Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
Ruth’s elation at their narrow escape from the ruin deflated when men, dressed in camo and holding guns, emerged from behind trees led by none other than a smirking Maria. The woman from the village waved, and Ruth had never wanted to slap someone so much.
At the order to kneel, she dropped fast and hard, stomach tight. The gun pointed at her head only made her fear worse. A woman joined the man holding her hostage, a petite blonde, who pursed her lips as she stared at Ruth. Those same lips curved in a smile as she looked past Ruth, most likely to Leo, whom she could hear splashing as he heaved himself from the water.
Another mercenary yelled, “On your knees.”
Leo thumped to the ground a few feet from Ruth, wearing a scowl and placing his hands over his head, still holding the relic.
“Hello, husband,” said the small blonde.
At the title, Ruth tensed. Hold on. This couldn’t be?—
“Kylie.” Leo’s low growl confirmed it.
“Surprise.” The woman offered a malicious smile.
“You have a lot of nerve showing your face after what you did.”
“Ah, yes, faking my and Olivia’s deaths. I have to say that wendigo truly proved to be a blessing, as it gave me the best excuse to leave.” Kylie sounded quite pleased with herself.
“If you were unhappy, you could have asked for a divorce,” he growled.
“Why do that when we were never truly married? The chaplain I insisted we use? Fake. Not to mention, I already had a husband.” At the admission, Leo recoiled, and Kylie laughed. “Oh, how dumb you were then and now. Did you really think we met by chance? Everything was planned from the moment we met. I just didn’t expect you to be so traditional, or for it to take so long. Thankfully, once you gave me what I needed, I was free.”
The crease on Leo’s brow deepened. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Still a fool,” Kylie said with a sneer. “One dumb enough to think I could love you. As if I’d want someone so uncouth. You were just a necessary chore to get me to this point. I’ll admit I didn’t expect you to be the one they’d send after the artifact. My understanding was you completely fell apart when you thought I died.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. Where’s Olivia?” he snapped.
“Close by. She insisted on coming. Claimed we couldn’t complete the mission without her, and now I see why. The brat must have known you’d be the one to find the relic.” Kylie’s lips twisted with annoyance. “She’s a handful, just like her annoying father.”
“She’s a child,” he barked. “What have you done to her? If you’ve hurt her…”
“The brat is fine. Although it’s been a few long years waiting for her to learn how to use her gift.”
“What gift?” he asked in clear confusion.
“Olivia is just like Sage.”
The news dropped Leo’s jaw. “She’s a seer?”
“A powerful one, as predicted, so I guess my annoying time with you paid off.”
“You used me?” he huffed.
“Still so dumb. Have you not been paying attention? Yes, I used you. Used you to get a child. Pretended to marry you since you wouldn’t remove the damned condom until I did. And when I got what I wanted, I left and made sure you wouldn’t come looking.”
Cold. So very cold. Ruth hadn’t often dealt with psychopaths but knew how to recognize them.
“You knew Olivia would be a seer?”
“Hoped. After all, they are rare, but my husband did his research, and what do you know, it worked.”
“Who’s your husband?”
“A real man,” Kylie boasted. “And he will be so pleased when I return with the relic.”
“What do you want with it?” Leo snapped.
“None of your business. Give it.” Kylie held out her hand.
“Fuck off. If you want it so bad, you should have gotten it yourself.”
“We tried,” Kylie snapped. “Why do you think we went after the journal? We hoped it held a map. Not that it would have mattered, as it turned out. Apparently, only those with Zodiac somewhere in their bloodline can see the damned door, let alone enter. Luckily, Olivia foresaw it being found.”
Wait, did that mean Ruth had a Zodiac ancestor somewhere in her ancestral line? After all, both she and her father had seen the door.
“I’m not giving it to you,” Leo growled.
“As if you have a choice. Or would you like to see your friend’s brains splattered on the ground?”
Ruth swallowed hard as the barrel of a gun pressed hard against the back of her head.
“You’re depraved,” Leo spat.
“And you’re arguing uselessly. We both know you won’t let her die.”
A ruckus from the jungle, which included a male bellowing, resulted in a small child emerging from the foliage, dressed in a gray tracksuit, her hair cut in a bob. Ruth’s heart clenched, and she could only imagine Leo’s emotions as he saw his daughter.
Alive.
In person.
And hurtling for him.
Kylie yelled, “For Christ’s sake. Someone grab her.”
The men in combat gear lunged, but Olivia darted and weaved, dodging grasping fingers, at one point even ducking down to dive through a pair of legs until she reached Leo, who wrapped his free arm around her tight—a father who would never let go.
A man who would be crushed if he lost his daughter again.
From somewhere deep inside, Ruth found a courage she didn’t know she had and yelled, “Beam out. Now.” While he had both the relic and Olivia.
A tortured expression creased his face as he hesitated, and it didn’t help that Kylie screamed, “If he disappears, shoot the woman!”
At the command, his head hung, his shoulders slumped. A warrior defeated without a fight—unless that of the heart counted.
Olivia whispered something to him that made him shudder, and he remained in his dejected pose as the child untangled herself and walked for Ruth.
“What now, you brat?” Kylie spat. What a horrible woman, treating her child so poorly.
The mercenary with the gun to Ruth’s head didn’t ease the pressure as Olivia came to stand in front of Ruth. Those eyes… Like Sage’s, they looked through and past her, and her words, lisped softly. “Get ready.”
For what?
The soft tremor under Ruth’s knees shocked, almost as much as Olivia suddenly hugging her around the neck. She clung to the child as the ground kept shaking, leading Kylie to yell—a thing the woman did very well, if shrilly—“You didn’t mention an earthquake, you little shit. Grab the relic and the brat.”
Kylie ordered, but her men weren’t listening. Even the one threatening Ruth ran for the trees as the ground heaved and began to slide into the new lake.
A determined Kylie, still armed with her gun, hollered, “Don’t you move, Leo.” She followed the order with a gunshot, but the shaking ground threw off her arm.
Ruth managed to stand, holding tight to Olivia, and as Leo reached them, he wrapped one long arm around them both.
As the dirt underfoot began to slide, eroded by the water, a bright light enveloped them.
Then cold…
Intense cold, with a voice exclaiming, Two down. One to go.
Then nothing until Ruth woke in Leo’s bed.