Devil Hills: #2 Luna & Lydia

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “No problem,” Sage had kept Luna off to the side out of their sight when they came up the main stairs and found them there. “Don’t forget, Luna.”

  “Not for a moment, I promise,” Lydia answered, nodding and waiting while the other men were searched and relieved of their weapons. She looked over the collection on the desk, tsking as she went to the stairwell and opened the door. “Come on out, little sister.”

  “We haven’t proven that, Lydia,” Luna told her with a scowl, striding into the office and looked at Elise. “Seth, let Elise sit down. She’s not looking well.”

  Seth felt the shaking beneath the palm resting on her narrow waist, swearing softly and releasing her long enough to pull a chair over, pushing her gently into the cushions. He crossed the room to the fridge nestled beneath the refreshment bar and pulled a bottle of water from inside and cracked the lid before handing it to her.

  “Where’d you two disappear to?”

  “Just out for a little walk,” Lydia pulled the sides of her jacket back. “Jude had removed things I don’t like traveling without. And yes, I have permits for them, including concealed weapons. You okay, Elise?”

  “Why would he know who I was? Why would he come here?” She lowered the bottle of water after draining half of it, the water rippling as she realized her hand was shaking. She lowered her hand and put it firmly on her leg.

  “Your face in that interview has been playing non-stop since you aired it. People are sharing it around the world and it’s on youtube. Because you scooped the world, Elise,” Seth told her simply. “Are you alright, Luna?”

  “I know what a bastard my father is, Seth. I’m alright,” she told him with a half grin, looking over the gun collection on the desk, her head shaking. “He’s here because of me, Elise. He didn’t know you were here, I’m sorry.”

  “A story?” Elise held up her wrist, unaware of the seething anger beneath the surface at the rapidly discoloration in the shape of fingers. “Employers do not bruise employees over a story.”

  “You never noticed a decided prejudice in the station you worked for, Elise?” Seth held up a palm when Lydia looked ready to explode, the slim form pulled back against Jude when he came into the office behind her.

  “I was just lucky! I was just…just at that place because of the construction of the overpass and the traffic mess it was causing,” she surged to her feet, swaying a little and instantly whipping up one hand and one extended finger warning the large male to not make a move. “I – am – fine.”

  “Do you have a high turnover at the station?” Lydia asked quietly, her sigh long when she saw the instant answer and dawning realization in Elise’s eyes. “It was just a coincidence, Elise and I’m sorry.”

  “I have to go. I want to go home,” she shook her head and extended her palm. “Thank you for speaking with me, Mr. Anderson,” she said clearly and politely. “It’s an interesting and challenging offer.”

  “One that you’re going to accept,” Seth said carefully, meeting the bright blue eyes. It was the thick hint of moisture in a pair of disillusioned eyes that she tried blinking away that further fueled the fury inside him.

  “I appreciate the confidence and the offer but at the moment, I need to get back across to Issaquah and…and clean up my apartment and…” Her head shook slowly. “See what I have left to work with. Thanks, Lydia.” She worked hard but the smile was definitely forced. “Good bye.”

  Seth watched her stride out, her head up and pace long. He started toward her when the warrior blonde stepped in his path, her palm up and on his chest. Dark eyes narrowed warningly.

  “Let me talk to her. Please. This is my fault and I’ll fix it.” Lydia watched him nod once before turning and following Elise at a light jog. She barely slid into the elevator with a puff of air through her lips. “That was close.” She pulled her lip between her teeth as they went to the ground level. They made the short walk to the main part of town where she’d left her car in silence. “Are you okay, Elise?” Lydia finally asked.

  “I thought I wanted to be a reporter. All these years. It’s what I was chasing since I was a kid. Truth through information. Bring important stories to people who should be aware of what’s happening in the world around them. Things people should care about,” Elise ground her teeth, shoving her hands into the pockets of her short suit jacket, her fingers wrapped tightly around her keys. “I saw things. I heard things. I wanted to stupidly believe the news was unbiased.”

  “Good news is…or that makes both of us a little blind, I guess,” Lydia kept pace with her, sighing. “So why turn down Seth’s job offer?”

  “Because it feels like I’m running away,” she said after a long shuddering breath. “I will not run away.”

  “Okay,” Lydia nodded slowly, lips pursed. Jude was not going to be happy about this one. “I’ll come with you. Let me get my case from the SUV. You can give a two week notice and then take the job here. Maybe we could share an apartment.”

  Elise came to a stop, staring at Lydia in disbelief. “I show up with you…”

  “A quick visit to the drug store and I’m a redhead or brunette. Or I’ve got a few wigs that really change things up,” Lydia said with a chuckle. “Not to worry. No one will know it’s me, promise. But you can’t go alone, Elise. I know it’s my fault because of the interview and I’m sorry you found out a lot of your co-workers are idiots but you’re not exactly used to handling people like Newman and his goons.”

  “That’s just it…it was a story. Yes, it was truth, but I do traffic! What in the world would they be searching for in my apartment? Or think I know?”

  “Your general manager found you in Seth’s office, Elise. We both know the truth. But no one will believe it now. Coincidence are piling up and pushing you off in another direction, a different path. People operate on their own brands of belief and perception. You can’t control that or even change it,” Lydia saw the resignation on her new friend’s face. “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t think I need a body guard, Lydia,” Elise let a little chuckle go, relaxing just a bit as they walked.

  “I’m the untrusting type. Besides, I’ve never been on this side of the country. It’s nice. I like it,” she said with a nod. “Are you going to let Seth know you’ll accept his offer?”

  “So I’m essentially jumping out of the frying pan into the fire,” Elise mumbled. “The man looks at me like I’m next on the menu.”

  “I noticed that…odd, since we saw him eat breakfast,” Lydia teased, pulling a small phone from her pocket. She really needed to get her own, until then…she scrolled through the address book and found what she wanted.

  In the office several hundred feet up, Seth looked from his cell phone to the man still standing in the doorway of his office.

  “How are you calling me?”

  Jude patted down his pockets and swore.

  “I swear, that woman has the lightest fingers of anyone I know,” Jude growled and turned to leave the room, stopping when Seth called him back.

  “What do you want, Lydia?” Seth said into the phone.

  “First…Elise would like to accept your offer, but she is taking two weeks because she doesn’t like the idea that she’s being run off,” Lydia inhaled and continued, ignoring the growling from the other end of the call. “Second, I’m going with her to act as kind of moral support and guard. So let Jude know for me, please. Thanks.”

  Seth stared at the dead line, his low curse matching Jude’s.

  “Get down there. She wants to go with Elise to keep an eye on her and I’m sure you don’t want to stay here,” Seth watched him take off at a run, the sound of the stairwell door slamming in his wake. He pressed a button, grimacing at the chipper greeting. “Stay there. Jude is coming to escort and be part of the protection. I don’t know what they think they’re up to terrorizing Elise, but don’t allow it, Lydia. Do you understand me?”

  “Very clearly, Seth. I’ll be in touch,” she promised, the c
urious fury in his voice making her smile and glance at Elise as they walked. She closed the phone and slid it into her pocket. “Jude is going to follow us. We can find cartons and pack stuff for you while you work.”

  “The perception thing…if people believe I knew you before the interview and set it up on purpose…”

  “Then they’d search your apartment for notes and stuff maybe,” Lydia shrugged, grinning at the dark SUV cruising down the street toward them. Elise had left her car parked by the coffee shop. “Reporters keep notes…maybe they thought you had information they could use. Information about where Luna was and who she was working with? Do you think they would allow you to put on other stories now?”

  “That’s what’s not making sense, Lydia. Other stories have aired that are pro-shifter. Their communities, their lives…”

  “But there hasn’t been anything about the purists,” Lydia thought about the things she had in her case. The photos and journals she’d kept filled with details and names. “Nothing negative about the people trying to ‘cure’ the shifters. I’m guessing the little fluff pieces were an effort to make their reporting appear balanced.”

  “There have always been rumors,” Elise said softly, leaning against her car and letting her head fall forward. “I want to talk to some of the reporters tomorrow. Find out what or why they haven’t done any kind of investigative report about the rumors.”

  “You really think Newman will allow that?” Lydia met the dark amber eyes and winced, knowing what was coming.

  “I don’t know. I mean…the man’s never acknowledged me once in the last three years at the station,” Elise pulled a business card from her purse and wrote over the back. “Address and cell. I’m going to head back. Thanks…” She found a weak smile. “I don’t know what’s happening but I’m not happy being…targeted…”

  Lydia stared down at the palm held out in front of her a few seconds after the sports car pulled away. She dropped the cell phone pulled from her pocket into the center of his hand. When the palm returned, she lifted keys from her jeans and let them fall into his other hand, wincing the next instant at the fingers biting into her neck beneath her hair.

  “We need some talk time, mate,” Jude whispered darkly before biting her ear. Not enough to draw blood, just enough to get her attention.

  “Alright,” Lydia closed her eyes against the shiver racing through her that had nothing to do with fear.

  Jude backed her against the SUV, his hands moving down her shoulders and then back to her face, his hips pressing hard against her seconds before his mouth came down on hers. Hard. Possessively. Demanding. And, given her appearance, seriously confusing the residents watching the display.

  “Oh, god, Jude…” her hands were wrapped tightly around the edges of the leather jacket he wore, clinging and hoping it was enough to keep her from melting into the concrete beneath her feet. His mouth was wandering. Over her jaw to the space below her ear, teeth nipping and tongue licking. They hadn’t been together since the night she’d shifted. They’d been on the road, in the SUV, afraid to stop after the attempt to kidnap her.

  “Do you want to know what’s going to happen next time you try and run on me?” His voice was low, a rough, almost inhuman sound that sent a shudder racing through her.

  “No…no…it’s probably best I don’t know,” Lydia felt the little squeak leave her lips when his hips pressed closer, the hard length of his cock stroking heavily along the seam of her jeans and every inch of her swollen clit.

  Jude swallowed up the soft groan, his mouth pressing hotly against hers; his tongue slid between the full, parted lips, stroking, teasing and dancing with hers with rising heat.

  “You don’t think a warning is in order, Lydia?” He whispered against her mouth. “Something to look forward to if you suffer a burst of independence that puts your life at risk?”

  Lydia knew she was independent. She also knew she had earned the right to that independence but at the moment, mentioning it just didn’t seem appropriate. Or smart.

  “I…work really hard not to put myself at risk, Jude…” She shivered, his tongue stroking and circling the bite he’d put on her shoulder, teeth pulling her shirt to the side before nipping her again. Lightly. Barely. And she wanted more.

  Then both of the froze when the familiar click made it through the passion filled haze. Pale lashes lifted, her head going to his chest.

  “Back up slowly.” Bright green eyes went from one to the other. But her main focus was on Lydia. “Are you alright?”

  “Fine. Really fine…” She looked at the familiar gun and nodded. “Nice gun. I have a pair just like it,” she lifted the corner of her jacket to show the holster. “I don’t think we’ve met…Lydia Jones.”

  Lily Gaines closed one eye and looked at the man, thick dark blond hair falling over one eye. He had been one of the guards Gauderville had brought along when they tried retrieving Luna. “Lydia…Jones.”

  “I think you might have me confused with someone else,” Lydia said slowly, her hand rising, finger pointing to the side. All three of them watched a brightly smiling Luna approach, tucked possessively against Sheriff Sage Terrence. Slowly, the gun was lowered, the safety put in place and the gun tucked into the holster.

  “Luna?” Lily looked from one to the other, her hand up and raking through the blond curls.

  “Hi, Lily…you met my sister,” she beamed brightly.

  “Sister,” Lily dragged a tongue around her lips. “Which explains why she’s kissing on this guy…who is the guy that came out here with your father… I think I’m a bit behind on some of the news.”

  “He was a plant,” Luna said simply. “He works for Seth at the Institute. Sage has to go to work, want to get some coffee?”

  “And we have to head west to keep an eye on Elise,” Lydia went stiff when Luna came up to her, her eyes closed as she was hugged tightly.

  Hugging. Sister. Mate. When would it end, she thought with a low groan.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Luna said with a bright smile before stepping back to see the frown on Lydia’s face. “Hugging’s not so bad. Be careful, please.”

  “I’ll work at keeping her safe for you,” Jude moved behind Lydia, his arms around her shoulders and lips next to her ear. It was easier since she was still on the curb and he was in the street.

  “I’m sure I’ll owe you,” Luna teased.

  “Putting you two together was definitely a bad idea,” Lydia growled and tried to pull free.

  “Jude, she promised me she wouldn’t ever return to Montreal alone,” Luna said softly, watching the surprise on his face. “And she wouldn’t break a promise. I have to get some coffee and head to the nursery location. We’re expecting supplies this morning.”

  “You’re working there? I thought…” Lydia frowned and gazed up toward the Institute building.

  “Me? In there?” Luna shook her head, smiling and taking the kiss from the man at her side. “I’ve spent too long inside places like that. I’m working with Lily on the nursery. And part time in a really fun restaurant. But I love plants. I’ll find you when you get back,” she waved and walked off with a confused Lily Gaines and her sheriff.

  “You promised her you wouldn’t go back to Montreal alone,” Jude stared down at her, turning her to face him and gripping her shoulders tightly.

  “She started the crying thing,” Lydia rolled her eyes. “I had to do something. Come on, partner, we need to catch up with Elise. I did not like that guy. At all.”

  “It’s mate, not partner, and we still got a lot of talking to do, lady,” Jude promised gruffly.

  “As crazy as I make you and you still want to believe we’re mates?” Lydia hastily jumped into the seat when he held the door for her. But she didn’t quite move fast enough to avoid the palm that swept up and gripped her neck, pulling her face to his.

  “I don’t believe we’re mates…mate…I know we’re mates.”

  She’d expected him to kiss her.
Stake his claim. She swallowed hard, watching as he leaned into to her throat, his tongue trailing along the slim column, onto her shoulder where he’d left his mark. She shivered, a low soft sound vibrating inside the SUV from deep in her throat.

  “Jude…”

  “You gave your sister a promise,” he breathed against her throat. “I want a promise, Lydia. I want to hear you claim me.”

  “We should go…seriously…we’re supposed to be watching Elise for Seth and keeping the crazy person from…” she yelped lightly, positive it wasn’t really her voice. Normally. Unless Jude had his teeth scraping along her throat. God, it made her twitchy!

  “Good idea.” Jude straightened immediately, turned her legs into the SUV and closed the door. He could feel the confusion and surprise, his chuckle low as he slid behind the wheel and started the car.

  “Jude,” Lydia put her hand over on his, her head nodding toward the low sports car that came from the side road that led from the Institute.

  “This can’t be good,” Jude stepped from inside and went to the Director, Seth Anderson and leaned into the open window. He nodded several times and straightened up, his palm running over his neck.

  “Something wrong?” Lydia asked cautiously, the gleam in his eyes making her gaze narrow.

  “Not for us. Seth’s taking the detail himself. Says he wants a few days away to think,” Jude checked traffic and headed them to the quiet house he had on the outskirts of the town. “We’re going to start tomorrow keeping an eye on things here, especially Luna. You need to get to know your new pack, especially the three female mates. You’ll be working close with them. You and Lily have a lot in common,” he mentioned casually.

  “And now?” Lydia felt the moisture in her mouth start to leave her. She’d seen that glow in his eyes more than once. She knew she’d challenged a lot of things in life he believed shouldn’t be questioned.

  “Now…we’re going to spend some time training,” Jude replied calmly. “And I know just where to begin. First, I’ll show you where we live.”