Alex
My arms ached and strained underneath the weight of the sleeping monster I dragged behind me. I’d waited until darkness to bring it in, careful to avoid prying eyes in the alleyway of shops where Indra’s store sat. But sitting with this thing in the bed of my truck all day had left me grumpy. I didn’t give two shits about whether or not anyone approved of what I was doing. But self-preservation wasn’t lost. I didn’t want to get caught either.
Between a long-ass day babysitting a tranquilized werewolf and having to do manual labor to boot, I was not in a great mood by the time I dragged the thing through Indra’s front door.
She came out of the room behind the counter and her eyes widened—first in surprise and then in delight. I clenched my jaw to keep from making a snide comment about how most girls would have preferred flowers or chocolate. But not this one.
Then again, Indra wasn’t a girl.
She wasn’t even human. But then, she probably didn’t know I knew that. Or my history with magic like hers. It was an advantage I was currently keeping to myself.
“Is he alive?” Indra asked, brows creasing as she studied the werewolf on the tarp I was pulling.
“He’s fine. Just tranquilized,” I said.
“Oh, good. Take him to the back room,” Indra said and waved me off before I could even speak. Then she disappeared back inside the store room with a swish of her dress. It had full skirts and brass buttons and looked like something out of a medieval folk festival. I noticed Indra had been trying less and less to fit in to normal society lately and wondered what sort of “deadline” she was headed toward.
I took a deep breath and then began pulling and tugging, hauling my delivery through the showrooms with a grunt. This arrangement was not going to last long if this was what I’d be doing with my time. I wasn’t above getting my hands dirty but CHAS had clean-up teams for this shit. I wanted to stake something, not shoot it with a sleep-dart. Or drag it home like a rug.
The moment I made it to the center of the room, I dropped the tarp and let the sleeping werewolf rest inside the pentagram still adorning the concrete floor. It’s where I’d left the last two so I assumed this was the right spot.
I dusted off my hands and headed back out. Indra met me halfway. “There’s food and drink in my office behind the counter,” she said. “Help yourself.”
I almost kept walking but a free meal was a free meal.
I downed the burger and fries and half the water before grabbing the bottle and wandering back out again. Indra’s voice floated back to me from where she was working on the sleeping werewolf.
I’d found him camping in the redwoods near a hiking trail and provoked him until he’d shifted. I didn’t even know his name. Nor did I care to—partly Indra’s doing and partly because I figured my job would be easier with minimal details.
I rounded the counter and headed for the exit, opting for another hunting expedition rather than stay here and spend time with my new boss. She was weird and creepy—and even when she tried to be normal, it was off. I wasn’t a fan.
But something she said stopped me and I doubled back toward what I’d dubbed as her magic room. I was almost there when I caught her words and went still, just listening.
“You will go back to your campground and dispose of your belongings there. Leave no trace. When you’re finished, come back to town and complete the mission I have set out for you,” she said.
“What is the name of my target, mistress?” I recognized the voice as the werewolf from the woods I’d brought in. So he was awake. And apparently on Team Indra now.
“Her name is Samantha Knight. And you will kill her and eat her heart.”
Indra’s words—the hatred burning as she spoke them—left me shaken. Strange since nothing really moved me these days. I backed away, too confused by my own reaction and stunned by her order to want to be found now. I left the way I’d come, but this time I wasn’t so sure I’d be back.
Chapter Twelve
Sam
The drive to San Francisco seemed to take forever. I picked at the edge of my phone case until Brittany suddenly reached over from the driver’s side and grabbed my hand, stilling it in her tight grip.
“Girl, I need you to relax,” she said, shooting me a sideways glance. “We’re fine. Everything is fine.”
“I am relaxed,” I argued and Brittany pinned me with a look that said we both knew I was lying.
“RJ said this is just a formality,” Brittany tried again.
“RJ says every meeting is a formality,” I pointed out.
“That’s because it is,” he called from the backseat. Even with his headphones on, he still didn’t miss a thing.
“Have you ever met her?” I shot back.
“Well, no,” Brittany said carefully.
“Then it’s a big deal,” I said.
Brittany sighed and kept her eyes fastened on the road ahead. I went back to picking at the corner of my silicone phone case.
Forty minutes later, we were parked and standing in the lobby of the trendy downtown office building we’d visited last week. Once again, I stared up at the gigantic sculpture that looked a lot like a hunter to me. It wasn’t even the same build or facial features, but I could still see Alex in the warrior depicted out of marble.
I saw him in everything lately.
I couldn’t walk past the fountain in Half Moon without catching sight of the place where he’d saved me from Mason. Every pick-up truck on the street was his. And every silent moment was a reminder of his absence in my life.
Knowing he was living just across town only made it worse. He was so close yet chose to remain separate. I couldn’t accept it.
Everyone else had. Brittany and RJ didn’t bring him up, probably to keep from upsetting me. I’d tried asking RJ if he’d spoken to Alex but he’d just given me a terse, “No, and I don’t want to talk about him,” before walking out for his next shift. Edie had no news on him when I texted. He was like a ghost in my life. Someone only I saw. A memory only I remembered. It was as if everyone else had given up. But I hadn’t. And I wouldn’t. I felt like his only hope.
“Sam!” Brittany’s sharp voice brought me back. I jumped and found her watching me, her expression intent as she studied my face.
“What?” I asked.
Brittany pointed and I saw that RJ had appeared beside her. “RJ’s here. We can go up.” Brittany frowned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” I said, with much more conviction than I felt. As if to prove it to them and myself, I straightened my jacket and flipped my hair back into place. “Let’s go.”
Brittany and RJ shared a look that was clearly unconvinced—but they fell into step with RJ leading the way. Brittany stayed close to me through the crowded lobby, right on my heels, but it wasn’t necessary. There was no danger here. Only humans caught in the rat race of job, drinks, home, repeat. It made me think of my parents, the hamster wheel of life they seemed content to run on, and I forced it away as we stepped into the elevator.
Today was not a good day for brooding thoughts. I had a very important meeting upstairs and I was desperate to make a good impression.
Simon Brooks III was waiting for us at reception when we arrived. My stomach leaped as terror hit me at the thought that we might be late. But he was smiling as we approached. When I got close, he offered me a limp handshake and a wave of his hand, ushering us back into the same conference room we’d visited last week.
I noticed the dry-erase markers had been removed from the board, and heard RJ whispering the same to Brittany while he snickered.
Simon stood in the doorway, still offering the same fake smile as we rounded the table. “Can I get you all anything to drink?” he asked brightly.
Weird. Last time we’d come here, he’d looked ready to throw us out and now he was waiting on us?
“Uh, I’ll have a water,” I said uncertainly.
“With lemon?” he asked and I shrugged.
> “Make that two,” Brittany said.
“I’ll have a Kombucha,” RJ said.
Simon blinked at him.
“Or water,” RJ amended.
Simon walked off.
Brittany tossed a pen at RJ. “What?” he demanded.
She rolled her eyes.
“Guys, can we please not embarrass ourselves this time?” I pleaded.
RJ and Brittany shot each other a mutually accusing look and I sighed. They were more like my kids than my friends sometimes. I chalked it up to too much time spent together. I knew none of us wanted to admit it out loud, but we were all getting a little sick of each other. As much as we liked hanging out, we needed a break.
I was spending more and more time in my room reading the books I’d ordered. I’d found one on Reiki and another on auras and had decided to read up before going to see Mason. RJ was completely healed but Mason’s injuries were more extensive. I was nervous—and not willing to chance another failure now.
But RJ and even Brittany had nagged me less and less about spending so much time in my room. I’d even caught her studying once when I’d taken a break to make spaghetti for dinner last night. And that’s how I knew things were bad. We definitely needed some time off if Brittany had resorted to homework.
When Simon returned, I stopped picking at the edge of my phone case and gratefully accepted the glass of ice water. He passed the other two glasses over to Brittany and RJ and then motioned at them.
“Your presence is requested in Interview,” he said.
“Interview?” I repeated.
“Debrief,” RJ explained, rising. Brittany did the same. Neither looked as confused as I felt so I assumed they’d done this before. Sometimes, it was easy to forget the two of them had a life in CHAS before me.
“They are being asked to report on this week’s safety patrols,” Simon explained. “Doing this while you’re here for your weekly check-in means they don’t need to take time away while guarding you. They’ll return shortly.”
I nodded reluctantly. It made the most sense. But it meant even less time off duty for them, and I definitely didn’t want to have my big introduction without them either. I was nervous enough as it was.
He disappeared again with my friends in tow, and this time, I bounced my knees in impatience. “Can we just do this damned meeting already?” I mumbled to the empty room.
The door opened and I straightened at the sight of a dark-skinned guy around my age. He was dressed casually in a polo and a pair of frayed, faded jeans with sandals. A hemp necklace was tucked into the collar of his shirt and his eyes lit as he smiled over at me.
“You must be Samantha,” he said warmly. His words were almost formal as if English wasn’t his first language though I couldn’t quite place the slight accent he carried.
I took his offered hand and shook it, surprised by the warmth and white light that filled me at his touch. “I am,” I said, a little breathless.
I’d never felt anything like it before. The calming warmth radiated from him; even after he let go of my hand, I could feel it between us.
“I’m Koby. It’s nice to meet you.” He took the seat beside me.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you. I’m supposed to meet the director,” I said, confused at his presence and the strange calming energy I felt coming from him.
“She’s on her way,” he assured me. “I thought I’d pop in first and introduce myself. So you aren’t just sitting here by yourself for so long.”
“Thanks. You’re a hunter?” I asked, still trying to understand who he was and what he wanted from me.
“Yes, I’ve been assigned to a post in South America the last few years, working with a village of mostly werewolves in our global outreach program. I run the medical clinic there.”
“Oh, like doctors without borders or something?”
He chuckled. “Sort of. My medical practice is a little different than that. I’m an empath. Do you know what that is?”
“I think so.” Mirabelle had told me about the term once. Apparently, it was another supernatural lesson I’d accidentally retained. “You feel people’s emotions or mood?” I asked.
He nodded. “More or less. Edie asked me to speak with you.”
“Edie sent you all the way here from South America to talk to me?” I asked, a little more comfortable at the mention of her name. Now, it was all making sense. I’d talked with her a few days ago and told her about my healing RJ—and my newfound ability to sense and read auras.
“Yes, well, on the suggestion from a friend. Alex Channing?”
I went still. “Alex asked you to come… help me?”
“That is what Edie tells me.”
“How do you know Alex?” I asked, thirsty for any sort of connection with him right now. Especially his life before me. It was weird but I wanted to know him the way everyone else did.
“I met Alex several years ago during the re-organization of CHAS. It was… a time of chaos for our government. But it ended in peace, thank the gods. I was fortunate enough to be there for the first treaty signature and then I went to DC for a while to work with Alex and Tara and the others. Alex is an honorable and good man. I admire how far he’s come in his compassion.”
I could only stare at him, a little dumbfounded.
He cocked his head in confusion. “You don’t agree?”
“I… I might be the only one who agrees,” I admitted ruefully. “I’ve never heard anyone else talk about him like that before.”
Koby nodded as if he understood. “Alex is complicated. But he has a good heart.”
I sighed. “I don’t know about that anymore,” I said. Quickly, I told him about what happened with his illness and subsequent healing. “I’m surprised he sent for you given his lack of interest in our mission anymore. Or my safety for that matter,” I finished.
“I think the request came down before,” Koby admitted. “It took me a bit to get away. I met with Edie via video conference earlier this morning. She brought me up to speed on what you’re doing to find a cure for the werewolves’ infection.”
“I don’t feel like I’ve done much at this point,” I admitted.
He smiled. “She thought it might be helpful for you to speak to someone who had a similar gift to yours.”
“You can heal people?” I asked, leaning forward in sudden interest.
He smiled almost apologetically and shook his head. “Not exactly. It is true that I’m an empath, which means I can sense or read someone’s emotional temperature. But I can also go one further and share in what they’re feeling so it isn’t such a heavy weight on them.”
“Share … how?” I asked.
“If someone feels pain, for example, I am able to take some of it on and lessen the burden for them a while. Here. Let me show you.” He held his hand out and I tentatively placed mine in his. “Now, think of the most painful thought you can.”
I didn’t move. Or think.
He smiled apologetically. “It’s a lot to ask, I know,” he said.
“It’s not that, I just … I don’t want to share that pain with anyone yet,” I admitted, my own stomach churning despite the fact that I’d forced myself not to think of it. Of him.
He nodded knowingly. “How about we do this the other way around? Take my hand and try to sense or find my pain.”
He offered his hand and I took it tentatively in mine. Koby waited, his expression patient and not at all affected by whatever inner thoughts he was calling up in his mind. If he really was thinking of a painful memory, I couldn’t tell by looking at him.
“Use the energy,” he said as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Edie said you’ve been working with auras. Look for mine.”
I closed my eyes and waited. Finally, I exhaled in frustration and opened my eyes again. “It’s not working. I think I need my stone,” I said. “It helps take me into the—”
“Sam, you can do this,” Koby cut in, and I scowled, biting m
y tongue against the urge to argue. He didn’t know me. He had no idea what I could do. Or not do.
And I’d never done anything like this without the stone.
Not true.
I’d healed Kiwi and that bird just fine without any outside tools or tokens. And Alex…
I took a deep breath and tried again.
This time, the energy lit a path from my psyche straight to Koby’s and with almost no trouble, I spotted the brightly-lit aura that surrounded his physical body like a force field. I sucked in a breath, marveling at its purity and the way the colors in the center all swirled in on each other.
Bright greens, pinks, purples, and every color in between. RJ hadn’t looked anything like this. Neither had any of the diagrams or descriptions I’d read in my research.
“Koby, you’re beautiful,” I said before I could help myself.
“Thank you.” Koby chuckled. “You’re looking for pain,” he reminded me softly.
Pain. Right.
I used my inner senses and the magic that bled to the tips of my fingertips to do a sort of one-eighty around Koby’s aura. Finally, I spotted a light stain near his feet.
Slowly, I reached for him, and just like I’d done with RJ, I concentrated on removing the darkness there.
Koby’s hand tightened in mine just a fraction and then he was pulling away, shaking me lightly, his hand cupping my cheek.
I opened my eyes and looked up into dark chocolate skin and a pair of eyes to match. “Sam?” Koby was staring down at me intently and I turned my head left and right, disoriented.
“How did I get on the floor?” I asked.
Someone behind Koby spoke. A low voice. Female. Commanding. I tried to sit up, nerves clearing the fog in my head like a sharp whip.
“You lost yourself a bit,” Koby said, still watching me carefully.
“I told you I needed my stone,” I muttered.
Koby gave a half-smile. “I’d say you did just fine without it. How do you feel?”
I licked my lips, wishing for water. “I feel… fine. How do you feel?”
Esperance: (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 3) Page 11
