by Vivian Wood
Garrett came to halt at a set of white plastic chairs, the patio’s only adornment. He watched as Kiley flipped her the long dark tumble of her curls over one shoulder, taking a seat in one of the chairs. She avoided looking at him, staring down at her lap and fidgeting with her engagement ring instead. The diamond was huge, so big that it looked leaden on her delicate fingers. It spoke of possession rather than the joining of two souls, Garrett thought.
And there was his problem, the thinking.
“So?” Garrett asked, cutting off his own self-destructive line of thought. “Why are we out here?”
Kiley sighed and shifted in her seat, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around herself.
“I thought… I mean, I owe you an explanation, don’t I?” she said at last, scanning the darkened back yard.
“I’m pretty sure that your little announcement last night means that you and I don’t owe each other a thing,” Garrett replied, fighting to keep his temper in check.
“Garrett,” Kiley said, reaching out and taking his hand. Her small fingers wrapped around his big ones and he swallowed hard, unable to pull away. His wolf preened, delighted at the touch of its chosen mate. Garrett growled low in his chest, though he wasn’t sure if the sound was a warning or a note of grief.
After a long moment he took his hand back, folding his arms across his chest.
“I don’t know what you want from me,” he rumbled, staring out into the darkness without really seeing a thing. “I never expected anything from you, never asked for anything. And you shouldn’t be looking for it, either. You have a mate now.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Garrett saw her flinch at the word mate. She bit her lip, looking uncertain of her response, and he growled again.
“Damn it, Kiley!” Garrett spat, banging his fist on the flimsy plastic armrest. “You’ve made it more than clear to everyone but Brad that you don’t want this. Why in the hell are you doing it? You’ve got other options, good ones.”
He licked his lips, tasting bile. Garrett was the best option, a male who could go above and beyond providing and protecting her, and she knew it well enough.
“You don’t understand,” she sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t have a choice at all.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “I can’t believe that you would pick that walking fucking Ken doll over—”
Garrett stopped calming himself. Kiley’s eyes were big, and he thought she was close to tears now.
“Just tell me what he has that I don’t. I have just as much money and charm as he does. If it’s social connections you need, I know he’s from an old Wolf family, but we can make those connections together.”
Kiley shook her head, cutting him off.
“No, nothing like that.”
“So you truly love him, then? Is that it?”
“No! No, of course not. He’s very nice on the outside, but on the inside… he’s empty. I think the only reason he courts me is because I know how to distract people, to keep them from seeing how fake he is. I’m just a social asset to him, nothing more.”
“So I repeat myself. Why the hell are we out here?” Garrett asked, giving her a sharp glance.
“Brad is a lupus sanguineus,” Kiley said.
Garrett went silent and still, trying to take in her words.
“He—” Garrett started, then shook his head, unable to process it.
“He can make new wolves, yes. Human to werewolf. The ability runs in his family.”
“And what’s that got to do with you, exactly?”
“My half-sister is human, and she has late-stage breast cancer. Without intervention, she’ll die in a few months.”
Garrett’s jaw dropped. She’d managed to shock the hell of him twice in as many minutes.
“I— Wh— Brad has agreed to change your sister if you’ll be his mate?” Garrett asked, baffled.
“That’s the gist of it, yes. My sister Amerie is the only family I’ve got left, and I won’t let her die.”
“Brad isn’t the only lupus sanguineus in the world, Kiley.”
She looked over at him with a smirk, her bright blue eyes snapping with a sick sort of humor.
“Do you really think that Brad is the first Blood Wolf I found? I tracked down half a dozen of them, breaking all kinds of laws and traveling the world. Brad is the only one that agreed to do it. He’s my last recourse.”
“We can keep looking,” Garrett said, shaking his head in refusal.
“No. The clock has run down. Amerie has very little time left, and Brad insists on doing a full ritual before he’ll change her.”
Garrett’s jaw tensed and he looked down at his lap for a moment, trying once more to suppress his anger.
“There’s no guarantee that the change will even work. It’s very dangerous, even for a human in good health,” he said at last.
“I know,” Kiley said, looking away from him again.
“You’re throwing away a very long lifetime on the chance that he might be able to help her. It’s a huge gamble, and the odds are stacked against you.”
“I know,” she said again, giving a helpless shrug.
“You won’t even try anything else?”
Kiley looked up at him, her bright blue eyes brimming with tears.
“I can’t. I can’t take that risk, Garrett. Brad is the only one that can help my sister, and I’ve got nothing else to bargain with.”
She sucked in a deep breath, the fingers of her right hand fidgeting with the enormous engagement ring on her left. It killed him that she was hurting so badly, but he could tell that she was determined to see her plan through. There was no use arguing with Kiley when her mind was made up.
“So you’ve made your choice, then,” he sighed, standing up. That bottle of tequila was still in his room, and it was calling his name.
“Garrett…” she said, her head dropping back as she stared up at him.
“Goodbye, Kiley,” Garrett said, turning and heading for the house. She made no move to follow, which he appreciated.
When he stepped into the living room, he found Elijah waiting, a frown on his face.
“What, you too?” Garrett joked, shaking his head. “There’s no pleasing anybody tonight, is there?”
“I know we were going to take some time off…”
Elijah stalled, looking uncertain.
“Spit it out,” Garrett prodded.
“There’s a job waiting on us, a huge payout. Arms retrieval,” Elijah explained. “It’ll be dangerous, but…”
“Let’s do it. When can we leave?”
“I moved up the interviews for Kiley and Brad’s replacements. If we leave now, we can be back in Atlanta for interviews at noon tomorrow, and be in Libya in…” He looked at his watch, calculating. “Thirty six hours.”
“Fine,” Garrett said. “I just need to pack.”
“We can stay for the night if you need,” Elijah said, gesturing to the back patio. The man was too perceptive for his own good, and had no doubt noticed Garrett and Kiley’s little powwow.
“Nope,” Garrett said, turning and heading for his room.
“You sure you don’t want to sleep on it?” Elijah said, a hint of wry humor in his tone.
Garrett didn’t answer. Instead, he returned to his room and systematically packed the two duffel bags he’d brought to Costa Rica. He emptied the room in less than ten minutes, stuffing down the roiling anger in his gut. When he came back out into the common room, Elijah waited by the door. Kiley and Brad were sitting on the couch, their expressions tense.
When Garrett glanced over at them, Brad reached out and slid his arm around Kiley’s waist, pulling her close. Garrett snorted and rolled his eyes when Kiley winced and swallowed but didn’t resist.
“The rest of the team?” Garrett asked Elijah.
“Meeting us in a few days. We’ll do the interviews and find the safe house first, and then they’ll join us,” Elijah said, his gaze darting between Garre
tt and the dubiously happy couple.
“Right,” Garrett said. He opened the front door and picked up his duffel bags, making his way out.
“Garrett!” Kiley called, her voice rising with tension.
Garrett half-turned, raising a brow. For just one tiny fraction of a moment, he let himself hope.
“Good luck,” she said after a long pause, her shoulders slumping.
“I think you need it more than me,” Garrett shot back, turning on his heel and marching outside.
With Elijah at his back, Garrett loaded his gear in one of the team’s rented SUVs and climbed into the driver’s seat. In moments the house dropped behind them, fading out of view in the sultry Costa Rican night.
“Garrett,” Elijah started in.
Garrett reached out and flipped on the radio, turning the volume way up, letting Spanish pop music blare through the car. Elijah shut up with a shrug, leaving him to his thoughts.
If only a measure of peace came with the solitude…
Chapter Two
When her cell phone rang at midnight, breaking the silence in her yet-unfurnished new apartment, Kiley nearly jumped out of her skin. A contact, no doubt, somewhere in the world. She sat up with a sigh, moving to the edge of the bed and grabbing her phone. She looked down at the screen, blinking in confusion.
Elijah, the screen announced.
What in the hell would Elijah be calling her for? God, what if—
She refused to let herself continue the thought, putting the phone to her ear.
“Hello?” she asked, hesitant.
“Kiley,” Elijah said, his thick Scottish accent a warm bit of familiarity, chasing away a bit of the chill in her bones.
“Elijah. I thought— I left you messages. Dozens of them,” she said.
“I know. It felt it wasn’t right to answer them,” he replied. Not the most helpful thing, but then again at least he didn’t sound angry.
“I didn’t take Brad as a mate,” Kiley blurted out, unable to restrain herself.
“I know,” Elijah sighed.
“You know?”
“I keep tabs on you, lass. I figured you’d come around sooner or later.”
“Why didn’t you ever call me back?” she asked, growing frustrated.
“It’s not my place to tell you anything about Garrett, lass. You burned that bridge when you left with Brad, I should think.”
“I didn’t— never mind. Why are you calling me?”
“Garrett needs a contact, but he’s too stubborn to call you.”
Kiley’s jaw dropped for a moment. She’d forgotten just how blunt Elijah could be. She took a moment to find the right words, to explain how her life had changed, but she came up short.
“I’m not sure if I can help. I left the intelligence world six months ago,” she said.
“You’ve still got lots of contacts, I’m sure.”
Kiley sighed, shaking her head though she was the only one around to see the gesture.
“I don’t work for you anymore, Elijah. You and Garrett decided not to renew my contract, remember?”
“We didn’t renew Brad’s contract, and you made yourself part and parcel. Again, this isn’t about the past.”
“Then what is it about, other than you calling and asking for favors out of the blue? You need some hermit Russian to help facilitate an arms deal or something?”
“No Russians this time. This time we’re dealing with females.”
“Females. You’re calling me for dating advice, Elijah?”
He snorted.
“There’s a group that’s been abducting and selling females of our species. We’ve been trying to shut them down. We traced everything we can electronically, froze a lot of assets, even put a few away. But we haven’t been able to locate the top three members, the ones that give the orders. Without taking them out, we might as well just give up.”
Kiley blew out a breath, trying to take in his words. It really did sound like they needed help, and it was just the kind of cause she loved to champion, but it sounded dangerous.
“I’m guessing if you can’t get to them easily, these top guys aren’t exactly small fish,” she said.
“Two of them are supposedly high-level foreign diplomats, and at least one of them is highly connected in the CIA. We keep getting information, but none of it adds up. We need someone to give us names, tell us who is moving money around, who might be offering females to friends or colleagues. Or rather, we need someone’s nanny or housekeeper or chauffeur to tell us what they’ve overheard. I know you specialize in recruiting assets from domestic staff.”
“Yeah, because I grew up around them. My mother was a cook in a big manor house,” Kiley said. She heard the defensiveness in her tone, but she couldn’t help it. “I know what they call me behind my back. Kiley, Patron Saint of Servants.”
Elijah chuckled, defusing her anger a little.
“Easy, now. Will you help or not?” he asked.
“I can’t just pick up and run over to do this. It isn’t a minor favor, it’s a month of work, maybe more.”
She knew she was lying; her new apartment was just like the bed on which she sat: pristine, cold, and empty. She’d only moved in a few suitcases and some toiletries since she’d left Brad behind in his palatial manor. She’d been in this sleek Portland apartment for months, but she’d never even gotten a couch or a decorative shower curtain. She’d been… waiting. For this call, presumably, except it was the wrong male, and now it wasn’t going how she’d planned at all.
She was silent for another beat, thinking, and Elijah got impatient.
“Garrett will be at base camp,” he said. Kiley could practically hear his smirk over the phone, but she could barely think of that. Her heart leapt into her throat at his pronouncement.
“Garrett?” she repeated, feeling stupid.
“I’m going to be honest with you, Kiley. He doesn’t know that I’m asking you to join the project. I’m certain he’ll be angry with me, actually.”
“I thought that you didn’t want to meddle.”
“Well, things change. Not only do we need a contact on this mission, but I think Garrett might need some help, too. He’s been a miserable git since we left Costa Rica. I thought it would pass, but he seems to be getting worse. You’ll see.”
Kiley paused, soaking it in. She was finally going to see Garrett after nearly a year of radio silence. She was half elated, half frightened with the possibilities. Would he take her back, or turn her away?
“I’m going to take that silence as a yes,” Elijah said. “I’ll message you the address. Pack for a couple of weeks, I’d say.”
“Elijah!” she said, stopping him before he could hang up.
“Yes?”
“Thank you,” Kiley said.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he said, disconnecting the call.
Kiley dropped her phone onto the mattress, collapsing backward with a groan. Her phone vibrated, a text from Elijah with an address in Montana. An address she knew all too well…
Kiley turned her rental car up the long gravel drive, eyeing the house in the distance. The rambling two-story farmhouse lay bright against the broad sweep of dusty red that made up the gorgeous Montana landscape. Against the mountains in the background, the house seemed to stand in defiance, a bit of humanity against the great expanse of wilderness.
As she drove the mile up the drive, she was transported back twenty months. She’d taken in this very view when the team had taken on a fracking investigation, though the last time she’d traversed this drive she’d been with Elijah and Brad. It had been early in her relationship with Brad, before they’d ever become physical, before he’d truly staked a claim.
If she were honest, this house was the first place she’d admitted to herself that she just might be in love with someone else. It was the place where she and Garrett had shared their one and only kiss, a breathless embrace that had only left them both less satisfied than ever. Just looking a
t the house made her long for his gruff voice, his big frame filling up the space in her life. It seemed that the big white farmhouse, surrounded on all sides with an angular wraparound porch, brought out her romantic side.
Kiley took a deep breath as she pulled into the house’s circular drive. She was surprised to find the team’s usual fleet of black SUVs lacking, their absence conspicuous. She couldn’t miss Garrett’s motorcycle, though, the big black chopper pulled up next to the porch.
So he really was here. Her heart skipped a beat as she cut the car’s engine and stepped out, pulling in a big breath of the sweet, clean country air. It was early June, and the summer heat was really beginning to blossom now. Still, she shivered as she pulled her luggage from the back seat, trying not to drag her feet as she climbed the front steps.
She found the front door unlocked and swung it wide, cringing a little at the loud squeak it emitted. The door banged open as she stepped into the kitchen, and she couldn’t help but smile. The kitchen was a relic, a perfect snapshot of ranch life in the 1950’s. The room was done in a pretty, light yellow, with neat white cabinets and an ivory stove and refrigerator that were as antique as the house itself. A big white table took up most of the room, surrounded by a dozen chairs. It had been the site of many late-night, coffee-fueled meetings when the team had stayed here last.
Closing the door, Kiley looked around. The house was silent, almost alarmingly so. If she’d expected Garrett to charge out from the living room or hallway, she was to be disappointed. Of course, he wouldn’t be here. He’d be out back, enjoying the house’s only modern addition.
Kiley left her bags on the table, heading through the big living room and down the back hall. She stopped short at the back door, peering out the glass window. For a moment, she thought she’d guessed wrong, that the back yard was empty. A cluster of lounge chairs sat empty near the pool, and the water’s clear blue surface was unbroken. She waited for several seconds, holding her breath, before he surfaced.
Garrett burst from the water, grabbing the side and pushing himself up to get out of the pool. Kiley found that she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but admire his sleek form. He climbed out in a graceful motion, six and a quarter feet of rippling muscle. He wore nothing but a pair of simple white boxers that clung to his body, showcasing his muscular thighs and perfectly shaped ass. His back and shoulders were a work of art, honed by moonlight runs in his wolf form and hours at the weight rack.