Page 1 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter One

May

Outside of Ullapool

Rain pattered steadily against the windows and onto the roof, beads of water running down the panes of glass highlighted by moonlight to form patterns on the floor.

But Kurt wasn’t aware of any of it. He kept seeing his brother’s face on the screen right before he set the warehouse to blow and made his escape.

He and the Druids with him had also managed to escape.

It had been so long since he’d had contact with his family that he actually began to believe they had released him.

He should’ve known better. His mother didn’t let anything go.

Ever . He had become complacent, had gotten too confident.

And he would pay for it. If Parker found him.

His little brother was as ruthless and uncompromising as their mum.

Maybe more so. The difference was that Parker didn’t have the intelligence or control Diana Barclay did.

Kurt rubbed his eyes, wincing at the discomfort it caused.

He’d gotten in a few cat naps throughout the day but didn’t dare allow himself to really sleep.

He couldn’t. Parker and the Druids had been on his heels for days.

Kurt would lose them, only for them to pick up his trail.

This cat-and-mouse game was draining and tedious, and the lack of rest was taking its toll.

At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before Parker found him.

Kurt rose from the table, his body protesting. The only light in the kitchen came from his open laptop and the green light on the coffee maker. He shuffled over and poured another cup. Was it his sixth? Seventh ? He had lost count.

He stared at the dark liquid before placing his hands on the counter and hanging his head.

His eyes were so heavy. He lost the battle and let his lids close.

He only wanted a second to rest, but the next thing he knew, he was falling.

Kurt jerked awake and hastily righted himself.

He shoved his hands into his hair, still damp from the shower, and blinked his weary eyes several times to try to wake up.

The coffee was hot and bitter, but it was the only thing keeping him awake.

After half a cup, he made his way back to the table and sank into the chair, punching a button to wake up his computer and check for any signs that Parker and his associates were getting close again.

Kurt was ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

He’d been in the small flat for a day, and that was usually when he had to go in search of somewhere else to hide.

However , he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it up.

He should’ve been able to shake Parker by now.

He sipped his coffee and scrolled through the CCTV footage he’d hacked, searching for the unnamed faces of those with his brother.

Unease crept in when he found no trace of Parker or his cronies.

Ice slid through Kurt’s veins as he set down his cup and hastily typed the address of where he’d stayed in Aviemore to scour more video footage.

It didn’t take him long to find the sleek, racing-green Jaguar F - Pace turning the corner under the streetlamps and coming to a halt outside the house he had stayed in.

Parker exited the passenger side, and the driver and two others followed.

Two other SUVs pulled up, and more Druids climbed out.

They swarmed the house while Parker stayed back, his hands in his pockets, watching as others did the dirty work.

Kurt shook his head. Some things never changed.

He should’ve viewed this hours ago. If he had been thinking clearly, he would have.

He clenched his hands and took a deep breath to focus, blinking to ease the discomfort in his dry eyes.

He observed Parker’s men exit the house and shake their heads.

His brother straightened and looked at the man on his left.

Words were exchanged, and the Druid got out a map and spread it over the vehicle’s bonnet as everyone gathered around.

Kurt had seen them perform the locator spell before.

He had countered it each time but couldn’t remember when he had done it last.

“ Bloody fucking hell,” he muttered and shoved away from the computer.

As he did, his shirt rubbed against his chest, making him hiss in pain. He unbuttoned it to look where he had tattooed a warding emblem. He was in a bad way if he had forgotten that.

Every time he blinked, it was like someone rubbed sand into his eyes.

His stomach growled, but the thought of eating another protein bar turned it.

Instead , he drank more coffee and settled in front of the laptop again.

He hadn’t paused the video, so he had to rewind to get back to where he’d been.

Little things like this would do him in.

Little things that shouldn’t be happening.

Little things he’d never done before.

He returned to the recording and watched Parker’s group repeat the locator spell several times.

His brother couldn’t get a good lock on him, but Parker could get a generalized location.

Kurt couldn’t zoom the video, and with it recording at night, the shadows and shine of the streetlamps made it challenging to see specifics.

Luckily , he could make out one Druid circling a section on the map.

Kurt’s gaze shifted to Parker , and he waited for his little brother’s temper to flare.

Surprisingly , he remained calm as he spoke.

The moment he finished, everyone climbed into their vehicles and drove away.

Now that Kurt knew the direction they were headed, he tracked the vehicles through Aviemore but lost them where there were no cameras.

Several tense minutes later, he found them again on the A9 .

He looked at the timestamp and then searched the footage of the Longman Roundabout .

Just as he suspected, they took the second exit to stay on the A9 before heading to the A835 exit on the Tore Roundabout .

“ Fuck ,” he muttered, dread filling him.

He’d been fighting sleep when he should’ve been leaving. He started to rise, only to sit back down. There was no more room for mistakes. Before he headed out, he needed to know exactly where Parker was.

Kurt jumped to another view and scanned the recording until he located the F - Pace . Following it as best he could, he suddenly lost it and the SUVs trailing Parker .

Panic thudded in Kurt’s chest. His instinct was to run, but a thread of apprehension kept him seated. He shoved the heels of his hands into his eyes and took a couple of calming breaths.

“ Focus ,” he told himself. “ You have to focus. The next place you go, you can sleep. But you can’t do that now. You just need a little more time.”

Kurt lowered his hands and lifted his head. His fingers flew across the keys. When he found his brother this time, he followed the Jaguar from camera to camera, watching in horror as it took an exit he was familiar with.

His stomach churned with fear. His brother could be headed anywhere, but Kurt knew that for the lie it was the moment Parker got on the A87 . Kurt didn’t need to look at a map to know they were headed to Skye .

To Sabryn .

He leaned back in the chair as he hit pause on the footage. He didn’t trust himself, so he replayed every recording to ensure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him. A look at the bridge entry into Skye confirmed his suspicions when he saw the Jaguar .

Parker was a London Druid and forbidden from setting foot on the isle, but his brother was ignoring that directive. Parker was the perfect soldier, doing whatever it was their mother, Diana , told him. If he was on Skye , it was because London —or Diana —had decreed it.

But there was only one reason for Parker to go to Skye : to draw Kurt out. He shouldn’t have told his brother or Diana about his feelings for Sabryn . He’d hoped that part of his life was dead and buried, but he should’ve known he wouldn’t get away that easily.

Kurt stood and slammed the laptop shut in one movement before stuffing it into his rucksack and hurrying out of the flat. Parker and his Druids were already on the isle. It would take Kurt a little over two hours to get there. That wasn’t good enough.

With his blood pumping and more awake than he had been in days, he kept to the shadows and looked for a car to steal.

He sent a prayer of thanks when he found a mid-nineties Volkswagen Golf sitting by itself.

To his surprise, the door was unlocked. Kurt slid behind the wheel, popped the cover on the steering column, and reached past the battery and ignition for the wire bundle.

He stripped the wires and brushed them together.

The moment the engine roared to life, he put the car in drive and sped off.

He pressed the accelerator to the floor as he wove through the village to the motorway.

He didn’t care about the cameras that caught him speeding.

He’d return the car and pay any fines he incurred once he reached Skye .

The thing he had both yearned for and dreaded for the past six years was nearly at hand.

Sabryn wouldn’t take discovering his true identity well.

She would be furious, and he deserved everything she would say and do to him.

Elias , Carlyle , and Finn would take her side and would likely be just as angry.

All of them had that right since he had deceived them for years.

Kurt glanced at his speed as he flew down the motorway. He couldn’t remember the timestamp of Parker reaching Skye . Had he already found his way to Carwood Manor and confronted Sabryn ? The house was sentient. Surely , it would sense that Parker couldn’t be trusted and keep him out.

“ What was the fucking time?” Kurt asked as he slammed his hand against the steering wheel.