Cora's Kismet (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 1) (7 page)

They broke apart when they heard someone clear their throat
from the doorway of the living room.

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting something here,” Liam’s
brother smirked at them, as he leaned against the doorjamb, with his arms
crossed across his broad muscled chest.

As Cora tried to turn away, Liam wrapped his arm around her
shoulders and forced her to face his brother. He held her tight and stroked her
shoulder. She needed to get comfortable around his family, and his brother was
an excellent start.

“Hey Sage,” Liam said, calm and sure of himself.

“Hey little brother. Looks like you were having a bit of fun
there. Where are mom, dad and Sassy?” Sage said, looking around with a knowing
smirk.

“They’re not here. I’d like you to meet Cora. Cora this is
my older brother Sage.” Liam made the introductions as if Sage had not just
walked in on a major make out session between them.

“Nice to meet you, Cora,” Sage said, and dipped his head
toward her as he moved into the room. “Since when do you bring girls to the
cabin Liam? I thought that was my thing.”

“There was an emergency last night and I needed somewhere
safe I could bring Cora. This was the place that came to mind.” Liam shrugged,
as he turned back to his breakfast. Cora just sat and picked at her food,
anxiety washing through her in waves.

“What kind of emergency?” Sage asked intrigued.

“My twin was kidnapped last night and I almost was too,”
Cora said looking up at Sage.

Sage’s mouth dropped as his eyes flew back and forth between
Cora and Liam. “Can I talk to you a minute alone Liam?” he asked in a soft,
determined voice.

Liam looked at Cora for a long moment. “Will you be ok here
while Sage and I go into the other room for a minute?”

The concern she heard in his voice warmed her heart and she
nodded. Her heart fluttered when he pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth, as he
stood and followed his brother into the living area. She turned back to her
food and found her appetite again when she wasn’t being stared down by Sage, or
making out with Liam, creating butterflies in her stomach. When she was done
eating, she put together a plate of food for Sage and began cleaning up the
mess. She was afraid of what they were saying in the other room, so she busied
herself to try to take her mind off of their conversation.

*****

Liam stood where he could watch Cora moving around the
kitchen, as his brother started in on him. He noticed her nervousness and it
made him crinkle his brow in anger.

“What are you thinking?” Sage growled at him. “She’s one of
Thomas and Angelica’s daughters isn’t she?”

“So what if she is?” Liam responded, squaring his shoulders
toward his brother. At any other time Sage was laid back when it came to girls,
but for some reason, he knew anything Sage had to say to him about Cora was
only going to cause a fight between them right now.

“She’s trouble is who she is. Trust me on this, you don’t
want to be a part of that prophecy crap.” Sage paced back and forth, as he
warned his brother away from Cora. Liam knew Sage didn’t know that Cora and he
had already realized they were mates, and there was nothing that would tear
them apart now, but that didn’t stop him from tensing up at his brother’s
words.

“Sage,” Liam began. “It’s too late for that.” He was trying
to put a stop to this before it became an all-out war between them. He loved his
brother very much, but they would fight if Sage continued trying to warn him
away from Cora.

Sage’s bright blue eyes flew up to examine Liam’s face with
intense scrutiny. “
She’s
your mate?” he questioned Liam, his voice
rising in astonishment.

“Yeah,” Liam replied, looking into the kitchen. He was
enjoying watching her move around in a more comfortable manner now that she’d
relaxed a bit.

“How long have you known?” Sage asked with resignation in
his voice. He knew better than to try to fight when someone’s found their mate.
It never ended well. Noticing Sage backing down, Liam relaxed his stance in
relief.

“I was lead on the team sent in to extract her and Viola
from the Kilpatrick’s yesterday,” Liam replied. “I realized it a few hours
later when I touched her hand and felt the electrical current that ran between
us for a second time, the first was at the Kilpatrick’s house, and I didn’t see
it for what it was then. She just realized it this morning, right before you
interrupted us.”

“Oh, wow,” Sage said, exhaling in a loud huff. “Well, I
guess I’d better go make nice with my soon-to-be sister-in-law.” He shook his
head as he headed back toward the kitchen. He stopped before Liam and looked
him square in the eyes. “Congrats man. I really mean that.”

“Thanks bro. I know you do. Now, we just need to keep her
safe and pray the others find her sister before it’s too late,” Liam said. Sage
could hear the clear worry in his voice that he had kept hidden from Cora.

“Have you heard anything?” Sage asked, his military training
kicking into gear.

“No. Thomas called the house and told me to get her out of
there, to someplace I knew for a fact was safe, because they thought there
would be another attack on the house with most of the security out searching
for Viola. When the car arrived for us, the guard who went out to verify the
identities of the occupants was gunned down, so we were taken out via the
emergency exit. I have had no contact with them since.” Liam let out his breath
in a huff, when he finished catching Sage up on the situation at hand.

“Let me see what I can find out for you. I have plenty of
contacts who will get me information in a very discreet manner. Just give me a
couple of hours max,” Sage said, as he clapped his brother on the back. He
turned away from the kitchen and headed back toward his room. Liam nodded,
though Sage wasn’t looking, and walked back into the kitchen.

“Hey you,” he said. He guessed she wasn’t expecting him back
because she jumped about a mile high, as the dish she was holding flew out of
her hand and shattered in the sink.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to break that, you just
startled me!” Cora exclaimed reaching out to start gathering broken shards of
the dish from the sink.

“Don’t worry about it Cora, let me help you with that. Careful,
I don’t want you to get cut.” Liam moved to her side and began to help clean up
the mess.

“I really am sorry Liam. Please don’t be angry with me,”
Cora pleaded, as she dropped chunks of glass into the trash can under the sink.

“Please stop apologizing. You did nothing wrong, so why
would I be angry?” Liam dropped the glass in his hand into the trash can, wiped
his hands off on a towel and cupped her cheeks with both of his hands. It took
a bit of insistence for her to look up into his eyes. When she did after a few
moments, he reaffirmed he was not upset with her in any way. “You did nothing
wrong. Accidents happen.”

“You’re really not mad?” she asked in a timid voice. He had
a gut feeling he knew what caused this fear in her over a broken dish, and it
infuriated him.

“No. There’s no reason to be. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s
my own for startling you. Why are you so scared right now? Has someone hurt you
before for something like this?” He was very cautious in how he asked. He
wanted her to answer, not run away.

“Let’s finish cleaning this up. Oh, I made a plate of food
for Sage, is he coming back?” Cora tried to change the subject out of desperation.
This was not a topic she wanted to discuss. His heart ached for her pain, which
was evident in the way she darted around cleaning up the mess and looking
everywhere but in his eyes.

“He’ll be back in a few minutes; he had some calls he had to
make. Now please tell me why you’re so afraid I’d be angry over a stupid broken
dish,” Liam said. When she turned back to the sink to avoid his questions, he
grabbed her hands in his and pulled her away from the sink, out of the kitchen
and onto the sofa in the living area. He nudged her down into a sitting
position and moved to sit close to her.

He watched her look everywhere in the room, but at him. He
waited with as much patience as he could muster for about ten minutes before he
grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “Cora, please answer me.”

“I don’t want to Liam,” she replied so low it was almost as
if she hadn’t spoken. He could see the pain in her eyes and hated it with a
passion.

“Did they hurt you?” he pushed.

She closed her eyes and turned her face from him again, which
gave him the answer she didn’t want to give him, without speaking a word. A
tear slipped from the corner of her eye as he gathered her up in his arms and
just held her.

“I swear they will never hurt you, or Viola, again. You are
safe with me Cora,” he said into her hair as he stroked it. He looked up when
Sage entered the room.

“I can go if I’m interrupting something,” Sage said, feeling
awkward.

“Nah, it’s ok. She’s just worried about her sister. Did you
find out anything?” Liam asked.

“Yeah, they’re close, real close. They expect to have her
back within the next two hours,” Sage reported.

“Really?” Cora looked up with hope glittering in her eyes
for the first time since he’d met her the day before.

“Really,” Sage said with confidence. “They have their best
people on it, except me and Liam of course. We’re your protection.”

“Thanks Sage, I appreciate that. Are you hungry? I made you
a plate of food, I can warm it up if you’d like,” Cora said with a brightness
that hadn’t been there before. She was more herself after receiving the news
about her sister.

“That sounds great Cora, I’d really appreciate that, I’m
starving,” Sage replied with a grin.

Cora stood up from the couch, turned and placed a soft kiss
on Liam’s mouth and then moved into the kitchen. She was so relieved they
expected to get Vi back so soon. It was weird because she’d never felt this
giddy before. As she warmed up the food for Sage, she finished cleaning up the
glass from the sink. When the food was warm, she placed it on the island and
went into the living room to let Sage know it was ready.

She froze in the doorway when she saw them together. They
were talking and laughing at jokes she couldn’t hear. She enjoyed watching them
tease each other with a camaraderie she’d only ever felt with Viola. She was
happy Liam had this. Before the food could get cold again, she stepped into the
room, and felt Liam’s attention snap to her.

“Your breakfast is warm Sage,” she said, with a shy smile on
her face.

“Thanks Cora. It smells wonderful. I knew when I walked into
the cabin that Liam here didn’t cook it,” he joked, and clapped his brother on
the back as he headed for the kitchen. When he reached Cora, he leaned down and
gave her a quick hug. “Welcome to the family.”

Cora’s eyes grew huge. The last thing she’d expected was for
Sage to hug her and say that. She was stunned into silence, as he released her
with a chuckle, and exited the room.

When Cora looked at Liam, she saw him grinning from ear to
ear. She grinned back at him.

“I sure didn’t expect that,” she told him, as she walked
over to him.

“Sage is like that. He’s strongly protective of his family
and friends. He will protect you with his life, because as my mate, you are now
his family,” Liam said with a shrug, as he slipped his arm around her waist.

“It’s that easy?” she asked, stunned.

“Yep. Once you find your mate, there’s no fighting it and
believe me, I don’t want to fight it,” he said as he leaned down to kiss her.
Just as their lips met, the door burst open and banged against the wall. Liam
grabbed her and shoved her behind him.

“Give us the girl and no one will be harmed,” a gruff voice
said from behind a mask.

“That is not going to happen,” Liam replied in a stiff
voice, as Cora dug her fingers into his shoulders. She was getting tired of
hiding whenever something like this happened. She was tired of being afraid.

“I’m holding an assault rifle and you’re holding what? A
girl whose powers are bound? It seems like I’m in the better position, now
doesn’t it?” The man mocked Liam with a sneer. Cora gasped when she recognized
the voice of the man behind the mask. “Patrick,” she said so low only Liam
could hear her. She tightened her grip on Liam’s shoulders so hard her nails
were digging into his skin. Her fear thickened the air and enraged Liam.

Cora had no idea how they were going to get out of this. She
was pretty sure Sage had heard the commotion and would know what to do to help
them. She didn’t know if Liam had his gun on him, but even if he did, she was
sure he’d never reach it in time. She wracked her brain for something she could
do to protect them. Her eyes darted everywhere at once.

Without warning, she felt her body temperature begin to rise.
She didn’t know what was going on, but Patrick dropped his gun, started
screaming and tearing at the mask on his face. Once that was off, he started
clawing at his clothes. The other members of his team were already writhing on
the ground in pain.

Liam was looking around for the source of their pain and
didn’t see anyone. He knew neither he, nor Sage, had that kind of power in
their arsenal, even combined. Sage came running into the room with his rifle at
the ready, but as he entered the room, he stopped and stared wide-eyed past him
to Cora.

Seeing the look on Sage’s face and the direction he was
looking, Liam turned and saw her hair whipping around her face in a violent
dance from the heat of her rage and power. The fury streaming off of her
explained the amount of damage being done to their assailants. He needed to
stop her before she killed them, or herself.

He reached out and stroked her face. “Calm down Cora, its ok.
They won’t hurt us now. Relax baby, it’s over, he can’t hurt us anymore.” Her
skin burned his hand but he didn’t stop touching and soothing her.

At first he wasn’t sure if he’d reached her, but her hair
started to settle down around her shoulders and he could see the rage in her
eyes calm. She looked up at him, right before she fainted. He reached out and
swept her into his arms before she could hit the floor.

“Secure them, then call this in,” Liam barked at Sage, not
waiting for a response, before he rushed Cora out of the room and into her own.

He laid her down on the bed and ran into the bathroom to get
a cold, wet washcloth, before rushing back to her side. Her face was so pale
with sweat pouring from her skin. Her hair was almost soaked by the time he got
back with the cloth.

He stroked her face and neck with the cloth and begged her
to come back to him. Several times he had to rewet the cloth with cool water
before her temperature started to return to normal. Sighing in relief that she
was going to be alright, he watched her roll onto her side, as her facial
features settled into a peaceful sleep.

Once he was sure she’d be fine and resting, he left the
cloth in the bathroom and headed out to talk to Sage. He was worried about
Cora. He didn’t understand what had happened or how she’d had power like that
while she was bound, but he was determined to find out.

“Is she gonna be alright?” Sage asked, as soon as he entered
the room. Liam could hear the anxiety lacing his words.

“I think so. She’s sleeping now,” Liam replied, and looked
around. “Where are they?”

“Contained,” Sage replied.

“I need to know where they are Sage. There’s one of them I need
to speak to,” Liam bit out.

“No,” he said.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Liam bit out.

“I mean no. The only way she could have pulled power while
being bound is if she felt strong emotion against someone who’d hurt her beyond
measure and then threatened her mate. You are not going near that person. We
need him alive for questioning.” Sage stood his ground against his brother.

“I will question him,” Liam said through ground teeth.

“No. And if I have to subdue you until backup arrives, I
will, even though I’d really rather not,” Sage said in a calm tone.

“When will backup be here?”

“Within the hour, and until they arrive, you are not allowed
anywhere near any of them.”

“Who died and made you God?”

“Thomas did. As her father, we must follow his orders. He
wants that bastard alive.” Sage shrugged his shoulders.

Hearing that, Liam realized he was fighting a losing battle
against his brother. His shoulders slumped as the adrenaline that had been
building up inside of him fled with that realization.

“I don’t blame you for wanting to get your hands on him
though. He had to have hurt her pretty badly for her to have been able to do
what she just did. Not to mention the fact that she used Solarian powers as a
Lunarian. Never seen that one before,” Sage said, watching Liam.

“She won’t tell me anything they did to her and Viola. I see
her reactions to things that happen and can guess at some of it, but even then
I’m not even sure I’m close.” Liam rubbed his hand across his forehead in worry
and frustration. He slumped down onto the couch and looked up at his brother,
weariness evident in his expression.

“Let Thomas handle him. Go be with her, she’s going to need
you. They lost Viola. She wasn’t where they were led to believe she was. The
longer she’s gone, the harder it will be to find her,” Sage said, sorrow
evident in his eyes.

Liam said nothing as he stood, turned and walked out of the
room. He had to get back to Cora because Sage was right about something. She
was going to need him.