Just as that thought crossed my mind, Cooper rounded the corner with a glorious-looking Peyta on his arm. I scrambled along the far edge of the tent to the front row of seats, plopping myself down beside Ronnie. Together, we watched while her daughter made the short walk to womanhood before our very eyes.
When they reached the front, Cooper leaned down to kiss her on the cheek before whispering something in her ear. Then he turned a rather stern expression on Jay, who extended a hand toward him. Without hesitation, Cooper took it, pulling Jay into one of those weird half-hugs that men always share, the kind with the awkward pat on the back that seems to be a release signal of sorts. It may have appeared to be a congratulatory gesture, but I knew what Cooper was saying. He wasn't giving Peyta away for show. As far as he was concerned, she was his―she was pack―and he wanted Jay to know that she always would be. Jay, like the trooper he was, took it all in stride.
He really did love Peyta.
Cooper then came to sit on the other side of me just as Sean started speaking in some bizarre language that I couldn't make sense of for the life of me. It had a chattering, run-together quality that made it hard to focus on the syllables, so I let it become background noise while I sneaked a look at those in attendance. I recognized very few faces, but it was apparent who they were. The brothers were in full attendance at our little soirée. It made me instinctively slink down in my seat a little.
I watched while Sean said and did things that made positively no sense to me until the end. He drew an ancient-looking dagger from underneath his coat and presented it to them. Jay pushed his sleeve up, exposing his wrist, then took Peyta's hand in his and extended it toward Sean. I could feel Ronnie getting anxious next to me, so I placed my hand on her back and silently willed her not to pull a gun out of her bra and start shooting.
Sean drew the blade quickly across Jay's wrist. The action appeared aggressive, almost violent, and I started to get nervous that he was about to do the same to Peyta. If he had, no amount of my calming energy would have kept bullets from flying in that tent. Thankfully, my fears were for naught. Instead of carving her up like the enemy, he delicately nicked her wrist until only the slightest amount of blood escaped it. Then he joined their wounds, placing their wrists flat against one another. Jay interlaced his fingers with Peyta's, and I watched the joy he felt emanate from his eyes. At Sean's final words, I felt a power blast through me that was so strong I felt as though it came from deep within the Earth. It felt old, ancient―almost god-like. It reminded me once again of exactly what Sean was and of whom he and his brothers were born.
While I fought to normalize my breathing, he hazarded a glance at me, the faintest of smiles tugging at his lips.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” he said, doing his best to retain his business face. His words were only for Ronnie. “You may kiss the bride.”
Without skipping a beat, Jay did just that.
Chapter 14
It wasn't long before I was begging for the heaters to be turned off. My dancing shoes were in high gear and I had torn up the makeshift floor that covered the ground in the tent. I wasn't certain that the brothers knew what to make of Cooper and me when we started skipping around like Dorothy and the Tin Man, but I couldn't have cared less. Their fascination with our shenanigans only fueled us. I knew things had gotten bad when it appeared that Ronnie and Sean were commiserating in the corner, condescending looks painting both of their expressions.
Although Cooper protested, I decided to give it a rest and get some water before I dehydrated myself entirely. As soon as he was no longer at my side, I felt uncomfortable. The eyes of the brothers were tracking me instinctively, as though Scarlet were going to emerge at any moment and eat the guests. While Ronnie struggled to adapt to her new reality and shuck off the years she’d spent running from what she thought had just become her son-in-law, the brothers fought against the instinct to kill me. A century or two of hunting my kind proved hard for them to easily shake off. Even though I knew that Sean would never let any of them harm me, or Scarlet, for that matter, it wasn't enjoyable to be the persona non grata in the room.
While I drank my water quietly in the corner, I felt an arm wind around my shoulders, pulling me in close to a body that I was totally unfamiliar with. I looked up to see a friendly smile and playful eyes looking down at me.
“So you're the one that I've heard so much about,” he said, his grin widening. “You've got quite a reputation. I wouldn't mind seeing if part of it is true.”
He emphasized his words with a little eyebrow dance in an attempt to drive home the suggestive nature of what he'd just said.
“Kierson,” Sean called with a warning tone.
“What?” the man replied, feigning innocence. “I was just being friendly!”
“Yes, but unfortunately your version of 'friendly' usually ends with somebody naked and bent over the nearest waist-high surface. And that won't be happening with her.”
“Well, you didn't leave me with a lot of options,” Kierson argued, looking around the room. “This place is a total sausage fest.”
“Not everywhere is a playground for your next sexual adventure, Kierson. I know you haven't seen a binding before, but even I thought you could keep your dick in your pants for at least one evening.”
Kierson's smile grew impossibly wide.
“And break my century-old streak?” Without another word, just a wink, he made his way over to a group of the boys and grabbed a drink.
“Well, he is certainly a charmer,” I said, still feeling a little broadsided by the entire encounter.
“That's Kierson for you. Don't let him fool you, though. He's as lethal as they come, if he can pull his dick out of whatever it's in long enough to fight.”
I spit out the mouthful of water I had just sipped and looked at Sean in total shock. He'd made a joke―an honest to God joke. And it was crass, to boot. That could have only meant one thing. He liked Kierson, or at least respected something about him.
“So I shouldn't challenge him to a duel or drop the soap in front of him, is that what you're saying?”
The Cheshire cat smile I loved so much met me when I turned to look up at him.
“Indeed.”
While I got lost in Sean's newly found lighthearted mood, a high-pitched shriek came from the other end of the tent. All eyes snapped over to where Peyta stood, hugging a very familiar figure.
“Ginger!” I yelled, jogging over to the entrance of the tent carefully so as not to wipe out and cause an even bigger scene. “What are you doing here?”
I was elated to see her, but once the implications of the situation dawned on me, I wasn't nearly as happy. I prayed that her husband wasn't about to stroll in behind her.
“I saw Peyta the other day in town when she was running some errands. She mentioned her wedding and said that she would love for me to stop by, so here I am, bearing goodies as always.”
Sure enough, she presented a Tupperware container full of yummy treats.
“I'm thrilled to see you,” I said, leaning in for a hug. “I guess I'm just a little surprised that you were able to come. Alone.” That final word fell out of my mouth without warning. I hoped that nobody caught my clear insinuation.
“Well,” Ginger said, pulling away to give me a conspiratorial wink. “Sometimes we girls just need to do things on our own, right?” Peyta gave a little laugh while she glanced over to where Jay stood, but Ginger's eyes were trained on me. “They don't always need to know everything, Ruby. Remember that.”
Her words were delivered in a light and joking manner, but I felt my way right through that. Beneath her casual tone lay a warning.
“I guess not,” I replied, taking the container gently out of Ginger’s hand while I led her toward the enormous table of food. “Where is your husband this evening?”
“Oh, you know him. I'm sure he's out and about, perhaps doing a little research of sorts.”
“Right,” I replied, tensing while I watched
Sean making his way over to us. “Peyta? Can you come here for a sec?”
“What's up, Ruby?”
“Can you help Ginger get these on a plate?” I asked her, shooting a look Sean's direction.
She nodded quickly, and I pulled away to cut him off at the pass.
“Hi,” I said coyly, wrapping my arms around his waist.
“Who's your friend?” Although he had slipped his hands around the small of my back, I could feel that his attention was not on me. Lying about Ginger was out of the question for two reasons: one being that he could see right through me when I lied, so it seemed pointless, and two being that I didn't want to lie to him anymore, period. Knowing that trust was still and always had been an issue between us, I struggled to find a way to answer his question without setting off a slew more.
“That's Ginger,” I offered lightly. “She's the one that lives on the houseboat down at the docks. Peyta adores her. She stops in the store sometimes to say hi and bring cookies. I guess P told her about the gathering, and she decided to make us some treats, which are always amazing, by the way.”
Sean eyed me tightly for a moment before releasing the tension that had been inconspicuously mounting while I delivered my explanation.
“So she's the wife of the man I owe a debt of gratitude to for pulling you out of the bay that night?”
“Yep, that's the one.”
“Aren't you going to introduce me?” he asked, his tone a little too flat for me to think that he wasn't up to something.
“I didn't know you needed to make yourself known to every female in the place, but if you would like an intro, I would be happy to give it to you.” I slid my hand down and along his side, taking his hand before I guided him towards Ginger. I caught her gaze for only a moment before we were standing before her. The panic in my eyes must have been plain because the second she saw me and the man I had in tow, she turned on her brightest smile. Her energy was calm, as though standing before the man she had long heard referred to as “the dark-eyed one” was just another day at the office.
Ginger was a pro.
“Ginger,” I said with a formal tone, “this is Sean, my boyfriend. Sean, this is Ginger.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Ginger offered, reaching her weathered hand toward him.
He took it carefully, as though he was expecting something interesting to happen once he did. For the briefest moment, I thought I saw surprise flash through his eyes before he regained his usual level of composure.
“The pleasure is mine, Ginger. Ruby told me about her unfortunate swimming incident down at the docks. She said your husband went in and fished her out. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am for that. Ruby has a gift for finding danger where there isn't normally any. I'm just glad he happened to hear her and got to her in time.”
Ginger's smile never faltered.
“My husband is a pretty amazing man.”
“Indeed, he is,” Sean countered. On the surface it looked like they were having casual conversation, but the undercurrent was anything but. A chess match was in session, both maneuvering invisible pieces to see who would be in checkmate first. “I would like to meet him and thank him in person. Ruby means the world to me. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost her.”
“I'm sure Gavin would love to meet Ruby's beau. He has taken quite a shine to her. If he wasn't such an old codger, I might be afraid he was after her, but I can see that, with a man like you on her arm, she would be hard to sway. Women rarely walk away from men like you.”
The glint in her eye suggested that she was flirting, but the subtext to her words read, because you'd kill them first. What a mess I was in.
Just as I was about to panic, a distraction of higher priority presented itself. A distraction of the most unwelcome kind.
“Sean,” a male voice boomed, easily cutting through the festivities surrounding us. “I think you have overstepped your bounds this time. Greatly overstepped them, in fact.”
Every hair on my body stood. I knew that voice. It haunted my nightmares on a regular basis.
“Ares,” Sean bit out tightly. Suddenly, his strained appearance and dissonant energy from earlier in the evening began to make sense. He wasn't waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was waiting for the antichrist to arrive. And as if on cue, there he stood before us all, ready to do what he did best―encourage chaos.
“I was under the assumption that I would be needed to bond someone to our little group, but it seems as though I once again stand corrected. How kind of you to bring this to my attention.”
“I live to serve,” Sean quipped with a mocking half-bow to drive his sarcasm home.
“A word, Sean,” he said, indicating his desire to leave the tent for a private chat.
“I think I'm fine where I am, but you leaving would be welcomed. I don't believe you were invited. In fact, I'm certain you were not because I forbade it. Interesting that you still managed to find out about this,” he said, tapping his chin for effect.
“Do you truly wish to do this here?”
“I don't wish to do it at all.”
The urge to raise my hand and second that motion was nearly uncontrollable.
“I will not be dismissed by you,” Ares growled.
“And I will not tolerate your presence any longer,” Sean countered.
It was like watching a power struggle between two world leaders from front row seats. They went back and forth for a minute without pause. The cadence of their argument was so smooth that it was as though they'd had that very same battle so many times that they could exchange threatening lines without any thought whatsoever. Finally, when I could take no more, I did what I did best and diverted all attention to me.
“Okay, kiddos,” I yelled, forcing my way in between them in an attempt to break up the inevitable fight. For my efforts, I was met with a backhanded shove from Ares that nearly knocked me into the wall of the tent. It would have if it hadn't thrown me right into Ginger instead.
I did all that I could to prevent her fall while I crashed to ground. But as she stumbled backward away from me, she eventually lost her balance and fell. On her way, she looked right at me in my flat position on the floor. I'll never forget the expression she wore.
It was as if she knew she was about to die.
In slow motion, I watched as her head crashed into one of the metal space heaters in the tent. It bounced off of it―hard. She collapsed to the floor beside it, and I scrambled to get to her even though I knew in the bottom of my heart that she was already gone.
I couldn't feel her energy anymore.
Chapter 15
“No, no, no...,” I rambled while I scurried to get to her body. Nobody else moved. “Ginger? Ginger, please. Please don't go. DAMMIT!” I checked her pulse and found what I expected―nothing. Scooping her up delicately in my arms, I held her, rocking her while I did my best to contain the inevitable outburst that was brewing. And I wasn't alone. Scarlet growled; she was no fan of Ares, and I thought that she was preparing to show him just that.
“Is she...?” a soft voice asked from beside me. I hadn't even noticed Peyta's approach. Guilt swirled around me, knowing that I should never have let Ginger stay in the first place. She didn't belong there. Gavin had fought to keep her safe for years, and as was so often the case, within a short time of knowing me, she had met her end.
“She's dead,” I bit out tightly. Guilt never sat well with me. Anger was a far more suitable emotion, and I knew the perfect individual to let it out on. Room full of PC or not, Ares was about to get what he deserved. “Have you got this?” I whispered aloud, hoping Scarlet would know that I was talking to her and what I was asking.
I thought you'd never ask.
If it was possible to hear someone smile, then I did. Scarlet's elation was palpable, and it bled into her words. With a deep breath, I allowed her to take control. She looked down at Ginger, running her palm along her face to lightly close her still-open eyelids. After co
mpleting the gesture, she laid her down on the parquet wood floor and rose slowly. Scarlet and Cooper had a penchant for the dramatic, and it was apparent that she wanted to make a massive production out of what she was about to do. The odds of us getting harmed in the process were beyond high, but in that moment, it seemed worth it to both of us. Ginger had become collateral damage in a war that had nothing to do with her.
Now a war was about to be waged in her honor.
Before Scarlet could get a word out, Ares turned back to Sean and resumed his protestations as if nothing had just happened. She froze for the briefest moment. I don't think even she thought he was that cold of a fish; it was a mistake she would never make again.
“Get. Out,” Sean growled, cramming his face in his father's.
“No.”
“Boys,” Scarlet started, feigning disinterest. “We seem to have a little problem on our hands here. You see, Ares, you've killed my friend. I don't have many of those, so it's an act that cannot go unpunished, I fear. I'm sure you understand.” Scarlet was a button pusher extraordinaire.
“I am untouchable,” he sneered, looking away from her and back at Sean.
“But can you bleed?” she asked moving closer. “Because that's all I am interested in.”
Before he could answer, she launched herself at him, her right hand swinging wide to crash down on his face, but it never made contact. Unfortunately for us, my prediction that we would encounter interference came to fruition sooner than I had hoped. In what seemed like a nanosecond, Sean had Scarlet by the waist, throwing her off course.
“I cannot permit this,” he said in a low and warning voice.
“Oh, I think you can,” she purred in return. “I'm sure there's something you could find to occupy you for a few minutes. Maybe move the body to Ruby's car so she can drive it back to Ginger's widower. I promise I'll work fast.”
“I did not say I didn't want to permit it; I said I can't.” He spoke his words clearly so that she would fully comprehend their meaning. There was a message in them that was abundantly clear. For whatever reason, Sean couldn't let harm befall Ares. It was then that the seemingly stale, repeated argument they were having made far more sense. Arguing was Sean's only recourse against his father.
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