by J. L. McCoy
“I already know,” he said, cutting me off. “She told me after I accused her of using.”
He what! My eyes popped open and flickered to solid black in anger as my fangs slid down. I had the sudden overwhelming urge to murder him. I could only imagine how he’d made my already destroyed best friend feel. “I could so fucking strangle you right now,” I hissed tightly as I clenched my free fist, desperately trying not to punch something.
“I didn’t know, babe,” he growled into the phone. “If I had, I’d have never said that shit to her.” I could hear the deep remorse in his voice, and it might have been his only saving grace with me, because I was livid.
Taking a few deep breaths, I tried to calm myself as best I could as I ran my hand through my hair. “Don’t bring it up again. She worked hard her entire life not to turn out like her mom,” I whispered and then paused. I needed to be there for Nikki, now more than ever, and had to do it in the only way I was allowed at the moment; I had to provide financial support. “Listen, think we could meet up later? I get off in an hour. Dan’s sending me home early today. Apparently, I’m not doing them much good. I didn’t sleep for shit last night.”
“Of course we can meet. Want to swing by my bar?”
“See you there, hon,” I answered before hanging up the phone.
The last hour of work had gone a little better than the previous ones, but I was still glad when I walked out the back door for the day. After a quick stop at my bank to empty my account of cash, I turned Archer’s Porsche south and headed to Dean’s bar/head shop Tricky Dic’s.
Walking in, I was greeted by a familiar face.
“Welcome to Tricky D—wow. Skye, is that you?”
My eyes widened as my mouth dropped open. “Gavin? Hey! I didn’t know you worked here,” I said as I strolled up to him. I was pretty shocked. Gavin was human, my nose picked up immediately, and I was under the impression that Dean only hired pack members as bar staff. The last time I’d seen him was when we ran into each other while out jogging in our neighborhood. Turned out, he’d just moved into a house a few streets over from me. I’d been human then as well.
“Yep.” He ran a tattoo-covered hand across his buzzed head as he looked me over. “Been working here a few weeks now. Wow, you look... different.”
I cocked a brow at him, pursed my lips, and put a hand on my hip. “I’m hoping there’s a compliment hiding somewhere in that statement,” I teased.
He quickly shook his head, realizing what he’s said, before clarifying. “No, there is. It’s just... you look... prettier... if that’s even possible.” His lips spread into a slow grin as he bashfully shook his head and cast his eyes down to the floor.
Sometime during my change, I’d lost my freckles, some baby fat, and my muscles had toned up a bit. Vampirism definitely had its perks. “Thanks... I think.” I smiled, my brow pinching momentarily. I was sure my pheromones had affected him some, so I took a small step back as I adjusted the purse strap on my shoulder.
“So what have you been up to? I haven’t seen you around the neighborhood in a while.”
“Yeah, well, you won’t any time soon,” I said, taking a deep breath before continuing. “My house caught fire yesterday morning, so I’m staying with my boyfriend out on the lake.”
His eyes widened in disbelief. “That was your house? Holy shit! The sirens woke me up and I headed up the block to see what was happening. Man, I’m so sorry. That’s really horrible.”
“It sucks.” I sighed, nodding in agreement.
“Well, that calls for a beer,” he said, walking back behind the counter. “On the house. What can I get you?”
“That’s really sweet of you, hon, but I can’t stay. I just came to drop off something for Dean.”
“You know my boss?” he asked, surprised.
“Unfortunately,” I teased, rolling my eyes before winking at him. “He’s a good friend.”
“Well, he’s back in his office. Want me to get him for you?”
“No.” I shook my head before turning toward the back. “I know my way. See you around sometime, hon.”
“I’ll have a beer waiting for you next time you come in,” he called after me.
“I’m counting on it.”
I made my way down the hall and picked up Dean’s steady heartbeat as I approached his office. I found him sitting behind his cluttered desk filling out paperwork. As soon as he saw me, he smiled, but it was quickly replaced with a frown.
“Wow. You look like hell, toots.” He grimaced, getting up from his desk and sliding over to me.
“Gee, thanks,” I scoffed halfheartedly, leaning up to hug his neck. He’d been the fourth person to tell me that today, and I was starting to get a little tired of hearing it. I was going to have to drag Aoife with me for a spa day sometime in the very near future. Mani/pedis and margaritas fixed damn near anything, right? “All that healing I did last night on everyone really took its toll on me. I’m freaking exhausted.” I didn’t feel it pertinent to mention the nightmare.
“Did you manage to get any sleep?” he questioned as he cupped the back of his neck and searched my eyes intently.
“Hell no.” I shook my head and sighed. “All I could think about was Nikki and if she was doing okay at your house. I maybe got an hour of sleep before I had to go into Dan’s.”
“Well, take a load off, babe,” he commanded, grabbing my upper arms and backing me up to the chair across from his desk. “Relax a bit.”
I plopped down into the chair, grateful to be off my feet. “I don’t really have much time, hon.” I blinked up at him before stifling an unexpected yawn with the back of my hand. “I just wanted to drop off some money for Nik.”
I dug around in my purse and produced the fat stack of cash I’d just procured from the bank, handing it to him. “There’s seven thousand, six hundred dollars there. That should help get Nikki started. I’ll have more when Archer pays me in a few days. Six hundred of it is her money from Dan’s. I kept everything I made and set it aside for her.”
Dean stared down at the greenbacks and shook his head. “I told you I didn’t mind helping her out. Keep the seven thousand, babe.”
He tried to hand the money back, but I held up a hand and slid angry eyes up to pierce his. “And I told you last night not to fight me on this, Dic. If Nikki won’t allow me to take care of her, the least I can do is pay for her needs. It was my fault she was kidnapped in the first place.”
“All right, babe, relax,” he said soothingly, tossing the bundled stack onto his desk before perching on the edge of it in front of me. “I had some of the girls in my pack go shopping for her this morning. She was going through the new clothes with them when I left.”
“Thank you,” I said, immensely relieved to hear it, as I ran my fingers through my long red hair.
“So, what are your plans this afternoon?”
“I’ve got to run a couple errands and then give Atticus Frost a call and fill him in on what went down last night. I’ve been putting it off. I’m really not looking forward to having that particular conversation.”
“He’s the leader of those Dark bloodsuckers, right?” he asked, cocking a brow.
“Yep.” I nodded. “I need to warn him about Stanus Octavius. He’s the one who was able to escape on the plane during the fighting. The whole reason they kidnapped Nikki was to ensure I would help them overthrow Atticus so Stanus could take the throne.”
“What?” he growled unhappily, surprised by my statement. “How did you find that out?”
“Those sons of bitches bragged the second they had me silvered,” I answered angrily, my nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought of them. Okay, so maybe now I wasn’t feeling so bad about kicking their asses last night. “Stanus told me their whole plan right before they tried to get me on the plane. The most fucked-up part of it, though, is how my father was in on it the whole time. He was just using me. He and Stanus wanted me to join the Dark Ones at the colony and overthrow
Atticus and Corvus from the inside, thus leaving the throne open for Stanus, who believes he is the rightful heir.”
“Your own father?” he rumbled angrily, his warm brown eyes turning killer cold as they narrowed. “What was he supposed to be getting out of the deal?”
“A spot on the throne whenever Stanus met the final death,” I seethed. I was still incredibly pissed at him and the sheer audacity he had, coming back into my life only to try and destroy it. “He wanted to use me to further his political career. I hadn’t seen him my whole life, and he conveniently appeared when news about my powers spread. I doubt he ever really cared about me at all. I was just something he could manipulate and use to get what he wanted. God, I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner.”
“Well, in your defense, who the hell thinks their own father capable of such a thing?”
“I didn’t even know the man, Dean.” I frowned, my brow pinched in disgust, as I looked up at him. “I should have been more cautious. I should have known something was wrong the second I met him. His timing was too convenient, don’t you think? I didn’t even suspect it.”
“You can’t beat yourself up, toots.” Dean leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You didn’t know.”
I let out a frustrated growl and leaned forward, elbows on my knees, to rest my head in my hands. God, how stupid and naive I’d been. My own father had sold me out; my own flesh and blood. My mother had told me how heartlessly he’d treated her right before he became a vampire, and I foolishly looked past it, without question, the moment I met him. Was I so desperate to know the man I’d only dreamed about knowing, that I’d completely overlook what was staring me in the face? My heart ached with the memory of everything he’d taken from me. Selling out your own child? It was a betrayal of the worst kind.
I was quiet for a time before I’d regained my composure enough to continue talking. “He asked Stanus and Weston to burn my house down because I listed it as one of the things keeping me in Austin when he asked why I wouldn’t join their race,” I whispered, my voice thick with the pain I felt.
“That son of a bitch,” he growled deeply.
Looking back up, I wiped a lone tear from my cheek and gazed up into his angry, narrowed eyes. “Have you told Nikki about our house yet?”
“Not yet.” He shook his head, crossing his thick arms over his broad, muscular chest. “I’m going to tell her when I return home. I didn’t think it wise to spring it on her last night. Hell, I don’t think it wise to tell her today, but it’s got to be done.”
“The arson investigator wants to speak with her.” I dug his card out of my bag and handing it to him. “Just so you know, I told him Nikki was out of town visiting a sick aunt in Maine and that she’d be home in a week. I couldn’t very well say that she was kidnapped. You might want to mention that to her when y’all talk.”
“Does she have an aunt in Maine?” he questioned, studying the card.
“I think she mentioned something like that once, but fuck if I know.” I ran my fingers through my hair again. “Nikki doesn’t talk much about her family. I think it’s a sore subject for her. Anyway, I had to give Dan the same story so he wouldn’t file a missing person report on her. He’s been really worried about her.”
“How long will you be covering for her over at Drop Kick’s?”
“As long as it takes,” I answered, shrugging my shoulders. Nikki was my best friend, even if I wasn’t hers right at the moment. I’d do anything for the girl. “I’ll work her shifts until she’s well enough to return to work. I owe her that much, Dean.”
“How long does she have before Dan begins to suspect that you lied about her visiting a sick aunt?” He looked down at me with sympathetic eyes.
“A week maybe? Two tops.” I shrugged again, worrying at my bottom lip with my teeth. Would Nikki even be ready to return to work by then after everything she’d just gone through? I highly doubted it. “I’ll buy her as much time as I can. With me there, at least the position is filled. Dan’s less likely to make a fuss.”
“I’ll do what I can on my end to help her adjust,” he promised. “I called in some girls from my pack to stay with her this afternoon. They themselves are rape survivors, and if anyone can help Nikki, it’s them, babe. We’ll take good care of her, I promise.”
“I have no doubt you will,” I said softly, gazing up at him. “I don’t trust many people these days, but you and your pack are definitely the exception.”
“I’m always here for you and yours, toots.” He smiled sweetly. “Even though you are a freaking bloodsucker now.”
I let out a genuine, much needed laugh and leaned forward to swat his knee. “Behave, wolf boy.”
“Listen,” he said, suddenly changing the subject, “I’ve got to stop by the grocery store and restock the house. I wasn’t really prepared for company, and I doubt lunchmeat sandwiches are going to cut it for very long. Is there anything in particular that Nikki likes to eat? What should I buy her? Isn’t she some hippy-dippy, hipster vegan or something? Wasn’t her ex some shit like that?”
Oh no he didn’t! “Oh ho!” I scoffed out incredulously in a rush of air as my eyebrows shot skyward. “Hippy-dippy? First off, don’t ever let her hear you say that. She takes what she puts into her body and her carbon footprint pretty seriously. I know it’s a little weird to you cavemen out there, but there’s nothing wrong with it. Secondly, Lyric was supposedly a spiritual and physical Jain vegan, but he was a crazy motherfucker and there wasn’t anything in him that was pure or caring. He wouldn’t have given his girlfriend over to those masochistic fucks if there were. And, Nikki may do things a little differently, but she’s not even remotely extreme in her lifestyle. She just likes her food preferably organic, pesticide free, antibiotic free, grass fed, and humanely treated before slaughter. That’s not so much to ask for, now is it?
“And lastly,” I warned in a cold, serious whisper as I stood up and took a step toward him, “don’t ever mention Lyric again. Not to her and not to me. He’s already dead, Dic. I just have to find his worthless ass and deliver the message. And I’ll be sure to get right on that as soon as I can find some extra time in my seemingly endless, fucking nightmare of a schedule.”
“Ooh.” Obviously enjoying my temper, he slowly held his hands up in surrender. “Love it when you get all feisty, babe.” He always knew how to cut the tension, and I was grateful for it. Just the mere mention of Lyric’s name sent me raging. I hated that spineless bastard with every ounce of my being.
I felt my face slide into a slow grin, and I chuckled as I playfully pushed Dean in the chest before sitting back down again. He was an incorrigible flirt. “Whatever. Save it for Archer, Casanova.”
“I should.” He smirked wickedly. “It’s always more fun when he’s around.”
“You two are something else.” I shook my head, smiling. “I have a feeling it has less to do with me and more to do with you wanting to royally piss him off.” I knew Dean found me less desirable now that I’d become immortal, and I was perfectly okay with that. I never saw him as more than a great friend, even though he was smoking hot.
He gave me a secret smile and winked at me. “So food...” He smirked, getting the conversation back on track. “I guess I’ll be hitting up Whole Foods on my way home.”
“Good idea.” I nodded before slouching down and resting my heavy head against the back of the chair. I was completely wiped and couldn’t wait to get home and take a much needed nap. “And just a heads up, Nik has a pretty serious baking habit when she’s upset. She says it’s cathartic. If you’ve got a hankering, big boy, I suggest you buy the ingredients for her. With everything that went down, she’ll probably be baking up a storm for the next couple of months.”
“No shit?” His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Well, I’ll make sure she has everything she needs if it helps her.”
I dragged myself out of the chair and wrapped my arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly. “Than
k you. You are such a good man, Dean.” I was overwhelmingly grateful for everything he’d done for me and Nikki. I didn’t know how I’d ever begin to repay him. “Nikki and I are both very lucky to have you as a friend. I can never thank you enough for all you’ve done for me.”
Dean slid his arms around my waist and hugged me back with equal force. “I’ll send you a bill one of these days,” he teased, and then turned his head to kiss my temple.
“One I would gladly pay.” I pulled back from him to gaze up into his eyes. “I mean it, Dean. You’re the bee’s knees, my man. Taking care of my best friend like you are... there aren’t enough words.”
“I’m happy to help, toots. Honestly.”
Taking a deep breath, I glanced back at the doorway before turning back to him. “Well, I should really be going. I’ve got a couple of things to take care of before I talk to Atticus. Will you let me know how she’s doing?”
He told me he’d keep me up to date, and I hugged me one last time before walking out his office door.
Chapter Three
After I climbed back into the borrowed Porsche, I let out a long sigh and leaned over to rest my forehead against the sleek black steering wheel. Everything was hitting me really hard. My forced actions on the airstrip the night before, my father selling me out, my best friend in the entire world hating my guts, the nightmare I’d had this morning that interrupted my lone hour of sleep, it all felt like too much at the moment. Yesterday, I’d been mad when I first found out that Lucian, my father, was a liar. Today, I was hurt beyond words, which was honestly disconcerting because it meant I’d really let him into my heart. At the very least, I’d let the idea of actually having a real father into my heart, and I wished with everything in me that I could take it all back.