by Anna Abner
A moment of eerie silence, and Roz raised her head, reassuring herself she was still alive and in one piece. Sara, though, was dust. Ali lay naked in an indentation in the concrete floor. Part of the garage wall was missing. Anything and everything within a six-foot circle around Ali’s body had vaporized with the expiration of her freaky glow power.
With Ali officially out of commission—Roz knew from experience the girl would be unconscious for hours after her big light show—it was up to her to get Lukas on his feet. She needed him to help her with Connor.
Her best friend’s fingers and arms were stiff and curled inward, as if all his muscles had overheated and contracted. He’d survive this, but he needed fresh blood and a safe place to heal.
“Lukas,” she said as she knelt at Connor’s feet. “Help me.”
Lukas blinked and then lurched forward to help. “What the hell just happened? I feel like I got my bell rung.”
“You did,” Roz said, struggling under her friend’s dead weight all the way into the house. “Sara was a fucking maniac. She must have snuck in looking for revenge. God, what a bitch.”
“Where is she now?” Lukas asked.
“A pile of ash and dust,” Roz said. “Speaking of, after we’re done with Connor can you grab a blanket and get Ali? She’ll sleep off her burst for a couple hours.”
“When you told me Ali had power,” Lukas said sardonically, “I underestimated what it amounted to.”
“I told you to stay away from her when she gets angry.”
“No shit.” He snorted.
Laying Connor on the bed, Lukas found a comforter and returned to the garage for Ali while Roz gathered the last of their bagged blood supply and patiently fed it to Connor. She wanted to remove his pajamas to make him more comfortable, but on closer inspection, it became obvious most of his clothing was melted to his skin. She let it be, for now, and just kept him quiet and calm.
She’d really fucked up back there. Literally, her only job in Nevada was to protect the people she loved with her magic. And she’d screwed it up. Not only was Connor a crispy critter, but Ali had killed a person, and Lukas had been tortured right in front of her. What good was she if her magic wasn’t helpful or reliable?
Lukas came as far as the foot of Connor’s bed. “Ali’s sleeping on the sofa,” he said softly. “Are you okay? Did Sara hurt you?”
“No.” Suddenly itchy for space and fresh air, she handed Lukas the last blood bag. “I’m going to check the perimeter. It’s possible Sara didn’t come alone.”
“I’ll come with you,” he offered.
“No.” She held up a hand, but couldn’t look him in the eye. “I’ll be fine. Watch over Connor and Ali.” She sensed his concern and displeasure as she hurried out, but she didn’t stop to reassure him.
She was a failure. At everything.
She’d failed to finish college. Failed to save her first boyfriend from a fall. And now she’d failed Connor, Lukas, and Ali with her shitty, hit-or-miss witchcraft.
She should go home.
A sick feeling washed over her as she walked the fence line in the pitch-black night. Nothing scared her worse than admitting defeat—again—and returning to Miami with her tail between her legs. She couldn’t imagine trying to start over after everything they’d been through. She’d never stop worrying about her friends.
But if Connor woke up with disappointment in his eyes, they could find another witch.
Lukas must think her a fucking loser. She’d gassed up enough to heal his hex, but when it really counted, she’d frozen. It shouldn’t matter what he thought of her, but it did.
Roz ducked her head and focused on the task at hand, wondering how long it would be before he packed his bag and left. A day? More? Less? But he was leaving, she had no doubt about it.
#
Lukas had to admit, vampires were better than shifters at healing. Twelve hours after nearly burning to a crisp, Connor was lounging on the recliner sipping blood from a mug, pinkened flesh the only sign he’d been on fire the night before.
“Need anything?” Lukas asked.
Connor waved him away. “Ali’s all the nurse I need, big guy, but thanks.”
Good, because he had bigger problems.
Something was wrong with Roz. Lukas wasn’t sure what, but her angst fouled the air. Usually, her magical energy was the strongest vibe he caught off her—like spent firecrackers—but now there was a new frustration mixing with her tropical shampoo and scented deodorant.
He caught sight of her in the yard and slipped out to talk to her.
“What’s up?” he asked, as he approached. She stood stiffly at the lowered tailgate of the F-350 cleaning handguns and scanning the desert. Automatically, his eyes raked over her long legs and tight-fitting top.
“Keeping watch,” she grumbled, not looking up from her rags and oil.
“Everything okay with you?” he asked.
“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because I’ve never seen a person clean guns so thoroughly,” he half teased, jamming his hands in his jeans pockets.
“I’m just doing my job,” she returned with a tone in her voice. “This place isn’t secure, as we all know.”
One thing to come out of losing his family—Lukas recognized bottled grief when he saw it. What he couldn’t fathom was why she felt such emotion. They were all healthy and alive. Sara was dead. What was there to be angsty over? Guilt was all he came up with.
“It’s not your responsibility to patrol the yard,” he reminded her. “Sara got in because she got close to us, not because of a gap in the security system.”
“It doesn’t matter how,” Roz said. “The point is, I’m not going to let that shit happen again.”
Finished assembling her .357 handgun, Roz carried it loosely and strolled the security fence. Lukas ambled after her.
“Why is it your obligation?” he questioned.
There was no one around. A large animal climbed rocks on the other side of a hill and several birds fluttered behind the house, but he couldn’t detect humans, vampires, shifters, or any other type of two-legged creature in the vicinity. He also sensed, though, Roz wasn’t terribly concerned with current threats. More like ones already neutralized.
“Because I’m part of the team,” she said irritably, “and what else am I good for except guarding the rest of you?”
Lukas held back a snort of surprise. “I think Connor and I can take care of ourselves. And after seeing Ali disintegrate a human being, I’d say she’s safe too.”
“You don’t understand.” She slowed her gait. “I’m an awful witch. When I joined Connor’s mission, I agreed to protect him. When Ali came on board, I was supposed to protect both of them so they could find and cure vampires. And when they needed me the most—” She picked up her pace, leaving him behind for a moment.
“Your job is protection detail?” he reiterated, unsure what to believe. “As someone who’s looking from the outside in, I assumed you three were friends and you shared in the work.” He’d certainly never picked up on the situation Roz was describing.
“I promised to protect Connor until he killed Oleksander—”
“Who’s dead,” Lukas cut in.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Lukas heard either Connor or Ali opening and closing kitchen cupboards. “I’ll talk to you in a bit,” he said and headed toward the house.
Lukas’ heart thumped awkwardly somewhere north of his collar. He didn’t like seeing Roz in turmoil. It twisted his guts into elaborate knots. He was out of practice caring for someone else. He used to worry about Oskar. He used to worry about his mom. The fact that he gave a shit what Roz was feeling, gave him serious pause.
She was a complicated, fascinating woman. Not to mention infuriating and frustrating. And a witch.
What did he care if she was upset? A few days earlier, he’d have been happy to make her miserable. Today, he’d move a fucking mountain to cheer her up.
>
The world was upside down and ass backwards.
Inside the house, Lukas cornered Connor in the kitchen near the delirious boy vampire. Chains rattled. “Look, dude, I know we’re not really this level of friends, but you need to talk to Roz.”
“What?” He scowled in annoyance. “Why?”
“She thinks you’re disappointed in her for not saving you from Sara with her magic. She thinks her only job here is to protect you and Ali.”
Connor burst out a startled chuckle. “Are you kidding?”
Lukas mutely shook his head.
“That’s ridiculous,” Connor said. “I don’t need anyone protecting me. She’s my friend, not my bodyguard.”
“Tell her that. Because she’s been tearing herself a new one ever since Sara snuck in.”
Connor’s annoyance morphed into concern. “Where is she?”
“She’s walking the perimeter looking for threats.”
Connor swung open the back door and was gone.
Chapter Nineteen
“Hey!”
Roz spun on Connor limping toward her. Great. Now, she wasn’t even good at spotting people in her immediate vicinity.
“Yeah?” she countered.
“What’s this I hear you think I’m disappointed in you?”
Oh, boy. “Was it Lukas?” she guessed.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said, scowling. “You honestly think the only reason I keep you around is for your magic? I hate to break it to you, but your magic sucks most of the time. I’d be an idiot if I relied on you for protection.”
“Wow, thanks.”
Maybe she shouldn’t wait to get dropped. Maybe she should simply swallow her pride, admit her failures, and volunteer to leave. What good was she, anyway?
“That’s not what I mean. Hold up.” He blew out a breath. “Roz, you’re here because you’re my friend. Do you get it? I don’t need a witch. That’s just a bonus. What I need is you.”
“But,” she started to argue.
“No buts,” he spoke right over her. “If I made you feel like you were only valuable because a spell might work out now and then, I’m sorry. I never thought you dropped the ball when Sara showed up. Honestly, I wasn’t worried because I knew you’d find a way to stop her, whether it was magic, a .357, or a Mack truck.”
“But I didn’t,” she said, remembering how she’d frozen in the garage when her friends had needed her the most. “I didn’t do anything. If Ali hadn’t woken up, we could all be dead.”
Connor sent her a serious stare. “Sometimes you get too far inside your own head. But when you slow down and focus, you’re unbeatable in any situation.”
Roz felt oddly teary-eyed, though she didn’t cry. She wasn’t a crier, but the idea of Connor thinking so highly of her definitely touched a tender part of her soul. “Thanks.”
“I’m serious.” He tilted his head toward the house. “So, you can stop doing penance. You’re not the hired help.”
“You want me to stay?” she clarified.
Connor sent her a furious glare. “You ever ask me that again, and I’ll kick your ass. You, Rozlyn Carrera, aren’t going anywhere without me.”
She ducked her head to hide a wobbly smile of relief.
“Let’s cook some food. I’m fucking starving.”
“Well, you were a piece of charcoal last night,” she teased.
“Sara was a tricky little witch,” he lamented. “She came into my room acting like she needed my help. She knew exactly how to convince me to follow her. And then she lit me on fire.”
“What a bitch,” Roz agreed.
“You said it.”
#
Full and a little sleepy, Roz flopped onto the living room sofa and kicked off her shoes. Lukas ambled in, followed by Ali and finally Connor carrying the remains of a bottle of vodka.
“How about,” Connor began, “we play a little game to pass the time?”
Ali was in, but Roz glanced uncertainly at Lukas, not sure she wanted to get drunk in front of him. Not sure she wanted to see him altered, either.
“Sure,” Lukas agreed gamely.
Roz shrugged. “Why not?”
Arranging the alcohol and shot glasses on the solid wooden coffee table, Connor said, “We don’t know much about our new friend.” He raised an eyebrow at Lukas. “So, let’s go around the room, take a shot, and reveal something no one knows about us.”
Suddenly interested, Roz sat up and patted the sofa beside her for Lukas. “It’s true. I hardly know anything about you.”
He grunted and filled the spot next to her. “You know enough.”
“I’ll go first.” Connor downed a shot and hissed a breath afterward. “Yikes. Um.” He grinned at Ali. “Back home in Cleveland, I have a baseball card collection to rival a sports memorabilia shop’s.”
“Just baseball?” Roz clarified, fighting a smile.
“I was a huge Indians fan,” he answered.
Ali chuckled. “Somehow, I don’t find that very surprising.”
While Ali poured herself a drink, Roz watched Lukas out of the corner of her eye. He didn’t react, but he didn’t seem particularly nervous about sharing. And what would she say? What could she say that Connor didn’t already know? What did she want Lukas to know about her?
Ali took a shot and complained loudly about it. “Okay, let me think. You all know I was a shopgirl in London before moving here. Once, a frequent customer left me a pair of diamond earrings with a note propositioning me.”
“What did he want?” Connor demanded.
Patting his knee gently, Ali said, “He wanted to have, let’s just say, full access to me.”
“I hope you told him where to go,” Connor grumbled.
“Did you say yes?” Roz wanted to know, though she was ninety-nine percent certain Ali had rejected the offer.
“Sadly, I returned the gift and let him know I was unavailable.”
“Damned right,” Connor said, pulling his girlfriend tighter into his side.
Oh, shit. Her turn.
Roz poured a drink and sat forward thoughtfully. “I want to have kids someday.” She took the shot, the vodka warming its way down her throat and into her belly to heat her from the inside out.
“You?” Connor scoffed. “You want to be a mom?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Lukas sat forward, brushing his shoulder against hers. “You see yourself a part of a family someday?”
“I have a family,” Roz said, suddenly defensive. “The family I was born into was big and loud and messy. The family I have now is a bunch of supernatural freaks. But someday, I can see myself raising a couple kids my own way.” She glanced at Lukas. “Don’t you want a family?”
“I can’t think past finding the next vampire.”
She’d only taken one shot, but it must have been enough to give her courage and loosen her tongue because Roz turned on him. “So you can leave?” she demanded. “Find enough vampires to kill and then you’re gone, right?”
“I live in Stockholm,” he said. “My home is there. My job is there. Now, my family is buried there.”
“What does that make me?” She stood abruptly, needing to find some higher ground over him. “Am I your diversion while you’re here?”
“Of course not.” He hopped to his feet to tower over her.
“What is so special about Stockholm that you can’t wait to go back?”
He sighed, his breath warm and sweet on her face. “I’m a coach at a school in the city. I take my responsibilities very seriously. Sometimes, I feel like the kids I teach are mine in some way. I don’t want to disappear and let them down.”
“I didn’t know you coached,” she said, squinting up into his stupidly beautiful face. “I’m one of six kids,” she confessed. “I grew up in Miami and for most of my childhood my mom was a single mother. We lived with her sisters and their kids. And all that time, I never had anyone who was just mine. Do you understand?
”
He nodded once, but she doubted he did. She attempted to explain. “The babies were mom’s, my tias belonged to their children. Friends and boys never lasted long. Even surrounded by people, I grew up feeling alone.” She groaned. This wasn’t making sense. “What I’m trying to say is, I might be trying to hold onto you too tight, but that’s why,” she finished lamely. “You’re the first person who’s felt like they belong to me and no one else.”
He was quiet for so long, Roz grew fidgety. It was only then she realized Connor and Ali had slipped out of the room at some point during their shouting match, leaving the alcohol behind.
Lukas cupped her face and kissed her softly on the mouth. “Are you happy the way things are?” he whispered.
She nodded.
“Can we please enjoy what’s happening right now and not fret over what might happen later? Because, from the bottom of my heart, I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or a year from now, but I want you know I do belong to you. The same way you belong to me.”
Before she could fully comprehend his words, he kissed her into silence.
#
Night drifted down from the heavens to paint the desert in blues and purples. Lukas watched the transformation from the living room window. He sensed Roz behind him—her scent and the distinct way she moved her feet against the hardwood floors—before she spoke.
“Do you have to go back to your hotel again tonight?”
He nodded. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to stay. He did. But his clothes were there. His toiletries. And, most importantly, his family’s possessions.
And then a crazy notion occurred to him. “Do you want to come with me?”
The last time he’d made the trip to Vegas from the cabin, he’d ridden on the back of Sara’s motorcycle. It had been both embarrassing and uncomfortable. On top of that, he’d had the uneasy feeling Sara was flirting.
Sara may be a witch, but she wasn’t the witch he wanted to play with. Tonight, he’d much rather spend time with Roz.
Her confessions had rocked him. He hadn’t even gotten to enjoy a shot, but he’d felt fuzzy headed anyway after she’d shared her feelings with him. He was becoming more than merely smitten with her sass and sex appeal. He was beginning to fall for her in a big way, and it terrified him.
