Page 41 of Revenant (Spirit Realm #2)

RUE

F our hours and multiple stops to change our vehicles later, we are finally fifteen minutes from my father’s office. My skin bristles, ready to crawl off my body the closer we get, and I am ready to throw myself out of the window to escape.

Since Hicks is the only one who has met my father, we decided to take two vehicles, part of a contingency plan in case things go to shit. I’m not na?ve—the instant the men came into my life, my father would have compiled a whole dossier on each of them, digging out any secret he thought he could exploit.

Only I’m not going to give the asshole a chance.

This ends now.

Hicks drives with a confidence I envy, but his posture is stiff with tension. I’m not sure if he is more worried about the upcoming appointment or Crystal sitting in the back seat. When we pull up to Granger Industries, I remain frozen in my seat, struggling against the urge to bolt. Hicks opens the door and rounds the front of the vehicle. I’m not aware of him again until he crouches down next to me, placing a warm hand over mine. I blink, then wince when I realize I’ve been picking at my thumbnail until it’s a bloody mess.

“We can do this without you,” Hicks reassures me, the concern in his green eyes slaying me, and I shake my head. “I trust Crystal and your father as far as I can throw them. The idea of them in the room together…”

I shudder.

“I’m not afraid to confront my father,” I tell Hicks, swiping the blood on my jeans, grimacing when it leaves behind a little smear. “But I am smart enough to be worried about the destruction he can cause if he sets his minions on us. He won’t stop until I’m back under his control. He won’t give a fuck who he destroys to do it. The thought of you or the others becoming a casualty of this war… It’s unbearable.”

Shadows thicken, and darkness slowly fills the car with a menacing chill.

A startled squeak escapes Crystal, and she stumbles away from the vehicle, stark fear etched on her face. Before she can bolt, Gunner blocks her exit and hauls her to where the others are waiting near the entrance.

Undaunted by the silent threat, Hicks captures the back of my neck with his hand, then drags me close and smashes his lips to mine in a brutal kiss that steals every thought from my head. I’m panting by the time he pulls back, struggling to recall my own name.

The smug fucker smirks at my dazed look, but it’s the tiny purr rumbling in his chest that hits my veins like a sedative. It reminds me that we are no longer just human. If my father tries to start shit, he will get the surprise of his life.

With a shaky nod, I allow him to haul me out of the vehicle. He pulls a little too hard, and I end up sprawled against his chest. His warmth erases any lingering chill, and I take a deep breath, like coming up for air after being underwater for too long.

Courage bolstered, I grab his hand and drag him toward my father’s building…only to slow when I round the front of his car and spot the dent marring the front fender.

“Why didn’t you fix it?” I grouse, mortification filling my cheeks. The damage is from me and the first time I ever drove a vehicle. Gunner and Hicks were taking a beating from a group of thugs, and I saved them…by running their attackers over.

“I have fond memories of that day.” Hicks smiles down at the fender, running his hands over it, and shrugs. “It’s a reminder of the day I decided to keep you.”

I sputter with laughter at his audacity, allowing him to haul me the rest of the way toward the building. When the guys fall into step around us, tension eases from my spine. Hicks enters the building first, confident of his place in the world. He prowls toward the reception desk like he owns the building, not sparing the two security guards any attention.

Gunner immediately becomes territorial, his form bulking up impressively as he steps in front of me and growls at the officers. The guards step back in alarm, their hands dropping to the weapons strapped to their sides. Needing to de-escalate the situation, I step around Gunner and curl up against his side, pressing my hand to his chest. “No need for drama. He thought you were threatening me. You weren’t, right?” I ask the guards as sweetly as possible, and their disbelieving gazes drop to me.

It’s only when they shake their heads and slowly lift their hands from their weapons that Gunner relaxes. When he gazes down at me, his whole countenance softens, and he wraps his arms around me possessively.

After years of neglect, I fucking love his protectiveness. I carefully pull the big man away from the guards, then nod for Hicks to take over.

“We would like to see Richard Farthington,” Hicks tells the woman behind the reception desk, and a snarl curls my lips when she gazes at my men a little too lustfully.

“I’m so sorry, but he’s not accepting?—”

I shove my way to the front, ignoring Gunner’s grumble of protest. When I reach the desk, I flash a smile that is more teeth than anything friendly. “Tell him his daughter is here to see him. I’m sure he will make the time for me.”

A moue of distaste curls her mouth, but she does as ordered.

Though she clearly doesn’t believe me, she knows better than to do anything without my father’s permission. I shudder when my father’s voice barks through the phone, and the woman flinches. She replaces the phone in the cradle with a trembling hand. “You, uh, you can head right up.”

Without another word, we all head toward the elevator. The ride is silent, full of tension and anticipation of what’s to come. Everything is riding on the next few minutes. I close my eyes when the elevator dings. No one moves as the doors glide open, allowing me a moment to gather my courage, then I inhale deeply and step into the hall.

I stride into my father’s office with Hicks and Crystal trailing me. Now that Ellis is on the property, he’s able to loop the cameras and access the files he wasn’t able to retrieve while off-site. Jaceson and Jameson are breaking into the offices, collecting anything incriminating. Gunner remains in the hallway near the elevator, standing guard.

“I see you managed to cause another scene.” My father tsks in annoyance, his voice harsh with reprimand. He leans back in his seat, a look of disgust twisting his features. “Are you ready to crawl back home after the mess you created?”

My eyebrows shoot up at his audacity, but instead of being upset, I laugh. “Don’t you mean the mess you created? You’re the one who had me committed—illegally, I might add. I wonder what people would think if they discovered the truth?”

I stride across the room, my rage burning away any leftover fear. I lean over his desk and snarl in his face. “Your inability to forget the past, your need to control me has twisted you into a monster. You could have forgotten I existed, started another family, and lived a good life, but you?—”

“I had the perfect life,” he bellows, shooting to his feet so he can yell into my face. “And you took it away from me!”

“I was a child!” I scream back, then shake my head at the pathetic man before me. “You were supposed to be my father. You were supposed to love me.”

“Love you?” Every emotion wipes off his face, and he straightens to his full height to glare at me. “You are unlovable. Not even your mother could stand to be in the same room as you. No, you are not my daughter. You are a curse. I allow you to live only so long as you are useful. I. Own. You.”

I brace for the pain of his words, and I’m surprised when I don’t feel anything.

Because I no longer care what he thinks.

He doesn’t have any control over me.

I shake my head, only feeling pity for him now. While I might have sought his affection and approval when I was little, he beat that out of me a long time ago.

Now, I just want him to forget that I ever existed.

“You know what’s funny?” I don’t wait for him to answer. “Being sent to that asylum might have been one of the best things that ever happened to me.”

“And why is that?” A scowl darkens his face, obviously hating the fact that he ever did anything nice for me, even if it was unwittingly. “Did they cure you?”

If anything, that idea seems to piss him off even more.

“Cure me?” I laugh and step away from the desk, only stopping when my back comes to rest against Hicks. “I was never sick. Ironically, I found something at the asylum that you were never capable of giving me—a family that loves me. I should be thanking you.”

Knowing that my father will never willingly let me go, I turn away and head for the door. “I’m done with you. If you come after me or my family, I will make sure everyone discovers that you’re a fraud. I kept records of every underhanded deal, and I’m not afraid of publishing them and exposing you.”

“And you think anyone will believe you?” he snarls, following me around the desk and stalking after me.

I glance at him over my shoulder and pause. “I think you pissed off a lot of people, and they would be more than happy to see you burn.”

Rage darkens his green eyes, and he takes a threatening step toward me. “If you think I was hard on you, imagine how the outside world will react when they discover your little secret.”

My stomach drops at the very real threat.

If he can’t have me, then no one will.

“You will never be safe, you will be hunted on the streets, never knowing when danger will strike.” A malicious smile darkens his face, the smug bastard crossing the room to deliver his next threat. “I’ll even put a bounty on your head. I bet you would go for a really high price to the right people.”

A vicious snarl rumbles in Hicks’ chest, the heat of his fury nearly singing my back. Before he can leap toward my father and incinerate the asshole, Crystal glides forward and brushes her fingers along the back of my father’s hand.

A bubble of unease swells in my chest at the gamble we’re taking, but I’m left with no other choice. My father is never going to let me go, and I can’t take the risk of killing him.

That leaves us with only one option.

“Calm,” Crystal says, stroking her fingers along his hand over and over, her voice taking on an almost echoing cadence. “You just discovered that your daughter died tragically in the asylum fire. These two administrators came to inform you personally of her tragic demise.”

Crystal glances at me from the corner of her eye, and her lips quirk slightly. Panic sparks in my chest, and she continues before I can stop her. “She died a horrible death, burned alive. She suffered greatly before her body was turned to ash and buried under the ruins of the asylum.”

“Yes, it’s horrific,” my father parrots, his expression tragic when he glances at us. His pupils are blown and his eyes glazed, no recognition in his expression. I almost expect him to cheer at the news, but he looks annoyed that he wasn’t the one to kill me personally.

Bastard.

“We’ll be sure to have a copy of the death certificate sent to you,” Hicks says, nearly choking on his rage. “We need to be going. We have other death notifications to perform. We have taken up too much of your valuable time already.”

“Quite right.” My father nods obediently, already turning back toward his desk. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes that needs my attention.”

The instant he pulls away from Crystal’s touch, he hesitates and glances back at us with narrowed eyes. “And you’re sure she is dead? No remains at all? I would like to bury her body next to her mother.”

A muscle ticks in Hicks’ jaw, the man too pissed to speak without breathing fire. I swear I see smoke curling out from his nose.

I smile at my father, keeping my tone simpering, just the way he likes his women. “I’m sure we can find her remains and have the ashes sent to you. Again, we’re so sorry for your loss.”

I nearly choke on the words. My father dismisses us with a wave of his hand, and I grab Hicks by the arm and physically drag him from the room. Crystal follows silently, seeming just as eager to leave. When the door closes, we remain quiet for almost a full minute, waiting to see if my father will storm out after us.

Only, that doesn’t happen.

“It worked,” I whisper, unsure I believe that it’s finally over.

That I’m finally free.

The rest of the guys are waiting for us near the elevator. Not daring to linger longer than necessary and risk blowing our cover, Hicks threads our fingers together, and we head toward the others.

“How long will your gift of persuasion last?” Ellis asks Crystal when the doors to the elevator close behind us, and I’m not sure I’m breathing as I wait for her answer.

“I don’t know,” she admits a bit reluctantly. “I’ve never stayed in one place long enough to test it.”

The elevator ride is silent as we contemplate the ramifications.

I’m not sure how I feel.

Removing him from my life was almost too easy.

I don’t realize I’m trembling until the twins hug me close, their arms nearly crushing me, but I don’t protest. Jameson kisses the top of my head, while Jaceson murmurs in my ear, “Are you upset? Though he’s an asshole, the man was your father. It’s okay to mourn what you lost.”

“Mourn him?” Crystal shudders, wiping the palms of her hands against her jeans, as if to rub off the nasty feel of him. “You should be relieved.”

When I glance at her, understanding passes between us. We both faced evil, we just dealt with it in two very different ways—I fought against it with every beat of my heart and suffered for it, while Crystal bowed under the weight, doing what she had to do to survive.

I won’t ever like her, but I do understand her better.

“I’m not mourning him. I can’t miss something I never had.” I glance at my guys, my insides feeling a little broken and sad. “No, I feel like I escaped a weight that was slowly crushing me. For the first time in my life, I’m…free.”

By the time we reach the vehicles, I’m almost running, afraid I might be dragged back into my father’s clutches if I linger for a second longer. Crystal stands hesitantly on the sidewalk, looking a little lost. I open my car door, then pause. “Are you coming?”

She blinks in surprise, confusion twisting her expression, and a hint of vulnerability shimmers in her dark eyes. “I… Yes.”

Then she rushes toward the car and crawls mutely into the back seat, like she’s afraid that we will notice her and change our minds.

Hicks glances at me over the roof of the car, his expression exasperated, but a tiny smirk curls his lips. If I look close enough, I swear I see flames dancing in his eyes, and I shiver as I remember our night together.

No matter what comes, I know the guys will stand behind me.

After years of painful solitude, I finally found what I have been searching for all along—love. They don’t see my abilities as a curse, they love me for who I am…faults and all. As we drive back to our cabins, contentment settles into my very soul. With the men by my side, I’m finally home. Though we might have more battles ahead of us, we will face them together.

The end…

…or is it?