by Zahra Stone
“I know what you’re thinking. That Brax Lane is stupid hot,” I said into my beer.
Rae snorted. “Not as hot as Jordan, but okay.”
“And the sex? Oh god, Rae, the sex is…”
“Amazing? Out of this world? Incredible?” Rae supplied with a grin.
“All of those things,” I admitted.
“Because you two have chemistry. You know you don’t get that sort of chemistry with just any man, right?”
My shoulders slumped. “I know.” And I did. Brax wasn’t the first man I’d slept with after Ethan had died. But he was the only man who had made me come alive, who’d made me feel. With the others, I’d been going through the motions, and it had felt…nice. Which made it easy to walk away. That had been my motto, and it had worked really well until now.
“But seriously, Katie.” Rae touched my arm, and I glanced at her, her face sincere and a little sad. “Why is that a bad thing?”
“Because I couldn’t bear it to happen again.” My eyes welled at the remembered pain of losing my family. My heart had been ripped from my chest that day, and I’d never survive it happening again. I couldn’t risk it. Wouldn’t risk it.
“Oh, Katie.” Rae hugged me; I didn’t need to explain any further. She got it. “I’m so sorry, hon.”
“Wanna do shots?” I sniffed with a watery smile.
“Sure.”
And that’s why, when Brax and Jordan found us a couple of hours later, I was dancing on the bar. Duke kept feeding the jukebox quarters, and as long as the tunes were playing, I was dancing.
“How long has she been like this?” I heard Brax ask Rae.
“She’s fine. Leave her alone,” Rae replied, reaching up to kiss Jordan full on the mouth.
“Did I break her?” Brax muttered. “I didn’t mean to break her.”
“She’s not broken. She’s a Shelton, a tough one.” Rae poked him in the shoulder. “You need to slow your roll, dude. You’re coming on strong, and that is what’s freaking her out.”
“But I—”
“Nuh-uh!” Rae cut him off. “Slow down. Give her time. You know about her fiancé and kid, right?”
“What?” By the stunned expression on his face, I assumed he hadn’t heard. I stopped dancing and jumped down from the bar.
“Rae,” I warned.
“Oops. Busted.” Rae grinned. “Come on, Jordan, let’s dance.” Grabbing Jordan by the hand, she pulled him over to the jukebox and wrapped her arms around his neck, her body flush with his, and the pair of them began swaying to the rhythm.
“You’ve got a fiancé?” Brax asked, his voice at least three octaves higher than usual. “And a kid?”
“Had.”
“What, you’re separated, and he has custody? Because that’s okay, Katie. I can deal with that. I love kids. Can’t wait to have my own one day.”
“They’re dead.”
He looked at me in stunned silence. I ordered another shot and slammed it down, the alcohol burning and numbing at the same time. But all the alcohol in the world couldn’t take away the pain of losing Ethan and Abigail. In Redmeadows, I’d done an excellent job of almost forgetting, but here in Maxxan, they were everywhere. Memories. They consumed me, just as my lust for Brax consumed me. It was exhausting.
“I’m so sorry.” He rested a hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged him away.
“Don’t.”
“What happened? How did they die?”
“I killed them.” I walked away, and he let me go. For it was true, I had killed them. I’d been behind the wheel of the car that day. I was the driver. I was responsible. They were dead because of me.
“Katie. Wait.”
“Leave her be, Brax.” This time it was Jordan, and I suspected he was holding Brax back from following me. Of course, Jordan would know. Rae would have filled him in on my tragic past.
Duke caught up with me outside. “You’re not driving, young lady.” He slammed his hand against my truck door to stop me from opening it.
“Fuck off, Duke,” I snapped.
“You’re wasted. And angry. Not a good combo to get behind the wheel.” His words were a slap in the face, and I gasped, my hand going to my chest.
“Ah man, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Duke swore, then caught my hand in his. “Come on, Katie, I’ll drive you home.” I let him lead me to his truck, climbing inside and waiting while he buckled me in since suddenly, I was incapable.
“I don’t want to go home,” I said when he slid behind the wheel.
“Where do you want to go?” The engine rumbled to life, and he flicked the headlights on.
“Paige’s apartment. I can’t sleep at home. Rae and Jordan are going at it like rabbits every bloody night. You’d think they’d have had enough by now,” I grumbled.
Duke laughed but refrained from comment other than to say, “Paige’s place it is.”
Paige’s apartment was above the bakery, and when I’d talked to her earlier in the day and complained about my sleeping issues—mainly that I wasn’t getting any due to Rae’s sexathons every damn night—Paige had offered up her apartment since she wasn’t using it while she was in Redmeadows.
Duke walked me up the stairs, retrieved the spare key from where Paige had hidden it, unlocked the door, and ushered me inside. The apartment was small but cozy small, not claustrophobic small. It was cute, and I liked it.
“You okay from here?” Duke asked from the doorway.
“Sure. You go. Thanks for being a good friend.” I waved him away, and he left, closing the door with a soft click. I flicked the deadbolt and made my way to the bedroom. Flopping down onto the bed, I slept.
Sleep was not the usual slumber I was used to. Since returning to Maxxan, my dreams were haunted by the past, and I woke up crying, shaking, and distressed. Tonight was no different. I’d been blaming my sleep deprivation on Rae and Jordan’s antics, but that wasn’t entirely true.
Sitting up, I pushed my hair out of my eyes. I was sober now. I hadn’t been as drunk as everyone assumed, but I had been exhausted, and the few hours’ sleep I’d managed to snatch had revived me. A little anyway.
After a hot shower, I borrowed a pair of Paige’s shorts and a top and hit the kitchen. I loved to bake. It was my thing, and I hadn’t done it in a long time. Raiding Paige’s fridge, I began a shopping list. Paige was not one to cook. She was a take-out kind of girl, so my shopping list was long. But she had a handful of essentials, and I made do, and for the first time in a long time, I felt normal. Almost happy. Baking in the kitchen in the early hours while the rest of the world slept.
Chapter Ten
“These cookies are great!” Duke stuffed another one in his mouth, not taking his eyes off the screen where we were battling it out in Destiny 2. I had a strike team assembled, and we were about to kick Duke’s ass.
“Distraction tactics won’t work, Ellis.” I grinned. “You’re toast!”
I directed my onscreen character to duck behind the burnt-out remnants of a truck while I reloaded. Damn, almost out of ammo. I scoured for an ammo pack, spotted one nearby, dodged the mother of all robots to retrieve it, then blew Duke’s character to kingdom come.
“Oh man,” Duke complained, tossing his controller onto the couch between us, “you’re too friggin’ good at this.”
“Told you I had skills.”
“Move over, Duke, my turn.” Jordan snatched up the controller and squeezed in between Duke and me. It had been a slow day at work. Jordan and Brax had taken Bear out to Old Mill Road, and all he’d found was my discarded underwear. My face had burned with embarrassment when Brax had held them up in front of me like a trophy. I’d gone to snatch them from him, but he’d tucked them into his back pocket before winking at me and taking a seat at his workstation.
Rae and Jordan had laughed. Long and loud. And finally, I let myself relax, just a little. It was no secret Brax, and I were sleeping together. I’d been avoiding labeling it, had been telling mys
elf he was just a one-night stand, but one night had multiplied alarmingly until I couldn’t ignore it anymore. We may not be a couple, not in the sense that Brax wanted us to be, but we were sleeping together. And despite him saying he was falling for me, I couldn’t stay away. He was like a damn magnet.
At the end of our shift, I’d diverted the phones to my cell and invited everyone to Paige’s apartment to play video games. Soaking my liver in alcohol every night wasn’t the most brilliant move if I wanted to stay sharp and catch Ridgeway—and the Gunslinger if he was in town. And sometimes, when I’m fully immersed in a game, my mind does its thing. It goes off and solves the puzzles I’ve been pondering. Tonight, I was hoping for a win, game-wise and case-wise.
“Jesus, Katie!” Jordan complained. “Give a guy a chance, would you?” He’d only just joined the game, and I’d killed him.
“You snooze, you lose,” I smirked.
“Here.” Rae snatched the controller from him and sat on his lap. “Bitch, bring it,” she said to me. Duke groaned at being pinned in the corner of the sofa and wriggled out, so Jordan scooted over and deposited Rae next to me. I hit play on the game and tuned them all out, the shouts and yahoos, the tips to both Rae and me on what our next move should be. Ignoring them all, I concentrated on my character on the screen and went with my gut.
“Crazy, awesome, bitch!” Rae laughed at the demise of her character. “God, I need a drink. That was intense.” Slinging her arm around my shoulder, she swiveled her head, her eyes zeroing in on Brax, who’d dragged a kitchen chair over and had straddled it, his arms resting along the back.
“Brax, grab us a couple of beers, will ya?”
The apartment was that small he merely leaned back, flipped open the fridge door, and grabbed two beers, passing them over to us.
“Thanks.” I nodded to him, not sure how to act around him now that he’d told me he had feelings. Popping the top off the beer, I took a long swig.
“Here, Brax, your turn to take on the champion.” Rae handed him the controller. He took it and looked at me, his eyes intent, quizzical.
“Think you can take me?” he drawled. Oh, the challenge was undeniable. As was the double entendre.
“You think you’ve got what it takes?” I replied, surprising myself. Was I flirting?
“You betcha sweet ass I do.” Sitting his beer on the floor, he grasped the controller in both hands, turned his eyes to the screen, waiting for me to reload the game. I put my beer on the coffee table, cracked my neck, rolled my shoulders, and hit play.
My game with Rae had been intense—she was good, and I’d had to concentrate on taking her down, but I knew that eventually, I’d win. But Brax? He kicked my ass. Every move I made, he had a counter move. He knew what I was going to do before I did it, anticipating and cutting me off. Until there it was, my character flashing red on the screen.
Jordan and Duke were crazy loud with their hooting and celebrating my demise, and I laughed. Who knew having my ass handed to me would actually feel good?
Tossing the controller onto the coffee table, I stood up and stretched. “Thanks for a great game.” I smiled at Brax, then looked at the group gathered in Paige’s tiny apartment. “So, who wants pizza?”
“Only if you’re making it,” Rae replied quick as a flash. She turned to Jordan. “In case you didn’t know, my cousin here is a genius in the kitchen. Gee-nee-us! Those cookies? Pft, they’re just the start. You guys”—she looked between Jordan, Brax, and Duke—“you seriously want her pizza, I tell you.”
“She’s right, man,” Duke added. “This girl can make toast taste like angel food cake.”
“With a build-up like that, you’d better not disappoint, Shelton,” Jordan teased.
Leaving them to continue with the game, I took my beer into the kitchen and began making dinner. I’d swung by the grocery store after work, and now the kitchen cupboards and refrigerator were bulging with food.
“Can I help?” Brax spoke into my ear, and I jumped. I hadn’t heard him approach over the noise of the others. Looking at him over my shoulder, I nodded. “Sure. Cut this up, will you?” And handed him a stick of salami. “Thin slices. Thin,” I instructed.
Side by side, we worked in silence. And it was comfortable. It was nice. And I was doing my best not to freak out—it wasn’t easy.
“Nothing to do now but wait,” I said, sliding two pizzas into the oven and dusting my hands on the back of my jeans.
“Katie.” He was doing it again, saying my name in that mesmerizing way of his, making me want him. He leaned in close. “Duke’s been trying to get your attention for the last…ohhhh, ten minutes or so.”
My eyes shot over his shoulder to where Duke was eyeballing me from across the room, an empty bottle of beer dangling from his fingers.
“Finally!” he drawled, rolling his eyes. “You’re a lousy hostess, Shelton. Now bring me a beer, woman.” I felt my cheeks heat, not at Duke’s teasing, but the fact that I had been so engrossed and focused on Brax that the rest of the world had ceased to exist. My eyes shot to Brax, and his stupid, sexy smirk got the best of me. I weakened. I kissed him on the cheek, then pushed him to one side to get Duke his drink. What on earth are you doing, Katie Shelton?
The pizzas were a success, as I knew they would be, and everyone left with full stomachs and a smile on their face. After walking Duke, Jordan, and Rae out, I turned to Brax, who was standing with his keys in hand.
“You’re going?” I hadn’t expected him to leave; the fact that he intended to took me by surprise.
“I’ve figured something out about you, Katie Shelton.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled. “I’m pretty sure you just want me for my body. And who can blame you? I’m a magnificent specimen; you can’t deny it. And you already know that I know how to please a lady in the bedroom. Oh yeah. I know where to touch, how to touch, most importantly, when to touch.” His words vibrated through me, made my knees tremble because every word he spoke was true.
He opened his mouth to continue, but I cut him off. Pulling his head down, I planted my lips on his and kissed him. He growled, and I squirmed in delight. He was quickly becoming my obsession, and if this was madness, maybe I didn’t want to be cured. Slowly he ended the kiss, his lips lingering for a second. “But,” he continued, his voice low and deep and smoldering, “I’m cutting you off.”
“What?” I was stunned. Was he…breaking up with me? Even though we weren’t a couple?
“No more meaningless sex.” He nodded, cupping my face. I don’t know why, but I wanted to cry. Where was this emotion coming from? It was confusing and confronting, and I didn’t like it.
“You can have all the sex you want…as soon as you agree to date me.”
“Date you?” I spluttered, ignoring the wave of relief that crashed over me. He wasn’t breaking up with me. But he was issuing ultimatums. And I didn’t like that either.
“You and me. Dinner. Alone—without your team of chaperones. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve either got Duke, Rae, or Jordan with you, a buffer between us. I want you. I want you so badly I ache, and I know you want me too.”
“But you want more,” I whispered, the fear in my voice real. I couldn’t offer him more.
“I want all of you,” he agreed, rubbing his thumb along my jaw, making me turn my head into his hand and rub, begging for more contact. And then he dropped his hand, stepped back, and smiled, a bright, dazzling smile. My head was spinning.
“Let me know when you’re ready for that date, and I promise, at the end of it, I will fu—”
“No!” I knew what he was about to say. He’d fuck me anyway I wanted. He was using sex as a currency. He was using sex to get what he wanted. “Not going to happen. Night, Brax, thanks for coming.” I held the door open for him, and he walked through. The door slammed behind him.
Chapter Eleven
I was working on the case board, trying to piece together the autopsy results with the potential ca
use of death. Vampires took up one side of the board, ghouls the other, with a smattering of possible wolf shifter attacks in the center, although the wolf kills were always hard to differentiate from an actual wild animal attack.
My phone rang at the same time that Brax’s did, and we looked at each other in surprise.
“Shelton,” I answered as Brax simultaneously picked up his call.
“We’ve got something for you.” It was the tech from Redmeadows HQ, the one who was doing the in-depth forensic analysis of Stillwater Pharmaceuticals’ digital records.
“Excellent, we could use a lead. Whatcha got?”
“I’m not sure you’re going to like it.” The tech hedged, and I glanced at Brax, who was watching me with a frown while he listened to whoever was on the other end of his call.
“Tell me anyway,” I prompted, watching as Brax pushed out of his chair, voice low as he continued his call outside.
The tech blew out a breath, then launched into his report. “There was a visitor to the facility who signed in at least six times. The person at the facility they signed in to visit doesn’t exist.”
“They gave a fake name of who they had come to see?” Why wouldn’t he want to tell me that?
“Yes. A different fake name each time.”
“Who was it?”
“The fake names?”
“No. The visitor. Who was visiting the facility?”
There was a pause, then, “Ethan McMahon.”
I pulled the phone from my ear and looked at it. Had I heard right?
“Did you say, McMahon? Ethan McMahon?”
“Affirmative.”
“As in, my fiancé Ethan McMahon? My dead fiancé.” I was glad Brax had decided to take his call outside. I didn’t want him to overhear this.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I digested what he’d said, leaned back in my chair, and stared up at the ceiling, trying to form some sort of thought process, but I came up blank. Eventually, the tech cleared his throat. “You still there?” he asked.
