by C. C. Hunter
She scowled at him.
Jax laughed.
Her father just looked at him. Odd-like.
“I’m seeing a dermatologist tomorrow,” she answered.
“Tell me about your girl.” Jax went to pour himself a drink.
Perry had hoped to derail the whole girlfriend subject. It hadn’t worked. He needed another angle.
He shouldered back into the chair, which wasn’t at all comfortable. “Tell me about yours?”
Jax laughed. “She’s built like a brick shit house. Tits out to here.” He held out his palms. “And screws like a rabbit. Your turn?”
Perry noticed one of the guards was vampire. He’d bet his front teeth Jax had him checking Perry for any mistruths.
Maybe Jax didn’t trust him all that much after all.
“She’s soft. Pretty. And I like her enough that I don’t talk vulgar about her.”
Jax laughed harder. “She’s got you whipped.” He pretended to snap a whip in the air. “You take after your dad.”
Perry flinched at the insult.
A guy wearing a white apron walked into the room. “Dinner is ready, sir.”
Jax waved for everyone to stand up. “I had my chef prepare something extra special.”
Perry’s stomach grumbled at the thought of food. He’d grabbed a breakfast around eleven, yet missed lunch. Even so, with the knot of hate filling his belly, he didn’t think he could eat.
The dining room table could sit twelve. It looked empty, lonely, with just the four of them there. Jax was presented a wine cork to smell. Perry had heard they did that in fancy restaurants. This wasn’t a restaurant.
When the chef got to Perry to pour the wine, Perry covered his glass. “Just water.”
Plates of food were set in front of each of them. Perry’s appetite waned even more.
The chef standing to the side of Jax took the cloth napkin off the table in front of his half brother and placed it in his lap. He did the same for his mom and dad.
He moved to Perry. “Got this.” He tucked it between his legs.
“Enjoy.” Jax waved his hands.
Perry forced himself to eat a few bites of food. But the prime rib practically mooed when pierced by his fork. The mashed potatoes? He liked mashed potatoes—they were his favorite food. But these had garlic in them? Perhaps he’d gotten his tastes from Burnett, but someone had just ruined his favorite food.
“You eat like a bird, brother,” Jax said when everyone was finishing up.
“I wasn’t aware we were doing dinner. I grabbed a Big Mac on the way here.” He flinched realizing he’d lied.
The vampire in the corner smiled. “That was a lie.”
Perry set his fork down. “Okay, I was trying to be polite. I actually don’t like my meat bleeding and someone should be shot for adding garlic to mashed potatoes. And the green beans? I heard that people call these al dente or some crap like that, but I like mine cooked.”
Jax laughed. “I like your sense of humor. But you don’t know shit about fine food.”
“Not my fault.” Perry glanced at his mother. “We didn’t have chefs in foster care.”
Jax laughed again. Perry knew then that the humor, the humor he sometimes hid behind, was going to come in handy.
Now if he could stop imagining how much damage he could do to Jax with the steak knife, he might be okay.
“What’s your excuse, Paul?” he asked Perry’s father.
“Not hungry.”
Perry noted something off with his dad, but that would have to wait.
After dessert—strawberries with some kind of sweet rum-flavored white sauce, which Perry did eat—Jax asked Mom and Dad to leave so he could … get to know Perry.
“I thought we were going to discuss our next job.” His father looked nervous.
“Not now,” Jax said. “Something’s happening. I got men dropping like flies. Even Chuckie and Mark haven’t gotten back with me.” He grimaced when he said it.
Perry watched his parents leave, hoping the vampire guard would also retire. No such luck.
Perry turned down Jax’s offer for a beer or whiskey. He had to stay on his game. Thankfully, he’d watched Burnett dodge truths for years when talking to their vampire foster parents. The trick was to be the one asking more questions, so you weren’t dancing around the truth the whole time.
Before he could come up with a question, Jax did. “Tell me something, brother. You aren’t staying with mama dearest. Where have you been hanging your hat?”
Chapter Thirty-two
The question ran laps around Perry’s head. He sought for an acceptable answer. Finally he relied on his humor to give him a few more seconds.
“I don’t wear hats. But if you’re asking where I was, I was at my girlfriend’s place.”
“Where’s that?” Jax sipped his drink.
“A nice place. Not this nice.”
“You avoiding my question?” Suspicion sparked in his eyes.
Keep it honest. “Let’s just say I’m keeping her to myself for right now.”
Jax grinned. “You afraid I might … try something?”
Perry knew what Jax meant, but yeah, he was afraid Jax would try something. “Yeah, I am.”
“Can’t say I blame you. I am the better-looking brother.”
Perry forced himself to smile. “I don’t agree, but you do have a hell of a lot more money.”
“Whoever said money doesn’t buy happiness was a poor man,” Jax said. “So you’ve decided to work for me?”
“I think you knew I’d say yes. But first I was hoping you’d tell me a little more about how all this works.”
“I told you. I run a few operations myself, like what you and your dad were doing. Then the different gangs pay me protection fees. When they need something, they come to me. I’m not cheap.”
“Exactly what do you do for them?”
“Anything,” Jax said. “Anything they want.”
Perry folded his arms over his chest. “Exactly what would I be doing for you?”
“Anything and everything I want.”
Before Perry could toss out another question, Jax got one in. “You have restrictions? You worried you don’t have the stomach for it?”
“Depends,” Perry said. “If you’re asking me to put a damn napkin in your lap, then you’re right, I don’t have the stomach for that.”
Jax laughed, but sobered quickly. “You ever kill anyone, brother?”
He thought of Jax’s guard. “It’s possible. But for sure, I’ve come close several times.”
“Would you have a problem doing it?”
Perry let the rage he felt for his brother simmer in his empty stomach. “Honestly, I might even enjoy it.”
“We’re more alike than I thought.”
Perry still wasn’t getting anything useful. “I’m not getting a clear picture about the job. Take that warlock who was here yesterday trying to get out of paying you. What did he want from you?”
Jax chuckled. “He wasn’t trying to get out of paying me. He’d be dead, if he did. I was only able to get him half of what he wanted.”
Perry’s stomach cramped. “You going to finish the job?”
“When it’s right, I’ll do it.” He got up and poured himself another drink. “Like I said, some of my men are dropping like flies. I don’t take chances.”
Perry stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankles. “Then why don’t you let me take the chances for you? Tell me what they want, where to hand over the goods, and I’ll do it.”
Jax swirled the whiskey in his glass then stared right at Perry.
Had Perry pushed too hard, showed too much interest?
“I like that you’re eager. But you need to prove yourself before I give you my big cases.”
“How do I prove myself?”
* * *
Miranda had eaten pizza with Holiday and Burnett. When she asked about Anthony, Burnett gave her the good news. Anthony appeared to be coming
out of his coma. He wasn’t lucid, but close.
It was after seven when Burnett walked Miranda to her cabin. It was still light outside, hazy, but not dark. The trees did their crazy stirring in the non-stirring air. She almost asked Burnett about it, but felt stupid. So they didn’t talk. Instead she worked on convincing herself that the plan she’d conjured up over dinner was a good one.
When she walked in, Della and Kylie were at the table, their noses in books. They’d gone to the FRU library and checked out books looking for information on tattooed powerful witches. Kylie must’ve been in vampire mode, not that Miranda checked, but both of them had glasses of blood.
“Anything?” Miranda asked.
“Zilch.” Della frowned.
“We haven’t gone through them all,” Kylie said, always the optimist. “How did things go?”
“Bat-shit crazy, but good.” She told them about her mom.
“About time,” Della said.
Miranda waited to make sure Burnett had gotten far enough away before getting down to business. “I need a favor.”
“What?” Kylie asked.
“Go to the falls with me.”
“I knew it. You were called, right?” Della asked.
“Should we tell Holiday?” Kylie stood up.
“She’s caring for Hannah and the baby. Can’t we just go?”
“We can,” Della said.
Ten minutes later, facing the falls, Miranda, flip-flops off, took her first step into the water.
She looked back at Kylie and Della. The two of them were exchanging curious glances. “Come on.”
“We can’t,” Della said.
“They don’t want us to go in.” Puzzlement filled Kylie’s tone.
If it didn’t feel so peaceful here—Miranda might have been afraid. But this place was like a paradise, flowers of all different kinds, aromas of sweet herbs. The tree limbs hung low as if embracing this little bit of heaven. She’d never known places could have auras, but this one did. And it was amazing.
“Will you wait here?” she asked.
They nodded.
Moving through the water was like walking through liquid glass. It didn’t move. She did. The rush of water rang loud. But a pleasant kind of loud. Like church bells in a small southern town.
She ducked her head and moved through the cascading wall of water. Chills ran down her spine. The kind of chills you got when good things were about to happen.
* * *
Perry hadn’t been surprised when Jax had the vampire follow him. He’d debated flying to a hotel and calling it a night. But then Jax would assume Perry hadn’t known he was being tailed.
No, Perry needed Jax to respect his powers. He just had to make sure that Jax didn’t feel threatened by him. Which was why when he’d shifted for Jax, he’d held back. And when Jax decided to make it a game of who could shift faster, Perry had let him win. Not by much. But enough.
So instead of finding a room and calling it a night, he’d dived into a patch of trees, scared off another falcon, and waited until the vampire had followed the wrong bird. Before he took off, he texted his dad. Tell Jax, better luck next time. He figured making light of it would be less likely to piss the guy off.
Even as he started out, he backtracked, and never stopped checking if someone followed.
As he neared Shadow Falls, thoughts of seeing Miranda pushed him to fly faster. But he needed to see Burnett first.
He landed, shifted, and walked straight for the office. The light in Holiday’s office told him someone was there.
“Hey.” Burnett sat in Holiday’s chair again.
Perry dropped the two files on the desk.
“What’s this?”
“Info on Ricky Raco and Caleb Davidson.”
Burnett reached for the papers. “How did you get this?”
Perry dropped down in the chair. “Jax.”
“You stole them?” Burnett asked.
“No, he gave them to me.”
Burnett’s brow creased. “Why would he do that?”
Perry’s stomach turned just saying it. “Because I’m supposed to hunt them down and kill them.”
“Will it ever stop raining shit?” Burnett asked, but after blowing steam he came up with a plan. “I’ll put some men on finding Caleb and Ricky, let’s stay focused on finding Tabitha.”
Perry remembered Bell, and how Caleb had taken her life as if she meant nothing. “I’d like to help to find Caleb. He killed Bell.” Perry owed the girl that much. “And my gut says he might know more about Jax’s operation.”
Burnett wavered, but finally agreed. “But we’ll do it together.”
* * *
Miranda walked through the lagoon of water into the cave behind the falls and sat down on the rock floor. The same aura that was outside followed her inside. Tranquility, peace. Miranda had never felt anything like it.
A scratchy noise sounded behind her. She turned. Not out of fear, curiosity. The armadillo moved from behind a rock.
He scuffled over beside her.
She didn’t say anything for several seconds. “Are you a death angel?”
“Oh no.”
“Then what?” Not that Miranda was afraid. He wasn’t evil. Evil couldn’t exist here.
“Think of me as your fairy godfather.”
She studied him. “That doesn’t work. You don’t look like a fairy godfather. What are you?” Then another question hit. “Did the witch, the one at the drug house, curse you?”
“No, I was cursed a long time ago. Zander just … imprisoned me. I was trying to help her, but she was too scared. Then she was too scared to let me go.”
“What was she scared of?”
“The bad ones.”
“What did they do that was bad?” Miranda stared into the water, iridescent circles danced on the surface.
“They took her, took her power, took her memories, took her babies, took her self-will. Finally they didn’t have to take it. She just gave it to them. Hoping they wouldn’t take her life until the point came when she hoped they would.”
Miranda considered that. It was ugly, but the essence of this place kept it from hurting too much. “Did she get injured in the explosion?”
“No, she caused it. To stop the others from coming for you and your sister.”
“Why? What did they want with … us?”
“The same as they took from Zander. You are powerful, they wanted their sons to be just as strong.”
“But…” If not for the peace of this place, she’d be freaking out. “How did they know we’d be there?”
“Zander’s magic. They forced her to put magic spells on all young witches. They were looking for the powerful ones. Those like you and your sister.”
“And the drug house?” Miranda asked, confused. “How is that connected to the warlocks?”
“The drug house belonged to another gang leader. One who is even more powerful than the warlocks. They went to this leader to help them find new breeders for their younger warlocks. He set up Zander there to read the fortunes of young witches so she could find the girls the warlock gang needed.”
Miranda’s mind swam. “So my sister’s sudden need to see Zander was because of a spell?”
“Yes, I am afraid so. But Zander couldn’t carry through with it.” The creature came to the witch’s defense. “Because of you and your sister, she found some self-will. She couldn’t let happen to you and your sister what happened to her and her sister.”
His words sent the tiniest wave of worry her way. “Do you, or does Zander, know where my sister is? Do they have her?”
Fear pushed back some of the calm she felt. The creature’s snout bobbed up and down. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Tell me and my friends and I will go get her. Then I’ll do everything I can to wipe away your curse.” The second part was a bribe, but Miranda didn’t care.
He shook his head. “No. Zander has looked into the future. There is only one wa
y to free Tabitha.” He put his paw, claws and all, on Miranda’s leg. “And only one way to free myself.”
Miranda’s heart started to race. The peacefulness was still present, but the tension built inside herself. “How can I free my sister?”
“You must take her place.”
Miranda swallowed. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t do it, but she’d been hoping for a slightly better plan.
“Okay.” But then she had to ask. “What are they going to do to me?”
“No, you misunderstand. You aren’t merely taking her place. You have what it takes to fight them. Your sister, she has some of the magic, but not enough. It has to be you. Zander’s seen it. She had an image.”
“So I’m mystic?”
“You share many traits with mystics, but your gifts are unique.”
“Because I’m dyslexic?” she asked. He looked puzzled, so she clarified. “My disability?”
“You mean your gift? Your brain works differently. Yes, it makes some things harder, but the gifts more than make up for it. You see life, you experience life, in ways others can’t. You think, you feel through emotion, not through whims. You empathize with others, their pain, their struggles—even the creatures. You released me, didn’t you?”
“What does that make me?”
“Some refer to your kind as a forest mystic. You also share traits with the forest witch.”
“The trees?” Miranda said. “They frightened me.”
“Don’t be afraid. They are there to protect you. You draw strength from them, and them from you.”
Miranda had so many questions she didn’t know where to start. “Why didn’t my gifts show up earlier?”
“The magic in you is not released until you find another … magic.”
“What?”
He stared at her as if she should figure it out. Then suddenly she knew. “True love.”
He nodded.
A warm swirl of emotion curled up in her chest like a happy kitten, knowing Perry was her true love.
Then a shimmering light, colors unlike any she’d ever seen, appeared before her. Miranda gasped, not from fear, but awe.
The armadillo looked up. “I must go now.”
“No! How do I get to my sister?”
“Your chance will come soon. I will be there to guide you. But when I say it’s time, do not hesitate. And you must not, under any circumstance, tell anyone. They will try to help, but people you love will be sacrificed.”