by C. J. Pinard
He chuckled nervously and said, “Miss Ayla, there is no need for such affections. I’m simply doing my job. I will tell Mr. Conley that you arrived to your car safely. Would you like for me to follow behind you until you reach your flat?”
After pulling back from the hug, I looked at Jeffrey in the early morning light. I tried to discreetly sniff him. The faint scent of lavender filled my nose, and I realized he may indeed be Elven. “I can manage from here, Jeff. Thanks for everything.”
He chuckled lightly at the nickname, and nodded before getting back into the town car.
Thankful my purse was still on the floorboard of the passenger seat, I quickly rifled through it to ensure everything was still there, and then started the car. It took a minute to warm up, and I drove away from the building that I vowed to never set foot in again.
Once inside my building, I waved at Tim and took the steps two at a time, reaching the sixth floor quickly. As I pushed the key into the lock, I yawned. Kellan hadn’t allowed me much sleep, but I would be getting some today. It was barely eight a.m., and I vowed to sleep until at least one.
I closed and locked the door behind me, and started unbuttoning Kellan’s white button-down dress shirt, desperate for a hot shower. I looked down at the torn and bloodstained black spandex pants I’d had to put on before leaving his place and shook my head. Those were definitely going into the trash.
“You look like shit, Ayla.”
I jumped at the voice and let out a string of obscenities. I instinctively reached for my dagger.
I immediately relaxed when I realized I already knew whose voice it was. I narrowed my eyes at him. “How the hell did you get in here?”
Ryder pushed up off my sofa and slowly walked toward me. “I still have a key, Ayla. Why weren’t you at the shift this past weekend?”
I lifted my chin and met his aqua gaze with a defiant one of my own. “First off, you don’t get to tell me I look like shit. Don’t tell a girl something she already knows. Second, I wasn’t at the shift because I am done with Wolfe Point. Why bother sitting around dying of boredom while you animals hunt?”
Ryder made a scoffing noise in the back of his throat. “Because you belong with us. With me. With your family. With your pack.”
“Pack!” I scoffed. “I don’t have a pack anymore. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m now at risk of being filmed for a reality TV show about Bigfoot sightings and the paranormal, so excuse me if I feel like it’s better to stay indoors and hide from Sasquatch hunters for three days.”
“So you choose to keep the company of vampires instead? You reek, Ayla. Badly. Which vampire did you spend the night with?”
“That’s none of your business.” I shook my head and turned my back on him, heading to the front door. “A bitch-ass vampire almost killed me last night, and I don’t need this shit from you. Just go.”
His infuriatingly beautiful face softened. He reached for my wrist and grasped it in his warm hand. “I’m sorry, Ayla. I didn’t meant to be so... aggressive.”
I snatched my arm from his grip and snorted. “As if I’m not used to it. Between you and Aden...”
I walked toward my kitchen and filled one of my new plastic cups with water and drank it down while Ryder stared at me with an expression somewhere between anger and curiosity.
“You’re so different, Ayla,” he said quietly.
After draining the cup, I set it down on the counter a little too harshly and bit out, “Ya think? I’m a fucking freak, Ryder. I’m not that sweet little werewolf cheerleader anymore. It’s been... how many years? My life is not anything even close to what I’d envisioned it would be back then. I’m different. I’ve changed. But ya know what? So have you.”
He cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Instead of answering, I asked my own question. “You finished college, right? What are you doing with that fancy Criminal Justice degree? Still doing strip searches and babysitting inmates at that prison? Or are you gonna do something with all that education instead of work that something little more than a trained monkey could do?” Being a college drop-out, I always hated to see people wasting their degree. It, like, made me angry inside.
“Low blow, Ayla.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s not. I have only wanted the best for you, Ryder. You’re smart, you’re gorgeous... you can do anything you want. Anything. Aim higher, that’s all I’m saying.”
He walked toward me slowly, his hands in the pockets of his silver athletic shorts. He wore a black zip-up hoodie over a plain white tee, but I could swear his upper body looked bigger... bulkier. The arms of the hoodie were straining against the material. I swallowed hard and looked up into his tortured gaze once more.
He looked down at me, but didn’t touch me. “The Justice Department has called me for a second interview with the supernatural bureau division. It was last week. I’m waiting to see if they are gonna offer me a job.”
My heart leapt at the news. I smiled, genuinely delighted for him. “That makes my heart happy. I sincerely hope you get the job. Do they know you’re a wolf?”
He chuckled lightly and the sound had my stomach doing a little flip-flop.
Dammit. Why does he still affect me like that?
“They do. They straight-up asked me what I knew about the supernatural, and if I was one of them. It had taken me off-guard, but it was kinda cool at the same time.”
I nodded, agreeing with him. “So, they’re just going to give you three days a month off so you can be a monster?”
He thrusted his hands in the pockets of his shorts and fidgeted, and the move was so familiar—so him—that I had to tear my gaze away from it and back to his face.
He shook his head with a smile. “I didn’t come right out and ask them that, but they basically told me all supernatural creatures could be of use to them, and whatever talent I had they would make good use of.”
That surprised me a bit, but I guessed it made sense. I just hoped they would treat him right, and keep him safe. “Well, I will send good vibes your way that you get the job.”
“Thank you, baby. I appreciate it.”
I ignored the fact he’d called me baby, an old habit I assumed, and glanced at the bank of windows to our right and could see the sun quickly rising into the sky. I sighed and looked at him. “I’m exhausted, Ryder. Thanks for checking on me, but I need to get some sleep.”
He also looked outside, then back to me. “Your vampire side makes you sleep all day, doesn’t it?”
How disconnected he was from me and my life. It had been this way since the day Alexander Asshole tore open my throat and changed my life a couple years ago. But instead of pointing that out... I just nodded. “It’s not a vampire side, it’s just a vampire curse. And yes, I am more alive at night. Daytime sucks.”
He nodded. “I get it, I guess.”
“I killed him, by the way,” I said quietly, not sure why I felt the need to share that with him.
His aqua-colored eyes widened momentarily. “You killed who?”
“The piece of shit who bit me. Who took my wolf from me. Who changed me. Alexander.”
“You did? Wow. How did you find him?”
I went into the entire story, leaving out some details, as I was extremely tired, and then let silence hang in the air as Ryder absorbed it all.
He whistled under his breath. “You feel better now after killing him?”
I shook my head. “Not really. His poor kid was a casualty, and I still need to find Linden. I don’t care if it takes a hundred years. I’m gonna torture that bastard until he begs for death.” I set my jaw and crossed my arms over my chest.
Ryder shook his head and bit back a smile. “Same ol’ Ayla.” He fished his keys from his pocket and moved so he was within touching distance of me. I stared up at him, nervous as to what he might do. I cursed myself for wishing he’d touch me somehow. I was a disgusting person for even having those th
oughts after the night I’d just had.
After a small hesitation, he palmed the back of my neck and then kissed me on the top of my head. “I’m gonna go so you can get some sleep.”
He broke away quickly, and I walked him to the door.
I looked up at him. “Thanks for checking on me.”
“I’m sorry I said you looked like shit. You could wear a burlap sack and shave your head, and I would still think you’re beautiful.”
Heat rose into my cheeks at the compliment. “Get outta here, you goof.”
He nodded. “Bye, Ayla.”
“Ryder.”
He turned at the open door, a little hopefulness in his eyes. “Yeah?”
I put my hand out. “Key.”
As if he knew I would ask, but was hoping I wouldn’t, he nodded and quickly removed the key from the ring. He set it gently on the counter and then turned and left.
“Bye,” I whispered as I closed the door behind him. I willed the warring emotions away. I needed sleep, and I needed it now.
Chapter 13
A glance at the clock showed 4:09 p.m. Wow, I must have been tired.
I groggily grabbed my phone from then nightstand and powered it on. It had died earlier, and now that it was fully charged, I could only imagine what was on it.
Last night at Kellan’s, he’d handed me my phone to let Evan and Karina know I was all right, but I’d never gotten the chance to, because he had seriously distracted me with his sexy moves and his fascinating story.
The phone began to buzz and chime wildly once it was powered up, and I cringed. I sat up, yawned, and decided I needed coffee before I could deal with all of the things that were blowing up my phone.
I went into the bathroom to take care of business, and after washing my hands, I made my way to the small kitchen. I shoved a pod into the one-cup coffeemaker and turned it on. As I waited, I looked at my wrist and could see absolutely no evidence of any trauma. It felt completely normal, and there was no bruising. I twisted and swirled it around, had zero pain, and was in awe of my healing ability.
I thought about Fiona, the now-dead vampire who had broken it, and shook my head. So she was the one who had turned Alexander into a vampire. I was more than happy that I had ended that sick little homicidal bloodline. The light turned blue on the coffeemaker and I hit the button, watching as the coffee poured into my I Love Vampires coffee mug. I smiled sadly at the irony of those words.
Austyn.
God, I missed him. Every time I looked at the silly coffee cup he’d given me as a gag gift, I thought of him. His goofy, innocent face and stupid jokes. With a sigh, I opened the fridge and pulled out the creamer. I dumped some into the coffee and walked to my nightstand with the steaming mug in my hand. After snatching my phone, I went to my small table and began to clear off my notifications while carefully sipping the hot nectar.
I had twelve texts and six missed calls from Evan. With a sigh, I replied to the last text where he was asking if I was all right, and threatening to come over and check on me if I didn’t reply:
I’m good Evan. It was a long night, and I promise I will call you just as soon as I’m done with my coffee.
His reply was almost immediate: O thank god. Karina and I were are sick with worry. Let your brother and Beckett know you’re OK too.
I replied: Will do
I could see I had similar texts and missed calls from my brother and my friend.
Geez, can’t a girl take a night off?
Smiling that I actually had people who cared about me, I cleared out the junk emails and social media notifications I didn’t care about, and continued to sip my coffee.
Since I seemed to have lost track of the date anymore, I looked at the date in the top corner of the phone to see that today would have been Austyn’s twenty-fifth birthday.
I scrolled through my texts and found my mom’s name and wrote her one: I love you, Mom. <3
Seeing that my coffee cup was empty, and knowing I had to start my night, I found Evan’s name and clicked on the call icon. He answered on the first ring.
“Ayla, where the fuck have you been?”
Yikes, he rarely curses.
“Sorry, I had a bit of a, uh, run-in with a, uh, I mean, some vampires.”
“I’m putting you on speaker.”
“Hi,” Karina said.
“Sorry, guys.” I sighed. “I have a lot to tell you, and I’d rather not do it over the phone. You free tonight so we can meet?”
“Yeah,” came Evan’s voice. “But it’ll have to be after sundown.”
“Understandable,” I replied. “Name the place.”
There was a long silence, and then Karina said, “Porfino’s on Sixth Avenue. Seven-thirty.”
“You got it, see you then.”
After that, I shot off texts to Aden and Beckett, ensuring them I was okay, promising to fill them in very soon. Once I was satisfied I was caught up, I took a long, hot shower and then got ready for my night.
Porfino’s was an Italian hole-in-the-wall restaurant/bar in the heart of downtown with the best lasagna I had ever tasted. I arrived almost thirty minutes early and ordered a hearty glass of house red wine while I scrolled through my phone.
Evan and Karina arrived before seven-thirty and took their seats across from me in the small booth. The seats in this place could use some reupholstering, and the restaurant in general needed a ton of upgrades to modernize it, but the food never failed to be less than amazing, so most people ignored the aesthetics.
“Spill it,” Evan demanded after the server set down his water.
I nodded. “I don’t even know where to begin, so I guess at the beginning would work.” I let out a big, dramatic breath. “So, night before last, I had few hours to kill before training time with you guys, so I went to the office building where Alexander and the other vampires hung out...”
I watched as both sets of eyes widened at my confession, and I bit back a smile. I continued on with how I’d killed the female vampire, Fiona, and how I’d called to Kellan for help and had ended up spending the entire night at his house. I left out the deliciously dirty details, because they were none of their business. Proud of myself, I fell silent, and waited for one of them to respond.
“So, was that the first time you slept with Kellan?” Karina asked boldly with a glint of mischief in her crystal-blue eyes.
Well, I guess they were going to make it their business.
The server came by at the perfect moment with a glass decanter of dark red wine and asked if I needed a refill. I quickly nodded my head and pointed to my almost empty glass. I thanked her after she poured it.
She also poured some into Karina’s glass and then walked away.
I stared at the flawless redhead and contemplated my answer. It really wasn’t any of her business, but on the other hand, the wealth of knowledge she and her husband had because of the years of practice and experience they shared wasn’t something I could ever repay. They may need to know certain things to help me or keep me safe. And really, at the end of the day, what did it matter? I was twenty-four years old, and I didn’t think they had any illusions that I was some innocent virgin.
I shook my head. “No, the first time we did it was last weekend when we killed Alexander.”
Evan practically spit water out of his mouth as his eyes widened. “While you were the bigfoot girl?”
I chuckled. “Well, no, not during. Like, after that. If you must know, wolf-boy.” I threw him a wink.
Karina looked around the small restaurant, and then back to me with a smile. She suddenly offered on a whisper, “We’ve totally gone at it while he’s been the wolf-man.”
I snorted and then pursed my lips before replying, “Well, thanks for sharing?”
“You should try it sometime,” she said right back before bringing her wine glass to her lips.
Right! As if Kellan would want to touch me while I’m so disgusting. Totally different for the guy to be all beas
tly and aggressive.
“No thanks,” I murmured before sipping my wine.
The server brought out our food, and Evan and I tucked into the Italian goodness. Karina sipped her drink and watched us eat. I remembered what Kellan had told me about how he didn’t miss food anymore, and it made me feel less guilty about pigging out in front of her.
Between bites, I asked her, “What do I do now that my target has been eliminated? Do you have any others?”
She grinned over the rim of her glass. “We are supposed to get one soon. You will be paid for disposing of that one last night, though.”
I grinned. “Oh yeah? Well, I won’t complain. She did break my wrist, after all.”
Evan swallowed his bit of spaghetti and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. “Did it heal okay?” His gaze flicked down to my arm.
I nodded and held it up. “Yep. Just like new.”
Just then, a group of four were seated at the table next to ours. All of them were beautiful beings, and it seemed as though everyone in the establishment was staring at them.
Evan glanced at them, then dragged his gaze to me. “Focus, St. John.”
He’d never addressed me by my last name before, so my attention whipped back to him. “Who are they?” I asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
He looked at me with a pained expression. “Well, uh...” He placed his first two fingers of his right hand in front of his mouth and simulated fangs.
“Mature,” Karina said as she jabbed her elbow into his ribs.
The scent of eucalyptus remained strong in my nostrils. “Vampires,” I said loudly, not caring if they heard me.
But... when four sets of eyes quickly flicked toward me, I swallowed hard and smiled demurely at the beautiful creatures. I even lifted my hand in a wave. “What’s up?”
They stared at me, seemingly curious and almost angry.
Karina stood and strode confidently to the table. She attempted to whisper, but failed miserably, and I had a feeling it had been on purpose.
“Blondie over there,” she said quietly, thumb thrust in my direction over her shoulder, “she’s a newbie. I promise I’m training her right, y’all,” she drawled, letting her natural-born Louisiana accent float over the surface the conversation and diffuse their attitudes.