ability to cut out those pesky interfering emotions. He wanted to hate Ren, but he didn’t. Not even knowing that Ren tried to put a bullet in Ant and Trent, he couldn’t work up anything but fury and shame. Gods-be-damned. He couldn’t forget his friend’s finer moments, even though his kindness had hidden such an evil soul.
“Why the hell did he call me brother?” asked Taylor. He stood up and joined Gray at the edge of the darkness that hid them.
“Does it matter?”
“Yeah,” said Taylor, annoyed with Gray’s dismissive tone. “It does.”
“Ponder it later. We have a bigger problem.” Gray pointed to the man squatting next to Lucy. “That’s Bernard Franco.”
“Shit. He was Ren’s partner?” Taylor’s gaze caught on the girl flattened on a weathered door propped on sawhorses. “That’s Happy. He’s got her laid out like a solstice feast.”
“He’s keeping her pinned with magic. I’ll free her and you grab her. Take her to Ember’s. I’ll get Lucy.”
“And Franco?”
Gray’s ice-blue eyes met his, and Taylor knew then that Franco wouldn’t live to see the sunset. He might’ve had a regret or two about Ren, but he had no qualms about Franco breathing his last. Taylor was a lawman, sworn to protect the laws of Nevermore and the state of Texas. But he had another oath, one more binding than any other: Protect the Guardian and the citizens of Nevermore.
No one around these parts would be safe so long as Franco lived.
And that was that.
“I’ll create a distraction,” said Gray. “Then I’ll free Happy. Get her and run. Franco will be too busy to follow.”
Taylor heard a thwack. He watched as Lucinda headbutted Franco and then kicked him in the balls. “Wow. She’s got some moves.”
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