"What have you done?" I muttered as the dust settled and the others came tearing from the house to check out the destruction in the front yard. While they stared with open mouths, Alexa wore a satisfied smirk on her face.
I don't think she'd noticed her car yet.
"You shouldn't have done that," I told her as I backed toward my family, angry that she'd destroyed such a grand old tree.
"You should have listened to me," she sneered. "I told you my powers were limitless."
I just stared at her. "Not anymore."
"What do you mean?" she sniped.
Disgusted, I just shook my head while Havoc separated himself from the crowd at the door and sauntered down the steps to join us. "You used your magic to uproot a tree," he tried to explain, stepping close and lowering his voice so Samantha and Walker wouldn't overhear.
"That's right!" she cut back at him, her eyes flashing with evil satisfaction.
"Alexa, you tried to kill a tree with your magic."
"That's right! And you know why? Because my magic is kickass and I can do whatever the hell I want to. What do you say to that, you stuck up little douche boy?"
Havoc rubbed a hand over his eyes then dragged it down over his grin. "I guess I say I'd like to see you try it again," he finally answered.
"Fine," she snapped. "I can do that." And looking supremely confident, she wobbled over to the spruce's smaller sister, placing her hands against the trunk and closing her eyes tightly.
Of course nothing happened so she got pissed and smacked her hands against the tree's rough bark. "Move, dammit," she shouted. "Fall the hell over."
Everyone stared at her like she was insane.
Her chest was heaving as she turned her glare on us. "What did you do?" she screeched. "What did you do to my magic?"
"We didn't do anything," I answered.
Havoc tried to explain again while keeping his voice low. "You tried to kill a tree, Alexa."
"So?" she shouted, eyeing him like he was crazy.
"Your magic comes from wood," he said, spreading his hands out from his sides and looking up into the line of evergreens that bordered the property. "From trees. From the forest. You just attacked the source of your power."
"What does that mean?" she yelled, starting to look a little uneasy about what was going down.
"It means you're finished," Havoc told her. "The forest is done with you. Your powers are gone…and the world is a safer place."
"What do you know about it?" she demanded with a stubborn sneer.
Havoc turned his back on her and headed back toward the front door. "Evidently, more than you," he threw back over his shoulder.
"What…what's going on?" Walker asked while Samantha questioned Havoc with a curious look.
"Nothing," Havoc answered. "The tree blew over and Alexa thinks she made it happen."
"That's…crazy," Samantha said.
"I know, right?" Havoc picked up the pace as he took the steps two at a time. "Crap! I've forgotten the dessert!"
And as everyone followed Havoc back inside, I turned to face Alexa. "I think you'd better leave now," I told her.
"Okay," she snarled and snatched at the locket around her neck. "But I'll make you take me to Las Vegas."
But she was wrong because the magic coil that had connected us had snapped. I was free from her meddling influence. "You have no power over me anymore. Your magic is gone."
"I have a whole lot more of your hair at home," she screamed, a note of desperation driving her voice higher. "A whole lot! Enough to control you again."
She just didn't get it. "Keep it as a memento," I told her. "And Alexa?"
"What?" she shouted.
"Don't feed any more sponges to any more dogs," I said then watched to make sure she left before I turned and climbed the steps to the house.
Back in the kitchen I joined the others where Havoc was having his own little meltdown. "I've ruined the crème brulé," he moaned as he pulled a tray of small ceramic cups from the oven. "Look at the tops! They're burnt!"
Elaina rolled her eyes at the drama. "They're supposed to be like that."
"They are?" he asked, looking doubtful.
But Samantha stepped in before he could go completely stage six. And with her gentle manner and soothing voice, she managed to convince him that dessert was saved.
And the crème brulé was probably the highlight of Havoc's cooking career but I hardly tasted it. The rest of the evening was absolute agony for me as I watched Sam and Walker together, obviously enjoying each other's company, Walker cracking jokes and Sam laughing. And that was bad enough but when they started talking about scientific stuff I realized just how far apart Samantha and I were. I was never going to catch up with Walker. And my love life was frickin' doomed.
When he walked her out to her car at the end of the evening, I joined the rest of the pack in the living room. Mac had suggested trying to resurrect the old spruce in the front yard. And while they talked about lifting it back into place, I flicked my gaze toward the windows and adjusted my wristbands, wondering if Walker was kissing Sam goodnight and not sure I actually wanted to witness something like that.
But—perhaps fortunately—I couldn't see out of the lighted room and eventually I followed Havoc into the kitchen and tried to keep busy. But I kept wondering about Walker and Sam and what they were doing.
"Give me that," Havoc growled, snatching a large serving bowl from my hands before I could finish drying it.
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you breaking the good china," he snickered as he slid the bowl onto the top shelf in the cupboard.
"Good china?" I muttered. "I found this stuff at the thrift store."
"And it was a very good find," he pointed out. "An almost-complete set of Noritake. Only the sugar bowl is missing."
But I wasn't interested in the damn Noritake. "What do you think they're doing?" I asked, thinking they'd been out there a long time.
"Who?" he asked.
"Sam and Walker," I answered. "Why can't I hear them talking?"
Havoc wiped a sponge over the top of the old white enamel stovetop. "If you weren't so busy banging around in my kitchen—"
"Your kitchen?" I countered. "You've been here a few hours and the kitchen is already yours?"
"Do you cook?" he challenged me.
"Not much," I admitted in a low growl.
"Then it's my kitchen," he asserted. "And if you weren't so busy banging around in it, you'd have heard them get in the car."
"They got in the car?" I almost shouted. "Why did they get in the car? Did they leave?"
"Take it easy, Victor. They're just sitting outside the house, talking."
Finally, I heard the front door open. I wanted to tackle Walker, and hammer him into the floor, and ask him what the hell he was doing all that time with my girl. But he slipped into the living room before I had a chance to accost him, and joined the conversation about raising the tree. MacKenzie insisted that he had to pitch in, probably thinking his red hair might help the old spruce to heal.
Of course, the winch on the front of his truck would be useful too.
And before the night was over, we had the tree upright again, with a few large boulders dragged into place over its roots. Only time would tell if the tree would survive the shock.
In the meantime, Walker and Sam appeared to be an item. And Walker was a friend—not to mention almost family—so I was honor-bound to stay out of his way, wasn't I? Besides, Sam wasn't interested in me; she'd made that clear several times…even though she'd made a pass at me after that party. But people don't always act reasonably when they've had too much to drink. After all, she almost went into that bedroom with Colton. So even if she liked me, she only liked me as much as she liked a guy she'd never met before.
But all of that was kind of besides-the-point because I couldn't try to steal Walker's girl. At the same time, I couldn't deny my attraction to Sam. So what did I do about it? I did what
any sane, reasonable guy would do. I started stalking her at school.
Not all the time, because I had work to do at the house. But I begged Torrie for a copy of her sister's schedule and attended the classes that were big enough for me to hide in. Sam normally sat in the front so it was easy to sneak in late, sit in the back where I could watch her, then leave early just before the professor dismissed the class.
I didn't know what I was going to do when school got out at the end of the week. Come up with Stalker Plan B, maybe.
Anyway, on Thursday, I got to her chemistry class after it had started and couldn't find a seat. So I leaned against the wall in the back of the lecture hall and watched from beneath the shadow of my hood. Yeah, I was still wearing the party-stalking hoodie I'd borrowed from Chaos. But toward the end of the lesson, I realized I wasn't the only one watching Samantha. Nils was seated a few rows behind her. I recognized him from the photo Torrie had shown me on her phone. And no, he wasn't nearly as nice looking in real life as he was in his picture.
At first, I wondered why I hadn't noticed him earlier in the week even though I'd never bothered looking for Samantha's ex and had always been too focused on her to worry about anyone else. But I decided maybe he wasn't even enrolled in the class because he wasn't paying any attention to the lecture.
Nils' arm was draped around another girl's shoulders but his gaze was riveted on Samantha during the entire lecture. So even though he'd apparently moved on and had found a new girlfriend, I could tell that Samantha was still Number One in his books and probably always would be. But I wasn't inclined to feel very sorry for a guy who'd blown his chance at total happiness. Besides, I was too busy feeling sorry for myself.
When the professor dismissed the class at the end of the lecture, Nils pointed out Sam to his girlfriend, whispering in her ear. The girl pushed her long honey-blond waves behind her shoulder and laughed as she checked her out.
The girl's attention was so blatantly obvious that Sam couldn't help but notice, her cheeks flushing pink as she gathered her books and purse. She would have been even more embarrassed if she'd heard what Nils said next as he pointed a long finger her way. I wanted to swoop in and protect her. Actually, I wanted to rip his finger out of its socket.
So I turned to leave, thinking I'd better get the hell out of there before I got really pissed and caused a scene. Out in the building's lobby, I picked out a wide column and stepped behind it so I could get a last glimpse of Samantha as she headed out to her next class. And as I watched from the shadow of the column, I saw Nils and his girlfriend hurry across the lobby to catch up to her. Nils approached Sam from behind, and when he tapped that annoying finger on her shoulder, I almost growled out loud.
Sam turned to face him, her expression guarded as she said, "Hello Nils."
"Hi Sam," he said, his hand clasped tightly around his girlfriend's waist. "Cherie wanted to come over and meet you. I told her how you were my girlfriend back in high school."
"And he told me how you've been all alone ever since he dumped you," Cherie added with a snicker.
"And we wanted to make you an offer for old times sake," Nils suggested, a smarmy smile on his lips.
"So if you ever want to 'get some', you're welcome to join us," Cherie suggested with a sneering laugh. "Nils has a king size bed so there's plenty of room."
"Thanks," Sam shot back, her eyes flashing with anger. "But Nils has nothing I want. So he's all yours."
"Aw, c'mon Sam," Nils laughed and grabbed her arm as she pulled away. "Don't get all defensive. We're not trying to be mean. We just feel sorry for you."
But I couldn't take any more. I couldn't stand the sight of Nils' hand gripping Sam's arm. I couldn't handle the things he was saying to her, trying to make her feel bad about herself when she had nothing to feel bad about. I stepped from behind the column and pushed my hood to my shoulders as I glided to Sam's side. When I reached her, I pulled her books from her arms then claimed her waist with my free hand. "Hey Baby," I murmured, leaning down to touch my lips to her cheek. "Sorry I'm late."
For a split second Sam stared up at me in shock.
I brushed my lips against her ear and whispered, "Work with me here, Sam."
"B-Baby?" she exclaimed, playing along although her laugh was kind of forced. "You know I hate it when you call me that, Victor."
"I can't help it," I answered smoothly. "You might be the most intelligent, independent lass in Boulder but you're still my baby." I hoped that was the right thing to say as I chanced a sideways look at Nils and Cherie. Cherie's mouth was hanging open. Nils' was snapped shut. And that was exactly the reaction I was going for, so I kept it up. "Introduce me to your friends," I suggested in a silky voice.
"Th-this is…is Nils and Cherie."
Nils pasted a fake smile on his face and stuck his hand out.
"So nice to meet you," I said in the most refined English accent I could manage. Grabbing his hand, I crushed it in my grip, locking my gaze on his eyes until they started to water. When I was sure that he got the message, I released his hand and watched him shake out his fingers. "And this is Cherie," I murmured, lifting her hand to my lips. "I'm frickin' enchanted m'dear."
Cherie hadn't stopped staring. I was afraid if she didn't blink, her eyes were going to fall out. But I get that a lot so I ignored it. "Wh-where did you come from?" she choked.
"England," I told her then snapped my attention away from her like she didn't exist, and smiled down into Samantha's eyes. "Ready to go, Babe?"
"Y-yes," Sam answered as I took her elbow and we strolled out of the hall like it was a sunny day in London and we were headed to Covent Garden.
"Baby?" she whispered, as soon as we were out of hearing range.
"You don't like baby?" I drawled. "Maybe I should have gone with darling?"
"Maybe you should have gone with Samantha."
"So baby's a bit much?" I asked beneath a breath of laughter.
"Too much for me," she snickered.
"I'll do better next time," I promised as we waited at the crosswalk.
Behind me, I could hear Cherie's sour voice as the unhappy couple trailed us out of the building. "Did you see that? He carries her books," she complained. "And he calls her baby."
"He's just a douche-bag pansy Brit," Nils grumbled.
"Yeah, a pansy Brit who almost broke your hand," she sneered.
I snickered and tuned them out.
"What are you laughing at?" Samantha asked, and elbowed me in the side, looking both beautiful and happy.
I flicked my head back toward Nils and Cherie. "Those two."
Samantha shook her head and sighed as she slanted her gaze in my direction. "You're probably wondering what I ever saw in him."
"Nay," I answered quietly. "I'm sure he can be charming when he wants to."
"He wasn't very charming today," she muttered. "Thanks for stepping in."
"You're welcome," I answered sincerely.
"That's the third time you've come to my rescue," she pointed out. "Are you always rescuing girls like me?"
"Just the ones who need it," I murmured, holding her gaze and wanting to kiss her so bad it was like a physical ache that started in my knuckles and burned a path straight to my heart.
"I can carry my books now," she said, shattering the thick spell of longing that had fallen over me.
I forced a deep breath into my lungs. "Why don't I just carry them to your next class," I offered.
"That's not necessary."
"Do you only ever do things that are necessary?" I asked lightly.
"No, but—"
"Neither do I," I told her, tucking her books firmly under my arm and guiding her across the street when the light changed.
Halfway along the next block, we reached a bunch of scaffolding had been erected against an old brick storefront where workers were replacing the building's façade. Foot traffic had been detoured into a narrow aisle between the scaffolding and the edge of the sidewalk. I expected
Sam to either go ahead or drop behind so we could walk single file, but she stuck to my side instead and I got a brief taste of nirvana every time her hip touched mine.
Overhead, several men were working, calling back and forth to each other, but I was so focused on the young woman walking beside me that their voices traveled to me as if from a distance. Up ahead, I could see a pallet of bricks dangling from a rope, being lifted onto the scaffolding planks above our heads. But I wasn't paying attention to anything other than Sam.
"Look out!" someone shouted from above, and the world around me came suddenly into focus as I reacted with a gargoyle's lightning reflexes. I jammed Sam against the bars of the scaffolding and wrapped my arms tightly around her, tucking her head beneath my chin before I turned to stone. Something massive hit my back and bounced away, followed by a heavy rain of bricks that clattered and bounced on the street behind me.
As the dust settled, I waited several seconds to make sure nothing more was headed our way. Then I made the change back to my living form, hoping Sam hadn't noticed anything.
"Are you alright?" I asked, holding her at arm's length.
She lifted her head and gave me a startled look.
Up above us, guys were cursing and climbing down the scaffolding, swinging to the ground to check the damage. "Is everyone okay?" someone yelled in a deep voice.
"We're fine here," I answered, dusting myself off and turning to face them.
Two men surveyed the mess for a moment. And when they were sure nobody else was around to check on, they set to work directing the traffic on the street and cleaning up. "You're sure you're okay?" an older worker asked me.
"No harm done," I told them and steered Sam through the crosswalk to the next block.
As we traveled down the sidewalk, Sam was so silent that I couldn't help but ask again if she was alright.
"There's a dark scuff mark on the back of your hoodie," she finally said.
"Is there? Maybe the corner of a brick caught it on the way down."
"Or maybe a board slammed into your back," she suggested.
Victor Page 14
