“Hey,” he protested.
From behind her, Callie felt movement and with ease she evaded the man’s grasp, broke into a run and leapt up the steps. Three long strides and she flung the door open.
She’d meant to call out for her sister, but as she entered the house, she was brought up short by a little girl in a nightdress. The blonde child stood in a hall leading to the kitchen. It occurred to Callie that dashing into a stranger’s home was perhaps not her most-well-thought-out action ever, but she’d been worried about Ruth after Dark Eyes had gone into a trance.
She heard him shut the door. The little girl’s blue gaze moved from Callie to the man behind her. Relief showed on her small face and her shoulders relaxed. Callie felt bad that she had scared the young.
“Dev?” The girl tried to edge towards this Dev while keeping a good distance from the strange woman who’d barged into her home.
Callie turned and backed up, allowing the child to get by her.
“Hey, Madison, you should be sleeping.” His voice was calm, reassuring, but his body language was not. His lean body—near Callie’s height, perhaps a little taller—screamed tension, and his fist was clenched before he unfurled it to place a hand on Madison’s head and stroke a mess of blonde hair.
Madison jammed a thumb in her mouth and curled an arm around Dev’s leg. After a few moments of silence, while Callie debated the merits of asking after Ruth again, Madison pulled out her thumb and fixed her gaze on Callie. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Callie.” She paused, then added hopefully, “Ruth’s sister?”
Madison’s face lit up while Dev’s just darkened.
“I like Ruth,” the girl declared.
“So do I.” Callie heard footsteps above her, tentative but definitely belonging to a human. “Ruth?” she shouted.
“Omygod!” came back with that familiar squeal, and relief flooded Callie. Ruth was alive and moving, given that Callie now heard feet thundering down the stairs. She strode through the hall as Ruth reached the landing and, without stopping, launched herself into Callie’s arms. Under the force of Ruth’s airborne embrace, Callie staggered back. Her shoulders hit the wall. The contact shook Callie, not just physically, but emotionally. It had been more than a year since she’d last seen Ruth, and during that time no one else had done much more than shake Callie’s hand.
She shuddered in a breath and another, to fight the sensation of being overwhelmed, then locked her legs, to make sure her knees didn’t buckle as she leaned back against the wall.
“I’m so glad to see you,” Ruth declared fiercely, her voice low.
Ruth had never been quite this intense in her greeting, although the absence of joy also puzzled Callie. Usually Ruth would disengage and begin jumping around, but she clung until Callie set Ruth down to inspect her. Making sure she was in one piece, Callie touched her sister’s head and face, checking for bruises until Ruth batted her hands away impatiently.
“Stop that, I’m fine. I’m just glad to see you,” Ruth added, at Callie’s frown.
Callie released a long, shaky breath. Ruth was safe. In fact, she looked healthier than usual, as if she might be eating properly, which was not exactly Ruth’s habit. She also didn’t smell of nicotine. Weird. Callie was hard-pressed to imagine her sister had quit smoking.
Ruth stared up at her with shining eyes. “Now you can fix everything.”
“Fix everything?” Generally, Callie beat up the latest bully that Ruth called a boyfriend and moved Ruth to a safer locale. “You mean…Scott?”
“Callie has to go. Immediately.” The voice seemed to come out of nowhere and Callie almost jumped at the intrusion. She’d been so preoccupied by this reunion that she’d completely forgotten about Dev whose persona had undergone a rather rapid change in the short time she’d been acquainted with him. Right now his commanding tone brooked no argument and Callie was irritated. Did he think that being male gave him some kind of authority over her? Wrong. Trey’s authority had been earned and Callie doubted she’d ever admire anyone again.
“Excuse me?” asked Callie in, she thought, an intimidating manner. When she injected some anger into her voice, humans often reacted with unease. As if they sensed she wasn’t quite one of them.
But Dev ignored Callie and stared at Ruth, a rather haggard air to him now. His dark eyes were mesmerizing, an observation that somehow surprised her, even made her feel rather warm despite the circumstances. Ruth, however, didn’t appear much affected by Dev or his eyes.
Instead, she placed an arm around Callie’s waist and, like a twelve-year-old, tossed her head at him. “My big sister stays with me.”
Madison had followed Dev down the hall and reached up to pull at his shirt, thumb again in mouth, so Dev bent to pick her up.
“Why would I have to go?” For the child’s sake, Callie made it a point to sound conversational, not confrontational. At first impression, Dev had seemed reasonable. Surely that couldn’t be a complete illusion.
Despite her question, Callie didn’t actually plan to stay here long. Taking off was her usual modus operandi when she rescued Ruth. However, Dev’s reaction to Callie’s appearance made her curious.
Dev’s gaze never left Ruth. He didn’t acknowledge Callie’s question. A little rude. Callie was a person too. Okay, she was shifter, but Dev sure as heck didn’t know that.
“It’s not safe for your sister to stay,” he told Ruth. He gazed at her as if his eyes were sending a coded message to Ruth who would understand. Underneath the flat words was a kind of…entreaty?
Ruth evidently refused to understand. “Callie can look after herself. She’s strong.”
Dev jerked his head, an impatient gesture. “Can I speak to you in private, Ruth?” Although phrased as a question, it was still a demand.
Ruth dug in her heels, and Callie sensed uncertainty behind the stubbornness. “No. I don’t hide anything from my sister.”
“You don’t, eh?” His lips twisted. Cynicism overlay his tension. “God help me, that’s rich.”
Beside her, Ruth stared right back at Dev, expression belligerent, but she did begin biting her nails.
“What do you mean by that?” Callie asked Dev. She’d started out liking the guy, because he’d wanted to help her when he’d thought she was hurt. Then she’d softened when Madison had turned to him for comfort and safety. Callie had even been relieved he wasn’t Scott. But now? Well his attitude sucked. She needed to get Ruth out of here.
Dev again had this air of looking for what he wanted to say and being unable to find the words. It went on for some time and Callie stood there impatiently while Ruth seemed to find the silence normal, if not boring. Finally Dev swallowed and his shoulders bowed. Callie thought the look of defeat was overly melodramatic.
He turned his gaze on her, the first time during this exchange. “I’ve never even heard that Ruth had a sister.” His suspicious tone suggested that Ruth had deliberately hidden a crucial fact.
Callie expected Ruth to qualify their relationship and explain about their being foster sisters, but she just drew closer to Callie, nestling into her shoulder.
“I kept it private.” Ruth looked up, her expression pleading, as if she’d offered Callie a great insult. “That’s why, Callie. Privacy.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said automatically, though she didn’t remember Ruth ever valuing privacy before. Found it a bit odd, truth be told. Then again, why should Ruth talk to this jerk about Callie? Wasn’t that the bigger issue?
Okay, the entire conversation was weird. She thought. Maybe Callie wasn’t used to human conversation, being cat too often. Even taking that into account, everything felt off. Ruth’s pleading. Dev’s silences. He might be some kind of control freak. Though Callie frowned slightly as Madison burrowed into him, eyelids drooping while Dev absentmindedly gave her a pat on the back. An affectionate control freak prone to trances?
Squeezing Ruth’s shoulders, Callie said, “Let’s sleep o
n it. We can talk in the morning.”
“I’m putting Madison back to bed,” Dev growled at Ruth and stalked by them and up the stairs.
Once Dev was out of sight, Callie whispered, “What is his problem? He seems kind of erratic. Ruth, why are you living with him?”
No longer meeting Callie’s gaze, Ruth actually shuffled her feet, and Callie was reminded of that period of time when Ruth used to sneak out to buy crystal meth with her friends. Callie could almost hear the alarm bells ringing in her head, spurred on by her sister’s suddenly shifty behavior. Fuck.
“What is it, Ruth?” Callie kept her voice low, even.
“Dev’s okay.” Ruth shrugged. “It’s his house, after all.”
“So…you’re with him?” They hadn’t acted like lovers that Callie could tell, but she was no expert.
“No, I’m Scott’s.”
Callie didn’t much like that description.
“Dev just helps out,” Ruth added as if that completely clarified their relationship. “He likes helping people.”
“Uh, ‘helps out’? What does that mean?”
“It means he’s helpful.”
“You’re being evasive, Ruth. What’s going on?”
“You’re here.” Ruth looked up, her smile brilliant again, a little too forced and yet there was meaning behind it. “I’m so glad to see you.”
Okay, questions weren’t getting answered. Callie decided to give up on them. Time to focus on action. “We have to get you out of here.”
Ruth immediately shook her head. “I can’t leave.”
“You can’t leave,” Callie repeated slowly, trying to make sense of this.
“No.”
“Because…?”
Ruth licked her lips. “I stay here.”
“Because…?”
Ruth’s gaze darted left, right, even down.
“Help me out here, Ruth. Come on.” She paused. Waiting. “Give me something to work with. Because you’re not making a lot of sense.” While Callie still hoped that maybe her limited human interaction was clouding her judgment and everything was just peachy, Ruth’s demeanor suggested no such thing.
“Don’t ask, okay, Callie?” That pleading again, this time in her voice since her face was hidden.
Callie felt tired. It was late and Ruth’s behavior was freaking her out. No doubt Callie was reacting to the shift back into human society. She needed some time to adjust to people. The only person she’d spent much time with lately had been Trey, a closemouthed werewolf, who could hardly prepare her for normal human interaction. “Why don’t we sleep on it?”
“That’s a great idea.”
“It is?” Hardly a genius idea, despite Ruth’s oddball enthusiasm.
Ruth was already walking up the stairs, looking back to beckon Callie forward. As Callie caught up, Ruth spoke again. “I don’t care what Dev thinks. I’m glad you’re here. You’re strong.”
“Uh-huh.” Callie couldn’t remember Ruth ever praising her strength before. She hoped Ruth made more sense in the morning.
Chapter Three
Callie woke as soon as feet hit the floor—Dev’s, she assumed. The footsteps were too heavy to be Madison’s, and Ruth still slept beside her on this queen-sized bed.
They hadn’t talked more last night. A year apart, and Ruth had definitely changed. She didn’t want to talk. Well, beyond declaring an uncomfortable number of times that she was very glad Callie was here.
Callie needed to think. Observe and think, because, yeah, she was so insightful when it came to people. She ground her teeth—quietly—and wished she had more human experience to draw upon in order to figure out what was going on. The situation was new and didn’t resemble any of Ruth’s past living arrangements.
Ruth seemed nervous, her words and actions forced, including throwing herself into Callie’s arms. Had that display been for Dev? God knows, Ruth had an unnerving tendency to try to be whoever her current boyfriend wanted her to be, though doting sister was not usually a quality her men looked for.
And Dev didn’t fit the mold of men Ruth was drawn to. Okay, maybe he brooded and hinted at dire consequences, but there’d been no violence simmering beneath the surface, ready to let loose. When he’d gotten fed up with Ruth, he went and put a little girl to bed.
So perhaps the absent Scott fit the mold. Except he wasn’t even here.
Opening her eyes, Callie looked at the stippled ceiling and gave up on piecing together the puzzle of Ruth. Time to convince her sister to leave, and if that somehow didn’t work, Callie would meet Scott and see how he fit into this household.
Callie lay still and listened while Dev made Madison pancakes—goodness, what an attentive soul he was—and Madison whined about the orange juice. Then the low background noise of a TV began.
A while later Ruth slid out of bed, and Callie allowed her to think she still slept, curious as to what Ruth would do next. It was nothing surprising. She got dressed and stumbled downstairs to make coffee and talk to Dev. Callie’s hearing was exceptional, but she couldn’t understand Dev’s low-level muttering with the TV on. All she could decipher was Ruth’s repeated “we’re not supposed to talk” until Dev raised his voice to declare he was not talking.
Huh?
Then he slammed out of the house and Callie decided now was as good a time as any to get out of bed.
She made her way down and found Ruth in the kitchen munching on a pancake. Ruth pointed a fork to a plate of them. “Dig in.”
“He made enough breakfast for us all?” asked Callie.
“Of course.” The question surprised Ruth. “Dev always cooks.”
“Of course.”
Unaware of the sarcasm, Ruth slid out of the kitchen and into the den. Callie followed to observe from the doorway that Madison was sucking on her thumb and watching a commercial for McDonald’s.
“It’s ten o’clock,” Ruth announced. “Time for Sesame Street. You remember Sesame Street, don’t you, Callie?”
“Ah yes,” she answered slowly. She nibbled her pancake, savoring the human food after months of doing without. It was quite good, though Callie was not a fussy eater. Gazing out the window, she saw a well-groomed backyard and beyond that the woods from which she had come last night.
“Callie,” called Ruth.
Callie walked away from the view and over to her sister. “What?”
Ruth patted the cushion beside her, as if Callie should be excited by Big Bird’s entry onto the screen. “Sit with me.”
“I don’t like watching TV, remember?” It made her restless.
“Oh.” Ruth shrugged, but before she could focus on the TV again, Callie tugged on Ruth’s arm, pulling her up from the couch. Reluctantly, her little sister followed Callie out of the room.
“What?” Ruth demanded, apparently annoyed to be missing Big Bird’s morning debut.
“I think,” Callie began, “we’d better talk, especially since Dev is out.”
This suggestion caused Ruth some alarm for she stepped back, her gaze sliding away. “Dev will return soon. He always does.”
“Okay.” Callie bit her lip. She felt somewhat at sea. “Just tell me, what is the scoop on you and Dev? Why are you living in his house?”
Ruth cast about for an answer, acting baffled by the question. Callie was eerily reminded of Dev last night when he hadn’t answered simple questions. “Ruth?” she said softly.
“I thought you didn’t like to chat.” At least Ruth wasn’t going into a trance like Dev seemed to, but it wasn’t much of an answer.
“Sometimes I do.”
“Since when?”
“Since now, when my little sister started acting so weird.”
“You’re not even my real sister.”
Callie rubbed her forehead. “Then why’d you email me for help?”
“I didn’t.” Ruth lifted a shoulder, aiming for a casual gesture, but the attempt was marred by those darting eyes. Callie couldn’t remember Ruth darting he
r eyes around before. It disturbed her.
“So you don’t want me here?” Callie didn’t know if she was hurt or pissed, but before she could decide Ruth threw arms around Callie’s neck and fervently declared, “Of course, I want you here. I love you.” Ruth never said she loved anyone. “I want you here but just don’t talk so much, okay?” She pulled Callie closer, causing her neck to bend uncomfortably. “You know?”
“I do not know.” Callie didn’t keep the irritation out of her voice, and Ruth let go, backing up, face wary, a little defiant. Callie reached out to stop her. “You don’t like Sesame Street, for God’s sakes.”
“I do too.”
“Ruth, now you’re scaring me.”
Ruth’s voice lowered to a whisper. “It’s just better to keep quiet.” She cast a furtive glance at the door.
“Are you scared of Dev?”
“Dev?” Ruth looked incredulous. “How could I be scared of Dev?”
“You tell me.”
“Don’t be silly, Callie. He’s like me. He’s fine. He cooks.”
Okay.
Madison appeared in the doorway, big blue eyes gazing up at Callie. “I’m not scared of Dev. Ruth isn’t either. Because Dev’s our friend. He looks after us.”
Callie pulled in a breath, not really wanting the child to enter into this bizarre conversation. She just nodded, to acknowledge what Madison had said. Then tried to shift the topic. “How old are you, Madison?”
“Seven. How old are you?”
Callie had to think for a moment.
Ruth rolled her eyes. “Twenty-eight, Callie. Why do you never remember your age?” She turned to Madison. “Eight years older than me and she sometimes thinks she’s my mother.” Ruth’s laugh sounded a bit hollow.
Into the awkward silence that followed, Madison asked Callie, “Are you my friend?”
Callie, after a brief pause, decided to say “Yes.”
Madison gave her a sweet smile. “Are you Scott’s?”
“Don’t ask that,” Ruth snapped and Madison cringed.
“Ruth,” chided Callie. Her sister could have a little more patience for the child who was actually quite charming.
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