by Neva Bell
“Get it together girl,” I say out loud to my reflection.
I take the elevator to the 12th floor and hold my breath as the doors open. I see James immediately. He is standing in front of the glass wall staring out into the night sky. Somewhere along the line he managed to change his clothes. He’s now wearing a pair of dark denim jeans with a red t-shirt.
He doesn’t realize I’m watching him until I say, “Cameras” loudly. I watch the red light go out on the camera closest to me.
James turns to look at me. He smiles sadly, then turns back to the window. I walk toward him and sit on the chaise lounge closest to him. I tuck my legs into my chest and squeeze them, just like I did the day I hid under the quilt tent with Chelsea in our old bedroom.
That seems like another lifetime.
I glance over at James. Neither of us says anything for a minute or two. I’m not sure where to start.
“Do you remember when I had to go back home and get my men?” James asks me. He doesn’t turn away from the glass.
“Yes,” I answer.
“I was gone for four days. I was less than thrilled to come back. You torched my watch and it seemed like you would be difficult to work with. I thought this was a horrible idea.” He looks at me for a second, then back out the window.
“It was late when I came home. I showed my men where they would be staying and then found my own room. I was restless and couldn’t sleep. I decided to go for a swim, I thought it might be relaxing, or at the very least, wear me out. I used the stairs, but when I walked in, you were already here.”
He smiles to himself. “You were standing in this very spot with your hand against the glass.” James raises his own hand to the glass.
Recognition dawns in my mind. “The night of the storm…”
He nods. “Yes. You stood here watching the storm. The lightning illuminating your face and body. I stood in the shadows and watched you. I’m sure it sounds creepy, but it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. You were breathtaking.”
I remember how I felt that night. Lost in the storm. I also remember for a second I thought someone was watching me. I guess I was right.
“I was smitten with you from that moment on. Everything I did after that was for you. You probably don’t believe it, but it’s the truth.”
James pulls his hand off the glass and walks toward me. He sits across from me on the edge of a chaise lounge.
“Do you know the men I brought with me are the best fighters in our pack? They know more about combat than I ever will.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know anything about them.”
“Because I didn’t want you to. I didn’t want you getting close to any of them. In the beginning, I couldn’t trust them to fight with you in their Were forms. I was too concerned they would hurt you, so I did it myself.”
James stands again and paces. “I told myself I couldn’t get involved with you. We had business to take care of and when it was all over, I’d be heading home and you’d be here in New York. But then I started allowing myself little things. First it was combat training. Then it was group meals. Then it was our meetings in the library. I was letting go a little more each time.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” I ask. “I was driving myself crazy thinking I was imagining something between us.”
James grimaces. “I never meant for this to happen. I was supposed to come here, catch my dad, and go home. I’ve had my life planned out since I was a kid. You were never part of the plan.”
“What about the things your grandfather said?”
James sighs. “I made the mistake one night of confiding in him that I have feelings for you. I went to him for guidance, but instead he got excited. He played out in his mind what a union between us could mean. Since then, he’s brought it up almost every day. What you heard this morning was another one of those talks.”
“Okay, so what happened between us this morning?”
James stands in front of the glass wall looking out at the horizon. “I told myself last night I wasn’t going to do anything inappropriate. I would stay close to you in the club so we would be seen together. Nothing more than that. But then I saw you dancing, and I couldn’t stop myself. I had to touch you. I wanted to feel your skin under my fingertips. And then you kissed me, and told me you wanted me. When you bared your neck to me, I lost myself completely.”
I get up and stand next to him near the glass, our arms touching slightly. I reach out my hand and take his. He grasps it, his touch warm.
“James, I meant what I said to you last night at the club.”
He nods. “I know that now, but I wasn’t sure last night. Then Whitney made the comment in the car about how smart you were for baring your neck to me. I thought it was all for show. I was angry. Really angry. As you could tell this morning.”
“You didn’t give me the chance to explain.”
“I was too upset. When I heard you ran out of the building,” his hand tightens around mine, “I was so worried about you. When I think about what could have happened to you…” his voice breaks.
I touch his face with my free hand. “I’m okay.”
He gazes at me with sad eyes. “It would have been my fault if something happened to you. It makes me sick to think about it, even with you right here in front of me.”
James looks back out the window. “I was frantic to see you. To be sure you were fine. As soon as Bane mentioned Florida, I was out of here.” He snorts. “And to think you were under my nose the entire time.”
I frown. “I wasn’t a part of that plan. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. It forced me to slow down and think things through.”
“Me too.”
James shakes his head. “That Willa, she’s a smart lady.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “I’m sorry about everything. I should have said something in the car last night.”
James brushes a piece of hair out of my eyes. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have overreacted and ripped you apart this morning.”
“I probably shouldn’t have frozen you and your grandfather either.”
James laughs. “I guess we both acted poorly today.”
“To say the least.”
“How about this - I won’t charge into your room at 5:30 a.m. and you won’t freeze me and my loved ones. Deal?”
“Deal,” I say with a smile. “I’m glad you’re back. I missed you.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Even though you were furious with me?”
“Yes.” I look up into his eyes. “I don’t want to rush things with you. I want to do this right.”
His eyes are intense. “Me too. You mean so much to me.”
I let go of his neck and take his hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“Where are we going?” he asks as I pull him along.
“My room.”
---
The next morning, I wake up with my head on James’s chest. We climbed into bed together last night and passed out, both of us exhausted from the long day we had. Having James next to me in bed was the best I’ve felt in a long time.
I’m relishing the moment when my bedside phone rings. James stirs when I roll off his chest.
Hello?” I answer.
Frank’s voice fills my ear. “Good morning sunshine!”
“What do you want?” I ask, chuckling.
“Tell your man it’s 8:30. We need to discuss his meeting with Rawley and get him miked up.”
“Alright. We’ll be down soon.”
When I hang up the phone, it hits me. Everyone in the building knows James stayed with me last night. They probably think we got it on.
If only they were right…
“Let me guess,” James says stretching his arms and legs, “Frank telling me it’s time to get back to work.”
“Yep.”
James lays on his side and props himself up on his elbow. “What do you say we forget the whole thing an
d lay in bed all day?” He runs his finger up my arm.
“Don’t tempt me.”
“Oh,” he says with a sly grin. “So I shouldn’t do this?”
He pulls on my legs and I slip down onto my back. He’s on top of me in a second, holding up his weight with his hands. He leans down and kisses my neck from ear to ear.
It feels so good. I slide my hands along his back. I want to feel his body against mine. He kisses my lips...
And then my phone rings again.
James groans and rolls off of me.
“Frank!” I yell into the phone when I pick it up. “I swear to God…”
A female voice interrupts me. “Chloe, it’s not Frank. It’s me, Whitney.”
“Oh. Hey Whitney. What’s up?”
“I’m worried about James. He didn’t come home last night.”
I smack my forehead. Poor Whitney, always in the dark.
“Whitney, he came home last night.”
She’s not persuaded. “No he didn’t. He’s not in his room, and my grandfather said he never heard James come in last night.”
James grabs the phone. “Hey Whit!”
I can hear Whitney stammer on the other end. “Um…hi James.”
“I stayed with Chloe last night. Thanks for the concern though.”
James hands the phone back to me. I look at him horrified. What the hell am I supposed to say now?
He grins at me and jumps out of bed. He whistles as he turns on the shower. I have to look away when he starts taking off his boxer briefs. I won’t be able to handle it.
“See,” I say casually, “he’s fine.”
“I guess you guys made up, huh?”
“You could say that.” I’m distracted by James standing in my glass shower, his back to me. I’m captivated by the soap running down his naked body.
Whitney brings me back to Earth. “Chloe, are you there?”
“Yeah, sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if James is meeting with Rawley today.”
“He is. We’re heading down to the Guard center soon.”
“Is it okay if I come?”
“Absolutely! You should come.”
“Okay. See you in a few.”
I hang up the phone and head into the bathroom. James is already out of the shower and has a towel wrapped around his waist. A single bead of water runs down his chest and I have the sudden urge to lick it off.
“I’m going to run up to my room for some clean clothes.” He gives me a quick kiss. “Meet you downstairs?”
I nod. “Sure.”
I sigh loudly after he leaves. I can’t help but wonder – does taking it slow mean no sex?
---
We follow the same protocol as the last meeting with Rawley and send James out with an invisible wire. I’m not a nail biter, but I find myself picking at them as we listen to James walking down the city street.
Rawley chose yet another coffee shop to meet in. This one a few more blocks away.
We hear James walk into the coffee shop and I relax a little. No way Rawley will attack James in a public place.
James speaks first. “What’s up?”
Rawley’s gruff voice comes across the mic. “James, good to see you. Sit, please.”
“Did I do good?” James asks.
“Good? Brother, you did great! Your father is ecstatic. We never guessed you’d be able to get so close to her.”
“I told you guys, I got this.”
“Clearly. A picture says a thousand words and the pictures of you with the Verhena tell a pretty good story.”
“What next? What do you guys need me to do?”
“How are her skills coming? Any big developments?” Rawley asks.
“She stopped training. She doesn’t think she needs it anymore. She thinks she can rely on me and the Guard to protect her.”
“Excellent.” Rawley sounds thrilled. “It’s all coming together. Thanks to you.”
“I told my dad I will do all I can to help him. I meant it. If I have to put up with that scatterbrain to get him where he needs to be, I will.”
I’m not even a little upset by the things James says about me. He’s painting a picture that we need the rogue wolves to believe.
Rawley clears his throat. “Here’s the deal kid. Your dad is ready to make a move. He’s seen how much she trusts you and he doesn’t want to wait any longer. I’ll call you Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m. I’m going to give you a location. Be there by 9:30 a.m. Bring the Verhena with you. Your dad will take care of the rest.”
“Let me get this straight,” James says annoyed. “You expect me to get her out of the building and to a location without the Guard on my ass the entire time?”
“Figure it out James.”
“Am I finally going to my dad’s hideout? I can’t wait to get the hell out of that building.”
Rawley laughs. “You’re going to the big show kid. You’ll meet our pack and see our new digs.”
“Sweet,” James says. “It’s about damn time.”
A chair scoots across the floor.
“Wednesday morning. 8:30 a.m. If the plan to get the girl out of there sounds legit, I’ll give you the location. We don’t want the Guard following you to the hideout, so you better come up with something amazing.”
“Not a problem. I’ll make it happen,” James says confidently.
“Good. I’ll talk to you Wednesday.”
---
We’re huddled in the conference room again, figuring out where we go from here.
“Obviously the location isn’t far away if he thinks you’ll make it there by 9:30, but it’s probably not here in the city. That would be too close to our headquarters,” Frank reasons.
“I agree,” says James. “Maybe somewhere out on Long Island? Or upstate maybe?”
“Was there anything about Rawley’s appearance that stood out? Any kind of clue there?” Ivan asks.
James shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” He pauses for a second, then his eyes light up. “He does have a woodsy scent to him.”
A memory flashes through my mind.
“The wolves who were in my apartment at Leviston, they smelled woodsy. It was the first thing I noticed when I ran into the apartment.”
Frank nods. “I remember that too.” Frank stands and walks toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”
Frank disappears for a minute. When he returns, he’s holding a stack of photographs.
“This,” he says as he throws a picture of a tan SUV on the table, “is the getaway vehicle from Leviston. Look at the tires and the bottom half of the car.”
We all lean over and examine the picture.
“It’s covered in mud,” Whitney observes.
Willa sums it up. “So they’re in a wooded area within an hour of here.”
“Who knows if they’ll give me the actual location of their new hideout. They could be playing with me,” James notes.
“This could all be a set-up,” Ivan adds. “This whole thing could be a scheme to trap you and Chloe. There’s no guarantee your father isn’t trying to harm you James. You are the heir to the throne, so to speak.”
I sigh. “We’ll never know his true intentions. We can guess all day long what they’re planning, but I think I’m Julian’s main target. If he only wanted James, Julian would have given James a location already and killed James when he showed up.”
“You’re right Chloe,” Whitney chimes in, “he wants you dead. He wants to be able to show everyone how strong he is by killing another Verhena. Plus, he’s not worried about James being pack leader because he thinks James is on his side.”
We all nod in agreement.
Pleased she made a valuable contribution, Whitney looks across the table to James. “You have to take me with you.”
James shakes his head. “No Whit. You stay here.”
“Dad will never believe you left me behind,” Whitney insists. “He knows you better than that. If
you don’t take me with you, he’ll be suspicious.”
Everyone considers this for a minute.
“She’s right,” Ivan concedes. “Whitney needs to go with you.”
Whitney smiles proudly.
But James is frowning. “This is getting out of control. Maybe I didn’t think this through enough.” He leans forward and puts his head in his hands. “I’m putting everyone I love at risk. It may not be worth it.”
Frank crosses his arms. “If you want out James, tell us now.”
“Hey,” I say to James and he looks up. “We have to do this. We can’t let your father get away with killing Barbara and my sister. He’s not going to stop. Even if he never gets to me, he’ll find some other target to take out. He could come after you and Whitney.”
James straightens up after a moment. “You’re right, I’m good.”
“Alright,” Willa says, “let’s put our heads together and come up with the best damn plan we can.”
This is the first time I’ve heard Willa curse. She looks hyped up, ready to go into battle.
Her energy pumps me up too. “First, we need to figure out a good story for how James is getting me out of here without the Guard following us. It has to sound legit.”
“I think I’ve got something,” James says. “The wolves look at the Guard as a bunch of blowhards.”
Frank narrows his eyes.
James puts up his hand. “Sorry man, it’s what they think.”
“Go on,” Frank says through clenched teeth.
“I’ll tell Rawley I paid off one of the Guard members. A disgruntled guy looking for some dough so he can get out of here. I’ll tell Rawley he’s an IT guy who will shut the entire grid down for half an hour. Which should give us enough time to get out of the building and out of the city.”
Frank rubs his chin. “That could work.”
“What about a getaway car?” I ask. “We can’t take a vehicle from here because Rawley will know they have trackers.”
James shrugs. “I’ll tell him the same IT guy disabled it for me.”
We all ponder this story for a minute.
Ivan breaks the silence. “It’s a simple story, but it’s believable.”
Willa agrees. “The simpler, the better.”
Frank clicks and unclicks his pen as he considers the plan. “Okay, next issue. How do we follow you without the wolves noticing?”