buried your body?”
Something flickered in his father’s eyes. “I had gone out the back door to sneak a cigar. Your mother disapproved and I didn’t want to upset her. The flames spread quickly and were too hot. I couldn’t try entering the hallway to save them.”
Shay had tried, and he had the scars as a result.
“Dad, how could you leave me?” Shay whispered.
Another flicker of emotion. Shame? Guilt? Hard to tell.
“I’m sorry, son. I went mad with grief over losing your mother. I ran away and by the time I regained some sense, you had gone.”
“And returned a year later, goddammit. What was your excuse then?”
Silence draped between them. Colton tensed, white lines bracketing his mouth. “I was on a blood hunt to avenge their deaths.”
Shay went still. “You went looking for Kelly’s father.”
“That bastard Arcane took my beautiful Annabelle away from me. I sought revenge against all his parasitic kind.” Colton’s eyes sparkled with rage. “And now I have the means. Those goddamn Arcanes, always trying to steal what is ours. No more. I met a most remarkable Elemental Phantom who convinced me to come out of hiding and put my skills to good use.”
“You couldn’t tell me? Enlist my help?”
“Not after I discovered you and the parasite’s daughter were having an affair.”
Guilt pierced Shay as his father regarded him with the look he knew well. Sheer disappointment. Even though he’d fought hand-to-hand combat with terrorists, his father still made him feel as if he was nine years old. “How did you know?”
“I found out a few days before Christmas. One of the servants saw you and Kelly go into the underground tunnels.”
They’d thought themselves safe, invisible to the world. And all the time, someone had known.
“I knew you were sneaking off with someone, so I sent her to watch you.”
Shay’s mouth twisted. “Nice touch, Dad. Spying on your own flesh and blood.”
“You worried me, Samuel. No discipline, restless and disobedient, more headstrong than ever. If you were in trouble, I needed to know.” Colton rubbed a hand over his face, and suddenly Shay saw how much he’d aged.
“An Arcane. Really, son. I understand the fascination. But what in the hell were you thinking?”
“Watch it, Dad,” he softly warned. “Don’t you dare insult her.”
“She’s a slut like her father.”
Shay jerked the door open. “This conversation is over.”
He wanted to scream but clamped a lid on his temper as they returned to the ready room. Sickened, he watched his CO put a hand on his father’s shoulder. “Colton heads a new civilian committee to assess an Arcane threat. We’re going to work with him, Shay. All of the Phoenix Force.”
“A committee? You mean a hate group.” Shay swung his gaze over the silent council, including his uncle, who glowered at Shay’s father. “You approve of this, all of you?”
“It’s necessary,” Rogers said tightly. “If there is a threat against our people, we need to be prepared to destroy it. Just as you and the other SEALs do.”
The meaning became clear. “We fight to keep our country safe, not kill innocents.”
“Self-preservation,” Curt put in. “Protecting our people so they can thrive. Arcanes are like cockroaches...they breed incessantly and unless you wipe out their numbers, they will always be underfoot.”
His father nodded. “Only more dangerous, ready to seize everything dear to you. You must accept the truth, Samuel. These Arcanes threaten the very fabric of our lives. Bring them Kelly Denning. She is key to uncovering their plans to destroy us.”
Toss Kelly to the wolves. Shay felt off balance, his world splitting open beneath his booted feet. But one surety remained. “No way in hell. She’s innocent.”
But Curt spoke up. “Since you refuse to comply, Chief Petty Officer Shaymore, you are formally charged with unauthorized absence.”
“Curt,” he protested.
“Bring in Kelly Denning and turn her over to the Mage Council Elder or you face court-martial. Those are your orders, soldier.” His CO glowered. “Shay, I warned you. You crossed one too many lines and left me without a choice.”
Anguished, he felt trapped. If the navy discharged him, he’d lose everything.
But neither could he hand Kelly over to Rogers, knowing the bastard would make her quietly “disappear.”
Racing over possibilities, he said, “I’ll do as you ask, on one condition. Show me one scrap of evidence you have that she wants to hurt Elementals. You have nothing.”
Put the brakes on all this. But Colton took a brown paper bag and tossed it to Shay.
“I’m sorry, son, but here’s your proof,” he told him. “This was found among Kelly Denning’s belongings when authorities searched Sight Finders’ offices. She must have kept it as a trophy after her father set the fire.”
“Just as serial killers often keep trophies to remind them of their victims. We believe she conspired with her father to commit arson,” Curt added.
Colton’s jaw tensed. “Now that bitch is working with the rebel Arcanes to hurt others of our kind. She’s leading the Arcane rebellion to destroy our people.”
Shay opened the bag.
Shock punched the breath out of him as he fished out a partly scorched teddy bear. One eye was missing. Pete had plucked it out to use as a spare marble when he was six.
It was his little brother’s favorite toy.
Sawdust puffed out from a rip in the bear as he squeezed it. Shay loosened his grip, wrestling with rage and grief. He looked at Rogers and his wife, then the waiting council. Shay couldn’t bear the sorrow in his uncle’s eyes. Or bear to see his father’s expression.
He squared his shoulders. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL, tough as Kevlar, even when his heart shattered. With extreme care, he placed the bear in the paper sack and tucked it under his arm.
“That’s evidence. You can’t take it,” Rogers protested.
Shay thought about telling the senator to kiss his ass. Instead he nodded at the council members.
“You’ll hear from me.”
For a moment, he struggled to find words for his father. But knowing he’d faked his death sent razors slicing through his heart.
“Son.” Colton placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do the right thing. Bring her back here to face trial. Don’t lose your head over a woman and risk your career. I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished. You’ve grown into a fine, courageous man, everything I had hoped for.”
A lump formed in Shay’s throat. He could only nod.
The door slammed behind him as he left.
When Sam returned that night, Kelly could tell that something was dreadfully wrong.
Eyes red-rimmed, expression tight and distraught, he looked like hell as he sat down on the sofa. Kelly ached for him.
“That bad?” she asked.
Instead of replying, he handed her a worn paper sack. A shocked gasp escaped as she drew out the battered, scorched teddy bear.
“This is the evidence the council has against you. They say you kept it as a trophy after your father set the fire. They’re even suggesting you helped him. It was found at Sight Finders.”
No emotion in his flat voice. Kelly placed the bear in his lap. She had to step carefully or risk splintering the fragile trust between them.
