by Lane Hart
"Up," I whisper to Nadia and Trent before grabbing her hand and pulling her up the stairs behind me. I duck into the first bedroom I come to and push Nadia to the floor as I crouch down to sneak forward toward the window.
There’s thankfully no one on the street. When I return to Nadia’s side, the lamp lights from outside land on Trent’s enormous frame still standing in the middle of the room, his hands on his hips. And ew, either he’s not wearing a shirt or he’s wearing one made out of fur.
Nadia
I stare up at the giant man whose house we just crashed. It’s hard to tell with so little light, but it looks like he has short, black hair, dark eyes, and lots of chest hair. If I had to guess, he’s in his thirties, closer to my age than Zaine’s.
Unable to take the silence any longer, I stick my hand out to him from where I’m sitting on his bedroom floor, my back against his bed.
"Hi, I'm Nadia," I say quietly.
"Trent," he replies with a smile, flashing his white teeth in the dark before he sinks down to his knees on the carpet in front of me without releasing my palm. "What the fuck is going on? Are we playing hide and seek?"
"Not quite. Zaine and I were having dinner when –"
A loud ringtone interrupts the quiet silence and our whispers.
"Shit!" Zaine exclaims before pulling his phone out of his jean pocket and answering, speaking quietly. "Cash? You sure? We're at Trent's and haven't seen anyone. Drive around a little while beforehand just to make sure. All right, bye."
Zaine exhales and gets comfortable beside me, stretching his long legs out in front of him. Shining the light from the screen of his phone on my face, he asks, "Are you okay?"
I nod my head even though I’m not sure I am okay. Strange men have now tried to kidnap me not once but twice!
"Three men with guns just came into the Sizzler trying to snatch her up out of her seat while we were eating," Zaine informs his friend.
"Three?" I ask in confusion because I only saw two.
"Jesus," Trent mutters, and a shiver runs through my body.
He must notice because he’s still holding my hand, now in both of his. “She’s cold and trembling,” he tells Zaine. “Can you grab a sweatshirt from the second drawer behind you?”
“Ah, yeah,” Zaine agrees, crawling over to get a shirt and then shining the light on us again when he turns around. “Why are you holding her hand?” he asks his friend, and I quickly release my hold on him.
“Sorry. I shook her hand and forgot,” Trent tells him gruffly.
“Yeah sure," Zaine says when he offers me the shirt. "Here you go. Let me know if you need another one."
"Thank you," I say, accepting what looks to be a gray sweatshirt. I pull it over my head and try to think warm thoughts.
"Cash is on his way after he makes sure he's not being followed," Zaine explains.
I nod, and then my teeth started chattering.
"Shit, she might be going into shock. Can you find her something to eat and drink with sugar?" Zaine whispers to Trent.
"Yeah, I'll be right back."
Zaine moves closer to me, and then I’m on his lap with his arms tightening around me. I lay my head against his hard chest, breathing in his wonderful smell, and trying to calm myself down. Surrounded by his warmth, the shivering finally begins to ease up, and I have to admit it feels nice to be held.
"You're safe," he says quietly into my hair.
I nod, confident that Cash has taken care of the guys at the restaurant. They were probably having some really sweet dreams right now. No one followed us, so the coast is probably clear. Still, the fear of the unknown, wondering if the same thing might happen again has me jittery and scared.
"We're not going to let anything happen to you," Zaine assures me.
"No, we're not," Cash says from above us, making Zaine and I both jump in surprise.
"Fuck, Cash! How about a little warning before you sneak up and scare the shit out of us? And what the fuck were you doing there tonight?" Zaine asks.
Arms crossed over his chest, Cash says, "How about I had a feeling that if someone tried to kidnap Nadia once, they'd do it again. And what do you know, I was fucking right!"
"What?" Zaine asks. “Twice?”
"Tom Ellis, a cop I know, said the robber Friday night had a picture of Nadia on him, along with five grand. Why would someone with that much cash rob a small grocery store?" Cash asks. "Who's after you, Nadia?" The expression on his face is intense and almost menacing in the dim room.
"How the hell would I know?" I ask him indignantly. “I’ve never seen any of those guys before!"
"So you have no idea why someone would keep coming after you?" Cash replies, his tone heavy with skepticism.
"No. I have no freaking idea. Like I told Tom when he came by the store for my statement, I'm a nobody. No family, no close friends. Nothing but a shitty job and a shitty apartment. I don't have any money or own anything else of value except my old car," I snap.
Zaine's arms around me tighten in support. "Calm down, Cash,” he tells his grumpy roommate. “This isn't her fault. She's the victim here, so quit yelling at her!"
"Oh, and you think you can protect her?” Cash asks. “If I hadn't been there tonight, she wouldn't be here right now."
"Oh-kay then," Trent says when he reappears beside Cash. "Nadia, do you want to come with me and eat downstairs? It looks like there's about to be a pissing contest, and I'd hate for you to get caught in the middle."
"S-sure," I stutter. Zaine stands me up on my feet so I can follow his friend.
"I've got a candy bar and Gatorade. That work for you?" Trent asks.
"That'll work,” I agree. “But steak would have been so much better."
What in the world had I gotten myself into?
Chapter 8
Cash
"I'd kick your ass right now if the council wouldn’t be pissed at me for putting you in the hospital," I warn Zaine.
"What is your fucking problem?" he asks, getting in my face.
"You know what my problem is. You."
"You're jealous."
I laugh bitterly, moving away to look out the window before I do something I'll regret, or the council would never forgive me for.
"I heard her giving you the 'let's just be friends' speech, so save the bullshit," I tell him.
"And what, you think now you have a chance with her? I hate to tell you, bro, but there's no way in hell I'm going to let you try and fuck her."
I laugh again at his audacity. "Since when did she let you start making those decisions for her?"
"I shouldn't have to. You shouldn't be selfish enough to even think about drinking from her. You know damn well you'll end up hurting her, if not killing her."
"I haven't ever hurt anyone, and you know it!"
"How many girls have you fucked in the last two years, Cash?" he asks. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say none. And why is that? Because you don't trust yourself not to get carried away!"
I hate when the asshole is right.
"Look, some serious shit is going on here, so why don't we both agree to lay off of her?” I suggest. “She's safer with me, so I'm not going to leave her alone whether you like it or not."
Zaine grumbles for a while as I search the dark streets out front.
"Fine. As much as it pains me to admit it, you're right. You can't be hurt, and you can heal her if anything happens.”
“Damn right.”
“She should come back with us to the academy and stay in our room.”
I find myself agreeing with him for once, wanting Nadia with me, in my bed where I can keep a close eye on her. Those thoughts pop up right before reasoning catches up to me.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” I ask him. “No one but sups can know about us or the academy. The council would never agree to let her stay with us.”
“She already knows what you are.” Grinning mischievously, he adds, “They don’t have to know, do
they?”
“Nuh-uh,” I mutter. “I’m not risking pissing off those guys and Harper. We should just call and ask them. Maybe they’ll understand.”
I have my phone in my hand, getting ready to look up Drake’s phone number, since he’s the most easy-going of the four, when the device goes flying through the air.
“What the fuck?” I snap at Zaine.
“You can’t call and ask them! Don’t be a dweeb.”
“I could bite you right here and now, drinking down every drop of your blood, and you couldn’t do shit to stop me!” I warn him.
“No, but then you would have to drain Trent too, explain it all to Nadia, and pray that the council never finds you, or you would be a dead man too.”
“Fucking hell, you’re a pain in the ass,” I tell him when I stomp over to pick up my phone.
“What if we ask Trent if we can stay here?” Zaine suggests. “Since Nadia can’t go home, I say we keep her here until we figure out what’s going on, rather than move her and risk the bad guys seeing us.”
“Fine,” I agree since I already put her coat and purse in the guest room earlier when I snuck in through the second story window and eavesdropped on them. “I’m sure Trent won’t mind. And I can stay with her since I have a few days off.”
“No fucking way!” Zaine exclaims. “I’ll stay, and you can keep watch outside.”
“You know she’ll never be safe with you. If something happens to her, which it won’t because I can stop anyone who comes after her, she’ll need my blood to heal.”
“And how do I know you won’t get too close and drain her? Huh?” he throws back in my face. “I’m staying. I may not be able to protect her from guys with guns, but I will protect her from you.”
“Whatever,” I huff, since it’s a losing battle.
Leaving him in the bedroom, I jog down the steps and find Trent and Nadia in the living room watching re-runs of South Park, so I quickly take the seat beside her on the couch.
"So, Nadia, after everything that's happened this week, Zaine and I think you'd be safer if you stayed with us for a little while. If these assholes know where you work, they might know where you live."
She looks at me and then Zaine coming down the steps, nervously biting her bottom lip.
"Trent, do you mind if the three of us crash here for little while?" Zaine asks.
Nadia looks to Trent, waiting for his response before she gives me an answer.
“Stay as long as you want.”
Nadia runs her fingers through her hair and finally exhales. "I don't want to burden you guys, but…I'm scared to go home."
I sigh in relief because she’s not going to put up a fight, but I hate that she’s scared. Zaine takes a seat on the sofa next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"We probably need to tell her…everything since we’re going to be living together for a while," Zaine says.
"Tell her everything?" I repeat.
"Yeah. If she's going to be staying with us, she has a right to know." To know I wasn't human he meant. Guess he’ll also tell her what him and Trent are too.
"Fine. She's probably already figured it out," I reply.
Chapter 9
Nadia
Cash remains standing, getting ready to speak while Zaine stays close, letting me warm up thanks to his body heat.
"So, Nadia, you know from Friday night that something's up with me. Maybe you've even figured it out," Cash starts.
"I have an idea," I agree with a nod.
"Let's hear it," Cash replies with a smirk, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest.
"Do you, ah, by chance, drink…blood?" I ask as gently as possible. Cash shoots an "I told you so" look over to Zaine.
"I do," Cash answers. "And since you already knew that and are still here, I assume that means that you're not afraid of me."
"I’m not," I reply.
"Good."
"How did you become…one, if you don't mind me asking?" I wanted to know what had led to that sort of life-changing event.
Cash sighs and runs a hand through his hair, making the strands stand up all over the place. It was too damn sexy.
“It was life or death, and I didn’t really get a choice,” he says simply. “Someone else chose immortal life as a vampire for me.”
And there it is, the word I couldn’t bring myself to say because it sounded so insane.
“You should also know that Zaine is a warlock and Trent is a shapeshifter, both of which are genetic conditions,” Cash adds.
"Wow," I mutter in surprise because I did not see that coming. “What do all three of those things mean?”
"Well, for me, I have to drink blood every few weeks; but other than that, I'm pretty much normal."
"Except you're bulletproof. Oh, and you can heal people," I add with a smile.
"I'm also a helluva lot stronger and can fuck all night long," he says, making my jaw drop and my cheeks burn.
"Damn it, Cash," Zaine groans, covering his face.
"It's true. Although, I also have the blood lust at the same time as the other lust, which really sucks," he says, then laughs at his choice of words, making me giggle too.
“So what does it mean to be a warlock or a…shapeshifter?” I ask.
“Shapeshifters turn into animals every month on the full moon,” Cash explains. “And warlocks are a dying breed with little to no power.”
“I can make healing potions,” Zaine speaks up and says. “That’s why I’m an EMT.”
“That’s amazing, Zaine,” I tell him.
“I’m a volunteer firefighter, and Trent is a security guard,” Cash tells me. “The council in charge of supernatural beings insists that we go into careers that help others.”
“Cash is the most dangerous of us because he can’t control his blood thirst,” Zaine adds.
“Don’t worry, I have access to as much bag blood as I need,” Cash tells me. “So you don’t have to worry. I won't try and bite you."
Warmth spreads through my body at the idea of him biting me, turning my blood to lava. I shouldn't be aroused by that idea, but I can't help my body's reaction to thinking about him sinking his teeth and his hard cock into me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven't slept with a man in, damn, I guess it's been almost a year.
Cash's head cocks to the side as he studies me, like he is trying to read my reaction.
"Why don't I show you Trent’s guest room and find you something to sleep in?" Zaine suggests, then clears his throat and gets to his feet.
"Sure, thanks," I say, quickly following him back up the stairs and away from temptation personified.
The room he takes me to is similar to the one we hid in. It’s mostly empty with just a full-sized bed and a dresser with a lamp. My purse and coat are sitting on the bed, which is a huge relief. Cash must have grabbed them from the restaurant which was really damn sweet of him. And I guess the second-story window is how he got in since the door downstairs was locked up tight.
Feeling exhausted, I take a seat on the edge of the bed, running a hand over the top of the comforter, which is soft, softer than my bed at home. Now that the night is calming down, it feels like the weight of it all is smothering me. There were too many unanswered questions making me paranoid and pissed that what little normalcy I have in my life is being threatened. And I didn't know what I've done to deserve it. A tear races down my cheek before I can stop it, followed quickly by another one.
"Oh no. No, no, no, woman. You're breaking my heart," Zaine says, making me smile sadly before the tears turn to sobs. I duck my head down and cover my face to save myself from what embarrassment I can. I’m acting like such a whiny little girl.
The mattress dips when Zaine sits beside me, then pulls me against his chest in a hug.
"Um, Cash!" he yells.
"Yeah?" comes his response, then, "What the fuck did you do to her?" Cash’s voice asks from the doorway.
/> "I don't know, she just started leaking. I'm guessing it might have something to do with the fact bad guys are after her."
"No, it's probably just you," Cash argues.
In the quiet stillness of the room, I can hear the rain beginning to pour down on the roof so heavy it sounds like it’s gushing out of the gutters outside the bedroom.
"How do I make it stop?" Zaine asks, and if I hadn't been falling apart, it probably would have been funny to hear a tough guy freaking out over a few tears.
"What the hell do you think I am, the chick whisperer?" Cash huffs. "Oh, wait. I have an idea." A few minutes later he returns. "Here, Nadia. This will take the edge off."
I blink my wet eyes open and see he’s holding a shot glass and a bottle of tequila in front of me. Getting drunk to take the edge off? Hell yeah.
I nod and hold my hand out. Cash pours the clear liquid, and then I toss it back and hold the glass out for more. After the second shot, I start to feel my muscles relax, especially since my stomach is mostly empty.
"Better?" Zaine asks, and I nod against his chest. "You ready for bed?" I shake my head no. "More TV?" he suggests.
"Yeah. Something funny."
He stands up with me in his arms and heads back to the living room, stopping on the way to grab a thick fleece blanket from a linen closet.
Instead of the couch, he sits down in one of Trent’s recliners while still holding me and raises the bottom up. My head lays against his chest, the rest of my body between his legs. If I hadn't been so tired and stressed, it probably would have been arousing knowing my side was against all his manly parts. But no, tonight is about comfort and nothing else. I watch the channels on the television flash by as my eyelids grow heavier and heavier until I can't keep them open any longer.
Chapter 10
Zaine
