Fairplay Shifters Boxset

by Serena Meadows

  “We could just stay in and order room service,” Steven suggested, worried that Charlie was still fragile.

  “No, I think I need to get out for a while, and I’d like to talk to your mom and dad about today,” she said, “We’re leaving tomorrow and there’s something I’d like to talk to them about.

  Steven wanted to question her further, but held back, sensing that she’d share when she was ready. “Okay, I’ll text them and let them know we’re on our way.”

  ***Charlie***

  They decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant which was okay with Charlie, the food was wonderful, and it was an intimate little place, so their conversation wouldn’t be overheard. It was going to be hard enough for her to say what she had to, having to worry about someone overhearing would have made it even worse.

  Once they were seated, Samantha asked, “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m okay, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about,” Charlie said, deciding it would be better to get right to the point. “I don’t think those people were my parents. I’ve been getting little flashes of other people, a man and a woman and we’re at the beach, but not the beach in Florida. The beach looks different, there are lots of rocks and it’s cold, not hot like here.”

  Steven looked over at her, a hurt look on his face, “I’m sorry I didn’t say something sooner, but up until this afternoon, they were only vague flashes, not real memories. But being at the house today brought them out too, made me remember that all those times I was hiding, that’s what I was thinking about. That beach and that day with those people, they must have been my parents.”

  The hurt look had disappeared from Steven’s face, “Are you sure?”

  “I think so, but what I don’t understand is how I ended up here in Florida.” Charlie said, looking at William, “I’m hoping you can help me figure that out.”

  William studied her for what felt like a long time, finally he said, “We should have a copy of the birth certificate they used to register you in school in a few days, it might not help but you never know, they might have used the real one. We’re tacking down Clarise and Gerome’s too and those might help as well. Now that you remember being in what sounds like the Eastern seaboard we can use that information to look at missing child reports.”

  Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you for helping me, I know you don’t have to do this especially after all the trouble my brother and sister caused your family.”

  William smiled at her and put his hand over hers, “We’re happy to help and there are answers I need for my own peace of mind, if Clarise and Gerome were my children then I have some responsibility for what happened.”

  Charlie nodded her head, then took a deep breath and said, “I think those memories prove that I’m not a shifter, I’ve never felt like I have any special gift and I still don’t. I’ve remembered everything that happened that night and I still don’t feel any different, so I think I’m just a regular human,” Charlie said, realizing that she was a little bit sad when she said it out loud.

  “Oh, that doesn’t matter,” Samantha said, “We like you for you not what you are. It might not be as easy for you and Steven, but it’s been done before.”

  Steven hadn’t said a word during the entire conversation and suddenly she was worried that he didn’t feel the same way, but when she looked up at him all she saw was love in his eyes. Her heart flip flopped in her chest and her palms got sweaty when she realized that now they’d gotten most of the answers they needed, they could move on with their lives.

  Now that the time had come she was suddenly nervous, but then Steven put his arm around her and said, “Charlie you may not be a shifter, but you’re more than just a regular human, you’re strong and brave, you survived what most people wouldn’t have and came out stronger.”

  Charlie looked at him, her heart bursting with love, “Only because you were with me the whole time,” she said, then kissed him on the cheek. Then feeling the need to tease him, “Well, except when you tired to choke me.”

  Samantha gasped, and Charlie laughed, “I guess Steven didn’t tell you everything about the night we met,” she said, then launched into her version of the story of the night she showed up at the ranch.

  Chapter 19

  ***Steven***

  When they met his parents in the lobby the next morning, Steven felt better than he had in a long time, but the amulet was still hanging around his neck as was the guilt of not telling Charlie about it. “I need to talk to dad for a few minutes about some ranch business before we head for the airport,” he told Charlie.

  “Oh, okay,” she said, giving him a curious look.

  “We’ll go check out the gift store,” his mom said, taking Charlie’s arm and leading her away.

  As soon as Steven knew that they couldn’t hear him, he said, “I think we need to tell Charlie about the amulet.”

  Steven was prepared to fight, but his dad nodded his head, “I think she’s ready to hear the entire truth, and I don’t like the fact that there’s someone out there who still wants it. I’m sure that’s what her parents were fighting about with the man who killed them. I’m also sure that she’s innocent in all this, so you need to tell her, but do it carefully, she’s had a lot to cope with over the last few days.”

  Steven was relieved but nervous about telling Charlie, “She’s a strong woman, she’ll be okay.”

  “Where is the amulet?” his father asked, “I hope your brother is watching it.”

  “I have it,” Steven said, showing his father the little leather bag around his neck.

  “Son, you shouldn’t be wearing that thing, it’s dangerous,” his father said, a frown on his face.

  “It’s fine, I wrapped it up and Annabelle put a spell on it so it’s useless,” Steven said, waving off his father’s worry, but aware that the amulet was warm against his skin.

  “I hope your right, you always did have to do things your own way.”

  “It seemed like the most logical way to make sure Charlie didn’t find it, but now that we’re going to tell her, I’ll take it off,” he said, feeling a little sad at the thought, then pushing that thought away.

  “The sooner the better,” his father said, “Now we’d better get you two off to the airport. Tell Charlie about the amulet when you get home and then take that thing off and lock it back up in the desk.”

  It was late when they finally got back to the ranch and they were both too exhausted to do more than fall into bed, but Steven promised himself that the next morning he’d tell Charlie about the amulet. As he fell asleep he thought about the life they’d have together, they still had to figure out who her parents were, but now that she’d remembered that night, they could move forward.

  He fell asleep thinking about the house he’d build her on their ranch, of their children playing in the front yard and learning to ride horses. Charlie might not have been the woman he’d planned on marrying, but she was the right woman for him and he knew that he was lucky to have found her.

  ***Charlie***

  When Charlie woke the next morning Steven was gone, but there was a note on his pillow explaining that one of the cows had gotten sick and he’d gone to the barn early that morning. She’d been so tired, she hadn’t even heard him get up and she felt a stab of guilt, she should have at least made him some coffee to take with him.

  Looking at the clock on the wall she saw that it was still early, so she leapt out of bed and headed for the kitchen. If she was quick, she’d still have time to make some breakfast burritos and take them down to the barn before Margot could beat her to it. Smiling as she worked, she thought about Steven and all the mornings just like this one that they would have together.

  When the burritos were ready she threw on some clothes and headed for the barn, bringing a big thermos of coffee as well. The barn was full of people including the vet from town, so she handed Steven the food and coffee, kissed him on the cheek and headed back to the
house, planning her day and humming as she walked.

  But her good mood didn’t last long, when she walked through the door her phone was ringing and she answered without thinking. “Hello,” she said, pulling the phone away from her ear to look at the number on the display.

  “It’s nice that you finally answered, especially since I now know where you are,” said that same deep voice from a few weeks ago.

  “Oh, it’s you,” Charlie couldn’t help but blurt out.

  “So, you remember me now? I suppose it was that little trip to Florida you just took.”

  “You killed my parents, or those people who said they were my parents,” Charlie said, the shock of that night bursting to the surface again.

  “Oh, I see you’re finally catching on. I should have gotten rid of you that night, but I’d already lost my temper and made a mess. Although I suppose now that I think about it, you’re worth more to me alive than you are dead,” the man said, making Charlie shiver.

  “What do you want?” she asked, trying to sound much braver than she felt.

  “I’d think that should be obvious, I want the amulet your brother and sister stole from me,” he said.

  Charlie was suddenly confused, “Amulet? What amulet?”

  “Don’t play stupid with me, I know those shifters have my amulet and I want it back. You’re going to get it for me or one by one they’re going to start disappearing. I think I’ll start with Margot, she should be a bit of a challenge, then Daniel and finally Steven,” he said, stretching out each name as if savoring it.

  Charlie was silent for a long time, “Don’t think I won’t do it and wouldn’t it be a shame if in the end you were the ruination of this family. Think about it Charlie, you have two choices save the man you love or die with him, it’s up to you.”

  She hung up the phone and threw it across the room, then ran over and picked it up. Pacing around the room, she went over the conversation in her head, trying to make sense of what the man had said. Steven had never told her about an amulet, she wasn’t even sure she knew what it was, had no idea how she was going to find such a thing.

  When her phone rang again, she looked at the display, then took the call, her heart hammering in her chest. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you didn’t just hang up on me, I’m also going to assume that you don’t know what I’m talking about and explain it to you. Somewhere there is a little pink rock that is a very powerful amulet, an amulet that is capable of powerful magic, the kind of magic that killed your sister and brother. It belongs to me and I expect you to find it and bring it to me.”

  “I don’t know where it is,” she said, her voice shaking.

  “Then you’d better start looking, I’m going to give you twenty-four hours and then I’m going to start picking off your friends one by one until I get to Steven. When you have it, call me on this number and I’ll tell you where to meet me and I hope I don’t have to remind you what happens to people who cross me, you’ve seen that for yourself. Don’t tell your boyfriend either, that would be a good way to get him killed,” the man snarled, and then the phone went dead.

  Charlie walked over to the kitchen table and sat down slowly, her mind spinning. Steven had never mentioned an amulet, had clearly left that out of the story and now she couldn’t ask him. She’d seen with her own two eyes what the shifter was capable of, knew that his threats were real.

  Shivering, she walked over to the window and looked out at the ranch spread below her, she’d fallen in love with this place and the people who lived here. But now she’d have to leave, once she stole the amulet, Steven would never trust her again, would think that she’d been planning it all along.

  His reaction to her that first night made sense now, it hadn’t just been that she was related to Clarise and Gerome, he thought that she’d come for the amulet. And now she was going to have to prove him right. She considered telling him about the call, but the memory of what the man had done to her parents was so fresh in her mind, she couldn’t risk it.

  It was better to take the safe route, give the man what he wanted and hope that he would go away, that he didn’t kill her. She felt strange thinking about her own death, but knew it was a possibility, if she was the shifter it’s what she would have done. Resigned to her fate, she began searching the house, looking in the most obvious places first.

  When she didn’t find the amulet, she knew that she was going to have to look harder. Putting on some old clothes and getting out the cleaning supplies, she began to clean, figuring it would be a good way to hide the fact that she was really looking for the amulet.

  She worked all afternoon, only taking out time to make dinner but had found nothing as the sun began to set. A feeling of panic had begun to blossom in her breast, helped along by the string of threatening text messages she’d been receiving all afternoon. Some only words, but several times she opened a text only to discover a picture so grisly she dropped her phone and screamed.

  Dinner seemed to last forever, and it was all she could do not to hurry the boys while they ate. Several times she looked up to find Steven watching her, and knew that he’d noticed her strange behavior, but she was so nervous it was difficult to hide it. She flashed him a smile each time, hoping to reassure him, but she knew that he was suspicious.

  When dinner was over, she sent them to the living room to relax while she did the dishes, knowing that she needed a few minutes alone to gather herself. There was no doubt in her mind that once they were alone, the questions would begin, and she knew that if Steven asked what was wrong she’d end up telling him.

  That was the one thing she didn’t want to do, it would put Steven in danger and she didn’t want to be responsible if anything happened to him. It made her want to cry just thinking about what she had to do, but the threat had been clear, get the amulet or more of the people she loved would die.

  She loved Steven, there was no doubt of that, but she’d give up that love if it meant that he was safe and the only way to keep him safe was to do the one thing he was afraid she’d do. It would mean the end of their relationship and all her hopes and dreams of the future.

  It was a sacrifice she was willing to make, and if she didn’t survive her meeting with the shifter, that was fine with her, life didn’t look quite so appealing any longer. But she still had this one night with Steven and she wasn’t going to waste it, tonight she’d show him how much she loved him, it might be her last chance.

  Chapter 20

  ***Steven***

  It had been a strange evening Steven thought as he waited for Charlie to finish the dishes, clearly there was something wrong with her and he was going to find out what it was. She’d seemed nervous all through dinner, pushing the food around on her plate, but never taking a bite.

  When he’d asked her about her day, she’d launched into a long description of cleaning the house, then gotten quiet again. Then instead of letting them help with the dishes, she’d shooed them out of the room and seemed to be taking her time getting them done.

  After sorting through all the possibilities in his mind, he’d come up with several explanations for her behavior and none of them were good. His greatest fear was that she’d changed her mind about staying, was going to tell him that she was leaving, and he knew that he couldn’t never let that happen.

  When she finally came out of the kitchen, he’d composed a long list of reasons she should stay, had rehearsed them all until he had a little speech all ready. But when they got to his bedroom and shut the door, she didn’t give him time to ask a single question or give her his speech.

  Instead, she slowly began to undress him, then herself, taking her time removing each piece of clothing until he was desperate for her, so desperate he forgot about everything else. When they finally lay panting in each other’s arms, he realized that his worry had been for nothing, and he wasn’t about to ruin what they’d just shared with a bunch of questions.

  He knew that he should tal
k her about the amulet, which was warm on his chest, but it seemed like much too serious a topic for right then. He’d tell her in the morning, he promised himself, pulling her closer and letting his eyes drift closed, that would be soon enough.

  ***Charlie***

  Charlie lay curled up in Steven’s arms, listening to him sleep, she knew that she had to get out of bed and go back to searching for the amulet, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to get up. Her heart was breaking at the thought of leaving Steven, but better he was alive and not with her than dead.

  Wishing that she could find another way out of this mess, she stroked his chest with her fingers, smiling when he moaned in his sleep. Her hand brushed up against the leather pouch he always wore around his neck and to her surprise it felt warm. Sitting up just a bit, being careful not to wake Steven, she looked at the pouch, then knew where the amulet was.

  She stared at it for a long time, knowing how much harder it was going to be to steal it now, then carefully began to untie the knot in the leather cord around Steven neck. When the knot slipped lose, she slid the amulet free and held it in her hand for a few minutes, feeling its warmth and wishing she didn’t have to do what she was about to do.

  She carefully slid out of bed, grabbed her clothes and headed for the kitchen where she’d left her phone. When she picked it up, her hands were shaking, and she almost dropped it, but she managed to get it open then dial the number she’d been given. It rang and rang, each unanswered ring making her stomach clinch with the fear that it was to late.

  Finally, the man picked up, “I’d almost lost hope that you were going to call,” he said, a sharp edge to his voice. “You’d better be calling to tell me that you’ve found it.”