19. Nineteen
Nineteen
Kimberly
We pulled into the plowed hospital parking lot. Plenty of cars and witnesses around and the daylight helped. None of the cars seemed familiar, but I wasn’t sure Kilian even owned the cars they’d spent all that time shuffling us around in. Once I had that thought, I’d spiraled the entire drive with a list of all we never knew about The Legion. Everything could have been a lie. Kilian could be about to take us in a few minutes, and my entire plan could be our downfall.
Aaron squeezed my hand that was gripped, white-knuckled, around the gear shift.
“This is a good plan.” He said it like he could read my mind.
“One of us needs to be bait,” I said while watching someone wheel an older man through the emergency entrance. I wasn’t sure if it was a good plan, but it was the only one that made sense.
Aaron zipped his jacket. “That’s my cue.”
“Be careful.”
He kissed my cheek before I could sigh or frown. “I’ll signal if it’s safe to come out.”
I was still weak from the blood loss, making the whole thing a colossal risk.
Aaron stepped out and walked into an empty lot with his large jacket puffed around his ears. The hairs on my arms stood as I gripped the steering wheel. I’d fight if it came to it. I would let no one take him.
“What’s our signal?” I asked.
“Pineapple?” He smiled.
I nodded, and he sauntered into the parking lot with his hands in his pockets. Then I readied myself for whatever was about to happen. At the top of my list was hitting Kilian with my car. I wasn’t sure how that would work, but it would at least hurt him.
There was nothing at first. Just Aaron standing in an open lot while regular people went on with their regular lives to and from the hospital. The sun reflected off the roofs of cars and hospital windows, and I fumbled for my sunglasses. If only it were enough to melt the snow.
Aaron walked in a circle, carefully scanning the lot. There weren’t any identifying cars or people till a car door opened close by. I couldn’t see it, but I heard it behind another car. All my muscles tightened.
Kilian emerged. He was bundled up in a long thick wool jacket and slacks. His hair was cropped and less put together than I’d seen him previously. There was no smile on his face or indication he was there in peace.
Aaron said nothing, only squared his shoulders and faced him head-on. I focused all my attention on the sound of his heartbeat and the crunch of his shoes on the snow.
It was good practice to tune out the cars and the hospital, which was buzzing with sounds.
“You wanted us to find you.” Kilian’s voice was like molasses.
“Yeah. Not that I know if I can trust you or not,” Aaron said. “Do you know where my brothers are?”
“I have information about their whereabouts, but we have many things to discuss.”
“The only thing I want to talk about is where they are.”
“We can talk about your brothers. Preferably at a different location.”
“Why would I do that? I have no reason to trust you.”
I let out another breath and willed myself to stay seated. There could be others lying in wait in other cars. I scanned the lot again. Nothing, but it was hard to trust my new senses.
“Aaron, I . . . apologize greatly for what transpired in Blackheart. I misjudged the situation, and I should have been more open to compromise. I understand how my actions have affected you and your family, and I know there is nothing I can do to fully make up for my error.”
“That’s a start.” Aaron flexed his jaw, with his shoulders pulled back. “I’ll need more insurance than that if I’m going to help you.”
“What do you suggest?” Kilian shifted. “My only fear is that you will take the information I have and flee. And I have no intention of stopping you or hurting you if that is what you choose to do. But I implore you, this is the closest we’ve ever been to taking down this coven, and I do not think that we can do that without you. Without you, we won’t have a chance at saving your brothers or Thane and Will. I am in need of the information that you have since you were the last one to see them alive.”
“So, you do care.”
“I’m afraid you have a distorted image of me. And for that I can only blame myself. I’d like to start anew. I want us to work together.”
Kilian stepped forward, and Aaron let him stand an arm’s distance away. It was too close. I huffed, opening my car door with no thoughts in my head other than not letting Kilian grab Aaron and pull him into the infamous van Presley was always going on about. There were no vans around as I got closer, but I was ready for anything. The cold air sliced through my jeans.
Aaron pulled his shoulders back, and his back went rigid. “I’m not the only one who needs convincing.”
The weight of Kilian’s gaze was strong but not stronger than my resolve. The anxious tension dissipated as soon as I was next to Aaron again. If he got taken, I’d get taken too.
“I couldn’t stay,” I said.
Aaron stood in a protective stance between Kilian and me, but he kept a cool, collected smile and nodded like he anticipated that answer.
“We don’t trust you.” I stared directly into Kilian’s eyes.
Normally, we’d have a buffer. Zach and Luke mainly dealt with Kilian in Blackheart, but now it was up to us, and a part of me had been dying to tell Kilian what I thought of him leaving Presley and me to die while he held the people I loved hostage.
“I understand.”
“Do you? You made a bad deal, and because of you, Skylar is dead and everyone is gone. The twins needed your help. You failed everyone, including Will. We trusted you because we’re all too young to know better and we didn’t have a choice.”
Kilian’s armor cracked for a brief moment. His eyes softened, and for the first time, it felt like he was actually looking at me and acknowledging me as a person.
I had no problem wounding him with words like he’d wounded us by his actions. If we’d worked together from the beginning, maybe all of it could have been avoided, but he’d used and exploited us for his own interests. If we were going to move forward, I needed an acknowledgment.
“I will not claim to be a saint.” He linked his hands together and rubbed them. “We may have met in a church, but I’m a flawed man who’s made many mistakes in his lifetime. A man whose faith holds on by a thread. And you two tumbled into the room and got dragged into something bigger than yourselves. I can’t help but believe that in itself is the same fate that brought you in front of me today.”
“Is it just more of what we can do for you?” Aaron said.
“I won’t twist my motives to soften you to me and my cause. And I’d like to be as transparent as possible moving forward. Many do not believe in our endeavors. My old friends left in The Legion will not help me with this because of the risks. It is only you. And I have no way of knowing where this journey will lead. But I have nothing else. I will not live another day without pursuing them for what they’ve done. You needed me, and I let you down, and now, truly, you’re the only hope I have left.”
His voice cracked but his stoic gaze never faltered. The scars on his hands had me wondering how many battles he’d fought and how many times he’d tried this endeavor only to fail. Akira claimed it was because The Family had killed his brother. At one point, I’d have found it preposterous to hear Kilian’s pleas at all. But now . . .
I understood how love might make someone do things they weren’t proud of. Zach’s tired, cold stare reminded me of that often, and our conversation came back to me.
“That’s what makes people like me incredibly dangerous. We’re selfish.”
Zach would never have trusted Kilian if he’d known he had a brother, but like Kilian now, he had no choice. I didn’t know why I was asking myself what Zach would do. Something told me if the roles were reversed and we’d been taken, he wouldn’t care about Kilian’s motives or even an apology. He’d grab him by the collar and make him help.
“Are you even sad that Will and Thane are gone? Are you sorry my brothers went back to Her because of you?” I’d rarely heard that kind of venom in Aaron’s voice.
His calm exterior was cracking. He was thinking of his brothers and probably feeling their pain as we spoke.
Kilian pulled his shoulders back like he’d been hit. “More than I’ll ever be able to make you understand.”
“This was a mistake,” Aaron said, shielding me. “Let’s go, Kim.”
He could be right. He was taking the cautious approach, and it made sense, but I wasn’t looking for the cautious approach. Not when our best plan was staring me in the face. I wasn’t ready to trust Kilian yet, but the thought of walking away with no other options wasn’t enticing. I grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Wait.” A car door opened, and a tall silhouette emerged.
“Dom.” I said his name more eagerly than I’d anticipated, but he’d saved my life. I hadn’t forgotten, like I hadn’t forgotten his sister. Skylar was always in the back of my mind reminding me to trust myself.
“Let me speak to them.”
Kilian nodded, and Dom walked into the middle of the parking lot. His disheveled dark hair was longer, and the edges of his usually stoic lips tugged into a small smile.
“Kimberly.”
I hugged him. He was rigid underneath my arms, but I didn’t care. His smell reminded me of Skylar.
“Your hair is different.” His voice held the same boredom as before.
I smoothed down a lock of my hair, suddenly feeling self-conscience, and Aaron grabbed my waist to pull me closer.
“How are you?” I looked up to his light-emerald eyes, anticipating a non-answer.
“Fine.” Dom looked between us. “But I need you to listen to Kilian.”
Aaron squeezed me tighter.
“I’m working directly with Kilian now, and we have plans, but all of those plans involve you.”
Kilian stood tall in his beige trousers, with his hands in his pockets, waiting.
“Why us?”
“You’re still our closest link to The Family by blood. We’ve never had that before. And you have cause to fight.”
“What about Skylar?”
To my surprise, the edges of his lips tugged upward. “My sister never lived a day of her life with regret. We’ve known the risks since we first met Kilian.”
Aaron and I shared a look of uncertainty.
“We know where the coven is located.”
“You do?” Hope stirred in Aaron’s voice.
“Yes. We tracked an unidentified plane in the general area, and we’ve been able to pinpoint a possible location. There are things that must be done. A battle is coming, and we won’t have a chance without you.”
Kilian sauntered up next to us. “We have a cabin not far from here. Meet us there, and we can finish our talks and discuss our next steps.”
“Wait, first tell me where they are. Tell me, and I promise we’ll help you.”
Something in Aaron’s voice, exuding strength and confidence, stirred a memory. He reminded me of Luke, and as I’d been told and seen . . . Luke always kept his promises.
“Northern Ireland on an island. We have to confirm the exact coordinates, but there is a lot of buzz in the area of their return to the queen’s home country.”
Aaron and I exchanged a look. Butterflies circled in my gut. Good news. The first bit of good news we’d had in weeks.
“We’re in,” Aaron said, and I nodded.
“Whatever it takes.”
The address we were given wasn’t too far of a drive, about forty minutes from Vera’s. Aaron dialed Presley’s number to fill him in. When we closed the car door, we sat in the silence of the car for a moment.
Aaron smiled from ear to ear. The cadence of his heartbeat filled the cold compartment of the car.
“We know where they are,” he said, staring at his phone. His ears and cheeks had pinkened, and I’d thought it was from the cold until I saw the glisten in his eyes.
I squeezed his hand. “We’re going to get them back.”