by Addison Fox
God, but they were a fucked-up family.
Her brother wore a snake as both weapon and pet. Her mother was the family pariah, turning on every single thing she’d believed in to abandon them. And her sister had tried desperately to pretend none of it even existed, let alone happened.
There wasn’t really a whole lot to say about that.
Gee, Emerson, I’m so sorry. Now I know why you avoid intimacy and anything that smacks of commitment.
The glow from their earlier moments together faded at the sobering thought. On a murmur, she watched the road that stretched out in front of them.
“I haven’t been here in a few years.”
“Why not? It’s not that far from the farmhouse.”
“We’re not close. And I haven’t gotten up this way nearly as much as I’d like to.”
“She is your sister.”
“What part of ‘it’s complicated’ from all the things we just talked about did you miss?”
She heard the petulance in her voice along with the side helping of guilt. This was her sister and she’d adamantly placed a wall between them because Veronica didn’t want the same life she did.
Did that really make her any better than the people who didn’t support her beliefs?
Drake pulled into the driveway and she pushed all the thoughts aside as she caught sight of her nephew fiddling with something on the wheel of his bike.
Jackson?
“He’s so big,” she breathed as she took in the long, lanky kid in front of her.
“That happens.”
“But—”
But nothing. She’d missed it. She’d missed his birthdays and Christmases and all the family things that came in between because she’d stubbornly stayed away.
They climbed out of the car and she walked over to him. A broad, metal-filled smile greeted her. “Hey, Aunt Emerson. What’s up?”
“Oh, not much. What are you doing?”
“The chain keeps falling off.” With the special sort of cocky only a twelve-year-old-boy could pull off, he nodded at Drake. “Who’s that? Your boyfriend?”
Since one did not refer to a neighbor-with-benefits in those sorts of terms to one’s nephew and saying no felt like a lie, she simply agreed.
“Yep. He’s my boyfriend.”
The words felt more than right as they tripped off the tongue. If Drake’s raised eyebrows caused a wave of heat to trip up her neck, well…that was just the residual effect of what had happened in the backyard earlier.
Jackson stood and held out his hand to Drake and she was again reminded that her little nephew was on his way to adulthood.
“Your mom around?”
“She’s in the kitchen helping Emily with fractions. Go on in.”
“Oh…okay.”
Drake reached for her fingers and gave them a squeeze before he pointed at the bike. “I’ll stay here and help Jackson, if that’s all right.”
“Can I see the Roadster first?”
“Be my guest.” Drake gestured toward the car as Jackson’s eyes lit up like Fourth of July fireworks.
“Sweet!”
Emerson heard the words “inline turbocharger” and couldn’t hold back the smile. Drake might be immortal, but his enthusiastic response to Jackson’s questions was a funny sort of comfort that he was one hundred percent male.
As she walked to the screened front door, she could see straight down the hallway toward the kitchen, where her sister and niece sat head-to-head at the table. “Hello.” She added a soft knock to the door, then opened the screen.
Veronica looked up from the table, a broad welcoming smile in answer. “Em!”
Moving down the hallway toward the kitchen, she was again struck by the evidence of how long she’d been away. The hallway had been updated with a rich, modern red, and a series of practical, cubbylike benches lined the wall, giving the distinct impression of farmhouse chic.
Veronica and Emily both leaped up to hug her as soon as she cleared the doorway to the kitchen. The realization of how big her niece was after two years away struck even harder than seeing Jackson, the small child she remembered replaced by a sweet girl with a long ponytail.
Emerson couldn’t stop the tears that burned the backs of her eyes as she hugged them back.
After an elaborate kid ritual involving a lot of shouting about the man out front with the cool car—and Emerson’s subsequent introductions of Drake to Emily and Veronica—she found herself alone with her sister in the kitchen.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” Veronica patted her hand as she set a mug of tea on the table. “It’s been too long.” Before she could say anything, Veronica added, “On both sides. We need to get into the city more often.”
“Grandma comes up here often enough.”
“Which is wonderful. But you’re not that far away and the kids would love to go into New York to visit their aunt Em.”
“I’d like that.” As she said the words, she realized just how much she meant them.
“Besides, if the man candy out in my front yard is any indication, I haven’t been paying a whole lot of attention on the visits I have made. Good Lord, that man is edible.”
A renewed burst of color flooded her cheeks as she was again reminded of her afternoon romp with Drake.
“He’s put some very happy color in your cheeks, too.” Veronica passed over the sugar. “I’m glad to see it.”
“He’s special to me.”
“That’s a bit cryptic.”
“It’s the best I’ve been able to come up with.”
Veronica nodded and took a sip of her tea. “Would you like him to be more?”
Emerson hesitated, before blurting out the words she’d thought for some time. “You told me once men couldn’t handle who we were. What we were. Do you believe that?”
The gray eyes so like her own dropped to stare at the table as Veronica picked at her napkin. “I did think that. Once.”
“You don’t still think it?”
“No, I don’t.”
“What changed your mind?”
The picking stopped as Veronica looked up, a proud smile cresting her lips. “Emily’s got the gift.”
“Really?”
“It’s just started to manifest itself, but it’s there. I know the signs and—” Veronica broke off. “I just know.”
“Does it upset you?”
“That’s the funniest part. This thing I’ve been running from for so long. Now that I see it in my own child, I think it’s amazing and wonderful and an incredible accomplishment. I’ve played around with my own gifts a bit. I’m rusty,” she added with a rueful laugh. “But that’s what you get for ignoring a part of yourself for more than fifteen years.”
“Just like riding a bike?” Emerson couldn’t resist the tease.
“Yes, and nearly as enjoyable.”
“What does Trevor think?”
“He loves it. In fact…” It was Veronica’s turn to blush. “He seems to think it’s some sort of a turn-on.”
“Well, who knew?”
“If I’d known, I would have gotten the stick out of my ass a lot sooner than I did. Isn’t it funny?”
“What’s funny?”
“That it took my child to make me see reason. To make me realize what a beautiful thing I had.” Veronica shook her head. “All those wasted years.”
“Ronnie. I have to talk to you about something.”
As the nickname left her lips, she realized how easy it was to switch into her old comfort zone. How easy it was to remember the good times.
“While I’m thrilled you’re here, I was afraid there might have been a reason. It’s not Grandma?”
“No, no. I’d have told you right off. No. It’s Magnus.”
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
On a small sigh, Veronica took her hand. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”
“It’s sort of an unbeliev
able story.”
“Since Magnus often makes some rather unbelievable choices, you probably won’t surprise me nearly as much as you think.”
Drake wasn’t sure what he expected, but spending the afternoon with two kids was surprisingly enjoyable. Their attitudes were fresh and interested and they were fun.
And if he felt slightly guilty for pumping them for information about their aunt Emerson, well…he could live with that.
“We haven’t seen her in a while, but Mom’s always asking G.G.—that’s what we call our great-grandma—about her,” Emily told him in an all-knowing voice that sounded way too grown up for what he estimated to be a ten-year-old girl. “G.G. calls her fiercely independent, with a stubborn streak that would make a mule tired.”
“She’s got a really cool tattoo on her arm,” Jackson informed him.
“He’s already seen her tattoo, Jackson. You know they’re having sex.”
Drake nearly choked on the passing breeze as Emily’s proclamation mentally smacked him upside the head.
Wha—? How? Before he could sputter his way to a response, Jackson already beat him to the punch. “She is hot. You know. For a grown-up who’s related to us.”
“Um, maybe you shouldn’t be talking about your aunt that way.”
Jackson just shrugged. “Whatever.”
“She hasn’t had a boyfriend in a while, either. I’m glad she found you.”
If the sex comment blindsided him, this bit of info left him poleaxed. Which, he consoled himself, was the reason for his mumbled, “Really?”
“Oh yeah. G.G. says Aunt Emerson needs a strong man who can beat against all her defenses and not get discouraged and still let her be tough. Since most men are pussies, she hasn’t found one.”
“Emily!” Veronica’s shocked exclamation greeted them from the screen door.
Drake had gone toe-to-toe with some of Mount Olympus’s most dangerous immortals and he’d never been so glad to be relieved of a situation in his entire life.
“I’m sorry, Drake.” Veronica snagged Emily in a headlock. “Shyness has never been in my children’s repertoire.”
Emerson strolled up behind her sister, hands propped on her hips. “I think someone’s been digging for dirt.”
“And my children will happily throw shovelfuls without much provocation.” She gave Emily a quick kiss on the head. “Come on in for dinner. My husband will be home soon, and we’re ordering in pizza.”
The kids’ combined shouts confirmed for him this wasn’t a normal occurrence. It was the small smile and nod from Emerson that confirmed this wasn’t only a good idea but a welcome one.
And who was he to argue with pizza?
After-dinner drinks with Veronica and her husband, Trevor, was one of those rarest of experiences: time spent with people where he could just be himself.
He and his brothers and all the immortals who spent time on earth filled a lot of those hours avoiding detection. The fact that he not only didn’t have to hide who he was—but could openly talk to them about his life and his abilities—was a rare treat.
They’d even accepted his explanation of Themis and Zeus and their agreement that laid the groundwork for the creation of the Warriors.
“So let me get this straight.” Trevor lifted the half-drunk bottle of very nice Cabernet and refilled glasses all around. “You think my brother-in-law is some sort of Warrior?”
“That’s exactly what we think.” Emerson lifted her wine. “It appears he has the same set of skills Drake has.”
“Minus the good nature and desire to help people,” Veronica confirmed just before her mouth widened in a large O of realization. “Oh my God! What about Grandma?”
“She’s at her friend Eve’s house for a few days as we get this figured out.”
Drake anticipated the protest before Veronica even got the words out. “And we’ve got surveillance on the house. If she decides to come home early, she’ll be intercepted and taken back to my home.”
“Do think he’d hurt her?” Veronica reached for Trevor’s hand.
An image of the snake leaping out to strike Emerson sent a renewed wave of anger coursing through his system. “I don’t think he’d intentionally harm your grandmother. The problem we’re fighting is that he can’t control the beast yet.”
“And you can control yours?” Trevor’s question was without censure.
“It’s hard at first—awkward, really—but the gift lives in your aura. You control it. Magnus doesn’t seem to have developed that skill yet.” Drake caught Emerson’s raised eyebrow as he omitted the part about just how out of control Magnus was with the snake.
Veronica didn’t miss the exchange, a skill he wasn’t sure if he should chalk up to intuition or a talent honed over more than a decade of motherhood. One thing was for certain—she wasn’t going to remain in the dark. “What happened?”
“Nothing happened,” Emerson shot back.
Veronica might have been a pushover with the pizza dinner, but her impressive drill sergeant routine at bedtime with her children had been inspired. With the same tenacity, she stared down her younger sister. “Spill it.”
“How does she do that?” Emerson asked her brother-in-law as disgust rode her lips in a thin line.
“The woman is magic.” Trevor laughed with a small shrug. “In more ways than one.”
“Fine. I never could keep a secret from you anyway. Magnus’s snake tried to go after me, but Drake stepped in and absorbed the attack.”
“Oh my God, Emerson! Drake?” Veronica’s attention ping-ponged between the two of them.
“I don’t think he meant it, though,” Emerson quickly defended her brother.
“Em. Come on.” Trevor hadn’t let go of his wife’s hand. “He sounds dangerous. And based on some of his choices in the past, isn’t it possible this is the natural next step?”
“Did it seem intentional?” Veronica probed, the whispering notes of hope in her voice obvious.
Drake was curious to see the byplay between Veronica and Trevor. The subtle touches and private glances. The easy comfort they shared, even in the midst of difficult news.
In all the years he’d been alive, he’d never had that level of comfort with a woman. Had never wanted it.
Until Emerson.
“The snake attack seemed more like lack of control as opposed to deliberate action. But”—Drake saw Emerson’s encouraging nod before continuing—“he did act deliberately when he got into my home and attacked my family.”
“It just keeps getting worse. Did my brother hurt anyone?”
“Everyone healed. We’re sort of wired that way,” Drake added with a smile.
Veronica didn’t return the smile; nor did her direct stare waver. “That wasn’t my question, Drake.”
“Magnus did some damage before he left. And the snake in his aura adds some serious muscle based on its length. He gets a pretty wide range of motion. And”—she hesitated before coming out with it—“it appears that the snake’s venom, if it gets that close, has an effect on Drake and, presumably, any immortal.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We?” Emerson leaned forward. “Ronnie. We’ll deal with this.”
“Not without me you’re not. He’s my brother, too.”
“This isn’t your fight.”
The heat in the room rose so fast Drake was surprised he didn’t get singed as Veronica volleyed back to Emerson. “The hell it isn’t. I’ve got the gift, too, little sister. You’re not the only one.”
“A gift you’ve refused for, like, twenty years. You’re out of practice.”
“I’ve been practicing. And it hasn’t been twenty years. I’m not quite that old.”
“Damn close. Look, Ronnie, you’re not equipped for this.” As if to prove her point, Emerson conjured up a small fire in her palm. “Can you do this?”
“Fire’s never been my gift and you know it. I have other skills. Other talents.”
“T
hen think about something else. You’re a mother.”
Drake caught Trevor’s raised eyebrows as the two of them exchanged a knowing glance. If Drake wasn’t mistaken, a very large battle line had just been drawn.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean—I’m a mother?”
Emerson didn’t miss the instant fire that leaped to light in her sister’s eyes, or the distinct change in her voice. What had been a brewing disagreement had morphed with lightning speed into an out-and-out fight. “You’ve got your children to think of.”
“What sort of example would I be to them if I didn’t act on the things I believed in?”
“Possibly a dead one, if Magnus can’t control himself and what he’s become. How good will you be to them then, Ronnie? What kind of example will you be to them then?”
“So it’s okay for you to ride in like the fucking cavalry? Last time I checked, you were as mortal as I am.”
“You can’t just swoop in and do this. You gave up your gift, and now you want to change your mind when it’s convenient.”
The comment hit its mark. Emerson saw it the moment the words were out of her mouth—words she couldn’t snatch back, no matter how much she wanted to.
The room got so quiet Emerson heard her heart pounding in her ears. And while the sudden, glassy sheen of tears in Veronica’s eyes went straight to her heart, she couldn’t quite muster up the proper amount of regret.
Her sister had made her choice. Had denied what she was. And in doing so had denied everything Emerson held dear.
Everything she believed in.
Everything she was.
“So it’s back to that?”
“I guess it is,” she said, quiet regret forcing the words to stick in her throat.
Chapter Sixteen
“You were awfully hard on her.”
Drake knew the comment would elicit a fight and was oddly surprised by how much he looked forward to one. Although he knew a good portion of why he cared for her was tied to her stubborn tenacity and tough-yet-vulnerable shell, he wasn’t going to stay silent on what he’d observed.
Emerson and her stubborn pride and her immediate willingness to push people away.
