She didn’t answer. She just nodded. She pulled free from him. With a wave of her hand, her clothes fell back into place. She slipped off his lap but stayed cuddled close to his side.
Abraham watched her for a moment before he started up the truck again. She was a wild creature who refused to belong to someone else. Somehow, he needed to make her his because he knew he would die without her. He was careful as he pulled from among the trees and continued down the road once again.
Chapter Seven
It didn’t shock Abraham that he woke up alone. He’d watched Kai sleep before he’d dozed off himself. She was tight in his arms when he’d slumbered off. He had no idea how she wiggled out of his grasp without him knowing. She probably locked up his arms again with her magic.
He frowned as he rubbed his tired eyes. There was quite a bit he didn’t understand about the mermaid. The sex was the mating drive between them. That he got. But then she went from an overreacting, assumptive bitch to his personal nymph ready and willing to fulfill his every carnal desire in a matter of hours. He knew girls could have mood swings. His pregnant sister-in-law proved that every day. But nothing compared to the switch Kai had pulled on him the day before.
He huffed. He had saved her life. That might have something to do with it. It still left him confused.
He sat up, tossed the covers off himself, and scooted off the mattress. What he did know was that he had to find a solution to her water problem. And he had to clean up Ezekiel’s truck before he turned the keys back over. He dug in his dresser drawers for a clean pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt. Once he was dressed, he wandered through his cabin and out the front door in the direction of the family building. He would need a roll of paper towels for the truck, and he was fresh out.
He froze inside the doorway of the kitchen. Josiah, Henry, Micah, and Samuel stood around the island. Josiah held something cupped in his palm. One of Henry’s hands lay across it. In Henry’s other he clutched something tight. Abraham recognized the gold chain dangling between his fingers. It was Momma’s amulet. Samuel crowded close to his mate while Micah stood on the other side of Josiah.
“Are we doing seances in the kitchen now?” Abraham questioned.
“Out, shithead. This doesn’t concern you,” Samuel demanded as he pointed to the door Abraham was standing in.
“I’m looking for a roll of paper towels. That’s it. What the fuck are you doing?”
“I said out. We don’t need you being a distraction.”
Henry gave Samuel a slight smile. “He’s no more a distraction than the rest of you are. He’s fine, Sam.”
“We’re duplicating the amulet,” Micah informed him. “We’ll put the duplicate away in Momma’s jewelry box and hide the real one. If the vamps get it, fine. No harm done.”
Abraham frowned, puzzled. “And Henry can do that without becoming the scary Egyptian dude?”
Henry let go a nervous chuckle. “We’re about to find out.” He fluttered his eyes shut and sucked in his breath. At first, nothing happened other than the various grimaces that contorted Henry’s face. Abraham huffed. Did this guy even know how to do magic? His lover did. She could strip then redress with the wave of a hand. She could probably do this replication crap too.
Suddenly, everything shook. Not just Henry or Josiah but the entire room. He gripped the closest counter as he stared at Josiah’s hand joined with Henry’s. A long, gold chain identical to the one on Henry’s other hand spilled from between Josiah’s fingers. Abraham could have sworn he saw the brief flash of an ancient tunic appear around Henry’s arms.
Henry staggered back as he clutched both amulets to him. Samuel and the stove prevented him from crumbling to the floor.
“Baby, are you all right?” Samuel begged as he pulled Henry close.
Henry pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’m fine. It took a bit out of me. But everything is okay. Now, to see if it worked.”
He opened each hand to examine the two amulets as Samuel, Micah, and Josiah gathered tight around him. Abraham shoved himself off the counter to join them. Samuel snarled as he approached. Abraham rolled his eyes as he strained to look around Josiah’s arm.
“They’re identical,” Micah said in awe.
“Not exactly,” Henry replied. “I can tell the difference. Here, Joe. See if you can.”
Josiah took one in each hand and stood in silence. After several moments, he spoke. “The power coming off the real one is incredible. We are in serious shit if this lands in the wrong hands. We need to stow this thing.”
“Where?” Micah questioned.
Abraham spoke up. “I took down a Thai bag yesterday with a roundhouse kick. It’s still lying on the floor. Stuff it in there. I doubt the bloodsuckers would think to look in our training equipment especially if we hang it back up.”
Samuel scowled. “That’s the stupidest place to put something that could end life as we know it.”
Josiah shook his head. “Actually, Sam, that would work.” He looked at Abraham as he held out the hand with the real amulet. “How much work will it take to put it back up?”
Abraham grinned at him. “Probably a new anchor and a new beam to latch it to. I shredded the plank it was hanging on.”
He heard Josiah’s growl. The oldest Hallow switched hands and offered the one holding the fake. “Of course you did. Go put that one in Momma’s jewelry box while I take the other to the gym. I better go check out the damage you caused.”
Abraham took the counterfeit from him and shuffled out the back door of the kitchen toward Momma’s. He stopped in the pantry long enough to grab the roll of paper towels. He sure as shit wasn’t going to have to come back there. Fuck knows what they would be up to if he did. He’d probably catch them preparing some sort of sacrifice the way the creepy level in their family was rising.
He crossed across the lawn to Momma’s cabin and stopped on the top step of the porch. He frowned as he stared into the woods. He was certain he saw a streak of multicolored, jewel-toned hair. It was the same colors that draped across his pillow last night as he fucked his mate. “Kai?”
There was no answer, not even the rustle of leaves. He shrugged and knocked on the cabin door before he tugged it open and stepped inside.
His mother nearly startled herself off the couch where she sat for her morning tea. He cracked a grin at her. Where was good old Littlefoot? Wasn’t tea time his quiet time with her?
“Mercy,” she scolded him. “You just scared the ghost out of me. When will you boys start waiting for me to answer the door before you just barge in?”
Abraham tucked the roll of towels under his arm and held the amulet out to her. “I need to put this away.”
Momma frowned. “I thought Henry was going to try to duplicate it.”
“He did. This is the fake.”
“Where’s the real one? Where’s my necklace?”
“Joe’s hiding it. That’s all I know.”
Momma sighed and stood. She scuttled toward the bedroom. “Well, follow me. Let’s put that where it belongs.”
Abraham was on his mother’s heels as they wove through the cabin to the bedroom. He cringed. He hated lying to Momma. He knew where the true amulet was. But it was best if she didn’t. If everything went to hell and the bloodsuckers found her, the less she knew the better.
She stopped in front of her dresser and opened the antique wood carved box on top. Momma had some beautiful old brooches and other assorted jewelry. Poppa had loved to spoil her and buy her pretty trinkets. It was probably because he’d given her seven little demons and not one girl.
She took the amulet from him and set it among the baubles. She heaved a sigh. “There.”
Abraham shrugged. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Momma. You’ll have your amulet back before long.”
“I know.” She turned to him and patted him on the cheek. “So, what’s this I hear about you having a mate?”
He stared at the floor as he scuffed the toe of his tennis s
hoe on the hardwood floor. “Yeah. I have one, I guess.”
“You guess? It’s pretty obvious. Do you have the mark?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’re mated. What’s she like? Where is she from?”
“She’s kind of small, bright colored hair, and constantly freaks out on me all the time. Oh, and she’s from the deep blue sea.”
Momma tisked him as she shook her head. “Abraham, please. What kind of place is that?”
“Exactly where I told you. The ocean. Kai is a mermaid.”
Momma’s eyes grew wide as saucers as she stared at him. “Mermaid? Like in the movies?”
“Not quite. Mermaid like they want to kill everything that lives and breathes on land, including us since we have the amulet and the Heka. Pretty much else is the same, though. Fins, scales, you know.”
Momma gaped at him in silence. Then she patted Abraham on the arm. “Well, sweetheart. It sounds like you have your hands full. Just be patient with her.”
Abraham frowned. “Patient? Me patient? Why me?”
Momma laughed. “Abe, you need to think about it from the point of view of us girls. We have one wild night of passion with the sexiest guy we’ve ever seen. Then we wake up with a mark that never lets us leave him. No choice of a husband. No more dating. Nothing. It’s just him and, as much as I love you boys, he’s an ass. It takes a while for us girls to adjust and see the diamond in the rough.”
He crossed his arms over his chest in protest. “You just called us all asses.”
“It’s the alpha werewolf in all of you. You’re all your poppa’s boys.” She shooed him from her bedroom. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am meeting Sarah, Eve, and Meg in the kitchen to start the big celebration dinner before Delilah, Henry, and Sam leave for their wedding.”
Abraham strode toward the front door. He stopped and looked back at her. “You’re not going?”
Momma shrugged with a sigh. He could see the hint of a tear in her eye. “I don’t have a passport. So we’re going to have this dinner for now. And when they get back, they promised a second ceremony for the family.”
Abraham gave her a gentle smile and pulled her to him. He kissed her on the forehead. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too. Promise me something?”
“What is it?”
“When you marry Kai, I want to be there.”
Abraham chuckled. “Momma, we’re nowhere near getting married.”
She grinned. “We’ll see.” She pecked him on the cheek before she opened the door to escort him outside.
Abraham strode across the grass toward the truck he had abandoned the night before. Popping open the driver’s door, he surveyed the damage left by him and his mate. It wasn’t as bad as he’d imagined, but it was evident there had been some hot, crazy sex going on in there. He glanced at the roll of paper towels tucked under his arm and back in the cab. Shit. He was going to need soapy water too. He stomped back to the kitchen to get a pan of water.
Momma, Meg, Eve, and Sarah were laughing and talking as they cooked around each other. His rotund mother and his waddling, toddling pregnant sisters-in-law had every burner going and every flat surface on the counter covered with something. Sarah was the only one not wobbling but it was just a matter of time. He tried to dodge them as he made his way to the sink for a bucket of soapy water. He left a few puddles as he hurried away from them back outside into the sunshine. His cheeks had been pinched and his hair ruffled only a half dozen times.
He set the pail of water on the seat of the truck and scrubbed. His attention drifted back to the fluffy white suds that floated on the clear liquid. He had to find something for Kai to change in—a large vat to put water in. He had no idea where to find something that large. He could get a swimming pool like the ones he saw in the backyards of Duluth but that was too much drain on their lone little well that served them all. What he knew was whatever he needed wasn’t there. It was in town.
Once he was done, he wadded the used towels into a ball and picked up the bucket. He hurried to his cabin to dump the water. Once he tossed the paper into the trash, he grabbed Ezekiel’s keys and headed back out the door for his brother’s cabin.
He knocked once and a little louder. There was no answer, not even a shuffle of someone moving inside. He turned the knob and the front door popped open a little. His heart stampeded as he crept through the living area. Had one of the bloodsuckers made it there and killed his big brother? Had one of Kai’s buddies? What was he going to find?
Before he could reach the bedroom door, he was greeted by a loud snore. It was already the middle of the morning. What was the lazy ass still doing in bed? And the snore confirmed what Abraham thought before. The dude had to be a bear shifter, not a wolf.
He strode to the side of Ezekiel’s bed and kicked the mattress. “Hey, Zeke. I need to borrow your truck again.”
“Did you clean your slime out of it?” Ezekiel grumbled from his fluffy pillow.
Abraham laughed. “Is that what you call it? No wonder you don’t get laid.”
Ezekiel cracked a sleepy, chocolate-brown eye open and glared. “I get laid plenty. More than you can imagine. The blonde I had last night was a spitfire. I just figured your delicate baby ears couldn’t handle what I normally call it.”
Abraham’s temper peaked and plateaued. He hated being called baby. But then again, he did insinuate that Ezekiel’s sex life was dry as the Sahara. Turnabout was fair play. “Am I good?”
Ezekiel buried his face in his pillow and lifted a thumbs-up to him. “Try not to fuck your mate in it anymore. Okay?”
“I’ll do my best.” Abraham hopped onto the edge of the bed long enough to rustle Ezekiel’s hair and ran from the cabin as fast as he could, hurdling the coffee table as he went. Even in his sleep, Zeke was protective of his hair. It had to suck for those women he slept with. He probably worried more about his hair than they did. To have to wait for him to make sure it looked just right must have killed the mood.
He jumped in behind the wheel of Ezekiel’s truck and fired it on. He glanced out the rearview mirror at his older brother’s cabin. For a moment, he felt like a little kid again. He would terrorize all his brothers, but Zeke was the only one who was good-natured about it. There were multiple mornings he’s wake good old Zeke up by jumping on him. After so many years, he guessed some things never changed.
He busted out laughing as Ezekiel appeared on his porch fuming, his precious hair hanging in his face, rumpled. He was dressed in a pair of boxer shorts and nothing else. Dressing must have been what took so long.
Abraham shifted the truck into gear and drove into the woods, glancing one last time at the mirror to watch the camp disappear behind him. He slid his phone out of his pocket and picked a playlist. The music was weak but at least there was sound. Living so deep in the woods meant there wasn’t much for radio stations. Abraham still didn’t understand how they had Internet, electricity, and plumbing.
Listening to the hip-hop soundtrack made the hour-long drive through the dense forest seem shorter. As soon as daylight broke through the cab of the truck, he turned onto the highway headed to Bemidji. He slammed on the brakes before the front tires hit the pavement. Normally, he tried not to look at the charred remains of Sharky’s garage. The building no longer stood but the intensity of the fire stained the ground a permanent black.
All that as gone. The land was leveled, and it looked as if a foundation had been laid. Was someone building? It couldn’t be possible. Sharky had given the land to Zane Hallow and Littlefoot if he were ever to die. Since Zane had long since died, it left the land to Evelyn. No one said they had sold Sharky’s land. It was like selling a part of the family. It seemed almost sacrilegious.
He shook off the thoughts. He was the baby of the family. What he thought didn’t matter, anyway. He spun the steering wheel in the direction of Bemidji and floored the gas.
His music set churned out its last note as he pulled into a spot in
front of the farm-implement store. He slipped out from behind the steering wheel to head to the door. As if a last thought, he reached over and pushed the lock down on the driver’s door. Not that anyone would bother the beat-up old truck. He just didn’t want to know who or what would be waiting for him inside when he got back.
Abraham wandered up and down the aisles of the store, searching each and every shelf for a hint of what to get for Kai. He hated that she dominated every thought. He couldn’t push the fantasizes of kissing her senseless from his mind. He worried about where she ran off to. Did she even give a shit about him? Or was he putting his heart out there to be stomped on?
“You’re the last fella I expected to see in a place like this.”
Abraham spun around as he was torn from his thoughts. Littlefoot stood at the end of the aisle, his arms crossed over his chest. His denim-covered legs were rooted into the aged tile floor in a wide stance. His long, dark hair streaked with gray flowed past his shoulders. His mouth was curled in an amused smile.
“I’m looking for something,” Abraham defended.
“Does Joe know you’re here?”
“Are you going to call and tell him?”
Littlefoot chuckled as he shook his head. “No. You’re an adult. What are you looking for?”
Abraham glanced uneasily at the shelves that surrounded him. Most of them were bare. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Does it have to do with your mate?”
Abraham’s brow creased with confusion. “How did you know I’m mated? Did Joe tell you?”
“No. Your mother. I talk to your mother more than I talk to Joe. And she was all aflutter about you mating.”
Abraham felt his cheeks burn. He looked at the polished steel display rack beside him. He was red as a tomato. “She was, huh?”
“Yes. Now, what are we looking for that you will be giving…” Littlefoot’s voice trailed off as he stared at Abraham.
“Huh?” Abraham questioned.
“Your mate’s name? I’m not sure your mother knew it when we chatted.”
Bantamweight Page 7