The Only Witness: The Center City Series: Book One

by Shannon Flagg

  “Yo, you want backup?” Houdini looked up from his food.

  “Nah, stay here. Ride over...” Deacon stopped himself, he'd nearly told Houdini specifically to keep an eye on Vera. Where the fuck had that come from? “Ride over past The Bar a few times, we don't need no stupid drunk shit tonight.”

  “No problem, Prez.” Houdini went back to his food.

  “Be smart,” Whiskey wiped his mouth with a napkin.

  “Thanks, I'll see you two tomorrow.”

  Deacon left the warehouse, sent quick texts to Bug and Jake telling them not to be late tonight. He was particularly worried about Bug not wanting to leave Lake, it was officially her due date the following day. He sent a second text to Bug, reminding him there was no optional attendance for tonight but it didn't mean he'd have to stay all night.

  He headed for New to You when he left the warehouse lot. The lights were burning on the sign, even though it was light out. Looked like Vera had forgotten to flip the switch that morning. It wasn't surprising because she'd looked like it had been a rough night. She'd also looked hot even in that animal print patterned robe. If Will hadn't come along he was sure that they were heading back up the stairs to her tiny little apartment.

  But he had come along, and that was for the best. All Deacon had to do was keep this exchange professional. He could handle that. “Nice to see that you're finally open for a change.” He strode through the door with confidence, found Vera sitting at the chair behind the counter.

  She popped up quickly, nearly fell but managed to maintain her balance. “Hey. Hi. I was worried that you'd been arrested or something.”

  “Why would I get arrested?” Deacon moved closer to her.

  “Will seemed pretty angry,” she replied.

  “Chief Will is always pretty angry when it comes to me,” Deacon answered shortly. He saw confusion on her face, she'd obviously expected something else from him. Do you have the present ready?”

  “I do, it's all wrapped and set to go. I have a few cards by the counter if you didn't get one.”

  “She'll be fine without a card,” Deacon never remembered a card; Adelaide knew better than to expect one from him.

  “I've got your money too, let me just get it out of the register for you. So, is Adelaide excited about the party tonight? I know how much she loves being the center of attention.”

  “Yeah,” Deacon replied sourly, “she's excited. You got plans for tonight?” Immediately he regretted asking the question because of the look that crossed her face. He was about to disappoint her.

  “Not really,” she replied casually, her hand moving up to her hair. “Why?”

  “If I were you, I'd stay in tonight.” Deacon watched the hopeful expression fade from her face; it was replaced by a red tint to her cheeks.

  “Do you know something I don't?” She opened the register, removed an envelope and grabbed a box from beneath the counter.

  Deacon almost laughed in response. He knew so much that she didn't, so much that she'd probably never know, but he didn't say that. “Stay in tonight.” His tone was firm but he hoped not threatening. Why did he care if she felt threatened? Why was he worried about her feelings?

  “That was my plan anyway,” she informed him as she set the items down in front of him. “I've got an auction in the morning, need to be there early.”

  “Auction?” Deacon reached out picked up the box, he slipped it in his inner pocket.

  “Storage units,” she replied shortly, “ones where the owners don't pay. The company auctions off the things inside to make money.”

  “That's kind of a fucked up way to make a living, profiting off of someone else falling on hard times.” Deacon observed. He watched anger flare in her eyes, felt it push past hurt and embarrassment.

  “They know it's the outcome if they don't pay,” Vera answered, she looked as if she had more on her mind but kept it to herself. She crossed her arms over her chest in a very defensive gesture.

  “Is that where you get all of your stuff from?” Deacon didn't know why he was still there; he just needed to grab the envelope from the counter and leave.

  “No, I have many different ways I find merchandise.” Vera cleared her throat, gripped her arms tighter. “I really hope that Adelaide enjoys her present. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a ton of work to do.”

  Deacon realized she wanted him to leave. His intention was to head to the door, but he couldn't seem to move or look away from her. Something was... something was different, just in the last few seconds, and it gave him an ominous feeling. “You okay?”

  “Fine. Great. Dandy. Never better.” Vera's smile was wide enough but it didn't reach her eyes. “I'm just sure that you've got better things to do than stand here and make small talk with me. We're all settled up, just grab your envelope and go.”

  “Maybe I'm not in that much of a hurry,” Deacon said the words slowly, watched as she came around the counter.

  “I'm sure you have better things to do than stand here talking to me. I'll see you out.” She started to walk past him, headed for the front door, but she didn't get far. Deacon reached out, grabbed her upper arm.

  “Want to tell me what's on your mind?” He asked.

  “I just did,” she yanked hard against his grip, caught him off guard enough to slip out of his hold and take several steps back. “I have things to do and I'd like it very much if you left, right now.”

  Deacon held his hands up, though he was sorely tempted to grab her again. He could see the pulse jumping in her throat. She was a jumble of emotions, he could tell. Whatever it was that had her worked up, he didn't have time to take the long way to figuring it out. “Sweetheart, you didn't tell me the truth. Don't say you did, I can see it all over your face.”

  “The truth is that I want you to leave.”

  It was lie, clearly a lie and it pissed him off more than it should have. Everything about her gave him an extreme reaction. “I don't buy that,” Deacon took a step closer to her, “in fact, I think that me leaving is the last thing that you want me to do.”

  “You don't know a damn thing about me.”

  Deacon realized that she was right; he didn't know much about her, but he realized with a start that he wanted to know more. He wanted to know much more. Fuck. The smart thing to do would be to just walk away, out the door like she said she wanted, and never look back. It was too bad that he wasn't known for doing the smart thing.

  Instead he leaned in and kissed her. There was nothing tentative about the kiss; he took everything inside of him and used it. After the first few seconds she began to respond, her arms went around his neck and his moved down to grab her ass.

  She let out a small moan as his fingers dug in and drew her closer. She'd changed out of the robe, which was in his opinion a fucking shame, but the stretchy v-neck tee shirt and jeans she wore were nearly as enticing. “Deke.” She whispered his name when they came up for air.

  They were going to end up in her bedroom again or maybe even right there on the counter, with the windows giving anyone outside one hell of a show. Deacon was fine with that but he had a feeling that Vera would feel differently.

  He was surprised that he could even form thought with her mouth working against him and her body wrapped around his. All he could feel was her. All he could smell was her. The hold he kept on his control was weakening. Damn it, he wanted her and he was going to have her.

  “Please,” she whispered, her hips moving so that he knew just what she was pleading for.

  Deacon's hands gripped her ass harder so she could feel just how much he wanted to please her. He watched as her head fell back, her eyes half closed and full of desire. Christ, he'd never seen someone so beautiful before. Something deep inside of him shook loose, his hands tightened on her. His mind was shouting that she was his, the need to be inside of her and know that she was open totally to him was strong. So strong. Almost too strong. With no effort whatsoever he lifted her from the ground, started for th
e stairs as her legs closed around him.

  He could feel her heat through her jeans, the scent of her arousal mingled with that amazing scent that was hers and hers alone. How had he not noticed it early? “Give me your mouth.” He barked the order.

  Vera responded immediately, opening to him while her legs wove tighter around his body. There was no mistaking what either of them wanted, or rather needed, from the other. Deacon put his foot on the step to head to the bedroom; the need to feed the desire inside of him made it had to focus on anything else. It was a terrifying and exhilarating sensation.

  His hands gripped her ass tighter, and he felt something pop in his finger. It was a sensation almost like cracking a knuckle but a thousand times more dangerous. The change was coming, it was close to dusk and if he didn't stop right now it was quite likely that he'd lose control with Vera, or more accurately lose control when he was inside of Vera.

  It was simply called Blood Lust and the reason why many of his kind refused to pursue relationships with humans. One single scratch and a human would be doomed to turn on the next full moon. Most humans didn't survive because quite simply their bodies weren't equipped to handle it. With Blood Lust there was no simple scratch, in the pursuit of release the mind was completely free and open. An open mind could not resist the dark pull of the moon. Deacon had seen humans ripped to bits; the wolf had no consideration for anything but its own satisfaction at that point.

  “Deke?” Vera's voice pierced through his internal battle.

  “I've got to go,” he knew that there was no way to explain why. “I need to get out of here.”

  “Now?” Vera demanded, she unhooked her legs from around him to regain her footing. “Are you serious?” She took a few steps back from him, ran her hand over her hair. Deacon knew that she was wondering if she'd done something, if it was that he'd realized just who he was with and decided he'd rather not.

  “Vera,” he stepped forward and cupped her face with his hands, “it's not about you, it's...”

  “Don't. Don't make excuses.” Vera let her hands fall away from him. “Just go.”

  “Vera.” Deacon said her name more like a warning.

  “No. You want to go. Just go.” She didn't back down, in fact she motioned with her hand towards the door. “I was right, this was a mistake. And I sure as hell won't be making it again!”

  “I'm going,” Deacon held up his hands, his fingers were longer than usual. It was all he could do to hold the change to just that. Anything more would terrify her and he'd never have a chance. “It's not what you think Vera, I promise.”

  “How the hell would you know what I'm thinking?” Vera's voice shook. “Get out. Get out, now!”

  “Already said I'm going,” Deacon had to struggle even harder to remain his control, “just stay in tonight. It's not safe out there for you.” He couldn't be sure what the wedding would bring or how exactly The Grievers would want to celebrate, but he could imagine them heading to town; they would like nothing better than the taste of human flesh and blood.

  “I've got no intention of crashing Adelaide's party, don't you worry about it. There's no need to make threats, Deke, no need at all.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  Deacon moved in to kiss her but she turned her head and held her hand against his chest. “I'll be back in the morning, we'll talk.”

  “No we won't, I've got an auction to go to.” Vera marched over to the door and opened it.

  Deacon was barely out of the door when she slammed it hard enough to make the glass rattle. He was glad to hear the beep of the alarm. Tonight The Vikings were going to be spread thin around town; key friends would be armed as well, depending on their experience and ability.

  He really couldn't afford to spare any of them, but there was no way he was going to leave her alone and unprotected. He brought his cell phone to his ear and dialed; the voice on the other end answered quickly. “It's me. Need you to sit on New to You tonight, make sure nothing happens to Vera. You got me?”

  “Got it Prez,” Houdini replied.

  “Keep your distance, don't let her see you. She goes anywhere, you follow and you keep her safe. Got me?”

  Chapter NINE

  Vera stayed in the house after Deacon left for only as long as it took for her to shower, change and put onto one of her favorite outfits. It wasn't the prettiest of outfits, a long maxi dress in swirls of purple and green, with her favorite black sweater and sandals. Maybe it was a little too chilly outside for it but she didn't care; it was her favorite for a reason.

  She had the uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching her as she made her way to the car. Once inside she locked the door and headed out of town to the complex that held the movie theater, several restaurants and Target. Surely she'd find something there to entertain herself for the night.

  It was going to suck to be tired in the morning for the auction, but she'd deal with that with as much coffee as it took to keep her alert. The auctions were a pretty cutthroat place, made more so by the recent rise of a television program detailing the antics of a group of shoppers; she needed to be on her toes to make sure that she got the best deals.

  Instead of wasting her time thinking about Deacon Hawke, she needed to concentrate on business. That was the plan all along. Her mother had never understood why she'd returned to Center City after college, why she'd toiled away in any job she could get so she could save and why she'd almost immediately turned her savings and the inheritance from her father into a secondhand store in a town not necessarily large enough to support it.

  Julia King—she'd dropped Warren and gone back to her maiden name when she divorced Vera's father—was a judgmental bitch. There was no way to sugarcoat that. Her favorite thing to say about New to You was that it should have been called Someone's Old Shit. Somehow that title didn't have the same ring to it.

  Even now, from across the country, Julia got as many barbs in as she could. When the choice came down to giving up her apartment and moving into New to You or calling Julia and asking her for a hand, it hadn't been a choice. With the bills piling up and business down, Vera realized that she was standing on the ragged edge of a cliff, one false step and she'd tumble down, taking the store with her. In essence, if she failed, then the almost ten years she’d put into the shop would be for nothing and Julia would have been right.

  It was a lot of pressure; pressure wasn't her strongest event. There were some days when she opened her eyes and was ready to face the world, others when she opened her eyes and was ready to jump off of a cliff.

  And now on top of that, there was Deacon. Her crush on him had been distracting, pleasantly so, it gave her something to think about that didn't bring her stress. Or at least it hadn’t used to bring her stress. Now she was fuming over the way he'd acted, so cold and detached at first, but then angry that she wanted him to leave. Then he'd been full of passion, kissing her like he was never going to stop. Except he did stop. Not only did he stop, he left with a parting order to stay put.

  Vera let out a frustrated scream, tightened her grip on the wheel as the unseen hand wrapped tighter around her lungs and squeezed. She struggled to keep her wits about her, get the car pulled over to the side of the road without harming herself or anyone else. A pain tore through her chest. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” Vera focused on inhaling in and out slowly so she could pull to the side of the road. “Breathe! Just breathe.”

  Now she was really pissed at Deacon. It had been six months since she'd had an anxiety attack; she'd nearly stopped carrying the tiny pills just in case. Tonight she was glad for them and glad for the bottle of water she'd tossed on the front seat. As she waited for the pills to help slow the pounding of her heart, the tightness in her chest and the thoughts that wouldn't stop rushing through her mind, she focused her eyes on the rear view mirror. The trees along the road were fully covered with leaves; it was pretty. Pretty calmed her.

  Several moments passed; she felt more relaxed and was just about to turn t
he key and get back on the road when she saw something move in the trees behind her. A closer look told her that it wasn't something, it was someone. The pills kept her calm, allowed her to focus on the figure. It took only a moment to realize that it was Houdini. “What in the fucking name of fuck?” Annoyed, Vera turned the car off and got out. “Houdini! I see you back there. Is there a particular reason that you're following me?”

  Houdini stepped out from the trees where he had been. “I wasn't following you. I pulled over because I had to take a piss.”

  “Bullshit,” Vera crossed her arms over her chest. She felt mellow, much more mellow than she should have been about him tailing her. “Let me guess, Deke put you up to this.”

  “What? Why would he?” Houdini protested. For a badass, tattooed biker he was a pretty shitty liar.

  “Look, just get back on your bike and go the other way,” Vera was just about at the fraying end of her rope. Was Deacon truly so worried she'd show up at the party that he kept Houdini from it to keep an eye on her?

  “He did tell me to keep an eye on you. Tonight there's... well there's something going on. Things could get dangerous.”

  Fear dug into Vera's belly despite the drug in her system. Now that she was relaxed, her mind not racing, she'd had the uncomfortable feeling since Deacon had frozen on the stairs, and her night had gone from promising to not. From possible hot sex to comfort food and whatever movie caught her eye. “Alright, follow me all you want. I'm going to grab food and dinner, you could join me if you'd like.”

  “I'll pay,” he offered immediately.

  “Guess I'm getting the lobster then,” Vera smiled at the man she considered a friend. “And I really hope you're ready to watch a chick flick, a weepy chick flick.”

  Houdini bit back a sigh. “Sounds good.”

  “You're such a shitty liar. Let's go.”

  The last thing that she wanted was a shadow, but if Deacon had ordered it, there was nothing that was going to stop Houdini from carrying out his orders like a good soldier. If she didn't like him, if it had been, say, Master who she'd seen behind her, she wouldn't have invited him along. No, she'd likely have run in the other direction if it were him; he'd always given her a bad feeling deep in her stomach.