Chapter~37~I want to go home!

Harley~

The universe doesn't listen, and the next thing I see before me is the most beautiful, peaceful place I could ever imagine. I somehow know that it is Sauther Lake; I am home. Not wasting another moment on the nightmare, I step into the scene, turn, and see Lauren has appeared beside me.

"I am ready to come home, Lauren."

Lauren turned to face me, hummed a familiar tune, and started moving her hands in unfamiliar patterns all around me. My insides heated as her movements intensified, as if she were branding something on my soul. She put the stone she'd held into my hand when she was done. "You don't have to be alone anymore, Harley." She disappeared into the mist.

"Wait, I have so many questions!

I'm once again alone in the darkness. "Let me go home!" Someone or something must have taken pity on me, as I find myself back in Melinda's living room, still on my knees with my face buried in my hands. The fire has gone out in more ways than one. "Did you find what you were looking for, my friend?"

I'm still working on becoming better at speaking. In my hand, I see the stone Lauren gave me. Without really thinking about it, I put it in my pocket. "I don't know. Can the quest give false or half-truth visions?"

"No, whatever you saw happened. I told you, you never know what you will get. Are you going to be ok, Harley?"

"Yes, I am, thank you. I have to get back to work."

Practically sprinting back to my car, I get inside, drive a few miles back down the island, and park where I sob so hard that my sides hurt. 'There has to be a reasonable explanation for what we saw!'

'Can you think of just one, Rae?'

''Not at the moment, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.'

'You can't deny what you saw! Nick is working for our father. Which means Ian owns him.'

'So what are we going to do now?'

'WE are going to go kick his bounty hunting, faking ass, then we are going to the Lake.'

Nick is in my head as soon as I get in his range. I ignored him. Ian taught me the ability to shut off my mind at will, which is the only gift he has ever given me. It was the only way I could keep him out of my thoughts. Thank you, Daddy dearest! Now I am charging down the boardwalk toward Nick. He looks at me, and I know he can smell my rage at this distance. He is trying to push his way in.

"Agent Reins, could I have a word with you?" Not wanting to get blood on the streets, I led him behind the building. Once we were out of sight, I stopped short, turned, and pounded my fists into his chest. "You son-of-a-bitch! How could you do this to me?"

He tried to pull me into him, but I pushed away with surprising strength. "What are you talking about, Amante?"

"Don't call me that! I am nothing more to you than a paycheck, and now I know it."

"Harley, for the love of my sanity. Please tell me what the hell you are talking about?"

My chest heaves, my heart pounds, and I clench my fists as I try to pour as much acid as possible behind my words. "Nick, I know everything; I saw you with my father in his pack, take the money for my bounty, accept the FBI badge and shield, and shake his cold-blooded hand." I stopped to catch my breath, and Nick came toward me. "Don't touch me

He steps back. "I can explain?"

"Oh, really? Were you going to do that explaining before or after you kidnapped me and drugged me back to my father?"

"That would never happen."

"Where does my brother fit in? I saw you with him, too. Are you on his payroll or is he in your pocket?"

"Kyle has nothing to do with it. You must at least believe that. He loves you."

"Stay away from me and stay out of my head. I am turning in my two-week notice tomorrow. I suggest you be gone by then as well. Go tell Ian you failed." I pushed past him and rounded the building, heading to the shop where the rope was. Oh great, it's giraffes, pussy man. I reached behind him and took the rope from the wall. By the time Nick finds me, I am coming out with it. I shove it into his chest. "Tell the captain I am going to the lake."

I push past him and keep going as he tries harder to push into my mind. No way, not going to happen; I get in my car and notice that my front pocket is glowing. It was the stone Lauren had used on me. I removed it, admiring it for a moment before holding it close to my heart. "It's now or never, take me home."

That's really the last thing I remember until the car stopped, and I got out with the acknowledgment that I started the car and drove it, but I do not know where or how; I can only say I arrived at the edge of a cliff, where two guards armed with blades appeared out of thin air. 'What do I do, Rae?'

'Don't get me to lie, Harley!'

I'd not come this far to coward away now. Using my Lycan voice, I spoke to them, "I am looking for Lauren." Their response to what should have had them shaking in their preverbal boots was to lunge at me with vicious snarls. I guess they don't know her like that.

I dodged another blade and heard Lauren's voice. 'Your power is in the wind.' Instinct took over, and I flexed my palms downward toward the ground and used my Lycan voice to call for the wind. Whirlwinds formed under my hands and lifted me from the ground into the sky; I looked down at the guards, who were now on their knees. The whirlwind eases me back down. When my feet hit the ground, the guards stand and wave their swords in the surrounding. A gateway opens, space opens, and I step inside.

Lauren is waiting there in her human form, and she pulls me into her arms. "Welcome home, Harley."

"Thank you; it is so beautiful."

"Would you like to see your lake?"