Page 136 of Saving the Last Heir
The car was a mint-condition nineteen-sixty-seven Shelby Mustang GT500. A car I’d fallen in love with at nine years old when I’d watchedGone in Sixty Secondsthe first time with Dad. When we’d found it in the garage of that bastard drug kingpin in Toronto, I’d told Jackson I had to have it. The guy was dead, which meant he wouldn’t miss it. He’d agreed, and that was what we’d driven home in. All the way from Toronto to Houston. He’d had to make a few calls to get me some fake temporary documentation saying it belonged to me. It was amazing what you could get when money wasn’t an issue.
After four days of driving, we were almost home. My heart ached to see my father. In all the months we’d been hunting orbs, I’d only seen him once. After we’d destroyed an orb in South Africa with the help of a friendly family of wyrm shifters, we’d returned so I could spend Christmas with him, and Jackson got to see Jacqueline’s first Christmas morning.
Dad looked healthier than he ever had—as strong and powerful as he had been in his younger days. He’d even startedjogging,for God’s sake. He and Cassandra ran three-to-five miles a day. In the months I’d been gone, they’d grown closer, and Dad now knew the truth, which meant I didn’t have to keep things hidden from him anymore. Cassandra had told him after their relationship became more serious. That was a hell of a relief. Apparently, he’d taken it better than she’d expected.
“I knew that boy of yours was special,” he’d told me over Christmas dinner. “I just didn’t think he wasthatkind of special.”
“Okay,” Jackson said, relaxing into his seat for the last ten miles of the drive. “What was your favorite part?”
“What do you mean?” I said with a smirk. “Am I choosing between the almost dying, or the…uh…almost dying?”
“No need to be a smart-ass,” Jackson said, grinning back at me. “It was dangerous, sure, but you still got to see the world. Was there anything that you thought was the best?”
My mind drifted back over everything I’d seen. There were the normal things, sure. I got to see the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, Hudson Bay—but those were places and things any human could see. Instead, I thought back on the wonders I’d witnessed. A pegasus swooping low over a field of flowersoutside Germany to land and shift into a human woman with the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen in my life. There’d been that moment Jackson had pointed out the window of a train car to show me some strange snake-like creature rising out of a lake that he’d told me was the basis for the Loch Ness Monster myths. But the most awe-inspiring thing had come when we’d been off the coast of Africa on an old oil rig that had been transformed into a base of operations for a drake that specialized in human trafficking. That had been where one of the orbs was located.
We’d flown onto the rig during a massive storm. The sea undulated with huge waves as wind slapped back and forth with sheets of rain. Lightning shattered the sky every few seconds. It was during one of those bright flashes that I’d gazed out into the ocean to see the most terrifying and awe-inspiring sight of my life.
“The kraken,” I said simply. “That’s probably a highlight.”
“Really?” Jackson said sarcastically. “Can’t imagine why.”
For me, it had been pure ontological shock to see that massive thing rise from the ocean. Huge, two-hundred-foot long tentacles waving through the air, and gigantic black eyes zeroing in on me. Larger than any whale—hell, larger than any living creature on Earth. It had been like witnessing some ancient and unknowable god erupting from the ocean waves. It was cool as hell.
“Nope,” I said. “Nothing can top that. I doubt anything ever will.”
Jackson pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped out a message.
“Who are you talking to?” I asked, sparing a glance from the road.
“Nobody,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
He said the words with a straight face, but I could hear the hint of a smile in his words. I frowned, but left it alone. I was too tired to worry about what kind of goofy message Christian had probably sent to make him laugh.
Christian’s parents and brother had forgiven Jackson and me for what we’d done, which was good. They were great people, and I hoped to get to know them better now that we’d be home for good.
A strange, nervous excitement filled me as we turned onto the road that led to Jackson’s house. The sun angled down toward the horizon, but light still played across the pine trees of the surrounding forest. It gave the whole world a weird, surreal orange glow. After so long away, it really did feel like coming home.
“How’s the garage?” Jackson said. “I haven’t asked how things are going the last few weeks.”
“As far as I can tell, it’s fine,” I said. “Dad tells me business has really picked up, and he’s been able to offer all the part-time guys we had full-time hours.”
“Holy hell, that’s amazing,” Jackson said, straightening in his seat.
“Yeah. Well, your father contracted Dad to do all the maintenance work on his cars as well as all the company vehicles you guys have for your businesses. That’s huge.” I looked overat him and winked. “It helps when all your bills are paid off too. Thanks for that again, by the way.”
“No thanks needed. I pay my debts,” he said.
“You do. Oh, Dad also said your father has invited all the garage staff up for a weekly dinner the last few months. I think your dad is trying to find some way of repayingme, and since I haven’t been there, he’s using my dad as a surrogate,” I said with a laugh.
“Speaking of home,” Jackson said, and pointed out the gate that led to his mansion. “Looks like we’re finally here.”
I heaved a sigh of weary relief and pulled in, shifting down and cruising up the long driveway to the house.
“It doesn’t feel real to be back,” I said as I parked the car.
“Come on. Let’s see if anyone is home,” Jackson said absently as he typed on his phone once more.
“Want me to grab the bags?” I said.
