Beauty and the Beastmaster (Mystic Springs Book 3)
Page 8
Could he feel her heart pounding? Did he feel her entire body tense? How could he not?
“You don’t have to say a word,” he said. “I get it. You can tell me or you can keep all your secrets locked away, it’s up to you. I want you. Right now I feel like I have to have you. But I can wait. I’ll wait for you, Gabi.”
Did he know that was exactly what she needed to hear? Was he charming her, feeding her lines the same way Blake had? No, that couldn’t be it. At least, she didn’t want it to be.
“Dinner tomorrow night,” she said. “Here. I’m a pretty good cook.”
He kissed her again, deeper, longer, then pulled away sharply. “Okay. I guess I should go.”
Gabi nodded, resisting the urge to pull him back. She so loved the feel of him holding her, kissing, sheltering. Silas was kind, quiet, and strong, and he awakened something in her that she’d thought long dead. But tempted as she was, she wasn’t ready for more than this. Would she ever be? How long would he wait for her to get past the pain Blake had inflicted?
After Silas left, she locked the front door and checked every window in the house to make sure they were locked, too. There was a back door that opened onto a patio which wasn’t used nearly often enough. She felt too exposed there. Since Judge had moved in she’d used that door several times to let him in and out, as needed, so she checked it, too. Twice. It was a nightly ritual. Without that ritual she wouldn’t sleep at all.
That done, she went to bed, slept, and dreamed of the day when she wouldn’t feel the need to push Silas out her door.
Silas made the familiar drive home on automatic, his mind on everything but the road before him. More than anything, his mind was on that kiss, on the way Gabi felt in his arms… and on the fleeting expression of panic on her face. It had revealed so much, too much.
He was supposed to run her out of town, but right now he wanted nothing more than to protect her, to take away all her pain. Stupid idea, for a man who intended to remain unattached.
When Jenna had asked him to play her game, he should’ve said no. He shouldn’t have ignored that initial warning tingle at the back of his neck. Clint’s ex was bad news and always had been.
There was more to Gabi Lawson than met the eye. She was running from something. Someone, most likely. She was vulnerable, skittish. And safe here, as they all were. Why should she have to leave? One more Non-Springer in the mix wouldn’t make any difference. Would it?
He wasn’t second guessing himself because he wanted to sleep with her. The way she kissed didn’t cause this new and unexpected uncertainty. Yeah, right. He was being entirely rational.
He couldn’t even convince himself.
Silas sighed when he saw the familiar SUV in his driveway. He parked, hesitated for a split-second, and then left the truck. Jenna opened the driver’s door of the SUV and stepped out to greet him.
“How’s it going?” she asked.
“Fine. Leave me alone and I’ll get it done.” He didn’t know exactly what “getting it done” meant anymore, but she didn’t have to know that.
“I’m not sure how feeding the Non-Springer and strolling around town is supposed to get it done,” Jenna said sharply.
“I have to get to know her in order to figure out what will work. It’s not like I have a lot to go on at this point.” He couldn’t possibly tell her he was having second thoughts. If she decided to do the job herself or put a Milhouse on Gabi, the results might be ugly.
Jenna looked up at the full moon. Donnie wasn’t with her, this time around. No, he was out somewhere running the forest or howling at that moon, as were all the Milhouses.
Since they were being honest…
“What the hell do you see in Donnie?” He headed for the door, not to his house but to the office. He opened the door and walked inside; uninvited Jenna was right behind him.
“He’s a means to an end, a…” She stopped when she saw Damian in the waiting room, one of the smaller dogs — a mutt if ever there was one — in his lap.
“Hey, boss,” Damian said. “Let me put Scout up for the night and I’ll head on home.” The kid walked into the back room, and from there he went into the indoor facilities where most of the dogs slept on a massive arrangement of doggie beds in a variety of colors and patterns.
Silas glanced at Jenna, who had pursed her lips and was working hard to give him the evil eye.
“Thanks for staying late,” Silas said when Damian re-entered the waiting room.
“No problem.” Damian nodded to Jenna as he passed by her, appropriately cautious. He didn’t want to piss her off. No one did. “It’s a nice night for the walk home, and Mom said she’d leave me a plate in the fridge. She made meatloaf tonight, and her famous green beans.” He smiled and nodded, then left the building.
When they were alone again, Jenna headed for the door. “Let’s talk about this in your place,” she said. “It smells of dog in here.”
Silas laughed. He hadn’t meant to, not really. The laugh stopped Jenna in her tracks.
“What’s so funny?”
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just that I prefer the smell of dogs over the smell of a werewolf any day.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes, then again motioned for the door.
“No,” Silas said. “I’m tired. I don’t feel like entertaining.” Besides, he didn’t want Jenna in his home. He knew how she worked, how she had always worked. She used her looks, her body, to get what she wanted. Once upon a time, she’d wanted Clint. She’d gotten him. She’d almost destroyed him.
“I don’t need to be entertained,” she said, a new lilt in her voice. “Maybe a glass of water, unless you have a bottle of wine handy.”
Silas shook his head.
“Beer?” she suggested, clearly frustrated.
“It’s been a long day,” he explained.
He wouldn’t hesitate to invite Gabi to the space where he lived, but he didn’t want this witch there. That alone was enough to make him question this mission she’d set him on.
He’d been waffling, but at this moment it was very clear he’d chosen the wrong side. Isolation had always seemed like a dream. In reality, he was no longer so sure. Had he really made a colossal mistake in agreeing to help Jenna, or was he letting his dick lead him astray?
“Don’t get distracted by a Non-Springer in distress,” she said sharply. “If you can’t do the job, I’ll find someone who will.”
He knew that too well. “I’ll do it.”
“I don’t think you will,” Jenna said smugly. “I think you’re reconsidering because Gabi is pretty and wide-eyed, and weak.”
He didn’t confirm or deny the accusation, though he was tempted to argue the “weak” accusation.
“The town is dying. Springer powers are going to grow weaker and weaker. Young people who might be able to save us will leave, because there’s nothing for them here, and we will die a slow and agonizing death.”
“You might be right,” he said.
Maybe she could still see his indecision, because she snapped, “You’re no white knight, Silas. That’s not who you are.”
He didn’t argue with her.
“Fine.” Jenna waved a dismissive hand as she headed for the door. “If I’d known you had a thing for fragile Non-Springers I would’ve gone to someone else.”
“If you could’ve gone to someone else I think you already would’ve done it.” It had never made a lot of sense to him that she’d ask one of her ex-husband’s friends to join her. Sure, she knew he liked the idea of isolation, in theory, but she’d been taking a risk.
She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s true, I don’t trust a lot of people with this knowledge. Not yet. Donnie wanted to get rid of her himself but I don’t want blood on this spell. I want it done right. Neat and clean, that’s the way to go.”
“Keep Donnie away from Gabi.”
She pointed an accusing finger at him, “Don’t fuck this up, Silas. If you do, I’ll know.”
Don’t fuck this up, Silas.
Too late.
Even though she’d overslept, Gabi didn’t have to rush. Sunday and Thursday were her normal days off. If someone needed an emergency haircut she’d make an exception, but Thursday was her day to do laundry, clean the house, and spoil Mia as much as possible. She usually read during Mia’s nap time, and sometimes they had lunch with Marnie or Cindy. If the weather was nice they’d take a walk.
Today the idea of laundry and housework wasn’t at all attractive, so after eating a big breakfast, feeding the dog and the child, and doing the bare minimum of laundry, she fetched Mia’s stroller from the front closet and headed out for a walk. The weather was perfect, with sunshine and just a touch of a chill in the air. It was too nice to stay inside. She’d finish her laundry later.
She might even walk off enough calories to reward herself with one of Ivy’s cupcakes. Maybe a bear claw.
As she walked by the police station Travis Benedict, Police Chief, exited the plain building that was his workplace. The police station was small, consisting, she’d heard, of an office and two cells. She’d not seen it for herself and didn’t plan to.
Travis was probably headed to Eve’s for an early lunch. He said hello to her, she returned the greeting, and then he fell into step beside her.
“I’m going to ask Eve to marry me,” he said out of the blue.
Travis wasn’t exactly a friend, though she knew him well enough. It was a small town, and he was Cindy’s brother-in-law. He had his neat hair cut once a month, like clockwork. He was one of those Springers who respected her distance, who didn’t seem to mind that she wasn’t a chatty hairstylist. Unlike the ladies at The Egg. “Well, good luck.”
Travis waved one hand in the air in a gesture that spoke of frustration. “I’m not sure that she’ll say yes, so I don’t know if I should propose privately or make a big deal out of it and ask her in front of a crowd. Should there be flowers? Balloons? She doesn’t like champagne, and I’m not sure where I’d get a decent bottle anyway, but…” He looked down at her. “Any advice?”
Blake’s proposal had been public and lavish. There had been champagne, flowers, the applause and genuine smiles of the other diners around them. She’d been swept away, but in the end his extravagant gestures had meant nothing.
“I don’t know Eve all that well, so I can’t offer much in the way of advice. Just… make it from the heart. You know what she likes, what she’d want.”
Travis nodded. “Private it is. I’m just afraid, you know, that will make it easier for her to say no.”
“She won’t appreciate it if you play games with her,” Gabi added.
Travis sighed. “Thanks. I know you’re right.” When they reached Eve’s he nodded once in her direction then slipped inside.
Gabi kept going. It wasn’t yet time to stop at Ivy’s. She’d save baked goods for after she’d burned off some calories. Odds are if she ate something carb-heavy now she’d head straight home and take a nap. So she walked past the bakery, past the hardware store and the parking lot beside it, toward the end of the street and the path through the woods. For a moment she considered taking that path, walking through the woods and enjoying a bit of nature, but she wasn’t sure Mia’s stroller could handle the rough terrain. She didn’t want to get caught in those woods with a baby, a dog, and an inoperable stroller.
She stopped at the end of the street and peered into the forest. Spring was coming fast. Once leafless trees had started to bud. There was a promise of spring in the hint of green here and there, along with the occasional sturdy wildflower. But it was really dark in there, thanks to a thick growth of very old trees. Beyond the edge it was shadowy and mysterious.
Judge seemed to go on alert. The bloodhound stiffened. A low growl she hadn’t heard from the dog before now sounded in his throat, and he moved to protectively place himself between Mia and the woods. Maybe he’d seen or heard a squirrel and was protecting his charges from a vicious hairy-tailed rodent attack.
Without warning Gabi suffered her own moment of unease. The back of her neck tickled. She felt as if she were being watched. Even Mia seemed to be antsy all of a sudden, kicking her legs and whining.
Naturally, Mia liked to stay on the move when they were out and about. Sitting still was not her style. Gabi wheeled the stroller around and returned to the sidewalk. She’d planned to walk a while longer before giving in to her compulsion for sweets, but who was she kidding? Any time was the right time for a cupcake. She’d walk it off later. Maybe.
Chapter 8
Blake Pierce stood behind a wide-trunked tree and watched as Gabi turned around. He was at least twenty yards away from the road where she’d stopped, he didn’t think she could see him peeking around the tree, but he was careful not to move while she faced his direction. It would’ve been too easy if she’d entered the woods alone, if she’d walked right to him. He’d never been a fan of easy. He didn’t want this to be over quickly. He wanted her to suffer.
Until yesterday he hadn’t been sure the photograph his private investigator had found online was really his wife. Ex-wife, Gabi would insist, but once something belonged to him he didn’t let it go easily. Someone had taken a picture of a birthday gathering in a park in Eufaula, Alabama, of all places. In the background, a woman and baby had been exiting a small brick building. Zooming in and enhancing the image revealed the name of the clinic. Gabi’s hair was different and the baby was older, but facial recognition had tagged the match. It had been right. From there it had been easy enough to trace her to this small town.
Last night he’d peeked through the window of the only restaurant in town and seen her sitting in one of the booths, having dinner with a man. He’d been tempted to rush in then and there, to drag her out, to make her remember that she was his and always would be. Divorce didn’t change that. Gabi and the child they’d created belonged to him.
But he wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to take her in public, when others might be tempted to try to help her. No, he wanted to get her alone so he could take his time with her punishment.
The dog would be a complication. So would the lawman. They’d seemed close, walking down the sidewalk, heads together, talking with such informal ease. Was the cop screwing her? What about the guy she’d been with last night? She was such a slut. His mother had tried to tell him, before he married her, that she wasn’t good enough for him, that she was unworthy.
Mother had been right. Maybe he could catch Gabi in the act with one man or the other and they could both die. That would be a fitting punishment.
Blake fidgeted, anxious to be on the move, to be doing something. Once he’d gotten the report about Gabi’s whereabouts he could’ve sent someone else to collect her and the kid, but that wouldn’t do. He wanted to punish her himself. Punish? He wanted to kill her, and he would.
After that he could return to his normal life and no one would ever question what had happened to her. He’d take the baby home with him, raise her himself, tell the child as she grew older what a horrible woman the mother who’d abandoned her had been. That’s what he’d tell everyone, that his ex-wife had called him, begging him to take their child because she could no longer be a single mother. She wanted to be free of her responsibilities.
If anyone didn’t believe him, they were welcome to try to prove him wrong. Good luck with that. Gabi’s body would be buried so deep no one would ever find it.
His mother had harassed him about grandbabies for years, and she’d been furious when she’d found out Gabi had been carrying his child when they’d divorced. The elder Mrs. Pierce seemed to conveniently forget that she’d been the one to insist that he sign the papers for the quick divorce, since Gabi, a woman who’d never been good enough for her son, had asked for nothing other than to be free. Good riddance, she’d said. He hadn’t bothere
d to tell his mother that Gabi had threatened to go to the police with pictures and medical reports, that she’d threatened to make his treatment of her public.
What a shame that his mother hadn’t lived long enough to finally get her hands on the grandbaby she’d wanted so badly. It was her own fault she was dead. She should’ve kept her big, nagging mouth shut.
It had taken too damn long, but he was finally going to get what he wanted. If he couldn’t have Gabi, no one else would.
He’d been in this hellhole of a town for two days. There was a big, white, empty house on the east side of town. An instinct had drawn him there; he’d driven down one road and then another as if on auto-pilot until he’d seen it. The empty house had once been a Bed and Breakfast, according to the sign out front, but no one was home. Judging by the dust and weeds, no one had been there for a while.
He’d parked his car in the separate garage and made himself at home. There were enough canned goods in the pantry to keep him fed for a while, and the power was still on. It was beneath him to live on a diet of canned soup and chili, but he hoped he was out of here before he had to eat the tuna. He’d make sure he was. What he had to do wouldn’t take long.
Yesterday he’d walked from the B&B to the small downtown area, wearing a baseball cap he’d found in the bedroom he chose as a disguise of sorts. His hair was a fair blond, distinctive, and it was best to cover it up. He’d stood at the end of the street and watched Gabi leave work. As soon as he’d seen the beauty salon, he’d known if she was in town she’d be there. He would’ve followed her home, but there had been too many people out and about so he’d gone back to the B&B and slept. He’d slept a lot since coming here. Normally he didn’t sleep more than five hours a night. He had to admit, he felt different here. Better. Stronger with each passing day. Maybe it was all the extra rest, but then again, maybe something in this shitty little town agreed with him.