Page 22 of After Midnight (Skye Druids #7)

Chapter Nineteen

Sabryn was going to be sick. Why put herself through hearing the horrid specifics yet again?

Maybe she was a masochist. She gripped the arm of the chair to keep from rubbing her chest where it ached.

It felt as if her heart were being torn out.

It didn’t matter what Kurt said. She couldn’t believe any of it.

She tried to snort in response, but no sound came out.

Instead , she sat there staring, waiting for him to continue.

“ I , ah, I went off script as it were,” he went on, leaning forward to rest his forearms on his thighs.

He rubbed his hands together before looking at her.

“ Parker didn’t like that. Diana gave me some freedom, but I took too much.

I needed time to figure out a way to tell you what was happening and get us out. ”

“ Secrets piled on top of secrets,” she murmured.

He dipped his chin. “ My mistake was enjoying my time with you instead of planning.”

“ That wasn’t your only mistake.”

He winced, and she smiled because she wanted to hurt him.

“ You’re right, it wasn’t. Being with you showed me another way to live.

I thought I could persuade Parker , and the two of us could stand against Diana .

” Kurt shook his head. “ Parker became belligerent. We got into a shouting match that ended in a physical fight. He got in a good hit and stormed out of the hotel. I tried to call Diana , but she didn’t pick up. So , I went looking for Parker .”

Sabryn’s voice was surprisingly calm when she said, “ He got to her first.”

“ Yes . I spent the next few hours trying to find him and talk to Diana . I located Parker first. Or rather, he returned to the hotel. I knew by his expression that he had done something but couldn’t get it out of him. That’s when I called you.”

She had been in the middle of a girls’ night with her friends and missed the call.

“ I drove around for hours, searching for you. I ended up at your apartment, waiting outside like some bloody stalker. When I saw you exiting the cab, I got out of my car. Two men moved from the shadows and headed toward you. That’s when Parker appeared.

He told me that as long as I stayed away from you, the men wouldn’t harm you. ”

The news unsettled Sabryn . She should’ve been more aware of her surroundings. “ You could’ve called out.”

“ I knew the men. I’d seen them work. I couldn’t take that chance,” he told her.

She stared at the top of Kurt’s bowed head.

How many times had she run her fingers through those thick caramel strands?

How many times had she wound her arms around his neck?

Kissed his lips? Felt him moving inside her?

How many times had she screamed in pleasure?

How many times had she lain against his naked flesh as they slept?

“ Diana demanded we return home immediately,” Kurt said.

“ I spent the next hours arguing all the reasons I needed to remain. I reminded her of why we had been sent to America to begin with and listed why you would be an asset to the London Druids . I went on at length about the advantage our organization would have if we had a senator and promised her I could finish the job. But she knew it was a lie. She ordered me to board the jet. I hung up on her.” He issued a short laugh and sat up.

“ It was the first time I’d ever done something like that.

It was bloody freeing. Then , it was my turn not to answer calls. ”

He went silent, his gaze distant as he fell into the past. She almost left him there because this was harder than she’d thought it would be. Sabryn had known he would have a different story than Parker , but she hadn’t foreseen such specific details.

“ And ?” Sabryn nudged.

Kurt drew in a sharp breath and met her gaze.

“ Parker and I fought again. With words, fists, and magic. We obliterated our suite and the rooms on either side of us. Then , suddenly, he pulled back and laughed. That’s when I heard the wail of sirens.

He turned on the telly, and a reporter spoke about a car accident.

Your father’s crash. They said his driver was intoxicated. ”

“ Martin never drank,” she stated, remembering how her father’s driver of over seven years had had his name dragged through the mud.

“ It was Parker and Diana . I knew nothing about it. I swear.”

“ But you knew they would do something,” she maintained.

His throat bobbed as he licked his lips. “ I never imagined they would take that step. You and your father were assets.”

Her stomach curdled. She alternated between wanting to vomit, cry, and hit something. “ I should have been in the car with Dad . I canceled our lunch because I was hungover.”

“ That was the only saving grace of that day. Parker flew into a rage when he discovered you had escaped the attack. He never saw the strike that knocked him out cold. The next time Diana rang, I answered the call.”

“ Is this where you tell me you bargained for my life?”

He briefly looked to the side. “ Yes , because I did. In exchange for your life, I promised to return to London and cut off all contact with you. The jet was already waiting. I packed up my and Parker’s things and dragged his unconscious body onto the plane.

I kept him unconscious because I was honestly afraid of what I might do to him.

Once we landed, I told Diana I was done.

I was packing when she came into my room. That’s where we made a second deal.”

“ What kind is that?”

“ The kind where she left me alone, and I didn’t go after her.”

Sabryn didn’t hide her amusement. “ From what you told me about your mother, she isn’t afraid of anyone.”

“ I know many secrets she doesn’t want getting out. In exchange for me keeping quiet, she allowed me to leave.”

“ Until she decided she wanted you back.”

His lips twisted. “ Yeah .”

“ Is it because she learned we’ve been working together—well, sort of working together?”

“ Maybe .”

Sabryn gave him a flat look. “ She didn’t check up on you?”

“ I got to walk away. That was the deal.”

“ One she’s going back on. She sent Parker to kill you!”

Kurt shifted uneasily in the chair. “ Then her secrets will be revealed.”

“ Is that it?”

“ What do you want from me? My heart? My soul?” he demanded in frustration. “ Because you have them already! I did everything I could to keep you alive.”

Sabryn jerked to her feet. Just as she parted her lips to speak, something banged against the cottage. They both froze, their heads turning toward the sound.

“ What was that?” Kurt asked.

She shook her head and shrugged before heading to where she’d heard the thump.

Sabryn hesitated only a second before peering out the window.

The cottage sat cloaked in raven-black night.

Not even the moonlight was visible. She had never been scared of the dark, but something about this made her skin crawl.

Another thud came near the window, making her lurch away.

Kurt strode to the door and opened it. Immediately , a gust of wind that howled with the fury of the cosmos yanked the door from his hand until it slammed against the wall.

The wind held the door still as it swooped aggressively around him.

He held up his arms to protect his face and turned his head one way and then the other.

“ Get back!” Sabryn yelled, but Kurt couldn’t hear her.

She raced to his side and shoved him out of the wind’s path. It slammed into her, sending her careening to the side, but Sabryn managed to grab the door handle and keep her footing. Hair whipped into her eyes, preventing her from seeing anything as she worked to get behind the door.

The wind’s hold was unyielding, but she wasn’t giving up.

She looked out into the obsidian night and found herself reaching for the wind.

It had never been her enemy. She , like every Druid in her family, was a wind talker.

But she had shut out the wind within days of coming to Skye because of its never-ending screams of danger.

“ Sabryn !”

She looked at Kurt , who was flattened against the wall, staring at her. His lips moved, but the wind snatched his words so she could only make out some.

“…to…saying?”

A gust brushed past her face and wound around her arm as if trying to pull her outside.

Kurt wanted to know what the wind was telling her, and it obviously wanted to impart something to her.

It had been difficult to close herself off to it, but once she had, it became a habit.

So much so that she sometimes forgot she had the ability.

How many times had it attempted to warn her of danger? Had it tried to tell her Parker’s true motives? Had she nearly cost Kurt his life because she had grown tired of hearing its warnings? The implications made her sick.

But she’d deal with that later. Right now, she needed to listen.

Sabryn focused on opening her mind. Robust magic swirled delicately through her.

She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the wind, reaching out to it.

Once she opened that door again, she was assaulted by deafening screams. Pressure built until she thought her head might explode.

Her ears popped, each time more painful than the last.

She released the door and stumbled back, covering her ears with her hands. Fingers gently grasped her shoulders to steady her, but she barely felt Kurt . The angst and panic in the wind’s shrieks reverberated inside her, turning her blood to ice.

Danger !

Not safe!

She’s coming for yooooooooooou!

Run ! You must RUN !

Kurt shook her. She opened her eyes to see his mouth moving but couldn’t hear him over the wind.

His hands wrapped around her wrists, and he tried to pull her hands away from her head.

She fought back, twisting away from him.

If she removed them, she would go deaf. Couldn’t he understand that?

She dropped to the ground and curled in on herself, thinking of nothing but stopping the agony.

Kurt lifted her torso so she faced him and spoke slowly, carefully mouthing, “ Tune it out again .”

“ I can’t!” she yelled over the wind.

“ Then lower the volume.” He touched the side of her face and raised his fingers to show her that blood was dripping from her ears.

This was likely the result of her ignoring the wind for so long. It would be worse if she shied away from it again. Like it or not, she had to address it. And ask for forgiveness. If it didn’t kill her first.

Sabryn shoved to her feet, walked against the current to the doorway, and took two steps outside the cottage.

She lowered her hands from her ears and winced as the volume increased.

The wind roared and whipped around her with the intensity of a hurricane.

Then a gust struck her in the chest, tossing her backward.

But she landed against a firm body. Kurt’s hands fell to her waist, steadying her.

The wind was angry and…scared. “ I’m listening now. I’m here,” she whispered.

Sabryn held out both arms to accept whatever the wind wanted to do to punish her. She had hurt and angered it by shutting herself off to it. Now , she was paying the price. There was no caress, none of the softness she had once experienced with the wind. There was only fury and pain.

Danger !

She’s coming!

Run !

You must RUN !

“ I can hear you. You don’t have to shout anymore,” Sabryn tried again.

RUN !!!!

The wind continued to scream, but it wasn’t as loud as before. “ Run where?” Sabryn asked.

Away . She’s coming.

“ Who’s coming?” she pressed.

You’re out of time.