by Audrey Storm
“He is,” Fernando said testily. “I know that because I know him. All I know about you is that you are a journalist who caused Hank a great deal of trouble and then who convinced Reed to tell you everything you wanted to know.”
Reed shook his head. “Hank caused himself a great deal of trouble. If anything, Andrea is a victim of another shifter with too much power and not enough accountability.”
Fernando huffed, his expression softening as his gaze hardened on Andrea. The longer her observed her, the more tempted she was to squirm. As defensive and petty as Fernando came off, he also seemed to just…know. He knew everything about her without actually knowing it, and while the egotistical nature of that could be his downfall, it didn’t help that his accusations were spot on. Andrea was too aware of this, her anxiety feeling like cold static in her blood. She forced herself to appear calm, but the amount of focus and energy she used to do this was making her dizzy—making her weak.
Silence hung among them for a long, tedious moment.
And then Fernando’s cell rang. He answered it so quickly that Andrea flinched, feeling as if the quickness of his hand had somehow slapped her. He spoke into the phone, his gaze still trained on her.
Andrea sighed tiredly, letting her body slump a bit.
“Thank you,” Fernando said into his cell before hanging it up and putting it back in his pocket. “That was one of the guards in the city. They searched your rental car and found recording equipment in your suitcase.”
Panic spiked through Andrea as Reed let out an indignant noise.
“You searched my car?” Reed spat.
“Did you not hear what I just said?” Fernando said, shaking his head incredulously at his friend. “She brought a tape recorder and a camera.”
Andrea crossed her arms and quickly said, “When I first came to Reed, yes, I packed a tape recorder and a camera. As you have repeatedly said, I am a journalist. It was my job to record information. I did not bring those items up here to your—” She pointedly glanced around her, her lips spreading into a disgusted frown. “—lovely home because I do not plan to use them at all.”
“See?” Reed said, and the confidence in his voice reassured Andrea as much as it pained her. He stepped closer to Fernando and grabbed the shorter man’s arm. “Now will you please give me the benefit of the doubt, just this once? When in our friendship have I ever asked anything of you?”
Fernando sighed, leaning back a little and eyeing Reed’s hold on him. The shorter man said nothing for a few seconds, his expression slowly conveying a guarded kind of indifference. “You should know better than to use sentiment to try to outweigh common sense—at least with me.” The words themselves seemed like a conviction of some sort, but Fernando spoke them in a low, defeated tone. “I care about you, but I cannot trust you when your judgment has clearly been compromised. But, in the sake of our friendship, I will allow her to remain here with you and the guards while I go confront this alchemist on my own. After all, they only need my blood, not yours.”
“I suppose that is understandable,” Reed said slowly, lowering his arm.
No, Andrea thought, her own potential defeat clawing into her. Quickly, she strode up to stand beside Reed and face Fernando. Smiling sweetly yet with condescension, she blurted, “I’m surprised by you, Fernando. You’ve been acting so convinced of your own capabilities of perception while mocking others that I would have thought that you would want to keep an eye on me, yourself. I mean, how trustworthy can every single one of your guards be?” She ignored Reed’s look of confusion and smile wider at Fernando, who looked more irritated than anything else. “If you’re truly afraid of me, then leaving me here—even with supervision—would be unwise, wouldn’t?”
“Andrea,” Reed said softly, warningly. He placed a gentle had on her arm, his thumb running over it. “Andrea, please, this isn’t worth another argument. He didn’t mean to hurt your feelings; that’s just how he is.”
Fernando rolled his eyes. “Reed, she’s trying to talk her way into joining me.”
Reed glanced at him. Almost laughing, the bigger man said, “What? Why—?”
“I can help,” Andrea said. She had said those words so often, and with so much passion, a part of her was beginning to believe the lie; she used that belief to make herself sound convincing as she continued. “I want to help. This is important to world peace and for Reed’s peace. I can’t just stand back and hope that something works out. I want to help you all in any way I can.”
“Bull. Shit,” Fernando said, the corner of his lips quirking upward. Something in his face flickered—humor? The tension in his shoulders eased a little, his gaze raking over her yet again. “But, despite the fact that you obviously want to use me, I do agree that no one I know is truly trustworthy of keeping an eye on you. You’re like the snake in the garden.”
“Well,” she said, fighting back a wave of defensiveness and self-hatred, “a snake in the garden shouldn’t be a match for a bear, should it?”
Fernando smirked bitterly. “No, it shouldn’t.”
Reed pulled her aside, startling Andrea by tearing her away from her staring match with Fernando. The concern evident in Reed’s face softened her emotions while strengthening her turmoil, and for a second, she couldn’t bring herself to speak—to question what he was doing with her.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Reed whispered, wincing at his own words. He swallowed thickly. “Fernando is a good guy—he really is—but he is terrified as hell of our secrets getting out. I didn’t even think he would threaten you, but he did. I can’t be sure what he will do to you if…” Reed’s eyes watered, an unrecognizable emotion flashing within them. “I want you to stay here with me. Fernando can handle this on his own. He really doesn’t need any of us.”
Andrea placed her hands against his neck, a slight tremor wracking through her. Feeling his pulse grounded her, relaxed her. Even as she stared into his eyes, full of confliction and worry, she felt reassured by herself.
“I can’t stay here,” she said. “I can’t live with that.”
He closed his eyes, leaning toward her. “You’ve said as much before, but…” His forehead was against hers, his small exhales brushing over her mouth. “Damn it.”
“I’m an adult, Reed,” she said, smiling. “I’ll be able to handle myself.”
“He’s a bear, Andrea.”
“A bear-shifter. There’s a difference.” She bumped her nose against him in an attempt to get him to smile back. “Or so I’ve been told.”
He blew out a long breath, tickling her. His voice was gruff when he said, “I know I can’t convince you. Just be careful, please.”
“I will.”
“Okay.” He angled his head to the side a bit and pressed his lips against hers, parting them. He pulled away the next instance and walked around her, toward Fernando.
Andrea, a little stunned with a lustful kind of warmth, turned and watched the two men whisper angrily to one another. Distantly, she wondered if Reed would be so willing to defend her the moment he found out what she was truly doing.
Resignation and determination encased her. She hadn’t turned back yet, and she refused to now, no matter what the cost.
Chapter 3
The next hour went by in a rushed, disorienting haze. She had said her goodbyes to Reed before the guards led him into a different room, and then someone injected her with…something, or maybe multiple things.
She hadn’t lost consciousness right away, but her sense of awareness warped into something dream-like and distant; a couple of times, she had been convinced she was sleepwalking in one of the most elusive daydreams about bear-shifters she had ever had.
When she woke up, she was sitting across from Fernando in a jet. The room—containing comfortable furniture and a bar—thrummed, and outside its windows, adjacent wisps of clouds whizzed by.
Andrea blinked sluggishly at the stoic billionaire in front of her, her body slouched to the side i
n a tall leather chair. The chair’s straps hadn’t been fastened tightly enough around her, and they now rested over her chest and armpit. Too sore and fatigued to care, she pushed herself up into a proper sitting position. Her fingers slapped against the straps several times until her muddled brain helped her figure out how to unfasten them. Once that was accomplished, she pushed them to the side.
“How’d you sleep?” Fernando asked, sounding bored.
“Wonderfully,” she grumbled. She smacked her lips together, a sour taste on her tongue. She knew, deep down, she should be more uneasy about this situation—that she should at least feel something about this situation—but she was just tired. She turned to the jet’s window, only a few inches away from her seat. “Where are we going?”
“That’s confidential.”
“Of course it is. Paranoid bastard.”
Andrea blinked hard, shocked at her own unprofessional behavior. She rubbed her temples and murmured an insincere apology. She needed to sober up before she made another mistake.
“It’ll be hours before you’re completely sober,” Fernando said.
Andrea stiffened, her nails clawing into her arms. Could bear-shifters read minds?
“No,” Fernando said, groaning a little. “You’re speaking aloud. It’s a side-effect.”
“Of course it is. Paranoid—”
“Listen,” Fernando said louder.
She paid a little closer attention to him. He was resting his elbows on the armrests, his head leaning back against the seat. He looked like an official authoritative figure, his posture stiff and his eyes cold.
“It’s obvious how I feel about you,” Fernando continued. “But do you know why?”
“Because you’re a paranoid bas—?”
“Because my life has been one of fear, of pain.” His tone was steely and quiet, as if it hurt him to speak. He still appeared bored, but his voice betrayed him. “You can’t know what it is like to fear what you are and to fear others like you. You can’t understand what it is like to be constantly hiding—constantly afraid someone is going to see something they shouldn’t and report it. I lived in a world of violence, dominance, and rejection, and I was always being followed by journalists who didn’t know anything—who kept pushing boundaries and asking questions that got some of them killed.
You, Ms. Watson, can’t understand any of that. Oh, no, you are so focused on your career to care about any of that. Or maybe it’s a false sense of integrity? Do you think that my business is the world’s because I inherited a great deal of money? I don’t care either way. Either answer is asinine, especially give the true nature of this dilemma. And even though you know this, you still…” Fernando let out a growl, his jaw tensing. A hatred slowly grew within his eyes, and they somehow began to burn their way into Andrea’s conscience. “I never knew someone as heartless and stupid as you. Whatever happens to you on this little adventure of ours, it is not my responsibility. The fact that you used my friends is beyond forgivable, but Reed…cares, and I can’t do what I truly want to do to you. But I’ll be damned if I go out of my way to protect you.”
The speech left Andrea breathless, her lungs constricting as her entire chest pulsated with agony. Everything was suddenly too vivid—too painful to tolerate or adapt to. She blinked hard again, her eyes stinging and her psyche scorching. His words, the truth of it all…God, even she hadn’t caused herself this much pain.
“You got nothing to say for yourself now?” Fernando said, snorting and shaking his head. “Unsurprising.”
Rage burst inside of her, and it somehow blinded her to her shame while fueling it. “You drugged me! Forgive me if I’m not all there.” Her nostrils flared, she panted and snarled like she was choking on her own anger. “You are a sick, hateful man, and I’m sorry for all the things that happened to you to make you this way, but blaming me for the world’s screwed up nature isn’t going to accomplish anything.” Tears pouring from her eyes, she grinded her teeth together and glared out the window beside her. Every atom of her seemed too sensitive to the air around her, as if the oxygen was chafing her; she was on the edge of screaming. If Fernando said or did one more thing that pushed her…
Luckily, he didn’t. He remained quiet for the rest of the trip.
Chapter 4
It was dark by the time the jet landed, the city’s light pollution making the starlight dulled, if even visible. Fernando had the guards carry their luggage, so Andrea stepped out of the aircraft and down a metal staircase empty-handed. Sober now, tension seized her as she moved. She could practically feel Fernando hovering over her—glancing at every little twitch, every little hesitance. It reminded him of what he had said to her about his past, and sorrow settled upon her and made her sluggish. Worse, it made her compliant.
Without asking any more questions, Andrea let Fernando manhandle her into a dark car. A couple of guards entered the car, as well, and once they all had their seatbelts on, someone drove them through the city.
She turned to the window and observed every little thing they drove by. Her eyes widened when she saw a sign that read “Welcome to New Orleans.”
“We’re in New Orleans,” Fernando said a few seconds later. He sounded peeved yet a little amused. “If you haven’t noticed.”
“I noticed,” she said, her tone not as harsh as she wanted it to be. She cleared her throat and came back to herself—reminded herself that she was doing a job here, not trying to get an award of morality from this guy. “So are we seeing an alchemist tonight, or are we actually seeing a witchdoctor?” When Fernando didn’t answer her right away, Andrea turned to him and frowned. “Well?”
“I don’t like witchdoctors,” he said. He shifted his gaze to his side of the car. “And we won’t be seeing the alchemist tonight, so we’re going to a hotel.”
She nearly laughed, bitterness evident in the sound. “You make it sound like this is your typical family vacation. I’m surprised you would even let me have my own room.”
He snapped his eyes back to her. “Who said I would?”
A nauseating kind of heat wormed its way through her. It must have shown on her face because Fernando rolled his eyes.
“Relax,” he said. “I don’t find you that appealing.”
She blushed, nearly flinched. “Gee, thanks.”
“Even if I did, I don’t sleep with journalists. Bad taste.”
“I said ‘thanks,’ I don’t need the details.”
“Isn’t that’s why you are here?”
“No,” she said strongly. Frustrated yet determined, she dared to lean toward him a little. She noticed the guards reach for their weapons, but she ignored them and stared deep into Fernando’s dark eyes, flickering discomfort and skepticism. She gave him a toothy smile. “And I will find a way to convince of you that, even if takes all night. I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be,” he whispered, swallowing.
She smirked.
The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes. She noticed various emotions flickered over his face, but she couldn’t quite read him. She licked her lips slowly, just to see what he would do, and he did nothing.
“We’re here,” the driver said.
Andrea glanced at the driver before turning to the window beside her. Sure enough, the hotel’s entrance stood right there. The establishment didn’t look cheap, but it wasn’t nearly expensive as some of the other places the Billionaire Trio normally visited. When she turned to look out the other window—to look at the parking lot—she saw a minivan with a canoe strapped to its roof.
“Let’s go,” Fernando said, nodding toward her door.
Obediently, she opened the door and got out.
The hotel room Fernando got them had two full-sized beds with tacky butterfly covers on them. As Andrea walked toward one of them, her face conveying distaste, she heard Fernando and the guards follow her inside. Andrea turned around, her eyebrows raising when the guards ran their hands over the walls.
Fernando pushed by her and went to stand beside his own bed.
Incredulous, Andrea glanced between him and the guards, who had gone to their hands and knees to…inspect the floor? She wasn’t entirely sure.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked, glaring at Fernando and motioning toward the guards. “You think I planted bugs in here?”
“No,” Fernando said condescendingly. “You are not the only threat against me. Don’t be so egotistical.”
“I’m egotistical?!”
“Extremely. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed. You would think your giant head would cast giant shadows.”
Flabbergasted, Andrea opened and closed her mouth. Her stunned state—her silence—gave her time to think more about the circumstances before her. She needed to get Fernando on her side, not argue with him again. She took deep breaths and tilted her head, her lips spreading into a warm smile.
Fernando back away, his expression guarded. “Don’t do that.”
“What?” she said, moving toward him.
“You know what. Stop it. Now.” He looked at his guards, and that was warning enough.
Andrea clenched her teeth. “You’re making this possible.”
He chortled. “Manipulating me? I sure hope so.”
“Liking you.”
“Bullshit. Stop lying to me—I hate being lied to.” He strode up to her, his eyes blazing and his fists quivering. “Just tell me the truth already. Why are you really here?”
“I want to help you!”
“Stop lying! Why are you really here?!”
She sighed, leaning back and losing the tension in her form. She was so tired of this—it was hopeless. There was no way she would get this psychopath to trust her, and if she couldn’t do that, then she wouldn’t be able to stop him from ending the curse. The thought disheartened her, and she turned to walk away—to get away from yet another confrontation.