by Brooklyn Ann
By the time she got hold of the cab company, she was told that it would be a forty-five minute wait because everyone was getting out of church. All the others she called said the same.
“Fuck, fuck fuck!” she roared at the empty house.
She had to go to this funeral. She had to do it for Xochitl.
A glint of metal caught the corner of her eye.
A set of car keys hung from a hook on the wall next to the door to the garage. Furtively, she opened the door and sucked in a breath at the sight of Silas’s glorious Barracuda crouching in the garage like a beautiful slumbering predator.
Akasha blinked in disbelief. Why did he leave his car behind? Did he carpool with a coworker or was he such a big-shot that he took a limo or something?
Unbidden, her fingers crept towards the keys.
Do I dare?
Desire and trepidation warred within her until she slumped against the wall and covered her eyes with a hand, blocking the distracting luxury surrounding her.
Well, it would serve McNaught right if she borrowed his car. She didn’t ask him to take her out of the group home and throw her into an environment in which she had no idea what to do. Besides, he wasn’t supposed to be back until evening. She could have the car back and he’d never know. The man didn’t strike her as the type to obsessively check his odometer. But if Silas did find out, maybe he’d be so pissed that he’d relinquish his guardianship.
Akasha grasped the keys to the ‘Cuda, her hands trembling with excitement. It seemed to whisper to her, beckoning her closer until she was powerless to resist its siren’s call. A faint, tantalizing scent wafted out when she opened the door. Her cheeks heated. It was Silas’s cologne. The leather creaked deliciously as she slid into the driver’s seat. After she adjusted the seat so she could reach the pedals, she noticed the garage door opener clipped to the sun visor. It must be providence.
As the garage door opened, she pushed in the clutch pedal and turned the key. A soft moan of ecstasy escaped her lips at the sound of the roaring engine. It had been too long since she’d had the pleasure of being behind the wheel of such a beauty. The only thing better would be getting under its hood with a wrench in her hand.
The ‘Cuda handled like the dream it was. It was agony to keep to the speed limit and not send the baby full-throttle across town. Instead, she slowly crawled down back roads, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror for cops. Damn, she really needed to approach Silas about getting her license.
Too soon she arrived at the gates of Forest Cemetery, where Kerainne Leonine would at last be laid to rest. The burial had been delayed for nearly a month due to Xochitl’s situation being dealt with. Akasha cursed the authorities for being so cruel.
As soon as she parked behind the long line of other cars, Akasha could see the wide stares of the funeral party. Her flesh prickled as she got out of the ‘Cuda, feeling like an imposter in her chic black suit and shining pumps.
Shifting her attention to the coffin blanketed in flowers, a pang of sadness pierced her chest. Her parents had not received this honor. It was almost hard not to be jealous of Xochitl. At least she had a place to lay flowers in her mother’s memory. Akasha would never know what the uniformed men did with the bodies of her parents. Guilt curled in her belly for such uncharitable thoughts and she turned to see how her friend was holding up.
Xochitl looked numb with grief. Tendrils of black and purple hair blew in her face and a raindrop dangled precariously from her silver eyebrow ring, but she did not brush either away. Xochitl’s best friend, Sylvis, clung to her hand and gave Akasha a sad smile of greeting.
Aurora and Beau, Xochitl’s other friends, stepped aside to make room for Akasha. Aurora placed a warm brown hand on Akasha’s shoulder. Again she felt that strange, yet blissful feeling of rightness.
“I’m glad you could make it,” Aurora whispered and shifted her umbrella to cover them both. “My parents want to take us out to an early supper afterwards. Can you come too?”
Akasha nodded and managed a small smile when Beau kissed her on the cheek. Unlike with other males, his touch didn’t alarm her and not only because he was gay. His friendliness made her feel safe.
Xochitl and her group were practically joined at the hip. They had even formed a metal band with the bitchin’ name, Rage of Angels. For the last three years, Akasha had watched them in the halls of school, envious longing filling her at the sight of their closeness. Watching Xochitl and Sylvis on the college campus bonding over their guitars had been even worse.
But once she befriended Xochitl, Akasha was welcomed into their inner circle. Never having friends before, she was terrified of doing something to destroy the band’s regard.
When the service ended, Akasha stepped aside to allow the other mourners to console Xochitl. Bill and Susan, Xochitl’s new foster parents, didn’t appear to recognize Akasha from the group home. Bill kept darting hostile looks at the only black couple in attendance which could only be Aurora’s parents, while Susan’s orange drawn-on eyebrows knit together as she sneered at everything with pious disapproval. Akasha shuddered as she saw the zealot’s pyre burning in the woman’s eyes. Only Mrs. Steele had been more frightening.
Beau sidled next to her, hazel eyes bright under burgundy bangs. “So where’d you get the new threads…and that hot ride?”
“I was assigned a legal guardian.” Akasha looked down at her boots and shrugged. “Well, sort of.”
A sassy voice cut in. “I hope he or she is a damn sight better than the pair Xochitl ended up with.” Aurora’s mom smiled at Akasha and continued in a warm Southern accent. “I’m Loretta Lee, Aurora’s mama. You must be Akasha. Xochitl said she met you in that hell hole of a group home.”
Akasha nodded in assent to both of Loretta’s remarks. Silas may be the most confusing and frustrating man she’d ever met, but she was definitely better off with him rather than people like Bill and Susan. Loretta was returning Bill’s sneer with a glare of her own when her husband, Daniel Lee introduced himself.
“We’re taking Xochitl and the others out to Denny’s. I hope you’ll join us.” Mr. Lee smiled in approval at Akasha’s firm handshake.
Bill and Susan attempted to protest Xochitl’s accompanying the Lees, but Loretta’s firm insistence would tolerate no refusal. And when Sylvis’s parents stepped in, the game was lost.
During dinner, everyone discussed Xochitl’s mom. From the stories and descriptions, the late Kerainne Leonine must have been an angel. Akasha couldn’t help but think it odd that a sweet preschool teacher had reared a hell-raiser like Xochitl alone. When Akasha had asked about her father, a guarded look crossed Xoch’s face. “Mom said he was a very bad man,” she’d said quickly before dropping the subject.
Akasha picked at her food as she struggled to recall her own mother’s face. Afterwards, the parents left them to drink coffee and talk amongst themselves with the admonition to be home by eight since it was a school night.
When they left, Beau set down his cup and fixed his gaze on Akasha. “Okay, I’ve had enough of this grief for now. Let’s talk about you. So spill. Xoch’ told us about your millionaire guardian.”
Akasha nodded. “He’s more like a glorified roommate. And he’s hardly ever around.” Looking down at her coffee and trying not to squirm in the booth, she told them about Silas and his confusing generosity.
“Still,” Aurora said as she drummed her silverware, “that’s fucked up, since you’re nineteen. You should be on your own…and buying us cigarettes.”
“Yeah, well…” Akasha trailed off, warmed that Xochitl apparently told her friends the truth about her age and they actually believed her.
Beau leaned forward, his tousled hair gleaming under the table lamp. “Is he hot? When do we get to meet him and see this fancy castle?”
“I don’t know.” Akasha’s breath caught as another result of her new situation struck her.
In the group home she had to sneak out to see her friends, but no mo
re. Silas had made that clear. Now she could see them whenever she wanted, in fact, she now had a bitchin’ place where they could all hang out. She smiled as she pictured the polished and sophisticated Silas McNaught’s reaction to Rage of Angels. Doubtless he would turn his nose up in disapproval.
Sylvis glanced up from the dessert menu, the blue lettering matching the shade of her spiky hair. “Did he buy you that car too?”
Akasha laughed. “I wish. I’m just borrowing it from him.” A pang of shame at the lie surprised her as she prattled on. “I wish I could get under the hood. It’s in dire need of a tune up and a new clutch.”
Aurora’s ebony eyes widened. “No shit, you can fix cars?”
Akasha nodded and smiled at her impressed tone.
“She totally can! That’s what she’s gonna major in at the college next year.” Xochitl exclaimed. “Maybe sometime you can finally look at Little Beast. You heard her. She literally goes, ‘put-put-put.’ That can’t be good, right?”
“No, probably not. I’d be happy to look at her any time,” Akasha replied, eager to help.
For the next hour, the band listened raptly as Akasha related diagnostic theories on Xochitl’s Datsun. Their admiring gazes were a revelation and she didn’t want the day to end.
As if the thought invoked a bad omen, she realized that dusk had fallen and Silas would likely be on his way home any minute.
“Oh shit, I gotta go!” Ignoring her friends’ raised brows, she fled from the diner, heart hammering.
All of her bravado fled like autumn leaves. She did not want Silas to catch her borrowing his car.
Chapter Seven
Silas stared at his empty garage in disbelief. After only two days, Akasha was gone. To add insult to injury, she took his car. He frowned. Nothing in her file indicated she knew how to drive. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he called her number with little hope that she’d answer. Its ring blared from the kitchen. He picked it up and scrolled through the recent calls before dialing the numbers in the memory. All three were cab companies. He was slightly mollified that her theft had been a last resort. But why hadn’t she taken a taxi? He’d given her plenty of money.
Hoping she hadn’t gotten far, Silas opened his mind to the Mark between them. It flared to life, strong and close. She was near. Although he wanted to go after her right away, the blood thirst roared within him. He couldn’t face her until after he fed.
His phone bleeped the announcement of an incoming text message. Silas read it and cursed. He’d forgotten all about tonight’s appointment with one of his subordinates. Being that it was the beginning of a new financial quarter, he couldn’t afford to cancel it, especially at a half hour’s notice. The hunger made its presence known again, surging at him with a vengeance. Fortunately, the trotting footsteps of a nearby jogger pricked his sensitive ears. He went outside, salivating as he could hear the jogger’s laboring breath. A person had to be insane to use this steep hill for exercise and in the dark, at that.
In a flash of preternatural speed, he was on his victim. The man’s sweat was bitter on his tongue and the high amount of protein and vitamins in his blood, though no doubt nutritious, had a faint medicinal taste unlike the sweetness of the drunks he usually fed from.
“Are you all right?” he asked the man once he’d healed the wound and cleared the jogger’s memory.
“Yeah, I just got a little dizzy,” the man panted.
“This hill is awfully steep for jogging,” Silas admonished. His mind reached out to touch Akasha’s Mark.
She hadn’t moved. Had the car broken down? He tried to remember how much gas was left in the tank.
By the time McNaught returned to his house, his subordinate was on the porch waiting for him.
“Good evening, Jonas,” Silas struggled to be polite, though he was gnashing his teeth in impatience. Where is Akasha? Why did she leave me?
Jonas shrank at his tone, clutching his briefcase as if he wanted to use it as a shield. “I’m sorry I’m late, my lord.”
Silas shook his head. “It’s not you. I am vexed with another matter. Please, come inside.” He forced a smile. “I think you’ll be pleased with your third quarter earnings and I have some suggestions for future investments.”
As Jonas sat at the dining room table and opened his briefcase, Silas headed up to his office to fetch his laptop. No doubt Akasha would be infuriated when he came to collect her. And just how he would go about bringing her back, he did not know.
Ten minutes into his meeting, the unmistakable sound of his car came to his ears. Moments later, he heard the garage door opening. Relief flooded him along with a twinge of annoyance at her for taking his car.
“My lord?” Jonas inquired, darting a curious glance towards the door.
Silas waved a dismissive hand and turned his attention back to the figures, resuming his report. He hid a smile as he heard Akasha curse as she shut the car door. No doubt she’d hoped her temporary theft had gone undetected.
***
“Fuck,” Akasha muttered again as she got out of the car. It was long past dark and Silas was bound to be waiting for her. Still, maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he’d gone on a long business trip and hadn’t yet returned.
Her meager hope died the second she got in the house. Silas’s glittering emerald eyes met hers in a look that said he knew everything. But she couldn’t tell if he was pissed or not. A movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Silas had company. A man in a business suit froze with one hand on his briefcase, staring at her. She glared at him until he flushed and dropped his gaze. A measure of gratitude for his presence brought a smile to her lips. It would put off the confrontation. She turned to head up to her room but Silas stopped her with a gesture.
“Akasha, would you please remain here for a few minutes? I would like to speak with you when I am finished with this meeting.” His tone was bland, professional, and infuriatingly impossible to decipher.
She shrugged helplessly and hung the keys back on their hook. “Okay.” If she refused, she’d look like a bitch in front of the other guy. Now his presence was irritating.
Both men watched her as she passed them and went to the kitchen to get a beer. As she twisted the cap off the bottle on her way to the living room, Silas resumed his conversation with his guest.
He pointed at his laptop screen. “If you look at these figures, you will see that these management companies have averaged a fifteen percent return on their accounts, with the highest earning thirty percent.”
“Well, why don’t you put my money with one of them?” the man asked.
“It is better to diversify your investments, if you can.” Silas leaned forward, grabbing a piece of paper and sliding it between them. “Now, if you move about thirty thousand from here and put it with this company, the risk would be relatively low and the chance of profit would be at reasonable levels.”
Akasha was fascinated despite herself. If I could invest something at fifteen percent I’d make a fortune! She lit a cigarette and struggled to hide her rapt attention. Silas’s client kept darting curious looks at her until she felt like standing up and screaming, “What the fuck are you looking at?”
Silas had ignored her presence up until then. “All right, Jonas, I think we have everything covered until next quarter.”
“Yes, m—”
Silas gave him a sharp look and slightly inclined his head towards Akasha.
“Yes, Mr. McNaught,” Jonas flinched and gave her another nervous glance.
Akasha frowned. What the hell was that? It sounded as if Jonas was about to call Silas “master” or “milord” or some other subservient term.
With narrowed eyes she watched Jonas scoop up his papers and stuff them quickly into the briefcase, cringing at Silas as if he expected a reprimand. The guy actually bowed when he left.
Now she was alone with Silas. The air suddenly charged with tension. Akasha tried to hide her shiver of trepidation with a swig of beer.
/> Her new guardian closed his laptop and met her gaze, his eyes still unreadable. “What were you doing with my car?” he asked softly.
Akasha knew she should apologize, but she had a perverse desire to see this calm, unshakeable businessman get angry. She wanted to see that cool façade shaken up.
“I told you, I had to go to a funeral,” she snapped. Unbidden, her voice softened. “I was running too late to hire a cab because I couldn’t figure out that damn phone you bought for me.”
Silas stood up and stalked over to her. “Ye should have told me that ye were needing a ride to the funeral.” A husky brogue crept into his voice. “I would ha’ arranged transportation for ye.” His green eyes seemed to glow but then an odd shadow passed over his gaze, sending heat through her belly. “I had thought ye ran away.”
“You’re from Scotland!” she exclaimed, finally placing the accent.
“Doon change tha’ subject, lass.” He sounded like Scrooge McDuck on a ‘roid rage. “An’ last time I checked, ye needed a license to be driving a car. Why, if ye’d been stopped by the police, no doot I would ha’ been nearly beggared paying for your bail and the impound fees.”
The sudden pang of guilt that struck Akasha was infuriating. “That’s what you get for taking me here and fucking up my plans. And by the way,” she retorted, “you should take better care of your car. The ‘Cuda needs a new clutch and it’s badly in need of a tune up. It’s practically sacrilege for you to neglect such a beauty.”
Silas’s eyes narrowed, ignoring her words. “What do ye mean I upset your plans? Had ye planned tae run away from the group home?”
Sucking in a breath at his intent gaze, she murmured, “No.”
His face was a study of confusion. “Well then what did I ruin for ye? Ye cannot tell me ye were happy in that place.” His voice grew hard and cold. “I willna’ tolerate lies.”
Akasha hid a shiver and rolled her eyes at his stupidity. “No, it sucked there, but as a ward of the state I qualified for financial assistance with the dual enrollment program and would have gotten grants for college next year. Now they’ll go off of your income and I won’t get shit. Hell, I’ll probably get kicked out of the program and have to finish my diploma at the high school with the rest of the jerks there.”
