by Dyan Chick
In some ways, the quiet was starting to feel worse than having to defend myself. My mind wandered in a million different directions, pondering ‘what if’ scenarios and alternate realities; none of which were possible because I had already burned my bridges.
It was clear from my reception, that Jason had no interest in rekindling things even if I were to ask him to consider it. I finished my drink and set it on the table. Earl silently refilled it. I drank the generous pour quickly.
Finally, I felt a slight fog in my head and I knew the alcohol was starting to get to me. Shifters could drink all night and never feel the booze. Compared to them, I was a lightweight. I had hoped the alcohol might help me feel numb, but it turned out it was making me feel everything.
If they hadn't taken my car to dispose of the body, I would leave right now. Consequences be dammed. Unfortunately, I was stuck here until they returned. Once again, confusion about where I should go from here struck me and I felt more alone than I had a long time. There was no way I would ever go to my mom's, and I wasn't sure it was possible that I could stay here.
The silence was eating away at me as a commercial for potato chips blared on the screen.
I turned to Earl. "How's the shop doing?"
Last time I had been here, they had been considering opening a franchise for their auto shop, or moving the shop down the hill to one of the larger towns. Earl raised his eyebrows. "Sometimes I forget just how long you've been gone. We had to close the shop. The city condemned the building and the pack decided to go in another direction."
"What direction? You loved that shop."
"I wish you had been here when the vote happened. Then maybe you could have talked some sense into those boys. They got sucked in to the shiny, new thing and followed their greed. They legalized gambling last year, they threw all of their money into that fucking casino of theirs. I'm officially retired." He lifted his glass in salute, then took a drink.
Earl stepping down as pack master was one thing, retiring altogether was something I never thought I'd see. I wondered what the old man did all day. Maybe this was it, watching TV while the younger generation of werewolves ran things in Crescent Falls.
It was a little too clichéd for my taste, and way too sad. Earl deserved better. "I never would have taken them for the casino type," I said.
"Maybe that's why it's doing so poorly," he said. "At the rate they're going, they're going to have to shut the place down in the next couple of months. And I suppose they'll all move to the city like the rest of the kids do."
"It can't be that bad, can it?" I knew how Jason and his friends felt about the town. Some of them had left over the years, but they all came back here for a reason. Crescent Falls was different, it was special.
The idea that they would have to leave to find work was heartbreaking. It was also part of life in this tiny town. There wasn't enough work for all the people who lived here. Little by little, Crescent Falls was becoming a town full of summer homes for people who were retired and could afford not to have a job. If that kept up, the supernaturals would cease to exist here and it would become a resort community. The idea made my stomach turn.
I heard a car approaching and walked to the front door to look through the screen. The night breeze blew in cool and clean. It was another thing I missed about this place. It was nothing like the air in the city. It was fresh and rejuvenating unlike the odd smells and dust that made up the air where I had just come from.
My car pulled up in front of Earl's, Jason's pickup right behind it. Both of them parked. I hesitated, waiting for them to get out of the vehicles, mostly checking to make sure they were all in one piece, before I left the house. When I saw them all walk out into the street, I let out a small sigh of relief. I wasn't sure what I thought might happen to them, but there was always an edge of worry when Jason was out with his friends doing something illegal. I supposed it was left over from when I'd held the title of girlfriend.
I walked down the stairs back to the sidewalk where Jason and his friends stood waiting for me.
"Any trouble?" I asked.
"None. It's done." Jason held my keys out to me.
"Your dad said that you opened a casino," I said, taking my keys.
"My dad talks too much."
I frowned. We all knew Earl was a man of few words. "He also said you might be in trouble," I said. “I know you don’t want it, but you could use my help."
Twelve
Jason
"Let me get this straight," I said. "You leave in the middle of the night and then return three years later with a body you need to dispose of and suddenly you want to help?"
"Yes," she said. "I don't get what's so hard to figure out about this. You did me a favor and I want to help. I've been working in PR for the last few years. And I am very good at my job."
I narrowed my eyes, trying to get a better read on her. In the dim light of the single street lamp, it wasn't easy to get a feel for what she was thinking. I also knew she was damn near impossible to read.
"Let her help, Jason," Gage said. "Maybe we can avoid whatever the hell is going on with the vampires."
Angie's brow furrowed. "Vampires?"
I glanced over at Gage. "I told you, I have it under control."
"Do you?" he asked.
"Maybe she can help," Miles said. "Like a consultant. She can give us some tips. It can't hurt."
"Except for your ego," Gage said. "Which needs to take a back seat to this business."
"When did you get so smart?" Angie asked.
"You like that?" Gage asked. "I'm a business man now. You missed a lot in the last three years."
"I guess," she said.
"He's a business man in title only, don't let him fool you," I said.
Angie locked her eyes on me. "He's right, though. Don't let the things between us keep me from helping your business."
"I'm still not sure you could actually help," I said.
"Give me three days," Angie said. "I'll look at your numbers, run some of my ideas by you and we can go from there. If you don't like what I have to say, you're only out a little bit of time."
"And then what?" I asked. "You leave again?"
Angie stared at me, blinking in silence.
I felt guilty for being so blunt. And I felt like an asshole from bringing up the past. I knew I needed to set aside my own issues. The casino really was in danger of failing. "I'm sorry, Angie."
She shook her head. "I deserved that. I deserve all of it. Everything you want to throw at me. Go ahead, get it out."
She wore a look of resolve across her face, but I could just make out the sorrow underneath the mask. It made a lump rise in my throat. If Angie wasn't hiding her feelings, she was really upset. It actually surprised me.
In her note, she'd told me she wasn't good for me and that I was better off without her. All this time, I'd taken it as a cliché break up ‘it's not you, it's me.’ What if that wasn't the case? What if there was more to the story?
I frowned. Of course there was more to the story. She showed up back in town with a dead mage. She was trouble and I should be grateful she left, but there was no shaking the mating bond. As mad as I was, there was still a part of me that was ready to rip her clothes off right here and claim her. As long as she was around, I'd be in a constant battle with myself. But if she stayed, maybe I'd get some answers.
"Jason, we're going to take off," Gage said.
"Yeah, have a good night, man," Miles said. "Nice to see you, Angie."
"Don't kill each other while we're gone," Cody added. "The fried chicken place is closed for the night."
"Fried chicken?" Angie asked.
"Don't worry about it," I said. "Eight tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, yeah, boss. We'll see you tomorrow," Gage said, waving as he walked back to his car.
"Have a good night," Angie called after them.
A chorus of, "Bye, Ang," sounded from my friends. It was almost like déjà vu. Too fami
liar and comfortable. The others seemed to have welcomed her back as if she'd just gone on vacation for a week.
"I'm going to find a room at the motel," Angie said. "You can call me there if you want me to stay. If I don't hear from you, I'll be gone by noon and I won't bother you again."
She took a few steps toward her car, keys jingling in her hands, hips swaying in a way that drove me crazy. She stopped at her door. "Thank you for your help. I know you don't care, but it was an accident. And I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt."
Her words stung. I did care, even if I didn't want to. That was part of the problem. No matter what she did to me or what I did to her, we had a bond that couldn't be broken. If I let her drive away now, I was going to pine for her my entire life; there would be an emptiness that was never filled.
"Angie, wait," I said.
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you came." It wasn't what I meant to say. I was just going to ask her to come to the meeting, but the words came out anyway. "Eight a.m. Lucky Rose Casino."
She nodded. "I'll be there. And, Jason, for what it's worth, I've missed you every day since I left. I know that's not fair to tell you, but I wanted you to know."
I stood in silence as she shut her car door and pulled away, not moving until her taillights were gone from view.
Feeling suddenly exhausted, I made my way up the path to the house I shared with my dad. Just two lonely bachelors who spent far too much time watching television in silence. I stopped on the front step and looked up at the moon. It was nearly full and I could feel the rising impatience of the wolf that was ready to get out. If there was ever a month I needed to run free through the woods tearing things apart, this was it.
"I see Angie's back," my dad called before I even shut the front door.
"Maybe," I said. "She needed a favor. That doesn't mean she's back for good."
"Sure she is," he said. "I'm honestly surprised she stayed away as long as she did."
"I really don't want to talk about this with you," I said.
"You know, after your mother died, I never thought I'd survive," he said.
"And yet, you're still here, talking to me when I'd rather be alone," I said.
He shrugged. "You're the one who moved back home."
"To help you after your accident," I said.
"Do I look like I need help?" he asked.
I laughed. He never looked like he needed help, but there were things that he just couldn't do anymore. Like clean the gutters or haul out the trash every week.
"All I'm saying is that if there was a way I could see your mother again, even if it was for one day, I'd do just about anything. This is your second chance. Life rarely gives second chances. You let her leave again and that'll be it, I promise you. There won't be a third chance."
"What makes you think I even want to take a swing at things with her again?" Conflicting emotions battled for prominence. I was pissed at her for walking out, but I missed her so much it hurt.
"Just like I told her, you only find a mate once. And from someone who found his mate at sixteen, I'm telling you, it's the best thing life can give you. Those few years we tried to fight it, when I fucked anything that would lie down, I was miserable. And I see that in you now. You have to quit fighting it and make up with her," he said.
"I've heard the lectures," I said. "But it's my life. Not yours."
"Well, I want grandkids and who knows how long I'll be around," he said.
"Seriously? You're going to live forever." I slapped him on the back in the closest thing we had to a hug between the two of us. "I'm going to bed."
I took the steps two at a time, then shut myself in the too small bedroom. Alone on the twin bed, my feet dangling over the edge, I thought about Angie. I'd never actually seen her naked, but all I could think about was what she might look like without her clothes.
I'd seen her for less than an hour and she was already all I could think about. It was clear that there were only two options. Either I had to send her away tomorrow, or I had to make her mine forever.
Thirteen
Angie
It was still dark when the phone rang. The shrill, rolling ringing of a phone that was still plugged in to a wall. It scared the shit out of me.
"Hello," I managed.
"You might want to bring some garlic," Jason said.
"What?" I rubbed my eyes and looked at the red numbers on the clock. It was six in the morning.
"Meeting's been moved to the mansion outside of town. The vampires want to meet my new consultant," he said.
"Are you kidding?" I knew how much Jason hated vampires. I didn't have anything against them, which he knew. So this wasn't a punish Angie thing. It was something else.
"I'm at your hotel," he said. "And I brought coffee."
"Fuck," I said. "It's six in the morning."
"I know. See you in five." The phone went silent.
I hung up the receiver and flopped onto my back, letting out a groan. Why had I agreed to help him? Knots and flutters in my stomach rose up to answer the thought. I was helping him because even though I couldn't be with him physically, I wanted him. I wanted everything about him. His warm body pressed against mine, his tongue in my mouth, and my fingers in his hair. I also wanted the non-physical things. Long walks through the trees, lazy Sundays watching football, summers under the stars.
I grabbed a pillow and dragged it over my face then screamed as loud as I could. Being around Jason was going to be so much harder than I imagined. I needed to keep my libido in check.
Tossing the pillow to the side, I threw off the covers and crawled out of the warm bed. I hadn't brought much with me so my options were limited. What did one wear to meet a group of vampires?
I tugged on my dark jeans and a gray tee shirt with lace sleeves. It was probably the nicest thing I'd packed in my hurry to leave. A pair of black boots finished the outfit and I ran to the bathroom to splash water on my face. Hair in a bun and a quick bit of mascara later, I ran to the door.
Jason was standing in front of it, a paper cup of coffee in his hand. "That was seven minutes. I was starting to get worried."
"You woke me from a dead sleep and I made myself presentable in seven minutes and you're complaining?" I asked, taking the cup from him.
"What happened to the girl who used to roll out of bed and go to breakfast in her pajamas?" he asked.
"I wasn't wearing any pajamas," I said. "I'm guessing you didn't want me to meet these vampires naked, did you?"
He coughed and I swore I saw the faintest hint of a smile.
"Was that an almost laugh?" I asked. "Good to know I didn't kill your sense of humor."
"No, just my ability to trust women," he said.
"Ouch."
He shrugged and started walking to his pickup.
"Hey." I grabbed his upper arm, practically melting inside at the feel of his firm bicep under his shirt. "Don't you want to know the real reason why I left? Or why I needed your help last night?"
"Is it still going to result in you not being able to be with me?" he asked.
"That's not fair," I said.
"Then I don't want to hear it," he said. "Come on, they're waiting."
I rolled my eyes in irritation. "You are so fucking stubborn. Sometimes things are complicated."
"They aren't. You and me, we have a mating bond. That means something to me. But apparently it doesn't mean shit to you." He reached his car and opened the driver side door. "You coming?"
"After that speech, how can I resist?" I asked.
"Yeah, I know, I'm a regular Casanova."
I let myself into the passenger side of the car and set my coffee cup in the empty cup holder while I put on my seatbelt. On the side of the cup, I noticed the drink order. It was an Americano with almond milk. He remembered my coffee order.
"Thanks for the coffee," I said, picking it up and taking a sip as he slowly backed out of the parking lot.
"You're welcome," he said.
"Can we start over?" I asked.
"That's not possible, Angie." He stopped the car and let out a long breath. "I don't want to feel this way about you. When you left, you broke me. I want to hate you, but I don't. The ball is in your court."
"If you'd just let me explain," I said.
"It doesn't matter why you left," he said.
"But it does," I said.
"Until you realize that the reason isn't going to change anything, I don't want to talk about it." He started driving again.
I sipped my coffee in silence, trying to figure out how I could explain everything to him. I'd left because I didn't want him to end up dead, but I hadn't told him the exact reason and as I drank my coffee, I realized why I hadn't. I also realized why I'd left a note. Had I told him my fears, he would have simply ripped off my clothes right then and there just to prove to me that I was wrong.
He would have risked everything to show me I was worth loving in every way possible. He would have told me that death would be worth it. I knew those things about him. I didn't deserve him. I had someone who loved me more than anything, and I walked away. Even if he could forgive me, I wasn't sure I could ever forgive myself.
It took me the whole drive to the vampire's mansion to come up with something to say. "Jason, just so you know, I do want to be with you. I just don't know how."
He turned off the car and pulled his keys out of the ignition, but he didn't look up at me. "If you ever figure it out, let me know."
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I looked down at my lap. I supposed I had three days to figure it out.
Still carrying my coffee, I waited with Jason outside a huge wooden door in front of a house that looked more like a castle from a fairy tale than a mountain home. The first pink rays of morning sunlight were shining down from the sky, making the building look almost magical. "They're taking the whole vampire in a castle thing to the extreme, aren't they?"
"You have no idea," Jason said.
"Where are the others?" I asked.
Jason rang the doorbell. "They'll meet us at the casino for the meeting."