Sanctuary's Price: Red Rock Pass, Book 3
Page 3
“Mmm. Want me to take her home, or will you be fine with her here?”
“She’s pretty wiped out, but Sam would probably feel better if she was back at your place.” He wouldn’t even take it personally. Sam couldn’t help herself any more than Keith and Abby and Joe could when it came to Brynn. Stronger wolves trusted no one but themselves when it came to the people in their care. They sure the hell didn’t trust people like him.
But Gavin shook his head. “Sammie will be glad to know you’re here with Sasha. You’ll take care of her.”
Gavin’s confidence was a reminder that he wasn’t just another midpack wolf. He was the town’s newest folk hero, the subordinate wolf who had defied his corrupt alpha not once but twice, the second time with a bullet between the eyes.
And if he’d done it even a year earlier, so many lives could have been spared. Compliments on his supposed courage grated on Dylan’s nerves when the truth was far more chilling—anyone could be brave when he had nothing to lose.
Except now you have something to lose. It took everything in him not to glance back over his shoulder at the door. “I’ll take care of her.”
“I know.” The alpha’s answer came easily, but he didn’t leave. “How did it go tonight?”
“You’ve got a lot of books in there.” And no discernible system of organization. “I was actually thinking about seeing if Brynn felt up to helping us sort them into some kind of system. She used to be great at those things. But I was worried…”
“That she still needs time to adjust. I understand.” Gavin’s gaze sharpened. “How did Sasha fare?”
“With the research?”
“With you.”
Dylan stiffened. “I’m not that inappropriate, Gavin.”
The alpha’s voice was mild. “I didn’t think for a second you were. But I wondered how far Sasha’s trust extended.” He walked in and crossed the small living room with slow steps. “Do you know what happened to her?”
His eyes flickered to the bedroom door, and he couldn’t stop the image of the way her fingers had brushed the scars on her cheek. Abby and Brynn had both been attacked, but werewolves rarely bore scars from anything short of magical weapons. Hell, his own body was proof enough of that.
But Sasha… For the first time Dylan wondered what other scars she might have, scars that wouldn’t be so obvious. “I know that she was attacked, and her teacher died. And that Alan roughed her up the night I killed him.”
“Magic is useful. Matthews would have kept her.” Gavin cleared his throat. “It’s what the other alpha planned to do, I think. He killed Maritza because she was too strong to control. Sasha, on the other hand, has power and training, but not too much of either.”
Dylan’s hands clenched. He knew all too well what came next. Women who were useful had been Alan’s favorite prey. Turn them, break them, use them. He’d seen it dozens of times. “Keith got there in time, though.” Please let him have gotten there in time.
“Keith said they had orders to hurt but not bite her.” For a few seconds, he seemed far away. Then his eyes cleared. “Yeah, he got there in time. So she came here with some scratches…and more terror than I’ve seen in a while.”
“She trusts me,” Dylan whispered. “I don’t know why, but she trusts me.”
Gavin leaned on the back of the worn sofa with a pensive, almost worried expression. “I understand needing to be needed, Dylan, maybe more than most. But if it’s not Sasha who makes you feel these things—if it could be someone, anyone, else—” The alpha scrubbed his hands over his face. “Do you see what I’m asking?”
“I’m not—” He stopped himself before he ended up snapping at the alpha. “Have you talked to Cindy, or am I just obviously a man with an ego problem?”
“Neither. But I’ve been around a lot of years.” He sighed and shook his head. “Never mind. I guess I got it wrong. Not the first time, and it won’t be the last.”
It was an out, and somehow it made Dylan feel less cornered. He exhaled and moderated his tone enough to sound casual, or at least less defensive. “Are you asking if I can tell the difference between instincts and interest?”
“You’re smart. You can tell the difference. What I’m asking you for is another favor.”
Dylan tried not to tense. “Okay.”
“I’m asking you to be sure before—” He cut off and cocked his head. Dylan heard it a moment later, the soft sound of the box springs shifting and then bare feet on the hardwood floor.
He’d already taken a step toward the door before he realized he’d moved. He jerked to a halt and refused to look at Gavin as he lifted his voice enough to carry through the door. “You okay, Sasha?”
The door swung open. “I heard voices.” Her gaze slipped past him to land on Gavin, and her eyes widened as her heart began to thump faster. “Is it Sam? Justine?”
“Justine’s better. Resting.” Gavin’s voice was low and even. “Sammie was worried you’d be pushing yourself too hard tonight. I told her I’d check on you.”
She stepped forward and stopped beside Dylan, her arm barely brushing his. “We’re tired, but fine.”
The hard, too-fast beat of her heart stirred an instinctive need to touch her. Soothe her. He swallowed hard and indulged himself under the guise of smoothing a tangled strand of her hair. “You should still be resting, though.”
“I thought something might be wrong.” Her fingers grazed his.
Gavin’s pause was almost imperceptible. “I’d better get back. Do you want to stay here, Sasha, or come home with me?”
Her eyes met Dylan’s. “I should go so you won’t have to sleep on the couch.”
He bit back the urge to protest only because he knew in his heart she’d be safer in the alpha’s house than in the apartment with him. “The couch is probably more comfortable than where I planned on sleeping tonight. If you ever need to stay here, don’t worry about me.”
“You never know with late-night research sessions.” She hesitated and pulled his sweatshirt over her head. “I left my jacket downstairs. It’ll be warm enough. Thanks, Dylan.”
The heavy cotton carried their combined scents, and Dylan struggled not to let his wolf’s sudden interest show. “Any time, Sasha.”
Gavin watched him as she walked out and headed down the stairs. “Will we see you at the house tomorrow, Dylan?”
Dylan was too smart to think it was a question. “What time should I be there?”
“Lunch. Olivia will cook.” The alpha stepped out but paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Have a good night, son.”
Not even the fond endearment could completely ease the tension that filled Dylan as he closed the door. It took a few moments to identify the feeling as the wolf’s unease. He’d learned the hard way over the past decade to squash any instincts that rose inside him, doubly so when they pertained to women. In Helena feelings like that had been a quick way to put a woman’s life at risk.
But you’re not in Helena anymore. His fingers clenched around the sweatshirt as he fought the urge to pull it over his head, just to appease the wolf with Sasha’s scent tangled up with his.
He definitely wasn’t in Helena anymore.
Chapter Two
Sasha’s vision blurred, and her hand trembled on Justine’s. She tried to hold the cleansing spell just a little longer, but the magic slipped through her fingers, dissolving into nothing. “Any change?”
“No.” Dylan’s voice sounded apologetic, and almost as tired as she felt. “I thought for a second maybe…”
“Damn it.” Frustration gnawed at her. “Damn it all, anyway.” It was the third cleansing they’d tried in as many days, each one more aggressive than the last.
And each one a spectacular failure.
“I don’t understand.” Sasha rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead. “It should be helping, at least a little.”
“Hey.” Dylan circled the bed and touched her shoulder, his fingers tightening for just a
moment in a supportive squeeze. “We’re going to figure it out, Sasha. We are.”
The contact felt good, and her muscles tensed before she could command them not to. “Right. So we need to get back to work.” Her jacket lay on a chair beside the bed, and she snatched it up. “I’m going to the library.”
“Sasha. You need to stop for a few hours.”
Four days of what felt like wasted effort made her begrudge stopping, even to eat or sleep. “You do what you need to do.” It would give her a few hours free of the distraction Dylan had begun to pose. “I just want to check a few things.”
He shook his head. “If you’re going to the apartment, I’m going with you.”
“No, Dylan. I need—” She needed time alone. Time to get her head straight and stop thinking about him, and to find a way to save Justine and Sam. “I need a drink.”
“Okay.” He offered her his hand along with a hint of a smile. “Let’s go to the bar. Brynn told me that she’s going to try to get out of the house tonight. She could use a familiar face, I bet.”
The bar had been packed when they’d left the upstairs apartment. Most of the people in it, wolf or human, only stared at her, whether in curiosity or hostility. The stares reminded her that she didn’t belong in Red Rock, that she was an outsider.
The more time she spent with Dylan, the more she needed that reminder.
It didn’t help that he treated her with an offhand, casual fondness that could so easily be mistaken for something more. Sometimes the stares that followed them were more assessing than hostile, the suspicions so blatant Sasha could almost hear the thoughts.
He seemed oblivious, though. “Gavin?”
“Not tonight. I can’t.” Sasha couldn’t bear to see his face when she told him she’d failed yet again. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow. Please, Dylan.”
Dylan released her. “Can you wait for me downstairs? I’ll let him know we’re going to have another late research night. Otherwise Sam will worry.”
She was still a little weak from the magic, so she made her way down the stairs carefully. The main floor of the house seemed quiet without Sam crashing around in the kitchen or yelling for Gavin to take out the trash. Sasha shivered inside her jacket and tried to stay still as she waited for Dylan, but her nerves were raw. She felt on edge, almost twitchy.
It seemed like an eternity before she heard the whisper of his sneakers on the stairs behind her. “You ready?”
“Are you sure you want to go?” The words hurt, but she forced them out anyway. “Spending time with me can’t be helping your social life much.”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “If you had decided to stay here for the night, I probably would have gone and worked on my house alone in the dark. Not much of a swinging social life.”
“I guess I’m keeping you from your renovations too.”
“That’s not—” Dylan’s friendly expression vanished. “Are you sick of me? If you’re sick of me, say it, Sasha. I won’t be upset.”
It was so far from the truth that she laughed. “No. But people around here don’t like me very much, especially after what happened the night the Helena pack invaded.” She’d saved Keith’s life, she knew that much. Still, half the people in town were terrified of her, of her magic, and the other half only seemed disgusted. “That’s what I meant.”
“Well, screw them. Come and hang out with us. Brynn could use someone around who’s not being polite to her because they’re scared shitless of Joe.” Dylan pulled open the door. “She probably knows how you’re feeling, you know.”
Most of the pack wouldn’t trust a wolf of the full moon, no matter the circumstances. “Yes, she probably does.” Sasha avoided his gaze. “Can we talk about things that don’t matter? I don’t want to think about the ones that do, at least for a while.”
“Sure. We can talk about anything you want.” He tugged her out the front door and into the cool night air. “I don’t know if you’ve seen much of Brynn since the attack, but if you haven’t, be prepared. She’s still not very human sometimes.”
“Her change was hard, but she’s tough.” Sasha stared up at the stars and let Dylan pull her along toward the street. “How long have you known them? Brynn and Abby?”
“A few years. God, almost seven now. One of my roommates worked with Abby. Brynn was still a kid when I met them, and Abby was working insane hours trying to take care of both of them, even though she wasn’t that old herself. Abby’s always been the one you want looking out for you.” The ironic self-deprecation was back in his voice, hidden under a layer of forced casualness.
“And you.” She wanted to kick herself when she heard how shy and besotted she sounded. “I mean, you took care of her too. You brought her here.”
Dylan looked a little uncomfortable. “Yeah. I did. But it wasn’t as heroic as everyone makes out, you know. I took a risk, but there wasn’t anything else I could do.”
“I don’t think it was heroic. Not like you’re obviously defining the word, at any rate.”
“Is the definition of heroism really that subjective?”
“I don’t think it was particularly noble of you,” she clarified. “You were ready to sacrifice yourself because the alternative—watching Abby go through what Matthews had planned for her—would have been worse. It’s not necessarily heroic. It’s what you do for the people you love.”
“Yeah.” His fingers tightened around hers. “And having people act like you’re some incredible person just because you did what you had to… It actually sucks a little bit.”
She wanted to squeeze back, to let him know she was there for him. Then she remembered Cindy and pulled away. “I understand.”
“I guess you do.” She felt the weight of Dylan’s gaze as he studied her. “What you did for Keith and Abby was incredible, you know. And what you did for Brynn too. Since you got here, all you’ve done is save people.”
“Have I?” Keith was still bedridden, Dylan himself said Brynn was barely human. “Maybe.”
Dylan moved fast. He got in front of her somehow and turned to catch her arms before she could bump in to him. He leaned down until his face was only inches from hers, and his eyes glinted in the moonlight. “Yes, Sasha. You have.”
How was she supposed to keep her distance when he looked at her like that? Her heart began to pound, and she was grateful for the thick jacket that hid the goose bumps his touch elicited. “It’s not helping Justine and Sam much at the moment, though, is it?”
“You’re doing the best you can. That’s all you can ask of yourself.” The words were firm, almost harsh, but the tingle of power around him didn’t seem angry or upset. If anything, his annoyance seemed to be directed at himself.
Sasha wanted to soothe him, to stroke her fingers over his cheek and draw him close. Instead, she changed the subject. “You promised me a drink.”
He let go of her. “Yeah, I did. Come on.”
The bar wasn’t crowded, but it felt like a hundred eyes turned to fix on them as they crossed the threshold. Silence fell as everyone stopped talking at once, leaving only the faint strains of Led Zeppelin spilling out of the jukebox.
Brynn rose from her chair near the bar, angry challenge rolling off her in waves even Sasha could feel. “Hey, Sasha. Dylan.”
Dylan’s hand fell to the small of Sasha’s back in an old-fashioned and protective gesture. “Let’s go sit with Joe and Brynn.”
Joe favored them both with a broad smile. “Knocking off early tonight?”
Sasha peeled off her jacket and bit back the defensive explanation that sprang to her lips. “We tried another cleansing, but it’s not working.”
His expression faded into one of sympathy. “Hey, Gavin was smart to stick the two biggest brains in town on this. You’ll get it done.”
Sitting so close to Brynn was uncomfortable. She glared at the people occupying the surrounding tables until everyone had turned away, only relaxing into her chair when Joe tapped her arm.
“I don’t care what they think, Brynn, or what they say.” It was a lie, but only a small one, and Sasha offered it gladly.
Brynn’s gray eyes narrowed. Sasha knew lying had been pointless, but the other woman didn’t call her on it. “Well, at least with us sitting together they won’t know who to stare at. They’re not sure if they should worry about you giving them magical warts or me flipping my shit and killing one of them by mistake.”
Considering the looks Sasha had been getting since she’d healed Keith, at least half the town would be hard-pressed to choose between those two fates. “Maybe we should glare back and make them think we’ll team up to do both.”
“Joe’s a spoilsport. He doesn’t want me getting into fights.”
Joe finished his beer and shrugged. “Call me crazy, but I prefer my girlfriend in one piece.”
“What do you want to drink, Sasha?” Dylan sounded like he was struggling not to laugh.
“Beer, please.” Her fingers brushed Brynn’s hand. “How’s Abby doing? I haven’t been by to see her yet this week.”
Brynn tensed, and the prickly, frightening power spilled outward once more. She seemed oblivious of the way her magic flared, though Joe stroked her arm again. “It’s hard for her. Keith’s doing better though. He’s up and about now, and crabby as hell that Abby won’t quit hovering.”
“That’s good.” Sasha hadn’t meant to upset her, but she also didn’t want to walk on eggshells and make her feel like a freak. “I know she’s been worried.”
“Yeah. Ab’s good at worrying…” Brynn’s narrowed gaze fixed on a table near the bar. “Make them shut up, Joe, or I will.”
“Brynn, stop.” He cast the people at the table a glare as well but wrapped his fingers around Brynn’s. “It’s not going to help.”