Free Destiny's Wrath (Destiny Series - Book 3) by Nancy Straight Page B

they were closed for the day.
    I got back into the truck, and Max and I looked for a motel for the night. We found an Econo Lodge. Max checked us in while I grabbed the bags. We made our way to a room halfway down the hallway and put our things in. The sun was beginning to set when we decided to go for a drive.
    “ If we can’t get in touch with Jimmy’s mom, what’s our next move?” Max shrugged his shoulders but said nothing. I thought we were looking for a place to eat, but it looked like Max just wanted to drive, as we made our way onto a lonely county road. “Dakota was a different person today, huh?”
    “ I don’t know her that well. Randy doesn’t talk about her that much.” Randy was Max’s boss and Dakota’s husband. She was a member of the Cabinet, which, from what I understood, had some sort of paranormal powers. Dakota’s power was to insert “doubt” in people’s heads, making them question their decisions and actions. It didn’t seem like such a formidable force to be reckoned with, and she once told me that she is the reason that people make good decisions. Basically when she’s around, they ask themselves: Do I look okay in this outfit? Am I prepared for this test? Do I have the right qualifications for the job?
    Rewsna, a.k.a. Renny, is a member of the Council, and her big power is Confidence. Needless to say, Renny and Dakota are universal opposites, so they completely hate each other. Renny can also communicate telepathically with anyone she chooses. I guess I’ve always wondered if Dakota could do the same thing, but I have never had the courage to ask her, and she’s never responded to me when I’ve asked her a question silently. Neither of these two seem supernatural to me, but the Council and Cabinet are made up of more than just confidence and doubt. I know a few of the Council members, but Dakota is the only person I’ve ever met, that I know of, from the Cabinet.
    “ She seemed a little less than helpful earlier today. You don’t think she knew this would happen, do you?”
    Max shrugged his shoulders again. “She did tell us that Jimmy had bad intentions. Maybe we should have tried to keep in contact with the kid.”
    “ Yeah, right! Maybe you forgot that day that all the SUVs pulled up in the driveway? They had to decoy the kid just to get him safely out of the yard. I’m sure if we had tried to contact him, we would have just blown his cover to the Council and signed his death warrant.”
    Somberly, “And one kid would be dead instead of nine people.”
    I looked at Max and could see that guilt still engulfed him. I stretched my hand across the seat and answered quietly, “Better nine strangers than you.”
    It was a good thing we were on a country road in rural South Carolina because Max slammed on the brakes. When the truck stopped and the rubber smoke from the wheels evaporated, he said, “You don’t get to decide.” Max’s voice was on the verge of hateful.
    Surprised at his response, but knowing he needed to think about this from another angle, I answered, “You’re right, I didn’t decide. But I’m not feeling guilty for being thankful you’re alive. I’m thankful every day. We both know the Council would have killed you that day. We owe your life to that murderer.”
    “ You think I don’t know that?”
    “ I think you’re trying to find a way to pin the nine murders on yourself, or at least take partial blame for them. You didn’t do anything wrong. The kid wanted to host Samael. If you would have kept him inside you, the Council would have killed you and destroyed me in the process.”
    “ I know.”
    “ This isn’t your fault.”
    “ Lauren, even if it isn’t my fault, I can’t help but hate the circumstances.”
    “ Me, too. I want to get in to see Jimmy, to see if there is anything I can do for him.”
    “ What’d you mean you ? Don’t you mean, we need to see him?”
    “ I want you close, but I don’t want you close to Samael. I