by Mina Carter
She’d never gotten his face out of her mind.
“Fast and hard should do it. Tell the boys to look as mean as fuck as well. If they don’t shift, he’ll have no clue they’re deer—” Nick was cut off by a snarl Joy could hear even from where she stood, and then he hastily added. “No, I didn’t mean that, bro. I know you’re mean as fuck…why do you think I’ve never gotten in a fight with any of you? I don’t fancy getting my ass handed to me on a plate.”
He chuckled, the sound easy and carefree in a way she’d never heard before. It definitely sounded like he was talking to a friend.
“Sure thing, bro. Let me know when you’re good to go and I’ll give you a location… yeah, yeah… I’m good. Neither of them suspect a thing.”
He stopped talking abruptly, movement through the drapes telling her that he’d looked up. Toward her. Deliberately, she shuffled her foot against the carpet.
“Got to go. Catch you on the flip side.”
By the time she pushed the door open and walked out onto the balcony, he was sliding his cell into his back pocket.
“Hey, love,” he smiled as soon as he saw her. “How are you feeling this morning?” His smile slipped a little into the perfect mask of concern as he noticed her thin wrap and nightclothes. “Let’s go back inside. You’ll catch your death out here.”
She didn’t bother telling him she didn’t feel the cold. He wasn’t the only one who could keep secrets, now was he?
“The teams should have stormed all the locations now.” Iliona lifted her wrist and checked her watch. She looked up and smiled, her cheeks still flushed from her arrival in the chic, city center coffee shop they’d arranged for the meeting. Although it was bitter cold outside, the cafe was warm and welcoming, and Christmas jingles played in the background. “They should be in cleanup by now. It’s over. The Krasniqi empire is done.”
Closing her eyes for a moment in relief, Joy couldn’t help the small sigh that escaped her chest as what felt like the weight of the world was lifted from her shoulders.
She was free. Finally free.
“And…” Iliona’s voice brought her back to the present, a note in it like a delighted child waiting for a parent to open a much anticipated present. “I have some other good news for you.”
“Oh?” That got Joy’s attention and she reached for her mug—hot chocolate, with cream and cinnamon topping. It wasn’t as good as Nick made it, but hot chocolate was hot chocolate.
“Yeah. I had our finance guys go over it several times, and we’ve managed to confirm with the authorities what of the Krasniqi money is legit. Which, as it happens, turns out to be quite a bit.” The other woman grinned. “You’re a rather wealthy woman, Joy. And by that I mean incredibly wealthy. Someone in your husband’s empire really knew what they were doing with investment.”
“Wow. Really?” A second wave of relief washed over Joy. With all the business ventures dismantled, she needed the cash for the mouths she now had to feed. Women and children without a home or protectors now their men had gone would all be looking to the barrow and her for help. To know she could do that… it meant everything.
At the same time, though, despair wrapped around her heart. With the threat gone, she no longer needed Nick to protect her. This last week had been near perfect. Nights were filled with hot sex or the comfort of just lying in his strong arms… Despite the fact she thought he’d been lying to her, setting her up for something, nothing had happened. And now it was all over.
Perhaps she’d been wrong? Perhaps he’d been discussing another case?
Leaning forward, she put her mug back on the table. “Iliona, how much do you know about Nick?”
There was a little pause as the other woman shot her a keen look. They were friends, fast becoming firm friends despite how they’d met, so the question wasn’t totally inappropriate. Joy still held her breath since Iliona’s answer would set a lot of things about their relationship going forward.
“What? Other than he’s as hot as hell?” There was a small smile on her lips as she sipped from her mug.
Joy felt her cheeks begin to heat again. What was it with her and any mention of Nick? She’d never had a problem with blushing before she’d met him.
“Oh, no you didn’t, girl! Shit, you did!” Iliona gasped, a delighted little sound, and she set her mug down to lean closer. The little movement warmed Joy’s heart through. She’d never been able to have a friend before. Not a close one. Given her position in the clan, she’d learned early on that anyone she allowed to get close could be used against her.
“You are so going to need to give me all the details!”
“Hmmm, I dunno,” Joy pretended to hedge, leaning back in her chair as she ran the tip of her finger around the rim of her mug to collect the sprinkled chocolate stuck there. “I heard somewhere that pregnant ladies aren’t allowed too much excitement…”
Iliona’s expression went flat and dangerous for a moment. “I will cut you. Seriously.” Then she laughed. “Come on, have pity. I’ve got two very overprotective mates who think just because I’m pregnant I’m in danger of dying if they so much as breathe on me wrong. I haven’t had any action for months… the least you can do is let me live vicariously through you. Now spill.”
Joy folded her arms. “Uh-uh. Not until you tell me about Nick.”
Iliona blew out a breath, obviously a little uncomfortable, and then seemed to make a decision. She leaned forward so their words couldn’t be heard by the rest of the customers in the cafe.
Joy didn’t think any of them would be interested in scandalous gossip anyway. Half looked to be retirees enjoying an afternoon tea while the three leather-clad bikers in the corner looked more interested in their cell phones than anything going on around them. A tea-room was an odd choice for a place to look at their phones, but perhaps they were fond of the cake. She didn’t know, didn’t care. She didn’t need to care anymore or look over her shoulder. It was wonderful.
“Okay, but there’s not really much to tell. He’s a widower, but from what I gather his wife died years ago, so no competition there. He joined the agency about two years ago and…” She paused to make sure no one was listening. “He’s not just a winter elf. He’s one of the Claus elves.”
Joy blinked in surprise. “You’re shitting me? I thought they were just a myth?”
Iliona chuckled, looking smug. “Nope. When they’re not delivering presents, turns out those Santa-boys can seriously kick ass. The agency has a few on the books now. And, one werereindeer. Let me tell you, Rudi? She’s awesome.”
“Rudi?” Joy paused at the name. Shit, Nick had mentioned that name before. “Weird question, but is she married or with anyone? Another one of your operatives maybe?”
Iliona looked up, surprised. “Yeah, she’s married to another of the Clauses… actually Nick—”
She didn’t get to finish the sentence because at that moment, all hell broke loose in the coffee shop.
The window behind them exploded inward, two large, leather-clad figures leaping through to scatter screaming customers and tables willy-nilly. Bikers, Joy realized with a gasp, as more burst through the door. The three in the corner jumped to their feet, guns appearing from within their jackets.
“Everyone down!” one of them bellowed, a silver-haired behemoth of a man who looked like he ate razor-wire for breakfast. “Stay down and no one gets hurt.”
Joy did just that, grabbing Iliona and pulling the other woman to shelter behind her. “Don’t worry,” she murmured, easing closer to the chair her coat was on. If she could just get her hand in the pocket to Slumber, the spelled blade would make mincemeat of these wanna-be gangsters.
She snorted silently. How fucking ironic. The day she was finally free of her old life and she got caught up in a coffee-shop heist. What the hell did they want with a coffee shop anyway? It wasn’t like the cakes were gold plated, now was it? The leader’s next words explained all.
“We’re here for the prote
ction money. Cough it up and we’ll be on our way.”
“What money? We paid that last week,” the woman behind the counter argued, keeping her hands up in case any of the bikers got trigger happy. Joy glanced around. A quick count later and she figured they had four shotguns, numerous pistols and more chains than a damn chain-link fence.
“Obviously paid it to the wrong crew, sweetcheeks,” the big guy growled, stomping across the shop and scattering tables in his wake. Joy frowned and shook her head. Those damn bells were ringing in her ears again. If she got through this okay, she really needed to see a doctor about that.
“Oh, no we didn’t,” the woman argued. “We paid Arben as normal. Same as we always do.”
“Change of management, sweetheart. The Krasniqis are gone. You’ll be dealing with me now.”
Joy closed her eyes, leaning her head against the back of the chair she crouched next to. Of course, this area was in Krasniqi territory… and with Iliona’s agency taking the clan out, there would be a power vacuum.
She hadn’t expected it to be filled so quickly, though.
“Be that as it may, the money is already paid.” The shop owner sounded worried now, her voice shaking a little. “We won’t have any more until next month.”
“Really now?” The biker stomped around the shop, growling when two elderly men didn’t get out of his way quickly enough. He stopped right next to Joy but she didn’t look up. Instead, she kept her head down, silently praying he would carry on.
Don’t make eye contact, she told herself over and over. The last thing she wanted was to bring attention to herself.
“What do we have here, then? If you’re human, pretty lady, then I’m a fucking monkey’s uncle.”
A hard hand closed on the back of her shirt and yanked her up to her feet, making her squeak. The sound died in the back of her throat as she found herself looking up into the hardest pair of blue eyes she’d ever seen. He studied her for a moment. “How about we take this one as payment instead?”
“No!” She heard her own gasp, but it was drowned out by the thunder of her heart as it roared in her ears. She did hear the howl of the wind as it whipped around the shop though, plucking at clothing and hair with cold fingers. Then a deep male voice sounded behind her.
“I don’t think so.”
She twisted in her captor’s hold. The elderly man the guy holding her had growled at rose to his feet, but not with the stiffness of age. Gasps rolled around the shop as the years sloughed away, the old man standing straighter. His hair remained white but the lines disappeared from his face. He gestured and a blast of icy wind drove the biker back, leaving Joy standing alone.
She stared at her rescuer in shock as he walked toward her. Everything about him was familiar, from the way he walked to the features that smiled down at her. It was impossible, but even though she’d never seen him before in her life, she recognized him. His features were a masculine version of the same ones she saw in the mirror every morning.
There was only one person he could be.
“Dad?”
A smile spread over his lips, his pale eyes warm as he came to a stop in front of her. He reached out to grip her upper arms, his hands cold even through the fabric. Just like hers.
“You saved me,” she whispered in shock. “You’re really here.”
“Of course I did, love. I’ve always watched over you. Made sure you were okay.”
She lifted a hand to his face, the male version of her own, in fascination. He wasn’t human, that much had been obvious from the way he’d revealed himself, but up close it was even more apparent. There was a shimmer over his skin that reminded her of snow, and faint tracings down his cheekbones like the frost across windows on winter mornings.
“Who are you?” she breathed.
One of the bikers stepped forward, shrugging off the icy winds keeping the rest in place as though it was nothing. Between one moment and the next, the biker disappeared and Nick stood in his place. Joy’s heart leaped for a moment at the sight of him, but that feeling was quickly squashed by the hard look on his face.
“His name is Jack Frost, and he’s a murdering bastard.”
With a roar, he launched himself forward, not to save her from her father, but to attack him instead. Joy stumbled backward, catching herself on the back of one of the chairs. Agony lanced up her arm as she fell awkwardly on her wrist, but that was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.
Here she’d been, worried that Nick was working for one of her enemies to bring her down, but the reality was far worse.
Their little love affair had had one purpose… He’d used her to get to her father.
7
He had Frost. Finally.
Triumph roared through Nick as he slammed a fist into his opponent’s jaw and sent the guy staggering backward. Almost instantly, though, Jack was on his feet, his guard up to block Nick’s punches. Cold crystallized in the air around them.
“Might as well knock that off, asshole,” Nick snarled. “The cold doesn’t bother me. Unlike Eva… the cold bothered her a lot.”
The expression in Jack’s eyes shifted. If Nick didn’t know better, he’d swear the guy looked ashamed. He punched again, hissing in annoyance as Frost ducked. He was the physical embodiment of cold and winter, but someone, somewhere, had taught him to fight. No problem. Nick was better. He’d kick Frost’s ass to the afterlife and back if he had to.
“Look… Nick, I’m so sorry—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Nick cut the guy’s apology off with a growl, adding a vicious hook for good measure. Frost blocked it but didn’t see the punch that slid under his arm to slam into his ribcage on the other side.
“I am… you have to believe me.” Frost backed up, his breathing labored as he pressed a hand to his side, the other held out in entreaty. His expression twisted with pain but Nick didn’t care. All he cared about was this asshole dead at his feet, like his wife had been when he’d found her.
“Seriously, Nick. I am so sorry,” Frost gasped. “I know you’re hurting but you have to believe me. I never wanted anything to happen to Eva. I swear.”
The tone in his voice was so raw and honest that Nick could almost believe him. Almost. If he wasn’t a murdering bastard. Frost controlled the cold all over the world. He could pull the ice and winds back even in the pole and create a tropical oasis if he wished. All it took was a thought.
And he hadn’t. He’d let a woman and two deer die in the freezing snow.
“You killed her!”
A jab broke Jack’s nose, spreading blood all over his face, and he backed up again, desperate to get away from Nick. Not letting his prey escape, Nick followed, swinging blows like a battering ram.
“No!” Frost twisted and turned, doing his best to evade Nick’s hard fists but more and more punches got through. “I wasn’t even at the pole. If I had been, I would have pulled the cold back. I swear!”
“But you didn’t! She was out there for hours, Frost! She froze to death!” Nick roared, every ounce of pain and frustration poured into his voice as he renewed his attack.
“I didn’t mean that to happen. You have to believe that…”
But Nick wasn’t listening. The rage rose until his vision blotted out with red. All he could see was the figure in front of him… his wife’s murderer… his at last to punish for her death. He moved like a machine, channeling all his fury into his fists as he pounded on Frost again and again.
Finally, the guy slipped to his knees, swaying gently as he teetered on the edge of consciousness. His face was bloodied and bruised, one eye swollen shut, as he looked up at Nick.
“I’m sorry…” he whispered hoarsely as the icy winds swirling around them died down, a sign he’d lost his grip on his powers. “Do what you need to do…”
Nick lifted his fist for the killing blow.
“NO!” Joy’s scream filled his ears and then she was there, sliding between him and Frost, her arm raised to war
d him off.
His fist already falling, he gasped and tried to pull back but it didn’t matter. Her eyes glittering with pain and anger, she shoved her hand toward him. A blast of cold and ice more violent than he’d ever felt slammed into him, making him stagger backward. Nick’s eyes widened. It was like Frost’s power, but it hadn’t come from him.
It had come from Joy.
The reality of what he’d done, what he’d been about to do hit him like a bullet.
“Joy… Joy, please…” he stammered, holding a hand out to her. “You have to understand.”
Rising to her feet, she looked at him, and the hard look on her face made his heart still in his chest. If anyone had ever mistaken her for merely a pixie, they wouldn’t now. Her skin shimmered in the light and the power of her frost drew patterns over her cheekbones, highlighting her delicate beauty.
“No, I understand perfectly.” Her voice was as cold as her expression, the howl of a winter blizzard touching its tones. “You used me as bait to trap my father.”
He had. There was no getting away from the truth. Nick nodded, shame burning across his cheeks.
“I did. I can’t deny that and I’m not going to. But I was wrong. I’m s—”
She lifted a hand, rage in her eyes. “Don’t you fucking dare try to apologize. I never want to see or hear from you again. Understand me?”
Then she turned, dismissing him with a look as Iliona stepped forward, her hand cradling her bump. “Joy, I am so sorry. Obviously, the agency will do everything we can to make this right.”
She shot a glare at Nick, the unspoken message to make himself scarce obvious, but he couldn’t move. His feet were rooted to the ground and his chest ached around the ragged hole where his heart had been.