22. This Can’t End Well

TWENTY-TWO

this can't end well

The six of us stare at each other, not sure if we heard Autumn correctly.

"The goddess?" Amelia repeats. "Are you sure, Autumn?"

She helps the immortal child sit up, coughing water as she moves. "Yes. The goddess." She coughs again, this time spewing gallons from her body. "She's the one who took us down there. She left me and took Alexander."

"Eudora?" Amelia asks our group.

"Anything's possible at this point." I turn back toward Autumn. "Was there anyone with the goddess? Another woman perhaps?"

"No," she answers. "She was alone."

I cross my arms in front of my chest. "Is anyone else confused? This entire thing is a load of shit. I don't know who's going where or when, or who the bad guy is. It seems to be changing rapidly."

"I think we can all agree that Kragen is the bad guy." Thorne moves to my side. His wounds are mostly healed, and he stands straighter than earlier. "Patrice was a close second."

Amelia helps Autumn to her feet. "Can you tell us what the goddess looked like?" she asks the young girl.

"She was beautiful. Her hair was the color of sand, and her eyes were the color of emeralds."

"That certainly sounds like Eudora. What would she want with Alex?" Thorne asks the group.

"His ability?" Luna answers. "It could be very valuable."

"Yeah, but Eudora's a goddess. The ability to read minds is nothing in her world," Micah answers. "There's more to it than the obvious."

"Because of me," I say as reality hits me. "She's holding him until I do what she wants."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Elsie, but what would a goddess want from you?" Luna's words are harsh.

"She wants her to kill Kragen," Thorne fills in the blanks.

"Are we back to that again?" Luna continues. "What the hell is it with you and Kragen? Do you two have some sort of love connection?"

As soon as the words leave her mouth, Thorne is on top of the young lycanthrope with teeth bared. Topher doesn't waste a second and shifts back into wolf form. He snarls at the vampire, protecting the member of his pack.

"Stop!" I shout, moving to the center of the shit show that's about to begin. "This isn't going to solve anything." I make eye contact with Amelia, who moves closer to her husband. I do the same for Thorne.

"What the hell was that?" Luna asks. "I'm here to help, and you try to kill me?"

Thorne's teeth return back to normal. "I'm sorry, Luna."

"Yeah, well sorry's not going to fix the fact that you just tried to eat me."

"Everyone needs to calm down. We'll be no help to Alex if we're fighting each other." Amelia rubs a wound healing on her arm from her fight with Thorne as she speaks. "If Elsie's right and Eudora took Alex to convince her to kill Kragen, then we need to figure out our next step."

"I'm next stepped out," Luna announces, sitting heavily on a large rock.

"We can't leave him," Everly says, tears filling her eyes. "We can't leave Alexander alone with her."

"Yeah, I know," Luna answers. "I'm just hangry."

"What does that mean?" Everly asks.

"It means I need to eat." Luna stands, pulling Everly with her. "I have no intentions of leaving Alex with Eudora." She sighs and props her hands on her hips. "Do we even know where to find Eudora?"

"She left a message for you," Autumn says, moving toward her sister.

"Patrice?" I ask.

Autumn's tiny head shakes back and forth. "No, the goddess."

"What's the message?" Thorne asks.

The young girl closes her eyes before speaking. "If you want the boy, you know what you must do." Autumn wipes large tears from her eyes. "She's going to kill him if you don't do what she wants."

I wrap an arm around her shoulder. "I'm not going to allow that." I turn toward the paranormal team. "I won't allow her to kill him."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say, we won't allow that either." Amelia props her hands on her hips, copying Luna's stance. "Let's go kill the bastard."

"No," I interrupt. "This is something I have to do alone."

"Elsie—" Thorne starts.

"I'm sorry, Thorne. I have to do this alone. She has Alex. I won't allow something to happen to you or anyone else for that matter." I turn back toward the group. "I'm the only one who can do this."

"The boat is on its way to pick us up." Amelia slides a phone back into her pocket. "We'll discuss this further at the house."

I nod, knowing I have no intentions of discussing anything. Discussing is all we've done. It's time for action .

On cue, the roar of an engine echoes off the concrete walls of the lighthouse. Topher carries Autumn, while Thorne carries Everly. We load the boat in silence.

"You folks look like you've been in a fight," the captain announces with an awkward laugh. "Everyone okay?"

"We're good," Micah smiles. "Just ready to get back to land."

"I can understand that." He turns toward Amelia. "The boy is with the woman who paid me."

"Good. Thank you for taking care of him," I answer for the group.

We pull back into the Riverwalk and to the dock we departed from earlier. "Oh, I almost forgot," our captain says as we unload. "The woman asked me to let you know that the SUV is parked in lot G." He shrugs. "I'm guessing y'all will know what that means."

"We do, thank you again," Luna answers. We move in slow motion into the parking lot area, searching for G.

……

Several hours have passed since being back at the house. Thorne hasn't spoken much since returning. Angry energy pours from him, and if the tables were turned, I'd feel the same.

"You know I have to do this alone," I announce as he exits the shower. He's wearing nothing but a towel, hung low on his hips. I focus on keeping my attention on his face.

"No, I don't know that." He pulls the towel off, revealing every inch of him while he dries his extremities. "Why are you always doing this?"

I clear my throat before responding. "Doing what?"

"This!" He throws his arms to the side. "You insist on doing everything alone. You're going to burst in there with guns blaring and get yourself killed. Kragen has been building a crew, and we have no way of knowing how many people you're going to come in contact with."

"Thorne, you have to…"

"No, Elsie. I don't have to do anything except protect you." Tears fill his eyes, and guilt fills me at the sight.

"I'm sorry, Thorne."

"I spent two hundred years searching for you, and now that I've found you, you're…you're…"

"What? Being stupid? Crazy? What label do you want to put on me?"

"I'm not labeling you." He wipes a tear from his cheek. "You're asking me to lose you again and again and again." Thorne slips on a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants before sitting heavily on the bed. "I can't keep doing this."

Tears well in my eyes. "I understand." My words are no louder than a whisper.

"I don't think you do, Elsie. I'm not telling you goodbye. I'm telling you I love you, and I need you to lower those walls you keep bound around your heart." He moves in front of me. "I'm not Kragen. I'm not the men on his ship." His voice trails off as he moves until there's barely space between us. "I'm Captain Hawthorne Rex. The man who fell in love with the strongest woman he'd ever met." Warm fingers slide along my cheek. "You're still the strongest woman I've ever met, but you can't ask me to stand by and allow you to walk into the unknown alone. I'm not strong enough."

Tears slide down my cheeks. "What if something happens?"

"Then we'll be together." His voice has softened, as he wipes my cheek dry. "I don't want to be here if you're not. I don't want to live my life without you. We're going together, Elsie."

"Okay," I whisper.

Thorne pulls me close, wrapping his arms around my waist and lifting me off the floor. I wrap my legs around his waist, feeling every inch of him through my thin leggings. "We don't have time," I pant between kisses.

"I'll be quick," he answers, backing me up against the ornately wallpapered wall behind us. "Get these off." He pulls at the fabric separating the two of us.

I follow directions as he lowers my feet to the floor, allowing me to lose the pants while never losing contact with his mouth. Seconds later, my legs are back in position as he backs us into the wall. Strong hands grab my ass, pulling the softest part of me closer to the hardest part of him.

He doesn't waste a moment. The moment he enters me, my breath catches in my throat. The sensation of being filled completely is nearly enough to bring me over the edge right there. Thorne pushes deeper, his speed intensifying as the two of us make up for our years apart, make up for the pain that we've shared, and the pain we're about to experience. His tongue pushes into my mouth, matching the intensity of his thrusts.

"Acushla," he sighs just as he pushes deep inside, holding himself as his entire body shudders. The connection pushes me over the edge, causing us to climax in unison. The sensation brings tears to my eyes. Not tears of pain, but tears of complete and utter love for the man who became a vampire to find me. The man who's been at my side since I was the sickly nineteen-year-old, taking care of her younger siblings. The man who's willing to fight by my side, even if it means his death.

"I love you," I whisper into his ear. "I love you for who you are and everything that you've done and will do."

"I love you, too."

Pulling my legs from his body, I lower myself to the floor, never taking my eyes off Thorne's. "It's time."

"Aye," he agrees. " It is."

We take a few minutes to dress, each finding clothes that are easy to move in, not sure what the future holds. We move downstairs, finding the rest of our crew, along with Fran and baby Edon.

"The girls are resting upstairs," Fran announces as we join them.

"Brayden?" I ask anyone who will answer.

"Locked in one of the guest bedrooms on the third floor," she answers. "I didn't want the temptation around the girls."

"Thorne is going with me," I announce.

My new friends share a look. "Yeah, we figured," Luna answers.

"Topher and I need to stay here with Edon," Amelia adds. Sadness fills her voice.

"I wouldn't have let you come anyway." I turn toward Luna and Micah. "Before you two say anything, you're not invited, either."

Luna looks at the wooden floorboards. "Elsie, I'm sorry for being a bitch earlier."

I pull her into a hug, allowing her fragrance to fill my nostrils. "Luna, you're my only friend. I didn't think you were being a bitch. You're tired. Hell, we're all tired."

"Where's Kragen?" I ask the Alpha.

Topher closes his eyes. "The bayou."

"That's a large area," Thorne interrupts. "Can you narrow it down slightly?"

"I've got the GPS in the SUV set for you. It'll be easier to get there in a vehicle and draw less attention." Topher hands the keys to Thorne.

Amelia hugs me, pulling me tight. "Be safe. I'm sorry about earlier." She moves in front of Thorne. "Sorry about the fight. Everly's power is stronger than anything I've ever experienced." She nods upstairs to where the girls are.

"Aye. I've never felt control like that before. It was a little…off-putting."

"Thank you for everything. In case we—" I start.

"No. We're not going to think like that," Luna interrupts. "You guys are going to do what needs to be done and get Alex back. Kragen has lived past his prime, anyway."

……

Thirty minutes later, we turn onto a road that gives end of the world vibes. Tall ancient oak trees that have withstood hundreds of storms through the years line the path. Their twisted branches stretch and turn in all directions as they beckon us into the unknown.

"This looks like the perfect place for a pirate," Thorne says as we continue. "It's also the perfect place to figure out what we're going to do when we get there. We haven't talked about a plan."

I shrug. "I have no idea what we're going to find when we get there, which makes it impossible to form a plan. Right now, the plan is simple—kill him. "

"Aye." His voice is barely audible.

The sensation of vampire energy comes from nowhere and hits me like a brick wall. Thorne slams on the brakes, obviously feeling it too. "What the hell?"

We step out of the SUV, searching through the trees for the source. "Do you recognize the energy?" Thorne asks.

"Somewhat. But I'm not sure who it belongs to." I move behind the SUV, and the feeling grows. "It's worse back here." The energy feels both young and old at the same time. I raise the lift gate of the SUV, and the energy nearly overtakes me. A hand-sewn quilt covers the floor. Underneath are two very suspicious bumps. Pulling the quilt back, two tiny heads pop out, each smiling a toothy grin.

"What the hell? Girls, why are you here?" Thorne scolds.

"We want to save Alex," Everly answers. "He's our brother."

"We're not going to save Alex. We're…" I walk away, not sure how to explain what we're doing. "Where we're going, it's not safe for either of you."

"We want to help," Autumn answers with large tears filling her eyes.

Thorne pulls the quilt completely away. Both girls are wearing modern clothing and are cleaner than earlier. "We appreciate your offer, but we're not willing to put either of you in that kind of danger." I cross my arms in front of my chest as I speak, hoping to appear more threatening to the immortal children.

"Whatever you're doing, we can help." Autumn slides out of the back of the SUV, clearly not intimidated. "We have abilities."

"Aye, I know. The man we're going to see will want you for those abilities."

"How'd we get this far from the house without recognizing your energies?" Thorne interrupts, asking an excellent question.

Everly smiles. "I borrowed the boy's ability and hid us."

"Brayden's ability?" I ask. "How?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I just did."

"Can you borrow anyone else's ability?"

Everly turns toward her sister. She stares at the doe-eyed girl for a few seconds before turning back to the SUV. Seconds later, the SUV is lifted from the gravel road, hanging in the air several feet.

"Holy shit. Did you do that?" I ask, knowing the answer.

"I guess," Everly answers before putting our vehicle back on the ground.

"Maybe they could help." Thorne's words are no louder than a whisper.

"We could!" Autumn enthusiastically answers for the two of them.

"You're asking us to take you into an environment where you could die. Do you realize this is not a game?" I turn into the stern parent.

"Will this help get Alex back?" Everly asks.

Thorne and I share a look before I answer. "It could, but there's a chance all of us could die trying."

"Then you have to let us help. We'll stay out of your way and use our abilities from a safe spot," Autumn argues.

"There are no safe spots." I prop my hands on my hips. "Thorne and I may not survive. If that happens, you will be taken captive, and…and you'll wish you were dead." I don't go into detail.

The girls turn toward each other locked in a silent conversation. "We're coming," Autumn answers. "It's no use arguing with us. You won't win. We'll just follow you."

"Dammit," I sigh. "One condition." The girls nod. "If something happens to Thorne or me, you run. You run faster than you've ever run in your lives, and you don't turn around for anyone or anything until you're safe with Fran or Amelia. Do you understand?" I can't believe I'm considering this.

"We understand," they answer in unison.