by Juniper Hart
The only reason Jack had cared was that it had given him the upper hand, calling the police and threatening legal action if she didn’t return the feline of the damned, but Briar had refused to back down for the first time in her life. Somehow, Jack had faded away, forgetting about her and the cat. Still, she sometimes wanted to open the window and let Suki onto the fire escape forever.
“You’d probably fare better on the streets than I would,” Briar chuckled, a combination of affection and disgust lacing her words. Suki hissed again and leaped off the toilet lid to saunter into the apartment, and Briar reached into the medicine cabinet for a bottle of Advil. She would have happily downed an expired bottle of Percocet if she’d found it, but pain relievers were as good as it got in that household.
Alcohol, drugs, food, money—they all disappeared when Colton was around.
“Dammit, Colton,” Briar grumbled, realizing the Advil bottle was empty. She tossed it in the trash and moved toward the kitchen, hoping to find a backup bottle. It never ceased to amaze her how her brother did everything half-assed.
Outside, a clap of thunder caused her to start, and Briar turned her head toward the gloomy exterior. It was well-needed, the storm. For almost two straight weeks, there had been nothing but scorching heat beating upon them, as if the Miami sunshine was not bad enough without a heatwave. The rain should have been a relief, but there was something ominous about the way it flooded the streets.
Did they call for a hurricane in the middle of the night? Briar wondered. It seemed unlikely. That would be something she would have heard about days ago, though the way the wind gusted against the flimsy panes of glass made her ponder about it.
Briar turned her golden-blonde head away from the windows and refocussed herself on the task at hand. Suki meowed, butting her jet-black head against the stove as Briar poured through the cupboards, ignoring her. As she combed through the mess she shared with her brother, frustration began to mount inside her.
How can we live like this? He’s such a pig, and we don’t even have anything to make a mess with! This is a talent. Given her present financial situation, she knew she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Leaving Jack had put a hole in her pocket, one which seemed would never be filled. Not when I’m taking care of Colton now, too.
When she’d first left her narcissistic ex, Briar had had a game plan for the future: stay with her brother for two months, help him get back on his feet, and do the same for herself.
That had been six months ago. The minute Briar had moved in, Colton had promptly quit his job and begun partying with his group of unruly friends. They were unsavory in appearance and attitude, and Briar wished her brother would apply himself instead of wasting away with a bunch of potheads who seemed to have no direction in life. And that was putting it mildly. Briar suspected the group dabbled in far more than just smoking the occasional joint, but she never bothered to ask.
Of course, Colton didn’t want to hear her thoughts on the matter, and instead of bringing them to the apartment, he started going out at night and not coming home for two or three days at a time. Briar started to feel guilty, like she had driven her brother out of his own apartment with her nagging, even though she was the one paying for the apartment and everything in it.
The sound of someone pounding on the door caused Briar to jump, and she ground her teeth.
Why is everything so much louder when one has a headache? It was one of life’s great mysteries, along with why people needed to make so much more noise when someone in the vicinity had a headache.
“Baker, open up!” a growly voice rasped. “I know you’re in there! I can hear you walking around!”
Briar considered ignoring whomever it was, knowing that nothing good would come of opening the door. For all she knew, it was her brother’s dealer, looking to get paid. Instead, she shuffled back toward her bedroom to pull out her work clothes for the day. It quickly became clear that whoever banged on the door wasn’t going anywhere.
“BAKER!” he yelled more loudly. “I ain’t going anywhere! I’ll stay here all damned day, knocking on this door until it falls in if I have to!”
Briar shuffled toward the door, grimacing with each step she took. She was mentally calculating how much money she had in her wallet to buy another bottle of pain relievers. There was nothing by way of groceries in the house, and she had to work that afternoon, which meant she needed gas and at least a sandwich to get her through.
There wasn’t enough money for everything. She wished it was the following day already. The days before payday were always the worst.
Why did I give Colton my last twenty bucks? Now I have to scrounge for change. Briar idly wondered why she had the same conversation with herself every single week. You could say no to him, she reminded herself, and she almost laughed at the thought.
“I swear to God, Baker, I’m going to break this door down if you don’t answer me. You’re really beginning to piss me off!”
I don’t need to eat today, Briar reasoned, pulling open the cracked apartment door. Instantly she balked, realizing who it was.
“James,” she gasped in shock. “I didn’t recognize your voice. Sorry!”
The landlord eyed her, his face softening slightly, but the frown remained on his lips.
“I didn’t know it was you inside, Briar,” he said shortly, and she knew it was his lame attempt at an apology. “Where is your brother?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly, offering him a weak smile. “He wasn’t here when I woke up.”
“Figures,” he grumbled. “Probably in a gutter somewhere.” It was a mental image that Briar could have done without.
“What’s wrong? Is there something I can help you with?” He cast her a look and snorted.
“Honey,” the balding man grunted, shaking his meaty head in pity. “You think you’re doing your brother some service being here, but you ain’t.” Briar bristled, a jolt of defensiveness flooding her body.
“We cleared it with you before I moved in,” she reminded him, trying not to sound angry. “You said it was okay.” The last thing she needed was to get into a fight with the landlord, not when she knew he didn’t like Colton already. Her brother certainly seemed to have that effect on people.
“It’s only okay if the rent gets paid!” James barked back. A look of contrition instantly passed over his face. “I really shouldn’t be taking this up with you, hon.”
“What?” Briar asked in confusion. “I—I paid the rent! I mean he paid the rent. I gave Colton money for it myself!”
James scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. “You probably did give him money,” he agreed. He seemed torn between wanting to lecture the girl and wanting to help her, but Briar barely noticed his dilemma.
“I saw him write a check,” she insisted. “I dropped it in the slot. Did you not get it? This isn’t Colton’s fault. I must not have—”
“I got the check, Briar,” James interrupted. “It bounced. Again.”
A flush of humiliation burned through Briar’s face. “What?”
“This is the second month in a row. I’m going to have to start the eviction process.”
“Wait, what?” Suddenly, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. “Please, James! You can’t do that! Colton’s not working, and we have nowhere to go!”
“You owe me two months’ rent. If I don’t have it by the end of the week, I’m filing the papers, and I don’t care what bullshit excuses he comes up with. I ain’t kidding, Briar. I like you, but this might be for the best. You being here only enables his ways. Your brother ain’t no saint.”
James lumbered down the hall before she could say anything, though Briar was grateful for that. There was nothing she could say. Her brother had been taking her money and doing God only knew what with it.
Oh, Colton, she thought, shaking her head as she retreated into the apartment. What the hell are we going to do now?
There was no way she would be able
to come up with that much money in a week. Hell, if she’d been able to do that, she would have moved out of Colton’s place by now. Or would she have? It was impossible to say, her mind whirling as she thought about where she could have been by now if she hadn’t felt it was her duty to take care of her brother.
There was more to the story than met the eye, of course. It was easy for James to look at her as the enabling older sister, but the truth was, there was a deep-rooted sense of guilt which had followed Briar for as long as she could remember.
It isn’t Colton’s fault he is the way he is. Our parents left a lot to be desired.
She locked the door and made her way back to the bathroom, her headache fully reverberating through her skull now. If Briar couldn’t have the drugs, maybe a hot shower would suffice, though she did not have high hopes for that. Minimally, she hoped it would calm her nerves. She closed the bathroom door and turned on the rusted faucet to get the water to run as hot as she could, but it would be a few minutes before it became lukewarm.
Suki nudged her way inside and resumed her position atop the toilet only to squeal in protest that she had not yet been fed.
“Shit,” Briar muttered, grabbing a towel to wrap around her now-nude body. “Come on, you little bastard. Let’s feed you.”
Pulling open the door, she re-entered the kitchen and picked up Suki’s food and water bowls. She noted with added despair that she was about to use the last of the cat food.
I guess we can’t even live off that if need be, Briar thought sarcastically, dumping the remaining cat food into the cat’s bowl. Suki didn’t even wait for Briar to lower the bowl and leaped to the countertop to stick her nose inside her food. as though she hadn’t been fed in a week.
“Oh, poor you,” Briar muttered, wondering why she was mocking a cat. “You are so hard-pressed, sleeping all day and being fed at whim. Hell, everyone even leaves you alone. I feel so sorry for you, Suki.”
I’ve officially gone off the deep end. I want to trade places with that demon cat.
The feline ignored her, and Briar turned back toward the bathroom, but before she could take a step, her eyes fell on the glass fruit tray in the center of the table. It had never had any fruit, of course. It was just an eyesore that had been there for no good reason until Briar had given it a purpose: to harbor her keys.
Which were no longer there.
“SON OF A BITCH!” she cursed, running toward the narrow balcony. Throwing open the door, she jumped into the driving rain, craning her head around the corner of the building as far as she could see. Her vehicle wasn’t where she’d left it the previous night. She wasn’t surprised, just furious.
“I am going to kill him!” she howled, kicking the metal side of the patio. Thunder rumbled again, and Briar stormed back into the house, hyperventilating, but she didn’t know why. It was not the first time Colton had done something like that. She located her phone and called out with trembling hands. Colton’s cell went directly to voicemail.
“You better be on your way home with my vehicle,” she spat furiously. “I swear to God, Colton, if there is one scratch on it, I am going to dangle you over the balcony by the ankles. Call me as soon as you get this. I mean it, Colton! I have to work today!” Briar disconnected the call and flopped onto the ugly brown couch, causing a cockroach to scurry away. She was too furious to even shudder at the sight.
Suki wandered in from the kitchen to look at her curiously, and she rose to pace about. She had to work at noon, and when Colton stayed out all night, he was rarely home before evening the following day.
There was nothing she could do but wait for her brother to come home or make contact. In the meantime, she had no idea where to look for her van.
2
“Briar Baker of Coconut Grove,” Raven read from the computer screen. “Let’s go.”
“Coconut Grove?” Alec echoed. “Are you sure?”
“That’s who the plates are registered to. Why?”
Alec shrugged, not doubting that the demon had the information before her. but it seemed bizarre that such a beat-up van belonged in such a prestigious neighborhood. Again, he thought of his theory that the license plate might have been switched, but he didn’t speak it aloud. They would see when they arrived.
“Are you coming?” Drake snapped. “We haven’t got much time to catch these guys before they start hocking stuff.” Alec nodded and rose from the suede sofa, following the pair from the house.
“Are you going out again?” Alicia called. “I just made you something to eat.” Alec eyed the housekeeper with irritated affection.
“I’ll be back soon,” he told her, even though he wasn’t sure that was true. Alicia sighed heavily, and Alec could tell she didn’t approve of him going after the robbers, but she knew better than to volunteer her thoughts. She’d been an employee of his long enough to mind her own business, which didn’t necessarily mean she didn’t offer her subtle—or not-so-subtle—objections to his actions.
Alec made no comment, getting back into the Challenger with the others. It wasn’t quite eight a.m. yet, but the storm didn’t allow a modicum of sunlight through the grey-black clouds looming above them.
“Laurel will have the cells canceled, but that doesn’t make me feel any better,” Raven huffed, taking the driver’s side. “I won’t feel better until I’ve got my hands firmly around their thieving, mortal necks.”
“How many were there? Five, six?” Drake asked. “I didn’t get a good look.”
“Six,” Alec and Raven answered in unison. There was a reason they were on the Council of Seven. They were the best of their species, inherently trained to see what others could not, despite the abilities all the Enchanted possessed.
“We’ll get the owner of the van and she’ll give up everyone,” Drake growled with determination.
“You’re damn right she will,” Raven agreed. The fury in her voice was familiar to Alec. Raven was not known for her patience, and Alec almost pitied the foolish girl they were en route to see.
His cell rang as the car moved sleekly through backroads, away from his remote mansion on the outskirts of the city.
“Leave it,” Raven snapped at Alec. “Whatever it is can wait.”
“It’s Landon,” Raven grunted, and Alec accepted the call. “What?”
“I heard what happened,” the Council Lycan announced. “Where are you guys?”
“We’re on our way to find the owner of the van.”
“I thought you might be doing something that stupid,” Landon scoffed. “Go home. All of you. This is a Council issue now that they took your phones. You can’t go after this group alone, especially not when your emotions are running so high.”
“My emotions are fine,” Alec retorted, annoyed that Landon would assume he wasn’t in control of himself. Raven, on the other hand, was more easily angered.
“Either way, you can’t go after this group. Go home. It’s an order from the Council.”
“Landon—”
“Don’t argue with me, Alec. Tell Raven. Moreover, you know better than to go anywhere with Drake. He’s not on the Council.”
Alec loathed that the Lycan had a point, and he gritted his teeth. Drake, no matter how much he liked to think he had an active role in the Council of Seven, was nothing more than a civilian. Explaining that to him was not bound to go over well with the male demon.
“I’ll tell them.” He would leave the part about Drake out, though.
“You better,” Landon said crisply. “We’re tracking your phone as we speak. I expect you’ll be turning around the minute I get off this phone.”
Alec didn’t answer and disconnected the call instead. “We have to go home. Council orders,” he grunted.
“What?” Raven demanded, her blue eyes flashing with ire. “What the hell? Why?”
“They’re tracking our phones. It’s an order, Raven. We’ll go home and wait for instructions.”
“No,” Drake snapped. “I’m not letting
these bastards get away with this. I’m not going home.”
“Drake,” Alec sighed with exasperation, “You don’t have a choice. It’s an order. For all of us.”
“You’re on the damned Council!” Drake exploded. “What the hell is the point if you two have no say in anything?”
Alec felt himself tense at Drake’s slight goading, but he didn’t react. It was not really his nature to take the bait.
“You know as well as anyone that we have to do what the Council demands,” Raven snapped back. She clamped her mouth shut, as though she wanted to say something else but stopped herself. Alec caught the look he cast her in the rear-view.
She doesn’t want to say anything in front of me, he realized, and he was fine with that. If she disclosed too much, Alec knew he would be forced to speak to the Council about what was said, and knowing how furious she was, it didn’t seem fair that he had to rat out the demon.
A deep, ire-filled silence blanketed the car as Raven turned the vehicle around. The couple didn’t make a move to leave the vehicle as they paused inside the gates of Alec’s mansion.
“Why don’t you come inside and rest?” he urged, sensing that they were apt to go back on the mission they had been forbidden to undertake.
“No,” Drake snapped. “I want to go home.”
“Make sure you do,” Alec sighed. “I don’t need to tell you that the Council is watching.”
“Aren’t they always?” Drake grunted bitterly, but Alec noted with some relief that he seemed to be more reasonable than he had been. After the night they’d had, none of them needed more drama.
“I’ll be in touch,” Alec offered lamely as he exited the car. “Just lay low. We’ll figure this out.”
Neither demon said a word, and Alec barely closed the door before the Challenger zipped away, leaving him to watch after them, the rain dripping impartially down the collar of his silk shirt.