Crossroads

by Moira Rogers

  “Hey.” He dropped the mug on the coffee table and rose to his feet, one arm extended. “C’mere, kiddo.”

  If she let down the walls now, she’d never be able to function through the next few days. “I can’t, Alec. But thank you. For everything.”

  For a second she thought he’d argue, but he dropped his arm. “Fair enough. Now what are you planning on doing with Derek Gabriel in the middle of all this mess? Because you’re gonna have to tie him up and stick him in a closet to keep him out of it.”

  “Oh, Jesus. He thinks I’m trying to keep him away from it because he’s a second-class werewolf or something crazy like that. I just don’t want him getting his head ripped off because of me when I’m not even in danger.”

  “He’s going to be in danger if you don’t sit him down and explain shit to him. You can’t leave him out of it, Nick.”

  The thought made her chest tighten painfully. “I don’t know what to tell him.” Even after nearly twenty-six years, there were so many intricacies she didn’t understand. “I’m bad at the political stuff, Alec. No matter what my father’s aspirations are, I don’t think I’ll ever get it. So what do I say?”

  Alec planted a hand in the middle of her back and urged her to sit on the couch. “You tell him the truth. He doesn’t need to know the stupid details, just the general situation. If you want, I’ll help.”

  “The truth.” She knew Alec was right. What else could she tell Derek? “I have to. I’m going to need him, or I’ll never get Michelle and Aaron through this.”

  “Trust me, that boy isn’t going to stand idly by and let you go through this alone, so at least make sure he’s helping instead of getting in the way. He wants to help. Fuck, he needs to.”

  She leaned back into the plush cushions of the sofa. “He’s half-crazy from that crap with Talbot anyway. Christ.” If she’d known he gave a damn, she wouldn’t have just run off to help rescue Mackenzie and fight a power-mad Seer. She’d have talked to him, made him understand that she had to help. Maybe even asked him to join her and stand by her side.

  “Why don’t you go in there and curl up with your sister? Being near her will do you both good, and I can keep watch.”

  “Aaron—” Her voice failed. “Aaron’s there. He’ll do a better job than I could. I-I don’t want to intrude or…” Nick growled and shot off the sofa. “I hate feeling like I don’t know what to do. And I can’t let Michelle see how scared I am.”

  Alec watched her in silence as she paced the room in an attempt to still the frantic energy inside her. After a few minutes, he rubbed at the side of his face. “I’ll talk to Jackson in the morning. If we can’t shuffle his mother out of the way, I was thinking we could drop her in the safe house with Michelle and Aaron. It’s secure, and Michelle could probably use a little bit of mothering.”

  Jackson would be pissed they hadn’t called him already. Derek would need an explanation. And her father— “I’m kicking Aaron out for a while, after all,” she said suddenly. “I need to be with Michelle.”

  “Send him on out here.” Alec bared his teeth in a grin. “I’ll keep him distracted.”

  Michelle stirred as Nick nestled behind her on the double bed and drew another plush coverlet over them. “It’s okay, Micky. It’s me.”

  Her sister shivered and pulled the blanket tightly under her chin. “I should have known better than to tell the Conclave. I should have known better. How can I still believe in their good intentions?”

  “Because you want to be normal.” Loved. Nick wrapped an arm around her sister. “I sent Aaron out with Alec. Is that okay?”

  “He’s too nervous to sleep anyway.” Michelle rolled to her back, staring up at the ceiling with eyes that should have been the same ones Nick saw in the mirror every morning. But pain had made Michelle old before her time, pain and weariness and the constant demand by the Conclave that she know her place.

  “You should have left a long time ago.” The words sprang, unbidden, to Nick’s lips. “Fucking Conclave.”

  Michelle laughed, and it sounded tired. “It seemed like such a perfect plan, Nick. Use their stupid, chauvinist superstitions against them. They believe them, even if they pretend not to. If it weren’t for Aaron—” Michelle’s lips tightened, and Nick knew she was biting back words, trying to find a way to minimize the mistreatment she’d suffered. “I didn’t think about contraceptives. I didn’t think about anything. Every time I touched him, our brains shut off. I’m surprised they didn’t catch us the first time.”

  She thought of Derek—and the insane desire that gripped her whenever he came near her. “I understand what you mean. But you’re safe now, and you can be together.”

  “I love him, Nicky.” Her sister’s voice trembled. “I love him so much.”

  The blanket ripped a little under Nick’s hand. “I know, sweetie. Alec is going to take you both someplace safe tomorrow, and I’m going to figure this out.”

  Michelle moved her hand over Nick’s. “I want to help, but I have no idea what to do. The magic… It’s completely out of my control. Most of the time I can’t access it at all, but when there’s danger or I’m scared, insane things happen. Like the lights earlier.”

  “All you need to worry about is relaxing and staying calm. For your baby.”

  “For my baby.” She dropped her hand to her stomach and smiled at Nick. “Your niece. Or nephew. If the magical midwife person could tell, she didn’t say.”

  “We can find someone to tell you,” she promised, a smile curving her own lips. “Jackson might be able to. If not, we’ll keep looking. And there are great hospitals here, Micky.”

  Michelle closed her eyes and snuggled her cheek into the pillow. “I’d like to see Jackson again, and I’d like to meet Mackenzie. How are they? Together?”

  “Mmm. She moved in with him.” Nick almost felt fifteen again, snuggled in a canopy bed with Michelle, gossiping about boys. “His mom is visiting. Maybe you’ll get to meet her too. And…maybe you’ll get to spend some time with Derek.”

  “You seemed pretty fond of him,” Michelle teased sleepily. “You know, people were walking by the bar and staring at you two.”

  “They don’t call it the Big Easy for nothing.” Nick’s laughter subsided. “He wasn’t born into this. He was attacked two years ago.”

  Michelle’s eyes popped open. “Oh, Nicky. That’s awful. Did they find whoever did it?”

  They’d never spoken of it, but she’d have bet the bar downstairs that Alec had killed the rogue wolf responsible for Derek’s attack. “Yes, they did.”

  “Good.” Her sister sighed. “I’m so tired. But every time I try to sleep I think I hear something. I’m scared I’ll wake up and someone will have come for Aaron.”

  “Sleep.” Tears threatened to choke Nick, but she blinked them away and slid her arms around Michelle. “No one is getting in here. Aaron is safe.” For tonight.

  “Thank you.” Her sister’s voice was a sleepy murmur. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, Michelle.” Nick lay there, unmoving. She could hear Alec and Aaron talking in the other room, their low, unintelligible tones soothing.

  Her next step would usually be to call her father for help. But the Alpha would be honor-bound to report what he’d learned to the Conclave. The only way he could help was obliquely, with as little knowledge as possible of what was going on. Nick’s heart ached for him; he’d tried so hard to protect Michelle, to make her life better than the average Seer’s.

  He’d succeeded to a degree, a sad acknowledgement considering her sister had fled to New Orleans in fear for her life.

  Nick wasn’t ready for something like this. She’d been running from her responsibilities for too long. Even now, her first thought had been to call someone else, someone who knew what to do. Her days of having that luxury were limited. Sooner or later, she’d have to buck u
p and start taking care of her own shit.

  “Tomorrow,” she whispered. She’d start tomorrow.

  Chapter Four

  A pounding on the apartment door woke Nick, and her heart jumped into her throat. Michelle made a soft, distressed noise, and Nick raised a finger to cover her lips. “Shh. Stay here.”

  She slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her, and reached the end of the hallway in time to see Alec open the door for a livid Jackson.

  “Crap,” she muttered.

  He barely glanced at Alec before pointing at her. “You are up the creek, missy. What the hell is going on?”

  “Aw, shit,” Alec drawled, stepping aside. “Who tattled? Derek?”

  Nick crossed her arms over her chest. “Derek wouldn’t have done that.”

  “Kat,” Jackson told them shortly as he stomped in. “Derek pissed her off because he got some, or something, and she didn’t, except that Andrew says no one got any. Which is beside the point. What happened?”

  She ran her hands through her hair. “Michelle’s pregnant, and the Conclave’s hunting her and Aaron.”

  Jackson cursed. “My mama’s downstairs with Mackenzie.”

  “Precisely why Derek didn’t call you last night when he called Alec.” Nick dropped to a chair by the sofa and made a face. “It’s under control, Jackson. As much control as we can muster right now, anyway.”

  “Aaron.” Alec rose and gestured to the tall man who stood silently in the corner. “Why don’t you take Michelle downstairs? Mackenzie and Nancy will get you both something to eat, I’m sure, and she’ll be safe down there between you and Mac.”

  Aaron headed for the bedroom, and Nick walked into the kitchen to retrieve a mug. “Want some coffee, Jackson?”

  He arched an eyebrow. “No, thanks.”

  “How long are you going to be mad at me?”

  Jackson transferred his withering look to Alec. “I’m mad at you both.”

  Alec seemed unconcerned. “You used magic to sneak out of my house and face a homicidal Seer for my own good. Your high ground’s not so high, Holt.”

  Aaron led Michelle out of the bedroom, and Jackson’s frown disappeared. “Hi, Michelle.”

  “Jackson.” Her sister actually smiled as she hurried across the room. She stopped suddenly a foot short of Jackson, looking like she wanted to hug him but wasn’t completely sure the gesture would be accepted.

  He opened his arms with a wide grin. “Come here.” She flew into his embrace, and he glanced at Nick over her head. “There’s someone I want you to meet downstairs, Michelle. My mother.”

  Michelle looked momentarily concerned, but Alec didn’t give her a chance to say anything. “Mama Holt’s dying for some more people to mother, Michelle. Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m throwing you under the train that is Nancy Holt. If I don’t, she’ll be up here trying to find me a wife.”

  “Oh, God forbid.” Nick sipped the coffee and grimaced. It was terrible. “She’s sweet, Michelle. You can practice your conversational French with her.”

  “Okay.” Michelle slipped her hand into Aaron’s, and he led her out the door, leaving Nick and Alec to face Jackson.

  Alec dropped back into his chair. “I’m thinking we should bundle your mother off to the safe house with them, Jackson. Keep her out of trouble and give Michelle someone to look after her who isn’t a nervous daddy trained in deadly combat.”

  Jackson looked down at his own injured leg. “Mackenzie and I could go too. Just in case.”

  “Well, yeah. But if I’d told you to go, you would have dug your stubborn ass in and refused.”

  Jackson glanced at Nick, who shrugged. “He’s got a point.” She ignored Jackson’s disgusted noise and gave him a serious look in return. “I need your help. I need you to make sure no one busts through all of Alec’s security. To keep my sister and her baby safe.”

  He scratched the back of his head. “Which safe house is it, Alec?”

  Somehow Nick wasn’t surprised Alec had more than one. “I was thinking the one out in the bayou,” he said, tilting his chair back. “It’s not the nicest, but it’s got the strongest wards. Now that Michelle’s gone, Conclave doesn’t work with anyone strong enough to break them.”

  “I’ll see if I can’t bolster them too. If I’m going to have Mama out there…” Jackson took Nick’s cup and drained it. “Jesus Christ, that’s awful.”

  Nick took the mug back and tossed it in the sink. “Aaron must have brewed it. He’s always made crappy coffee.”

  Alec cut through the small talk with characteristic bluntness. “Jackson, what happens to pregnant spell casters? Their magic goes to hell, doesn’t it?”

  “I thought I noticed something different about Michelle.” Jackson nodded. “‘Necessary neutralization’ is what they call it. Resources are diverted to the baby, even magical ones. Most women end up with little to no control, just—”

  “Automatic defensive measures,” Nick finished. “Which won’t hurt her or the baby, but could be dangerous for bystanders.”

  “Shit.” Alec scratched at his beard, his eyes focused on the floor. “Can we assume she’s not going to do anything to hurt friends and loved ones, or is it open season if she gets startled?”

  Jackson dug through the fridge and pulled out a can of soda. “Honestly? It’s probably no big deal unless there’s real danger. Then who the hell knows? She could take out everyone, just trying to eliminate the real threat.”

  “Well, fuck. Maybe we shouldn’t have your mama in the house with her.”

  He popped open the can. “It’ll be fine if I’m there.”

  Nick hopped up to sit on the counter. “When can we get them out there? Like you said last night, Alec, this is the first place they’ll look.”

  “Shit, as soon as they get something to eat. Jackson and I can take care of that, though.” Alec pointed a finger at her. “You have something else to do, young lady. Derek’s going to lose his everloving mind if you don’t talk to him.”

  “I’m not putting it off, I swear.” Even through her nervousness, she was eager to see him again. “I just want to make sure Michelle and Aaron are safe before I run off to fix my love life.”

  Jackson finished his soda. “It could use some fixing, Nicky.”

  “It’s not just your love life,” Alec corrected sternly. “You’re way past that, kiddo. That guy’s dominant as hell and feels like you’re in danger. If you don’t want him getting himself and some of us killed, deal with it.”

  For a horrible moment, she couldn’t breathe. The thought of Derek hurt or worse… “I’m going to handle it. Now.”

  Jackson tapped his empty can against the counter, then tossed it in the recycling bin. “I’ll go round everybody up.”

  Alec waited until the door closed behind Jackson and shot Nick a serious look. “Don’t try to protect him, Nick. He may not have your experience, but he’s smart and he’s tough, and I’ve taught him a lot in the past two years. He can help.”

  Derek’s strength had been one of the first things that had drawn her to him, even before the attack that had cost him his human existence. “I wouldn’t have sent him away last night if I hadn’t needed to, Alec. But I couldn’t deal with it all. Maybe that makes me weak or something, but I couldn’t do it.” She shrugged. “One of the things I realized is that I need his help.”

  Oddly, Alec smiled. “You’re growing up, kiddo. Sort of sucks, huh?”

  “Christ.” Nick rolled her eyes at him. “Get out of here before I decide to make your life hell by trying to find you a wife.”

  If Nick guessed he was already on his way over when she called, she was polite enough not to mention it. He arrived at the bar three and a half minutes after hanging up and gave her a sheepish smile. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” She shoved several plastic cards into her back pocket and
grabbed her cell phone and keys from the bar. “Can you help me with something?”

  “Sure. Need a ride somewhere?”

  “I need to go to my place, pick up some things for Michelle and then maybe go shopping.”

  He pulled the door open for her and gestured to the beat-up truck parked behind the bar. “Posh it’s not, but it’ll get us around.”

  “Mackenzie took my car. She and Jackson are staying with Aaron and Michelle and…” Her words trailed off, and she turned to him. “Thank you, Derek. For what you did last night, and for helping me now. And…just everything.”

  He didn’t remember moving, but in the next second he had her nestled against his chest, his arms around her. “Shh. I’m here, for anything.”

  She reached up and slid her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck. “We need to talk too. I should explain things to you.”

  “There’s time, Nick. I don’t want to be pushy and make it harder, I just need to be around.”

  She flashed him a self-deprecating smile. “I can’t imagine how nuts I’d be if you were going through something like this. I promise to try and keep you in the loop, Derek.”

  “That’s good enough for me.” He gave in to temptation and leaned down to kiss her, avoiding her lips at the last minute out of sheer self-preservation. He brushed his lips over her cheek and pulled away. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  She gave him concise directions, and they spent the short drive to her house in silence. Nick seemed edgy, almost anxious, and he could hear her heart pounding over the rumbling of the truck’s engine.

  She had her keys out by the time he pulled up to the curb. “Do you want some tea or a soda? Coffee?”

  “Coffee would be good.” He parked the truck and shot her an amused look. “Kat had a fit at me this morning and kicked me out. Andrew, who also spent the night being an overprotective jackass, got to stay because he made her breakfast.”

  That prompted a laugh as she reached for the door handle. “He got to stay because she wants to see him naked.”