Read Online Redemption by Denise Grover Swank - Free Book Online Page B

for what?”
    Water smiled and leaned over his knees. “I can’t tell you that part yet, but play with them. Let them trust you. You’ll want them to help you at some point.”
    “How do you know? And why didn’t Aiden tell me?”
    “Aiden is threatened by you. You’re stronger than he expected you to be. I doubt he thought out the results of the child of two elementals.” Water pursed his lips, then grinned. “Then again, maybe he did. Aiden rarely lets details slip by.”
    “How do you know all of this?”
    “Aiden and I are old acquaintances. Ask him about the shadows if you like. I’m sure he’ll fill you in to some extent. But he won’t tell you everything. Not the important parts.”
    “Why do I need them?”
    Water held up his index fingers and waved them back and forth. “Not yet. Just know they will help you when you need them.” His grin fell. “And that time is coming sooner than you think.”
    Jake watched him, dread creeping up his back. “Can you have visions too?”
    “No, not like you. But the proverbial handwriting is on the wall. I know that Raphael told Aiden about your mother and Will.”
    “How—”
    “I have my ways.”
    Jake narrowed his eyes and focused on Water’s thoughts. The man wasn’t prepared for Jake’s intrusion.
    “You followed Raphael here.”
    “Very good, Jake. But stay out of my head.”
    “I will if you stay out of mine.”
    Water smirked. “Fair enough. And yes, I followed Raphael here. Once he realized what your mother and Will had done, I wondered what his move would be. The way I saw it, he had two options. One, go to Alex. Two, he came to Aiden. Frankly, I didn’t think he had the guts.”
    “Why do you care?”
    “Because I’ve put too much planning into this to let anything take me by surprise.”
    “Did you know Raphael was going to hurt my mom?”
    Marcus’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Yes, and I warned Will. Even when Will didn’t know who she was, he still protected her.”
    Will loved Mommy. Of course he would protect her.
    “Will didn’t know her when they captured him. He’d lost all of his memories of her, so don’t presume he would have protected her. She meant nothing to him then. Kramer’s men questioned him to find out where she was. He had no reason to keep her safe, but I convinced him to.”
    “How?”
    “By talking to him in his head.”
    “Why would you do that?”
    Marcus gave him a soft smile. “I care about you and your mother, Jake. I’ve tried my best to protect you both.”
    Jake thought of the years he and Mommy had spent running. All the bad things that had happened. “You didn’t try hard enough.”
    “I did the best I could.” Marcus sighed. “There are things I would do differently, but I can’t change the past. We need to focus on the immediately important things. Namely, the fact that Raphael and Aiden aren’t happy that Will joined with your mother.”
    “So?” That was no surprise to Jake. He wasn’t happy about it either.
    Water shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. Aiden knows that Will has power now and that he’s joined with your mother. He will do anything to try to split them and to keep them from becoming stronger.”
    “How? What will Aiden do?”
    “He won’t want them to learn to work as a team. He’ll probably try to distract them. And I suspect he’ll use you to do it.”
    Jake’s stomach tightened. “I won’t do what he wants.”
    “I doubt you’ll have a choice.” Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “Have you been hiding things from Aiden? Has it worked?”
    Pursing his lips, Jake gave him a mean scowl. He wasn’t going to give him any more information than he had to. He didn’t trust Marcus.
    Marcus chuckled, looking toward the window. “Keep practicing. You can’t tell Aiden that I visited you, and you can’t let him see it in your head.”
    Jake lifted his chin in defiance. “I could go tell him everything.”
    “You could, but you won’t. You’re