She liked her job.
She liked doing something nice and normal, after a lifetime of everything but normal. She liked knowing where she was supposed to be on any given day and she liked knowing she could take care of herself.
It might sound mundane, but she needed it.
Still, as she strode away from the apartment, and Duke, some part of her wanted to stay.
Some part of her wanted to be there with him, find some way to help. Some way to prove she could be more than just a liability.
CHAPTER 7
ANA wasn’t too keen on giving him the hand he needed, but he hadn’t come up here just to sit in her apartment and wait for lightning to strike. If she said she felt something off, then he needed to at least see if he couldn’t find it on his own.
So he used her shower, changed into a pair of jeans and a clean T-shirt. Then he picked up the mess he’d made in her kitchen before taking a few minutes to get online with her laptop. He pulled up a map on Google and studied it, making notes of the main roads, the parks—and damn, were there a lot of parks. Most of the eastern part of the city bordered a huge state park. He glanced out at Ana’s window to the east, eying the green mountains spearing up into the sky.
The mountains—a good a place to start as any, he figured. Since he really didn’t have a destination in mind, he may as well pick one that might be relatively private. He could use a run. Burn off some of the tension lingering inside him, empty his mind and just see what happened.
Of course, he was going to have a hard time emptying his mind since every few minutes, he found himself thinking about Ana and the way she’d looked at him, those purple eyes somber and sad.
Duke scowled as he locked the door behind him a good hour after she’d left. He jogged down the steps and headed down the drive, turning right. Up ahead, he could see mountains, and more, he could smell them. Wild and green. Even though he was trapped in a decent-sized city, he wasn’t overwhelmed by the stink of car fumes, exhaust and humanity. He could breathe.
It was a beautiful land. It hadn’t taken him more than five seconds to realize that, and he’d had a lot more than five seconds to kill the day before while he found his way to the address Kelsey had given him, and while he waited for Ana to show up.
Beautiful, quiet, serene. Duke didn’t think he’d ever been any place quite like Alaska before. So wild, so open. Kind of sucked that most of the people he knew wouldn’t ever be able to do more than visit for a day or two. Some of the witches might adjust okay, but the were-creatures and vampires were pretty much out of luck.
Kelsey had mentioned something about the stronger pull from the poles, polarity, something—sounded a lot more technical than he really cared to get—that affected a were’s control. Were-creatures were all about control—they had to be. Vampires didn’t have any problems being close to the poles, but they were territorial creatures and any vamp that settled here would either have to all but hide out during the summer months or relocate. Those territorial instincts weren’t going to take to yearly migrations.
Of course, if some feral vamps ventured here during the winter months . . . damn. Duke winced even thinking about it. They needed somebody up here—
“Somebody?” he muttered. He shoved a hand through his hair, brooding. Yeah. Somebody probably should be up here, but it wasn’t like there was a huge pool of people to pull from. He could just see himself mentioning it to Kelsey, too. She’d probably throw Grady in his face again.
“Like hell.”
He didn’t want some Hunter settling down here. He especially didn’t want Grady settling down here. Not if this was where Ana was making her home.
Without realizing it, he started walking down the sidewalk at a fast pace, desperate to leave the city behind.
Eventually, the sidewalk stopped, he saw fewer people on the roadside and the cars came by only sporadically. Then he started to run.
His thoughts tangled inside him, twisted him into knots. Memories of last night slipped up to tease and taunt him. The way she’d felt against him. How she’d gasped his name. The way her body heated when he touched. The scars on her back. The faster he ran, the faster he needed to run and soon, he’d left the city behind and was climbing, up, up, up, following a steep, twisting road, his booted feet all but soundless.
Why?
Why do you think?
Because you want me . . . do you want like I want, Ana? Crave like I crave . . . need like I need?
Her nails digging into his flesh. The way she gasped when he sank his teeth into her shoulder, her entire body clenching and shuddering under his.
The thin ridge of scars he’d felt under his hands. I know about the scars, Ana. I felt them last night. The humiliation he’d seen in her eyes.
But soon, you’re going to explain to me about those scars on your back.
I don’t like to talk about that. Sad eyes, lingering on his for just a moment and then looking away as though she couldn’t bear for him to know.
The way she curled into him as she slept, and the way she blushed when he looked at her.
I’m not extraordinary, Duke.
She really believed that.
Hell, even when he’d wanted to hate her, he’d been amazed by her. She’d stayed in hell because she wanted to protect her brother. How many teenaged girls would do that? Stay in a place where they weren’t just mistreated, but tortured?
I’m not extraordinary. I’m not going to lead an extraordinary life. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a life.
“A life,” he muttered, coming to a stop just at the bend in the road. Exactly what did she want to find in this life?
Blowing out a breath, he moved to the edge of the winding gravel road, staring down on over the mountain. How long had he been running . . . ? Long enough that he’d started to sweat, long enough that the muscles in his body had loosened, relaxed—but not long enough that he’d taken the edge off.
His head was a fucking mess and it was because of Ana.
Pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes, he swore. “You can’t do the damn job if you can’t get your mind off of her.”
She’d always done this to him, left him edgy, confused and twisted up inside. It was a huge part of why he’d always steered clear of her back in Virginia. There had been times when he’d avoided returning home just because he didn’t want to see her and deal with that turmoil. Right now, he needed to deal with it, though. If he didn’t, he wasn’t going to find any peace inside his head, and if he couldn’t level out, he wasn’t going to do anybody any good.
Too bad he couldn’t seem to figure out how to get level. What in the hell did it matter if she seemed just fine with punching a time clock, living a mortal’s life?
“She is mortal, you dumb cat.”
Gifted, yeah, but still mortal. She was in a position to make the call about whether she wanted to live out in the mortal world or try to use her gift. She hadn’t ever been called to serve, but there were other ways to use a gift besides being a Hunter. She’d made her choice.
Hell, before the choice had been taken away from him, Duke had been perfectly content himself to live a nice, normal life. He’d kept his secrets, guarded them well, and he’d been just fine doing that. No reason he couldn’t have kept doing that if life hadn’t gone and taken a sharp right turn on him.
A real home. Maybe a family. Somebody there at night—nothing wrong with wanting that . . .
A growl rolled out of his chest. Is that what she was looking for?
This life Ana wanted, did it include some normal guy? A guy who’d never really understand the choices she’d made, the life she’d lived, all the mistakes and heartaches and losses . . .
Hot, potent rage sank into him, claws and teeth bared. Mine—
Off in the distance there was the low rumble of a car engine. Swearing, Duke looked down the road. Then, with an impulsive grin, he moved, jumping off the road. It sloped down at a sharp angle and he landed in a crou
ch, his knees flexed, one hand resting on the earth.
Up on the road, a car drove by, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Duke lingered for a second, waiting until the car’s engine faded and then he focused. East—he needed to head farther east. Away from the town. Away from the roads, from the humans, from everything. East into the mountains.
He needed to run, really run. The kind of running he couldn’t do on two feet, and the kind of running that he couldn’t do where human eyes could see. His skin, tight and itchy from all the tension pent up inside him, began to heat but he didn’t give in yet. Not until he was sure. Not until he was alone.
ANA glanced at the clock on her desk and then focused on the voice on the other end of the line. One of her boss’s more difficult customers, the club owner was pissed off because the IRS was investigating him and he wanted to know why.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Woolsey, but I can’t answer those questions. Yes . . . yes, he’d be happy to discuss this with you . . . ” She winced as he once more started to yell.
By the time she got off the phone, she had a raging headache. She knew it wasn’t all from Lawrence Woolsey, though. She hadn’t slept enough over the weekend and last night, instead of catching up on sleep . . . Duke.
Her mouth went dry even thinking about him, and despite the headache pounding behind her eyes, she smiled.
“You look like you had a good weekend.”
Ana jerked her head up and blushed when she realized Darlene was staring at her. There was a wide grin on the other woman’s face and a teasing light in her eyes. “Ah . . . it was interesting,” Ana hedged.
She couldn’t call it good.
Not even the parts involving Duke.
Well, maybe a few . . .
She clenched her knees together as a pang of longing struck. Yes, there were definitely a few parts involving Duke that could be described as good. Fantastic. Unbelievable, even. She licked her lips and forced a smile for Darlene’s sake. “Interesting, but I’m kind of glad it’s over.”
Liar.
She scowled inwardly. She was glad it was over. She was glad Duke was here, even though as of yet, he couldn’t feel much of a need to be here. She was glad. She didn’t have to keep worrying about her gut-deep premonitions of doom. There was a Hunter here, somebody who could handle things. So she didn’t have to. She didn’t want to. She didn’t know how, and even if she did, it wasn’t her calling.
Yet, still . . .
“ . . . Okay?”
A hand touched her arm. Startled, Ana looked up and met Darlene’s concerned gaze. “I’m sorry. My mind’s wandering.”
Cocking a black brow, Darlene said, “Yeah, I noticed. I’m kind of curious just how far it’s wandering. One minute, you look like the proverbial cat that ate the cream and then you look like you lost your best friend.” She propped a hip on Ana’s desk and waited.
Ana didn’t flinch under that heavy stare. Darlene, as insightful as she was, couldn’t see clear through to Ana’s soul. After spending years with people who could do just that and more, it didn’t take much to keep a blank expression, to keep Darlene from seeing anything too deep. “Darlene, I’m fine. I just had a crazy weekend—I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
Understatement of the century.
“WHAT do you want me to do?”
People walking by the poorly dressed man either ignored him or found a way to stare at him without being too obvious about it.
Paul barely noticed. With tear-filled, rheumy eyes, he shook his head and whispered, “I can’t leave. My memories live here.” Memories—faded, worn, but all he had to keep him company throughout endless days and nights.
It was a hot day, especially for the city of Anchorage, the mercury pushing up near ninety. Even though it was August, it usually didn’t get quite this hot, quite this humid here. But as a businessman edged around Paul, just a few inches away, an icy chill raced down his spine—cold, like somebody had replaced his blood with ice water. Picking up his pace, the businessman got away as quickly as he could.
Behind him, Paul stared at him stricken and then once more focused on the empty air in front of him. “Are . . . are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
Marie smiled at him. Her image was wavery, transparent. But she looked beautiful to him. Beautiful, the same now as she’d looked when they’d met. A long time ago. Too long. “I’m fi ne, Paul. I didn’t even feel it. Now come on, listen to me. I want you to leave here. Leave now.”
“I can’t.” His face crumpled, but he managed to keep from crying. “I just can’t, Marie. This is where you are. If I leave, you won’t be there with me, will you?”
Ghosts could cry. Paul had seen her cry often through the years, but this was worse, because this was his fault. She’d asked him for one thing, and he couldn’t do it. But he couldn’t leave her. Couldn’t leave, couldn’t . . .
“It’s not leaving me, Paul. It’s protecting yourself. Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it.”
She shivered, the air around her turning icy. It didn’t go unnoticed by others, although most of them just walked faster, hurried by, unwilling to look at Paul, unwilling to try to see what he was staring at, and none of them wanted to think about why it seemed a good thirty degrees cooler around him.
“I can’t leave. I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
Then he smiled, desperate to chase the sadness from her eyes. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper. “I found some paper today. Paper and pencils. Somebody left them at Earthquake Park. I drew a picture of you. Of us . . . ”
He showed it to Marie, to the woman nobody could see but him. And all around them, people pretended as though they couldn’t see the man who stood before them, talking to thin air.
SITTING on the narrow landing, perched on the edge of the top step, Duke rested his elbows on his knees and waited. In the back of his mind, he could hear seconds ticking away.
Ana wasn’t home.
It was nearly nine o’clock and she wasn’t home.
The sun was still burning high in the sky, and while that was enough to confuse his internal clock, he’d been checking the time every hour, on the hour since six. That was when he figured she’d be home.
And she wasn’t.
He’d tried calling the cell number she’d left with him, but it had gone into voice mail, and so far, she hadn’t returned any of his messages.
Up on the hill, he could hear the sound of the bus approaching, but this time, he didn’t get up, didn’t jog down the steps. He’d done that every single time a bus drove down the street and there were a decent amount of buses. He was starting to feel a little stupid—and a lot irritated.
No damn reason she couldn’t have called. None.
Then there was a voice that countered back, Maybe she didn’t think about it.
Except Duke wasn’t too impressed with that answer. There was no reason she shouldn’t think about it, as far as he was concerned. He was here because she sent word back that there was some vague sort of trouble. Of course he was going to be want to stay on top of things—on top of her—
“Damn it, stop thinking with your dick,” he muttered, scrubbing his hands over his face. And listening. Even though he made himself wait on the stairs this time, he was listening as the bus slowed down. Listening to the faint sound of voices a few hundred feet away.
Listening closely enough that he recognized Ana’s voice. “ . . . Do you?”
There was the sound of male laughter and then a new voice, “Of course not.”
Ana said something else, but Duke barely registered it. She was here. Shooting to his feet, he started to leap over the railing, only to freeze and squeeze his eyes closed. Way to blend, you stupid cat.
With a scowl, he held himself back and jogged down the steps. By the time she appeared in view, he’d already made it up the driveway. She came to an abrupt stop when she saw him. Something flashed in her eyes. He heard the faint sound of her heart as it skip
ped a few beats and then fell into a regular, but fast rhythm. The scent of vanilla, lavender and woman heated, warmed, and he had an urge to dip his head and press his lip to her neck, just to breathe her in.
Instead, he hooked his thumbs in his pockets and stared at her. Flicked a glance to the man at her side and then focused back on her. Tried not to focus on the close-fitting shirt, sleeveless and veeing down between her breasts—that definitely wasn’t what she’d been wearing when she left the house that morning. It was paired with some short skirt-looking thing and tennis shoes.
Ana frowned at him, but as the man next to her glanced her way, the frown disappeared. “Hi, Duke. I was just telling my landlord that I was probably going to have company for a few days.”
He glanced back at the man standing next to her. Close to Duke’s height, but taller by an inch or so, lean and fit. Hair going silver at the temples, some lines fanning out from his eyes. Duke took note of everything, including the fact that the guy’s pheromone level was seriously spiked. Landlord—yeah, and if the guy was happy to leave it at that, Duke ate Meow Mix for breakfast.
The man smiled and stuck out a hand. “Duke? So you’re the company? Carter Hoskins.”
He flicked a glance at the man’s offered hand. Blend . . . remember? Slowly, he accepted and shook and then looked back at Ana. “I was getting worried.” Getting pissed is more like it. Wasn’t getting any better, either, watching the way her landlord kept looking at her.
She shrugged. “I’m sorry. Guess I should have called. I usually go by the Alaska Club after work so I can get a workout in a few nights a week.” She gestured at her clothes and shrugged.
“We ran into each other leaving,” Carter said. “Tried to talk her into getting a bite with me. Eating alone after a while gets kind of boring.”
“I bet.” Duke didn’t bother looking at the man.
Ana’s eyes narrowed. Then she looked away from Duke and smiled at Carter. It was a real smile, he noticed, and his irritation spiked even more. She hardly ever smiled at him and when she did, it was that nervous, hesitant curl of her lips like she didn’t really want to smile period. Or like she was afraid to. Or like she didn’t think she deserved to.
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