Redemption: Alchemy Series Book #4 (21 page)

There was fractional dropping of his head, but his resolute expression didn't falter.

"It's what's best for my people."

I shook my head as I took a few steps around the room.

"And they don't owe me some sort of allegiance? They weren't fed, clothed and housed here?" I clenched my fists to stop myself from knocking over one of his packed boxes in anger.

"If feels like a lifetime ago when I first met you, so beautiful and naive walking through the Lacard mall. Even then, I could see the woman you would become. It could've been so different between us, but you chose him. Then he left you and I waited, thinking you'd finally see the light
, but the moment he came back, I saw you and I knew you'd end up right back with him."

"So, you're leaving because I don't want to be with you? That's what you are saying?"

"These are my people. Their survival is all I can concern myself with. I'm not sure what would have happened if you'd made different choices. All I do know is you made it easy for me." He turned and started to place a few things in an open box sitting on the table, silently ending our conversation.

I walked from the room
, wondering if I'd ever see him again. I made my way to the stairwell, as Fae darted quickly out of my path and avoided any eye contact. I paused, hand on the door that exited their area, and looked back down the long stretch of hallway. They all avoided eye contact but they were well aware of my presence still lingering. I cleared my throat and they slowed in their motions, wondering what I was about.

"If you leave here now
, when I need you most, don't think, even for a second, you'll be welcome back."

The anxiety I just instilled into them was palpable. Good. I didn't want any denials that they didn't know the consequences.

My message sent and received, I pushed on the door, heading to my final stop.

***

Burrom's floor was eerily quiet, most of the rooms shut with very few people lingering in the hallways. I prepared myself for the worst as I raised my knuckles to his closed door. A heard a strange moan come from inside just as I knocked.

"Hang on!" I heard him yell.

The door swung open to reveal a naked Burrom. Okay, not exactly naked, but the teeny tiny towel hanging sinfully low on his hips covered just enough to keep the image from an R rating.

Yep, whatever I'd done at his burial ground months ago was seriously linked to my feelings for Cormac. His face might have resembled Cormac's brother
, but the physique was identical.

"Like what you see?" He leaned back away from the door, looking toward the entrance of his bedroom and then back to me. "I can kick them out if you want. Just give me five."

Them? "Not necessary. Where is everyone? Awfully quiet around here."

He smirked as he tipped his head toward me. "After all we've been through, Jo, you still don't trust me?"

The knot that had formed in my chest started to loosen up a bit.

"Where are they? Your people?"

"Partying like it's the end of the world, as per my orders. Babe, we might have agreed to go down with the ship but we're going out with some style." His eyes were big and his smile was bigger. "Okay, I'm not sure drunken drugged debauchery should be termed style, but we're really committed to doing this thing right."

"Do I want to know?"

"Just your typical end of the world stuff, you know, orgies, alcohol and heavy drug use. Nothing to fuss about. And don't worry, I told them that they absolutely weren't allowed to use farm animals or anyone unwilling."

"You had to tell them that? It needed to be said?" This was to be my army? The fate of what was left of the free world rested in these hands.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure it was necessary, but I figured it was safer that way. It's all in good fun." He tilted his head toward his room again. "If you aren't joining the party, do you mind? We were just getting to the good part."

I held up my palms, "Nope, not at all. You go."

He smiled again and went to shut the door but swung it back open quickly. "Oh, uh, I wouldn't breathe too deeply until you get off this floor."

"Got it."

Chapter Eighteen

The Cost of Sharing

"Are you really going to sit there all day and write names?" Cormac asked.

I was perched on a stone dragon that had shown up in the courtyard about a week ago. About ten feet off the ground, it was actually a pretty comfortable perch with good visuals. Its tail arched in a way that made a very ergonomic backrest and its head was the perfect height to rest my boots.

"Yes. I want to remember every single person that left. Who's got Harvey?" It was the name I'd started to call Sabrina's son. He was the last little piece of Sabrina and I didn't like to call him "it
."

"Dark."

"I thought Dark was still freaked out after this morning." That was when we'd discovered Harvey wasn't as human as he appeared. After a bout of gas, we no longer had two couches in the penthouse. Dark had been holding Harvey at the time and lost a healthy chunk of hair to the fire burst he'd let loose during an especially loud burp.

"It was his turn. Everyone babysits the Harvey."

"In other words, you forced him."

"I can't have one of my men running around afraid of a baby. It's embarrassing."

His hand reached up, resting on my thigh and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. We were in some weird relationship limbo land after last night. He'd been gone by time I'd gotten back and this was the first time I'd seen him.

I readjusted, using it as an excuse to dislodge the contact.

"We back there again?" he asked after removing his hand and leaning against the stone dragon.

"I can't instantly turn the feelings back on
, especially when you can't make a commitment." I avoided eye contact, again. I was turning into such a wimp when it came to him.

"Did the feelings ever turn off?"

I ignored the question. "I didn't leave there. I can't move forward if I don't know where I'm going."

His expression was unreadable and also a place I didn't feel like going
, so when I saw Buzz walking nearby, I hollered over to him.

"Can you believe this?" Buzz asked as he neared us. "Bunch of traitors."

"They're scared, is all," Cormac said.

"When did you become mister sensitive?" I asked.

"Since I learned what it feels like."

He was watching the mass exodus out of the castle and I was grateful he wasn't paying attention to me. I wasn't sure I would've been able to hide how much that hit me.

I shoved my pad and pencil at Buzz. "Do me a favor? Write down all the names of anyone leaving?"

"On top of everything else I've got to do today?"

"I've got a lead on some Twix." Buzz had a crazy sweet tooth.

He grabbed the supplies. "Just names
, or do you want times as well?"

"Names are fine."

I would've jumped down from my perch, but Cormac's hands found my waist as I slid down the front of him. My breathing shallow, my back arched of its own accord. He paused my descent just as I was eye to eye with him.

"Oh yeah, those feelings are buried really deep. I can tell." His voice was mocking as my cheeks burned.

"Do you mind? I've got work to do."

My feet hit the ground and I forced myself not to linger in his grasp.

"Where you going?"

"I've got to go find me some bugs to talk to."

***

"You didn't need to come," I said, not bothering to look at Cormac who was following me into the golf course where I'd last seen them.

"I'm quite aware that you have handled things very nicely while I've been gone."

"Then why are you following me?" I whipped around as I asked him.

"Because of this?" He pulled out what looked like two collars with little boxes on them.

"What are they?" I reached to take one from his hand but he lifted it too high.

"Oh no," he said smugly as he walked in front of me, putting the collars back in his pocket. "You aren't playing nice, so why should I share my toys?"

"Can you just tell me what they are?" I asked, following him through the snowy golf course.

"I think I'll need a show of goodwill."

"I haven't thrown your clothes out. I thought that was some amazing will." They'd been unpacked neatly in the closet
, to my consternation, this morning. I'd had them packed away in a corner of the dungeons after he left. The only reason I hadn't thrown them out was I felt guilty knowing someone could use them. I was eventually going to give them away, but not until I could bear seeing his white shirts everywhere.

"It's a step." He paused and pulled out a single collar and held it out in front of him.

"Is that a camera?"

"Yes. I plan on convincing the owls to do a fly over while wearing these."

"Where did you get them?"

"I rigged some stuff up from the old pet supply place that was on the outskirts of town and collected some things from one of the camera stores that had a room still intact."

"This is fantastic," I said in an awed voice.

"And I bet you would love to see the footage if the owls agree." He was smirking, not even trying to hide his pleasure at having the upper hand.

"What do you want?"

He pocketed the collar and his hands reached down cupping my hips, he steered me back until I felt a tree at my back.

"Just a kiss."

I reached up and planted a quick kiss on his lips before pulling back.

"That's not a kiss." His eyes were hypnotic as they stared down at me. Under his stare, it felt like everything else in the world faded away. His lips moved slowly closer to mine. "This is a kiss."

He cupped my cheek, using his thumb to urge my face upward. He brushed his lips over mine with the barest of pressure. He nibbled slowly on my lower lip before his tongue briefly entered my mouth. The stiffness in my limbs dissolved and he took advantage of it by fitting my body to his.

Then the kiss deepened, all softness gone, replaced by a possessiveness that shook me. I pressed my hands to his shoulders, breaking the contact and the intensity that sent me reeling. He pulled back enough to give me room but still kept contact.

"You got your kiss. Now let me see?" I asked.

"I kissed you. I'll share my toys, but I insist on an IOU for the kiss."

"Fine." If he'd known how rattled I was he might have pressed for a lot more
, so I considered myself lucky.

He backed away with a smile and walked deeper into the golf course.

It took us another hour of calling before I found the bugs, not far from Burrom's tree, still in full foliage.

"Hi
, Jo," the bugs greeted me and then a full minute later, they added "and him."

It was a little evil, the happiness I felt that at least somebody wasn't all enchanted with Cormac.

Pinky, the only one I could identify quickly because of the flashing pink on her tail, landed on my shoulder. "Do you know where the owls are?" I asked.

"They were around earlier. Don't know where they are now."

"Can you tell them I…we'd like to speak to them." Might as well use their adoration of Cormac to our benefit.

"Okay. Someone was looking for you."

"Who?" Cormac and I asked at the same moment.

"Weird old guy."

"Weird how?" Cormac asked.

"He was there but he wasn't there. And then he wasn't there at all."

Like the figure in the road before I crashed. I was really hoping for a mass hallucination. Sometimes crazy wasn't a bad thing. "Was he really big? What did he say?"

Fred flew over after making a couple zig zags due to his bent wi
ng. "You're all big. He said 'Where's Jo?'"

"What did you reply?"

"We didn't know."

"Thanks. Please give the owls our message."

Cormac grabbed my hand and tugged me along.

"You know who it is?"

"I think it's got to be linked to the giant that showed up in the road then disappeared." I'd given Cormac a brief explanation about that night and I knew Colleen had filled in the gaps for him. "It would stand to reason that there aren't that many disappearing men floating around."

"I'm not sure I would take that for granted." He raised his brows as he said it.

"I don't have any other ideas."

"Could it be linked to the senator?"

"Every other time he wanted to talk to me, he's just come."