The Travelers: Book Two Read online

It still blew up in his face.

  His eyes wandered to the bar. Why the Hell not?

  His stomach burned with one shot and then another. He thought she’d given up a long time ago. That meant all of this time… he’d had a chance.

  And another.

  After a while, Ty joined him at the bar. Aaron took one glance at the shiny scars covering still-healing burns on his arm and felt a pang of guilt.

  “So, why don’t you tell me what happened out there?”

  He laughed and took another drink.

  “Why? You’re not exactly a fan of mine,” Aaron said.

  “You’re right. I’m not. You withheld valuable information from us, lied to us and you’ve squandered our resources. If this is war, who’s side does it seem like you’re on?”

  Aaron gritted his teeth. “Did I forget to mark ‘Shit on Aaron Day’ on my calendar again?”

  “You saved my life. I may not like you much, but I owe you,” Ty said, “I know something happened out there today and I was the only one that saw it. Maybe I can return the favor?”

  Aaron made a face after another drink made him cough and sputter.

  “You really want to know?”

  “Yeah.”

  <<<>>>

  The explosion knocked him to the ground before he even knew what was happening.

  It was the kid. The one he should have shot.

  He heard only ringing. Blood trickled from his ears and he wiped it away without another thought.

  He ran towards the school. His men, his friends — his brothers were in there.

  The impact of the bullet hit him before the pain did. He was running on pure adrenaline. His arm hung at his side, useless and limp from the attack on his shoulder.

  He dug through the rubble. He didn’t care that he was exposed.

  The ground shook and shifted the rocks underneath. Another bomb?

  His ears only buzzed. He looked around at the panicked faces of the villagers.

  The ground still trembled.

  An earthquake.

  He fought to steady himself on the crumbling remains of the school. His vision tunneled. He looked down and saw red seeping and spreading over his chest.

  It was his call.

  <<<>>>

  “I woke up after they’d gotten the bullet fragments out of my shoulder. I was the only one in my team to make it out of the ambush. I was the one that sent them in there. I told them it was clear.”

  Ty looked at his arm before looking back to Aaron.

  “Now… whenever things get hectic, I just panic. I freeze. I feel like I’m in another place completely,” Aaron said, trying to keep his tears at bay. Drinking and telling war stories rarely ended in anything other than tears.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Ty said, “You should have told us.”

  Aaron shook his head with a look of derision, “There are a million other stories just like mine out there. I’m not special. If you weren’t there… you can’t understand.”

  “Well, I’m here if you want to talk.”

  “You should get some rest, that arm looks gnarly as Hell.”

  “Gee, thanks,” joked Ty, clapping Aaron on the shoulder as he stood from the barstool.

  <<<>>>

  “Well what was I supposed to say?” Carson asked.

  Gemma’s brown eyes flashed with fiery anger, “You’re supposed to say ‘Thanks sis. You did great, I’m glad you’re here.’”

  “Isn’t that what I said?”

  “No. Not even close. You said you’re glad she forgot — and I quote — ‘that kiss nonsense’.”

  “Well… come on. It is nonsense isn’t it?” Carson still wasn’t sure what he was in so much trouble for.

  “That’s not for us to judge, Carson. Izzy certainly thinks it happened. Who are we to say her memory is faulty?”

  “But I’d trust Aaron with my life,” Carson said.

  “Even though he lied about the video? He’s already got a strike against him. I just don’t see how it can be so black and white to you,” Gemma argued.

  “Well… I didn’t think about that,” said Carson.

  “No, I’m sure you didn’t.”

  He took a step closer to her, his hands finding her hips, his lips only millimeters from hers.

  “Can we not fight their fight?” He asked.

  Gemma’s eyes grew warm with lust; she looked at him through her lashes and made his heart speed up and slow down all at once.

  “You’re right. We shouldn’t let their problems affect us,” she said, “Why don’t we go back to my place?”

  “Sounds like a great idea,” he said, taking her by the hand.

  They walked through the main floor of the clubhouse and Gemma stopped in her tracks.

  Carson followed the line of her eyes and saw Aaron alone, slumped over the bar.

  He sighed, “Go ahead without me. I’ll deal with him.”

  Gemma nodded and gave him a quick kiss.

  “You’re a good friend,” she whispered.

  He went in for another kiss and groaned as he pulled away.

  “He better fucking recognize it, too.”

  She giggled and left him to deal with his inebriated friend.

  “Hey,” he said nudging Aaron on the shoulder.

  Aaron picked his head up and squinted his eyes.

  “You!” He roared and swung on Carson.

  Carson didn’t even have to move, the swing was way off base.

  “’S’all your fault!” Aaron cried.

  “What is?”

  Aaron hunched over the bar, silent sobs shaking his back.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Fucking… life,” Aaron grumbled.

  “All right, you’re coming with me.”

  “Canna bring… beer?”

  Carson rolled his eyes.

  “I think you’ve had enough, buddy, but sure, let’s see if you can manage not to spill it.”

  “’Ll ‘av you know… I’m speshully trained in…” he stumbled as he tried to stand.

  “Mm-hmm,” Carson said, lifting one of Aaron’s arms over his shoulder.

  “Where we goin?” Aaron asked, looking around with unfocused eyes.

  “Somewhere nice,” Carson answered, pulling him up the stairs.

  “I… fergot my… oh, here it is!” Aaron exclaimed gleefully, discovering the bottle still in his hand.

  Carson hefted his weight up to the bathroom and turned the shower on.

  “Hey… this is…” Aaron stuttered and stumbled.

  Carson snatched the bottle from his hand and pushed him into the cold shower, clothes and all.

  “Hey! Hey!” Aaron shouted, trying to block the arctic stream.

  “Quit it!” He said, sounding a little more coherent.

  He was soaked and shivering, but Carson stood guard.

  “Listen to me Aaron Washburn, you are going to get your shit together or you’re going to get the fuck out of here and never come back, do you understand me?”

  Aaron’s head drooped.

  “Why do you hate yourself so much? What the Hell happened to you?”

  “Izzy,” he said, resigning himself now to the freezing shower.

  “Yeah, she hates you, so?”

  Aaron picked up his head and his eyes locked with his best friend’s. His gold irises shone with intensity.

  “I love her.”

  Carson turned the shower off and looked at him with disbelief.

  “What?!”

  “I always have. I just… she was your sister,” he groaned and cursed, “I fucked up, man.”

  Carson threw him a towel.

  “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. What happened?”

  “I don’t know. We always had a thing, but she was too young, she was your sister, Hell, she was practically my sister. And she wasn’t interested in me. Well… I didn’t think she was.”

  “But?”

  “When she found out I was goi
ng to enlist… she asked me not to. Asked me to stay, be with her… She begged me.”

  “And I told you no girl was worth giving up your dreams for… I didn’t know it was Izzy!”

  “Would your answer have been different?”

  “Well, yeah… I mean… maybe. I don’t know. So she’s mad that you enlisted anyway?”

  “And she thinks it’s because you said you didn’t want us together…”

  “Which explains why she hates my guts,” Carson said.

  “So that night at the bar, you were just trying to make amends?”

  “Well, yeah, but not for that…”

  Carson’s eyebrows rose, “There’s more?”

  “When I got home… I stopped into Santorini’s. I didn’t know she worked there. I got pretty shitty before I put two and two together. We went back to her place and…”

  “Okay, I don’t need to hear the rest,” Carson said, holding up a hand to stop him.

  “No. It’s not like that,” Aaron said, stripping his wet clothes off to dry himself. He still felt like shit, but he was a lot more coherent.

  “We went back to her place and she went into the bathroom to change or whatever it is girls do in there. I realized what a dickhead I was. I was there with the girl of my dreams and I was just a sloppy drunken mess. She deserved better. I could be better for her… So I left.”

  Suddenly everything made sense to Carson.

  “Get the fuck out of here.”

  “What?” Aaron said.

  “You heard me. You need to go see my sister.”

  Aaron shook his head, “She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

  “Yes she does. She just doesn’t know it yet. Get yourself cleaned up and go tell her everything you told me.”

  Aaron couldn’t get his hopes up, but despite knowing better, his heart fluttered.

  Chapter Seven

  Izzy woke up in a cold sweat again. She was gasping for breath. Her lungs hurt with the effort. Her hands trembled as she reached for her chest. Her heart beat a frantic pace and she struggled to contain it.

  The nightmares were getting out of control. She couldn’t stop them. Each one was more gruesome and terrible than the next. She just wished she knew what it all meant.

  She paced around her cottage, seeing shadows everywhere she looked. They shifted and moved in the corners of her eyes. When she turned her head, they were gone.

  She didn’t know if she was really seeing them or if she was going crazy.

  Her house felt like it was closing in on her. She was feeling claustrophobic, the walls pulled in with every breath.

  Her entire brain seemed to throb with her pulse. Her eyes darted from side to side, still seeing the monsters of her dreams.

  She couldn’t do this; she had to get out of this house. Safety be damned. Preston Waters already knew where she lived. If he wanted to come after her he would have by now, she reasoned.

  A quick walk would clear her head. She just needed fresh air. She just needed a break from her own head.

  She tied her sneakers on her feet and grabbed a light sweater just in case it was a cool night.

  Her body didn’t seem content with walking, though. Before she knew it, she was jogging, then running around the neighborhood.

  She finally stopped a few blocks from home, out of breath, feeling better than she had in a long time. She didn’t realize how much nervous energy she was holding onto. Getting it out with a little run seemed to do a world of good for her.

  She tried to take a step forward and found that her foot wouldn’t move.

  Panicked, she tried to move her feet; they were both glued to the cement.

  This was like one of her dreams; she was trapped, she couldn’t move, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

  Her head swiveled around, looking for any signs of danger.

  “Come on, move, damn it,” she grunted, tugging on her legs. Finally one pulled free, then the other. She took off towards home, not wanting to stick around to see what had her stuck.

  <<<>>>

  Aaron tried to plan what he would say in his mind before he arrived. He didn’t want this to turn into another fight. He just wanted to talk to her like a normal person. The way that they used to before she was hurt by the sting of rejection.

  He wanted to just come out and tell her how he felt, but he didn’t want to scare her away. How could he have been so stupid? He should have just agreed to whatever she said. If she wanted to say they kissed, then by God, he should just let her say so. Why did he fight against it so much?

  A high-pitched scream pierced the night: Izzy. He would know that scream anywhere.

  He revved the engine and made a sharp turn in the direction of her cry for help.

  A pack of shadow creatures closed in on her. Aaron reached for his knife and realized he’d forgotten it in all of the commotion earlier.

  “Don’t worry, Iz, I’m going to save you,” he said, frantically trying to come up with a plan.

  But Alina said that nothing else could hurt these things. Nothing except a Traveler.

  But he wasn’t. They weren’t.

  He remembered the burst of energy he felt holding her hand and the beast inside of him that begged to be unleashed while Carson fought off the wolves.

  He could do this.

  She screamed again as one of the creatures lashed out at her.

  It was now or never.

  Aaron took a deep breath and exhaled on a ten-count. He cleared his mind completely.

  Then he let Izzy in. He pulled up every memory and happy moment he could imagine with her, including ones that hadn’t happened: Izzy in a wedding dress; her belly swollen with the product of their love; holding their newborn infant. He felt himself being pulled away from his body.

  He was lifted up and out and the next thing he knew he was perched on the roof of the car.

  Without even knowing what he was, he took flight, an expansive wingspan helping him glide right over to the snarling creatures.

  He could see his own light reflected on the pavement as he dove to attack the shadows with his long talons.

  Izzy shielded herself, but he wanted her to know it was okay. He wished he could tell her.

  He dove again, dissolving another shadow with his sharp beak.

  In a matter of seconds he’d managed to clear the area; he felt himself being pulled back into his body as his need to protect Izzy waned in the absence of a threat.

  He was back in his body, disoriented, but amazed. Had that really just happened?

  His eyes went to Izzy; she was still on the ground.

  Aaron jumped out of the car and ran to her.

  “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Let me help you up,” he said, offering a hand.

  “I’m fine, I just…” she looked up, “oh, it’s you.”

  His heart sank at her reaction. She didn’t know he’d saved her, but he didn’t want to use that against her, either.

  “I was just driving by and saw you on the side of the road… did you fall? You shouldn’t be out here alone, Isabel.”

  “Spare me the lecture,” she said, dusting herself off. She tried to hide how shaken she really was. If that owl hadn’t…

  “Did you see that owl?” she asked.

  “Owl? No?”

  “It was huge… it… well, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Do you want a ride home?” He asked.

  She finally took his offered hand to pull herself up and nodded.

  “I would appreciate that, yeah, thanks,” she said.

  They got in the car and started towards her house in silence.

  After a few long moments, Izzy spoke.

  “Why were you in this neighborhood?”

  Aaron looked guilty, “I… I came to talk to you,” he said.

  “Why? Because of what Carson said?”

  “Partially, yes. But more because I want to explain everything.”

  “What’s there to explain?” She wouldn’t look at
him, she completely blocked him out. How was he going to get anywhere with this?

  “Are you still mad about the kiss thing?” he asked, knowing he shouldn’t bring it up.

  She turned to him, her jaw set and her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

  “Why won’t you just admit it? I know I’m not crazy,” she pleaded.

  “Believe me, Isabel, if I ever kissed you I would remember it. There would be no lingering doubt in your mind because the memory would be branded on all of your senses. If I kissed you once I would never be able to stop. So no, I won’t admit to a kiss we never shared. And you shouldn’t think for one second that would ever kiss you with anything less than everything.”

  She was stunned speechless for a moment, her mind reeling with everything he said. His voice was so rough, so unlike himself, like the words were hard to get out. But the passion in his voice… it made Izzy’s heart flutter.

  His eyes stayed trained to the road, never flicking to her direction. He couldn’t look at her right now. It took all of his willpower to not show her exactly what a kiss with him would be like.

  “So… you never kissed me?” She asked softly, her eyes cast downward.

  “Only in my dreams.”

  The warmth in his tone made Isabel look up in surprise. He put so much effort into denying their kiss that she thought it was because he didn’t want to associate with her. But now… she didn’t know what to think.

  “Oh hell…” he grumbled.

  He pulled the car to the side of the road, needing to look her in the eyes. He needed her to see his sincerity.

  “Izzy… I wanted to kiss you that day. I wanted to kiss you every day before that day. And every day since. But I didn’t. Taking something that’s meant to be given removes all the meaning from it. When I kiss you, I want it to mean something.”

  She stared at him with a blank expression, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly parted. Could she not see how irresistible she was?

  “When?” she whispered.

  He almost didn’t hear her, but they were so close to one another in the car that he thought he could hear her heart beating. The heat between them was palpable in the air and it made Aaron feel like he was wading through a thick fog.

  Though everything around him was hazy, Izzy shone brightly, clearer than anything he’d ever seen.