“No,” I replied, sounding breathier than I’d hoped. “I need to focus on TS. I’m his backup.”
“He doesn’t need backup.”
“Jenks,” I said, pulling away from him, “quit it.”
“You need to quit it, Phira. You’re five seconds away from blowing this, and if I need to make out with you to keep you from doing so, I will. And you’ll thank me for it later.” He added a grin that promised all sorts of things I wasn’t sure I wanted—though I wasn’t positive I didn’t want them either.
Cooper growled lightly from behind us, pulling Jenkins’ attention off me for a moment. I capitalized on the distraction and looked back at TS, who had his hand buried in Charlotte’s dark curls, his lips near hers. Too near. My respect for Charlotte was plummeting by the second. Instead, I was considering all the ways I could make her existence miserable, starting with having Nyx singe those pouty lips right off her face.
“I can smell your jealousy,” Jenkins whispered in my ear.
“I have no reason to be,” I replied. My argument sounded weak, even to my own ears.
“Because reason and jealousy are mutually exclusive? I don’t think so, Phira. Reason or not, there’s no denying what I’m getting from you.”
“TS and I…we’re not like that. Never have been.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t want to be.”
At those words, I paused because damn, he was right. I did want to be. But TS and I had always had such a complicated relationship. Our closeness had bred a certain amount of intimacy, sexual or otherwise. He knew virtually everything about me—had experienced my every mood and behavior. Looking back, I could see how his actions toward me might be confused for affection. He trusted me and believed in me when others didn’t. He appreciated things about me that annoyed my brothers to no end. And his infinite patience where I was concerned was nothing short of amazing. But that wasn’t necessarily love, was it? Not the kind of love I hoped he had for me; the kind that should have evoked my jealousy. Between Iowa and my amnesia, and the missing girls, there had been no time to explore whether he felt anything more than friendship toward me.
Then there was Gabe…
I shook my head, wanting to physically dislodge that thought from my mind. When I opened my eyes, I found Jenkins staring down at me, a concerned and curious look on his face.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Great. Just thinking about something.”
“Something unpleasant, judging by your expression.”
“More like complicated.”
He said nothing, only observed me with sharp eyes. For all his joking and flirting, Jenkins was shrewd and smart. Hiding things from him wouldn’t be easy. And if he were anything like my uncle Cooper, it would be damn near impossible.
“Here comes your boy,” Jenkins said, looking at the mob of people in his club. By the time I turned to see what he saw, TS was standing right in front of me, a wall of calm indifference I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“We should go,” he said, staring down at me.
“What did you learn?”
“Not here,” he said, looking over at Jenkins. I sighed hard, wondering what it would take to get him to start to trust the lone wolf, but didn’t bother to argue. That was a problem for another day.
“Yeah. Sounds good.” I looked up at Jenkins, whose gaze told me to keep my shit together for the sake of the investigation. I gave him a tight nod. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Later half-breed.”
With a flash of teeth and a wink, he was gone.
“We should go now, before the effects wear off,” TS said, looking to Cooper, who nodded in response.
“Effects?” I asked.
“On Charlotte.” TS took my elbow in his hand and ushered me toward the door. “I’ll explain later.”
“No need,” I said, my tone way harsher than I’d intended. Apparently my subconscious had taken the reins on that one, letting my confounding jealousy leak through for him to hear. “I mean, you don’t have to. Just tell me that you got what we needed.”
As we stepped out into the alley, he looked at me for a moment in the eerie light of the nearly full moon. Assessing. Assuming.
Cooper took one look at us and kept walking toward the main road. “You two can catch up when you’re done.”
We waited for my uncle to near the road before continuing.
“You’re angry with me,” TS said, surprise in his tone.
“I’m tired and cranky, and I want to go home. Hopefully with some helpful information about Reah and this sketchy alpha.”
I started to walk away, hoping the crisp night air combined with a little space and clarity would help me get my mind right before I said something I could never take back. But TS was at my side in no time, making that nearly impossible.
“What happened in the club—”
“Was work,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m pretty sure you’ve given me this lecture before. The one about having to do things you don’t want to for the good of the PC. I get it. But even if it wasn’t work—”
“Which it was—”
“—It doesn’t matter, TS.”
“And as you’ve said before, Sapphira, it matters to me.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me to a halt. “I take no pleasure in leading people on—in manipulating them, sexually or otherwise—to achieve a goal. It’s beneath me, but unfortunately necessary at times. Something you of all people should understand. If you’re angry about that—”
“I’m not angry—”
“—Then tell me why. I need to hear you say it.”
“TS,” I said, stepping closer to him, “look at me. I’m not angry.”
“You are something…”
“Shocked? Surprised?”
“No,” he said, his tone full of suspicion. “Something else.”
Jealous…
I shrugged, exhaling hard. How could I even begin to explain how I felt to him when I couldn’t get a handle on it myself? I was a mess of emotions that were confusing and muddled at best. If I really did love TS, which was looking more and more certain, I needed to really figure some things out before I told him. For as much as I knew he cared about me, caring and loving were two very different things, and the thought of making myself that vulnerable to him only to realize that he didn’t feel the same scared me to death. There would be no going back after that.
And that thought scared me even more.
“TS,” I said, taking a calming breath, “I’m not mad at you. I promise. I’m irritated at Jenkins, and maybe that’s spilling over to you.”
“What did he do?” he asked, his expression tightening.
“Nothing. He just knows how to rile me up about things. I think he was worried that I was jealous and tried to distract me. Instead, he just ended up pissing me off, which, in fairness, is easy enough to do when I’m hungry and tired, so…”
The lines around his eyes relaxed a bit, the warm hazel color highlighted in the silver rays that cut through the clouds in the night sky.
“I feel as though he may have a death wish, calling you half-breed.”
“Right? Maybe you should have a chat with him about that.”
He paused for a moment. “No. I think not.” There was the slightest upturn at the corner of his mouth when he said those words. “Let the lone wolf fend for himself. He’ll learn to respect the half-breed soon enough.”
“I think you’re giving him more credit than he deserves, but I’ll let you know if I’m about to teach him a lesson. Wouldn’t want you to miss that.”
“Definitely not.”
He started down the alley and I followed just behind him, thanking the universe that I’d wriggled out of that debacle for the time being. But the issue was far from resolved. With the reality that I was in love with TS firmly planted in my mind, I knew that I would eventually have to find a way to see if he felt the same.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I barely saw anyo
ne the next day. Since TS hadn’t gotten anything helpful from Charlotte, we were back to old-school information gathering, and it was time consuming, even for the PC. The Fates came home looking irritated, which wasn’t their norm. When I asked if they’d learned anything, Cy just waved me off and went upstairs. Ferris let out a loud exhale and said no, and then he, too, went upstairs. That left Zale to spill the beans, and I was worried I’d get one of his ominous epiphanies in the process, so I didn’t push him for answers. He simply said that it seemed like their usual contacts were skittish. Nobody was talking.
Not helpful or a particularly great sign.
TS returned from wherever he’d gone just as I was getting ready to go to the bar. I could feel the weight on my shoulders getting heavier with every passing minute. We needed a break of some kind, and we needed it soon. Reah hadn’t returned after her appearance in the bar the previous night, no matter how hard I’d tried to summon her, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was feeling a little sheepish about the whole thing. Her aid in the situation sure hadn’t brought forth anything of use.
“Hey,” TS said, poking his head into my room as I slipped my boots on.
“Hey yourself.”
“What time do you need to go in tonight?”
“Jenkins said I didn’t have to open, so I was thinking of heading in around seven.”
“You want a ride?” He leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, awaiting my response.
“Sure. That’d be great.”
He nodded. “I’ll come get you in a bit.”
“Where are you headed? Didn’t you just get back?”
“I did. I was just going to go eat something, if that’s okay with you…”
A playful quirk of his brow forced a laugh from me.
“Sorry. I just feel like every time I turn around, everyone is leaving, and I’m stuck waiting around until I can go to the bar. It’s annoying.”
“That’s how we all felt when you were working at Sinful—like we had nothing to do but wait for you to report back. You have my sympathies.”
“Great. Can you and your sympathies make me something to eat while you’re down there? I’m starving.”
With a graceful sweep of his arm, he backed out of my doorway and disappeared down the hall.
I came downstairs to find TS standing at the kitchen island, plate in hand. He smiled at me, cheeks full of food, as he pointed at the dish awaiting my arrival. I joined him, and we ate in relative silence. I was too hungry to carry on much of a conversation, and with TS, I never really had to. We knew how to weather the quiet times together like old pros.
His phone began buzzing on the counter. When he picked it up, his brow furrowed. He’d barely thrown his plate into the sink before he was halfway out the door.
“Hey!” I shouted, bolting after him. “What’s wrong?”
He didn’t stop to answer.
I grabbed my shit and raced down to the fleet of vehicles. As TS started to back out, I jumped behind the car. He came to a screeching halt, and I rounded the passenger’s side to jump in.
“I cannot take you,” he said, letting the car idle.
“Well you’re sure as fuck not going wherever you’re headed without me. You can tell me what’s going on while you drive.”
He contemplated my demand for a moment before swearing under his breath and backing out of the building. He drove through the city at a pace far above the posted speed limit, his sharp gaze focused on what he was doing. I tried not to nag him about where we were headed. Concern flowed off of him in waves, and that made me edgy. He was normally only concerned for my safety.
I wondered just how bad the scene we were headed toward was.
“TS…what’s going on?” I asked quietly.
He cut a sharp right around a corner, headed toward the old fight club building.
“It seems we have a situation.”
“Who’s there?”
“The Fates.”
“Who else?”
“Werewolves. Lots of them.” My hackles went up in a second. “Now Phira, I need you to listen to me carefully and not argue. We don’t have time for that.” I nodded. He shot me a look to see if I’d agreed. “Good. Now, whatever is going on when we arrive, you need to stay in the car—”
“The hell I am—”
“Phira!” he said, raising his voice. “Your anonymity is the best weapon we have against the person responsible for these killings. If you step out of this car, that’s gone in an instant. I will not waste my magic to cover for you when all you need to do to avoid it is to stay in the car. The windows are tinted heavily enough that even they won’t be able to make out who you are. I’ll make sure they can’t scent you either. But you must stay in the car.”
Before I could argue further, I saw what we’d been called in for. A sea of werewolves surrounded the giant—my uncles with the bizarre ability to form a massive being, one whose killing power I’d seen firsthand—but there was no killing going on that I could see. Large hands were up in a placating gesture. Whatever was going on, the combined Fates were attempting diplomacy first.
Just how bad were things between the supernaturals and the PC of Chicago? In my short life, all I’d heard were tales of the PC and their power, and how others cowered at their very name. How they killed first and asked questions later. I knew their numbers had dwindled over the centuries since my grandfather, the god of war, had stopped siring them, but still—to see the giant negotiating with that pack went against everything I knew of the PC.
It made my blood boil.
TS threw the car in park and opened the door.
“Please Sapphira. Stay in here.”
“I’ll stay,” I said, grinding the words out through clenched teeth. “But if anything goes wrong—”
“Then I will signal for you. You can come out with my blessing if that occurs, but not a second before.”
He shut the door before I could respond.
Trapped in my steel cage, I watched as he approached the scene, looming in the shadows just out of sight—and scent, so it seemed. I looked on as he stood, arms out at his sides, and did whatever it was he could do. He started to shine a little, as if the light of the moon had bent to highlight him. Once that glow abated, the hundreds of wolves that surrounded the giant slowly scattered, then left.
I let out a sigh of relief as they drove away, leaving only the giant and TS on the property. Like a good little hostage, I waited for the signal from TS that it was okay to get out, but it never came. Instead, a blinding light erupted from the giant, and I looked away. When I stopped seeing spots, I saw three silhouettes in the distance. Ferris, Cy, and Zale were back to their individual selves, talking to TS.
Moments after that, TS walked back to the car.
He opened the door and climbed in, grabbing the wheel but not turning the engine on. Instead, he just stared out at the dark night and took a deep breath.
“You’re starting to freak me out a bit here, TS,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood a touch.
“I do not wish to do that, Phira, but I won’t lie to you. Things are not good in the city at the moment. Your uncles—they impressed upon me the importance of finding out who was behind the fight club deaths. There are rumors in the community…”
“Rumors? Rumors of what?” I asked, my chest getting tighter with every beat of my heart.
“Rumors of mutiny. Of a war.”
“That’s why the Fates weren’t fighting,” I said aloud, though I already knew the answer. “They were trying to defuse the situation.”
TS merely nodded.
“Until we can prove that someone orchestrated those killings—proof beyond Reah and your other ghost—it looks to them as though the PC is harassing the supernatural community. Tightening their hold on them by shutting down the fight club. It seems a small offense, but believe me, it was not taken as such. That is what the Fates said.”
“Shit…”
TS turned to face m
e, his hazel eyes dark and piercing in the dim light of the car.
“You need to be careful, Phira. At the bar…you need to make sure that your cover is intact. And that Jenkins does nothing to jeopardize it.”
“He wouldn’t,” I said, shaking my head. “He wouldn’t do that. He wants to help me.”
TS’ serious expression remained unchanged. “For his sake, I hope that’s true.”
He fired up the car and started off toward downtown and, ultimately, the bar. I spent the majority of the ride trying to figure out what more I could do to help the brothers; how to help quash this brewing tension in the city without giving myself up. I was a secret weapon for the PC in so many ways, and I didn’t want to lose that. But if push came to shove, I’d do it to keep my family safe. Even Muses. If anyone were going to have the pleasure of tearing him apart, it would be me, not the disgruntled supernaturals of Chi-town.
Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.
Chapter Twenty-Five
TS dropped me off down the street from the bar. He didn’t look happy about having to leave me, but he was all too aware of the job I had to do. With a tight nod and a demand that he pick me up at the end of the night, he pulled away.
I used the walk to clear my head and get my shit together before it was go time. I also called my brothers and Cooper to see if they’d learned anything about the evening’s shenanigans. They said they were following up on something regarding the matter and would be in touch later.
I walked into the bar and to the back, where I dropped my stuff. Michael was unloading beer from the cooler, boxes in his arms stacked so high he could barely see. I grabbed one off the top and headed out to the bar. Jenkins shot me a nasty look, which I returned tenfold. He seemed to get my meaning and came over to speak to me as I loaded the beers into the fridge.
“Lotta talk in here tonight,” he said just loud enough for me to hear.
“Yeah. I bet I know what about, too.”
“That’s why you’re late,” he said with a frown. I nodded. “But how did—”
Dead Zone (Blue-Eyed Bomb Book 3) Page 13
