“If my key doesn’t work, I’ll take it as a sign to go back to The Tower,” I say as I pull my key from my pocket.
My hand trembles as I insert my key in the lock, and it turns. I’m thankful that the alley behind the brownstone isn’t my only option. It feels surreal to be standing in the foyer, and the apartment seems lifeless like it knows no one is coming home for a while. I key in my alarm code, and that simple action holds my anxiety at bay.
As I make my way through the rooms, I flick on every light and look in every corner. My rational brain knows that there is no one here beside me. The alarm was on, and the door locked. But I thought I was alone yesterday as well.
When I reach my room and push open the door, my heart stops. In my dazed state yesterday, I hadn’t taken the time to look at the destruction Neil caused. The pictures that he ripped from the wall and dresser litter the floor where he tossed them. My steps are slow as I take it all in, memories flooding my head.
A small brown spot on the carpet draws my attention. The fresh memory of tucking my bleeding head under my arms brings a wave of nausea as I struggle to keep the bile from rising in my throat.
“Fuck you, Neil,” I say under my breath. “I have no intention of letting you win.”
I grab the few things I want from my closet and the shattered phone from the bathroom. It’s bent and cracked, more than likely well beyond repair. But like most modern Americans, my life depends on whatever they can get off of this twisted hunk of junk.
Stuffing everything into my gym bag, I sit on my bed to take a look around. I only lived here a short time, but it began to feel like home. Now, looking around, I know I won’t be able to live here again.
With a deep sigh, I try to come to terms with the genuine possibility that I’ll have to move back home and live with my parents. I can’t afford a New York City apartment on the salary of a bartender. The job market hasn’t panned out the way I hoped, and relying on the charity of others isn’t something I can continue doing.
The clang of something hitting the floor down the hall pulls me out of my thoughts and sets my body on high alert, fear once again gripping me.
“Shellie,” I call out, though I know my voice isn’t louder than a whisper. My heart is beating in my ears. I can feel another panic attack clawing under my skin. I’m slinking off the bed and into the hall before I can think better of it.
Fuck, this is a bad idea.
The rustling sound continues from down the hall in Shellie's room. “No one can be in the house. No one can be in the house.” I continue to chant in my head as I make my way down the hall.
The creak from the stairs has me unable to go further, my feet glued in place by fear. Shellie’s door is closed, but I can still hear the distinct sound of clothes rustling coming from within. I glance back at my room. The door is open, and all I have to do is run inside and lock it behind me.
The tuft of dirty blond hair has my blood running icy cold. How can this even be possible? There’s just no way. But when I see Neil round the corner, I’m turning and moving as fast as I can back to my room. I don’t get far, the wall of muscle I run into stops me in my tracks, large arms coming around me.
I look up into the safety of familiar brown eyes. “Thank God.” I cling to him as Neil makes his way toward us from the stairs. “I want him arrested.” I pointed at Neil as he continues, unfazed, a smirk across his face.
It isn’t until the strong arms tighten around me that I realize he’s not here to help. I don’t even bother to scream, what’s the point? It’s two against me.
“What the fuck is this shit Neil?” I yell. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
The more I struggle, the tighter the hold around me becomes. Neil stands in front of me with a wide grin spread across his scratched face.
“I knew you’d come back, although I figured you’d be smart enough to know not to come alone.” His finger taps my nose as if I’m a child. I never wanted to bite off an appendage more.
“Not,” tap, “Very,” tap, “Smart, Maitlin.”
I glance up. “Why would you help this psychopath?”
Neil answers, his face so close I can feel his hot breath against my face, and I swallow down the bile rising in my throat. “We have a mutual acquaintance that we all need to have out of the picture.”
Shellie’s door opens, and I yelled for her to stay in her room, lock the door and call the police. But the woman who exits isn’t Shellie, but she is familiar. Her dark hair, her smile, her mile-long legs.
“I know you.” Pieces of this cluster-fuck of a puzzle start to click into place. “You were at the Lenox the other night, with Jaxon.”
Her smile is saccharine sweet. “Yes, I was.”
Before I can speak, a hand comes up over my mouth, and a sickening stench fills my nose.
JAXON
My office, my sanctuary, now feels like a prison as I pace back and forth in front of my desk. I sent a new phone over to The Tower for Maitlin. Despite the very likely possibility that she is Mason’s mate, I don’t want her to be without a way to contact anyone, especially me.
Yet here it is, well past noon when it was to be delivered and still no word from her or Cole. No sooner had I thought about it when the speaker inlaid on my desk chimes.
“Mr. Krieger, there's a courier here to see you.”
I don’t bother answering, I just open my door and walk down to the reception desk outside the elevators. Sure enough, there stands a pimply-faced courier. He is holding a box with the familiar bitten apple logo on the outside.
My heart sinks, thinking about the interaction she had with the kid, to send my peace offering back. She is still my stubborn, sexy, Maitlin. I know she is probably more than a little angry with me because of the way I left so abruptly this morning, but I didn’t expect her to turn away a gift or peace offering, as it were.
“I was unable to deliver this,” the kid says, holding out the box for me to take.
“And why weren’t you able to do this simple task?” My annoyance at the young man’s incompetency grows with every word he speaks.
“Because there was no one there,” he says, his voice laden with sarcasm
I pinch the bridge of my nose in an attempt to calm myself. “What do you mean there was no one there? There should have been a huge, very intimidating guard stand…” I don’t even finish the sentence before I’m grabbing the box out of his hand and heading back into my office as I pull out my phone to call Cole.
He answers after only one ring. “Boss.”
“Where the fuck are you?”
I hold my breath, hoping he’s going to tell me standing outside some west side store waiting for Maitlin to finish shopping. But my gut already knows that’s not where he is.
“Standing in security, watching footage from the other night.”
I look out the window. The sun is still high in the sky. Before I can think better of it, my fist hits the glass. “Fuck!” I hear the bones in my hand crack, but the glass holds, a bloody smear now obscuring the cityscape. “Why aren’t you with Maitlin?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“Sir?”
“Go to The Tower, and break down the fucking door if she doesn’t answer it after one knock. Call me the moment you get in the apartment.”
The pain in my hand is only momentary, the skin, and the bones already healed. I know it’s not Cole's fault that he isn’t with Maitlin. It’s mine. After I left, I never bothered to call Cole and tell him to go back.
I’m not one to ever feel helpless. I run the fucking world, and until this moment, I have never regretted my fall or being a Blood Angel. But as I look out over the city through the protective glass that keeps the sun from killing me, I’m a helpless prisoner.
I look up. I don’t pray, and I don’t ask the gods I once fought for anything. It’s a waste of my breath. They each have their own agenda, but still, I look up, close my eyes, and hope someone is listening. “Please, please let her be safe.�
�
My phone buzzes as if it is answering my prayer. When I look, it’s the one person I don’t want to speak with—Mason—since Maitlin told me about her dream, which was a memory, not a nightmare, I’m sure. All I’ve wanted to do is kill the detective. But if she’s not at The Tower, I’m going to need his help, so reluctantly, I answer.
“What?”
He doesn’t even give me shit about my less than cordial greeting.
“We have a big fucking problem.” As if he’s telling me something I’m not already acutely aware of, he continues, “Where are you? I don’t want to talk over the phone.”
“This is a secure line. What’s the fucking issue now?” My irritation with everything today is well above the boiling point. And if I am honest with myself, I’m sure if seeing Mason right now is in the best interest of either of us, considering I want him dead, preferably by my hand.
“Yeah, well, my fucking phone isn’t, so where the fuck are you?”
“The Lenox, my office.” I disconnect before I can tell him to go fuck himself. That I don’t need whatever information he has, and I sure as fuck don’t need his help. But I do need his fucking help, so I’m in a bit of a bind.
“Well, you sure as shit are in a piss-poor mood today.” Kap walks into my office and directly over to the smeared blood on the window like she owns the place. “This yours?”
“Yeah… there was a mosquito,” I joke, yet there is no humor left in my voice.
Crossing her arms and leaning against the window, she stares me down. “And did this mosquito have a name?”
“I don’t have time for this shit Kap, and Mason’s on his way up to talk about Maitlin’s attack.” Perhaps the phrase “on his way up” is a small exaggeration, but he is on his way. Not to mention that I don’t want to get into a conversation about Maitlin, someone Kap has explicitly warned me to stay away from.
“Ummm, hmmm.” She rounds my desk and stands toe to toe with me. “You didn’t listen to me, did you?”
I feign ignorance of her question. Getting involved with a guardian's family or those deemed family is forbidden. I know this. Hell, I helped make it law. At the time, my heart served no purpose besides pumping blood. I walled up any feelings the day Marra slipped from this world. I pledged that no one would touch my heart again.
Then a set of ice-blue eyes melted my heart and freed my soul from its dark self-imposed prison.
Besides, who actually forbade it?
The council?
That was a fucking joke. It consists of Gabriel, who’s been MIA since crossing over one of the seven rivers to look for some chick. Zachriel, who is currently strung-out on drug-laced blood, myself, and a handful of others who probably won’t give a fuck anymore about not dating within a guardian family.
What is that old saying? Forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest.
“I’ve no idea to what you’re referring.” I can’t look her in the eye as I lie to her. It is something I rarely do. She has my back at every turn, but I know she will have no tolerance for my disregard of her wishes.
“Bullshit, Jaxon. You know damn well I’m referring to Maitlin.”
I let out a sigh of frustration and run my hands through my hair, something I was doing all day. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” I turn away and sit down, resting my elbows on my knees. I let my head fall forward in defeat. “She’s Mason’s mate.”
“What?” Kap spat out, her shock at the statement evident. “What do you mean she’s Mason’s mate? You know damn well that's not possible. Snow leopard shifters mate exclusively within the snow leopard clans, and I can assure you she’s human.”
I don’t bother lifting my head as I speak. “He shifted to protect her.”
While I sat blissfully unaware after having had the best orgasm of my life… with Maitlin.
“Shit.” Kap knows that the only thing that would have Mason shifting in front of a human is if his mate, his cubs, or his Pride were in mortal danger. There can be no other explanation. Somehow, she is his mate.
My heart hurts. It is the first time since Marra that I feel the pain of loss tighten around that useless organ. The memory of our one night together will have to last me for an eternity.
I feel her hand come down on my shoulder, always looking after me, even when I’ve fucked up.
“Don’t let me interrupt.” Mason’s deep voice breaks into the already tense situation.
Kaps's hand squeezes my shoulder in solidarity and support. She’ll stand by me regardless. I pat her hand in thanks before getting up to face Mason, who, to my surprise, looks even more like shit than I feel.
“Jesus, you look like someone kicked your fucking dog.” And he did. I saw him only the day before, but he seems to have aged overnight. I glance over at Kap, who excuses herself, probably for the best. Whatever he wasn’t able to tell me on the phone has taken a toll on him in a short time.
He paces my office, clearly agitated. “I know how Neil got released.”
His statement confuses me. We watched the video footage of the woman coming in to pay Neil’s bail together, so this was nothing new. “Of course. Did you figure out who the woman is?”
“Yes and no.”
His vagueness is wearing on my already deteriorated patience. “Just tell me what the fuck you know,” I snap, my voice loud enough that I am sure half the floor heard me yell.
“Neil had help from the inside.” There is no emotion when he speaks. He’s cold and empty.
“A dirty cop?” Makes sense. He was held on attempted murder charges, yet was out walking the streets in less than a few hours.
Mason only needs to say one word, and it explains all the anguish that is playing across his face. “Ridge.”
“Fuck.” I don’t have a brother by blood, at least not one that I know about. But Zachriel is as close to one as I’ll ever have. And it would break me if he betrayed me the way Ridge betrayed his brother. “How do you know?”
“His access codes were used. He tried to destroy the evidence. He disarmed the internal surveillance equipment, not knowing there was already an internal investigation going on against another cop. A secondary video feed was put in. I have it all.”
“I’m… I don’t even know what to say. I’m sorry.” And I am. “And the woman?”
He tosses down a frontal photo of a very familiar woman, Dannella’s face unmistakable from this angle. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. She does have similar features to Maitlin, but Dannella can’t hold a candle to my girl.
“What the fuck?” I knew Dannella for a long time, and I would never think she would be involved with someone like Neil. But why? And how? So many unanswered questions. “How does she know Maitlin and Neil?”
“I’m not sure.” I watch as Mason walks over to my liquor cabinet and grabs out a bottle of Macallan and pours us two full tumblers. Handing me a glass, he downs half of his. “Fuck, that’s good shit.”
“It better be, you just drank ten K of single malt scotch like it’s fucking Kool-aid.”
My phone buzzes on my desk. Mason and I both look over and see that it’s Cole. I have a sinking feeling in my gut that I’m not going to like what he has to say.
I answer, and he’s talking before I can even say hello. “There's no one here.” The slight inflection of panic in his voice is only be picked up by me.
“Was there a security breach? Was it Neil?” I switch him to the speaker so Mason can hear everything. I have no intention of repeating anything. Two sets of ears are better than one, especially when all I can hear is my heart and the rush of blood in my ears as I wait for his answer.
“I don’t think so. It looks like she just left. I’m heading over to their apartment now.”
“Fuck.” I look out, and the sun is still too high in the sky. “Mason and I will meet you there.”
“Sir?”
“We’ll meet you there,” I repeat, louder and more agitated. “Don’t go in until we’re there unless you se
e signs that there was another break-in. And if you see Detective… if you see Ridge, he can’t be trusted.”
“Got it.”
Mason stands to look at me like I’ve lost my mind. Which maybe I have. But I don’t want anyone coming to my girl's rescue but me.
My girl, I’m going to have to refrain from calling her that.
Well, she’d always be my girl, even when mated to Mason, who, despite not being me, is turning out to be a good man. Someone, if circumstances were different, I might also consider a friend.
I know I’ll have to move fast to make it from the protective cover of the vehicle to the apartment. Thankfully it was retrofitted several decades ago to be a safe haven for myself and any other Blood Angel who found himself in need of shelter.
“Looks like we’re heading over to Maitlin’s. You good with that?” I’m not sure where Mason’s headspace sits after the realization that his brother—his flesh and blood—has a hand in whatever plan Neil is attempting. “If Ridge is there—”
“I’ll take him out myself.”
He turns on his heels and walks on ahead. I need to call Kap and get the whereabouts of Shellie before leaving. If she and Maitlin went home together, am I overreacting? Perhaps I am, but I have a feeling that Shellie has no idea the danger Maitlin is in.
I grab my duffle from the closet before leaving my office. My entire body needs to be covered, including my face. The short walk from the curb to the door won’t kill me, but even covered, it won’t be pleasant.
The moment I leave the office, I spot Shellie as she rounds the corner nearest the elevators. I don’t know if she’s up on the executive floor to find Kap or myself, and while I’m relieved to see that she is safe, it means that Maitlin left the apartment on her own, solidifying my fear that she’s in trouble.
I don’t even let her speak before I’m bombarding her with questions while I pull her with me, back towards the elevator. “When was the last time you talked to Maitlin? Has she contacted you at all today? Texted? Called? I don’t know, a fucking smoke signal?”
Jaxon (Blood Angel Chronicles Book 1) Page 19
