My body sagged in relief and then tensed immediately when I caught sight of Indra’s smug smirk. I straightened and met her gaze, searching for where this was all going.
“No.” Indra’s teeth glinted like tiny knives in the dim light. For a fleeting second, I could almost see past the magical mask she wore to the terrifying and ugly creature she really was underneath. Bile rose in my throat at the glimpse of such a monster.
But then it was gone. And Indra was watching me calmly, her beauty composed into serene perfection. “No, darling. I don’t want you to toss her aside. You’re right. You’ve done that. This is about so much more.”
“What then?” I asked, breathless from the brief exposure to what lay underneath the surface of her predatory smile.
“I want you to do the one thing you haven’t done yet. At least where Samantha is concerned.” My stomach tightened and I finally realized what she was about to say a split second before the words left her mouth. “I want you to kill her.”
Knowing it didn’t lessen the blow and Indra knew it. She didn’t wait for my response before she turned on her heel and walked out. I stared blankly at the dead werewolf before me until finally, it dawned on me that the puddle had long since reached my feet. In the empty room, I was left with the blood of a dead werewolf on my shoes and the orders to murder the girl I had fallen for on my heart.
Chapter Eighteen
Sam
I took a sip of the tea and made a face, forcing myself to swallow instead of spitting it back into the mug. Brittany grinned broadly from where she perched on the couch near my feet, clearly proud of herself.
“Do you like it?” she asked, clearly not expecting anything but my raving approval.
“What’s in this?” I asked. “I thought it was green tea?”
“It is,” she said with a shrug. “But then I also added a shot of Whiskey.”
“Ugh.” I made a face. “Britt, those two do not go together.”
“Of course they do. It’s like peanut butter and mayonnaise. Or salad and gravy. Or macaroni and pineapple.”
I stared at her. “None of those things go together.”
“You need to get out more.”
I shook my head, started to sip the tea again, and then thought better of it. The blanket I was tucked into was comfort enough and it’s not like I was actually sick anyway. Besides, I didn’t even like tea. Except maybe Mirabelle’s. Depending on the day.
“You feeling any better?” Brittany asked a few minutes later.
Mason’s doctors had all but kicked us out yesterday and I’d actually gone willingly, too tired to argue by the time he was done telling us what he knew about Indra. It had felt good to know I was right. And that it was big enough now that CHAS wouldn’t ignore it. But even after healing Mason successfully, I wasn’t convinced I knew what I was getting myself into. As soon as I was able, I planned to have another pow-wow with Kiwi and Mirabelle. Maybe they could help get me to the next level—whatever that was—of witchcraft 101. I had a feeling I would need something bigger than a magical, healing touch to take down the likes of a sorceress who had managed to make a robot out of my boyfriend.
So, for once, I’d taken Kiwi’s advice. I was taking it slow.
The exhaustion pretty much insisted on it anyway.
The drive home yesterday was a blur, and I’d slept like a log all night, waking this morning with the same hangover feeling I’d had yesterday. I hadn’t even put up a fight when Brittany had suggested we take it easy and have a “veg out” day of recovery.
At her question, laced very clearly with concern, I looked away from the movie we were watching—a comedy about two thirty-something cops undercover in high school—and nodded. “Yeah. I’m just tired,” I told her.
“This is the perfect idea for the day then,” she said.
“It really is. Thanks for this. I don’t know how you convinced RJ to take both shifts and call Simon with the update from Mason, but I think I needed to just lay around on my couch without a bra on.”
“Not convinced. Bargained. And I do not want to talk about the deal.” Brittany grimaced but perked up again quickly. “And don’t worry. I have it all planned out. We’ll veg out on the couch, watching movies and drinking tea until about five. Then we’re ordering pizza and playing drunk Monopoly until we pass out.”
“Uh, that sounds great and all, but I have a feeling recuperating from magical healing is done best without getting an actual hangover,” I said uncertainly.
“Yeah, I know, that’s why we’re drinking mixed drinks instead. Tequila sunrises. I remember you said once that you don’t get a hangover with hard liquor.”
“That was in high school.” I laughed. “I’m not sure what I did to deserve you.”
“Obviously, you’re very lucky,” she said, tossing her blond hair over her shoulder dramatically.
“I don’t know about luck,” I said. “Aside from you, I mean. I don’t feel very lucky.”
Silence fell between us and I bit my lip, wishing I hadn’t said that out loud. Brittany’s expression was completely knowing as she hesitated and then said, “I know you’re worried that Alex is ruined now that Indra has her hooks in him, but that bitch is not allowed to win.”
I smirked but it vanished quickly as the weight of it all sunk in. Indra wasn’t just a bad person. She was the evil force behind the werewolves’ plague. And now she had Alex. “I don’t know even know where to begin,” I said.
Brittany patted my arm. “We don’t need to decide that today. Besides, RJ called in the intel and Simon Brooks the Turd is going to reach out to Mr. Harding.”
“Do you mean Simon Brooks the Third?” I asked.
Brittany shrugged. “Tomato, potato,” she said and I could only shake my head. “Anyway, let them do their thing. Take it easy. And then we’ll strategize. I have faith in you, Sam. You’ll figure it out.”
“I wish I had your confidence,” I said on a sigh.
“It’s not about confidence. It’s hope. You can’t lose that. Even when you’re not confident or sure of the outcome. You have to have hope or what’s the point,” she said simply and I just stared at her. I hated when Brittany said deep shit without realizing it. Which was more and more often lately.
“You’re really wise sometimes,” I said a bit grudgingly.
Brittany smiled and shrugged and sipped my spiked tea. “You love him, right?”
I opened my mouth but no sound came.
“You do,” she affirmed as if I’d answered. “And when you love someone you don’t lose hope. You carry it for both of you.”
“Even when the other person has given up?” I asked, the words squeaking out as I tried not to think too hard about her first question.
“Especially then. I mean, come on, Sam-I-Am, you’ve already done the hard part. You’ve figured out how to heal and you did it without all that permission bull shit.”
My brow rose. “Bull shit?” I echoed.
“Well, yeah.” She reached over and grabbed my tea, taking a swig. On screen, someone was getting arrested but I tuned it out in favor of Brittany’s next words. “Permission isn’t something that can be measured in what we say. I mean, Alex loves you but it’s not like he wants to. He didn’t give himself permission to feel that stuff for you. Which is why he was so adamant that you not heal him in the first place.”
My eyes narrowed in thought. “You think Alex refused to let me heal him because he loves me?” I asked and even as I said it, I realized it didn’t sound as crazy as I’d thought it would.
Brittany just looked at me—like she was waiting for me to finally get a very obvious punch line.
I sighed. “Fine, maybe that’s possible.”
Brittany snorted.
“But that doesn’t help me now. The damage between us is done,” I added.
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t actually believe that.”
“Well, I mean, it could possibly be undone… but…” I bit my li
p. “I would need to have him alone. And incapacitated. And… Lord, I sound like a serial killer.”
Brittany laughed. “There’s a fine line between love and hate,” she said ominously.
I tossed a pillow at her, unable to keep from laughing with her.
“Seriously, though,” I said, “If what Mason said is true and Indra is Sushna’s daughter, that’s some powerful magic to contend with.” I frowned. “I don’t know if I can—”
“One problem at a time.” Brittany ticked them off on her fingers. “First, get your man’s heart back. Second, heal the werewolves. Third, destroy the bitch.”
My smile faded. “Cord said I should focus on the werewolves first,” I said.
Brittany gave me a hard look. “And what do you think?”
I hesitated, searching. What did I think? But the answer came much easier than I expected. And I realized I already knew what I wanted to do. “I think … I won’t be able to move forward until I right all my wrongs.”
Brittany nodded and held up my tea in a single toast. “Cheers to that,” she said and then downed the rest of it in one gulp.
I wasn’t nearly as cheerful about what I’d just declared. Mostly because I had a feeling the pain of everything I’d already gone through probably didn’t compare to what it was going to take to bring Alex back.
But I was done talking about that for now. The exhaustion that lingered after healing Mason yesterday seemed heavier the more I thought about Alex and Indra and all the sick werewolves. I needed a subject change. Something lighter. Something not about me.
“I’ve been thinking… and I feel awful about this, but … I don’t even know where you’re from, Britt.” I winced. “I wasn’t a very good roommate….before. My memory loss made it hard to trust. Or do small talk. Or make friends.” I smiled ruefully as Brittany snorted. “But I’d love to hear about your life. Where you grew up before coming here. And your family.”
“It’s okay, Sam. You had a lot going on,” Brittany assured me.
But I shook my head. “No excuse. I took you for granted and I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t do that much,” she said.
“You made noise around here and let me know I wasn’t alone and even when that annoyed me, I needed it. Thanks.”
We shared a smile and then Brittany took a deep breath, lowering the volume on the movie. “Okay. Let’s see. I’m from a small town outside Tulsa called Rock Creek. I have four brothers and one sister. All of us have blond hair and blue eyes and we’ve all done some form of either cheerleading or gymnastics. Well, except for my sister, Lacey, who did field hockey. Shamed the family when she got her scholarship to Delaware…”
She shook her head as if disappointed, and I honestly couldn’t tell if she was joking with the last part so I swallowed my laughter.
“All of you have done gymnastics or cheerleading?” I asked. “Even your brothers?”
“Of course. Micah and Jacob—they’re only sixteen months apart—were both on track for the Olympic gymnastics team a few years back, but they were offered a pretty sweet post on a hunting team in Germany so they took that instead. They’ve been there ever since. And my other two brothers both live in New York and work with a relocation program for immigrant werewolves. Oh and Trey is also currently acting on the side.”
“Anything I’ve seen?” I asked, still not sure I kept up with all of that.
“Sam, you don’t watch movies. Like ever.”
“True,” I admitted. “But I did back in high school.”
She only looked half-convinced but said, “So far, he’s done a toothpaste commercial and a rap video. We all have high hopes, though. He has a new agent that also cleans JT’s pool so we’ll see what happens.”
“I had no idea your life was so interesting,” I said, snuggling deeper into the blanket. “What about your parents?”
“They still live in Rock Creek. My mom teaches yoga and they both run a Krav Maga program at a local studio in their spare time.”
“They sound amazing,” I said. “I can’t imagine having a big family like that. It must have been so great growing up with that many siblings.”
Brittany eyed me skeptically. “Clearly, you don’t understand sibling life, as evidenced by your adjective choice.” She grinned when I stuck my tongue out at her and then added, “You told me you had a brother. What about him?”
“Breck? Yeah, he’s my half-brother. We were close when we were little, I guess. But he moved out as soon as he could, and I haven’t seen him in like two years now. He’s in the military. Moves around a lot.”
“That sucks.”
I shrugged. “Your family keeps in touch?”
She looked a little wistful as she said, “I don’t get to talk to them as much since, um, school started.”
“You can call it what it is,” I said. “Your assignment.”
“You are not an assignment, Sam.”
“I know. I’m really sorry,” I said and I meant it. About her family and about giving her a hard time over pretending with me. It was water under the bridge. And in a way, it had brought us closer together.
“Not your fault,” she said.
“You came here because of me,” I argued. “It is on me that you don’t get to be with your family, and I’m really sorry it took you away from them.”
Brittany sat up and pointed a finger at me. “Uh-uh. Cut it out right now. You do not get to feel sorry for me, Samantha Knight.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You have to know this is the most fun I’ve had in my entire life. Back home, I was number five of six. That’s it. Here, I get to start over and I get to live two lives. Brittany, the hot blond cheerleader for CCU, and Brittany, the kick-ass hunter who saves her roommate’s life on the regular while wearing said roommate’s shoes. It’s the best. So do not pity me. And also, don’t die. Because I really like it here.”
I smiled crookedly and nodded. “I’ll do my best, roomie.”
Two hours later, true to Brittany’s carefully plotted schedule, we ate pizza. RJ had checked in twice but whatever deal he’d made with Brittany for our girls’ day was still in effect as he hadn’t yet come home to claim his place on our couch. I was feeling much better and had even managed a shower and then a quick call to check in on Mason at the hospital.
“How is the furry boy toy?” Brittany asked when I hung up.
“He is not—”
“You know what I mean,” Brittany said with an eye roll and impatient wave.
“He’s good. Vitals are strong. Tests all came back normal.” I shrugged and leaned against the wall beside the fridge, watching her make our drinks.
“Which means… you did it,” Brittany said, turning and pushing a cold glass into my hand. She held out her own, waiting for me to toast her. “To Sam’s badass witchin’ skills,” she said.
I clinked my glass with hers. There was a noise behind me that sounded like the front door closing. I didn’t bother turning, fully expecting RJ or maybe even Koby since he’d talked about stopping in when he returned from Oracle.
“Cheers,” I said and we both drank.
“Looks like a party. Wow, and no one bothered to invite me.”
I choked on my drink and whirled, speechless at the sight of Alex. Every nerve ending inside me was on fire but even in the midst of that, my feet wouldn’t move and neither would my jaw. It remained half-open as he strode closer, plucked the glass from my hand, and gulped it down.
Brittany wasn’t so stricken.
She tossed her own glass into the sink and then reached for something in the top cupboard above her. I jumped as the glass shattered and the ice tumbled toward the drain.
Alex remained utterly calm and unmoved. Even when Brittany whirled on him, a gun in her hands, he only smiled.
I finally found my voice and even though I wanted to demand Brittany put the gun down, I didn’t. “What are you doing here?” I asked, my heart racing, my palms clammy and itchy and limp
at my sides.
He blinked at me, and for an agonizing moment I thought I saw his own heart wrenching at the question. Raw regret and hesitation filled his expression and he seemed to falter. But then he blinked again and it all vanished. In its place was resolve—cold, hard, emotionless.
“You can point weapons but they won’t do you any good,” he said quietly.
“Why is that?” Brittany snapped.
“Because,” he said, and his eyes pinned me where I stood. “Sam won’t let you hurt me.”
Brittany snorted but I remained silent.
“Which is definitely bad news for both of you. Mostly, though, it’s going to backfire on Sam.”
“Alex.” I resisted the urge to rub at my temples. He was talking in riddles. Seeing him like this was overwhelming enough without having to decipher what the hell he was hinting at. “What do you want?” I demanded.
“You, Sam. I want you. Always. But this time, it’s going to end a little differently than before.” He took a deep breath and let it out before adding, “This time, I’ve come to kill you.”
Chapter Nineteen
Alex
I didn’t bother to go for a weapon. The moment I did, I knew Brittany’s trigger finger would stop me. She was already inching backward, trying to create space between us. A good move, since we both knew if she let me get anywhere near that gun, I was going to take it from her without much problem.
Sam only continued to stare at me, stricken.
Then, she shocked me by snatching her glass out of my hand. I expected her to use it as a weapon. To throw it at my head as she seemed to like to do when she was angry. But she just held onto it with a white-knuckled hand. I darted glances between her face and the glass, waiting.
“Alex, you aren’t well,” she said almost as if this were new information to us all.
I cocked a brow at her, my mouth rising in a cruel and crooked smile. “And how would you know what I am, darlin’?” I asked in a low voice. “You don’t know shit about me. Only the little pieces I’ve shown you.” I tapped my chin. “Come to think of it, you ought to know better than anyone how easily and skillfully I can kill.” I pinned Brittany with a hard look. “Maybe if you relay that to your friend, she’ll save herself by leaving quietly right now. Otherwise, the body count just doubled.”
Esperance: (New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 3) Page 17
