Pure Redemption (Tainted Legacy) (29 page)

Rafe followed Gabe’s gaze to the flasks and he smiled. It was a cold smile, one that
looked
forced
,
though Gabe had the odd notion
that
Rafe was suddenly trying to appear genuine. “There you have it. That’s what I want.”

“Silver flasks?” Gabe questioned, feeling annoyed. It looked to Gabe as though he had enough already. And what, he wondered, could silver flasks have to do with
him
?

“The blood, Gabriel,” Rafe grated out as if it were more than obvious. And likely, it would’ve been if Gabe had even a shred of his memory from the past. He didn’t want his brother to know that he didn’t so he nodded, as if he understood. “I want the blood,” Rafe continued. “The flasks are nearly empty. I need more of
his
blood.”

“
His
blood?”

Rafe nodded again as his face was split wider by that eerie grin. “Think of what we could do with that much power, brother. Just think of it! Without Father holding us back, it could all be ours.”

“I don’t want power so I guess you’re on your own,” Gabe said as he made a move to get to his feet. Not only didn’t he want power, but he was sure if they were to obtain it, Rafe would not be willing to share it. He had to wonder just what that blood allowed his brother to do. He would have to ask Ava if she knew, though he doubted he had told her any more than he’d absolutely had to.

“Sit!” Rafe barked at him.

With a sigh, Gabe sat. Not so much because he was told to do so but because he’d come here for a reason. He needed to find out what, exactly, his brother was up to. He didn’t have the answer to that yet. He wanted blood but…“What does this have to do with me? What was the message from Kara about?”

“Kara was the one kind enough to tell me you were back. I thought it only fitting she give you my welcome home. As for what this has to do with you, I need you to get Father back from wherever it is
that
you sent him,” Rafe replied as if there was a simple solution to what he deemed to be his problem. “I want him kept in the cage you created but I want him back.”

Gabe found himself laughing. “
I
didn’t send him anywhere. I definitely do not have the ability to get him back.”

“Surely,” Rafe said, the smile now gone, “you do. He told me he was meeting you at the old church. He told me the plans you had for him. It seemed laughable that you thought you could trap him.
You
! But somehow you did. And now you need to bring him back. If you were able to come up with the means to send him away, I’m sure that if you applied the same effort, you could find a way to bring him back. You did, after all, find a way to bring yourself back.”

Gabe ignored the last comment. He was doubtful that he brought himself back.
But perhaps it was best to not let Rafe know that.

“I would never bring that monster back,” Gabe said coldly, “even if I could. Which, by the way, I cannot. You seem to be forgetting that I had the help of an angel. She’s nowhere to be found and if she were, we both know it wouldn’t matter.”

“Angel or no angel, you better find a way,” Rafe told him. “Or you and those lovely young girls you’re surrounded by better watch your backs every single day.”

Anger
burned
through him but he fought to control it. Instead, he tried to turn the conversation away from himself. “You would want him back here? Controlling you?”

“I simply want his blood,” Rafe stated. “I will be the one in control this time.”

“And you think he’s just going to hand that over to you?” Gabe asked in disbelief.

“No,” Rafe agreed. “But you don’t need to worry about the details. You get him back. I’m working on handling the rest.” He motioned to a book, the only item on the enormous desktop. It looked antiquated and well-used. The spine was cracked and the pages half-spilled from the binding. The cover appeared to be made of tattered brown leather but there were no discriminate markings to indicate what kind of book it was.

Although Gabe was pretty sure he knew.

He looked away from the book and stared at his brother. He thought Rafe was being oddly cordial. From what Ava had told him, they couldn’t so much as carry on a conversation in the past. Although, admittedly, this one wasn’t going all that well. “There’s no way to get him back. There just isn’t,” Gabe firmly told him.

“I’m sure you once thought the same thing about sending him away,” Rafe smoothly responded. “Father and I both underestimated you. I’m willing to admit you are far more clever than I ever gave you credit for. I won’t make that mistake again. In fact, I’m going to count on that
cleverness
of yours to undo this.”

“What do Cam and Julia have to do with this?” Gabe demanded.

“So you’ve met Cam? Charming young man, yes?” When Gabe didn’t respond, Rafe shrugged. “I like to plan ahead.”

Gabe remained quiet for a moment, pondering
what he’d been told
, yet knowing instinctively that Rafe would divulge no more on the matter. “Why do you need the blood, anyway?” he finally asked. “You have this,” he said motioning to the house, “I’m sure you have access to whatever funds you want, other—far better—houses, cars. What use is the blood?”

Rafe shook his head in disgust at Gabe’s lack of understanding. “I want absolute power. I want the kind of power it provides without the kind of constraints he always put on its use.”

“I was under the impression you had your own power to terrorize people with,” Gabe snidely replied. Or perhaps he was wrong? The only knowledge he had of his so-called brother was what Ava was able to relay to him. And all that she knew were the bits that he’d been willing to tell her,
before
.

“Using my own power is draining,” Rafe said through gritted teeth.

Gabe nodded, wondering if that was something he had known about his brother, the fact that his power had limitations. “I see. And having to exert yourself to get what you want is such a shame.”

“Sarcasm never suit you,” Rafe told him. “Now, since we seem to be getting nowhere, I’m going to lay it all out for you, nice and simple. You get me what I want and I’ll leave your precious Ava alone. Although, with her out of the picture, you’d be free to explore the charms of the much more i
ntriguing Kara.
I can guarantee to you that she is interested in giving you much more than that pathetic little kiss. There was a time when you would not have turned a girl like her down. She could be yours to do with as you pleased in a heartbeat.
However,
refuse to get me what I want and I’ll have fun coming up with all kinds of ways to entertain myself with Ava and her friends. Surely you haven’t forgotten what Father showed you? The games I’ve dreamt up for her?”

Gabe was nearly strangled by a feeling of disgust and dread. He, of course,
had
forgotten
. W
hatever Rafe spoke of was something he was certain he could add to his list of things he would be grateful to not remember.

“Or,” Rafe said smugly, “maybe I’ll just keep Ava for myself.”

Gabe
lunged across the
desk, his fist connecting with Rafe’s nose.
Gabe barely registered the crunching sound as the bone broke, or the instantaneous flow of blood. He was
too blinded by his fury.
“Don’t you ever threaten m
e with Ava,” he
seethed
. “
I took down Azael. If you hurt her, I’ll do the same to you. And unlike me? I don’t think you’d be coming back.”

Rafe had been momentarily stunned. When he shoved Gabe off, Gabe didn’t go far.

Rafe forced a grin onto his face but it looked cold and fake.
“I think I’ll take my chances,” he replied in a tone that
was
as icy as Gabe’s. “I’ll give you a week to think it over. To think about everything that could be ours. You just might change your mind.
And if I know you little brother, you will. You’re more like me than you think. You’ll come to your senses
as soon as you’re done playing with your new toy. I would hurry it along if I were you.”

Gabe turned and as he strode out of the office, Rafe’s
confident
voice shot out behind him. “O
ne week Gabriel! Think about it!
”

He was answered with the slamming of the door.

Chapter 21

“I’m still having such a hard time grasping
it all.
Every time I think about it, I feel like my head is going to implode. And now this?!” Molly turned to Ava. “Can Gabe even do that?”

“He can’t. And even if he could, he wouldn’t. There is no way he’d purposefully allow that creature back into this world,” Ava said with complete assurance. She was sitting on Molly’s bed, watching her friend pace the short length of her bedroom over and over again.
“But Gabe said Rafe seemed truly convinced he’d change his mind.”

Because the old Gabe? He might have.
In fact, the chances were pretty high that he would have. Ava was sure of it.

“Where is Gabe now?” Molly wondered.

“He had to work. Believe me, he didn’t want to go but he doesn’t want to lose this job, either. I told him I’d be fine but I wanted to talk to you. I thought you needed to know you should watch yourself. Don’t trust anyone,” Ava firmly told her.

She was not happy
that
Gabe had gone to Rafe’s without telling her
first
. She’d been furious actually, but after she’d calmed down a bit, she realized that maybe facing Rafe head on was for the best. At least now they knew what he wanted. “I think we need to tell Julia everything, tonight. She’s definitely part of Rafe’s plan and I think it’s better if she knows so she can watch herself, too.”

Molly nodded. “She doesn’t know it, but I plan on meeting her after work. Yesterday I went with her and bought a day pass. I told her I just wasn’t ready to be alone. I sat out by the pool all day soaking up the sun and drinking
mango
smoothies but I didn’t think I could get away with that two days in a row. I think she knows something is up. She keeps trying to convince me to call Oliver but I keep telling her I’m just not ready. She hinted that I might be overreacting to the situation with him and Serena, which of course I am,” Molly said with an eye roll. “Which makes it really hard to carry on with this nonsense! But I’m doing it for her so I’ll keep up with it for as long as I have to.”

Ava’s face crinkled with concern. “How are things with Oliver?”

Molly sighed and Ava noticed how glossy her eyes became. “The sooner this is over, the better. At first, he thought I was joking about the texts. I’ve never been overly jealous so I completely blindsided him. When he realized I was ser
ious, he freaked. He blocked Ser
ena’s number and promised to never talk to her again. He sent flowers yesterday and he stopped by. Luckily my parents were
at work
so I just didn’t answer the door. I hope he forgives me for this.”

“He will,” Ava said reassuringly. She meant it. Oliver obviously cared a lot about Molly and she was certain that he wasn’t going to get over her in a matter of days. Whether or not he’d get over the whole debacle that was created was an entirely different matter but Ava was sure Molly would be able to smooth things over. It might take her a while, but she was certain it could be done.

“So,” Molly said hopefully, “one week?”

“One week,” Ava agreed. “At least, that’s the timeframe Rafe gave Gabe. Although I think Gabe intends to end things a lot sooner than that.”

“Does Gabe have any idea what he’s going to do?”

Ava shifted uncomfortably under her friend’s scrutinizing gaze. Neither she nor Gabe had admitted it but she was
certain
they both knew there was only one way to stop Rafe. It was just a matter of when and how to do it discreetly.

Putting an end to Azael had been one thing, he was elusive. He traveled extensively and as far as Gabe knew, never stayed anywhere long enough to make an impression. They agreed that once he was gone, Rafe had likely used his abilities to take care of any loose ends so that everything that was Azael’s became his.