by M. L. Briers
“Amber…” Josh growled, choking on his words from the constriction of his throat muscles. “Electric eel…”
Amber didn’t have time to be shocked as the meaning of his words rang a bell in her mind that couldn’t be un-rung. A heartbeat later and she was delivering the kind of an electric shock to her captor that she hadn’t dreamt of giving Josh when they were swimming.
With a roar of pain ringing in her ears she was free, and she whirled to deliver that kick to the balls that she relished with every ounce of her being.
For a long moment, nothing happened, and she had to wonder if a kick to the balls affected shifters in the same way as normal men. In truth, it took a moment for the screaming pain to register in his groin before it tore through him.
Amber heard his breath whine from his lungs, and it kind of reminded her of a deflating balloon. She only wished she could see that pain register on his face but it was still shadowed in darkness. Then he dropped to his knees, and started to fall forward to face plant the dirt. Neal snatched him up before he completed his journey.
“Keep an eye on puppy love over there – he might change his mind,” Neal informed her, nodding to Josh who had started towards them.
“He’s my father,” Josh growled as if that was going to make a difference to the vampire.
Amber was confused. On the one hand, Josh had told her to use her magic on his father; on the other, they were here to get Scott and didn’t care who they hurt in the process.
“And this is relevant how?” Neal asked, but only because she couldn’t find the words, any words for the man.
Josh ignored the vampire and kept his gaze on his father as he stalked towards them. “Amber’s my mate,” he growled, and it didn’t sound like a friendly growl to Amber’s ears, more of the kind of growl you didn’t want to hear in the deep darkness of the woods.
“I am?” Amber was lost. Men didn’t just suck – they were bloody fruit loops – and if he thought she was falling for that old chestnut again.
“He is,” Neal said, snatching what he needed from the shifter’s mind, satisfied that he was telling the truth.
Amber tossed up her hands and let them slap to her sides. “What the absolute feck?” she spat out.
“Isn’t life just so excitingly devious?” Neal said, relaxing the hold he had around the shifter’s neck, and offering Amber a cocky wink as she turned a dark glare on him.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” she warned him.
Josh turned to Amber. “I would never hurt you…”
“Oh, shove it,” Amber spat out, putting one foot in front of the other and heading off. She wasn’t sure where she was headed; she’d got all turned around inside the wood, but anywhere was better than there.
“I think someone is a little mad at their new in-law,” Neal said, mocking both shifters.
“Josh?” Cain wanted answers, and he wanted them now.
“You almost killed my mate,” Josh growled back over his shoulder as he started after Amber. “Was it worth the bounty Roland offered you?”
Neal let go, pushing the man away from him just in case he decided that bounty sounded too good to miss out on. “Nice work, Papa wolf,” he said, brushing his hands off and straightening the sleeves of his jacket. “Does Roland know where Scott is?”
Cain shot the vampire a sideways glance before turning to watch his son stalk away. “No,” he admitted. “I’m not stupid enough to risk sharing the find with others.”
“And Josh?”
Cain turned a hard glare on the vampire. “What about him?”
“Would he have told Roland where to find him?”
“Josh doesn’t work for vampires,” he said, eyeing Neal up and down with disgust.
“Hmm, but you don’t share that moral code,” Neal tossed back.
Cain pulled his body up straight and turned to face off against the vampire. “I never learned to type so this is the best job I could get,” he sneered and was surprised when Neal chuckled.
“Well, papa wolf, you have a side to pick – make it fast – I have things on my to-do list,” he said.
Cain screwed up his face and shook his head. “She’s his mate, what the hell do you think?” he growled out.
“I think you’ve got some grovelling to do the next time you see your new daughter,” he said, mocking him, not only with his words but with a smile.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
~
“Amber,” Josh said, trying to snag her wrist but she yanked it away from his touch before he could close his hand around it. Then she spun around, and with a closed fist, she swung at his head, skimming his jaw, and stumbling forward from the momentum of the follow-through.
Josh reached to stabilise her, but she slapped her palms against the hard muscles of his chest and pushed him away. “Am I your mate?” she demanded, backhanding the tears of anger that ran down her cheeks.
Josh went to palm her cheek, but she smacked his hand away. “Yes, you’re my mate – you feel the connection between us like I do…”
“No,” she shook her head. “I don’t know what that is.”
“The tingles across your skin when I touch you,” he said, desperate to touch her once more, to remind her of that feeling, of the connection between them. “You’re mine, and I’m yours, our souls are one, and we belong together…”
“Says you…” She spun away from him.
“Says fate,” he said, not taking any chances this time when he reached for her. He was fast, and she tried to shuck him off, but he closed his hand around her tiny wrist and with one yank, he spun her back around to face him.
Amber fisted her free hand and swung at him once more, she was determined this time not to miss, but he caught her wrist, and now she was stuck unless she was magically going to grow a third hand. If only that was possible, then she’d gladly swing it at his thick head and punch his lights out.
With a tug, her body was against his, and he had her trapped. “You’re my mate, and I would never let anyone come between us, or hurt you – you know that – you feel that,” Josh growled.
The damnedest thing was that she did feel that, somewhere deep within her; a little cheerleader was waving her pom-poms for him. She hated cheerleaders.
“Go ahead, lie to me and tell me you don’t,” Josh said.
Amber wished she could. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything the sound of a man clearing his throat jolted her gaze from Josh’s and she noted Cain standing by the edge of the clearing. She pulled at the hold Josh had on her, but he was reluctant to let go.
“Not now,” Josh growled.
“Listen, Son…”
“Son,” Amber said, rolling her eyes. “What now? Your father takes my brother to Roland so he can kill him?”
“That’s not going to happen,” Cain assured her. “Your family is my family…”
“Great, the bloody Addams Family; I always wanted to be Wednesday Addams,” she said, tugging hard against Josh’s hold, and backing it up with her magic, so Josh had little choice but to let her go. It wasn’t as if she’d fried his backside, but the thought was still there should she choose that option.
“Amber,” Josh said as she backed away from him.
“If not him then someone else is coming for Scott,” she said.
“Then we’ll stand with you,” Cain said, and Amber looked at the older version of her mate.
“Was it you that wrecked my house?” she asked and noted the way he winced. “Yeah…” she said, continuing to back away.
“The sins of the father,” Neal said, standing off to the side, sight unseen until he stepped into the clearing.
“I thought you were on my side,” Amber said, scowling at him.
“Call me a romantic, but I believe in fate,” he replied, and she snorted with disbelief.
“Yeah, right,” she said, holding her hands to her chest. “I’m going home, and everything had better be where I left it.” She shot a
look at Cain, and the man shrugged.
“If it isn’t, then it wasn’t me,” he assured her.
“Like father like son?” Amber said, looking to Josh for answers.
“He didn’t have anything to do with it,” Cain informed her. “He wasn’t there…”
“No, he was at the dance, watching for when I’d leave so you could do your worst,” she said, and turned on her heels, walking away.
“He didn’t even know I was doing it until I told him the next morning,” Cain called after her, and Josh turned to glare at his father. “Well, you can stand there throwing daggers at me, or you can go after your mate and woo her, son,” he said.
“We need to have words,” Josh informed him before he took off after her.
“Yeah,” Cain muttered, running a large hand through his shoulder-length hair, dragging it away from his face and eyeing the vampire. “Why’d you stick around?”
“She’s – family,” Neal said. “And I want to know if you cut Claudia’s brakes.”
“I don’t know who Claudia is but cutting someone’s brakes is not my style,” Cain informed him.
“But going after females is?”
“No, Roland sent me to find the Warlock and recover the missing item, and that’s it. I looked at the sister’s house…”
“You mean this?” Neal asked, holding up his hand and allowing the large sapphire surrounded by diamonds to swing freely on the gold chain.
“Now we need to talk,” Cain said. Neal tossed the chain through the air, and the shifter snatched it up. “Just like that?”
“No, you give it to Roland and tell him you killed the warlock,” Neal said. “You’ll get a Scooby treat, and Scott will never leave this town as long as I’m around.”
Cain considered the vampire’s offer. “And if it doesn’t work it’s my ass on the line,” Cain replied.
“It’s on the line anyway,” Neal said. “You need to sell it – are you a good liar?”
Cain took another moment. “I like the way you think,” he replied, nodding.
“Good…”
“That was a lie,” Cain tossed back, turning on his heels. “But I guess if you’re my son’s mate’s family, then I’m stuck with you – but, if I don’t come back, assume they used their vampire crap and tortured it out of me, and protect them.”
“Deal,” Neal said, watching him walk away. He hoped Cain had the goods to do the job.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
~
“You need to stop following me like a damn stray,” Amber tossed back over her shoulder, but Josh stayed on his path, right on her heels.
He wasn’t stupid enough to try to stop her; he figured he’d let her walk it off rather than risk another fist in the face. He didn’t want her to break her hand.
“I told you earlier, you won’t be shaking me off in this lifetime,” Josh reminded her of their earlier encounter. That one had ended in a truce and skinny dipping, and he liked that idea, going back to the past to secure their future. He’d give anything for a time machine back to before his father showed up.
“You came to kill my brother, did you expect me to do cartwheels and bring out the balloons and performing unicorns?”
“You have unicorns?” Josh asked, trying to bring a smile to her lips by teasing her, but all he got was a backwards middle finger. “I came for the road trip and because something was calling me here, telling me to ride along, and now I know what it was and I’m glad I could save your brother’s life…”
Amber snorted. “I think my vampire had that covered,” she tossed back.
“Your vampire?” Josh asked. “I thought he worked for Roland…”
“With!” Neal’s voice echoed off the trees, and Amber almost took a nosedive as she fell over her own feet.
Josh was at her side in a heartbeat, one hand on the flat of her stomach, and the other at the small of her back. “I’ve got you.”
Amber snapped a look up at him. “No, you don’t,” she bit out, mindful of how his words could be perceived and not wanting any part of it. At least, not then – she was still mad at him, angry at his father, crazy mad at Roland, and really, really miffed off that Neal was following them.
Why did everyone believe that she couldn’t handle her own life? If it wasn’t her grandmother, it was her mother – the only person who had ever given her real wings to fly was Claudia.
“I didn’t mean…”
“To nearly get me killed?” she snarked back.
The low rumble of a growl rolled through his chest, and she scowled at him. That hadn’t been the reaction she’d expected. “Do not growl at me…”
“I wasn’t…”
“I heard you!”
Josh took a breath, and before he could answer, she was off again, and he was following. “I was growling at the thought of anyone hurting you, of losing you, of never seeing you again, and…”
“You’re fast on your feet, and you can spin a line, I’ll give you that,” she said, picking up speed and swinging her arms as she marched towards home, at least, she hoped she was heading home.
“It’s not a line…”
“Pah!” Amber said, believing that if she just wished it to be true, she could outpace him, but all she was doing was running herself ragged.
“Fine, I came here to kill your brother, I did all the stuff you’re accusing me of; I even lied about us being mates…”
“Don’t be stupid,” Amber bit out.
It didn’t take much for Josh to draw alongside her, and he dipped and looked up at her, grinning. “So, you believe me on all counts…?”
“Don’t smile at me, and which lie are we talking about this time?” she asked, trying her hardest to look anywhere but at him. It was difficult when everything about him called to her.
“I don’t know, pick one, you seem to think I’m a demon sent to torment you and your family, so…” He left it hanging there.
Amber didn’t have an answer for him. She certainly didn’t think he was a demon, more of a pain in the backside. She had to wonder why fate had felt it necessary to send her some excellent eye candy; it was almost killing her not to look at him. “Will you stop?”
“Stop what? Telling the truth, agreeing that I’m a liar because it makes you feel better to think that than to face the fact that I’m not going anywhere. Eventually, you are going to have to accept that I’m one of the good guys?” he replied, and she stopped dead in her tracks, taking him by surprise; and he stopped and turned back to her.
Josh held his hands out to the sides. “Go ahead, really let me have it now – zap me like an eel – call me a liar and try to send me on my way, but I’m yours – forever – and I’m not going anywhere. So, if you feel the need to treat me with contempt, I’ll take it, because you’re worth it.”
Amber was shell-shocked. If that was another line then she liked it; she liked it a lot. She could feel her heart thumping in her temple, and the fluttering in her stomach was annoying and unexpected – she usually held a grudge for a lot longer than that.
“And I brought you to silence,” Josh said with a cocky grin that was damn sexy on him. “Nothing to say for yourself?”
Amber had a lot to say; it was all spinning in her mind like she had a mini twister going on in there, but she just couldn’t snatch one thing out of the air to offer him. She lifted her chin and sidestepped him to keep going, slower this time.
Josh closed his eyes and dropped his head – women were unfathomable, and mates were worse. He didn’t know what he could say to get her to forgive him.
“What are you waiting for, stray; I thought you weren’t going anywhere or giving up?” she called back over her shoulder.
Josh’s head snapped up, and he was fast on her heels. It wasn’t a declaration of peace between them, but he’d take it – for now.
~
Scott had snatched up hat he’d ordered from the Chinese takeout and had retreated to his man cave upstairs leaving Claudia and M
arilyn to do whatever middle-aged women did. He was outnumbered, and that was never a good sign.
Marilyn was grateful for the moment’s peace in what had been a crazy weekend. The food was good, the company was better, and she was going to miss Claudia when she left in the morning.
It was shameful, given everything that had happened, but Marilyn hadn’t felt so alive in a long time. She’d turned back the clock to the eighties and danced her backside off, and that had reinvigorated her. She might have had a near-death experience in the car, Amber had found herself a mate, and Scott was in trouble, and she didn’t have any clothes, but all in all – she felt – satisfied with her life for the first time in a long time.
“You owe me a wardrobe full of clothes,” Marilyn pointed out, poking the air with a set of chopsticks that she was still trying to master after forty years, but they were good enough for her to make her point.
“And it’ll be arriving in the morning,” Claudia said, diving into her sweet pork.
“What?”
“I ordered everything you need,” Claudia said as if it was perfectly normal.
“What did you get me?” Marilyn said, feeling the buzz of panic within her.
“Oh, you know, leg warmers, a tutu, that velour thing that middle-aged women wore in the eighties…”
“That’s not funny,” Marilyn warned her off with a look, and Claudia snorted a chuckle, almost choking on a mouthful of a chicken ball.
“You should see the look on your face,” Claudia said.
“You know you’re not leaving here until I get my clothes back, right?”
“Good, because I thought I’d stay around a while longer,” Claudia said with a shrug. Then she took a quick peek at her friend to see if her head had imploded at the idea.
Marilyn couldn’t help but smile at the thought of having Claudia around for more than just a weekend. She liked the idea. “Good,” she said on an emphatic nod.