“Is that a bad thing? Did he kill any civilians? Sam’s aunt—”
“No casualties. RJ was injured, though,” Edie said and I sat up straighter, on alert. My hand, already clammy, gripped the phone tighter.
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. Took a claw to the thigh. It’s deep and the doctor says he’s got a bacterial infection in the wound. I guess he was in the ocean when it happened and there’d just been a rainstorm which stirs it all up. They’re flying him home and putting him up in the clinic in San Francisco to treat it. But Alex—Sam’s the one who put Abel down. She killed him.”
Edie fell silent and I blinked, surprise turning fast to concern and then worry. Sam hated that I’d killed her friend Bernard and she’d been concerned when I’d injured Mason despite the fact that both of them had been trying to kill her at the time. If she’d been the one to do the killing…
“How is she?” I asked, not even caring that my voice had come out ragged. I couldn’t breathe. Suddenly, my chest was tight and my lungs couldn’t hold enough air. And it had nothing to do with the venom.
Edie cleared her throat and I braced myself. Here it came. The real reason she’d called. “Alex, you’re officially relieved of your post.”
“Wait, what?”
“I’m sorry. The board has decided you are no longer able to serve even as a consultant to a third party—”
“The board meaning you and Tara and St. John?” I spat, instantly furious. I jumped to my feet and stalked to the window. Breck was keeping his distance but I could feel his eyes on my back. It was all I could do not to put my fist through the damned glass.
“Alex, the board is more than just—”
“I’m still officially on an LOA with CHAS. You can’t fire me.”
Edie sighed. “We’ll still continue to compensate you. But you’re relieved from any and all active duty. In your condition—”
“My condition,” I repeated, my voice twisting with sarcasm and disgust. I no longer cared what Breck heard. I was past the point of giving a fuck about anything. Of course they were kicking me to the curb. I was no good to them anymore. And the one job I’d had keeping me tied to the only life I’d ever known—protecting Sam—I’d walked away from. I couldn’t explain to them or anyone that I’d done that to protect her too.
“Edie, don’t do this,” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. A voluntary LOA was one thing. This was something else. I was being cut off. Being a hunter was my life. It was all I knew.
“Alex, I’m still here for you. We all are. As a friend. As your family. But you need to think about something besides the job right now.” She paused and then said, “You need to go home. Get your affairs in order.”
I leaned forward until my forehead touched the frigid glass. This was it. I was done. “I have no home,” I said, my throat raw.
“Well, your affair then. Get it in order.” My head came up and my eyes narrowed as I realized what she meant. “Go to her, Alex. She needs you.”
I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t. My throat had closed in an attempt to stop the emotion threatening to cut me off at the knees. Edie murmured a few more words, assuring me she was still here for me and she’d see me soon and we hung up.
I turned back to the couch but Breck was gone. Thank fucking God. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t explain this. Because the thing was, Edie was wrong. Sam didn’t need me. She never had. She never would.
But I needed her. And not just her healing powers. I needed Samantha Knight like I needed oxygen. No, more than that. I needed Sam like I needed redemption. Because getting both of those things were equally impossible.
But even as I thought it, I knew I’d go to her. I’d show up. And I’d put myself through hell doing it. Because that’s what I did. Punishing myself by dumping on more pain, more reminders of what I couldn’t have. That was one thing that hadn’t changed over the years: Alex Channing didn’t know when to quit.
Chapter Nine
Sam
RJ thought my new scars were cool. He was also high on pain meds for the entire flight back to San Francisco. At baggage claim, sweaty and exhausted from pushing RJ’s wheelchair through the crowded terminal, I slumped onto a bench.
“Kid, you can stop moping anytime,” RJ said and I looked up to find him watching me with what amounted to pity. “I’m going to be fine.”
“I know, I wasn’t thinking about you,” I assured him and realized too late how that sounded.
“Thanks a lot,” he said, wrinkling his nose and I smiled. “Alex?”
I sighed. “If I say yes, will you not talk about it?”
“Oh, there’s my bag,” RJ said, pointing at the carrousel.
I sent a silent prayer to Taotaomona or whoever and hauled myself up, wading through the throngs of people to grab RJ’s duffel. I yanked it and almost toppled over from the weighted momentum. Rather than try to heft it up, I grabbed one of the straps and dragged it back, letting go of it at RJ’s feet.
“What do you have in here? The kitchen sink?” I grumbled.
RJ grabbed my wrist, and I turned back to him in surprise. Lines formed at the corners of his eyes as he smiled. “Thank you,” he said.
I softened. “It’s no big deal,” I said.
His grip tightened. “Not just for the bag, Sam. All of it.”
I offered a tight smile of my own and pulled my wrist gently free. Guilt still weighed on me about killing that werewolf. And not being able to heal RJ. But I didn’t want to talk about it again. Not now, in a crowded airport. And not when every attempt I’d made since meeting Taotaomona had ended in no results. I’d even tried to heal RJ without his knowing while he slept on the plane. Nothing.
“Do you see her?” I asked instead, scanning the faces.
Everyone here was dressed in layers. Everyone but us. RJ still wore board shorts, his bandaged leg drawing a lot of nosy stares, although he didn’t seem to notice. And my thin pullover wasn’t doing much for me anymore against the gusts of wind that blew through every time the automatic doors opened.
“Not yet,” RJ said, studying the crowd.
I tugged my thin shirt more tightly around me and looked again at the carrousel for my bag while RJ scanned the faces.
“Maybe she got stuck in traffic,” I said.
RJ snickered and I started to ask why but his phone rang. I waited while he fished it out of the side pocket of his shorts. “What’s up?” he asked.
He listened for a moment and I took the opportunity to snag my bag from the conveyor. When I returned, already tugging my sweater out, RJ had his duffel on his lap. “Parking’s a nightmare. She’ll meet us outside. Ready?”
I strapped my bag over my shoulder and gripped the handles of his wheelchair, aiming for the exit.
Outside, the wind blew furiously at the edges of my sweater, snaking right through to my sun-kissed skin. I bit down against the sharpness of the chill, already missing Guam and aunt Kiwi. But maybe not the crazy island spirit. That I could do without.
“There,” RJ said, pointing.
I followed the direction of his finger and stopped short to take it all in. A large, black Hummer with a chrome grill and a chrome rack on top sat idling loudly at the curb. It had tinted windows and green fog lights that almost reached eye-level.
“That’s our ride?” I asked, jaw dropping.
“That’s the one,” RJ said.
Before I could start rolling RJ forward again, the driver’s side door opened and I spotted a pair of combat boots as the driver jumped out and slammed the door. She came toward us both, smiling broadly so that her teeth and her full head of gray hair glowed green in the headlights.
“Raymond J. Duluth, as I live and breathe,” she said, stepping up onto the sidewalk and offering her hand.
“Nice to see you again, Edie.” RJ took it and she shook firmly, offering me a glimpse of the crochet-patterned sweatshirt she wore.
Then she turned to me and her smile softened, o
ffering plenty of lines around her eyes and mouth. “Samantha,” she said, opening her arms and drawing me in for a hug. “It’s so good to see you again. It’s been too long.”
I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting from Tara’s grandmother but it hadn’t been a welcoming with open arms. Or a battle-ready Hummer in the airport pick-up line.
“It’s good to see you too,” I told her, because after the year I was having, both Edie’s hug and her badass car were both a comfort. “I can’t believe you still have this car.”
Edie gave me a devilish grin. “This thing’s going to outlive me, are you kidding? Now, I know you two must be exhausted. Come on. Let’s get you off your feet. Well, those of you that aren’t already.” She tossed a look at RJ and I laughed.
Edie and I loaded the bags and then RJ into the back seats. Then, I climbed into the passenger seat with the help of the grab bar Edie pointed out.
“Oh, it feels nice to relax,” I said, leaning back against the leather head rest and closing my eyes.
Edie buckled herself in saying, “I have heated seats and snacks. Pick your poison. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover tonight.”
After that, Edie stayed silent as we exited the airport and headed for the freeway. I did exactly as she said, cranking the heat up on the seat and helping myself to the ginger ale and cookies she’d brought. RJ did the same, downing a cookie along with a pain pill before promptly passing out.
When we were merged into the flow of post-rush hour traffic and RJ was snoring softly, she glanced over at me then back at RJ, smiling. “That guy could sleep anywhere. I hope he wasn’t a bad patient for you these past few days.”
“Not at all. RJ’s so easygoing. And on pain meds.” I shrugged. “He’s like a stoner with great reflexes.”
Edie chuckled. “Nothing like a high hunter.”
My smile faded as I thought instead of Alex. He’d been on my mind constantly since my new scars had appeared. I wondered if his stab wound had hurt him as much as it had hurt me. I wondered if he remembered what I’d done for him. That I’d healed him. But mostly, I wondered why he’d left. Self-punishment, obviously. Fear. Cowardice. He hadn’t been able to face me after he’d lied.
Which was a punk move.
But I still wanted to help him. It was much cleaner to be pissed at someone who was alive rather than dead. And so I was determined. Luckily, the old Sam was unstoppable when it came to getting what she wanted.
“How are you holding up?” Edie asked quietly, jarring me from my thoughts and I frowned at the concern she wore now.
If it had been anyone else, I might have lied but Edie had a way of making me feel both familiar and just enough off my game that I couldn’t lie—at least, not successfully. “Crappy,” I admitted, sliding my gaze to hers for a reaction.
She nodded matter-of-factly and it spurred me on.
“I’ve had nightmares about killing that…” I blinked the tears back and stared out the window at the traffic, my mind taking me back to that moment in Kiwi’s yard. The blood coating my hands and arms. Those giant teeth only inches from my face. Its breath—
“Nightmares are normal,” Edie said. “Appetite?”
“Okay, I guess.” I made a face. “The plane food didn’t help.”
Edie muttered an agreement. “Tara told me what happened with your memory, Sam. I want you to know that I wasn’t a part of that before and that I am here for you now. Whatever you need. As a board member for CHAS and as a friend.” She reached over and patted my hand. “Mostly as a friend.”
“Thanks,” I told her, unsure what else to say but touched just the same. These days, friends—the kind that I could actually talk to about this crazy new life of mine—were hard to come by. Then again, calling Tara’s grandma a friend—no matter how cool she was—felt a little weird after everything.
“Damn, I just made it awkward, didn’t I?”
I found her watching me with a pained look and couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “A little,” I agreed. “But it’s fine.”
She relaxed, shooting me a smile in return and went back to watching the road. Traffic was a crawl this time of evening. “Was your aunt able to help then?” she asked a moment later. “With the magic?”
“Oh. Well, yes. And no.” I looked down at my hands twisting nervously in my lap as I thought back to my encounter with Taotaomona. “I ran into someone who shed some light… Edie, do you know the legend of the wolves’ creation?” I asked.
“Sure. The moon goddess changed her child into a wolf in order to protect it from the ocean god’s wrath. Why?”
“Well, everything I come across leads back to the legend. There’s a part where the goddess gives the wolf a second soul. She wanted to make him harder to kill, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, I think that’s what’s happening to the wolves now. By the time they turn, they’ve lost their humanity. They’ve lost the thing that makes them human. So… what if they’ve lost what the moon goddess gave them? And that’s what the whole prophecy is about with righting the balance.” I turned in my seat to face her. “What if the healer isn’t healing an illness but literally restoring their human soul?”
Edie shot me a look but there wasn’t nearly as much surprise in her expression as I’d expected. She flicked her blinker on, merging toward the exit on the right. In the backseat, RJ snoozed.
“You’ve already figured that out,” I said, slightly disappointed I hadn’t stumbled upon a new idea.
“Sick werewolves began turning up about a year ago. A few here and there and I think most cases went misdiagnosed,” she began.
“What do you mean?”
She bit her lip, saying, “Well, that’s kind of a long story and it’s more Tara’s than mine but the short of it is that Tara’s hybrid blood was scientifically designed.” I opened my mouth but she cut me off. “Her story, remember?” I nodded and she went on. “Anyhow, a few years back, someone was trying to duplicate it. They took a bunch of hunters and made them hybrids that, once they came out of the change, lacked their humanity too.”
“Someone forced them to change? And it worked?” I asked, not sure whether I was more horrified or curious. Clearly, there was a lot about this world I still didn’t understand.
“Sort of,” Edie said, wincing. “They were much more wild than they should have been and prone to violence. But Tara’s blood was the stabilizer and so we used it to set them all straight.”
“But that won’t work this time,” I said, reading between the lines of her story.
Her mouth thinned as she pressed her lips together and I wondered if she was thinking of Alex—like I was. He’d already mentioned Tara’s mysterious miracle-blood. She’d cured his infection the first time. But apparently, like in this case, it wouldn’t work a second.
“Dammit,” I muttered, flopping back against the seat. My eyes widened as I realized what I’d said and I shot back up again, my hand covering my mouth. “Sorry.”
Edie smiled crookedly. “Don’t be. It’s my sentiment too.” She reached over and patted my arm. “Tara’s blood was the first thing we tried. This is something different though and nothing we’ve tried worked. Nothing medical anyway.”
She shot me a meaningful glance and continued. “The autopsies we’ve done have all yielded identical results. Not one of those feral wolves had a trace of anything medically wrong with them. We knew it had to be something else. We just didn’t know what.” She shot me a glance. “But we’ve consulted with several shamans around the world and the consensus on the soul theory is unanimous,” she said, taking a left at the stoplight at the bottom of the exit ramp.
“So what do we do?” I asked, my stomach tightening with nerves as I formed the question. Because I already knew the answer.
“We can’t do anything,” she said pointedly, one brow arching, her eyes widening as it rose.
“I had a feeling you’d say that,” I said on a sigh.
Silence fe
ll between us as I tried to swallow the fact that it was all up to me.
“It’s a lot to take in,” Edie said finally.
I looked over and caught her looking at me, a sort of challenge in her expression. I laughed at that. “It’s more than a lot. I mean, how is it that an entire organization made up of hunters and werewolves dating back hundreds of years is helpless and it’s down to me?”
The light turned green but the Hummer didn’t move. “What’s wrong with it being you, Sam?” Edie pinned me with a look and I realized this was the challenge.
“Because I’m… no one,” I said loudly, throwing up my hands.
In the backseat, RJ stirred and inched lower in the seat.
“You are human,” Edie said firmly, her gaze never wavering.
“But that’s my point,” I said.
“No.” She shook her head fiercely. “That’s my point.”
A car honked behind us and Edie rolled her window down and yelled sharply, “Go around!” She waved them on and when they gave her a dirty look she flipped them the bird.
When she turned back to me, her expression was dead-serious. I hid a laugh behind my hand and stayed quiet.
“You’re human,” she said again. “The goddess left her magic with human women. Not hunters. It’s important to remember that. And we’ve received the report from Mirabelle about your family’s lineage dating back to ancient Asia. It all matches up, Sam. It’s you, by all the evidence, surely. But it’s more than that. As a human, you have a compassion that hunters don’t have. We were made to hunt these things, remember? We were made to kill them. Our instinct first is always to face the danger and put it down by whatever means necessary. Yours is—”
“To help,” I finished, but my chest ached as I remembered the werewolf in Guam. I’d just killed too. Did that mean I didn’t have compassion? That I wasn’t the right one to help them after all?
I shuddered at that thought and bit my lip. “But you hired me to help you cure them. You have compassion, Edie.”
Inheritance: (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 2) Page 8
