by Sam Hall
We got to our feet anyway and followed him out into the office, letting the guys know what was gonna happen, listened to their grumbled complaints, then followed Aidan out to his car. He watched us when we got in the back, taking in every little gesture, every bit of contact, until finally, we had our seatbelts clipped on.
“Your cousin is renting half of the old dance studio,” Aidan said. “That’s where the shots were taken. It’s under a false name. She pays for it using an offshore account she set up. I told her she would’ve been smarter to rent a place out of town, but she was adamant it needed to be here. I checked with her, and she said I was fine to bring clients through to take a look at the other side during the day when she’s at work, but if it gets rented, she’d be moving out. Couldn’t persuade her to take on the lease to the other side.” Aidan snorted. “Anyway, let’s go and take a look.”
Chapter 9
It was when we got inside that I started to feel ill at ease. The space was still beautiful, but where we’d been herded in as little girls, wearing dancing costumes for Madam and practising the moves she taught us in front of the wall of mirrors, now the studio was bisected by a rude concrete wall. Light still poured in through the massive frosted windows, bleaching the other walls white and pooling onto the only piece of furniture here.
“I need to find where she bought the bed from,” I blurted out, staring down at the rumpled surface of a bed that looked like it’d been made of several king-size mattresses fused into one.
“Y-You…” Aidan stuttered. “You all sleep together?”
“Would you sleep anywhere else if you had the chance?” Micah asked.
I didn’t wait for his answer, seeing the evidence of my cousin’s interludes in the tubes of lube on the headboard of the bed and baskets of sex toys beside it, able to see those images my father had kept hidden playing out now, gasping lips, nubile bodies writhing…
It was the men’s hisses that jerked my attention away, and I turned my back on the bed, walking into the adjoining change room that someone had converted to a bathroom. Several stalls had been retained, but a much more modernised group shower had been set up at the end, capable of holding a great many of Selma’s lovers. I walked past that to the cabinets above and below the sinks, wrenched them open, then pawed through toothpaste and tweezers and cotton buds, Micah doing the same. But my eyes jerked up when he went stock still, then pulled back, a box in his hands.
“What did you say your father was given?”
“Coumadin.”
He moved so we could both read the label on the box, my heart pounding in my ears as I made out the words.
“Is this it? Is this what did it?” Aidan asked, peering over our shoulders, but I couldn’t answer. Every muscle was locked down tight, adrenalin pumping hard as my body readied itself for the fight it sensed coming.
My eyes flicked up to meet his, silently hating myself for what I was about to do.
“You want me, my time, my attention,” I said baldly, Micah shifting restlessly beside me.
“Fuck, Paige, you know I do,” Aidan said, readying his heartfelt plea, but couldn’t he see my heart was breaking in two right now?
“Ring Selma and get her here. Say there’s some kind of emergency or something.” My hands formed fists, too hard, too tight to be useful, but all that adrenalin had to go somewhere. “Do that, and I’ll owe you something.”
“Paige…” Micah rumbled.
I walked slowly over to the bed and perched on the edge, Aidan following hot on my heels, his phone already in his hand.
“Get my cousin here under false pretences.” I leaned in, almost speaking the words directly into his ear. “Let me interrogate her in this room, and I’ll give you one thing you want.”
I heard his snarl and Micah’s when Aidan’s head whipped around to meet my eyes, but it was his laugh that sent shivers down my spine.
“You think I’m desperate enough to accept shoving my dick down your throat and coming where I’ve dreamt of coming, over and over?” Aidan put a finger under my chin, Micah striding over to intercept us, but I held out a hand to stop him. “Other men might be stupid enough to be trapped in that admittedly luscious little honeypot.” He pushed his thumb between my lips, and my fangs clamped down on it. “I want what I’ve always wanted—an opportunity to work out what the hell this is between us.” Those weirdly amber eyes studied mine. “I want to know is this just nix heat or is this real?” He jerked his thumb from my teeth, then spread my saliva across my bottom lip before my jaws moved to snap down on him again. “Are you mine?” The tough guy bullshit fell away at that, the question coming out almost plaintively. “Are you her?”
“Do you want me to be?” I asked in return.
He shook his head, the smile returning as he lifted his phone.
“You like to play dangerous games, don’t you? Well, that’s OK, I like those kinda of games the best.” He jerked himself away from me, up and off the bed, inputting Selma’s number and then making the call, but Micah took his spot quickly enough.
“You need to be very, very careful,” Micah said, his eyes trained on the spot on my lips that Aidan had touched. “Or very, very not. Just make sure whatever you choose, you’re OK with.”
“I just need to know, Micah. I’ll play any fucking game you like for that.”
His arms went around me, hauling me up and against his chest, and he buried his nose in my hair.
“I have to remind myself you’re tough, fast, strong. You can take this and survive this.”
“And if I can’t?”
“I’ll beat the cunt into a bloody smear. There won’t be anything left of him, or anyone else who crosses you, but that you could spoon into a jam jar.”
Apparently, violent pronunciations were just what I needed. My arms snaked out and wrapped around him just as tightly, and it was thus how Aidan found us.
“I told her there was a water leak reported,” Aidan said, his voice filtering through. “She’s on her way.”
Micah and I stood flattened against the walls by the doorway, listening for the click clack of Selma’s heels, and my hand whipped out and slapped over her mouth when she opened the door. I hauled her inside, her feet stumbling in her stilettos as Micah shut and locked the door.
“Quiet!” I growled, throwing the full weight of my dominance at her, and my cousin went instantly still. I dragged her over to the bed and then shoved her down on it, the violence of the gesture not appeasing me at all. But just as Bridget said, the coerced order sank inside her as she clambered back on the bed, not one word escaping her lips.
“This,” I said, holding up the packet of medicine. “Tell me about this.”
Her face contorted, the muscles jumping and twisting as if she fought some kind of war inside her. I looked at Micah, then Aidan, and they looked just as concerned. I took a step towards her, then another when her face suddenly smoothed over, and she said very precisely, “They were prescribed for me, as I suffer from atrial fibrillation. They stop my blood from clotting.” Except her eyes, when they stared up at me, were wide open and frankly terrified. She stank of it, her fear, her breath coming in rapid pants.
“Why do I think if I took you to the hospital and had them run some tests on you, they’d find you fine?” I asked. She just stared mutely at me. Occasionally, the muscles around her mouth would twitch, but even when she parted her lips, no sound came out.
“She’s been coerced,” Aidan said with a frown. “But who?”
“Nancy.” Micah’s arm crossed his chest, his expression damning. “You heard your cousin before. Bridge said she could push Selma hard, turn her into whatever she wants. She was trying to make a lesbian nix into a heterosexual heir.”
“That’s why she wasn’t a good replacement,” Aidan said. “She always smelled off. Not bad, but not something I wanted to get close to.”
I crawled onto the bed, Selma scrambling back, but I shook my head, and when I told her to stop still, she
did. She was trembling when I reached out, pulled her blazer and shirt to one side, then the other, looking for mating marks. I checked her wrists, her calves, but she wouldn’t let them bite her there, I realised. Maybe she wouldn’t let them bite her at all, maybe she did the biting.
“Have you found your mates?” I asked more gently. Her answering nod was slow, hesitant. “Some of them?” That was a much firmer response. “Guys, I need you to turn around,” I said as I stared into her eyes, seeing the fire there that was kept artificially banked, but by who? Nance? If it was her, why the hell hadn’t she done the same to me or Dad?
Or had she? I thought about the time I’d coerced her on the steps into not revealing I was a nix. Had I been successful, or was she just playing possum?
“Show me your mating marks,” I said, pushing my will into the words.
Her fingers moved to the hem of her skirt at my words, the movements as she hiked it up jerky and rough. But there they were, three neat bites on the inside of her thighs, which might not be from all of her mates. She may have marked others instead of them marking her, but I couldn’t ask, could I? Her hands jerked her clothes back where they were supposed to be, her whole body shaking.
“It’s OK,” I said, reeling back my dominance, and she seemed to settle at that.
“I need to get back. I walked out of an important meeting for this.” All of Selma’s composure snapped back into place as she got off the bed, smoothing her hair and clothes. She held out a hand to take the packet of pills in Micah’s hand, but he just shook his head. “I need my medication. I could die without it.”
“Then you’ll have scripts and supplies at home,” I said. I walked over and peered at the label. “From the pharmacy over in Berkefeld.”
She dropped her hand, hissing in irritation, before turning to Aidan.
“I’ll be terminating the lease here. Discretion was the key element to this arrangement, and that appears to have been lost. I’ll remove all of my stuff and have the keys back to you by the end of the week. The security deposit will be in my account within three business days, or I’ll pursue this further.”
“Of course,” Aidan replied, looking shamefaced now.
“So Nance didn’t know about this place? About your mates?” I asked as she turned to go.
Selma didn’t answer me, but she met my eyes openly.
“Get out of town. Take your men, get in the car, and get the fuck out,” she said, the swear word sounding weird in her prim tones. “If you stay here, you won’t like the end result.”
“Are you threatening me?” I asked, stepping up to her, but her flinch didn’t bring me any pleasure. She didn’t answer, just turned and stalked out the door.
Micah came and stood by my shoulder.
“We got some answers. Why do I feel like it’s just resulted in more questions?” I said.
“We need to go to this chemist, make sure this is a legit script,” he replied.
“And find her mates. If Nance doesn’t know who they are, they may not have been coerced.”
“And find that camera,” Micah said. “Your dad paid someone to put it in here. He had to know what this place was.”
When we turned to face Aidan, he looked stricken.
“That’s something I might be able to help out with, but we’ll need to go back to the office.”
Chapter 10
“So what will I owe you for this?” I asked as we walked back into his office. “Seems like I’m racking up quite the stack of IOUs.”
Aidan shook his head before falling down into his chair, sighing as he logged into his computer and clicked around until he found what he was looking for.
“This is all the scheduled maintenance completed on the property,” he said, turning the monitor towards us. “Most of it’s the usual stuff. Plumbers when she remodelled the bathroom, electricians when they put in the downlights, the builder who subdivided the property.”
“Who actually owns it?” I asked, peering at the screen, but shock washed through me when I read the text.
“You do now, I assume,” Aidan said. “The estate hasn’t been settled, so I wasn’t authorised to say anything, but your father, he liked to invest in the town and had an impressive portfolio worth a great deal. Saying he owned half the commercial property in town wouldn’t be a gross exaggeration. So when he told me he wanted to add some extra security—”
“You OK-ed it,” I finished for him. “The work was carried out by Beck’s.”
“They set up all the codes and added security at the alpha estate,” Micah said. “That’s who Kip works for.”
“So Selma’s mates, the pharmacist at Berkefeld and Beck’s,” I said, getting to my feet. “Thanks, Aidan. You’ve been a huge help.”
He rose with us, following us to the door, then moved in close when we got there.
“Look, Micah, do you mind if I have a quick word with Paige in here before you go? You can wait just outside.”
The man in question moved closer to me, checking in with his eyes, not moving until I nodded.
“If I’m just outside, I’m gonna hear everything you say,” Micah replied as he went for the door.
“I know, it’s just…”
“Have pity on the man,” I said. “I’ll be out shortly.”
Aidan watched the door shut like the secrets of the universe could be found there, but when he turned to me, his eyes shone silver. I heard the ragged rasp of his breath, saw the tension in his body as he held himself back, thrumming so taut, I almost wanted to reach out and poke him, just to dissipate it.
Almost.
“This is about what I owe you,” I said, settling back on the edge of his desk and crossing my arms.
“No.” His eyebrows knitted, a frown forming before he forced himself to smooth it over, and when he met my eyes, they faded back to amber. “When I heard you were coming back to town, I thought I had it all sorted. I’d make a big play for alpha. You’d see me and react like most women did.” He had the grace to look embarrassed by that. “We were at school together. I…”
“Got every girl you crooked a finger at.”
“Well, yeah.” He shot me that golden smile. It was a conspiratorial one, one that included me in the joke and had a touch of shame about it, but still. Impulse tugged at the muscles in my face, wanting to smile along with him. “It’s taken me way too fucking long to realise that isn’t gonna work for you. I’m not gonna be able to turn on the charm and expect your panties to hit the floor.” He moved closer, not enough to touch, but there was an intent there, if I chose to encourage it.
Did I want to?
I scanned that big, broad frame, the honey-coloured hair just a little bit too long, as if no woman in his life had bothered to trim it. Where the hell had that thought come from? I thought with a frown. Sometimes, the big man on campus peaks in year twelve, eventually balding, going soft, and never achieving anything else beyond school. But not Aidan. Now that he wasn’t standing up in the crowds at home and in the town hall, insisting on getting access to me, now that he wasn’t being a thorn in my side, what was he? He took another step closer, close enough I could feel the heat from his body, but not him, not yet.
“So if you can’t smile your way into my knickers and can’t pressure your way,” my eyebrow jerked up, making sure he knew exactly what I thought about his high-handed bullshit. “What’re you going to do?”
Why did I want to hear his answer? Why did my eyes watch every single little micro-expression? Why did my vision narrow down on his lips, watching them purse, then say the words?
“Help you,” he said. His eyes dropped, all the tension dissipating like a punctured balloon. “It guarantees nothing, I know that. Micah’s right—this can’t be transactional. As much as I want…” A long hiss of breath, a golden eye rolling up to meet mine. “As much as I want every damn thing you’ll give me, it makes no difference.” He backed up a little, hands shifting restively. “I can’t hold a fucking thing back. I can
help you with one part of what you seek.”
“Yeah?”
“You want to know who Selma’s lovers are? I have a connection to some of the gay community in Lupindorf.”
“Yeah?” I asked with a frown, wondering how the hell that could be true.
“Meet me tonight. I’ll take you to my sister’s place,” he said, tipping his head back and meeting my gaze head on.
“Cheryl?” Instantly a tall, glamorous blonde girl from school flashed into my mind, surrounded by a flock of guys. “How can she…?”
My voice trailed away when I realised what I was about to say. Like most straight people, I assumed all that male attention was wanted and…
“Bring a gun or a knife, whatever it takes to make you feel safe, because I can’t bring your guys in on this.”
“They’re gonna hate that idea so hard. Like you don’t know how hard.”
“But they have to trust that you’re strong enough to hold off any threat, don’t they?”
I couldn’t decide if this was some kind of trap or what, so I just shook my head, then dragged out my phone.
“Put in the address. I’ll meet you outside her place. I’m sorry, but I’m not trusting you enough to drive me there.”
“Fair enough.” His fingers grazed mine as he took it from me, then I watched them move over the screen as he tapped out the details before he handed it back. “I’ve added my number into there as well. I’ll text you when Cheryl’s available.”
I tried to get a read on him, wishing to the goddess I could see into his mind, determine his motives, but I couldn’t, could I? Like women all over the world, I had to walk into this and hope he was going to behave reasonably. But unlike some, I thought as my hands formed fists, I was fairly sure I could put Pretty Boy here on his arse if required. I nodded to him when I opened the door, filing out before getting pulled into Micah’s arms. He buried his nose in my hair, breathing me in, letting that tell him how things went.