by Niles, Abby
And that was exactly what she was doing by keeping her mouth shut. The madman had gotten to her sister twice. He never would again.
“I made chicken soup for dinner and pumpkin gooey for dessert.”
“Really?” She perked up, a small smile coming to her own lips. “Jessica’s mom’s cooking is decent, but doesn’t come close to yours.”
“At least I’m good for something, right?”
A seriousness that was way too old for a teenager stole across her sister’s face. “You’re way more to me than just your cooking. You saved me, sis.. I was headed down a bad path, and it could’ve gotten so much worse, but you gave me a fresh start. And I’m so glad you did.”
Good Lord, the child was determined to make her crumble. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she brushed a strand of hair behind Emma’s ear. “You’re my little sister. I love you and I’ll do anything to give you the life you deserve.”
“I love you, too.” Wetness rimmed her sister’s eyes beforeshe looked away, then hopped up from the couch. “I’m starving. Let’s eat.”
She took her sister’s cue and let the sentimental moment pass. It was more than Emma had ever said to her, but she had never needed words from her sister. Just seeing her thrive in the environment she had provided had always been enough.
After she stood too, pain thumped in her ankle causing her to shift slightly to take the weight off her foot. Her sister noticed. “You sit. I can pay you back for waiting hand and foot on me after I broke my leg.” She glanced at the TV. “Beside, this is a great episode. Bazinga!”
Emma hurried into the kitchen, leaving Ava to stare at the wall in front of her unnerved by innocent words. Her sister had no idea that her broken leg hadn’t been an accident because of a crappy skateboard. It’d been Ava’s fault. Because she’d been too slow in responding to her tormentor’s demands—every time she’d tried to break up with Liam she couldn’t force the awful words out of her mouth.
A few minutes later, she returned with two steaming bowls. After handing on to Ava, she curled up beside her on the couch. As they ate, she laughed at the sitcom, and Ava forced herself to chuckle along.
“I’m going to clean up.”
“No. I’ve got it.”Ava took the plates from her sister.
“But—”
“It’s a twisted ankle. I’m fine. Besides, it’s getting late and you have school tomorrow.” She paused. “Have you even been to school this week?”
“Jessica’s mom made me go. I thought she was just being mean. But it did distract me, so I get why she made me. I didn’t do much, just sat there really, but my teachers seemed okay with that.”
And why wouldn’t they, when one of their students was in class worried senseless over her missing sister. “So I assume you have a ton of homework to catch up on?”
“Yeah. Tons.”
“Then go do it.”
Still her sister hesitated.
“Emma. I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, okay?”
She finally nodded and went upstairs to her room, the dog right on her heels.
Left alone, the space felt empty, quiet, even with the TV in the background. She hobbled to the kitchen and busied herself storing the leftovers, washing dishes, and sweeping the floor. The aches in her body increased, as a dull headache started to pulse in her temples. After she took a couple of pain killers, she stood in the kitchen, searching for something else to do. There wasn’t anything.
When she returned to the living room, her eyes immediately landed on the front door. Was he still out there?
She pulled the curtain aside and peered out. Her heart pumped harder. Yes, still there. Hadn’t moved, except to cross his arms tight around himself as if fighting the chill. Night had set in. The warmer mid-fifties of the day had quickly dipped into thirties. He still wore the long-sleeve shirt and jogging pants from earlier. No jacket, no hat, nothing to ward off the cold. And apparently no cell phone to call a friend to bring him a jacket. Or maybe he just didn’t want anyone to know...
Guilt swamped over her. The stubborn man was willing to freeze to death to stay vigilant outside her house. How was she supposed to ignore that, when simply ignoring him proved hard enough?
She wanted to curse her weakness. Curse him for making this so damn hard. She knew what she had to do, but even so, she found herself back in the kitchen, rummaging around in a cabinet, searching for a thermos.
She wouldn’t invite him in. Giving him some food and a blanket shouldn’t be a big deal, especially if she acted pissed about it. After she filled the thermos with soup, cut a piece of cake and grabbed a quilt and pillow from the hall closet, she squared her shoulders, determined to make sure Liam didn’t read too much into this.
“You’re determined to freeze out here, aren’t you?”
She put as much hostility as she could muster in her voice, which was difficult considering how damn sweet he was being.
Liam glanced over his hunched shoulder.
Fierce determination shone back at her as he stood, towering over her—dominant, powerful and sexy as ever. “What are you going to do to warm me up, Ava?”
Tingles erupted in her belly at the husky timbre of his voice. She wanted to launch herself at him, and show him exactly what she’d do to keep him warm. Instead, she dropped the bundle on the porch, spun around, and slammed the only barrier that kept her from making a huge mistake.
If he didn’t leave, how was she supposed to stay away from him?
…
As the door smacked closed behind her, Liam opened the bundle she’d tossed at him. There was a blanket, pillow and food. A small smile played at his lips. Ava might not have any problems throwing nasty words at him, but she couldn’t handle thinking of him outside cold.
Yeah, that was really someone who blamed him for getting her kidnapped.
Plus, she wasn’t as unaffected by him as she wanted him to believe. The musk of her arousal had lightly scented the air after he’d verbally challenged her. If she had been turned-on by that light comment, what would happen if he really turned up the heat?
She’d crumble. Fast. Smiling, he snatched up the thermos and twisted off the top. The aroma of chicken soup made his taste buds come to life. He poured the broth in the lid and sipped. Closing his eyes, he savored the taste of her food. He loved Ava’s cooking, swore she put a little magic into every bite. Nothing before or after Ava had ever compared to the food she whipped together.
A car door slammed and he looked across the yard. Brit, in uniform, strolled up the walk and sat on the bottom step.
“Won’t let you in?” he asked.
“Nope. Did you find out anything from Val?”
His friend blew out a harsh breath. “No, the bitch is keeping everything airtight except for a select few, which of course doesn’t include me.” A tight smile came to his mouth. “I’m just a human, after all.” He put human in air quotes.
Liam studied his friend, never having really heard him speak this way when it came to the twenty years the High Council had sentenced him to four years ago. For the most part, Brit didn’t seem too bothered by it, enjoying being a uniformed cop instead of being head of SPAC and, as he put it, not having to deal with the bullshit of their mating instinct. “You okay?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
“Not buying it, man.”
His buddy squinted out across the yard. “Twice now I haven’t been able to help my friends because of this fucking sentence. When Aidan needed me, I couldn’t shift. Now when you needed me, I was worthless. She had to do everything.”
“But you found me.”
“No. She found you. And if I hadn’t been there, she would still have found you.” Brit shook his head. “It fucking pisses me off. She pisses me off.”
“You might not have been able to help with any special ability. But you got SPAC on the job instantly. If you’d been an ordinary human, you would’ve called the regular police and time would’ve been lost. Who knows what
you guys would’ve found if you’d gotten there later.”
A grunt was his response. Despite his supportive words, Liam knew exactly how he felt. When Aidan had been trapped in animal form six weeks ago, he’d been in the same boat. The inability to shift because of the Dsershon had made Liam feel worthless. Words wouldn’t help. So he clapped his friend on the back, and they fell into silence.
A few minutes later, another car pulled up and Val slipped out of the driver’s side.
“Fuck me.” Brit swore, then looked heavenward. “Seriously. Who the hell have I pissed off?”
As she walked up the path dressed in dark slacks and a tight leather jacket, she nodded to Liam and sent a sneer toward Brit.
Brit leaned back on his elbow on the step behind him, his face full of loathing. “Why is the Sniff Princess honoring us with her holy presence instead of sending one of her minions?”
“Typical Britton. Always finding something to complain about when it doesn’t suit your purpose. Yet, you beg for my presence when it does. Make up your mind, why don’t you.”
“The only thing you have going for you is that sense of smell you have. Must suck only to be needed for your nose.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I forgot, what’s your shifter ability again, asswipe?”
Ouch. Liam grimaced. Whatever bit of remorse she had shown back at The Bradley Center was gone. She was going for the jugular and it was working. Brit shook beside him, his hands fisted until his knuckles whitened.
“What brings you by, Val?” he asked before this could escalate further. “Find something from the phone number?”
“No, but I didn’t expect to. He’s smarter than that. Used one of those pre-paid phone deals. Makes it much harder to track.
Anyway, I’ve got a couple of guys out in the woods doing a sweep undercover.”
He sat up. Undercover. Aka beast form. “Why? Have you picked up something?” Sniffing the air, all he smelled was Ava’s soup.
“No. Not yet, but I don’t think he’s gone far. I won’t be surprised if he’s gotten himself nestled off somewhere in those woods, waiting.” She pursed her lips. “The entire thing reeks of premeditative. Everything was so elaborately plotted. He’s not done, and he’s not going to stop just because SPAC has been brought in. We’ve got to ferret him out before he makes his next move.”
“Man, your nose must really need a vacation if you can’t sniff him out when he’s that close.”
Val’s eyes narrowed again. “I’m cautious, ass. Unlike someone else here. If memory serves me, it was reckless behavior—” she stopped, snapped her fingers “—no, sorry, let me correct that, a cocky son of a bitch that almost outed the shifter race to the human population. I don’t plan to follow in that man’s footsteps.”
The smirk wiped off Brit’s face as a sneer curled his upper lip. Liam intervened again with, “You’ll let me know if you find anything?”
“Yeah, I’m going to take a walk around the back. See if there was anything we missed.”
As she disappeared around the house, a shudder wracked over Brit, reminding him of a person who’d got hold of something that tasted bad.
“I can’t stand that woman.” He shuddered again. “Seriously, she makes me physically ill.”
“Come on, don’t you think you’re taking it too far? Val is actually pretty cool.”
“You don’t get it. I’m physically revolted by her. I think she must have killed me in a past life.”
We don’t have past lives.”
“You know what I mean,” Brit muttered darkly.
Liam looked out past the yard. “He’s out there. Watching.”
Brit stared into the distance, as well. “Yeah, he is.”
“He won’t get to Ava a second time. I’ll die before that happens.”
“Do you know how normal you sound right now?”
He lifted a brow. “How was anything I just said normal?”
“I don’t mean that. It’s the way you are. Everything about you is clear. The way you speak, your thoughts, even your movements. You’ve been in a perpetual fog for months, and it’s like the damn sun has finally come out and given you a fucking happy rainbow with a basketful of kittens.”
Liam chuckled.
“See! Right there. You laughed. I noticed the change immediately when I found you. Even in that cage, you were different. Lighter.”
“It’s Ava. The Dsershon has been knocked into remission or something.”
“You were all wacked out when she was gone, but you’re all lucid now that she’s around. This Fewshon shit doesn’t make a lick of goddamn sense.”
“She’s my other half. She’s made to complete me.”
Brit scoffed. “How long are you going to feel like this? She won’t let you in the house, Liam. I’d hate for you to have a taste of feeling normal again just to revert back to the way it was before because she won’t have anything to do with you.”
“What time do you get off patrol?”
His face twisted into a what-the-fuck? expression. “Are you just going to ignore what I said?”
“You don’t think I haven’t thought about that? That I don’t worry? But I’m awake for the first time in months, she is within my grasp, and I’ll be damned if I’ll waste one moment worrying over what-ifs verses trying to win her back. So, what time do you get off in the morning?”
“Seven.”
“Would you drive me over to my place then?”
Brit’s eyes rounded, then he shook his head. “I’ve entered the damn Twilight Zone. Did you just ask me to take you to your place?”
“Yeah.”
He understood his friend’s reaction. Liam hadn’t been there in almost a year. Most of the stuff he’d used daily he’d moved to Ava’s over their six-month relationship. After she rejected him, he couldn’t go back to his place and face the empty shell of a cabin. Aidan had offered to let him stay with him for awhile, and then the Dsershon had taken hold and he’d been unable to live alone.
“Why do you want to go back there?”
“There’s something I’d really like to get.”
Something he’d failed to finish, but was now determined to. And it was the first move toward making Ava unable to deny him any longer.
…
Ava scowled as the minutes ticked by without a knock on the door. A little while ago, she’d heard voices coming from the porch and had looked outside to see Liam and Brit talking on the steps. Detective Calhoun had joined them a short time later. Ava couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying, but had expected the detective to seek her out.
That had been ten minutes ago, and there hadn’t been one peep from her door.
What the hell?
Why would she talk to Liam and not update her, too?
Balancing on her crutches, she went back to the window and pulled back the curtain. The boys were still there, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. However, the car she’d driven up in was still at the curb. Muttering a curse, she limped to the kitchen, opened the back door, and stepped out onto the lawn. It was dark, but the detective’s almost white blond hair stood out. She was at the far end of Ava’s yard, on the edge of the woods that led deep into the mountains.
She’d hobbled halfway across the yard, when the detective said, “You need to go back inside, Miss Michaels,” without turning around.
How had she known Ava was the person coming up behind her? She hadn’t made that much noise.
“I want an update on the investigation.”
The woman faced her. “We don’t always get what we want, do we?”
“Excuse me? I was kidnapped by this madman. I have the right to know what is happening.”
“You have the right for us to protect you, since you are marked by Liam, but you are not a part of our world. You don’t get updates.”
“Are you for real?”
“Very real, Miss Michaels. Had I known you would Dsert Liam again, I wouldn’t have shared the bit I di
d back at the Bradley Center. You don’t get to know about our world. Not with the choice you’ve made.” Ava opened her mouth to argue, but the blonde held up her hand. “You’re an outsider by your own choice. Accept that. You’ll be told what you need to know. Nothing more. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a case to solve.” The woman turned and disappeared into the woods.
Ava was dumbfounded. She was an outsider. She was an outsider?
The whole damn lot of them could go to hell. She hadn’t asked for any of this. She’d met a man and fell in love. It wasn’t her fault he turned out to be some kind of species she hadn’t known existed. How was she supposed to make informed decisions if everyone was dead set on keeping her ignorant?
“What the hell are you doing out here? Get back in the house!”
She awkwardly turned to find Liam stalking across the yard to her.
“Stop telling me what to do!” She pointed one crutch at him. “I’m sick of everyone giving me orders on how to protect your world, but refusing to give me information so I can protect mine.”
“Don’t do this now, Ava. It’s not the time.”
“It’s never the time, is it, Liam? All I get are half-truths or tight lips. I’m just as involved in this as you are. I have a right to know everything about this world you involved me in. But I’m the outsider.” She took a step closer to Liam. “I didn’t ask for any of this. You brought me into this and I demand answers.” What’s deserted, Liam? What is really going on?”
“We’ve been over this,” he gritted out. “It’s a shifter term for being dumped.”
“The hell it is. Tell me the truth.”
“You know everything you need to know. Anything else doesn’t concern you.”
“Doesn’t concern me? I guess that’s what you’d have to believe, when you mark a woman and bring her into a supernatural world without telling her, huh?” she scoffed harshly. “Fact check: It does concern me and you don’t get to tell me it doesn’t. If you won’t give me answers, I’ll find someone who will.”
When she went to hobble past him, his hand shot out and latched onto her wrist. “Stay out of it, Ava.”