by Lisa Olsen
The bureaucracy of my position didn’t grind to a halt just because I asked Felix to handle a few projects for me. Even cancelling my regular office hours didn’t stop the flood of calls and emails from people all wanting me to attend to their personal crisis of the day now that Marcus was gone. While I did divert more of them to Felix than I might normally have, at the same time I did want to keep busy, otherwise I’d go kazoo with nothing to do but sit around the house and wring my hands.
Maggie dropped off my mail some time later, no doubt keeping herself busy, and I noticed the time.
“I should probably wake up Rob,” I decided. It was late even for him.
“Oh, he’s already been up and about,” she volunteered, thumbing through some of the stuff I put in my outbox.
“He has?”
“He didn’t want to disturb you. He said he had some things to take care of.”
I didn’t like the sound of that, but I’d get the truth out of him later. “Can you do me a favor and send him in here? I should probably take him out to feed before it gets too late.”
“Of course, only…” Maggie hesitated at first, but after being unable to avoid my gaze, she continued. “I believe he’s already fed tonight.”
“Rob went hunting without me?” I squeaked, my tone ratcheting up to a level better suited for chipmunks and other small woodland creatures. We were definitely going to talk about that, but I made an effort to sound more composed as I gave her a forced smile. “Would you please send him in here, I’d like a brief word with him.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” she said with a furtive smirk, bowing her way out the door and I sat on my hands to keep from throwing a balled piece of paper after her. Was my entire household laughing at me? When had I lost control?
Rob must not have been too far as he appeared almost immediately, his face a healthy color and the set of his shoulders telling me he was pleased with himself. “Good evening, miss,” he said with a half bow.
“Okay, so what’s with all the formality? Did Maggie put you up to it?”
“Not quite, but she did have quite an earful for me once I rose this evening.”
So, she’d told him about our conversation. I hoped she’d done it without anyone within hearing distance. From the carefree look on Rob’s face I assumed it was fine though.
“I’ll bet,” I muttered. “She also mentioned that you went hunting without me. I thought we agreed that you needed someone to make sure you didn’t make any mistakes?”
“That sounds like a sure case of Chinese whispers if ever I heard one. I did nothing of the sort. Just had a bite to eat around here is all.”
And that was supposed to make me feel better? “You drank from Maggie?”
“Course not,” he scowled, offended I’d even suggest it. “I had some from Davey, one of the humans on the security detail. He didn’t seem to mind and I told him there’d be a bonus in his next pay packet.”
It was a good arrangement, I supposed, but I couldn’t help but feel like he should’ve asked me about it first. “Okay, but you still should’ve called me. What if you’d taken too much?”
“No worries, I had Jenessa with me to make sure it was all above board.”
My frown didn’t lessen with that news. “I still wish you’d have called me. I told you we’re in this together. I want to be there for you.”
“Didn’t think it would be so much of an issue for you,” he shrugged. “I fed, I’m better, and Davey’s a few bob richer. But if you’d prefer I involve you next time, I will.”
When he said it like that it made me sound like a controlling b.i.t.c.h. and I shook my head. “No, if you can figure it out on your own, that’s fine. I trust you.” Though I started to wonder if it might not be a good idea to keep a real feeder around the house. It was certainly more convenient than having to take him out hunting, and it would be easier on the guards who hadn’t signed up for that in the job description. Despite his proficiency, I wasn’t quite ready to trust him on his own even though the last hunt had been successful. Like he’d said, he wouldn’t have stopped in time if I hadn’t been there to tap him on the shoulder.
“How did it go? Did you have any trouble stopping in time?”
“Nah, I’m catching the knack of it right enough. Is there anything else you need? I’m off to go take care of some errands.”
I bit my tongue to keep from asking what kind of errands. If he wanted to tell me, he would. I had to stop treating him like I owned every waking moment of his time or I’d be no better than Jakob. “No, I’m good. I should probably go give Mason a break with Hanna before he wrings her neck. I’ll see you later tonight then?”
“Can’t wait, miss,” he said with a sparkle in his eye that I suspected was designed to drive my curiosity through the roof, but I let it go without further comment.
It turned out my intervention with Hanna was well timed, as Mason looked ready to blow his stack when I walked into the front parlor.
“If you’ll excuse me, I feel a powerful need to hit something right about now,” Mason growled, before stalking off into the house.
“What’d you do to him?” I asked Hanna, who hadn’t looked up from her magazine.
“Not at thing,” she said, flipping another page.
I sat down beside her, trying to get her to look at me, but she was being extra stubborn. “Could you maybe try to cut him some slack? Can’t you see how difficult this is for him?”
“How come nobody cares about how difficult this is for me? I mean, don’t you even care what you’re doing to me? My own sister?”
“Saving you from that murdering jerkwad?”
Now she put the magazine down. “Don’t call him that, you don’t even know him.”
“Hanna…” Criminitely, what could I possibly say to get through to her? “I know you think you do, but you don’t know him either. You only think what he programmed you to think. That’s not love and it’s not real. But I know it feels real to you and I’m sorry you’re so miserable. You know I don’t want that for you.”
“I know you have a tendency to do what you think is best for others.”
“Says the pot calling the kettle black,” I snorted. “You’re the queen of acting out in other people’s best interests without talking to them about it first.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she sniffed.
“No? What do you call Brad Parrish?”
“What about him?”
“You don’t remember when you wrote him a letter from me telling him I had a huge crush on him?”
“You did have a huge crush on him.”
“But I didn’t want him to know that.” He’d told all his friends that I’d written him a sappy love letter and I couldn’t look a boy in the eye for the rest of the school year.
Hanna threw up her hands. “I can’t believe you’re still holding that over my head, you were in the sixth grade. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It sure felt like it at the time. Look, I get what you’re saying, you miss Lodinn and you want to be with him. But I want you to try to understand that you’re only feeling that way because he compelled you to. You know what vampires can do, that they manipulate peoples’ minds all the time. Trust me, if you were yourself, you’d be the first person to end this guy.”
She sat lost in thought for a few moments and I thought I might’ve gotten through to her, but that spark of hope went out as soon as she spoke. “I don’t know what to say, I miss him.”
“What about the way he treated you? Can you honestly sit there and tell me you could ever want to be treated like that? Any other guy would’ve had a steel toed boot to the groin the first time he tried to pull that stuff.”
“He’s not always like that,” she insisted. “When we’re alone he’s different.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear about Lodinn’s pillow talk or the ways he’d invaded my sister’s body as well as her heart, but at the same time I could use the intel abo
ut the guy. So I let her wax on about his many fine qualities, including the tenderness he showed her when he wasn’t trying to make a point.
“That’s all it is, a big show to get you to do what he wants. Jakob deserves to be punished for what he did to Lodinn’s wife. All Lodinn wants is justice.”
“It wasn’t justice to kill Marcus like that.”
“He didn’t kill him, he…”
I waved her off, it was pointless to argue. Besides, my attention was diverted to the sound of barking that sounded awfully close. Looking out the window I spotted my parents’ Volvo parked in front of the house, Hanna’s little dog barking up a storm as my mother handed my father his leash.
It had to be a dream. A nightmare. All that was missing was me having to sing naked in front of the Pope to make it complete. “What are they doing here?” I demanded when I found my voice again but Hanna didn’t look the least bit annoyed by the sudden visit.
“I called them. Skittles was driving Dad nuts and I’m on house arrest, so I couldn’t exactly go pick him up. Besides, don’t you think it’s time they saw your place?”
No, I didn’t. That was the entire point of Sanctuary, it was to be my haven against the things that made me crazy in life, my parents being two of them. Now I’d have to invite them in. Cool beans. What if they popped by sometime during the day? My nerves shot up to DEFCON 2 as my security staff stopped them about five feet from the front porch asking them to state their business.
“State my business? I’m here to see my daughter,” my father retorted, his chest puffing out in annoyance. For a split second I thought about closing the curtains and letting my red shirts turn them away, but I knew my father wouldn’t be dealt with so easily. Better to face the dragon and get it over with.
Mason reached the foyer at the same time I did, his face crinkled with interest. “What’s going on, is someone trying to get in?”
“Yep, my mom and dad. So let’s all play the happy game, okay?” I said with a forced smile, pulling the door open. “Mom, Daddy! I didn’t know you were coming over. What a nice surprise.” Who said I couldn’t make a decent actress when the situation called for it? “It’s okay, guys, you can let them pass. Come on in.”
“What on Earth, Anja?” my mother said, shooting the guards her best disapproving look before she hustled past, giving me the briefest hug possible and an air kiss.
“They’re just doing their job, Mom, keeping me safe.”
“From what, I can’t imagine,” Dad glowered, thrusting Skittles’ leash into Hanna’s hand as he strode into the house, looking around with interest. “So, this is your place? It’s… not quite what I expected.”
I bet. “It’s a perk of the job. Free room and board.” I thought it best not to get into the fact that I owned the place scot-free. “Come in and have a seat. This is Maggie,” I gestured to her as she came forward with a gentle smile.
“Would you care for refreshments? I could put on the kettle for tea, or coffee if you prefer?” Maggie offered.
“I don’t want to be a bother,” Mom answered, and I could tell she wanted to get a look at the kitchen herself.
“Mom, it’s no bother. I’d love a cup of tea, Maggie. How about some for my mom, and put on a pot of coffee for Dad, Hanna and Mason.”
“You have servants?” my mom whispered as soon as Maggie’s back was turned.
“She’s not my servant, Mom, she’s my administrative assistant. Maggie was just being polite and trying to welcome you to our home.”
“Oh, she lives here with you?”
“Yes, along with a few others on my staff.”
“Including him?” She looked to Mason who’d been hanging back in the foyer while they looked around.
“Mason’s just a friend. You remember him, don’t you?”
“Hi, Mrs. E, nice to see you again,” he smiled broadly. She took his offered hand, but I could tell she was put off by his scars. My dad gave him a brief nod, but didn’t come close enough to shake hands, too interested in crown moldings.
“Hanna, I thought you weren’t with this boy anymore? Where’s the new one?”
“I’m not exactly in charge of my social calendar these days, am I, Anja?” Hanna replied with a saccharine smile, doing her best to keep Skittles from licking her to death.
“Mason’s still our friend, no matter how things ended between the two of you,” I said, trying to put an end to the discussion by changing the subject. “So, what brings the two of you all the way up here? I could’ve sent someone to pick up Skittles if he was being a problem.”
“Don’t be silly, Anja, we’re way past due for a visit.”
“We wanted to see how you’re getting on,” Dad chimed in, taking a seat on the couch. “And you didn’t come home for your birthday.” There was a note of censure there that got under my skin. It wasn’t like they’d invited me over, just assumed I’d be there.
“I’m sorry, I had other plans. But as you can see, I’m getting on fine.”
“Daddy was afraid you were living in one of those dirty little shacks down the street,” Hanna piped up. “I tried to tell him it was a decent house, but then again, I hadn’t been inside before. And now I can’t escape the place…” she murmured.
“When we drove up we thought we must have the wrong address,” Mom admitted. “But then we thought maybe you were living here with a man. Are you… living here with a man?” Her eyes flicked to Mason, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“Who, me? No, I met my limit with one Evans sister. I think I’ll go give Mags a hand in the kitchen,” he said with a brief smile and snuck out of there.
“There are guys who live here, but not like you’re thinking,” I replied diplomatically. Not entirely the truth considering the fact that Rob lived there too, but he wasn’t sharing my bed on a regular basis, so I didn’t feel too out of bounds with the reply.
“But you are seeing someone?”
“Sort of,” I hedged. “He’s away in Rome on business.” Okay, so that one was an out and out lie. I wasn’t seeing Bishop, but it was an easy deflection. Him I could talk about without worrying about raising any red flags, especially because they couldn’t demand to meet him, seeing as how he was half a world away for an unspecified amount of time. I told them he was the head of a top notch security firm and he’d recently been given a promotion which called for the overseas trip.
They seemed impressed, especially my father for some reason, though I wasn’t entirely clear why. But it was enough to fill the silence until Maggie and Mason returned with the refreshments and we spent the next few minutes doling out the hot beverages and cookies that Skittles went wild for.
The conversation after that was strained, but didn’t stray too far into dangerous territory and I started to relax. Had I done any singing lately – no. Did I plan to – no. After four or five questions in that same vein, they seemed to grasp that I had other things to fill my days now.
They seemed to genuinely like Maggie and asked her questions about her job and background without making it sound too much like an interrogation. And then the conversation shifted into asking Hanna about how she was managing her job if she was spending all her time gallivanting around the world and I got a breather as they focused on grilling her for a while.
Not that Hanna let herself get flustered by them, she never did. She didn’t give a fig what they thought about her life or her choices. She simply shrugged and said she was taking a leave of absence for a while. It might’ve even been true, but I couldn’t help but think that she hadn’t bothered to think twice about her job since Lodinn had stepped into the picture. Another fact that should’ve sent up a red flag for her, but Hanna remained oblivious.
All of a sudden Skittles started barking like crazy, and I looked up to see movement on the path leading up to the house. Who was it now? All we needed was Lodinn to put in an appearance and we’d have the makings for a real party. I relaxed an instant later as I recognized Rob’s easy gait,
but not that of the man he had next to him. He was taller than Rob by several inches and I could make out the shape of formidable shoulders and longish hair, but that was all. I really needed to have the windows cleaned.
Chapter Fourteen
“Excuse me, please,” I murmured, going to the door to see who he’d brought with him, seeing as how I was the only one who could invite him in. I was surprised to find the visitor older than I would’ve thought by his posture, his long hair a shaggy, silvery gray that hung over about three days of grizzled stubble, his face crinkling into well worn smile lines when he saw me.
“Well, ain’t you pretty as a picture,” he drawled, putting me in mind of the Deep South. “This won’t be a chore a’tall.”
Rob spoke up, gesturing to the man. “This here’s Lee McBride. He’s the one I had in mind to step in and handle our daytime security needs.”
This old guy was who he wanted to take over our security? I did my best not to let my surprise show, but beyond a friendly smile, I wasn’t sure the codger was qualified. “Come in, please, Mr. McBride. I ah, have guests as you can see, but I’d definitely love to speak with you about the position. Rob, could you maybe take him into the study?” The less interaction between the two of them and my parents the better as far as I was concerned.
My father had other ideas though. Instead of staying put in the parlor, I found him at my elbow, his face a mask of stern disapproval. “Anja, why do you need added security? What’s going on around here?”
“It’s part of the job, Daddy. Please go have a seat and I’ll be with you in a minute.” Only the rest of the party decided to come and play in the hallway as my mom, Hanna and Maggie all joined us in the foyer. Only Mason hung back, his height advantage giving him a decent view of the proceedings while he munched on shortbread cookies.
“It’s not that big of a deal, Daddy,” Hanna said. “You should be impressed. Anja’s a real bigwig now. She doesn’t go anywhere without her entourage these days.”
Did she think she was helping? “That’s not entirely true, only when I’m making a public appearance,” I replied, before I realized I was only making things worse.