Page 52 of Shadow Warrior
“No.” I kept my tone calm and rational. “Trinity isn’t your daughter, and this place, Lunar Creek, isn’t your home. I know it sounds crazy, but you don’t belong here. You’re not from this reality. You’re from mine, and I’ve come to take you home.”
“Reality?” He canted his head slightly, his gaze finally slipping to Larkin. He blinked several times as if not quite believing what he was seeing. “And that thing is from your reality?”
“That thing has a name,” Larkin snapped. “You were so much politer before the weavers stripped your memories.”
Payne took a careful step back. “Riiight.”
He was about to bolt. “Please.” I held out a hand. “Payne. Just stop and feel. Reach down inside yourself andfeelwhat I’m saying. Does this place reallyfeellike home? Look at me. Don’t youfeellike you know me?”
He scanned my face. “This is insane.”
“Yes, it is. But it’s true. We only just found each other, and then the weavers took you away from me, and—”
The door opened. “Dad, you better not have eaten all that piz—” Trinity entered the room and froze. “Who the fuck are you?”
This close, there was no denying her beauty or the aura of self-assuredness that rolled off her. The way her body tensed, ready to fight, reminded me of myself. Yeah, it made sense why they’d picked this life for Payne.
“Honey,” Payne said. “It’s okay. I don’t think they want to hurt me.”
Trinity stepped closer to Payne, her suspicious gaze on me. “Who are you?”
No point beating around the bush. “My name is Indigo, and I’m Payne’s real daughter.” There was no keeping the possessiveness out of my voice.
Her lip curled. “This some kind of joke?”
“No. And this isn’t about you. This is between me and Payne. He doesn’t belong here. He belongs with me. He needs to come home.”
“Heishome,” Trinity snapped. “Whatever you’re selling, we’re not buying.”
I ignored her and focused on Payne. “They’ve put you here and given you new memories, some of which echo the ones from home. The daughter you didn’t know you had and then found again. That connection, those feelings … The road trip… That was all us.” My eyes pricked. “Please … you have to remember. You have to believe me.”
Payne was staring at me, devouring me with his eyes. “I feel like I know you.”
Hope flared inside me. “Yes, you do.”
“Bullshit,” Trinity snapped. “This is a mind trick. What are you?” She stepped between us, into Payne’s line of sight, cutting me off from him.
Anger surged in my chest, and a low growl spilled from my lips. “Back off, red. I told you, this has nothing to do with you. I came here for Payne, and I’m not leaving without him.”
Trinity withdrew twin daggers from the holster at her waist. “Yeah, well, we’ll see about that.”
“Stop.” Payne gripped her elbow. “No more bloodshed. This woman is obviously confused.” He smiled tentatively at me. “She has me mixed up with someone else.” Trinity relaxed a fraction. “You should go,” he said.
For a moment, I thought he was speaking to Trinity, then it hit me. He was askingmeto leave.
“Justice,” Larkin said. “Time’s up. We must leave. Now.”
No. I couldn’t. I’d been close, so close. I’d seen it in his eyes. He’d believed me, and then she’d fucking walked in and ruined it all. I’d given up on love, decided I didn’t need it, not paternal, not maternal, not anything, but then Payne had opened his heart to me and slowly earned my trust … My love.
Ilovedhim, and I couldn’t just leave him here.
“Indigo,” Kash said softly. “You tried.”
But my gaze was on Payne’s face, memorizing every inch of it, mapping it, even though I knew when I got back, he would be gone, not only from our world but from my memories.
I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry … I’m sorry we didn’t have more time. I’m sorry we never got to go on that road trip. I’m sorry, so fucking sorry I failed tonight.” I allowed Larkin to take my hand and Kash to wrap his arm around my waist. My vision blurred, and hot tears skated down my cheeks. “I love you, Dad.”
“Dad?” His eyes widened. “You called me Dad.”
But the world was whirling and my heart shattering as Larkin pulled us away.
