The others voiced their sadness over Slade. I listened to Diana and gathered that she'd been close to Odra. Maybe even more-so than the other two women.
Whatever the case, it was rather apparent to me that the group knew each other well and were probably friends. It made me wonder if Slade and Odra maybe had hung out with them as well.
One of the women, Christie, stood up to leave. As she did so, she passed by me and stopped. I pretended to gather my things so that she wouldn't think I'd been eavesdropping when I completely had been.
She cleared her throat. Deciding that looking everywhere but at Christie hadn't worked, I stared directly at her and smiled.
Her gaze was curious. “You new in town?”
“I'm staying at that old cabin by the ranch,” I said.
“Eww. He got someone to rent that place? You know we actually do have running water, right?”
Did they? What the heck was I staying at that cabin for? “And electricity?”
She grinned. “We've got that too.” She extended her hand. “I'm Christie. Listen, we don't like to call anyone stranger around here. Follow me and I'll introduce you to some of the fun inhabitants of the town.”
I followed her and shyly extended my hand to meet them all. Honestly, I was expecting one of them to jump up, point a finger at me and shout, “We know you were listening to us.” But none of them did.
Instead, Fifi said, “Give us your number. We'll call you and maybe hang sometime.”
Not wanting to appear rude, I gave it to them, and then I made my polite excuses and went back to my table. The moment I sat down I realized I’d tossed my phone. With a guilty sigh, I wondered if I should return to their table and explain. But then they’d ask questions about me trying to go off the grid, and I didn’t have any solid answers. Barely touching my food, I stared straight ahead. I’d just have to beg their forgiveness later…if they called.
Finally, I opted to take the rest of my lunch to go and figure out if I should stay in this little town or leave. As I stood to walk out the door, I put the tip on the table, smiled at everyone and left.
I'd come all this way, to meet Slade, to pitch my idea, and the poor soul had met a tragic end. I wondered what I should do. I didn't know him personally, but I wasn't lying when I said that so many people depended on him.
Then my thoughts turned to the mysterious stranger in Slade’s cabin. I couldn't stop thinking about the gorgeous vampire that had greeted me. His beautiful emerald eyes had been hollow as if his heart was haunted. He had a bad-boy vibe, and it contrasted with the moody need for solitude I also got.
If I wasn't mistaken, those scars on his arm had been put there a long time ago. I was willing to stake my life that Cade was very old and very powerful. That meant he was well-respected in the vampire community—and by my parent’s arbitrary dating decree—absolutely forbidden to me.
I'd always had a penchant for picking out the beta shifters. I'd never in my life even been attracted to an alpha shifter, and now I had stars in my eyes over a master vampire.
Way to be consistent, Augusta. I shook my head wondering why that stranger had gotten up under my skin so.
Maybe it was best for me to leave, and by that, I meant this town. I opened my door ready to head to the cabin and pack up my bag and go home when a patron from the diner came storming out.
It was Christie.
I wasn’t one to eavesdrop—twice in a row—but the woman's red-rimmed eyes caught my attention. She was tall, with blond hair, and wore her hair up in a bun. She seemed sophisticated in a way that I doubted I'd ever achieve. And the man that came out behind her, the one nearly identical in appearance seemed just as agitated as she was.
The only difference between the two really was that he stood at least six inches taller than her. I let my gaze travel critically over his wide chest, square face, and pretty amazing eyes except for being as red-rimmed as Christie’s. Although hers seemed from tears of sadness or anger, his bleary eyes seemed to be the result of a long binge of drinking.
With my acute sense of smell, I picked up week-old alcohol mixed with the more recent liquor he must have imbibed the night before. With a grimace, I filed that away. Slade’s brother had a fondness for the bottle.
“He was your brother, Thorley. Is it so hard to ask for you to quit being jealous of him for once in your life?” she asked.
“What do you want from me, Christie? I'm going to the will reading after the funeral. Even though I just got here, I’m staying like I always do, all right?”
“Are you honestly trying to make me believe right now, that you haven't been here for as long as Slade was? Because I know you came up here with him. I know that the two of you had an argument the night before he died—”
“We’re here for the next couple of months, Christie. We do it every year. Does that mean we have to argue every two minutes?”
That answered some questions. They had to stay a little longer. But they still seemed pretty cozy with the town’s locals. I wondered why.
He cut her off. “You spying on me again?”
Yep.
“What’s wrong with you, Christie? Just because you’re older by six minutes doesn’t mean you get to insert yourself into my life.”
“We’re twins, we have a bond,” she said relenting a little. “I’m only trying to help.”
“The two of us are fraternal.”
“You and I still—”
He shook his head. “Look alike? It’s no surprise we do—if you’re going by that line of thought—then Slade should have been our triplet. You never tried to rule his life, though.”
“Just don’t be so hard on yourself or me,” she said.
“Try taking your own advice.”
Despite myself, I was interested. They both seemed pretty suspicious to me, and I was no stranger to family members who couldn't be trusted. I shook my head. Poor Slade wasn't even six feet under, and these two were already at each other's throats.
“Speaking of which, the lawyer said you needed to be there for the will reading,” Christie said.
He scoffed. “Are you certain you aren’t putting words into his mouth?”
“In fact, he asked me to make certain you come and to call Slade's friend too because he can't get hold of him.” She lifted her shoulder and shrugged. “Wouldn’t it just be funny if Slade left everything to me?”
I could see by the tightening of Thorley’s face, by the slightly aggressive way he turned towards Christie, and by the sudden stillness in the air around him, that he didn't think so at all. I suspected, that though he wasn't a shifter if he got angry, things would get ugly. I never was one to get in the middle of domestic disputes, but I wasn't going to stand by and let Christie get beat up by her brother, either.
My tiger rose slightly to the surface, and I eased her down a bit. I didn't want to startle these humans because we weren't allowed to let them know who we were or what we were, but I would show just enough strength to make Thorley think better of getting overly aggressive.
I was just about to do just that when an old truck pulled into the parking lot, and out stepped the stranger from yesterday. The vampire. He looked every bit as good as he did the first time I’d seen him.
He flicked a glance at me, and the air between us charged with electricity. My mouth got dry, my toes tingled, and my heart skipped a beat. It was the same thing that happened to me the day before, and I focused on not looking like some school-girl who'd just gotten another glimpse of her hot, new crush. I blushed and didn’t know whether to get into my car or not. I did this weird dance where I turned in a complete circle as I tried to decide and blushed even harder.
A bit awkward, Augusta.
The stranger walked up to the two of them, and without preamble said, “I'm hungry, thirsty, and not in the mood for the two of you going at it in front of the door of my favorite Diner. Take it somewhere else.”
He seemed
pretty imposing, but I knew he couldn’t possibly be interested in what the restaurant served. I wondered why he really was here.
I widened my eyes, in complete astonishment, as Christie brought her hands to her face, and began bawling. Thorley appeared uncomfortable and even backed away from her before shooting the stranger from yesterday, an exasperated glance. “We were just having a conversation.”
Christie wouldn't stop crying. The stranger seemed a little uneasy. I didn't think his goal had been to make her dissolve into tears. In fact, as he stood there, probably internally trying to stop shifting from foot to foot, I took pity on him.
I made my way forward. As I looked at the newcomer, I tucked my hair behind my ear.
“What I think he probably meant,” I said as gently as possible, “is that you both have been through a lot. I know I should have mentioned it earlier, but I thought very highly of Slade. In fact, he's the entire reason that I came here.”
Christie stopped her sobbing. “You knew him?”
I wanted to tread lightly here because I didn't want her to start crying again. My goal had been to make her stop, but I also didn't want her thinking that I was some opportunistic person trying to capitalize on hers and Thorley’s grief. That wasn't my intent at all, and that's why I didn't answer her question directly.
“What I do think you both should do, is go back to where you're staying and take it easy for the rest of the afternoon,” I said instead. “I'm sure there's going to be a lot to do in the next few days, and you two are probably the only support system each other has at this point.”
They didn’t glance at each other.
I put on my best coaxing voice. It’d been used to get kittens down from trees. “At least you're the only two I see here, and at this point, we all should maybe think about the memory of Slade.” I nodded at first at Christie and then Thorley. “What would he want you to do?”
That seemed to get them both out of whatever personal vendetta they had against each other, and thinking about the true tragedy here. Which was Slade.
Christie hiccupped. “I just really miss him.”
Thorley sighed. “Me too.” Now it was his turn to give a little. “You’re in no condition to drive. Here, let me take you home.”
She looked as if she was about to disagree, and maybe even that she was about to walk away from him when she stopped and seemed to think about it. Then she threw herself into his arms. As she did so, a small piece of paper drifted from out of the side pocket of his coat. “He was your brother, Thorley.”
Thorley stomped on the note before anyone could see what was on it or it could fly off.
The stranger kept glancing at me. Every time I tried to catch him at it, he looked away. I wondered if he always fidgeted this much. Then again, when had I started to? Immediately, I quit playing with my hair.
Thorley nodded. “And you're my sister, despite being annoying as all hell. Let me take you home.”
Gently, he disentangled himself from her and then bent down to pick up the paper. He palmed it so that no one could see what was written on it and dropped it in his pocket. A breeze stirred the air, and I looked suspiciously at the stranger, who appeared not to have moved.
Christie looked in my direction gratefully, and Thorley looked at me with a bit of awe. I suspected he wasn't used to anyone calming Christie down once she got going. I'd had lots of practice with my mother and my sister.
The stranger went up to the two of them and placed a consoling hand on Christie’s shoulder. I grinned, a little proud of myself, and glad that the brother and sister were no longer arguing. The stranger joining in was an added bonus. I guessed my bid for everyone to treat each other a little nicer was working on him too.
As Thorley led her away, the stranger walked up to me. “Cade.”
He was giving me his name, was he? I rolled it over inside my mind and tested it on my tongue. “Cade?” It was attractive—just like him. “Nice to have a name to go along with the face. I’m Augusta Seabrook.”
“You just got to town yesterday?” he asked.
“Yep. I’d been traveling and hadn’t heard anything about Slade’s passing. Why were you at his cabin? Is there foul play going on?” I asked. “Are you like some secret investigator, minus a badge, a cool haircut, and a cool ride?”
I wasn’t being serious.
He tightened his jaw and narrowed his eyes. “What gives you that idea?”
I widened my eyes in surprised curiosity. I’d only been teasing but the sudden tension in his shoulders alerted me to the fact that maybe I was on to something. My curious mind began doing all kinds of agile acrobats and finally jumped to the most obvious conclusion to me.
“You’re undercover. FBI? Police?” I stared straight at him. “Arcane Affairs Agency.”
“Augusta, I’m not.”
Cade had moved earlier. Now, he had the note that I’d seen him swipe from Thorley tucked under his arm and he looked after the two speculatively. I wasn’t fooled by his lack of uniform. I frowned. Did they even wear them? I shook my head. Never mind.
I thought about what the brother and sister team had said, and the hurt that I’d sensed in each one of them, and realized that I couldn't leave. If Cade thought something was amiss with Slade’s and Odra’s death—which honestly—why else would he have been in Slade’s cabin, then I wanted to be involved and assist him anyway that I could.
I stared at Cade. “I’m staying here for a while, and I’ve got resources. Don’t you need resources for an investigation? You can use my help.”
“I’m not on the case,” he said.
He spoke as if he was still debating on whether to take it or not. But to me, that was as much as an admission that there was a case to be on. I hid the most tenacious aspect of my personality behind my next off-handed comment.
“Could you use me…maybe as a partner?” I asked.
Cade folded his arms. “Don’t do them.”
I dropped my pretend calm like it was a hot poker. “I'm going to find out what happened to Slade, Cade—with or without you.”
He tilted his head to the side and looked at me closely. “I’ve never seen anyone handle a pair of emotional siblings like you just did.” He shook his head and seemed to recalibrate. “Correction, I haven't seen something like that since my partner. But like I said, you joining me for a ride-a-long is not an option. Don’t poke your nose in this, little tiger. Curiosity has done terrible things to cats.”
He tipped his head to me in a way that was gentlemanly, in contrast to his words, and from ages long past. Despite his dismissing my offer so arrogantly—I was intrigued.
Didn’t he realize cats had nine lives?
CHAPTER SIX
*Cade*
ODRA HAD LIVED IN A cabin on a knoll tucked away on a bit of land in the back of the woods. There were trees as far as the eye could see behind her cabin. She’d always kept the driveway clean of debris. I rolled up in front of her cabin and stopped.
It smelled like firs, junipers, and pine. The weather was cold and brisk, and I wasn't expecting to smell any wild animals, but I had the distinct impression of a large cat.
Warily, I looked around the area and not seeing anything, made my way to Odra’s cabin. After pulling out my lock-pick, I let myself in. She kept the place tidy, and the living room furniture was just as she had left it. It was covered with quilts and the floor had numerous print rugs.
On a cursory glance, I didn't see anything in the living room that gave me pause, and I continued my way to the bedroom. I knew that was where Odra and Slade had been found. Before I opened the door, the scent of cat grew stronger, and I narrowed my eyes. Odra didn't have any felines.
I threw the door open, and before me, there was a large, beautiful, black and gold tiger, with silky fur, and large feline eyes. Those eyes, I’d seen them before.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
Before my eyes, the tige
r stretched. Her bones began to crack. It was fascinating to watch. I knew I should have turned away from something so intimate. I barely even knew her, and yet a world catastrophe could have happened at that moment and I would not have taken my eyes off her.
As the cracking grew louder, the cat was replaced by Augusta. She shifted so effortlessly and besides the loud crunching sounds, I wouldn't have even known that just moments before, she was a tiger. That kind of skill only an advanced Alpha had, and I stood there staring at her captivated.
“Are you going to continue gawking at me or are you going to get me my clothes?” she asked a hint of irritability in her voice.
I noticed the small pile in the corner and realized she must have shifted into a tiger from her own cabin, and run over here with the clothes in her mouth, and placed them over there. That meant that she had planned on coming here. “What are you doing sniffing around?”
When I held out her clothes, she took them and got dressed. This time, I kept my eyes averted.
“I thought it'd be easier for me to smell if anything was amiss if I shifted,” she said.
“You’re not supposed to be here. And you've contaminated my crime scene.”
Hearing the last bit of clothing fall into place, I turned around so that I could let her see my annoyance.
She shook her head. “What? Yours? From what I understand the case has been closed, that means that there is nothing to contaminate. Come on, Cade. I can help.”
“Don't want you to.”
“Aren’t you curious to know what I found out with my tiger senses?”
I wanted her out of my hair. I didn't want her sneaking around looking for things. “Why’d you come?”
There was a pause. I could see she was gathering herself to tell me something interesting. I waited.
“This is what I found so far. There's a chocolate box out there in the kitchen. Right beside it, there's a brown box. I sniffed all around it and found an unknown substance much lighter in coloring right above where a sticker used to be. Clearly, someone had scratched off the sticker and I think that they made the unknown smudge.”
The Vampire's Alpha Mate: A BBW Tiger-Shifter Romance (Arcane Affairs Agency) Page 5
