Chapter Twenty-Eight

A week ago, Ky had been able to tunnel-vision his way through dropping the relics off at a fortified facility Flynn had designed on one of their mother’s estates in Italy. He’d told his brothers about someone he thought was Shane helping him, which they blew off. Said it had to be in his head. Maybe it had been. It’d seemed real, but he was a mess. Maybe it’d been Shane’s ghost pushing him into gear.

Nightmares from his time incarcerated tortured him whenever he slept. Sometimes he slid into panic attacks over the stupidest stuff. On the upside, his ability to ground himself in reality had improved.

In the lonely hours, though, he was forced to see that which he’d worked hard not to remember. Her.

I can’t do this.

“You have a choice,” Roman said as he led up the winding stairs of a renovated castle outside of Glasgow to the second floor where he’d rented rooms for them to stay. They usually didn’t stay in four- or five-star facilities, definitely not ritzy rental houses like this—a fucking castle—but he got the feeling this was all about Roman taking care of Nova.

“Choice of what? Stay on the plane? Find lodging elsewhere? Maybe I choose not to back you up when you face off with this Simon person?” He followed down the lushly carpeted hallway. “I’m not letting you face some lycan alone while using the ladies as bait.”

“Your room is there.” Roman handed him an old-fashioned key. No key cards in this place. Kind of nice to experience some Old World.

“I’m up the hallway, second on the left.”

“Is she here?”

“She doesn’t remember you. Her being here is about getting this Simon Lees character to talk. That’s not his real name, which is why we had trouble finding him.”

“How do you know he’s nearby?” He hated making Vivi play bait again. She didn’t deserve it the first time and sure as hell not twice. This time, however, he’d make sure she stayed safe.

Roman blew out a breath and knocked on an unidentified door. “I recruited help. The only way he’d locate this person whose name is bogus is by being a part of catching him.”

The blond, dapperly dressed lycan who answered the knock shot out a hand with a childish grin. “Mate, I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“Colin Lochty? It has been a while.” He raised an eyebrow at Roman while Colin pumped his hand. The notorious lycan “recordkeeper,” although reliable, had been frothing at the bit for years to help them with something more than providing information on who lived or died. The lycan was rich, not from family money, but from real-estate investments, having become somewhat of a tycoon over the decades. But it was his photographic memory that they needed. He knew every lycan family tree, many family histories, and the locations of most lycans. But he wasn’t a rich jerk. Colin was every man’s everyman—a little goofy, chummy, and the kind of guy you’d like to grab a beer with, since he excelled at funny storytelling.

Colin said, “So thrilled to be a part of a mission with you three. I can’t wait to meet the missing girls you found.”

“Tomorrow,” Roman said quietly. “Dial back the enthusiasm about a hundred percent.”

Colin rubbed his hands. “Might step down to a pub I saw down the street tonight. Want to join me, Ky, for old times’ sake?”

Ky shook his head. “I’m turning in soon. Jet lag.”

“You been on a diet or something? You look thinner.”

“Or something.”

“Oh. Right. Secret stuff.” Colin winked. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. This is so bloody exciting.”

They all liked Colin. He was solid, but he wasn’t trained to fight, and he was a flirt.

“I want to see her,” Ky immediately blurted out as soon as Colin shut the door.

“You sure you can handle it?” Roman continued up the hallway.

“I’ll be fine.” Liar. He wanted to see Vivi. “I want to meet her sister, the person you mated. She’s family, and I don’t even know her.”

“Fair enough.” Roman nodded as he led up the hall and around a corner. He knocked on a door.

Ky hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until the door swung open. A lycan with long, curly auburn hair in jeans and a tight dark sweater glowered. She kept one arm behind the door. He sensed the gun. Knowledge about the type of bullet and how many were in the weapon filtered into his head, as was his gift.

Roman’s sharp edges softened into a goofy grin. “Are you hiding a gun behind the door?” It wasn’t Roman’s gift, but apparently he knew his lover well.

“Maybe.” The lycan he assumed to be Nova cocked her head and did a smoldering once-over of Roman.

“You plan to shoot me with it?”

“Was thinking about it.” Nova smiled.

“That’s hot.” Roman snagged her around the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. Her hidden hand came into view holding a gun.

Roman flirting? Ky blinked. When had his uptight brother turned into a guy who went gushy over a woman?

“Who’s there?” he heard Vivi call out.

Ky’s stomach twisted to the point he felt it contract and threaten to vomit.

“It’s Roman and one of his brothers.” Nova eyed Ky. “I’m Nova.”

“I gathered that,” Ky said. “Good to meet you, ma’am. I’m Ky. You’ve made a difference in Roman that we’ve all noticed.”

“You’re polite. That’s…well, it’s unexpected, since Roman tosses the f-bombs around like candy. Good to meet you.” She lowered her voice. “She won’t remember. She’s still confused about a lot of things.”

His stomach bottomed out. He’d hoped she would remember him. Hoarsely, he forced out, “I know.”

“Shoot them if they didn’t bring the chocolates,” Vivi called out. Her voice soaked into him.

“Roman’s distracting me,” Nova called back. “You know how relentless he can be when we’ve been apart for what, a half hour?”

Roman planted a kiss on her lips. She tucked the Glock into a holster beneath her shirt. Full respect for her. She was a fighter. “You have the chocolates?”

Roman held up a small paper bag.

His breath caught when he looked inside the adjoining bedroom.

Vivi sat on a small sofa surrounded by cut briars with withered leaves. A pile of miniature constructed briar crowns lay next to her. She pushed her long, silky, dark hair behind an ear to glance up, which accentuated the heart shape of her face. Everything about her seemed light and peaceful.

She stared at him in an absorbing way until her forehead crinkled.

He drank in the sight of her. He loved her. He knew it down to his gut. Nothing about that was going to change.

He wanted to know this new her.

He rubbed the back of his neck, waiting for the introduction she needed.

“What’s she doing with all those Barbie crowns?” Roman whispered to Nova.

Nova shook her head and scrunched up her lips. “She’s making crowns for the fairies, since they’re celebrating…what’d you say it was, Vivi?”

“It’s a festival to celebrate their prince’s marriage. They need chocolate.” Her gaze wandered over Ky’s chest as if trying to study the definition of his muscles beneath the shirt. But before she spent too much time staring, she snapped her eyes up to his and smiled bashfully. Her “caught” look was new. And adorable. He liked this more vulnerable Vivi. Made sense, since she’d reset to a time before she had the trauma of imprisonment.

“You talked to fairies?” Roman asked, skepticism rich in his tone.

“The will-o’-the-wisps told me they needed the crowns and chocolate. They’ll show me where to leave them. It’s supposed to be good luck to contribute to the festival. Figured we could use some luck.”

“Were they the blue ones or the yellow ones?” Ky asked.

Roman craned back to grant him a double eyebrow raise.

“The blue.” Vivi’s smile widened.

“What?” Ky shrugged at Roman. “Whenever we visit Scotland, they talk to me. Don’t they talk to you? It’s why I like to take walks. I enjoy the sense of…” He felt his face heat and softly added, “Marvel. It comes from seeing them and the wisdom they give freely.”

“I get that,” Vivi said. “They are miraculous.”

Roman said, “I thought the walks were an excuse for you to disappear. You get cranky if you don’t get your alone time.”

“If you can find some relatively untouched areas in these parts, you’ll see them.”

Roman shook his head. “Those puffs of light aren’t magical. They’re the result of swamp gas leaking.”

“You believe in ghosts, necromancers, witches, and all kinds of magical entities. You pull magical spells out of your ass at random, but mention a will-o’-the-wisp and you go all scientific?” He addressed Vivi. “I’m Ky, Roman’s brother. I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“Vivi. Nova’s sister.” A blush spread over her cheeks and across her nose, which had new freckles. Because she’d been outside. There was more of a glow to her skin from recent sun exposure. That made sense for her to love the outdoors, which was her element. Why wouldn’t she commune with fairies?

His eyes got teary, which he hid by looking away fast. This woman turned him into a total sap at the mere thought of her happily doing things like saving worms and following will-o’-the-wisps.

Get it together.

“Nice to meet you, Vivi.” He nudged Roman with his shoulder as his brother walked by. “Nice of Roman to introduce us.”

“Vivi and I don’t think you guys should go to Namibia, not with everything else going on. Feels like a waste of time.” Nova hugged Roman.

Roman said, “We’re going to check it out. Should be a quick trip. Then we’ll deal with the incarceration facilities and FenCor.”

“Why’s it so important?” Nova asked.

Roman sighed and met Ky’s gaze. “We’re questioning our handler’s loyalty. He says he’s on our team, but after the business with Slate in London, I don’t know. This is our chance to gauge if he’s setting us up to be killed or it’s something legit.”

“We were ordered to go,” Ky added. “Means we’ll have to go at some point.”

“Tell me there’s another easy way to know if he’s on the right side or not.” Roman closed in on Nova and snagged an arm around her waist and pulled her in for another kiss. He whispered low to her. She giggled.

“Suppose you’re right,” Nova said.

“You hear that, Ky? She said I’m right.” Roman grinned.

“Doesn’t happen often.” Nova kissed him.

“Are they always like this?” Ky asked.

Vivi rolled her eyes and nodded. “It’s disgusting. They can’t keep their hands off each other.”

He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I’ve never seen Roman like this. Him all mushy is new. He’s usually bristly and barking orders, and all about right and wrong.”

“I think they need alone time, or we’ll be privy to some strip poker.” Vivi grinned, which made her so beautiful, he stopped breathing.

Roman called from the adjoining room, “We don’t need poker to strip, Vivi.”

“Want to help me give the fairies the crowns and chocolate?” Vivi’s deep blue eyes, so clear of trauma, sucked him in. Her eyes were mysterious, gorgeous… He could happily get lost in them.

“Come on. Best time of the day to find them is at sunset.” She loaded the crowns into a small backpack. “I’m not allowed out without someone on guard duty, which I’m not sure is for my actual security or to protect me from myself. Figure you can be my bodyguard this time. At least you won’t make me feel like I’m out of my mind talking to the will-o’-the-wisps.”

His heartbeat thrashed inside his ears. If he spent time with her, he might open up to this new, bright-eyed woman who was already beneath his skin.

But he couldn’t.

The logical side of his brain argued Nova and Roman were making it work. They seemed happy.

He was so screwed up in his head from his time drugged and incarcerated that he wasn’t sure exactly what he felt for her. Friendship? Fondness? Attachment? Maybe even love?

In reality, the connection they’d shared ended when she forgot her past. She didn’t remember him. She couldn’t help him with the panic attacks or the nightmares. Last thing he wanted was her pitying him for being messed up, and him being unable to explain its root cause.

Seeing her in person wasn’t about his personal issues. He’d needed to confirm she’d recovered and didn’t remember the horrors of the past. Best if she’d forgotten him, too. So it hurt to think she couldn’t remember anything of him or them? He’d done this to protect her from those who dictated his life.

…

Stop staring at his ass.

Vivi wasn’t sure what’d gotten into her, asking a relative stranger to go into the woods. Or the fact she was dying to touch him. Especially after she tripped and he caught her against his hard body. His thigh felt so strong under her touch. Solid as a rock with no cushion.

She’d wanted him to touch her, maybe kiss her. Somehow, she suspected he’d be alpha, demanding and unlike anything she could imagine. She glanced back, noticing how his fingers curled around a tree branch to pull himself up the small hill. His grip on her would be powerful. Possessive. Addictive.

But she didn’t know him. Or did she?

Or did she?

She pressed her mind to remember. Come on. Something. A tidbit. Who is this guy?

Nova’s surprise at meeting him had seemed genuine. But she’d realized her sister would do whatever necessary to protect her, even pretend to meet someone they both already knew.

Lacerating pain as if someone shoved a knife through her forehead had her grabbing a tree branch for support.

“You good?” Ky called.

“Fine.” No, she wasn’t fine. His comfort level with her and his willingness to follow where she led to do fairy business came off too trusting for someone who looked like he could take on an adult bear if it charged him. If he knew her, then why pretend to be introduced to her? What was he hiding? And why did she intuitively trust him?

She tugged her jacket tight to ward off the whip of the wind. Probably should zip it, but she found it restrictive when moving up and down the rocky terrain. The purple fabric of the puffy jacket her sister gave her yesterday caught her off guard. Did she like purple? Was this her color or even her style? On a daily basis she got caught up in the frustration of being unable to remember crap like this. Each day she got better at not pushing her brain, not inducing the headache. However, she’d discovered she wasn’t a person who gave up simply because of a little pain.

“Something wrong with your coat?” he asked.

Her teeth bit down on her bottom lip. “Do I like purple?”

His eyebrows dipped low. “I don’t know. Do you?”

Desperate for him to fill her in if he knew her, if he could answer questions like this, she flexed and relaxed her hands while she stared at him. He didn’t seem to be getting the hint she wanted him to talk.

She tried to read him. To see if he seemed to be having familiar thoughts of her, or something. Anything. But got nothing from him. Absolutely nothing. What did that mean?

When he stayed silent, she started moving again.

Time to focus on why they were here. She breathed deep to gather the feel of the woods into her. The will-o’-the-wisps were here the last time she’d been on this side of the stream.

One popped out on the trail ahead whispering, “This way.” She brushed past Ky to follow it, heart pounding and body jittery.

When he didn’t immediately follow deviating from the path, she grabbed his hand and towed him behind her. His hand felt warm against hers. Strong. And right.

How could this feel so comfortable? It seemed beyond familiar. You are safe.

That voice. She’d heard it in her dreams.

Oh my God. It was his voice.

She did know him from her past. Didn’t she?

Not remembering sucked.

Nova refused to tell her anything, and even admitted she didn’t know much. Vivi had been told about the trigger words and why she needed to leave the past in the past, but she felt like she’d left too much behind. If Ky had known the old her, he might be able to fill in some details on who she’d been. Maybe he could help with little things. Safe things. Like favorite colors or foods.

Crossing the stream behind her required jumping from rock to rock. When he slipped, landing in a wet splash, laughter fluttered out of her at his embarrassed flush. He held up his now wet foot. She asked, “Need some help, big man?”

“I hate wet socks when it’s cold like it is out here.” He shook the soaked foot. “I’ll survive.”

“I’m sorry. Come on. We’ve got to be almost there. You can take off your socks when we arrive.” She sprinted up a hill, trying to keep up with the blue moving ball of light. An abrupt halt when the will-o’-the-wisp disappeared had him bumping into her.

He caught her before she fell, but the collision caused her to drop the small backpack with the crowns. As she retrieved it, she blurted, “You have broad shoulders. And take up a lot of space.”

His brows quirked upward.

He was so sexy that it distracted her from her goal of getting him to admit he knew her from before.

Everything about him, from his longish dirty-blond hair to his strong, sculpted arms to the demanding light in his blue eyes, was sexy.

“I already lost my memories. Do you think I’ve gone crazy to be talking to little blue lights?” Why couldn’t she catch her breath around this man every time she looked at him?

“If I thought that, I wouldn’t be out here. I heard the little blue light whispering to follow, same as you. I could question my own sanity, but as I said before, I’m good with magical weirdness. Good to know you hear it, too.”

“You said before? Did I miss something you said back at the castle?” Aha! Gotcha. “We know each other from the past, don’t we?”

He spun away from her, but not before she caught the obvious “oops” on his face. “I think you’re right that this is the place. Maybe over there on that little rock is a good spot.” He pointed.

“Why are you not answering me? I deserve the truth.”

“Aren’t we out here to do something?” He pointed at the rock again.

She unloaded and arranged the crowns into a pyramid pile.

Once done, she studied him. “Did we know each other before an hour ago?”

He glanced at his watch. “Time we get back.”

“Do you know me?” She wouldn’t admit she’d heard him in her dreams. His voice. Maybe it wasn’t his. That truly would seem crazy, if he wasn’t the one she’d heard. She might be wanting it to be him.

His lips compressed. “Anything…everything from your past is dangerous to remember.”

She wasn’t nuts. “Nova mentioned something about the trigger words I need to not remember. If you know those, then don’t say them. How did we know each other?”

“Vivi.” He dropped his head. His words came out strangled. “We can’t do this. There’s too much…”

She wrapped a hand around his wrist to try to deep-read him again. The physical contact helped. She got impressions of him, but nothing about her or what he thought of her. She frowned. “You’re a protector, and you value loyalty.”

“Very much so. I can be trusted with secrets. I’m good at keeping my mouth shut.”

“You won’t tell me about the past.” Said with finality. He would be loyal to whatever promise he made, whether it’d been to her or someone else. “I respect it but hate it.”

Her gaze fell to his lips and stared. She wet her own lips. One peep up to his eyes, and the carnal expression on his face communicated need. Want.

Seconds passed without a word spoken. Her body lit up with his blatant staring. She should break this spell, drop her stare, and start back the way they came. But she didn’t.

If she leaned in closer, what would he do? Would he lean in, too?