Blood Diamond (54 page)

“Probably,” Evelyn replied, relaxing. Stealing my coffee, she took a long drink of it. “We should get back to the hotel.”

“Do you want to come with us?” I asked, checking the time. “Ah, doesn’t the cathedral open soon?”

“It does, I’m afraid. Perhaps you might be willing to invite him? I can let you in a little early.”

I grinned at the thought of my brother and father going to a Catholic church. For all the Inquisition borrowed from the Catholics in terms of structure, from what little I could remember from growing up, the only time my family went to church was for weddings or funerals, and only if invited. “That sounds like a great idea. Evelyn, do you mind calling my father and asking him and Elliot to join us?”

“Where?”

“Did you see that cathedral on your way here?” When she nodded, I said, “Send them there.”

“Okay.” Evelyn pulled out her cell to make the call.

~~*~~

The interior of the cathedral had the sweeping elegance and antiquity I expected, and the weight of sanctity settled over me as Anthony let us into the building. Evelyn took in the spacious foyer, which led into the sanctuary.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, turning in a slow circle to take it in.

Anthony’s eyes lit up from her praise. “It is but one of many jewels of our faith.”

Curious clergymen nodded their greetings to us as we loitered near the doors, waiting for the arrival of my family. When the knock finally came, Anthony let them in.

My father held a little girl in his arms, and it was her brown hair, streaked with the faintest gleam of red, that caught and held my attention. Whether a rat had chewed on her hair and left it a tangled mess or she had taken offense to the ribbons someone had tried to contain it with, I wasn’t sure. Her expression soured when my father murmured something to her. A quiet huff was the only discontent she voiced, although I got the feeling the little girl was several milliseconds away from an ear-piercing tantrum.

It wasn’t until she turned her head, her second huff more forceful than her first, that our eyes met.

My vision narrowed to the jade of her eyes, a perfect match for Suzanne’s, equally hard and displeased. The impossibility of her, wiggling in her efforts to extricate herself from my father’s grip, choked off my breath.

Jacqueline was dead, gone with the destruction of the blood diamond. Yet, somehow, there was no one else the child could be. The glint of red and the curl had come from Suzanne, as had her eyes. All I could do was stand frozen in place, statute still and holding my breath, afraid that she was a drug-induced hallucination.

When her squirming didn’t buy her freedom, she twisted in my father’s arms and latched onto his shoulder with her teeth. With a startled, pained yelp, he let her go. Pulling free, she jumped to the floor, rolled, and scrambled to her feet. Colliding with my legs, my daughter circled until I was between her and my father, clutching at me with her tiny hands. “Mean,” she declared.

My mouth fell open, but I couldn’t force a word out.

Evelyn pulled out her cell and snapped a photo before doubling over in her laughter. “Your face,” she choked out, pointing at me.

My father handed my brother a twenty-dollar bill. “You win.”

Elliot claimed it with a smirk. “It’s not over yet, old man.”

When Jacqueline tugged at my limp hand, I sank to the floor to stare at my daughter in awe.

~~*~~

I lost a few minutes somewhere.

I stared up at a gold-gilded ceiling, my feet on the arm of a couch, trying to piece together how I made it from the cathedral’s foyer to a smaller, private room. Evelyn sat beside my head, running her fingers through my hair. “There you are,” she murmured, leaning down to kiss my forehead. We were alone. Disappointment and anguish surged through me, and I sighed.

With a little snort, Evelyn flicked my ear with a finger. “Don’t jump to stupid conclusions. Jacqueline is with your brother, who is trying to impress upon her that biting adults isn’t appropriate behavior for a little girl.”

“She’s real?” I whispered, trembling.

“Alive and well, all because of you.”

Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and fought to control the frantic beat of my heart. My chest throbbed in rhythm with my pulse. “I killed her.”

“Nonsense.” Evelyn prodded my nose. “Why would you think that?”

“The stone broke,” I whispered. “Then she was gone. I felt it, she was gone. It’s impossible.”

“I assure you, she’s quite real and very alive. A Daddy’s girl through and through, too. She bites when she’s angry, and she’s very opinionated about who she likes. She adores your brother, hates your father, and has reserved judgment on your mother. You can thank Zachary and his team for digging through the files you sent; it’s because of what you sent them that we were able to find her. The address was in that data you stole. That’s why I was busy. I was hunting for her. I wanted to surprise you.”

I draped my arm over my eyes so she wouldn’t see my tears. “You surprised me,” I choked out. Drawing several deep breaths, I waited until I could speak without so much emotion in my voice. “I was going to give you Suzanne.”

“I’m still mad at you for that stunt. Getting shot by your ex-wife. Really, Jackson? Really? What were you thinking?”

“She was a woman, and it’s your job to beat up the women,” I complained in my effort to escape Evelyn’s wrath. “I was saving her so you could beat her, just like we agreed.”

The Fenerec sighed. “I forgive you, but only this once.”

“I killed her,” I confessed in a hoarse whisper.

“From my understanding, she fell into lava. You, while I personally believe you’re very hot, are not lava. You didn’t kill her.”

I shook my head. “My volcano, my lava.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s not your volcano,” she replied, massaging my temples. “She shot you. You’re an earth witch. Blood has power, and you lost a lot of it. So maybe you were a little bit responsible for the volcano. Just a little bit. It’s not like you forced her to shoot you.”

“I should’ve shot her first,” I grumbled.

“Yes, you should have. I forgive you for that, too. Are you feeling better?”

“Is she really Jacqueline?” I whispered, terrified that the little girl who had run to me wasn’t my daughter.

I was equally frightened that she was. I knew nothing about caring for a little girl. My chance to learn had been taken from me years ago. I shivered, wondering how I would manage.

“She’s really Jacqueline.”

Drawing a deep breath, I let it out long and slow as I gathered the courage to whisper, “I don’t know how to take care of a little girl.”

“I’ll help, don’t worry. It’s really not that hard, Jackson. We’ll be fine. She’s the luckiest girl alive to have you for a father.”

She made me smile despite myself. “And what does that make you?”

“The luckiest woman alive,” she replied. “Stop fishing for compliments. You’ve reached your quota for today.”

“Where was she?”

“Jacqueline?”

I nodded.

“New Mexico, of all places. The worst part was the squabble over who got to participate in the raid. Richard wanted to bring the whole pack, which annoyed the Inquisitors. Ultimately, Richard was given permission to send four of us. We drew straws. I won one, of course. I may have threatened to break legs if I wasn’t given one, though. I’m not sorry. Amber and two scrawny puppies came along for the ride. Richard’s still fuming he didn’t get to go.”

“You went on an Inquisition raid,” I stated, my disbelief drowning under a surge of fear.

“I did. It was a very satisfying and bloody hunt.”

“Bloody?” I asked in alarm.

“For them.”

“Evelyn!”

“If you can raid the hideout of the bad guys, I can too,” she replied, peeling my arm away from my eyes to glare at me. “Unlike you, I didn’t get shot.”

I grimaced. “Fair point.”

“Damned straight it’s a fair point.” Reaching over to the ornate, likely antique desk nearby, she grabbed a box of tissues and thrust them at me. “Blow your nose and make yourself presentable. You need to apologize to your little girl for scaring her when you decided to take that sudden nap in the foyer. You’re lucky that priest is fast, or you would have cracked your head open on the floor.”

With a low groan, I took the box. “I’m never going to live this down, am I?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll only tease you a little. We all know how hard this has been on you. Your father and brother were placing bets on how you would react, but in their enthusiasm, they forgot to account for the fact that you’re a fainter.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Not usually.”

“Don’t make me do a count of all of the times you’ve hit the floor since we’ve met,” she warned.

Scowling at her, I shook my head. “That’s cheating.”

“Deal with it.”

I grumbled, running my hands through my hair. I lurched upright, wincing at the ache in my chest. Judging from the stabbing pain, the medications had worn off entirely. I checked my watch.

It was ten in the morning. “I was out for three hours?” I exclaimed, feeling the blood drain out of my face.

“After we told him about your circumstances, Bishop Carlisle suggested that we let you rest. This is his office. If you didn’t come around on your own by eleven, he was going to call in a doctor. It should come as no surprise that I wasn’t going to let anyone else watch over you. Still, I should let them know you’re up. I’ll have them bring in just Jacqueline, okay?”

Drawing a deep breath to steady my nerves, I nodded.

Evelyn pulled out her cell. “I love this thing,” she announced before dialing a number and holding it to her ear. “He’s awake. Why don’t you send Jackie in alone? Okay.” She hung up and stashed her phone in her pocket. “Won’t be long.”

When the door cracked open, Jacqueline peeked into the room. When she saw me, she froze, her eyes widening. I heard my brother murmur something before giving her a gentle push in my direction. The door closed behind her.

I swallowed, once again trembling as I took her in. Someone had tried to contain her unruly hair in a frizzled ponytail, although several strands had already escaped from their ribbon prison. “Jacqueline,” I whispered.

My daughter’s gaze turned to Evelyn. The Fenerec chuckled, a low throaty sound. “It’s okay. Just be gentle with him.”

Little girls could move fast. She crossed the room, and without any care for her personal safety, lunged for my lap. I caught her and pulled her up so she wouldn’t crack her chin on my knees.

When standing on my legs, she was a little taller than me. Without a word, she flung her arms around my neck and pressed her face to my shoulder. I shook as I hugged her. My eyes burned. I had no idea what to say to her or do. I looked at Evelyn helplessly.

“You’re hopeless,” Evelyn murmured, reaching over to flick my forehead. “Wait until you hear what she told your father this morning. Also, you should have seen his face when he saw your note. I thought he was going to rupture something in his head.”

It felt awkward, but I patted my daughter’s back, amazed at how tiny she was. “What did you tell my father?” I asked, wincing a little at the tremble in my voice.

Jacqueline pulled away from me, looked me in the eye, and replied, “I said he needed to stop being an asshole to Daddy, and that if Mommy knew what sort of bullshit he’d pulled, he’d get a spanking.”

Evelyn howled her laughter, falling off the edge of the couch to curl on the floor hugging her sides. “That’s—that’s it,” she gasped.

I flushed, wondering who had taught her that sort of language. Torn between horror and shocked amusement, I drew in a breath, went to say something, thought better of it, and wondered what to do. Clearing my throat, I chided, “Young ladies shouldn’t use that sort of language in a church.”

Jacqueline blinked at me. “What’s wrong with my language?”

Laughing even harder, Evelyn reached out to tug at my jeans. Panting to catch her breath, she gasped out, “She has a very broad vocabulary and no idea which words are bad.”

I closed my eyes and groaned. “Asshole and bullshit are bad words and shouldn’t be used in polite company, Jacqueline.”

“Why?”

Taking a moment to compose myself, I explained, “Bad words are mean and usually hurtful. What you’re saying might be true, but it’s still mean, and we do not speak to other people like that in a polite setting. A church is a polite setting.”

“Your father is old fashioned and a bit of prude,” Evelyn added.

“He was mean to you,” Jacqueline protested, leaning back while standing on my knees, forcing me to support her back so she wouldn’t fall to the floor. She crossed her arms over her chest. “He needs to apologize.”

I stared at my little girl incredulously. “How do you know that?”

Her lips curved into a trembling frown and she sniffled. “The bad witch told me.”

I sucked in a breath, wondering how I was going to tell her that her mother was dead—and worse, that I had been the one who had killed her. “Well, Jacqueline, you’ll be happy to know he already apologized, as has my mother.” While it wasn’t exactly true, I didn’t need a direct apology to get the message.

When I had needed them, they had come. When Evelyn was searching for my daughter, they had, however much it annoyed me, helped my mate.

No words of apology could compare to that.

Jacqueline’s eyes widened. “They apologized?”

“It’s true. Look at the pretty ring they gave Evelyn,” I said, pointing down at my mate, who was still chortling on the floor. “Well, maybe later, once she has regained her dignity.”

“Why is she laughing?”

I snorted, relaxing at the question. “Evelyn is laughing because she thinks me saying bad words is funny.”

Still giggling, Evelyn said, “Daddy doesn’t like saying bad words.”

“You don’t?”

I shook my head. “I try to avoid it. Sometimes I get angry and say them, though.”

“I’m angry at your father for being mean to you,” Jacqueline announced, wrinkling her nose.

“Have you told him why you are angry without calling him names and bad words?” I asked.

Jacqueline lowered her eyes and shook her head.