by Dia Cole
The compulsion is still driving her. Guilt speared through me. This all happened because I’d compelled her to go straight home. She could’ve been killed and it would’ve been my fault. Refusing to release her, I cupped her chin and forced her eyes to meet mine. “You don’t have to go home. You can go wherever you want.”
She let out a cry and held her head between her hands.
Fear stabbed me in the gut. “What’s wrong?”
She inhaled raggedly, her body sagging against mine. “I’ve been having these horrible headaches. They’re getting worse and worse. I think I need to see a doctor.”
Shame coated my tongue. Between Ty and me, she’d been compelled more in the past few months than most humans were in a lifetime. “Why don’t you sit down?” I led her back to the couch.
The balding detective looked over at her. “Are you okay?”
I glared at him. “Of course she’s not okay. She’s just been through a hellish experience and instead of compassion, she has you harassing her with questions. Did you even offer her anything to eat or drink?”
The detective blinked. “Well, uh…”
“Get her coffee and some breakfast,” I ordered, giving a harsh look at the two humans staring at Vana.
Both the detective and uniformed officer snapped to attention and then darted off.
Vana gave me a grateful smile. “Thank you. I am a little hungry.” Her brow furrowed as if she remembered something. “How’s Mira doing? She’s not still sick, is she?”
“She’s much better.” I sat down beside her. The idea that I could have lost Vana tormented me. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to wrap my arm around her.
She sank into my embrace. “Who’s with Mira now?”
“Her uncle Ty is watching her.”
“Oh, Ty,” she said with a wide smile. Then she grabbed her head and doubled over taking big gulping breaths. “My head hurts so bad.”
Damnation. Neither Ty nor I had given any thought to how our compulsions might be affecting her. No one really knew the long-term consequences of repeated mind control. Mostly because so few Lykos had the ability and the ones that did didn’t give a damn whether it hurt the humans or other Lykos they used it on. Resolving to never again use compulsion on her, I rubbed the back of her neck. “It’ll be okay, my little wolf.” I needed to be sure that Ty knew not to compel her again too.
As if thinking about him had conjured up our connection, I heard Ty’s voice in my head. “Brother, is Havana okay?”
“She is, but she had a very close call with death.” I sent him the CliffsNotes version of what I’d learned.
“I’m going to kill Jeremy,” Ty growled into my mind.
“The humans have taken him into custody—he will most assuredly pay for his crimes,” I said with more calm than I felt. “But you and I are to blame for Vana being in this situation. From now on, no more compulsion on her, brother.”
I felt his immediate rejection of that idea.
“It’s hurting her, Ty.” I glanced over at her allowing him to see her rocking back and forth with her head in her hands. “I need your oath that you will not compel her again.”
“But she won’t remember me… our time together…”
“Brother!” I shouted through our connection. I needed him on board with this.
Ty cursed. “Fine. I swear.”
“And I swear to do the same.” Ending my connection with Ty, I reached out and brushed a lock of hair from her face. “Do you need me to get you anything?”
She shook her head, looking up at the returning detective and officer.
The balding guy held a steaming cup of coffee while the young officer held a plate of pastries.
“Good. The officers brought you something to eat. The food will make you feel better.”
She reached down and folded her hand around mine. “You make me feel better, Nathan. I’m glad you came.”
Instead of pulling away, I interwove our fingers together. Now that I knew the truth—that she was a latent Lykos—there was no resisting the connection between us. She’s my chosen. “I will always be here for you,” I promised. But to keep that oath, I was going to have to make a stand against the monster that made this human serial killer seem tame. I was going to have to take on the Beast.
17
Havana
Nathan hadn’t spoken a word since he pulled into my run-down apartment parking lot. Despite the dark shadows under his eyes and the tense expression on his face, he looked amazing. Instead of his usual designer suit, he wore a pair of khakis and an oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his muscular forearms and the thick silver cuffs on his wrists. I wanted more than anything to hold his hand again, but I wasn’t sure how he’d react. His mood swings were confusing as hell.
After having ignored me for weeks, he’d fired me. Then he’d run to my rescue when he thought I was in trouble, going as far as to stay by my side throughout the rest of the police interview that he insisted on keeping short. I was shocked at how the police officers bent over backward to accommodate Nathan’s demands, but then again, he had that effect on people.
“Thank you for getting the police to change their mind about taking me to the hospital and for the ride home,” I said, hoping to get some kind of response from him.
Nathan broke his staring contest with the steering wheel and looked at me. “It’s the least I could do. How are you holding up?”
“I’m fine,” I said a tad too brightly.
He didn’t look convinced. He wore the same worried expression he’d had when he insisted the EMTs check me out a second time, despite me assuring him that I was all right. Physically all right, that is. Mentally, I didn’t know. My mind kept flipping back to Jeremy’s room, which I’d learned was the master bedroom in an empty apartment. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see the heads of those other dancers in front of me. My hands began to shake uncontrollably.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” I needed something, anything to distract me from those awful memories. Deciding to tackle the elephant in the car, I said, “I’m sorry for whatever I did that made you fire me.”
“You did nothing wrong. It was me. The feelings I have for you aren’t the feelings of an employer to their employee.”
My heart galloped around my chest in a circle. Is he saying what I think he’s saying?
“I tried to keep my distance from you for your safety.”
“My safety?” I echoed, confused.
“Unfortunately, it backfired. It was my fault you were in that situation today.”
I let out a weak laugh. “No, it’s not. I’m the bonehead who ignored a stalker for months and then decided to walk for miles by myself through town.”
If anything, his expression darkened. “I won’t ever let anything like that happen to you again.”
I reached out and touched his arm. “Life can’t be controlled like that, Nathan. Things happen. People get hurt. People die.” My voice wavered as I thought of my mom and poor Destiny. “But you can’t live in fear of that happening, you have to focus on the beautiful moments in life. Enjoy them. Savor them.”
He shocked me by cupping my chin. “You’re a very wise female.”
I laughed. “I don’t know about that.”
He tilted my face up and stared into my eyes. “Can you forgive me for being a selfish bastard?”
Hell, at that moment, I’d forgive anything. My mouth dried as I lost myself in his beautiful golden eyes.
His gaze flickered to my lips. He leaned in.
A flock of butterflies exploded inside my chest as I shut my eyes and lifted my mouth to meet his.
Bam.
We both jerked and looked up to see Dan, the local panhandler, standing by my window.
“Hey, you got any spare change?”
I frowned at the greasy-haired man. “Not today, Dan.” Both Syd and I had been giving him money until we found out he was just using
it to buy smack. Now, we gave him food.
“Ah, come on,” he yelled.
Nathan’s eyes narrowed and he looked seconds from jumping out of the car and pounding the homeless guy into the pavement.
“I’ll take care of him,” I said opening my door and stepping out. “Dan, I’m not giving you any money, but swing by later and I’ll make you a sandwich.”
“Chips too?” he asked, his bloodshot eyes lighting up.
I nodded. “Chips too.”
With a black-toothed grin he stumbled away to go harass someone else.
Nathan appeared next to me. “You shouldn’t invite a guy like that to your home.”
“Ah, he’s harmless.”
“Didn’t you say that about Jeremy?”
The reminder settled over me like a cold blanket. Maybe I wasn’t the best judge of character.
Seeming to realize that my mood had taken a nosedive, Nathan held out his arm. “Allow me to walk you to your door.”
Confused, but also intrigued by this attentive side of Nathan, I allowed him to enfold my arm inside his. “My place is up on the second floor.” I nodded in the direction of the rusty metal staircase near the pool gate.
He scanned the apartment building with a hawklike gaze.
Although he didn’t say anything, I could only imagine what kind of impression he was getting from the flaking paint on the stucco walls and the bars on the windows.
Shame licked through me as I looked over at the empty beer cans floating in the disturbingly green pool water. At least Casa Verde was living up to its name. Letting out a sigh, I tugged Nathan’s arm and led him past the first-floor apartments. Sharon was air-drying her laundry again and I cringed at the sight of her stained elephant-sized underwear flapping in the breeze. Damn, that woman has no shame.
As we stepped off the staircase, my neighbor Phil’s rottweilers started growling and barking like hellhounds.
“Knock it off!” I shouted out of reflex. The dogs quieted, but Nathan looked startled. An apology sprang to my lips, but I bit it back. Maybe it’s good for Nathan to see how the other half lives. This place may not be much, but it was home. I walked over to my door and stopped. “Well, this is me. Thank you for the ride and for… staying with me today.”
Instead of dropping my arm, his fingers tightened around it. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes.” Why is he suddenly acting like this? It was too much to process in light of what I’d just been through. I reached down to get my keys before realizing I didn’t have them. “Crap, my keys are in my purse—”
“Which is back at my place,” he finished for me. “Is your roommate hom—”
Before he could finish his question, the door swung open and a tiny, purple-haired woman launched herself at me. “Girl, I’m so glad you’re okay. I had such a bad feeling.” She pushed Nathan out of the way and locked her surprisingly strong arms tightly around my neck.
I cough-laughed. “I love you too, Syd. Now loosen up so I can breathe.”
She pulled away and scanned me from head to toe. “I saw all that shit about Jeremy on the news. Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head.
“Thank God. What a nightmare. I just can’t believe it. Jeremy motherfucking Riggs. That loser of the century was a serial killer. I wish I could be in a room alone with him for a few minutes. I’d go all kung fu on his ass.” She karate-chopped the air in front of us.
Nathan cleared his throat. “I share your sentiment.”
Syd peered around me to look at Nathan and her heavily kohled eyes widened. She looked back at me and mouthed, “Daddy Warbucks?”
I nodded.
She gave him another once-over, her gaze lingering on his crotch.
I rolled my eyes. Good lord. Can’t she just act normal for one minute?
As if hearing my mental plea, she flashed Nathan a hundred-watt smile. “You must be Nathan. I’m Sydney—we spoke on the phone.” As she held out her hand, her jewel-encrusted nails sparkled in the sunlight. She still wore one of her clubbing outfits, a backless pink sequined minidress that barely hit the bottom of her ass cheeks. I’d put money on the fact that she wasn’t wearing any underwear. “I appreciate you looking out for my friend. I’d screw you right now in thanks, if I didn’t think Vana would scratch out my eyes.”
Nathan shook her hand wearing a stunned look on his face.
Too used to the scandalous things Syd said and did, I could only shake my head. When we’d initially met, I’d been turned off by her brashness. But over time, her bubbly personality and giving nature had won me over. And, after many lectures, she was getting better about not screwing any and everyone she met. I knew she didn’t do it deliberately. She was just an uninhibited nymphomaniac who had very open ideas about sex. So much so, she’d even tried to get with me on more than one occasion.
“Come inside,” Syd said as she started to drag him through our apartment door.
A quick look at the cluttered floor, the overturned vodka bottles on the coffee table, and the half-naked guy sprawled out on the couch had me stepping between them. “Mr. Steele has to get back to his sick daughter, Syd.”
“Oh,” she said, pursing her bubblegum-pink lips in disappointment. “Another time then?”
“I plan on stopping by later on tonight with Vana’s purse and phone.” He turned and looked at me. “Assuming that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay,” I said a little too breathlessly. I didn’t know what had come over Nathan, but suddenly I didn’t care.
“Great. I’ll see you soon.” He stood there awkwardly for half a second, then leaned over and lightly brushed his lips against mine.
The shocking heat of his mouth ignited the blood in my veins. Dizzying desire swept through me, making my knees tremble.
“Don’t get into any trouble until I get back,” he whispered against my lips. Then he turned and walked away.
Dazed, I could only watch him stride down the staircase. He kissed me. Oh my God. He kissed me!
“You better nail that hottie before I throw a lasso around his neck and ride him around the block,” Syd said with a wide grin.
Her words snapped me back to reality. I glared at her. “Hands off this one, Syd. I mean it. In fact, I don’t even want you here when he comes over.” Syd had become my litmus test for relationships. Many of my boyfriends failed the test, including Paul, the last guy I’d dated. I’d come home one day to find him standing in my kitchen with his pants around his ankles begging Syd to suck his cock. Although she’d refused him, she’d felt so bad about the situation she’d bought me rounds of booze for a week. Honestly, I hadn’t shed a tear over it. If a guy couldn’t stay loyal in the face of temptation, he wasn’t worth my time.
Even so, no part of me wanted to test Nathan with my walking sex goddess of a friend. The truth was, I cared too damn much about him to risk it.
“Okay! Okay!” she exclaimed. “Message received. I’ll keep my hands, mouth, and vajayjay off Daddy Warbucks. But would you consider a threesome at some point?” She batted her rainbow-tinted false eyelashes at me.
“No,” I said, stepping inside our apartment. Our trashed apartment. Shit! I couldn’t let Nathan inside the place when it looked like this. I picked a bong up from the floor. “Who did you have over here last night?”
“Just Leftie and some of his friends.” Syd waved at the shirtless guy on the couch.
“Leftie?”
“Yeah, you know cause he hangs to the left.” Syd let out a sultry laugh. “That and I totally forgot his name. It might’ve been Ben. Or Steve or something.”
I glared at her. “Whoever he is, wake him up and get him out of here, then you are going to clean this place up.”
“Fine. But don’t you think you should like, you know, rest or something. Shit, girl. You just had a near death experience. That’s gotta be traumatic.”
The instant Nathan had put his lips on mine, all the crappy memories of what happened with Jerem
y this morning had faded. Now the only thing giving me an anxiety attack was the idea of him coming over here and seeing this shithole. I put my hands on my hip. “Traumatic will be what happens to your ass if you don’t make this place shine like a new penny.”
Her eyes sparkled. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep! You know how I love ass play!”
“Syd!” I all but screamed.
“Okay, I get it. Throw Leftie out, clean the place for Daddy Warbucks, and then make myself scarce.” She marched over to the guy on the couch and tore off his blanket. “Wakey wakey, my friend. Well, hello there.” She looked over at me. “I can’t let this boner go to waste. I’m gonna do Leftie one more time and then I’ll totally clean the apartment.”
I let out a frustrated sound as she hiked up her dress and mounted the guy in front of me. Goddamn it. I need some normal friends. With a huff, I made my way to the bathroom to shower. The apartment wasn’t the only thing that needed an overhaul before Nathan’s visit. I planned on looking my best when he came over. He’ll never know what hit him.
18
Nathan
Unfamiliar emotions gripped me as I strode back to the car. For the first time in my life I felt hope and excitement. I knew that I was pushing a dangerous line by daring to kiss Vana, but damn the fates, her lips felt amazing against mine. And the shocked, aroused look in her eyes made me want to chew through the silver cuffs and take her right there against the crumbling walls of that dump she was staying in.
I needed to move her out of that place ASAP. It’s a shame she can’t move in with us. The idea of having Vana living under the same roof, sharing my bed, had me gripping the steering wheel so hard the metal beneath the leather wrap crumpled. But as much as I wanted that with every fiber of my being, I knew it was too dangerous. If Tasha were to suspect anything was going on between Vana and me…
My stomach churned as I fought to banish the horrible images flashing in my mind. No. I can’t risk that. Instead, I’d convince Vana to move somewhere close, but not too close. I’d search for a gated luxury apartment, with excellent security and no bums milling about.