Beneath the Dust (Force of Nature #4) - Amber Lynn Natusch Page 0,54

bastard above all others would know how badly I’d want to believe it—to believe I finally had my brother back.”

“Piper,” Merc said, his steadying hand on my back, “Knox is right. This possibility cannot be overlooked.”

“But he can’t lie to you! And he answered all your questions when he came—”

“And he’s about to answer a shit-ton more,” Knox growled as he sprinted up the stairs at a pace I couldn’t begin to match.

Merc turned me to face him and rested his hands on my shoulders. “I need your help with the wounded,” he said softly. “May I have it?”

I nodded absentmindedly. “Of course.”

In a flash, we were in the backyard, the chaos of the scene still raging.

“Where is Drake?” I asked. Merc searched for a moment, then pointed in the direction of a makeshift triage area. In the center of it stood Drake, working his brand of magic on those that could be helped. I wished there had been more wounded gathered around him. “You’ll need to move away,” I told Merc as I rooted myself in the ground. He did as I asked, giving me as much space as he could force himself to, given the circumstances. “Help me heal them all,” I whispered to the earth at my feet. A small rumble shook beneath me as the force of my magic shot forth, following the roots embedded deep in the ground. One by one, the victims went still and silent, their near-lifeless bodies filling with the power they needed to heal.

I could sense Knox nearby and tapped into our connection to help me complete the task, but I could feel him trying to pull away—feel his anger at being disturbed. Whether he was still hunting Liam or had already found him, I didn’t know; either way, his pent-up rage was palpable, and an ominous sign at best.

I felt the fire in my veins slowly making its way toward my core—my heart. I clenched my fists and rode out the burning. I was so close to being done.

For the second time that night, I heard Merc’s voice in my ear.

“You must stop now, Piper,” he said before his hands encircled mine, silently begging me to stop. This time, I didn’t fight him. With a deep breath, I released the burning into the ground and turned to face him.

“Where’s Knox? Did he find Liam?”

Merc nodded. “He took him inside, along with Jagger and Foust.”

“He’s not to blame for this,” I said. “I can feel it.”

Merc’s expression darkened. “I hope for his sake he is not.”

Drake shot me a concerned look from across the yard as Merc ushered me back toward the house. Jase and Dean appeared before us, blocking the way. They fell in line with Merc, flanking their king as we entered the mansion again, blocking out the remnants of the chaos from the coronation. The enforcers and the pack, with Drake’s help, could handle it. We had bigger problems to deal with.

Like a potential traitor in our midst.

Chapter Nineteen

The sound of a beating echoed down the stony corridor as the four of us made our way to where Knox and the boys had Liam locked away. One look at Liam’s bloody face told me that Knox hadn’t liked the answers he’d already gotten. The fact that his Original brother was still alive meant something else, though. Either Liam still had a story to tell, or Knox was keeping him alive until Brunton was awake and ready to finish the job himself.

“How are you doing this?” Knox asked before slamming Liam into the cinderblock wall again. “How are you able to lie to me?”

Liam wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “I am not lying…”

His denial only fueled Knox’s rage. He drew back his arm for what promised to be a killing blow, but the second he let it fly, Merc appeared beside him, catching his hand. The silent struggle between the two was both subtle and epic.

“Let me try,” Merc said, eyeing the alpha tightly. “If you remember, I can be quite…compelling.”

Knox let out a low growl before taking a step back. Merc stepped in front of Liam, the two nearly nose-to-nose. The silence stretched out for far too long as Merc did what I knew he could do—influence the minds of his victims. Whether his gift would prove helpful in our situation remained to be seen.

Liam squinted in pain as Merc used little finesse in his endeavor. Where his gift had always