Vengeance Borne (32 page)

The previous morning had been his breaking point. He’d watched Finn slink out of her house as the sun was rising, leaving her alone like some sort of booty call. She was worth more than a one-night stand. His blood boiled at the thought of Finn lying naked with her, touching, caressing, tasting. Pulling back with a clenched fist, he let it fly, cracking the boulder he hid behind down the center.
Stronger than I could ever imagine
. He traced the fissure in the granite noticing the blood on his knuckles. He brought his hand to his lips and licked the blood dripping from the cuts, savoring the salty, copper taste.

Finn paced the confines of his small porch, the phone pressed tightly to his ear. Who could he be talking to?
Her?
An angry growl erupted in his chest. Better not be her. Moving closer, quiet as a snake, he slithered through the grass. His hearing had become keener since he’d met his beauties. Another gift. He had to be sure he wasn’t talking to her, begging for forgiveness he didn’t deserve.

“Trish,” Finn said. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately. My head isn’t screwed on tight or something. I can’t even think straight. She’s got me all tied up in knots.” He paused, listening. “Maybe it’s Micah. I haven’t been the same since he came to town. Can’t you get rid of him? Find another territory to ship him off to? You know there can’t be more than one of us in a territory at a time. We don’t need him here.”

Micah?
Who’s Micah
? he wondered, a sense of panic welling up from his stomach. He must have been talking to Trish Whitney, the old woman who lived down toward New Meadows. Why would he know her and why would Finn talk to her in such a way? From the sound of it, they were close. Like a mother and son almost…

“I miss her. I need her, Trish. Damn it, I love her. And it’s not just the bond, it can’t be. I. Love. Her. Micah has to leave. We can’t work on our relationship if he’s here. He’s driving a wedge between us.”

No!
He’s
driving a wedge between
us! The thought screamed in his mind, rage racing through his veins like acid. He had to learn more about this Micah and find out how he knew her. Finn was bad enough, why couldn’t she open her eyes and see these men for what they were? Users. Abusers. Defamers. The thought of her being with someone else was blasphemous. Not again. He refused to be passed over again.

“No.” Finn continued to pace across his porch as though agitated. “I don’t want to see her right now. Not after what happened yesterday. She’s probably pissed and honestly, I wouldn’t blame her. I need to collect my thoughts, think about what I want to say first. She deserves an apology. I came on too strong, I—I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I’m sorry, Trish. I know better than to influence her that way. But I couldn’t think of any other way to show her how much…” He paused again, probably listening to the comforting words of that old biddy. “You’re right. I’ll wait. I trust you.”

Finn turned his back and leaned against the porch railing. Weak fool, he’d never see it coming. Bloodlust clouded his vision and his mouth watered at the thought of what he’d do to Finn to make him pay. This time he’d kill not only for himself but for her as well. She deserved to be revenged. No one would ever treat her badly again.

Jacquelyn sat in her car, staring at the steering wheel. She’d rather have back-to-back gyno and dentist appointments than face Finn right now. But it had to be done. This volley between them had to end once and for all. It was over. She knew she’d always care about him, but at the moment she wasn’t sure if she even liked him very much, let alone love him. He’d pulled his underhanded Bearer tricks to try and get her into bed. Last night wasn’t the passionate reunion he’d planned it to be. And until he could learn once and for all to respect her feelings, she had to put distance between them.

“Get your shit together, Jax,” she said to her reflection in the rear-view mirror. “Just like a Band-Aid, quick and painless.”

She got out of the car and walked around Finn’s truck, each step precisely placed as she took her time mounting the six steps to the front porch. With a quick glance behind her she surveyed the driveway and the wooded lot that separated his house from the highway, remembering fondly the time he’d laid out a picnic between two towering aspens. Romance had never been Finn’s problem, he had all of that and then some. What he couldn’t give, not ever, was space. With a last steadying breath, Jacquelyn went to the door, her fist poised and ready to knock.
You can do this
.
You can say goodbye
.

She felt like an idiot knocking on his door. She’d quit doing that years ago. But she saw it as the first step toward closure. A boundary asserted and nailed in place. Seconds ticked by, and she knocked again. “Finn?” she called through the door. “I know you’re home, let me in!” She waited. Nothing. “Finn! Goddamn it. Let. Me. In!”

Fine. If he wanted to go all junior high and play it that way, she’d just have to oblige him. She could be a petty drama queen, too. With a turn of the knob, she pushed at the door, but something blocked it from opening more than a few inches. The smell—the coppery tang of blood—hit her and her stomach heaved both with sickness as well as terror. “Oh my god!” A mournful wail worked its way up her throat as she abandoned the front door and flew down the steps. “No. No!”

Her arms pumped as she ran to the back of the house where she found the back door locked. “Finn!” she cried. “Can you hear me? Finn!” Frantic, she jumped off the back porch and grabbed an axe from the remains of an old stump near the woodshed. Jacquelyn willed every ounce of force she could muster behind the blow and chopped at the door, breaking it off in large, splintered chunks. She reached a hand through the hole she created, groping for the lock. After she disengaged it, she pulled her hand back and winced as splinters of wood pierced her skin. But she didn’t have time to feel pain. Her heart leapt in her throat as she turned the knob, throwing the door wide open. Oh god. Why had she waited so long to come over?

She rounded the corner from the mud room, and a scream pierced the air. Where had it come from? Again, the mournful wail shredded her composure as she realized the sound had torn from her own throat. There was no way so much blood could have come from one body. Finn lay in front of the door, his body twisted at a strange angle, one arm reaching out toward the door, the other clutching the phone to his chest.

“Finn!” She skidded to the floor beside him. Blood, slippery and still warm soaked into her jeans, sickening her. “Finn,” she said, cradling his head in her hands, “can you hear me? Finn, I’m here. I’m right here.”

His chest convulsed, a half-gurgling, half-sucking sound preceded a raspy groan. Her vision blurred from the tears, cascading down her cheeks in a steady stream. Why? Why Finn? “Don’t try to talk,” she cajoled, holding back her own racking sobs. “I’m going to get help.”

“That’s a no-go, Jax.” Finn’s voice already sounded ghostly and unreal. “I think you’re a little too late.”

“What are you talking about?” Jacquelyn fought for composure as hysteria slowly took hold. “It’s not too late. You’re going to be okay. Just hold on, damn it.”

“Listen…to…me,” Finn whispered. Every word seemed to pain him, the effort more than he could afford to expend. “I…”

“Finn—”

“I’m…” The words stalled in his throat. “…sorry. For what I did to you.” He panted, blood trickling from his mouth with every expelled breath. “Love…you. So much.”

“Stop.” Jacquelyn forced the command from her lips. She pressed her forehead to his and Finn sucked in a strained breath. “Stop it. This is
not
goodbye. Do hear me? You’re not going to have the last word.”

He tried to laugh, and his body lurched with a spasm of pain. “You know, I think I will.” He winced. “That’ll be a first. He’ll take care of you.” More blood, too much, trickling from his mouth. “I…felt it the first time we met. He cares about you. You won’t be alone.”

“What are you talking about, Finn? Who did this to you? Tell me who did this!” The sounds of tortured sobs distorted her words into blunt hiccups. “Who—is—it?”

“Furies,” Finn whined, his voice barely a whisper.

“Who’s controlling them, Finn?”

“Be careful. Don’t—trust him…” Finn’s eyes, blue and vibrant, once twinkling with life grew dull and Jacquelyn pulled away, searching his face for any sign of coherency. “Not a friend,” he whispered. “Not your friend.”

His eyes drifted shut, his chest no longer rising and falling with his labored breath. Jacquelyn scrambled over him and tipped Finn’s head back, pulling down his chin. She put her mouth to his, and the taste of blood was thick on her tongue as she gave him breath.
Come, on, Finn. You’re not dying, you’re not! Stay with me
! She placed the heels of her palms, one on top of the other at his sternum and began chest compressions. But with each pump, blood gushed from the many bone-deep tears in his chest. Another breath and more compressions. Breath… Compressions… Breath…

“Jacquelyn?” Micah’s voice called from the driveway and she thought she’d drop dead from either shock or relief. It didn’t matter how he knew she’d be at Finn’s or how he got here. She needed a healer right now, and his timing couldn’t be more of a godsend.

“Micah!” She continued the chest compressions and gave Finn a breath. “Go around back. Hurry! I need you right fucking now!”

One, two, three, four
, Jacquelyn counted each pump to Finn’s chest before she stopped to give him another breath. By the time she was ready to start the compressions again, Micah was by her side. He shoved her hands away and put his palms over the wounds on Finn’s chest. “I’m not sure what to do.” A deep furrow cleaved his brow and Jacquelyn could have sworn that she felt his distress drill straight into her chest.

“Just let it happen, Micah.” She didn’t know how else to instruct him. She knew absolutely dick about a Bearer’s abilities and how to use them. But he’d healed her after the Changeling attack without even realizing he’d done it. Instinct had to be his guide in this situation. “Please, Micah. Don’t let him die.”

The sun faded into the horizon, the bleak gray backdrop of twilight a mourning shroud over the sky. Jacquelyn sat back and gave Micah some space as he bent over Finn’s broken body. A stillness settled over him that made Jacquelyn’s breath stall in her chest. Just as Micah concentrated on healing Finn, she focused her energy on Micah, willing any little droplet of power she might possess into him in the hopes that it would help. Tears spilled down her cheeks as fear constricted her lungs, limbs, heart. She was paralyzed by fear.

“Jacquelyn.” The command sprang from Micah’s lips in a way that made her snap to attention. “I need to you lock it down. My instinct is screaming for me to deal with you, not Finn when you get out of control like that. Understand?”

She nodded her agreement, though Micah’s back was turned to her. The words just wouldn’t push past her lips. With a strength that was borne of desperation, Jacquelyn pulled up her emotional wall good and tight. Eyes closed, legs folded beneath her, she retreated within herself, erecting an invisible structure that barricaded her in and kept Micah out. Power buffeted her senses, his energy unlike anything she’d ever felt before. Finn would be okay. She knew it. Micah would keep him alive. Her instincts were always spot on. Micah was by far the most powerful Bearer she’d ever met.

His voice came to her as though through a tunnel. It’s echo faint and weak. “He’s alive, but still in really, really rough shape. Call an ambulance.”

Jacquelyn’s eyes flew open just as Micah collapsed next to Finn. She scrambled over to Micah and she pressed her fingers to his throat. Alive. A sigh of relief contracted in her chest. She’d had enough of near-death experiences for one day and if anything happened to Micah she would have gone after him into the afterlife and dragged his ass home.

After she was assured that Micah was simply unconscious and would be okay, she shifted her attention to Finn. He wasn’t going to be up and running—probably not even talking—anytime soon, but at least he was alive and that’s all that mattered. Jacquelyn pulled her cell from her pocket with shaking hands and dialed 911. If she didn’t quit calling these attacks in, the sheriff was going to start getting suspicious.

Once an ambulance was dispatched, she dialed Trish. Her suppressed emotions buffeted the wall she’d erected like hurricane waves crashing against the jetty. It was only a matter of time before the dam failed and all hell broke loose.

“Jacquelyn.” Trish’s deeply concerned tone was all it took to break down the wall. “Did Micah make it in time?”

“Yes.” The word rang with relief. Thank god for Trish and her freaky intuition. “He’s here, Trish. He kept him alive.” Jacquelyn could no longer quell the sobs that rose in her throat. “I need you.” The tears wouldn’t stop, no matter how hard she tried, and the last words came out choked with sorrow. “Please Trish, I need you.”