by Leilani Love
“I’m the oldest of five, all girls. I not only like to argue, but I am rather good at it when needed.”
Chase laughs at that. “I guess you would need to be. Does your dad have any sons to help balance out all the girls and to help keep other boys at bay?”
He watches her face. He knows about the accident that killed her parents but has to pretend he doesn’t. Seeing pain flash before Violca’s eyes, he hears his dragon growl at him in response. “Nope, my poor dad just had us girls. I used to think there were so many of us because he was trying for a boy, but then one day he confessed that he loved having daughters. He said there was a special relationship between a father and his daughters and he wouldn’t trade that for a boy.”
Chase grins. “I could see that until the girls become teenagers. Then I think I would get a head full of grey hair worrying over them.”
Violca smiles and they finish their sandwiches. Looking at her watch, she stands. “I better get back to work.”
Standing up, Chase walks with her back to her office. “Thank you for having lunch with me.”
“You’re welcome.” Violca smiles up at him, pausing for a second. “It was nice to meet you Chase.”
“So would it be too forward if I asked to see you again?”
Biting her lower lip Violca looks up at him. “Um, I don’t really know if that would be a good idea.”
Frowning, Chase reaches into his pocket. “Why don’t I give you my number, and if you decide you had a good time and would like to get together again you can call me.” Handing her his card, she takes it and looks it over before putting it in her pocket.
“I promise to think about.” Violca tells him goodbye again and heads into the building. He watches her walk to the receptionist desk.
Chase turns and feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his dragon growls in his head. Looking across the street his eyes lock onto a man who is leaning against the building. The man smiles showing a pair of long fangs just before his eyes flash red. At six and half feet tall, his eyes go from red to brown. His body is muscular, the only thing suggesting he might be older is his shoulder length silver hair. He nods to Chase before walking away, whistling softly. Despite the noise of the street Chase’s dragon can easily pick up the sound.
Grabbing his cell phone, he calls Scott. “Hey, do you guys have videos that face outside the building?”
He can hear Scott chuckle on the other end. “Why, were you hoping to get a video of your lunch and you asking her out and her telling you no?”
Chase growls. “Very funny. There was a guy across the street. He has shoulder length silver hair. See if you can get him on the tape and print off a picture. I have never seen him before but…”
He can hear Scott typing on the other end. “Got him, sending the pic to our phone. I get off in a few hours, will you be at the house.”
“Yep, see you there.” Chase hangs up his cell. Putting it in his pocket, he glances back at Violca’s office door before reluctantly leaving.
Violca smiles as Eva and Kati clean up the kitchen. Having finished popping the popcorn, she puts it in three separate bowls. “Eva, you sure you want to go to a party and not watch the new Barbie movie with me and the girls?”
Eva snorts. “I would V, honestly, but I know you have been looking forward to this night all week, plus you didn’t make me any popcorn.”
Kati laughs and Violca smiles in her direction. Her sister doesn’t laugh that often and when she does, her whole face lights up. “Please tell me you are joining us.”
Kati shakes her head. “If you don’t mind I was thinking I could go to Samantha’s.”
“Sure, are you going to the stay the night?”
“I don’t think so, but I will call you and let you know.”
Sighing, Violca grabs two handfuls of popcorn and throws them at both her sisters. “Fine, you two go out have a great time. I am going to watch Barbie.”
Both girls laugh as she heads back to the living room. Placing the bowls down on the table she smiles when she sees Sari and Angyalka already drinking the root beer floats she made them. Before she sits down she reaches into her back pocket and pulls out Chase Reed’s card. It’s simple with his name, email, and cell phone number. It doesn’t give her a clue what he does for a living. Sighing she puts the card on the table. She has a hard time picturing a guy who is practically built for sin wanting to hook up with a girl who is raising four girls.
“V, let’s start the movie,” Angyalka says, pulling her from her thoughts.
Picking up her own root beer float, she sits on the couch behind her sisters, tucking her feet under her. “All right, all right,” she replies, pushing play on the remote.
Chapter 7
Chase paces back and forth in the living room, his dragon furious he left Violca there even though he knows Scott will keep her safe. His dragon has never reacted so strongly to another person. When Eryk told him about her sister Kati, his natural protective instinct had kicked in, which is why he asked Eryk to watch her at school, but his reaction to Violca is more intense. He knows Scott is capable of keeping her safe, but his dragon acted like he abandoned her and wanted out to protect her.
Hearing a beep on his computer he turns back to look at what Kassandra sent him. Scanning through the email he swears softly. From what she was able to find out, Dmitri did not send any of the dragon shifters. Instead the information that Kassandra gathered mentions he has been seen talking to a demon and sent him to get the girls. Demons always have a thirst for power.
The different races of supernatural seem to be split among themselves. Demons, however, as a group think everything is beneath them. Especially humans. Chase can’t believe Dmitri would be so stupid as to send a demon to fetch the Grey sisters. If it turns out they are wrong and these are the wrong girls, the demon would kill them all without batting an eye. Since the demon’s eyes flash red, Kassandra should be able to narrow who it possibly could be.
Chase runs his fingers through his hair. Picking up the file he tries to figure out what he can do to get close to the Grey sisters. How do you get close to a girl who is determined to keep you at arm’s length?
Chase sees Eryk coming down the stairs dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a black button down shirt. His hair is damp after his shower. “You heading out?”
“Yep, heard Eva was going to go to a party and thought I would show up and keep an eye on her.”
“Is Kati going too?” Chase asks more out of curiosity than anything else.
“No, I heard she was going to her best friend, Samantha’s, house tonight.” Eryk tries to look offended when he continues, “I did ask if I could go over there, but Samantha is protective of her friend.”
Raising an eyebrow, Chase says, “So I’m guessing you have been flirting with the females at that school pretty heavily if she’s worried about you hurting her friend.”
Eryk chuckles. “Tell Scott I won’t be home too late.”
Grabbing a beer from the fridge, Chase sits on the couch glancing over the files trying to figure out how he is supposed to get close to Violca after basically being shot down this afternoon. Hearing Scott pull up he looks at the clock. “What are lawyers doing at this hour?”
Scott shrugs. “I think some of them have their dates show up so they can look important. Any luck on finding out who or what that guy was?”
Chase shakes his head. “He is not one of the dragons who left with Dmitri. Kassandra says he has been trying to recruit from other species but there is a rumor he might be a demon.”
“Shit,” Scott says, rubbing the back of his neck. “There are only a few species that have red eyes and demons are the most common, and the most dangerous…”
His sentence drops off, both of them thinking the same thing. Nothing that has red eyes would be easy to guard witches against, especially if they do not know how to use their abilities. “Oh, Eryk went to a party that Eva is going to so he can keep an eye on her.”<
br />
Scott nods and Chase grabs his keys to the SUV. “I’m going to swing by the girls’ place and see if there are any traces of our new friend over there.”
When Chase gets to the house he parks on the corner. He gets out of the SUV and takes a short walk around the block. Letting his dragon come near the surface, he doesn’t detect anything other humans in the area.
Once he checks out the neighborhood he leans against his vehicle. Most of the lights are off at the house. Chase’s gift is the ability to turn himself into a dark mist, a shadow. Humans normally don’t notice him, but anything else can detect his scent and know he is there. Turning into a shadow he slips in the witch’s house. It’s quiet, Violca and the two younger apparently in bed. Sliding down the hall he follows Violca’s scent to her room. Listening for a moment, he hears her steady heartbeat before he slowly lets himself in the room.
Quietly gliding across the floor to her bed, he watches as the moonlight plays on her dark hair. Violca lies on her side, her one leg poking out from the covers. Chase smiles and reaches out to caress her cheek. She moans softly and rolls to her back.
At the sound of her moan he feels his body react. His eyes trace the shape of her leg that is exposed to him. He decides it’s best to leave before the other two girls come home. Sliding out of her room he pauses in the hall and finds himself in front of the youngest sister, rubbing her eyes. She stops.
Standing still, he knows her sense of smell is not strong enough to sense him. When she finishes rubbing her eyes she looks up at him, and Chase swears she actually sees him.
She blinks her big blue eyes before quietly whispering, “Why were you in my sister’s room?”
Can she possibly see him?
“Will you get me a glass of water?” she asks, trying to reach for him. Her hand goes through him and Chase realizes somehow this little girl really can see him. He worries she might wake the others, so he materializes in front of her. Bringing his hand to his lips, telling her to be quiet, he takes her hand and leads her to the kitchen.
Chase is not sure what he finds more surprising, the fact that she saw him when he was in his mist form or that she is not scared to find a stranger in her house. Reaching into the cabinet he grabs a glass and pours her a glass of water from the sink.
Taking her back to her room, he finds himself almost smiling at the girl when she pulls on his hand, making him look at her. “Yes?”
She smiles up at him. “Thank you Shadow Man,” she says before turning to go back to her room. Stopping at her door she turns and whispers, “My sister doesn’t like people in her room Shadow Man. She would be mad if she found you in there.” With that she goes into her room, closing the door behind her.
Chase returns to the living room and shifts back into mist before sliding through the crack in the door. Slowly he glides to his SUV and decides to hang out a little while. He stays long enough to see Eva come home. Letting herself in the house, he sees a light come on in what must be her room. Once the light goes off he starts the SUV to head back to the house.
Chapter 8
Smiling as Eva grumbles about how unfair it is that she was coerced into taking the girls to sell cookies, Violca heads to the store. She is determined to get the shopping for the week done in one trip and enjoy her time away from everyone.
As Violca loads up the cart, she shakes her head thinking about how four girls who are all on the slender side can put away so much food. She sighs when she sees the store manager come around the corner. A big smile crosses his face when he sees her, and she realizes it’s too late to turn around. Biting back a groan as he swaggers up to her, she tries to plaster a smile on her face.
“Violca.” He smiles and his greasy hair falls in his brown eyes as he looks down at her. David stands at about five foot eight inches, which is just a little taller than she is, so even though he is trying to lean in and look impressive, Violca barely has to tilt her head to look at him. Watching him look over her body while licking his lips makes her skin crawl, and she has to force herself to stand there. “David. How are you today?”
David’s brown eyes light up as he sees an opening. “Today is looking better now that you are here.” Reaching out he brushes her hair back. “My night would be perfect if you would finally agree to go out with me.”
Stepping back she smiles politely. “Sorry David, can’t. I promised the girls we would watch a Hannah Montana movie.”
David frowns and leans into Violca, stepping close enough that there is no longer any space between. “You can’t hide behind them forever and eventually,” he licks his lips as he looks at her breast, “you are going to want a man to satisfy your lusty needs.” Grinning, he steps back before saying, “How many other guys do you know who would be willing to take a girl who is raising her four sisters and has enough money to support them. Even looking as good as you do the list has got to be very short.”
Standing up straighter, her eyes narrow as she looks him over slowly. She starts at his feet, pausing at his hint of a beer belly. Then she continues up to his brown eyes and brown greasy hair before answering, “I promise it will be a cold day in hell before me and my…lusty needs need to stoop as low as to agree to go out with you.”
She sees his eyes flash in anger as he sputters. Her back straight and head held high as she feels his eyes stay on her, she makes her way up the aisle to the checkout.
Smiling politely to the cashier as she rings her up, and declining when a young man offers to help her with her bags, she heads out to the car. Loading everything into the trunk she gets in and drives out to see David standing outside leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette. Keeping her head straight, Violca glances into the mirror and sees him watching her car as she pulls out into the street.
Listening to the radio as she drives home, Violca feels a little pain as yet another love song plays on the radio. Realizing that the last time she went on a date was just before her parents’ death, she thinks about how her life changed that night. Not regretting her decision for a moment to take care of her sisters, she still sometimes wonders what it must be like to go out and date and have a social life. Violca’s days are spent working, cleaning up after the girls, cooking, helping with homework, and driving them everywhere they need to go. She wonders what it might be like to only worry about clothes, where to go, and which sexy guy she will go out with. Pulling up, Violca sees Eva getting out of her car and Sari and Angel running in the front yard chasing each other. She smiles thinking deep down she wouldn’t change this for the world.
As the girls help her unload the car, Kati comes walking up the street. Smiling as she sees her, Violca starts to call out until she sees that she has been crying. Telling the girls to take the bags inside, Violca walks up to her and brushes her hair back. “Hey Kati, are you ok?”
Looking her over for any physical signs she sees Kati nod and bite her lip. Violca pulls her close and hugs her. “Kati, please tell me what happened. I want to be able to help you.”
Feeling a few tears land on her shoulder, Violca rubs her back and her heart breaks knowing that her sister is hurting.
“I’m never going to fit in, am I?” Kati whispers in her ear.
Closing her eyes, knowing how hard it is to feel like the odd one out at this age, Violca pulls back and brushes the tears from Kati’s cheek. “Sweetie, I will never lie to you. High school sucks. I hated it, all four years of girls picking on me and guys making bets to see who could get into my pants.” Seeing the look on Kati’s face, Violca smiles at her, trying to be reassuring. “It was hard, but I got through it and you will too. I promise.” Kissing her forehead, Violca leads her back to the car. “Now help me unload these groceries and let’s make dinner. I have a bunch of ice cream and cookies we can eat later as we talk about how much some people suck.” Kati smiles at that and Violca leads her to the house, hoping that she can help her sister.
Violca takes the girls to bed, and hearing Eva and Kati talking in Eva’s room, she
heads to her room to watch TV in bed. A Sons of Anarchy rerun on, she props herself up on her pillows and gets comfortable. Understanding the appeal, but not sure how a girl like the doc ends up with a biker like Jax, she smiles at the fight scene. Okay maybe she could see the appeal. Turning off the TV, she falls into a deep sleep.
Violca takes all the girls to the mall to buy clothes and have lunch together. When Sari and Angel ask if they can go to the pet store after they finish eating their burgers, Violca nods. “Sure girls, when we are done we can go look.”
Kati smiles. “Think you will finally give in and let us get a cat, V?”
Eva shakes her head. “Not a cat. How about a big dog?” She looks at Violca. “They are loyal and could guard the house when we are not home.”
Violca, happy to see Kati smiling, feels a responding smile. “I will think about it.” Gathering the trash as everyone starts to leave, V hears Mom’s voice yelling in her head, Run V, run, he found you. Girls run now.”
Looking up she sees all her sisters are looking at her as if they heard it too. Grabbing Angel and Sari’s hands, V starts to run toward the garage. Eva and Kati follow, bumping into people as they go.
“V, did you just hear Mom?” Eva asks worriedly.
“Eva later. Let’s get to the car okay.” Panting, almost tripping when Angyalka falls, Violca helps her and as they run out the exit toward the garage she hears an animalistic growl coming from it and looks in both directions. Feeling a pull to go to the right, she runs that direction.
Pushing the girls in front of her to keep going, she looks over her shoulder and sees a familiar shadow running behind them. Sari looks over her shoulder, screaming before she falls. Eva and Violca help her up and she yells, “Whatever you do look straight ahead, don’t look back.”
Turning up the sidewalk, not seeing any cars, they run across the street. Hearing the pounding of feet coming closer and the growl getting nearer, Violca feels something hit her in the back and falls, crying out as the cement scrapes her knees and she hit the side of her face. Hearing another growl and feeling something land on her back, she yells, “Run, don’t stop.”