Redemption (17 page)

He could leave for months at a time and she would be here, waiting and wondering just exactly who it was that he was with and what he was doing. She had to wipe her sweaty palms on her dress as she fought against the constriction in her throat and the tears burning her eyes. She didn't want to see anyone get injured and she certainly didn't want him to have any more pressure on him, but she wasn't ready to seal this bond with him and lose herself to him completely in the process.

"I need some time," she said abruptly. She was pleased her legs held her weight as she rose to her feet. "This is just all too much right now."

He stiffly moved away from the bureau as he eyed her. "I understand you probably have some concerns..."

"I have
many
concerns." She was staggered by the sorrow that flickered through his eyes. It threatened to melt her resolve but she managed to keep herself together. "I just need some time."

His eyes were steely as they met hers, his jaw locked. "Take all the time you need Hannah."

She didn't have a chance to respond to him before he was out the door. The speed with which he had moved left her stunned motionless in the middle of the room. Her door began to swing closed but she did nothing to stop it. She was scared she'd just made a gigantic mistake but she couldn't bring her feet to move in order to stop him.

Jack lifted his chair and moved it to the side to keep an eye on the six men that had just entered the tavern. He didn't like having his back to the door, but William was positioned so that he could see anyone that entered the building. William tossed a couple of cards onto the table and waited for Timber to deal him new ones. Jack studied the six men attentively; he watched their movements as they rolled the dice and talked amongst themselves. There was nothing unusual about them but he'd seen the blond on the right with Calvin before.

He was actually hoping they would try and start something; he was spoiling for a fight after what had transpired between him and Hannah two nights ago. He was trying to give her the time she had requested but the fact was that it was taking all he had not to drag her upstairs and ease the growing discomfort in his veins and body.

He'd fed yesterday and today, a lot, but he still couldn't seem to quench his thirst and he knew that the only vein that would ease it was hers. If something didn't change soon they were going to need a lot more blood at the donation center, or he was going to kill someone. He was actually beginning to prefer the latter as he continued to study Calvin's men. Yes, it would definitely feel good to pummel one or all of them into the ground.

Is this what Braith had felt like?
He wondered as he tugged at the edge of his loose fitting collar and tried not to fidget in his chair. It was awful, this feeling that he didn't even belong in his own skin anymore. How had Braith not killed him after he'd taken Aria from him, how had he not lost his mind? It was something Jack felt like he was going to do as he scratched absently at his forearm and his fangs tingled.

His hand curled around the cards he was holding as the bloodlust he'd failed to quench earlier thrummed more forcefully through him. "Hey, we need those," Timber said and made a move to take the crumpled cards from his hand. A snarl escaped him before he could stop it. Timber held his hands up as he sat back in his chair. "Ok whatever, they're yours man."

Jack shook his head as he threw the crumpled cards onto the table. "Sorry," he muttered as his foot tapped against the ground.

"It's nothing personal Timber, someone is having some woman issues." William tried to sound carefree but Jack picked up on the tension in his voice.

"I see," Timber said. He rubbed at the scruff lining his jaw as he continued to eye Jack like he was afraid Jack was going to eat him. "Sucks to be him then."

"That's nothing new," William said as he slapped Timber on the shoulder. "Not with that ugly mug of his."

Jack turned his glare on William but his exceptionally brave friend only smiled pleasantly in return. Jack's attention was diverted from him when Hannah slipped from the kitchen with two plates of food in her hands. She placed them in front of two women just outside the kitchen door. He recognized one of the women from the store down the road but his attention remained riveted on Hannah.

The smile that spread over her mouth was warm as it lit her beautiful features and caused her green eyes to sparkle as brightly as a piece of jade held up to the sun. Her eyes slid to him, her smile slipped away as she ducked her head. She turned her attention back to the humans.

"I think he's got his prey in sight," Timber said.

Jack waited for William's wise ass retort but for once he seemed to have no words. That was something Jack hadn't even thought was possible. He forced his attention away from Hannah and back to his friends. William's hands were now the ones clenched around his cards, his mouth hung ajar. All the color had drained from his face to expose the faint freckles that he had mainly outgrown over the years, and were usually unnoticeable beneath his tan.

The look on his face caused Jack to brace himself for the stake he was certain was about to be plunged into his heart. He'd been so focused on Hannah that he'd dropped his guard, and he was certain he was now going to pay for that with his life.

Then, he heard the voice behind him and he thought he almost would have preferred to be staked. "So
this
is what you would rather do than spend your upcoming birthday with your siblings?"

William remained tongue-tied and unmoving but Jack finally forced himself to turn and face his extremely disapproving looking sister-in-law. The bloodlust and discomfort he had just been feeling was doused by the shock and joy that filled him at the sight of her. He hadn't realized just how much he'd missed the family he'd left behind until that instant.

Aria folded her arms over her chest; her crystalline blue eyes were narrowed upon her brother. She was wearing a pair of lightweight, beige pants and a thin green shirt like the kind he'd often seen her sporting in the woods. Her dark auburn hair hung in a braid over her shoulder to the middle of her chest. The bow that had been her constant companion in the woods was slung over her back. She may be a queen now but she would never shake her forest heritage and hoydenish ways.

"Aria?" Jack asked in disbelief.

Her eyes slid to his as she glowered at him. "Well it's certainly not my ghost."

He'd walked right into that one, he realized with an inward groan. His gaze slid past her as he searched for his brother, but he didn't see Braith amongst the patrons in the establishment. He had to be around somewhere, Aria was more than capable of taking care of herself but Braith would never allowed her to travel this far on her own.

Then, the door opened and Braith stepped through it with Daniel on his heels. Braith's eyes searched quickly over the occupants of the tavern before settling upon his wife. The scowl that spread over his face wasn't quite as fierce as the one Aria was still bestowing on them.

Daniel followed behind him as Braith turned his large frame sideways to maneuver through the tables and chairs. The clothing he wore wouldn't have distinguished him as the king as they were also the same loose fitting garb that the rebels had worn, and that he and William still sported. Jack still found it odd to see his brother without the black glasses that had shadowed his gray eyes for a hundred years before he'd met Aria. As Braith got closer, Jack saw that the faint scars encircling his eyes had faded even more since Jack had last seen him.

"I told you to stay close," Braith growled at Aria when he stepped up to the table.

"I'm perfectly fine." She waved her hand absently at him before her attention shifted back to her twin. "Are you going to hug me or not?" she demanded.

The color was finally returning to William's face as he focused on the bow and arrows on her back. "Are you going to shoot me?"

"It's a possibility," she confirmed.

"It's a definite possibility," Braith assured him. "Jack," he greeted with a smile and extended his hand.

Jack eyed Aria, half afraid she might shoot him too, as he rose to his feet and took hold of his brother's hand. "Braith, it's good to see you," he said honestly. "How are you?"

"I was better when I was spending the night in my own bed, instead of traipsing across the countryside looking for the two of you."

For the first time in a couple of days he didn't feel like killing something or someone as he released a small laugh. He owed his brother an apology for what he had put him and Aria through, and he had a feeling Braith would get a good laugh over what Hannah was doing to him now. "I bet you were."

William finally rose to his feet. He continued to eye Aria as if she might make him start singing soprano at any minute but he made his way around the table toward her. Aria finally dropped the scowl and broke into a wide smile as she threw her arms around her brother. William lifted her off the ground as he hugged her tightly and dropped her back to the floor.

"Our birthday's not for a couple of weeks, what are you doing here?" William asked her.

"Daniel and I missed you," she told him.

"A lot," Braith muttered but though he was trying to look displeased with William, Jack saw the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he watched his wife.

"We wanted to see you," Aria continued.

"She was
determined
to see you," Daniel said as he stepped forward and embraced his brother. "So was I."

William hugged them both again. "I'm glad you were."

"What's with the beard?" Aria inquired as she tugged at the hair along his chin.

He grinned as he rubbed at the trimmed beard. "Just trying something new."

She frowned at him before giving a brief nod. "I like it."

She extricated herself from her siblings and held her arms out as she turned to Jack. "Don't shoot me either," he told her.

She laughed as she hugged him. "Never. It's good to see you Jack, thank you for keeping him alive."

"I'd be terrified not too," he replied honestly as he released her. "How did you manage to get away?" Jack asked Braith.

Braith rolled his broad shoulders back as he shrugged. "Ashby, Max, and Gideon can handle things for a little while."

The door opened again and much to Jack's astonishment, Xavier stepped inside. The dark skinned, stocky vampire's black eyes landed upon them immediately. The tribal tattoos and flames licking against his chin and neck made more than a few heads turn in his direction as he walked across the room. "Xavier volunteered to travel through the woods with you?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"He still watches over Aria, even though she doesn't need it as much," Braith answered.

"She always needs it," William retorted.

Aria returned to glaring at him as she folded her arms over her chest. "And just what have you been up to?" she demanded.

"Well that's a long story, sit down and I'll tell you some of it," William offered.

"I still can't believe you were able to get away," Jack said to Braith.

"Like he had a choice once Aria decided that this was what she was going to do," William said.

He was going to sit down when Braith yanked the chair out from under him. William landed on the floor with an inelegant hmmph. The patrons closest to them turned to look, a few of them snickered, and a few others looked like they were ready to jump into what they were certain was about to become a brawl. Jack's attention was brought back to Hannah as she took a step toward them. Jack gave her a reassuring wave though. Her forehead furrowed as she studied the new arrivals and then turned toward William.

"
I
didn't miss you," Braith told him as he turned the chair around and held it out for Aria to sit down.

"Be nice," she said as she slid onto the seat.

"I
am
being nice," Braith replied as he eased her chair into the table.

"Just as testy as ever," William muttered. He grabbed hold of the table and pulled himself to his feet. "I only meant that she would have come on her own if you didn't agree to go with her."

Braith continued to shoot daggers at him with his eyes for a minute before turning away. Jack sat in his seat again while Xavier, Daniel, Braith, and William hunted down more chairs and pulled them up to the table. "Timber," Aria greeted. "Long time no see."

"Aria," he said with a tilt of his mug to her. "Glad to see that becoming an undead queen didn't change you much."

She flashed a smile as she pulled the bow and arrows from her back and rested them against the table next to Jack's. Hannah's eyes were questioning as she walked toward the table. Jack held her gaze, uncertain of how she would react to the newest patrons in her bar. She was touchy enough about his royalty status, never mind Braith and Aria's.

"Can I get you something?" she inquired as she stepped next to Braith's side.

Braith shook his head but Daniel ordered some food and Xavier ordered a drink. Jack watched as she glanced back at them before disappearing into the kitchen. "How did you find us?" William asked.

"Asked around and followed your trail through the towns," Aria replied.

"The last town informed us that you had pulled some of the guards that had been stationed there," Braith said.

"What's going on?" Aria demanded.

Jack glanced around the crowded bar and at the group of Calvin's men still sitting at the table nearby. "We can discuss that later. For now, let's just catch up."

Braith's eyes were astute as they met his but he seemed willing to let it go as he settled in his chair and folded his arms over his chest.

***

The sun was beginning to rise as Hannah closed the last shutter over the window and took a step back. She glanced at the large group still gathered around one of the tables. There had been a lot of laughter and cheers from the group over the last few hours, but now the talk had become subdued as night gave way to day. The redheaded woman had curled up within the large man's lap, her hand rested against his chest as her eyelids drooped.

Jack had tried to speak with her a couple of times over the night but the tavern had been busier than usual and she hadn't been able to get away. Plus, she was a little uncertain about the newest arrivals and she was especially uncertain as to where she and Jack stood after the other night. Maybe he had decided that he was wrong about the whole bloodlink thing after all.