by Thorne, Elle
“But you have someone you’re interested in?” Rafe continued, drawing closer, his body almost touching hers.
“I thought I did.” She took another shot off the table and downed it, swallowing the burn, the bitterness of the alcohol, and, with it, swallowing Vittorio’s rejection.
“Hmmm. Let me guess…” He tapped his chin, a very strong jaw line attached to the chin, with very full lips countering the powerful jaw line. “My brother?”
Callie gasped then bit a reply back. How pathetically obvious she must be. “Doesn’t matter.” Vittorio hadn’t made another move. If anything, he had avoided her.
“He is practically engaged. To Natalya.” Rafe shrugged.
Everything began to spin for Callie when Rafe said that. She gripped the table to keep from wobbling. Then the guard she’d always had slipped into place. The same guard that all those years had helped her cope with her life. Oh, well, what’s new? She’d been rejected all her life, shuffled from foster home to foster home, on her own at seventeen. This should barely surprise her.
“No,” Sophie said.
“That’s what Natalya said,” Rafe countered.
“Not exactly,” Lila popped off.
The “not exactly” thing wasn’t exactly comforting or encouraging to Callie. She reached for another shot. “Doesn’t matter,” she muttered. “I’ll probably be fired tomorrow.”
“I doubt that.” Rafe took the shot away from her. “I don’t think you really need this one. Why would you be fired, anyway?”
It didn’t matter anyway if she was going to be fired. It sounded like Vittorio had moved on. Screw it. She forced a smile. “Let’s dance.”
Hours later, sweaty and drunk off her ass, she was still thinking of Vax even though Rafe had been attentive and sweet the entire time they’d been at the club.
Time… She had no idea how much time had passed. Before she knew it, the place was closing, and the glaring overhead lights were on. She was blinded, and Rafe seemed to find it amusing she was blinking and still couldn’t get anything to come into focus. Anna, Sophie, and Lila were laughing and talking about breakfast.
Callie’s head spun. Food didn’t even sound good. Nothing sounded good. If it weren’t for the tequila buzz, she wouldn’t be numb. She’d feel. And what she’d feel was—Well, she didn’t want to feel what she would feel. She knew how she’d feel. It all centered around Vittorio. And she needed to get her mind off him. Talk about your hopeless causes.
“I’m going home.” She reached in her purse to pull out her phone and call for a cab.
“Not alone, not like that,” Anna said, taking her purse.
“Hey, I was just going to call a cab.”
Rafe took the purse from Anna’s hands. “I’ll get her home, make sure she’s safe then I’ll meet you three for breakfast. My sisters and I have some catching up to do.”
A cab ride later, most of which Callie had spent drifting in and out of catnaps, they arrived in front of her apartment complex. Rafe held her up while they managed the stairs to her second-floor apartment. He unlocked the door and helped her inside.
Callie made it three paces then collapsed on the couch. “Everything is spinning.”
Rafe sat on the edge of the couch, watching her.
Why was he looking at her like that? “Wh-wha-whut?”
She barely managed to slur it out, couldn’t even remember what the hell she was going to say. She closed her eyes, but everything was spinning. Callie grabbed her head and jerked herself to a sitting position, her eyes flying open.
Rafe’s intensely blue eyes were unreadable. His face was enigmatic. He was probably a heartbreaker, wherever he was from. Too bad she still cared for his brother.
Ugh. His brother, who was out of town, with that… with Natalya.
“Why—” She swallowed hard. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just making sure you crash out and don’t start puking.”
“You have no idea the shit I’ve seen tonight,” she said, and closed her eyes.
Chapter Thirteen
Vax ran his hands over his face. He’d joined Veila in the hot tub. So much for going after Callie. So much for talking to her. So much for asking her out. He heaved an exasperated sigh. Damn Natalya. She managed to screw things up even when she wasn’t around. “I don’t have a choice.” He really didn’t. He’d have to go after Natalya.
“It’s not your job to save Natalya. Call her father.” Veila slapped the water, splashing both of them.
He reached for a small towel and tossed it her way. “Think about it. If we can’t protect someone in our own territory, imagine the implications. Rival tribes will try to jump us.”
She blotted her face with the towel. “And we’ll kick their asses for trying.”
He held up his hand, shaking his head. “I’m not done. There’s more. This could jeopardize our alliance with her father’s tribe. It won’t matter she’s a headstrong, impetuous brat.” That would have killed Callie. “At least Callie’s safe now. It’s not like Natalya can hurt her while she’s being held captive.” He paused, thinking about his options. “There’s no other way. I have to retrieve her and then drop her back in her father’s lap, once and for all.”
Veila grimaced. “You could get killed looking for her and never find her. Or say you don’t get killed, and then you do find her. What if you can’t save her? And what if you save her? Assuming you can save her, and you’re not killed in the process, and she’s not already dead when you find her? Say all those things fall into place.” Veila had a disbelieving look on her face and in her tone. “Then what?” She fired her questions off in a barrage of clipped sentences.
Christ, that was a hard set of statements to keep up with. He looked at the glass on the side of the hot tub. “That thing isn’t helping you make any sense. I told you I’ll deliver her ass to her father, with an answer. The answer is no to the offer she and I be married.” And then he could finally ask Callie out.
Veila shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I see I can’t talk you out of it. So what do you want me to do?” She was clearly resigned to his decision. “And what do I tell the others?”
He knew she didn’t just mean Sophie and Lila. There were the shifters who worked security and the shifters who worked in a few of the business offices in Tiero Towers Two.
She balled up the towel and threw it back at him. “And what about Rafe?”
Rafe. Yeah, he had to deal with him, too. “Run After Dark. Get the three million together. Tell everyone… tell them I’m out of town.” He paused. They’d wonder where Natalya was. And if word got to her father she was missing, then—shit! “Tell them I’m out of town with Natalya.” His stomach soured. “That way they won’t wonder where she is.” He got out of the tub and wrapped a large towel around his waist. He was still sore, and still had a few internal wounds that needed to heal.
“I’ll raise the cash for the ransom. And Rafe?”
It was his turn to sigh. “Offer our brother the hospitality a family member is due.” Now his stomach flipped upside down, but he couldn’t do anything else about Rafe. He wasn’t going to put Veila in the middle of his issues with his brother. Vax would take care of him as soon as he returned.
Chapter Fourteen
Callie woke up disgruntled, hung over, and confused. She was in her bed. That wasn’t where she’d fallen asleep, though.
Oh, God. She was naked under the sheet. Had she had sex? Wouldn’t she remember if she had? Would she? She’d been pretty drunk. She threw a T-shirt and shorts on, ran out of her room and straight to the only room that had sounds coming from it.
Shit. Please don’t let it be Rafe in the kitchen. And if it is Rafe, please let him be dressed. Wait a minute. She knew herself. She’d never do that. Not with Rafe. Not when she felt the way she did about Vittorio. No. Never. Then she remembered, though she was still in a haze, someone had mentioned Vittorio was engaged to Natalya.
Callie peeked in
the kitchen. It was Anna, unloading the dishwasher. Thank goodness it wasn’t Rafe. Each dish Anna took out and placed in the cupboard sounded like she was tossing grenades.
Callie held her head, the sound of the dishes sheer torture.
Anna looked up from her task. “Hey.” She did a double take. “Damn. You look harsh. I’m making breakfast. Want some?”
Callie rubbed her temples. “How long have you been here?”
“Here? You mean like, when did I get home?” Anna took a frying pan out. “Pancakes? Or fried eggs?”
Callie’s tummy flipped, and not in a good way. She wondered if she were turning all kinds of shades of green. She took a deep breath to keep the contents of her stomach from coming up in a violent upheaval. Did she even have any stomach contents left? “I guess what I’m saying is, did anyone leave?”
“Leave?” Anna cocked her head then realization crossed over her face. “Oh, no, you didn’t!” she screeched.
Callie put both hands over her ears. “For the love of chocolate. Please keep the decibel level down.”
“Sorryyy.” Anna smiled apologetically and took the eggs out of the refrigerator. “But did you? Are you trading one brother for another?”
The thought made Callie grab her stomach. Or was it the tequila’s aftereffects? “Don’t be silly. Anyway, it sounds like Vittorio has plans with Natalya.”
“Why don’t you just call him Vax? That’s what his family and friends call him.”
Callie was starting to think of him that way, but she shouldn’t. “I’m his employee.” For now; probably soon to be ex-employee. “That doesn’t give me the right to do that.”
Anna’s mischievous look transformed into a sly smile. “Did you do Rafe? He’s hotter than Vax.”
“No. And no, he’s not.” Callie stomped out of the kitchen, went to her room, closed the blinds all the way, and slipped between the cool sheets. Had Rafe taken her clothes off? Had she done anything with him?
Jesus. She didn’t need these complications.
It was seven in the evening when Callie woke up again. She stretched, loathing the idea of getting out of bed. Sure, she’d woken up in time for work. The problem was her mind and body weren’t in agreement as to whether she should be at work or not. Every few moments, she prayed to the porcelain goddess. She had never drunk the way she had last night. Why? Why had she done that?
She knew the answer. Simple, really. Vittorio. Vax. Whatever.
She wasn’t sure she could handle the loud music tonight. But what the hell choice did she have? She got up and showered, did her face, and headed in, regretting every moment because she walked in with a hangover. Her day sucked already. Pounding head, cotton mouth, stomach protesting.
Anna gave her one look and shook her head. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Callie looked toward the stairs. She didn’t want Vax to see her this way.
“He’s not here,” Anna said.
“He’s not?” She didn’t have the right to ask or wonder, but still. “Where…? What…?”
Then shit got worse. A lot worse, real fast.
“He’s out of town with Natalya,” Anna said. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was low.
Callie leaned against the wall. It felt like someone was using a Roto Rooter on her tummy, relentlessly.
She hiccupped once then, without warning, the contents of her stomach projectile-vomited out onto the counter and the mirror of the employee dressing room. She clapped her hands over her mouth, but it was way too late.
“Oh, God.” Anna reached for a paper towel and wet it under the faucet. “Let me take you home.”
“No. I need to work.” Callie reached for support, holding on to the counter with a white-knuckled grip.
“You can’t. You’re a mess. It’s okay. We’ll cover you.” Anna led her out of the room, holding her hand, pressing a wet, cool paper towel to her forehead.
And Callie ran right into a solid man-wall. She fell back against Anna.
Rafe.
“Hi.” Rafe took a look at Callie, his expression one of concern. “You don’t look so hot.”
Callie grimaced. “Thanks. Not.” It wasn’t nice hearing she looked like shit from the brother of the man she was still in love with.
“I’m sending her home,” Anna told Rafe.
He put his hand on Callie’s elbow, and his other arm around her waist. “Let me take her.”
Oh, hell to the no.
Chapter Fifteen
Before Vax left Tiero Tower One, he stopped by the quarters housing Tiero Security, a group of shifters loyal to the Tiero family. They doubled as bouncers for After Hours, but their main task was security. Not the oppressive or prohibitive type of security; they just kept an eye on the perimeter and made sure matters were amiable and drama was kept away from Tiero territory and the Tiero Towers.
Before Vax could reach for the door leading to the main suite of the bouncers, it opened wide. Gavin, one of his two top guys, was waiting for him, having sensed his approach.
Vax looked at the men comfortably splayed out on the sectional and the oversized chairs. To the unobservant and unknowing, they looked like relaxed, chilling guys, but a closer look revealed their inner predators were ready for action. Always.
“Gavin, got a moment?”
“Sure.” Gavin turned toward the private meeting room.
Vax wasn’t a small man by anyone’s standards, far from it, but Gavin was a giant of a shifter. His father and Vax’s had been close friends growing up, and Vax and Gavin were equally close. They’d been raised together, growing up on the streets of Rome and Athens during the summertime, and sent to boarding schools in England during the winter. Gavin was far, far more than just security.
Gavin closed the door behind him. “What’s going on?”
“Need you to keep this quiet. Natalya’s missing. I got a phone call. Someone claiming to have her. Asking for three million in ransom.”
Gavin’s eyes closed slightly. His lids only partially hid his suspicion. He shook his head. “Not from here, she wasn’t.”
Gavin wasn’t one for many words, never had been. His tiger did the talking for him, and if someone was on the wrong side of Gavin, they were on the wrong side of his tiger. The very wrong side. Vax had seen that in person, and the other side never fared well.
He trusted Gavin. If Gavin said Natalya hadn’t been taken from the towers, she hadn’t been. Then that meant she’d left and…
That was the problem. He didn’t know what came after the “and” part.
“I didn’t think anyone would have gotten past you. I’m sure you’d have told me if anything had happened.”
“I’ll get right on it,” Gavin announced.
Vax shook his head. “No. I’ll take care of this.”
“I’m not comfortable with the head of the North American Tiero being out there looking for information.”
“No one must know. I’ll go. If anyone asks about me or her”—Vax tapped his fingers on his thigh impatiently—” refer them to Veila.”
Gavin made a fist, clearly unhappy with not having a role in assisting, then nodded. The best leaders knew when to be followers. “She running things?”
Vax nodded, chewing on the inside of his lip, ready to get on the road and sort this crap out.
“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Gavin assured him.
Vax knew he would. Gavin would be perfect backup for Veila; that wasn’t something that concerned him. Plus, he never had any doubt about Veila’s abilities. She’d run things better than he did.
“What about Lila?” Gavin asked, and Vax was surprised it had taken him so long to bring it up.
Gavin was still in love with Lila, though their relationship was long over.
“She’s staying,” Vax said, feeling for his friend, knowing what it was like to love someone and not have her. But some things just weren’t meant to be. He thought of one more thing he was hesitant to ask. “Ah, maybe have someone keep an e
ye on…”
Gavin cocked his head, waiting for Vax to finish his sentence.
Shit, he couldn’t. He was going to ask Gavin to have someone keep an eye on Callie, but he wasn’t ready to let that out, not even to Gavin. Not that he didn’t trust Gavin to keep a secret; Vax didn’t want to put him in a position where he’d have to lie for Vax if it came out Vax wanted a human. It wouldn’t be fair to ask Gavin to keep that a secret from the elders.
“Never mind, I got it.” Vax opened the door. “I’ll keep you posted. Call me if you hear or see anything.”
Gavin gave him a solid, clipped nod.
Chapter Sixteen
Callie leaned against the elevator’s back wall, deliberately staying away from Rafe. It wasn’t that he tempted her, though God knew the man would tempt any breathing woman—except for the one who was in love with Vax. She didn’t want to lead him on.
When they reached the bottom floor, she took a few steps. She thought she’d be okay until she stumbled out of the elevator. Quicker than she could react, Rafe grabbed her arm and was in front of her, and she fell into his chest and solid abdomen. It wasn’t lost on her how muscular the man was, just like his brother. It also wasn’t lost on her his brother was out of town with another woman. She couldn’t stop thinking of him.
This was becoming ridiculous. She looked up at Rafe. Why couldn’t she just start caring for him?
He opened the door and helped Callie into the car. He drove carefully, considerate of her condition, but no matter how carefully anyone would have driven, it didn’t help Callie’s tummy or her head as she leaned back against the headrest. Each turn made her head spin and her stomach flip. This was the most epic hangover ever.
Who am I kidding? This isn’t about tequila alone. A huge portion of what ailed her was the devastation over Vax being out of town with Natalya. That sealed the deal, didn’t it?
