Firefight in Darkness (21 page)

“Fine, but hurry up.” Jax followed the man with the shot gun as he approached Blythe and handed the package to her through the passenger side window. She clutched it numbly in her hands as she watched him scramble back into the Mercedes and whip the car around, speeding off out of sight.

♦ ♦ ♦

It had all happened so fast, so abruptly, that her mind was still racing to catch up with all the details. The Mercedes was nothing more than a memory now, and there was a new package from Dante sitting in her lap. She looked down at it curiously, almost as if she had no idea how it had gotten there. When Jax climbed into the car beside her and stowed his shot gun behind the seat, she felt as if she were waking from a dream.

Without saying a word, she reached over, grabbed his face in her hands, and kissed him roughly on the mouth. When she pulled away, her face was lit with a bright and devious grin.

“God, that was exhilarating!” She slapped her hand to her chest, trying to calm her fluttering heart. “You are quite the badass, cowboy. I haven’t had that much fun since I went skydiving last year.”

He stared at her blankly for a moment, completely taken off guard. “Fun?” He managed, confused by the thrill he saw in her eyes.

“Yeah, fun. The high speed pursuit, you pulling a one eighty with the car and whipping out that enormous gun. Which, by the way, you never told me you had that back there.”

“It’s for emergencies.” He scowled, shifting the car into gear and flipping on the radio.

“We definitely need to do that more often.” She was still smiling as she sat back in her seat, thrumming her fingertips on her knee caps as the adrenaline continued to pump through her veins.

He pulled out onto the street and glanced over at her, amusement in his eyes now. “You sure are a strange girl.”

She waved his comment away with a laugh. “You like me this way, I know you do. I keep you on your toes.”

“Lord knows you do something to me, Blythe.” He said, more to himself than to her as he reached over to flip the station on the radio. Garth Brooks roared out about the game called rodeo as Jax gunned the engine and took them onto the highway towards his home.

Blythe watched him for a few moments, chewing her bottom lip in thought. The sun was beginning its late afternoon descent in the sky, the heat sweltering. The combination of the desert landscape out the window, the blistering heat, and the twangy southern rock on the radio had become so natural to her, so normal, that she wasn’t even thinking of home anymore. This, and the born and bred Texan beside her were something like home to her now.

“You should open that package now.” He said quietly, keeping his eyes on the road.

She glanced down at her lap, having nearly forgotten the package was there. Lifting it in her hands, she tore it open, pulling out the letter first and then tilting the package upside down so her new gift fell into her open palm.

It was a ring, the same gilded bronze as the necklace had been, with a similar large amber stone set in the center. Along the band was the inscription
Fire destroys fear, Fire lights darkness, Fire wields courage, Fire breeds glory.

She pursed her lips and tossed it back into the package, annoyed that she felt a connection to it. It was just a stupid ring that had been her stupid grandmother’s…just an inanimate object that meant nothing. But she knew the bond was there, she could feel her blood call out to the ring. It was another heirloom, as ancient as the Earth itself, passed down the Fire Dryad line for centuries.

She forced her mind clear as she shoved the package away and opened the letter.

Blythe,

You’re getting closer, but not quite there yet darling. Tsk tsk on getting distracted with the bounty hunter. I hope you see the folly in your ways soon, as I intend to show you what you really deserve.

Dante

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion as she re-read the letter over again, wondering what the hell he was talking about. Distracted? Show her what she really deserves? God, he was getting crazier by the day. Disturbed, she turned to Jax, wondering how he would take it.

He hadn’t mentioned it yet, but she knew he must be thinking of it. The kid who’d delivered the package had said that Dante had told him where Jax lived. Had Dante been watching them? Had he seen her and Jax together?

“What does it say, darlin’?”

She read it to him, then sat back to gauge his reaction. At first he said nothing as he processed the words, combing through them, deciphering the meaning as best he could. When one full minute had passed, Blythe chose to speak first.

“We’ve made him angry, Jax.” And she wasn’t the least bit ashamed of it.

“He was watching us.” He grit his teeth and slammed his palm against the steering wheel in frustration. “Damnit, the sick bastard was right there.”

“Good, I’m glad he saw you kiss me. Pissing him off is going to make him screw up, Jax. He’s jealous or something I guess, and now he’s going to try even harder to get to me.”

He glared at her, his eyes filled with fury. “He was on my land. He could have gotten to you while I was sleeping, or in the shower, or God knows when.”

“Yeah and he could have done the same thing at the hotels we stayed at in LA and Phoenix. He found us there too, didn’t he? He’s still playing his game, and he’s going to play it out until he’s ready to face me head on. I can only hope that it goes down in Chicago, because I’m sure as hell ready for him.” Her chin cocked up as she sneered, purely defiant. He had to force himself to calm down.

“He didn’t say where he was going in that letter.” He muttered, taking a deep breath and slowing the car as they pulled up to his house. “There’s no way he knows we went to the school, because he was supposedly out of town by yesterday.”

“Maybe he’s going to send us another letter.” Blythe shrugged. “Either way, we know where he’s going. I say we fly out there as soon as possible and try and head him off.”

Jax parked the car and turned to look at her.

“I have to call Rian and Thea, give them the update. I’ll book our flight after that.” His lips twitched just slightly as he heard her stomach grumble unhappily. He reached out and patted her knee. “Why don’t you try and make us some dinner?”

“Like, cook something?” One eyebrow cocked indignantly as she stared at him. “You know we have fairies who do that on Euphora. I’ve never had to cook a single thing in my life.”

“I’m sure you can figure it out.” He replied absently as he got out of the car, already imagining the nice, hot shower he intended on taking the moment he got off the phone.

“Okay, but I can’t promise that whatever I make will be edible.” She grumbled as she followed him inside. He disappeared into the back part of the house, so she wandered into the kitchen and glanced around, feeling lost.

It was a fairly large kitchen, decked out with rich oak cabinets and forest green granite countertops. Stainless steel appliances that she couldn’t name seemed randomly placed throughout, and it took a few tries before she found one with food in it.

She felt a blast of cold air as she opened it and peered around at the jars and boxes, unsure what anything was. She spotted some peanut butter and strawberry jelly, one of the few things she recognized, and pulled them out. Setting them on the counter, she wandered around until she found the bread, stowed away in some kind of wooden box. It took her another few minutes to locate plates and a knife.

By the time she’d found everything, she pursed her lips and stared at it all, wondering if the jelly was supposed to go on first, or the peanut butter. With an irritated shrug, she decided to go with peanut butter first and began slathering gobs of it onto pieces of white bread.

She jolted when the phone rang, still unused to the sound. She called out to Jax, getting no response. When she wandered towards his room, she could hear the shower running. Annoyed, she raced back into the kitchen and grabbed the phone herself.

She hit a few of the buttons before one of them finally answered it.

“Yeah?” She answered like she had seen Jax do as she licked peanut butter off her fingertips.

“
I was hoping you would answer.”
A voice she didn’t recognize said. A chill raced up her spine even as her hackles rose to defense mode.

“Who is this?” She demanded, resting her hip against the counter, her eyes narrowing.

“
Have you been enjoying your presents? I always liked the ring myself, but I wanted you to have it. Are you wearing it?”

“Dante.” She nearly growled the name even as she felt her knees weaken. Determined to stand her ground, she pushed aside her initial shock and geared up to play ball. “I’m not wearing the ring, and I won’t ever wear it. In fact, if you like it so much, why don’t I give it back to you? Tell me where you are and I’ll come visit.”

“
Hah, Blythe…you have so much to learn. When this is done you will know the truth, and then you will see. Tell me, have you ever been to the windy city?”

“Is that what they call Chicago?” She asked as Cooper came into the kitchen then and sat beside her, whimpering. She reached down to pet him absently.

“
My, my, I’m impressed. I just flew in about an hour ago. I’m having a cocktail called a Red Headed Slut in your honor.”

The coldness in his tone had the fury bubbling inside of her. “Listen real good, asshole. I’m coming for you, and so is Jax. We will find you, and when we do you won’t stand a chance. You’ll be dead in the ground with your vile mother.”

He chuckled, and the cruel, cold sound of it shuddered down to her very bones. There was that evil again…that pure, unadulterated evil…

“
So fiery…that’s what I love about you. You’ll be eating your words soon enough, darling. Ta ta for now.”

She heard a click on the other end and then silence. Cursing, she thought very dearly about throwing the phone against the floor, only to hold herself back. Breaking the phone wouldn’t make her anger go away, it would only make things worse. Setting it aside on the countertop, she covered her face with her hands and screamed into them instead. At her feet, Cooper howled.

“Jesus Christ, what the hell?” Jax rushed in, his hair still wet from his shower. He had just been shrugging into a clean t-shirt and jeans when he’d heard his dog begin to howl. He approached her, pulling her hands away from her face. The angry tears in her eyes alarmed him.

“I’m going to kill him.” She snarled, her face flushed with rage. “He makes me sick.”

“What happened?” He demanded.

“The phone rang, and you were in the shower, so I picked it up, and it was him. He said he was drinking some cocktail called a Red Headed Slut in my honor.” She spat, sneering as her hands clenched into fists.

“Wait, wait, Dante called? Just now?”

“A few minutes ago.” She saw the color drain from his face as he pushed away from her, curling his hands into his hair in frustration.

“Why didn’t you come get me? We could have traced the call, found out his exact location.” He whirled around, glaring at her. “Damnit, Blythe, we could’ve had him.”

“Hey, it’s not like I know phone calls can be traced, okay?” She snapped, fisting her hands on her hips angrily. “So don’t get all pissy at me, hotshot, I dealt with it as best I could. He told me he’s in Chicago, so that’s something. You’re just gonna have to deal with the fact that what’s done is done.”

He hefted a heavy sigh and rubbed his face in his hands. Cooper whined a bit from all the hostile anger sparking in the air. Glancing down at his dog, he realized she was right. How could she have known that a phone call can be traced? Of course she wouldn’t.

“Alright, so it’s done.” He looked at her, pleased to see her eyes were dry. “So what’d you make us for dinner?”

She let out a choked laugh and smiled, glad he wasn’t still angry with her.

“I started making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before I was rudely interrupted.” She pointed towards the half finished sandwiches on the counter, amused at the look on his face.

“That was the best you could do?” He shook his head and chuckled. “I guess it works.”

“Just have a seat while I finish your goddamn sandwich and be grateful.” She smirked and shooed him away towards the dining table as she began to slather jelly on top of the peanut butter. A minute later she set the sandwich down in front of him, and dug into her own.

He glanced at his skeptically just to irritate her, then bit in and chewed happily. “Delicious.” He said as he swallowed. She smiled brightly at the compliment.

“Why, thank you cowboy.” She took another bite, then broke off a small piece to hand to Cooper, who was sitting beside her with eager eyes.

Jax chuckled as Cooper happily ate the scrap in one greedy gulp, then glanced up at her, hoping for more.

“That’s all for you, buddy. The rest is mine.”

“He’s gonna miss you when we leave tomorrow.” Jax leaned back in his chair, studying her.

“Well, I’ll miss him too.” Blythe chimed, reaching down to rub her hands over Cooper’s fur excitedly. “Yes, I will!”

He rolled over onto his back for a belly rub, and she obliged him, laughing when he sneezed a few times and then rushed up to chase his stubby tail.

She sat back down, her eyes lit up with humor and her smile bright. His gut clenched uncomfortably just watching her, knowing this would be her last night in his home. Tomorrow they’d be in Chicago, and from there…who knew? And then when the mission was over, she’d go back to Euphora, and he’d come back here, without her.

“What is it, Jax?” She asked, seeing the troubled look in his eyes.

He shook his head, damning himself to hell for feeling anything more than a casual attraction to her. When had it all changed? “It’s nothing, Blythe. Absolutely nothing.”

The truth was, despite how fervently he tried to deny it, he knew that everything had changed in El Paso, on his front porch, when he had seen her bathed in morning sunlight.

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