“Hello, darling.” Lucas’s deep voice answered, and a chill went down my spine. “I knew you would answer.”
“Where did you get this number?” I demanded, forcing my voice to remain steady. My mind was racing as I looked around, trying to see if Lucas was nearby. I didn’t sense any demons, but still…
“Phone numbers really aren’t hard to obtain,” Lucas said airily, “and I’ve had you watched from a discreet distance, so I knew when you purchased that cell phone you’re holding. Tell me, is the snickerdoodles hot chocolate good? I’ve always preferred the peppermint mocha myself.”
A cold sweat broke out along my temples. “Just tell me what the fuck you want,” I snarled.
“You, of course,” Lucas said. “But since you’re being uncooperative, I went and got the next best thing.”
“And what’s that?” I drawled, doing my best to sound bored.
“Your mother.”
The phone slipped from my hands and went clattering to the counter. I sat there, numb, a buzzing noise filling my head as I struggled to compute this information. My mother? Lucas had my mother? But how? Nobody knew where she was!
“You’re lying,” I snarled, snatching up the phone.
“Arabella? Is that really you?”
“Oh my God. Mom?” My voice cracked as terror and disbelief filled me. “Mom, where are you?”
“I can’t believe you’re still alive!” Her voice was thick with grief and joy all at once. “Honey, you go straight back to that Watchtower. Don’t listen to anything this vile man says. Don’t—”
“Well, wasn’t that lovely?” Lucas asked, sounding all too pleasant. “I found her playing waitress in Playa Blanca, blending in like a Spanish native. Bit old to be doing that sort of work, don’t you think? She should be at home with her family, not singing for her bread and butter.”
“You asshole,” I hissed, stalking outside. I was drawing too much attention from the other customers. “My mother has nothing to do with this. Let her go.”
“I’d be happy to. Just come to the address I’m about to text you. But, and this is the important part,” he said, a warning note in his voice, “you must come willingly. If there is even a hint of resistance in your heart, I’ll know. And you’ll never get your mother back.”
He hung up the phone, and I nearly vomited. My stomach was churning with nausea and terror, my palms were sweaty, and I was shaking. Why was this happening? I hadn’t done anything to deserve this madness. God, I just wanted to run far, far away from this entire situation and pretend like I’d never stumbled into this life.
You already did that, a voice in my head said sternly.Or, at least, your father did it for you, and look how that turned out. You were born to be a Sentinel, Arabella. To serve and protect using your God-given powers. And, right now, you must protect your mother.
The phone in my hand buzzed, signaling a text message. It was an address to a place in Culver City—a good twenty-minute drive from here.
Come alone, he added,and don’t even think about calling the Watchtower for backup. I’ll know the moment you do.
Fine, I texted back. Cold anger overtook my fear, and I latched onto it as I called for an Uber to pick me up. I couldn’t let my terror weigh me down—I needed to stay strong. The car came to get me in less than a minute. As the driver sped away, I touched the brand on my chest and called out to Jax, over and over. I knew my father said the connection was damaged, but it was my only hope. If I just kept trying, maybe I could break through. Maybe someone would send reinforcements, before it was too late.
I’m sorry, Brodie, I thought, a lone tear slipping down my cheek as the driver raced me through the night. I wished I could have hugged him one last time, because there was a real chance I might die tonight. And he would blame himself for the rest of his life.
26
Brodie
As the lass had promised, there were guest rooms, and a quick chat with a Sentinel gained me access to a room with a full-sized bed, armoire, and a desk. There were even several changes of clothes in different sizes, all nondescript black, which I helped myself to after washing up in the communal showers. The pants were a wee bit short, and the shirt a bit tight in the shoulders, but my own clothes needed a serious washing, so I made do.
Trouble was, after I showered and changed, there was nothing else to do but sleep. I lay back on the bed, thinking I’d turn in early—I was exhausted to the bone and could use the extra rest. But when I closed my eyes, all I could see was Arabella’s stricken face, and the pain in her eyes as she’d told me to give her space. The lass was hurting, and she was seeking comfort from a friend who was too unconscious to give it to her. And all because I couldn’t bring myself to provide it.
It’s the right thing to do, I told myself sternly.Ye were assigned as her protector, nothing more. Besides, ye’ll be out of her life when this is all over, so ’twould be downright silly to get attached.
Who are you kidding?a voice sneered back.You’re already attached. Every time a man so much as looks at her the wrong way, you want to ram your first down his bleeding throat. Same for whenever a man looks at her the right way. Yer attached all right, and yer just too daft to admit it to yerself.
I gnashed my teeth together. Fine, so I cared for the lass. Who wouldn’t? She was beautiful, headstrong, intelligent, with a core of steel and a heart full of compassion. There was a quiet, yet indomitable strength to her the likes of which I’d never seen in a woman before. The kind of strength that spoke of loyalty and passion. Of duty and honor. Of holding onto what you believed in and never giving up.
If the lass isn’t giving up, then why are you?the voice asked me.Are you really so weak, so incapable of defending her, that you have to rely on the crutch of Gaia’s visions? You’ve never needed them before, so why start now?
I sat up straight at that. Right. I had gotten along just fine without the sight. Why had I grown so attached to the ability now that Gaia had finally granted it to me? It was true that without the sight, I would have never found Arabella. But now that I had her, was I really going to push her away just because I was worried about possible futures? If I was always there by her side to protect her, then what difference did it make whether Gaia bestowed the visions on me? Keeping the visions meant I had to give Arabella room to find happiness with another man. And I didn’t know if I was selfless enough to stand by and watch that happen.
