Seduced by the Storm (37 page)

"He
was so little when he left me there. Still a kid himself."

"Oz
was never truly a kid, Creed. He was born different."

"I
know the way Oz grew up. I knew. He told me about his past, his childhood. He
just left out the part about me." He turned to Annika and wiped his eyes
angrily. "He could’ve come to Mom and Dad. They would’ve understood."

Annika
merely nodded.

"I’m
sorry, Ani. I know talking about parents can be tough on you."

"It’s
okay." She sighed. "Look, Dev told me some things—he wanted me to
share them with you." Her voice was quiet, as if she didn’t know whether
or not the mention of Dev would make Creed lose it.

"I’m
listening," he said instead, and she held his hand and looked into his
eyes.

"Dev
didn’t know for very long about Oz being your brother, Creed. Not until Oz came
back this last time. Dev said that it was almost like Oz knew it was time to
stop keeping secrets, but at that point, Dev didn’t realize that Oz knew his
own fate, that Oz knew he’d have to reveal the fact that he was your brother to
you before he died. And Oz was so worried about leaving you without protection
that the decision he made on his deathbed wasn’t easy."

"You
mean Kat."

"Yes.
He didn’t do that to curse you," Dev said. "He just never did trust
well."

"He
trusted Dev."

"He
did. He saved Dev’s life, Creed. And he made sure you grew up safe, with
parents who loved you. Don’t take that away from him because you’re angry. He’s
still your family. I mean, I don’t have a family, but I know enough now to
understand that there are some good ones out there."

He
caught her in his arms before she could choke out the sob. "You’ve found a
family, Ani. You’ve got me and my parents now."

"But
Kat, what about Kat?" Annika’s voice was muffled against his chest, and
yes, what about Kat? He hadn’t felt her since he’d taken Annika into his
arms—he’d assumed she was doing her usual, giving them a few minutes of privacy
before she came barreling in.

He
called to her silently and she came almost immediately, hovered over him with
the familiar scent of earth she always brought with her.

You’ve
found her,
Kat said.

"I
know that. You know that," he answered. "I’m talking to Kat," he
told Annika when she lifted her face off his chest.

"I
know," she said. "I mean, I hear her."

"What
do you mean you hear her?" he demanded. Because as far as he knew, the
only people who ever heard Kat besides himself had been his parents and Oz.

Family.
Always limited to family. His eyes welled up with tears and both Annika and Kat
were brushing them away.

This
was the way it was meant to be. Don’t you understand, Creed? You were meant to
fight for the woman you needed—and I had to be sure she’d do the same for you.

"I’ll
always fight for him, Kat. But I’ll never fight you, not again," Annika
whispered.

"You
planned all this—from the beginning, you knew that you’d let Annika in?"

No
plan. The universe has its own way of making things happen. But look how easily
all those other women ran from you.

"I
stayed away from them—you made it too hard."

I
made it hard when you were with Annika too. You were just too much in love to
notice. Tell her, Creed. It’s time.

"Tell
me, Creed. Please."

"You
sure you’re ready for all of this—a ready-made family consisting of
ghost-hunting parents and a real live ghost? And me?"

"I’m
ready. I’m finally ready…and it’s all because of you."

"I’m
finally ready, and it’s all because of
you,
" he told her. "I
love you, Annika."

The
floor of the plane began to tremble. Annika smiled, her face breaking wide
open. "I love you too, baby. So much."

I
love you both, will protect you both. It’s the way Oz wanted it,
Kat whispered, and then there was a gentle touch on
his back. He heard Ani suck in a breath and realized that Kat was touching her
too. Accepting her. Accepting them both.

"We
love you too, Kat," he whispered, as his past and present merged with a
force that shook the entire jet…and his soul.

His
future was left in the care of two women, one watching his back and one in his
arms, holding him so tight he could barely breathe.

Wyatt
and Faith checked into a bed-and-breakfast on the outskirts of Belfast, a
small, secluded manor where she’d stayed before and where she knew the owners well
enough to trust them to alert her to trouble. After settling into their room,
she and Wyatt took a moonlit, hand-in-hand stroll around the area, pretending
to be a married couple while mapping out potential escape routes.

ML’d
had the foresight to include a wig and makeup in the purchases he’d made for
them, so she’d disguised her dark hair with a curly mane of ginger, had used
pale foundation and rouge to create a ruddy complexion. Though it was unlikely
Liberty’s captors would know where she was staying, Faith didn’t want to take a
chance that someone might recognize her—she especially didn’t want to tip off
the bastards that she had anyone with her.

After
a late dinner at a local pub, they went back to their room, feeling rested
despite the travel. Between bouts of furious lovemaking, they’d both managed to
catch naps on the flight.

Faith
had never had so much sex in her life. She was a little sore, but it was a good
ache, one that reminded her that in Wyatt she’d met her match in every way. For
a while, she could almost pretend they were lovers on vacation. Normal people
who didn’t hold the lives of others in their hands. In the pub they’d laughed
and shared stories of places they’d been, and when the musicians played, Wyatt
had dragged her out on the floor to dance.

Though
she’d instinctively maintained situational awareness, and she knew Wyatt had as
well, she’d allowed herself to relax and enjoy herself for the first time in
years. The walk back to the B and B with Wyatt had been the most pleasant, quiet
moment of her life. They hadn’t spoken a word, but the incredible, magical
silence had said more than any conversation could have.

Reality
intruded, however, when she used the mobile phone Liberty’s captors had given
her to contact them.

The
male voice had sent a chill up her spine. "The meeting will take place in
forty-eight hours. We’ll contact you immediately before with further
instructions."

The
timing was bullshit. They wanted her to think she had time to prepare. No doubt
they’d spring an earlier meeting on her at the last minute. In any case, soon
she’d have Liberty, but she’d have lost Wyatt. Unless…unless she could work
something out with him. She’d have to test the waters.

"Tell
me again why ACRO doesn’t want the weather machine," she said, as he
poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher on the nightstand.

"We
don’t want to risk it getting into the wrong hands."

She
bit her lip, braced herself. "What if you knew it was in the right
hands?"

He’d
been about to take a sip from his glass, but he lowered his hand and pegged her
with a dark look. "There are no right hands. Why?"

"I
was just thinking that if ACRO’s—or maybe TAG’s—scientists studied it, we could
learn how to keep others from being built, or to neutralize those that
exist."

"No.
If you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting…"

She
shook her head, trying not to let her disappointment show. There was no way he
was going to come around on this, and any further talk would make him
suspicious. Her job now was to save her sister and then get the machine to
TAG’s scientists to study—and her feelings for Wyatt couldn’t get in the way,
no matter how much it hurt.

And
it did. A lot.

"It
was just an idea," she said with a shrug. "What is it you Yanks say?
No big?"

He
grinned. "Teenagers. Five years ago, maybe."

"Yeah,
well, it sometimes takes a while for Americanisms to cross the pond."

He
kissed her on the forehead and excused himself to go to the loo down the hall.
Quickly, she took advantage of the private moment to contact her agency. She
dialed, thanking God that Paula answered on the first ring.

"Faith!
It’s bloody well time you checked in. Where are you? Did you get the—"

"I
don’t have time," Faith interrupted. "I’m in Belfast. The exchange
will take place within forty-eight hours. I’m guessing much sooner."

"Where?"

"Unknown.
They’ll call with instructions. I need you to gather a team, and stage nearby
so you can be on deck when they call."

"They’ll
be expecting that."

"I
know. And I can’t risk screwing this up, so you’ll hang back. Way back. And
alert the Hatter Brigade as well."

"Done.
Do you know who these bastards are?"

Faith
rubbed her eyes, suddenly feeling the jet lag. "I suspect the ILF."

"Jesus.
Haven’t they had dealings with Itor?"

"Yeah.
Or we could be facing Itor defectors, or free agents who want a piece of the
weather-machine action."

Paula
cursed. "I don’t like this. I don’t like you going in by yourself."

"I’ve
been in stickier situations." Faith hesitated, and then blurted out,
"I have help, in any case. An ACRO operative."

There
was a heartbeat of silence, and then a screeched "
Are you mad?
Do
you think this ACRO agent is just going to let you walk away with the
motherboard?"

"Who
are you talking to?"

Faith
jumped, whirled to the doorway, where Wyatt was watching with hooded eyes,
shoulder braced against the doorjamb and arms crossed over his broad chest, as
though he didn’t have a care in the world.

Faith
knew better. And shit, how had she let him sneak up on her like that?

She
spoke quickly into the phone while keeping an eye on Wyatt. "I have to go.
I’ll ring you later." She hung up. "I was talking to my agency,"
she said. "We’re on my turf now. You have your resources, I have
mine."

"What’s
the Hatter Brigade?"

"Cleanup
crew." It wasn’t a lie, exactly, but it wasn’t the truth either. In the
battle against Liberty’s captors, she and Wyatt might have to deal with people
with special powers, and the Hatter—as in "Mad Hatter"—Brigade
specialized in handling people with special abilities.

They
also contained them in facilities with which Wyatt had too much experience, and
she definitely didn’t want to spook him.

"Tell
me what’s going on, Faith. If I’m going into battle, I deserve to know
everything. I’m willing to trust you, but I don’t know your agency, and I’m not
putting either of our lives, or the weather machine, in the hands of people I
don’t know."

"Like
I did with ML?" she asked quietly.

"You
didn’t have much of a choice."

"And
you do?"

"I
could have the full backing of ACRO and a dozen agents on the ground in a
matter of hours. So yeah, I have a choice."

"Are
you threatening me?"

Wyatt
snorted. "I’m exposing my throat, Faith. I’m telling you how I
should
handle this, and I’m asking you to throw me a bone and give me a reason not to
feel like a fucking idiot for going against what every instinct is screaming at
me to do."

He
was right. Had the situation been reversed, she would be asking for the same
thing. But she couldn’t tell him she planned to keep the weather machine. He’d
stop her, and she had a feeling he’d do whatever it took.

"My
team will be standing by. They’ll be close, but they won’t interfere unless
needed. I can’t risk them being seen and compromising the mission. It’s why I
didn’t want you to bring ACRO in on this. Coordinating my agency and yours
while trying to deal with the people who have Liberty could end in
disaster."

"When
were you going to tell me your agency was going to assist?"

"I’m
telling you now. You exposed your throat. I’m exposing mine." Her hand
came up to brush her choker. "Again."

He
crossed the span of floor between them in three strides, took her face in his
big hands and kissed her breathless. When he finally broke the kiss, she found
she’d sagged against him, needing him to brace her shaky knees.

"What
was that for?" she whispered.

"Because
I don’t want to play secret agent right now. I want to play married couple who
don’t believe the world outside the room exists."

Tears
sprang to her eyes. "That sounds wonderful."

He
twirled a finger in one of the wig’s ringlets. "When this is over, and
that damned motherboard is in pieces, we’re not going to play at being a
couple. We’re going to be one for real."