Levi shifted uncomfortably.
Georgina glanced at Levi. “That’s why Allie was an Enchantress.” She gave Allie a slight smile. “Thankfully, you chose Levi.”
“Seriously?” Levi put his arm around Allie. “After all the shit my dad gave me, he’s the one who almost lost it all for us?”
Georgina fumed, her smile wiped off her face. “Robert couldn’t keep it in his pants and almost destroyed our family.”
Owen laughed. Maybe if I wasn’t feeling so disgusted with myself, I would have laughed too. Georgina wasn’t the type of woman to use that expression.
“I’m going to let him have it. I also have some apologizing to do to Helen…” Georgina looked off. There was a story there, I’m sure.
“What’s next? Where do we go from here?” I needed to separate my feelings from what was going on. This news could potentially destroy the Laurents. It was my job to protect them.
“We find out who the mother is.” Levi scowled.
“She may be a victim too…” Allie said the words lightly, but there was no softening what she was implying.
“As horrible as Robert can be, my son wouldn’t rape a woman. But, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t use his position for persuasion or to mislead her.” Georgina turned to Levi. “Talk to him. You need to find out more.”
“Me?” He pointed at himself. “What are you going to be doing?” His reluctance to confront his father was clear as day. I didn’t blame him.
“I have a granddaughter to meet.”
“What?” I lost the fight with my emotions. “You’re going to see Casey?”
“Of course. She needs to be formally welcomed to the Laurent family.” Her steely gaze set on me. “Not that I need to explain myself to you, Judd.” I was starting to think she liked calling me by incorrect names. I also had a feeling she’d overheard the part of the conversation where I admitted to sleeping with Casey. Fantastic. Georgina was going to hate me even more now.
Levi narrowed her eyes. “But she’s not really a Laurent. Dad hasn’t recognized her.”
Allie glared at Levi. “She’s your sister whether Robert acknowledges it or not.”
Georgina nodded. “Allie’s right. That’s why we’re going to New York today.”
“I’m coming?” There was excitement in Allie’s voice. Of course, she was already planning slumber parties with her future sister-in-law.
“Yes. You’ve met her, haven’t you?” Georgina watched Allie.
“Yeah. She’s really cool.” Allie smiled.
“Leviathan, talk to your father. Boys,” she addressed Owen and me, “get a plane ready for us.” She turned to Allie. “I’ll give you a few minutes with Leviathan. Be ready to leave within the hour.”
Allie only waited until Georgina walked out of the office before starting in on the questions. “When are you going to call her?”
“Why would I call her?” I knew I sounded like a jerk, but I had no choice. I’d slept with a Pteron. Worse, I’d liked it—no, loved it. My dad had my brother shipped abroad for doing that. I wasn’t going to lose my position over a girl. We needed to pretend it never happened.
“Jared. Don’t be an ass,” Allie hissed.
“What?”
“You can’t ignore her. Think about what she’s going through. You promised you wouldn’t use her.”
“Yeah… I promised you that when I thought she was human. All bets are off. She’s a Pteron. She’ll recover. Besides, she’s already gone back to Toby.”
“She went back to him for help. That’s different.”
“Get off my back, Allie. This isn’t your problem.”
“Just drop it. He’s not going to listen.” Levi pulled Allie against him. “Are you really going to New York?”
“First of all, I’m not letting Casey deal with Georgina alone. Second, do you really think I have a choice?”
Levi laughed. “No. Definitely no choice. Have fun.”
“I’ll tell her you said hi.”
Levi nodded. “Okay.”
She squeezed his hand. “This is a good thing, Levi.”
“I’m glad you see it that way.” He kissed her lightly.
“I’ll call you later.” Allie kissed his cheek before turning to me. “And don’t be a complete jerk.” With that, she disappeared.
Chapter Four
Casey
People shouldn’t knock on your door before nine a.m. Although I didn’t seem to need quite as much sleep lately, I didn’t enjoy getting awoken just as I’d finally fallen asleep. I rolled over, assuming it was the super telling me about some maintenance issue. When that happened, he usually left a note. The incessant knocking continued. The last time someone had woken me up by knocking, I’d met Jared. Something told me it wasn’t him this time. And then my phone started ringing. With a sigh, I looked at the screen. Allie. Okay, that could be important.
“Hey,” I answered as cheerfully as possible. Toby said she was interested in helping me. I needed her on my side, and in the little time I’d spent with her, she seemed to go out of her way to be nice to me.
“Hey. You need to open your door.”
“Wait. Is that you knocking?” I struggled to sit up in bed.
“Uh, sort of.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I didn’t like the vagueness in her words. It meant she wasn’t alone.
“I can’t explain. Just open it.”
Reluctantly, I pulled myself out of bed and walked the short distance to the front door. We didn’t have a peephole, so I was completely unprepared for what was waiting for me on the other side when I swung open the door.
“Beautiful.” A woman, probably around eighty, barreled into my apartment. “You are truly a sight.”
I looked down at the oversized t-shirt and shorts I’d slept in. I didn’t need to touch my hair to know it was a mess. Beautiful wasn’t exactly the word I’d use to describe how I looked at that moment.
“Who are you?” I asked the woman but looked to Allie for help.
“I’m Georgina, but you can call me Grandma.”
“Grandma?” I coughed. But then things fell into place. “You’re Levi’s Grandma?”
“Yes. My son is your father.” She took my head in her hands. “You are a spitting image of your great-grandmother. It’s incredible.” She stared at me for a moment before she dropped her hands.
“Did you know about me?” I wrapped my arms around myself. My world was falling apart. Meeting a grandmother I never knew I had might have been great in some situations, but in my current one, it just freaked me out more.
“Not until last night. I came right here.”
“If you’re worried about me staying quiet, I will. I just want to figure out more about my father and what happened.” I stood my ground. I wasn’t going to be pushed over.
“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about you. How did you come to live in such a place?” She looked around my living room with disdain. Just like Toby did the first time. I tried to push away that thought.
I stood up as straight as possible. Grandmother or not, she wasn’t going to put me down. “It’s my cousin’s. I needed a place to stay.”
She made some sort of grunting noise. “You will be moving. I don’t know anything about this cousin, but a Laurent doesn’t live in such squalor.”
I decided not to mention that I didn’t have the money to move, let alone pay the rent on a better place. It didn’t seem worth the effort. I was still trying to face the reality that I had a whole new family.
She mumbled something about realtors. “I hope you don’t have plans for today.”
“I work this afternoon.” I’d picked up an extra shift. I was working as often as possible. It wasn’t like I had much else to do, and I was still saving for college tuition.
“Work? Where do you work?”
“Coffee Heaven.”
“A coffee shop?” Georgina looked ill. “You serve coffee?”
“Yeah… it doesn’t pay great, but it’s something.” By the way she was staring with her mouth gaping open, you’d have thought I’d just admitted to being an exotic dancer.
She took a couple of deep breaths then let them out. “Okay. First thing, get yourself dressed. Allie and I will wait here.” She looked around at the furniture like she was deciding whether it was safe to sit down.
“Okay… but then what?”
“We will worry about that when you’re dressed.” She looked confused. Like she couldn’t imagine anyone questioning her. At least I knew that women got respect in the Laurent family. I already knew Allie spoke her mind, but boy did Grandma do it too.
Allie mouthed, “Don’t argue.” I wasn’t planning on it. Something about that woman made her more intimidating than any of the giant paranormal guys I’d met recently. I also liked her. She seemed real, and I respected that.
“Okay…” I figured stopping for a shower was out of the question, so I slipped on a sundress and pulled some of my hair back and left the other half down. If Georgina was telling the truth about how I looked earlier, she’d be satisfied with my attempt. I brushed my teeth, slipped on flat strappy sandals and walked back out into the living room. I wasn’t a big make-up person, but I remembered to apply some lip gloss before I met up with the others.
“Who is this?” Georgina held a framed picture of Vera. She sat on the couch while Allie sat across from her on the only chair in the room. The fabric on all of the above was well worn.
“My sister.”
Georgina continued staring at the frame. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
“She’s missing then?” Georgina set aside the frame and studied my face like it was a puzzle.
“Yes. She disappeared without a trace a few years ago, but I recently got a lead.”
“And who gave you this lead?” she pressed.
I hesitated. I assumed Georgina was telling the truth about being my grandmother, but the whole “you’re part of the family” thing could all be an act.
It’s like she read my mind. “You have to trust me. I can’t help you if I don’t have all the details.”
“Why do you want to help me?” People always had ulterior motives. Like Toby. I hoped his motivation was wanting to spend time with me, but I wasn’t dumb. It could be something else entirely—like wanting to somehow use me to see Allie again. Argh. I needed to stop worrying about my love life at such inappropriate times.
“You’re my granddaughter. I’ve always wanted a granddaughter, and now I have two.”
Allie seemed surprised by the words, and Georgina noticed.
“I nearly broke down when I thought we lost you. You are also a Laurent—although why you insisted on putting off the wedding is beyond me.”
“It’s only a few more weeks…” Allie ran a hand through her perfectly straightened hair.
“Where are you getting married?” I jumped on the opportunity to change the subject. It would give me time to think.
“Hawaii.”
“Oh, wow. I’ve always wanted to go there.”
“You will be at the wedding, obviously, but let’s stay focused.” Georgina patted the empty spot on the couch next to her.
I tentatively sat down. I was always braver and stronger when I was standing. My confidence seemed to waver when I sat.
“What lead?”
I stood up again, needing to lead the conversation. “Do you know how I found out what I am?”
“Only that you were forced to transform quite suddenly.”
“I was pushed off a building. The Empire State Building to be specific.”
“By whom?” Georgina stiffened. “Who did it? They shall be punished for—”
“A bear.”
“A bear? What were you doing with a bear?”
I laughed. I had to. Like I had willingly gone with Murphy? “It wasn’t by choice, and I’d only recently discovered he was a bear.”
“Who’d you think he was before that?” Allie asked. I’d forgotten that I’d never filled her in on all the details.
“He was my sister’s boyfriend.” I left out the part about him being the older brother of the guy who broke my heart and took my virginity. “They were dating when she disappeared.”
“She was taken by bears then.” Georgina spoke calmly, with no trace of emotion in her voice. I’m not sure if that was because she felt none, or because she was trying to stay calm for my benefit.
“Evidently.”
“What would the bears have wanted with her sister? If they knew who Casey was, why not just take her?” Allie’s forehead wrinkled in thought.
Georgia crossed her legs. “I don’t know, but I think the secret to discovering the answer lies in you, Casey. I need to learn more about you. I have one theory, but it’s going to take some research before I know anything definitive.”
“I’d sit down for this.” Allie gestured to the couch. “This may take a while.” It was nice to see Allie wasn’t afraid to speak her mind around Georgina.
I sat, sinking into the old couch cushions as I waited for Georgina to talk.
“How old are you, Casey?”
“I’m nineteen.”
“And your birthday is?”
“January 10th.”
“So that means you were born when Levi was almost four years old.”
I nodded even though I didn’t know exactly how old Levi was. It just seemed like what I was supposed to do.
“What do you know about your mother?” Georgina’s voice softened an octave, and that scared me. It meant she was trying to cushion a blow.
“She’s from upstate.”
“Upstate New York?”
“Yeah. She spent part of her childhood in Vermont, but then moved to New York.”
“And your grandparents on that side?” Georgina continued.
“They died before I was born.”
“So you never visited her hometown?” Her eyes never left my face.
I shook my head. “No.”
“And the man you thought was your father?”
“Yes…”
“Did you visit his hometown?”
“No… his parents also died before I was born.” Wow, it seemed sketchy even to my own ears.
“And this cousin…. Who are his parents?”
“My uncle and aunt. Dennis and Debbie. Why?” Finally, someone I’d met.
“Do you know anything about them? Where they’re from?”
“Also upstate, I think…” Had I really been that complacent? That naïve? I’d never given much thought to how little I knew about my family. Mom got upset when I brought it up, so as a point, I didn’t.
“In other words, you know nothing about your mother’s side of your family.”
“Pretty much.” I sounded dumb, but it was the truth. No reason to sugar coat it.
Georgina appeared deep in thought, but then she suddenly stood up. “Let’s go shopping.”
“What? What about your theory?”
“I need to do some research first, but let’s go shopping before we go down to New Orleans.”
“New Orleans? I can’t leave.”
“Sure you can. You can even invite your friend. If my hunch is right, you can use all the protection you can get.” Georgina walked out the door. I guess she wasn’t going to wait for us.
“Protection? What’s going on?” And was she talking about Toby?
Allie stood. “I wouldn’t argue. She’s not going to tell us anything until she’s ready.”
“I bet you’re right.”
“I am.” Allie smiled. “Are you going to call Toby?”
“I’m not sure. I probably should do this alone though.”
She nodded. “Yeah… I agree. Besides, Toby can get down there pretty quickly if you need him.”
Chapter Five
Toby
She came to me for help. She didn’t go to Jared, or even Eric. Sh
e came to me. Maybe it wasn’t as big of a deal as I was making it, but it was enough of a start. I’d take it, and I’d make it more. I’d lost a chance with Casey once. I wasn’t doing it again.
My determination was at an all-time high. The way she looked at me said it all. She missed me, and not in a completely platonic way either. If it weren’t for my bitch of an assistant, she’d have been with me already. I crushed the plastic tumbler in my hand. At least I wasn’t holding a glass cup. That could have been messy.
I leaned back against the couch. I’d have to deal with Nelly, but I wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. My dad may have been human, but he taught me a few things about women. His number one lesson? Tread lightly with a woman who’s been scorned. So maybe Nelly wasn’t a typical woman, but that just made being careful more important. She wasn’t allowed to use magic on a Pteron, but then again, she wasn’t supposed to screw up the love life of a Pteron either. After some deliberation, I finally came up with a plan. I got up and headed down to the office after texting Nelly to meet me.
“You wanted to see me?” Nelly sat on the edge of my desk when I walked into the office. If I had any doubts about her interest before, they were wiped out by seeing her sitting in a barely there skirt and a partially unbuttoned blouse.
“Yes, I did.” I felt my anger rising, but I needed to stay calm. Nothing good ever came from me losing my temper, other than the release of adrenalin I got when I transformed.
“This late at night?” she pouted in a way she probably thought was sexy but actually made her seem childish.
“The way I see it, I have two options right now.”
“Options?” She sat forward slightly.
“Yes. Either I fire you and make sure you never get hired by The Society again, or I get you to make everything up to me.”
“Make what up to you? And I take that option.” She looked half excited and half nervous.
I decided to get rid of the excitement right away. “You ruined things with Casey. I’m going to fix everything, but that doesn’t change the fact that you took away the best thing that’s happened to me in years.”
Her face blanched. “Toby, I can explain.”
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