Mars blew out a shaky breath. “You have to understand something, Jessie. No matter how much you argue, no matter how much sense you make, we’re all going to be hurt. You tried to cut and run on us. Your family. That stings.”
“So I just have to wait it out for you to forgive me?” she asked, and when he nodded, she hooted. “Fuck that,” she retorted. “I haven’t done a damn thing wrong. My actions were a catalyst, yeah, I know. And I apologize for that because it was a bizarre twist of fate that got this started. I could have been targeted by someone else, but it was my bad luck that the woman who did serve me has a brother who runs for the Cartel, but I refuse to apologize for trying to make a life for myself.
“If all of you hadn’t made it so terrible for Ava and I, none of this would be happening. You want to shove all the blame on my shoulders, but some of it lies on yours too.”
Ava cleared her throat. “Though I don’t appreciate being thrown into the mix, she isn’t wrong. You can’t expect us to behave like children when we’re women. You can’t keep us in the dark when we’re adults.”
“All we’ve ever tried to do is protect you,” Mundo said hoarsely.
“Then you should have told us. All it felt like you were doing was caging us in.”
Ava’s words had Jessie stating, “We couldn’t tell our friends we were Shifters. We couldn’t tell our friends shit. They went off to college, got their degrees, made lives for themselves. We were stuck at home, doing what you wanted us to do. Since they’ve gone off and been adult, do you know how alone I’ve felt? How isolated?” She sucked down a shaky gulp of air. Her own words were affecting her, making all the hurt bubble and boil away in her veins. “Ava said something the other day and she’s right. She had it a hundred times worse than I did. You just shoved me in a clothing store and got me to work nine hour days for slave wages. Ava’s running this corporation, and what thanks did she get?” Jessie shook her head. “Annette, you know I love you but you treat her like shit. Like she’s lower than staff, for God’s sake. She’s like a gofer for the company or something.
“And yet, my brothers, your sons,” she stated, looking pointedly at her father, Kiko, Graver, and Justiss, “They’re all prospects. Even Lewis who’s only just turned eighteen. And when Major’s kids hit eighteen, they will be too. Where’s the justice in that? You can’t say it’s because we’re young and then push him out into the big, bad world when they’re younger than us.” She scraped her chair back. “I’ve had enough of this shit. I’m done.”
“Jessie, sit down,” Mars demanded as she got to her feet.
“Why should I?”
“Because we’re here for more than just another of your tantrums.”
Jessie’s hands became fists at his derogatory comment. Everything inside her tensed. “You can dismiss every word I’ve just said as easy as that?” She stared at him and felt her heart rate start to increase. Her blood pressure began to soar; she knew because she felt the pounding behind her eyes. She began to pant, and it swiftly became impossible to control her breathing.
Ava hollered, “She’s going to shift.”
“Don’t be stupid,” one of the men said. “She’s just having another tantrum.”
It was that, that finally did it, that pushed Jessie right over the damn edge.
The dreaded fucking ‘t’ word. Spoken twice in less than a handful of minutes.
All her life, whenever she’d rocked the boat, it had been dismissed as a tantrum.
When she’d learned to play the piano and had won the state’s pianoforte competition which had taken her to the next place, on a national level, and her parents had said she couldn’t go because she had to leave Texas... that had been a tantrum. Years of effort and dedication, all thrown away because Goddess forbid, they let her out of their sight for a moment. And even worse, Goddess forbid they travel with her to let her have that moment. To enjoy playing to a crowd of people in New York.
It had been a tantrum when she’d hit puberty, had suffered terrible period pains, and had wanted to go on the pill which her daddy had promptly refused in case it gave her ‘bad ideas’.
The time she’d tried to go to classes at the local community college, to try to do something with her fucking life, that had been a tantrum too.
So many rational decisions thrown down the drain all because they wanted to keep her cloistered here. And not one of them had the decency to shrug and admit that they’d basically imprisoned her and Ava.
It didn’t matter that their need to defend the two female cubs had been justified. All those years, their blanket commands had been made without logical or rational reason because, unbeknown to teenaged Ava and Jessie, the MC had a past they were ashamed to admit to.
Tantrum.
Tantrum.
Tantrum.
Her pores burst. Fur forging through the tiny holes as her form morphed, her bones shattered and broke before being reborn into longer, stronger ones. Her teeth formed into fangs. Her nails into claws.
The agony of those moments was more than she’d ever expected.
The pain washed through her, but if anything, it was a welcome relief.
Her anger, her righteous wrath at being treated like an imbecile all these years, needed release.
Almost like that thought was the trigger, she released a roar.
Dear Goddess, that felt good.
The She Bear and Jessie were on the same page as they flooded the room with the sound of their enraged exasperation.
All of this could have been prevented. None of this had to happen. If they’d just stop treating her like a fucking baby.
By the time she reared up onto her back legs, nearly everyone on the Council had backed off and were around the other side of the table.
She couldn’t blame them.
She Bears usually shifted in times of danger. Either to themselves, their mate, cubs, or loved ones.
She wasn’t sure why she’d shifted when she hadn’t been in danger, and she could only think that her very sense of self had been in peril.
For so long, she’d felt like she was drowning. Apparently, her Bear had felt the same way.
Only two people hadn’t fled around the table.
Ava and Spyder.
Ava, because hell, when shit came to shit, Ava could throw down with Jessie.
And Spyder. Well, she didn’t know why he was standing there. He looked petrified. Still, he wasn’t budging.
The men on the opposite side of the table weren’t scared. Not exactly. More like wary. They knew the destructive rage of a pissed off She Bear and that knowledge was on their faces.
Truth was, neither she nor the Bear wanted to hurt anyone. In a sense, Jessie figured it was a cry for help.
And didn’t that make her feel like poor little rich girl?
So cosseted, so loved, that she felt like she was suffocating.
That thought had her plunking down on the ground. She ignored the fact that the floor shook beneath her weight. Ignored the fact that dust motes rose from between the floorboards, too. Instead, she sat there, looking at them as they looked at her.
A stalemate of sorts.
“Change back, Jessie. You’ve made your point.” Ava’s tone was bored.
It had her snarling.
“Don’t piss her off, Ava,” Jarvis grumbled. “That’s the last thing we need.”
Ava snorted. “She’s already pissed off. That’s why she shifted. And you’re all to blame.”
Jessie rumbled at that, trying to indicate that Ava was bang on the money.
“It’s time to shift back though.” Ava shot her a look. One loaded with warning. “Now.”
She rumbled, then swiped a paw because she’d have liked to shift back, but had no idea how to do it.
“I don’t think she can,” Mars said quietly. “She’s not exactly on the rampage, is she? Taking a seat isn’t exactly an in-your-face method of getting attention.” To Chris, he demanded, “Get her to shift back.”
“And how the hell would I know how to do that?”
“You managed to get Ava back on two legs.”
Ava snorted. “Chris didn’t have much to do with my shifting back, I don’t think. I guess I felt his calming presence but it didn’t do much.”
“Oh yeah, real calm. Doped up on an adrenaline high and blood lust. Real healthy,” he retorted with an eye roll.
“I think we should just leave her,” Spyder proffered. “Get back to what we’re doing, and when she’s calm enough to change back, then she will.”
Annette commented, “It’s not like there’s much else more we can do. I second what Spyder just said.”
Mars nodded and cautiously returned to the head of table where he waited for Annette to take his seat.
For the first time since the meeting had started, the focus wasn’t on Jessie and she felt like she could breathe again.
She focused on what they were saying as well as she could in this form. The She Bear was still angry, still feeling rebellious but the human side was trying to remain in control so she’d know what the MC’s next move would be without having to sit through another explanation.
“I, for one, don’t think it’s a bad idea getting Martinez’s cellmate involved,” Major admitted. “It’s just an extra threat to him. A warning that if he can get to us on the outside, we can get to him on the in.”
Annette shook her head. “It doesn’t work like that. How can it? That cellmate is just one man. Martinez has a gang in there. He might not be safe when the cell door closes, but at any other time, he’s king of the hill.”
“She has a point. I don’t want to put Joe in danger for no reason. Before, we were lost. We didn’t know what kind of game Martinez was playing. Now, we do,” Spyder remarked.
Ava tapped her nails against the table. “How about you still use your friend, Spyder, but as a messenger rather than for his fists?”
Her mate frowned. “To send what kind of message?”
“I have a lot of friends in a lot of nasty places. Martinez is stuck inside until he’s dead. That’s already decided—his fate is sealed. But the power he has, that can change.”
Mars frowned. “What are you suggesting?”
“Just because he’s on the inside, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have people on the outside. People he loves.”
Annette nodded. “When I did a piece on him back when he was first sent down, I found out he has at least three daughters to two women.”
“Well, he’ll be paying their way, won’t he? Maintaining them?”
“I’d imagine so.”
“If I hacked their account, drained it dry, then we could use that to persuade him to leave us alone.”
Mars blinked. “Goddess. You can do that?”
She grinned. “Yes, Dad. I can do that. I’m not sure why I keep on shocking you.”
“Because that’s like...”
“Breaking so many state and federal and international laws that there’s no point in even bothering to count them?” Annette pointed out grimly.
“It will never fall back on the MC.”
“I’m more worried about it falling back on you,” Annette retorted. “How risky is it?”
“Not very. I’ve done it before.” She cleared her throat. “Well, it was only a test run. I didn’t keep the money. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”
“My mate, the hacker,” Chris mumbled.
She shot him a look. “You love it.”
He snorted, but bent down and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “Don’t you know it.”
Her smile was loaded with satisfaction. It wasn’t smug, just warm. Content.
Even the Bear recognized that base emotion and responded to it with a gentle rumble of shared happiness on her sister’s behalf.
Ava shot her a look and a quick smile before she returned her attention to the men around the table.
“I can do it,” she said, brimming with confidence.
“It seems safer,” Mars pointed out nervously. “Hit him in his pocket. That’s bound to piss him off and make him question targeting us again.”
Though his words were spoken to the room at large, they were really aimed at Annette.
And everybody knew it.
After a few seconds, Annette let out a shaky breath. “If you think you can do it without getting into trouble.”
Ava nodded instantly. “I know I can.”
Annette turned to Spyder. “Did you send off for visitation rights?”
“I did. I can visit in two weeks’ time.”
“That was fast.”
Spyder shrugged. “I thought so too but it works better for us, no?”
Annette grimaced. “If you look hard enough, you can find a conspiracy every damn place you look.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Kiko butted in.
Mars sighed. “So, what do we do then? How do we go about using the visit as leverage?”
Spyder said, “If Ava hacks into the bank account the morning of my visit, tells me the account number, I can get Joe to memorize it. He can tell Martinez that his guest had a message for him. Martinez might shoot the messenger, but at first, he’ll want to call his family and make sure it’s not bullshit.”
Mars nodded. “Then when he calls, he’ll recognize that his cellmate is telling the truth.”
Spyder grimaced. “That’s when Joe could get his ass whooped, but for Savannah, that’s his daughter, well, for her sake, he’d put up with anything.”
“If he wants his money back,” Ava inserted coolly. “He’d better make sure he doesn’t beat Joe up. We hold the cards, don’t forget.”
Mars shivered. “It ain’t right for a man to be frightened of what his daughter can do with a computer.”
Ava grinned. “Be grateful I’ve chosen to help the MC rather than shut it down.” Her grin turned wicked. “Who knows, I might have gone as batshit as Jessie.”
Still in Bear form, Jessie could do no more than roar at Ava’s cheek. When she just laughed, Jessie huffed and slumped against the wall.
Only the Goddess knew when she’d be able to shift back, but Jessie decided, for the moment, being in this form was probably the wisest choice.
It kept her from mouthing off and getting into deeper trouble with the Council, and kept them off her back too.
Win, Win.
Chapter 8
“I don’t like this.”
Jessie rolled her eyes as her father complained for what had to be the twentieth time about her going to the prison with Spyder.
Of course, there was an advantage to the fact he was still sulking with her... He was on the phone with Spyder. Not her.
Miracles did happen from time to time.
“Tell him our time is nearly up,” she said, jerking her mate’s sleeve.
He nodded and said, “I have to go, Mundo. You know they don’t allow cell phones in the prison.”
“Just keep her safe. She might frustrate the living shit out of me, but I need her all in one piece. Who can I be mad at otherwise?”
“Thanks, Dad. I love you too,” she hollered, hoping he heard her sarcasm.
Spyder shook his head as he disconnected the call. “I swear to God, you two have the weirdest relationship.”
“It’s love hate.”
“Mostly love. Don’t make out it isn’t.” He eyed her after he’d stored his cell phone in the glove box. “He’s just hurting about your wanting to run away.”
“I really don’t want to have this conversation, Devon,” Jessie said softly, climbing out of the car to avoid this particular topic. “We’re not going to agree on it, and in the end, there’s nothing to fight over. It never happened. I don’t know why you’re letting it upset you so much.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know either.”
She shot him a look. “You don’t sound so convinced.”
“When you first told me, I didn’t. Now, I guess it’s starting to make sense.”
&nb
sp; They walked to the outer gate and fell quiet as the guards processed their papers. Another round of identity verification and they were offloaded into a waiting room with about ten other people. Some couples, some singletons, some with young kids.
She grimaced at that. Both for the kids and parents’ sake.
As they sat down, he murmured, “I’m glad you didn’t have a childhood like mine.”
“You think it’s churlish and maybe childish of me to shove that away, right?” When he grimaced, she sighed. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s wrong. You had the worst childhood imaginable. I, on the other hand, am bitching about being loved too much.” She pursed her lips. “Of course it looks like I’m shoving it all back in their faces.”
“But you don’t think you are?”
“You have to have led my life to understand it, Devon. Dear Goddess, I’m well aware that in comparison to yours, I’ve been blessed. I don’t deny that. But the thing is, I wouldn’t have run if they’d just let me spread my wings. If they’d let me mature the way any teenager does, I wouldn’t have needed to hare off. Instead, I had to do it secretively. I watched them blow Ava’s plans into the water at every turn.” She pulled a face. “Do you know she got a full scholarship to Harvard?.”
“Seriously?”
Jessie nodded. “And they wouldn’t let her go. It killed Ava. She wanted to go so badly, I thought...” She bit her lip. “Well, I don’t know what I thought. Those were some bad days for her. She went into her bedroom and barely came out for months. Then, she tried again with another college. A closer one. Then one in the state. Nothing. Nada. They wouldn’t let her. Goddess, they wouldn’t let me go to community college.”
“Wow, that’s intense.”
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