by Honor James
She watched him carefully and frowned. “I don’t mean to interrupt your life,” she assured him. “I really don’t. If you want meat I won’t argue with you. I just won’t be close,” she admitted honestly. “Because I really and truly can’t be anywhere near meat. It just…” She shuddered. “I just can’t,” she whispered with her gaze down and pain lacing her tone.
“It’s fine,” he told her, moving to the fridge to grab a bottle of juice. “I ate earlier but I need to keep up a certain calorie intake because of the Wolf. We tend to burn through the calories fast. I’ll have something later, after you’re asleep and after I’ve done some work.” Watching her as he leaned on the counter he sighed quietly. “Don’t think about that time, Beth. It won’t do you any good except to give you heartburn, ulcers, and more nightmares than you likely already have.”
“All right. Thank you.” She tried not thinking of that time but so often she was pushed back into it by the smallest of things. “Trust me, you aren’t telling me anything that the shrinks aren’t telling me every single week. When it first happened…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I saw a therapist three times a week. I was hospitalized for a great long time, not just because of the damage that was done to my thigh but because I simply couldn’t function at all,” she admitted. “Thankfully I was able to pull out of my own head and now only see my therapist every week.”
Pausing with the bottle up near his mouth, he shot her a look and lowered the bottle again. “You see your therapist every week? The same therapist as you’ve always seen?” he asked her quietly. At her look, he nodded. “You will need to call your therapist and warn her or him that your brother is loose and will likely come for them to get any and every piece of info on you he can. Advise that they arrange for private security if at all possible.”
“Oh crap.” She felt her vision wavering and felt a little sick to her stomach. “I should make sure that she’s told now,” she whispered. “It would kill me if something happened to her. She’s an older woman and over the years become more like an aunt to me than a therapist. I need a phone. Can you give me yours or do you have a line I can use?” Something, anything.
Digging out his phone he unlocked it and passed it over to her. “Call and warn her,” he said to her, getting up to flip the sandwiches. “If you want to go into the other room to make the call, feel free,” he told her, not wanting her to feel the need to stay in the kitchen if she wanted some privacy.
She didn’t move. “Should I call the officers who were handling this case and ensure that they watch over her and my assistant?”
“No, call them, warn them, and have them call the police. If you call the police, they’ll try and convince you to come back into their protection. Besides, they will likely try and trace the call, and since my cell is set up to send them to the base if they manage it, there will be a bunch of seriously pissed-off Changers waiting there. For the record, pissing off a bunch of Dragons, Wolves, Cats, and various others, never a good plan especially right before they all get off duty,” he told her, sliding the sandwiches out to cut them and plate them. Carrying the plates to the counter, he slid one across to her and sat down with his. “Make the calls and then eat up.”
She nodded and began to make the calls. Getting Dr. Abrams first, she explained the situation quickly and succinctly. Getting the woman’s agreement to contact the police she then made a call to her assistant. Thankfully the woman was now dating a cop so he would keep her safe, that she was sure of. Closing the phone, she rubbed her temples lightly and nodded. “All right. They are the only ones that I’m even somewhat close to so it should be good now.”
Nodding, he took a bite of his sandwich. He didn’t tell her that anyone she even had the smallest contact with would be in danger, from the person that made her coffee at the cafe to the cashier at the local store that wished her a good day. Basically anyone that she’d been seen with and had even the most minute contact with could be a potential next victim. “Then you should eat and we’ll get you set up in a room to sleep. It’s been a long day for you and I’m sure the adrenalin is likely down to the last drops about now.”
“You have no idea.” It had been a shitty day from start to finish and now she was ready to go to bed and forget everything. She had drunk the hooch that Zaidu had offered her and was feeling warmer now, so that was a bonus. Taking a bite of the sandwich he had made for her, she sighed happily. “Thank you for making me a grilled cheese. I really do appreciate it.”
“No problem,” he told her, finishing off his sandwich. Getting up, Z filled the sink with some hot soapy water and dumped the pan, spatula, and his plate into the water. “When you’re finished up, no hurry by the way, we’ll get you a room, find you some towels and a few necessities of life and hopefully you can sleep. Before we do that I’ll give you an abbreviated tour so you know where you can find me if you need to at any point tonight.”
“As long as I know where my bed is and where the bathroom is I’m good for tonight.” If she could sleep that was. It might be time for some sleeping pills. It might be the only way she could get some sleep and that truly sucked.
“Uh-huh,” he muttered softly as he watched her picking at the sandwich. “If you want to take that with you and finish it before you go to bed feel free,” he said. She likely would prefer being out of his company. Not many liked being around him the best of days. And considering the day they’d had—he could only imagine.
“No I’m fine eating it here.” She looked up at him and cocked her head to the side. “I guess I’m just thinking of what it’s going to take for me to actually go to sleep tonight. I have a feeling it’s going to be a wine and sleeping pills kinda night,” she admitted to him. “And if you hear me scream, just know that it’s really okay. Sometimes the nightmares come and it’s just…” She shrugged. “Especially after what happened today I wouldn’t be surprised if they came back.”
Leaning on the counter he lifted a brow. “You tell me you’ll likely be screaming the house down and then tell me don’t worry about it, ‘it’s really okay’? Lady, you need to work on your delivery of such information. That ain’t okay,” he muttered. Shaking his head, he watched her. “I’ll be up most of the night anyway. Still have work to get done and Rogues to hunt. Thank the Gods for the technological age.” Z loved technology, loved using it, and just plain loved having it. Some of it he didn’t understand but that was why he had Quincy on speed dial.
“I’m just giving you the truth. The simple truth is that I seriously doubt I will sleep without having some sleeping pills or something like that. I hate it but there it is, and as for the nightmares…” She shrugged. “I’ve had them every single night for the last five years.”
“Delivery still sucks,” he told her. “Have another drink and I’ll go see if there’s anything around here that might work. Otherwise I’ll make a trip to the base and get you something,” he said with a shrug. He had the time and other than a run, he didn’t have any hard and fast plans in place for anything.
“That’s okay,” she assured him with a grin. “Thank you, I really do appreciate it but I and truly have to be able to handle this on my own.” She didn’t want him to have to make an extra trip just for her. It would bug her to death if he went out of his way for her.
“Well, let me know if you need something,” he told her, “It’ll give me an excuse to go to the base and get a few things.” Pushing off the island he went to the sink and began to wash the dishes, giving her a time to eat.
“As long as you have some Tylenol PM I will be very happy,” she admitted. “But if you don’t, I would be very thankful for some. That and wine. Do you have some wine or beer?” She was more than ready to get sloshed so that she could just forget the last few hours.
“There’s some beer in the fridge but that’s about it,” he told her. “Help yourself,” he said, tipping his head. “Glasses are on my left in the cupboard if you want one.” Z wasn’t sure she wouldn’t just drin
k it from the bottles or cans. “I think there is some Tylenol in the cupboard on the left of the fridge with the medical items.”
“I don’t need a glass,” she told him when she saw the bottles in there. Twisting the top off, she took a drink and leaned against the counter. She was more than a little nervous, but then again, with what she had just gone through who wouldn’t be nervous? It was honestly quite simple. She knew she was a marked woman, just didn’t know how to escape her fate. “I hate the wait,” she whispered. “That is the hardest part. Waiting. Waiting to see if the courts would convict him. And then waiting to find out if he could be considered mentally competent. The wait is one of the hardest parts of it all.”
Collecting her plate, he cleaned it, and after rinsing, set it in the drying rack. Draining the sink he wiped everything down and looked at her. “The wait kills most people. They get antsy, they go against instructions, and give in to baser instincts of flight. Running will get most people killed, but they think they can do better on their own, why do they need help?” Drying his hands, he leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. “I know it will chafe, but know that no one is going to get at you as long as you are here. You stay close to me and I can promise you’ll stay alive. If you don’t, if you choose to try and make it on your own…” Z shrugged. “My bet would be about a day and a half tops. With the cops, three to four days max.”
“I hate that you are right.” Her brother was deadly brilliant. She wasn’t even sure if she would make it staying with Zaidu. “Brian is more than brilliant, Zaidu. He is a sociopath unlike any that you have ever run across. He has absolutely zero moral filters and an IQ that is immeasurable. He’s truly the monster that stalks at night.”
“The smarter they are in some areas, the dumber they are in others. Everyone has a fatal flaw, everyone,” he told her. “You, me, Brian, we all have that one thing that will get us each and every time. Some, it’s a soft heart. Others, it’s the fact they think they are smarter than everyone else. Those are trickier. They take careful study but, eventually, you can find their Achilles’ heel.” Looking at the clock, he straightened and went to the cupboard to dig out some Tylenol. “But enough of that tonight. Tomorrow we’ll talk more and figure this out. For tonight, you are going to take a couple of these and get some sleep.”
Holding her hand out, Bethany gratefully accepted the Tylenol and took them with the beer. “Thank you,” she murmured softly and then rose. “I hope you are right, Zaidu. I truly hope you are right.” Taking the last drink of her beer, she passed him the empty bottle. “Now, where can I grab a shower and a bed?” She just hoped she didn’t wake with night terrors again.
“Come on,” he said, setting the bottle by the sink. Heading for the stairs he paused. “The stairs there”—he pointed to a door—“lead to the basement. I’ll be down there in the gym or my office if you need me.” Moving up the stairs he led her to a room at the same end of the hall as his. “My room’s there. Feel free to pilfer a shirt and whatever else if you need something to sleep in. This”—Z opened the door and turned on the light—“will be your room for your stay. Bathroom is en suite through that door.” He pointed. “Towels are all fresh, same with the linens, and there should be extra toothbrushes and paste in the vanity. Other than that, there’s items of apparent use to females or so my housekeeper tells me, under the sink.”
Bethany nodded. “Thank you, Zaidu. This will be wonderful,” she said and touched her hand to one of the four posters of the bed. “It’s a beautiful room. Whoever decorated it did a marvelous job.” She frowned then, cocked her head to the side, and walked to the wall. Touching a painting there, she turned to face him. “You have one of mine. How? I’m very selective about whom I sell to and I would have remembered you. Trust me, I would have recalled you.” Plus she had a clause in the sales contracts that should the person who bought it run into financial trouble they would sell the painting back to her and only her, that it would remain in their collection until they died and then it would return to her as well.
“Don’t know, I was given it as a housewarming gift and I put it into this room since it seemed to fit with the style I was going with,” he told her. “I designed the entire house top to bottom if you’re wondering, furniture and everything in between.” Moving to the window he drew the black-out blinds down and then drew the curtains closed. “The lamp on the far table is one of those multi-level ones if you want to leave it on low for some delineation between dream and reality.”
She nodded and wrapped her arms around her middle. “Thank you. Hopefully I won’t have night terrors tonight, but again, if I do, it’s really all right. Just let me scream it out.” Because she would either survive the night terrors or she wouldn’t, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
“Don’t be surprised if the wolves start howling,” he told her. “They tend to do that when certain vocal ranges are hit.” Moving to the bathroom he turned the light on and looked at her. “Are you sure you are all right?” he asked even though he’d never buy whatever answer she gave him.
“No, but I will survive. I’ve survived the night terrors before and I will again.” She didn’t see any reason to lie to him. “I won’t be surprised at the wolves, promise. They can’t get in though, right?” She didn’t think she would be able to handle another run-in with wolves right now, at all.
“No, they are kept from the house grounds proper by a wrought-iron fence,” he told her. “They can’t get within sixty yards of the house but they do tend to pace the fence line when they know I’m here. I go running with them from time to time. It’s their way of trying to cajole me out with them.”
“Oh, wow,” she said with wide eyes. “Uhm.” She didn’t know what to say to that, not at all. “What’s it like?” she blurted out. “Shifting into a Wolf, what’s it like?” Her face was beet red and she whispered, “Sorry, sorry you don’t have to answer that. Not at all.”
“It’s like anything else,” he told her. “Most times I don’t even think about it, but that’s usually in high-threat situations. But I can change at will, whenever I want,” he said and thought a moment. “There’s a bit of a burn with the magic that gives us the ability to shift forms, some crunching of bones and pulling of muscles and ligaments. I am changing my entire shape and body structure when it happens. It’s not exactly pain so much as…” Z looked at her. “Have you ever cracked your knuckles? That faint grind followed by a bit of numbing before a slight burn?” he asked her. “That’s sort of it but on a whole-body level.”
Bethany’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “Wow,” she breathed in complete awe. “That would be seriously epic and wild to see.” It was admiration in her tone far more than anything else, that and curiosity. “Because I have to admit when I saw those asshats who took me shifting at the base of the tree I wasn’t thinking of anything beyond me having slipped that last rung of reality and fallen into the pit of insanity.”
Zaidu had the urge, an actual urge, to chuckle at her words. Letting his lips curl up slightly in a faint smile he shook his head. “You didn’t,” he told her. “Down the rabbit hole maybe but…” He shrugged and watched her. “They were also trying to scare you, get your endorphins and adrenaline pumping because it would have been scenting the air. It’s a high to them, nothing more,” he said quietly. “If you want to see a true shift done I’ll show you sometime,” he told her.
“I would like that,” Bethany heard herself admitting before she could pull the words back. “To see a shift that doesn’t make me want to run in fear.” Taking in a deep breath she nodded, “Yeah, I fell down the rabbit hole but I made it out again, thanks to you. I do thank you, Zaidu. For what you did.”
Shrugging, he headed for the door. “I was just doing what was necessary,” he said softly. “Though I did tell T that climbing a tree falls into the ‘danger pay’ area of my agreement and he has to pay me extra for that.” Z smiled faintly again. “Haven’t heard back yet on that but I’m sure it will
be graphic and anatomically impossible.”
Bethany couldn’t help but snicker. “Well if you want I will pay you the danger pay if he refuses to. I was so terrified I swear that I couldn’t see straight. Add to it that I’m blindly terrified of heights, yeah, I wasn’t going to go down unless I fell down.”
“You did great,” he told her. “Yes, you were shaking like a leaf in a tornado but you did what was needed and didn’t go into mass hysterics, which was appreciated on my part, I should mention. I’ve never quite figured out how to calm someone down from hysterics. It isn’t part of my skill set apparently.” What he couldn’t figure out was why she kept offering to pay for things. “As to the danger pay, don’t worry about it. I don’t get paid by the Teams anyway. My fees come out of the Council funds since I technically work for them.”
Bethany nodded and took a deep breath. “I’m just…” There was hesitation on her part, a huge pause before she finally continued. “I’m not used to people doing this for me just because. I’m used to the inevitable other shoe dropping and people demanding payment.” She chewed her lower lip and whispered, “How pathetic is that?”
“It’s not pathetic,” he told her quietly, moving closer before he realized what he’d done. “It’s human nature, but you need to remember you are dealing with Changers now. Those on the side of the light rely on our animal natures and will never lie, cheat, or betray. Those on the dark have thrown in with evil and will do anything to get their way.” Reaching out, he brushed her hair back behind her ear lightly. “There is no other shoe here in this house, Bethany. Not now, not ever. I will always say what I mean and mean what I say. While I may not always say everything, for which most are grateful, I won’t lie to you or sugarcoat anything.”
Nodding, she smiled up at him. “Thank you for that, Zaidu. I think you are likely the very first person to ever be completely straight with me without looking for some sort of compensation. I like that you are completely honest with me. I like that you will tell me what needs to be said without sugarcoating it. That’s exactly what I need.” She needed that in a friend, but more she found she needed that in her heart.