Kiss of Vengeance (True Immortality 2)

“I know that. My … friend has already taken care of that?” Her glanced at Fionn, and he nodded.

“The jacket is destroyed,” he informed her.

Relief flooded her. “Yeah, it’s definitely taken care of. Everything in my apartment and at the club has been destroyed, so they can’t trace me anymore. And they don’t know about you. I’m pissed as all hell, but it would kill me if something happened to you, so stay put. If I find out they’ve discovered where you are, I’ll give you a heads-up.”

“How can you do that?” her mom demanded. “Rose, we need to come to you. Your father and I are not incapable. We are two of the coven’s most powerful members.”

She closed her eyes at the desperation and panic in her mother’s voice. “Mom … no matter how powerful you are”—she opened her eyes and they locked with Fionn’s—“you’ll never be as powerful as me. I’ve already … I’ve already killed to defend myself,” she admitted, the confession burning in her throat. “I’m not a powerless little girl anymore. I’m not afraid of your coven.”

And she found that she wasn’t. She had incredible abilities at her fingertips, and she had Fionn Mór on her side. “Your coven should be afraid of me.”

At her statement, something wonderful happened.

Fionn’s lips pressed together and curved into a small smile of respect.

A warm ache expanded in her chest. She felt about ten feet tall.

“You don’t sound like yourself,” her dad commented.

“No, Dad, I finally sound like myself. Stay put. If I think you’re out there trying to find me, getting on the coven’s radar, you’ll distract me. I need to stay focused.”

“They won’t stop coming, Rose,” her mother whispered. “Are you just going to run for the rest of your life?”

“Let them come.” Determination blazed inside her. “I’ve done nothing wrong but be born different. If they try to take me out, I’ll take them out instead. Until there’s nothing left of them.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Would you have me stand still and let them kill me?” she bit out.

“What about your soul, Rose? It may be self-defense but it’s still murder.”

“And it’ll mark my soul,” she echoed Fionn’s words and saw something dark flicker across his face. “Every single one. The day it doesn’t is the day I’m lost for good.”

“That day won’t come,” her father said. “You’ll never lose your soul, my darling, but the weight of those marks will drag you down.”

“Then I’ll try to avoid it,” she promised. “If I have to live my life constantly on the move, I will.” And she realized the thought didn’t fill her with panic. “I’ve always been a bit of a nomad.”

“Is there nothing we can say?”

“What could you say?” She was exasperated now. “There’s nothing you can do to change what is. I’m angry at you for lying to me my whole life. But I’m also grateful that you adopted me and sacrificed your life in Ireland to protect me. You did your job, and you did it well. But there’s no answer to this. I’m a target. So, I have to learn to protect myself, and I’ve found someone who can help me do that. While I get stronger, you have to promise you’ll stay where you are.”

There was an annoyingly long moment of silence before her dad replied, “We’ll stay, Rose.”

Relieved, Rose gripped the phone tight to her ear as it occurred to her she may never see them again. It might be too dangerous.

Tears burned her eyes, and she swiftly looked out the window at the dark world passing by. Her throat grew constricted as she strained to hold back the tears, but a single drop escaped anyway, scoring hotly down her cheek. “I love you both,” she choked out before she pulled the phone from her ear and hung up.

Without looking at Fionn, she slid the phone across the table toward him. He covered her hand with his, halting her retreat.

Surprised, she studied him as another tear let loose. He watched it trail down her cheek, and squeezed her hand beneath his before gently releasing her.

Missing his touch instantly, Rose let go of his phone and removed her hand from the table.

“We change trains at Dijon Ville in a few hours. Try to get more sleep if you can.”

The dream-walking episode came flooding back to Rose. Part of her was afraid to fall asleep again. But maybe … if Fionn slept …

An ugly ache replaced the warmth created by Fionn’s comfort. Was she so unable to allow someone completely into her affections, she’d invade his privacy rather than trust him? After the sweet moment between them, trespassing in his dreams felt like a horrible violation.

Or trespassing in anyone’s, for that matter.

“I slept for a few hours. Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”

Her companion studied her and then nodded. “I fear I must. Once we reach Barcelona, I’ll need to be as alert as possible.”

“Once we get there, will you tell me exactly what we’re there to do? I know, I know, we’re taking back something that was stolen from you, but details would be good.”

“I’ll explain everything when we get there.” He stood and she couldn’t help but watch as he removed his suit jacket and placed it on the luggage rack. Rose continued to ogle him as he unbuttoned the cuffs on his shirt and rolled them back to his elbows. The sight of his strong forearms caused an instant hot tingle between her thighs. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair as he quickly unbuttoned his waistcoat and settled back into his seat. His stomach was hard and flat beneath his white shirt. Rose would have given anything in that moment to see him shirtless.

But her imagination did a pretty good job filling in the blanks.

God, this fae’s sexiness was a great distraction from the heavy crap plaguing her life.

She lifted her gaze from his hidden abs to meet his. He’d caught her checking him out.

“Nothing else is coming off. Show’s over.”

Despite his monotone, Rose knew from the quirk of his eyebrow he was teasing.

And although she knew she shouldn’t, she smirked and flirted. “Well, that’s a damn shame.”

To her pleasure, his lips twitched as he studied her mouth for longer than appropriate. Then, just as excitement began to swell in all sorts of places, he slammed his eyes closed and commanded gruffly, “Sleep.”

However, Rose found she couldn’t sleep.

She’d just discovered the possibility that Fionn Mór returned her attraction after all.

Rose had never been one to fantasize about guys and romance … but she couldn’t help her thoughts as she watched her delicious mentor sleep, his handsome face appearing younger in rest. She couldn’t help but imagine that her future on the run might not be so desolate if she had someone who excited her by her side.

15

November in Barcelona was warmer than Zagreb by a good eight to ten degrees, but as midevening struck, Rose shrugged into the jacket she’d removed when they first arrived in the city a few hours ago.

She’d been beyond relieved to get off the train in Barcelona. Once they’d arrived in Dijon Ville early in the morning, they had to hang around a train station for four hours before they boarded a smaller train to Montpellier. After another wait at that train station, they boarded the train to Barcelona. Nearly four hours from departure, they arrived in the city at around five in the afternoon.

Bran had apparently taken care of business because Fionn immediately hailed a cab that took them to a basic but clean hotel.

“We’re near La Sagrada Familia,” Rose noted as Fionn checked them in.

“You’ve been to Barcelona before?”

She nodded. “Last year. I stayed for a long weekend and did tourist stuff.”

Bran had booked them adjoining rooms, and Rose prioritized taking a glorious shower over questioning Fionn further about their business in the Catalonian city. It was funny how a shower could make her feel human again, even though she wasn’t one.