STRAYED

by Amber Lynn Natusch

  “See?” Ares said, beaming down at Scarlet with commanding hubris. “My word is truth, yet again.” He then turned his attention to Sean. “Sean, there will be ramifications for this insubordination―I promise you.”

  “Leave,” Sean ordered, “and take your empty threats with you. You can do no more to harm me than you already have.”

  A wry smile crossed Ares’ face when he moved to turn and walk away.

  “We shall see about that. Indeed, we shall see.”

  We all watched while he strode out with all the regal swagger one would have expected from a god, or at least an egomaniac. The moment he was out of sight, the melée began. The brothers were at each other and Sean about what had happened with Ginger, with Scarlet, and between Sean and Ares. While they argued, I begged Scarlet to let me back out. She seemed unconvinced that the present situation wasn’t a potentially dangerous one for us, but eventually she conceded. The second I took over, Sean released his hold on me and I ran to Ginger, whose body was resting in Peyta's lap while Ronnie and Jay hovered over her.

  “I have to take her, P,” I said softly as a tear escaped my eye.

  “She was like a grandma to me. When you were gone, she came by constantly to check on me and make sure I was okay,” she confessed, her voice straining against the emotion she fought to contain. “She didn't deserve this, Ruby.”

  “I know,” I whispered, gently pulling the body out of her arms. “But I have to take her. I need to take her home.”

  “I'll help you,” Jay offered.

  “No. You stay here with Peyta. Ronnie, maybe you can help me.”

  With a curt nod, she grabbed Ginger's thin, lifeless ankles and helped me carry her body to my car while the brothers continued to argue. Her body was so light. Too light.

  Once we escaped the confines of the tent, Ronnie's interrogation began.

  “Do you want to tell me what the fuck just happened in there?”

  “I'm not exactly sure, Ronnie.”

  “Who was that guy? Why was he here? Why was he all up in Sean's face about things?”

  “It's complicated, but it has something to do with pack dynamics, I'm sure. Sean comes from a rather large and ancient one. I think they do things a little differently.”

  “So that guy was papa wolf?”

  “You could say that.”

  As she continued to ask questions on the way to my car, I found it remarkably unnerving that she didn't seem at all disturbed to be carrying a dead body through her back yard. It made me wonder just how checkered her past really was.

  “Ronnie,” I finally interjected in an attempt to shut down her unrelenting questions. “I need you to let this go for tonight, okay? You remember how you owe me one?”

  “I owe Scarlet one, technically,”

  “Fine, whatever. I'm calling in that favor. I need you to drop it. For now. I will explain the situation when I can, but I need to get Ginger to her husband. He's going to be devastated.”

  “I don't think that's such a great idea, Ruby. He's going to ask questions. Questions you can't answer,” she said, her eyes glazing over slightly. “We're going to have to dump the body.”

  “What?”

  “We need to get rid of it. Somewhere nobody will find it.”

  “Jesus, Ronnie! I'm not going to go dig a shallow grave in the woods and dump her in it.”

  “Of course you're not. That never works,” she replied, her faraway voice still fully in effect. “We need to sink her in the bay.”

  My hackles went up at the thought. That comment hit a little too close to home for my liking.

  “No. Out of the question. I'm taking her home, and that's final.” I eyed my tiny sports car dubiously, realizing that putting a corpse in the front seat next to me before I was to drive through town was probably not the wisest plan of action. “Let’s put her in the back of Sean's SUV.”

  “This is a bad idea, Ruby. Really bad.”

  “I can assure you, I've had way worse. I can handle this.”

  “I will handle this,” Sean called from behind us. I whirled around to find him stalking toward the vehicle, wearing an expression and eye color that didn't bode well for anyone. “Give her to me.”

  Ronnie laid Ginger's legs down in the back of his car while I still held her upper body in my arms. Without another word of warning, Ronnie turned and headed toward the tent, undoubtedly cursing my stupidity along the way.

  “Sean,” I said with a cautionary tone.

  “Ruby, don't start. I can't let you take her back to her husband. This is what I do. I keep the line between humans and not in check. Taking her back there will only involve police. And Alan is out of the sticking-his-neck-out-for-you business as far as I can tell. Even if her death is deemed an accident, you can't just carry a dead body around downtown. Think about what you're doing.”

  I paused for a moment to do just that, and once I was done, I was more confused than ever. There was no right way to deal with this scenario. No easy solution. Any way my thoughts turned, a new dilemma presented itself, but in the end, I went with my gut, which said that Gavin had a right to say goodbye to his wife, consequences be damned.

  And there would be consequences.

  Chapter 16

  I didn't have any cards up my sleeve, so I went with a desperation 101 move―the Hail Mary. I placed Ginger's body in the back of the SUV and delicately closed the door, walking around to the front as if I was in a snit and stomping off to brood. But instead of walking away, I jumped into the front of the car and fired it up in the hope that I could get away fast enough. It was a shitty plan and I knew it, which was made evident by the fact that I forgot to lock the doors when I got in. I soon found a rather pissed off Sean sitting next to me as a result, but at least I was behind the wheel.

  “I know what I'm doing,” I protested before he could start in on me with a “what the fuck are you doing?” rant. I wasn't in the mood. Given all that had happened, somehow the fact that the body in the back of his car was a friend of mine seemed to be lost on both him and me. I don't know if it was a coping mechanism or the surrealism of the entire thing, but for whatever reason, my grief had been cut short, making way for practicality. Grieving could happen later. First, I needed to deliver the news to Gavin.

  And the body too.

  I tore out of Ronnie's driveway before I gave some thought to the fact that speeding with a dead body in the back of the car probably wasn't the best plan. I slowed to the speed limit, my sweaty palms working hard against my shaking hands to keep the car on the road.

  “We are not doing this,” Sean said sternly. “You are going to pull this car over and let me do what needs to be done.”

  “I can't do that, Sean. You're going to have to trust me.”

  “I would love to do that, Ruby, but it's clear that grief has impaired your judgment.”

  “You're the one who said you wanted to meet her husband. Well, here's your chance.”

  I felt his stare assessing me. He knew I knew something, but worse than that, he knew that I knew that he suspected something. My head hurt from trying to sort it all out. How easily we slipped into old habits, both of us calculating our moves based on what cards we thought the other held.

  He said nothing, which tipped his hand. He had been bluffing back at Ronnie's. He was sizing Ginger up to see something.

  “I knew it!” I yelled, slapping the wheel. “I knew you were up to something when you and Ginger were talking. Everything you said had subtext and double entendre—hell, your words were laced with both, and you're going to tell me why. Why were you grilling her?”

  “I didn't trust her.”

  “You don't trust anyone, Sean.”

  “True, but that was different. There was something in her eyes. I didn't believe that she was what she appeared to be.”

  “She's human! I thought you could sense that.”

  “Of course I can, Ruby, but Ronnie's human and she knows a whole hell of a lot of things she s
houldn't. I wanted to see just what Ginger was up to.”

  “She brought cookies and cupcakes, Sean. That's not an especially ominous gesture.”

  “Neither was providing Eve with an apple, but your Bible sure seems to think that there were pretty sizable ramifications for that.”

  “This is hardly the same thing.”

  “Perhaps.”

  Silence.

  “Hmm...,” I mumbled, mulling something over in my head.

  “Hmm, what?”

  “You seemed to give up on that just a little too easily. I'm trying to figure out why.”

  He shrugged ambivalently in response as we rounded the turn that took us into downtown Portsmouth.

  “Let's just say that I think there's more to this situation than you're letting on.”

  Excellent. Shall I put your ass on a platter for him now or later?

  “Shut up,” I muttered under my breath.

  “I'll assume that wasn't meant for me,” he said just as I pulled up to the docks. The lights inside Gavin's boat were on, which seemed to trigger reality for me. I was about to walk up to his door, knock, and tell him that his wife was dead. And for the icing on that cake, I would have her body delivered by the one individual that he loathed most. Maybe Ronnie's plan to sink Ginger’s corpse in the bay hadn't been such a bad idea in the first place.

  Swallowing back the rising bile in my throat, I parked the car and started to get out. Sean followed suit.

  “Please, I need to tell him first. Alone.” His darkening eyes narrowed on me, letting me know what he thought of my plan. “He's obviously not going to take it well. I wouldn't want to have that news delivered in the presence of a total stranger.”

  Or someone you despised.

  “You have five minutes.”

  Knowing that the stopwatch had just been started, I ran to the boat, making sure to carefully jump aboard to avoid yet another disaster that evening. With a deep breath, I knocked on the door, calling for Ginger's widower.

  “Gavin? It's Ruby. I need to talk to you,” I said before quickly amending my statement. “The old you.” Seconds later, the door opened and I was met with the wrinkled old man that I had first met on that dock only months earlier. “Can I come in? Please?”

  His sharpened gaze narrowed minutely before nodding once.

  “I just returned from looking into the problem we discussed the other day. I imagine Ginger should be home soon, so if we're about to have one of our more hostile meetings, I would appreciate it if you kept it brief. It upsets her to see us at such odds.”

  I nearly buckled from his unintentional blow. How I could deliver the news after his statement was beyond me.

  “Gavin...I need you to sit down.”

  Again I found him assessing me.

  “Ruby, you look pale―paler than usual. Something is wrong. What has happened?” He ushered me to the bench seat along the far wall and sat beside me. I racked my brain for a way to share the news that would soften it in even the slightest of ways, but I knew that wasn't possible. A love like theirs wasn't easy to find.

  “Yes,” I whispered, unable to meet his eyes. “It's about Ginger.”

  His body went rigid beside me the second I uttered her name.

  “What about her?” he asked. I could hear the restrained violence in his voice.

  “She came to Peyta's this evening...to her wedding.”

  “And where is she now?”

  I could hear the wood groan under Gavin's grip. He already knew what I still had to tell him.

  “In the car,” I said, choking on a sob. His silence begged me to go on even though my body urged me to run. I did not want to be in his presence when his anger boiled over. “There was an argument. I was pushed, and I accidentally knocked her over when I fell. She staggered backward and hit her head. I tried to catch her—I did—but I couldn't reach her in time.... I'm so sorry!” I was no longer able to fight the combination of guilt and grief that assailed me. While I cried inconsolably, Gavin went perfectly still and silent. We were a study in contradiction.

  I think we both could have sat there for much longer, each processing the situation in our own way, but a harsh rapping at the door put an end to our reflections. My heart plummeted into my shoes. Sean was going to be Gavin's undoing.

  Like a puppet on a string, Gavin lifted himself up and went to the door, seemingly unconscious of his actions. Before I could stop him, he opened the door to find what he would have most likely described as the grim reaper standing in front of him. My heart, which was still in the vicinity of my shoes, stopped entirely. I heard my sharp inhalation as the two men stood in silence, staring at one another. Predator and prey, though I wasn't entirely sure as to which was which.

  “Sir, I'm terribly sorry for your loss,” Sean said, not looking the slightest bit sorry or sincere. “Has Ruby explained what happened to you?” Gavin nodded slowly. “Would you like me to bring her to you?”

  Rage shot through me at his words, though it was not my own. The depth of the hatred Gavin harbored for Sean was indescribable. It suffocated every cell in my body, consuming me until I too wanted to act upon those feelings as though they were my own. What I felt far surpassed my typical empath abilities. It ran deeper than that. Far, far deeper.

  Blood deep.

  “I will get her,” I barked, feeling my features arrange themselves into a hateful expression. I felt a tear I had shed for Ginger roll off my cheek, leaving a burning trail in its wake. Burning with animosity.

  Sean followed me onto the dock while I made my way back to the car. He said nothing, but I knew he sensed it. A blind man could have perceived my mood change. I fumbled with the back door, finally opening it to expose the frail, cooling corpse that lay behind it. Cradling her like a child, I staggered back to the boat, looking about me to make sure that nobody was watching me along the way. Sean reached out to adjust Ginger’s body when she slid down in my arms, but I jerked her out of his reach. I didn't want him anywhere near her.

  “Do not touch her,” I warned, carefully making my way back aboard the boat.

  “Ruby―”

  “Go back to the car and wait,” I snarled, not fully believing the words I was saying as they left my mouth. My emotions backed them, but something deep within me felt they were wrong somehow.

  With blackening eyes, he did as I bade him.

  Once inside, I handed Ginger to Gavin, who placed her on the couch while keeping his back to me.

  “You need to go too, Ruby,” he said solemnly. “I want answers, but not tonight. Not now.” I opened my mouth to offer another apology but thought better of it. With a heavy heart, I turned away, grabbing the doorknob to exit his humble home, which he was now destined to live in alone.

  Before I had made my way out, he startled me with an underhanded revelation.

  “Do you see it now?” he asked, still refusing to look at me. “Do you see that death follows him like a ghost in the night? There is no happiness to be found around a soul as black as his. There never will be. The only thing he can promise you is an early grave, Ruby. I've buried too many because of him...everyone I've loved. Do not leave me to bury you too.”

  I closed the door behind me while my mind reeled. For once in the time I had known him, there was no puzzle in his words, no riddle to be found. Instead, he had shared with me that which haunted him. Sean had been the death of everyone he loved, and Gavin feared he would also be the death of me.

  Gavin loved me.

  The question was: Why?

  Chapter 17

  Waiting for me in the car was another man who loved me, though he appeared to be about as happy with me as Gavin was. I could see that he'd bogarted the driver's seat in my absence, and I wondered what was in store for me once I entered the vehicle. As I approached the SUV and the distance between Gavin and me increased, my hostility for Sean faded. The implications of Gavin's parting words, however, did not. They weighed heavily on my mind.

  I opened the
door and got in, anticipating a barrage of questions regarding my behavior. Instead, I was met with only one, which had nothing to do with me.

  “Who is he?” he asked, but not in a “who is he to you” sort of way. It was more of a “what is he” kind of question.

  “That's Gavin, Ginger's husband.”

  “Are we really going to do this?” he asked as he pulled onto Market Street. “All this time and yet here we are, no better off than we ever were.” He spoke those words as if his inner monologue had gone rogue and escaped his body without his knowledge. Perhaps my lack of filter was wearing off on him too. My bad habits seemed to have rubbed off on everyone else.

  “Some stories are not mine to tell, Sean. What would you have me do? Be a rat? Your informer? Is that what we're doing here?”

  “Don't be so melodramatic. Of course it isn't. All I want to know is what's going on with him. I've been doing this a long time, Ruby. I've seen more than my fair share of widows and widowers, but nobody has ever reacted the way he did just now. He looked like he wanted to flay me. That kind of anger is personal, which begs the question, why would that little old man hate me?”

  In true Sean fashion, he'd backed me into a corner, though this time I didn't think he had done so on purpose. Even though he couldn't sense him, he knew that Gavin wasn't what he seemed. I felt torn between my loyalty to the man I loved and Gavin's right to maintain the secret life that he'd had for centuries. Either way I leaned, I would betray someone who loved me.

  “Maybe you did something to him,” I whispered in the darkness of the vehicle.

  “Like what?” Sean replied, turning to search my face for the answers it so often offered.

  “Killed someone he cared about. Loved.”

  “What aren't you telling me, Ruby?” His tone was cautionary. I was walking a fine line with him, and he wouldn't allow it forever.