Triple Infinity (29 page)

Charlotte hesitated
, considering her words carefully. “Tri, you know I can’t take that fear away, because we can only control so much.” Her hand slipped from his heart to his knee. His foot tapping ceased. “But here’s what I can promise you. I fought death for you once, and I’ll do it as many times as it takes in our lives. But there are no guarantees, Tri.”

“I know. And that’s what I can’t come to
terms with. I had honestly been judging Aiden for trying to keep Skye so sequestered from danger, and now I’m in the very same frame of mind with you.”

Charlotte’s palm slipped down
to his inner thigh, caressing it as she watched his face intently. “But you can’t concentrate on the end like that. It could be tomorrow. It could be a thousand years from now. But we’re not together for the end, Tri. We’re together for the life lived before it.”

He wrapped his arm
along her shoulders, his hand curling into the warmth of her hair. He leaned down, taking her lips on his, gently caressing the depths of Charlotte’s nerve endings. He pulled back only slightly. “And that is the reason I came back. You are not only my home, you are my logic when I need it.” His mouth went back onto hers.

When h
e eventually pulled up, a twinkling smile was touching his cheek. “Besides, it was driving me crazy — not having you, not touching you. It was actually stupid of me to be questioning things. Even though I probably needed to do it. And it took some days, but I realized it was selfish for me to be staying away. Not fair to you. Not fair to Shiv. I still have responsibility to her. We never ended things.”

Charlotte nodded. “Skye has been making some inroads with her.”

“Really? That’s good for both of them.”

“It is, but apparently it hasn’t been easy, according to Aiden. He is not
exactly a fan of Shiv’s.”

“He just hates it when he has no power over Skye’s happiness,”
Triaten reasoned. “Shiv’s a good one — Aiden will come around once she and Skye reconcile.”

Charlotte leaned her head on his shoulder, which prompted Triaten to
wrap his arm even tighter around her back. On the grey roof shakes in front of their feet, black shadows of the trees flickered in the slight breeze.

“Do you remember how much time we used to spend out on this roof?” Charlotte asked as she watched the stillness of the forest.

“I do.”

“We were such little buggers then, running rampant through this town.” She nestled her head
further down into the crook between his arm and chest. “I always used to envy you. I know Aiden did to. You had this house. This family. While Aiden and I just had the elders and randomness at the hotel, you had the father. You had the home.”

“I did for a little while.”

Charlotte paused, then dove in. “Tri, you never told me how Susan left. You had always said you woke up that day, and she was gone.”

“I didn’t want you to know what Horace had done.”

“Why not?”

Triaten wavered
, burying his face in the top of Charlotte’s head. It took a minute before he spoke again. “I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I loved her so much that he had to take her away from me. Embarrassed that he would do such a thing.”

“Even then, you w
ere protecting him.” Spite laced her words. “You were five, and you were protecting him.”

The shrug he heaved visibly moved Charlotte’s head.

Minutes passed before Charlotte spoke. “I’m sorry.”

“About?”

“That day he took her away. We sat out here, and I tried to convince you not to go after her. I was too little and too afraid. But if you had told me what happened, I would have gone with. I just didn’t believe it when you said she would never leave you willingly. I didn’t trust you. I didn’t believe she could love you that much.” Charlotte stopped, swallowing hard. “And I didn’t want to believe it, because my own parents had tossed me aside so easily. I was so wrong. I was wrong and you went after her on your own.”

“
Char, it’s the past. And for how well that turned out, it’s a good thing you didn’t come with me.” His arm tensed around her waist.

She crooked her head
so she could look up at him. “Maybe, but you know, you didn’t see Horace when he brought your limp body to me. He was a wreck. You were my first real heal, and it took me a long time. By the time I was done, and you were awake, he had his composure back. You never saw how destroyed he was when you were broken like that.” 

“That was a long time ago, Char.” Triaten’s body tightened. “
And after the altercation in the Badlands with him — it just set off a storm in my mind where I’m doubting, questioning, everything in my life. Everything I do. I can’t help it, because like it or not, my whole life touches off of him. And if I can’t trust him, what his motives are, how can I trust what my life is? It’s a storm I can’t get rid of.”

“
It’s okay to question, Tri. You’ve been so busy running around saving everyone else. You should be taking the time to question what Horace and the elders want out of you.”

“And what about what they want out of you?”
Triaten’s fingers had slipped to the back of Charlotte’s neck, tracing the symbol — triple infinity, raised in a fluid, hard line of scarred skin.

She usually jumped when someone touched it, but she hadn’t even realized the motion of Triaten’s fingers until he noted it
to her.

She sighed.
“What they want out of me hasn’t changed. I’m still a one-trick pony to them.”

Triat
en didn’t accept her levity, keeping his voice serious. “Why did you never carve it off?”

“I couldn’t.” Charlotte
shrugged. “Too weak, I guess.”

“
Believing in something bigger than yourself isn’t weak, Char.” His fingers still gently looped the symbol on her neck.

“
Honestly, I’ve thought about it a thousand times. But I could never do it. No matter how I’ve tried to avoid it, it’s who I am. Just like you were meant to lead.”

“Why? Because Horace deemed it so a hundred years ago? Is that a good reason?”

Charlotte grabbed Triaten’s free hand and entwined her fingers into his. “Tri, I’ve been running, you’ve been running — we’ve been running from the same thing our whole lives. You, from joining the elders. Me, from breeding for them. I don’t know that the running has gotten us anywhere. So maybe, just maybe, it’s time to try a new tactic.”

She pulled his hand up to her face, letting the heat of his skin warm her lips as she talked. “Tri, h
ere is what I know of you. You were meant to lead. It’s always been what you’re best at — no matter that it is what your father wants. Take him out of the picture, and you’d be in the exact same spot. A born leader.”

“
But Horace doesn’t want me to lead — he wants me to be him. And he’s mad that I won’t come around to his way of thinking.”

Charlotte spat out an exasperated chuckle. “Do you mean his notion
that sacrificing human life is a necessary evil?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Well, you don’t believe it. I don’t believe it. So we work to change it. We will find another way, one that doesn’t involve the constant sacrifice of life that Horace and the other elders have so easily accepted.”

Triaten smiled at her head. “Still think we can change the world, do you?”

She nodded on his chest. “I may have been lost for a while there. But I think I’m back. You lead me back, Tri. You always do.”

“Good, because it’s just in time to pick up the optimism for both of us. For I still have a lot of questions in this brain that need reconciliation.”

Charlotte sat upright, pulling away, but still staring at him. “Are you still questioning us, Tri?”

He gave the seriousness of the question its due thought before he answered. “No, not us.
There isn’t an ounce of me that doubts my choice of this fate with you. You — our life together — is worth more than anything. And I will trade, connive, barter, or pummel anything that threatens it.”

His hand went to her hair, tucking a smooth strand behind her ear. “Me. It’s me I question. I’m afraid. Afraid I’ll fail you. Afraid I can’t put you first.
When it’s what you deserve.”

“Who’s above me?”

“It’s not a who. It’s a world of whos. The other day with Horace — it just reminded me that protecting the innocents — it is who I am down to the core. And I want to put you first above it, but I don’t know if I can.”

Charlotte’s eyes closed as relief set in. When she opened them, she was smiling. “Tri, that’
s where you don’t need to worry. I never asked to be number one in your life — scratch that — I do ask that I am number one when it comes to your bed...and your love. But beyond that, Tri, I only ask to be by your side. You don’t ever have to worry about putting what you were meant to do on this earth above me, because I will be right there at your side, an appendage you couldn’t slice off if you tried.”

Triaten chuckled as his hand went to
her cheek, cradling her jaw. “Is it any wonder that you’ve always had a hold on my heart? So we get to make a home together, wherever, through whatever?”

“Through whatever
. As long as we’re together, I’m happy.”

Triaten stepped into the ranch through the kitchen door. Charlotte had said Aiden and Skye were probably up at the ranch, as they had been
when she stopped up there looking for him, so he wasn’t surprised when Aiden was sitting at the heavy wood table, hunched over a map.

He didn’t look up at the cold blast of air coming through the door. “Been wondering when you would show up.” Aiden glanced up, eyes directed pointedly behind Triaten. “You see Charlotte yet?”

“Yes. She’s down at the barn, checking on the horses. She’s staying out of sight for the moment.” Triaten moved to the table to look over Aiden’s shoulder.

“Going to talk to Shiv?”

“Yes. What’s this?” He nodded to the map.

“The
Folotto compound. The elders are considering a pre-emptive strike against the Folotto family, as they’ve made no effort to hide the fact that they were behind the massacres in Africa. This is the best surveillance we have of their compound in northern Europe. The mountains around it are angled such that satellite shots are pretty weak. You were gone, so they asked if I could take a look at the tacticals. I’ve been antsy with all the time up here, so agreed.”

Triaten smiled. “You may not want to hear it, but it’s nice to see you involving yourself again. The elders must be pleased.”

Aiden shrugged. “They’re hitting too close to home. We almost lost Charlotte, and I know they’re still looking for an opportunity to take me out after my...rampage before the flame moon. I don’t even want to think about Skye being on their radar.”

Triaten patted Aiden’s shoulder.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you’re calling a spade a spade in regards to your ‘rampage.’ Charlotte said things were going better for Skye and Shiv?”

“They are. Shiv’s been more
than resistant, but my wife has the tenacity of a wolverine.”

“Good. I don’t take what I have to do next lightly, so it will be good that Shiv has someone she knows is by her side.”

Aiden’s nod was solemn.

“Where are they?”

“They were on a walk,” Aiden answered, “and should be back soon, I imagine. Rafe is out with them. You should check out the library. As much as Shiv has not impressed me with how she has treated Skye, that girl is talented.”

With a nod of thanks, Triaten l
eft the kitchen and wandered to the library. He stood at the doorway, and gave a low whistle at the sight in front of him. The floor was complete. Complete and gorgeous.

The two goddess in the center had an
ethereal quality about them, both of them designed with a serenity that seemed to mask a storm. The ground beneath the left figure, with her hand in the soil, swirled from the black of the dirt, into a deep crimson, representing the bowels of earth. The blue sky that the other goddess reached for turned into a pale blue-white as it went higher. Both the crimson and the white flowed around the outer edges of the room, meeting, clashing, and dancing as their colors melded together.

The door
behind Triaten opened and he could hear the clip of Rafe’s feet on the wood before he turned around. Both Shiv and Skye stopped short in the foyer when they saw him.

Skye shot a
concerned glance at Shiv, and then forced a smile on her face. “You’re back. Good. We were all worried.” She stepped forward and gave him a quick hug and kiss on his cheek.

Pulling back, she looked over her shoulder at Shiv. Skye’s feet stuck, and she
suddenly looked unsure about what to do.

“Skye, can I get Shiv alone for a few moments?”

Skye’s eyes darted between the two. She was unwilling to leave the situation until Shiv spoke up.

“It’s okay, Skye. Go find Aiden.”

Skye nodded and went down the hallway, but her walk lingered.

Triaten watched her
disappear, then he turned to Shiv. “Come in here with me?”

Shiv dutifully stepped past him into the library, and Triaten slid the door clo
sed behind her. She went to the middle of the room and bent over, pulling the sleeve of her jacket over her thumb to polish a small tile that had an errant smudge of grout on it.

“It’s outstanding. Perfect for this room. I am honored to have the beauty of it in the ranch. Thank you.”

Shiv stood and crossed her arms across her rib cage. She wasn’t smiling at the compliment. “You’re welcome. And?”

“And what?”

“You didn’t pull me in here for nothing, Triaten. Skye wouldn’t tell me what happened when you guys were gone. It gave me a reason to be mad at her, but that’s beside the point. I can already tell by your face where this is headed. So we don’t need to elongate the pleasantries.” She stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, challenging. “Tell me I’m wrong?”

“You’re an extraordinary woman, Shiv.” Triaten took a step toward her. “You are genuine, and strong, and smart, and beautiful.”

“But not enough for you, right?”

“I’m sorry, Shiv, if Charlotte hadn’t come back –”

Her hand flew up. “Stop right there. You may not mind being second choice, Triaten. But I do.”

“It’s not about first or second choices, Shiv.”

“It isn’t? Really? Do you honestly think she would choose you if her Thomas was still around?”

Triaten winced.

“Truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

Anger flashed across Triaten’s eyes, then disappeared. “Shiv, this is beneath you.”

She shrugged, her arms clasped in front of her again. “Tell me, Triaten. Tell me the time you were with me, that you weren’t freer than you’ve ever been. More free in body and mind. The past has done a number on you, Triaten, but I could see you let everything go when you were with me. Tell me that’s not true.”

“
It doesn’t matter, Shiv. It isn’t who I am. Not really. I have been in a crisis of faith — a crisis of life — but I have my center back.”

“And your center is Charlotte?”

“My center is me. What I was meant to do. Charlotte makes no demands, but she reminds me of it.”

Shiv bit her lip as she heaved a steadying sigh, hands on her hips. “And I can’t compete with that?” She shook her head
before the words finished. “No, don’t answer that. Forget I even asked it.”

She looked down at the floor, staring at the goddesses. Her hand went to her fore
head, rubbing it. Minutes passed, and then, with a deep breath, she managed to look up at him. “I’ll be gone within the day.”

Triaten grabbed her arm as she walked past him. “Shiv, you don’t need to leave. Stay here. I’ll stay at my house.

She jerked her arm away. “I’ll be gone within the day.”

Shiv slid
the library door open wide, and walked out the front door. Through the front library window, he watched her get into her car and peel off.

Triaten trudged to th
e back of the ranch. Skye jumped him the second he stepped into the kitchen.

“God, Triaten.” She shook her head. “I knew this was going to happen, but still...still
…damn you. Damn you.”

Triaten took the scold, knowing he had
earned it. “She’s gone. You should go after her.”

“She leave in her car?”

“Yes.”

Skye turned back to Aiden. His arm was already out, keys dangling.

She took them and left.

Triaten went ove
r to a cabinet and pulled down two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. He poured himself a healthy dose and sat down at the table.

“Anything I should know about that?” Aiden asked.

“No. It went as expected. I’m an ass.”

“That
, you are.” Aiden grabbed the other glass Triaten had set down, and poured a swallow. “Now, do you want to help me figure out these old surveillance shots? I’ve got one nice route in, but I need at least three more options.” He took a sip of the amber liquid. “That, and we need to talk about your father.”

Triaten shrugged. “Until he shows his face again, I don’t know what to think, or what to believe.”

“We’ve obviously kept the information about who he was meeting with to ourselves. But whatever game he is playing, if he’s playing it with Evan, I can’t help but assume they plan to use Skye. And you know that isn’t going to fly with me. No matter if he is your father.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not going to fly with me either.
”

“And what the hell was he doing introducing Charlotte to Evan?”

Triaten’s thumbnail started to carve the wood in front of him. “Who knows. It was something, or it was nothing. You know Horace — mind games are his specialty. I imagine he plans to keep me in-line by threatening Charlotte now.” He rubbed his neck and took a dose of the whiskey. “How about DeLisio — what did Edmund do with him?”

“He sent him off.”

“Sent him off or
sent him off
?” Triaten asked.

Aiden shrugged. “He left him alive. He got him to sign away the rights to the
Algeria/Morocco border land — and then sent him off. This should have been terrifying enough for the bastard that we won’t be hearing much from him. Let him crawl into a hole and die alone with his money.”

Triaten
gave a satisfactory nod, and then downed the last drops in his glass and stood. “Let me just go give Charlotte the all-clear.”

~~~

It was dark when ranch phone rang hours later. Triaten answered it, and without a word, handed the phone to Aiden.

“Aiden
— Shiv is gone. We were at Joe’s and we were fine, but then we fought — god — I don’t even know what about — and she went to the bathroom — but then she didn’t — she wasn’t in the bathroom when I checked — she left instead.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“No, but I guess back up there. All her stuff is there.”

“So that’s a good thing?”

“No, Aiden. She is really drunk. She could barely walk away from me. She can’t drive like this. And you know how dangerous some of those curves and switchbacks are from here to there.”

“Got it
. I’ll head down and try to intercept.”

“Good
, thank you — I’m coming up after her right now.”

~~~

“Shit.” Aiden tensed. He saw the lights of Shiv’s car haphazardly bobbing against the mountain wall, before he saw her car. The sheer randomness of the lights against the rocky face told him the Mustang was not driving in a steady line.

He was two switchbacks down
the steepest stretch of the road, when her car rounded the bend below him. He eased Triaten’s jeep back to the apex of the curve, and threw it into park, turning the hazards on. If she was going to crash, at least Triaten’s jeep might stop her Mustang from going over the sheer edge that dropped off from the road at this spot.

Aiden
got out of the vehicle and stood in front of it, walking down the gravel toward the bobbing lights coming at him, hoping she would see the flashing lights and at least slow. It was when the car sped and veered, scraping into the inside wall next to the road, that Aiden knew Shiv was in serious trouble.

Behind Sh
iv’s car, Aiden’s jeep suddenly rounded the corner, just in time to shed headlights onto Shiv’s car bouncing hard off a rocky outcrop. It sent the Mustang flying to the outer edge of the pass, about thirty feet in front of Aiden. The car flew off the road, the back bumper catching at the lip of the embankment. It hung for a moment, just before it plunged.

The Mustang crashed nose-
first into the strip of road below it, and then fell into a nose-over-tail roll down the next embankment.

Dirt flew as Skye screeched to a halt and ran from the jeep. She skidded at the spot Shiv went over, and would have plunged after her
, had it not been for Aiden grabbing her arm at the last second.

He pulled her back until her feet were on ground
, instead of air.

Choking
, she looked up at him, desperate and demanding. “Aiden — can you stop it?

“Yes.”

“I need you ready.”

“Do it.”

Skye closed her eyes.

Instantly, Aiden was standing on
the road again, watching the Mustang crash into the wall. He dove into full sprint, and reached the car just as its front tires left the ground for air. He grabbed at the car, reaching furiously for anything to get a solid grip on. Heels dug in, and the car pulled him as it slipped over the edge.

Wheels still spinning,
the car hung straight down the side of the mountain when Aiden finally stopped its momentum. He was on his belly, every muscle exploding, fingers clutching the back frame under the bumper.

“Aiden,
pull it up! Pull it up!” Skye was screaming as she ran up the road. The headlights of the jeep were aimed at Aiden on the edge.