by Mary Martel
She held on tighter to Tyson, so I shoved her again in the shoulder. This time I pushed even harder than the first time, even going so far as to lean into her when I pushed. She fell backwards, landing on her butt and she was finally forced to let Tyson go. Blood from where she’d dug her nails in good trailed down his arm.
The other girl gaped at us with wide eyes while the one sprawled out ungraciously on the floor started calling me a bunch of horrible names in a very loud voice. People were starting to appear somewhere from the back, and they looked just as startled as the girl with the gaping mouth did. This did not look good for us.
Tyson practically ran out of the restaurant with me being dragged along behind him. Thankfully, the place was empty of patrons, so there weren’t any witnesses outside of staff to what had gone down. I hoped they didn’t have cameras, that could be bad for me.
I was shaking by the time we made it back to the Rover. Tyson took the keys out of my hand and pulled me around to the passenger side. He hit the button on the key fob, unlocking the doors, opened the passenger door up, and all but shoved me inside without any sort of protest on my part. He slammed the door shut forcefully and rounded the hood quickly.
He got in the driver’s side and slammed that door shut as well. I didn’t even bother with telling him not to slam my doors.
I put my seatbelt on and tried to ignore him. He wanted to be mad? That was fine by me, that made two of us. I felt mine was more justifiable than his was, somehow, I didn’t think he’d feel the same way.
“I don’t think Uncle Quint and I will be going back there any time soon,” he muttered under his breath.
“Nor you and Annabell,” I shot back snottily, not even liking the taste of her name on my tongue a little bit.
Tyson fired up the Rover and backed out of the parking space without saying a word. The less he talked, the angrier I became. It wasn’t until he pulled up to a drive thru window at a fast food joint that I realized it wasn’t anger I was feeling, but hurt instead. Really, really hurt.
He had loved Annabell at one time, and she had used him and tried to break up his family. I knew he didn’t love her now, but I didn’t understand why he’d see her, or why the secrecy.
Apparently, I had spaced out on him longer than I had planned to, because I missed him ordering and paying for the food. The next thing I knew, he was shoving a bag in my hand and pulling out onto the road once again. He’d completely taken control of the situation, and I didn’t have it in me to fight with him over it.
“Eat,” he ordered in a quiet but firm voice. There was no mistaking it was an order.
Blindly, I dug around in the bag and pulled out the first thing my fingers touched. I unwrapped it and took a bite without bothering to look at the stupid thing. Who cared about food at a time like this? Tyson, that’s who. My stomach felt like it had been stuffed full of a bag of rocks and if I were to be thrown overboard now I would most definitely sink. Not a fun feeling.
The food was delicious. It was a chicken sandwich on a toasted bun, topped with crispy lettuce, dill hamburger pickles and loaded up with mayo. He’d remembered how I liked my chicken sandwiches from one of the first times we’d eaten lunch together at school. It was Tyson, of course he remembered. Tyson remembered everything, all the guys even said so.
We ate in silence as he drove us out of town, back towards Dash’s cottage in the woods and my current home.
“It’s not what you think,” he said in a quiet voice.
“Mmhmm…” I muttered and stuffed a french fry in my mouth. It tasted like cardboard, and I almost choked on it. There was no drink to wash it down with, and I mourned the loss of the coffee that I had been forced to leave behind at the restaurant.
“She’s staying at the Motel with The Council,” he said. Like that was any better? It wasn’t. “She called me the day after we went out there and you met them for the first time. She said she wanted to apologize and make things right with me. That’s why she’s with The Council right now and not her coven, she’s going through some type of therapy with them right now. I agreed to meet her at the restaurant, in a public place, because I didn’t want to chance her showing up at the house, but I also didn’t want to be alone with her. We had lunch, she said she was sorry. I didn’t tell her I forgave her because I don’t think I’m capable of it and, honestly, I think she only used the apology as an excuse to get me to see her. I don’t believe for a hot second she’s sorry about anything she did, except for the getting caught part. She wasn’t even really there to see me.”
I trusted Tyson, I really did, but this was all a hard, bitter pill to swallow.
“Does Quinton know you went to see her?” I asked, knowing just how furious Quint would be if he’d been left in the dark on this. “Does he know she’s staying at the Motel with the Council? If you’ve kept this from him, it’s not good, Tyson.”
Just how many people did the Council have staying at the Motel with them? My stomach churned at the possibilities. The list was growing, and I was not impressed with the occupants.
Tyson inhaled sharply before saying, “No. No. And I don’t want you to tell him, either. I don’t want you to tell anybody.”
I fisted my hands in my lap, making them into tight, angry balls. He wanted me to lie to his Uncle for him. For fucking Annabell. Unbelievable. For Tyson, I might have considered it. I owed Annabell nothing, and neither did Tyson. This was a position I never thought to find myself in and I didn’t like it.
I had promised Quinton, no lies between us.
“She asked a lot of questions about Damien. She wanted to know what was going on with his life, and she wanted to know about your relationship with him. She hadn’t picked favorites before between the three of us that she’d picked to play with, so I don’t understand her singling him out now. Why Damien and not Julian? Why Damien and not me? I’d almost rather she picked me to have a special interest in again, it would be better than her trying to fuck with my brothers again.”
“What?” I asked in a quiet voice, not liking for a second that she’d singled out Damien, either. He wasn’t one of mine, yet, and a lot of the time I found him to be intimidating, but I knew one day he would be mine just like the rest of them. That was where we were going, the direction they wanted our relationship to go.
First, she’s meeting in secret with Tyson and then she’s focusing on Damien? Who was next? Would she be wanting another piece of Julian as well? I fought off the urge to pull out my phone and call them both immediately to make sure she hadn’t already gotten her hooks into them, they needed to be warned to be on the lookout.
But Tyson didn’t want me to tell anyone. And I had to trust him. So, for the moment, I left my phone where it was. But I wasn’t promising him not to tell anyone, that wasn’t a promise I was sure I would be able to keep, or even wanted to keep, for that matter.
“I think therapy is a bullshit lie she’s spouting to make herself look better to all the other little witches. The Council is eating it up, literally.”
He sounded disgusted.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked suspiciously.
“I saw something today that I could have gone my whole entire life without seeing.” Now he just sounded defeated. I was left more than curious.
Curiosity, they said, killed the cat. I understood exactly what they meant (whoever they were), but I still couldn’t help myself.
“What did you see?” I asked as I started to stuff the food wrappers back in the now empty bag.
“You don’t want to know,” he mumbled. Then, louder, “I know if you decide to leave with the Council, I will probably kill someone. And I don’t want you going out to the Motel by yourself. I want you to promise me, Ariel, that you won’t go there alone, and you won’t be alone with any of them unless you are at my house and there are other people in the house. They have ways of making you do things, things you don’t want to have to do. Things none of us will ever be okay with you doing. I kno
w I’m not explaining it right, and you probably don’t understand everything, but I still need you to promise me. It’s important.”
He sounded so serious, so sincere. I promised him I would, under no circumstances, be going to the Motel by my little ole lonesome. Not that I was planning to before he’d made me promise, or anything. There was a reason Adrian came to the Alexander house to visit with me, and his name was Quinton. I had already promised I wouldn’t be going it alone, and I wouldn’t break my promises to Quinton lightly.
We were quiet the rest of the ride to Dash’s. For me, it wasn’t uncomfortable, I wasn’t sure if he was uncomfortable or not. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tighter than was necessary for driving, and his eyes never left the road. I figured he was thinking over his words carefully and coming up with just the right thing to say to me so as to smooth things over for himself. Frankly, I wasn’t sure he was up to the task.
As for me, I was going over everything he’d said so far, memorizing and picking it apart.
I still didn’t understand his need for secrecy. Nor did I like it or the fact he’d dragged me into it.
“Tyson,” I said as he pulled off the main road and onto the dirt road that would come to an end in front of the cottage. I was at a loss for words, he knew I was upset with him, and he even knew why, so I didn’t think I needed words for him to understand I still wanted an explanation from him.
He parked the Rover next to a sleek, black Camaro that spent more time in the driveway than not. Dash was home as per usual. He was a bit of a homebody, I realized. And I didn’t think him hanging around home had anything to do with the fact he’d been recently stabbed, it was just Dash and how he was. He liked to be at home, and the longer I stayed with him, the more I learned about myself, and I was learning that I was a bit of a homebody, too. I liked the space the guys had put together for me, and I liked Dash’s cottage, and I liked being in both.
Tyson shut down the Rover and pulled the keys out of the ignition. I felt him turn in his seat to face me. I stayed facing forward, eyes aimed at the front of the cottage. Home sweet home.
“I’m afraid,” he whispered.
That was the very last thing I’d expected to hear him say.
I unbuckled my seat belt and scooted around on the leather until I faced him. I lifted my legs, putting my feet on the seat and drew my knees to my chest. I laid my cheek on top of my right knee as I wrapped my arms around my legs.
I made sure to blank my face, clearing away any trace of emotions before looking at him. I wasn’t sure what the look on my face would have said otherwise.
“Why are you afraid?” I whispered back, genuinely wanting to know. I wanted to reach out and touch his arm or take his hand, but his hands were clenched tightly together in his lap. The grip looked painful, he’d likely have marks later.
“I’m afraid of her,” he continued to whisper. “Her and what she’s capable of. Last time, she almost broke us, and things still aren’t back to the way they were between all of us. I mean, you saw how things can get between Julian and myself. It used to be a whole lot worse, but it’s gotten better with time. We have some issues to work past now that you’re here. But we’re family, we love each other, he’s my brother, and, eventually, it will all work itself out. With her here, though, I’m scared, Ariel.”
I drew in a deep breath and wrapped my arms tighter around my legs. I needed the comfort of a hug, even if it did come from myself.
“What exactly are you afraid of, Tyson?” I asked. “What do you think she’s going to do? It’s not like she can lure any of you in this time with the promise of a relationship and sexual favors. That ship sailed after last time.”
We both flinched at the last part.
Shit.
Way to go, Ariel Kimber. You’re a big dick now.
I sighed.
“That came out wrong, Tyson.” I told him honestly. “I didn’t mean to sound so insensitive. I know she actually meant something to you before, and it wasn’t just about the sex.”
At least, I hoped it wasn’t just about the sex for him. I knew it had been the magic for Julian, and probably the sex for Damien. I thought better of Tyson when I thought he’d liked Annabell for Annabell, and not simply because she had magic and went down on him. That’s not to say I thought badly of the other two because of their relationship with her, just that I wanted to think better of Tyson because he was the first friend I’d made, even though he had been an a-hole to me that first day.
“What I meant was, that she has absolutely nothing to hold over you now. Or the others. I may not know Damien all that well, or even as good as I know you. Having said that, Damien isn’t stupid, he’s far from it. She’s not going to bat her eyes at him, whisper some sweet words in his ear and have him give her whatever she wants. He’s a lot smarter than all of that. I don’t think you should be worried about her getting to him. What you should be worried about is your Uncle finding out you’ve been hiding all of this from him, especially if you think she’s dangerous. Geez, Ty, you should have told them immediately because you think she’s dangerous. Instead, you’ve been playing this stupid game with her, when that’s the last thing you should have been doing.”
He leaned forward in the seat, body hovering over the gear shift, his face no longer far from my own. He reached up and gently trailed the backs of his knuckles across the scar on my cheek. His eyes were no long defeated, but instead, fierce.
“It’s my fault she hurt my family. If I hadn’t let her seduce me-”
I scoffed as I jerked away from his hand, put my feet back on the floor mat, and sat up straight in the seat. He flinched as if he’d been struck, but he didn’t move away from me, save for the lowering of his hand from my cheek.
“Tyson, do you seriously think what happened with her is your fault?” I scoffed again. When he opened his mouth to respond, I put my hand up, palm forward, in his face, silently telling him to be quiet. “No, don’t answer that. I can read the answer clear as day on you face that you do. Jesus. You really do blame yourself. Do you have any idea just how wrong that is? Maybe if she had just singled out this coven… no, not even then. You can’t take blame from the actions of others. To do so is stupid.”
Finally, he looked angry. He sat back in the seat and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me. I didn’t care. I’d been over the whole Annabell thing a month ago, I didn’t want to be dealing with more blowback because of her. Which is what he was now forcing me to do. I should be inside right now, searching for Rain and figuring out what to do with Adrian and his brand spanking new man servant, Chuck. Instead, here we were. I wanted to be with Tyson, but I didn’t want to hold his hand while he talked about his batshit crazy ex-girlfriend whom he’d had lunch with just the other day. Was I wrong for thinking most girls wouldn’t enjoy this? Oh, who was I kidding? I didn’t care, and I wasn’t like most girls.
“I’m not stupid, Ariel.” He grunted. I rolled my eyes, not wanting to go down that road with him.
“I don’t think you’re stupid, Ty,” I said in an exasperated voice. “I think it’s stupid that you’re blaming yourself for what she did. There’s a difference, I’m sorry if you don’t see that. I’m also sorry that you feel like you’re to blame. That can’t feel good, and I don’t like the thought of you hurting. I don’t like you hurting at all.”
He flopped back in the driver’s seat and covered his face with his palms.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled through his palms.
So was I, probably not for the same reasons.
“I think you need to tell Quinton,” I urged.
“Ariel,” he grumbled my name.
“What if she does hurt them in some way?” I asked. I probably should have worded it better, because I was trying to make him feel less guilty here.
Shit and damn.
“I can take care of it.” He continued to grumble through his hands. “I have a plan.”
My eyes widened as I stared
at him.
Was he crazy?
He had a plan? A plan?
The chick had used freaking magic on other witches, himself included, to get them to do her bidding. She used sex like a damn weapon. She’d been able to pull the wool over the eyes of so many people it was downright frightening. She’d already proven she had no moral compass to speak of, and she’d happily mow down anyone who got in her way.
This was no job for Tyson. If anything, it was a job for Scary Dude Uncle Quinton. He had already proved he knew how to handle her crazy ass once, he could put her in her place again. Piece of cake. My blind faith in Quinton almost scared me, almost.
“Tyson,” I said, going for reasonable. I should have known he was past the point of reason. “I’m sure-”
“Give me a week, Ariel.” He said. “If I don’t have this taken care of in a week, then I promise to go to Uncle Quint with it.”
Hmm…
A lot could happen in a week. Entire lives could be destroyed in less than a weeks’ time. People could get seriously hurt if he handled this wrong.
He lowered his hands from his face and stared at me from across the limited space inside the Rover. His dark eyes were pleading. I understood why he felt the need to handle it himself. He was seeking redemption when there was no reason to. I knew I had to let him handle it his own way, but I had no intention of sitting out on the sidelines. Nope, not this time, buddy.
“Agreed,” I said confidently.
His eyes brightened as his mouth slowly curved upwards.
“But we’re doing it together.”
That stopped his lips mid-motion and they immediately flattened out into a hard line. Yeah, he didn’t like partnering up with me at all.
