by Nancy Gideon
*
Silas met Kendra at the door. She barely noticed how strained and strange his expression was. He caught her hands to detain her just long enough to say, “Kendra, he’s all right. Don’t be scared by the way he looks,” then let her run to him.
Despite his warning, the sight of all that blood nearly dropped her on the spot. There were others in the room but all her focus was absorbed by the figure sprawled on the couch, his dark head in the lap of a somber little blonde girl. Kendra went to her knees, not daring touch him until she saw the slight movement of his chest.
Getting a tight grip on the frantic emotions pushing for escape, Kendra reached out a less than steady hand to stroke his cheek. Warm skin, no trace of fever or deathly chill.
“Cale. I’m here.”
His eyes opened, instantly seeking her out. Finding her beside him, he smiled and murmured, “Hey, mama. Where you been?”
“Looking for you. How do you feel?”
He reached for her other hand and clutched it tight, his own crusted with gore. “Better now with you here.” He glanced around and called her down close so he could whisper hoarsely, “Don’t leave me, Katy. If you love me, baby, don’t leave me. They’re here. Ghosts, demons. She said they weren’t, but I can see them. Everywhere. Don’t let them take me. Not yet.”
She smiled, pretending his fearful claim didn’t rattle her. “I won’t,” she promised, drawing his hand up to place it over her heart. “I’ll be right here. You close your eyes and try to rest. I’ll keep you safe.”
She kissed him and lifted slightly away, continuing to smile and hold his hand until he drifted off again. Only then did she dare check for damages.
Very carefully, she lifted the hem of his saturated shirt, expecting the worst and finding a puzzle. No wound. Just a new scar. Like the ones on his back. She looked up at Brigit as the same conclusion dawned in her cousin’s eyes.
Someone had healed him. Had brought him back from the brink. Or had they brought him back over it? Kendra sought out Silas for answers. “How long has he been hallucinating?”
“I don’t know. He was lucid when I picked him up. He said he’d been drugged.”
“Is it Kick?”
“Possibly. But I don’t think so.” A coolly lovely female with crisp Northern tones crossed over to put out her hand. “I’m Susanna LaRoche. I’m a doctor. Silas brought him to me.”
“Did you heal him?”
“No. I do things the old fashion way. I’d just met with Cale, professionally. We were hoping to separate the compounds to come up with an antidote.”
“And?”
Kendra read the hesitation in her solemn dark eyes, her struggle over what to reveal from what was shared with her in confidence. Finally, she settled for a vague, “He’s got some very difficult days ahead of him.”
Critical days, the other female’s intensity conveyed.
Kendra understood. She could still lose him.
Charlotte Caissie stepped forward. She and Max had been lingering in the background, having followed a rather frantic Silas down from their floor above.
“It’s late. We have an extra bedroom where he could rest more comfortably. And it’s secure. You’re welcome to stay until he can travel.”
“I’m a floor away if needed. For anything,” Susanna added.
Kendra regarded them, these strangers who so freely offered aide to those outside their clan. Maybe she should have felt suspicion or some vague reluctance, but her reply was filled with simple gratitude as she thanked them. She stepped aside so Max and Giles could lift a motionless Cale, able to tear her anxious gaze away only long enough to fix it upon her unusually withdrawn cousin.
“Silas, we need to talk.”
*
Savoie’s massive top floor apartment was as conservatively sophisticated as their rooms on Canal Street had been decadent. Rain beat against the wall of windows overlooking the city and river far below. While Brigit and Giles talked with their hosts in the elegant sunken living room, Kendra confronted Silas over Cale’s still figure on the bed.
“Tell me what happened,” she demanded, voice low and fierce. “All of it.”
He spelled out everything he knew in heavy monotone, each word weighted with guilt. She listened without interrupting, emotions tightly gripped by the necessity to do whatever she had to for her king to stay alive.
“Who brought him back?”
“I think it was the little girl, Jacques’s daughter. She has . . . abilities. She and Cale have some sort of connection.” He paused to take a breath. “You have to get him away from here, Kendra. Lee knows who he is, and probably, who you are. I’ll charter a plane to take all of you back to Reno. Keep him sedated, in chains if you have to. Just get him out of here before he does something no one can bring him back from.”
After he’d gone, she sat on the edge of the bed listening to Cale’s quiet breaths, wondering how she’d have survived if she’d never heard him take another one. She didn’t cry. She had no more time for tears. She had decisions to make that would shape the future of her clan and her life. She couldn’t let either of those events go on without Cale.
She heard someone enter the dimly lit room and glanced up to see Brigit, saying automatically, “He’s fine. Resting comfortably.”
“I came to ask about you. How are you?”
“I’m scared and I’m angry and I love him so much it’s crushing me.”
“What are you going to do?” Brigit came to sit, not next to her, but on the opposite side of the bed. She reached out to stroke her knuckles lightly along Cale’s relaxed jawline, regarding him with equal fondness and frustration. “He wouldn’t have been my choice for you at first, but I’ll do anything I can to make sure you keep him.”
“It’s more than me just keeping him, Bree. It’s him wanting to be kept. If I put him in a cage to keep him safe without his consent, he’ll hate me for it. If I do nothing, I’ll lose him anyway. I can’t stand the thought of breaking him or watching him do it to himself. I can’t leave him, and I don’t know how to help him if I stay.” Kendra caressed his other cheek then let Brigit catch her hand in a supportive grip. “Why are all the things I love about him the same things that break my heart?”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s the strongest, fiercest, most selfless man I’ve ever known, Bree. He’ll let this kill him if I don’t stop him. And if I stop him, it’ll destroy what we share between us.”
“Sleep on it, sweetie. Don’t force yourself to make a choice you’ll regret. He’s safe here with you. Let that be enough for tonight. Let tomorrow take care of itself.”
Kendra nodded at that wisdom, wishing Brigit a quiet thank you and a good night. When the door closed behind her cousin, sealing the room in intimate shadow, Kendra removed one of the diamonds from her ears and replaced it in Cale’s.
“I have half of your love, my king, but the rest still belongs to your clan.” She bent to kiss him gently. “See that you stay alive to serve us both.”
*
Alert to possible danger, Max woke to the scent of rain-washed air. Cee Cee lay asleep beside him. The luminous numbers on the nightstand read 3:07 a.m. He slid out of bed, prepared to deal with an intruder before remembering they had company. He doubted the delicate Terriot queen had decided to take a walk on his patio on a moonless night. The alternative made him anxiously pull on sweat bottoms and a tee shirt before moving silently, swiftly through the living areas to where one of the sliders stood partially open, letting in a cold damp breeze.
At first, Max didn’t see him out there in the darkness. When he did, his pulse lurched.
Cale Terriot stood on the far corner of the patio atop its waist high wall, his blood-stained shirt snapping crisply in the night air. He stared out into the distance.
Careful not to startle him, Max crossed the open space like one of the thin clouds scudding across the sky. When close enough to grab for him if he needed to, Max said conversation
ally, “Not planning to jump, are you?” then smiled to himself, suddenly remembering when someone special had said the same thing to him. “I’d pick a better spot.”
Already aware of his presence, Cale turned his head slowly to glance down at him. “What?”
“If you’re planning to jump, I suggest the other corner. It provides a straight shot to the sidewalk. If you go through one of those slanted glass roofs down there and land in the lap pool on seven, you might survive it.”
Cale chuckled softly. “Thanks for the advice. Wouldn’t want to be an inconvenience, being a guest and all. Just getting some air. Wasn’t planning to jump.”
“There’s air down here.”
Cale’s teeth flashed white. “I like the feel of it against me. Makes me think of home, looking down over the lake. But it’s starting to get a little cold.”
“If you’re ready to come in, I’ll give you a hand.”
Cale put his out and Max gripped it firmly, bracing him for the hop down. He swayed, alarming Max by how shaky and weak he was as he sank all the way to the tiled surface on wobbly legs. There he sat, knees tightly drawn up, back to the wall. Max joined him, keeping a companionable distance.
“Got something on your mind?”
Again, the raspy laugh. “Sure you’re not asking if I’m in my right one?”
“Are you?”
“No. Not even close.” He gave Max a sidelong glance then stared toward the far door leading inside. “I woke up in the bed I’m sharing with my queen to find it covered by the bits and pieces of her family that I helped murder. They were still alive, still screaming. How could she sleep through all that screaming?” He took a jerky breath and admitted softly, “Maybe I was thinking about jumping when I came out here. I don’t remember now.”
“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming?”
A tremulous laugh. “I dream about them all the damn time. This wasn’t that.” He fell silent for a moment before confiding, “I think they followed me back from the other side.”
Now Max felt chilled to the bone. “Other side of what?”
“Death. Where my brothers are waiting. Where all my sins are waiting to be answered for. So many of them.” A quick glance his way. “Was it the girl? Did she bring me back? She shouldn’t have.” Silence. A resigned, “You don’t believe me, do you?”
“That there are places and things beyond what we can see, hear, and feel? I know there are. I’ve moved through them. I’ve had them reach out to me. You’re not crazy, Cale.”
Cale studied him then whispered, “I kinda wish I was.”
Max patted his shoulder. “Let’s go inside. I’ll pour us something stronger than this chill.” He got up and waited. Finally, Cale reached up to let Max help him to his feet.
With Cale settled on one of the sofas, Max went to his room, returning with the jacket to his sweat pants, tossing it to his shivering guest. “Put that on. It’s clean and it’s warm.”
While Max poured two fingers of very strong drink, Cale stripped out of his stained pullover and into the cozy fleece. He took the glass with a murmur of thanks and sipped gingerly while Max cued up the gas fireplace.
“Do you think Rueben can be trusted with this situation?”
Cale regarded him in surprise. “You’re asking me?”
“You know the players. You put all the pieces together. I’m asking you. Unless you don’t have an opinion.”
Cale straightened, the light coming back into his eyes. “I always have an opinion.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Kendra followed the sound of voices out into the main living space to find Cee Cee, Max, Giles, and Cale sharing coffee and conversation at the breakfast bar over pecan French toast delivered from the River Road kitchen. Brigit sat spooning up a yogurt parfait in the living room, away from the scent of caffeine that bothered her recently sensitive system. She smiled, nodding toward her cousin’s mate.
She came up behind where he sat on a bar stool. Her lips grazed his ear with a soft stroke. He stopped mid-sentence to circle around, claiming her mouth with his. Kendra lapped up the sweet taste of powdered sugar, syrup, and devotion, not caring that anyone else was in the room, before leaning back to look her fill. He seemed better, not great, but better.
“Hey, mama. Want some?” He gestured to his barely touched plate.
She nipped at his lower lip, whispering, “If I can’t have everything I want, I’ll join Bree in the healthy section.”
He pulled her in between his thighs, hands warm on her waist, gaze hot. “We can finish this whenever you want.” He kissed her quick and whispered, “And have seconds.”
“And where will we be having them, my king?”
He smiled slightly at her cautious tone, supposing he more than deserved it. “We’ll be staying out at Savoie’s until I beat this thing. That’s my only focus now. I’m going to need your help. As far as the other stuff, I’m done. That okay with you?”
Her hands stroked along his shoulders. “Very okay.” Then she spoke softly into his ear. “I’m so proud of you. You’re the best man I know.” She heard his breath catch, but couldn’t tell if he believed her. She straightened. “I’ll let you get back to your calorie fest.”
When she joined Brigit, her cousin lifted a knowing brow. “Things look better this morning?”
“Don’t act so smug.”
As she shared Brigit’s breakfast, Kendra’s attention remained on her mate. Something had happened. Something or someone had changed Cale’s focus, in a good way, and she wanted to know who to thank as much as she needed to know why.
The important thing was Cale stepping off his dangerous collision course. It was her job to keep him away. Away from Silas and his secrets. Away from the menacing Casper Lee. Away from everything that would keep him from healing in body and mind.
She’d need reinforcements.
*
Turow met them on the shaded porch.
“What happened to you?” Kendra gasped, alarmed by the sight of a swollen jaw and bruised throat that had appeared overnight. “Where’s our guest?”
“Locked up where she belongs. I had a rather painful reality check. You were right not to trust her. Nothing to worry about.” He eyed his brother. “How ‘bout you? You look a bit ragged.”
“I’m fine. Need a change of clothes then we’ll talk.” Cale brushed by him to enter the house, moving haltingly toward the stairs. Turow’s troubled gaze followed.
“He’s not fine, is he?” Turow ventured.
“No.” Kendra took a deep composing breath. Time to act like a queen instead of a helpless mate. “Call your brothers. Have them check out of the hotel. It’s not safe for us in this city anymore. Bring them here. I’d prefer they not be followed. Tell them it’s time for them to rally around their king.”
*
Wretched sounds of sickness came from the upstairs bathroom. Kendra waited until they quieted, followed by a flush, before tapping and opening the door. Cale sat on the tiled floor, leaning back against the tub, his drawn features sweat dappled, his breaths shallow. He watched her shut the toilet lid and wet one of the guest hand towels before sitting down. She said nothing as she gently bathed his face and hands. His gaze never left her. “Better?” she asked at last.
Instead of answering her question, he softly warned, “It’s gonna get a lot worse.”
“I know.”
“Susanna said I might not survive it.”
Kendra smiled. “You will. I’ll help you.”
He crooked a smile, saying wryly, “You know that do you?”
“Yes, I do.” There was no doubt at all in her voice.
He sighed heavily and laid his head against her thigh. Her fingers threaded lightly through his hair. “I’m tired, Katy. And I hurt so bad.”
That he’d admit that to her broke her heart. And made her that much stronger. “I know. We’ll get through this.”
“I couldn’t do it without you.”
A qui
et laugh. “Yes, you could. You’re the toughest man I know. You were forged in pain. You’ll rise above this, my king.”
A snort. “Says you here in my throne room.”
She bent to kiss his brow. “I love you, Cale.”
“I don’t know why you should.” He sounded amazed.
“That’s part of why I do.” She cupped his elbows and stood, urging him to his feet. “Let’s take a short rest. I need to have my arms around you. After you brush your teeth.”
For the two next hours, he slept soundly in her embrace, rocked upon her quiet breaths, surrounded by the protection of her love.
*
The Terriots arrived, bags in hand. Kip and Rico quickly grabbed Turow up, embarrassing him thoroughly with hugs and demands to know the origin of his bruises. Bar fight? Defending the honor of the meek and defenseless? Turow squirmed uncomfortably and said nothing. Colin’s attention was on Cale. Only he and Turow had witnessed their king’s rapid decline.
“So,” Rico began, voice echoing in the high ceilinged foyer, “what does this place offer in the way of entertainment?”
“Peace and quiet,” Cale began with a smile. “And an Xbox.”
A despairing moan. “Nothing easy on the eye?”
Thinking of Cee Cee and Brigit and his own mate, Cale laughed. “Only things that will kill you, brother.”
He grinned. “That could be fun.”
“So why do you need us here?” Kip asked. “Not just to boost your score in COD, I take it.”
Cale hadn’t meant to drop it on them so abruptly, but a better time would never come. He reached out for the support of Kendra’s hand and just said it plain.
“I’m stepping down as head of the family. Wes will see to things at home and Colin, here.” He felt Kendra’s finger crush about his, but didn’t look her way to gauge her surprise. His attention was on his disbelieving brothers.
“This is a joke, right?” Rico laughed uneasily. His scowling glance cut to Colin then back to Cale. “For how long?”
“For good.”
“What?” Kip gasped. “You can’t do that.”
Cale smiled. “I think I can, and I just did.”