SEVENTEEN - Thorn

SEVENTEEN

Thorn

Irun my hand down Alana's arm as she cuddles against me, her back to my front. With a soft patter of rain dropping against the windowpane, the sense of tranquility and peace wafts through me. Although I know it won't last, I take a moment to enjoy the sensation.

The dark possessiveness taking root deep inside me cuts a harsh path. She gave herself willingly to me, and I'm holding her to that promise.

Forever.

Stretching languidly, she yawns, the sound cute. Her hair is a wild mass that I spread over the pillow and up the headboard. I still can't believe how silky it is. I buried my face in its fragrant curls more than once during the long night. Even now, I run my fingers through it, captured by the feeling of the soft strands over my roughened skin. Yet another difference between us that seems right.

"How are you?" I ask, my voice deep in the calm morning.

"Good," she replies, her voice drowsy. I didn't let her get much sleep, but I can't find it in me to regret the night. She trails her fingers along my forearm in a soft touch, every word she speaks a small taste of honey on my tongue. "You have so many scars—who whipped you?"

I'm surprised by the question, figuring she would've already figured out the answer. Growing up within the violent world of the four families, there isn't time or space for naiveté. "My father."

She jolts and I realize that she doesn't belong in our dangerous world. She should be protected and secured far away from the violence and pain around us every day. Frustration bites at me that I won't be able to keep her safe if there's a war coming.

Everything inside me knows war is on the wind.

"I shouldn't have told you that." I roll her honey taste around on my tongue. Maybe I should record her voice to keep with me forever. It's much better than the bitter mints I use to protect myself.

"Why not? It's the truth. That's a thing with you, right?" There's amusement in her voice now and I wonder if I'd really heard the sorrow. Maybe not. "Why would your father beat you?" She sounds young and innocent again, tempting the beast down inside me that I've subdued.

I rub my thumb over a bite mark I left on her arm. "It was after Justice, his mom, and I were taken. Father was angry I let it happen." The memory bursts through me, and I hate him even more for interrupting our blissful morning.

She's quiet for a moment and I can almost hear the gears turning in her head. "Wait a minute. You were kidnapped, tortured, and scarred, and when he rescued you, he beat you?" Now outrage fills her voice.

I calm her by sliding my fingers through hers, being careful not to break her fragile bones. "Yes, I was ten years old and Justice only eight, Charity was murdered, and I shouldn't have let it happen."

"You were just kids," she bursts out, pushing against me.

"It was a long time ago, Alana," I say, trying to ease her. Is she outraged on my behalf? It was as it was and there is no changing it. The scar on my face makes that fact all too clear.

She scoots her sweet butt closer to my groin, and I fight the urge to take her again. Three times in one night, her first night, was probably too much. Perhaps there is time for her to take a bath before breakfast. "I'm glad you had time with Justice's mother, since it feels like she was kind to you."

I want to give Alana something of me, even though admitting my childhood foolishness seems silly. "The week she died? I had big plans to ask her to be my mother."

Alana curls her fingers tighter around mine and I realize she's trying to offer comfort. My heart thumps once. Hard. "Tell me your plan. Please say you weren't going to order her around." Now she's teasing me, and something inside me unfurls. A solid block around my heart cracks, letting in light for the first time I can remember.

"No, I was going to ask." I hold Alana closer. "I was going to pick flowers from the garden, yellow roses because those were her favorite, and I was going to ask her if I could call her Mom." I shrug, reliving the memory. "I had accidentally called her Mom several times and she'd responded just as she would to Justice. My own mother died when I was still a baby," I say. "I figured it would be nice to have one, and she treated me like she cared." She looked like Justice with her dark hair and pretty brown eyes.

"I'm sorry she died," Alana says softly.

My phone buzzes and I glance at the screen. "I have to take this." I press a quick kiss to Alana's head. "You need sleep. I'll awaken you in a few hours." Without waiting for a response, I slide from the bed and pull on my slacks before padding barefoot out of the room and down to my study.

After shutting the door and sitting at my cold desk, I settle into work. "What is it, Kaz?" He mumbles something as if he's talking to himself. "Kaz," I say, with more force.

"Oh, sorry. I'm on the mainframe and the charge isn't lasting as long as usual. Do you have the main garnet anywhere around?"

"Yeah." I stare at the chunk of rock I'd brought home and then left on my desk as Kaz's taste of red licorice fills my mouth. It's fleeting, as usual. More of the garnet has frozen. Ice encrusts the entire left quarter as if trying to bore inside. I shiver as I realize my feet and legs are doing the same. During my night with Alana, I hadn't noticed. Here in the light of day, it's all too obvious. "The rock doesn't look good."

Kaz types loudly, punching keys. "I'm doing deep dives on all quantum magical possibilities while trying to hack into the servers of the three other families, but their security is almost as good as ours. Having these alexandrite crystals will help."

The alexandrite, if there is magic on earth, is as close as we're going to get. "I'll be in later today to help with the search. I have to run an errand first." My skills are as good as Kaz's. Between the two of us, perhaps we can find some clue about where this illness came from.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asks.

"No."

He sighs. "I did trace the video featuring Alana to Jackie, who was paid fifty thousand dollars before posting. She knew what she was doing."

"Now she's dead."

"Yeah. I'm trying to track the source of the payment."

I've always had enemies, so this isn't a surprise. But when I find them, they'll pay for involving Alana. I keep my temper at bay because Kaz hasn't slept in a week and is doing his best. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. The dead body of the woman found outside a downtown bar has been determined not to be Alana Beaumont. But it took DNA testing to find out because her face is smashed. She's the third one in the last couple of years."

I consider the matter. "Third one? As in related kills?"

"Not sure. Young women, downtown San Francisco, killed. The city is a cesspool of crime, so who knows. I'll look into it."

Either way, Alana's days of frequenting bars have now ended. "I'll be down to the office shortly." I click off.

Without preamble, my phone buzzes again. I catch sight of the caller and then flick on a video screen. Mathias Beaumont's face comes into view and I shove all emotion into the void where it belongs. It took him longer than I expected to find my more public phone number. Well, as public as I get. "Mathias," I say calmly.

His face turns red. "Where the hell's my daughter, you miscreant?"

My mouth fills with the taste of burned chicken, and I swear. Where are my mints? "Don't tell me you were careless enough to lose such a precious jewel." I put enough of an insult in my voice that he prickles instantly.

He stands up, looking close to having a heart attack. "I know you have her. In the quick escape from the bar, your people missed several traffic cams in the area."

That's probably the truth. "She's staying here, Mathias."

"You sure about that?" He leans in, his nostrils flaring. "This isn't my first kidnapping or ransom."

I smile, knowing the sight is chilling. "I have what I want."

His gaze turns calculating. "Actually, I have what you want." He reaches to the side and uses both hands to lift a raw uncut garnet in front of the screen. It's at least ten pounds—even bigger than the one connected to me. "Rumor has it you're looking for this." Mathias plops the stone on a surface out of sight and fury claws through my chest. "I'm proposing a trade."

I've sent so many feelers out for a garnet that size, it's a waste of time asking where he gleaned his information. I let coldness glimmer in my eyes. "You seem to be forgetting that I have your daughter." Am fully planning on keeping her. But that stone. I can feel its power. Can it cure me? Save Malice Media?

He scoffs. "This is a onetime offer—my daughter for this crystal. An exchange like in the old days. If you say no, I'll cut this thing up and grind every molecule to dust." His gaze narrows. "It's bigger than the one you have, but not by much. Why are you searching so hard for it?"

I can't tell if he's playing me or not. If he knows why, then he had a hand in creating the virus to destroy my garnet and my life. If he doesn't, then he's probably in danger since I'm sure he's the person who charges the stones for Aquarius Social. "The why of it is none of your business." I rapidly think through my options and don't like any of them. "Your daughter is safe here. You failed to keep her so."

"No, I didn't. I had guards in the bar and they helped take out the would-be kidnappers."

So he has the truth as well. "Who was behind the attack?" At the very least, I'll put them in the ground.

"Don't know yet," Mathias says. "We've traced the squad to the Twenty-One Purple gang, but so far, nobody knows who hired them."

Fury pounds through me. Alana is mine and nobody can take her, especially her asshole father. "I have someone on the inside of the gang and will find out. Alana stays here."

"Absolutely not."

Heat slashes through my chest. She's mine and she's fucking safer with me. "Still need a sacrificial lamb, do you?"

He doesn't like my sneer and his cheeks puff out. "My family matters are not your concern. Watching this stone be ground down might be."

Damn it. I need that garnet, but Alana has slid right beneath my skin, and the idea of letting her go is unthinkable. Still, I'm no good to her if I'm dead—I'll do whatever I must to secure a future with her. The memory of her sighing my name last night calms me. Slightly. "I'll trade you an alexandrite in a natural pyramid shape for the garnet."

"No. I want my daughter back."

I'm surprised. Maybe he does give a shit about her. "If you fail to keep her safe, I'll hunt you down and rip off layers of your skin, piece by piece."

His eyes cloud and then clear. Obviously confused. "She's engaged to another man, Beathach. Let's just get this over with."

I might kill him anyway. I can't tell her why I need the garnet. She'll tell her old man, and he can't have that knowledge over me. "All right, but I want your entire cache of garnets in addition to the large one. I'll send you coordinates half an hour before the meet in two hours." That way my snipers will be in place long before his.

"If you've touched her, I'll kill you," Mathias threatens. I've done a hell of a lot more than touch her, but that's none of Mathias's business. What happens between Alana and me is ours. I'm not sharing any of it with this asshole. "Don't be a moron."

"I want the quartz crystals and the four alexandrite pyramids you stole from me as well," he blurts out.

My smile feels cruel. "Sorry. Your garnets for one beauty. I'm keeping the crystals." I'm also keeping the beauty, as this is a temporary swap.

"Listen, you bastard." He leans closer into the frame. "If you want a war, I'll give you one. You won't win."

Considering I'm nowhere near done with his daughter, I might have to kill him if he doesn't retreat. That'll probably anger her. "Stop threatening me, little man. One more word and I'll forget my good intentions about returning your daughter. Piss me off, and I promise you'll never see her again." I glance out the window and see Dermot and another one of my men feeding the creatures in the moat.

Mathias snarls. "I want to see my daughter and I want to see her right now."

I glance at the darkened sky. "It's four in the morning. Your daughter is peacefully asleep. I'm not waking her up."

"I want to make sure she's okay."

I can't tell if he's being truthful or not. So far, in my opinion, he hasn't been a very good father. Does he miss his daughter or does he just need his best influencer for Aquarius Social? "Get used to disappointment," I mutter. "I'll send you the coordinates of the location fifteen minutes before the meet."

"You said half an hour," he sputters.

"I changed my mind." I click off. Appearing contradictory to one's enemies is a good thing. I don't want him having any idea what I'm capable of. I look again at the icy garnet on my desk. If he had anything to do with giving me this virus, I'll make sure he precedes me to meet the devil.