by Bobbi Romans
“No clue. Would you believe I forgot to charge my cell last night? Of all freaking times. And don’t you dare say anything. Between being your favorite niece and pulling your ass out of the fire … I think I earned a free pass on any forthcoming sarcasm.”
Grace raised an eyebrow, and though she hadn’t intended on giving any snark, couldn’t pass up saying one thing.
“You’re my only niece.”
“Still counts.” Beth laughed and hugged her. “Luckily the guy who works on the central heating and cooling of the building happened to be passing and had keys. He’s the one who helped get Faith out and called 911 for me.”
“I’m worried they’ve run into trouble. I’m worried Demetrius set up traps for them.”
“Grace, I think he was more preoccupied setting the trap for you to be worried about them.”
“Just doesn’t add up.” Grace insisted.
“What doesn’t?”
“Why would Demetrius profess wanting me, then try to kill me?”
An explosion of voices and growls erupted and heavy footsteps stormed in their direction.
Grace never got the chance to get a visual lock on Damien before large arms enveloped her and moved her away from the others. Caged her, scented her as desperate hands explored her every curve. Her he-man shook and only spoke in grunts while he continued checking her out. He appeared frightened and out of sorts and far more wild than man.
From the corner of her eye, Grace spotted Moss, Beth, and a strange guy heading in their direction. Damien went ballistic. He looked downright feral. His eyes took on a strange opulent appearance and he hissed, hunched over, ready to lash out. His large body blocked hers in aggressive fashion, as if an enemy approached rather than their friends.
“Whoa, easy old chap,” Moss urged, tossing his arms out to stop both Beth and the young man from coming any closer.
“Damien, it’s okay. I’m okay.” Grace stroked his arm until the muscles loosened beneath her palms. Pulled his face back to see her and no one else. Went on tip toes and brushed her lips over his in an attempt to get him to ignore everything around them. Only they remained. Her heart hammered in her chest over how emotional he became over her well being. In turn this knowledge sparked a burning need only her shifter-man could extinguish. She caught Moss motioning to the others and heard footsteps began backing away from them.
Smart man.
Damien’s eyes locked with hers and his ragged, gruff pants began to ease. He was still wildly on edge, but when his lips came down on hers they were careful and sweet — yet there was no mistaking the hunger. Seeking as he tasted the proof she was alive and well. His tongue swept over hers, plundered and dominated. All the world boiled down to this. To him.
Her heart ramped up and her nipples went hard as his unique scent reached her nostrils. Damien smelled of swamp and man. Of nature and predator all rolled into one decadent tasty treasure. His body bracketed hers against the wall of the building behind them, his erection pressed against her where he leaned. The marble hard bulge made her want to do all kinds of naughty things she’d never had the courage to initiate before Damien. If not for the polite coughing in the distance, she may have forgotten they were outside and not alone. Damien probably couldn’t care less about an audience. Though the kiss stopped, Damien didn’t move away. His forehead rested against hers while he battled to get himself under control.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he whispered against her skin.
“Yes. Scout’s honor. I’m right as rain,” she promised, stroking the sides of his face trying to bring his intensity down a notch.
He seemed to be trying to breathe her in and feared letting her go.
Finally when she began to grow concerned over his erratic behavior, he stepped back, giving her space, and turned to head toward the others.
The man was a walking mystery to her. One minute running hot, the next reserved and seeming to calculate his every thought and move.
Guarded and cautious. Grace knew he’d been hurt and kept a wall around his inner most thoughts and feelings. Yeah, he showed her snippets, but she wanted him to be the one to instigate opening up. Needed to know he trusted her. Completely.
“I think we should head back to Grace’s and go over what we’ve all found,” Beth announced. “The guys uncovered quite a bit of information. How did you and Faith fair before all hell broke loose?”
“Actually she dug up some information as well. I agree, let’s hit my house and I’ll make everyone some tea.”
Grace ignored the men’s wrinkled noses and instead tuned in to the younger man with them.
“Well, they may have extremely bad manners, but I don’t, so let me introduce my niece, Beth, and myself.” Grace stuck out her hand as she told the new guy her name.
“Name’s Trick and you’re right — these two dudes seriously got to work on their people skills.” The kid thumbed toward Moss and Damien, whose jaws dropped. Grace couldn’t refrain the giggle if her life depended on it. She liked the new guy, and guessed he’d fit right in with their small crew.
• • •
Grace set the tea out for her and Beth, while the guys dug into her hidden Beam stash that Beth showed them. Damien still hadn’t uttered a word since caging her in back of the library and now slung the shots back in true parched, Southern fashion. Something had happened with her shifter, but damned if she knew what. She supposed he’d eventually open up, but prayed he would sooner rather than later.
“So let me get this straight. There’s some bad ass evil group … ” Beth’s eyes rolled as she began her question.
“Society,” Trick interrupted.
“Excuse me,” Beth corrected. “Society, who causes massive storms, most likely fires, and feeds off the chaos and destruction that ensues from it? Please tell me you’re joking,”
“Sorry hon, but I’m afraid they’re right. While I was at Whimsical Notions, a voice spoke to me.”
“Whatcha mean, a voice?” Beth added some whiskey to her tea before shooting her a worried side eye.
“No, I haven’t lost my mind yet, and pour some of that in here.” Grace held her cup out. She had a feeling by the time they were done comparing notes she’d need the warmth the amber liquid gave. “A voice from thin air spoke of this society and how there is another combating them. Sadly this voice claimed the society views me as a direct threat, and I guess will be coming at me full throttle.”
“Are we to believe someone who can’t even show themselves?” Beth gulped the tea rather than sip.
If they weren’t careful a few of them, Grace mused, would end up under the table rather than sitting at it.
“I, too, questioned her motives,” Grace verified.
“She?” Damien asked, finally joining in on the conversation.
“Yeah. She, and I believe her. Something in her voice and words struck me as true.”
“How so? I mean, you couldn’t see her to gauge her reactions or anything. Why be so quick to judge her as truthful?”
Her niece was tenacious if nothing else. Beth had made a large transformation from trusting to overly cautious since the battle with Octavia.
“I don’t expect you to believe, but I hope you’ll trust in my judgment. Whoever this girl was, she might be a great ally to have in our corner. I worry an even larger battle than we fought with Octavia looms ahead. Things surrounding Octavia were merely the icing on a very large cake.”
“We’ve gathered that as well,” said Moss, his expression deadly serious.
“What did you guys uncover today?” Grace asked, pouring some more tea.
It was Trick who spoke up.
“From what I’ve heard, and what you’ve said, there are two large groups at war and we’re the ones caught in the middle.”
Beth nodded in agreement to the kid’s conclusion.
“How much do we know about these two groups, and what do we plan to do with the information we’ve uncovered?” Grace began pacin
g about the small kitchen. So much appeared to be on the line. Far more than just battling Demetrius. Actually at this point, he’d turned out to be the least of their concerns.
“We know for sure, without doubt, one group is filled with utter asshats and the other doesn’t like them.”
“Group two gets my vote hands down.” Moss slammed his cup down, his mind made up.
“Gotta agree with Moss. Though we know squat about the bear, my gut tells me they, if nothing else, are the lesser of two evils.” Damien cracked his knuckles and nodded at Moss.
Grace was at a loss as to what Damien meant about a bear.
“We don’t know. Trick overheard the society members speaking about the other group and referring to them as the bear.”
Grace whipped around toward Trick wondering how missed the part that he not only knew about the society, but actually was with them. Her gaze must have been murderous because the kid quickly threw his hands up in a “whoa” like move.
“Easy there. I wasn’t a guest, I promise you. I was locked up there and right before they released me into the swamp, I overheard a few things amid the chaos.”
Grace maneuvered around to where she could view Damien, eye to eye, while she questioned Trick about why this so called evil society would release him. What if the kid was a rat Demetrius sent to report back to him?
“And they just let you go? No strings, no bargaining. Complete freedom. Why?” Beth glared at the kid, suspicion anchored in her stiff posture.
“Wow, she’s a real ball buster, isn’t she?” Trick whispered in Moss’s direction grinning from ear to ear.
Grace sensed his words were not from outrage, but because he was impressed Beth had noted and questioned the obvious oddity. Grace kinda liked the kid and hoped like hell his answer rang true with her.
Damien, on the other hand, didn’t seem okay with the kid’s blunt response and went to snatch him up by the back of his collar until she raised a staying hand.
“Told you … dude is seriously strung tighter than grandma’s hemorrhoids.”
Moss barked with laughter as Beth spewed tea out her nostrils. Damien’s scowl proved he wasn’t a fan of Trick’s humor.
“Just kidding, dude, chill already. Okay, to answer your question the only reason they granted my freedom was because they wrongly thought I’d lost my memory.”
“You hadn’t?” Grace drilled, still not buying Trick’s story.
“Yes, for the most part I had. But in the beginning I truly had no memories other than being with them. Shortly before my release, a few fleeting memories returned. I wisely kept them to myself.”
“Doesn’t really explain why they let you go though.” Grace understood she probably came off rabid in her questioning, but she needed to be sure.
“The only explanation I can offer is that their assumption I had no memory of my past coupled with being drilled we’d never be able to return to the world outside the swamp without being killed like a freak of nature,” Trick brought his pointed finger to his throat and made a slashing sign, “made it safe to release us. Maybe they wanted to test how we would react out on our own. I don’t really know.”
“I’ve often wondered if they somehow tracked our movements. Cameras or monitoring devices in certain areas perhaps?” Moss offered while seeming to roll around Trick’s comments.
Which did make a little sense. Damien and Moss had both been returned to the swamps under Octavia’s watchful glare. Maybe they did have some way of monitoring their movements or at the very least were able to make sure none left certain perimeters. While there was no real way to block off the swamp, there might be magical wards that would alarm them when someone tried. Would even explain how Octavia knew Beth had entered the swamp when she met Moss.
With so much to question, Grace had no choice but to go with her instincts and Damien’s on whether Trick was trustworthy. Other than his anger when Trick dissed her by calling her a ball buster — she knew Damien believed the kid. She’d felt no lies rolling from him and his aura remained clear.
For now it appeared Trick would remain a part of their group. But she’d be keeping a close eye on him in the coming days.
A cell phone went off, and strangely enough, it turned out to be Damien’s, though no one but she, Moss, and Beth had his number. Considering they were all standing in the same room and none held their cell phone, it screamed shit was about to get real.
Chapter Ten
Grace noted the serious, precise movements of Damien’s steps. He paced the small cabin, cell phone planted in his ear, answering in strict, short yeses and nos. She couldn’t quite pick up enough of his conversation to establish what the call concerned, only the serious nature of it.
“Fine. We will meet you then. What does B.E.A.R. mean? You’re fucking joking, right? Alrighty then.” He snapped the phone closed with a semi laugh before facing them. “That was B.E.A.R. and they want to meet with us.”
“How did they get your number? The only ones privy to the private number are right here in this room.” Nerves shot, Grace questioned everything. Far too many things had happened and way too fast for a mole not to be among them. Without proof, she was staying mum.
“I’m not sure,” Damien mumbled, appearing deep in thought.
“In this day and age with the computer technology we have available, anything is possible,” Trick mentioned.
“True.” Beth nodded in full agreement with the kid.
“So what else did they say? Who they are? What’s their intentions? How do they fit into all this … anything?” Grace pushed.
“Yes, yes and no.” Damien came to stand in front of them all. His long legs covering the distance in two strides and though the timing was shitty, Grace had to fight to keep her gaze on his face and not trail down the body that gave her such pleasure. “Bear turns out to be an acronym for ‘Beating Evil’s Ass Regularly’.”
Moss bellowed with laughter, earning a thud to his stomach from Beth, who chastised him to be quiet so they could listen to Damien’s recap of his mystery phone call.
“Turns out there were others who escaped the swamp witch’s curse, or more aptly, the Society’s, and they formed their own little group. Decided as survivors to try and stop the asshats from causing all the grief and chaos they toss out.”
“I like ’em already,” Beth spat.
“Where do they want us to meet them, and can we trust them?” Grace asked quietly looking only to Damien. His opinion mattered most.
“Actually, I do.”
“Why?” she pushed.
“Because they gave me directions to a meeting spot, from where I assume we will be taken to their headquarters. I don’t see some random group not meaning what they say, bringing us to their hideout. Do you?”
“Possibly. But I’m not seeing we have much choice if we want to learn the bigger picture.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“When are we to meet them?” Moss questioned.
“Now.”
“Potty break for me then.” Beth hopped up from her seat at the table and made a quiet motion for Grace to follow.
Taking advantage of the relative privacy, Beth turned the faucet on as an added precaution and drilled Grace for her take on everything.
“More is going on than what we’re aware of. I believe more people are involved and that either our group or B.E.A.R.’s has a mole within their structure.” There. She’d tossed her thought on the table.
“I agree, though I’m betting the mole resides in their group. I mean I haven’t spoken about this to anyone other than us and the oddities started before Trick showed up. So even though I can’t say I trust him one hundred percent, it rather rules him out.”
“I hope you’re right.”
They cleaned up and Grace got a good whiff from her shirt. She still reeked of smoke. After a quick change, she headed back out to meet the rest of the clan.
Trick lingered in the doorway with an uncertainty about him
.
“You think they’re aware of my presence?”
Damien studied the kid a minute before replying.
“They didn’t say and I didn’t ask. Point is whether you like it or not, you’re in our group.”
Trick perked up a bit, but then Damien finished.
“It’s not about whether I trust you … it’s about keeping both your friends and enemies close. No offense, kid, but until we know more, you ain’t going anywhere.” Damien’s eyes held challenge and Grace thanked the stars when Trick wisely chose not to argue.
They piled into Beth’s new Jeep Explorer, which replaced her sunken hunk of junk. Granted, her other car had been paid off, but that was neither here nor there considering Octavia had managed to submerge the thing into the swamps.
“So, are you going to tell me where we are heading?” Beth asked as she pulled out of the drive.
“Head to Dead Man’s Bluff.”
They all glared at Damien incredulously.
“Hey, don’t look at me. That’s where they said to meet. Seems someone has a rather dry sense of humor at B.E.A.R.”
“Ya think?” Grace teased.
Thirty minutes later they arrived at the little cul-de-sac where local fishermen were known to put in their boats.
“Nobody’s here,” Beth said cupping her hands around the window to peer out into the darkening environment. “Should we get out? Maybe they are watching to see if we’re armed or something.”
“You three stay in the vehicle. Moss and I will check things out.” Trick bristled but didn’t argue.
Damien and Moss got out to stretch their long, cramped legs and began circling around the place. For the most part, Trick had remained quiet, but suddenly he announced no way was he remaining in the car with the chicks. Grace would have stopped him, but hell, the kid already appeared forlorn being left with them and until he was proven guilty of anything, she’d consider him an innocent young man full of testosterone that needed releasing.
Once the dark fully settled, the gang could see headlights heading down the bumpy road. Within moments an older style bus came into view.
