by T K Eldridge
A few people grumbled, but the majority of them started to move back towards cars parked along the side of the road or at the edges of the shop’s lot. Then one man yelled, “They’re protecting the traitor, Sidonie Boudreau!” A chorus of voices joined him.
“They’re protecting their business and their own persons. Ms. Boudreau is not here, is she? You didn’t see her, did you? Then get lost. Move it!” I said into the speaker.
Now they were moving with a bit more purpose, but I stayed where I was until I saw them all get into vehicles and drive away.
Micah stayed near me until they started to drive off, then headed back to where the man sat on the concrete platform the shop used as a front entry area. I joined him and looked down at the man. “What’s your name?” I asked him.
“Fuck you,” he replied.
“Okay, that works. Mr. Fuckyou, you have the right to remain silent…” and I read him his rights, then put my hand around his upper arm and tugged him to his feet.
Grams came out of the shop and shook her head. “I don’t know what’s got into people,” she said.
Grams was my mother’s mother – and Micah’s grandma, but he had been a few months younger than Aunt Sett when his mother died, and so Grams raised him. That’s why he called her “Ma” instead of “Grams”.
“Sin will take care of it, Ma. I’ll help you clean up the glass and get rid of the damaged herbs and veggies,” Micah said.
The man jerked in my grip when Micah said my name and he turned to spit at me. “You’re that traitor’s twin. You’re as bad as she is.”
I squeezed his arm, hard, and snarled at him. “Spit at me again and I’ll punch you so hard your eyes are in the back of your head. She may be my twin, but we’re nothing alike. Trust me, I’m no happier with her than the rest of you are.” I shoved him towards the rig and got him buckled in the back seat before I turned to check on Grams.
“Your sister isn’t behind this, Sinclair, and you know it,” Grams chided me. “I can’t believe you would deny her like that.”
“Don’t start, Grams,” I said. “You have no idea the level of crap that’s been going on, thanks to my sister. Grizz flew her home. She needs to stay out of sight until we can get this mess to calm down.”
“Watch your tone, boy,” Grams said, eyes narrowed. “She’s still your blood.”
“Yeah, so is Roisin Murphy and you don’t see me hugging her and welcoming her home, do you?”
Grams leaned closer to the car and spoke to the man in the back seat. “I’m Alicia Fortin. If you’re willing to pay for the damages, I won’t press charges.”
He looked like he considered the offer, then leaned closer to the grill that separated the front and back seats and hissed, “Fuck you. Next time, I’ll throw a firebomb.”
“That’s it,” I said. “Grams, back away from the car. Grizz should be here soon and I’ll be taking this one to jail.”
Grams gave me a look of such disappointment it made my chest tighten. I couldn’t even laugh at the t-shirt of the day, and it was a good one. Underneath a blue plaid flannel shirt, Grams wore a blue t-shirt with white letters that said ‘Sweet old lady? More like battle-tested warrior queen’. She also wore faded denim cargo pants, high-top sneakers, and her long white hair in a crown of braids around her head above a face that looked like she was in her late fifties – not her late one hundred and fifties. I watched her walk back towards the shop just as Grizz came from behind the building.
I waved to him and he stopped to speak to Grams before he took the keys and got into the driver’s seat.
I buckled in as Grizz pulled out of the lot and headed back to the station.
“What are we booking him on?” Grizz finally asked.
“Malicious vandalism and criminal threats. He threw the rock that destroyed the display window and a few hundred dollars worth of herbs and vegetables that have to be tossed because of the glass. He also threatened to throw a firebomb next time.”
“Sounds good,” Grizz said and fell silent once more. In fact, he didn’t say much of anything the rest of the night. We got the guy booked, did up our reports for the day, and I headed home. It had been a long few days and I just wanted to see my family and get some sleep. At least, that’s what I hoped would happen.
Chapter Five
Sid
Remember how I said not all of my ideas were good ones? Yeah, my life right now was a prime example of how ideas could blow up in your face. Literally.
Two days ago, I’d done an Op Ed in the paper. Yesterday, I had been interviewed live by Kate Boswick. Today, I was on what amounted to house arrest so I didn’t bring any more danger down on my family and friends. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how far off the rails this had gone in such a short amount of time.
And no, I didn’t dare think too hard about Sin ripping into me in the Commander’s office. At that moment, he was a stranger to me, and the tears would start every time I tried to process it. Oh, we’d had fights before. We’ve had more than a few knock down, drag out screaming matches that had our parents threatening to skin us alive if we kept it up. That was then – before our parents were kidnapped and we had to work together to save them. That was before we had graduated college and realized we would have to grow up fast. We’d had minor arguments about stuff since, but nothing like this. I could hear the hate in his voice. I didn’t dare turn to look at him because if I had seen that same hate in his eyes, it would have shattered me.
Grizzell had walked me to my office to get my things, then up to the roof so we could fly off the back and not be seen by the mob out front. I will admit I was more than a bit shell-shocked, but the feeling of the muscular, warm body beneath me, my fingers tight around the leather strap around his chest shook me out of it. I had never flown on griffin back – or dragon back – and it was truly something. If I hadn’t been so afraid of being seen, I might have whooped with delight when he climbed higher and soared over the forest behind the farm, then swirled in gradually descending loops until he landed in my front yard and I slid off. He shifted back, pulled off the strap and coiled it up to stuff in a pouch on his belt, then made sure I got inside okay.
“You sure you’ll be okay here alone?” Grizz asked.
“I’m usually alone,” I replied.
“Do you have enough supplies?”
“No, but I can order groceries and one of the farm hands will drive them from the gate to me.”
“Call in your order. I’ll pick it up after shift and bring it to you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I started and he shook his head.
“Siddie, you’re not only my partner’s sister, you’re part of my team with the Special Forces crew. We take care of each other. Don’t let Sin’s words get to you. He’s got a lot on his plate right now and you’re just an easy target.”
“It’s not just today, Grizz. This has been building for a while. I’ll be good and stay here, out of the way – for now. I can do my research from here as well as I can from a desk in the office. Hell, if Tino can do it every day, I can do it for a few, right?”
“That’s the way to look at it. This, too, shall pass – right? Okay, put that order in. I’ve got to head up to the farm shop and back up Sin. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“Thank you, Grizz. For everything.”
“Chin up, Siddie. Your heart was in the right place. People are just being idiots right now. I’ll see you later.”
I watched him shift and fly towards the shop, then made sure my doors were locked and all of the curtains drawn. His words were encouraging, but I still just wanted to curl up in bed and pull the covers over my head.
Instead of falling down that rabbit hole, I went and changed clothes. Sweatpants, my fuzzy slippers, and a soft, faded hoodie were my go-to comfort items. I twisted my hair in a braid down my back as I headed into the kitchen. A pot of coffee started to brew while I made a list of things I’d need for about a week of isolation, then I gra
bbed the carafe and a mug, and headed to my office. I pulled up the grocery app on my laptop and placed the order, then poured a mug of coffee and logged in to the SPD system. At this point, the only paper files we handled were cold cases. Everything else was scanned in or entered on tablets. Tino had the place close to paper free and it made my life easier. I downloaded several case files and started to work.
The pot of coffee was nearly empty and I’d only paused for bathroom breaks, but I had completed about half of the files for the day when I heard the sound of someone on my front porch. The old Victorian cottage I lived in had a porch that wrapped from the front, along one side, and across half of the back of the house. I lay my fingertips on the gun safe lock and pulled my weapon free, then checked that there was a round in the chamber and the safety was off. Quietly I moved through the house and peered through the edge of the curtains to see who was out there. I saw a figure move along the side porch toward the front, then heard a knock at the door. I waited in silence, then heard a voice call out.
“Siddie, it’s Grizz. I’ve got your groceries.”
My racing heart slowed and I flipped the safety on and put my gun up on the top of the fridge for now.
“Coming, Grizz,” I called back and went to open the door.
“Were you on the side porch?” I asked.
“No, that was Drake. I knocked and we didn’t get an answer, so I asked him to take a look and make sure things looked okay around back,” Grizz said. “Hey, Drake, come say hello.”
A lean, muscular figure moved out of the shadows with four bags in his hands. Dark hair curled in short waves around an angular face, a mustache and goatee neatly trimmed around his mouth. His eyes were dark brown with glints of gold and my first thought was that he looked like a pirate.
“Hi, Siddie. I’m Drake. Mind if I bring these inside?” he said and I stumbled back a step.
“Sure, come on in,” I said and I swear I heard my voice squeak.
Grizz gave me a knowing grin and followed Drake with a few more bags. I saw the back of Grizz’s truck had more, so I went down the steps in my slippers and grabbed my own load and headed inside. “Just put them in the kitchen, I’ll take it from there,” I said.
Grizz and Drake brought in a few more loads until my kitchen was covered in bags that I had already started to unpack.
“This feels like more than I ordered,” I said.
“Yeah, I added a few things,” Grizz replied. “Sue me.” He continued, “If it’s okay with you, we brought take out for dinner. Thought you might like some company.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“We’re sure,” Drake replied. “I had him stop at the barbecue place. I heard you liked it, and I’ve wanted to try it since I got here. We probably have enough food for ten, but since we’ve all got shifter genetics, I’m betting we could put a dent in it.”
It took about fifteen minutes for the three of us to get the perishable things unpacked and put away. The chest freezer in the pantry was filled and the fridge held all I’d need for a while. The rest of the bags were set on the freezer in the pantry for me to unload later.
I found plates and utensils while Drake unloaded the food and Grizz made sure the truck and the front door were locked.
We sat down to ribs, baked beans, dirty rice, cornbread, seasoned greens, and coleslaw. I hadn’t eaten since a sandwich at breakfast, so the food was all I needed to be reminded that a body needed fuel.
“I’m glad you’re not one of those women who thinks a salad is a meal,” Drake said.
“I’m a supe,” I replied. “I know the fuel my body needs to function, and a salad is a side dish, not a meal.”
“I’ve dated witches before and some still think it’s okay to starve themselves,” Drake said.
“I’m not just a witch. I’m a witch, shifter, fae, and mythic. Are you just dragon?”
“As far as I know,” Drake said.
“What do you do?” I asked.
“I’m attending the Academy right now,” Drake said.
“Oh,” I replied, as the momentary daydream of finding a dragon in my bed faded fast.
“Oh? Why, is that a bad thing?” Drake asked.
“Siddie doesn’t date cops,” Grizzell said.
“Where’d you hear that?” I asked, then sighed. “Oh, right. My brother. Well, I try to not date cops because it can cause conflicts on the job.”
“I have been other things besides an Academy cadet, if that helps,” Drake teased. “I’ve been a blacksmith and metal artist, I’ve developed and run a tech company, and now I’m looking at being an SPD agent.”
“What kind of tech?” I asked.
“I developed a security app that the Department of Defense is now using,” Drake said.
“Nice. So what made you want to join the SPD?”
“Grizzell has been doing it a while and it sounded like a challenge I could enjoy,” Drake said.
“I told him the good and bad stories, don’t worry,” Grizz said.
I reached for the container of coleslaw at the same time Drake reached for the cornbread. Our hands brushed and I almost dropped the container. Tingling ran up my arm and I stared at him, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.
“Oh, hell no…” I whispered.
Drake stared right back at me, then put the piece of cornbread on his plate. He was careful to not touch me again the rest of the meal. Conversation shifted to movies we had seen or wanted to see, and the rest of the evening was pleasantly generic.
Grizz helped me pack up the leftovers and I sent each of them home with a generous portion of what was left – and I still had enough for a couple of meals.
“Thanks, guys. I appreciate the delivery, and the meal. Stay safe out there,” I said.
“You need anything, call me,” Grizz said.
Drake just gave me a polite wave, but didn’t say a thing as he got into Grizz’s truck. I locked up and decided that I wasn’t tired enough to sleep, so I’d get more work done before I called it a night.
Nope, I wasn’t going to even think about the fact that I’d felt the exact same reaction to touching Drake that Sin said he felt with Mira. Nope, that was not me meeting my Chosen for the first time.
Not going to happen.
Nope.
* * *
Two days later, Drake showed up on my doorstep with a bag of Thai takeout and a bouquet of wildflowers. I almost didn’t let him in, but as much as I could enjoy my own company, seeing someone else was desperately needed. I put the flowers in a vase of water, then grabbed a couple of beers and we went out to sit at the table on my back screen porch. It was a warm day and I needed the fresh air.
“No class today?” I asked.
“No. It’s testing week and I’ve already completed all of mine, so I have the next three days off. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind, so I decided to bring gifts and see if I could entice you to spend time with me.”
“I’m persona non grata these days. Why would you actively seek me out to spend time with me?” Yes, I was feeling sorry for myself. Sue me.
“You are brilliant and beautiful, caring and kind. Why wouldn’t I want to spend time with you? That ass-wipe of a reporter and her twisting of your words? That’s not your fault. You tried to clear your name and people got all butt hurt.”
“And people believe the worst about me. I can’t change that,” I said.
“It will change with time, when you show them with deeds, not words, that they are wrong. There’s another reason I wanted to spend time with you,” Drake said.
“That reaction when we touched,” I said.
“Yes, that reaction when we touched. I’d like to touch you again,” Drake said, his voice so very soft. When I looked over, he had his hand out, palm up, in invitation. I didn’t reach for it for a span of a few heartbeats, then I slowly reached over and placed my hand palm down on his.
We both sucked in a breath as the tingling spread from our hands and up our
arms. “It feels like I’m holding a static charge,” Drake said.
I stared at my hand in his, then lifted my gaze to meet his eyes. His eyes, once brown with gold flecks had turned into shimmering gold and I couldn’t resist the urge to lean over and kiss him. He met me halfway and when our lips met, I stopped thinking. Time spun, my body hummed, and when we pulled back to catch our breath, I found myself seated in his lap, both of my arms wound around his neck, and his hands under my shirt against the skin of my back.
“Woah,” I whispered and he smiled.
“Woah, indeed. I don’t think there’s any question, Sidonie Marie. You are my Chosen.”
“What is your full name?” I asked.
“Drake Edward Eldhress. I was born on the slopes of Mt. Hood in Washington state, have lived in a few places over time, and am coming up on my eightieth birthday. Is that too old for you?”
“Age is just a number. I learned that with Grams and the Commander. Besides, I don’t think we get to decide I’m too young or you’re too old since we just found out we’re Chosen.”
“I will admit, I had pretty much given up on ever finding a Chosen mate. I’ve been bonded once before, but she died five years later. Sariah and I grew up together and it was just…expected. She was never strong and healthy, so I was just happy I could give her some love and light in the time she had. That was a long, long time ago, so you are not going to be living with a shadow in this relationship.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” I said. “I had decided I would just enjoy life and not worry about marriage and a family. I don’t want that for another thirty years at least.”
“Then we won’t seal the bond,” Drake said. “We’ve got time. Let’s get to know each other, spend time together, and see where it leads. I’m not in any rush to settle down with a family, either. Although, I will say I’m glad we found each other. I’m pretty tired of dating and having to explain that no, I don’t want kids right now.”
