Jase stepped slowly closer, inhaling her scent and taking it inside him, allowing it to course through him like the winds outside whipped around the house.
“Someone….” She was breathing too quickly. Too much. Too fast. “I felt them. It hurt. I couldn’t stop them. I heard them talking. A man and a woman. They wanted to kill me. They….they….”
“Nick, get a cold cloth!” Jase moved fast, catching her before she fell into the ledge surrounding the fireplace. Unconscious, he laid her out on the thick carpet in front of the fireplace again, accepting the cold cloth from Nick and laying it over her forehead.
“Well….we got a little bit of a story….” Nick dropped to his heels, his fingers out to touch the strands of amber at the sides of her face.
“Dig deeper,” Jase growled, too aware of the wolf at the surface. He felt it in 14
Nick. Their mate had been hurt. Attacked. Almost killed.
“Her parents and neighbors,” Nick nodded and went to the computer, glancing over now and then from the prone woman to the man he’d called friend for so many years. Jase paced and Nick could smell the fury in the room. “We need it under control, Jase. Scaring her right now….”
“I know. I fucking know,” he said instantly, turning and striding into the kitchen area.
Brea woke slowly, the feel of the cool cloth over her eyes welcome and making her sigh. She heard the sound of a voice, strong and steady and recognized it as the news. But the other voices. The deep, masculine voices whispering a few feet from her.
Those she didn’t know. No, she corrected, she’d seen them, had their images lodged in that part of her that found them appealing and safe.
How did she know that? How could she be so certain, so positive that she was safe with them?
They knew she was waking. They could easily sense the life force coursing through her. Both of them set their work aside, sliding their chairs closer to where she lay on the thick rug, the tawny color of her hair stark against the deep green pillow Jase had slid beneath her head.
Brea lifted the corner of the cooling cloth and suddenly felt like prey. It took a lot of work to keep from letting the breathing get out of hand again. She moved slowly, back to the corner against the wall, next to the fireplace and stared at them. It definitely wasn’t a difficult thing to do, she thought, blinking and taking in the dark and 15
light of the men watching her.
“Nick Gaines,” he said quietly, not altering the casual leaning stance in the desk chair, hands up behind his head, legs extended before him.
“Jase Bishop,” he offered, hands clasp on his lap, one foot up and resting on the other knee. “How’s your head?”
“Pounding. Confused. Really confused,” she said softly, swallowing and looking at the palm that held out a bottle of water to her. She took it, opened it and drank half before handing it back. “Thank you.”
“Do you remember what happened?” Nick asked, his eyes drinking in the fluid movements, the delicate strength in her hands, the long slender arms and shoulders that shrugged slightly. “Is that a yes or a no?” But her attention wasn’t on them any longer, the big screen television holding her vision. They looked from the flames and firefighters and back to the wide eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“No….” it was barely whispered, her head shaking, her hands trembling as she doubled over, burying her face in the quilt.
Nick and Jase moved as if one, both slipping to the floor. Jase pulled her against him; Nick kept the quilt on her, his palm stroking lightly over her head.
“The computer,” Jase lifted her against him while Nick went to the desk, his hands moving over the keyboard for the news station. Jase settled her into the larger recliner, letting her curl down away from them both for the moment.
“Suspected arson,” Nick read quietly. “Blended Lives, a local café that created 16
their own special teas and coffees went up in smoke early this morning in a suspected case of arson. The owner, Breanna Cooper is unavailable for comment at this time. The shop was considered a popular meeting place and cyber café and was doing well since its opening two years ago. Police are investigating.” Both males turned when the woman spoke, on her feet for the first time since they found her, both felt the breath catch in their chests. Tall and lean, muscled and curved were the words each felt inside their minds. Sweet and stunningly pretty found a place, too.
“Bathroom, please?”
“Behind you, two doors down,” Jase said, watching her nod and stride away.
Only after the sound of the door closing reached them, did either of them realize they hadn’t done much breathing.
“Remind me to get my wolf a steak dinner,” Nick heard the rasping edge in his voice. Added to that was the stark realization that his cock was sitting up like a begging puppy made him grumble and adjust his jeans. “Damn.”
“Yeah….no kidding. And to think people told us we were wasting our lives waiting for our mate,” Jase thought about the simmering sensuality he felt behind the thick amber lashes and sighed.
“You talk like it’s a done deal.”
“Since when did you run tail from anything?” Jase snorted softly. “And Breanna is not something either of us can run from. It’s just a matter of convincing her to love us both.”
17
“Oh….hell…is that all,” Nick rolled his eyes. “It seemed almost plausible in the abstract.”
“Now you’re talking like a programmer,” Jase said with a laugh, standing up and putting chairs back in their places.
Both men stood waiting as she came down the hall. The evidence of her tears in the reddened eyes and shining eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, hands wringing in front of her.
“Come over here and sit, Breanna,” Jase held out a chair between both desks, the men waiting, watching as she nodded and sunk into the oversized office chair.
“You know who I am.”
“I went through your pack when we brought you to the house,” Jase confessed, sliding the wallet toward her over the desk surface.
She shrugged. “I guess what’s in the pack is all I have now. It’s okay. Nothing secret in there,” she struggled to find a smile and failed. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing, Brea. You haven’t done anything to be sorry for,” Nick pushed up from the desk. “You haven’t eaten in a while,” he stepped forward and took her hand from her lap, pulling gently. “Come into the kitchen with us and we can fix something or you can rummage. Mrs. Aimes keeps the kitchen well stocked.”
“How did I get here?”
“Sandwich or soup?” Nick opened the fridge and pulled the door wide for her to see as Jase found plates after making sure she was sitting at the large, heavy table.
Brea listened to the rumbling in her stomach. “A sandwich, please. I never got 18
around to breakfast.”
Nick laid out things on the table for her, holding up juice and accepting the shake of her head.
“Ice water, please. You’re both being really sweet,” she sighed and reached for the loaf of bread.
“What do you remember?” Jase asked after sinking into a chair across from her.
“I…I got up normal and went down the outside stairs to open the café,” her fingers shook a little as she lifted the small bag holding ham. “I heard them talking. I heard them saying I’d never know my power. That it was all wasted on me and I’d never destroy them,” her voice came out a low, husky whisper, her head shaking. “That had to be a dream. It’s all just part of some bad dream and I’m going to wake up soon and be baking a batch of muffins or…or blending coffee…..” Jase reached across the table and gripped the fingers that began shaking at the same time her voice cracked and tears flowed over her cheeks.
“Brea….we don’t know what happened…..the why part, at least….but you’re safe here,” Jase saw those soft amber eyes filled with tears and knew he had to leave for a while. “Nick, I�
��m taking the bike and going into town. You want anything?” Nick met the almost silver eyes with a shake of his head.
“I’ll get her to eat something and see about the guest room,” for now, his wolf said possessively. “I’ll keep the lines open, Jase. Be careful.”
“Yeah….that’s top of my list right now,” he growled and stalked out of the kitchen toward his bedroom.
19
“He’s angry,” she said softly, laying out meat and reaching for the cheese.
“He’s seriously pissed at the moment,” Nick turned to see the look in her eyes.
“And it’s not your fault. He’s not pissed at you.”
“Set those appointments and see what you can find on that other issue we were talking about,” Jase held the black helmet in one hand, keys in the other. “I’ll be a few hours.”
“Try persuasion….our bail balance is depleted for the month,” Nick shouted after him, the door slamming a few seconds later.
Brea carefully closed things she was finished using and carried them to the fridge, watching the dark haired man curiously.
“You found me on the beach?”
“Whoever it was brought you out here,” he nodded toward the main door. “We had a lot of fog this morning. I think they figured they could get you to the beach without anyone noticing. If the storm had been a little faster, I might not have seen them at all.”
“Thank you. I don’t know…”
“No one’s been bothering you?” It sounded lame even to him since leaving someone to die with slit wrists on a stormy beach seemed a little more than a bothering offense.
“No…..I don’t even have a place for being bothered,” she sighed thickly. “I work, I run and I work some more. I love cooking. I love my…..my shop….” Her fingers pressed hard against the full lower lip that shook. She ground her teeth together before 20
lifting the sandwich and taking a bite. The sandwich barely made it to the plate, her wrist turned up. Wide eyes stared at the obviously fresh scar, her head shaking adamantly. “I didn’t…..I’d never….”
Nick scratched his jaw and went to the other room. He’d slid the knife into a bag when they brought it home. He showed it to her.
“We knew you’d been hurt. We could smell the blood,” Nick laid the bag down before realizing what he’d said, those damnable wide eyes blinking up at him.
“You…..smelled…..there was blood?” Came the weak question, her face paling a little more.
“We just knew something was off, Brea, that’s all. The other two just left you there and drove off, so me and Jase went to see what was going on. The storm was blowing in and you just laid there,” Nick watched as she used one finger and pushed the blade away. He took it and set it on top of the fridge out of sight.
“I’m not cut.” Her head shook again. “I’m not….see….” she held up her wrists, her tone adamant.
Nick sat and leaned back in the chair. “It’s your blood and you were cut. The quilt you were on is soaked with it. Somehow…..”
“You could be wrong,” she whispered furiously, not tasting the latest bite of sandwich in her mouth. It took half a glass of water to get it to swallow.
“How’s your head?”
Brea stared, one hand up and rubbing where the lump should have been. She shrugged. “Fine. I heal fast. Mom always said it was genetic,” she answered, pushing 21
that aside. “You saw them? You saw the people who took me out on the beach?” Heal fast? Nick added that tidbit to the column where slashed wrists sealed tight and healed.
“No. There was too much fog for identification. I didn’t…..I saw them while I was drinking my tea, but they didn’t register right away. Not as….a problem,” he explained.
“Until Jase mentioned the storm. Then we both wondered why friends would leave you out there alone. When we didn’t see you move, we went to check and…..” he shrugged lightly. “Found you out like a light. Blood was all over the quilt but you weren’t….cut.
That we could see.”
“I heal fast,” she whispered again, shakily.
“Anyway….Jase collected you and I grabbed the quilt and your pack and we brought you here. Then that storm hit. You slept through the thunder,” he told her with a little smile. “So what kind of teas and coffees did you make? I’m the notorious tea drinker in the house. Jase can’t function without enough caffeine to sink a ship.”
“I blended them with….with other beans and teas and…and with spices and ground the beans….” Squeezed her eyes closed tightly together. “And made new flavors. We served iced coffees and teas, too….along with the pastries and breads.
They burned my building to the ground,” she whispered in a painful rush.
“We have friends in Newburg, Brea. We’ll get some answers and figure out what’s happening,” Nick had placed his palm over hers and now watched as she opened her eyes and looked at the hand. Her palm tilted up at the wrist, her fingers sliding between his and curled closed before she let herself nod.
22
Brea sat staring at the strong, tanned hand clasping hers. Safe was one of the words echoing inside her. Protected. Her head tipped to the side, shaking slowly before pulling her fingers free and wrapping them around the glass of ice water and taking a long drink.
“Have you been together long?” She asked when she was sure her voice would work, both hands now wrapped around the sandwich. Curious eyes peeked up through thick lashes at the silence from the other side of the table.
Chapter 3
Nick blinked and stared, listening to the question a second time in his mind. All the time staring into those bottomless almost gold eyes.
“I’m sorry. Did I say something….” Brea leaned over a little, one hand up and waving in front of his face. She followed his gaze to the freckles dotting her chest and flushed pink. Maybe her question was a little too personal.
“Together?” His head snapped up at the all too familiar question. “Jase? Me?” Nick tore his gaze from the freckles and swore. “Sorry. No. Oh, hell no…..we’re business partners. Friends since about the age of five. We’re not…..no….not like that.”
“Sorry,” Brea murmured, swallowing and taking another bite. If her mouth was full, she couldn’t say something really stupid. Again.
23
“I know this isn’t easy, Brea, but can you think of anything….any reason, no matter how odd it might seem….why someone would do this to you?” Nick went to the fridge and poured some of the tea into a tall glass before adding the ice and leaning against the counter, watching her as she ate.
“Someone’s been leaving me notes. Telling me to leave town. All my friends at there. Why would I leave and isolate myself that way?” She struggled to clear her throat. “They’re in my pack.” He set the glass down and almost left until he realized it was her pack. He was waiting for permission, she realized. “You can get them. They’re in a little pocket on the side. Like I said, I don’t have secrets.” Brea ate the sandwich, barely tasting it and she knew it was really good ham.
Flavorful. And the bread was the kind she liked best, filled with chewy seeds and whole grains. Of course, that was a little health offset by the gobs of mayo she slathered on the bread, but hey, everyone’s gotta have a vice or two.
Nick walked back, pieces of paper fanning out in his fingers, his head bent until he reached the counter.
“When did you get these, Brea?”
“They started a week after….god, it’s been a hell of a spring,” she whispered.
“After your parents died?”
“They didn’t die! They were killed!” She said loudly, angrily, her palm up and on her lips seconds later. “I’m sorry….so sorry…..”
“What happened?” He asked firmly. “We can’t help without information, Brea.
Only you have the information.”
24
“Me?”
Nick should have been expecting this. He winced at the heavy c
hair crashing behind her when she surged to her feet, two arms flailing above her head.
“Me? I don’t have anything! I don’t know anything! I don’t have a place to live, I don’t have clothes, I don’t have my shop! Someone broke into their house and killed them,” she heard the anger, felt the fury inside her as she paced, picking up the chair and striding the length of the long kitchen dining area. “The police said it was a random home invasion...then the house exploded! They never even found the….found the….” She hated the tears in her voice, one palm up and flat when he moved to come to her.
“Don’t. Just. Don’t. You wanted information but I don’t have any. I don’t know. They were teachers! In a little nowhere town of Newburg on the coast of Washington.
Mother taught little kids in first grade and dad taught physics in high school.” Her hands crossed over her, palms rubbing along her arms. She walked to the back door and opened it, breathing deeply.
Nick didn’t have an idea why someone wanted her to disappear, but he was pretty sure the things levitating over his table were a good clue. He swallowed slowly as they drifted back to the surface. His gaze whipping to the woman staring into the light mist falling after the storm had continued its rage inland.
Alrighty then, he mused as he puffed out a very slow stream of air.
If she was any kind of magic, why hadn’t they known? Why hadn’t they been able to tell? It was natural for them. It was part of their make-up to be able to recognize various breeds and species.
25
“I’ll be in the other room, Brea,” Nick saw her nod. He could feel the pain inside her and knew she was crying again but he didn’t know how to help, how to make the pain go away. He couldn’t give her that right now because she wouldn’t be willing to accept it or see it for what it was meant. But he could work to find answers for her.
He stood facing the entry way so he could see her and pulled his phone free, hoping Jase was off the bike. He got lucky.
“Jase….we need a magic reader.”
Breanna Page 2
