From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) (25 page)

“You don’t remember.” He sometimes lost bits
of time before he went into one of his honey frenzies. “Croygen and
Lexie fed them all to you, so you’d pass out.”

“Why?”

I conveyed to him everything that happened
while he had been out, that they wanted him to go to sleep so they
could sneak out on him.

His mouth hung open. “They tricked me?”

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“But all my honey is gone, and I don’t even
remember eating it.”

“We’ll get you more.” Ryker came beside me,
handing me my boots.

Sprig’s face lit up as he licked his lips.
“It’s way past breakfast. I need to catch up. Can we get breakfast
and lunch?”

“You mean brunch?” I said, slipping my feet
into my shoes, tying them up.

“Nooooo.” He looked aghast at my question.
“Brunch is still only one meal.”

“We’ll see.” I touched my head, a sudden
thumping began in my skull.

“I ate my breakfast like a good boy.” Ryker
smirked, looking at me intently. “It tasted delicious.”

Heat flamed my cheeks, burning my face.

“Wha-what?” Sprig stood up on his hind legs.
“You ate without me?”

“Sorry, buddy. It was too tasty to stop.”

“Oh my god.” I put my face in my palms.

“Is he intercoursing with me,
Bhean
?”
Sprig looked between us.

I groaned louder, which caused Ryker to
chuckle.

“You better not be intercoursing with me,
Viking, or I will fart on your face in the middle of the
night.”

“Now, that’s territory I haven’t gone to
before.”

“Okay. Stop.” I held up my hands, then
pointed at Sprig. “You, stop talking. And you.” I narrowed my lids
on Ryker. “You just
stop
.”

His mischievous smile forced me to inhale and
glance up at the ceiling, gathering strength.

“Right now we are going to get our shit
together, get something to eat, and move to a different location
where we will plan what to do next. On the way, we will try to find
Amara,” I stated firmly. “All right?”

“Can I have more to ea—?”

“Zip it!” I cut off Ryker, holding my fingers
together. “I didn’t say you could open your mouth.”

He arched a brow.

“Not. A. Word.” I knew where his mind went
because mine was already there.

He ran his hand over his mouth and
chuckled.

“Now, do you have any idea where Amara would
go, and should we be concerned she’s gone?”

“Amara,” a woman’s voice spoke behind me,
“didn’t need to hear her former lover and his new girlfriend
fucking each other’s brains out all night.”

I whirled around to see Amara leaning against
the doorjamb, holding a white paper bag in her hand. Her expression
was anything but teasing. “So I went for a walk. Then I thought on
my way back to grab something to eat for everyone.”

My jaw went slack, and Sprig sat back on his
hindquarters, eyes wide.

She ignored our expressions and walked to the
table, tossing a bag of doughnuts on it. Sometimes people could
surprise you.

I had to admit I wouldn’t have done something
like that. I probably wouldn’t have come back. In that moment I
realized how alone Amara really was. How painful it had to be for
her to stay with us. She no longer had Ryker as a boyfriend, but
she still clung to him. He was the only thing she had left. I
didn’t really like her or trust her, but I couldn’t deny my heart
softened toward her right then.

It could have easily been me in Amara’s
shoes, the one who had to watch and listen. “I’m sorry,” I
whispered so softly only she could hear me.

Her eyes darted to mine, then away. She
pushed back her shoulders and continued laying out the
containers.

It wasn’t a truce or even close. But I took
it.

####

Today was one of those gorgeous fall days,
but typical of this area a hint of change was in the air as clouds
gathered in the distance, indicating an impending storm. Autumn in
the Pacific Northwest jumbled sunny and cloudy days like a
blender.

Even in the crisp afternoon my black hoodie
became a sauna. Beads of sweat trickled down my back. I wanted to
rip it off, peel it away from my hot, sticky skin, but it was the
only protection I had to keep from being noticed. Crowds of people
swarmed around me creating a thicker cocoon of heat, sharpening my
headache. My body trembled, showing the signs of withdrawal, which
I recognized more and more after the stone gave me a boost. I
hadn’t realized I took so much of a hit from it the night
before.

The city had blocked off several streets and
opened it to a huge farmers’ market for people to buy, sell, or
trade goods. Citizens of Seattle and the surrounding areas were
getting back on their feet, lifting us back into the land of the
living. Stands and tents dotted the area along with the food
trucks, offering anything from herbal medicines to clothes. People
also offered their services, like carpentry or physical labor, for
room and board. I heard many of the hospitals reopened and that
much of the electricity had been restored. The city still bore
scars, and the already bulging homeless problem had tripled.

Tempting odors from the food trucks pervaded
the streets and caused my empty stomach to growl. Lines curled and
weaved around the entire area, hindering the people trying to walk
through.

The smell of Mexican food drifted over to me,
reminding me of my hollow stomach. I had barely eaten what Amara
had brought back to us, my stomach queasy. Dying had also rattled
my system a bit. Go figure. I really needed to stop dying. It
messed up my day and only contributed to the monster-size headache,
jittery, restless, and irritable feeling. The only thing bringing a
smile to my face and a flush to my cheeks was Ryker, along with the
memories of what we did and how he felt.

Damn
. Another round of desire ran
through me like a drunken squirrel, my stare drilling into the
massive hooded figure a dozen yards away. And as if he could sense
my gaze, his neck twisted back, his white irises narrowing straight
on me. Our eyes connected briefly, but I sensed the intensity, the
unspoken words. The promise for more to come. He turned back,
snaking through the cluster of bodies, his shoulders tense and
alert.

I could sense that Ryker wanted to get away.
He didn’t feel safe this close to so many humans. Even though my
sight picked up a lot of fae around, it was better to hide in the
masses than stand out on our own. Also lifting goods from the
vendors came easy to me. Each stolen item smacked on Sprig’s head
as it plopped in my bag.

“
Bhean
, if you’re going to have it
rain food, make it something softer,” he hissed at me through my
messenger bag. He sat at the bottom, holding his honey jar backpack
with Pam inside.

“Like honey?” I mumbled back.

“I swear you can read my mind.”

I tossed in another pinched item.

“Ugh, fairy farts, is that a banana?”

“Shush.”

I glanced over the crowd, keeping the large
Viking in my view. The three of us spread out because we were too
noticeable moving together. Ryker led us, while Amara brought up
the rear. Having her watch my back was not terribly comfortable for
me, but Ryker demanded I be in the middle. I hoped it was because
of the stone I carried and not because he was being an overbearing
caveman.

Right.

Nudging through the gaps, I already felt
edgy, but I kept fighting the feeling of being watched. A strange
chill skated over my spine and stabbed at the base of my neck. My
head jerked around, and I searched for the source, following the
line of trees shading the area behind the food trucks. The pull of
someone’s intense gaze dragged my focus to a space between a large
shrub and truck.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Dark, beady eyes cut through the people,
ramming into me. A gasp pelted from my lungs. A lanky man stood
there, with scraggy, long, dark hair and beard, looking like he
could be one of the homeless. But the puckered scar zigzagging down
his face knotted my airways.

I blinked. A scream built in my chest.

A body slammed into my shoulder, tripping me.
Hands shot out and grabbed me, keeping me upright. He was taller
than me and built, but the baseball hat dipped low over the man’s
brow and kept his face obstructed from view.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, a hint of an accent
sprang off the one word before he slipped by me. My gaze trailed
after him, but the crowd quickly absorbed his large frame. I spun
back to where I spotted the other man.

The location looked empty.

I scanned the space, looking for a hint of
who I thought I saw.

“Hey, what’s the holdup?” Amara reached me,
her voice low. “Who are you looking for?”

“N-no one.” I pushed myself forward, the
familiar scarred face flashing in my mind.

There’s no way
. It was just stress and
tension creating paranoia that we were being hunted by everyone.
Old and new.

But Arlo’s face and the memory of the last
time we saw him in Peru stuck in my mind...

Arlo held a lot of resentment toward Ryker,
and I’d brought him a great deal of humiliation when I beat him up
in front of his men. Would it drive him to the far edges of the
earth to seek revenge?

####

Ryker found a rundown motel away from the
main thoroughfare in an area called Atlantic. It reminded me of
where he took me the first night he caught me when he tied me to
the bathtub. Now if he did, I would want him to.

Amara glamoured the front clerk to give us a
room in back then forget he ever saw us. She was the only one who
could control her powers right now. Ryker and I were too sporadic
to rely on.

“Shower!” Amara was the first to dart for the
bathroom. I placed my bag on the table, taking Sprig out. He had
broken into the stolen candied walnuts and ate half the bag before
passing out. Sugared chunks stuck to his hands, tail, and face. I
brushed off what I could before setting him on a pillow.

“How are you feeling?” Ryker sidled up behind
me, putting his hands on my hips.

“Crappy.” I leaned back into him.

“Not surprised. I really should have forced
you to sleep last night. Your system needs to recover after
injury.”

I twisted to face him. “You mean after
dying.”

He frowned.

“But, hey, look at the positive side. You
don’t want to kill me anymore.”

He half smiled.

“True.” He unzipped my jacket, pulling the
hood off my head. “But now I want to do other things to you.”

He kissed my neck.

We both knew it wasn’t only my “death” which
had me restless and fevered. But after our last fight, neither of
us wanted to bring up the stone.

“I thought I saw Arlo at the market.”

His body went rigid. “What?”

“I swear I saw him behind one of the food
trucks.” I rubbed my aching head. “Maybe it’s lack of food and
sleep affecting my brain.”

“Arlo?” Ryker’s grip on my waist constricted.
“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” My arms dropped. “No. It happened so
fast. He was there, then he was gone. I’m probably just imagining
things.”

Ryker sucked in a deep breath. “Maybe, but
it’s still good to be on guard.”

“As if we don’t already have enough people
gunning for us.” I heard the water in the bathroom turn on. I so
wanted,
needed
, a shower. “Do you think he would track us
down?”

“Yes,” Ryker responded quickly. “We
embarrassed him. Fae kill each other for a lot less. Between his
hatred and wanting the stone, I have no doubt he’d come for us.
I
should have killed him when I had the chance. Teaches me
to be nice.”

“You?” I lifted my eyebrows.

“Fine. I could have let you finish him off.”
He smirked, leaning over, grazing my ear. “But Arlo is the least of
our problems. I’ll be on the lookout, but he’s the last thing I’m
worried about right now. Not on my radar.”

“Oh?” I grabbed his sweatshirt, his breath
tickling my neck. I knew one thing which would help me feel better.
“And what’s on your radar?”

“Right this moment?” Ryker moved slowly to my
breastbone. “You.”

I smiled, whispering low. “We have at least
eight to ten minutes before Amara gets out.”

“Not enough for what I really want to do, but
I can work with it.” He hooked his hands in the shoulders of my
hoodie, pushing it slowly over my arms. He tugged at fabric,
drawing my arms out of it, and tossed it on the bed next to us.

A flicker of off-white fell out of the pocket
and fluttered to the floor. I looked down at it.

“What?” Ryker noticed he no longer had my
attention.

I bent over and picked up the item. It was a
thick, parchment type of paper folded neatly several times.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t in my pocket
earlier.” I peered up at him. “You leaving me love notes now?”

Ryker laughed. “Do I look like the love-note
type?” He took a small step back. “I’d much rather show you than
write about it.”

“Me too.” I grinned at him before turning
back to the note, unfolding it slowly. Cursive scrolled over the
page. It looked to me like male handwriting. Both the parchment and
handwriting looked old fashioned, like he learned penmanship back
in Shakespeare’s day.

Tomorrow night. Sunset. I have imperative
information. Near Chittenden Locks. Your companion will know the
place. Be sure you are not followed.

My eyes went up to Ryker’s, his gaze still
roaming over the page.

“Imperative information?” Ryker took it from
my fingers, rereading it. “Who put this in your pocket? Who could
have known where to find you?”

“I don’t know.” I pushed past Ryker, needing
to move my feet. “I get this note and think I see Arlo. Is that
just a coincidence?”