by Juniper Hart
“I would never do anything that would put his life in peril,” she told Eddy. “I love him. I know that I just met him, but I can’t explain it. He means everything to me.”
Reuben came down from upstairs wearing fresh new clothes. They looked dated, but he did say that he left them there the last time he visited.
Eddy clapped once.
“I’m being such a bad host! Would either of you like something to drink?”
“I’ll take a beer if you’ve got one lying around,” Reuben said, sitting down on the couch. “Cara?”
“I’ll take a beer, too.”
“Two beers, coming up.”
As Eddy went off to grab them, Cara leaned forward to Reuben and whispered, “What’s Detroit?”
“Detroit?” A look of recognition came across his face. “What did he say?”
“Nothing really… just referenced it before backing off. What was it? What happened?”
“A particularly bloody turf war I was hired for. It’s a long story.”
Eddy came back into the room with two beers and sat down across from his guests.
“I don’t have any clothes for you,” he said, speaking to Cara. “But you’re about my size if you want to wear something of mine. You’re also welcome to use my shower.”
“You know, that would be fantastic. Thank you.”
He led her upstairs and gave her a basic t-shirt and skinny jeans. The jeans looked like they would fit perfectly, although they looked a little too short, but anything was better than the dirt-covered clothes she was currently wearing. She was just grateful for his hospitality.
She took her clothes and found the adjoining bathroom to the guest room she was sharing with Reuben. She slid off her pants and took off her shirt, immediately throwing them in the trash. She never wanted to see either article of clothing ever again.
Cara turned on the shower, hoping she did it right. At her apartment, her shower made sense, but every time she went to another person’s shower, she was pretty sure that it involved complicated calculus to figure out what she was supposed to do. Turn what knob which way? Would the water be scalding, freezing, or just right?
After about five minutes of experimenting, she found the perfect temperature and stepped inside.
Heaven.
Absolute heaven.
The warm beads of water trickled down her body. The dirt came off with the water, running down into the drain and away from her mind. Cara closed her eyes and finally relaxed, forgetting the danger that still loomed.
She opened her eyes when she heard a muffled sound. Reuben opened the door to the shower and stepped inside, already naked. Cara welcomed his arrival and took notice of the sweat forming on his chest.
“The water is so hot,” said Reuben.
“I’ve always liked my showers hot,” answered Cara as she moved closer to him.
She placed a few drops of lavender-scented shower gel on a loofah and began to wash his body. She asked him to turn around to start with his back and moved down to wash his glutes, which were rock solid. She turned him around to wash his arms, then his chest and lowered herself onto her knees. She washed his legs, and then placed the loofah on a hook; it was no longer needed.
After placing a few drops of shower gel in her hands, she massaged his erection, which elicited moans of pleasure. Cara leaned in and tickled his thighs with kisses, and teased him by grazing his manhood with her tongue.
Reuben laughed, and lifted Cara to her feet. He turned her around so her back was to him and washed her hair, gently pulling it back to kiss her on the mouth. With shower gel on his hands to wash her body, he massaged her shoulders and back, not missing a spot. Reuben wrapped his arms around her, using his hands to gently push her back into his chest. Stroking her breasts and then her stomach, his fingers found their way between her legs. Cara leaned back, using Reuben as support as her knees would no longer support her weight.
After turning Cara around to face him, Reuben kissed her with such intensity, she was sure to lose control. He grabbed her buttocks with both hands and lifted her up, making it easy for Cara to wrap her legs around his wet, tight body. Reuben placed her back against the wall as they made love.
Cara wasn’t entirely sure how long they were in the shower, but however long it was, it wasn’t enough.
After showering, Cara lay down in bed to get some rest while Reuben went to speak to Eddy about their dilemma. However, Cara couldn’t sleep; her mind was racing.
Ezekiel was still out there, but he hadn’t found them yet. At least that’s what she thought. He could be outside Eddy’s house right then, waiting for the right moment to attack. And then there was still that Adrianna woman, whoever she was. Cara had shot her and Reuben had tossed her through a small building, but he seemed convinced that wouldn’t keep her down long. Then the fact remained that if Ezekiel had actually put up a bounty on them, there would be other bounty hunters coming after them too.
Unable to calm her mind, Cara finally got out of bed. She found the clothes Eddy had given her and attempted to pull on the jeans. They caught mid-thigh and refused to budge.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she muttered, trying to jerk them up. Eventually, her persistence paid off. The pants passed over her thighs, but she hoped the sound she heard wasn’t them ripping. She had thicker legs than Eddy? Even though Cara was in shape, being too large for men’s pants was a slight blow to her ego.
She wandered out to the main part of the house, where she found Eddy and Reuben talking. Cara sat down to join them. Eddy shared a variety of stories from Reuben’s childhood that made both of them laugh.
Cara felt lucky that she was given this glimpse into Reuben’s life because it made her understand him better and love him deeper. Many of the stories included Reuben’s parents, and Cara learned that he had a doting mother and a father that seemed kind and attentive. She didn’t understand why he’d left such a wonderful family.
Eddy asked Cara all about herself, but she could tell he was just trying to be nice. Reuben, on the other hand, was listening to everything she said, soaking in as much information about the woman he loved as he could.
Cara felt like Eddy was rating her on whether or not she was good enough for Reuben. She thought she had gotten a good score because he warmed up to her even more about halfway through the night.
Finally, as the night started to close and the conversation started to wind down, Eddy asked the question Cara had been hoping he’d ask, “So what’s the plan if you aren’t going to see your father? Ezekiel’s not to be toyed with. He’ll find you eventually. Not to mention, Adrianna is no walk in the park. Are you just going to keep jumping around?”
Reuben sat back; he looked like he’d been expecting and dreading the question.
“I’m not sure. I really screwed up, Eddy. He won’t stop till we’re dead.”
“So kill him,” Eddy said.
Reuben frowned. “I didn’t expect that answer from you.”
Eddy turned serious, “Let’s be honest, he’ll just keep burning through his clan’s fortune until you two little lovebirds are brought to justice. He isn’t going to forgive and forget anytime soon. He’s got eternity, literally, to end you two.” He put his feet up on the coffee table. “Maybe his replacement will be a little more reasonable.”
Reuben stood up.
“I see your point, but we can’t do anything about it tonight. And by the way, I am going to need your help tomorrow. I left my wallet at the hotel last night and I couldn’t go back for it. I need access to my accounts. Can you ask your contacts to switch all of my money and investments into the name of a new alias? I will need identification as well.”
“Of course, Reuben. We can take care of that first thing in the morning. Cara will need identification as well.”
“Give her access to all of my money as well,” said Reuben. “If anything ever happens to me, I want to make sure she is okay.”
“Why don’t you hea
d upstairs now, dear?” Eddy suggested.
Cara obliged, but she heard the conversation as she made her way to the guest room.
“Reuben, you want to give her access to hundreds of millions of dollars? She seems sweet, but you barely know her,” said Eddy.
“That’s nothing compared to my father’s wealth. It’s not like I am leaving my other relatives destitute. Besides, you don’t understand, Eddy. She’s my mate. I’m nothing without her. If I die, she gets it all. If I live, we’ll enjoy it together.”
Reuben’s words touched Cara’s heart. She’s my mate. She could get used to that. Also, she had no idea Reuben was so wealthy. Mercenary work must have paid really well.
***
When Reuben finally came to bed, Cara cuddled up close to him to feel his warmth.
After a few minutes, Reuben spoke, “Do you think you’ll ever forgive me?”
His voice was so quiet that at first Cara thought he was asleep and just murmuring in his dreams.
“What?”
“Do you think you’ll ever forgive me for bringing you into all of this? With vampires, enchanted beasts and danger. I mean, you had a nice little life going, and then I stepped in and crushed it.”
“I don’t mind,” she said, but quickly regretted her response.
Reuben was clearly looking for some sort of affirmation or an acceptance of his backwards apology.
“That’s good,” he said, sounding defeated.
She collected her thoughts and tried to give him a better answer.
“Reuben, of course I forgive you. But there’s nothing to forgive. If anything, I should be thanking you. If it weren’t for you, I would have been dead. Because I have no family and no close friends, the vampires had me on their list as a safe victim to kill. Nobody would look for me if I died. Meeting you brought meaning back to my life. I was so lonely after my parents’ deaths that I was never able to connect with anyone. You changed that. You changed me for the better.”
Chapter 8
The next morning, loud knocking on the door scared Cara half to death. Even Reuben looked startled, lunging awake.
“Wake up!” Eddy’s voice yelled. “Adrianna’s here!”
“Fuck!” Reuben screamed, jumping out of the bed.
He’d slept in his clothes in preparation of such an event. Cara had thought it was silly when he’d gone to sleep like that, but she promised herself she wouldn’t doubt him again as she hurried towards the front door trying to tug on the jeans Eddy had given her.
Adrianna was standing on the street in front of the house with a sour expression on her face. She looked like she’d been through hell since they’d seen her last. A large purple bruise had formed on her skin where Cara had shot her.
“Reuben,” she called. “Come out and give yourself up. Bring your little plaything, too. I’ve got two pairs of handcuffs right here. It’ll be nice and easy. I won’t hurt you or anything.”
“You don’t need to do this,” Reuben called.
She wiggled her fingers mockingly in a wave.
“Hey, Reubs. No, I don’t need to do it. I’m doing it for the money and because your little bitch shot me.”
Eddy yelled at her, “Get off my property immediately! I have rights.”
She was unimpressed.
“Call the cops. Or, better yet, sue me.”
Cara was starting to wish she’d remembered to grab her handgun, but it was too late. She couldn’t just say pause and run up to the room to get it.
“Ezekiel is a monster! You’re working for a psycho!” Cara screamed.
Reuben stepped in front of her protectively. “Cara, she doesn’t care. It’s all about the money.”
Adrianna reached behind her back and pulled out her whip, which crackled loudly as the strange blue energy formed around it. Her tattoo lit up with it.
“Hard way, huh? It’s always the hard way.”
Eddy fired a gun. Adrianna, unaffected, kept walking straight through the path of bullets leading to the house. The bullets pinged off a shield that pulsed into existence.
“Oh, disappointed?” she asked. “Sorry. I don’t make mistakes twice.”
Reuben stepped up.
“Don’t do this, Adrianna!”
“Enough with the pleading,” she said. With one crack of her whip, she sliced Eddy’s gun in two. Cara was sure she could have easily lopped Eddy’s hand off instead.
She was toying with them. She knew Reuben couldn’t shift in the daylight, and Eddy appeared to be just a man. Did he have enchanted blood? Maybe, but he didn’t appear to have any powers. So their defense was two humans that were small in stature and one werewolf that couldn’t shift against a powerful assassin that obviously knew what she was doing. Not good. Not good at all.
Reuben slammed the door shut, and they dashed towards the back of the house.
“What the hell are you doing?” Eddy snapped.
“Can’t fight her here,” Reuben told him as he pulled open the back doors. “She’s got way too much power and I can’t shift!”
“Seriously?” Adrianna shouted. “Are you seriously running? What happened to you, Reubs? You used to have a pair.”
She dashed after them, and Reuben finally realized they weren’t going to outrun her anytime soon. If he was by himself, he probably could have stayed out of her reach, but he wasn’t alone. He had Eddy and Cara with him.
Still in human form, he charged the assassin. She looked startled as he managed to tackle her to the ground. Her back slammed into the coffee table, which shattered into a million splinters under their weight. She kicked him off and swung the whip at him. He barely managed to scamper out of the way before it cleaved a white-hot hole in the concrete floor.
“That’s better,” she laughed. “Here I thought you’d gone soft!”
Eddy pulled open the desk drawer of a corner workstation and pulled out another gun. Cara supposed that old habits didn’t die easily – once a mercenary, always a mercenary. Whether he still practiced or not, it didn’t surprise Cara that Eddy still had at least a couple guns stashed around the house.
He fired a round of shots at Adrianna. She threw up a hand and immediately the bullets deflected away. The invisible shield was connected to her hand like a normal shield… except it was invisible. Cara wasn’t sure what she could do with that information, but she knew she had to try something. Reuben was trying to avoid her deadly whip that kept almost taking his head off. Judging by what it had done to the floor and furniture and everything else it touched, it’d slice him up like paper.
Cara’s heart was thumping in her chest. She couldn’t just let him get mauled in front of her! She decided – in what was one of the bravest and stupidest things she had ever done – to actually charge Adrianna. Before her brain could interfere, she started running towards her.
Adrianna didn’t even see her coming.
Cara planted her shoulder in Adrianna’s leg where she had shot her during the hotel confrontation. Adrianna let out a strangled yelp in what was the first sign of real human emotion that Cara had seen so far. Her leg buckled and she tumbled to the ground. She was back up with her whip a moment later, lashing out at Cara. She managed to scramble away, but the sparkling whip caught her hair. A lock fell to the ground, steaming hot.
“Bitch!” Adrianna yelled, trying to get to her feet. Her leg gave out for a second before she managed to secure her footing. Eddy was behind her in a moment, jerking the whip out of her hand. She twirled like an MMA fighter and slammed her heel into his jaw. He tumbled over the couch.
Before anyone could move, Adrianna had a combat knife in her hands. She held it like a trained professional.
Reuben, Cara, and Eddy all stepped back. Reuben was holding Adrianna’s whip. It was still sparking, but less than when she was holding it.
“Adrianna,” Reuben urged, “You can’t win! We have your whip. You’re unarmed and outnumbered. Give up now.”
Cara had to give it to Adrianna—she di
dn’t give up easy. She was still standing there with a determined expression, knife in hand.
“Reuben, we used to have so much fun together. What happened?” Adrianna looked at Cara with mock sympathy and laughed. “Oh, did your little girlfriend not know that?”
“Seriously, Reuben? Have you fucked every woman you’ve ever come into contact with? First Ezekiel’s sister and now her?” Cara asked.
Reuben looked at Cara, “What? No. I mean, yes… but, no. I don’t sleep with every woman.”
“Oh, look! I’ve created a lover’s quarrel!” Adrianna teased.
Reuben reared back the whip and struck it at her. She threw up her invisible shield, which deflected the whip that sent sparks flying.
“Give up, Adrianna!” Reuben snarled. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I don’t give up on jobs,” she told him vehemently.
Her leg wasn’t working quite right. She was leaning on the other one, but Cara had no doubt that Adrianna could kick her butt with one leg, while blindfolded, and while tied up.
Reuben didn’t give up so easy. “Adrianna, you owe me.”
She spun the knife across her knuckles before catching it again. It didn’t do anything, but it looked cool as hell.
“Don’t,” she warned.
“I saved your life, Adrianna.”
“I told you not to go there!”
She grabbed the knife’s hilt and threw it straight at Cara.
Cara tried to dodge the attack, but it caught her in the side. The blade sank deep into her body, ice cold. She thought it’d hurt, but it didn’t at first. She just stared down at it, not really registering what had happened. She was vaguely aware of Reuben flickering into his werewolf form, dropping the whip, and jumping onto Adrianna.
Cara stepped back. She put her hands around the hilt and started to pull it out.
“No!” Eddy was beside her in a moment. “Don’t touch it!”
“Oh God,” she said. “Oh God. Oh, God. I…my…”
She could hear Reuben and Adrianna yelling at each other, pandemonium breaking out. She thought about sitting down before the pain started in her side.
