by Shawn Reilly
“Bart still can’t get to us. I told him to abandon the limo and call the service to send another car.” Asher moved toward them. “Move Ari, I can heal him. Just keep the rag in place so I won’t see.”
Ari’s head jerked up. “Healing drains you. You don’t like to heal anyone but yourself.”
Apparently finding him too slow, Asher roughly shoved his brother out of the way. Ari fell back onto his bottom, cursed in response, quickly stood and took off. She watched him go and then fixed her gaze on Asher. He had gotten down on his knees in Ari’s place and was busy removing his gloves, but his eyes stared directly across at her. She had been watching Ari, while he had been watching her.
“That was uncool Asher,” Nixon said in a hushed tone. Asher ignored him.
“What book was it?” Asher asked.
“Excuse me?” She adjusted the rag as Nixon turned his head to the right to look at Asher.
“What book did you buy about ani-shifts that warranted that?” He gestured to her shoulder. Elle knew what he meant. Asher had been the one that inspected the bite marks prior to her falling unconscious.
The floodlight that usually cast light up to the billboard had been dislodged and shone instead along the roof floor. Unlike in the dim street lamps below, Elle could clearly see Asher. He was a beautiful man, not handsome which clearly made her understand what the man in the building meant.
Asher was pretty.
His features were chiseled and flawless. But it was his eyes that captivated her. Never before had she witnessed such a remarkable color. Only when they widened urging her to answer did she force her gaze downward for fear of making herself look even more like a fool. Besides, as his head rotated under her fingers, she knew Nixon was now observing her instead of Asher.
“Hatori Matasuto’s last book,” she said.
Nixon laughed and Asher’s hard glare fell on him. “Unless you want to get stitched up instead in the nearest emergency room I would remain silent,” he suggested.
“So then you can heal people too with your,” Elle hesitated when Asher’s brow arched in warning, “magic?”
He gave her a nod and his lips curved upwards into a pleased smile. “Thank you for not allowing your quick wit to call me yet another clever name.”
“Well my minds a little clevered out I guess.” Elle removed her hand as Asher’s moved in over the bandana. She sat back on her legs and shrugged, since again he was observing her as though he wanted her to continue on with her thought. “I couldn’t come up with a retort even if I wanted to. Not after getting a good look at your eyes. Now my thoughts are preoccupied with that old Bonnie Tyler song.”
The narrow-eyed frown of confusion on Asher face told Elle he didn’t seem to know what to make of her comment, but Nixon covered his face with his hands and laughed. Even though he attempted to muffle the fact he was, his voice still slipped through his fingers.
Asher’s red glare returned and Nixon flinched under his touch. “Easy Asher, I was just kidding, besides she said it.”
“Yes, and at my expense.” His glare fell on Elle and she suddenly felt scrutinized and judged.
“I’m sorry.” She lowered her gaze. “I don’t always think before I talk. I guess that’s obvious.” She patted Nixon on the arm. “Well, it was nice to meet you and thanks for defending me and Mary against the Blackbirds. That was a very brave thing to do and you’re a very pretty falcon.” She turned to Asher then but didn’t look at him directly. “Thank you for watching over me.” Getting up, Elle started walking away.
“I can give you a room at the Plaza and some money to help you get back on your feet,” Asher called after her.
Elle stopped, and turned around. “Do you mean the Plaza hotel downtown?”
Asher nodded, hair falling forward as he moved a hand over the top of Nixon’s head. Where his hand traveled the blue light followed. “I own it,” he casually said.
Elle dropped her eyes, when he looked up. The very second Asher said the words the vision of the huge Lake Inc. skyscraper across the street from the Plaza hotel came to mind and she knew. Everything made sense now. Asher Lake was above her type, and everything within his demeanor from the instant they met expressed that.
She recalled her words downstairs and her desperation made her cringe all the more. She suddenly felt silly for thinking either he or Ari had noticed her, when they were only being kind. Now because she had gotten caught up in their mess Asher felt responsible for her.
Never again though, did Elle wish to fall captive to a man, not if she can help it.
“Thank you but I’ll be fine.” Without waiting for a reaction or answer, Elle hurried on her way.
Chapter Seventeen
Choices
Elle was halfway down the stairs when she suddenly noticed a man sitting on a step below. One of the tenants had turned on their security light so she could clearly see that it was Ari, but still her breath caught out of habit. Hearing her, he turned around and fixed her with his gaze. She had one hand on her heart and the other gripped the railing tight.
“Easy neighbor lady, there’s no reason to be afraid of your loyal watchdog.” Ari patted the step. “Come sit with me and keep me company.”
Elle took a deep breath and let it out slow. “You startled me.”
Ari faced the front when she sat down on the step next to him. “You thought it was him, didn’t you, the guy responsible for those bruises?” he softly asked. Unlike his gruff brother, Ari had a caring and sympathetic voice.
Elle didn’t answer. She didn’t want to cry. “I already thanked the others Ari but I wanted to especially thank you for preventing that bird guy from carrying me off.”
“I shouldn’t have let that happen. I wasn’t planning on leaving you behind. I just wanted a chance to explain Asher’s rules about outsiders. That’s always been something he’s truly insistent upon, but that doesn’t seem to matter much tonight. I think you should come with us, at least for the night.” Ari smiled at her. “I think we’ve proven to be trustworthy.”
“Asher offered.” She noticed his eyes widened at her words but before he had the chance to ask her to explain she continued. “But I think I should go. You guys have been nice but you don’t owe me anything.”
Ari’s stare had proven uncomfortable enough in dim lighting, but now he could clearly see her. Her hair was a mess. Her shirt was a plain white tee-shirt. Her jeans were worn and the jacket belonged to Julio, a chain smoking gangster that liked to write gang-signs up and down the arms. And lastly, how could she forget the fact that Asher said she smelled.
All things considered the image she had of herself didn’t exactly conjure up self-confidence. To make matters worse, Ari turned his body so that he was facing her, and very boldly began to study her face.
“Is Mary Okay?” she asked before he could say the words perched on his partially opened mouth. “I mean I should have asked already but things moved really fast when I was with, him upstairs.”
“Him’s my brother and Mary’s fine. She’s giving Kennedy—tiger-girl some hassle, but Kennedy’s real good with kid’s, so she’ll eventually be all right.” Ari continued to visually analyze her, causing Elle to tighten the collar on the jacket, and keep her eyes trained on the entrance door. “You’re so young and pretty. There’s just so much you don’t understand, and neither do I.” Reaching up he took hold of Elle’s chin and forced her to look up, and she let him.
Elle wasn’t in the right mind to do otherwise. The shock of hearing Mea say the words was one thing but for a man—a man as handsome as Ari Lake to speak the words with such force was startling. Julio had said he was the best she would ever know, and yet this night she was in the presence of three remarkable specimens of men, each with their own appeal, and one of them had just called her pretty.
Elle was in a dream, a very real dream that she did not wish to wake up from, but on the other hand, knew that she should.
He pushed a lock of stray hair back
. “You have big beautiful blue eyes and I swear I’ve seen them before.”
Elle pulled from his hold, both physically and mentally. “Aren’t you the charmer? I would have decked anyone else for what you just did. And,” she quickly added with a laugh to play off the affect his words had on her, “the jury’s still out. I’m still deciding.”
Men like Ari were charismatic and likable but they had come far too accustomed to relying on their abilities to lure susceptible women. And at the precise time after her crush on the imaginary image of Grant, Elle knew she was in a dangerous position.
She felt anything but what Ari implied. She was poor, pathetic and uneducated, everything that the rich Lake’s weren’t. She didn’t belong in their world. Elle looked to his hand, muscular and strong with the expensive watch. No matter how vulnerable she was, she had to keep her head.
“I’m not meaning to make you uncomfortable.” Leaning back, Ari repositioned himself so that he was resting on his elbows in a less threatening posture, but his eyes were still dangerously working her over. “Here’s the deal,” he said. “There are things about you that shouldn’t be and I just think for the time you should hang with us. You need us Elle and if Asher asked you to stay—”
“But Asher didn’t ask me to stay. He offered me a room for the night at the hotel he said he owns, but I’m quite sure he doesn’t share your hang with us mentality.”
“Well, you don’t know my brother. He doesn’t offer anything to anyone, let alone a woman and an outsider woman at that, so the fact that he did means something.”
“Mea should be here with you now, not me. I know what that must have looked like, me with Mary in the alley but I was just watching over her because she was frightened. And I also know what that must have looked like when I put my hand on Asher. I saw Julio and I freaked. I stole money from him and he’s looking for me but I’m not that kind of a person, usually. This was different. I don’t want you or—”
“Hey, no one’s saying or thinking anything.” Ari stopped her. “We have eyes sweetie, but out of curiosity why did you take the money from Julio, a guy who apparently has a short fuse by the looks of you?”
“I was running away. I would have anyway but when I was packing I saw the money. All I had was sixty bucks saved so you can understand the temptation.” She heavily exhaled. “Oh, I was stupid. I should have left it inside his boot where I found it. He’ll be angry when he finds it gone and he won’t stop until he finds me and makes me pay back every cent.” Elle wiped away a tear before Ari could see. She didn’t want him to know just how lost and hopeless she felt. “I would have gone someplace warm, someplace without snow because I hate walking home in the snow. My feet get so cold walking home from work.”
“Didn’t your guy ever offer to come get you when it snowed and you were working?” Ari sympathetically looked down at her feet.
“No, but that doesn’t matter now. The money and my suitcase burned up in the fire.”
“Then you have nothing?” Ari asked.
“Anyway,” Elle disregarded the question, “I should probably go.”
“Where will you go?”
“There’s a shelter down the street. I’ve gone there a few times. I won’t tell anyone what I saw tonight. People would just think I’m crazy anyway.” Elle turned around and looked at the apartment door behind them. “I’m sure if someone sees me talking to myself that won’t be all that hard to believe, since in fact no one else can see you,” she chuckled.
Ari put a hand on her elbow to keep her in place when she started to get up. “Please, we’re not worried about you telling anyone. I’m just not sure that leaving our protection’s a wise thing to do, especially when Steve the bird-guy seems to have it in for you.”
“I can take care of myself.” She said, more in assurance to herself.
Ari faced her on the step again. “I can see that since you seem to handle my brother well enough.” His eyes flecked over her face. “But I tend to wonder if sometimes you don’t unnecessarily put yourself in harm’s way. I wonder if you did go to that shelter down the street, how long it will be before Julio finds you and demands to know where his money is.”
Elle looked away—away from his thoughtful eyes and handsome smile. She didn’t have to answer that question because she already knew. The shelter was the first place Julio always looked. “How well do you know bird-guy Steve?” she asked.
“I know him well enough but not as well as I know his wife.” Ari cast a devious wink her way and Elle rolled her eyes in response. “Oh that’s right,” he laughed, “I’m one of those guys.”
“Seriously Ari, he did manhandle me. I’m used to it from Julio but I don’t even know bird-guy Steve.”
“Hello?” Ari waved a hand up the stairs. “You met him my brother—the one with the weird glowing eyes and blue lightening fingers that likes to shove people out of the way for no apparent reason, and you’re afraid of a bird?”
Elle shrugged, “Asher may not like me or want me around but…”
“But what?” Ari encouraged her to finish.
“He took care of me. I’m not afraid of him.”
A serious expression crossed Ari’s face. “That he did neighbor lady.” Hesitating on a thought, he looked up. “You wanna know some Asher trivia since we’re on the subject?” The question was rhetorical and Elle knew that the second he didn’t give her the chance to answer, but she was curious.
“The red you saw radiates from the black rings around his irises. We don’t know what they are but Nixon calls them mood rings and that’s because they tend to change color with his moods. Red is a bad color though,” Ari stressed. “Very bad and if he flashes you without being invoked through anger or something similar, just like he did to you on the street corner, when you were teasing him, think of it as a warning. Asher doesn’t like to be tested or teased.”
“Well thank you Ari,” Elle forced a grin his way, “but I’m not sure that’s gonna matter after tonight.” Elle avoided his gaze and rubbed her hands on the tops of her jeans. The stairwell wasn’t exactly heated. “But let’s get back to the bird-guy. What do you know about him?”
“Steve Barton is quick tempered but I truly do know his wife. She’s been my secretary for the last year. I know he’s not exactly the most caring man but he’s not the heavy-handed kind either. According to her, his chosen weapon manifests itself in the nature of verbal abuse. Up until now, Steve’s only problem has been in the fact he disagrees with some of the laws within the Union, and when I say Union I mean the organized body of ani-shift all over the world. Right now Steve has issues with Asher and everyone that serves him, so I’m not sure I can answer that question properly. I’ve never known Steve to act like this with anyone else, and I’m not sure what he wanted with Mary either.”
“So Asher’s some kind of a leader?”
“He’s the leader of the Union—our leader. We call him and all those before him our Keeper. He protects and takes care of us…well he’s supposed to. He hasn’t done the best job, and that’s another problem on many levels. Steve Barton is just one example of a band of rebels trying to overthrow my brother’s reign. He was kicked out of the Union but Steve wants a pardon bad enough that if Asher asked him to leave you alone, in spite of whatever his complaint is, he probably would listen. At least it’s worth a try.”
Elle exhaled a deep breath—one she had held all during Ari’s words. The thought that some stranger might come after her because she bruised his ego made her apprehensive. She had enough to worry about with Julio. “But do you think Asher would, for me?”
Ari warmly smiled. “I think it’s worth a shot. I think you don’t know him like I do.”
“That’s good news.” Again, she rubbed her legs and Ari surprised her by taking off his coat. “No I couldn’t.”
“I insist.” He boldly reached for her and Elle jerked back out of the way. “Relax, neighbor lady, you can trust me. I’m not trying to be fresh, it’s just this c
oat. It’s really got to go.” Realizing his intentions, Elle pulled off Julio’s jacket and traded Ari for his. She felt awkward and clumsy as he helped her on with it, and then proceeded to zip it up to her neck. The fabric was warm from his body and caused her to shiver. “There is that better?” He leaned back observing her.
Elle nodded an answer. She had to redirect. “I was wondering. Hatori Matasuto’s book series refers to the Union, just how much of his book is accurate?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Ari laughed and slapped his leg. Elle looked at him, completely confused by his sudden outburst as footsteps and voices could be heard on the stairs above. “Of all the books out there on ani-shifts and morphers,” he emphasized the latter, “you chose the one series out there that is not only nonfictional it’s written—”
“Arimus,” Asher’s voice sounded on the steps above them, “please do shut up.”
Ari nodded in submission but Elle could tell by the glint in his brown eyes and the way his mouth quirked up at the corners that the matter wasn’t over. He waited till Asher neared, worked around them and headed down the steps before he unleashed.
“Yes Hatori whatever you say.” He exploded in laughter. Behind them Nixon snickered. Turning slowly around Asher fixed his eyes on his brother, which Elle soon realized were a fire red. Apparently Ari didn’t heed to his own advice. Asher’s eyes flicked over to her, and downward over Ari’s coat, then back to his brother’s laughing face. “I’m sorry Asher,” Ari said in between lame attempts to stop laughing, “but why do you have to be such an—”
“Ari,” Nixon stopped him. Unlike Ari, he had stopped laughing the second Asher turned around with flames for eyes. Without saying a word Asher spun around, quickly downed the remaining stairs, and crashed through the door.
Elle reflected back on Ari’s words. “Wait…are you telling me Asher and Hatori Matasuto are the same person?”