Cora's Kismet (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 1) Read online

  “That’s different. I can’t explain it, but I know it is. Even though you’re having problems accepting them, you accepted Liam.”

  “Yeah, I guess I did.”

  Sage opened his mouth to say something when they heard gunfire in the distance. The door closest to Sage opened and one of the guards appeared.

  “We’re leaving. They’re on their way back out now. They’ll take the other car and we’ll meet up with them in 30 minutes.” The guard barked the information at them. Cora’s eyes were wide with fear.

  Sage reached over and buckled her seatbelt for her as the guard slammed the door shut and climbed into the passenger seat. He buckled his own as the driver started the vehicle and squealed the tires while taking off.

  “Viola?” Cora choked out the question around the knot in her throat.

  The guard paid her no attention as he watched the road, and the mirrors, at the same time.

  “I’m sure they got her out,” Sage said with confidence while watching the outside, searching for any threats. He was ready to take action if necessary.

  It felt like forever before they pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an abandoned hotel. The guard shut off the motor and exited the car, with nothing more than a “stay here.”

  Cora kept twisting and turning in her seat, trying to look out of every window at once. She wished someone would tell her what was going on and if her sister was safe. It seemed as though everyone enjoyed keeping her in the dark and she was past tired of it.

  Just as she was reaching to unbuckle her seatbelt she saw the other SUV pull into the lot. She unsnapped her belt and was reaching for the door handle when Sage grabbed her wrist in his tight grip. She looked over at him with a dark look and tried to pull her wrist free.

  “Let me go first and make sure everything’s okay. If it is, I will come back and get you,” Sage said in a soft, understanding tone.

  “I wish everyone would stop treating me like a baby!” she shouted in the small interior.

  “Sorry, but it’s for your safety,” Sage said, as he exited the car before she could try to stop him. She heard him as he ordered the guards surrounding the vehicle to guard every door and not let her out, until he said it was clear, and then turned to walk to the other vehicle.

  “This is just freaking ridiculous. Even Patrick and Anna gave us more freedom than I’ve had in the last day and a half,” she grumbled to herself, as she watched through the window. She saw Sage reach the other vehicle with his gun in his hand, prepared for the occupants to not be who they were supposed to be. The driver rolled down his window and exchanged a few words with Sage.

  She glanced at each of the guards surrounding the SUV she was in and saw they had each drawn their weapons and were standing at the ready. She looked back at Sage moving towards the rear door of the SUV, and bracing himself, as he opened it and leaned inside.

  Cora didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she saw Sage relax and begin to help someone out of the SUV. She then released the breath in a rush.

  She saw Viola unfold from the vehicle, with Sage’s assistance, and fought to open the door so she could run to her sister, but the guard in front of it would not move out of her way. Glancing over, she saw Sage rushing Viola to their vehicle while trying to shield her with his body. The guard moved out of the way and swung the door open for Sage and Viola to climb in. While the door was open, Cora threw the guard a look, she was sure could kill him, for not letting her out.

  The guard paid her no mind, and she dismissed him, as she reached out and gathered her twin into her arms.

  “Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” Cora starting asking a million questions, while skimming her hands over her sister’s face and body looking for injuries.

  “Cora, Cora, chill! I’m fine,” she exclaimed and started shoving Cora’s hands away. “Thanks for finding me though. I really missed you.”

  “I missed you too. I’m so glad you’re safe,” Cora said as they hugged each other as if they’d never let go again.

  “Who’s the hottie?” Viola whispered against Cora’s ear. Cora saw Viola wiggle her eyebrows up and down out of the corner of her eye and rolled her own eyes. That was so like her sister, to focus on the hot guy in the room, rather than the matter at hand.

  She pulled back from her sister’s embrace and made introductions, “Sage, this is my twin sister Viola. Viola, this is my, I guess, soon-to-be brother-in-law, Sage.”

  Cora watched her sister close for her reaction. It took a moment for the comment to sink in.

  “Soon-to-be-what?” she screeched, so loud Cora and Sage had to cover their ears to avoid permanent damage.

  “We’ll catch up later. Believe me, you’ve missed a lot,” Cora said, with emphasis on the last two words.

  “Yeah I guess so. I’ve been kidnapped, and held hostage while you’re busy getting hooked up. Love you too Sis,” Viola said in a huff. One thing her sister hated was being out of the loop.

  “I promise, I will tell you everything,” Cora said with a laugh. She was so happy her sister was back with her safe and sound, that nothing else mattered at the moment, other than getting back to Liam.

  “That’s a promise I’m holding you to!” Viola declared, with a punch to her shoulder and a laugh. Sage just watched with a grin on his face.

  Chapter Seventeen

  When they arrived at the warehouse where Viola and Cora had first been taken, after Liam and his team extracted them from the Kilpatrick’s house, Cora expected to see Liam waiting outside for their return. Seeing the disappointed look on her face when she realized he wasn’t there, Sage reached out and patted her knee.

  “It’s ok. He’s probably just working,” Sage said, trying to soothe her.

  “I guess,” Cora said, still disappointed.

  “What is wrong with you girl? Since when have you ever acted like this over a guy?” Viola asked, shocked at her sister’s behavior.

  Sage opened his mouth to explain, but Cora shook her head no, so he closed his mouth again and left it alone.

  “I told you I’d catch you up and I will,” Cora responded in a clipped tone. Her feelings were hurt that Liam had not met her out front.

  Viola didn’t say anything as she stared in shock at her sister. They got out of the SUV together and moved as a group toward the entrance.

  One of the guards moved forward and opened the door for the group. Cora got shuffled to the front and was the first one to enter. Just after she moved over the threshold, she was swept off her feet and up into the arms she’d been missing. She was spun around in circles that moved away from the entrance and kisses were rained down across her face, she couldn’t help but let a giggle escape her lips.

  “Stop Liam,” she said between giggles. “You have to stop or I’m going to throw up all over you.”

  Laughing, he stopped twirling her around and set her on her feet. He didn’t let go as he leaned down and kissed her thoroughly. Cora returned the kiss with all of her heart, feeling complete for the first time since the night before. A stern sound of a throat clearing behind them broke them apart.

  She looked up to see Thomas standing over them and Viola standing by the door, with her jaw resting on the floor. She glanced at the others to see Angelica’s ear-splitting smile and Sage’s smirk. It was apparent to Cora now that he’d known Liam was waiting just inside the door for her and had made sure she was the first inside. She grinned back at him.

  “Are the two of you quite finished?” Thomas asked with an uncomfortable gruffness to his voice.

  “Yes, sir,” Liam replied, although he still hadn’t removed his arm from around her waist and she didn’t want him to.

  “Oh Thomas, they’re fine. Weren’t you the one telling the girls yesterday they had to find their mates as soon as possible? Well Cora’s found hers, let her enjoy it,” Angelica admonished him, only as a loving wife could.

  “Your mate? Are you serious, Cora? You just met the dude like yesterday
!” Viola exclaimed stalking forward from the entrance. “I get kidnapped and you go shacking up with the guy who brought us here? I guess I know what took you so long now!”

  She threw her hands up in the air as she stalked off. Cora looked after her with hurt in her eyes. “Viola,” she called out after her sister, but all she received in response was a crude gesture.

  “I need to go catch up with her and talk to her,” Cora said to Liam, with her heart breaking a little. She understood Viola’s feelings because, if their roles were reversed, she’d be feeling the same way.

  “I’ll go with you,” he offered, not ready to let her go just yet.

  “No, she won’t talk to me with you there. I need to do this alone. I will catch up with you soon ok?” she said and her eyes lit up with hope. It tore her apart to leave his side but she couldn’t, and wouldn’t, leave her sister so upset, especially when it was at her.

  “Can I go with you?” Angelica asked almost shy.

  “To be honest, I don’t know how she’d react to that. We’ve only had each other all of our lives. We don’t know you, even though you are our parents. Both of us are going to need some time to adjust,” Cora said, trying not to hurt her mother’s feelings.

  “Well, I can at least try,” Angelica said, straightening her shoulders and falling into step beside Cora.

  The walk to find Viola was a quiet one between mother and daughter. Cora felt awkward having her there. It took them quite a while before they found Viola sitting in a bathroom stall, near the rear of the warehouse, sobbing.

  “Vi?” Cora called out, cautious to not startle her twin.

  “Leave me alone and go be with your mate Cora! It’s not like you need me anymore is it?” Viola shouted, and started sobbing harder.

  “That’s not true Vi. I will always need you,” Cora responded, with hurt in her tone. “Come out so we can talk please.”

  “I said leave me alone,” Viola snapped.

  “Not gonna happen and you know it Sis. You might as well come on out here and talk. You don’t want me to start singing do you?” Cora threatened. Both twins knew Cora could sing about as well as a screeching cat during a fight.

  “You wouldn’t,” Viola responded, shocked.

  “Yup, I sure would. Let’s see… what should I sing first? Hmm, I’m thinking something by…” Cora started to run through a list of all of Viola’s favorite songs. Angelica stood off to the side watching the interaction with wonder. “I got it! I’ll sing Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield! Isn’t that your favorite song? Yep, I think it’s perfect for this moment.”

  As Cora opened her mouth wide and began sucking in a huge breath to start belting out Viola’s favorite song, the door to the stall swung open.

  “Don’t you dare butcher that song Cora. I swear I will knock you off in your sleep if you commit such sacrilege,” Viola threatened, before noticing their mother standing off to the side.

  “It worked didn’t it?” Cora asked, smugness in her voice and face, as she moved forward and wrapped her arms around her twin as tight as she could. “You are so very important to me and you always will be. There is a lot to explain and I’d like to, if you’ll let me. Angelica would like to help. Can we all sit down, maybe somewhere other than the bathroom, and talk?”

  Viola looked back and forth between Cora and Angelica and debated as to whether or not she was alright with that. After a minute passed, she decided if she was going to get any answers, she’d have to suck it up and agree, but she didn’t have to like it, so she nodded her head.

  “Come on, I have the perfect place,” Angelica said, as she reached out her hands with a hopeful look on her beautiful face. Cora, not wanting to hurt her feelings, reached out and took the outstretched hand, but Viola wasn’t ready for that yet, so she put her hand in Cora’s other one. Angelica nodded her understanding and turned for the door.

  She led the girls down to the kitchens first, where she pulled out double chocolate chunk ice cream and three spoons, then led them to a small room that seemed to be deserted. The twins looked around as they entered and noticed Angelica had added little touches of her own throughout the room. They sat down together on an old sofa and dug into the ice cream.

  “Oh this is so good,” Viola exclaimed, after her first bite. “Now this is girl time.”

  Cora smiled at her sister’s outgoing personality and ability to bounce back from bad situations. They were two of the things she loved best about her.

  “So, where were you when they grabbed me from our room? You were nowhere to be seen when they were shoving a rag in my throat and dragging me out of there,” Viola said, with a twinge of bitterness.

  “I’d woken up for some reason. I still don’t know if I sensed someone was there that shouldn’t have been or what. I got up to investigate, and ended up in the bathroom attached to our room. I guess I got distracted by how big it was, and believe me you could fit two of our old bedroom in there easily. Then I was attacked from behind. I fought back and managed to get away and back into our bedroom screaming my head off. Thomas and Angelica came racing into the room with guards, but by then, you were gone,” Cora said with tears in her eyes. “I was so terrified for you they couldn’t calm me down. Then Liam came in and managed to calm me down enough to tell them what was going on. Liam stayed with me while they launched an all-out search for you.”

  “Really?” Viola asked.

  “Yeah. While they were out searching for you, Thomas called Liam and told him to take me someplace safe so I wasn’t at risk of being kidnapped too, because with almost everyone out searching for you, the house was a lot less secure and safe. With me somewhere safe they could concentrate all of their efforts on finding you. When we were almost out of the house someone shot the guard, right outside of the front door. So they took me and Liam out through this secret tunnel in the wine cellar. It was way cool, and way creepy, at the same time. I was so terrified.” Cora continued filling Viola in on the story and how Liam took her to his family cabin. She told her all about how she ended up realizing Liam was her mate and Sage’s arrival. Then she got to the part when Patrick and his team attacked them at the cabin.

  Viola’s eyes got bigger and bigger the further Cora got into her story. When Cora told her about using her bound powers, she thought Viola’s eyes were going to pop out of her head.

  “You got to use your powers?” she screeched out.

  “Not on purpose. I didn’t even know I could,” Cora shrugged embarrassed.

  “It happened because you were terrified and your mate was threatened. Then when you were interrogating Patrick it happened because of your rage. It’s something you’re going to have to learn to control when we unbind your powers or a lot of people are going to be hurt or killed,” Angelica informed them with compassion. “Believe me, I was shocked beyond belief when Sage and Liam told us about that. I am so proud of you for doing it though, because if you hadn’t, I don’t want to even imagine what the outcome of that situation would have been.”

  Cora saw her shudder, as if she were imagining just that. She exchanged a look with her sister and shrugged.

  “It was Patrick who told us how to find you,” Cora told Viola with a laugh. “Ironic huh? He wants us both dead but gave you up rather fast when threatened. He’s such a loser.”

  “Loser is a compliment for him. That guy makes slugs, snails, spiders and everything else creepy crawly seem appealing,” Viola said with a shudder.

  “Well, you won’t have to worry about him ever again,” Angelica said with a smile.

  “Good!” both girls exclaimed in unison and then fell back laughing their heads off.

  Just as their laughter was dying down, they heard a soft knock on the door.

  Chapter Eighteen

  All three women turned toward the door when it opened and Liam’s head peeked inside.

  “Is it safe?” he asked, and the three women laughed a little more.

  Cora looked over at Viola, to see h
er reaction, before she told him he could come inside. Viola nodded her head and Cora called him in.

  He entered without hesitation and strode right over to Cora, lifted her up and sat her down in his lap, right where she’d been sitting before. She giggled a little as he nuzzled her neck in a loving manner. After a minute, Cora swatted him back and looked at her mother and sister.

  “So what was so funny in here?” Liam asked with a grin.

  “Nothing important,” Cora responded with another giggle. She couldn’t believe how happy she was in that moment. It was an incredible feeling she never wanted to get rid of.

  They were all quiet for a few minutes when Viola cleared her throat and spoke up.

  “So Liam, what are your intentions with my sister?” she asked, with as straight of a face as she could muster. She burst out laughing when his head shot up and he stared at her with disbelieving eyes.

  Cora looked at him over her shoulder and burst out laughing as well. The two girls kept laughing until tears were streaming down their cheeks and they were holding their stomachs. Cora would have fallen to the floor if Liam hadn’t been holding onto her so tight.

  “Wow, gotta love his reaction to that one,” Viola managed to sputter out after a few minutes. Even Angelica was laughing with the girls, but not quite as hard.

  “Yeah, I remember your first boyfriend’s reaction when I asked him that question,” Cora said and both girls erupted in laughter again.

  “Are they alright?” Liam asked Angelica in a worried tone.

  “Yes, they’re fine. They’re just releasing some tension through laughter,” she replied with a smile.

  Liam nodded and Cora felt some of his tension release. Pulling herself together, she turned to him and stroked his face with a light touch. “We’re fine. This is how we’ve always gotten through the tough times. You don’t have to worry.”

  The rest of the tension left his body and he leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips before turning to Viola.

  “Do you mind if I answer your question?” he asked her.