“Eire—” Nicky started, touching his scar and clenching his jaw and then blowing out a breath. His thigh touched hers subtly and her eyes met his. He swore he could see the snow falling in those green eyes for just a moment, and then she looked away.
“Shit. Sorry,” she said and everyone in the circle looked her over, but she didn’t let her gaze waver as she apologized to Matt and Gem. That was not a word that came out of her mouth often, and they all knew it even after less than a day. The fact that some of them had not missed the moment he’d had with her and were now looking at him as well was not lost on him. But he ignored his friends and watched Eire’s face turn back to stone. “I just meant that if we’re bringing humans, we’ll need cars. We can’t traverse.”
“Gem has many gifts,” Matt said as he pulled his mate up and into his side. “Sadly, quick travel and being on time for anything are not among her talents.” Gem punched his side and the jaguar winced. “It’s true, babe. You know it.” He gave her a kiss on her forehead and the tiny mixed-heritage woman rolled her eyes. “I’ll drive our Rav4 hybrid.”
“Sweet,” Nicky said, a tad anxious at their byplay.
Jesus. Too many couples around here. He needed to get back to his place.
With Eire.
Fuck it all. He’d need to shift again tonight and work off some of this tension.
“I’ve got my bike and Danny can bring his Mustang,” Nicky said, focusing on something that didn’t make him antsy. Cases. Adventures. “Ginny won’t want to miss anything. She’ll definitely be coming back with us.”
“A crazy Skröm, a bunch of Hybrids, and a Fae walked into the mountains of Montville,” Danny whispered to Nicky as they all piled out. Nicky couldn’t help the laugh that erupted from him, and he clapped Danny on the back before Danny himself headed to Carrie’s place, a charming smile plastered to his face.
Nicky made his way toward Eire who was talking with Matt, Gem, and Kieran, but she looked over at Nicky, and he lifted his chin to show he’d wait for her. She said goodbye, giving everyone a nod, wary as always, but more open than she had been. Interesting.
Eire ran over to the bike, her face stoic, but she had a light in her eyes, and Nicky wasn’t foolish enough to believe it was for him. No, she loved his bike. Some girls liked to collect shoes. Some liked whatever music they could get their hands on. Some had to watch every new movie that came out. Or collect every book they could find.
But Eire. Shit, no.
Eire Donovan was all about sharp angles and freedom. She might not see it that way, but she lived for any chance to escape – from her mind, from her emotions, from others, from herself. She craved it. And he smiled to himself at that thought because, Jesus, did he get that.
He handed her the extra helmet and her hands still shook. She gave an exasperated sigh as she righted it. She hadn’t eaten enough. Or maybe not enough of what she really needed. He raised his eyebrow and she raised hers in return, lifting her chin willfully.
He just laughed and let it go. His inner wolf whined, wanting desperately to fix things, but Eire wasn’t his. And he wasn’t hers. He settled onto his bike, and the cold Fae covered his back with her front. He could feel her body behind him, and he savored the touch, the connection for what it was.
He kicked back the bike stand and rode off through the hills, and he let himself believe he belonged with someone. The thought of a mate scared the shit out of him, and he sure as fuck wasn’t telling her his suspicions, but he let himself believe that his hunch was truth.
He let himself believe he was forgiven.
He let himself believe, for just that drive, that what he was and what he’d done in the past didn’t matter.
Ginny Zolanski cricked her neck to the side and looked at her barkeep again. He was keeping secrets. She could smell it on him. Jesus, but she hated secrets.
Secrets led to issues.
Issues led to disorder.
Disorder led to unforeseen future situations.
And unforeseen situations led to nasty consequences for all involved.
She didn’t like nasty consequences, because most often, those consequences fell on those around her.
She needed order. She needed things to run smoothly. Because when they didn’t, she lost her cool. She’d lived long enough to know that she wasn’t good when she lost her cool. The only way she was able to keep her cool was with control, and she’d be damned if someone tried to pull a fast one over on her just because she chose to remain a more positive person.
She wasn’t stupid, and Antonio Banderas behind the bar was going to learn that lesson the hard way if he didn’t crack soon.
“Antonio,” she said, drawing out his name and looking him dead in the eye. Goddamned Luna. Nice Spaniard packaging. Smooth-talking. Suave. But that smell…he smelled like dirty mushrooms, chocolate mousse, and hot tamales candies. Yuck. Grossest combination ever. She didn’t need that kind of negativity in her life.
“Ginny,” he said playfully back, and her smile dipped. He wanted to play hardball? She’d show him just how positive she could be. She was Skröm. And too often, the people who knew her forgot this.
She was a lady, so she didn’t dig too much, but damn could Ginny dig when she wanted to. She pulled up a memory – just a little one, not anything too terrible, but she pulled it up in his mind using her lovely sing-song voice and her grounding ability, and she let her voice and her mind lull him into his fears.
She felt the image as it worked its way into his psyche, and she could have sworn he almost peed his pants a little before he spoke again.
“He was here,” he said, finally terrified and looking around the bar for help. Only, her other employees and the few Clan in the bar weren’t going to help him. The Clan were too busy eating and fucking, and the other employees knew their place. “I know you said to tell you, but Mr. Jones paid me a hundred bucks to keep quiet.” Hell, she paid her employees better than anyone in the county and they got free food and drinks. Damn ingrate.
“Shit, Gin,” she heard Danny say from behind her as she leaned over the bar and into Antonio’s neck. Just to give the Luna a scare. “You can’t eat the help.” She heard a slight growl from Danny’s right.
“Hey, boys,” she said, turning around to face Nicky and Danny. Only the boys weren’t alone. “And Matty and Gem are here too!” She jumped up and down for a minute. “But you two…” Ginny paused and looked over the newcomers. She tilted her head to the side. She knew she looked like a monster, but she was good with that. And the woman next to Nicky wouldn’t give two fucks about the monster part; she was one herself. The man, though. The Trow…he was a tall, beastly, brown-eyed beauty. Jesus, she needed to get laid.
“Especially don’t eat one that smells like that.” Ginny turned her attention back to the new woman who had stepped into view and who was definitely part monster. She had otherworldly written all over her. “Worst combination of smells ever,” added the brunette with the stunning looks.
“Right?” Ginny asked, intrigued. And hell, but the other woman’s eyes were a bright green that Ginny knew just lit up when her power was unchecked. Because damn, but the queen in front of her sure as shit had mountains of power. “He smells gross. Don’t get what the girls see in him between you and me,” Ginny said as she sniffed at him. “Just teaching him a lesson.”
She walked toward the gathered group, but she didn’t let go of the Luna. She held onto his shirt and pulled him across the bar with her, letting his body thump as she dragged him like a ragdoll. “I would not eat him on a plane. I would not eat him on a train. I would not eat him here or there. I would not eat him anywhere.” She quirked her head to the side and then held out her hand. “Ginny,” she said, introducing herself to the woman who now looked at her as though she was a little insane. She was. She was good with that. The consequence of her lifestyle, or lack of one as the case might be.
“Eire Donovan,” the woman said. “And this is Kieran Gimble. Or Gimp.”
Ginny smiled at the man named Kieran, but she didn’t shake his hand. Jesus, her manners were off today. But she couldn’t help it. Her instincts were screaming at her. Run. Run, quick. She always tried to listen to her instincts.
She heard a groan come from the floor and she looked over and knelt down next to her prey – ahem, her snack…shit, okay, her “employee” who needed to be “punished.”
“So, Antonio Banderas,” she intoned.
He gave her a strange look. “It’s not Banderas, Boss. It’s Antonio Marius—”
“Tsk, tsk,” Ginny said, first lifting and then slamming his head against the floor. “I didn’t say you could speak, Antonio, and next time we see Mr. Jones—” She cut herself off. She didn’t need anyone else to know who she was keeping tabs on, not that she knew who he really was. That was the point of the surveillance. “Next time we see our friend, what are we going to do, mister?”
“We—”
“You,” Ginny corrected.
“I,” Antonio amended. “I am going to tell you.”
“And?” she prompted.
He gave her a blank stare.
“And,” she prodded, “what lesson did we learn about keeping secrets in my club?”
“Ummm…” He drew out the word and she waited for a degree of genius to sprout its head.
And she waited.
And waited.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” said the Other female, Eire, behind her. “Just tell her you aren’t going to take money from this Mr. Jones guy coming into her club.”
Ginny stood, and ignored the groveling from Antonio. She’d keep him. The guy had kids. He might not have been loyal to his mate, but his mate was badass and Ginny was still hoping Cara found her fated mate and was able to move on from the dickhead on the floor.
She gave Eire Donovan another once over, noting the subtle way Nicky stood guard at her back. She looked to her old friend and she smiled. “Keep her, Nicky,” Ginny said, and started to walk back to her office.
“Keep me? Fuck, what is wrong with the women in your life, wolf, that they think I’m some weak-willed female who can get passes and be kept?” Eire asked, but Nicky held his tongue. “And why the hell would some goddamn Vuković even think they could keep me?”
Eire followed on her heels quickly as Ginny walked down the hall, which separated the Clan part of the club from the back area set aside for the Others. She walked to her office, gesturing for the group to follow. No need to let those in the club hear their whole conversation.
Nicky knew when to stay quiet. Good man. Then again, he always had been. And that’s why Ginny had kept him. And Graham. She let her old friend’s face fill her mind and a tiny tear escaped. She didn’t brush it away, though. She let the tear fall.
Brushing away tears shed in grief was tantamount to wiping away a memory as though it was nothing, and for her, she couldn’t bring herself to brush off a memory. There was always time for a memory. There was so much time. Sometimes too much time.
She took her palm and placed it against the tough, metal biometric control panel. Only her unique hand print and temperature opened her office door, and that was one secret she was okay with keeping. Because Stealth didn’t just house her work. Stealth was also her sanctuary.
She stood to the side as she opened the door to her home and let in Nicky, Danny, and the others. She’d met Gemini and Matt before, but they’d also never been to her place. A small part of her was nervous at what they’d think. At over sixty in human years, she should be past those emotions, but she wasn’t.
She looked at her home. A large, open floor plan allowed her free movement and the space she needed for those times when her energy was too great to hold in – which was often. Exposed brick shown on all of the walls, except the wall where thick white curtains and black sheer overlays lined the six floor-to-ceiling windows.
The living area sat at the center of the room and was set on a marble slab that flowed into the wood floor that made up the rest of her place. Three large black leather couches made up the three corners of the living area and they faced the six tall windows, which were usually opened to her back fenced-in patio made of stone. The couches had a variety of different colored carpets under them, but the colors were dark. Burgundy, midnight blue, hunter green. So many colors and different small carpets. The colors made her happy. And Ginny loved being happy.
To the left of the open space was a kitchen with an open view of the room. She did that on purpose. She could see almost anything going on in her home. She could protect herself at all times. Toward the windows, and past the kitchen, was a small hallway that led to her bathroom where she had her favorite addition – a hot tub. To the right of the living room was a loft area with an office that had soft as cotton rugs in beiges and tans and a dark cherry wood desk. Above the office in the loft itself was her bedroom. She knew what lay up there, and none of them would be entering that part of her sanctuary. That was her place, and her place alone.
“I don’t think you can be kept,” Ginny said to Eire as she shut the door and moved to the kitchen.
“Huh?” Eire asked, her expression showing her confusion.
Ginny clarified. “You asked ‘what is wrong with the women in your life, wolf, that they think I’m some weak-willed female who can get passes and be kept?’ Not sure on the ‘passes’ piece, but the being kept… I’m answering now.”
“Oh,” Eire said, blankly, and Ginny knew she’d thrown her off. She also knew from looks alone that this was not the type of woman who was easily caught off guard. Eire’s face hardened. “I don’t need keeping.” Her strong voice reached across Ginny’s home. “I don’t need protecting.”
“No,” Ginny said, solemnly. “I’m sure you think you don’t.” Before Eire could add anything else, though, she quickly added, “What I was trying to say was, the way you two move”—Ginny pointed between Nicky and Eire—“there’s something there.”
Ginny smirked when she saw the Other lift her chin in defiance. “There’s nothing—”
“Uh-huh,” Ginny said as she moved into the kitchen and started taking out some snacks. Might as well get everyone food. And who didn’t like something to eat to fill the time? Oh, and cheese! And grapes. She took out the snacks from the fridge and turned to find Danny grabbing the crackers from the cabinet and stealing a few from the package.
“What?” he asked, a charming smile on his face. The man was too good looking. But good friends were hard to find, and she gave him a peck on the cheek and a smile.
“Save some for the natives.”
“Is that a joke about our Navajo Newb? Because he doesn’t like it when we make up stupid nicknames.”
“You’re an idiot, Danny,” Nicky said from next to Eire. Eire looked around Ginny’s place and Ginny had to smile because the Other looked at home there. These were her colors too, even if she was in all black. Poor woman needed clothes with some color. Although, the green leather jacket was hot.
“Eire.” Ginny hadn’t meant to say her name so loudly, but she couldn’t help herself. The woman looked like a child who had grown up way too fast, and Ginny wanted to give her a hug.
The whole room went silent and Eire looked over at her, chin held high, cheekbones razor sharp, eyes alert. Was she waiting for censure? What had this young woman been through that her first reaction was to put herself on guard?
“Do you drink tea or coffee?” Ginny asked. Kieran answered right away with coffee. She saw the young woman, however, tilt her head to the side and look to Nicky, but Nicky had moved to the couch and sat down lazily on the one that faced the kitchen. He just shrugged. “Nicholas Arviso, get your ass in here and help me and Danny put some munchies out.” She turned to Gem and Matt. “You both can sit. In fact, take Nicky’s spot. You two as well,” she added, speaking to the Others and nodding toward her seating.
Kieran sat down right away, relaxed and looking for all the world like he belonged in her home. Crazy Skröm, Ginny thought, Trix are
for kids and a Trow is not for you. She brushed off her wayward thoughts and turned back to watch Eire as she waited for the water to boil. She’d known what Eire would do when she’d offered the seat. And Ginny wasn’t disappointed.
“Tea is fine for me,” Eire said as she walked around the room, examining everything while Ginny, Nicky, and Danny got some snacks ready, stopping finally at one of the open windows. A gentle rain was steadily falling, and most would have questioned whether Ginny wanted them open, but not this young woman. Not the exotic Other with the unknown past.
Ginny saw the Other’s face turn up into the mist, a serene expression on her face as though she was in another world, and she saw what Nicky saw. She looked at her friend and noticed his own jaw was tight, his hands at his side, and his warm, brown eyes focused on the woman near the window. Ginny glanced over at Danny and saw that he was leaning against the counter eating grapes and looking between Eire and Nicky and even at Ginny herself, almost as though he were entertained. He chuckled and she smacked him with a towel.
“Shut up, you two,” Nicky said as he finished putting the cheese on the tray.
“We didn’t say anything,” Danny said, but his smirk was firmly in place.
“You two don’t need to.” And then Nicky did something Ginny wouldn’t have guessed he’d do – at least not the Nicky he’d become after his time in the military. The war-hardened, world-weary Nicky. He playfully took a grape from the tray in front of Danny and threw it at him. Danny looked shocked for a minute, and then he got that all too familiar mischievous look that Ginny knew so well.
“Don’t even think about it, Daniel Rios,” she admonished, covering her mouth to hide her smile.
Nicky grabbed the trays from the counter and whispered, “Mom likes me better.” Then he practically danced past the young human and Danny cracked up laughing. Ginny couldn’t help her own giggle from coming out.
“I’m not even going to say my comeback. There are ladies present,” Danny said.
Ginny thought that was probably best. Danny walked over to the living area with the coffee cups and the teapot and Ginny grabbed the coffee pot and the tray with the tea bags, the cream, and the sugar. He looked directly at the smirking Nicky and said dramatically, “You’ve changed, man.”
Rage Against the Devil (Wild Beasts Series Book 2) Page 11