by Cat Miller
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt your ceremony, Greyson. I thought…” Tears rolled down her suddenly flushed cheeks. The heat was beginning to build in her body along with the embarrassment.
“I don’t know what I thought. I’ll leave my key by the door on the way out.”
Greyson made no reply. Brandi doubted he was able. She had to get out of his home and fast. She was losing her tenuous grasp on the flames in her belly and the clothes on her back were starting to smoke by the time she made it out of the front door. She had to head for the woods. It would be a long time before she could handle the spare clothing in her car or the vehicle itself without setting it ablaze.
She walked quickly, but the flames were faster. Warriors gaped at her in either awe or revulsion, she wasn’t sure which. Her pajamas floated away like little embers. The shoes on her feet melted away within a block of Grey’s house and she walked naked, completely exposed to the prying eyes of the Enclave. The sky opened up and seemed to echo the pain in her chest but the downpour stood no chance against the fury of her despair.
Gone was her veil of privacy. Everyone on the Enclave would know her secret by breakfast and it would spread from there. Brandi wondered how many of the open mouthed men she passed were the Rogue’s undercover minions. How long would it take the news of the only known pyro in existence to reach the death dealer?
The grass hissed and crackled under Brandi’s feet. She looked down and cursed. She had completely flamed out. The fire seemed to feel her distress and wrap itself around her in comfort and sympathy instead reaching out to the early morning sky.
Of course Greyson had moved on, after of all her theatrics. Shit. He had probably been seeing his new mate for some time. It wasn’t as if he had ever made any mention of a commitment to her. For all Brandi knew, the redhead had been dating him the whole time. She foolishly believed that he had been able to contact her over the last weeks. It was more likely that he just hadn’t had anything to say to her.
Brandi halted when Greyson’s voice called to her from a distance. She couldn’t believe he had left the bed of his mate to come after her. The pouring rain couldn’t reach her skin but Grey was soaked. His hair matted to his face and rain dripped from his nose.
It was like Grey was seeing her for the first time as he gazed into her eyes and truthfully, he probably was. She could only imagine what he saw lurking behind the flames.
“Pixie? Baby?”
He reached for her and she backed away. Brandi didn’t want his pity.
“Let me try to explain. I… I didn’t know. I thought she was you.”
Oh, that was too much. Was she to believe he had planned to mate with her and woke up with a stranger? Brandi looked past him to the woman huddled in nothing but a sheet from his bed. Not a stranger at all. This was his new teammate. There was the reason he hadn’t called her in weeks. The woman had heard his declaration and looked injured by it.
“Greyson?” she asked so sadly.
Her huge blue eyes filled with misery and the red of her long, curly hair glistened in the rain. Grey looked at the woman briefly before returning his eyes to Brandi.
“I can explain. Or I will find a way to as soon as the bar opens. Brandi, I think I was drugged. Come with me to the infirmary, please.”
She looked at him disbelievingly. He was trying but failing to look at her face instead of the fire coursing around her body.
“I see. You thought it was me because I suddenly have long, red hair and look suspiciously like your new civilian teammate?”
Brandi saw Gage Paris, the Captain of the Warriors, approaching and she used the opportunity to head for the trees.
“Wait. Brandi, let’s just calm down and talk this through,” he pleaded. When he attempted to follow her, a sodden Gage halted Greyson’s motion. Karrie ran past them doing her best to shield the towels and clothes she carried from the rain.
“Report to the infirmary, Drake,” Gage demanded, “Now.”
“I’m off duty, Sir.” Greyson replied respectfully. “I have a personal situation I need to deal with.”
“Off duty, huh?” he looked from the dripping Candice Hughes to Greyson and out to where Brandi disappeared into the tree line.
“Not anymore. Maybe some manual labor will help you work off the stupid.”
****
Hot, flaming tears tracked down Brandi’s cheeks and the reality of the past fifteen minutes sank fully in to her skin. Something inside of her died in that moment. It was almost comical. All this time she imagined herself as a glorified phoenix that had risen from the ashes of social retardation to become a powerful force among her people. What a joke. This pain in her chest was a real death. This feeling of abandonment and useless fury were the death throes of her discarded dreams. She would come back from this, and when she did, Brandi planned to live her life her way. No more hiding and no more regret.
SIXTEEN
Derek walked into Candice’s unlocked back door. She was expecting him so he didn’t worry about being capped in the ass or pistol-whipped this time. When the rumors of a pyro on the Enclave spread to The Nest he cursed his fellow minions for being so prompt and efficient. Fortunately none of them were eye witnesses, so the woman’s pyrotechnic display and her identity were being protected. Obviously the Enclave knew his Master would love to have the only living pyro. They were keeping it under wraps for now, but it was only a matter of time before Brandi was outted. His Master was already hunting. Derek had to get to her first. He contacted Candice under the guise of wanting to come for a visit after her long trip, as soon as he could get away.
He had to find out what had happened to set Brandi off. She was very careful about concealing her growing talent and she’d done an excellent job so far. If she lost control in public, there had to have been an earth shattering event in her world. While Derek didn’t like the idea of Brandi hurt in any way, he couldn’t help hoping Candice would verify his suspicions.
Candice has a serious thing for Greyson. She’d been working with his team out of town for several weeks. Derek hoped the time together had given Candice and her crush some much needed time to get to know each other. It was entirely possible the warrior had fallen for the lovely Candice Hughes. She was closer to his age and they had a lot in common. Candice was in law enforcement and could relate to the rigors of his position.
Brandi would be deeply hurt. She believed the warrior cared for her. Brandi struggled against her instincts where Derek was concerned in an effort to remain faithful to Greyson. If Candice succeeded in her bid to steal Greyson out from under Brandi, it would be a huge blow. Derek could only hope that Brandi would let him help her get past the hurt.
Derek found Candice on her sofa. She didn’t look happy and her eyes filled with tears when she saw him.
“Candy, what’s wrong?” he knelt in front of her. “Why are you crying?” This wasn’t good. Candy did not cry, ever.
“I’m in trouble. Big trouble,” she sniffled.
“Okay. We will have to get you out of it then. What kind of trouble are we talking about?”
“I need to know exactly where you got the sleep-aid you gave me.”
Oh shit.
“I told you I got it from a doctor.” Candy didn’t look convinced.
“Where did you get it, Derek? Don’t lie to me.” Angry tears filled her eyes again. “I think it’s time you told me exactly who you work for. Now,” she demanded.
“Who I work for doesn’t matter. You know I don’t have a choice. Why are you so angry? My line of work shouldn’t be a surprise after all these years. What does it have to do with the sleep-aid?”
“I am being accused of spying for the Rogue, Derek. Because I had a vial of the drug he uses to subdue his victims. They think I approached the Enclave with the intention of breaching the ranks of the Wrath for the purpose of recruiting them.”
“That’s total bullshit! You would never work for such a monster and you certainly wouldn�
��t encourage others to. Shit, Candy! How did they get the vial? You were only supposed to use a drop at bedtime.”
“I accidentally poisoned a Wrath guard when he drank from my glass. He was already intoxicated and the alcohol didn’t mix well with the drug,” she confessed.
“I don’t care how drunk he was, one drop would not have hurt him. Hell it wouldn’t hurt a hundred and twenty pound woman,” he eyed Candice’s small frame, “much less a man the size of a Wrath guard. I use it myself. There’s no way.”
Candice looked sheepish.
“Candy. I know I was very specific when I gave the vial. I said only one drop.”
“Yeah well, it didn’t work!” she snapped. “It only made me feel drunk and out of control. So I was taking a few drops. The other night I wanted to be sure I slept through the night and hopefully the next day as well. So I doubled the dose I was taking. Only I didn’t drink it. My glass was on the bar and Greyson picked up the wrong drink.”
Derek tried to remain calm. This was getting worse by the minute. If Greyson had hurt Brandi in his drunkenness, even if it wasn’t his fault, Derek would kill him. He was beginning to see red.
“Where is Brandi? Did he…?” Derek couldn’t say the words. It would be indirectly his fault if anything happened to her. Candice stared toward the doorway and her eyes widened.
“How the hell you know my girlfriend?”
Derek spun around, gun at the ready, and faced a wall of armed Wrath muscle. Greyson was standing front and center.
“Ex-girlfriend,” the black-clad mountain to Greyson’s left stated plainly.
Greyson shot the man a look that should have eviscerated him.
“Shut up, Linc,” the other giants grumbled in unison.
“What? It’s true,” he defended.
“Put the gun down, Derek.” Candice put her hand on his raised gun arm.
“You’ll never make it out of here.”
He already knew that.
“You set me up? You led me into a trap? Candy?” He had to know. Had she turned on him?
She cried openly and pulled the gun from his grasp. There was no sense in fighting. He was now surrounded.
“I had no choice, Derek. I needed you to verify my story and we need to know where the drugs are coming from. They are showing up in the hands of our youth. The kids are passing it around at parties and in clubs. They’re calling it Hypno. It’s the same drug they found in Brandi’s blood after her incident at Thirst. This is not a recreational drug. It can kill people and ruin lives.”
She patted him down and came away with another gun and his blade. Luckily, he didn’t have any Hypno on him.
“We will be getting to the bottom of your previous knowledge of Brandi.” Greyson snarled at them both. “If you purposely drugged me, Candice, I swear I will…”
A man Derek recognized from pictures to be the Captain, Gage Paris, stepped over the threshold and cut off Greyson’s threat. He cuffed Derek as he spoke.
“Greyson, you and your team are dismissed. You’re too close to this case for you to remain objective. Everyone return to the Enclave. I’ll take it from here.”
Greyson tried to argue but his teammates dragged him away.
Derek only had one more question before his life and that of his mother came to a screeching halt. Because he knew as soon as one of the rogue warriors was able to get close to him, he would be dead. Derek knew far too much about the Master’s operations for him to be allowed to live for long. His mother would be of no further use to the Master. He would rid himself of the burden of caring for the mentally unstable human at his first opportunity.
“Candice, did he hurt Brandi? What happened to her?” he pleaded for the truth with his eyes.
“He hurt her but not the way you are thinking. And nobody knows where she is. She took off early yesterday morning and hasn’t been seen since.”
****
Derek was surprised it had taken this long. The sound of quiet footsteps entering the corridor outside of the cell he occupied in the Council hall surely heralded his end. Derek wondered why he had been taken to the Council hall instead of the Enclave and the only reason he could think of was that he would be quickly executed. They had to have figured out his involvement in Danielle Vaughn’s attempted abduction. Along with possession and distribution of Hypno to Candy, it would be an open and shut case. The Council did not abide law breakers, but it seemed as if one of his brothers in arms was going to save them the trouble. Finally, in the middle of the night, they had come for him.
It was almost a relief to know his life was coming to an end. What kind of life did he really have anyway? The only things he regretted was not being able to protect his mom and not having the chance to spend more time with Brandi. If he had a chance, Derek would tell Brandi that she had changed his world from a dark and lonely place to one where he dared to dream. If he had a chance, he would tell her about the dreams in his heart. He would tell her how hard he had fought the love for her he harbored in that heart. But he was no match for a sparky little brunette that smelled like honey and tasted like home. The only home he could remember had been found in her arms. He’d been a goner since the first time she burned him. Derek smiled at that memory. It seemed like so long ago. But it was too late for his confessions now.
There was no sense in trying to hide. In the barren cell there was nowhere to go, so he sat upright on the steel bench and waited. It would be like shooting a fish in a barrel. When Gage Paris took him into custody, Derek was sure he would be dead with the hour. His Master would not let him live long enough to give any secrets away. The steps slowed and stopped in the darkness outside of his cell. He watched the shadowed figure digging around in a pocket. When the figure silently unlocked the door to his cell Derek’s heart sank. They wouldn’t kill him here. No. He would be taken back to The Nest to be made an example of in front of the other minions. The barred door swung open.
“Are you just gonna sit there and stare at me or are we getting out of here?” A vaguely familiar female voice came out of the darkness.
“We don’t have all night,” she pressed.
Derek didn’t ask any questions. He followed the tall feminine form out of the Council hall though a rear exit and straight into a waiting car. Derek jumped in the back and his rescuer ran around to the passenger side. They pulled away from the curb before the doors were even shut. The wide grin of the driver who peered at him in the rearview mirror had Derek shaking his head in astonishment. He hadn’t seen or heard from Nate since the day he woke Derek from the best sleep of his life with Brandi in his arms on the floor in the Council hall library.
“Where the hell have you been, man? I though the worst.” Derek patted his friend’s shoulder. Nate looked at the stern face of the woman to his right.
“I’ve found better things to do with my time. Derek you remember Karrie don’t you?” He glanced over his shoulder and smiled even more widely.
“Of course I remember her. How could I ever forget the woman that beat us at our own game?”
“Nate, I want both of you off the streets and this car returned to its rightful owner before they know it’s missing. Do you know where you’re going?” Karrie’s face bore a look of total shame and guilt. She licked her dry lips and scanned the nearly abandoned street.
“Sweetheart, I know this goes against the grain for you, but we had to get him out before he ended up dead.”
Nate reached over to lay a hand on her thigh.
“I know that, Nate, but I didn’t do this for him. If I didn’t know what’s coming, I would have let him rot. This is for Brandi and Danielle. They will need him and so will we,” Karrie snapped.
“What do you mean when you say you know what’s coming? And where is Brandi? Where are we going?” Derek was getting nervous. Karrie was not a fan of his and he had already been betrayed by one female that was supposed to love him. Having this armed and obviously pissed off female glaring at him was unsettling.
“I was contacted by a friend that insisted we help you. We are taking you to her so she can explain the rest. I don’t know where Brandi is now. The last time I saw her, she was in the woods surrounding the Enclave, literally burning with shame and hurt because of your stunt with that damn drug. As far as I know, no one has seen her in two days.”
Derek laid his hand on Karrie’s shoulder but she didn’t turn to look at him. This was a friend of Brandi’s who had protected her and taught her to defend herself. It was no wonder she was unhappy with him.
“I know you have no reason to believe me, but I didn’t have anything to do with what happened, other than the fact that I gave the drug to Candice for her own personal use. I had no way of knowing anyone else would have access to it. I meant no harm and I’m sure Candice didn’t either.” He hoped she would believe him.
“Candice may not have meant to drug Greyson, but she took advantage of the situation once it was done. She could have taken him home and let him sleep it off, but that’s not how it played out is it? No. She made sure everyone in the bar knew they were leaving together and she crawled into his bed as soon as she got him to his house. Then, instead of letting Brandi and Greyson work it out, she chased him through the rain in a sheet, just to make sure everyone on the Enclave knew they had been together. She was publicly staking her claim. She’s damn lucky it was Brandi and not me she decided to publicly embarrass.”
While they drove, Karrie filled Derek in on the drama that had taken place at the Enclave. Nate informed him that he was leaving the Master’s service to be with Karrie. He needed to be worthy of her attention or her father and brothers would kill him. Nate had snuck back into The Nest a couple of times to check on his father but no one seemed to notice he was missing yet. They assumed he was with Derek. So when Nate showed up, everyone assumed Derek was around too and he went along with the story. Therefore Derek’s absence wouldn’t have been noticed unless the Master had summoned him. From the looks of things, the Master was busy monitoring Darren and his preparations with his army of flunkies.
