by Lisa Ladew
But that wasn’t the only mystery on her mind. Try as she might, Gemma couldn’t keep her eyes from sliding to the door for Room 6, just ten short feet away. If this is my last day without a full-time chaperone, I better get my answers while I can. She turned to Jameson, adopting a breezy tone. “Hey, if you just want to drop me off, I can wait for Shiloh to show up.”
But the white wolf wasn’t biting. “I don’t mind waiting. Cora would have my ass if I left you here alone.” He said it with a grin, and Gemma knew he was staying as much for his own principles as he was because Cora had asked for his help, but it still struck her as sweet that he didn’t hide how much power their love held over him. Especially since Gemma knew that Cora felt the same way.
Still a pain in my sneaky ass, though. Gemma tried another tactic, rolling with the topic to put some distance between her suggestion and her plan of attack. “You two set a date yet?”
Jameson’s forehead furrowed. “Can’t. We agreed we want Auntie at the wedding, so no date until she’s home.”
Gemma’s heart gave a tug. She thought it was beautiful and generous that the two of them would delay their wedding for a woman who wasn’t even related to them… at least not by blood. But maybe magic is even thicker?
She mumbled some platitude about everything working out when the time was right, then smiled casually in the Keeper’s direction. “I just need to go visit a friend over there. Text me when Shiloh shows.” And before Jameson could argue, Gemma was out of the car and striding purposefully over to knock on the door.
But right behind her she heard the creak of Jameson’s door just before it closed, and his footsteps coming closer. Dammit. She pasted a brighter smile on her face and turned. “It’s okay, J. Really. I'm good.”
She could see the indecision in his face, but before Jameson could say anything more the door opened beside Gemma and she turned.
When they were in high school, Faith Bolton had been one of those girls that naturally turned heads wherever she went. She'd had the body of a woman from a rock video and the face of an angel, and Gemma hadn’t known one boy in the school who wouldn’t have come running if Faith had crooked her finger at them. But instead she’d been a magnet for assholes, dating one bully after another for the entire year Gemma had been around to watch. Still, the relevant fact was that seventeen-year-old Faith had been a knockout.
The face that looked back at Gemma now was a portrait of tired-meets-disadvantaged. From the homegrown pixie haircut to the dark circles under her dull blue eyes, it was clear that Faith had fallen on hard times since Gemma had last seen her.
They stood there, the three of them, for a silent second, as Faith’s wide eyes bounced from Jameson’s badge to Gemma’s face. Finally she swallowed and her nervous gaze settled on Gemma. “Can I help you?”
Gemma smiled, not sure why Faith was so skittish but wanting to put her at ease so that she might feel comfortable enough to give Gemma some answers. Even if it does out my lie to Jameson about her being a friend. “You probably don’t remember me. I'm Gemma Jackson? I was a year behind you in high school? I’m a friend of Riot’s.” She smiled and waved her hand dismissively at the way-too-imposing shifter currently crushing her hopes for a quick, intimate girl-to-girl confessional. “This is my friend Jameson. He’s not here in any official capacity, I just needed a ride.”
Faith’s worried expression broke into a smile of relief and she stepped back, holding the door open. “Come on inside.”
Chapter 28 - If It Ain’t Broke, Break It
Gemma glanced at Jameson with wide eyes as she stepped forward, and thank goodness the older man took the hint and backed off with a stiff smile. “I’ll be in the car.”
And listening out for you, was implied in his reassuring glance. Gemma had learned a lot about shifters’ special skills in the last few days, and man, did she envy those ears. The stories I could break, if I had ears like that? I don’t even want to talk about it.
She found a clear spot on the old-but-clean couch and sat down. The motel room was cramped with kids’ toys and suitcases of clothes, plus a small table that held an electric skillet and a few boxes of Hamburger Helper. But Gemma could see that as dreary and crowded as it was, the space was clean.
Gemma turned her attention to Faith, now sitting on the edge of the queen-sized bed, only to see the curvy blonde examining her just as closely, a nervous look in her eyes. “I saw you yesterday, with Riot. You left together.”
And that’s your business, how? But Gemma reined in her territorial instincts and smiled tightly at Faith. “That’s why I’m here. About Riot.”
Faith gave a worried half-smile and wrung her fingers together. “We’re not involved, I swear.”
Gemma arched an eyebrow. As if I’d ask you, if I thought you were. But she pulled herself back again. Stick to the story. “Why does he come here? You put him in prison.” She couldn’t help the clipped tone of her voice. This woman has shit to answer for.
Faith wrung her hands, an apologetic look on her face. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. That whole thing was… it just… went too far.”
What whole thing? What went too far? Gemma felt like she was standing on the edge of a murky pool. She knew she was going to have to dive in, but she couldn’t see what was two inches under the surface, much less at the bottom. Even figuring out what questions to ask was more than Gemma could manage.
But Faith didn’t seem bothered. She was yammering on, looking at her hands in her lap. “Honest to God, it’s been killing me, none of his friends knowing. Especially after everything he’s done for us.”
Gemma’s mind made a noise like screeching brakes. Whoop, there it is. That’s a thing I want to know. “What exactly has he done for you?”
Faith threw her hands in the air. “Chased my ex off for good, helps pay for this place and Baker’s medical bills, takes care of my car. And he comes around, like yesterday, so my son has a better man to look up to than the one he started with. All that plus the medicine…“ Faith’s eyes got teary as she looked in Gemma’s direction. “We’d probably be dead without Riot.”
Gemma let a shaky breath go. Still, Faith was holding something back. “What aren’t you telling me, Faith?”
Faith bit her lip. “I helped frame Riot for stealing.”
What? “Why?”
Faith looked at Gemma like she was a special kind of stupid. “To help my ex. Riot’s cousin, Shain.”
And finally all the pieces started to fall into place in Gemma’s mind, like a giant game of Tetris, blocks of information turning and meeting. The ripple of suspicion she’d felt yesterday at the sight of Baker’s familiar eyes became a wave of certainty, washing over her. Shain is Baker’s father.
But then why the hell is Riot helping her? And why did they frame Riot in the first place? What did he ever do to them? A speck of an idea flitted around Gemma’s brain, but wouldn’t land. She brushed it off and fell back to classic interview tactics as her mind settled. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
Faith looked anxious, almost ready to come out of her skin. “You gotta understand, I didn’t even know Riot back then because he and Shain had had a falling out, and I… well, I was a bitch. All I cared about was that my boyfriend was angry at Riot, and I figured better him than me.” She pulled back one side of her mouth in a sad smirk.
The blonde’s shoulders shrank in and her eyebrows slumped. “We would get high and then he’d take me up to Duke’s, where Riot worked, and tell me to flirt with him. Which wasn’t hard, because they looked pretty much exactly alike.”
Gemma’s shoulders sagged as she exhaled, agreeing, “They surely fucking did.”
Faith sighed and added, “Except Riot was way nicer.” Then she smirked, looking more like her teenage self. “That’s why Riot has all those tattoos now, did you know? Said he’s never going to be mistaken for anyone else ever again.”
The lump in Gemma’s throat went down hard. Jesus, that man. Is there
any pain he won’t take on? But she shook off the thought and tuned her ears back to Faith’s story.
“While I distracted Riot, Shain stole whatever he could, anything small and expensive. Jewelry, watches, gold coins, whatever. I thought he was just scoring it to sell for drugs and booze, and some he did, but some he kept.” Faith swallowed. “And planted it in Riot’s room.”
Gemma couldn’t hold in her outrage. “And you knew?”
Faith’s eyes were desperately sad. “I thought he was just going to threaten Riot, or maybe get him in trouble with Duke, even though Duke would never do anything because he loved Riot like a son. But instead Shain told my dad, who’s a cop, and all I knew to do was lie along with him.”
Tears were rolling down Faith’s cheeks, but she didn’t stop. “Then my dad went to confront Riot, and Riot denied everything and called me a liar. My dad got pissed. He called Riot every name in the book, his dead dad, too, until Riot punched him. Then my dad had him arrested. I know I shouldn’t have testified, but…” She threw Gemma a helpless look. “It all got so big so fast, I didn’t know how to stop it.”
Gemma had gone stone still, her heart breaking for the young Riot in Faith’s story. But fury simmered deep inside Gemma, too, for what Faith had done to Riot, the lies she'd told about him and had allowed to go on. But now was not the time to show it. Instead Gemma called on her years of professionalism to veil the venom in her next question. “What happened after Riot went to prison?”
Faith swallowed and wiped her cheeks with her hands. “Shain and I stayed together, even though he was abusive. Did a lot of drugs. After a while my parents kicked me out and we moved here to crash with some friends. When I got pregnant, I got clean, but… Shain didn’t. Not until a couple years ago. And even then he was still a jerk.”
Surprise, surprise. Gemma asked another question. “Faith, what did you mean about Baker’s medicine?”
Faith appeared embarrassed, her shoulders going slack as her eyes pleaded with Gemma for understanding. “I was so scared when I opened the door that you were here about that. I know it’s not legal.” But then, as Gemma watched, Baker’s mother asserted herself. Faith’s back straightened and her chin rose. “But all the studies say it’s fine, and it’s the only thing that stops his seizures.”
Gemma’s mind was racing to catch up. Suddenly it was so obvious Gemma couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it before. “He’s taking cannabis oil.”
Faith nodded. “Riot makes a special kind of medical CBD oil for him. It’s a miracle straight from heaven. And as soon as he can, Riot said he’s going to move us to somewhere where it’s legal.”
But something still bugged Gemma, that little speck of a thought that she couldn’t quite catch. Or maybe didn’t want to. “I don’t get why, though. Why would Shain want to get Riot in trouble?”
Faith hesitated, shrugging her shoulders. “He said Riot was turning into a golden boy, and he needed to be taken down a peg.”
Gemma almost swallowed her tongue. Riot? A golden boy? What the fuck kind of family was that? “But something must have happened. You said Shain and Riot had a falling out?”
Faith shook her head. “That was back at the beginning of the school year, months before we started going out.” Her mouth pulled into that sideways smirk again, the one that said she didn’t think much of her old self. “Shit really went sour at Shain’s party, when Riot beat him up for…” Her eyes dropped to the dingy carpet. ”For trying to take advantage of another girl.”
“What?” Gemma got a horrible, putrid feeling in her stomach. No, please. I thought I was the only one who got hurt. She looked at Faith in reluctant comprehension. “You’re saying that Shain got Riot thrown in prison, because Riot beat him up for trying to rape someone?”
Faith nodded, her eyes full of shame and misery. “Plus Shain owed some guys money for drugs. When Riot got her out of there…” Faith’s voice trailed off, her face flaming, but Gemma knew what she didn’t want to admit. When Shain had been forced to return the money he’d been pocketing to pimp out her unconscious body, he’d probably gotten his ass kicked again, and not by people who’d take it easy on him like his cousin would. So he’d blamed Riot.
Gemma felt sick. She'd never told anyone about what Shain did to her because she never thought it mattered to anyone, but now this? Riot spent ten years in prison, for protecting me? For not letting his cousin and his bastard friends rape me?
She was furious, barely holding it in, but she still couldn’t comprehend… “How could he do that to Riot? His own family?”
But before Faith could respond Gemma’s phone buzzed with a text. It was Jameson. Shiloh’s here. You need more time?
Gemma calmed her racing mind and considered for a minute. This was Riot’s private business, and he clearly hadn’t wanted Gemma anywhere near it, for what he thought were good reasons. But it's my business, too, at least in part. And I kept quiet too long. Doesn't Riot finally deserve justice, at least where he can get it? Doesn’t he deserve to have some of this weight lifted off him, since it wasn’t his to begin with?
Finally she tilted her head at Faith. “You mind if a couple more of Riot's friends come in to hear this?”
Chapter 29 - Fight The Power
By the time Riot started up his motorcycle and headed back to Resperanza after a full day of scouting with Ryder, he still wasn’t feeling any more ready for dinner with Gemma. She’d been defiantly on his mind all day, resisting all his attempts to block her out, and Riot had known it was because it was time to give her some answers. But which ones?
Should he go whole-hog, share everything? Or just the truth about Baker and Faith, and hope it was enough to convince Gemma that there were no feelings involved, but also that she shouldn’t feel compelled to call the authorities?
The most protective part of him rose up with a roar. You can’t do that, asshole. Baker needs his medicine more than you need Gemma. But even as he thought it, Riot wondered if he could give the kid a run for his money on that score. Gemma was beginning to feel downright vital.
Riot rode on, turning up the terracotta sunburst driveway and letting the sight of the place he called home fill him. But what makes it home? Riot let his mind wander. The way Resperanza took note of him, helped with his dilemmas; he couldn’t deny how welcome that made him feel, and Riot was grateful. But he’d still been able to leave it behind… until Gemma came.
Warmth bloomed in Riot’s chest, like it always did when he thought of the woman with the cloud of black curls and sweet, full lips and a mind more brilliant than any he’d ever come across. But Riot shook the thoughts off like raindrops as he pulled into his spot in the garage, glancing at the slash marks on the wall. The memory of Gemma’s words from last night tugged at his mind, what she’d said about Riot being the best of what shifters were supposed to be. Fuck. How am I supposed to fight that? How am I supposed to resist a woman who believes I actually am everything I always wanted to be?
Riot set the kickstand and pulled off his helmet, his gut rolling a little in anticipation. So we'll have dinner. No big deal. Did Gemma cook, or would they walk into the kitchen together to find their meal had been prepared by magical means? Riot didn’t care, he just wanted to spend some time with her that wasn’t fucking, fighting, or killing vampires.
And I make a mean grilled cheese, if Resperanza’s busy. An image crossed Riot’s mental movie screen as he headed for the door to the house, of he and Gemma cuddled on the couch in front of the television, eating grilled cheeses and hot, buttered popcorn, licking each other’s fingers and laughing. His chest went tight with longing and Riot’s own harsh voice in his head shot him down. You don’t ask for much, do you? Just a miracle?
The house was quiet when he stepped inside. Too quiet. Riot glanced back at the garage. All the spaces were filled, except Goldie’s. Even Gemma’s car was here. So where the fuck was everyone? Where was the creak of floorboards from above? Riot couldn’t imagine what could go wrong in a
magic house, but he moved forward cautiously nonetheless.
Up the stairs and a glance in the kitchen, then the far end of the library. Nothing.
He heard a thump come from the direction of the atrium and moved that way.
Sure enough, the noises got louder. Riot was just about to turn the corner by the front door so that he could see what was happening, when he heard Flint’s reluctant grumble. “Explain to me again why we’re risking our asses for that fucking cat.”
Riot froze in his tracks.
There was only one cat Flint spoke about like that, and it was him. What the hell does he mean? Since when did that bear risk anything for me?
Jameson’s voice came back, clipped, as if he’d had this talk with Flint before. “We’re not. We’re doing it for Shain’s kid.”
What?! How the fuck did The Cause find out about Baker? But Riot didn’t have to go far to figure out the answer. Gemma had gotten her car, which meant she had been at the motel, which practically guaranteed that she’d talked to Faith. Double fuck.
Riot’s boots were still frozen in place as he tried to figure out what to do. His cover was blown, his dirty laundry spread all over the coven. Frustration piled on his shoulders as he tried to figure out a solution, but Flint’s voice broke into his thoughts again. “Still sounds fishy. I hung with Shain at sparring for a year, I never knew he had a kid.”
Jameson’s voice was tight when he replied. “And why do you think that is? Shady Pines PD got called to their place at least once a month for domestic disturbances. Faith never pressed charges because Shain threatened to take the kid and leave her homeless. That beat-down Riot put on Shain at sparring was to get him out of their lives.”
Riot was too stunned to move. J had looked up their case? Had seen the years of shit that Shain had put Faith and Baker through without ever being held accountable? Because Riot had known as soon as he arrived in Nantahala and saw the situation that he could have shouted it from the rooftops, but who was going to seriously listen to an ex-con accuse the guy who’d put him in prison? Action was the only option he’d had. But hearing someone else speak the truth, someone whose voice held some fucking weight? It felt fantastic.
