"So, how's Larson? You've seen him in person more recently than I have. He was pretty amped up about this assignment."
"He's actually doing really well," Johnny responded, a flicker of emotion passing over his face, too quickly for me to fully analyze. "Things are looking up for Khol, and being this close to getting some closure from the Laura debacle has him in great spirits."
"Makes sense. She did a number on him." Johnny lifted his head and widened his eyes a little bit, like maybe I had insider information, but I didn't, so I waved him down. "I'm just judging off of how he acted when we met with him to get the orders. The man rarely shows any emotion at all and it was pretty fuckin’ telling that he was so pissed."
He chuckled. "Yeah, no, you're right. She has no idea who she fucked with, but do you get the vibe that there's more going on here than meets the eye?"
Nodding, I had to agree with that, something just felt off in my gut, and I always trusted that feeling. It'd never led me astray before.
"Who knows, man. There's a lot of interesting people here, that's for sure."
"How do you think Saige is going to react when you guys take her mom into custody? Or will you not tell her? Seems like a big fucking mess," he pondered out loud, taking a drink of his coffee.
I ran my hands through my hair and groaned. "Ugh, I don't know. We need to discuss it as a team first, and then discuss it as the guys who are dating her. I didn't see this happening, me finding a woman like this, or a woman who would be interested in all of us like that, but here we are. I'm not giving her up, and I think the others are in agreement with that, but I'm just focusing on one day at a time and trying to live in the moment."
"Must be some woman to bring the alpha team to their knees..." he mumbled and I chuckled.
"She's so that, and so much more, man. So much more."
Damn, I was nervous. Nervous to see her after our fight, nervous to tell her what I needed to, nervous to see if she'd forgive me for my behavior yesterday. It wasn't a feeling I was used to, and I didn't appreciate it.
I'd slipped on a grey and black henley, and paired it with some black Levi's that had rips in the knees. My long hair was pulled up in a knot on the top of my head, and I wore my signature black boots. Sloane and Fischer were sitting in the living room watching some Marvel movie and I smiled to myself as they laughed over something on the screen. We usually didn't have much downtime, so I was glad to see my guys getting to cut loose and relax a little bit.
"Where you taking her, Cam?" Fischer asked when I entered the room, patting my pockets to make sure I had the essentials. Keys, wallet, phone.
"We're going to grab dinner somewhere first, then heading to the lake. I want somewhere quiet where we can talk," I told them and they watched me warily.
"You'll feel better once you get it out there, and you know our girl, she'll want to support you and be more understanding about your... need for control." Fischer smiled encouragingly and Sloane grunted.
"More like his brutish caveman behavior, but sure, we can go with need for control," Sloane shrugged. Fischer threw a pillow at his head, hitting him square in the face.
"Be supportive, Sloane," Fischer scolded, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It's fine, he's just jealous. Don't wait up for me, boys." I winked at them, then took the stairs two at a time. I just needed to fix this fuck up of mine and get my little witch where she belonged. With me.
The engine of my bike idled at a soft rumble as I put the kickstand down. Just as I was about to flip the key and head for the door, movement caught my eye and I looked up just in time to see Saige come through the screen door and make her way to where I was.
Stars have mercy.
Leopard print skinny jeans, a black corset style top that accentuated her natural hourglass figure had her hips popping in all the right ways, heeled black boots came just over her knees and I swallowed roughly. She was my vision of a wet dream. Smokey eyes, dark purple lipstick, and two thick braids, I swear on Jupiter, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.
"Hi," she said, stepping right next to me where I sat frozen on my bike.
"H-" I cleared my throat, "Hi." Fuck, I can barely speak. "You look amazing, little witch."
A blush popped immediately and I smiled slightly as she looked up at me from under her dark eyelashes.
"Thank you. I figured this would work for being on the bike." She shrugged. We both just kind of stared at each other for a moment, neither sure of exactly what to do next. We needed to talk, but not yet, and not like this.
"There's a helmet in there for you." I pointed to the saddlebag. "Hop on, baby. Let's go get dinner."
Holding onto my arm, she swung her leg over the seat, pressing her soft body against my back. Oh gods. Giving myself a quick adjustment, we headed back into town. There weren't a lot of options in terms of restaurants, but there was a small Italian restaurant that I'd gotten take out from last week and it had been pretty good.
We pulled up in front of Come and Spaghet It and I killed the engine. Helping her slide off the bike, we hung our helmets on the handlebars. Just as I was turning to head toward the door, she slid her hand into mine and intertwined our fingers, looking up at me with vulnerability. Well, I can't have that. Lifting our hands, I pressed a kiss to hers and pulled her tightly against my front, my free hand finding her cheek.
"I'm so sorry, baby. I know we have to talk about last night, and we will, but I can't have you looking at me like you're questioning if I still want you or not. Because I always want you." My voice sounded rough to my own ears, and I felt my dick waking up again, pressing into her stomach.
"I'm sorry I slapped you. I don't know what came over me, I'm not a violent person and I feel so terrible about it." She took a deep breath and tears were shining in her green eyes.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. I deserved it, I was an asshole."
"So you forgive me?" she asked quietly, her cheeks pink with her emotions.
"Oh, baby girl." I didn't know what else to say so I leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her full lips, intending to keep it short and sweet since we were standing in the middle of the sidewalk. She had other ideas and suddenly her arms were wrapped around my neck, her tongue licking at my mouth, seeking entry. Groaning, I opened my lips and met her tongue with mine, caressing and loving the way we just fused together.
Clapping from somewhere had her smiling against my mouth and pulling back slightly. We both looked across the street where those two seer women were clapping, and jumping up and down at the sight of our PDA.
"Don't stop on our account, love birds!" the shorter of the two called out.
Saige laughed. "You two are so bad! We're going in for dinner now, hope you enjoyed the show!"
"Spoilsport!" the taller woman shouted, but they were both still smiling at us like we'd made their whole damn week.
Saige tugged my hand and led me into the restaurant, and I let hope fill my chest at the great start of the night. Hopefully, we could get everything out on the table and our relationship wouldn't detonate before it really even began.
Dinner was great. I'd eaten my weight in salad, breadsticks, and baked spaghetti, and Cam had devoured his chicken parmesan. We were both slightly groaning as we walked out of the restaurant, my body tucked close to his. We still hadn't had a deep discussion about what had happened last night, but I knew it was coming and my face heated with shame when I thought of how I'd lost my temper and slapped him, how I was lying to them all about Bryce and his threats.
The look on his face, or rather, the lack of expression damn near killed me. I'd ran back inside and gone straight upstairs, stripping out of my clothing and putting on my nightgown, slipping into bed with tears running down my cheeks. When Fischer and Kai slid into bed and held me, I really lost my shit. Ugly crying. Like, the absolute ugliest, big sobs, nose blowing, rapid breathing... the whole nine yards. And they'd just held me close, soothed me, while Fischer ran his fingers throu
gh my hair and Kai purred against my neck.
I must've passed out because next thing I knew, it was morning, and my face felt sore and raw from the tears and wiping them away. Fish and Kai were still in bed and I just snuggled in closer to Fischer, having missed him a lot lately. I needed some one on one time with him, soon. Sloane had either slept in the guest room, or the couch in the living room. He usually stayed when everyone else did, and I appreciated that Sloane had actually made an effort not to be upset with me. They’d come over to see me and I was late, and then turned into a soggy noodle. What a night of fun. Cam interrupted my thoughts and brought my focus back to him.
"Where are we going now?" I asked Cam as he led me away from the bike and down the street.
"Thought we'd just walk off some of those carbs and maybe head down to the lake for a bit? It's so nice out, we might as well take advantage." He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my head, our feet still moving in the direction of Peridot Park.
"Sounds great," I agreed, and it really did. The lake was so relaxing to be around, the water calling to me almost as much as plants did.
We walked in companionable silence until we found the perfect spot to sit. Underneath a beautiful cluster of giant weeping willows, not too close to the water, but the view was still incredible. Plus the long branches gave the illusion of privacy, and this was going to be an intimate discussion, I could already tell by how nervous Cam was getting.
"This work, baby?" Cam motioned to a lush spot that was flat and cushioned with springy green grass.
"Perfect. Do you have a blanket in your backpack?" He nodded, slipping the bag from his shoulders and pulling one out. We spread it out together and collapsed on top of it, lying on our backs and staring up at the trees.
The urge to use my magic was strong, being out in nature like this always brought it to the forefront of my psyche, but I wasn't using any of my magic these days, not until we figured out what the hell was going on.
"What are you thinking about?" Cam asked, taking my hand and pulling me closer to him so I was resting my cheek on his chest.
"Just that I wished I could use my magic. It's getting antsy at being locked down."
"I bet. I'm sorry you're going through all of this shit. You don't deserve it." His hand trailed up and down my back, his fingertips tracing the line of my hip and then back up.
"Nobody deserves this shit. I mean, I went from a normal girl next door kind of life to... whatever all this is. Doesn't happen every day, thank the stars," I laughed.
"I love that you find the good side of everything, you're always so positive. Does that ever get exhausting?" he asked me, and I pondered his question for a moment before answering.
"No, I mean, not really,” I tried to explain. “It's just part of my personality. Why get bent out of shape over things you can't control? Things could always be worse, so I try to see the good things in every situation. It's definitely not always easy to do, and it doesn't always happen either. But it helps me stay in the moment and be thankful for what I do have." I wasn’t sure I was explaining it correctly, but I felt him nodding in understanding.
“That's a good outlook to have, I should start taking notes,” Cam responded as his fingers played with one of my braids.
We laid there together and I reveled in all of his gentle touches and the steady pounding of his heartbeat beneath my ear.
“Saige, listen. I am so sorry for my behavior last night. I was worried and I acted irrationally. I’m still upset, but I need to explain to you why. It’s not easy for me to share, and I hope that you’ll hear me out.” His heartbeat sped up as he talked, and I was thankful he wanted to open up to me enough to tell me more about himself.
We sat up, facing the water. I pressed myself against his side and firmly grasped his hand; I wanted him to know that I was supportive. If it was easier for him to not have to look at me while he explained, then I would just hold his hand and hope that he could feel that I was someone he could trust with his secrets.
He sighed, “First, I want to talk about what happened yesterday. I’m sure you now know that Johnny is a co-worker of ours and he’s safe to be around, but you didn’t know that when you were alone with him in The Pig, and you didn’t know that when you accepted a ride from him. What if he had been working with the demons or if he was just a bad dude?”
“I know, I’ve just had a rough couple of weeks and I wasn’t thinking like that. Emerald Lakes has always been such a safe place for me, and it’s hard to just throw everything I’ve ever known out the window like that.” I snapped my fingers for emphasis.
“But you have to start doing that, Saige. We don’t know enough about all the strange occurrences going on to not be at the top of our game here. Careless decisions are dangerous decisions, and I’m not willing to let you get hurt anymore. Do you have anything you want to say?" he asked softly, his thumb rubbing over my hand.
"I don't like being talked down to, Cam. You made me feel like I couldn't be trusted to make my own choices, and I think it triggered me a little bit due to what I went through in my last relationship." His face snapped over to look at me and I cut him off before he could speak, "No, I know you're nothing like him, trust me. But he was very controlling and condescending. Yesterday, I felt like you didn't want to hear what I had to say, the only thing that was important in the moment was making sure you let me know how badly I'd fucked up. And then I did the unforgivable and slapped you. I'm so ashamed of myself, and I hope that you'll forgive me for it because I know I won't be able to forgi—" My words were cut off when Cam cupped my cheek and turned my face toward his, leaning down, he gently pressed his lips to mine.
"I was a fool, baby girl. You're already forgiven, I don't want you beating yourself up over it anymore." He pressed his forehead against mine and I closed my eyes, after a few moments he pulled back and focused on the lake again.
"You mentioned being triggered by my reaction yesterday and I think that's a good way to explain why I reacted the way that I did. But in order to fully understand why, I have to tell you a story. And it's not a good one..." He trailed off, swallowing roughly like he was trying to loosen his throat up to speak the words he needed to.
"You can tell me anything, Cam. I'm here for you, okay?" I encouraged him and after a moment, he started talking. I didn't interrupt because it was like he was reliving the story. The way emotion skated over his face and his eyes kind of glassed over… whatever he was about to tell me, it was going to be difficult for him to do so.
"It's not really a secret that I'm not the greatest with words and relationships, but for you, I am going to try hard to change that. I really want this to work, little witch. When I was fifteen years old, my moms, yeah, I had two moms," he chuckled, "and they were everything to me. Loving, understanding, I loved them with all my heart. My ten year old brother, Hunter, and I had been conceived by the same sperm donor, but our mothers took turns carrying us. Mama B was my biological mom, and she was the strong silent type, it's not hard to see now where I might get that from. Mom was more of an extrovert, life of the party kind of woman, and that's exactly how Hunter was, too."
Cam took a shaky breath and I leaned my head against his shoulder in silent support. My heart was already clenching at the way he'd used past tense words in his descriptions of his family. I already knew where this was headed, and while I was excited to hear more about the man beside me, I felt really bad for him.
"Every year since my brother and I had been born, we'd go on a vacation to The Meridian Deep mountains and we always rented the same cabin every year. We'd stay for a week or two, and it was the highlight of our year. It took us about five hours to drive there, and we'd eat gummy worms, play Game Boy, and read comic books on the way. My brother was a few years younger than me, he'd be twenty five this year... anyway, we'd been at the cabin for about a week.
“Hunter and I were down at the lake swimming, it was so warm out that evening, and the water was the perfect temperature fo
r a swim. Mom and Mama B were up on the top deck grilling some food for dinner and we could hear their music and laughter all the way down in the water.
“It was late, but we always stuck to our own schedule when we were there. Fireflies had started lighting up the darkening sky and the twinkle string lights from the cabin reflected off the water. These are all things I remembered after the fact." He cleared his throat and wiped his hands down his face.
My stomach twisted unpleasantly because this happy family vacation was about to take a dark turn, and I wish I could stop it.
"Mama B yelled down for us to head on up for dinner, and Hunter swam over to the ladder, climbing up onto the dock to walk back. I stayed behind though, I just wanted a few more minutes to float around on my back and look up at the stars, it was relaxing and it felt like one of those moments in your life where everything is just good. But that ended in an instant. An orange glow lit up the sky and I righted myself in the water and saw the exact moment a large fireball blasted the side of the cabin.
"Just as I was about to scream, I saw a group of people standing off to the side, their attention on the burning house. Whoever the pyro mage was launched three more fireballs while the others stood back and talked amongst themselves. Instead of helping, I choked. I slipped underneath the dock and waited. And waited. I think I'd convinced myself it was a nightmare. There was no way that I could believe my family had just been burned alive inside of our vacation home. But I'd heard my moms' screams, and I knew it was real.
"Over an hour passed before the first responder lights lit up the scene and I swam out from under the dock and pulled myself up. My whole body was shaking and I remember running my thumbs over my fingers, over and over and over again. They were so wrinkled, and I couldn't comprehend how my skin would ever go back to the way it was before. Just like I would never get to go back. Somebody must've seen me because within seconds, I was swarmed by paramedics and was hauled into an ambulance. The cabin was nothing but a pile of smoldering ash when the backdoors of the vehicle slammed shut.
The Magic Of Betrayal Page 13