“Did you see that?” Breena pointed to where she’d seen the eyes.
“See what?”
A blur of silver fur sped off into the night.
“Oh, she’s one of the president’s bodyguards. Looks like someone else was checking up on you.”
Hmm. Green eyes. Silver hair…“That wolf is Rae?”
“Yeah, why?”
“She was one of the weres who attacked us back in Rhodhiss.”
Dandi looked puzzled. “Myles never mentioned her.”
“He didn’t see her. She was gone by the time he got upstairs.”
“So, does that mean the president is out to kill you too?” The vampire cocked her head at Breena.
“I don’t think so. Maybe.” She sighed. “I don’t know.” She tried to remember what she’d heard at Norma’s. “No, the president couldn’t be the one because Rae said ‘he.’ He wants me dead.”
“Who’s he?”
Breena didn’t have to think about it long. The pieces were falling into place. She knew who wanted her dead. “Victor. My father.”
But why?
The walk back to the Betty Lou compound seemed to take eons. Breena hadn’t realized how far she’d run until they walked the same path back to The Gathering. Dandi seemed to have decided it was her duty to keep Breena company and protect her from herself, so she matched her speed–only complaining every other minute about how slowly the halfling walked.
Between the preppy vampire carrying on about how Breena needed to do at least a hundred Hail Marys for taking the albino’s life and her shame over what she’d done–even though he’d deserved it–Breena pretty much had the guilt complex covered on all sides.
She couldn’t believe she’d ended his life. She had sucked the very last breath out of his body, taken every shred of his soul. Would she ever be the same?
Talk about hitting rock bottom.
How could things get any worse?
I’m a murderer.
“Breena Cross. Are you even listening?” Dandi zipped in front of her and she smacked straight into the girl’s outstretched palms.
“Hey. Watch it, vamp.” Breena tried to regain her balance.
“Well, excuse you, halfling. See if I try to remind you about anything else.” Dandi huffed, did an about-face and soldiered on.
Breena grabbed her arm. Dandi spun around with fangs extended, hissing. If Breena hadn’t already been wallowing in her own murky pile of pain, she would’ve been terrified. But in order to be scared, your life has to be worth losing and, as it stood right now, death by fang didn’t seem like such a bad way to go. “Sorry, Dandi. What were you saying?”
Flicking her silky hair over her shoulder, Dandi humphed before moving to Breena’s side. They started walking again. “I said, you should probably listen to your voicemail.”
“Oh, right.” She’d completely forgotten. Again. She wasn’t exactly with it today.
Breena pulled the cell out and look at her missed calls, each from the same number, with the same 828 area code. So they were from home, or at least close by. Only a handful of people even knew her cellphone number.
After listening to the message, a sense of dread hung over her like a depression cloud about to burst with a bad-news-storm. Breena flipped the cell shut and tapped her thumb against the cover. “Shit.”
“What?”
“Jenny’s social worker called. She went by for her check-in with Norma.”
“Only to find an empty house.”
“Yup. She says if she doesn’t hear back from one of us by tomorrow morning she’ll report it to her supervisor. They’ll take Jenny away from me.”
Maybe that’s what Breena needed. For Jenny’s own safety and Breena’s peace of mind, maybe her sister would be safer without her. But how would she survive without Jenny?
She couldn’t even consider it.
* * * *
The tension crept down Breena’s spine the second she and Dandi walked through the apartment door.
Myles sat on the couch. He rested his chin on his fist and propped his elbow on his knee. His eyes were flat and emotionless. She waited for the familiar rush of emotions to rock her to the core. Nothing.
Holy hell.
It was gone. And in the one moment she fervently wished for it back. Did he hate her? Did she disgust him? Of course. Of course she did. She disgusted herself.
“Ash, I had a blast watching you get your feed on, but it’s nearly one AM. I’m outta here. Three hot witches are waiting for me to fang their brains out.” Dandi opened the front door.
“Don’t you mean bang their brains out?” Breena furrowed her brows.
“Probably a little of both, if they’re lucky. I already did my preemptive Hail Mary strike.” She smirked, showing fang.
“Did I really need to know your feeding plan, Dandelion?” Myles weaved his way over to the door, giving her a disgusted, and very fatherly, look.
“Just because you’re not getting any, doesn’t mean I can’t.” She looked around him to see Breena. “Ash, don’t forget to tell him about the voicemail.” A second later, she’d disappeared into the hallway.
Myles shut and locked the door behind her then turned to face Breena with those dark, empty eyes.
“I can’t believe I left you alone with her. You could’ve killed her.” He tore his hand through his curls.
Oh God.
If Myles had lost faith in her what hope did she have left? He was right. Of course he was. She knew that. She’d almost killed her sister. She’d have to…she’d have to leave. Get as far away from Jenny as she could.
She didn’t want to start crying in front of him. Swallowing hard, she squeezed her eyes shut and crossed her arms, holding them tight to her chest. Didn’t help. She blinked and the tears slipped out. It only took a few drops before she broke down sobbing. She fell onto the couch, pressing her palms to her temples. Her body shook as pain ripped through her.
Then Myles was next to her. With a soft sweep of his fingers across her cheek, he wiped away her tears before wrapping his arm around her.
“Bree, look at me.” He sounded forceful, but patted her knee gently.
Choking back a tear, she turned to face him.
“That’s not what I meant.” He pushed back the hair from her face.
She sniffed. “Wha…what did you mean?”
“I meant it was my fault for leaving. I should never have left you alone. I knew how bad off you were.” He took her hands in his. “I still can’t believe you stopped. I’ve never known another newly awakened preternatural who managed to control themselves that way.”
Myles pulled her close, held her tight against his chest.
He didn’t hate her. Now, if she could find a way not to hate herself…she snuffled into his shoulder. “I need help, Myles.”
Chapter 25
Her body a dead weight dragging her down, Breena flopped back on the couch. This had been the longest day of her life. She wanted to crawl into bed and pass out but she knew if she lay down, all she’d think about would be Jenny’s terrified face and the werewolf’s dead body.
She needed to talk to Jenny, to apologize, but her bedroom door was shut and no light spilled through the crack beneath it. The thought of going a few more hours without begging her forgiveness seemed like an impossible feat. Maybe she could use the time to figure out how to makes things right. She only wished she had even the slightest hope that, come tomorrow, she’d know how to do that. It wasn’t like she could nip out and get a bunch of balloons and a Hallmark card–Sorry I tried to eat your soul–and all would be forgiven. Were there enough acts of repentance in the world to bridge the gap she’d made between them? Could she bridge it? She thought of the light of trust in Jenny’s eyes, and her heart broke a little more.
Myles sat on the coffee table facing her. “What happened tonight?”
She told him everything, from the second he’d left the apartment to the silver wolf taking off through the bushes.
&
nbsp; “It doesn’t surprise me that Rae is doing Victor’s dirty work.” Myles laced his fingers together behind his head, the action showcasing the flexing muscles underneath his snug blue t-shirt.
How could he be so calm? “What’s the connection?” Breena asked.
“Rae and your father had a fling years ago. The president put a stop to it, though, or at least everyone assumed she did.”
“Why?”
“Lucinda is a purist. She feels the races shouldn’t be mixed. Witches with warlocks. Weres with weres. You get the picture.”
“I wonder what she really thinks of me, then,” Breena mumbled to herself.
“Frankly, I’ve wondered that myself. She only looks out for her best interests and protecting her agenda.”
“Yeah, I mean, even if the president doesn’t have a clue what Rae’s up to, I still don’t trust either one of them.” She scowled.
“What did Dandi say about a voicemail?”
Panic crept up Breena’s throat, causing her breath to shorten. “Angela Mackie called.”
“The social worker wants to know where Jenny is.”
“Yeah. And if I don’t call her back by tomorrow morning, she’ll call her boss. What am I gonna say to her? She’ll want to know why Jenny wasn’t at Norma’s. Why no one was at Norma’s. She’s going to want me to bring Jenny in and explain. They’ll take her away from me.” Breena didn’t want to go all sobbing-hysterical girl again, but she could feel the pain clawing its way to the surface.
Her life was a disaster. She was a disaster.
All she’d ever wanted was for her and Jenny to be free of Norma. She’d thought maybe it would happen someday, but now it never would.
She’d found out she was a halfling freak. Fallen for the preternatural assassin sent to kill her and the vampire convict sent to protect her. Tried to feed on her sister’s soul. Killed a werewolf. As for the juicy cherry on her woe-is-me sundae, her warlock father–and possibly her preternatural mother–wanted her dead for some reason. What the hell was she supposed to do?
“I’ve got a plan.” Myles laid his hands on her knees, sending a wave of longing through her body.
“Which is?” She shivered.
His gaze darted down to his hands before he spoke. “I thought you’d be safe here because I’d followed orders, but obviously that was a mistake.” He paused, taking a deliberate breath and looking Breena straight in the eyes. “I’m going to Rhodhiss to compel the social worker and forge the paperwork. Then I’ll come back to Texas to take you and Jenny far away from here. We’ll run if we have to. Hide.”
“No.”
“I’m not asking, Breena Cross.” The use of her full name spoke volumes.
“You can’t leave me alone with Jenny.” She glanced at the closed bedroom door. She purposefully didn’t say not again, and she hoped he wouldn’t think it. “I don’t trust myself.”
Taking his hands off her knees, he sat up straight. “I’m not leaving you alone. Dandi will stay.”
“Oh.” She nodded, feeling a little better, but it seemed too easy. There had to be a catch. “Why don’t you compel the social worker over the phone?”
“Not how it works. There has to be eye contact.”
“Okay.” Even if it did work, how long could they run? What kind of life would that be for Jenny?
Then she flattened her hand over Myles’s as she thought about what one of the cleaning crew had said back at Norma’s. “Wait a sec. Has Lucinda given you orders to take me to Rhodhiss?”
He shook his head.
“Well, won’t going back break your sentence or whatever?” She also wondered what the president would have to say about Myles’s plan.
“Your life is more important to me. I wouldn’t know how to go on if something happened to you, Bree.” His voice was low, thick with emotion. “Do you remember when I told you I’d do anything for you?”
Breena nodded. As her heart raced, she knew he heard it the same way she heard the hum of a soul. Except no hum ever came from within Myles…only the shrill sound of dead silence. It was a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it was reassuring not to worry about feeding on him. On the other, did he really not have a soul anymore?
Sitting here, his deception seemed light years away.
“I meant it. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Even if it means I face the final death.”
Before she could protest that she wasn’t about to be the reason for anyone else dying, he pulled her onto his lap.
“Myles, what–”
He wrapped a hand around the base of her neck and pulled her down until her mouth was inches from his own. For a moment, he stared into her eyes and the desire she found there stripped her bare. He tucked her hair behind her ear, then closed the gap between them. His lips were soft on hers, but the heat in them was demanding. Overwhelming.
She couldn’t believe it. They were officially Kissing.
His hands were in her hair, on her face…everywhere. Each touch of his lips to hers felt like a dream. Would she wake up to find him gone? How could she make him stay? What would it cost to keep him with her…always? She would gladly pay any price. For now, she savored the stolen moment. She was so lost in the feel of his lips, in the dark taste of his mouth, that when he started to ease her back she mistook his hand on her face for a caress.
He held her gently by the upper arms and broke the kiss. “Breena,” he panted.
“Hmm?”
“You, uh… You asked for my help. To control the hunger.”
What?
Yeah, she wanted his help, but not right this second. Myles had his brows furrowed together, and looked all business-like. Apparently they were Not Kissing Anymore.
Sighing, she nodded.
Typical.
“First lesson in self-restraint, know yourself. Especially your weaknesses.” From where she was sitting–snug in his lap–Breena was brutally aware of the extent of his restraint. “For example, I know if I’d removed any article of clothing from your body, even a sock, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself. I would’ve made you mine right here on this coffee table.”
A thrill of desire tightened the muscles of her belly. Would that have been so bad? her libido wanted to know.
Yes, her more reasonable side replied.
Dammit. With everything else going on in her life, why did she keep letting herself get so close to the fire? Obviously, she didn’t know herself as well as she should. After all, she was dating the preternatural assassin who’d killed Myles’s family. She’d lost sight of what was important. Again. She didn’t have time for these indulgences. For the vampire’s games, the preternatural’s persistence, or her never-ending supply of guilt.
All she really wanted was to protect her sister. Even if Jenny was her weakness. So she crawled off Myles’s lap and scooted back onto the couch. Tucking her legs into her chest, she wrapped her arms around them. When she looked down, she noticed the wolf bite on her arm had completely disappeared.
Myles stretched his arm on the back of the sofa and leaned closer to her. “You’ll control it someday, Bree. You’re still very young. It takes practice and a lot of self-denial.” His steel-blue gaze lingered on her, full of a pain she finally understood.
Would they ever have the chance to start over? To come clean, no deception. Would he ever totally let her in?
Being in Myles’s arms felt like being home, like a cool fall night by the river. Her river. As she lay there, safe in the vampire’s embrace, she couldn’t help thinking about what he’d said. Yes, Orin had awakened something inside her, but she couldn’t blame him. She was the one who’d wanted the pain to go away. She was the one looking for a quick fix to her problems.
Besides, her half-witch side had come to her aid with Stan all by itself. Eventually, her preternatural side would’ve shown itself too. And if Orin hadn’t seen something in Breena that stopped him from killing her, she wouldn’t even be alive and thinking about this stuff.
Orin had spared her life. She was grateful to him.
But did she love him?
Chapter 26
Breena woke to the sound of sizzling and the smell of grease cooking. The surroundings didn’t look familiar, and it took her a minute to remember she was on the couch in the apartment at the Betty Lou Compound.
Her stomach wailed like a banshee. Breakfast. That she remembered.
“Jenny, your sister’s awake,” she heard Myles say from the kitchen.
Jenny came bounding around the corner. “Bea!” She jumped onto her sister’s lap, spouting out the rhyme Breena had tweaked for her after the wolf attack in Rhodhiss. “Eeenie, meenie, minie moe....”
“Catch a wolf by the toe...”
“If it hollers, don’t let it go...” Jenny chimed.
“Eeenie, meenie, minie, moe.” Breena smoothed the loose hair around her sister’s face back into her ponytail. “So you’re not mad at me?”
“Nah.”
“I wouldn’t blame you, Jenny.”
“It’s okay, sis. Myles explained everything to me.”
“He did?” Breena looked toward the kitchen, but it was empty.
“Yeah. He said you wouldn’t hurt me, because you don’t hurt the people you love.”
Not on purpose, anyway.
“So you disappeared.” Her big brown eyes rolled. “But, duh, I knew you weren’t gonna hurt me.”
“How’d you know?”
“You’re my big sister.” Jenny grinned.
Breena pulled her close, wrapping her arms around Jenny in the biggest bear hug she could give. When she leaned back, Jenny hopped down and ran to the kitchen to help with breakfast. Breena followed until Myles grabbed her arm. She stumbled backward into his chest.
“We’ve got to leave,” he said, his tone serious, his expression hard to read.
“We? I thought you were going back to Rhodhiss without us?”
“Change of plans. They’re coming. Dandi will call the airline.”
“Who’s coming?”
He didn’t answer as he dragged her into the kitchen to get Jenny. “Come on, kiddo, we’ve got to go.”
“What about breakf–”
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