Through the hiccupping mess that no longer resembled her, the hiccupping mess she was sure to be mortified about as soon as she calmed down, Eden told Jack everything. About whom Romany was, about Noah, about how much she wanted to kill Romany, about Darius testing her.
Finally, with Jack’s warm hand rubbing soothing circles on her back, Eden quieted. She was exhausted.
“I know the guy doesn’t like me very much but I have to stick up for Noah here,” Jack told her softly when she’d finished.
Eden blinked, thinking she’d heard wrong. The last thing she would have expected was that. If there was one person who understood her old life it was Jack. “Why?”
His grin was wry. “Because anyone can see the guy is head over heels for you. He and Cyrus really are trying to protect you. I believe that.”
“I don’t need protecting, Jack. You get it right?” she pleaded. “You killed your father for what he did to those people. You got revenge.”
Jack’s eyes grew sad as he understood why she’d come to him and Eden felt despairing. No! She needed him to understand. “Eden, it wasn’t revenge. It was justice. There is a huge difference and if you cross the line, if you… kill Romany for what she did… you won’t come back from that. That’s what Noah is trying to protect you from. He’s not protecting Romany, or Cyrus, or trying to keep Darius off your back… he’s trying to make sure that you don’t do irreparable damage to your soul.”
It hadn’t been what Eden wanted to hear. A traitorous part of her heart asked if it was perhaps what she needed to hear… but she pushed it down and felt another tear spill down her cheek. Jack sighed heavily and pulled her to him, tucking her head into his chest, his strong arms holding her close.
“Well this is cozy.”
The voice was so cold Eden barely recognized it. She snapped back from Jack’s embrace and jerked her head around. Noah stood in the doorway, his furious eyes blasting her into hell.
“Noah.” Eden felt a surprising amount of panic as she realized what he thought he was seeing. No. No!
“What was it you said to me?” he cocked his head, the bitterness in his voice killing her. “Oh right, yeah. Screw you. The both of you.”
His words sliced through her, ripping her open, momentarily dazing her. When she was able to catch her breath again he was gone. “Noah.” She scrambled to her feet, jamming them into her Converse before she hurried after him.
She caught up with him in the grand foyer and grabbed his arm, utilizing all her strength to drag the obstinate ass into the smaller of the sitting rooms. She slammed the door shut behind her, her chest heaving with the exertion of forcing him into the room.
“That’s not what you think.”
Noah’s face was stone cold and Eden’s chest ached. Even worse she could see the ripple of hurt underneath his stoic façade. “Oh really?” he asked in a determinedly bored voice. “What was it then?”
She shrugged. “We were training and I just broke down, OK.”
“To him,” he spat, the pretense of indifference fading pretty fast. “With him you break down?! You let him in?!”
Feeling the situation slip through her fingers, Eden hurried to reassure him. Whatever their difference of opinion, however much pain she was in over the Romany situation, however much she was still conflicted over the two paths in front of her, Jack was right. Noah cared about her. This couldn’t tear them apart. He was… everything. “I thought he’d understand.”
Wrong words.
Shit.
Noah jerked back as if she’d slapped him. “Oh, I see. So you and I are pretty much over because I don’t get you but the Neith does. He gets you. I don’t. Is that it?”
“Noah, no!” Eden hurried towards him but he slid past her towards to door. “He’s my friend. And you and I are not over!”
“You promised,” he said quietly over his shoulder as he opened the door to escape. “You promised you’d remember and you just…” he looked at her now. “You won’t let me care. You can’t see past your own pain. You can’t see that all we care about is you. It makes me wonder if you care enough about us back. When you’re like this… I don’t even know why I try...”
The shocking pain of those words momentarily froze her and when she finally came to, Noah was gone.
“Noah!” she called, rushing out of the room. There was no sight of him. A door clanged shut. The door to the garage. He was taking a car. “Jack!” she spun around and nearly collided with him.
“I just wanted to see if you were OK.”
She shook her head, feeling disorientated. “Let me take a car.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “What? No way. Cyrus would kill me.”
“Jack!” Eden grabbed a hold of his shirt, forcing him forward. Her eyes bore into his with desperation. “I can’t let him go like this. If I don’t go after him, he’ll think I don’t care. And I do care. OK. I don’t know what I’m doing about Romany, I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, I don’t know. But I do know that the only person that means anything to me might never want me again unless I prove to him that right now nothing else matters but him.”
Her passionate outburst, so unlike her, seemed to shock Jack to the core. Eventually he pulled out of her grip, eyeing her carefully. Then he shook his head, muttering, “I’m so going to lose my job.”
Relief rushed through her as Jack led her down to the garage and keyed in a code to the key box. He pulled out the keys to Cyrus’ Ford SUV and handed them to her. “You better be so careful,” he warned. “You don’t get out of the car unless you find Noah. You hear me.”
“I hear you.” She nodded.
With another uncertain look, Jack sighed and turned to a phone attached to the wall by the key box. “Hey, Reeves,” Jack said to whoever picked up. “Eden has permission to leave the grounds. She’s coming out in the SUV. Call down to checkpoint one and two to inform them.”
Eden exhaled shakily. “Thank you, Jack.”
“Just go.”
Chapter Fifteen
Through the Half-Light
Eden was barely cognizant of the freedom she’d obtained, driving the SUV past Cyrus’ security checkpoints and out onto the I-90, her only plan to guess where Noah had taken off to. Right now he was upset. As upset as she was. He’d want somewhere familiar, somewhere quiet. A favorite place. The only place in Boston Eden remembered him speaking of was a quiet coffee house situated in a bookstore on Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, near the Rosovsky Hall end.
So Cambridge it was.
Fingers clenching around the wheel, Eden shook her head, ignoring the flip flop thump of her heart against her ribcage. It was strange, how through all the crap, when she thought she was going to lose him she wasn’t nearly so angry at him. Being in love sucked.
But it didn’t, she sighed. Not really.
In fact, most of the time it was pretty frickin’ awesome.
Not now. When her stomach roiled and adrenaline spiked her blood in the worst way possible. She was a jittery, terrified mess.
Did it mean she would let Romany off the hook? Had Jack’s words worked magic on her?
Eden cursed and hit the wheel. No! It did not mean that! It just meant… it meant… that she at least understood the part where Jack said Noah and Cyrus were trying to protect her from herself. OK. It wasn’t easy being alone in this. In fact it hurt like hell that everyone she cared about said if in her shoes they would let Romany go. It made her feel twisted and dark and very much old school Eden. But it was something a grown up would accept. Everyone saw the world differently.
Noah got that.
And if he… was somehow willing to love her when her perspective on life drove him crazy then the least she could do was return the favor.
And that’s exactly what she’d tell him.
If she ever found the pain in the ass.
By the time Eden was driving onto Mount Auburn Street the wheel of the SUV was slick with sweat from her hands and the back of
her neck felt sticky, as if the air around her had turned muggy. Wide-eyed and searching, Eden slowed to a crawl and checked left and right for the bookstore with the coffee shop. Her heart stilled at the sight of it and she pulled into an empty space, cutting off an angry driver who pounded his horn at her. Not really in the mood to be chastised, Eden flipped him off in the rear view mirror.
She eyed the parking meter and then the bookshop. Jack had told her not to get out of the car unless she was sure she’d found Noah. Sighing, she tugged her smartphone out of her jeans and called Noah. It went straight to voicemail.
Balls.
Nothing for it then.
Feeling somehow naked stepping out of the SUV alone, in daylight, weaponless, Eden hurried over to feed the parking meter. Bravely, she spun around slowly and watched the bookshop across the street. She really didn’t want to do this in public. But she would.
Oh god, what if he wasn’t in there?
Bracing herself, Eden checked right and left before jogging across the street to the store. Her hand was actually shaking as she reached for the handle. A bell jingled above as she stepped inside, the smell of old books and coffee surprisingly comforting in the warmth of the store. Shelves of books were situated haphazardly on one side of the room, and on the other were comfortable armchairs all near a big old-fashioned fireplace. In the far end was the coffee counter. Eden’s eyes washed over everyone. No Noah. She ducked around the bookshelves on the other side of the room. No Noah.
Where the hell was he?
Feeling tears of frustration prick her eyes, Eden hurried from the shop and the stares of the customers. She tried Noah again but his phone kept going to voicemail. Sucking down a teary breath, Eden gazed numbly at the ground, trying to think. It was growing dark already. Where would he go?
“Well… this is convenient,” a soft, accented voice said in Eden’s ear. A female voice.
Eden moved to spin around at the flood of warning that crashed over her system but her body was stuck.
What the…
She gasped and tried to move but it was like something was holding her in place with iron bands around her body. She searched the street for help but she didn’t know what the hell she needed help from.
“Don’t,” the female reprimanded. “There is no point. My gift is holding you in place.”
Horror dawned with comprehension. I don’t effing believe it! she screamed inwardly, closing her eyes in self-directed anger. “Cosmina Arcos?”
“At your service.” The voice moved and suddenly Eden was looking up into the face of a very tall, sharp-featured woman. A woman much younger than Eden had imagined. Her brown eyes lanced through Eden with disdain. Her features were taut and Eden noticed a bead of sweat on her forehead. She was using her telekinesis to keep Eden in place… but it was tiring her out. Eden pushed against her power again and Arcos’ eyes flared. “Don’t.” She jerked her head and with the movement Eden was propelled forward. “This way.” Cosmina glanced around now before grabbing a hold of Eden’s upper arm. Together with her Neith strength and telekinesis Eden found herself being forcefully dragged up the street. People stared but Eden couldn’t ask for help. What help could they give? She’d only get the humans hurt. Try as she might, Eden pushed back against Cosmina’s terrifyingly powerful gift, hoping to exhaust her but Arcos kept them moving. “My people obviously were not strong enough to bring you down, Ms. Winslow. Part of me is impressed. Much to my own disgust.” Her thin upper lip curled at Eden in a sneer. “You are an abomination, Ms. Winslow. Your existence is an affront to the warrior races. I cannot allow you to muddy our legacy.”
“You’re deranged,” Eden hissed. “And the name is MacDouglas.”
With a wincing jerk, Cosmina veered right, dragging Eden up the stoop of a block of apartments that were housed above a Chinese takeaway. With a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, Arcos snapped the handle down, breaking the entry door lock. For a second Eden felt a loosening around her body and tried to tug herself out of the Neith’s hold. Unfortunately it only infuriated the Councilwoman and she squeezed her telekinesis around Eden, so much so she felt as if she were being compressed against one wall by another. Struggling for breath, Eden could only let herself be dragged up two flights of stairs.
Arcos stopped on the landing, the light dim, the air chilly and disturbing. She cocked her head to the side, listening as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and dark stains appeared under her armpits. “It’s empty.” She pointed to apartment 3b and Eden was pulled towards it despite her attempts to dig in her heels. Her body wouldn’t listen to her and she growled in fury. “Be quiet,” Cosmina snapped before she kicked the door in, causing way more noise than Eden had. With a vicious roll of power, Cosmina shoved Eden into the apartment so hard and so fast she flew backwards down the hall, her impact with the floor so devastating the floorboards splintered beneath her. She felt a sharp pain in her hand and groaned, her body free to move again. Hissing, Eden lifted her right hand, her eyes widening at the sight of a thin shard of wood that had shot through and through her palm. Warm blood trickled down her wrist and her heart grew small with hatred. A renewed energy pulsed through her now that Cosmina had freed her body from the telekinesis and Eden snarled, ripping the wood out, careless of splinters that may have gotten caught in her blood as the wound healed over. It didn’t matter. She was immortal and any hurt the splinter caused within would heal. Right now… Eden had bigger worries.
As soon as he realized the counting of another white dash on the road wasn’t doing anything to make him feel better, Noah turned the black Ford Mustang around and floored it back up the I-90. He was actually shaking from his argument with Eden.
He cursed inwardly, using a rather unfortunate self-directed insult about himself and the way he was reacting. The nice word for it was ‘girl’. Exhaling, Noah pulled off onto Cyrus’ private road, the security guards letting him through one by one. He shouldn’t have driven off like that but… he had to get away from Eden. He needed some space before he said another hundred million things he didn’t really mean. Like her, he was just frustrated, angry, confused. Part of him also wondered if they would have been able to work this out together if Romany hadn’t been an ex-girlfriend. If Eden would admit to that being part of the problem it would help him out in more ways than one. He hated how jealous he was over Jack and Eden’s friendship. He didn’t want to be that guy… that possessive, caveman guy who walloped other guys over the head for just blinking at his girl.
Love was making him crazy.
The house seemed quiet when Noah stepped into the foyer. He eyed the stairs carefully, wondering if he should hunt Eden down. Talk to her again.
“Bad idea,” he whispered, just wincing at the thought of the damage they could do to each other right then.
Was Romany and Eden right?
Did he not get Eden?
Were they too different?
“Shit.”
“Problem?”
Noah turned and nodded deferentially. “Princeps.”
Cyrus stood on the other side of the foyer watching him carefully. “Darius arrived five minutes ago. He is taking a shower and then we will be meeting with him.”
Noah nodded, always awed and a little uneasy around Darius. “Did we get what we need on Adam?”
“Not yet. But I am sure we will.” Cyrus sighed and nodded his head towards the stairs that led down to his office. “Come with me.”
Curious, Noah followed obediently. Inside it was warm and cozy. Noah liked Cyrus’ office. It had the appearance more of an academic’s retreat than a big, bruising warrior’s. Books and papers littered every inch of his desk, bookshelves wept under the strain of the tomes pressing up against one another on them. Comfortable armchairs and a fireplace added the finishing touches. “An update?”
“Yes,” The Princeps replied carefully. There was a triumphant glint in his dark eyes that sent a buzz of anticipation through Noah. “I
contacted The Tribunal.”
“And?”
“They were unaware of Darwin Rice’s activities and wished to deal with him themselves.”
Noah frowned. “I hope you talked them out of that.”
“No, I threatened them out of that. I promised them retribution if they did not find me Rice’s location for me to deal with him as I wanted. Landon Anderson agreed to my demand. I have a location and you are not going to believe this.
“Rice is holding Alison and Chris in a building in Stow… not too far from the Wildlife Refuge.”
Noah’s mouth fell open in astonished indignation. “That’s only half an hour from here.”
Cyrus sighed. “Yes. It is.”
He scoffed. “It’s deliberate isn’t it? Rice is taunting us, telling us how smart he is and how stupid we are.”
“I imagine this is his idea of sick joke, yes.”
The adrenaline was coursing through Noah’s body now, his heart picking up pace and readying itself for the upcoming fight. “Does Cam and Tobe know?”
Shaking his head, Cyrus leaned back against his desk. “As soon as Darius is ready we will all convene together. At the moment I have sent some men out to watch the building. Terrence was good enough to find blueprints of it. We will look those over.”
His heart pounding for a different reason now, Noah cleared his throat. “Does Eden know?”
“No.” Cyrus’ eyes narrowed. “What has happened between you? I had hoped you would be able to work through this Romany… situation.”
Noah snorted. “Wishful thinking.”
“If you love each other, you can work through anything,” Cyrus assured him. “Even through hating one another. And it happens. My relationship with Eden’s mother could be volatile. We were very different people, with different opinions, different outlooks.”
“Yeah.” Noah nodded ruefully. “Well, Eden and I… we’re so different and I thought that we could make it work but this… I don’t even know what she’s thinking now and… we come from such different backgrounds, Cyrus. You should see her with Jack,” he tried not to spit the word. “She feels comfortable around him because he has a crappy history too, with a deranged father just like hers. I can’t give her that kind of connection. As much as my father likes to piss me off, he happens to be one of the best men I’ve ever known.”