Page 15 of Eternal Light (Fated in the Stars #5)

“Your father, Allistair. He’s so generous, helped us out of a little bind, financially speaking.” James grins, breath reeking of decay. “But now, with the bomb, I’ve got nowhere to go. I think it’s best if they think I’m dead already, don’t you? That’s why I came to see you, son.”

He reaches out a hand, and Jay flinches—finally allowing himself that half-step back.

He’s surprised to hear himself say, “You need to go to the police and tell them everything. I can help you.”

“Help me?!” James gives a wet, rattling chuckle. “It’s me who can help you. If you can get me out of Florida, I’ll tell you everything—enough to bring down his entire house of cards.”

“Dad, you’re wanted by the police—” Jay says again.

“I’ll do it, you fucking bastard. But you have to give me something in good faith,” Gideon interrupts. “Tell me where he is, and I will get you out of Florida in one piece.”

No. Jay can’t let Gideon sell his soul for information—not when his father would most likely lie and cheat.

“Gid, no…”

James licks his lips with his purpling tongue and rubs his hands together. “I figured you might. You’re as smart as your dear old dad. He’s in an ugly-ass fortress in the Island Estates area. If you want the address, you’ll have to get me on a plane.”

Jay knows the house—you can’t miss it. Fifteen years ago, it made headlines for looking more like Dracula’s castle than a Floridian retreat. But right now, the image won’t come to him, like someone’s drawn a curtain over the memory.

But Gideon takes his phone out and types a note, just in case they forget.

“Tell me something else. Make it worth my while. We knew he had to be somewhere near the beach. That’s nothing.”

“If you knew that already, then why isn’t he dead? Is Jay not man enough to take out the threat?”

“We aren’t murderers, you useless git,” Gideon growls.

It’s a lie…or it will be, as soon as Jay can make it true. Gideon just grinds his teeth and stares Jay’s father down.

“Fine, you drive a hard bargain. Hmmm… what can I tell you?”

James approaches, and Jay thinks it’s because his father doesn’t want to miss a single eye twitch. There’s a slow, creeping dread that whatever he says will hurt.

“Gideon, your dear old dad has a few secrets that I am happy to share. They won’t cost you a thing.”

“Stop monologuing and get on with it. You stink, and it’s putting me off my lunch.”

It’s gratifying to see James’s jaw clench at the blatant disrespect, and the sound of a tooth breaking is loud in the otherwise abandoned car park. James spits it—and a mouthful of blood—out onto the asphalt, unbothered. It’s obviously not the first time.

“Oh, this is going to be fun.”

James gives them a macabre smile.

“I met your brother, once.”

“I don’t have any siblings. Try again.”

“Oh, I beg to differ. I think at last count, Daddy had a total of four or five little Carnells running around since you were born,” James says as he pretends to count on his fingers.

“But he’s fucked his way around Nashville and Clearwater so much, who knows?

He’s just trying to find fodder for his cannon… his cannon! Ha, get it?”

James uses the classic jerk-off hand gesture to punctuate his lewd pun, snickering like he just delivered the joke of the century.

Jay blinks, disgust thick in his throat—but it’s not the words that stop him.

It’s Gideon.

His mate is staring straight ahead, blank-eyed, frozen—not with rage. With recognition. Horror.

Carnell had been impregnating women. On purpose. In order to what? Build an army?

“No,” Gideon says. “He’s talking shit. Jay, let’s go—we’re done here.”

Gideon takes Jay’s arm in an iron grip and starts to pull them toward the car.

“Oh, this is good.” James laughs. “You really didn’t know.

I wasn’t sure about that…not given how much of a talker your brother was.

I met him once, and he just went on and on about that little human Rena bitch.

How they were keeping him locked up and away from you.

A missing mate. How fucking sad. How much that must have hurt. Like torture. Goddess, how I laughed.”

Rena? Nix? Of course, they knew now that Hayes had hidden Nix away—but that his father had known as well? Jay wants to puke.

“You remember Hayes, right?” James laughs again.

“That idiot had a bee in his bonnet about you, my boy. How you are so successful, how you had fated mates; and when he told this story, I can tell you for sure just how much he hated you. But finding that little human bitch on the front steps of Ripley Records? Well, he thought luck was finally going his way.”

The ache in his chest burns with those damning words, and Gideon is frozen, his scent pure petrichor and sulphuric fury. It’s horrifying to think that the abusive Hayes was Gideon’s brother.

But James isn’t done. “Carnell, ever the opportunist. He helped the idiot sell his soul for the chance to keep you out of the loop and suffering for almost five years. Something about a prophecy or some ridiculous shit. At least Hayes was getting a tight ass for his trouble.”

Jay’s wolf has suddenly had enough of his father’s poisonous words, so he grasps James by the dirty button-down shirt and swings him around until he’s pressed back over the hood of the car.

“You. Are. A. Fucking. Liar.” Jay punctuates each word with a shake, even though deep down, he knows it’s all true.

“Boy, let go of me, or you’ll be sorry,” James growls—and for the first time in Jay’s life, he feels no fear at the sound. Only blinding anger.

So Jay shakes him again and lets his enigma fangs drop, his eyes flashing red.

James’s eyes go wide, and then he throws back his head in a laugh. “Oh, that’s rich. Enigma? Well, I never would have expected that. Such a sissy-boy. Maybe your little bitch of a human got better dick from Hayes? How does it feel to get sloppy seconds from yet another of Carnell’s spawn?”

James punctuates the taunt with a hard push, and Jay is not ready. It pushes him back on his heels—but Jay doesn’t let go. He just holds on and uses the momentum to swing him around with a shake.

“Fuck, I wish I was sticking around long enough to see your face when Carnell breaks your pack apart into tiny pieces, boy.”

There’s a crack of sound like lightning as Jay pulls back his arm to give his dad a long-awaited, well-deserved punch to the jaw, when his face is suddenly covered in hot fluid.

Everything slows as both he and James look down.

There, on James’s chest, is a two-inch hole blooming in blood.

His father is a dead weight under his hand, and he lets him slip to the ground.

“Jay!” Gideon yells and tackles Jay to the ground with a hand behind his head.

It’s hard enough that they end up between the Buick and the SUV beside them.

“Don’t you fucking move. Goddess, please.”

Gideon has his shirt off and uses it to hold Jay to the ground.

He’s got his phone in his hand, but Jay can’t hear what he’s saying over the noise in his ears.

Jay can see his father’s feet sticking out from under the front of the car; there’s a creeping pool of black blood crawling under the Buick.

Why is there so much blood?

He thinks of his mates and of how hot the asphalt feels under his back. Black spots flash in his vision, and Gideon is pressing so hard on his chest that it hurts.

Why does his chest hurt?

There are sirens hurting his ears, and the last thing Jay thinks before he passes out is that he’s never broken a promise to Gideon before—and he hopes he isn’t going to now.