“That’s a rather unpleasant word from such a pretty face.” Logan’s voice startled me, and I nearly spilled my coffee.
“Stop doing that! I could’ve been taking a drink and choked to death,” I snapped, waving my hand at him dismissively.
“Not likely,” he replied with a grin, taking the seat Kellen had just vacated. “So, what did you decide?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you going to stay here or force Kellen to leave you in Vegas?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Like I could force Kellen to do anything.”
“He won’t make you stay here, princess.”
I looked up into his brown eyes and noticed the tiny green flecks I’d seen earlier. “Why do you call me princess?”
“Because it’s who you are,” he replied. “Your mother calls herself Magister, but your family was much more.”
“I really can’t do this, Logan,” I said. “I’m not that person.”
“I hope you change your mind.” He rubbed my chin with his thumb, making me shiver. “At least let us train you.”
I leaned into his touch and he cradled my face in his palm. “Are you trying to entrance me?” I asked, feeling a compulsion to be near him and thinking of my conversation with Kellen about my veil and binding.
“Nope, I just don’t want you to have any reason to fear me,” he replied. “I’m your protector, nothing more and nothing less.”
I lifted my head away from his hand and stared at him.
“No, I won’t explain. You’ve had enough thrown at you in the last day. We can talk more later.” He stood and held out his hand to me. “Are you going to run from Kellen?”
I looked at his hand as if it would have the answers we both wanted. I didn’t know what to do. “I’ll try not to,” I replied, taking his hand and allowing him to guide me from the tall stool.
“Good, because I need some sleep. I didn’t want to have to follow you around Vegas and make sure you behaved.” He winked, then turned around and left the room, leaving me to finish my coffee and follow Kellen outside.
Chapter 12
I was surprised I slept for most of the ride back to Vegas. The cool, leather seats in Kellen’s SUV cradled me perfectly, and his silence encouraged my sleepiness. I pushed the button on the automatic seat, and it raised me to a sitting position. A large, green interstate sign passed over my head, making me blink several times.
“Did that sign just say, ‘Reno - Next Exit?’” I asked.
“Yes, it did,” Kellen replied.
“What the hell?” I rubbed my hands across my face and took a deep breath.
“I received a message shortly after we left that it was not safe to go back to Vegas,” he replied. “For either of us.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“If they were only looking for you, we might have been able to avoid notice,” he explained. “But it looks like the Magister didn’t buy my story.”
“So, why didn’t you just go back home?”
“When they don’t find us in Vegas, that’s the first place they’ll look,” he replied, not taking his eyes from the road.
“But what about Logan? He said he was going to bed.”
Kellen glanced at me, then turned back to the road. “Why are you now suddenly worried about Logan? Last night you were ready to throw him to the wolves.”
“That’s irrelevant,” I retorted, not wanting him to distract me from an answer. I was beginning to notice that pattern with him, always changing the subject when I asked too many questions. “I got the impression he was your friend. I can’t believe you’d leave him there by himself, knowing that someone, possibly many someones, would show up with ill intent.”
“First, he’s not alone.” Kellen removed his right hand from the steering wheel and held up his index finger, then added his middle finger. “Second, he’s perfectly capable of taking care of himself. And third…” He raised his ring finger. “I’m not explaining the estate’s defenses.”
I huffed and looked out the passenger window. I’d hoped to go back home and possibly even escape from my newest capturer. I wasn’t a hideous monster any more. I could get a real job and have a future. But I was beginning to think it wasn’t going to be an option. Was Kellen just being nice to try to fool me into thinking I wasn’t a prisoner? Was the threat to our safety a convenient way for him to keep me in his grasp? It was beginning to look that way.
We exited the interstate on the outskirts of town. Numerous signs lined the road for hotels, food, and shopping.
“So, why are we in Reno?” I asked grudgingly.
“You need clothes, and I need supplies,” he replied, turning into a fast food restaurant. “The small towns surrounding my house don’t provide either. According to Kate, the clothing options are worthless, and I need a specialty shop for the items I require.”
I huffed again and continued to look out the window as he found a parking place. “I don’t have any money, and I’m not taking yours. If you would’ve taken me back to my apartment, I could’ve picked up my things.”
“Logan emptied your apartment last night,” he said, turning off the engine. “All of your belongings are in a trunk at the end of your bed.”
I thought about all the furniture in my borrowed room. I hadn’t seen a chest at the end of the bed, but I hadn’t really looked, either. It still irritated me that these two men now dictated every part of my life. The thought of Logan packing all my stuff made me cringe. I didn’t have much, but it was mine.
“My rent is due next week,” I mumbled, already feeling the lack of air conditioning inside the vehicle.
“Your landlord is not expecting you to return,” Kellen replied.
“How dare you!” I turned sideways in my seat and glared at him. “This is my life, not yours! You have no right to turn it upside down and take my choices from me.”
He sighed and turned the engine back on. The cool breeze from the AC felt great, but I wasn’t telling him that. He twisted in his seat to face me with barely subdued patience.
“Everything I have done was to keep you alive,” he began from between clinched teeth. “I could’ve left that veil and your binding, which would’ve killed you. I could’ve left you at the palace with the Magister, which also would’ve seen you dead. And I could’ve left you at the estate this morning and took care of my errands on my own, which would’ve been much easier.” His voice rose as he spoke, and I noticed his brown eyes shifting to a lighter shade. “Logan may have been able to protect you, but it wasn’t guaranteed. So, I brought your ungrateful ass with me.”
I didn’t feel like I’d been ungrateful, but when he said it that way, it made me sound petty. Regardless, he still had no right to make those decisions for me. I stared at him for several seconds, before dragging my eyes away. I heard him take a deep breath.
“I’m hungry, and you’re eating whether you want to or not.” He tossed a ball cap at me. “You should cover your very memorable hair.” He turned off the SUV again and got out. I watched him storm towards the entrance to the restaurant and stop at the door. He turned around and glared at me.
I pulled the cap over my head, opened the door, and hopped out. He was infuriating, even more so because he might be right about my pettiness, but he was wrong about my personal choices. I pursed my lips together as I approached him and let him open the door for me.
We ordered food, and I went in search of the bathroom. I shuddered when I found it. Why did they always have to be nasty? Two stalls and a cracked sink filled the tiny space. One of the stalls was occupied, so I used the other, doing everything I could not to touch anything. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to use the sink to wash my hands.
The other occupant exited her stall the same time I did. She was several inches taller with wide shoulders and a muscular frame, almost like a woman body-builder. She stood in front of the sink, facing me with her thick arms hanging loose at her sides. Her full lips s
pread into a wide grin, revealing extremely white teeth.
A strange tingle raced across my skin, and I wondered if this woman was a mage.
“My, my,” the woman drawled. “Today’s my lucky day.”
The simple words made my pulse race. Her smile was anything but kind. I squeezed by the woman, rushing out the door into the restaurant. I reached the counter where Kellen waited and discreetly stepped behind him.
“What happened?” he whispered.
The woman exited the bathroom, and I ducked behind Kellen’s large frame again, feeling foolish and terrified at the same time. I didn’t move for several moments, thinking I gave her plenty of time to leave. I took a step forward just as my admirer walked up to the counter. She winked at me, and I tried not to react. A weird glow emanated from her wide shoulders and down her thick arms. My eyes widened as one of the woman’s fingers elongated into a single claw.
“I’ll wait in the car,” I whispered harshly, pulling on Kellen’s arm.
He grabbed my shaking hand as the teenage worker behind the counter handed him our bag of food. “Come on,” he said.
I didn’t resist as he led me out the door and through the parking lot. Kellen waited until we were back on the road before he assaulted me with questions.
“What did she say to you?” he asked, constantly glancing at me.
“She said it was her lucky day,” I responded. “But her tone implied I wouldn’t like it. What was she?”
“What did you see when you looked at her?” he countered.
“I don’t know,” I squeaked. “One of her hands started to turn into a claw, right there in line!”
“You saw that?” His voice raised in disbelief.
“Well, I didn’t just make it up.”
He clamped his mouth shut, and a deep furrow formed between his eyes. A few minutes later, he turned into the only open spot in the sprawling parking lot of a large shopping plaza. He slammed the car in park and turned towards me.
“We’re going to make this really quick,” he said. “We’re walking into the specialty shop at the end of the plaza, picking up my stuff and leaving. We’ll buy your clothes online.”
“Kellen, what was that?”
His hand rested on the key that was still in the ignition. “That was a bear,” he replied, “which means every other shifter in town will know you’re here. Let’s go, before they find us again.”
He turned off the SUV and exited the vehicle. I met him at the front of the car. Did he really mean a bear? I’d read enough urban fantasy to recognize the term ‘shifter,’ but surely that’s not what he meant. People couldn’t really turn into animals, could they?
“Don’t leave my side,” he whispered harshly.
I had to jog to keep up with his long, hurried strides and was out of breath by time we reached the last shop in the end of the plaza. News articles depicting historical events from the last few decades covered the windows, making it impossible see inside the store. Kellen pushed open the door, eliciting the familiar ring of a bell attached to the handle.
The dim lighting inside the store forced me to stop and let my eyes adjust.
“We’re not stopping,” Kellen whispered and grabbed my hand, dragging me down the center aisle.
My eyes finally adjusted when we reached a glass display case that also acted as the cashier’s counter. Kellen pushed me in front of him and sandwiched me between the case and his body. He wrapped his arm around my waist and tapped the shell-shaped bell next to the old-style cash register with his free hand.
“Yeah, yeah, just a sec,” a man’s voice called out from behind a row of shelves, covered in comic books.
“I’m in a hurry, Ray,” Kellen yelled back.
“Kellen, my man.” Ray emerged carrying a cardboard box, which he dropped on the counter in front of us. “I just finished packing these up for you.”
Ray looked down at me and smiled. The familiar feel of magic raced across my skin, and I looked into his hazel eyes. They seemed to change color from brown to green as his gaze roamed over me.
“Who do we have here?” Ray asked.
“AJ, this is Ray,” Kellen said, handing Ray a roll of twenty-dollar bills.
My eyes widened as Ray counted out five hundred dollars. Who carried around that much cash? Kellen, obviously.
“Always a pleasure doing business, my man,” Ray said with a smile.
Kellen nodded, tucked the box under his free arm and pulled me away from the counter. The sound of the bell jingling on the door brought him to a halt.
“Damn,” he whispered and turned to face me. “This could be unpleasant, AJ. I need you to stay calm no matter what they say. It would be best if you didn’t speak.” He tugged at the hat on my head, pulled me to the side, then faced the newcomers.
Chapter 13
Two men and a woman stood in front of us.
“Kellen,” the man on the left said, nodding once and making his sand-colored hair fall across his forehead. He wore faded jeans and a gray t-shirt, just like the man next to him. I assumed they were brothers, their resemblance strong enough that it couldn’t be coincidental. In total contrast, the woman wore short-shorts and a pink tank top that matched the color of her hair.
“Matt. Mike.” Kellen nodded back but didn’t move.
“Is that really her?” Matt asked, glancing at me.
“Depends on who you think she is,” Kellen replied.
“It’s been a long time since I seen you out with a girl tied to your hip,” Mike chided. “So, she’s either a cute lay or the Magister’s whelp.”
“I’m betting the latter,” Matt concluded. “We all know you’re waiting for your partner.” His harsh laughter only lasted for a few seconds but added to the already tense room. “Like a dual mage will ever have one.”
I looked up at Kellen. He glared at Matt and gently put the box on a shelf next to him, pushing me behind him.
“Is that how it’s gonna be man?” Mike asked. “It’d be easier for all of us if you just handed her over.”
“Really? And what are your plans for her?” Kellen argued. “Does her bounty include a live body?”
Tension rolled off Kellen in waves. I placed my palm against his lower back and felt him flinch. The small spark I recognized as him rushed through my fingers, then back to its owner. The feeling made me giddy, and I suppressed a smile as I hid behind him. I had a sudden urge to wrap my arms around his waist, and it took a huge amount of restraint to remain still.
“The Magister’s bounty wants a dead body, but the boss wants her alive,” Matt replied.
“She wants me dead?” I asked in surprise, stepping out from behind my protector. “That bitch! We spoke for, what, five minutes, and she decides she hates me?”
“Oh, I like her,” the woman chimed in. The smile spreading across her face made her deep blue eyes shine. “Definitely taking her to the boss.”
Kellen’s hand ran down my back, and I looked up at him. His narrowed eyes and pronounced frown said it all. I was supposed to remain silent.
“Sorry,” I whispered.
“What does Victor want with her?” Kellen asked, dragging his eyes from me.
“You’ll have to ask him yourself, man,” Mike replied. “He said ‘bring the girl,’ but since you’re attached at the hip…”
Kellen let the comment slide and glared at the trio. Would Kellen fight them? One against three only worked in the movies.
“None of you are driving my car, but Matt can ride shotgun to make sure we get there,” Kellen conceded.
The brothers looked at each other, and Matt nodded.
“We’ll be right behind ya,” Mike said, then turned and walked out the door.
The woman winked at me before following him out. Why did everyone wink at me? They obviously knew something I didn’t, or I had a booger on my face.
Kellen retrieved his box and held out his free hand. He would tell me if I had something on my face, right? I took his ha
nd and felt that little spark jump once again. I looked up at him, confused. He shook his head and moved towards the door. We were definitely talking about it later even if he didn’t want to.
“Thanks for not tearing up the place,” Ray called from the back.
No one responded to him, so I smiled and waved as Kellen pulled me out the door.
I sat in the back seat of Kellen’s SUV, watching the two men in front toss glares at one another. It appeared Kellen didn’t need directions to ‘the boss’ place,’ which meant he’d been there before. But that only made sense. He obviously knew who these people were. They rode in silence for fifteen minutes along the west side of Reno, then turned onto a narrow road that wound into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
I’d never been into the mountains and was awed by the beauty that surrounded me. Tall, narrow pines dotted the landscape, and the mountains set an amazing backdrop, with their snow-capped peaks. I momentarily forgot the oppressive heat of the late Nevada summer.
“Can you hand me that bag of food?” I asked, my growling stomach interrupting my sightseeing.
Matt twisted in his seat and looked at me. His face almost looked kind. Bushy eyebrows shaded his hazel eyes and his light, brown hair was a little long, making him appear younger than I suspected he was. The familiar buzz of magic flowed over my skin as he handed me the bag.
“Could you not do that?” I asked, not hiding my irritation. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you guys that it’s rude to touch others with your magic?”
Matt threw his head back and laughed. “No, no one’s ever mentioned it,” he replied, grinning.
I fished a hamburger out of the bag and glared at him. “If there’s something you want to know, you could just ask me, rather than poking at me.”
“Okay then. What’s your talent?” he asked.
I now understood the meaning of that question. Should I tell him? It’s not like he wouldn’t find out later.
“Air,” I replied.
“I suspected as much. It usually runs in the family.”
“What about you?” I asked. “What’s your talent?”
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