©Merlin's Chosen Book 5 Risleigh's Return ~Published Work~

Prologue

After more years than he'd like to count, he was bloody well tired. The attempts on his life weren't letting up, they only seemed to be getting more frequent. There were no options left to him, he knew that now, he needed help. There was only one person he could think of that might assist him. Chandra Ivers wouldn't turn him away, she had a soft heart and liked to see the best in people. He wouldn't go to her. No, that wasn't it, he knew he couldn't go to her. There was a bit of him that still dwelled in the darkness and he didn't trust himself to get close to her. It didn't matter that she believed he wasn't a complete loss, that she didn't think he'd become the monster that dwelled inside of his soul.

She would help if he asked it of her. His lips twisted into a parody of a smile and he crushed out the cigarette he'd been puffing on. That was unless she decided she'd rather see him dead instead. Toward the end of their relationship—if that's what you could call what they had—he hadn't been entirely certain of her feelings toward him. It didn't matter how she felt because he couldn't trust himself anywhere near her. In her way, she had been kind to him and because of that, he would never harm her.

If he got close to her though he wasn't certain he could trust himself, trust his resolve, he could destroy her in an instant.

The control he had over the evil that lived inside of him would crumble and he would return to his old ways the moment he allowed himself near her. So it didn't matter that he knew she'd give him the help he needed, he could never ask her for it. Even if he wished to. There had to be another option open to him. His mind turned things over and he grimaced.

Her husband, Chase, would much rather skin him alive than provide him with assistance. His eyes slipped shut as he discarded options, mainly the entirety of her family. They would all probably want him dead after the pain he caused Chandra. There were only two options left open to him. Those two options were little better than her husband. The first was her daughter, but he could never trust himself around her daughter any more than he could around the woman herself. The final choice was her son, the boy named Kennon. The kid probably wouldn't wish to help him either. The Ivers men were fiercely loyal and protective of the family. It was something he respected about them. You didn't find many men like them in this day and age any longer. Those who looked out for their own, guarded and protected their family. Nowadays, most guarded their ass and forgot about everyone else. Even family.

He blew out a breath. The boy was his only option. It didn't matter. Either way, he would probably die. It was either, wait for whoever was hunting him to get in a lucky shot or allow Chandra's son to do him in. Maybe he could talk the kid into allowing him to die quickly. There was no time and no choice left open to him, he needed to leave now or they would find him again. He pushed away from the wall, went to his bike, and threw a leg over the seat. The engine turned over and he headed west. The Ivers kid wasn't much of an option as far as he was concerned. He hated not having options.

There was no way to know what he could be walking into. He hadn't seen the Ivers family since the war. Back then Kennon had been a small baby that he'd never met. Chandra's kids had been nothing more to him than something to use against her. He snorted, now the kid was in college. There was nothing like knowing a child you knew only as a baby was now a full-grown adult to make you feel damn old. He sighed as if he didn't feel old enough already.