Inheritance: (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 2)

by Heather Hildenbrand

  “Alex?” Sam asked, worry returning in the creases in her forehead instantly as she studied me.

  I had no idea what to say. Physically, I felt right as rain. Mentally, though, I felt…

  I didn’t know what the hell I felt. Not much. Not a damn thing for RJ and very little for Sam. That scared me more than anything. I bit my lip, shook my head, and avoided her gaze, thoughts racing.

  That energy that had wormed its way in was still there, hovering everywhere but always out of reach. I could taste it on my tongue but I couldn’t quite grab it with my thoughts. And the harder I tried, the faster it danced away.

  “Sam,” I began uncertainly, searching for words that my body would let me say. But my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth.

  “What is it?” she asked, scooting closer. “What’s wrong?”

  I tried again but this time bile rose up, threatening to projectile up and out of me. I shut my mouth, exhaled, and shook my head. “Nothing,” I muttered and then yanked her into my arms. She came willingly, pressing herself against me but I felt nothing.

  No emotion.

  It pissed me off so I hugged her harder, burying my nose in her hair and inhaling deeply. Still nothing.

  If I could have felt anything it would have been fear.

  What the hell had that bitch done?

  Abruptly, I pulled away and the confusion in Sam’s eyes was obvious as I let her go. “I need some space,” I explained, and kicked my feet over the side of the bed to stand and put distance between us. I wasn’t even wobbly.

  My muscles ached like a mother… but I wasn’t burning and I wasn’t tired and I wasn’t about to faint.

  God, that part felt good.

  I sucked in a long breath and found both of them still watching me.

  “How are you feeling?” Sam asked and her tone was guarded now.

  She was still worried. Still confused.

  And I still felt zero feelings about any of it.

  “Good. I feel really good. Ready to run a marathon,” I joked.

  No one laughed.

  I stepped back. “I think I’m going to get out of here,” I said and my words were met with dead silence. I looked at RJ who stared at me with a half-open mouth. “You want a ride home, man?”

  He shot a look at Sam and hesitated. “Um. Yeah. Sure.”

  “Let’s do it. I am in serious need of a shower and a cold drink,” I said, clapping him on the back and leading him toward the door.

  “What about…?” RJ stopped me and jerked his chin to where Sam still sat on the edge of the cot.

  I stared back her, taking in the wide eyes, the wobbling chin. Fuck me. I felt nothing about any of it. “I’ll see you later,” I said like it was a question.

  She didn’t move or speak.

  I wanted to say something that would explain what was going on. And I was halfway positive I would’ve, if I’d had any clue myself. But I didn’t. So I left. Better to get the hell out than stay and hurt her somehow.

  I turned for the door, and RJ followed, clearly just as mystified as me. We didn’t see Indra on our way out and I figured it was for the best. I was still confused as hell about what she’d done and how.

  One thing was certain: that energy signature I’d felt earlier had not been female. It hadn’t even been human. In fact, if I had to guess, I’d say it felt a lot like a native of the Hell the venom’s burn had condemned me to.

  And even though the threat of imminent death was gone—I damn sure wasn’t healed.

  Epilogue

  Sam

  Alex drove himself home. I couldn’t even argue because that was his personality. But he didn’t offer to give me a ride first and that meant something wasn’t right.

  In fact, nothing about his healing felt right.

  There’d been no time to mention his strange behavior to Edie who had shown up right after he’d left with a team to investigate Indra’s shop. They collected samples to compare any evidence to the break-in at Kiwi’s. Indra had grown more and more irritated with all the bodies in her space and all but kicked us out an hour later, claiming the magic had drained her.

  Now, I was alone with Edie, but I still wasn’t sure how to broach what I was feeling. The Hummer’s low rumble filled the silence as we drove through town toward my apartment.

  “Are you sure it’s okay to go home?” I asked, not because I didn’t want some freedom but all those sick werewolves were still out there. Yesterday, Alex had insisted I stay with him, but tonight, he’d just kissed my cheek and left with RJ.

  “It’s safer than any hotel,” Edie said and something about the way she said it made me sit up straighter.

  “Why? Do you have people watching my place?” I asked.

  “Not exactly.” She flicked her gaze toward me and then back to the road.

  My eyes narrowed. “Ms. Godfrey—”

  “I’ve told you to call me Edie,” she said.

  “Edie,” I began again. “What are you not telling me? Is Alex—?”

  “Alex is fine,” she assured me and this time her gaze was direct. “But he’s been given some time off from his assignment while he recovers.”

  My heart skipped a beat and anxiety formed like a messy ball in my stomach. “What do you mean time off?” I asked.

  “We need to evaluate him to make sure he’s okay. And you need some solid protection in the meantime.”

  “RJ?” I asked, trying to pretend Alex’s time off wasn’t personal. But for some reason, hurt had already formed an ache in my chest. Up until today, he’d protected me even if it meant doing so on his own time. He’d gone against orders even. And tonight he’d walked away and then taken a vacation? From me?

  She nodded. “RJ is going to stick close,” she said. “We also have teams scattered and more coming so that you get around-the-clock protection wherever you are. And we’ve called in another operative to help. He’s deep cover so you probably won’t see him. And that’s the whole point. We need some anonymity against whoever is targeting you.”

  “Sounds like a good plan.”

  “Alex said you figured out how to use what’s inside you,” she said.

  I looked away before the tears in my eyes could betray me. “In the end, it didn’t matter, did it? He wouldn’t let me heal him. We’re lucky he found Indra.”

  “I am hoping she becomes an asset,” Edie said and I hated how that tiny spark of jealousy reared up to know Indra might be able to replace me—in more ways than one. But Edie’s next words distracted me and I forgot about it for now. “Listen, Alex needs some time away from things, but it’s nothing for you to worry about,” Edie said, patting my hand.

  I stayed silent, wishing she hadn’t brought it up now. Suddenly, Alex’s strange behavior was the last thing I wanted to discuss with the woman who was most like a mother to him.

  “We’ll evaluate him and then he’ll be cleared for active duty again,” she added.

  I stared out into the darkness, wondering if that was all it was. But in the end, I knew it wasn’t. Because if it was, that meant I really was only a job to him. And I just couldn’t believe that anymore.

  Not after everything we’d been through.

  “I’m not a job,” I said finally. Edie nodded like she understood and I sighed then turned to get out. “Tell Alex… tell him to find me when he’s ready to talk, but Edie, I don’t want him assigned to me unless he asks.”

  “All right. And hey,” Edie called as I slid out and turned back to look at her through the open car door. “You take care of all that magic you’ve got going on inside you, okay? We still don’t know who wants to hurt you and right now, you’re the only lead we’ve got on these feral werewolves.”

  I nodded, trying to forget what she’d said about Indra. Technically, if she could do what I could, they didn’t need me and what then? They’d stop protecting me and I’d be served up to the next sick werewolf who came looking…

  Would they even tell me they’d called off
their security? Or would I just wake up one night to a feral werewolf standing over my bed? I shuddered and shoved out of the car, jumping to the ground.

  “Good night, Edie,” I said without meeting her gaze.

  “Good night, Sam.”

  I slammed the door shut and hurried up the steps, desperate for the familiarity of my own apartment. My own bed. Alex still had my overnight bag in his truck but I didn’t even care anymore. It wasn’t the only thing he’d taken from me that I wasn’t sure when or if I’d get back. Whatever I had left that still belonged to me, it would have to be enough.

  Besides, Alex was alive.

  So, why did I feel like the biggest parts of him had died on that cot? Why did I feel like by the time he’d woken, he was gone?

  Brittany looked up from the couch as I entered. She took one look at me and her expression fell. She tossed her magazine aside and jumped up as I shut and locked the door, heading for the kitchen without a word.

  When she returned, she had two glasses of wine filled to the brim. “Here,” she said. “Come sit and tell me about it.”

  I almost declined but then I remembered I’d promised her an explanation. And after today, I knew I needed someone to talk to. No more keeping it all inside. I took a long swig of the wine, relishing the sweet-and-sour bite as it slid down my throat.

  When I looked up, Brittany had already emptied half her glass. That made me laugh a little. But the smile quickly turned to a grimace. I took another sip.

  “Was it that bad?” she asked.

  I nodded. “Worse.”

  “Tell me,” she said.

  “I don’t know how much I can say,” I said, already uncertain about how to talk about everything without spilling secrets that might send Brittany running.

  She set her glass down and looked me square in the eye. “You can say everything, Sam-I-Am. You can tell me everything.”

  Her gaze was unwavering, her cornflower blue eyes unyielding. Gone was the silly, flirty, flighty blonde girl who ran around with football players all night. Suddenly, the girl looking back at me was concrete. There was a sharpness I hadn’t expected.

  How much did she already know? And why did I suddenly feel like she’d played me like she’d played Mason that day at school? Only one way to find out.

  “All right,” I said, taking a deep breath and then another long swig of wine. “I’ll tell you everything,” I said.

  And I did.

  Did you enjoy this book?

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  Turn the page for an excerpt from Esperance, book 3,

  coming April 27, 2017!

  ~Pre-order now~

  Hi Love Bird,

  Welcome back to the world of Dirty Blood!

  I am so thrilled to share this next installment with you and spend time with all of our favorites together. I hope you’re enjoying being in Sam’s world (and Alex’s head!) If you want to be the first to hear about when the next book is coming, and get access to our exclusive Facebook group, where we all talk about our serious love/hate with Alex Channing, click here to subscribe to email updates or find our group on Facebook.

  This series started off largely in response you, the reader, asking for more of this world. Now that I’m in it, I don’t want to leave again but that’s also largely up to you.

  Leave reviews, tell your friends, and send me feedback about your thoughts on the series thus far AND what you want to see in future books. I’d love to hear what you think. Find me online at the links above OR email me at heatherhildenbr@gmail.com.

  See you in the next book!

  Love,

  Heather

  Esperance

  Heart Lines Series #3

  Alex

  In the darkness of my bedroom, I stared hard at my lit phone screen, studying the familiar faces of the man and woman I’d spent the first decade of my life with. My mother’s smile, kind and bright, was open and inviting; her brown eyes shining with enough knowledge to span lifetimes and cultures.

  She’d seen so much. Done things most hunters wouldn’t even believe. And for much of it, I’d been standing right there next to her. My father brooded, as he always had, but underneath the hard lines of his stoic expression and glinting gaze, there was caring and kindness. Less and less as time went on but it had been there. I could still remember if I dug deep.

  The day this photo had been taken, we’d had a party for my mother’s birthday. Just the three of us but it was a happy celebration. And my father had laughed until he cried when my mother had used her magic to turn water into wine for a toast that night. He’d hooted and remarked it would save a lot of money that would otherwise have gone to the county liquor store. After they sent me to bed, I snuck back to spy, drawn to the magic. I’d watched as my mother had kept the refills coming, their private party lasting well into the night.

  I hadn’t looked at the photo in probably ten years. Seeing them happy was always too difficult. After that night, things hadn’t been so easy again.

  But I needed a test.

  And I couldn’t think of anything else.

  I stared at the photo another moment longer and then finally I tossed my phone aside and fell onto the mattress on my back. I let out a whoosh of air that was probably more like a growl and stared up at the faded paint on the ceiling of my rented bedroom.

  My rental truck was parked in the drive.

  We’d been home long enough for me to shower, and now, RJ was making a ton of noise downstairs. He hadn’t asked me about my strange behavior back at Indra’s—but he also hadn’t asked whether I felt physically better either. A sure sign I’d been a royal ass back there. I still hadn’t mentioned how numb I felt. It seemed like admitting failure somehow. Maybe because I’d been the one to agree to receiving Indra’s sketchy magic.

  RJ was pissed at me, though. That much I knew from the way he hadn’t said a word in the truck and how he was banging shit around downstairs. Cooking. He hadn’t offered to make me anything. Nor did I deserve it.

  But I couldn’t blame the noise in the kitchen for my lack of response when I’d looked at the photo just now. Looking at that picture should have broken me down. Even when I managed to hold back any outward emotional display, the pain in my chest never failed to double me over at the sight of those two faces smiling in just that way.

  But not this time. Tonight, not a single fucking pang in my gut. Instead, I was met with absolute numbness. Just like when I looked at RJ. Or Sam. When I thought about her hands on my body. When I touched her or held her against me. No matter what I did, I felt nothing.

  I sighed again, and this time, one emotion did surface. The only thing I’d been able to latch onto since the moment the venom had gone.

  Anger.

  I was perfectly capable of being pissed. In fact, it bordered on overwhelming and I suspected that was because there was nothing good to balance it out.

  Now that I was finally alone, I gave in and let it have me.

  Book 3, coming April 27, 2017!

  Pre-Order Now!

  About the Author

  Heather Hildenbrand was born and raised in a small town in northern Virginia where she was homeschooled through high school. (She’s only slightly socially awkward as a result.) She writes romance of all kinds with plenty of abs and angst. Her most frequent hobbies are riding motorcycles and avoiding killer slugs.

  You can find out more about Heather and her books at www.heatherhildenbrand.com.

  Or find her here:

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  Other titles by Heather Hildenbrand:

  Whisper: A New Adult Fantasy Romance full of loss and true love and justice served. There’s also a hot Cherokee warrior involved. To read a sample of Whisper, click here.

  A Risk Worth Taking: A New Adult Contemporary Romance with southern charm and a hippie farmer capable o
f swoon and heartbreak in the same breath. To get Book 1 FREE, click here.

  Dirty Blood: A Young Adult Paranormal Romance about a girl who falls in love with a werewolf, only to find out she’s a Hunter, born and bred to kill the very thing she means to save. To read a sample, click here.

  Imitation: A Young Adult SciFi Romance with life or death choices and a conspiracy so deep, even a motorcycle-riding bodyguard can’t pull you out. To read a sample, click here.

  Across the Galaxy: A Young Adult Epic Fantasy with beautiful aliens and guys so hot they glow. To read a sample, click here.

  Bitterroot: Two long lost sisters are reunited and forced to compete for the alpha role in their pack. The winner has been promised to the vampire prince. One sister wants to kiss him; the other wants to kill him. Can siblings survive rivalry and forbidden love? To read a sample, click here.

  Titles by Heather Hildenbrand writing as Holly Eastman

  Adult Shifter Romance

  www.hollyeastman.com

  On The Hunt for His Cougar: Bad News Bears #1

  The Badge & The Bear, Bad News Bears #2

  Wilde Bear

  River Bear

  Alpha Undercover

  Guarded By The Alpha