Kept

by Shawntelle Madison

Out of nowhere, my stomach growled. How long had it been since I’d eaten? “Nope. I guess it’s time to call the cavalry. I’ll do it.”

  “No.” He grabbed my arm, preventing me from standing. “We have our honor,” he whispered. “This is our burden to bear, not the others’.”

  I rolled my eyes and stifled a groan. “Don’t give me that BS. If the family bands together, we stand a better chance of helping Dad.”

  “So we help Dad by going to his debtor with twenty people, to help him further lose face? Not happening.”

  I looked at the road again and pondered the man sitting next to me. For the longest time, Alex was known among us as the womanizer who took life as seriously as he took the next lay who fell/jumped/skydived into his lap, but now he was a different person.

  He continued. “One debt. One wolf. That’s the way it’s always been. He’s our sire, so we should be able to speak to him, see him at least.”

  “When did you start caring about the Code?”

  “I started to care when I realized pretty soon I’m gonna have to be responsible for teaching someone else our way of life.”

  I crossed my arms and bit my lower lip. Of all the times for Alex to grow up. If I weren’t so afraid for Dad, I would’ve been proud. Maybe he had a point—if he had a solid plan.

  “Our friends and family won’t like this,” I said. But, then again, they weren’t here to offer their opinion. “So what should we do?”

  He had a conspiratorial gleam in his blue eyes. Seeing his determination made me smile. “Pack a quick bag and hightail it out of here before Mom notices. We’ll drive down to Atlantic City and find Old Leslie Leatherback.”

  After I acknowledged his plan with a nod, I made it home in record time. Since it was around lunchtime, I didn’t expect anyone to be home. Aggie worked the lunch shift at Barney’s Pickles.

  But instead of finding a quiet house, I heard whispers from the living room. A tiny moan and then the frantic rustling of clothes, with the associated snaps and zips. I strolled into the kitchen with a wide grin. Should I give Aggie and her guest a bit more time? I asked myself. I was in a hurry, but I grabbed a glass for orange juice and checked the rest of the glasses to make sure they were lined up correctly. All the while, I made plenty of noise to show I was in the kitchen, before I entered the living room.

  “Hey, Nat,” Aggie yelled. “What are you doing home? I thought you were scheduled at The Bends till late today?”

  Under normal circumstances, I did work the Saturday shift, as well as the Sunday and Monday ones. But a quick call to my boss while I’d driven here had gotten me a few days off. Speaking of taking things off, apparently Aggie was spending the afternoon taking off someone else’s clothes.

  Not more than ten feet away stood a blond-haired, hazel-eyed man with a deep flush in his cheeks. Will Grantham continued to button up his shirt, his eyes avoiding mine.

  “I did.”

  I could’ve excused myself to give her some more time, but after every little trick she’d played on me over the past few months, seeing Aggie flushed with embarrassment for a minute or two was so worth it.

  I took a step toward the stairwell. “I need to change out of these clothes. You two can hang out for a while.”

  While I marched upstairs, I couldn’t help yelling back down, “There’s no sex allowed on my couch, you two!”

  My shower didn’t take too long. I even managed to only second-guess myself four times about my outfit before I settled on a pair of blue jeans. This wasn’t a business trip. My standard wardrobe of blouses, heels, and pencil skirts wouldn’t cut it. Especially if I had to defend myself. I actually owned only one pair of jeans, but I rarely wore them. They’d been used so infrequently, I had to take the brand-new tags off them.

  Once I was uncomfortably dressed, I prepared an overnight bag.

  “Hey, Nat!” A knock on the door drew my attention.

  “Yeah?” I moved faster.

  “You hungry for lunch? Will is heading out for burgers.”

  “I’m good. I just need to go out for some air. I’m really concerned about Dad and need to sort things out.” I shook my head after I said it. Heading out for a casual stroll in the forest would never happen. Especially with all the mud and gunk out there.

  A loud snort came from outside the door. “Go out for some air?” She tried the doorknob and found it locked. “What are you doing in there? You’re not planning anything stupid with Alex, are you?”

  I groaned silently and cursed Aggie for having a midday tryst instead of going to her job as manager at Barney’s Pickles. Why didn’t she have her weekend sex-fest with Will over at his place? But when I thought about it, I remembered that Will lived with his dad and Thorn, which meant that if my place wasn’t available, it didn’t exactly leave many hookup spots other than the local Holiday Inn.

  I almost grabbed a shirt for my bag, but Aggie knocked again. “Nat, I can smell a mistake coming. If you think I’ll let you march out of here and …”

  I stopped listening. In two strides, I made it to my bedroom window. The latch clicked silently and, with a few smooth movements, I leaped out the second-story window. I landed on the ground with no problems—but the urge to climb up and close the window hit hard. (What if it rained? Sleeted?)

  It didn’t matter. There was no time to take care of it. As I made it to my car, I heard Aggie thundering down the steps. I gunned it down my driveway and made a beeline for my brother’s place.

  While I drove, I took stock of what had just happened: I’d packed a bag containing a single shirt and barely any toiletries. And I was on my way to save my father, without enough time to plan out a damn thing. Pulling together a search party had to be easier in the olden days, when you strapped on a gun and rode to the rescue with a tin star.

  One thing I did know was I had to pick up Alex—really fast, before Aggie’s cunning little mind found a way to stop us. I could practically hear her now: “Have you sorted one too many antiques, Nat? Because I’m questioning your sanity here. These are dangerous people you’re trying to meet.”

  I was one block away from my brother’s home when I pulled off to the side of the road. The ticking clock nipped at my mind, but what I’d imagined her saying made me stop and think.

  Other than the obvious question of what the hell was I doing, thoughts of my brother also came to mind. He was married, with a child due any day now. As his older sister, I was responsible for him, and I shouldn’t allow him to put his life in danger. Instead, I should go by myself. It felt like the right thing to do, but the result was a painful one. I’d have no one to help me.

  But on the other hand, if the worst happened, how could I ever face Karey and my future nephew or niece to tell them that I was there when my brother died and I didn’t even try to put my own life in his place?

  My fingers tapped the dashboard. I had the note and a general idea of which casinos to search. On the way I could stop for cash. I could do this. It wouldn’t be hard at all.

  I hoped.

  After driving a half hour, I had to stop for gas. Since I hadn’t planned to escape, I hadn’t filled the tank.

  It was still early afternoon so I had plenty of time to reach Atlantic City before rush hour. While an attendant filled my car with gas, I went inside to grab some food. If they had any that passed my stringent standards. There wasn’t much to choose from. In the end, I decided I could always trust a bag of chips. Not the healthiest choice, but at least it was sealed shut. Armed with a bottle of water and my chips, I headed back to the car.

  I hadn’t gotten more than ten feet when I spotted Thorn leaning against my car, his arms crossed, an even expression on his face. Damn it. He always managed to sneak up on me. Even from downwind. No sounds. No scent. If he’d been an enemy, he could’ve brought me down without a struggle.

  “So how long did you think you could run from us before I found you?” he asked.

  I strolled past him and dumped my purchases into th
e backseat. I shouldn’t have been surprised by this. Will had been at my house with Aggie, so he’d called his older brother as soon as he knew what was going on. And now that Will had poked his paws into my business, I had no choice but to face Thorn.

  Alex, frowning, headed over from his truck. “Did you plan to call anyone to say you were leaving without me?”

  I stared at the pavement. What could I say to them? They knew very well what I was doing.

  “I was worried something might happen to you if I let you go to Atlantic City,” I said quietly.

  Thorn snorted and then scratched the back of his head. I guess he thought my sacrifice was foolhardy.

  “I’m my own man. There’s nothing you need to worry about,” Alex grumbled.

  “Alex told me a thing or two on the way here. I’d ask why you decided to go it alone, but we both know, based on your past history, the answer to that one.”

  I wanted to say, “What do you care?” Or more specifically, why should he care about what goes on in my life, since we couldn’t be together anymore? But what I actually said was, “Alex and I can handle this on our own. You don’t need to worry about our father.”

  I stole a glance at Alex. Hadn’t we agreed to keep our father’s secret to ourselves? Wouldn’t telling people our business just bring gossip out into the open? Especially with the way my aunts loved to gab?

  “Fyodor is pack,” Thorn said. “I’m concerned about his whereabouts as much as you are. If I were in the same position, I know he’d do the same for me.”

  It was so easy for him to flip things around. But he did tell the truth. When the Long Island werewolves had kidnapped my brother, Thorn was there to search with me. He’d fought bravely and helped save Alex. If I recalled correctly, he’d snuck up on me then, too, when I’d tried to join the rescue team.

  “Since you’re so eager to find your father, tell me, what’s your plan?” Thorn’s smug look made me want to kick him in the shin. Hard.

  “I have a note from my mom—with a lead.”

  “So you plan to track him that way? With a note? Does it have an X on it maybe?” My frustration rose with every word Thorn said.

  “Can you two stop fighting and get in Nat’s car? I thought you guys were done with arguing like this. Good God, it’s like you’re married or something.”

  I gave Alex a look that could’ve melted the flesh off his face. Thorn only chuckled.

  They both could go to hell.

  “What about your truck?” I asked Alex.

  “I’ll send Uncle Boris a message to pick it up after he gets off work. He’ll take any excuse to go to the bars around here.”

  Those poor women. They weren’t ready for Lady-Killer Uncle Boris. Until he’d knocked up a wood nymph and married her, my brother used to be just like him. Now it was just my uncle who roamed the bar scene. One woman had jokingly told me that his cologne was so disgusting, it smelled like the Black Death. If Boris ever told us over family dinner that he’d knocked someone up, the first thing I’d wonder was if she had a sense of smell.

  I paid the attendant in cash. By the time I approached the car, only one seat remained empty: the back one. The two coconspirators sat in the front seat chatting away, most likely about where they planned to go first and what steps they’d take.

  This was gonna be a long day. And I’d already completely lost control of the situation.

  Chapter 4

  When Atlantic City came into view, the neon lights made me wary. For anyone else, the sight would have promised a good time. Lights. Gambling. Fast music, faster women, and enough liquor to guarantee a drunken stupor. But we weren’t here for fun. And we most certainly weren’t here to see if we could make enough money playing the crap tables to build a college fund for Alex’s unborn child.

  All we had was a couple of names. Not the best of leads in a city as large as this one. We entered town via the Expressway, and I wondered if this road would lead us in the right direction.

  Alex must have had some plan I didn’t know about. He made a few turns and headed farther into the city.

  Meanwhile, Thorn stared out the window. For once, I was glad I was sitting in the back, so I could steal a glance or two at him. Waves of soft blond hair peeked over the headrest, beckoning my hand to run my fingers through them. Then his own hand snaked up to touch the curls, and I’ll admit it—I envied the damn thing.

  Thorn’s head tilted to the side, and I caught his profile. My gaze roamed from his eyes down to his lips. Guilt poured over me as the familiar hunger hit, and I immediately turned away. He had to have noticed. My quickened breath. My racing heartbeat. But this shouldn’t matter to him. Or me. After all, an invisible line existed between us—one that couldn’t be crossed at any cost. No matter how I felt.

  I directed my attention elsewhere. “Are we close to the main strip of casinos, Alex?”

  “I think so.” But he didn’t sound that confident.

  My brother was just as stubborn as I could be. I’d offered to use the GPS I stored in the backseat, but he refused. That didn’t stop me from pulling it out and turning it on now, though. Why, yes, there was the strip of hotels next to the coast. And why, yes, here we are going in the wrong direction.

  I turned up the volume on the GPS so Alex could hear the woman’s voice. “Turn left now.”

  “Could you shut that thing off?” Alex grated.

  As the late-afternoon traffic increased, I knew we’d be here forever, so I left it on.

  My brother tried to pretend he was ignoring it, but he made the turns as directed, and soon we were back on track.

  “That thing’s pretty nifty,” he finally admitted. “Although the voice is kinda boring. It’d be hotter if they used Pamela Anderson or something.”

  With a grin, I clicked a few buttons. The GPS unit said, “Take the second left, you must, or you will fall to the dark side.”

  Both Alex’s and Thorn’s heads snapped in my direction.

  “Yoda?” Thorn asked.

  “I got quite the deal from the manufacturer,” I said. “I can even have Han Solo or Darth Vader berate him, if you like.”

  Thorn chuckled, low and soft. “I don’t think even Stormtroopers could convince Alex to go in the right direction.”

  I wanted to tease my brother further, but he didn’t give in to the dark side. He followed Yoda’s directions, and we reached one of the nicer hotels and parked in a nearby garage. As we walked inside, I pondered the question neither of them had brought up. Where would we stay? What were the sleeping arrangements?

  And most importantly, how the heck was I going to survive with no meds, one shirt, and nothing else clean to wear?

  No one said anything about the two beds in the room or who’d be sleeping in them. Of course I had other things on my mind, such as the fact that the room could be harboring countless germs. In recent years, hotels in the northeast have had some bedbug problems. The very idea that I could settle into one of these beds without a careful inspection was impossible. This trip was stressful enough as it was.

  “Lay low for a bit,” Thorn said to me. “I’m taking Alex out to talk to the people in the note. Once we get a solid lead, you can check it out with us.”

  Here we go. I should’ve known this was going to happen. “You’re not serious, are you?”

  “Nat, you don’t know these kinds of people. You’ll have more problems than your missing father if you show your face to them.”

  Anger welled up inside me, furious and flowing. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve held my own before.”

  His face remained even. “Your bravery—and stubbornness—isn’t the problem. It’s how other werewolves perceive you.”

  No matter how much I strived to keep my universe sparkling clean and free from germs, there was something I still couldn’t control: the fact that other werewolves thought my scent was inferior. My inferior scent was the one thing I couldn’t scrub off. Worry, doubt, and fear clung to me and alienated m
e from others.

  I stood and marched to the door. Thorn meant well and all, but reminders weren’t necessary. “If we’re leaving, we should do it now.”

  Alex got up from the other bed and tried to hide his smile. “I don’t know why you try, man.”

  As we walked out the door, Thorn groaned. “I don’t know either.”

  My first visit to a casino should have been on a vacation with my girlfriends. A night out to enjoy drinks and perhaps snag a good Russian man to bring home. Or at least a clean one anyway. Instead, I stood in the middle of the Golden Saddle Casino trying to find my missing father. As of this moment, my only option was staring at the multitude of blinking machines within a fog of never-ending smoke and other people’s body odors. A few of the valued customers hadn’t bothered to get up from gambling their mortgages away to freshen up for the day.

  As we browsed the aisles looking for leads on Old Leslie Leatherback, every part of me wanted to hose this place down with bleach. Who in their right mind would touch these slot machines after everyone else had put their grimy hands on them? Some of the patrons were even stranger. Humans weren’t the only gambling addicts. In between the regular customers, hidden with glamours, sat supernaturals. A zealous brownie, dressed in a tweed jacket and dirty brown pants, stared at another customer playing the slots, perhaps hoping to feel the excitement of a win. Personally, I would’ve been creeped out to have someone gaping at me like that.

  A werewolf, thin and hungry, clung to a machine, pressing the buttons continually. He looked to be around my age, twenty-five or so. A cigarette precariously hung between his lips and dipped every time he pressed the button. Press. Dip. Press. Dip.

  “Nat?” Thorn touched my shoulder.

  We pressed on and I tried to ignore the persistently skeevy feeling while I passed a group of human men who were taking a succubus to the nearby bar. The female sex demon’s glamour was strong and brightened her white skin. But even under all her glamours, she couldn’t disguise her scent from my well-trained nose. She stunk of magic. Not your average clean white magic, but the kind that could give you more than a mystery venereal disease. Those poor guys had no idea she planned to drain both their wallets and their souls. With a smile, she took them to one end of the bar while Thorn directed us toward the other.