by Lola Gabriel
“You don’t think there’s anything wrong with our relationship?” Owen asked dubiously. The entire thing was becoming more and more confusing for him.
“Wrong? Like what?”
Owen sighed, wondering if it was a species bias. Maybe Amelia would see the taboo. His brothers certainly did.
“Nothing,” he mumbled. “Let’s talk about what happened today. I’ve been all over the country talking to investigators. So far, I seem to be the only thing all the incidents have in common, although they obviously aren’t treating them like they’re connected. After all, there’s no connection between broken windows on the east coast and a set of arsons on the west, but I think they are.”
“I don’t see how, Owen,” Colin said warily. “If you don’t mind me saying so, it sounds paranoid for you to think that.”
“It does,” Owen agreed. “It sounds very paranoid, but I don’t think I’m wrong.” Colin took another sip of the putrid liquid and almost gagged.
“What are you thinking, Owen?” he pressed. Slowly, the alcohol began to seep inside Owen’s pores, relaxing him almost instantly. Suddenly, the world didn’t seem so hostile, and he grinned disarmingly at Colin.
“Oh, it’s not what I’m thinking,” he replied. “It’s what I know.”
“And what is that?”
“That my girlfriend’s father is trying to ruin me.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, that’s a rather long and stupid story, I’m afraid, but that’s not really the question, is it?”
“No, I guess the question is, how do we stop him?”
Owen shook his head. “It’s too late for that. Whatever damage is done can’t be undone. We’re going to be paying out of our asses for centuries. It will be twenty years before I bounce back from this fall. Thankfully, I didn’t invest all my eggs in one basket. The only thing we can do is try our best to mitigate our damages.”
“Then what is your pressing question, Owen?” Colin demanded.
The dragon took a big swig and downed the rest of the alcohol. This time, he couldn’t suppress the coughing as the pure chemical mixed with the fire sack in the back of his throat. He opened his mouth and released a stream of flames, which burnt the fallon tree fifteen feet away.
“Whoops,” Owen giggled, slightly drunkenly. “Sorry.” He turned his attention back to his friend. “As I was saying, the only question that remains is, did Kennedy know about what her father planned to do and didn’t say a word?”
Colin’s eyes widened in shock. “You don’t think she would…”
Owen shrugged, and more consternation filled him.
“I don’t know,” he replied truthfully. “If you had to choose between your family and your wife, who would you choose?”
“My wife,” Colin answered without hesitation. “It’s my job to protect her. But, I made that choice consciously; it wasn’t forced upon me.”
Owen liked to think he would have chosen the same, but he wasn’t Kennedy. He didn’t have the same commitments, the same fears.
“I’d offer you another glass of moonshine, but I think it’s time you switched to beer,” Colin commented dryly, gesturing toward the burnt outline of his prized tree. It was almost impossible to grow flora in the hostile environment of the Hollows, yet Amelia had somehow managed to keep it alive for all that time.
“I’ll get Amelia a new tree,” Owen murmured, but Colin had already disappeared into the house. Owen was left to his own devices, gritting his teeth as he tried to stave off the influx of negative thoughts threatening to plague his mind.
It wasn’t just that he worried Kennedy had known about Cameron’s plan—he worried that she might have been part of it.
10
Theo had been unusually chatty, and if Kennedy had given it any real thought, she would have realized it was a peace offering of sorts, but her mind was everywhere except on her co-worker. She had been trying to get a hold of Owen for almost twenty-four hours, but he seemed to be avoiding her calls. True, he had mentioned being caught up with work, yet the fact that he couldn’t even take two minutes out of his day to give her a call bothered her beyond reason.
As it grew close to closing time, Theo released an exasperated grunt.
“It’s been like talking to a brick wall with you today,” he complained. “Where is your head?”
“Gee, sorry, Theo. I kinda tuned you out when you started talking about Broadway musicals again. I mean, how many times can we discuss ‘Cats’ seriously?” Kennedy wasn’t sure that was what he’d been going on about, but if she had to wager a guess, that would have been it.
“I’m sure this has nothing to do with the fact your lover hasn’t called you all day,” Theo retorted evenly. Kennedy bristled. Like said lover, she was coming to learn that the relationship she had thought was so secret was not even remotely so. Every night when she got home after work or from being out with Owen, she waited for her father to call her into his office. So far, it still hadn’t happened.
The other shoes are dropping like flies now, aren’t they? she thought miserably. First, Dad finds out about us, and then Owen drops me. Or has he dropped me? What is going on with him?
Before Kennedy could say anything to Theo, the door opened, and Rocco entered. Kennedy groaned inwardly.
“What are you doing here, Rocco?” she asked furiously. “Are we starting with this shit again?”
“I need to talk to you,” he said with quiet urgency. He noted the sour expression on her face and stared at her with imploring brown eyes. “Please, Kennedy. It’s important.”
Against her better judgment, Kennedy allowed herself to be led out of the store and into the palace atrium.
“Your father knows about you and Owen Parker.”
There was no preamble, no small talk, just the punch to the gut that Kennedy had been expecting all along. Even though she’d been anticipating the disclosure, it did not make it any less fearsome, and she gasped, falling back slightly before she could stop herself. To her surprise, Rocco was at her side, catching her.
“You okay?” he asked, and Kennedy read genuine concern in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” she replied, righting herself. She forced a cold, stoic look on her face. “I suppose you were the one who told him,” she said, pulling her arm away from him.
“I told you I wouldn’t, Kennedy, but you weren’t exactly discreet in your dealings with him. Everyone saw you together.”
Kennedy wondered how that could be when they had always met in the cloak of darkness or on the Sunside.
Of course, she reasoned, everyone knows who Owen is. All they had to do was dig a little bit to figure out who I am. No matter where we go, we’ll always be seen by someone. I was a fool to think otherwise. The house in Athens was a pipe dream for both of us.
Kennedy considered that it might all be a moot point now. Was that why Owen had been avoiding her? Because he knew they’d been caught?
In a small way, it gave her comfort, knowing that he was still willing to protect her, though it didn’t explain why he hadn’t said anything to her about it. Something else was happening there.
“Why are you here, Rocco?” she demanded. “To gloat?”
“Kennedy, what happened with us?” Rocco asked, rue striking his face in such a pathetic manner that Kennedy almost felt sorry for him. “We hit it off so well when we went out that time—”
“Rocco, you’re a nice guy, okay?” Kennedy cut him off curtly. “But we have no chemistry. There is nothing about you that turns my crank.” She stared at him almost balefully, hoping that the words would sting some reality into his core.
“I see.” The look on his face told her that he did not see, but his coming to terms with the truth was not a matter Kennedy ever wanted to worry about.
“So, you see, Rocco, you need to stop with whatever idea you have about the two of us getting together. I know my dad likes you, and that’s great, but we’re never going to happen, okay?”
&n
bsp; Rocco inhaled sharply, as if Kennedy had hit him squarely in the face. He drew back his broad shoulders and nodded, his dark eyes fixed on the ground.
He looks like a kicked puppy. Another wave of compassion for him swept through Kennedy, but she forced it aside.
“Thanks for the heads up about Dad, though.” She turned to leave him in the vast, open space of the commercial corridor.
“You didn’t let me finish,” Rocco called out to her. Slowly, Kennedy turned back around, smothering a grimace with every ounce of energy she could muster.
“Oh.”
“Your dad heard the rumors about you and Owen, and he came to me about them. It seems that he’d been suspicious of you two ever since that day he came into the store.”
Kennedy tensed. Her instincts had been right all along.
“And what did you say to him?” She thought she saw a small blush forming on his face, but he moved his head before she could fully catch it.
“I don’t want you to be upset, Kennedy, but you have to know, your father was pissed. I’ve never seen him so angry, not even during a full moon shift. He was fit to be tied. I swear!”
Kennedy’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say to him?” she demanded. “You told him it was true?”
Rocco shook his head vehemently. “No! You’re not listening at all. Even though you don’t care about me, Kennedy, I care about you. I promised I wouldn’t say anything, and I didn’t.”
Kennedy didn’t understand. “Then why would I be upset with you?”
“I told him something else,” Rocco hemmed. “Something that might bother you, but when you think about it, it’s much better than him believing you have betrayed him and the pack.”
“Holy Hell, Rocco, spit it out!” Kennedy cried, her nerves frayed to the point of snapping. “What did you say?”
“I told him that you and I were actually seeing one another in secret.”
Kennedy blinked once, her mouth parting. When no words escaped, she blinked again, trying to make sense of what she’d been told.
“Say something, please,” Rocco urged. “Don’t just stare at me like that.”
She pursed her mouth closed before opening it again. Unexpectedly, a giggle fell from her lips.
“That is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” she finally announced. “Why would you say that?”
Rocco’s face darkened, and Kennedy realized how hurtful that must have been to hear. Then again, she couldn’t fathom how or why he would say something so stupid. Or that her wise, Alpha father had bought it, especially when she knew how Kennedy felt about Rocco.
“Like I said, Kennedy, I was trying to protect you.” Instantly, contrition filled her, and she reached out to touch Rocco’s arm.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to sound like such a bitch. I’m just trying to understand why my dad would believe that. I mean, why would we need to have a secret relationship?”
Rocco smiled thinly, but there was no mirth at all in his face. “Maybe because you wouldn’t want your father to think he’d won, setting you up with someone he approved of,” he suggested coldly. “Even though we’re perfectly matched for one another.”
Kennedy began to nod slowly. “If he thinks I’m dating you, he wouldn’t think I was seeing Owen, too,” she murmured, turning her beryl-green eyes on him with new appreciation. “You saved my ass!”
Then, as soon as her moment of glee came, it passed, and she stiffened. Obviously, Rocco would want something in return for this unasked favor. She wondered what the cost would be.
“What do you want, Rocco?” she questioned, stepping back subconsciously. Another pained look crossed Rocco’s face, and he sighed heavily.
“I have no idea what made you like this, Kennedy, but the sooner you realize I’m on your side, the better it will be for you. I don’t want anything except for you to be happy.”
Kennedy softened slightly by the words, but her guard was still up as she considered his face closely.
“Surely this can’t be the end of it,” she insisted. “You could have called me to tell me this on the phone.”
“You never answer my calls,” Rocco reminded her.
“Touché.”
“Anyway, I have a suggestion for you. But knowing your stubbornness, I have a feeling you’re going to shoot it down.”
“Well, there’s no harm in asking, is there?” Here it comes, Kennedy thought grimly. He’s going to ask for a kiss or something equally offensive.
“I think, for appearance’s sake, we should keep up the charade,” Rocco explained.
“The charade?”
“I think we should publicly announce that we’re dating.”
Kennedy released a nervous laugh and shook her head. “Yeah, no, we’re not going to do that.”
Rocco’s mouth formed a thin line. “Why not?” he asked. “You’re just going to find yourself in the same position again unless you tell your father the truth.”
Kennedy stared at him, knowing the truth of his words.
“Maybe I should tell him the truth…” she mumbled aloud, thinking of her father, but it lacked conviction, and it wasn’t truly for Rocco’s benefit anyway.
“But will you?”
She exhaled loudly. “I have to talk to Owen about this,” Kennedy said. “I don’t know how he’s going to feel about me having another boyfriend, even if it is fake.”
“Well talk to him and make him see how important this is not only for you, but for your dad,” Rocco said. “Can you imagine what scorn he’s bound to face if others learn his daughter has hooked up with a dragon?”
Kennedy scowled at him. She didn’t need the painful reminder. There was so much at stake if the truth came out.
“I have to say, Kenn, I’m a little surprised at you,” Rocco commented when she didn’t respond. “I never took you as the kind of girl who answered to any man.”
“I don’t answer to anyone!” she snapped back. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I’m giving you a pain-free solution to your problem and you’re looking a gift-horse in the mouth. Why do you need to clear it with Owen? What if he says no? Are you just going to go back into the shadows and hide your relationship until your dad catches wind of it again?”
Kennedy bristled. “Is it a gift-horse, Rocco? Surely there must be something in it for you.”
Their eyes met, and she saw a hungry look of longing in his eyes that churned her gut. She had to look away first.
“I told you fifty times already,” said Rocco. “I care about you, even if you make crazy decisions. If I can help you, I will. And if I get to spend a little extra time with you, bonus for me.”
“Rocco, if you’re thinking that something is going to happen between us—”
“You’ve made your position perfectly clear, Kennedy. I would never force anything on you. If you love Owen, I would never stand in your way. All right?”
Kennedy searched his face for signs of guile and saw nothing, but her sixth sense was again tickling her, warning her that something wasn’t right. We’ll give it a shot and see what happens. If he starts acting weird, I’ll call the whole thing off.
“Okay,” she agreed. “Consider us dating. But I need to tell Owen about this before he hears it from someone else, so keep your mouth shut.” Rocco grinned and feigned zipping his lips together.
“Your secret is safe with me,” he promised. “You won’t regret this, Kennedy.”
As Kennedy turned back toward the jewelry store, she caught a glimpse of Theo’s hair disappearing from the door, and she wondered how much he’d overheard. The glimmer of doubt brewing in her gut became a full-fledged knot of worry.
She hoped Rocco was right and that she wouldn’t regret it, but the truth was, she already did.
11
Whatever was in the moonshine Colin had fed him would likely have killed any mortal who consumed it. Owen spent the better part of the day attempting to
nurse the worst hangover he’d ever had. As a rule, dragons were not prone to such acts of sickness, but there was no escaping the trauma of what had happened to him the previous night.
He had passed out on Colin’s lawn, near the smoldering fallon tree, and only woken when Amelia furiously dumped a bucket of ice water on his head.
“You killed my tree!” was all he remembered before stumbling back to the palace. Or at least that’s what he assumed he did. When he came to again, it was late evening, and he had seventeen missed calls on his phone and a pounding headache that made it impossible for him to see.
Most of the calls were from Kennedy, but Owen was in no position to speak with anyone that night.
I’ll call her in the morning, and we’ll lay everything on the table, he vowed through the throbbing in his skull. This second-guessing one another is not doing either one of us any good. I’m letting my imagination run away with me, and she’s probably wondering why I’ve been avoiding her. This is going too far.
Owen splashed cold water on his face and dug through the medicine cabinet for something to alleviate the pain in his head, but he could find very little. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d needed anything for a headache. Or any kind of ache, for that matter.
He knew he’d need to find a member of the house staff to help him, and with great effort, he moved his leaden legs toward the double doors of his suite. Every step felt like a thousand, and he was reminded of the walk he’d taken on Vlad’s Day.
No, this is definitely worse, he thought miserably. As he entered the dimly lit hall, he heard his cell dinging again, but the effort to return for it was too great. Tomorrow, Kenn. We’ll talk tomorrow, he promised her silently. Don’t give up on us.
He wondered if she had already.
Somehow, he made it to the main floor and stumbled toward the kitchen, knowing that someone would be around to help. He paused outside, hearing the clanging of pots against his reverberating head, and he willed his eyes to focus. Idly, he considered that he was still drunk, twenty-four hours later. Voices rose to join the smash of dishes, and without intending to, Owen found himself eavesdropping on the staff’s conversation.