TwistedRevenge (2 page)

Rowan sighed even though she had known this was coming. “I
knew it.” She played with the label on the bottle. “Did she go quickly?”

“No.” He said flatly and took a long drink from the bottle. “I
mean, no, she isn’t dead, but she is sick. Very sick. My father thinks it would
do her good to see you. He says she needs family around her during these dark
days.”

“I don’t even know her. What am I supposed to do to help?”
She could hear the bitterness in her own voice and his disapproving look told
her he could hear it too.

“You are still her only grandchild, her only family left. I
know you feel betrayed by her but she couldn’t come for you when you were
little. She gave you the life she felt you deserved, a normal life. Far, far
away from your and your parents’ pasts.”

“What does that even mean? None of any of this makes sense.”

“I know. I’m sorry I can’t be clearer but some things you
will have to find out on your own.”

Her head dropped with a loud thud on the table as she
sighed. “You know I don’t like games.”

“I’m sorry. You will just have to go on faith for a bit
longer.”

She looked up and met his gaze. “I’m going to have to go,
aren’t I?”

Phillip nodded. “Yes.” He pulled something from his pocket
and slid it across the table to her. “Take this.” He lifted his hand and
revealed a key. “It’s to a safe deposit box at Bremen Bank. Box 333. You’ll
need what’s inside before you go visit your grandmother.”

“I don’t even know where she lives. No one has ever told me.
And I’ll need to make travel arrangements, book a flight or a bus. I need some
notice, you know? I can’t just leave my life.”

“You have to. The box belonged to your parents. Everything
you need to know is in there and I’ll show you the way tomorrow. Meet me in the
morning at the Gateway Arch.”

Rowan tilted her head to the side and rolled her eyes. “You
want me to meet you at a park to take me to see my grandmother? Why can’t we
just meet at the airport like normal people?”

“No more questions. Just please do this for me.” He stood up
and dropped a couple of coins on the table. “I’ll see you tomorrow around ten o’clock,
okay?”

She nodded and watched him leave. Shaking her head, she
picked up one of the coins. It was larger and heavier than any coin she’d ever
seen. “What kind of money is this?”

“The spending kind,” the waitress muttered as she stopped at
the table to clean up Phillip’s beer and snatch up the money. She motioned
toward Rowan’s still-full bottle, “You done with that, Red?”

“Yeah, I’m—” Rowan’s head snapped up. “Why did you just call
me that?”

The waitress smiled and pointed across the bar at Luc who
was raising his glass in a mock salute to her. “My boss told me that was your
name.”

She ground her teeth and stood up. “Yes, I’m done and tell
your boss that isn’t my name.” The waitress seemed taken aback by her outburst
but Rowan was too aggravated to care. She glared at Luc but he paid little
attention to her. He was back to having a conversation with a tall, lean-muscled,
dusky-skinned man dressed mostly in black. Luc pointed in her direction and the
other man responded with a curt nod and went back to their conversation.

Rowan pocketed the key Phillip had given her as she headed
for the door. She stormed through the bar and gave the bar door a justifiable
slam as she shut it behind her. Stomping down the street, she reached for her
purse and cursed. She had forgotten it at the bar. She spun on her heels and
headed back to the bar. “Where the hell?” She felt along the brick wall but
there was no sign of a door or anything to indicate there was a bar anywhere
near this place. She pounded on the bricks. “Let me in!”

People passing by her on the streets gave her a wide berth
as if she were a crazy person. She was certain she looked crazy but she could
still taste the beer she had sipped. She knew she had been in the bar. She didn’t
imagine it. Rowan slid her hand into her pocket and felt the key Phillip had
given her. “Nope, I’m not crazy.” She glanced one more time at the brick wall. “Well,
at least I’m not all the way crazy.”

* * * * *

Rowan had avoided going to the bank until the end of the day.
If she could have put it off completely, she would have but something told her
Phillip wouldn’t be pleased if she showed up tomorrow without whatever she was
supposed to get from the lockbox. After she saw what was in the box, she cursed
herself for not having a car. Luckily, the bank manager had let her take a cart
and a cardboard filing box with her. She batted her eyelashes so well, she
should have gotten an Academy Award. In the end the manager had cleared off a
rolling cart one of the tellers was using to transport files and let her take
it home on the condition that she return it in the morning, which she promised
to do.

Rowan ignored the looks from the people passing her on the
sidewalk as she made her way toward her apartment building. She pulled out her
spare key from its hiding place near her door and pushed the cart inside. Her
mind was on the contents of box. She did everything she could to distract
herself from it, but she kept coming back to it. She’d pause to slowly run her
hand over the lid but refused to open it. After microwaving a TV dinner and
eating it in all of three bites, she washed dishes, folded laundry and flipped
through the TV stations. Her eyes kept settling back on the box. Finally she
sighed and stood up. “Fine, I’ll open it.”

After lifting off the lid, she pulled up a red velvet cloak
with white fur trim. “Pretty, but kind of out of date.” Next she pulled out a
leather-covered box. She flipped the latch and opened it cautiously. “What the…?”

Knives lined the case. Not just knives, but what she could
only describe as daggers.

She was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. She ran
her fingers over the daggers and called out, “Busy right now. Come back later.”
The knocking turned to pounding. “I said go away.”

“I’m giving you until the count of three to open this door,
Red, or else I’m going to blow it down.”

She froze. “Mr. Marrok?”

“Yes, now open this damn door.” He gave it one last punch to
accentuate his words and started counting.

Rowan ran to the door and opened it just a few inches,
keeping the security chain in place. “Don’t you mean you’ll bust the door down,
not blow it down?”

“No, I meant blow it down. Now open this door.”

“Absolutely not.”

He growled. “Red, open the door.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Did you just growl at me?”

“I said open it.”

“You’re a psychopath. I’m not letting someone I barely know
into my apartment when they are clearly insane.”

She watched him through the gap in the door while he took a
deep breath as if to calm himself. Still, she kept the chain on the door. His
tone was calmer when he finally spoke again. “I’m sorry, okay? I need to speak
to you. It is important. Please, may I come in?” She chewed her bottom lip,
debating on whether it was safe or not. “If you are scared then put Calvin on
speed dial. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, just dial him up and have
him come to your rescue.”

She thought it over, head bobbing as she weighed her
options. The bandleader had at least fifty pounds on Luc and it was a safe bet
Calvin could take him down with little effort. “Okay, but five minutes. That’s
all you get.”

She slid the chain off and opened the door for him.

“I think you’ll want me to stay longer than five minutes,”
he said as he passed her by and headed straight for the box.

She followed after him and couldn’t help but let her gaze
linger over his body. He was so confident in himself, which only made him more
attractive. She glanced over at the open door to her bedroom and shook her
head, ignoring the heat coursing through her body at the mere thought of what
it might be like to spend one night with a man like him. She frowned and
inwardly cursed her weakness for dangerous men. “Are you always this arrogant?”

Shrugging his shoulders, he looked over at her and grinned. “Most
of the time.”

Rowan threw her hands up. “It’s exhausting, you know that?”

“My arrogance?”

She glared at him. His ego was eating at her last nerve, but
she didn’t want him to know how close she was to snapping. He had her wavering
back and forth between wanting to slap him or pounce on him. Rowan licked her
lips at the thought of what his lips would feel like. She waved her hand to
dismiss his comment and cleared her throat to distract herself from her
lingering daydreams. “Anyway, why are you here? Your five minutes started
already.”

“I want to know why you were in the bar. There is no way you
should have been able to enter the premises and also…” he paused and shoved his
hands in his coat pocket, “why were you with the prince?”

“The prince?” She laughed. “Who is the prince? I was having
a drink with an old family friend. And what is so special about this bar? You
really are an ass to assume I’m not good enough to be in your bar.”

His eyes softened. “I’m sorry if I gave the impression that
you aren’t good enough. The bar is a special place for a certain caliber of
people to mingle. It’s not a place for regular humans.” His eyes settled on the
box, he reached out and picked up the red cloak. His fingers trailed along the
white fur trim. “Wolf’s fur?”

Luc licked his lips. It was the simplest of actions and one
that shouldn’t have made her shiver but she couldn’t help it. He looked up and
met her gaze. “It all makes sense now, Red.”

Rowan wrinkled her nose. “You’re crazy, aren’t you?”

“I am hardly crazy. I think I might be the only one around
here who actually knows what is going on.” He held up the cloak. “You, my dear,
are in trouble. You have something that doesn’t belong to you.”

She snatched the cloak out of his hand and shoved it back in
the box. “Don’t touch my stuff and I didn’t steal this cape-thingy if that is
what you are implying.”

He leaned against the wall and shrugged his shoulders. “It
belonged to your mother, didn’t it?”

She looked away and shrugged. “I guess so.”

“Your parents died when you were young? An accident perhaps?
They had been away on a trip, maybe visiting family when they died?” Her face
paled as he continued, “Am I getting warm, Red?”

“I don’t know how you know all of that but your five minutes
are up, Mr. Marrok.”

He glanced at his watch and shook his head. “I’ve got a few
more minutes actually. So let’s change the subject. How do you know the good
Prince Phillip?”

“Um… Regular Phillip, he isn’t a prince. And his father was
friends with my parents. He helped them move to St. Louis when I was little.”

“And after your parents’ accident, Phillip’s father kept in
touch?”

“Who are you, really?”

“I’m a prince in my own right, I suppose. Though my family
doesn’t use such titles.” He ran his finger over one of the daggers. “Shall we
unlock some of your memories, Red?”

“Unlock—” She started to question what he meant but his
constant need to annoy her had her clenching her fists at her side. “I have a
damn name, use it.”

“Indeed you do. Your name is Rowan. Rowan means red.” He
laughed as she raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t know that, did you? Your mother’s
name was Ruby, which also means red. Your grandmother, her name is Scarlet,
again it means red. Shall I keep going down your family line or are you
satisfied now?”

“Satisfied? You just opened up a whole other line of
questions for yourself, Mr. Marrok.”

“Call me Luc. There is no need to be so formal when our
families have such a long history together.”

Rowan padded into the kitchen. “I need a drink. You
seriously know how to give a girl a headache.” She opened the fridge and pulled
out a beer just as he rounded the corner. “Want one?” He nodded. She grabbed
another bottle and kicked the refrigerator door closed. “Every time you speak I
just have more questions, so why don’t we just cut to the chase. What do you
want?”

He took the bottle and twisted the top off. “I want to help
you, believe it or not. Your fairy godmother must have been working overtime to
get us to meet the way we did.” He took a drink and winked over the rim of the
bottle at her. “That was her, you know, in the museum. She was trying to look
out for you.”

Rowan laughed and practically choked on her beer. “The old
woman in the museum is my fairy godmother?” He flashed a grin and she laughed
harder. “That’s a good one. What next? Are you gonna tell me you are
Rumpelstiltskin?”

He wrinkled up his nose in disgust. “No, I am something far
worse.”

She leaned in closer and whispered, “What are you then?”

“Someone who wants to help you.”

“You keep saying that but you haven’t said what it is you
are going to help me with. All of this talk of princes and fairy godmothers has
gotten us off track. What are you here for, Luc?”

He frowned and seemed to be mulling her question over.
Taking another pull from the beer bottle, he finally cleared his throat. “I
think Phillip is setting you up. I think you are in danger.”

“Phillip is a friend. You, however, are a stranger and a
rude stranger at that. Why should I trust you?”

“Good point. I guess you have no real reason to trust me.
But as much as you’ve lost in this life and after what you saw this morning at the
Hideout, don’t you think you owe it to yourself to find out what’s really going
on?” He gave her a wink. “One minute the bar was there and the next minute it
wasn’t. You tried to come back for your purse and you couldn’t get back in. All
of that really did happen.”

“Where is my purse, by the way?”

Luc pulled the small black purse from his jacket pocket. “I
watched you bang on the wall, unable to get in. That means Phillip helped you
get inside and you went with him, not knowing what you were getting yourself
into. I followed you around for the rest of the day.” He held up his hand to
silence her interruption. “Yes, call me a stalker. I suppose it is rather
fitting. Anyway, when you got the box from the bank, that is when I knew for
sure what was going on.”

“And what is going on?”

“You are about to be lured in to the Gate and hunted down
because of one man’s insanity.”

“Who’s the man?”

Luc shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. He’s old and insane and
he believes killing you will save his family from their curse.”

She tried to convince herself that she wasn’t really
believing what the handsome man was telling her but she couldn’t help but hang
on every word. “What is their curse?”

“They are shifters.”

“Shifters? I don’t understand.”

He chuckled. “They are humans who take the form of animals,
like wolves.”

Her eyes widened. “Werewolves?”

“If that is what you’d like to call them, yes. But they kind
of take offense to that name.”

She chewed her lip, there was no way this was real. Werewolves
or shifters didn’t exist and yet something gnawed at her, tugging on her
subconscious, begging her to believe it. Her eyes widened. “Wait, you said I’d
be lured to the Gate? What is that? Because Phillip wants me to meet him at the
Gateway Arch in the morning.”

He nodded. “The Arch isn’t just a landmark, it is literally
a gateway to our world, the world you were born in. Your parents fled with you
when you were a child. My best guess is that they were trying to get far enough
away to save you.”

“And this insane person thinks that killing me will end his
curse?”

Luc paced the room and gave her a curt nod. Rowan braced her
hands on her hips, “Tell me why? What does any of this have to do with me?”

“Your great-great-grandmother was the woman who cursed them.
Ulric was a vicious landowner who coveted money and power. She refused to work
for him so he kidnapped her only child.” Rowan’s eyes widened as he continued, “Ulric
told your great-great-grandmother that he was going to feed the child to the
wolves in the forest but still she refused to help him.” She raised her hand
and then laughed when he rolled his eyes. “What?”

“Why did he want her to work for him?”

“She was a witch.” He smiled as he saw her wrinkle up her
nose. “Not the kind of witch you are thinking of. She didn’t have a wart on the
end of her nose or green skin. She was a healer, a kind woman who used her
gifts to heal the sick and wounded. The people who couldn’t afford to use the
healers Ulric employed.”

Satisfied with the answer, she nodded. Inwardly she wished
she could make the story stop. That she could cover her ears and drown out this
insanity with some childish humming, but she knew better. “Okay, go on.”

“She refused even as he threatened to harm her daughter.
Rose, your great-great-grandmother, employed the help of a woodsman to track
down her daughter and return her. He did so under great risk to his own
personal safety. When Ulric realized his plan had failed, he attacked Rose. He
dragged her from her house, burned it to the ground and then burned her at the
stake. As she was burning, she cursed him and all of his family line to live as
the wolves he had tried to feed her child to. That night Ulric and his clan
became beasts by night and men by day. Over the years, they have learned ways
to harness their power and change at will. Ulric believes that if he can
extinguish your family line then the curse will be broken.”

She frowned. “Why does he think that?”

Luc shrugged his shoulder. “I told you, he’s insane.”

“Are you sure he’s the only one who is insane? Because that
story of yours is just a little bit out there, buddy.”

Luc pulled one of the knives free. “I guess you’ll just have
to go on blind faith. But you know what? I might have a way to prove at least a
little something to you. Are you brave enough to try?”

“Um…” Rowan shifted nervously on the balls of her feet. “Sure,
I guess.”

“Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” The groan he gave her told her he was starting
to run out of patience with her. She closed her eyes and his tone lightened. “Thank
you. Now, every member of your family has been gifted by your fairy godmother
to have an uncanny skill with blades. It is what helps you all survive at least
long enough to fall in love, have a kid—which is always a girl by the way—and
train her a little bit before you all meet your untimely end at Ulric’s fangs.
I want you to keep your eyes shut. Feel the room around you. Feel the flow of
energy and act on instinct. Do you understand that? Whatever your body wants to
do just let it do it. Be like water, flow with the current. Okay?”

Rowan laughed. “That’s awfully Zen of you, Master Yoda.”

“Actually I got it from an anime, not
Star Wars
.”

She smiled and licked her lips. “Okay, I’m ready. Do
whatever it is you are going to do.” He didn’t make a sound. She was almost
positive he had vanished but she didn’t dare open her eyes. She could feel the
stillness in the room. Her own heartbeat was the only sound until something cut
through the air. It sounded like a knife cutting through paper. Her body
reacted before she even knew what was happening. She turned to the side and
extended her hand faster than she thought possible, catching something in
midflight. Rowan hissed as the knife blade bit into her palm. She dropped the
knife and opened her eyes. “What the hell? Are you trying to kill me?”

He tossed her a rag and shrugged. “I expected you to catch
it by the hilt, but the fact that, with your eyes closed, you still managed to
catch a blade flying at you is still damn impressive for someone with virtually
no training.”

She pressed the rag to her hand and winced to fight back the
tears welling up. Her eyes settled on the knife on the floor. She had caught
it, albeit by the wrong end but like he had said, she still caught it. Her eyes
widened. “Can you hand me another one?”

“Sure.” He pulled out another knife by the tip and handed it
to her hilt first.

She held it in her palm. It felt heavy but evenly weighted.
She flipped it in the air, catching it by the tip and smiled. Luc started to
step forward but before he could take a step, she drew back and flicked her
wrist. The knife cut through the air, end over end, and sank deep into her
dining room wall. Rowan squealed with delight. “Did you see that? How did I do
that?”

“It’s a natural talent.” Luc looked at the knife and rubbed
the back of his neck. “You did a great job with that. Now do you believe at
least some of what I’ve said?”

Shaking her head, she fiddled with her hands in front of her.
“I don’t know. This all seems like something out of a fairytale.”

“It is.”

“Really? That is what you’re going to say to someone who
doesn’t know whether or not they should believe your crazy story? You need to
work on your sales pitch better.”

“It’s the truth and we’re running out of time so I see no
reason to beat around the bush, Red.”

“Red?” She took a step back. “Wolves.” Her eyes focused on
the red cloak peeking out of the box. “The red cape?” She swallowed past the
lump forming in her throat and whispered, “Are you saying that I am Little Red
Riding Hood?”

“I figured you would have pieced that all together by now,
but yes, that is what I’m saying. And unfortunately, Phillip is setting you up.
I know it’s hard to believe but I know it in my gut. I’ve heard rumors around the
Hideout. Someone is blackmailing Phillip to lure you to the Gateway Arch so
that Ulric and his wolves can hunt you down.”

“Why now?”

“You are of age. Ulric fears that if you live any longer,
then you might find your Prince Charming as it were and have a child. Right
now, if he kills you, then your family line dies.”

“And if I die, his curse will be broken?”

Luc shook his head. “He thinks so, but there is no proof.”

“And why do you want to help me? What’s in it for you?”

“I just want to see Ulric fail. His insanity has poisoned
the entire forest. His wolves prowl the woods and ruthlessly kill anyone who
comes across their path. There has to be a balance, you know?”

She met his gaze. “And who are you, Luc? In all the
fairytales, who is Luc Marrok?”

“Nobody. I’m simply someone who knows that Ulric, the Big
Bad Wolf, needs to be stopped. And I’m the only one who can help you.”

There was something in his eyes, a sadness there that made
her want to ask more questions but the tic working in his jaw told her he was
done talking about himself for now. “Tell me what we do.”

“We run.”

“Run?”

“Yes, run.” Luc yanked the knife out of the wall and picked
up the bloodstained one from the floor, placing both in the leather case and
closing it. “Phillip wants you at the Gate in the morning, which means we need
to get you there now, enter the forest and try to track down Ulric before his
goons can find you. And then you will have to kill him.”

“Kill him?” She slapped her hand over her mouth as the
neighbor below her pounded on the ceiling. She hadn’t meant to yell but he took
her by surprise. Luc raised an eyebrow at her and waited for her calm down.
Finally she uncovered her mouth and whispered, “I can’t kill someone. I wouldn’t
even know what to do.”

“You have to and when the time comes you will. It’s either
you or him and I’ll be damned if he’s going to live another week, let alone an
entire lifetime. You and I are going to finish this, Red. I’ll help, but this
is your fight.”