Crossroads

Chapter 10

Nick tried not to slam the cabinet as she searched for a bigger pot. “When the zombie apocalypse comes, we can’t hide out in one of Alec’s houses. He doesn’t stock them for shit.”

Mackenzie watched from her perch by the counter. “What are you looking for?”

“A big pot,” Nick growled. “I was going to make something, but I only know how to make waffles, and that’s only because Derek taught me. Anything else I made would be inedible, so what the hell am I doing?”

“You’re coping. Kat’s in there crying herself sick on Jackson’s mom and if you weren’t so worried about Derek you might be wondering if all that shit you told me about crazy people’s decisions not being my fault was really bullshit.”

“That attack tonight wasn’t ordered by a crazy person.” She’d known it would come eventually, but she thought they’d have more time. She sure as hell hadn’t expected Kat and Andrew to get caught in the crossfire. “Shit. That almost makes this worse, doesn’t it?”

Mackenzie shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is that life sucks when people get hurt.”

Nick dropped a small pan on the counter and covered her face with both hands. “I don’t know what to do, Mac. There’s only one thing I could do to make this all go away, and that won’t save Aaron’s life.”

Strong, steady arms folded around her. “First thing we’re going to do is bundle Jackson’s mother out of the state. I’ll put her in the goddamn car myself if I have to. Then you’ll have me and Alec and Jackson. And Mahalia. Jesus, don’t forget her. You’re not in this alone.”

“And Derek.” Fear trembled through Nick, and she tried to steady her breathing. “This whole situation has cost him so much already. If I could get him to go away, I’d do it in a millisecond. But he won’t go. He never will.”

“No, he won’t.” Mackenzie’s words were quiet and certain. “No more than Aaron’s going to leave Michelle, or I’m going to leave Jackson.”

“It’s selfish to want him to leave. I know it is, and I still can’t stop.” Nick pulled away from Mackenzie and swiped at her burning eyes. “It’s not right.”

“Well, then we’re both assholes. I’m not leaving Jackson, but I’d lock him in a closet in a heartbeat to keep him out of this shit. I think that’s what you referred to as instinct when I bitched about it while he was getting better.”

“Yeah.” Nick paced, trying to relieve the nervous tension twisting her into knots. “Derek’s best friend almost died, and God knows what tonight has done to Kat. How will he be able to look at me? I can barely look at me.”

“You really want to know?” Her friend’s gaze held its own pain. “Call Mahalia and ask her how she manages to look at me when the man she loved died protecting me.”

Forgiveness. Nick started to speak, but the sharp trill of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts. She scrambled for the phone, her heart pounding. “Hello?”

Derek’s voice crackled across the line. “I knew Alec was a crazy bastard, but you never told me just how bad he could get.”

“Oh, crap. What did he do?”

He hesitated just long enough to spin the tension in her stomach tighter. “Kidnapped Luciano.”

Nick gritted her teeth. Alec might be crazy, but he wasn’t stupid. “Where is he going?”

“We’re going to Alec’s house. Which I suppose makes me an accomplice.”

She snatched up her keys. “Jackson and Nancy are taking care of Kat. I’m on my way.” Someone had to make sure Alec didn’t forget himself and kill Enrica Maglieri’s golden child. “Just…keep Alec busy and don’t let him knock Luciano around too much.”

“Violence doesn’t seem to be on the menu, though I think Alec’s keeping it in reserve. He said something about leverage.”

“Of course he did.” Which meant he didn’t think Luciano was really responsible for the attack on Andrew and Kat. “How’d Luke take it?”

“About as well as anyone getting kidnapped, I guess. He’s unconscious and tied up.”

“Christ. I’m on my way.” She flipped the phone shut and growled at Mackenzie. “Did you catch that?”

“I should—” Mackenzie seized the edge of the counter and swore. “Someone needs to go with you, Nick. Jackson’s not leaving Kat and his mother, but if Alec’s decided to start throwing people in his goddamn truck…”

“Nicky?” It was Michelle’s voice, soft and worried. Her sister stepped through the narrow doorway into the kitchen. “What’s going on?”

The last thing Michelle needed to worry about was Alec fucking around with shapeshifter politics. “It’s nothing. I’m handling it.”

“Nick.” Power tickled up Nick’s spine as Michelle frowned at her. “Don’t treat me like an invalid.”

She stopped and took a deep breath. “Fine. Alec went off the rails and snatched Luke Maglieri from his hotel.”

“Damn.”

Nick saw her own worries reflected in her sister’s eyes, worries Mackenzie would never fully understand. Even Aaron had never been forced to participate in the complicated dance of shapeshifter politics; he was the hired muscle, a man expected to take orders and not think too closely about them.

Michelle took a steadying breath. “I want to go with you, but I can’t. Aaron’s getting fidgety about being trapped here, but it’s the only place he’s safe.”

Michelle couldn’t go, anyway. Even if the Conclave was having trouble finding them, which seemed likely considering the fact that they’d gone to Alec and Jackson’s office looking for information, they’d be able to locate Luciano easily. “You two staying here is for the best. I’ll smooth this over.”

“Luciano’s one of the only Conclave kids who treats me like a person. He doesn’t deserve to get hurt just because his family’s cruel. Alec of all people should know that.”

“He does.” Nick hoped the assurance was true. “Derek is there. He won’t let Alec do anything crazy.”

Mackenzie released the counter and straightened. “Okay, I’m coming with you, Nick. Just wait for me and pretend you can’t hear the screaming fight I’m about to have with my boyfriend.”

“I can do that.”

When Mackenzie was gone, Michelle moved to sit on the stool she’d abandoned. “About the girl…Kat? She’s a psychic?”

“Empath,” Nick confirmed. “You want something to drink? Water or juice?”

“Juice.” Michelle tapped her fingers absently on the countertop in a familiar pattern, the pinky twice followed by her index finger. A signal that she was thinking. “Empath. You said she neutralized two men from one of the tactical teams?”

That was one way to put it. “Alec didn’t say, but he had to kill them, I guess.”

“I’ve seen it before.” Michelle slapped her hand against the counter. “I’ve dealt with it before. A rogue empath with a vendetta against the Conclave. They wanted the man put down, but Dad fought to give him a fair trial. I kept him in his head, fixed it so he couldn’t project.”

Nick poured a glass of white grape juice. “Uh-huh, but you weren’t pregnant then. Your magic is all wonky now.”

“Which is why I haven’t done anything yet.” The tapping resumed, absent-minded and a little nervous. “It didn’t take a lot of power. Mostly finesse. Jackson has a lot of that.”

“Jackson’s pretty good with instructions.” Nick slid the small glass over the counter to Michelle. “Mahalia does it all the time. You could give it a shot.”

“Do you think he’d feel…comfortable working with me?”

Nick watched her sister slowly sip the juice. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I thought he wouldn’t, sweetie.”

“Okay.” Michelle finished the juice and rose to her feet, but she hesitated. “I’m so sorry, Nicky. For everything.”

“It’s not—” It’s not your fault. Nick rubbed her aching head. “I’m the world’s biggest hypocrite.”

“All of this is my fault, Nick.” Her words were quiet and confident. “I know you. You’re taking it all on yourself because you don’t know how to do anything else. But it’s my problem, and I’m not going to survive if I lose you…or if you lose Derek.”

“No one is going to lose anyone, Michelle,” she whispered fiercely. “Not this time.”

“Promise me, Nicole, that if things get to that point, you’ll tell me. Don’t keep me hidden here while people die for my mistakes. You might think you’re doing what’s best for me, but I can’t live with it any more than you can.”

She’d hide all of it from Michelle if she could, but they were far past that point. “I won’t keep things from you just because you’re on the run and pregnant and freaking out. Aaron might kill me, but I can handle that.”

The scuff of Mackenzie’s boots against the wooden floor signaled her return. “If we don’t get out of here, Jackson’s going to kill me. You ready?”

“Mmm. Think we should take a whip and chair to deal with Alec?”

“Punching him out might be a better plan. We can take turns hitting him until he goes down.”

“I’m all over that.” Nick bared her teeth. “I have practice.”

Alec had a cage in his basement.

Derek was familiar it. Alec had told him the basement was the main reason he’d purchased the house to begin with. During the first few months after his transformation, Derek had spent more than one frantic night curled up in that cage, fighting the change because he was too terrified to give in to it.

Just standing there brought back memories he’d fought to repress. Only instead of remembering his own misery, every time he glanced at the metal frame in the corner of the basement, all he could think about was the fact that Andrew could be there soon, suffering the same frightening magic.

But, for now, Andrew was upstairs under Franklin’s attentive eye, and Alec had left Derek downstairs to watch over the cage’s current occupant.

Luciano looked worse for the wear, mostly because he’d fought. Alec had untied his feet and dumped him unceremoniously on the narrow cot before retreating upstairs with curt instructions to fetch him when their prisoner woke up.

Luciano woke quietly, with a single muttered curse as he gingerly probed his swollen jaw. “Damn Jacobson. This hurts like hell.” He sat up on the cot, his back against the bars of the cage. “Does Nick know you’re helping the headcase kidnap people?”

Derek fought a wave of anger at the man’s casual, unconcerned tone. “I’m covered in my friend’s blood, a bunch of which I found splattered all over my baby cousin. If I find out you knew what your people were going to do, I’ll help the headcase kill you before Nick can get here.”

Irritation and confusion sped across the man’s face, and his heart began to pound loudly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just like I told Alec.”

“Sure.” The iron bars were cool under Derek’s hands. “Kat had her hands in Andrew’s stomach. My twenty-four-year-old cousin had to put her hands in the guts of the man she loves, and that’s not even the worst thing that happened to her tonight. I’m not feeling very trusting.”

“Jesus.” Luciano closed his eyes. “I gave Nick my word. Even if you don’t believe me, I wouldn’t break that. I respect her and her family.”

He might call it respect, but there was something a lot more personal in Luciano’s voice. Only the magic woven around the cage kept Derek from tearing through the bars. “Seems to me that you pureblood assholes don’t really know the meaning of the word. Or is respect something you reserve for each other?”

“Pureblood assholes? How does your girlfriend feel about being called names like that?”

“I think my girlfriend’s going to call you worse things if you manage to kill her sister.”

Luciano climbed off the cot and stalked to the middle of the cage. “I admire Nick and Michelle. Nick doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do, and Michelle has always made the best of a bad situation. I wouldn’t hurt either one of them.”

Everything Alec had ever taught him about using his senses to sniff out the truth screamed that Luciano wasn’t lying, but it didn’t erase the memory of Kat’s shocked, dull eyes staring at nothing. “So why is there some sort of goddamn shapeshifter commando squad down here ripping people up? I thought your family was in charge of this bullshit investigation.”

“I don’t know why, unless—” Luciano’s shoulders slumped a little. “Unless my mother knew Nick wouldn’t consider a marriage offer and figured out we were stalling.”

“You think?” Derek released the bars and stepped back, unable to contain his sarcasm. “Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with you people? How many bodies are you willing to step over to keep Michelle from having a normal life?”

“Michelle’s power makes her dangerous, so it puts her in danger. It always has. But the whole thing with the rogue cougar Seer has the Conclave spun. They’re nervous.”

“Are you defending it?”

Luciano snorted in irritation. “How many Seers have you met?”

“One.” One who had Nick’s big brown eyes and stubborn jaw and the same way of trying to protect everyone around her even when her own life was falling apart. “I thought you said you respected Michelle.”

“I do. She’s a damn good woman, and the only Seer I’ve ever seen who managed to keep her head despite the magic.” Luciano paced to the opposite end of the cage. “But exceptions only prove rules where the Conclave’s concerned.”

The fact that the man’s voice held the same warmth when speaking of Michelle as it had with Nick allowed Derek to relax. “Nick’s on her way,” he said finally. “She should be here before too long.”

Luciano leaned his head back against the metal bars. “Good. Maybe she can keep Jacobson from killing me before I get a chance to help.”

“Maybe.” The image of Kat’s traumatized face rose in Derek’s mind again. “You’re the one who was born this way. What would you do if you were Alec and a Conclave team went after someone you cared about? Someone who was young and out of her depth and couldn’t take care of herself?”

When Luciano spoke, it was with quiet conviction. “If I were Alec Jacobson, I’d have killed myself a long time ago.”

Derek didn’t know if the statement was a judgment of Alec or of Luciano himself. Either way, it scared the hell out of him.