Whispers in the Ether

by Jena Gregoire

  "He just seems overly worried about my safety. He doesn't even know me.”

  "No, he doesn't, but Kade takes his job very seriously. Right at the top of his list of responsibilities is to protect humans from our world, even the ones he doesn't know yet.”

  She nodded thoughtfully and sipped her coffee.

  "Wait a second," she blurted out. "What was about him?”

  "Come again?” I asked.

  "Just a minute ago. You said, ‘that was about him.' What was 'about him’?”

  "You seemed like you were on edge. I thought it might have been because of last night.”

  "We've seen each other naked, Marcel. Being nervous now seems a little silly, don't you think?”

  "You've got a point," I conceded. "He's right, you know. You don't have to do this if you don't want to.”

  "I have my own reasons for wanting in. I thought I recognized one of them and this will give me the chance to get close enough to see if I was right.”

  "Is there going to be a problem if you're right and this person recognizes you?” When we'd talked the night before, she hadn’t mentioned anything about whether or not her move to New York included hiding from anyone. If she was trying to stay under the radar, I thought pressing her on it might make her bolt.

  "Nope, not a problem at all." She didn't elaborate further but I had a feeling it would be a lot more complicated than that.

  RECKONING

  CHAPTER TEN

  After a quick phone call to fill them in, Jamie and I met up with Aidan and Max for dinner at my favorite local Chinese restaurant. It was a small place with only six tables in the dining room but the majority of their business was takeout so we didn't have to wait. We were the first ones there, so we grabbed a table and made ourselves comfortable. They arrived a short while later freshly showered and dressed in black on black everything, ready for a night of creeping around in the shadows.

  "Evenin’, boys," I greeted as they slid into the two empty seats.

  "Yes, it is," Aidan replied, ever the smartass. "Hi, Jamie," he said, his tone much warmer. "How are you doing tonight?”

  "I'm good. Starving all of a sudden but good otherwise. How about you? Did you finish the Panhead rebuild?” She'd been paying closer attention than I thought.

  "Finally, yes" he huffed out.

  "After this shit tonight, we should all go out and celebrate.” That woke Max up.

  "Yes!" he shouted out. "Let's do it. We were planning to go back to Onyx after you're done with the buy to see this band everyone is talking about.”

  Aidan eyed me with the hint of a smile before he chimed in. "Yeah," he said enthusiastically, “you and Marcel should join us.” I shot him a glare.

  Jamie turned to me and I smiled attempting to cover the silent exchange between my second and me. Judging by the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, I wasn't fooling anyone.

  "Sounds good to me," she replied with a shrug. "What do you say?”

  "Sure. What band is playing?”

  "Angel something," Aidan replied.

  "Forsaken Angels,” Max corrected. "They're a rock cover band and they're supposed to be really good.”

  "Alright, why not?” It had been a while since I'd been out to a live show. Plus there was the added bonus of spending more time with Jamie.

  "It’s settled then,” she said. "Now let's eat.”

  RECKONING

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  "Can you hear me okay?” The earpiece crackled before she responded.

  "Loud and clear,” she replied. "I still say this is overkill.”

  "Yeah, but at least this way, we've got some alone time.” I was on the roof right above the dealers, waiting for her to come into sight. Kade had not arrived empty handed. In addition to the eight vampires decked out in tactical gear, he brought a pair of earpieces for Jamie and me.

  "There are nine vampires and two wolves watching over me," she reminded me. “We're far from alone.” I glanced over the edge of the roof. There were four guys perched on a stoop, all of them wolves. Jamie still hadn't rounded the corner so I stepped back before anyone prematurely spotted me.

  "They can't hear us,” I assured her.

  "Maybe not you, but I bet some of them can probably hear me.”

  "Then you better keep your end of the conversation PG-13. I had a good time last night.”

  "I gathered that,” she replied, "but I don't think it can happen again.”

  "Because you're leaving?”

  "For starters," she confirmed.

  "What are the other reasons?”

  "That conversation is for a much smaller audience.”

  "Understood.” I was quiet for a long moment as I peeked over the edge again. "Can I ask you a question?”

  "Absolutely but I can't promise an answer.”

  "Are you running from someone?”

  "Should I be?”

  "I'm being serious. Is someone after you?”

  "Not that I know of.”

  "Then why do you need to leave New York?”

  "I never said I needed to leave, just that I was," she corrected.

  "And what kind of odds am I looking at that you'll stick around?”

  "I don't know. Like fifty to one?”

  "Well, those aren't very good odds."

  "They're better than they were yesterday. I'm about to round the corner and these guys might not deal if they see me talking to myself.”

  "Not a problem," I said, stepping back to the edge of the roof. "You can just listen. I'd like to get to know you better and I can't do that if you skip town without so much as giving me your number.” She finally came into sight as she rounded the corner. She was all swagger, her hips swaying with every step. "I don't think you can deny there is something between us. If you leave, we may never get the chance to see what's there.”

  "I'm listening," she whispered, an edge of challenge in her voice.

  "I want to take you out on a date, just the two of us.” She approached the group of wolves. "We'll finish this later.”

  Kade stepped up beside me and peered over the side. "My guys are in place. One wrong move and they'll be hit with diluted wolfsbane. It won't kill them but it will put them down long enough to get her out of there.”

  "Thank you, though I doubt she'll need it.”

  Jamie approached the wolves. They all stood at once fanning out to encircle her.

  "What can we do for you, sweetness?” one of them asked. The way the rest of them stood back said he was the boss.

  "A friend told me you guys were the people to see for recreational chemicals.”

  "Recreational chemicals,” he said. "I like that. What are you looking for?” Jamie was eyeing one of the others. The one she thought was familiar I supposed, but she didn't speak to him. She turned her attention back to the mouthpiece of the group.

  "She said to ask for Black Fang.”

  "That'll be two hundred per vial, but I'd be willing to negotiate if the right terms were offered." The implication was clear in his tone and my wolf began to stir at his words.

  "As charming as your offer is, I'm all set. Two hundred is fine.” She pulled her hand out of her pocket and produced a handful of bills. She double checked the count, removed one of the bills, and handed him the rest. He counted it and handed her the vial.

  "Nice doing business with you, sweetness.”

  "One more thing,” she said. I tensed. This was not part of the plan. "You guys live by traditional pack law?”

  "Yes, we do.”

  "Eye for an eye without interference?” She must have learned a lot more than I thought from her father. She was referring to an old wolf tradition where a pack member guilty of wrongdoing is subject to punishment in kind without pack interference.

  "Be ready," I whispered.

  "Yes," the dealer replied hesitantly. "Why?”

  Jamie turned back to the one she'd been eyeballing. "I owe this dick face a fucking baseball bat upside the head, don't I, Clay?
Aren't you supposed to be fertilizer right about now?” She turned back to the leader. "I'm willing to settle for an ass beating right here. Are you going to interfere?”

  "Now wait a minute!" Clay yelled.

  The leader held up a hand and shot him a glare. "You know the rules," he snapped. He turned back to Jamie. "I'm sorry, miss. Your name is?”

  "None of your fucking business," she replied, calm as can be. The leader shifted his stance clearly going on the defensive.

  "Jamie, I need a sign,” I said. I was starting to get antsy. “Let me know you're okay.”

  "No one needs to get excited,” she answered, talking to both of us. “I know how pack law works, so clearly I'm not a bullshit artist. This asshole is the brother of a wolf I used to date and I owe him for the beating he threw me after he dragged me out of his brother's bed in the middle of the night.”

  "Your father killed my family.”

  "And my belief that you were among the deceased is the only reason I haven't come after you before now."

  "She's a hunter," Clay directed to his leader.

  "I'm retired,” she corrected. “Are you going to stand in my way or not?”

  "Not," the leader finally replied, "but you can't kill him.”

  "Agreed,” she answered.

  "She won't get the chance,” Clay said, now bouncing on his toes like a boxer preparing for a title match. Jamie just laughed at him.

  "You and your unfettered optimism are adorable. Too bad it's sorely misplaced.” The rest of the wolves gave the pair a wide berth but she still hadn't moved. Her lack of action was making her opponent visibly anxious.

  "Come on then," he ordered. "What are you waiting for? You wanted this, and if we're being straight, I'm kind of looking forward to kicking your ass again.”

  "Are we really going to let this happen?” Kade whispered beside me on the rooftop.

  "Jamie," I whispered cautiously, "sweetheart, we need to know if you're still okay.”

  I waited for a response and braced to spring into action. Clay took one step toward her and she responded with an explosion of movements resulting in a blade lodged in each of his legs and one in his right arm. He froze staring down at the knives protruding from his thighs.

  "You bitch!” he screamed.

  She spoke as she casually strolled toward him, taking her time. "I get called that a lot. There may be something to it. Three ... two …”

  Right on cue, Clay crumpled to the ground without another word. Kade and I both heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed as she crouched down next to him, inspecting her handy work.

  "When I left home, I didn't come straight to New York. Ending up here wasn't really intentional. I was just wandering aimlessly. Anyway, I met this really sweet woman on my trip, a witch. She was some kind of psychic or something because she pegged me as a hunter the second I walked through the door. She struck up a conversation with me and once she found out I was alone and headed toward this city, she gave me a gift. A tiny container filled with a special little concoction. It's a mixture of wolfsbane and a few other ingredients I didn't bother remembering the names of. When they're all combined into a balm like she gave me, it acts as a paralytic when introduced to the bloodstream of a werewolf. It's really neat stuff. I don't go anywhere without it but I never actually thought I'd find the need to use it. Then I spotted you. I wasn't even sure of what I saw. I tried to convince myself that my eyes were playing tricks on me. But it hasn't stopped me from thumbing that container like a junkie and fantasizing about this moment.”

  She stood up and without an ounce of restraint or ceremony, she booted him hard in the face, then again in the ribs. She crouched down again and after taking another look at the wounds, she removed her knives from his body. I couldn’t be sure but it looked like she twisted each blade a little before pulling it out.

  "You, Clayton, are a toxic, violent piece of shit. You're the one who belongs in the ground, not your brother. He was a good man. He deserves to be here, not you.” She wiped the blood from each throwing knife on his jacket.

  "I promised your friends I wouldn't kill you, so don't worry. Your wounds will heal and the effects of the balm won't last long. You'll be talking like a stroke victim in two, three hours tops. For the moment, you just sit there doing that impression of a day in the life of one of your brain cells and I'll keep talking. I wasn't planning on sticking around New York, but I've recently made some interesting friends and I think I might actually like it here. So there is a chance we’ll cross paths again one day. Do yourself a favor. If you see me, cross the street. I was kind to you tonight, asshole. I promise it won't happen again.” She stood and turned back to the other three. "Gentlemen, nice doing business with you. You have a wonderful evening." She turned and strolled back the way she came.

  "I think you almost gave Kade a heart attack.” I watched the wolves, making sure none of them went after her. They didn't. They were crowded around Clay and appeared to be a little confused about what to do with him.

  "You’re all clear. How are you feeling?”

  "Ready for a drink,” she snapped in a whisper.

  "You got it. We'll meet you on the ground around the corner. We've got eyes on you.” Kade and I moved along the rooftop following her progress. I found his silence odd and turned to find him eyeing me curiously. He mouthed, she's a hunter? He obviously knew the implications of that statement better than I had the night before. Worry was etched all over his face. I pulled out my phone and opened the notepad app. I typed out a message for him to read.

  Not anymore. Long story for another time. I'm willing to vouch for her. She’s no danger to you and yours.

  When he was finished reading, he handed my phone back and nodded in acceptance. We continued on in silence until she rounded the corner. Once we were satisfied that the wolves had no intention of following her, we dropped off the edge, landing on the sidewalk below, out of the dealers' sight. We caught up to Jamie and the rest of the guys half a block down from there.

  "Jamie, you got something for me?” Kade asked.

  "Here you go." She produced the vial and the remaining cash from her pocket and held it out to him. It was a small cylinder measuring only about two inches. The dark blue glass made it difficult to see the liquid contained inside.

  "Thank you so much. Keep the change for your troubles.” He handed the bills back to her. He'd given her five hundred for the buy which meant she got to walk away with a decent chunk of change.

  "Wow," she said, sounding surprised, "thanks.” She and I removed our earpieces and returned them to their cases.

  "Marcel, thank you. We’re going to head back to the coven house to have this tested. I'll keep you posted on whatever my people find.”

  We said our goodbyes and the vampires left the four of us to our night out. Max and Aidan were walking quite a bit ahead of us so I took the opportunity to see if she was alright.

  "Do you need to talk about what happened back there?”

  "Not really. I think it was pretty self-explanatory.” If she was freaking out, I couldn't see it.

  "Are you sure? If you're upset, I'm sure the guys would understand if you didn't feel like going out.”

  She stopped walking a pointed a finger in my face. "Don't do that,” she barked.

  "Do what?”

  "There is no damseling going on here. I could have slit his throat from ear to ear and still slept like a baby tonight. There was exactly one reason I didn't.”

  "The three werewolves standing just a few paces away?” I scoffed.

  “Please," she said, rolling her eyes. “I could have put all four down without breaking a sweat. I didn't think you'd appreciate me bringing excess trouble to your backyard. Killing him would have done just that. I can't promise I won't drop his ass in your neighborhood another day though.”

  "So you're staying?"

  "Eh." She shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. We shall see.” We turned to see Max and Aidan were way up ahead of us. I pulled my pho
ne out of my pocket and dialed Aidan.

  “Hey, boss," he answered, "we figured you guys wanted a minute. Want us to wait up?”

  "No, go on ahead. We're going to take a little detour. We'll catch up with you in a bit.” We hung up and I nodded for Jamie to follow me.

  "Where are we going?” she asked.

  "We're taking the long way.”

  RECKONING

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  "Think the boys will be pissed?”

  In our urgency, we'd left a trail of clothes from the elevator door to where we were laying on the bed, both of us only partially covered by a top sheet. I'd intended on grabbing a coffee before we joined the guys at Onyx, but when she yanked me into a darkened alley and pulled me to her, all passion and fire, plans changed.

  "Max and Aidan? Nah, I'm sure they're fine.” I glanced at the clock on my wall. Normally my cell would be on the nightstand, but I lost it somewhere between the door and my bed. "It's still early. We can go catch up with them if you want to.”

  She considered it. "Text them to see where they are. I'd still be up for meeting them."

  I hopped out of bed and grabbed my phone. Within minutes, Aidan replied saying they were on their way to the Bullet.

  "What do you think?" she asked. "Stay in or go out?” She didn't appear to be in any hurry, and the longer I laid there with her warm, bare skin pressed up against me, my own ambition drained away. My eyes trailed over the length of her body taking in every slope and curve.

  “I'm sorry but I'm not seeing the benefit of putting our clothes back on.”

  “Well,” she began, as her fingertip lightly danced across my chest, “if we stay in, we're likely going to fall back to sleep, but if we get out of here, we have reason to come back and do this again.” She brought her lips to mine and any resolve I may have had left melted away. I wouldn't admit it aloud but I was putty in her hands. She moved to pull away but I stopped her. My fingers tangled with her blonde tresses and I deepened the kiss, not wanting it to end. A moment more and she pulled away anyway.