Sacrifice: The Legacy Series, Book Three

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Newsletter

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Epilogue

About the Author

Copyright @ 2017 by Jessica Ruddick

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Cover design by Paper and Sage Design

Edited by Judy Roth

ISBN 978-1-946164-04-9

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Chapter 1

SITTING IN MY CAR OUTSIDE Nice Beauty where I worked, I stared at the email on my phone and the pounding of my heart scared away the butterflies that had been circling my stomach for the past three hours. I was now a high school graduate.

Well, sort of. I’d earned my GED, so technically I guessed that meant I wasn’t a graduate, but the important thing was I was finished with high school.

My breath whooshed out of me in a palpable sign of relief. No more sneaking around to GED study sessions, no more hiding notes and workbooks. I didn’t feel guilty for taking control of my life, but I did feel bad about lying to Bill. He’d been so good to me, especially since my mom died.

As it always did when I remembered that fact, a shock zapped through my system.

My mom died.

It was closing in on three months, but sometimes when I woke up in the morning, I still expected her to be sitting at the kitchen table, cradling a mug of coffee. Sometimes, I could still hear her in the back of my mind, bugging me about college. But worst of all, sometimes I thought I could still feel her tuck me in at night, still feel her hand brush across my forehead to smooth my hair back, still feel the brush of her lips against my cheek.

It was those times that I couldn’t stop the tears from falling as I screamed into my pillow.

I’d heard people say a parent never gets over the death of a child. I wouldn’t know anything about that personally, but I could tell you that dealing with the death of a parent was no walk in the park either, especially when that parent was in the prime of her life.

I looked out the driver’s side window, searching for a familiar figure that had become my shadow the past few months—Xena, my former handler. I was supposed to be getting a new one, but as long as Xena was present, I knew I was in the clear, at least for today. No new handler meant no new assignments—no searching for pure souls in order to sentence them to death in the hope they’d become angels.

Also, her presence meant I had another day with Cole. No one knew he was a seeker, and I intended to keep it that way, which meant as soon as my new handler showed up, I would have to drop him like a bad habit.

The thought made my heart hurt.

I squinted, still peering into the darkness. There she was—leaning against a tree on the other side of the median. She didn’t always let me see her. Since she was a fallen angel, she had the ability to mask her presence from humans. When she noticed I’d seen her, she stepped back out of sight.

She knew I wasn’t ready to forgive her for her deception. Not yet. I didn’t know if I ever would.

But now this email would change everything. It was the last piece of my plan.

New butterflies took up residence in my belly.

There was no reason to put off leaving anymore. Yet, I found myself whispering what had become my mantra—just give me one more day with Cole.

MY BOSS SHENICE HAD PULLED out of the parking lot a few minutes before me, and now I found myself driving toward her apartment. I’d never been to her home—she’d never invited me—but the discussion I wanted to have couldn’t be done over the phone, and it couldn’t wait.

If I waited too long, I might lose my nerve.

Shenice had agreed to help me find other seekers. My mom and I had never met any, and I always found that curious. There had to be more than just the two of us. I wondered if they’d kept us apart purposefully or if it was simply a practical thing—they probably didn’t want seekers all crowded into the same area.

Still, it might have been helpful to have a group of us, a support network of sorts. But maybe that was part of the ploy as well. There was strength in numbers, but keep us divided and we were less likely to rebel.

Freaking angels. I’d only ever met one—well, one that was a true angel and not fallen—and though I happened to be related to him, I still couldn’t say I knew a whole lot about them. But what I did know was they messed with people’s lives. Cole was now a seeker and my mom was dead—a byproduct of their interference. So I wasn’t a fan of them, even if they were supposed to be the embodiment of good.

My phone rang and I hit the button for speakerphone. Hi Cole, I said.

Please tell me you’re not driving and talking on the phone.

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes Cole could be a pain in the rear. Why did you call me if you didn’t want me to answer?

Are you driving?

Don’t worry, Mr. Worrywart. I’ve got you on speaker.

Hey, he said sharply. "It’s Sir Worrywart."

That earned him an even bigger eye roll. He could probably see it wherever he was calling from, most likely his apartment. If he was really concerned about my paying attention to the road, he should stop making comments that deserved exaggerated eye rolls. Just sayin’.

I heard a clanging in the background and frowned. Are you still working? Despite being only twenty, Cole was Bill’s number one mechanic.

Yeah, we had a transmission rebuild come in this afternoon, so I thought I’d get started on it.

Something was up. Cole wasn’t the type to chitchat on the phone, and he especially wasn’t one to stop working to call unless he had something to say.

Did you want something? I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

My mom agreed to Kyle coming down for a visit.

Really. It came out as a statement rather than as a question. I was in disbelief. Cole’s goal ever since I’d known him was to graduate high school and take custody of his fifteen-year-old brother. Even though his mom was a deadbeat druggie, she was reluctant to sign the papers for whatever reason. So this was a big step.

Yeah. He sounded troubled, like he suspected she was up to something. She probably was. I didn’t have much faith in her, but for Cole’s sake I tried to be positive.

Well, that’s good, right?

I have to go pick him up. I thought about putting him on a bus or something, but…

He didn’t have to finish that thought. Knowing Kyle, he might take off to God knew where. Kyle wasn’t a bad kid necessarily, just sorely misguided. If he wasn’t getting mixed up with gangs or picked up for shoplifting, he was doing something else equally stupid.

The funny thing was Cole said Kyle reminded him of himself at that age. I couldn’t picture the steady Cole I knew doing any of those things.

Although he had stolen a few cars, come to think of it. There were extenuating circumstances though and when we abandoned them, we made sure they were locked tight so they wouldn’t get robbed.

Plus, Cole added, I think it would be a sign of good faith if I made the effort to get him myself.

I understand, I said, a sick feeling filling my stomach. If I was successful in talking to Shenice tonight—and I would be successful—then I would be leaving soon, hopefully in a matter of days. Cole’s trip to northern Virginia could cut my time short with him.

Could cut all of my time with him.

But he didn’t know my plans, so I couldn’t tell him that.

Anyway, I was thinking you might want to go with me.

Our last road trip signaled the start of our complicated relationship. The Reapers were after him because I’d turned in his name as a pure soul. His soul had been white but unnaturally so. My angel ancestor, Areli, made it that way, hoping Cole could become my guardian angel. See why I wasn’t so keen on angels? That was just one of many reasons. Probably the biggest was that it was Areli’s fault I was a seeker to begin with.

But that’s a whole other story.

I don’t know… I said, even though I wanted to scream yes. I didn’t want to intrude on their brotherly bonding time.

I don’t like leaving you.

I felt like I’d had this conversation before. In fact, I knew I had. The last time Cole went up to see his brother, the you-know-what hit the fan, so I could understand why he was reluctant to leave me.

I know, but I have work.

Shenice will let you off.

That was true. Shenice was the best boss ever. If I asked for time off, she’d shoo me out the door without even asking why.

I’ll think about it, I said.

It’s not like you have school, Cole pointed out. That was also true. And what he didn’t know was I would never have school again thanks to my freshly earned GED. Although it wasn’t a diploma, I was still proud of it. It sucked that I couldn’t celebrate the achievement with anyone.

Although Bill had been appointed my temporary guardian when my mom died, that only lasted a short time since I just turned eighteen. So I had no parental authority to answer to. But Bill would let me go, anyway. He was just as understanding of a guardian as Shenice was a boss.

There was no reason I shouldn’t go with Cole, other than the fact that the more time I spent with him, the harder it would be to leave. I’d tried distancing myself in anticipation of my fleeing the coop, but that hadn’t worked out so well. I couldn’t make myself stay away.

Maybe this could be our last hurrah before I said good-bye.

I’ll think about it, I said again. I didn’t want to commit until after I’d talked to Shenice. I needed to keep my priorities in line. And my first priority was fulfilling the promise I’d made to myself that I would do everything in my power to help Cole live a normal life and not that of a seeker.

Shenice’s apartment was a block over from the complex where my mom and I once lived, so I had no trouble finding it. Parking, though, was another matter. The lot was packed and on top of that, the spaces were tiny. Bill had just fixed up this car—my car—and I didn’t want to risk damaging it again. He’d done it as a surprise for my eighteenth birthday and had also presented me with the title. He was such a good man—better than I deserved. It would break his heart when I left.

But I couldn’t think about that now.

I trudged up to Shenice’s third floor apartment, bypassing the second floor which smelled suspiciously of weed and chocolate chip cookies. It only took her a few moments to open the door.

What are you doing here? she asked, surprise written on her face.

Can I come in? I tucked my hands in my pockets.

Yeah, sorry. She opened the door wide so I could enter, then locked the deadbolt behind me.

I took a moment to look around. Her apartment was small and it reminded me of the apartment in those old Friends reruns. Everything was mismatched, but it somehow blended together perfectly. It was shabby chic. If I had put it together, it would probably have turned out more cheap yard sale.

We all had our strengths, I guessed. Though lately, I was doubting what mine were. Or if I even had any at all.

So, Shenice prompted, crossing her arms over her chest in a defensive posture as if she knew what I wanted to talk about would be something she wouldn’t like. She was perceptive like that.

But she’d already agreed to this. I just needed to remind her of that fact.

I want to go find other seekers, I blurted out. I wanted to face palm myself. So much for being smooth and easing into the discussion.

She dropped her arms and scrunched up her face. What?

Do you remember when—

Yes, I remember, she said with a touch of attitude. But you’re not out of high school yet. That was the agreement.

She didn’t mention the other part of the agreement was I had to be eighteen. I’d already fulfilled that end of the deal. She hadn’t realized I was only weeks away from turning eighteen when she made that stipulation. Perhaps she should have looked closer at my employment documents.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and pulled up the email from the GED office. Wordlessly, I handed it to her.

She quickly scanned it, then pounded on it with her finger, trying to scroll to see…what, I didn’t know.

She held my phone out to me so I could see the screen, but I didn’t look at it. I already knew what it said.

What is this supposed to be?

I’m done with high school, I stated, though that should have been obvious since she’d read the email.

No, ma’am. She shook her head vigorously, her micro braids shaking from the exertion. You were supposed to graduate.

I shrugged. I believe the exact term of the agreement was I had to be done with school. I gestured to the phone, which had gone blank. I’m done.

She shook her head again, more gently this time. Ava, why did you do that? You know your mama would have wanted you to graduate properly with a diploma.

My mother isn’t here, I said sharply, turning away.

Shenice’s gasp was audible. She might have been shocked by my harsh delivery of the blunt statement, but it was true. Even before my mom died, I’d had time to come to terms with it. My mom had had grand aspirations for me. She’d wanted me to go to college and build a better life than she was able to build for herself.

But if she’d been honest with herself, she would have realized that was never going to happen.

Look, I said, making eye contact with Shenice. I was dealt a pretty shitty hand of cards for my life, and I’m trying to make the most of it.

I don’t understand why you’re hell bent on finding other seekers. Her eyes pleaded with me to help her understand. What do you hope to accomplish?

The truth was I didn’t exactly know. But I needed to learn more about what I was. Xena once told me I was a small piece of a much larger puzzle. It was time I met some of the other pieces and learned about this supposed puzzle.

Also, I couldn’t stay here. If I was going to protect Cole from the life of a seeker, then I needed to get far away from him—and stay far away.

And though I considered myself somewhat of a loner, I knew myself enough to know I would be lonely.

I need to do this, I said quietly. If you knew there were other people like you out there, wouldn’t you want to find them?

Shenice was a sensitive and the only one of her kind. Instead of seeing and communicating with ghosts, she saw angels who were normally masked from human sight.

Seekers looked like regular humans and my mom and I kept our seeker abilities hidden, so if I sought out to find other seekers on my own, I’d likely come up empty. But Shenice would be able to find handlers because they were fallen angels. And where there were handlers, there were bound to be seekers.

As soon as Shenice found them for me, she could return to her regularly scheduled life. I didn’t intend to disrupt it any more than necessary. Though I couldn’t expect a normal life, Shenice could. I didn’t want to strip that from her.

Ava, I don’t know. I don’t see how this is going to end well.

I stepped closer to her and squeezed her hand. Please.

Looking into her eyes, I thought for a moment she was going to renege on her promise and my stomach tied itself into knots. She had to agree. I didn’t have a back-up plan.

She sighed. Okay. But we can’t leave right away. I have some ends I need to tie up first.

Of course, I said. I’d expected as much and truthfully, I was glad. It gave me that many more days with Cole.

But no number of days would ever be enough to prepare me to say good-bye.

Chapter 2

I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR you, Cole said, speaking loudly to be heard over the whirling of the fan and the humming of the window unit air conditioner. Despite both of those and the fact I was wearing tiny shorts and a tank top, I was sweating. His apartment over Bill’s shop was not the most insulated.

I pushed aside my e-reader. I used to read all the time before things got crazy. Lord knew I could use the escape, but it was too freaking hot to focus on the words.

What? I asked with trepidation. I wasn’t keen on surprises these days.

If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, he said blandly.

I shot him a look. "Then why bother to tell me you have a surprise if you don’t want me to ask about it? Why not just…surprise me?"

He smirked. Because you’re fun to tease.

I punched him lightly on the shoulder and he grabbed my wrist, pulling me against him.

Hey, I protested, but he pressed his lips to mine and my eyes closed and my objections ceased.

His mouth was magic—applying just the right amount of pressure to make my toes curl and my heart pitter-patter. When his tongue slipped into my mouth, I fisted one hand on his shirt and wrapped my other arm around his neck.

I was working on pure instinct, and it was like my subconscious knew to pull him close and not let go.

Because I would have to very soon.

I pushed that thought out of my mind, letting myself get caught up in the feel of him. He moved to my neck, trailing kisses there and his hand slipped under my shirt. I shifted so he lay on top of me on the couch, then wriggled to free my leg and hook it around his, drawing him even closer. I loved the feel of his body aligned with mine.

It was hot, sweaty, and well…hot.

I was plain, ordinary. I didn’t have any right to have a boyfriend as mouthwatering as Cole, but someone on Cupid’s payroll must have screwed up. And I wasn’t complaining.

Groaning, Cole pulled away from me. If we’re going to get to your surprise, we need to get going.

I stared at him. "Really? Now?"

He stood. I hate to say it, but yeah. We should go.

I’m revoking your man card.

He frowned. It doesn’t work that way. You have to be a man to take away a man card.

Well, whatever, I huffed. Cole definitely deserved to lose his.

Trust me. You’ll like the surprise.

I’d better, I muttered.

WHEN COLE PULLED INTO THE Dick’s Sporting Goods parking lot to unveil my surprise, I was confused. I wasn’t exactly what you’d call athletic.

I looked over at him and the skepticism must have shown on my face. He’d made us leave the apartment for this?

Laughing, he guided the Rustinator into a parking