Sins of Long Ago

by Naomi Bellina

  Working for a large company meant she’d be giving up much of her independence. Having been a cog in the corporate wheel at one time, she knew what that was all about. Following someone else’s agenda, performing a job she didn’t enjoy, and often kissing ass. She’d gotten out of the business world for a very good reason. The rewards, however, for living that lifestyle were pretty sweet. A steady income, benefits, and security. Those all looked mighty attractive when she took a good, hard look at the days ahead.

  But why had this job offer come just as she thought about a serious romantic entanglement and may have found a way to break her family curse? Was this the Universe telling her not to proceed with Vincent? Was she really supposed to continue life on her own? Moving to another state, making a lot of money, and giving up her business would be a change. If she had so much going on, she sure wouldn’t begin her experiment with breaking the curse, and no way would a long-distance relationship work.

  Why had Vincent, a guy who seemed to be the perfect match for her, popped into her life just now? Maybe she was reaching for a dream, making him to be something he wasn’t, like Belise had done with her husband. She needed to talk to Vincent. Not only to apologize, but to look him in the eye when she told him about her job offer. If he wanted her to stay, to be part of his life, she would see it. His honest reaction would help greatly in making her decision.

  If he had headed out to be alone somewhere and had left Roland in charge, chances were good he’d be gone at least another day. This could be perfect. She’d find him, they’d finally have quiet time together to talk. But how to get to Vincent? He obviously wouldn’t return her calls, and Roland hadn’t given her enough info to find him. Genevieve closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. As always when she sat awhile with nature, her mind soon cleared and an idea formed. Smiling, she thanked her plant spirits and headed back inside.

  A call to Discount Car Rental revealed they would be open for another hour and had a compact model available. Though she really couldn’t afford to rent a vehicle, her tires were in abysmal shape and the engine, way overdue for an oil change. The car didn’t do very well on the highway, and she didn’t want to be out of town when everything stopped working all at once. She closed shop, visited Discount, and then headed home. Time to gather the girl posse.

  “Morgan, I need your help. Can you come to my place tonight at around seven? Just for a half hour or so.”

  “What’s going on? Are you okay?” Morgan asked.

  “I’m good. I need to use your psychic ability to help me find Vincent.”

  “Is he missing?”

  “He’s not exactly missing. He’s just, kind of, temporarily misplaced.”

  “Are you up to something sneaky?”

  “Maybe a little. Come on, it’ll be fun. Besides, you have to use your powers now and then, or else they’ll get rusty and your sexual energy will dry up.”

  “Gen!” Morgan burst out laughing. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. All right, I’ll come over for a while, but only because I have the feeling whatever you’re planning needs adult supervision.”

  One down, one to go. Morgan was her friend and naturally curious. Sally would take more convincing.

  “Sally, can you come to my place at about seven? I’ve got that Christmas cactus you’ve been drooling over, right here in my hot little hands. Blooming like crazy.”

  “And you have to give it to me right now? What’s up, Gen?”

  “Okay, I’ll admit it, I have ulterior motives. It has to do with Vincent and true love. If you want the scoop, come over. It will only take a half hour or so. Morgan will be here. We can have some wine, chat a little.”

  “True love, huh? I take it things are going well with you and Wolf Man?”

  “Reasonably well. We’ve hit a snag, which is why I need your help.”

  “Should I bring anything?”

  “Just your marvelous self.” Gen looked inside her woefully bare pantry. “And maybe a bottle of wine.”

  By seven o’clock the apartment appeared reasonably tidy. Chocolate had been fed and his litter box changed. Gen lit a beeswax bayberry candle and stuck a bow on another one for Morgan. These candles were from a special batch and had an extra strong, clean scent she knew her friend would enjoy.

  Surprised to find her nerves on edge, she paced. This was a great idea and every instinct in her body instructed her to proceed. Yet part of her held back. She wasn’t used to running after men. They came to her, and when they did, she enjoyed them for a short while only, since she wasn’t in the market for a husband or full-time guy. No use putting a huge amount of effort into catching a man. Doing it this way, girl chasing the guy, seemed wrong.

  This time was different. It couldn’t be considered running after Vincent, really. More like giving them both the opportunity to have time together. They would be out of town, with no work distractions for him, and she didn’t plan to utter one peep about her experiment. If they could actually spend some time talking, it would do them both a lot of good. She would apologize and get a handle on how he really felt about her. Sharon Minton had not mentioned a date she wanted an answer, but Genevieve knew she had to make a decision quickly.

  Another reason for this trip, an inexplicable desire to go to Vincent. A niggling feeling, one she couldn’t pinpoint, told her Vincent needed her help. Which was totally ridiculous. Vincent was more than capable of taking care of himself. If he was in danger, she would be the last person he’d need to rescue him.

  But a persistent urge nudged at her mind. Oh hell. Had their blood ritual somehow joined them? Not supposed to happen. She’d recently learned weres had a thing called an ansanm, to bind couples to each other, but there was a ceremony involved to set it in motion. It didn’t just happen. Then again, her friend Morgan and the werewolf Dylan had somehow activated it accidently. Could she have done the same thing?

  Please, no, do not let me have another level of weirdness to deal with.

  * * * *

  Sally arrived first and exclaimed with delight over her cactus.

  “It’s so beautiful! I don’t know how in the world you get your plants to produce such rich colors. Look at all these flowers!”

  “I’ve got a green thumb, I guess.”

  “You’ve got many green fingers. Here’s the wine. Should I pour a glass for Morgan?”

  “Yes, she’ll be along soon. I only have two wine glasses.” Gen brought them from a cupboard. “I’ll take mine in a coffee mug.”

  Since she rarely entertained company, Gen had never bothered to buy much in the way of kitchen paraphernalia. Looking at her stark supply of dishware she grimaced. The apartment suddenly seemed so small and shabby. If she took the job with Born Beautiful, that would change. Even if she had to relocate, the salary they offered her would be more than sufficient to afford a much larger home. With matching plates and a whole damn set of wine glasses.

  A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and after Morgan entered, the three women settled in the living room.

  “A toast,” Sally said, raising her glass. “To true love.”

  “True love,” Gen and Morgan repeated, clinking glasses all around.

  “Now, give us the scoop,” Morgan said.

  “Okay, guys, here’s the deal. Vincent took off, and I need to find him. We had a fight, and I don’t want to leave things like this, especially not on a holiday. I wheedled a little info from Roland. Vincent’s gone hunting somewhere. Morgan, I’ve got one of his socks, can you use your psychic skill to find him? Oh yeah, Sally, Morgan is psychic, not sure if you knew. Okay if I tell?” Gen smiled and turned to her friend.

  “I suppose it is, since you just did.” Morgan frowned slightly, then the corners of her mouth twitched. “You have one of his socks? One he wore lately?”

  “Yep. Can you do it?”

  “I don’t know if I can pick up enough from an article of clothing. You know my ability works best when I’m actually touching a pers
on.”

  “Give it a shot. Here, I whipped up a batch of Super Sleuth to help.”

  “Super Sleuth?”

  “It’s a blend of herbs to enhance your psychic power.”

  “We did something like this on Halloween. Didn’t we use another blend? Night Visions?”

  “This is a little different. It won’t put you into a trance, just allow you to tune in more deeply to whatever you see and touch.”

  Gen took a small bottle off the coffee table and squeezed a few drops into Morgan’s wine.

  “Drink up. Sally, I need you to change my appearance, just a little. Sally is magic and can do glamour. Did you know that, Morgan?”

  Morgan turned to Sally.

  “As long as we’re all spilling secrets, Genevieve is a witch, in case you haven’t figured it out.”

  Sally laughed. “It looks like we’ve all got some magic going on. Why haven’t we talked together before this?”

  “I’m used to keeping my powers a secret,” Gen said. “Lots of people wouldn’t shop at my place if I was open about my Wiccan practice and my magical abilities.”

  “Same with me. Animal psychics do okay on television but not so much in real life. My clients want to know I’m professional and will treat their pets with real medicine,” Morgan said.

  “I think we need to get together more often, and we should also start looking more closely at some of the other residents in our town.” Sally turned to Morgan. “Dylan is a werewolf too, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he is. Like the rest of us, he wants to keep his secret. Do you think it’s the ley lines running through here, like Gen says, drawing all us magic folks to the area?”

  “There are ley lines running through here?” Sally asked Gen.

  “Two very powerful ones join right here in Nocturne.”

  Sally leaned forward. “Is that also why we seem to enjoy sex so much? Greg and I have always had a good sex life, but when we moved here, wow! We both went crazy. Don’t you two notice it?”

  Gen looked at Morgan and bit her lip.

  “Um…” Morgan began, a faint blush appearing in her cheeks.

  Gen couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing.

  “Morgan and Dylan are going at it like a couple of sex-starved bunnies. I’d say they noticed it.”

  “We are not! Okay, maybe we are. But a lot of our horizontal activity is due to him just now being able to have normal sex without shifting, and him being a wolf. Those guys seem to be naturally intense as far as sex goes. Wouldn’t you say, Genevieve?” Morgan stared pointedly at her friend. “Let’s get back to you. Why do you need to change your appearance?”

  “Vincent is kind of upset with me. He won’t return my calls. I figure I’ll go to where he’s staying, disguised as a pizza delivery girl, and he’ll let me in. Everyone loves pizza, right?”

  “At a hunting lodge in the woods? Sure, he’ll buy your crazy story.” Morgan frowned. “Do you think that’s such a great idea? If he doesn’t want to talk to you, maybe you should just wait until he comes back. He might need to cool down a little bit. Anyway, how do you know he’s alone? He could be in a cabin full of rowdy werewolves, all burping and scratching themselves, howling at the moon. Why are you in such a hurry?”

  Genevieve stood and went to the kitchen for the wine bottle. Both of these women were highly astute. She didn’t want them to know about her job offer just yet.

  “The full moon isn’t until next week. I’m pretty sure he’s by himself. I don’t want to spend Thanksgiving alone. I want to be with Vincent,” Gen said.

  “You can join me and Greg. We’re going to visit his sister. Come with us,” Sally said.

  “Dylan and I are going out of town to see if we can locate information on his father. You could ride along with us,” Morgan offered.

  “Thank you both, but no, I want to be with Vincent. I don’t want to leave things the way they are with us. Not on a holiday.”

  Gen lowered her head and looked up at Morgan and Sally through her lashes, pushing her lower lip out just the tiniest bit.

  “Oh, stop with that pitiful look. All right, I’ll give you a little push of my glamour magic tonight, then another one tomorrow. You’re not leaving until then, right?”

  “Right, tomorrow morning.”

  “Come by my place early, before you go. And remember, it doesn’t last really long.”

  Morgan sighed. “Give me the sock. I’ll see what I can do.” She took the garment and closed her eyes, then opened them abruptly.

  “Wow that is a powerful potion you whipped up, missy. This is the clearest picture I’ve ever seen, just using an article of clothing.”

  “What do you see?” Gen leaned forward.

  “A Jeep, could be Vincent’s.” She closed her eyes again and furrowed her brow. “There, I think I’m inside. I see a paper bag on the seat, some words. Celestial and Pizza. And a phone number.”

  “Oo. Oo. Tell me, I’ll write it down.” Gen stood and raced to the kitchen, grabbing a pen and piece of paper. Morgan rattled off the number. “I know that area code. It’s around here, not too far away. What else? Do you see anything else?”

  “Just trees and a house. Lots of trees, but it doesn’t look like a hunting area. I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Gen. I don’t think you should go. I’m picking up a big blast of negative energy.”

  “I told you, he’s mad at me.”

  “No, there’s something else going on. Danger.”

  “It’s Vincent. He puts out danger vibes wherever he is.” Gen clapped her hands and almost knocked over her mug. This was perfect! She would pack a bag tonight, get her downstairs neighbor to feed Chocolate, and leave first thing in the morning.

  Morgan laid a hand on Gen’s arm. “I can tell by that look on your face you’re bound and determined to do this. Would you at least promise to be careful? Call me when you get there?”

  “I promise. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything foolish. It’s important for me to see him, and I know it will do us both good to have this time together.”

  She grabbed Morgan and Sally’s hands and squeezed.

  “Thanks, both of you. You guys are the best.”

  “Yeah, I want to hear a good story when you get back.” Sally returned the squeeze. “Now hold still while I glam you.”

  Chapter 9

  Vincent lowered his binoculars and grunted with satisfaction. Perfect. Only one security guard in the house. He liked to play games on his phone and, if the food wrappers overflowing the trash can were any indication, liked to eat. This would be easy access. He pulled out his phone and did a quick scan of the local restaurants. A call to a deli fifteen minutes away revealed they would be open tomorrow on Thanksgiving.

  He’d watched the house for several hours from a spot in the surrounding trees. The Woods was a cluster of eight luxury “cabins.” Remote, but not too far from civilization, with enough space between them to offer privacy. For people who wanted to act like they were roughing it, but with all the comforts of home. A cable dish protruded from the side of this house, and from what Vincent saw on the inside, the place was equipped with full kitchen appliances and at least one gigantic television. Yeah, great way to enjoy the outdoors.

  Time to shift, see what his nose could tell him. Stepping out of the Jeep, he stripped, shifted, and then prowled closer to the house. A look around the outside of the structure didn’t turn up anything unusual, except for bars on the small basement window, which was tucked into a well. The doors were not reinforced or alarmed. No dogs or other animals. An odor of unwashed human came from the basement. Rank and old. Probably the prisoner.

  Shit, he itched to get in there now, just break down the door, rip the throat out of Game Boy, and grab the guy in the basement. With an effort, he pushed the thought away, padded back to his Jeep, and shifted to human. Recon only, stick to the plan. He’d left a message with his Regent superior, Mathew, asking for a call back. Dude was usually good about responding quickly. He�
��d get a call tonight, get further instruction what to do tomorrow. Probably just what he’d already planned. Take pictures, get the guard to open the door so he could step inside the house and take a look, scent out as much as he could.

  Right now, time to find a hotel somewhere in the area. He was taking a chance a room would be available this close to a holiday. Waiting till after Thanksgiving and calling ahead would have been the smart move, but when Vincent woke up that morning, he just wanted to get the hell out of town. He’d packed his gear, sent a few last-minute emails, and took off.

  David still slept when he’d left. After they’d fought for twenty minutes in the backyard, they’d polished off a bottle of whiskey and sat up late talking about old times and arguing about who won their fight. When weres battled, hard to tell. They healed quickly from minor wounds, and most of them had learned how to inflict minimal damage when desired. Though they’d kept the skirmish low-key so the neighbors didn’t call the cops, it had been noisy and rough. Exactly what he’d needed to burn off his mounting frustration. By unspoken agreement, neither man had mentioned Genevieve the rest of the evening.

  She’d called twice and sent several texts, but he didn’t respond. What the fuck could he say? He should have spoken up for her when David started talking shit, but damn it, what he’d told her was true. They didn’t know where they were headed. Too many complications, too many potential problems if they got serious.

  Yet she seemed ready to risk her sanity for him. Maybe not just for him; she desperately wanted to break that curse. What had she told Hallmar? She wasn’t getting any younger and wanted to have true love and a family. One day. She’d said one day. Apparently, now was the day. What else did this curse breaking involve? Though she confessed to needing more information from Hallmar and told him she’d only started the first step, Genevieve kept something from him. Vincent required more, needed to know how he would be involved, before he agreed to any more action.

  But holy hell, the action of the previous evening about blew his mind. Making love to Gen, like nothing he’d ever experienced, with a human or were woman. Just the feel of her skin on his fingertips lit him up like a match, and the heat continued as they touched. He loved her sense of humor and admired her skill in her profession. She would be an excellent mate on so many levels, if he were ready for a mate.