Bound by Legend: A Bound Novel (21 page)

The next morning Isobel and Damien came through the front door.

“Looks like you’ll be on the move again,” Isobel said as she lifted the suitcase in her hand.

“Looks like it. Not much else I can do with this stupid demon radar in my head and hellhounds possibly taking an interest.”

“Come on, I’ll help you pack.” Isobel headed for the stairs.

Morgan followed behind with Lucy on her heels. The dog seemed determined to remain glued to Morgan. All things considered, that suited Morgan just fine. Lucy had weathered the winter streets of Denver with her. She was a friend, a confidant, and a comfort.

Isobel set to work immediately, pulling out clothes and laying them on the bed. Morgan watched, a little bemused by it. If it had been left up to her, she would have stuffed a couple of pairs of jeans into her backpack and as many shirts as she could wad up and shove in and that would be it. After bouncing around foster homes and then living on the street, it was how she’d learned to pack. Her friend seemed to have a whole other system. One that included folding and arranging.

Resigned to doing it Isobel’s way, Morgan began taking her shirts off hangers and folding them. So what if her folding was a little haphazard, at least it was done. Isobel stared at the kind-of-folded shirts and without saying a word, packed them into a suitcase. And that was why Morgan could be friends with someone so different from her.

The only thing Morgan refused to give up completely was the backpack. Experience had taught her to expect the worst and be prepared. An extra pair of jeans, underwear, socks, a shirt, her carton of cigarettes, extra lighter, her wallet empty except for her license, and the damned locket all went into the backpack Lucian had given her. Isobel glanced at it a couple of times, but said nothing.

They worked in silence for several minutes. Finally, Isobel asked, “How are things going with Lucian?”

“Fine.”

“Just, fine?”

“What do you want me to say? He’s a good dark angel.”

Isobel looked like she wanted to say something else. Thankfully, whatever it was, she kept quiet and switched subjects. “Lucian said he’s got you set up for several different hotels in Denver. If keeping Lucy with you becomes a problem, Damien and I will be happy to keep her for a while.”

Morgan snorted as she pulled the contents of her underwear drawer out in one large double handful and tossed it into the suitcase. “I’m sure Sorsha would
love
that. Besides, Lucy is never a problem. I’ll sleep on a bench somewhere before sending her away again.”

“The offer stands if ever you need it. And Sorsha would get over it.” Isobel laughed as she carefully rearranged all of the underwear and socks into a semblance of order. “It might do the princess good to have to deal with a dog.”

The image of Isobel’s cat in the same room with Lucy made Morgan smile as she tossed the last of her things in.

It really hadn’t taken long. It wasn’t like she had a lot of stuff. She pulled the two coats from the closet and deposited them on the bed next to the backpack. Who knew how long it would be before they came back here. If they ever did. Along with the one suitcase, it made such a small pile. The extent of her nineteen years. Nothing else in the room really belonged to her. A sense of Deja vu overwhelmed her. Shaking it off, Morgan turned away from the bed.

“While Lucian finishes up whatever it is he has to do, I’m going to see Jake.”

Concern flashed across Isobel’s face. “Do you think that’s wise given the hounds’ interest?”

“If the hounds want me dead, then I’ll be dead. The last time Jake saw me, I was in pretty bad shape. He deserves to know I’m all right.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

Morgan shook her head. “You know what the neighborhood is like. I know how to survive in it, you don’t.”

THEY CARRIED HER
suitcase and coats down to the living room and set it all on the couch. All except the backpack, Morgan kept that slung over one shoulder. Lucian’s keys lay where he always dropped them on the end table near the door. She picked them up and turned to him. “I need to see Jake.”

Lucian studied her before nodding. “Call if you need me. Oh, before you go, you might leave my car here and take your own.”

“What?” She turned to look where he pointed. A set of keys hung from a hook next to the door.

“I took care of it a couple of days ago. The dealership dropped it off while you were packing. I figured you might like to have a set of wheels that belonged to you.”

Morgan didn’t know what to say. He had bought her a car? Of her own? Her eyes stung and she blinked them to push back the threatening wetness. Not even Arabrim had done that. He’d always insisted that what was his was hers, but it hadn’t been. Not really.

As if he read her thoughts Lucian said, “The title is in your name. It’s all yours. Insurance is paid up for the next two years, tags are on it.”

She set his keys back on the table and slowly reached for those on the hook. A glance at Isobel’s radiant expression and Damien’s amused look and it was obvious the two had been in on it. Finally, her gaze rested on Lucian. He flashed a cocky half-grin. “This way, when you decide to take off again, I still have my own car.”

Never in her life had she been given a gift of this magnitude. “Thank you, Lucian. I can’t even express… It’s…”

“It’s all right. Don’t worry about it.” He cleared his throat. “Take it for a drive, see Jake, and keep your phone on you.”

Sudden guilt at leaving him to deal with everything crept over her. She motioned toward his laptop. “Are you sure you don’t want any help with all of that.”

He glanced at the open computer. “Go away, Morgan. I got this.”

Isobel pushed her toward the door. “Go see it!”

Morgan stepped outside, suddenly afraid that Lucian had spent a bunch of money on a car for her. What she found was a Suburban. It wasn’t new, but it wasn’t old either. The black paint job gleamed in the warm sunshine.

Lucian appeared next to her as she gazed at the truck that was now hers. “I hope you like it. I originally looked at cars, then thought you might want something with plenty of room for Lucy. And if you ever do run, there is room to sleep in it. This way I won’t have to worry about you crashing on a park bench somewhere for the night.”

When she didn’t say anything, he said, “If you don’t like it, we can take it back right now and you can get something different.”

“Shut up for a minute.” Morgan clenched the keys in her hand until the sharp edges pressed into her skin. No one was taking her truck from her. “Let me just wrap my head around the fact that it’s mine.”

“You like it then?”

“It’s perfect,” she whispered suddenly beyond thankful that Arabrim had helped her get her license even if he’d never given her a vehicle of her own.

“Here,” he handed her a thick fold of twenties and a card, “for gas or whatever you need. Or whatever you feel Jake needs. The card will debit one of the bank accounts set up for dark angels. Money isn’t an issue, so don’t worry about how much you spend.”

Morgan looked at Lucian for the first time since stepping out the door. “How do you do it?”

He frowned. “Do what?”

“Know the right thing to say. Know what I need most.”

“Oh.” Lucian cleared his throat and looked at the truck as he stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his well-fitting jeans. “It’s my job to take into account your needs.”

Isobel shot Lucian a glare that should have killed him right then and there. How could he say that? Isobel knew very well how much he cared for Morgan. Why didn’t he just say it? She stepped forward, her mouth opening with the intention of giving him a piece of her mind. Damien’s hand on her shoulder stayed her. Isobel glanced up at Damien’s intense blue eyes and subsided when he gave a tiny shake of his head.

Isobel folded her arms across her chest and settled for giving Lucian evil looks. His job to take into account his channel’s needs, her foot. He was many things, but he wasn’t a mind reader. The fact that Lucian cared enough for Morgan to already know her so well spoke volumes even if the he was too much of an idiot to speak it himself.

Morgan looked away, resting her gaze on the truck as Lucian’s words rang in her mind. That’s right. Lucian was a good dark angel. Arabrim had never done things like this, had never made her feel it was okay to run if she needed to, never given her something to run away in. He hadn’t considered her needs this way. He wasn’t a tyrant, he wasn’t like this either. She ached for Lucian’s action to be something more than duty and walled herself off from the idea at the same time.

She walked to the truck and opened the back passenger side door. “Come on, Lucy. Let’s go see Jake.”

The Rottweiler bounded across the driveway and leaped onto the bench seat, her tongue lolling happily out of her mouth. Morgan tossed the backpack onto the floorboard then rounded the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat. A turn of the key and the engine rumbled to life. It wasn’t loud, but she could definitely hear the power under the hood. The fabric interior was clean and smelled of the linen scent she was so fond of. Must be an air-freshener in there somewhere.

The stereo beckoned her from the dashboard and she couldn’t help reaching over to turn it on. Crystal clear music flowed from the speakers. That couldn’t be stock. Had it already been in the truck or did Lucian have it installed?

She waved at the three standing on the front lawn and backed out of the driveway. The truck rolled smoothly down the road. She navigated her way out of the neighborhood and headed into Denver. The houses gave way to open road. Tall hills rose up on her right and scattered groups of trees dotted the sides of the road, their limbs flush with the bright green of new spring leaves.

Traffic wasn’t too bad and before long, the outskirts of Denver took over the landscape. Traffic grew heavier and she grumbled under her breath while Lucy watched out the windows as they drew closer to familiar grounds.

An odd sort of homecoming washed over her as the truck drew close to the park. The trees, thick with spring growth, dominated the left side of the road, while the backside of the massive brick building spread out on the right. Morgan turned into the string of parking spaces across from the building.

Up ahead, the building gave way to a tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire that slanted outward, protecting the property behind it. On the other side of the road, stretched along the river, the park spread out.

A small rise prevented Morgan from seeing the river that ran next to the park. She left the truck and let Lucy out, snapping a leash on the dog’s collar. Morgan ignored the various picnic tables placed about and started walking east. She cut through the park without slowing. Jake hated the park during the day when it was more likely people would be there.

Instead she walked beyond the maintained, green grass and over a small, weed-choked hill. Five sets of railroad tracks spread out. She walked along them as they disappeared into the shade of the of the highway overpass. Tucked up underneath it were various temporary camps. Down lower, Patsy pushed her cart along, her cat rode like a king on top of the pile of things in the rickety cart.

Morgan waved to Patsy and greeted several of the others as she passed them, her eyes constantly on the search for Jake. He wasn’t there. Not surprising given the number of people. Leaving the overpass behind, she continued to follow the tracks, until she cut between a couple of businesses. The roar of traffic on the highway a short block away drown all but the closest birds.

A soft breeze sent strands of her rich brown hair waving lazily. Overhead, clouds jostled for space in the sky, sometimes coming together and other times breaking apart to allow warm sunshine to pour through. At least it was a nice day for walking. Lucy seemed content to pad along, nose working as she took in the familiar scents.

After Morgan crossed a main street, she cut down an alley, searching in the more out of the way places. It was empty. Like before she went to Lucian’s, Morgan spent the entire day walking as she crisscrossed the area. A sense of freedom lifted her spirits. Out here, on the move, the demons would lose track of her. If the pack really did want to find her then they probably already would have.

Senses on high alert, as always, and hyper-aware of her surroundings and anyone in them, she relaxed into the rhythm of the streets.