“I know. I know.” I grabbed my head with both hands. “But this is Stephen we’re talking about.”
“Yes, the same Stephen that left your ass because daddy didn’t approve of you. And if that was the only problem, sure, I would tell you ‘go ahead, track the hell out of him’ but doing that type of work almost got you killed.”
It was just the once. Jake and I had been tracking Emily Garner, an eight-year-old who had been snatched by a vamp that fed on children. The blood leech tried to take me out when I showed up at his lair, good thing I’d had a mean werewolf at my back, and the vamp only managed to lightly rake his claws along my stomach before Jake took him out.
“Besides,” Rosalina went on, “the Ericksons are a powerful family. They can find Stephen themselves.”
“I...”
“You. Promised. Your. Self,” she reminded me again.
I inhaled sharply and sat up straight. “You’re right. Something like this would derail us completely.”
“Riiight, and if you ruin what we’ve got going on here,” she moved her hands all about to indicate our office, “I swear I’m gonna get Abuela Esperanza to exorcise you ‘cause if you go back to that shit, it would mean the spirit of stupidity possessed you.”
Rosalina’s Grandma Esperanza had exorcised her share of demons in her prime. Her talent had been special, but since she’d married a Stale, none had passed to Rosalina or her mother.
“Okay, okay, sheesh.” I stood, holding my hands up to fend her off. “You’re right, and that’s exactly why you’re here, to keep me from doing dumb shit.”
“Damn right!”
I pointed toward my office. “I’ll get to work on that potion for Celina. That’ll keep me distracted.”
“Yeah, you do that, and I’ll go to the bank to deposit the check, and grab us lunch from Mama’s on the way back. Sound good?”
“Perfect. Grab me some fried ravioli, will ya?”
“That’s my girl.” She winked and left with a skip in her step.
In the potions alcove, I gathered all the ingredients around the two-quart slow cooker and set to work. I started with four ounces of distilled water, wishing the other ingredients were as easy to get. But no. Some even came from other realms, and I could only purchase them from Fae providers at a steep price.
After the distilled water, I followed with carefully-measured Pixie dust, seven-continent cloudmist, windblown mint leaves, and volcanic ash. Earth, water, wind, and fire, respectively. The Pixie dust wasn’t the make-you-fly kind, just plain dust from their tiny bedframes and armoires. What a rip off!
As I dropped in the last ingredient, I couldn’t argue that potion making was witchy. Just the reason Stales called me a witch sometimes, even though the two were as different as a Chihuahua and a werewolf. Some witches could track, true, but never as well as a specialized tracker like me.
I shook the dregs of Pixie dust in its container. I would soon have to visit Yalgrun for more. Good thing Celina had been generous with her trust fund. The potion ingredients cost a fortune, so much that a spell protected the alcove—one my mother had cast. She was good at them.
Finally, Celina’s tears. I used a long glass dropper to draw them out of the vial and counted. As the seventh tear splashed in, I held my breath. I’d had several brews go bad in the past. But when the potion started shimmering crimson, releasing the scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies into the air, I did a little dance. The smell was always something pleasant like that, either one of Celina’s or her mate’s favorite treats. My sense of smell was way above average, an unusual but welcomed skill. I could pinpoint scents with accuracy which helped tremendously during the tracking trance.
Still dancing, I covered the slow cooker and set it to low. It would have to simmer for at least twelve hours. With that done, I left the alcove and decided to call the realtor with my good news. I would have no trouble getting approved for a loan now. I had enough for a down payment for that cute condo. I was about to press send on my cell phone when the hammering next door started up again.
“Shit!” My jaw clenched as each blow seemed to drive a nail into my temple.
I waited for a minute. Then two. The hammering continued, and my eye began twitching. I had another customer after lunch, and I couldn’t have this idiot start this up then. What if it’d happened right before Celina shed her reluctant tears?
Nope. Not doing that.
I marched out of my office and walked next door. I peered inside through the glass-paneled door, but couldn’t see anyone. Pulling on the handle, I found the door open. I let myself in.
“Hello,” I called over the incessant hammering.
No one responded.
“Of course,” I mumbled under my breath.
I pushed past the reception area, which looked a lot like ours, walked through the door at the back, and halted.
A man wearing a tight white T-shirt and tighter blue jeans stood with his back to me, attacking the posterior sheetrock wall as if he meant to kill it, which I guessed he did since part of it already lay dead on the dusty hardwood floor. Dust clogged the air. I waved it away for a better look.
The man was tall, about 6’2”, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Sweat covered his neck, which trickled downward causing the shirt to stick to his muscular back. And his butt was... well, I didn’t think there were words to describe it. Perfect, maybe? My mouth watered as I admired it.
Then, his scent registered in my hypersensitive nose, stirring an avalanche of memories, and a thrill ran up my spine. Panic burst inside my chest. That heady scent and my mouth... it had never watered at the sight of any man, no matter how hot, except...
I have to get out of here!
I took a step back to flee, but too late.
The hammering had stopped, and he was turning to face me.
Jacob Knight was back.
Chapter 5
We stared at each other for a long minute without saying a word.
His gaze held mine with such intensity that I couldn’t have glanced away even if I’d tried. Almost eighteen months ago, Jake had walked out of my life without leaving the smallest trace behind, and now without a warning, he was back.
He was more handsome than ever, broader, more rugged, his muscles honed to perfection. His light brown hair sported a different style, short on the sides, and messy on top. Perfectly-trimmed stubble edged his jaw, and a new crease sat between his thick eyebrows as if he’d spent a lot of time worrying about something. And his eyes—those eyes that still haunted my dreams—they shone silver with the light of an exposed light bulb above him, drawing me in, pulling me into the darkness of his bottomless pupils.
Something else that didn’t escape me was his intoxicating scent, a combination of his musk, pine, and rain. God, it was heavenly.
Shit! From the way my heart was pounding, it seemed his presence still had the same messed up effect it always had.
“Hello, Toni,” he said, at last, his voice the same deep baritone that could melt me into a puddle when he whispered in my ear.
A million possible responses went through my head. I had imagined a ton of them, played them out like rom-coms where he fell at my feet asking for forgiveness, or like heart-wrenching dramas where I gave him the finger and left him as messed-up as he left me.
The silence stretched. The going-mute scenario never played in all my imaginings. I always thought I would have something smart or biting to say to him, but all my words had died and gone to hell.
He set the hammer down on the worktable and took a step closer. “It’s great to see you again.” He captured his lower lip between his teeth as if he could bite the words back.
“What are you doing here?” Those were the words that finally made it out of my mouth. At least I managed cold and unwelcoming.
“I’m back in St. Louis. For good.”
For good.
The words unleashed a storm in my gut, and I was glad Rosalina hadn’t returned
with the fried ravioli. Though maybe, vomiting on his work boots would have been a well-deserved welcome.
For good. I fought to ignore that bit.
“I don’t mean here in St. Louis,” I said. “I mean here in this particular building. Tell me you’re just the handyman.”
He smiled crookedly and hooked a finger in the work belt that hung around his waist. “That and also the new tenant.”
“NO!” I stomped my foot like a cross three-year-old.
Jake blinked in surprise. “Actually, I’m pretty sure it’s a yes.”
“You can’t. You can’t rent this place. You have to find another one. Preferably across town, across the world. Or maybe in hell.”
He furrowed his brow. “And why is that?”
I opened and closed my mouth, but no words came out.
“I like it here. It’s nice.”
“My agency is next-door, Jake. You cannot... do whatever it is you’re doing here.” I couldn’t fathom why he needed office space. Jake had never held a job in his life, that I knew of. His mother had left him a sizable inheritance when she passed away.
“It’s a free country, Toni. I can open my PI firm wherever I want to.”
“What?!”
PI firm? That distracted me for a moment. He was a private investigator? Since when? I shook my head and tried to ignore this curveball. The first pitch he’d thrown was the only thing I needed to focus on.
“My PI firm—” he began.
“Scratch that. I don’t care about it.” I held both my index fingers up and pointed them at him. “You can go privately investigate a troll’s behind for all I care, but you cannot open your office here.”
“Why?”
“Because.” Really? I knew him to be smart, so he was being dense on purpose.
He pursed his lips—those full, chiseled lips that drove me to distraction—and thought for a moment. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Give me a good reason, and I’ll find another place.” He raised his eyebrows and waited for my answer.
Again my mouth did that thing where it opened and closed but no words came out. What the hell?
Jake continued to wait, his crooked smile growing slowly as he watched me struggle with what to say. He knew perfectly well why I didn’t want him here, but I was damned if I’d give him the satisfaction.
“I’ll give you one good reason,” I said. “Because if you don’t leave, I’ll fucking kill you.”
I whirled and left with the firm intention of finding a silver bullet or wolfsbane. When I stomped back into our office, Rosalina was back at her desk.
“Where were you?” she asked, turning away from the computer. “I thought—” she stopped and inspected me up and down. “What happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“No, I saw a damn werewolf. That’s what.” I clenched my fists and growled.
Rosalina did a double-take. “Did you only see this werewolf? Or did he bite you too?”
I held both my index fingers and pointed them at her, something I seemed to be doing a lot of today. It seemed it was my way of saying I was on the verge of going on a murdering spree, and they needed to get out of my way unless they had a death wish.
“Werewolf bites don’t turn you. That’s a myth.” I knew Rosalina was only joking, but I was losing it.
Perfectly aware that I was in no shape to talk to anyone, I marched up the steps to the loft. There, I kicked off my heels and started pacing. A double bed, a nightstand, a chair, and an armoire comprised the bulk of my furniture.
“What the hell is going on?” I mumbled at the floor.
In the span of two hours both Stephen and Jake had reared their heads from my past. I hadn’t uttered their names in months, and now they were back... in one form or another.
“This isn’t good.”
Okay, if Jake didn’t want to move, Rosalina and I would find a new place and—
“Toni,” Rosalina poked her head from the steps and peered up at me.
I ignored her and kept pacing.
“Toni, there’s this really hot guy downstairs asking to see you.”
“Oh, no!” I whirled and headed toward the steps.
Rosalina pressed herself to the wall and let me pass. I stormed into the reception area to find Jake waiting there. He had put on a button-up shirt and tucked it into his jeans.
“Get the hell out, Jake. You have no right.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said as calm and collected as I’d ever seen him.
He had disappeared for a year and a half, then materialized out of thin air, and he was acting as if nothing had happened? Did he have amnesia?
I took a deep breath, using all my strength and will to reign in my emotions. They were wild, like a category-five hurricane bent on destruction, so it wasn’t easy.
Don’t give him the satisfaction, Toni. He has no hold over you.
Maybe it was too late. He’d already seen what his mere presence could do to me. Still, I’d learned a thing or two since he’d left. I had changed. I took a deep breath, and as I let it out, I neatly folded my emotions like a piece of paper and tucked them away in a private corner of my heart.
“I’m not upset,” I said, my voice as calm as Jake’s.
He frowned, his silver eyes scrutinizing me, searching for the turmoil I’d locked away. But it was gone, and I’d thrown away the key.
“Look,” he started, “I’m back because—”
“I don’t care why you’re back. Like you said, it’s a free country. You can move in next door if you want. And I can move out if I want.”
“Wait, what?!” Rosalina asked from behind me. “Move out? But we love it here.”
I glanced back over my shoulder. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Okaaaay,” she said.
“You don’t have to do that,” Jake said. “I will terminate my contract if that’s what you want. It doesn’t matter. That’s not why I’m here. I’m here because I need your help, because you’re the only one who can find Stephen Erickson.”
Chapter 6
My mind stuttered, slowly trying to process what Jake was saying.
I’m here because I need your help, because you’re the only one who can find Stephen Erickson.
The cogwheels inside my brain had suddenly gone rusty, screeching to a halt.
Jake and Stephen. Stephen and Jake.
It didn’t compute. As I tried to say something and only puffs of air came out of my mouth, I began to think I was permanently broken.
As usual, Rosalina came to my rescue. “So... you’re Jake Knight?”
He glanced at my friend, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from me. “I am.”
“And you’re trying to find Stephen Erickson?”
“Yes.”
Rosalina shook herself and blinked. “How the hell do you know Stephen?”
Here was the question I’d been wanting to ask. It snapped me back to my senses. “Yeah, how the hell?” I demanded.
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Jake said. “His life is in danger. We have to find him before it’s too late. You saw what they did to his bodyguard.”
“Wait, how do you know that?” Then I remembered. “You were there. I saw you”
He nodded.
“And I thought I was going crazy.”
“Look,” Rosalina took a step forward and stood next to me, “it’s very nice of you to be so determined to find Erickson. I commend you for it, but Toni isn’t going to get involved in this.”
Jake frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are, and why you’re trying to speak for Toni.” His piercing eyes shifted to me. “The woman I know speaks for herself.”
“Yes, she does,” I said. “And she isn’t going to get involved in any of this.”
That new crease between his eyebrows grew deeper. “I don’t understand.”
“I don’t do that kind of work anymore. If you haven’t noticed,” I gestu
red around the office, “I run a mate tracking agency.”
Now, it was Jake’s turn to act as if the cogwheels in his brain needed grease. He narrowed his eyes, frowned deeper, cocked his head to one side, opened and closed his mouth... And after all of that, he said absolutely nothing, which gave me an odd sort of satisfaction.
“Things are finally looking up for me, Jake,” I continued, “and I don’t intend to ruin what I’ve accomplished.”
“It’s Stephen we’re talking about.” He sounded truly confused.
“I’ve no clue how you know Stephen but don’t try to act as if we’re all long-lost friends because we’re not. I went on a few dates with him, and then he broke up with me because Daddy Ulfen didn’t approve. That was all. If he told you more than that about our relationship, it doesn’t give you the right to come here acting like this.”
“Toni, I don’t... understand. You like to help people.”
“And you know where that got me?” I paused, feeling a lump of familiar anger build in the pit of my stomach. “Nowhere.”
When I should have been working and saving money, I had selflessly tracked people who’d gone missing, expecting nothing in return. Yeah, saving that eight-year-old from that blood leech before he managed to hurt her and returning her to her parents had felt awesome. I would never regret saving little Emily Garner. But in the end, all I had left were two-months’ rent, an empty bank account, and deep depression.
“But this is someone you know. Someone you shared something with. How can you turn your back on him when it’s in your power to help?” Incredulity contorted his face.
“Just the way you and he turned your backs on me,” I said. “That’s how.”
Jake flinched but recovered quickly. “I don’t recognize you.”
The words hurt. I couldn’t deny it. Maybe because that innocent girl who once used her talents for good was dead. Or because my half-frozen heart couldn’t warm up toward Stephen, a person I’d known and liked. Or because the man I’d loved most in the world seemed so disenchanted of what I’d become.
“What did you expect?” I asked, my voice quiet. “That I would be the same naïve, pliable girl you left behind?”
The Tracker's Mate: Sunderverse (Mate Tracker Book 1) Page 3