“So.” She tossed her hair. “What do Keepers do when they’re not carrying out Compulsions? And is it ever weird, working around humans?”
“Many in the clan are carpenters, including me,” he said, grateful she’d changed the subject. “We do framing, trim work, cabinetry. You name it. Nick is a lot better than me at making it pretty. I can look at something and just see how it should be put together. I double as a plumber, an electrician. A painter. And I’m not afraid to climb up on tall ladders or scaffolding.”
“Or fire escapes.”
He grinned. “Or fire escapes. It’s almost like a rush. And no, it’s not too weird. Humans remember us as long as we need them to. Plus, we’ve got a good cover. Blue collar, Irish Catholics. Born and raised in the ‘Burgh.” He longed to tug her onto his lap, feel the fall of her hair across his chest. “So, Miss Meda. I have a question for you. How did you get past me in the motel room?”
She shot him a look of disdain. “When you met me, I was pretty much living off the grid, remember? Plus, I had a lifetime’s worth of training. My father and I hopscotched around the country. I missed a lot of school. I got good at evading truant officers and flying under the radar. So, slipping past you at the motel? It was almost reflex.”
“Well. I’m impressed.” And he was. Not only by her escape act. By her. In every way possible.
“Thanks.” Finishing her water in one gulp, she tapped the empty bottle on the table. “Now,” she said resolutely, her eyes brimming. “It’s my turn.”
CHAPTER 20
Dev leaned forward, concern etching the lines of his face. “Meda, why are you crying?”
Breathe. “Libby is part human. When she hugged me, I—”
“You picked up on something from her, didn’t you? Is she all right?”
Meda wiped her cheeks and exhaled. “She’s fine. She’s pregnant.”
His mouth fell open. “Really? Does she know?”
“Yes. Only she and Nick do. They’re waiting to announce it to everyone.”
Dev sat back. “Wow. Nick would’ve refused to let her get involved no matter what. Now, knowing this . . .”
“She’s afraid for her baby and for herself. The clan, too. She’s a fighter. I got that loud and clear. Knowing she’s pregnant explains her reluctance to get involved, earlier in the Situation room. She’s thinking what a terrible time it is to be pregnant. At the same time, she’s happy.”
“I don’t understand. What does that have to do with you?”
Tears threatened again. The last three years’ worth. “It has to do with my scar. In a roundabout way.”
“Meda.” His mouth softened. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Yes I do. And not just because I said I would.” This was about trusting. Herself, and him. And about slaying a demon that’d haunted her for far too long. One that could stop them from succeeding in harvesting his energy. She straightened. If he was willing to share the memory of his death with her, she could do this. He’d forced her to face her fears about her ability. She would force herself to face this.
“About four years ago, my father was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He spent a lot of time in the hospital. I was nineteen. That’s where I met a guy, Jerry Morrow. He was so kind, and I was vulnerable. My father died, and he helped me through it.” She smiled ruefully. “I never slept with anyone else besides him. I had such dreams. Of settling down. With a husband.” She paused. “And a baby.”
That winter day sliced through her mind. “I’d just found out I was pregnant.”
“Meda,” he said softly.
She heard the plea in his tone, and knew it was okay if she stopped now. But she’d started this. She’d finish it. “I was on my way to see him,” she said, notching her chin higher. “To tell him the news. Surprise him. I went to his apartment.” Instantly, her mind conjured up the image. “I found him with another woman. I was devastated. I ran from the apartment. Down the stairs. It was icy, and I fell.”
Dev squeezed her hand, his warmth working through her.
“I broke my arm, got a concussion. And this.” Taking a deep breath, she ran a finger over her scar. Even now, she mourned.
“I lost the baby,” she whispered, lifting her shoulders in a helpless gesture. “It took a toll on my system. I can’t . . . The doctors told me I can’t have . . .”
Fury and pain marring his expression, he gathered her in his arms and pulled her onto his lap.
And Meda knew she was no longer falling for him, but plunging headlong into love with him.
Murmuring to her, he brushed his lips over her hair. His warmth filled her, body and soul from the inside out. He was solid, this flesh and bone Watcher, who’d died, and lived again. None of it should have made sense, and yet, it did. She wept till she was wrung out. Cried for the baby she’d lost, for Dev, as a boy too weak to defend himself.
For the life he’d lost. For the fragile one she’d been unable to protect.
Finally, she sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Even with my ability, I didn’t know he was cheating on me. For whatever reason, when my heart is involved, it muddies the waters. I guess love truly is blind.” Sniffling, she blew her nose with the napkin Dev offered her. “Anyway, today, getting that impression from Libby . . .”
“Brought it all back.”
“Yes. It’s time to move forward,” she said, her voice still froggy from crying. “I can’t change what happened to me. But I can fight for Libby’s baby, needing our protection. And Libby, I feel like she’s the closest thing I’ve had to a friend in a long time. Besides Musko. She was so kind before.” She shifted in his embrace and met his eyes. “For you. Your clan. You defend the weak. I want to fight alongside you.”
Dev stroked her cheek. With an effort he kept his thoughts, about what he’d like to do to the son of a bitch who’d hurt her, to himself. His own guilt punched like a fist. She’d laid the unvarnished truth at his feet, but he hadn’t seen fit to do the same for her. Now it was too late. Even if it wasn’t, he couldn’t bear to tell her. He wasn’t a survivor. Not like her.
“He didn’t deserve you.” Neither do I. But I want to. “I think you’re the strongest, bravest woman I’ve ever known.”
Her eyes fluttered closed, still damp from tears. “I sure as hell don’t feel that way sometimes.”
Dev’s hands molded to her curvy, delicate form, and his arousal pulsed in his veins, as hot as the summer night. He wouldn’t even consider acting on it. Meda’s exhaustion was evident, but he wanted to satisfy one final curiosity. “When Curtis tried to dig up information about you, I would’ve thought he’d have come across your hospital records.”
“Ah.” Meda blinked up at him. “Musko. He knew the lengths I’d go to for privacy. He was very . . . persuasive, let’s say, that Jerry erase them.”
“I see.” Dark satisfaction surged through him. “I like him more and more.” He sighed deeply as he took measure of her. “Why don’t you lay down for a while?”
“Curtis is bringing the supplies.” She yawned. “We have to get our lab set up.”
“And you’re not going to be worth anything if you don’t get some sleep. And I don’t mean a nap. A full night’s sleep.” He grinned. “You are only human, you know.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Sleep might be a good idea.”
And he had another. Before she could stop him, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to one of the beds, laying her down gently.
“I can walk on my own,” she grumbled.
“I know you can.”
She eyed him. “What are you up to?”
“Relax, Meda. If I come on to you, you’ll know. Lie back.” She’d been through hell in the last two days. And long before. How alike they were,
he realized again. Both of them at one time in their lives had been too weak to defend themselves. “Let me take care of you.”
The same driving need to shelter her filled him, as it had at the motel. He knelt near the foot of the bed and lifted one of her booted feet. Untying the laces, he slid it off, along with her sock, then removed the other. Her toenails were painted a deep crimson. He kneaded the ball of her foot with his fingers, unable to stop himself from fantasizing about her legs wrapped around his waist as he plunged deep inside her.
She watched him with sleepy eyes. “Mmm, that feels good,” she said on a sigh.
And Dev thought he’d sacrifice the rest of his time here in the human realm to hear that soft sweet sound, every single day.
“So,” she asked drowsily. “What’s it like in the Watchers’ realm?”
He thought for a moment. “It’s beautiful. The sun shines every day. It’s never too hot or too cold. Lots of greenery and wildlife. But it’s not . . . here.”
“You don’t like it,” she said, around a yawn. “What about the other Watchers? What are they like?”
He thought of Mataeus, of the others. “Wise. Judgmental. Kind. And hell bent on whipping me into shape.”
“I bet you were their worst nightmare.”
He laughed. “On some days, I’m sure I was. One of them, Mataeus, I don’t mind so much. He’s old. Nearly two hundred years old. He’s always been good to me. Not that the others haven’t. But he’s gone out of his way, in my opinion.”
For the first time since he’d crossed realms, Dev worried about the old man. “I hope to hell they know what they’re doing.”
He started working on her other foot. “What does the name Meda mean?” he asked softly.
Opening an eye, she focused on him for one brief, intense moment, then closed it. “Prophetess,” she murmured.
“Of course.” That explains a lot. Including why you started going by Mia.
Moments passed. Meda’s breathing evened out and he draped the sheet around her. Rising, he lingered beside the supply table and picked up his harmonica case. How many times had he and Nick and Curtis jammed together? He’d heard music had charms to soothe a savage beast. Who said it, he had no clue. Maybe that’s why Sean and Charlotte had given the little mouth-organ to him in the first place.
To soothe the savage in him.
He slid his finger over the stainless steel cover plate, with its flawless construction. It felt right, like swinging a hammer. Holding it to his lips the way he had so many times before, he drew breath, and played a quiet, slow, and soulful rendition of ‘Dixie.’
Sitting next to Meda, he stroked the hair away from her cheek, listened to her sleep for the second time in twenty-four hours. He could’ve stayed there, watched her all night. Slowly he rose, wandered the perimeter of the warehouse; checked the access points.
He rubbed a hand over his chest, but it did nothing to ease the ache.
Without a second thought he’d have wrung the neck of the bastard who’d hurt her and caused her untold grief. What challenges and trials she’d faced, what pain and loss she’d endured.
It hadn’t broken her. Instead, she’d triumphed.
He could fall hard for a woman like that.
Whoa. Where the hell did that come from? He’d never been in love. And he couldn’t, wouldn’t be now. He’d fought valiantly against it most of his adult life, knowing he was damaged goods. That he hadn’t a right to it, after what the clan had lost.
Because of him.
Instead, to balance the scales, he’d spent a lifetime protecting the weak, the helpless, the defenseless. As defenseless as Meda had been. He knew them. Understood them. As an adult, he sought the opportunities to be between the inches, taking the chances they couldn’t, the risks the others wouldn’t. To get the job done. And to prove to himself and everyone else that he could.
Misery hung heavy as a millstone. Kissing her in the motel was a mistake. He knew that now. It was normal to be attracted to her. And one kiss meant nothing. So, they would work together, get this done, and he would return to the Watchers’ realm. As he’d already told her, he’d make sure she was protected. And that would be the end of it.
He’d tell himself that, over and over, until his heart bought it.
Time—and timing—was a bitch.
He counted himself a lucky man to have been here for her tonight. To listen. To comfort. She trusted him. He couldn’t screw that up.
So he would never tell her.
Even if he’d been able to stay in this realm longer, he had nothing to offer her.
Dev wandered the warehouse. He was going to be an uncle, twice over, with Fi’s baby. And now Libby’s. Meda was right. It was all the more reason to save this clan. To fight together for the future generation.
His phone rang, jarring him from his thoughts.
“Dev. It’s Curtis. Open one of the loading dock doors. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Ending the call, Dev jogged to the loading docks, did as he’d asked. Thirty seconds later, Curtis pulled into the warehouse and parked the van, and Dev closed the door behind him.
Curtis jumped out. “Supplies are here.”
Dev followed him to the back of the van, accepted a box.
“Where’s Meda?”
“Sleeping.”
“Good,” Curtis replied. “She’s going to need it.”
They unloaded several more boxes and carried them to the pre-fab structure they’d chosen as their workspace.
Curtis reached into his pocket for a pouch. “Vitality stones.” He handed them to Dev. “In case of emergency. Nick wanted you to have them. Testing, too, like we talked about at the house.”
“Thanks. Were you able to find out any more about the Betrayer we saw at the motel?”
“From the description you gave me, it narrows down to two women in the brood. Ivy, but she’s farther down on the food chain. I’m betting it might be Jordan,” Curtis said thoughtfully. “Abel’s niece.”
“Something’s not right there,” Dev mused, reiterating from earlier today in the Situation room. “She looked young. Too young. Why would he have her out on the front line like that?”
“I don’t know. And you’re right. It doesn’t make sense. At least not to us. We’re keeping eyes on the situation.”
“Good. Sorry you had to come out. Thank you. Get back to the network.”
Curtis regarded him silently for a moment. “I’m not going back to the network. Sean and Charlotte are there, safe and sound. They’re in charge. I’m staying. Me and some of the others. They’re already here. When we talked about going old school, guarding the warehouse? Helping humans when we can? I volunteered. Don’t try to talk me out of it either.”
Dev studied the man he considered his younger brother. “I hope this isn’t because of what I said before.”
Curtis glared. “You know something, Dev? Not everything is about you.” He slammed the van door shut. Without waiting for a reply, he pushed the button to raise the dock door and backed out of the warehouse.
Dev started to chase after him, then thought better of it. He pressed the button and the rolling door slid closed. Curtis was a techie first, a warrior second. He’d always been focused on his work. Quiet too, but not in recent days. Dev shrugged. They’d all been pushed out of their comfort zones, forced to fight, and that affected everyone differently.
Maybe in his own way, Curtis had something to prove too.
Silently, Dev padded through the warehouse. Kneeling next to Meda for a moment, he assured himself she still slept, enjoying the warmth of her breath on his face. After he’d adjusted the sheet around her shoulders, he lay down in the bed adjacent hers, his mind churning, the fan blowing its manufactured breeze over him. From his Smartpho
ne, he launched the app for the security cameras and scrutinized the grid of views, ghostly in the shadows of the city. The street. The van. The alley.
Hopefully the ruse Sean and Charlotte perpetrated had worked. Bought them some time. Even with Curtis and company guarding the warehouse, even with the best security cameras, they couldn’t be sure if the Betrayers had followed them, or were watching them this very moment. And they sure as hell couldn’t know if they would try to drain a Keeper. If they succeeded in harvesting his energy, they had no idea how it could affect Meda, or even if it would work against the Similitude. If they failed, the clan was out of options.
Impossible situation. Impossible risk.
He’d thrived on it most of his adult life. The greater the gamble, the higher the stakes, the better. But this time, with Meda in the cross hairs of his Compulsion, if he lost, he’d lose everything.
This time, the risk might be too great. Even for him.
CHAPTER 21
“Do what you do when you meditate,” Dev told Meda, probably for the third time in an hour. “Don’t resist the energy.”
“I’m trying,” she replied testily.
“I know you are. And I think that’s the trouble. You’re trying too hard.”
On her Smartphone, Meda glanced at the time. 5:43 AM. The sun had yet to rise, and they’d been at it for the last two hours. She’d slept like the dead. When she woke, she hadn’t known where she was at first. As a child, how often had she felt that way, traveling with her father? She’d barely stirred before Dev had been at her side, and it’d all come back to her.
Her Watcher, at least for the next four days.
They’d showered and eaten. And now, she was failing miserably at her first crash course lesson in controlling Vitality energy.
Facing each other, they stood outside one of the pre-fab offices. The fan oscillated, hitting them with an intermittent breeze. Tugging at the bun at the nape of her neck, she scraped away stray hairs. All of the heat of the summer and the city seemed trapped in the confines of the warehouse, along with her frustrations. She longed for fresh air. “This should come easier to me. I’ve been meditating for years.” She blew out a gust of breath.
The Watcher (Crossing Realms Book 2) Page 15
