Chapter Thirty-Five
The hounds still had a tracker on Jackie's car. Remembering that was the only thing that kept them from losing their shit. I hate to say this, but they were very dog-like in the way they idolized Hades. He was their master, and they didn't just obey him, they also loved him. Blindly. He could do no wrong. The God of Gods. Disappointing Hades was heartbreaking for them.
It was so upsetting, in fact, that they didn't waste any time in seeing me home. Instead, we piled into Garret's truck and raced after Michael immediately.
It was surprisingly easy to hunt them down. Michael couldn't have known about the tracker on Jackie's car. If he had, he would have removed it or changed vehicles. But he thought he was safe. After they got out of Helena, Jackie slowed down. We caught up to them right before Boulder.
Darkness helped to disguise us as we approached Jackie's car. Garret was driving. He held back a couple of car lengths as we took stock of the situation. Jackie and Jake—or more likely Jackie and Michael—were having a heated discussion. Jackie kept taking a hand from the wheel to gesture wildly.
“Oh, she's not happy,” I said.
“She knows about Michael,” Gage said. “Or she's figured it out. She's already dealt with Silas and Michael in Spokane.”
“He's gonna jump bodies,” I said.
“How do you know that?” Gage asked.
“It's what I would do. Jake is compromised. Not only do you know him, but Jake is no longer complacent. Michael thinks he's escaped you. It would be safe for him to jump now, and then he'd have a new body that would be impossible for you to track.”
“Not impossible,” Gideon said. “We can sense an extra soul in a body. But it would be difficult to find him, yes.”
“Gage,” Garret said.
Gage, who was in the front passenger seat, leaned forward and narrowed his stare. “Yeah. If you race up on them as I jump, I can make it, no problem.”
“Jump?” I asked. “You're going to jump into their car?”
Gage glanced at me over his shoulder. “I'm going to jump through Jake. I'll be fine, sweetheart. I'll jump through him, grabbing Michael as I go, and head straight into the Underworld.”
“That seems difficult.”
“Gage can do it,” Gideon said.
“Okay,” I murmured.
Not that they were waiting for my approval. Garret was already speeding up while Gage was shoving off the only piece of clothing he wore—a pair of sweatpants. Once those were off, he crouched, and then his entire form shimmered. It occurred to me that the cab wasn't big enough for Gage's hound form, but as soon as his body hunched in, pressing against, well, everything, he went spectral. Coming out of his hunch, Gage burst through the vehicle, reminding me of a dog hanging his head out a window. Except this dog was a ghost, a giant, and had his head lifted through the roof instead of hanging out the window.
“Now!” Garret said just as we got within a foot of Jackie's car.
Jackie had seen us pulling up. First, she frowned at us in the rearview, then she looked over her shoulder, eyes gone wide in our headlights. Not one to waste time on hysterics, Jackie immediately faced forward and sped up. I thought it was too late, that she wouldn't have time to evade Gage. But her little sports car was fast, and Gage's ghost body fell short, dropping right through the trunk and sinking into the road.
“Gage!” I shouted as we rolled over him.
“He can't be hurt in that form,” Garret said as he sped up again.
We rammed into the back of Jackie's car, the massive grill on Garret's truck saving us from any damage while it crushed her trunk like a tin can. Calm, cool, and collected Jackie lost her cool and screamed, but Jake just stared at us, twisted around in his seat. No, not Jake—Michael. His expression went grim, and I knew he was going to jump.
“He's going,” I said.
“He can't,” Garret said. “Not in a moving vehicle.”
“We don't know what he can do,” Gideon said. “He shouldn't be able to jump bodies at all.”
“If he could jump, he would have done it already,” Garret said. “Look. He's telling her to pull over. As soon as they stop, he's gone.” He looked in the rearview mirror. “Gage is back.”
A second later, Gage's ghost form appeared in the truck's bed. I breathed out in relief even though it made sense that nothing could hurt him when he was in that form. I mean, he went through solid objects. But anxiety doesn't always make sense and when you add love to the mix, that senselessness triples.
Garret rammed Jackie again, just hard enough to keep her moving. Up ahead, the lights of Boulder appeared.
“We need to end this now,” Gideon said. “We can't keep it up through a city.”
Then another car came down the road on the opposite side.
“Fuck,” Garret growled. “Gage!”
Gage went invisible.
The car came abreast of Jackie, and Jake grabbed the wheel. She screamed and fought for control as the other car veered off the road. It nearly hit a tree, but avoided it at the last second and somehow got back on the road. The car came to a screeching halt, and a guy got out. But we weren't stopping. When he realized this, he shouted after us, shaking his fist.
“He'll be calling the cops,” I said.
“It's fine,” Gideon said.
Jackie was still fighting with Jake over the steering wheel. Finally, Jake undid his seatbelt.
“He's going to jump!” I shouted. “Out of the car, I mean. Not bodies. He's going to jump out of the car!”
Michael didn't care about his host. What would it matter if Jake got hurt or even died from jumping out of a moving car? Michael was going to leave anyway. My breath caught as the passenger door of Jackie's car opened. Jake. Oh, poor Jake.
Jackie screamed and reached for him. The door slammed shut as Jackie jerked Jake back. Jackie is stronger than she looks, and she had the added strength that being scared out of your mind will give you. Her car swerved across the road, the momentum helping to keep Jake in the car, but it also slowed. She was going to stop.
“Gage!” Gideon shouted.
Gage's spectral body glided over us, so beautiful against the starry sky. For a second, I could see his silken fur undulating and even the claws of his feet, all pearly white and translucent. And then he was sailing across the distance between us and the half-wrecked sports car. Just as Gage came down, the car stopped, spinning to end up stretched lengthwise across the road. Garret cursed and slammed on the brakes. But I was watching Gage. And praying.
It was like magic. Like a dance. A magic dance. The car door opened and Michael/Jake emerged, unfolding his large frame. Just as he reached his full height, our headlights hit him. The light made it difficult to see Gage. He became nothing more than a shimmer for a second, but I knew he hit his target. Because Michael/Jake jerked, his body bowing backward and his arms going wide as if welcoming Gage. Garret's truck came to a full stop, the headlights shifting to the side right as Gage left Jake's body. I saw him emerge with something nebulous in his teeth—something as misty and transparent as him.
And then Gage vanished.
“Thank Hades,” Garret whispered and fell forward to lay his forehead against the steering wheel.
“He got him?” I asked eagerly. “Gage got Michael?”
“Yup,” Gideon said with a grin. “Look. Jake is coming back to himself.”
I looked up and, sure enough, Jake was swaying on his feet, his expression one of shocked relief. He met my stare through the windshield and his eyes filled with tears. I jumped out of the truck and ran for him.
“Jake!”
“Indie!” Jake opened his arms.
I ran into his embrace, but instead of sweeping me up as he used to, he sort of crumpled around me.
“Oh, fuck,” Jake whispered. “Is he gone for good?”
“Yeah. Gage took him back to the Underworld. No more hosting ghosts for you.”
“Holy shit. Oh, fuck. Thank you, God. Thank you.”
I stepped back and laid a hand on his chest. “Not God. Not any of them. You've got the Hounds of Hades to thank. It was Gage who tore Michael out of you and took him back to the Underworld.”
Jake stared at me for a second, then lifted his stare to something behind me. I didn't have to look to know it wasn't a thing Jake was looking at. It was a man. Two men. My men.
“Thank you,” he said to them.
“You're welcome,” Garret said.
“What the actual flying fuck-shit is going on?!” Jackie shrieked as she got out of the car. “You fucking rammed me! Look at my car! Fuck! What the fuck?!”
“I thought you knew what was happening,” I said. “You're the one who started this. Which, I suppose I should thank you for.” I slid my gaze to my guys and grinned.
They grinned back.
Jackie came around her crumpled car, grimacing at the damage, then stopped beside her brother. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly. “I sort of know. I mean, I knew Silas had magic or whatever, and he healed Jake. Then I learned why he healed Jake. So, yeah, I knew. Sort of. But, Jesus Christ!” She waved at her car, then at us. “What the fuck was that about? Why didn't you just shout at me to pull over?”
“Because as soon as you stopped, the soul that was possessing Jake would have escaped,” I said. “They needed to get him before he jumped into a new body and started the whole thing all over again. He's evaded several Cerberuses already.”
“Cerberuses,” Jackie murmured and looked at Jake.
“Teams of supernatural ghost hunters,” Jake said.
“Fuck,” Jackie said.
I could tell the moment when she decided to leave the explanations as they were and not ask any more questions. Her expression closed down, and then she refocused on Jake. It was as if she hit a reset button. I assumed it was survival mode for her brain, and I totally got it. But I knew she'd get past it later and then Jake would have a lot of explaining to do.
“So, you're good now?” Jackie asked Jake. “You've been exorcised or whatever?”
“Yeah, Sis, I'm good.” Jake grinned. His stare shifted to me. “I've lost the love of my life, but at least I'm not possessed by a malevolent spirit who wants to hurt her.”
“What?” Jackie growled as she looked at me. “Seriously? You stuck by him through all that cancer shit only to leave him now?”
“I was destined for someone else,” I said gently, looking from her to Jake. “Three someone elses, actually.”
Jake nodded. “I know. I've learned all about the Hounds of Hades and their mates from Michael. Once he realized I wasn't buying the angel thing anymore, he took joy in taunting me with who I'd been backing and that I’d been on the bad side all along.”
“You see?” Garret motioned at me. “The soul always knows when it’s doing something irrefutably evil.”
Jake glanced at Garret. “Oh, yeah. Michael, or whatever his name was, knew he was on the wrong side. I think he justified it at first by telling himself it was a self-defense thing. But he got worse when he was in me. I could feel this . . . I don't know, greasiness.”
“The weakness,” Gideon said. “Evil stains the soul.”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “It felt gross. Every time he left and returned, I could feel the wrongness. I should have known by that alone. But I didn't want him to be the bad guy. Because then, I would be bad too.” He took my hand. “I'm so sorry, Indigo. Even if you weren't with them, I know you'd have to let me go. I've done you wrong. You've given me all you had to give, and I fucking abducted you, put you in danger, and nearly got you raped.”
“What the fuck?” Jackie hissed, her furious stare sliding to her brother.
“Jacks, I love you, but could you shut the fuck up while I apologize to Indie and say goodbye?” Jake asked.
Jackie blinked. Then she looked at me.
“I still love you and your family, Jackie. You will always be family to me,” I said. “But this is where I belong. I think I've felt lost all of my life because I've been searching for them.”
As I spoke, Jackie's eyes widened on something behind me. Then her stare lowered. And stayed lowered.
I turned to see Gage. He was back, physical, and in his man's body. Naked. All of his god-given gifts on display. I couldn't blame Jackie for appreciating them. But I could get possessive. That was my right as their mate.
“Nope!” I said and stepped in front of Gage. “That's all you get. One glimpse at the goods, Jackie. I won't murder you since it was an accident. But you'd better stop trying to look around me at my man or I might change my mind.”
Jackie blinked as Jake snorted a laugh.
“Hold the fuck on. He's yours?” She twirled her pointer to motion around me at Gage. “All of that is yours?”
Grinning proudly, I said, “Haven't you been listening? They're all mine. All three of them.” I nodded at Garret and Gideon.
“Well, fuck,” Jackie huffed. “I get it now. Shit, girl. Go on then with your bad self. Frankly, I'm fucking impressed.”
“Jackie!” Jake hissed.
“What?” She looked at him. “Even I'd fuck those white boys. And she gets all of them? That's some greedy white-girl bullshit, right there. But it's also the only way I can approve of Indie leaving you. One of them, I might have still been bitter about. But all three of them?” Jackie snorted and shook her head. “Even I have to admit that they're an upgrade from you. I mean, just look at them.” She waved limply at my men and then shook her head. “Damn. Just damn .”
“Am I ever going to finish this apology?” Jake huffed.
“You had better.” Gage folded his arms over his chest.
“Is Michael back where he belongs?” I asked Gage.
Gage softened his stare to look at me. “Yes, love. Hades himself is seeing to Michael as we speak. That soul will never escape again. And he's going to pay for everything he did to you. Hades assured me of it.”
“Well done, babe.” I hugged him.
Gage unwound his arms to pull me in tightly. “I'd take a thousand Michaels to the Underworld just to see you smile at me like that.”
I chuckled. “You're slick. You know that?”
Gage leaned back to grin at me. “Yup.”
“Can I fucking finish?” Jake huffed.
“Sorry, Jake.” I turned out of Gage's arms but remained in front of him to block his nudity. “Sure, go ahead.”
“Could someone get the guy some pants first?” Jake whined. “This is getting awkward.”
“Feeling inadequate, Brother?” Jackie teased.
“No. Not really.” Jake smirked. “There's one area where they don't have me beat.”
Jackie snorted. “There's my brother. Welcome back.”
“Thank you.” Jake went serious to add, “Really, Jacks, thank you for everything. You came after me.”
“I kinda sent you down this road. I had to bring you back.”
“You did it to save my life. And believe me, even dealing with Michael was worth another shot at life. I love you, Sis.”
“I love you too, Brother.” Jackie yanked him into a hug.
Meanwhile, Gideon fetched Gage's pants from the truck. Gage slipped them on while Jackie was distracted, and I gave him an approving nod. That's my naked man. I didn't want to share him. Gage grinned at me as if he knew my thoughts. He didn't, but he probably felt my emotions, and that was close enough.
“Indigo?”
I turned back to Jake. He had finished his reunion with his sister and had come up behind me.
“Will you please forgive me?” Jake asked.
“Of course, Jake,” I said. “I know that wasn't you.”
“Not everything, but some of it was. I was under stress, but that doesn't excuse what I did. Please, I need to hear you say that we're good.”
“We're good.” I went up on my toes to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for showing me my worth and sharing your family with me. I don't regret a single moment with you. Not even the terrible ones.”
“I love you, Indigo.” Jake cupped my cheek. “I always will.”
“I love you too. I'm sorry that my love has changed.”
“Don't be. Just be happy. I'll get over you if I know you're happy.”
That pretty much confirmed what I'd always thought— that Jake wouldn’t have trouble moving on from me. But that thought didn't have the sting it once did. Instead, it was comforting.
“I am happy. Very happy.” I squeezed his hand and said, “Goodbye, Jake.”
“Goodbye, Indie.”