Dead Zone

by Amber Lynn Natusch

“Oh. Okay.”

  “Are you two headed out for the evening?”

  “Yeah. I was going to take Cooper to the bar.”

  A look of understanding flashed in TS’ warm hazel eyes.

  “Should I come along?”

  “I mean, if you want to bail on my dad, then totally. But we’ll be fine.”

  TS nodded tightly.

  Cooper, however, looked confused. “Of course we’ll be fine. Why wouldn’t we be?”

  “I’ll explain on the way there,” I replied, pushing him through the door and toward the stairs. “I’ll be down in a second.”

  Cooper looked at me over his shoulder and gave me his best ‘you’d better explain this ASAP or we’re not going anywhere’ look. I saluted him to let him know I’d read his message loud and clear. Seconds later, he disappeared through the door to the garage.

  “Do you think this is wise?” TS asked, his tone devoid of judgment.

  “I think it’s inevitable, so I just want to get it over with. I’m sure once he sees Jenkins is no longer a threat, it’ll be fine.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  “Then I might have to club him with a bottle of whiskey and drag him out of there.”

  My response clearly amused TS, judging by the quirk of his brow.

  “I might have to come along just to see that.”

  “I’ll send a video if I do it,” I said with a wink.

  “Excellent.” An awkward moment passed between us, long enough that I started to fidget with the zipper of my jacket. Without another word, he stepped through the doorway into the living room. Before closing the door, he spoke. “If you need me, do not hesitate to call. To me, you will always come first. Even before your father’s orders.”

  “I’ve got this,” I said, my voice soft. “I can handle the wolves.”

  For now…

  I ignored Nyx’s two cents on the matter.

  “Then enjoy your night with Cooper. I know you’ve missed him.”

  The familiar grind of metal that needed to be oiled echoed through the stairwell as TS closed the door. I turned and made my way down to the ground level, opening the door to the garage. I found Cooper lingering near one of the sports cars, the driver’s side door open.

  “I think you and I have more to talk about than I thought, Fifi,” he said, eyebrow quirked with curiosity.

  Damn, I hated when he was right.

  I managed to stay silent about everything other than directions for a total of five minutes before Cooper started in on me. I’d hoped he was only going to grill me about where we were going, but apparently after seeing my brief interaction with TS, he had a whole new line of questioning.

  “So are you really going to make me ask, or are you just going to tell me how exactly you came to fall in love with your guardian?”

  Shit.

  “Cooper, I’m not in—”

  “Love with him?” He finished my sentence for me, though with far more incredulity than I would have used.

  “Yeah. That.”

  He laughed so hard I swear the little sports car shook. “You’re more delusional than your mother, which until today I thought was impossible.”

  “Cooper, it’s not like that.”

  “Because it just isn’t, or because you won’t let it be?”

  “It has nothing to do with what I will or won’t let happen.” My reply had a little more bite to it than I’d intended, a fact that was hardly lost on Cooper.

  “TS is a solid guy, Fi. He’s loyal, which you know matters to me. He’s lethal as hell. And he’s gone to the mat for you more times than I can count. That means something.”

  “It means he’s a good soldier, Coop. Nothing more.”

  He hazarded a glance my way as he drove. “Don’t be naïve, Fi. You don’t think he wants something more from you?”

  I pondered that thought for minute before responding.

  “I think he cares about me a lot. I think he’s forgiven me for the shit I put him through during those two years. I think he treats me like an equal in all things and believes in my ability to serve the PC. But that doesn’t mean he loves me—not in the way you’re implying.”

  “Have you told him how you feel?”

  “Cooper, I don’t fully understand how I feel. What good would telling him about my confused emotions do?”

  “I don’t think you’re confused. I think you’re scared.”

  “And I think I’m all set with this conversation.”

  “You can’t run from it, Fi. There’s no escaping your feelings.”

  Didn’t I know that was the truth.

  “Duly noted.”

  His mouth pressed into a grim line. “Life is too short to deny yourself happiness. To torture yourself with uncertainty and what ifs. You deserve better than that.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, then snapped it shut. Though I was loath to admit it, he was right. And I was officially fucked.

  “Now,” he started, ready to change the subject, “you want to tell me about where we’re going?”

  “Yep. We’re going to the bar I work at now. Jenkins’ bar.” A growl rumbled through the car. “Cooper, you need to give him a chance. He’s not half bad now that he doesn’t think I’m up to shady shit.”

  “Oh, I’ll give him a chance all right…to beg for his life before I murder him.”

  “No dice, Coop. We need him. He’s integral to the case I’m working on right now. If you must kill him, it’ll have to be after we’re done.”

  He huffed with dissatisfaction. “Fine, but if he says one thing I don’t like tonight, all bets are off.”

  “Then I’ll be sure he’s on his best behavior,” I replied, exhaling hard. “I think you’ll actually like him if you give him a chance, Coop. He’s a pretty cool guy. He’s good to the people he sees as his—sound at all familiar?”

  “He has no pack, Fi. There’s a reason for that.”

  “I’m sure there is, and maybe one day I’ll find out what it is, but for now, I’ll take him at his actions—all of which have been fine since the whole trafficking-of-supernatural-females debacle.”

  “Funny how you’re willing to judge him on his actions alone, but not TS.”

  “That’s different. I’m not in love with Jenkins—”

  “Ha! You just admitted you loved him!”

  Dick move, but well played. “You know what I’m saying.”

  “Do I?” He wiggled his brows at me across the car, and I sighed in response.

  “Just make a right up here, okay?”

  I slumped back in my seat, arms folded across my chest. Cooper had opened a Pandora’s box of emotions that I couldn’t seem to slam shut. It appeared that even my gift for denial was unable to hide the truth. I did love TS, and had, in a way, for quite some time. It had been easy to deny, given what he had represented to me: a jailor of sorts. But with that veil lifted, and mitigating factors—like my feelings for Gabe—no longer in play, it was plain even to me. But if it was plain to me, then it had to have been obvious to him, and he’d never said a word.

  A shot of cold ran down my spine.

  Maybe TS didn’t love me in return.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  We went through the back door of the bar to avoid the line. Michael was washing glasses in the sink and stacking them in racks to be returned out front. He smiled when he saw me, but it fell the moment he saw Cooper. Poor kid—he really had it bad.

  “Hey perv. Is Jenkins out front?”

  “Si,” he replied, a little heat in his tone.

  “Thanks.”

  Cooper and I walked through the short corridor that led to the main hallway that housed the storage closet and bathrooms for patrons. After a short stroll down the narrow passage, we were in the main bar. Jenkins was on stage with the band, cranking out some old-school rock that had the crowd riled up. I led Cooper to the bar, where we managed to elbow our way to the only free seats in the place. Seemed like luck was on our side, if
only for a fleeting moment.

  I ordered two whiskeys, then turned my attention back to the stage. Jenkins, who appeared to have spotted me, gave a little wink and a smile in my direction. Cooper and I drank while the music surrounded us. It seemed to calm him down a bit, but judging by the way his eyes were fixed on Jenkins, he knew exactly who he was.

  We needed more whiskey, stat.

  When the song ended, Jenkins announced that they’d be taking a break and proceeded to put his guitar in its stand and hop off the stage. It wasn’t long before he was standing before me, all smiles. But it didn’t reach his eyes, and I could feel territorial hostility emanating from him. There was a new wolf in his house—an alpha to boot. Jenkins’ alarms were going off.

  “Jenkins, you need to meet someone very important to me,” I said, a note of caution in my tone. “This is my uncle Cooper. The alpha of my mother’s pack.”

  His eyes went wide for a moment, and his aggression faded away. He reached a hand toward Cooper in greeting, and Cooper took it after a moment or two of contemplation.

  “So you’re the infamous alpha,” Jenkins said. His expression had softened slightly, as had his posture, but we were far from out of the woods yet. Cooper had no intention of letting him off that easily.

  “And you’re the infamous lone wolf who threatened one of mine.”

  “As I explained in the car on the way here, Coop,” I interjected, “that misunderstanding has been cleared up.”

  “I’m sure you can understand being suspicious of unknown wolves in your territory,” Jenkins said, “especially a half-breed.”

  Cooper shot me a look, rage flashing in his hazel eyes that were warming to amber.

  “What did he call you?”

  “It’s his nickname for me, used only with the utmost affection, right, Jenks?”

  “It is now, yes.” Jenkins’ reply wasn’t nearly as helpful as I’d hoped.

  Cooper rose from his stool to face Jenkins, a quiet standoff in full effect. As they stood toe-to-toe, I realized just how much alike they were. Both were tall, with the same lean but muscular build. Both were blond and extremely good looking. But where Cooper has his California surfer appeal, Jenkins had a certain edge to him, with his arms full of tattoos and his hipster hair.

  “You have one chance to answer this question to my satisfaction, or there will be consequences,” Cooper said. “What are your intentions with Sapphira?”

  Jenkins didn’t bat an eye. “To help her with whatever she needs to find this killer.”

  The tension between them mounted.

  “And…?” Cooper pressed.

  “And nothing. I hope to be her friend—which I think I am now that she’s fully forgiven me for my previous actions.”

  Cooper sniffed the air around them twice, not saying anything.

  “Honestly,” I started, trying to break the tension, “this is not the evening of drunken debauchery you promised me, Uncle Coop…”

  “Would you hurt her?”

  Jenkins looked truly affronted. “Not now. Not ever.”

  Cooper pulled away to better study the lone wolf’s expression. He must have been pleased with whatever he found in it because a smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he reached for the glasses of whiskey on the bar beside him.

  “Then you get to live,” he said, handing Jenkins a glass before raising his own. I looked up at Jenkins to find him wearing an eerily similar expression.

  “I’ll drink to that.”

  A few whiskeys later, the mood was far more jovial. Cooper and Jenkins had gone from ready to tear each other apart to back-slapping and high-fiving buddies. Men were so strange like that. They could let shit go at the drop of a hat.

  I envied that ability.

  As I leaned back against the bar and watched the bro-show, I caught a flash of red in my periphery. I looked across the crowded bar to find a familiar face staring back at me. Reah, my newest ghost, stood near a female, staring at her intently. Not a good sign. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what it meant—and I didn’t have my Ouija board in my purse to find out.

  “Hey Jenks?” I said, whacking him on the shoulder to get his attention. When he turned to find me staring at the crowd, he went on high alert in an instant.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “Who’s that girl over there?” I asked, pointing to the beautiful dark-skinned girl standing in front of Reah. Jenkins followed my gaze until he locked onto her.

  “Charlotte?”

  “Yeah. Sure. What’s her deal?”

  He looked at me as though he wasn’t certain of my angle and didn’t want to answer until he knew what it was, but finally he told me what I wanted to know.

  “She’s one of the Northside alpha’s girls.”

  “She’s a werewolf?”

  He nodded. “She’s Alejandro’s number one mate. He claimed her right after he took control of the pack.”

  Cooper stood up beside me to look at the girl in question. “Why are you asking, Fi?”

  As much as I didn’t want to tell either of them about my latest ghost, I knew Cooper wouldn’t let it go. With that in mind, I took a deep breath and discreetly filled them both in on Reah and her story. The two of them shared a look of disbelief for a moment before either of them spoke.

  “You think the ghost is telling you something about Charlotte?” Jenkins asked. “Like she might have had something to do with her death?”

  “I don’t know, Jenks. These ghosts don’t come with a decoder ring. Without my Ouija board, I can’t ask her anything. All I know is that she’s staring at her, and in my experience, that’s never a good thing.”

  “Shit…” Cooper muttered under his breath. “How do you want to play this?”

  I considered his question for a second before replying because, in truth, we didn’t have many options. Sending Jenkins over wasn’t one. Interrogating the alpha’s chick would be a surefire way to lose his Switzerland status with the pack, and we couldn’t risk that. Sending Cooper over was no better; an outside alpha in someone else’s city making a play for his woman wouldn’t go over well either. That left me to do the honors, and I felt completely at a loss as to what I should do or how to do it.

  Thankfully, another option strolled up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find TS smiling down at me.

  “Hey!” I shouted, surprised to see him. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be gone for a while?”

  “Things went more smoothly than expected,” he said. “But you seem tense, Phira. Is everything all right?”

  Cooper did the honors of filling him in. Once he was done, TS pinned curious eyes on me. “Do you want me to go talk to her?” he asked.

  “I mean…do you think it’ll work?”

  The corner of his mouth quirked ever so slightly.

  “I am not without my interrogation methods, Phira. And if it will help you, I will do it.”

  I stared at him for a moment, contemplating exactly what his methods might be and how he could apply them in Jenkins’ bar with his ‘no magic’ policy for supernaturals, but since Jenkins didn’t look concerned about bending the rules, there was no reason for me to be.

  “Yeah, see what you can find out about her mate, and how he might be connected to someone named Reah.”

  His brows scrunched together for a moment, a look of concern on his face.

  “Stay here,” he said, looking at Cooper, who seemed to understand something in TS’ expression that I had missed. Cooper nodded in silent reply. Seconds later, TS was halfway to his destination.

  I did my best to stay out of sight while TS made his move on the female from the Northside pack. Charlotte was petite and frail looking—hard to believe she was the killing machine Jenkins told me about. He said that she was ruthless when challenged and extremely deadly. That made me respect her, even if she was involved with a sketchy motherfucker. Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what she can to survive.


  I really hoped she had nothing to do with Reah’s death.

  As I looked on, I could feel Jenkins edge up beside me and dip his head down low to mine. To the onlooker, it would appear that he was hitting on me, when in truth it was anything but. He was keeping tabs on me, as if I needed it. My babysitter days were long behind me.

  “You’re staring.”

  “I’m surveying,” I said, correcting his assessment.

  “You need to let him do what you asked him to do.”

  “Do you see me standing in his way?” I asked. I turned to face him, our noses only inches away from one another.

  He laughed. “We’ll see about that…”

  “Don’t you and my uncle need another drink or something?”

  “Not when I’m trying to keep you from getting yourself in trouble.”

  “Ha, good luck with that.”

  “I’ll need it, no doubt.”

  “You have no idea,” Cooper said from behind Jenkins. My uncle knew just how difficult I could make Jenkins’ life if I wanted to—how difficult I’d made it for TS.

  Jenkins began to talk about something I should have listened to, but the second I saw TS stroke the side of Charlotte’s perfect face, everything around me faded into a din of nonsense and bass. Laser-focused on their interaction, my brain could process little else other than the way her eyes closed as he leaned closer—the way her chest heaved slightly as her breath hitched. Whether he was using magic or his charms I didn’t know, but either way, it was clear that it was working. Maybe a little too well.

  I felt Jenkins grab my arm and pull me back into him before I even realized I’d moved.

  “Easy, half-breed,” he said in my ear.

  “I’m fine,” I said, pulling out of his grasp.

  “Sure you are. That’s why you look like you want to start a war.”

  “I don’t want to start a war, Jenkins.”

  I looked up at him as he shot me an incredulous look. “Mhmm...” He leaned in and brushed the side of my face with the bridge of his nose. Heat spread through my cheek at the touch. “I think you need a distraction, Phira.”

  “No,” I replied, sounding breathier than I’d hoped. “I need to focus on TS. I’m his backup.”