The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  I hug her back and realize it is the first time in my life my momma ever loved me.

  She lifts my face and kisses my cheeks. “Now get to bed.”

  I smile back. “Yes, ma’am.” She turns and goes back into her room to no doubt hug my daddy and thank everything holy that she has the love of her man, finally. There is peace inside me knowing my daddy is free of Momma too. Her and her evil ways. She’ll now be stuck to haunt the dirty old trailer in the bayou like Maria was.

  When I get to my room he’s there. His silhouette is in the window. The moon is high and the light makes him look like a spy. I walk to him, pausing when I realize he shouldn’t have been able to get past the barrier. “How are you here?”

  Marcus turns and smiles. “I jumped in your window!”

  I wrap myself around him. Good God, only good things can come in this house. Dear lord, do not tell me this is a good man.

  Chapter 16

  “They’ve fled.”

  My jaw drops. “What does that even mean?”

  Marcus sighs. “We have to go to the Roses Academy. I’ve sent word to Lorri. Henry thinks they’ve gone back to Scotland. They don't know that we know about their dirty little secret. They might know you vanquished your mother.”

  “Great.”

  He rolls his eyes. “You’ve managed to save Em, your father, your aunt, your ditzy friend—that one I might have just let him have—and you’ve stopped the attack or your engagement to dipshit there.”

  Martin, of course. “I still need to deal with him.”

  Marcus gives me an unholy grin. “Well, we have a little time before Lorri gets here and I am hungry.” He pops his fangs. “Let’s go find him.”

  “The governor’s mansion. He was hanging out there a lot.” I walk to the driveway but Marcus gets into his car.

  “I’m not walking to another bloody place with you. You’re not normal. It’s not right to exercise this much.”

  “Race you there!” I shout and take off for the field that I once ran across after Martin assaulted me.

  I hear Marcus cuss as the car skids down the gravel.

  I leap into the field, sprinting hard for the mansion. My legs open up for me, flexing and pushing. I push myself harder than I thought I could go. I leap across the hedge at the far side of the field, gasping for air.

  The car stops a second later. He gets out, all refined, but I see the spiciness on Henry’s face from the passenger seat. Marcus must have shoved him over and driven himself.

  When he sees me gasping for air, he rolls his eyes. “So much easier your way.”

  I pull my middle finger from my pocket but he nods. “I know I know, you found all the hate you can muster for me, in your pocket. Let’s go, smart-ass.” He grabs my arm and pulls me down the driveway to the mansion.

  The huge white house no longer holds mystery and magic for me. I have become a tainted and worldly woman in my two attempts at life. Marcus walks straight toward the front door but I pause. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting that annoying boy you let torment you. I want to hurt him.”

  “No. He might not be here. His daddy is a friend. If we drag him out and kill him everyone will know it’s us.”

  “What do I care if they know?” He scowls.

  “You really are sheltered in some ways.” I reach forward and grab his warm hand, sliding my fingers through his. “Come this way.”

  When we get to the back window I recall the show I saw in here once. That was disturbing enough to have burned the memory into my brain. We creep to the window of the entertainment room that’s downstairs. Billiards and other games. Daniel, the governor’s nephew, might be down there. He liked that room. If he’s there then Martin should be.

  But we don't find Daniel. We do however find Martin with Daniel’s sister, Michelle.

  “Well, she is certainly pretty.” Marcus leers at them making out.

  “Not exactly a lady.”

  “You have a little petty right”—he lifts a finger to my lip—“here.”

  “Shut up.” I swat at him.

  We creep back around to the front of the house. He points at the door. “Shall I knock now?”

  “No. The ball is tomorrow, the one where Martin assaulted me. The governor is throwing it to celebrate his nephew and niece coming.”

  “That's his niece?” He points to the back of the house.

  I nod.

  He gets a gleam in his eyes. “I say we attend the party. It’ll be fun.” He walks me home through the field. He doesn't come down the driveway. I have a feeling he’s in the mood to murder. “Till tomorrow, milady.”

  I wave and stalk up to the front door. Em is walking by with a book and a tea. “Where were you?”

  “Watching Michelle, the governor’s niece, make out with Martin.”

  “Gross.” She cocks an eyebrow.

  “Extra gross.”

  “That might make tomorrow night awkward.” Em grimaces and shudders. “That kid is scum.”

  “Daddy told Mr. Ryan about what happened with Margery Banks and Mr. Ryan said, ‘Well, boys will be boys.’” I take Em’s tea and have a sip. “Then Daddy said, ‘Well, he won’t be like that with my daughter.’ So I guess the deal is off.”

  “But we were gonna get a whole cow for the price of you!” I cock my head to the side, making her giggle. “Guess he’ll have to find someone else to marry you off to.” Em’s eyes glow with wicked sarcasm.

  “I don't want to get married. I just want to be free.”

  She snorts and turns up the stairs. “Don't we all.”

  “You have Greg.”

  She smiles back, real peaceful-like. “That I do.”

  The next night I pull on the green dress Momma bought for me before she got changed back to Aunty Maria. Em comes in, whistling and shaking her head. “You going naked for a reason?”

  I ooze a smile at her. “To torture Martin Ryan.”

  “That’ll work.”

  I pull on a sweater to cover the goods until we get to the party. Maria is a lot more conservative than Momma ever was. In the car Ramón gives me a look. I wink at him, thankful he’s still here with me.

  Dad scowls at my dress. “That's a touch provocative, Lorelei.”

  Maria gives me the exact look he does.

  It’s crazy how much they actually suit one another.

  “I’ll keep the cardigan on.”

  “I should say.” He scoffs.

  When we get to the party Henry and Marcus are there. Marcus has on a suit and tie, with a smug expression smeared across his face. His eyes are settled on my slightly exposed chest. He gulps when he sees it.

  My father turns and I point. “Daddy, this is Mr. Marcus Dragomir. He’s a friend from New Orleans.”

  Marcus scowls at me but quickly changes it to a soft smile for my father. “Pleased to meet you, son.”

  It’s funny hearing Daddy calling him that. He’s as old as dirt. “Marcus, this is my daddy, Charles Huntington, and my momma, Mar—Monique.”

  They both smile and nod. She knows exactly who he is, but for Daddy’s sake she pretends to be clueless to the fact they’ve met.

  Marcus offers me his arm. His gaze is stuck on the swell of my dress. “That's some neckline.”

  I lift my head higher, exposing my entire throat. “You think so?”

  He growls. Angie comes running over, grinning away at Marcus. “Our savior.” She speaks to my daddy who is just behind us. “This is the man who saved us.”

  Daddy smiles harder. “Of course he is. Thank you again for being there that day. It was blessed hot out.”

  Marcus shakes his head nobly. “It was a pleasure of course and my duty.”

  My dad is nowhere near as slow as I’d like him to be. “So you knew Lorelei already, from New Orleans?”

  I smile. “No, Daddy. Just the accident.”

  “He lives in Portland, silly. She wasn't hanging off your words the way I was,” Angie beams at him.
<
br />   My father cocks an eyebrow and Marcus leans in. I grab his shirt, giggling nervously. “He has houses in both places, Daddy. Jeez, go easy.” I wave at my family, smiling, and drag Marcus toward the front door. “Don't compel my father.”

  He scowls back. “They’re confusing. I can’t take all the questioning. This is why I prefer to lie to humans.”

  I link my arm in his and open my cardigan up, revealing more of my neckline. “Focus on the small stuff, big guy.”

  “I would never refer to those as small. They’re more than a handful which always pleases a man, regardless of his feigned indifference to size.”

  “Gross.”

  When we get inside, Martin’s eyes leave Michelle and turn to mine. He cocks an eyebrow and offers me a lift of his glass and a smug grin. I want to throw a fiery lightning ball at him and burn the house to the ground, but clearly that would be an overreaction.

  When his eyes lower to my chest, I mutter, “He has taken the bait.”

  Marcus grumbles. “Every bastard in here has taken the bait. You’re lucky I can kill everyone in this room in a matter of seconds.”

  “There is nothing I like less than a man who threatens people.”

  “I never threaten.” He leaves my side, headed to the bar.

  As soon as I am alone, Martin excuses himself. I walk toward the door to the large porch.

  “You look radiant.”

  I glance over my bare shoulder and shrug. “You don't.”

  He chuckles softly. “Lorelei, my father has explained that perhaps you have misunderstood my desires and goals in life.” He links his arm into mine, leading me to the porch.

  I hate having his hands on me but the plan is going perfectly.

  He leads me to the railing and we stand in the dank air of the night. “Some girls are made for marrying and others are not. Some girls are more of an entertainment sort of breed of female. I would never disrespect you that way. You have to know that.” His eyes lower to my chest.

  “You swear?” I take a deep breath, trying to hypnotize him with cleavage. I could kill myself right now.

  He nods, licking his lips. “I do.”

  “What makes a girl made for entertainment?”

  His eyes struggle to leave my heaving chest. “Lack of virtue and modesty.”

  I hold my hands over my breasts. “I am not a lady, Martin.”

  He blinks, confused. “What?”

  “I love boys. I love lacking in modesty and virtue.”

  He swallows hard. “Is that so?” He looks like he might pass out.

  “I like it when a man knows how to lead a lady around the dance floor, if you get my drift.”

  “I do indeed. I like to lead.” He’s mouth breathing and swallowing with effort.

  I wink and make my way down the steps to the grass, the very grass where he once led me to attack me. The very grass I would imagine he has led many girls down, girls like Michelle who don't know any better to be able to say no to a family like his.

  I kick my shoes off and run across the grass to the gazebo, laughing and giggling. When I get there, I press my back against the wood as he runs through the opening and encompasses my waist, pulling me into him. He presses my chest into his and kisses my neck.

  I pause, freezing up a touch. “Boys like you always go for the neck first. Do you know why that is?”

  He shakes his head, kicking and sucking his way to the swell of flesh bursting from the top of my dress.

  “Because kissing is intimate and you don't want that, do you?” I shove him back hard, using the wind to push him hard enough that he slams into the wood on the other side. When his back hits with a thump he grunts, “Bitch!”

  I nod slowly, striding toward him. “That is a fact. I am a bitch. Men like you have made me this way. Y’all hardened my heart.” I trace my fingers up his shirt, popping button after button. I gaze up into his cold stare and nod. “I thought you were different. I would have given you everything and you would have taken it and destroyed me.”

  “I’m going to—”

  I slap my hand across his lips, holding it there, using the force of the earth at my feet and the wind in my hair. “Don't talk, darling, guys like you are better just not talking.”

  His eyes burn but his body doesn't move. He can’t. I’m slipping venom into his veins, venom from my hate. I run the fingers of my free hand down his cheek, scratching slightly.

  “Stop playing with him and do it before someone comes.”

  I watch as Martin’s eyes shift to Marcus as he walks into the gazebo. Martin’s face pales as he realizes he cannot move. I have paralyzed him with my poison. I step back, pointing only the tip of my pointer finger at his heart. “I call on the souls and spirits you’ve hurt, to come to me with love and light. Flow through me into your heart so you feel their pain instead of twisted delight. Let every deed you have done find its way back to you from now until the day you die. So be it and it is.” I step back, blowing on my finger and winking at him. “When the paralysis wears off, you will feel every victim and the agony you caused them. For every person you hurt in the future, you will feel their pain and misery.”

  “You should have killed him.”

  A disturbing smile creeps across my face like the mist currently covering the grass. “Too easy. Death is simple. He will endure my rage and my wrath by the time he dies.”

  Marcus steps into Martin’s face, pinching his cheeks. “You will forget who you saw at the gazebo and who you spoke to. You will remember nothing but her words, no names.” He steps back, pushing Martin’s face to the side.

  I wave and turn on my heel, quite satisfied with my revenge.

  “How did you come up with it?”

  “A Clockwork Orange. It’s not out yet, but I made the mistake of watching it once in the eighties. Traumatized me for life, all my lives.”

  “I loved that movie. I thought it was brilliantly done.” He chuckles.

  “Of course you did.”

  Chapter 17

  I don't know what to say so I lie. I’ve gotten good at telling them. “It’s a one-year position with Mr. Dragomir’s company. An intern position to see if I like it.”

  My daddy’s eyes narrow but Maria nods. “It’s a wonderful opportunity. You have to take it. Tell her, darling. Tell her she has to take it.”

  My daddy shakes his head. “Scotland and England? That's so far from home. Honey, you are just in finishing school. You sure you want to do this? Women with careers are so—well, they’re cold.” His eyes don't meet Maria’s, luckily. She is staring him down, and if looks could kill he’d be a pile of ash.

  She ignores him and walks to me, squeezing my hands. “You need to do this. You know the South will be waiting here for you when you get back. We won’t even look a little different, except your daddy might finally be down that ten pounds he’s been meaning to lose.”

  Daddy’s cheeks redden as he puts down the lemon loaf in his hand. She walks to him, kissing his cheeks as lovingly as I have ever seen done. I could cry but the black tears of a Blackwater witch would scare the poor man. He’d have a heart attack before he ever even got to enjoy his life.

  I kiss him on the cheek too. “I love you, Daddy, and I’ll be fine. I swear it.”

  He looks sullen.

  I pull love and peace into myself, kissing his cheek and putting it in him.

  I turn and walk to the back porch where the old dance floor sits. The pillars and bushes remind me of ancient Rome, not Baton Rouge.

  Em is sitting out there with Greg. Neither of them says a word. She has her head on his shoulder, just staring past the property. She lifts her head, turning to see me. I wave but she doesn't. She gets up and runs back over to me. “I heard you’re going to Europe. Tell me you have room in that suitcase for me.”

  My heart hurts, only a little bit is about leaving home. The rest of it is because I have to sever the ties in a lot of ways. My life will always be dangerous. I will always be a burden to
them, even though they don't know it. Her eyes tear up a little, but I pull her into me and kiss the side of her head. “Miss me just enough, not too much.” I can’t cry. I have to be strong.

  She nods, fully crying. She breaks off the embrace and waves backward, walking away from me. We don't love goodbyes, either of us. The good part is we actually get one this time.

  I leave droplets of my black blood around the property and especially around the house. I kiss Maria goodbye in the front entryway before Daddy comes. I hug her tight. “Keep them safe for me.”

  “Always.” She nods.

  I smile. “I’ll need an invite to the wedding when she and Greg get married. Send it to—” She lifts my face and cuts me off with her thoughts. We can hear each other, sugar. I’ll call you when I need you.

  I nearly cry. Her voice is motherly and sweet in my mind. Daddy comes out of his study, looking as though he might try to be brave. “You sure you don't want a ride to the airport?”

  “No. Marcus is picking me up. But I want you to promise you’ll just let Em do her thing. She and that boy are mad about each other. It’s the real kind, Daddy. No marriage bargains.”

  He crosses his heart. “I swear, my matchmaking days are long behind me.”

  I lean into him, taking a long draw of the scent that will always be my daddy. When he hugs me back I am near to losing it, but there is a knock at the door. Maria gets it, smiling wide at Marcus, looking fine in his tight jeans and peacoat. At least he’s past the whole leisure-suit celebration. She glances back at me. “You take care of my girl.”

  He bows almost. “Of course, Mrs. Huntington.” He shakes my daddy’s hand. “Sir.” It’s weird seeing him be so polite but I made him swear. I told him I had a surprise for him after we said goodbye to Ramón and Grandmamma. But he only got the surprise if he was good.

  He’s eager, clearly. He even takes my bags to the car where Henry is waiting with a big smile. I hug my Daddy and Maria again. When we get into the car I take one last look back. “That's how my house should have looked always. Not rubble, destroyed by the fact I fell for the wrong guy.”