“I don’t like you at all. I don’t even know why you’re here.” He told her. “So your brother, for whatever reason, decided that instead of just him and his wife here to crowd up the place, calling you in would be oh so much better. Bad call if you ask me. I can barely get around in here myself without knocking my ass around. Why are you really here?”
“That’s the reason. If you’re asking me why I’m still here, then it’s because we’re mates, and I can tell that not only are you malnourished, but you’re also exhausted. Why do the dead come to you so much when there are surely others like us around?” She said that it had been that way her entire life. “I have rules that I make them follow. I know you do too, but they don’t seem to follow them very well. Are you as rude to them as you are to me?”
“More so. And I feel I have the right to be rude to you since I didn’t invite you here in the first place, and I don’t want a mate at all.” Connor told her that the sex was good. “I can have sex with anyone that is walking the street right now.”
“Don’t.” She seemed to understand what she’d said and told him she was sorry. “I’ve never been the jealous type, but I am with you. I guess it’s because I’ve never had a mate before that I’m not willing to share you, but that’s just the way it is. What are your plans for the day?”
The change of subject didn’t seem to faze Rocky, so when she answered, he wondered what it took to deter her. She seemed to be perpetually in a shitty mood. Connor wanted to hear her laugh, to see her smile and for it not to look like she was plotting. He’d have to work on that.
“I work from here. I decided that it was cheaper for me to do that instead of maintaining a car to drive, as well as all the shit that goes with it. I’m thrifty like that.” He laughed, and he could see the beginning of a smile on her face. “I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I was broke. I work for a firm that is going under. I’m afraid each time I get paid that it’s going to bounce. Just last week they paid me in cash. A lot of fives and tens, even some ones. Like they robbed their piggy bank. Also, this place I live in, as crappy as it is, is going to be torn down in a month to make room for a parking lot. There seems to be too much concrete around now, but I’m not in a position to make them stop.”
“I have a friend—she’s the queen of faeries—that tells me the same thing all the time. I’ve put in a huge garden that they use to plant old seeds that we’ve found, as well as a few herbs and such. Bryce, you met her, she’s working on a drying place so that they can sell things to other witches to make brews and spells. I’ve learned a great deal about witches since she joined the family.” Rocky told him that her aunt had been a witch. “Was she any good at it? Or a dabbler?”
“Dabbler, I guess. She was all the family I had left. Then one day a fucking bitch came along and decided to kill her. I know the rules as much as the other witches. She wasn’t to kill someone with lesser skills or magic than she had. But Aunt Rose, she was killed by the woman.” Connor said he was sorry, and asked if it was Sara. “Yes. That was what put her on my radar. And what is going to get her killed by me.”
~*~
Sara was having a difficult time finding herself a place to stay. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have the money to stay here, but they were all telling her that they were filled up. At this rate she’d have to live in a cardboard box or something. Deciding to make the next person that had a bed and breakfast give her a room, she stomped her way into the building.
She didn’t want to be charmed by the décor of the place. It was Old World English, she thought, and it was bold enough to hold her attention for just a little too long. She turned to the front desk when someone said her name. It was that bastard Devon.
“I see you’re still having a bit of trouble finding yourself a place to lay your head at night, Sara. That’s the way things go when you’re as much of a troublemaker as you are.” Devon turned to the woman behind the counter. “This is the woman I was telling you about, Candy. Kelly had to throw her out on her bottom, she made such a mess of things at the house.”
“I most certainly did not. I tried. But there was some sort of spell on the place that would repair things as soon as I destroyed them.” Devon only had to look at Candy for Sara to understand he’d baited her too far. “You’re going to pay for that, and all the other shit that you’ve brought down on my head. Are you actually telling people not to give me a place to stay? Seriously?”
“I only tell them of the trouble that you brought to our home, even after we welcomed you there so nicely. I don’t tell them that they can’t rent to you. I only warn them that you’re not the most congenial guest to have inside of an establishment. Especially when you can and will mess things up, as you tried at our home.” Devon turned to the woman then, and smiled. “Well, Candy, I’m going to be on my way. You let me know when you have the plans for the expansion here, and we’ll work something out for you. Remember me to your husband, and tell him thanks for the stone too.”
“I will, Lord Devon. And I’ll make sure that I have room for the extra guests coming in during the holidays.” After shaking her hand, Devon left with nothing more said to Sara. But Candy, it looked like, had already made her decision. “We’re full up. Even if we weren’t, I’d not rent you my dog’s house. Move on before I call the police.”
“I want you to rent me a place to sleep. I’ll give you whatever you wish for me to be able to take a nice shower and have someplace to sleep tonight. I won’t do anything to your things. I swear to you.” The woman just turned her back on her. “Did you hear me, damn it? I want to sleep someplace and have a fucking shower.”
The woman turned so quickly that Sara jumped back. The fur that ran over her skin reminded her of cats. Big ones that ate people rather than vegetables. The orange and black stripes had Sara wishing that she’d left when she was told to do so.
“I don’t care what it is you need. It’s time that you left here, now. I don’t have time for your nonsense, nor do I have to put up with you harming the family that has done more for the town and all of us than you’ve done for your own family. Get out of here.”
Sara was out the door and on the sidewalk as quickly as she could manage. She was terrified that Candy would turn into her other self and have her killed.
She had to think of something before her powers were so diminished that she’d have to kill another witch for more. Sara knew that because she wasn’t a true witch, just a practicing one, she needed to have her power replenished daily. Or more when she used it as much as she had of late. Sara thought for sure that Davidson would have died from his wounds by now, and that magic would have come to her.
“It would be just my luck that he had someone come in and find him. It’s doubtful that he had a housekeeper or some shit like that. His house was a mess.” It really was now that she’d murdered him in it. Blood had been everywhere, and there were more broken things in the house than there were things in good repair. “Serves him right for telling me that he wasn’t going to turn over his books willingly. And I no more believe the old bitch has them than I believe I have them myself.”
As a last resort she found herself a back alley to make a temporary home in. It would only last for the night, since she’d made herself some new clothing and had made herself some lovely boots to go with her coat and gloves, and had little magic left.
That was another rule that she hated. You couldn’t gain things, personal things, from your magic. What was the fucking point of having it if you couldn’t make your life better? That rule, along with the one about killing lesser witches, were ones that she ignored. There were others that she sort of bent a little, but she didn’t think that it should apply to witches that were down on their luck like she was at the moment.
The little place she’d had to wipe up was nothing like she’d had when she’d been living in Devon’s family. There she had a bathroom all her own. A huge bed that was
as soft as warm butter. And all the blankets she could have wanted. The wallpaper was a little outdated, as was all the old furniture. But she thought at the time that she could persuade them to change it after she’d been there for a few more days.
“It wasn’t as if they couldn’t afford it. The fuckers must have won the lottery or some shit like that.” She thought of all the parties that she wanted to attend in a place like that. The big halls and the pretty pool just screamed at her to have a large pool party in the summer months. “They probably only use it to exercise or some shit. I have come to realize that the Wilshires are as stupid as they come.”
Sara was just ready to settle down for the night when someone touched her shoulder. It took her several minutes to realize that her home was now gone, and it was pouring down rain. She stood up to do battle with the man standing there when she was tossed up against the wall and held there with magic.
“You bitch.” The man, she had no idea who he was, looked as dry as she’d been before her things had disappeared. “You fucking bitch. Where is my money? You promised me a cut in the insurance if I killed off your sister. Where the fuck is my money?”
“Oh, yeah. About that. She didn’t have any.” Shrugging, she told the man that he was as out of luck as she was. “Next time, I guess I’ll check on that better. The money would have been wonderful, I think. I did have plans on giving you some of it, but alas, it’s all gone.”
“Gone, or there wasn’t any?” Sara tried to remember what she’d just said. There had been an insurance policy on the neighbor that she’d hired this man to kill, but he wasn’t going to get any of it. Not that there was any of it left anyway. “I asked you a question. Was there an insurance policy, and did you spend all the money on yourself?”
“She wasn’t even my sister, you idiot. Didn’t it occur to you that she couldn’t have been related to me when you got into her home? We aren’t even of the same race.” She laughed a little, and he tightened the grip he had on her. “Oh, grow up. We both know you enjoyed that to no end. Count that as your payment. I needed that cash for other things that I have going on.”
“You’re going to pay, bitch.” She didn’t know how he was going to make that happen when she didn’t have shit to even pay for a new pair of shoes. While she hung there, he started going through her things. That was when he found her stash. “This will do. It’s not enough, so don’t think that this is the last time you’ll see me, Sara. I’ll be back, and next time, if you don’t have my money, I’m going to fuck you until you’re dead.”
When he left her, Sara was dropped into a puddle of mud. The little home that she’d made herself was destroyed. Also, and this pissed her off more, he’d taken all the money that she’d robbed from the department store three nights ago. This shit was for the birds. She needed a better plan. A home too, but a plan that would make her stronger.
There wasn’t anything that she could even lay over her head now. The rain turned into sleet at some point during the long cold night, and she sat there with dirty papers on her head to try and keep some of the wetness off her skin. Twice since she’d been back here an old person had come back and asked her if she wanted to share his bed, but she turned them down. Sara promised herself that the next person that came back here to ask that, she was going to sleep with them no matter what they looked or smelled like.
Sara didn’t know how she was going to make it work, but she was going to go back and find Davidson. This was entirely his fault anyway. If he wasn’t dead yet, he would be when she got back to his place. She decided that she was going to live there for a while too, just so she could gather some more magic and perhaps find those books.
She knew that they were in the house that she’d broken into. No witch let their books get out of their sight for more than a few minutes. One witch had carried hers around in her pockets, making them small enough that they’d fit right in the things.
Never bothering with books or writing down things because she couldn’t spell, Sara had no such things to keep with her. As much as she wanted to have a few, people—witches—were just too tight with theirs for her to find them.
One time when she had found a set of magical books, she couldn’t even read them. She couldn’t read either, but there had been nothing on any of the pages anyway. That was when she found out that unless they were given to you freely, the books would no more help her than Davidson had.
When the sun started to come up, Sara was on the move already. Soaking wet and her shoes ruined, she made her way around town trying to find any kind of empty building that she could call her own for a little while.
Deciding that she had to kill off Bryce for her magic at some point in the middle of the snowstorm, Sara knew that was the only way that she was ever going to be powerful enough to get all the things that she wanted. By god, she’d get them too.
Finding nothing grand to stay in, Sara settled on an old building that was nearly falling in on itself. Ignoring the keep out signs, she tore the paper off the front of the place and moved in. Not having enough magic to make the place livable, she decided to make sure that she did at least have something to eat and drink. Making a mental note of the things that she’d had to do without, she knew that someone was going to pay for her inconveniences. Laughing at her thoughts, she decided to make sure that there was an inconvenience tax put on that list too. No point in letting them get by with everything.
Chapter 4
Rocky lay down on the sofa and closed her eyes. It had been an extremely long night, and the day had been just as long. When Connor told her that he’d take over for the rest of the evening, she let him. Her body was aching so much right now she was sure that even if he hit her, she’d not be unconscious enough to not feel the aches.
The knock at the door startled her awake. Sitting up when Connor opened the door, she stared at the man standing there. She didn’t know him, but Connor apparently did. They hugged like they’d been old friends for quite some time.
“Rocky, I’d like for you to meet my best friend, Devon Wilkshire. Devon, this is my mate, Roxanna Hornsby James.” She nodded at the man, not wanting to embarrass Connor about her not being a James when his friend was there. “What brings you here? Anything wrong with Kelly or the others?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m actually here to talk to Roxanna.” She told him to call her Rocky. “All right then. You know a woman by the name of Sara. I don’t know if she has a last name or not. She was using Davidson’s until recently.”
“I know her. Please tell me that she’s dead. If you do then I might even go to Connor’s house like he’s been begging me to.” Devon didn’t say anything, but he did glance around. “It’s all I can afford.”
“I didn’t mean to imply anything by looking. I just wondered if you’d like to go to the little restaurant across the street with me. My wife and grandmother are there.” She asked him why that should be something she wanted to do. “They’d like to meet you.”
“Yes, well, I’m sure that’s not true. Why the hell would anyone want to meet a ghost talker that is more down on her luck than most?” Devon told her. “I’m not his mate. I’ve agreed to nothing about that. So whatever he’s told you, then you can just forget it. I’m not mate material.”
“Excuse me, what?” She told Connor when he asked that she was just what she said. “I don’t see that you’re a washout. I see a very lovely woman that I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with. I could care less about where you’re from or where you live now. If you want to live here instead of my home, then that’s what we’ll do.”
She didn’t care for him being so nice to her. Actually, Rocky didn’t care for anyone being nice at all. People just weren’t nice to her because of what she looked like. Devon laughed and she glared at him.
“What? Do you think he’s stupid for wanting me as his mate? I’ve been trying to tell him that since he
came here. I don’t need him in my life.” Devon said that she might not, but Connor needed her. “Why is that? Because of some kind of dragon rules that I could care less about? Or is it something else?”
“Simply that he loves you.” She looked at Connor, and he nodded. Looking back at Devon, she asked him how he knew that. “It’s in the way that he looks at you. There is more to it, but I won’t embarrass you with pointing them out. I think you might love him a little too. I don’t know why you would. He’s a pain in the ass most of the time, and there are times when I want to break his—”
Rocky pressed Devon against the wall with her power. He didn’t struggle, nor did he seem to be upset by what she did to him. Standing up, she made her way to look him in the eyes. He only smiled at her when she told him that he’d better not hurt Connor in any way.
“I won’t. Never. I couldn’t anyway.” She nodded. “Honey, can you let me down please? My wife is about to come through that door and defend my honor, and I don’t want her harmed. She’s my life.”
The door swung open and slammed against the door behind it. Devon went to the beautiful woman and calmed her while Connor stepped in front of Rocky.
While Devon calmed his wife, the other woman who had come in with Devon’s wife looked at Rocky. There was something oddly familiar about her, but Rocky couldn’t put her finger on it until the woman spoke. Staying behind Connor as she explained when they had met, Rocky felt all eyes on her.
“Oh child, it’s you. I thought that the name had to be one I’d heard before, but I didn’t place you. How are you? Oh my, it’s been such a long time.” Lady Anna moved Connor out of her way when she hugged her. Rocky had only ever been hugged like this once before, and it was by the woman in front of her. “How is your aunt? I’ve not spoken to her in a decade or more.”
“Sara killed her.” Lady Anna hugged her again, telling her how sorry she was. “Thank you. You did warn me not to trust people in sheep’s clothing. I wish I had paid more attention to what you meant at the time. How are you, Lady Anna?”
Connor: House of Wilkshire ― Paranormal Dragon Shifter Romance Page 4
