Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy #3)(65)

“We can’t,” I whispered, but there was no conviction behind my words, especially when he looked at me that way, all smoking-hot intensity. I forced myself to keep talking, to remind us both of the stakes and the fact that our current feeling of safety was only an illusion. “Remember, you told your father you don’t like me. You’re not supposed to want me, and the whisperers could find us any second. We can’t lose our advantage.”

My speech did nothing to calm his cloudy eyes.

“It’s time to call him, Kai. Tell him you’ve found me. And then we’ll call the others to let them know it’s starting.”

That cleared his head. “Not yet—”

“Yes. Now. Let’s get it over with before we lose control and ruin everything.”

His eyes dropped to the floor and I watched the thoughts and emotions warring inside him. With my bound hands I reached into his front pocket and pulled out his phone, holding it out.

“That was brave,” he said.

“It’s time,” I whispered.

It hurt me to push him, knowing the horrors our futures forced him to face, but I couldn’t let this drag out. The longer we took, the more opportunity we’d have to mess up. He took the phone with reluctance, and it was the first time I’d ever seen his hand unsteady.

“I love you, Kai.” I pushed up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. I kept my mouth close to his skin, closing my eyes and hoping he would feel my words as deeply as I did. “Let’s bring them down. You and me and the others, together. We’ll use our element of surprise while we have it. It’s our time.”

He rocked his jaw back and forth, mulling it over. I stayed silent, leaning against him. After what felt like an eternity, Kaidan finally nodded, clenching his jaw as he stared down at his phone, and then dialed.

His face was hardened when he brought the cell to his ear. I concentrated my Nephilim hearing on the phone to listen to their conversation. Pharzuph answered right away.

“Father.” Kai clutched the phone tighter and his eyes hit mine, filled with more torment than I’d ever seen. “I’ve got her.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

JET RIDE

“You’re kidding me.” Pharzuph hooted with evil glee. He sounded young and euphoric—hyper even.

Kaidan looked like he might throw up.

“She’s cuffed.”

“Did you find the sword?”

“No, sir. I searched her and her belongings, but found nothing.”

Pharzuph swore. “She must have hidden it somewhere. Doesn’t matter. We’ll get her to tell us.” His confidence rubbed at me like sandpaper, and I couldn’t help but feel ill at the thought of their methods of torture. “Nice job, Kaidan. You accomplished what over five hundred prowling Legionnaires couldn’t do last night. They searched damn near every bar, club, and hotel on the East Coast. Where the hell’d you find her?”

Kaidan wouldn’t look at me. Everything about him screamed regret.

“She had a group of mates in her old town who always partied at a lake house. I thought perhaps she’d fall back on them, and I was right.”

Pharzuph experienced another bout of creepy, proud laughter before getting ahold of himself. “Where are you now?”

“Our old house.”

“Excellent. I’ll call an immediate emergency summit in Vegas. It’s our most secure location, and we’re always looking for an excuse to visit Sin City, right?”

Kaidan let out a dry laugh and rolled his eyes. Weren’t they just in Vegas? What could be so great about one city?

“All right,” Pharzuph said. “Meet me at the airport in two hours.”

Kaidan and I exchanged surprised, alarmed looks.

“Er, it’s not necessary for you to fly down here, Father. I’ll book our flights and deliver her to the summit.”

“Oh, it’s definitely necessary. I want to be the one to escort her into the summit tonight.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and I realized this was about bragging rights for capturing me and bringing me in. “See you at the jet.”

Three and a half hours on a plane with Pharzuph? I scratched my arms, which felt like they were crawling with spiders.

“We’ll be there,” Kaidan said, hanging up. He looked at me. “We’re not going.”

“Kaidan!”

He threw his phone on the bed and shoved his hands roughly through his hair. “What have I done?”

I bent down to my book bag and took out my cell, then texted our planned emergency code to each of our allies to let them know the prophecy was starting. My hand trembled and I fumbled a little from the awkwardness of the handcuffs. I couldn’t believe this was finally happening. Kaidan was freaking out enough for the both of us, so I had to keep my cool. Immediately I deleted the messages and tucked the phone in my pocket.

He turned to me, desperate. “Anna—”

“Stop!” I pinned him with a serious look. “No more. Get it out of your head, Kai! We are not running. This is happening whether you like it or not. It’s time to get your game face on and get ready to kick some ass.”

He stared at me, mouth open. I was kind of shocked myself. My dad would probably have beat his chest with pride if he’d heard me say all that.