by Cat Miller
Candice couldn’t apologize for what she’d said to Greyson, because frankly she wasn’t sorry. If she had it to do again maybe she would have held her tongue in an effort to get closer to Greyson before giving her opinion on his relationship with a neophyte.
“Come on, Greyson. Can’t we just start over? I realize that I insulted you and that wasn’t my intention. I hate this tension between us. We are going to be working closely together for a while and I’d hate for every moment to be uncomfortable because I put my foot in my mouth.”
There. That was as close to an apology as she would ever get. Some of the steel seemed to melt out of Greyson’s spine and he looked off into the distance, contemplating her request for a do over.
“I get it that you’re not attracted to me. We were becoming friends before. That’s all I’m asking for, just a chance to go back to where we were.”
Greyson shook his head and went back to stowing his gear in the truck. They would be deploying in just over an hour and it was going to be damned miserable if this was his attitude. Fine then. She’d be damned if she would beg any man for anything. If he wanted to be an ass, that was his prerogative. Before she made it to the door, he spoke up.
“It’s not that I’m not attracted to you, Candice. I sometimes find myself a little too interested. I don’t want you to think I declined your invitation because you’re lacking in any way, because trust me, you’re not. The issue is that I’m in an exclusive relationship and I want to keep it that way. End of story. I hope you can respect that and let it go.”
“As much as I may hate it at the moment, I do respect the fact that you’re a loyal man and I think that your…” hold your tongue. Do not say anything like tart, or playmate, or arm candy, or infant, “girlfriend is a lucky lady. I’ll go so you can get this wrapped up.”
“Don’t go too far. We roll in an hour.” His tone was decidedly friendlier.
Candice just nodded and went to fetch her duffle and gear from her SUV.
****
Derek was hiding in the back seat of Candice’s truck. He had purposely spent the night before at her place. He knew from a previous conversation that she would be leaving on a field trip with the Wrath in the morning. He needed to get into the Enclave and she was his ticket.
He enjoyed his evening with his adoptive big sister because he feared it would be his last. If she ever found out that he had used her this way, Candice would never forgive him. It would be the end of the only loving relationship of his life.
“So, tell me about your Wrath crush. Have you made any headway with him yet?”
Derek knew damn well that Brandi was still seeing Malibu Ken. He had followed her to the Enclave a couple of days ago and she never came back out. According to his contact Greyson had some time off before this trip. Derek’s stomached turned. Ever since he had tasted the sweet perfection of Brandi kisses it tore him apart to think of her sharing them with someone else. He wanted them to be his kisses.
“No.” She turned away to hide her dejection. “I actually screwed up good. After the last trip I asked him for a date. He turned me down because he has a girlfriend. The word girl is the key in that sentence. I kind of implied that she was just a kid, so it really didn’t matter to me because he is surely just with her to get in her pants anyway.”
Derek winced. If anyone had talked about Brandi like that in his presence, he would’ve made sure it never happened again. Just pushing Candice at Greyson would not be enough to bring the big man around. Further intervention would be needed.
“Alright. That was bad. Do you want my advice?” he asked.
“It can’t hurt. He only speaks to me if he absolutely has to now.” She reached into the fridge and came back with a quart of chocolate overload and two spoons.
“I think you should apologize…” She raised an imperious eyebrow. “Apologize to the best of your ability. You don’t have to actually be sorry, but if you want to get back into his good graces you have to start somewhere.”
She shrugged and dug into her chocolate therapy.
“Once you are on speaking terms, you can do what I told you before and show him what a real woman can provide. Act like you’re just being friendly and include the whole team in your conversations so he doesn’t feel like you’re cornering him until he’s ready to relax around you again. Do they go out for drinks after shift change the way cops do?”
She nodded, “Sometimes.”
“I’m not suggesting you need it or anything, but maybe if you all go out as group and you find him something a little tipsy to suck on it would loosen his strictly loyal moral code. I bet just one kiss from you and he would forget that girl’s name.”
Not likely, but Brandi would forget Greyson’s name when she found out he had strayed and Derek knew Candice would be sure Brandi found out.
Candice humphed and dug around the ice cream container, “I’ve actually thought of that myself. I swear there is some definite chemistry between us. He just won’t give into it. I was thinking if I could get him loosened up and out on the dance floor his body would take over for his brain. It just seems a little desperate to me. Dishonest too. I’m out of my depth here. I’ve never had to pursue a male before. It sucks. I really like him a lot.”
Derek pulled her to him and crushed her in a bear hug. They played a few hands of Gin Rummy before turning in for the night. During the game, Candice had confessed having trouble sleeping while she was on assignment. Being in close proximity to her crush while he slept shirtless in a pair of boxers had her mind spinning in circles and her body aching. She feared the lack of rest would slow her reaction times and leave the team at risk. Derek gave her small vial of Hypno with instruction to use only one single drop and no more in whatever she was drinking before bed. It would guarantee her a solid six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. He knew. He used it from time to time.
When she questioned him, Derek explained that his doctor had found an all-natural formula for anxiety relief in humans that acted as a good sleep-aid for vamps. Candice was aware of Derek’s long history of nightmares and insomnia. She seemed to buy his story and accepted the medication. He didn’t want her making mistakes in the field and getting her head blown off.
In the morning after Derek said his good-byes, he hopped onto his bike and drove around the corner. Sneaking back with the spare key he had lifted from the key rack by the front door, he climbed into the floor of the backseat and was thankful Candice owned a larger vehicle. He pulled the blanket from her emergency kit and covered up with it. Candice loaded up her things in the rear of the truck and drove to the Enclave, never checking the backseat for intruders. Silly girl. She unknowingly smuggled him in to center of the warrior population. He hated the things he had to do, but in the end he had no choice.
****
After riding around for hours, Brandi parked and went to see the only person she believed might understand her. The fight with Grey had rocked her. She had been so sure New Brandi was the girl Grey would want and equally sure he had no idea she ever been any other way. Brandi had been certain all her new friends truly liked her and enjoyed the company of her new persona. She was wrong. Brandi knew Grey would never lie to her. He may not tell her everything she wanted to know but he wouldn’t lie. She believed he had heard the things people said about her and their acceptance of her only due to her family name.
She also had not made the conscious decision to leave Grey out of her social circle but she had. He would never be accepted in her circle because of his low breed status as a warrior. What a snob she had become if taking a date to an event with you and refusing to introduce him to your friends had become acceptable. They actually believed him to be a body guard. And why not? She had never said otherwise. It was amazing Grey had stayed with her this long. He was a strong, proud man and she had relegated him to being her babysitter instead of her lover in public. She needed help sorting all this out.
Brandi wanted to talk to Dani about her man troubles
but just before she entered the building that housed the downtown condo Dani and Chase shared, Brandi had a horrible realization. She couldn’t talk to her half-sister about Greyson without thinking about Derek. As much as Dani strived to control her telepathic power she would surely pick up more than Brandi could safely tell her. Dani had told her several times that people tend to broadcast their thoughts and feelings when they’re under stress. Her half-sister would be crushed if she knew Brandi was involved with the man that helped ruin her bonding ceremony.
Brandi beat a hasty retreat back to her car to find a tall, thin female in jeans, a dark hood pulled over her head and ballet flats, leaning against her hood. Brandi immediately went on the defensive. She felt relatively safe on the bustling city streets but she also felt safe at home and that’s were her brother and father were attacked. The thought of her baby brother being snatched from his bed while the rest of the family slept just down the hall made her blood boil.
Brandi stopped on the curb with the car between her and whoever this stranger was, “Can I help you?” she asked.
The female turned around and the shock nearly felled Brandi. Samantha pushed the hood off her head and glared down at her twin. It was impossible. It had never been seen before, not even when Sam was sick. Her clothing alone made her look like a stranger. Her platinum hair was pulled back in a messy knot. Her face was scrubbed clean of make-up but just as beautiful as ever in spite of the dark circles under her eyes. Her scowl was so fierce it pulled wrinkles into her forehead. Sam was really upset to allow her face to show expression. She rarely ever smiled in an effort to avoid laugh lines.
“Yes, you can help me,” she snapped at Brandi, “We need to do something about Mom and JR is a mess. Dad buries himself in his office if he comes home at all and you haven’t been there in days.”
“What’s wrong with JR?” Brandi’s heart skipped. She had worried about his experiences over the last year or so affecting him adversely but when she tried to talk to him, he just gave her a half smile and said, “I’m good,” in his best ‘hey man, I’m not a baby’ tone.
“He’s having nightmares again. He refuses to sleep in his own room so you never know where you will find him. He could be in the hall bathroom sleeping in the tub or in the coat closet in the family room. This morning when I went to breakfast I fell over a pile of table cloths. When I opened the sideboard doors I found him curled up in there. He had emptied the shelves and removed them to make room for a sleeping bag and a camping light. I don’t know if you have noticed, but at eleven years old JR is on his way to being as big as Dad. It was not a comfortable fit in that cabinet.” She took a deep breath and turned her face away, tears glistening in the warm brown eyes she had inherited from their mother.
“He’s terrified, Brandi.” She sniffed and stepped up onto the sidewalk, “He doesn’t believe we can protect him anymore and who can blame him?”
Sam shook her head, “Don’t even get me started on Mom. She is so self-absorbed. She’s so focused on the shame Dad has brought on the family and her, especially as his mate - Oh, woe is me - that she hasn’t even noticed anything is wrong with JR.” Sam imitated their mother perfectly. It was actually kind of creepy.
Okay. This was all bad news but something else was happening here. Nothing and I mean nothing she said explained Sam’s appearance. Not that anything was wrong with how Sam looked. To the contrary, as always Sam was beautiful but she had the look of your average fresh-faced college student. If there was anything Sam never wanted to be it was average.
Brandi took the chance of getting her eyes scratched out, stepping close to her twin and wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. Sam was a bit shocked and her face showed it.
“What’s going on with you, Sam? You alright?”
“I… It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m just going through some changes.” Sam wriggled out of the embrace and looked down at Brandi, scowl once again in place.
“I’m not good at dealing with emotional bullshit, so you need to get your ass home and help me out. I am not the best person to be counseling a preteen male. If our parents are going to be slackers, we have to step in and look after our brother.”
It was amazing. Sam had never shown anything more than mild interest in JR when he was a baby and as he grew into a rambunctious child, Sam treated like an annoyance she was forced to bear because selling children was illegal.
“I’ll be home later,” Brandi promised.
“Don’t make me hunt you down again,” Sam growled and walked away.
As Brandi hopped into her car she wondered exactly how Sam had “hunted her down.”
Needing some time to herself before heading home to help Sam, she decided to drive out to a piece of property owned by her father outside of town. It was partially wooded and very private. It was the spot she always met with Doc Stevens to work on controlling her fire. Maybe if she let it fly for a while it would help clear her head.
****
Fear that Griffin or Reilly had found her made Tessa jumped when the rap came at the door to her suite. After the altercation at Reilly’s house she had packed her things and left after making a last minute call. The men were both bloody and snarling like wild animals with black-eyes and fangs by the time they tired of beating each other. Griffin’s presence in her mind and Reilly’s proclamation of love were too much. She had to get away.
She crept toward the door and peeked through the peep hole to see the top of her friend’s head.
“It’s only me. They haven’t tracked you down, yet,” Debbie Deidrick teased.
Tessa threw open the door and embraced her partner in crime, being careful not to wake the dark haired baby girl sleeping with her cheek resting on her mother’s shoulder.
“Come in. Take a load off for goodness sake.” She ushered mother and child to a comfortable chair.
“I have to tell you, when I said I needed a place to hide I didn’t expect to find myself in a luxury suite. You may have gone a bit overboard,” Tessa chided.
“Don’t be silly. Nothing but the best is good enough for my family. If it’s the cost you’re worried about, don’t be. Seriously, Mason takes care of everything for our family and gets perturbed if I use my money to buy things for myself. When we bonded, I came with a sizable dowry that Mason refused to accept because he was wealthy in his own right. So all that money is mine to do with what I please. It has been sitting in a bank earning interest for twenty-five years. Mason will never know it’s missing so no one will be able to track you through me. They may suspect that I know where you are but they won’t be able to prove it.”
“No offense intended Debbie, but I never will understand the way you people barter your children for position and power. A dowry? That’s some old world shit right there.”
Debbie just shrugged.
“It’s just how things are. When it’s all you’ve ever known, you don’t expect anything different. The old ways are falling to the wayside now. I will regret trying to hold Chase to the bonding agreement we made with the Vaughns to the end of my days. He had true love without the aid of a bond and we tried to deny him that gift.” Debbie sniffed. Tessa went to hug her again.
“It all worked out. Please stop beating yourself up about it, Deb.” Tessa took the seat across from her.
“I asked to come over for a reason. We have to talk and doing it over the phone would have been wrong. I need you to look into my eyes and see the truth,” she confessed.
“Oh man. This can’t be good. Let me put the baby down so I can get comfortable.” Debbie shuffled into the bedroom.
Tessa looked out over the city outside of her patio door and breathed deeply to dispel her fear. Some things just had to be done. She reminded herself that fear did not equal cowardice. Bravery means doing what needs to be done even when you’re afraid.
Debbie returned and settled in to listen to Tessa’s tale. Debbie sat slack-jawed when Tessa was finished. There was nothing she could say, but Tessa s
aw belief and acceptance in Debbie’s tear filled, hazel-green eyes.
“Mason is going to kill me,” Debbie sighed.
“Will he know you’re keeping a secret? I really hate asking you to do this but, I don’t trust anyone else. It won’t be forever. When the time comes you will need to tell him everything.”
“That is why I’m not freaking out about that part of it. He’ll know I’m up to something but he won’t know what. Neither of us is telepathic. Our bond helps us feel each other’s emotions and sometimes pain, but we can’t read each other’s minds.” She smiled at the thought of her mate.
“Does that mean you’ll help me?” Tessa was hopeful.
“I will but, I don’t like the implications. I think you should tell me the entire plan so I don’t lay awake at night worrying,” Debbie pleaded.
“Can you accept that you are better off not knowing?” Tessa prayed Debbie would understand.
“You know once you do this you’ll have to go into deep hiding. We’ll have to have your meals delivered. You can’t go out and I won’t be able to visit. If you’re spotted, or Mason follows me here, the jig will be up,” Debbie paced a nervous circle around her chair.
“I’m prepared for that. I won’t take the chance of being seen. I just need you to promise to keep the secret until the time is right.”
Debbie nodded her understanding.
“I’ll make some calls and be back tomorrow with friends.” Debbie did her best to smile. Tessa understood the burden she had just laid on her friend’s heart and mind, but in the end, the lives of the people they both loved were worth the extra weight.
FOURTEEN
Beads of sweat popped out on her brow. Focusing her energy was hard work that still required intense discipline on her part. Brandi couldn’t wait for the day to come that it would all be second nature. She had been meeting Doc in this spot to practice controlling her pyrokinesis for over a year, but today she was alone. She had come a long way from the days when she had to keep spare clothes in her car in case she lost control and flamed out, ending up nude and pissed off. If she lost control of her emotions, her grip on her growing power would slip too. She lost a lot of cute outfits that way.
