CAGED (Mackenzie Grey #2)

by Karina Espinosa

  He looked around us. “Oh, now you’re talking to me?”

  “Don’t be a smart ass,” I deadpanned.

  “I make no promises,” he said. “Why you slumming it with me? Where’s my brother? If you’re here, he must not be too far behind.”

  “Very funny, ass-hat. He’s not here—at least I don’t think so.”

  Jackson snorted. “Right.”

  “Where’s Amy? You know, my best friend that you failed to protect.”

  He sighed. “She’s taking a shower, and I did protect her, Kenz…just in a different way,” he smirked and I wanted to barf.

  “Do not go into detail, or I promise you a permanent disability,” I blanched.

  “I wasn’t going to share the glorious details with you anyway,” he scoffed.

  I rolled my eyes at his absurdity. At first glance, Jackson was so serious, he wouldn’t crack a smile, but his dry humor was entertaining and I’d like to think he at least tolerated me. It’s his way of showing he cared—I mean I did save his life.

  “You know I never got a thank you for—”

  “And you never will,” he cut me off. “Don’t hold your breath.”

  I chuckled. “Aw, you’re so sweet Jackson,” I reached over to pinch his bearded cheek when he brushed me off.

  “Mackenzie,” he cautioned.

  “Fine,” I grumbled. “You’re no fun.”

  “Never said I was.”

  “Right,” I nodded and tried to think of something to talk about. “So when did you decide to grow the peach fuzz?” I scratched at my own face.

  He gave me a blank look and I bit my lip to hold in a laugh. “I got tired of shaving.”

  “Hey!” I exclaimed. “Where’s my other bearded friend? I haven’t seen Bernard since I arrived!”

  Jackson glanced down at me with boredom. “First, we’re not friends. Second, he’s in South America.”

  “What? Why?” I sputtered.

  “For you. He joined the Tracking Pack to be the one to find you—so no harm would come to the precious Mackenzie Grey.”

  My mouth fell open. Bernard, the big ol’ lumberjack lookin’ werewolf was protecting me? I didn’t think he cared that much about me.

  “Does he know I returned?”

  “Yes. Sebastian called him the day you showed up. Members pledge a year of fealty so he won’t be released from duty for another three months.”

  I slumped in my seat. “I feel even more of an asshole than I already did.”

  “You should,” Jackson grunted.

  “Not helping,” I growled.

  “Wasn’t trying to.”

  “Fine, be a butthole,” I stood. “I’ll just go look for Bash. I’m sure he’ll be better company than your grumpy ass.”

  “I’m sure he will,” Jackson smirked. “but you might not want to go to his office right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s busy.”

  “So?”

  “Don’t bother him, Mackenzie. Trust me, I’m doing it for your own good, believe it or not.”

  I should have listened to Jackson, but I was a masochist. At this point I was just a glutton for punishment and anything I saw or heard was my own doing because Jackson warned me. But of course, I, Mackenzie Grey, never listen to reason. Never have, and I probably never will.

  I went down to the basement to Sebastian’s office. My mind was screaming, clogging my ears from any potential hint as to what I was about to witness. If I believed it was nothing, it would be nothing. He was just doing boring Pack paperwork and nothing else.

  My knuckles rapped on the door and I didn’t wait to hear his response. I twisted the door knob and walked right in.

  “Hey Bash, I was wonder—” my voice cut out as I watched Sebastian stand behind Vivian as she was bent over his desk. His hand wrapped around her blonde hair and the other on her hip to keep her erect, as he pumped from behind her.

  The sound of skin slapping and her moans grew louder as they escalated when she saw me. A malicious grin spread across her face as she slid back and forth, and I wanted to rip out those fake hair extensions.

  “Mackenzie,” Bash grunted and I felt sick.

  “Sorry,” I muttered and found the strength to move my feet. It was déjà vu. I ran out of his office, slamming the door behind me hard enough that I heard some of the picture frames that lined the hallway fall to the ground. I didn’t bother to pick them up—I was pissed and I didn’t understand why. I had no right to be. Our outing to Central Park hadn’t been anything. Once again I read into stuff that was just two friends hanging out. I let myself get sucked back in to this stupid game Bash played. Nothing had changed—he just wanted a challenge—that’s all I was to him.

  I sprinted out of the basement and up the stairs to the second floor. I heard Amy call my name from downstairs but I ignored her. I ripped my bedroom door open and banged it shut—surprised it didn’t come off its hinges.

  “I will not freak out, I will not freak out,” I repeated into my empty room—at least I thought it was empty. My racing heart screeched to a stop.

  Emma was strewn in the middle of my bed, her legs crossed at the ankles and her hands resting behind her head casually.

  “Hey Ace,” she said. “I was looking for you so I decided to wait in your room. You still look like shit.”

  “You’re too kind,” I said as I threw myself on the bed, face first, burying my panicky emotions that wanted to be released in a fit of jealousy.

  “Bad day?”

  “Very bad day,” I mumbled against the mattress.

  Emma scooted further down beside me. “Want to tell me about it?”

  I lifted my head up. “Sorry Kid, it’s grown up issues. Anyway, what brings you to my humble abode?” I waved my hand around the room.

  She scrunched her mouth to the side. “Well you see…ugh whatever, I’m just going to spit it out. These Lunas are nuts! They have me folding laundry, are they serious? I don’t want to touch anyone’s nasty clothing.” She shivered in disgust and I chuckled.

  “I bet, I wouldn’t either. So how did you get out of it?”

  She looked around. “I didn’t…I escaped, Ace. I’m now a fugitive!” she slammed her little body on the bed and huffed. “I’m on the run from the man.”

  “Don’t worry, Kid, you can hide out here if you want. I’m sort of on the run from the man too.” Images of Bash and V together was bringing on a bout of nausea. Seriously, the office again? Did he not have a bedroom? That desk needs to get disinfected…

  My door flung open and I feared it was Sebastian, but Amy’s red mane poked inside.

  “Kenz, are you okay?” she asked. I figured Jackson must have told her what happened.

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  She came inside and closed the door. “Oh, hey Emma, how’s it going?” Amy said as she noticed the little person lying beside me.

  “Just gravy,” Emma answered with a thumbs up.

  “We haven’t had much time to talk, Kenz,” Amy said as she sat on the edge of the bed.

  I sat up. “I know. Shits just been nuts, I’m sorry. I promise as soon as this blows over, I’ll tell you all about LA, yeah?”

  Emma jerked up and said, “Ohhhh, I want to know too! Roman is so dreamy,” she sighed.

  “Roman?” Amy questioned. “Who is he?”

  I cleared my throat and glared at Emma. “He’s a friend.”

  “A friend? Yeah right, Ace. You guys are like, together and stuff,” Emma giggled. “Roman and Ace, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” She sang as she jumped on the bed.

  “Oh yeah?” Amy laughed.

  “She has a very wild imagination,” I said and pulled Emma down before she hurt herself. “Roman is—”

  “He’s a vampire!” Emma exclaimed as she positioned her two pointer fingers in front of her teeth to mimic fangs.

  “A vampire?” Amy shrieked. “Are you crazy, Kenzie! Getting involved with them will not end well.” />
  “Oh come on, you don’t even know him. You’ve been spending way too much time with the Pack if you’re already starting to think like them.”

  “That’s not what I mean, Kenz. It’s because we know how the Pack thinks, that worries me. I don’t want them to say anything bad about you.”

  I hardened. “They can think what they want. I don’t give a damn anymore.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  I sneaked out of my room in search of Blu. We were having girl time and wanted her to hang with us—it would feel like old times. The second floor balcony was empty and I peered over to see if I’d catch her downstairs. Running into Sebastian was the last thing I wanted to do, but who I should have been avoiding was Vivian.

  My feet shuffled across the main floor to the laundry room where Blu usually was when I turned the corner and ran smack into Vivian. Her hair was neatly in place as was her clothing, which irked me. She didn’t even look like shit to ease this rage of envy that was eating up my insides. All the while I was having a horrible hair day, and my lack of sleep had dark circles ringing my eyes. The universe was officially against me.

  “Walking in on people is your specialty of course,” V sneered. “Got a good look at what you’ll never have?”

  “You’re bragging about being the side chick?” I laughed.

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” she pronounced every word as if I were illiterate. “We’ll be mating soon and then who will you be left with—Jonah? No, he’s been getting hot and heavy with the Fae Queen. That leaves you with…Logan maybe,” she giggled.

  “Excuse me?” I growled.

  “I hear he likes it rough. Right up your alley, eh?”

  I didn’t hold back. My fist aimed straight for that pore-less face of hers. She fell to the ground with one loud thud, but it wasn’t enough to knock her out—that wasn’t my intention. I didn’t care about anything she said besides Logan. After what he did to Rachel, the audacity she had to even joke about him made me sick to my stomach.

  I squatted down to her level. “You disgusting, petty ass bitch,” I gritted out. “If you ever say some shit like that to me again, I’ll make sure Sebastian never wants your dirty snatch again. Because let’s be honest, I have sway in matters around here,” I bragged.

  V clutched her already bruising face, her eyes wide with an unknown fear. “It’s only a matter of time before Logan comes for you. He gets his way.”

  “He already failed. It’s not worth it.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t get it, you bitch. Whoever you mate, could be the next King. He won’t stop.”

  My eyes narrowed to slits. Was that why all these Packs were after me? Why Charles wanted Jonah to mate with me? It made sense, but believing anything V said felt stupid.

  “Thanks for caring,” I rolled my eyes and stood up. I was done entertaining this dimwit.

  She smirked. “Watch your back, Mackenzie Grey.”

  ***

  Amy, Emma, and I were having a late lunch when we heard growls and snarls coming from the entrance of the warehouse. I had been destroying my second foot-long sub when I paused mid-chew. I sniffed the air and recognized a familiar, unexpected scent. Lucian and Roman had entered the territory of the Brooklyn Pack, and the wolves were not happy.

  “What are you doing here?” one of the men called out. He was already craning his neck back and forth, preparing for a fight.

  Lucian glided forward, in his funeral-like attire and his blond hair in the never changing pony tail tied at his neck. “Easy there, Wolf-Man,” he chided. “I’m only here to see a friend.” His eyes searched the room until they landed on me. “Pet, will you please call off the dogs?”

  “Dogs!” the wolf cried out.

  “Hey, hey!” I ran over before things escalated, sandwich still in hand. “Let’s not lose our heads over this. Lucian, please apologize, that was disrespectful.” I urged him, nodding my head toward the wolf who was ready to start a brawl.

  “Fine,” Lucian huffed, “but only for you, Pet.” He turned to the raging werewolf and apologized.

  Roman came around from the Head Vampire and pulled me into a hug. “Shit, Ace, I’ve been so worried. What happened? The call cut out and I haven’t been able to get ahold of you since. Why weren’t you answering?”

  Gasps from all parts of the warehouse floated around and my body stiffened. Roman pulled away and arched a brow in confusion. When he noticed everyone staring at us, he caught on.

  “Oh, yeah, my bad. Forgot you guys have beef out in the East Coast,” he said as he pulled away and took a step back. His tousled dirty blond hair was messier than usual, and his dark grey V-neck shirt was wrinkled beyond repair.

  “Are you okay?” I sized him up.

  “Now that I’ve seen you, yeah. Why haven’t you called me back?”

  I glanced around the warehouse and noticed we were the object of everyone’s attention.

  “Uh…how about we go somewhere more private,” I suggested. “Amy, can you watch Emma for me?” my best friend nodded and pulled Emma away. Amy wiggled her eyebrows after getting a good look at Roman.

  “He’s hot,” she mouthed.

  Emma ran to Roman and he scooped her up in his arms. “Hey there missy, I see you found our girl.”

  She nodded. “Ace came to get me. It’s been really boring out here. Do you know they had me doing laundry? It’s inhumane!”

  Roman chuckled. “The horror!”

  “I know!”

  “Alright Kid,” I took her from Roman and dropped her in front of Amy. “Go with Aims and I’ll come get you in a bit.” She nodded and they both went up to Jackson’s room. “And you two,” I pointed to Roman and Lucian. “Follow me.”

  The whispers grew louder as I led the two vampires up to my room. Someone must have notified Sebastian, because half-way up the stairs, both he and Jonah stood at the mouth of the basement.

  “Lucian,” Bash barked out. His arms were crossed over his chest, his bare feet planted wide as he stood in only a pair of low rise jeans. Why couldn’t he be hideously ugly? It would make things so much easier.

  “Ah, Sebastian Steel, what a pleasant surprise. It’s been far too long, friend,” Lucian said as he walked back down toward the Alpha. “I was just here to see Mackenzie, is there a problem?”

  Those blue eyes drilled holes of pure hatred at me and I drilled them right back at him. I guess we were back to how things were when we first met. Fine by me. “The three of you, in my office,” Bash growled and returned to the basement.

  “Somebody’s in trouble,” Vivian said in her sing-song voice as we passed her, her left eye already black and blue.

  “Nice shiner,” I smirked.

  She flipped her middle finger at me.

  “Stick it where the sun don’t shine, V,” I said before we disappeared into Sebastian’s office.

  ***

  “What is the meaning of this?” Sebastian yelled. His deep voice bouncing off the walls of the small room. “If you’re upset with me, Mackenzie, fine, but this. Bringing vampires into our territory is crossing the line!”

  “Whoa!” I stopped him. “You think they’re here because I’m pissed at you? First off, I’m not upset, I have no reason to be. And secondly, I might be immature, but I would have hoped you didn’t think that low of me that I would have the need to do something like this! But thanks asshole, I guess I know where I stand.”

  I paced the small office as much as I could with the five of us standing around.

  “You know what, this was just a bad fuckin’ idea. I don’t know why I thought coming back here was worth my time,” I said and turned to Roman. “Let’s go home.”

  “Home? You know this clown?” Jonah asked.

  “Hey mate, no need for name calling,” Roman said.

  Jonah laughed. “Mate? Is he serious?”

  “Yeah, Jonah, he has more class than all of you combined. Where he’s from, Wolves and Vampires aren’t at each other’s throats l
ike idiots.”

  “You aren’t leaving!” Sebastian roared as he slammed his fists over his desk.

  “Watch me,” I threatened. I swung the office door open but was halted as I ran into a chest. “Damn it, Jackson! You just ruined my very dramatic storm out!”

  “We have other issues at the moment than two vampires.”

  “What is it?” Sebastian demanded.

  “Duke, the Alpha from the Nashville Pack—he’s here.”

  We all froze for a beat before the six of us rushed out of the basement and up to the main floor. Like children running for the first piece of cake at a birthday party, we all came to a halt when we came face to face with three unknown wolves. In jeans and boots—I was disappointed that they weren’t wearing cowboy hats. The man in the middle, I assumed was Duke, wore a tucked in denim shirt and appeared to be in his forties.

  “Sebastian Steel, long time no—vampires?” the stranger jerked to a stop once he saw Lucian and Roman beside me.

  “Duke,” Bash went to him. “It has been a while, how are things going?” They greeted each other with a man hug-handshake and I had to tame the eye roll. Men were so darn predictable.

  “Things are good down south, you should pay us a visit some time,” Duke said.

  “Will do,” Bash nodded. “So what brings you to Brooklyn?”

  “Well, I heard through the grapevine y’all know where I can find that lone-wolf, the Luna.”

  No one moved or said a word—we all waited for what Sebastian would say. I could hear us all collectively hold our breaths. It was almost laughable.

  “Why?” Bash asked.

  “Why not?” Duke chuckled. “You know how rough it could get. I want to offer her a place in my Pack.”

  “She won’t join,” Bash said. “She will refuse you.”

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” Duke winked and looked around the warehouse. “Now which one of these lovely Lunas is Mackenzie Grey?”

  When the Nashville wolves weren’t looking, both Jonah and Roman pulled me behind them to shield me from their line of sight.

  “Don’t let them see your eyes, Kenz,” Jonah whispered so low, I barely heard him. I didn’t answer him for fear they would hear me so I lowered my head and didn’t look up. What did my eyes have to do with anything?