Brothers of the Flame (An Ariel Kimber Novel Book 1)

by Mary Martel

  Why?

  Why?

  What a damn good question.

  Also, a stupid one with all things considered. Had he not had the pleasure of meeting my mother when the twins were subjected to it? I believed he had.

  So, again, why?

  I shook my head, but kept my mouth shut. If this was his way of trying to force me to say something I did not want to, he had another thing coming. I’d already told him too much.

  “It’s late and dark,” I pointed out, jerking my hand in the direction of the sliding glass doors. “I need to get home before someone notices I never really made it past the dining room.” By someone, I meant my mother.

  That’s what I told him. Really, I just wanted to escape all the questions. I should have thought about what I was saying because I’d let something slip that I had no intention of sharing with all of them.

  “Why didn’t you make it past the dining room earlier?”

  Why, indeed. Me and my big mouth. I should super glue my lips shut, it would really save me a whole world of trouble.

  “Ariel?” Persistent. Tyson wasn’t going to let this one go.

  Shit. Stalling with silence clearly wasn’t the way to go here. I licked my suddenly dry lips. His eyes followed the motion as they heated. He should really stop looking at me like that, it muddled my brain.

  “Uhh…” I mumbled under my breath.

  Everyone in the kitchen had stopped talking and arguing with one another when I told them to shut up, they hadn’t said anything since. I would have forgotten about them being there if I couldn’t feel them behind me. My shoulders felt heavy and stiff under the weight of their stares. I felt their eyes crawling over me like a physical touch. Tyson wasn’t the only one waiting for my answer. I didn’t want to tell them anything.

  “I have to go,” I repeated my earlier response.

  Addison decided to take it out of my hands and spilled the beans. “She walked in on them doing it on the dining room table and didn’t want to stick around and watch so she bailed. Can’t say I blame her.”

  I only knew it was Addison and not Abel by who I’d talked to earlier. I hadn’t mentioned anything to Abel about my mother and Mr. Cole.

  My face heated up as I was embarrassed by his words. My mother and the never-ending humiliation she continued to torture me with. I wanted to strangle her. Her physical abuse was almost easier to deal with than the humiliation of being related to her.

  I shoved the glass at Tyson and stood up fast. The room spun a little and I had blink, rapidly, to get it to stand still again. When it stopped moving I made my way around the couch, not looking in the direction of the kitchen. I didn’t want to see the looks on their faces after hearing what Addison had just said about my mother.

  “Ariel,” Tyson called out softly, sweetly. He felt sorry for me, I could hear it in his voice. Somehow, that made it a whole lot worse.

  Ignoring him, I flew past the couch and breezed into the hallway, escaping them all. By the time I made it to the front door I was practically jogging. No one followed me, but their voices did.

  “Why is she always running away from us?” One of the twins asked.

  “Do you think she’ll be alright there?” That was Tyson’s Uncle Quinton. “Do you think she’ll be safe? I don’t like the look of that mark on her head.”

  “Do you think she heard us?” I think that was Dash and he really didn’t sound happy.

  I threw the door open and ran outside, not bothering to close it behind me. They could shut their own damn door.

  When I reached my driveway, I hesitated. I couldn’t go in through the front door, not after what I had walked in on the last time. Logically, I knew they weren’t still having sex in the dining room. That had been hours ago. Who knew what part of the house they could be in right now? I just… couldn’t.

  I took the door to the garage instead. I had to grab my bag and my phone from the Rover before I headed inside anyways. For the first time that day, luck was on my side. The kitchen was empty, the lights dim. The counter was empty save for a plate covered in saran wrap. A sandwich sat on the plate, the crusts were cut off. My mother would never have done something so thoughtful for me. Mr. Cole had noticed I cut the crusts off of my sandwiches. My throat tightened with emotion and my eyes stung. Something so small, so simple and it meant so much to me.

  God, he was so stinking nice.

  I grabbed the plate even though I didn’t think I could possibly put any more food into my belly. I couldn’t simply leave it sitting on the counter, not when he’d gone through the trouble of making it for me. I would throw it in the garbage in my bathroom if need be.

  The rest of the house was quiet and dark as I made my way to my bedroom. I didn’t know if I should have been relieved or frightened. Heaven help me if she got creative with her punishments.

  I shuddered violently as I climbed the stairs on silent feet.

  Heaven help me, indeed.

  It wasn’t until after I’d tossed my sandwich in the trashcan in my bathroom, changed into comfy pajama shorts and a black tank top, plugged my phone in to charge and crawled under my pretty comforter that I allowed my mind to go over what had happened next door. First off, I’d fainted. I’ve never fainted before in my life and all of a sudden, BAM, I dropped like a bag of rocks. I bet it had been real pretty to watch, too. And, second, they were all really weird around me, flirty even, and in front of each other. It didn’t seem normal to me. And, third, when they hadn’t known I was awake and listening, they’d talked about me like they had been expecting me and like I meant something significant to them. The twins were fiercely loyal to me for having only met me the day before. Tyson was defensive on my behalf, called me pretty and, very weirdly, wanted to protect me. And I’d only known him a day longer than the twins. His Uncle Quinton was a scary guy who’d invaded my dreams. Julian seemed okay, but the other two, Dash and Damien, acted almost as if I had intruded upon their lives and it wasn’t a good thing. Then, there was the things they’d said. About magic and covens and claiming me. This part baffled me and left me uneasy at the same time. I didn’t know what to make of it, but I knew if I kept trying to analyze it, analyze them, I’d never get to sleep and likely drive myself insane. Magic

  I clutched a pillow tightly to my chest and closed my eyes. It took me over an hour to clear my head and fall asleep. And when I did sleep, I dreamed of dark eyes hovering above me, watching my every move.

  Chapter Twelve

  I woke up to shouting, and not my mother’s. It was Mr. Cole. And he was yelling at my mother. Good grief. What now? I’d never heard him even raise his voice before and now he was shouting the house down in the middle of the night. Anybody else and I would lock my door and hide out in my room, leaving my mother to it. But it was Mr. Cole and I wasn’t afraid of him.

  I threw the covers off of me and raced to my door. I unlocked it, ran down the hallway and nearly tumbled head first down the stairs.

  They were in the kitchen and my mother was finally starting to raise her voice. She sounded desperate and hysterical. Not a good combination.

  “I’m coming with you,” my mother whined in a very unattractively high voice.

  “You have a daughter, Vivian. Something you seem to constantly forget about.” Mr. Cole snapped sharply. “This is her first week of school at a new school and a new year. She needs her mother here with her.”

  Tears hit the backs of my eyes. I wanted to tell him to not waste his breath on defending me to her, she didn’t care and nothing he said would change her feelings towards me. But I couldn’t do it. I wished it was the other way around and he was my dad and she was just some woman coasting through our lives. I wanted that very badly.

  “She’s a teenager,” I heard her scoff. “She doesn’t need me to hold her hand. I’ve been a single mother since the day that girl was born, I think I know her better than you do. I raised her right and she can take care of herself.”

  Raised me right. My ha
nd twitched, reaching for the mark on my head.

  “She’s your daughter,” Mr. Cole said softly.

  “Yes, I know. You need me more than she does right now and I need to be with you. Not here, coddling my daughter.”

  “What I need,” Mr. Cole shouted, “is for you to stop this bullshit so I can pack a bag and make it to the airport in time for my flight.”

  I flinched. Now he was yelling and swearing. Something had happened and my mother was delaying him from doing what he needed to do.

  He needed my help.

  I stepped away from the wall where I’d been hiding in the shadows, straightened my spine and marched into the kitchen. My mother noticed me immediately and glared at me, that look was a dangerous one on her.

  My mother’s long ash-blonde hair hung down, loose around her shoulders. Her face was free of makeup, showing dark circles under her eyes. She had on this purple nighty that looked silky, exposed far too much cleavage and barely covered her butt cheeks. Her hands rested on her hips as she squared off against Mr. Cole. He stood on the other side of the island with his arms crossed over his chest, facing off with her. He had on a tight white t-shirt and solid black, drawstring pajama pants.

  Neither looked ready to back down. I wondered how long they’d been arguing before they woke me up.

  “What are you doing?” My mother snapped at me. Without waiting for an answer, she yelled, “Go back to your room and go back to sleep. This doesn’t concern you.”

  I looked away from her and directly at Mr. Cole. Be brave, Ariel Kimber. “What’s going on?” I asked in a quiet voice I could hardly hear over my heartbeat. Okay, so I wasn’t all that brave after all.

  “My brother has been in a horrible car accident and he’s in really bad shape. I need to be there for his family right now and I need to be with my brother. The next available flight leaves in an hour and I need to be on it.”

  My heart clenched painfully for him. How terrible.

  “Do you need me to do anything for you?” I offered sincerely. “Do you want me to pack your clothes for you or anything? Are you hungry?”

  “Ariel,” my mother gritted out through clenched teeth. “Go back up to your room right this second. I already told you, this does not concern you.”

  Her hand twitched and I could tell it was due to repressing the urge to lash out, to strike me down. If he left me alone with her there would be hell to pay for sure.

  Mr. Cole ignored my mother entirely and focused solely on me. Not smart, but I appreciated the gesture. “Thank you, Ariel. That’s very kind of you. I can pack my own luggage, but if you would make a pot of coffee it wouldn’t go unappreciated.”

  “I can make coffee,” I said as I rushed around the island to get to the coffee pot.

  “I’m coming with you,” my mother yelled, ignoring me. I could hear the steely determination in her voice. She wasn’t going down without a fight. I felt bad for thinking it, but I hoped he caved and took her with him. I did not want to be alone here with her.

  “Ariel-” Mr. Cole started.

  My mother cut him off. “Doesn’t need me. You do.”

  I agreed with her wholeheartedly. If only her reasons weren’t selfish ones.

  I flipped the lid on the coffee pot and found that I didn’t even have to make coffee because someone had already set it all up, I flipped the switch to on and turned back to the room. My hips rested against the counter as I stared at the floor, not brave enough to look her in the eyes just yet, or even in her direction.

  “Fine,” Mr. Cole bit out. “You need to pack light, only one carry-on bag. And we leave in half an hour.”

  My head snapped up and my mouth dropped open in shock. He’d given into her, I hadn’t expected this.

  Her smile radiated triumph as she purred, “I’ll just go pack my things then.” She turned on her bare feet and strutted out of the room. She shook her hips and ass in a blatantly sexual manner that I found highly embarrassing.

  “This is getting old,” Mr. Cole muttered under his breath, likely so I wouldn’t hear him. But I did hear and my stomach dropped at his words. He was going to kick us out on our butts soon, I could feel it.

  With a start, I realized I didn’t want to leave. I hadn’t wanted to come and now I didn’t want to leave. I liked my bedroom. It may have had blank walls and a whole lot of empty space, but I had a beautiful new comforter and a kick ass window seat covered with a sea of pretty pillows. I had never had anything like it before and I didn’t want to give it up. I liked Marcus Cole a whole lot and I freaking loved the Range Rover he’d so generously given me. I knew, with enough time, I would come to love him as well. I could do without school and the majority of the people there, but I had made friends. Friends I couldn’t think of right then.

  It would hurt to leave this place.

  “You have the number of my cell phone, yes?” Mr. Cole asked.

  I nodded. He’d given it to me on my second day here along with the number for the land line when he’d given me my own cell phone.

  “I will text when we land on the ground and I promise I will keep in touch, letting you know what’s happening. Hopefully, we won’t be gone for too long.”

  That was nice and I appreciated it. I had never met his brother so he really had no reason to update me on his health, but it was nice all the same. Maybe it was really his way of keeping tabs on me, it seemed like something he’d do.

  Abruptly, he moved his hip away from the island countertop, straightened and walked out of the kitchen. Had I said something wrong? I didn’t think I had.

  I stood there numbly, watching the coffee drip until he came back five minutes later. He dropped two black, matching pieces of luggage by the door to the garage. He’d exchanged his pajama pants for dark blue jeans but had kept the white t-shirt. I had never seen him in jeans and a t-shirt before. It was a good look for him, but I liked him in his business suits more.

  He walked towards me and gently took hold of my right hand. He pried my fist open and pressed something into my damp palm.

  He stared into my eyes intently. Whatever he was going to say, I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.

  “You have your debit card I gave you, this is for just in case you need it. Don’t tell your mother I gave it to you.” His eyes flashed with something dangerous in them for a brief moment before it disappeared, leaving the intensity behind. My eyes widened in surprise. I kept getting glimpses showing me his true feelings towards my mother and I wasn’t certain sure he liked her all that much. “I’m going to text every day and I expect a message back within half an hour or I will assume something is wrong and be on the next available flight back to make sure you’re alright. Do you understand me?” I nodded and he continued. “I don’t care if you have people over, just no parties. And I mean that, Ariel, no parties. The last thing we need is someone calling the police on you while you’re here all by yourself. When you leave and when you’re here, I want you to activate the alarm. That’s important. Every single time you open a door leading outside of the house, even to the garage, I want you to set the alarm. Do you think you can do that for me?”

  He squeezed my hand as he patiently waited for my answer. Could I do that for him? He wasn’t asking for much and I knew it was cash he’d pressed into the palm of my hand. He was acting like a caring, loving, concerned parent. I’d never had one of those before.

  Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I took in a shuddering breath. Why did he always make me want to cry?

  “Yes,” I croaked out past my emotions. “I can do that for you, all of it.” Easy.

  He smiled at me sadly and pulled on my hand, tugging me towards him. I stumbled and crashed into his chest. The hand not holding onto mine wrapped around my shoulders as my forehead came to rest on his collarbone. He kissed the top of my head and whispered, “Christ, you’re such a good kid.” The arm around my shoulder gave me a quick squeeze before he let me go and backed away from me. He gave me another sad smile, and s
aid, “Don’t wreck the Ranger Rover while I’m gone, and if you want to drive the Merc, and, sweetheart, I know you do, I saw your face, the keys are hanging up with the rest of them. Knock yourself out.”

  I smiled at him, flat out, not holding anything back. I absolutely loved his sleek, black car that purred every time I got into it. Did I want to drive it? Hell yes. I was so glad he’d noticed my lust for his car and approved of it.

  He smiled warmly at me and the lines around his eyes crinkled.

  He sobered, the smile slipped, and he asked, “You’ll text back?”

  “Yes,” I said while nodding.

  “Within a half an hour?”

  “Unless it’s during school or while I’m sleeping, yes.”

  “And the alarm?”

  “I won’t forget to set the alarm,” I promised.

  “Good girl,” he whispered.

  My mother chose that moment to stroll into the room and dropped her luggage off next to Mr. Cole’s. She no longer looked like she’d just been woken up in the middle of the night due to a phone call relaying a tragic event. She’d put on makeup and heels. Her clothes were toned down and a whole lot less slutty than she normally wore. In fact, they kind of looked like my clothes. Black leggings with a black tank top, cleavage still there for all to see, but a little less than the norm. Her hair still hung down and loose around her shoulders. She wore no jewelry, likely due to her lack of time.

  “Are those my pants?” I blurted out.

  I should have let it go.

  “There’s no time for your nonsense, Ariel.” She snapped at me without answering my question. That was answer enough for me. Yes, she was wearing my leggings which meant she’d been in my bedroom while I was at school.

  God, I hated her.

  And I really did not like seeing her in my clothes. I didn’t know why, it was irrational, but I wanted to rip the clothes from her body. She had no right to go through my things and take whatever she wanted for herself.

  My mother dismissed me with a look and focused on her lover. “I’m ready to go whenever you are, honey.”