“Not if Riley’s at the beach.”
Cruz looked at him. “Sorry, hermano. You were sleeping, and I thought the boy should see a few sights before you leave. He reminds me of my little brother—introspective and witty. Georgina will look after him. It seems her cousin and Riley have a thing for each other.”
The effects of the coffee started to kick in, and Deane straightened up. “I’m just surprised he actually went out. Emery’s been trying to move him off the couch since we got here. Guess it takes a pretty lass to change a fella’s mind.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” The lodge leader stood up and patted Deane on the shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Deane waited around all day for Riley to return with Georgina and Marisol. When they did, he barely recognized the boy. His skin had some color, and he came in with his shoulders back. His blue eyes creased as he laughed with the youngling shifter.
“Hey, Deane.” Riley raised his hand and went to sit down with Marisol at the other end of the lounge.
If Aerilyn had seen him, she might have dropped her jaw in shock. Deane lifted a brow at the two teens sitting on the couch. Marisol was hunched over a sketchpad while Riley cast furtive glances over his shoulder at Deane. She passed a pen to the lad, who scribbled on the paper. They erupted in laughter, leaning into each other.
Emery walked into the room and leaned over the back of the couch and gave Riley a high five. “Oh my God, yes. That’s so him. Do me next.”
Deane got up and joined his partner. She gestured at the sketchpad that was currently being covered by a worried Marisol. Emery smirked. “She’s quite a good cartoonist.”
“Let me see.” Deane pointed at the paper.
The young woman looked at Riley with a creased brow. He turned to look at Deane and said, “It was my idea. I wrote the caption.”
Marisol reluctantly held up the sketchpad. A fairly accurate, yet cartoony depiction of Deane filled the page. He was dressed in a suit, wearing a stiff expression while standing knee deep in the ocean. The speech bubble said, “What? I’m relaxed.”
He met Riley’s eye. Deane shook his head and grumbled, unable to suppress a smile. “It’s nothin’ like me—though the suit’s sharp.”
Riley’s eyes twinkled, and he shared a smirk with Marisol.
When Deane went to bed that night, he felt relieved about the kid for the first time in days, although he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was forgetting something. Verity’s blue eyes and pale hair filtered through his thoughts. Deane opened his lids to stare at the circus poster in the dark. The faded tiger brought back memories of past mistakes he wished he could forget. He’d been so different in his youth. Cantankerous, defiant—and combative. The smell of smoke filled his nostrils as he tried to push away the imagery filling his head. He could still see their frightened eyes and feel their wet blood on his paws.
Deane rose early. All traces of his hangover were gone. His thoughts went to the Grand Consul, and a seed of worry took root. Everything was out of his hands, but maybe if he did his best to help Verity and Julian appear as helpful and compliant as possible, things would turn out okay.
“Can we visit Verity and Julian today?” Riley asked as he came downstairs into the lounge.
Deane nodded. “That’s what I’d planned.”
Emery followed Riley to the bottom floor, wearing a tank top and skinny jeans with her trademark bandana around her head. She squished up her face. “You wouldn’t mind if I went to South Beach today, would you? I figured that since we’d be going home soon, and since I stuck around here yesterday…”
“Aye,” Deane interrupted her excuse. “We won’t need ye. That’s fine.”
“Yay!” She craned her neck to look out the front windows. “I’m glad you said that, because my ride’s here. See you later!”
Emery adjusted her bag’s strap over her shoulder and ran out the front door.
It didn’t take Deane and Riley long to get themselves ready to head out to Cutler Bay. The whole ride there, Riley talked about his day at the beach with Marisol. Whenever he said her name, he adopted an embarrassed expression, which made Deane chuckle, remembering the feeling of excitement that came along with puppy love.
“You’re back!” Julian waved from the shade of a persimmon tree while they came to a stop in the parking lot. “I wasn’t sure if we’d scared you off.”
“No, someone decided to go off to the beach yesterday.” Deane got out and raised a brow at Riley over the top of the car.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Julian answered. “Glad to hear you’re getting out, enjoying the Sunshine State.”
The sound of the screen door shutting echoed across the drive. Verity walked out onto their porch and leaned on the railing. Beck emerged from the back side of the home and raised his hand in greeting to Deane, who nodded back.
Julian set the rake he was holding against a tree and approached Riley, brushing off his hands. “So your aunt and I were starting to feel a bit drained. I was going to collect some blood so we could recharge the old batteries. Might be good timing for you to have a lesson on how to use your fangs to deliver your venom.”
Riley lifted his upper lip in disgust. “You make it sound so normal.”
“Sorry to say it, but it’s your new normal.” Julian narrowed his eyes in the sunlight and rested his hands on his hips.
“Now, ye’re not talking about poisoning anything, are ye?” Deane confirmed as he went around the car.
Julian’s lips parted in a laugh. He raked his fingers through his dark hair. “I’m not going to let him use his venom on any living thing until he has some practice at it.”
“I guess I’d better get it over with.” Riley shook his long hair from his eyes and looked at Deane. “You coming?”
The kid had never invited him to join him to do anything, so he thought it was best to take advantage of the offer. He also wanted to learn as much as he could about how Riley’s fangs and venom worked. While they walked across the gravel lot toward the back of the house toward the rabbit enclosure, he felt Verity’s eyes on him.
He was thankful Julian didn’t just hand Riley a living animal to bite straight away. Instead, the kid’s uncle handed him a ripe tomato. “Have you gotten used to controlling your fangs?”
Riley shook his head.
Julian leaned against one of the rabbit hutches. “It’s just a new bodily function you’ll learn to control just like getting potty trained or learning to walk. When you’re ready to feed, lift your upper lips and bite down on your prey. In this case, it’s a tomato. You should feel your canines elongate and extend. The next step of this process is releasing your venom. This part takes practice to perfect. It takes hours for your venom glands to refill, so don’t use it all in one shot if you don’t need to. Your prey, depending on its size, should get anesthetized, like these bunnies here. Large animals need more venom…”
Deane shot him a warning glare and folded his arms.
“Never mind that.” Julian gestured at the tomato in Riley’s hands and said, “Why don’t you try activating your fangs.”
The sound of tires on the drive and the flash of sunlight reflecting off car windows drew Deane’s attention.
Julian craned his neck to look beyond the house and muttered, “I wonder who that could be. I swear I left out the Closed sign days ago.”
“You did. I saw it.” Riley lowered his tomato.
“I guess I should go turn them away.” Julian shook his head. “Some people just don’t read.”
He left the enclosure and walked across the lawn to the front of the house with Riley by his side. Deane exited the rabbit pen and followed them, stopping at the edge of the grass.
A large white SUV was in the center of the gravel parking lot. A plume of dust filled the air. Julian waved his arm and coughed as he approached the vehicle’s driver side. “We’re closed.”
Verity came back out onto the porch and squinted at the
new arrival. She must have seen something Deane hadn’t because she hurried down the front steps and approached the driveway. Her eyes were filled with worry, which triggered Deane’s instincts.
Julian backed away from the car into the shady vegetation of TailGators, positioning Riley behind him. He met Verity’s gaze across the lot. His expression said it all. There was reason for concern and fear. Deane moved in front of Verity, taking a defensive stance.
The doors of the vehicle opened. A thin woman with a shaved head got out of the passenger side. Dressed all in black, she scanned the area, settled her focus on Verity and smiled dryly. Two blond men got out of the back seat. They were lean, yet muscular, and they looked so similar, Deane assumed they were brothers. The best way to tell them apart was that one wore black jeans with a gray shirt, and the other had white pants with a striped gray tank.
A man walked around to the front of the SUV from the driver’s side. His long blond hair was fastened at the base of his head in a ponytail. His pale eyes stared at Julian, then settled on Verity. “I’m starting to think you don’t know how to properly greet family. This is what it sounds like—hello, Dolan, welcome.”
When neither of the siblings answered, the man swiveled to look at Deane and Riley. “Time to say goodbye to your friends. We have family business to discuss.”
Deane noticed Beck come around the back of the house and observe the discussion from forty feet away. Deane took another step onto the gravel drive and crossed his arms. “I’m not leaving. What ye have to say to Verity and Julian can be said in front of me.”
Dolan stared incredulously at Verity and cocked his head. “I don’t know what you were thinking. Did you pay this man to be your bodyguard? Did you actually think that would prevent us from bringing you home?”
Verity finally found her voice. “He isn’t our bodyguard.”
“Well,” Dolan said with his accented voice and glanced at Julian. “Have your boyfriend leave before it’s too late.”
A black-haired girl walked around the backside of the SUV to stand beside the blond brothers. Her green eyes turned toward Deane and Verity, then stopped once they reached Riley partially hidden from view behind Julian. “Oh my God, what are you doing here?”
Deane recognized Marika at once, and so did Riley, based off his horrified expression. Dolan came forward and blinked at her questioningly. She pointed at Riley, who took another step back. “That’s the one Ramsay was trying to help when those changelings attacked us!”
Riley’s voice came out in a whisper, “He wasn’t helping me!”
“You killed my father, you freak! Shut up!” Marika’s eyes widened as she screamed. Spittle flew from her mouth, and she launched at him, only to be stopped by the brother in black jeans. He held her in place until she pulled herself free and crossed her arms with a vindictive grimace.
“We attacked you because you abducted Aerilyn and Riley.” Deane’s own temper heated below the surface, though he did his best to keep his cool. This situation could erupt at any moment. He needed to do his best to keep things civil.
Marika turned to scowl at him. “Who the flip are you?” Then dawning realization flashed across her face, and she laughed. “Are you the tiger? How’d you enjoy the basement?”
Instead of losing control, Deane clenched his fists and exhaled slowly, reminding himself it wouldn’t benefit the situation if he lashed out, no matter how much he wanted to.
Dolan turned his focus to Deane. “Are you telling me that’s a changeling?”
No one said anything. The ocean breeze rustled the treetops and bushes. A bird with a red belly settled on a nearby branch. Though a half-eaten birdseed ornament hung a foot away from it, it didn’t seem interested. Its attention was on Deane and the vampires.
Dolan stared up at the sky and shook his head. “Are you telling me you’ve made friends with the changelings who killed your brother, your nephew and my son?”
“They weren’t the ones who started it.” Verity came forward. “You know how Ramsay was. He couldn’t live by Lycos’s rules. He started this mess with the shifters.”
“And what—you think because he got what he deserved, you can just stay here? That Lycos won’t mind?” Dolan straightened up. His eyes were filled with anger, and his lips twisted as he spoke. “You can discuss that with him. You’re coming with us. He’s expecting you.”
Deane glanced over his shoulder at Verity who met his eyes, seeking support. He gave a single nod to indicate they’d do what they could to protect them. She lifted her chin. “We’re not going with you. We’re done with Lycos.”
Her blond brother started laughing, but he wasn’t amused. He threw his hands in the air. “Why must you always make things so hard? I do not wish to hurt either of you, but I will if I must. Lycos wants you returned home, dead or alive. I had a small sliver of hope that we could once again be a family like father wished, but I see now, you are too selfish to allow it.”
Things had gone from bad to worse. Deane prepared himself for a fight. He glanced back at the red-breasted bird, which was still staring at them. He barked an order. “Call for backup—what are ye waitin’ for!”
The bird’s wings fluttered and rustled against the leaves. It took flight and disappeared around the home. Deane snarled at Verity, “Get in the house and lock the doors!” She blinked at him without moving, so he yelled, “Now!”
Verity spun around and ran up the front walk to the steps. Beck was running toward him. Deane pointed at the house. “Protect her!”
Beck changed direction and went for the end of the porch, reaching for the edge and pulling himself up to jump over the rail. The two brothers had already started for Deane. The one in white pants threw a punch just as Deane sidestepped away. The thin woman ran toward the house and hollered over her shoulder, “With me, Marika!”
The black-haired teen blinked over her shoulder at Riley, standing at the opposite side of the driveway. A grimace twisted her lips.
The thin woman shouted again, “Marika!”
With a look of frustration, the teen girl launched after the woman, and they both hurried to intercept Beck at the door. Deane couldn’t see what happened next. A hit to the back of the ribs sent him stumbling to the gravel with a grunt.
“Who do you think you are, getting in the middle of our family business?” the man in the black jeans leaned down to whisper in his ear.
Deane knew how to take a punch better than anyone. He’d had plenty of practice.
Deane pushed himself off the ground with his hand on his ribs, willing away the pain. He straightened up and found a brother on either side of him. Beyond the large SUV, he noticed Julian back away from the parking lot, ushering Riley onto the trail into TailGators. Deane watched in pure anxiety as Dolan observed the gator wrangler hurry away. His throat went dry.
Dolan called over his shoulder as he followed after, “Lawson, come with me.”
The brother in the white pants sighed and jogged off to join Dolan in pursuit of Julian and Riley. Deane knew Julian didn’t have much experience with self-defense and didn’t have much hope the gator wrangler could keep Riley safe for long. He’d have to hurry. Deane eyed Michael’s confident grin.
Deane raised his fists in front of him, feeling his shirt pull at his muscles. He remembered his days training in a dark room with other sweaty boxers. All of his frustrations could be let out, beating on other men who were seeking their share of riches, no matter how small, in pugilism. He could fight through his resentment about quitting the circus and being obliged to marry Kristie when she got pregnant.
Michael continued to grin at him as Deane moved in. The vampire swung his leg, kicking high, aiming for Deane’s head. Deane raised his hands, taking the blow on his bicep. Without hesitation, he punched Michael’s jaw. The man’s head twisted to the side, and he groaned. There wasn’t the time for this. Deane couldn’t be in more than one place at once. Riley needed help.
The vampire recovered from the hit,
and with blinding speed, he swung at Deane, landing a quick succession of blows against Deane’s chest, sending him stumbling back. The rapid-fire punches took away his breath for a moment, so he hunched his shoulders and inhaled deeply.
Deane considered changing form until he noticed a figure come running from behind the house. Deane lifted his gaze, prepared for anything. He recognized Georgina. She was pulling the hem of her shirt down as she moved. Her short, red-streaked hair was spikier than usual.
Deane called to her, “Can ye handle this?”
In answer, she dug in and launched herself at Michael. The man turned in time to meet the colliding force of the Miami enforcer. Georgina knocked him onto the ground and jumped on top of him with ferocity. Deane moved back and looked at the house with its front door hanging open, wishing Emery hadn’t taken the day off. He heard yelling inside. Deane reminded himself that Beck would do everything he could to protect Verity. Riley needed his help.
Deane ran across the parking lot to the shade of the persimmon tree at the entrance of TailGators and gave one last look over his shoulder at the house, saying a silent prayer that Verity would remain safe.
Verity ran across the threshold first and spun around with her hands up. She didn’t know what she was doing. Verity hadn’t learned martial arts, never opting to focus on the physical training many of her family members filled their time with. It hadn’t interested her. Now she regretted her choice.
A man ran through the doorway, banging into it as he went. She raised her hands higher, balling them into fists, and her heartbeat elevated. Verity recognized Beck, one of the enforcers who’d been taking shifts keeping an eye on Julian and her. Their eyes met momentarily before he backed into the entryway, prepared for the women coming up the porch steps.
Half-Blood Secrets: A Paranormal Series (Half-Bloods Book 2) Page 16