8. Chapter 8
8
A ir rushed from Kelly’s lungs in a hiss as she landed flat on her back, and she struggled for her next breath while her lungs reset themselves. Thankfully, no one walked over to check on her. The last thing she wanted was pity because she’d suddenly lost her flair on the course.
Pulling her knees up, she wrapped her arms around them and used the momentum of her legs to rock forward. The quick movement made her dizzy, and she laid her forehead on her knees, breathing deeply to center herself.
When her body told her it was okay, Kelly stood slowly and made her way to the locker rooms to change. Maybe the hit to her head last night was messing with her. Even if it wasn’t, she knew to quit when things weren’t going well. Pushing it could lead to injuries, and that was the last thing she needed right now.
It felt weird not to have to shower in the locker room, but she had to admit that it was nice. She and Fabian were going back to the hotel so she could clean up before they went to eat, and then she’d be able to write her blog back at the hotel using their internet. Not even twenty-four hours in the hotel room, and the comforts of a normal life were starting to be enticing.
Kelly opened her locker and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from her body, pressing it to her face and breathing in the smell of nice detergent.
“Hey there, doing all right tonight?” A voice came from behind her.
She didn’t answer, thinking other women were talking to each other.
A light hand landed on her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”
Kelly jumped and whirled around, getting dizzy again. She reached a hand out to steady herself and ended up grabbing the other woman’s arm, which was strangely cold.
“Oh shit, I’m so sorry!” she said, quickly removing her hand from the woman, “I’m not a hundred percent tonight, forgive me.”
“Quite all right, hun, it’s no problem at all,” the woman responded in a thick Texas accent. “I saw you take a fall out there and wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
She stared into Kelly’s eyes then, as if she was trying to see behind them. “Why don’t you come with me? I can help.”
It felt as if a fog was trying to overtake Kelly’s mind, slowly slipping in and taking control. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing, concentrating on the air entering her lungs. Her hands turned to fists, and she somehow willed the fog away.
Opening her eyes, she looked at the woman again and tried to clear the confusion in her head. “I seem to be apologizing a lot tonight. I don’t know what came over me. I appreciate your offer, but I’m fine, thank you. I’m just going to go home and rest.”
The woman looked at her again with black eyes, even adjusting the angle of her head so she was looking straight into Kelly’s eyes. “I really do insist.”
What was it with Southern women and their overbearing charm? “Really, I’m good, thanks.”
The woman grabbed her arm with a cold hand and started to move toward the back of the locker room, showing more strength than Kelly expected from another woman, even in this gym.
“Hey! I said I’m good, so fuck off!”
“Oh, do shut up,” the woman said in a suddenly Russian accent and kept dragging her toward the back of the locker room.
Kelly struggled and tried to fight back, but it was no use. The woman had an ironclad grip on her arm and dragged her along as if she was a teddy bear.
A loud crash sounded from the locker room door, and Fabian rushed in. His sword was at the woman’s throat before Kelly could process his movements.
“Let her go, or I will disconnect your head from your precious body.”
Kelly couldn’t help but giggle at his use of words.
Fabian gave her a scolding glance before turning back to the woman, whose hand loosened on Kelly’s arm. His sword remained at the woman’s throat after her hand dropped to her side.
“Who sent you?” he asked, menace in his voice.
She laughed at him then, an evil laugh unlike anything Kelly had ever heard.
“I will not ask again.”
“I will not tell you. You may as well kill me here and get it over with.”
“Very well then.” Fabian swiftly swung his blade, and the woman’s head rolled to the floor, soon followed by her body collapsing with a wet thump.
Kelly gasped; she couldn’t scream or move. Fabian turned to her, setting his sword on the bench beside them. He took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. “We must go.” He gave her a moment to respond and when she didn’t, he raised his voice. “ Kelly , we must go, now! Kade is outside the locker room. We will leave with him and Asmund. You must act as if nothing happened here when we exit this room. Do you understand?”
She nodded shakily, unable to find words.
Fabian grabbed her gym bag and placed the strap over her shoulder. He grabbed his sword and used her gym towel to wipe the blade before sheathing it behind his back and tossing the towel. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her from the locker room.
As the door opened, Fabian’s demeanor changed from urgent to casual. His body relaxed, and he acted as if Kelly was his girlfriend.
“Hey Kade, ready to go? It is about time we hit the clubs.”
Kade took his lead as if this had been the plan all along. “Let’s do it.” He stood, following the two of them from the gym like it was a normal evening.
Kelly looked around to see if anyone was watching.
“Eyes ahead and smile,” Fabian whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
Kelly did her best to follow his directions, thankful Dom didn’t seem to be on the floor right now. The last thing she wanted was to run into him.
The fire alarm suddenly sounded in the building, making Kelly jump. She guessed it was a diversion so no one would see the woman in the locker room.
They exited the gym, and Asmund fell into step beside them. The lights to the Yukon flashed as it unlocked. They walked to the car, and Fabian opened the door for Kelly. After she climbed in, he nudged her across to the other side as he crawled in beside her and shut the door. Asmund and Kade got into the front, and the SUV pulled from the parking space.
As the vehicle headed away from the gym and the newly headless woman, Kelly shook, trying to maintain her sanity.
Fabian and Kade acted like they’d handled situations like this many times before.
Fabian was on the phone asking for a cleaning service in the women’s locker room and giving someone the location of the gym. He disconnected the call without even a goodbye.
Kade turned back to face Kelly after giving instructions to Asmund to go back to his hotel. “Are ye all right?”
She laughed. “That’s a really stupid question, Kade.”
He flashed his crooked smile at her. “Aye, I suppose it is, apologies. This isn’y how I imagined the evening going, I can tell ye that much. We’re going back to my hotel to collect Clyde and my things, and we’re leaving the country. I dinnae want to hear any complaints. Yer going with us. If ye want to come back after we figure some things out, I’ll bring ye back, but for now yer going.”
Her mouth hung open of its own accord until she noticed and closed it, her teeth audibly clicking. “But I…”
He cut her off. “But nothing, Kelly. Less than twenty-four hours after a few Arcane learn of ye, and they’re already trying to take ye. I will nae argue with ye on this. Yer going.”
Kelly couldn’t help crossing her arms in displeasure.
“It really is for the best,” Fabian said, now speaking in his normal calm, smooth voice.
Instead of responding, Kelly turned to stare out the window as they drove through the city.
For what seemed to be the twenty-fourth time in the same number of hours, Kelly found herself pondering life and the chain of events that had led her to this moment. She tended to overanalyze, but she was beginning to wear herself out. Maybe a change of scenery would do her some good. There really wasn’t much here for her, but she couldn’t just abandon everything, could she? Her dad. Shit…what would her dad think? Hey Dad, I met this guy and he’s changed my life, so I’m leaving the country. That would go over really well. But she could come back, right? Kade had said she could come back.
“Wait a minute,” Kelly said to no one in particular, “why the fuck did that woman try to take me out of the gym? Who is she, and why is it okay to cut a person’s head off ?” She was yelling by the time she finished.
Fabian answered, cool as a cucumber, “Both Kade and I have hinted at the fact that there is something different about you. We are obviously not the only ones who have noticed it. Someone wanted to bring you over to their side and did not feel the need to gain your consent. It is okay to cut her head off because she knew the consequences. She knew I was your Guardian, and she knew she would die if she did not cooperate. My sole job is to protect your life, and that sometimes means taking the life of others.”
Kade picked up the explanation from there. “From what I heard outside the locker room, it sounded as if she was a vampire and she thought she could compel ye to leave with her. Did she do anything different with her eyes? Did they look different? Did ye want to go with her?”
Kelly tilted her head to the side, thinking. “Now it all makes sense! She did look at me differently. She kept tilting her head and changing angles while staring into my eyes. For a minute, it felt like my mind was getting foggy, but it cleared. Her eyes seemed like they were almost black, and she got frustrated when I wouldn’t listen. That’s when started trying to force me to go with her. So she was a vampire?”
“Aye, she was,” Kade answered. “With time, ye will learn to identify other Arcane.” He paused then, looking at her, studying her.
She looked away, feeling the weight of his gaze. It was beginning to feel like she was caught in the middle of a sea of shit with no shore in sight. As a journalist, it was her job to know, and she knew nothing about any of this. She was used to blazing her own path and finding the truth for herself, but these people wouldn’t even give her a day before coming for her. She could not win against an enemy she did not know; fighting them alone was not an option.
Kade pulled her away from her thoughts. “Ye said yer mind got foggy and then it went away. What do ye mean exactly?”
“I don’t know. One second my mind was slipping, like something was taking hold of it, then I focused on my breathing, and it went away.”
Kade and Fabian shared a glance then.
“What? What are you two thinking? It would be nice if you’d include me in the conversation, since it’s about me.”
Fabian answered, “It seems you may be immune to compulsion, or you may have some sort of power against it. We will have to test that theory, though.”
“Is that normal?” All she needed was another thing that set her apart from everyone else.
Neither of them spoke. They just shook their heads.
Just fucking great. Her mind attempted to hop on the Overthinking Train, but it was cut short when the car pulled up to Kade’s hotel.
The doors remained locked while Fabian did his fancy scanning thing. She’d have to remember to ask him how that worked.
“It is clear,” Fabian announced. He got out of his door and held it open, gesturing for Kelly to follow him. She did as he wished, too mentally worn out to do anything but follow.
Kade led the way into the hotel, and Kelly couldn’t help but admire his backside. He wore faded jeans that hugged his ass. The stitching on them was bold, and the pockets had intricate patterns on them. They probably cost $200, and they were almost worth it for the way they looked on him. He was in a casual white button-up shirt, untucked, with light-blue designs embroidered on it. Dark-brown work boots completed the look, landing it somewhere between date night and a casual business meeting, and right on the top of Kelly’s hot list. Suits had never really done it for her. She preferred a man who could be comfortable but still took pride in the way he presented himself.
There you go again, drooling over him. He’s not as nice as he looks, a bit too controlling and full of himself. Don’t go there.
She almost told herself to shut up, but caught the words before they left her mouth.
They made it up to the suite without incident, and Kelly collapsed on the couch while Kade got his things together. Fabian stood guard at the door, seeming to have his mind elsewhere. She figured he was scanning the area for people.
Clyde came over and jumped onto her chest. He meowed loudly in her face, making her laugh. She petted him gently, and he flopped on his side, purring. The cat was growing on her; she’d never been a cat person, but there was something about this one.
A thump sounded from behind her as Kade tossed his bag on the ground. He walked over to the couch and set a pet carrier at Kelly’s feet. Clyde gave another meow as he got up and walked into it with a saunter that said he was not pleased about the situation. Kade tossed a treat in after him and shut the door.
“I didn’t know you could train cats so well,” Kelly said, in awe with the fact that a cat would just walk into a carrier without a fight.
“It took us a while to get to this point, but he figured out that if he resists enough, I’ll leave him behind. He doesn’y like being left behind.”
Kade offered Kelly his hand, and she took it, knowing the adrenaline was wearing off and her body was crashing. He smiled at her as he helped her up, a full smile this time. “Come, sit and have some water while I grab what is needed from the fridge.”
She let go of his hand, making her way over to the kitchen. Kade followed with the cat carrier in one hand and the other hand on the small of her back. He set Clyde down and pulled out one of the bar stools for her to sit on.
Kelly sat, placing her head in her hands. She felt done with the night, with everything.
Kade put a bottle of water in front of her. “Drink.”
“I’ll take it with us. I’m fine right now.”
“Ye need to drink water. Yer body is under quite a bit of stress right now.”
“You think so?”
“Aye, I do.”
“That’s called sarcasm, Kade. You’re not familiar?” It was hard to keep the bitterness from her tone.
Kade turned to look at her, two bags of blood in his hand, “Oh aye, I’m familiar with it. I was just ignoring it. Ye can’y push me away, Kelly, not with anger and definitely not with physical strength.”
“And what would you do if you were in my shoes, Kade? On top of all the revelations of the past twenty-four hours, now I’ve seen a woman’s head cut from her body, and I’m leaving the country with two men I barely know. I want to say no, but if I do, I’m stuck here with people chasing me, and I’m obviously in way over my head. Can you at least tell me where we’re—” she stopped, realizing something. “Shit, I don’t even have a passport. I can’t go with you. They won’t let me go anywhere outside the US.”
“I’ll take care of it. Dinnae worry about that.”
“How will you take care of that? I’m positive they won’t let me get on an international flight, with or without your special mind-control shit.”
“We are taking a private jet, and yer documents will be complete by the time we land. Ye have my word.”
Kelly found herself in shock. Only criminals got documents like passports in hours. “I’m realizing I should have asked one very important question before. Who in the hell are you? You’ve told me about Arcane and vampires and all that other shit, but you haven’t told me a thing about you . You have an awful lot of money and access to things only criminals can get. If you’re a drug lord, I’m out.”
Fabian laughed from the door and she turned to him, glaring. “What’s so funny?”
He shook his head slightly. “Kade as a drug lord. I am trying to picture it in my mind.”
“Yer a lot of help, Fabian.”
Fabian just shrugged.
“I’m nae a drug lord or a criminal. I’m the Jarl of the North American jurisdiction of the Council.”
“The what?” She raised an eyebrow at him.
“Jarl—leader, in simple terms.” He kept a straight face, showing no emotion.
Fabian spoke then. “Kade’s money has been earned honestly, and he holds a very high position with the Council. One that his father held before him. He is not great with words or gestures, but he is trustworthy and has only your best interests at heart.”
“Well, aren’t ye just full of compliments tonight?” Kade asked him.
“To be sure.” Fabian bowed jokingly.
Kade waved him off and went back to packing things from the fridge in a cooler.
“So that’s it, then? You’re some bigwig with the Council, and that’s why you have money and connections?” There had to be more to his story, she thought.
“The money and connections come from time and family. The Council does not offer me anything but duty and headaches.”
“Are your family drug lords, then?”
Kade laughed. “Ye seem hell-bent on connecting me with crime. Do I look the type? Nae, none of my family are criminals, and to be very clear, neither they nor I are involved in anything illegal. Can we talk more on the plane? We need to get moving. It’s not a secret that I stay here.”
What other option did she have? “Sure.”
He nodded at her, closing the fridge and the cooler. “Right then, bring yer water. Let’s go.”
She grabbed the bottle and went to the door. Asmund came in and grabbed Kade’s bag. With Kade’s hands full, Kelly decided to pick up the cat carrier. They all left the hotel room with Fabian following behind, hands free in case he needed to get to his swords.
The SUV was parked outside the entrance where Asmund had dropped them off. He unlocked it, and they all climbed in after loading the back.
“To the airport, Asmund,” Kade said, urgency in his voice.
“Wait!” Kelly realized she didn’t have her things. “We need to stop to get my things from the hotel where we were staying.”
“I’ll replace them all when we land, there isn’y time.”
“But my computer, my writing…”
Fabian laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “I can have someone retrieve your belongings and keep them safe.”
She nodded at him, thanks in her eyes.
“Where are we going?” She hadn’t thought to ask before.
“To my home, to Scotland.”