by A. C. Arthur
We were wasting time standing here arguing so at this point her idea to blend in with the crowd seemed like the best option. I reached for her hand, clasping our fingers together. “Don’t leave my side,” I told her because after seeing a gun pointed at her head, I was liable to kill all the humans on this fuckin’ campus to keep her safe.
I took the lead, holding her hand tightly as we walked right in the midst of the growing crowd out front of the building. As we passed through the parking lot there were clumps of people near my truck and making their way up here. Lidia had given me that “I told you so” look and I’d frowned. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Questions were rolling through my mind a mile a minute, all skidding to a halt behind the plan to keep Lidia safe.
“We have to let somebody know about the exposure,” she whispered when I’d stopped and stood staring at the building, not at Kyra’s body lying in a pool of blood.
I was thinking that getting us out of here was the priority and would have never guessed Lidia would be thinking about the Ètica or how badly we’d broken one of the staunchest laws of the Shadow Shifters.
“As soon as they move the body the crowd will disperse, then we can walk back to the truck.”
“Assuming they don’t connect you as the renter of that apartment to owning that Ford F-150 you’re trying to get us back to.”
Her comments were really starting to irritate me, either that or the fact that she was right. For the next few moments, thankfully, we waited in silence, but for the whispers of those around us. Some people knew Kyra, others were just horrified that something like this had happened here. There was another whisper about some type of new gang in the area that caught my attention, but I filed that away for later. Now was about getting the hell out of here.
“Come on,” I told her when a couple of uniformed cops had begun trying to push the crowd back. Four men in suits, most likely homicide detectives, had already gone into the building, so we probably had a good thirty or forty minutes to get out of Pacifica before they connected the dots back to me. Her hand was warm against mine as we walked as calmly as possible through the parking lot. Others were going back this way also, still guessing at what could have happened in the apartment, none of them even close to the truth.
I didn’t let Lidia’s hand go until I had the seat belt fastened across her in the truck. Then I slammed the door and all but jumped over the vehicle itself to get to the driver’s side door. Once inside I started the engine and backed out as fast as I could without making the tires screech and drawing attention to us. For her part, Lidia remained quiet, staring out the window while I took us farther and farther away from the apartment complex.
It was hours later when we finally stopped. We were on the highway so I didn’t want to stay here too long, but Lidia had been right, we needed to let someone know what had happened, someone who would know how to fix the exposure we’d created. I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and called my big brother.
“Hey? Is everything alright?” Aidan answered. It was late afternoon in Washington, D.C., so it was no wonder he sounded alarmed.
“No. It’s not,” I told him immediately, reciting what had gone down in my apartment, still amazed at the events myself.
“Shit!” had been Aidan’s first response. “You killed all of them?”
“No. I killed one of them. One guy I left unconscious, the other I broke his wrist, and the girl killed herself.”
“Damn, Brayden, what the hell is going on out there?”
I wish I knew. Shaking my head, I told my brother all that I knew for sure. “I dated the girl a couple of times during the last few weeks, broke it off about two weeks ago, then she shows up tonight talking about I was who ‘he’ wanted. Before I could try to figure out who ‘he’ was, the guys stormed in and I figure she knows them because they’re all dressed in black. One of the guys mentioned me going with them, that Kyra was supposed to bring me to him. Now they’re dead and I still don’t know who ‘he’ is!”
“Wait a minute, so this was about somebody wanting you? Wanting you to do what? For who?” Aidan asked.
I frowned, looking over the dashboard to the open road. “That’s all I know right now. Nobody ever said a name. “
Aidan let out a breath, cursed, then huffed again. “Okay, we’ll figure it out. Where are you now and where’s Lidia?”
“We’re on the highway right now,” I told him.
“Good, stay on the highway,” Aidan said and I heard some shuffling in the background. “Jace Maybon, the Pacific Faction Leader, is out of the country. I know because I was allowed to sit in on the conference call.”
“They’re letting you in on conference calls with the leadership already?”
“Only because of my face time with the rogues when I was in Virginia.”
I nodded, almost having forgotten about Aidan’s exposure issues a few weeks ago. Not only had he killed a rogue in an alley, but his mate was a human, which equaled major exposure, which in retrospect made him the perfect person to call.
“Head down the coast to L.A. Jace has a beach house in Malibu that should be empty.”
“So after all I’ve done tonight you want me to break into an FL’s house as well? Are you crazy?”
“No, I’m not crazy. He’s having some work done in a couple of the bedrooms so contractors will be there. All you have to do is tell them you’re Jace’s representative and that you’re going to stay to oversee the project.”
“And what if they call him?” I had to ask even though this sounded like our perfect getaway.
“They won’t be able to reach him, only his personal assistant can reach him and Jace said she’s a real bitch so nobody likes to deal with her. They won’t want to voluntarily call the woman just to confirm who you are.”
It sounded like it might work and I had to think about getting Lidia somewhere safe for a while so I could figure out what Kyra and her dumb thugs had been trying to accomplish. “Alright, text me the address,” I told Aidan. “I’ll call you when we get there.”
After hanging up the phone I was about to pull onto the road when I chanced a look at Lidia. She’d still been staring out the window and I touched a hand to her arm.
“You alright?”
She nodded, blinking rapidly, her eyes back to their normal light color, but not their normal luster. Something was on her mind. Hell, a lot of something was likely on both our minds.
“Everything’s going to be okay, Aidan has a place for us to stay. We’ll head there and get some rest, then figure all this out in the morning.”
She nodded. “Sure, we’ll break into the FL’s house and stay there while we’re thinking of how to get out of the exposure we just caused. You’re absolutely right, everything is going to be okay.”
Her frown highlighted the sarcastic last words but I didn’t bother to argue, just pulled out onto the road and drove.
CHAPTER 9
Lidia
Jace Maybon’s beach house was beautiful. I didn’t really expect anything less since I knew that he was the flashiest and most outgoing of the Faction Leaders. That may or may not be directly related to his job in the human world as a talent agent.
Anyway, I couldn’t stop gawking at his house. It was like a white fortress jutting upward from lush green grass on one side and sinking down to smooth sandy beach on the other. The sound of the ocean and its distinct salty aroma drifted through the open window of the truck as Brayden drove up the driveway. The truck hadn’t been stopped for more than five seconds before I was unsnapping the seat belt and getting out.
Standing with the warm morning’s sun beaming down on my face, I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I loved California and wanted definitely to stay here and teach. If that were even still a possibility, because after last night I had no idea what the Assembly was going to do with us. In reality, we weren’t a part of a dictatorship or any type of cult that physically punished anyone for defecting or breaking the laws
—my family especially would be grateful for that.
Still, we’d exposed ourselves to humans, actually killed two of them—even if Kyra’s death was indirect. Who knew what the other two were saying to the cops who were probably trying to figure out how to issue a manhunt for two half-humans, half-jaguars.
“Hey, you okay?”
Brayden’s hand on my shoulder was what snapped me out of my thoughts, not necessarily his question. That was because of this infernal heat that seemed to only radiate throughout my body when he was either very near or touching me, exacerbated by the touch so that I could almost think of nothing else.
“Fine,” I said, moving as fast as I could away from him. “Where’s the key?”
“Because the workers are here and Jace isn’t, there was a skeleton key made. Aidan says it’s likely in Jace’s office someplace but that the back entrance should be open.”
I shook my head, preoccupying myself with keeping my feet on each flat stone of the path going through the grass up to the house. “Jace Maybon is a high-profile celebrity agent, not to mention the leader of the entire Pacific Zone of Shadow Shifters, so why in the world is he leaving his doors unlocked?”
“I asked Aidan the same thing when we were texting during the ride. He said Jace is rarely ever here and the deed is actually in his married sister’s name so it can’t be traced back to him.”
“Why?”
“Something about him not trusting his brother-in-law to honor his sister so he wants to make sure she and her newborn daughter are well taken care of.”
“Overprotective much?” I mumbled as we stepped up to the front door.
“It’s not a crime for a man to look out for those he loves,” Brayden said, stepping up beside me.
He looked at me like he wanted those words to mean something else, so I looked away, because they actually did. Only, I couldn’t afford to let the implications break down my defenses. I couldn’t afford to think along the lines of Brayden protecting me as only a mate should. I would not think about that.
“See if it’s open,” I said to him since he was blocking me from doing it myself.
“When we get inside we should talk,” he said sternly.
“You said that yesterday and when I showed up I did all the talking. I don’t really see the point now.”
“The point is that a few things have happened since I texted you about talking and I think now more than ever we need to get everything out in the open on the subject.”
“Right now, the only thing I’d like to get out requires a bathroom so can you please try to open the door,” I insisted impatiently.
When he turned to do just that I rolled my eyes and sighed inwardly because I knew I was being unreasonable. Being upset with Brayden because he’d been right all along was petty. Being upset with my DNA was even more pointless. But dammit, I wanted to be upset! I didn’t want to have a mate and I especially didn’t want that mate to be Brayden. Being forever bonded with another Shadow Shifter—one that had pledged his life to the tribe when he was ten years old—was even worse. I did not want my life to be dedicated to the tribe, did not want anything to do with the lousy hypocrites to be exact. Not to mention the fact that I might be genetically unstable and prone to drifting off with the rogues just like my uncle had. I just wanted to lead a normal life, for as much as a girl like me could.
The door opened and Brayden walked into the house. I followed behind him not really knowing what to expect, being overly impressed anyway. The clean, fresh white from the outside of the house carried over into the foyer as the marbled floors glistened and the bare walls sparkled. It may have been too much of a clean slate, but looking to the left into what must be the living room and the entire wall of windows that practically brought the ocean right inside, I decided that it worked.
“It’s lovely in here,” I said, unable to keep quiet a moment longer.
“Yeah, he’s definitely putting his money to good use. I’ll bet this is a sound investment and will make his sister a good chunk of change should she ever need to sell it.”
We were standing in the center of the living room now with its pastel-colored rug and wheat-colored furniture. I, of course, felt like this could be a home, while Brayden, of course, was thinking along other lines. It seemed we hadn’t been on the same page in a long time. That thought saddened me.
“I’m going to take a shower and change,” I told him.
It was a good thing I’d insisted on stopping at the dorm to get my clothes. Brayden had been against it, thinking that the police might be there, but I was certain they wouldn’t have connected us that soon. I was right and had been able to get inside and pack a bag. Of course, Cora immediately started asking all kinds of questions until I finally shouted for her to mind her business. As many times as I’d said that before she’d never really listened, just continued her comments in a lower voice. This time, however, she shut up immediately. That may have been because my cat’s eyes were still on display, as I found out when I went to the coatrack to get my jacket and caught a glimpse in the mirror. Afterward I hurried out of the room not waiting for any more questions from Cora or willing to risk any more exposure than we already had.
“I’ll go upstairs with you. If those workers are in the bedrooms I don’t want any of them walking in on you while you’re in the shower.”
I thought about telling him I could take care of some horny humans looking for a good time, or even the one that might figure I was breaking and entering—which I sort of was—and called the cops. But I didn’t. There was just too much going on right now in my head for me to deal with that too. If Brayden wanted to go all macho man and handle the situation for me, then let him, I just wanted a hot shower and a few minutes alone to regroup.
***
After the shower I was so tired from sitting up in the truck all night and from fighting with the humans, I guess, I lay down on the first bed I saw, intending to simply rest for a few minutes. That turned into an epic nap and when I woke up the house was eerily quiet.
The sun had set. I noticed that because the room wasn’t as bright as it had been. Curtains or blinds were a no-show in this place so I could see the burnt orange of the sky just about to migrate into darkness. For a few moments I sat on the edge of the bed just looking at the beautiful sight, forgetting how crappy things in my life had quickly turned.
“Are you hungry?”
He’d been sitting across the room for I don’t know how long, but I’d felt his presence the moment I opened my eyes.
“Yes, a little,” I replied, not looking at him.
“The kitchen is stocked. I can fix you a salad or something,” he told me.
I shook my head. “You only cook microwave food and cereal.”
“I think I saw some of that soy milk you like in the refrigerator.”
I couldn’t help it, I smiled, and minutes later I was downstairs with Brayden mixing a salad for myself and boiling two disgusting-smelling hot dogs for him. He sat at the island, arms folded over his chest watching every move I made in silence. It seemed oddly domestic and much more comfortable than I wanted to admit. So I did what I do best, I ignored it and him for as long as I could.
CHAPTER 10
Brayden
I’d watched her sleeping. She lay on her right side, curled up like a baby, hands cushioning her face as if the pillows just weren’t good enough. Her damp hair fanned behind her, long lashes resting against the olive tone of her skin. My fingers itched to touch her, mouth watered at the idea of climbing into the bed and spooning my body against hers. Her scent filled my mind until even if I ran out of this house, down to the beach, and thrust myself into the waves, she’d still feel like she was right next to me. I’d want her just as strongly and need her just as badly.
This feeling wasn’t going away, it would never subside and I’d always need my companheiro with me. What did that say for how this current situation between us would turn out?
Now that we w
ere in the kitchen and she was moving around, keeping herself occupied with fixing something to eat, she would convince herself that it was all settled, that there was nothing else for us to say or do. But she was wrong. There was still so much between us, like a huge barrier that I could neither climb nor knock down, no matter how strong I claimed to be.
“Aidan says the Assembly is worried about the rise in the number of rogues coming Stateside,” I said as a form of broaching one of the touchy subjects.
There may be a barrier between us but I wasn’t going to let that intimidate me, I couldn’t.
I could see her shoulders drop as she stood at the stove, forking each hot dog out of the pot and placing them onto the slices of bread she’d put neatly on a plate.
“Wherever there’s good, bad will always follow,” she said quietly.
“Your mom tell you that?” I asked, already knowing the answer. After her brother had defected, Adelina Morales had gone into a sort of depression, only talking to her husband and Lidia, who was too young to really understand what was going on, but old enough to know that something was horribly wrong. I’d always been amazed at how much Lidia had managed to retain from that time, the words she remembered, the snickers and the insults, all of which she endured until my parents took her away.
“Yes,” was her reply. “It’s inevitable. Whether it was someone I knew or was related to or someone you knew or were related to. There are always those that want more, that are guided by greed and opportunity. There’s nothing any of us can do to stop that.”
This was her defense, the one she’d practiced over the years. It was a casual indifference to what was going on in our world, a resolute demeanor that didn’t land her on either side of the cause. I was used to it and normally ignored it, but this time, I was afraid that maybe it was time for Lidia to chose a side.
We ate in silence and I cleaned up the dishes since she’d prepared the food. Of course she hadn’t stayed in the kitchen with me so I’d had to go and find her when I was finished. She was lying on her side in the center of the king-sized bed in the same room where she’d slept the day away—the only room that wasn’t being torn apart by renovations.
