Berserker's Rage (11 page)

As they walked into the bedroom it became clear Charles had finished with his wife. Luckily the young thing was still breathing. She was curled in a ball crying, while the ass tried to comfort her. Yes, John had heard how Charles was always trying to make up for his transgressions. What the other man didn’t understand was that he wasn’t allowed to hurt the women. They were all property of the Prophet. Only John the Prophet was allowed to choose who was worthy to live, or die.

Troy didn’t need to be told what to do. He jerked Charles out of the bed with ease. John ignored his follower’s nakedness, focusing on the whimper of the young girl who looked up at him with fear.

“It’s okay, now. I will see to it you are safe and protected. Charles is no longer your husband. If there is a child of the union, we will cherish him or her as is only right, but you will never have to fear the man again.” He brushed her hair back from her tear stained face.

She really was quite lovely. He should never have given him another wife. John didn’t make mistakes often.

“Thank you, Prophet.” Her voice quivered.

By the time he stood from his crouched position, Troy had left with Charles. John appreciated the silence with which he handled all things. For all he knew Troy had snapped the other man’s neck right then and there. John didn’t want to know, nor did he care.

“Go take a shower. I’ll have one of the elders come for you. Charles has passed from a heart attack. It was quite sudden, and you will be upset for a few days. I’m sure you understand.” John gave her a look that brooked no argument. She’d been born into the Following. Her mother wasn’t one of his wives, but she was loyal. Again, she nodded, but got up on shaky legs, the sheet wrapped around her like a shield. John could have ordered her to leave it, but he wasn’t that big of a sadist.

He thought of waiting for Troy, but decided to get the business of the elder to take care of Charles’ widow done. A few quick calls and he had two women rushing to the room. One was from house cleaning. She expected the regular mess, the other was there to take care of the new widow.

Shooting a text to Troy, he let him know he was heading to his own suite of rooms. He had his own wife’s death to plan.

Felicity was enough to drive a sane man crazy. Hal wondered if he ever truly was. Sane that is. His nana told him to accept what was even if he couldn’t see it, in her heavy brogue, but he’d ignored her. He’d fought to keep himself under control, having learned he could injure those he cared about if he didn’t. Yeah, Hal wasn’t letting his inner beast out without a tether. Especially not around Felicity. She’d already been through too much. The last thing he would want to do was scare her, let alone hurt her.

He dropped her off after spending the afternoon eating at a restaurant that served more than soup and salads. They’d picked up his rental since it was larger than her flashy car and much roomier for his large frame. Hal was pleased to see her enjoying the food. They’d walked hand in hand along the beach for hours after, where he’d learned more about her passion for designing clothes. She definitely knew what to wear to maximize her curves, and what drew out her colors. He’d seen the way people had stared as they’d walked past them. When he’d mentioned it to her, she’d laughed it off, saying it was because of his size. Hal shook his head at her naiveté. The woman had no clue just how beautiful she truly was. Her husky voice was enough to make his dick stand up at full attention in the middle of the posh restaurant. Hal had placed the napkin over his lap to hide the monster, out of necessity.

“Are you going to sit there and daydream about your woman, or are you going to tell me what your plans for the future are?” Brax asked.

Hal looked at his boss, who was one of his best friends. Brax was a few years older than Keanu, putting him at forty. His dark hair had some grey at the temples, but Hal bet the women still flocked to him in droves. However, they’d have to go through one feisty little thing, namely Brax’s baby girl. “I was just thinking about your kid. How is the lovely Lita?”

“That child is making me have grey hair.” Brax smiled. He and Lita’s mother had divorced when the little girl was a baby.

“She is perfect and you know it. Except she is the spitting image of you, if you were female, that is.” Hal watched Brax pull a bottle of water out of the mini fridge.

“Do you know she tried to control her grandmother? My mother.” Hal caught the bottle of water Brax launched at his head. “Quit laughing asshole. One day you’ll have a child who can do what you do and then you won’t be laughing.”

An image of a little boy bending the bars of his crib flashed in his mind. “Oh, fuck. Do you think that’s possible? I mean it’s surely diluted down the line.”

Brax shook his head. “Buddy, let me tell you. My Lita is already showing abilities that are far superior to mine. However, she can’t manipulate others like us, thank God. My mother took her phone away and grounded her for trying. That was when the phone calls from the landline started. Have you heard a sixteen year old cry? Jeezus, I need a drink.”

Hal held the full bottle of water he’d fielded in his hand.

“I need something a lot stronger than that.” Brax shook his head. “You okay here, or do you need me to stay? My mom says she has it under control, but I don’t know.”

“Nah, I’m good. I’ve got two weeks’ vacation, and then I’ll see what’s what.”

His captain looked at him with his black eyes. Hal knew he saw far more than the average human. Hell, Hal knew Brax was far more than the average human, the same as all the men on their team. The next words that he said made Hal’s breath clog in his lungs.

“When we find the woman who is truly meant to be ours, we know.” Brax tapped his chest above his heart. “I made the mistake, the best mistake of my life, because I got Lita, but I also know my ex wasn’t my one. I knew in my heart Cheryl wasn’t it, but then she got pregnant and I figured I’d make it work. We made each other miserable, and not just slightly, but epically miserable. Thankfully she fell in love with a man who I approve of, and we split on good terms.”

It was strange to hear Brax speak about his ex and the man she was now married to with no anger. He’d seen them all together on a couple occasions, and was amazed at their lack of hatred. Brax truly did seem to like the other man. He wondered how he’d feel if he met Felicity’s ex. Rage boiled up, the water bottle crushed beneath his fingers, water spewed all over his fingers.

“Easy, Hal, you need to rein it in. You control him, not the other way around,” Brax said from across the room.

Getting up, he went to the bathroom and dried his hands and pants the best he could. Hal took a few calming breaths.
Fuck!
He lost it just thinking of his woman and some faceless ex. He took the towel back out to clean up the mess he’d made, seeing Brax with his legs crossed standing against the table unafraid, made him feel guilty.

“Don’t beat yourself up over that.” Brax waved at the water on the carpet. “I suspect we all will lose our shit over the right woman at some point. Look at Kea, he burns shit down on a regular basis, from what I’m told. Every time Cammie has false labor, I’m told her hubby is ready to set the entire town on fire if they don’t admit his wife.”

Hal laughed, just as Brax probably meant him to. Keanu Raine was his other best friend, and up until a few months back a member of the Smokejumpers. He was also a fire elemental, which came in handy in their line of work. He’d unofficially retired, although if they really needed him, Hal knew they’d only need to call. They were expecting their first child, and to hear Cammie talk, she feared they were going to have a little girl come out, burning the hospital down in a tantrum. Keanu assured them all that wasn’t possible. Hal cursed his lack of control.

“What were you thinking that caused that?” Brax waved at the spill.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Hal opened the patio door to the balcony. The hot air took his breath away immediately.

Brax’s hand came to rest beside his on the handrail. “If you need me to stay, just say the word and I will.”

“If I can’t control myself without you here, then I have no right to be anywhere near Felicity, or anyone for that matter, ever. Maybe I need to listen to my nana, and let the being be one with me. I’ve been working on it more, but it’s hard to let go.” He released his grip on the bar, seeing the indents left by his fingers.

“My daughter wanted to talk to you. I wasn’t sure then, and now I’m really not, but she is really insistent. Are you up for a chat with a precocious teen? You know she and I have visions, along with our other abilities, right?”

He wasn’t sure what Brax was getting at, the thought that Lita might know something about Felicity had him reaching for the cell strapped to the other man’s hip. “For the love of all, call her.”

“Remember she’s not only a child, but my child.” The threat was clear.

Lita picked up on the first ring as if she’d been expecting him to call.

“Hi, Hal. How’s my dad? Tell him he is being mean, and I promise to never try and manipulate grandma ever again.” Lita’s sweet voice came over loud and clear.

Brax plucked the phone out of his hand. “Nicely worded, Lita. How about you won’t manipulate any of your elders ever again.”

Hal listened to the father and daughter discuss the merits of who was the boss, and then the smartphone was placed back into his hand. “Your dad said you wanted to talk with me?”

“First of all, you need to merge with your other, whatever that means. I dreamed about you fighting yourself. I saw this really big guy, who looks a lot like you, then there was you. If you don’t, you are going to lose something important. Second, I saw you in an underground cave searching for a blonde woman. You need to make sure you don’t go alone. I’m not saying this because I don’t want my dad to come home.”

Her words were rushed, and way too spot on for him to discount. “Do you know when or where this cave is? Is this something that is going to happen in the near future or far off?”

“It’s hard to tell time in visions, especially when I can’t see surroundings. When I focused on the woman she was scared, but she was surrounded by a lot of other women. It looked like they were getting ready for a celebration. I couldn’t tell if it was a holiday or a party. I’m sorry.” She sounded way too old as she spoke of a vision she shouldn’t have seen.

“Do your visions always come true?”

“You can try to change them, the future is not yet set. I hope I’ve helped you, Hal. Will you tell my dad so he’ll unground me?”

Hal laughed. She may have visions too old for a young girl, but she still was a young girl at heart. “I’ll do my best. Thank you, bella.” Hal handed the phone back to Brax.

Going into his own room, Hal did what he’d been told to do by his nana. He sat in the middle of the bed, taking control of his beast, he heard an inner voice. One he was sure wasn’t happy to be called a beast.

The sun had set by the time he and the being came to terms with one another. Hal owed the being a thanks, for giving him the extra strength to do what he had always taken for granted. He knew he’d been pivotal in helping him save Felicity, too.

Brax was sitting in front of the television with the sound on low, watching the news. Thirst drove him to the mini fridge where he grabbed two bottles of water for them both.

After settling next to his friend on the small sofa, he handed him the bottle and they sat in silence, other than the news. Hal appreciated Brax and his easy friendship more in that moment.

“I think, no, I know, I will have more control. You know he’s always been there, taking over when I needed, I just chose to pretend I didn’t know. Going forward, he and I will be a team.”

“So you no longer think of him as a beast, or a being?”

Hal shook his head. “My nana was right, he’s me, just more.”

“Well, it’s about time.” Brax slapped him on the back.

He winced. “Damn, Brax, you realize you’re no slouch in the muscle department.” Hal asked, rubbing his back.

“I’ve booked a flight back home. If you need me I can be back on the first red-eye.” Brax groaned as he shoved off the couch.

Hal stood as well. “I really appreciate you coming with me and smoothing the way.”

Brax stopped as his phone jangled at the same time he grabbed his head. Hal knew the signs, and prepared to catch the other man should he fall. The ringing stopped, only to start right back up, making Hal worry he should answer.

“That’ll be Lita,” Brax said, before answering the phone. “Yes, I saw it too. Tell your grandma I won’t be coming back tonight as planned. Share the vision with her, and Lita, please be good. You know I love you more than life.”

Feeling like an intruder, Hal turned to head back to his room.

“Hal, you need to wait.”

Yeah, he knew what was coming, or at least thought it was not going to be good.

* * * *

Felicity couldn’t stop smiling. Her body was deliciously sore from making love to Hal, but she couldn’t regret it. He didn’t seem to either, making her wonder what his long-term plans were.

She drove past the boutique, thoughts of the attack threatened to send her into a panic. No way was she going to allow that night to keep her from doing what she wanted, and she wanted to stop in and say hi. Her old boss had talked about buying her designs, had even went so far as to create a few pieces from her sketches, all with Felicity’s okay for a trial run.

A parking spot was open in the front, making the decision easy. She’d not have to face the back of the building, where her life was almost taken. As she got out of her little convertible, she felt like someone was watching her, the fine hairs on her arms stood up, and a shiver stole over her.

“You’re just being silly, Felicity Evans.” She told herself, walking quickly to the glass entry way. The boutique looked the same, with the exception of different clothing. When she walked in a sense of nostalgia washed over her.

“Hi, can I help you?” A young sales girl asked.