by Abigail Owen
Now she felt like a total ass. Of course he’d called Zac first.
“Right,” she muttered. “Sorry.”
He nodded.
“So, not to sound like a broken record, but what’s the plan?”
His mouth kicked up in that smile that she’d started to think of as hers. “I like a woman who skips drama and goes straight to solution mode.”
She grinned up at him. “And you thought I was only a pampered princess.”
He rolled his eyes, but the smile still tugged at the corners of his lips. “You are.”
Chapter Twenty
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Shane grumbled as he cast a furtive glance around the café.
“We agreed my power would shoot us out of here if we got in trouble,” she pointed out from behind a large green and gold embossed menu. When he didn’t respond she repeated, “You agreed.”
“Temporary lapse in judgment.”
She lowered the menu to mock-glare at him. “Oh, stop grouching.”
“Can’t. It’s what I do.” Now where had that come from?
Apparently, Tieryn had the same thought because her eyebrows shot up before she laughed. The sweet sound of her humor washed over him like warm summer rain and the connection he felt with her tugged at him.
“Well…” She returned to her perusal of the menu. “I’m trying the beignets. What are you having?”
“Coffee.”
She closed the menu and laid it on the table with a thump. “You’re in New Orleans—one of the most fascinating cities in the world. It’s spring, the weather is glorious. Food is one of the attractions of the place, and you’re going to have”—she tipped her head—“coffee?”
He kept his eyes on her face, determined not to ogle her perfect breasts on display in the Saints t-shirt they’d bought this morning. They’d both been grateful to change into fresh jeans and t-shirts. Tieryn had insisted on buying ten pairs of underwear and several bras. “I’m remembering to take these with me everywhere,” she’d said.
He didn’t let himself think about that now. Instead, he focused on her face and the conversation. What had she just said? Oh yeah, his order. “Okay. I’ll get toast too.”
Tieryn muttered something. Maybe hopeless case.
Shane would have chuckled if he wasn’t busy scanning every person in the vicinity.
“You’re looking like a shifty spy. Relax, will you? You’d make a flea jump.” She rolled her eyes.
“Excuse me if I’m a tad cautious.”
She made an undignified noise.
He stared. “Was that a snort?”
She shrugged and gave him a grin. “If you can call yourself a tad cautious, I can snort.”
He squashed the strange sensation of delight, determined not to fall under the spell of her teasing. Shane had the strangest feeling he’d lost control of this conversation. Maybe he had the moment he’d agreed they could leave the hotel room.
Zac was sending a friend of Sarai’s to get them. A human by the sound of it. No one else could come because they were still dealing with the fallout from the attack. His friend hadn’t gone into detail, but Shane got the disturbing feeling that none of the news awaiting them when they got back would be good.
He hadn’t told Tieryn yet that all ten dares of the Shadowcat Nation were attacked simultaneously at the same time as the attack on the Kuharte meeting in Canada. He didn’t want to worry her, and her own dare had come out with only a few minor injuries.
The plan for getting them back relied on secrecy. The fact that the wolves had found them in Alaska hinted that someone with a supernatural gift was involved with the lions and their wolf allies. Secrecy meant staying off the radar, and that meant driving instead of flying, which took time.
A waiter appeared and took their orders before he disappeared again. Tieryn reached her hand up to trace the cut hidden under the fall of her hair.
“Does it still hurt?” he asked.
She wrinkled her nose, and he shored up his heart against how cute she was when she did that. “I’ll live.”
“We can stop at a drugstore on the way back to the hotel and get pain meds for you.”
Tieryn tipped her head and regarded him with a calculating expression he didn’t trust. “I was thinking we might explore the city a bit.”
Shane clamped his lips closed over a harsh response and took a deep breath. “No.”
Her face fell. “Come on. My power, remember?”
“We can’t rely on it to save us,” he insisted. So he was a fuddy-duddy taking away her fun, but safety was more important.
“I’d say it’s proved reliable so far.” That had been her argument in the hotel.
“No.”
“Two out of two. That’s one-hundred percent,” she pointed out.
“No.”
“What if we agree on a destination to go next beforehand? Just in case?”
He crossed his arms. “No.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’d say you couldn’t stop me, but you’d find a way wouldn’t you?”
He stared back, unblinking.
She growled a little, sounding like an angry kitten. Shane tightened his lips against smiling at her.
The waiter appeared beside them to pour Shane’s cup of coffee. “Cream and sugar?” he asked.
“No, thanks.”
The man nodded and scurried away.
“Did I tell you I’d never been out of Florida before I met you?” Tieryn asked as she took a sip of her orange juice.
The question seemed innocuous enough, but Shane suspected she was going somewhere with this. He shook his head.
Her lips twisted. “My dad was what you’d call a helicopter parent. Mom…errr, Neah…left us when I was only four. I mentioned how…” She paused to flick a glance around the room. “How talented I was from an early age.”
He nodded.
She shrugged a shoulder. “My protection was his number one priority. I was lucky if I got to leave the compound, let alone get out of the state.”
“Didn’t you mention attending college?”
She rolled her eyes. “I went local, staying at home and commuting to the school. Gage attended with me. I was, well, let’s just say encouraged, to major in business as he did. We took all the same classes.”
Shane caught on quick. “Built in bodyguard.”
She pointed at him with her fingers in the shape of gun. “Exactly. More than that though. Built in study partner. Built in team member for any group or buddy assignments.”
“Yeah. I get it.”
“So, when I tell you I’ve never been on my own, never had a chance to see the world, maybe you’ll understand just a little.”
Shane turned away from the pathetic pleading eyes she’d aimed at him and looked outside. Man, could she use those baby-blues to her advantage when she wanted. He couldn’t deny that her description of her life up to this point sounded pretty dismal.
As he watched, the passers-by on the street outside, he noticed two ravens perched in the branches of an overhanging tree. Their creepy stares gave him the willies. After reading Poe’s poem, he’d never liked those birds. Thankfully, they chose that moment to fly away. He pulled his focus back to Tieryn and thought through her request logically. She did have a valid point about her power minimalizing any risk. In fact, remaining in one place, like the hotel, could be equally as risky.
“Your home,” he said.
He turned back to Tieryn and caught her confused frown. “What?” she asked.
“If we transport, we think of your home in Florida. Got it?”
An elated smile lit up her face. And kicked Shane in the gut. She was beautiful all the time, but when Tieryn smiled like that, he felt like a cat stretched out in a beam of sunlight. Earning those smiles could get addictive.
She nodded. “Got it.”
“No tours or any of that crap. We stay in public, well-populated areas.”
“Absolute
ly.”
He shook his head. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this,” he muttered.
“Way to look on the bright side.” She softened the criticism with another smile, softer this time.
The waiter returned with her beignets and his toast. Shane kept to himself the observation that life had made him the “glass half empty” man he was. Based on his experience, fate just loved to kick you down and then kick you in the balls.
Chapter Twenty-One
Shane trailed behind Tieryn, enjoying the view, as she explored the interior of St. Louis Cathedral, the famous church in New Orleans. He had to admit, the building was impressive with its white and gold décor and magnificent vaulted ceiling. However, his interest was captured more by the woman he was with, who stared in open-mouthed wonder.
“Wow,” she breathed as soon as they’d stepped inside.
Seeing her pure enjoyment of the experience made the doubts churning in his gut worth it. He might come out of this sightseeing with an ulcer, but Tieryn would see a piece of the world. One she wouldn’t have otherwise. Seeing pleasure darken her eyes from sky blue to almost cobalt, Shane idly wondered what color they would turn when in the throes of passion. He then mentally slapped himself. They were in a church, and she was engaged. Although remembering that last fact was getting more and more difficult. Tieryn didn’t even wear a ring.
Every once in a while she’d check in with him. A point, a glance, a shared smile, a hand on his arm. Eventually she paused. “Ready to go?”
“Sure.”
They turned in tandem toward the exit and walked outside. Jackson Square bustled with activity. There was some kind of vendor thing going on, filling the air with the smells of kettle corn, chocolate, and hot dogs. Tents lined the circular sidewalks that ringed the park. Each offered all kinds of wares, from jewelry, to clothing, to paintings, to food.
She raised her eyebrows in question. “Mind if we look?”
He shrugged, which she took as a yes. Not really his thing, but it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Besides, he thought, as his gaze landed on the sassy sway of her hips, can’t beat the view.
He followed her across the street into the park, careful to stay close. If her gift did kick in, he didn’t plan on being left behind. They’d visited a few stalls when a buzz in his back pocket alerted Shane to an incoming call. He grabbed Tieryn’s arm and pulled her to a secluded spot off to the side as he pulled out the phone and answered.
“Callahan.”
“Shane? It’s Corrie.”
“Do we need to run?” He rapped out the question, skipping any preliminaries. Corrie was a polar bear shifter in Zac’s Timik. More than that, she was a Seer. A fact only a handful of people were aware of.
“Not yet,” she rushed to assure him. “But you do need to get out of the city by tonight.”
“Wolves?” How had they found them again so soon?
There was a long pause. “I’m not sure,” came the petulant-sounding response.
“Dammit, Corrie, don’t play games—” He cut himself off when Tieryn laid a placating hand on his arm. Corrie was loudly defending herself in his ear, but he ignored her. Tieryn looked up at him with wide eyes. Despite the concern in her expression, she mouthed, “It’s okay.”
At that moment, Shane wanted nothing more than to gather her up in his arms, hold her against his heart, and protect her from anything and anyone who threatened her harm. Instead, he just nodded.
“What do you see, Corrie?” he asked in a much calmer tone.
Corrie broke off her diatribe with an audible intake of breath. “Um…It’s a jumble. Wolves, maybe. Lions. But we’ve never come across them before, so why would they be there?”
“They were part of the attack on the Kuharte,” Shane informed her.
“I didn’t see that.” The frustration in her voice was unmistakable. “But a lot of my visions are blurry lately.”
Shane frowned. “That’s not typical, is it?”
“No. It’s almost like someone, or something, is blocking me.”
Not good. Sarai was a powerful Seer, but Corrie was off the charts, which was part of the reason for keeping her abilities a secret. Anyone strong enough to block her meant major trouble, but the bigger issue was their knowledge her powers existed at all.
“How long?”
She understood what he was asking. “Be out of there by nightfall.”
So they had six or seven hours. Shane’s shoulders relaxed with the news that they had enough time. Tieryn gave his arm a squeeze as if to say, “See? Told ya it would be all right.”
“Any suggestions?”
“No. And don’t tell me where you go. If I know, I think whoever’s blocking me will find out.”
Not just bad, catastrophic. “Got it.”
He paused. “Corrie…about George.” He knew George had been like a father to her. He’d found her in the wilderness on her own as a cub and brought her back to the Timik. Practically raised her.
“Don’t.” Her voice choked up. “He’s not dead.”
He frowned. The memory of George seeming to disappear as the blast of the explosion overtook him was still a question mark in Shane’s mind. Sarai had also acted strangely when he’d informed her and Zac about the explosion. That had been one of the hardest conversations he’d ever had to have. Zac had been stoic, but Sarai…she’d simply said they’d sent another group out to check the crash site, and she wouldn’t be surprised if George was okay. She’d seemed more upset about their men in the helicopter, most of whom she barely knew. George had been her bodyguard, so why hadn’t she been more upset? He’d thought it odd at the time, but combined with Corrie’s comment, now he wondered.
“You’re sure?” he asked Corrie now.
“No. But I’d feel it if he were. Or I would have seen it.”
“But the blocker—”
“Just don’t,” she snapped.
He wouldn’t push her now, but she’d have to accept it eventually. “Okay.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Shane ended the call.
“We have to go?” Tieryn asked.
The slight trembling in her hands told him she was afraid, but she wasn’t panicking. Unable to stop himself, Shane took her face between his hands and planted a swift kiss on those cotton-candy lips. A buzz ran through his system and pooled in his gut at the contact. He wanted to linger, taste, but he couldn’t.
He pulled back and grinned at her dumbstruck expression. “I appreciate a woman who can be calm and logical, even in the face of danger.”
She circled his wrists with her hands and pulled them away from her face. “So you kissed me?”
Had she not felt the same zing? Her unimpressed frown would indicate she hadn’t. He cleared his throat. “A token of appreciation.”
Hands on her hips she glared at him. “Feel free to thank me some other way.” Before he could respond, she changed topics. “Now, any ideas where we should go?”
He gave a slow shake of his head. “Not really…” He trailed off as a sudden thought occurred.
“What?”
“T-Sam.”
She blinked. “The man from the cemetery?”
Shane fished out his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a card with a hand-scrawled phone number on it. “Perfect.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“This is cozy, T-Sam,” Tieryn enthused, and she meant it.
The rotund man had come through in a big way. His son had picked them up and taxied them over a bridge, across the Mississippi river, to a dock where T-Sam had been waiting with a beat-up looking motorboat. The trip through the bayou had been like coming home for her, reminding her of the Everglades in her home state.
There was a timeless beauty about the southern Louisiana landscape. Perhaps it was the ancient cypress trees with their wide roots that sank into the water or the curtains of moss that hung from their branches. She’d bet those trees could t
ell some stories. An untamed quality settled over the land where gators swam freely, feasting off the game and birds that called the bayous and swamps their home. The lush smell of vegetation hung heavy in the air, not pleasant exactly, but once again, an element that stirred her own memories of childhood.
The wrinkles around T-Sam’s eyes deepened as he grinned. “Glad ya like it, cher.”
He’d brought them to a rickety structure that seemed more houseboat than house. She couldn’t be sure, but the thing appeared to float on top of the green duckweed-covered water. The single-room building had a tiny porch that boasted a couple of plastic chairs that had once been white. There was no motor, no electricity, and an outhouse was attached to the back—that would be interesting. Inside, T-Sam had hung white lace curtains at the windows, and the single bed was covered in a handmade quilt that reminded her of the one in the cabin in Canada.
“I almost forgot.” T-Sam disappeared outside to return with a cooler. Shane divested it from Sam’s shaky grip and set it on the floor.
“Thank you so much, T-Sam. We’ll repay your kindness someday soon,” Tieryn said.
Sam waved her off. “No need.”
They followed him outside where he stepped into the boat then sat on the splintering plank toward the back. He gripped the handle of the motor. “I’ll be back tomorrow mornin’, ’bout eight.”
Shane bent down and shook his hand. “We appreciate it.”
Sam started up the motor, which coughed a protest before catching a rhythm. With a cheery wave, he chugged away.
“You actually like it here?” Shane asked as soon as the sound of the boat faded away.
She grinned. “I grew up with the Everglades as my backyard, remember, Callahan?”
“Did your dad let you out in them?”
Her smile slipped a bit, but she pasted it back on with determination. “That doesn’t mean I’m not fond of it or used to this.” She waved a hand around.
He plucked his t-shirt away from his skin. “How can you breathe? It’s like inhaling soup.”
Tieryn chuckled. “You’re used to the thin air up north. I can’t breathe up there. Not enough oxygen.”
Shane grunted in reply as they headed inside. He eyed the bed. “That’s going to be interesting,” he muttered, echoing her earlier thought about the outhouse.