by Meg Ripley
“Hey, sweetie! How are things at Aunt Glenna’s? You doing all right?” Drake leaned back against the uncomfortable hotel bed, wishing for the one he had at home as he watched his daughter’s smiling face on his phone.
“Daddy, you won’t believe it! We got in the pool and Hallie got these dive sticks. They’re just pretty little plastic sticks and they sink all the way to the bottom. And I was too scared to go down underwater and get them, but Hallie said she’d hold my hand, and I got the green one!” Her hair was still wet from her time in the pool, and the bright pink of Hallie’s bedroom showed behind her.
“That’s wonderful, honey. I’m really proud of you.” She was growing up. Some days it seemed like it was just in little bits and pieces and it wasn’t so painful. But Drake knew that when he got back from this trip, it would seem as though she’d grown an inch and matured by a year. That was always how it happened with long-distance missions. “What do you have planned for tomorrow?”
“Aunt Glenna said we can make chocolate chip cookies. She’s going to let Hallie and I do it by ourselves! I’ll save you one.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but don’t worry about that. You can make me a whole batch of them when I get home.”
“Did you fix the problem yet?” Lindy asked innocently.
Drake hadn’t explained the full extent of his job to his daughter. It was too complicated for an eight-year-old mind, and he didn’t want her to worry about him. She just knew that he found solutions to people’s problems. “Not just yet. I’m still figuring things out.”
They talked for a little while longer until Glenna told the girls it was time to get their pajamas on and took over the phone call for herself. “Just so you know, I’ll be right there in the kitchen while they’re baking tomorrow.”
“I wasn’t worried about it. I trust you, or else Lindy wouldn’t be staying with you right now.”
His sister smiled. “Everything okay? You seem kind of down.” Glenna always seemed to catch Drake’s moods, even when he didn’t want her to.
And the truth was that he was still deep in thought over Nikki and that pull he’d felt toward her, but he wasn’t going to explain it all over again. “I’m fine, just have a lot on my mind. Let me know if you have any trouble with Lindy.”
“She’s an angel, Drake, and I wouldn’t have expected anything else.”
They hung up shortly afterward. Drake had a dinner to get ready for. He felt a nervous twinge in his stomach, even though he felt perfectly comfortable around Piper. She gave off that feeling that could be trusted implicitly, and he knew she needed his help. But she was also a direct link to Nikki; maybe that was it.
The Vintage Vine was a high-end restaurant with a cozy feel. Couches and coffee tables took up the center of the dining room for those who’d come in for casual drinks, while deep leather booths wrapped around the outside of the room. Vines decorated the tops of the walls and were wound around the railings between the booths, and built-in wine shelves displayed numerous bottles in deep colors. String lights provided an ambience suitable for either clandestine meetings or romantic outings, and it looked as though both kinds of diners were there. Drake found Piper waiting for him at the bar, and the hostess escorted them to a booth in the back corner.
“I hope this place is all right,” she said as she fingered her napkin. “It’s nice and private, and I got the feeling you were hoping for something along those lines.”
“Definitely. I know everyone is watching me already just because I’m new.” The waitress brought their drinks, and he took a sip of his whiskey. It was just what he needed. “Tell me more about these three guys. Are they new to the clan?”
Piper shook her head sadly as she wrapped her fingers around the stem of her wine glass. “They’ve been with us for years, actually. I guess that’s one of the things that surprised me so much when Nikki suddenly said she was fated to them. If that’s true, then why wouldn’t she have known before? I didn’t think those kinds of things waited around to surface.”
“Not in my experience,” he muttered. “Did Clint, Max, and Neal all join up at the same time?” If they did, they might have been planning something for a while, just biding their time until they could execute their plan.
Piper’s teeth closed around her lower lip. “I’d have to check the records to be completely sure, but I don’t think so. Clint was the first, and I want to say Max came in about a year later. Neal was probably six months after that. So it was a relatively short time span, but definitely not together.”
“Hmm.” The time span was short enough that it didn’t prove anything. “Did they know each other beforehand?”
“Not that I’m aware of. The one thing I do know they have in common is they all work as security for us. Nikki took on Clint as a personal bodyguard right away. The other two were just basic security, but they’re with her more than anything.”
This piqued his interest. “So they don’t have jobs outside of the clan?”
“Nope. They’re all about Nikki, and she’s all about them. They’ve even taken up residence with her. And it’s not like she had to make some big decision about whether or not to have her boyfriend move in, like a normal person; they just sort of started staying there. I’m worried they’re taking over her life, and she’s just handing them the reins.”
Drake frowned into his whiskey. Nikki’s relationship with the three men might not be a normal one, and it might not even be a healthy one, but he had yet to see exactly what the real picture was there. “You mentioned that she changed once she accepted them as her mates. Can you tell me more about that?”
Piper strengthened herself with a deep sip of wine, licking a drop off her lips. “I’ve been thinking about that a lot since I contacted you, actually. It’s like her personality changed. It wasn’t just that silly, in-love type of thing. She was always so strong and independent. She would listen to what other people had to say, but she made her own decisions. She was calm, even when chaos was breaking out around her, and she never panicked.”
“And now?” He had an idea of where this was going, but Drake wasn’t about to make judgements on Nikki’s character after only briefly meeting her.
“She doesn’t have the patience to listen to everyone else’s opinions, even if it’s clan business that affects all of us, but she always wants to know what her guys think. She’s short-tempered, distracted, tired all the time…”
“Do you think she’s pregnant?”
“What?”
“Could she be pregnant?” Drake repeated. He didn’t need a medical degree to know that things changed for women when they were expecting.
But Piper shook her head firmly. “No way. She’s been like this for too long, and her figure hasn’t changed. That’s not it. But here’s an example for you: You saw the way she froze up this afternoon when Justin and Matt got in her face. That’s not like her. In the past, she would’ve swiped them right across their cheeks and put them back in their places. But she was waiting for Clint and the others to swoop in and save her.”
“I don’t think I earned anyone’s adoration by doing it myself,” he muttered, distinctly remembering that urge to protect Nikki from those assholes. He hadn’t had a choice, though. “What about drug use? That can turn someone into a completely different person.”
Piper chewed her lip again. “I guess it’s possible. But she’s never really been the kind of person to do that. She doesn’t even drink all that much.”
“But what about the guys? If they’re using, they could’ve influenced her.” Drake hadn’t noticed anything obvious about Nikki that indicated drug use, but that didn’t mean anything.
Her eyes drifted along the deep brown walls as she thought about it. “To be honest, I haven’t gotten to know the three of them all that well. They don’t want to talk to anyone but Nikki. But one time, I’d gone out to one of the local coffee shops and saw them meet up with a witch named Raven. She’s bad news around here, and from what I
’ve heard, she runs one of the biggest drug rings in Northern California.”
He raised an eyebrow, interested to hear that there were other supernaturals in the area. It was at least a place to start. “How do I find out more about this Raven and her operations?”
Piper shifted in her seat as she thought. “I do know one of the witches personally. I mean, not one of the ones that Raven is associated with. A different one. Fern’s not like the others, and I’m sure she’d be willing to talk to us. I can text her right now.” She pulled out her phone and began tapping away.
There was one thing Drake definitely liked about Piper: she always seemed to be looking for a solution. She didn’t want to wait around and see what happened, and Drake could see why Nikki had chosen her as a second. “Sounds good to me.”
“She’s available right now, actually. Want to head over there?”
“I’ll let you drive.” Drake paid the bill and they headed out.
A short time later, Piper’s headlights illuminated a small Victorian home in blue and white with a bright red door. The front yard was small but tidy, and Drake followed Piper up onto the front porch.
The door opened as Piper raised her fist to knock. “Come in, come in!” Fern enthused, stepping back to open the door wider and admit them into a cozy living room with overstuffed furniture, a fireplace with a carved wood mantel, and flowery wallpaper. “It’s great to see you again, Piper. And so happy to meet you…?”
“Drake.” He stiffened as the witch pulled him into a firm embrace. He hadn’t been expecting that. As a matter of fact, in the two seconds he’d known Fern, she wasn’t anything he’d expected from a witch. She was a fresh-faced young woman with a hippie look, complete with a flowing cotton dress and long hair. But she had an old soul, like she knew so much more than her age would indicate.
Fern pulled back, looking up at him from arm’s length. “Oh, you’ve got a very high vibration about you. You must be a shifter as well.”
Her knowledge of his true nature was disconcerting to him. Any normal human wouldn’t have had a clue, but he had to remember he was dealing with a witch. “I am.”
Piper was fighting back a smile at Drake’s reaction. “We wanted to talk to you about the other witches in town and their involvement with drugs, and perhaps even with some members of the clan. You remember my sister Nikki?”
Fern nodded as she flung her long curly hair behind her back. “Of course! So very strong and independent.”
“Yes, that’s the problem.” Piper explained the same changes in her sister that she’d told Drake about. “Nikki is completely different, and I’m suspicious about these three men she thinks she fated to. We thought perhaps, if they’re involved with Raven, they might be slipping her some drugs.”
Fern had led them into her kitchen, which was painted a brilliant shade of yellow with red accents. She poured them each a cup of herbal tea. “I see. It must be something powerful indeed to be affecting Nikki like that.”
“Is there anything you can do?” Drake was a bit skeptical of this whole idea. He liked Fern, and he knew Piper trusted her, but he’d been trained in science and medicine. A bit of witchy voodoo didn’t seem likely to work.
The witch bobbed her head from one side to the other as she wrapped her thin fingers around her mug. “I think so. I’ll need you to get me something personal from Nikki, and from one of these men as well. I’ll see what I can find out from there.”
Piper wrapped Fern in a hug. “Thank you so much. You’re so wonderful.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” the witch reminded her with a grin. “Wait until I’ve done my work and we’ll see what happens from there.”
When they left and they were back in Piper’s car, Drake turned to her. “Do you really think this is valid? I mean, if I could just get a blood sample from Nikki—”
“Ha! Good luck trying. First, you’d have to get close enough to her. And then she’d shred you to ribbons as soon as you tried to poke her with a needle.” Piper put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway.
“I’m trained for these sorts of things, you know.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but I still don’t think you have a chance. Even if you could do it without Nikki noticing, one her men would. They’re always watching.”
“Yeah, that seems to be true enough.” Drake looked out the window as they made their way back through town. This was turning into a strange assignment.
5
Nikki was stretched out on the sofa when Piper showed up. She’d planned to relax for a bit with a good book, but she was too tired. Every time she tried to read, her eyes just started drifting shut. She pulled herself up to a seated position to receive her sister. “Hey, kiddo. What’s up?”
“Don’t call me kiddo,” Piper growled. “You know I hate that. We’re not children anymore.”
Nikki couldn’t help but smile. “You’re still kind of a kid to me.”
“Not helping.”
“All right, all right. What’s on your mind?” Nikki could tell by the look on Piper’s face that this was more than just a social call. And if it was about clan business, then Piper would’ve asked while they were still at the clubhouse. But to come visit Nikki at her home and with that wrinkle of concern on her forehead, there was definitely something going on.
“Don’t you ever think it’s strange that you’d be fated to three men instead of just one?”
The excitement Nikki had been feeling over Piper’s surprise visit faded quickly. “Haven’t we gone over this?”
“Yes, but it still bothers me. It just doesn’t seem normal.”
Nikki pressed her lips together for a moment as she thought. “Even if it were just one man, do you really think it’s normal to be so attracted to someone that you can’t resist them at all? Like no matter what they say or do, you can’t be turned away from them? Like you don’t even want to be in different rooms?” Clint, Max, and Neal weren’t in the room with her at the moment, but she remained acutely aware of their distance from her.
Piper sighed. “I guess not normal for humans, just for us,” she admitted. “But how could you have all three of them fated to you at the same time? Haven’t you ever wondered about that?”
“Not really. I know what I feel for them, and it’s impossible to deny. I’m just lucky.” And she really was. She had three men who were always looking out for her and protecting her. If one of them was busy or otherwise unavailable, she always had someone when she needed them late in the night. Other women couldn’t say the same.
“Lucky to have them controlling you all the time? Honestly, Nik, it’s weird. They never leave you alone. And I don’t think you see it, but they’re constantly telling you what to do. You’re not the kind of woman to go for that.”
Nikki thrust her chin in the air. “You don’t know what kind of woman you really are until you meet your fated. If you haven’t yet, then I suggest you stop talking to me about it. You just don’t understand.”
“Yeah. I guess not. I’m gonna head out.” Piper slipped off the edge of the couch and showed herself to the door.
Nikki watched her go and then picked up her book once again, but she couldn’t concentrate on any of the words in front of her. Why did Piper insist on questioning her over and over again? Was she losing respect for Nikki as an Alpha, simply because she was her sister and she was fortunate enough to have so many mates?
As though he could read her thoughts and was there to put her back on the right track, Clint walked into the living room. He wasn’t as much of an ominous presence there in her own home as he was at the clubhouse, where his duties as a bodyguard seemed to take over completely. He stepped up to the end of the couch and reached down to rub her feet. “Everything okay? Piper seemed to leave in a hurry.”
Nikki beamed up at him, relishing in the way her body surged toward him without even moving. “Yeah, it’s all good. You know how she is.”
“You don’t have to put up with her, y
ou know. Sister or not.”
Way to ruin a good mood. Clearly, he hated Piper as much as Piper hated him. “It’s fine. I promise.”
“If you say so.” Clint gave her feet a final squeeze and moved off toward the kitchen. Nikki’s house had an open floor plan that kept her from feeling too cooped up. It also provided a nice view of Clint while he started on a load of dishes.
Nikki’s phone chirped at her side, and she tore her eyes away from Clint to answer it. She didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”
“Hey, Nikki. It’s Drake.”
Her fingers gripped the phone hard, and Nikki swallowed. She blinked, forcing herself to recover from the surprise. It shouldn’t have been a big deal for a member of her clan to call her, even a temporary member. “What can I do for you?”
“I was wondering if you could show me around town a little,” he said smoothly. “I know we talked about it at the house when I first arrived, but we haven’t had a chance to arrange it.”
Shit, that was right. Piper had said something about it, but Nikki had taken it as all three of them heading out into Eureka. Once Justin and Matt had interrupted, she hadn’t really thought about it again. “I’m sorry. I thought Piper was taking care of that.”
“She has a little, but she’s not available for the next couple of days. And I thought it would be nice to get to know you better.” That voice, even over the phone, was enough to make Nikki’s core coil with need. It was so smooth, so soothing. It pulled her into the phone line, and Nikki found herself closing her eyes to focus on the sound.
“I think we could do that. I can see if there’s anyone else available, and—”
Drake cleared his throat. “I mean, alone. Just the two of us.”
“Oh. Um, I don’t know. I’ll have to see what I can do.” She felt a pang of panic and guilt as she thought about how her mates would feel about that.
But Drake wasn’t going to take no or even maybe for an answer. “Let’s just go for a drive or something. Tomorrow afternoon.”