Tangled Fates (28 page)

She knocked softly.

The door opened a moment later, and Cohen stared at her, anguish showing in his face.

“Hello, Cohen,” she said.

He nodded. “I was hoping it was you,” he said, stepping aside.

She walked into the room and turned to face him.

He took two steps toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his head in

her neck. Annis held him, feeling the wetness of his tears against her skin. She noticed he had

healed the wound in his arm.

“There was nothing you could do, Cohen,” she said. “You can’t make someone want to

live.”

He nodded. “I know, Annis. I know.”

Chapter 46 – Two Weeks Later

Cohen paced the bedroom, no drink in hand. He was going to go to bed at some point, but

when that was, he didn’t know. Nico lay in the cot, his arm over his face.

“Cohen, its three in the morning. Please. Just go to fucking bed.”

Cohen looked over at him, both highly curious and pissed off. It was Nico’s fault that he

couldn’t go to sleep. Most nights he’d be very, very drunk right now having curled up with the

good Captain and sleeping it off.

But not tonight.

Tonight he was dead sober.

Things had been incredibly busy and devastatingly sad around the silo. They had buried

Talin in a midnight ceremony out in the middle of the desert, in the exact spot where he had told

Cohen about his scorpions and snakes that haunted his life. Then they had come back to the silo

and began the three-day party ritual that was custom on SR44 where they remembered the

deceased with memories of his life.

There had been ample booze, more food than was necessary, and by the end of the three

days, Cohen felt as if he was ready accept, and eventually move past Talin’s death. Talin had

brought them all so much joy in life with his brilliance and practical jokes.

A lot of memories had been traded during the three days, from both SR44 and Earth,

which led to a lot of laughs. Yes, there had been some tears as well, but Talin had led a good,

honest, solid life, and it was definitely one to be remembered and celebrated. Both Blake and

Hudson decided that they wouldn’t be getting new phones in memory of Talin, as neither could

figure out how to get past the locking mechanism on their ringtones to change them.

There hadn’t been any talk of retaliation against The Platoon, but Cohen knew that would

come at some point. The Saviors and their mates had stuck with celebrating, but eventually the

need to have Micah atone for cold-blooded murder would come into play when they got past the

shock and devastation of the senseless death.

Cohen had spent hours thinking about Talin dying, and there was a small piece of him

that believed it was for the best. Talin didn’t want to live without Lana, but would never take his

own life—it went against everything a Warrior stood for. Getting shot had been his way of going

to be with Lana for eternity, and Cohen hoped that Talin found his happiness and peace in death

that he didn’t have for over two-hundred years of his life.

Presently, Cohen looked over at Nico. He both recoiled at the thought of Nico entering

his dreams, but wanted him to just so he could make sure that what Nico said was true—that Mia

wanted to release him of his
Tambaran
.

And that also had his engine going as well. There was so much confusion where that little

slice of information was concerned. Yes, he wanted Annis—there wasn’t any argument there.

Things between them had been going well since Talin's death, and they were definitely on good

terms with each other. However, he didn’t know if he was ready to let go of Mia even if Nico

was right and she wanted him to let go of his oath. What if Nico was wrong? What if he broke

his
Tambaran
? Where would that leave him? He would drown in his own guilt, his own betrayal.

Nico could spew his shit on what that meant or what this meant, but unless he heard it

from the horse’s mouth, so to speak—because Mia didn’t resemble a horse in any way, shape, or

form—he couldn’t believe it. He needed her to release him, to allow him to go on with his life.

Whether he was ready for that or not was a different question.

He had spent a couple of hours discussing things with Hudson, of all people. Usually

Rayner was his go-to guy, but Cohen thought Hudson might have the answers to his questions.

He’d been wrong.

“How is that you’ve fallen in love twice now, Hudson? SR44 males are supposed to have

one mate, and one mate only.”

Hudson shrugged. “Don’t know, my man. I know I loved Iris, and I love Bev. It’s a

different love though. I don’t think its possible to love two people the same because there are

different kinds of love. You have parent love, kid love, and
lovren
love. Iris is not the same as

Beverly.”

“Yeah, but why? How is it all possible?”

“I don’t know, Cohen. Maybe we’re evolving. Maybe the gods are seeing that an SR44

male without his mate is an ugly thing to witness, and they’re changing us. The why’s aren’t

important to me. I just know that I was in a bad place for a long time, and now I’m happy. I’m

not questioning it. I just accept my blessing and move on.”

A lot of help he had been.

Cohen threw himself on the bed and switched off the lamp.

“Finally,” Nico mumbled into the darkness.

A moment later, Cohen heard his soft snores. Jesus, that was the last thing he needed. He

flipped over on to his stomach and covered his head with a pillow, making a mental note to pick

up some earplugs.

Chapter 47

Cohen was in an inky darkness. He held up his hand in front of his face, but he couldn’t

see it.

In the distance, a red-rose pinpoint slowly grew larger.

He suddenly felt another presence and looked around, but couldn’t see anyone.

“The darkness represents where you are now,” Nico said. “What your life has become. It

is a black void. Lonely.”

No shit.

“I will be here, but you won’t be able to see me. I will remain hidden as not to interfere

with anything, but I will be able to see and hear all.”

Cohen nodded.

It seemed to take forever and a day for the red-rose pinpoint to come closer, and

eventually, Mia floated before him.

His chest constricted as he looked at her swirling smoky form. The love he had for her

hurt, his guilt of not honoring their mating vows, weighing on his soul.

“Let it go,” she said in their native language.

“I’m sorry, Mia,” Cohen said, also using their native language. “I have been a terrible

mate. I—”

Part of her smoky form made a human hand. She held it up to stop him. A white fog

wrapped itself around her, and she shook her head. “Let it go.”

His frustration boiled. Why in the hell couldn’t she say something else? He needed this

shit to be pretty cut and dry. He wasn’t going to play the guessing game.

“Let go of what, Mia? Let go of the lust and desire I feel for Annis? Let go of my oath to

you?”

She said nothing, but the fog seemed to be hugging her tighter, as if it was suffocating

her. She pushed against it, trying to free herself from it.

“The fog represents your
Tambaran
,” Nico said.

“It looks like its hurting her,” Cohen said. “Is it hurting you, Mia?”

“Let it go.”

“Are you releasing me from my oath, Mia?” Cohen yelled. He was sick and tired of the

word games, but at the same time he felt nauseated at the thought of a yes answer. Did that mean

that she no longer loved him?

“Please. Let it go.”

Chapter 48

Blake sat with Annis in her quarters, sharing a glass of wine before bed. They had

worked out, and Blake put the cool glass to his cheek. Annis had caught him with a left hook,

and now the damn thing was swelling. Tomorrow it’d look like a golf ball was growing out of

the side of his face.

No one had seen or heard from Cohen all day, and Blake could tell Annis was worried. A

couple of the Warriors had mentioned checking on him, but Nico had insisted that everyone

leave him be. Nico had hung out in the Great Room all day learning the finer points of
Gods of

War
on the Xbox from Jovan. He was fitting right in and seemed like a good guy.

Blake stared at Annis. He had just asked her a question about the meeting they’d had

earlier in the day on possible Colonist activity in southern Mexico. If it turned out it was, he was

so signing up for that one. He could use a little sun, some margaritas, and surf.

Annis sat in the chair across from him with her legs tucked up under her. She had just

gotten out of the shower and wore a white bathrobe that stood out against her skin. Her hair was

pulled back into a harsh ponytail. She stared blankly into her wine glass, her long, slender finger

moving slowly around the rim. It was sexy as all hell.
She
was sexy, and he loved that she didn’t

know it. He wished things had been different between them because she was one hell of a catch.

Smart, sexy, tough, yet completely feminine.

“Annis? What do you think about a trip to Mexico?”

She looked up at him, and almost seemed as though she was surprised to see him there.

“I’m sorry, Blake. What?”

His eyes narrowed on her golden stare. “What’s up with you today, Annis? You’re off in

your own little world and that’s making it hard to have a conversation with you.”

Annis smiled. “You’re right. My thoughts are elsewhere.”

“And where would that be?”

She studied her wine again. “I’m concerned about Cohen,” she said in a quiet voice.

Why the hell was she concerned about that asshole?

“I’m sure he’s fine. He’s probably sleeping off a bender from last night.”

She shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“You doubt it?”

“I don’t know, Blake.”

Then it hit him like a hundred-mile-per-hour baseball in his nuts.

Annis had it bad for Cohen.

So much for the suave, observant FBI guy he thought he was.

He went over events the past ten months, then the couple of weeks. He knew he wanted

Annis. He’d been so caught up in his head and making sure that Annis was his, he hadn’t really

thought about what Annis wanted.

She liked Cohen.

Ouch. That one hurt.

She had told him that they had made peace, but she had left out the little detail that she

wanted more. It was all so clear to him now, and he felt like an idiot of epic proportions. Jesus.

He needed to revisit Observation 101.

Her and Cohen? Not going to happen. Annis was destined for heartbreak, and he wasn’t

going to have that. She deserved better than Cohen. Cohen was a broken, shattered mess, and

Annis didn’t need to be involved with him to get cut by the pieces.

“Under no circumstances will you get involved with that shitbag,” he growled. Her eyes

slowly lifted and met his. Okay, he probably should have approached the situation a little differently.

“Pardon me?” she said, her voice almost a growl in itself.

Time to backtrack.

“Annis, you can’t get involved with him.” That was better.

“I believe I can do whatever I please.”

He closed his eyes and ran his hand over the top of his head. Yeah, he definitely should

have approached this a little differently. Annis didn’t take kindly to anyone telling her what to

do.

Meeting her gaze, he said, “Look, Annis, the guy is bad news. I know you two made

peace, but still, you don’t want to get involved with him.”

Annis tilted her head. “Who said anything about me getting involved with him? Or

perhaps you didn’t know that he made an oath to his dead mate, an SR44 oath called a
Tambaran
. Those can’t be broken. He can only be released by Mia, and last time I checked, she

was very dead.”

Jovan had told him what was involved in a
Tambaran
. It sounded awful, but it was

something that would make you stick to that oath. You meant what you said when you stabbed

yourself with a three-pronged knife.

She got up and began pacing the room, her voice rising. “So, Blake, nothing will happen

between me and Cohen.” Blake watched as the cool-as-a-cucumber Annis came unraveled. “Do

you understand? Nothing!”

With that, she threw her glass at the wall, just missing the TV. After the last shard landed,

she whispered, “Nothing.”

If she were any other woman, he would have sworn that there was going to be a waterfall

of tears, but it was Annis. She stood stoically and pushed her shoulders back, her golden eyes

dry. “I better get the vacuum,” she said without a trace of the hysteria that had been in her voice

just a moment before.

“Annis,” he said, standing. Obviously, she was very upset, and he wanted to make

everything right in her world again, but he didn’t know how. She was up against a dead mate and

didn’t have a chance, if he understood the oath correctly. He was at a loss for words.

She stopped and turned. They stared at each other a beat, then she said, “Exactly, Blake.

There’s nothing to say.”

Chapter 49

Cohen took the stairs to Annis’s room. He stood at the door for a moment, gathering his

thoughts.

He had slept most of the day, with each passing hour his focus becoming clearer, his

body recovering from the abuse it had taken with the copious amounts of booze, the lack of