by Julia Mills
“I think you should move to the main house until this psycho woman is caught.”
I sighed. I’d known it was coming... again, had actually been having this exact argument with my loving sister since the day of the accident. “You know that’s not going to happen. Stop suggesting it. Grant’s men are here. The lights are back on and I have back up if need be.”
I expected to get a lecture about using my pistol on Pride land, but once again, Phoebe surprised me. “Shoot first, ask questions later, you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” was all I could say.
“I love you. No matter how pigheaded you may be, I still love you.”
“Love you too, Sis.” I chuckled and listened to her mumbling about men and their egos as she disconnected the call.
Opening the drawer of my bedside table, I checked that the Sig Sauer I’d carried with me since my promotion to Sergeant was still there, loaded and ready to go. Sliding it between the mattress and box springs, grip side out and at the ready, I laid back down, praying to finally get a few hours of sleep.
The next three nights were filled with blessed sleep and no puma but my gun remained in the same place. The Pride spent the time searching for my stalker, only to come back empty-handed day after day. They were frustrated and irritable. I’d seen Willem every evening as the guards changed shift around my house, and each night he seemed a bit more on edge, a bit more angry. I wanted to tell him anger wasn’t going to help him catch his prey. As a matter of fact, it was going to make it damn near impossible, but my input would fall on deaf ears.
The next morning I all but jumped out of bed. My appointment at the clinic was at eight sharp and I was sure the doc was going to remove my cast, especially after I’d spent the last two days driving her crazy. She’d argued that there was no way it could be healed but I explained...
Read that as bitched.
...how bad it itched and the way the cast wiggled around on my leg until the doctor finally relented. Not waiting for Phoebe, I followed the path to the back door of the castle, walked through the kitchen with barely a limp, and followed the long, winding hallway to Grant’s office.
My hand was on the doorknob and I was preparing to deliver the ‘I’m outta here, with or without you’ ultimatum, when the sensation of being watched caused me to glance over my shoulder. Acting on years of training, I kept up appearances while sliding my eyes from side to side and listening intently for anything out of the ordinary.
All the same sounds and smells I’d come to associate with Castle Leomhann assaulted my senses, somehow sharper and more distinct than they’d been before. The buzzing of the bees outside the picture window sounded like static from an out of tune radio station. The biscuits I’d just seen the cook rolling out as I passed through the kitchen were now in the oven. Their scent always spread throughout the castle like a blanket of homemade sunshine, but this time I could make out every ingredient, taste them on my tongue as if I was biting into one. My mouth watered just thinking about how good they were.
“Must be a side effect of the meds,” I mumbled to myself, still searching for my original reason for alarm. “Thank God, today’s the last day. Can’t wait to get back to normal... whatever that is.”
Shaking my head and focusing on what was important—getting to the clinic and getting the cast off my leg—I turned the knob, opened the door, and ran right smack into Phoebe. Wrapping my arm around her waist as she squeaked her alarm and grabbed onto my upper arms, we shuffled and sidestepped, trying to remain upright before finally landing on the sofa Grant kept for his visitors.
The surprised look on my sister’s face was immediately replaced with a grin, which led to a chuckle, which ended in full-blown laughter in the blink of an eye while she let herself go limp. Rolling her to the side and standing, I tried to look commanding, but knew I’d failed when she just laughed harder. Then Grant had to get in on it as he came from his desk and collapsed beside his wife on the couch.
“You sure as hell know how to make an entrance, Sarge.” Grant laughed.
“Yeah, that was the plan,” I grumbled. Holding out my hand for Phoebe, I added, “Can we get outta here? The doc is waiting and I want this damn thing off my leg.”
I knew I was being more gruff than necessary. Hell, Phoebe and I collided in one way or another most days and it was never a big deal, but ever since the weird experience in the hall, I felt out of sorts. My brain was working overtime to figure out what had happened, why I’d felt like I was being watched. My skin was tingling, suddenly too small or too tight or not right somehow. The most marked change in those few minutes was my mood. I’d gone from happy and looking forward to my appointment, to just short of pissed and completely frustrated. It felt like there was some place I had to be, other than the clinic, someone I had to see, something that needed to be done; all things that made no sense and had not been there before I’d grabbed the doorknob.
Using my hand for leverage, Phoebe pulled herself up, ignored my mood, and grabbed her bag. Saluting like the smartass she was, my sister chuckled. “Let’s get this show on the road, Sarge. Don’t want to keep anyone waiting.”
Turning without a response, I marched...
Yes, I was being an asshole and had no clue why.
...towards the door, held it opened, and waited while she kissed her husband goodbye and then followed her down the hall. We were in the SUV and out the front gates before she finally spoke.
“So, you wanna fill me in on the bad attitude, bro?”
She only called me ‘bro’ when she was annoyed and wanted to drive her point home. This time she had every right to be pissed, and that irritated me even more. I just wished I could give her a good excuse. Unfortunately, I was fresh out, so I did what I always did with Phoebe—I fessed up.
“I have no fucking clue and that’s pissing me off even more. I was in a great mood. Damn near skipped over to get you. Walked through the castle saying hello to everyone, which surprised the hell outta most of ‘em since I usually barely grunt. Got to Grant’s office and in less than a minute, everything changed. I got an eerie feeling that left me in the piss poor mood you are now experiencing. I have not the first clue what happened, but I wish it would go back to wherever it came from.”
Shockingly, my highly opinionated, quick-to-judgement sister sat silently in the driver’s seat, biting her bottom lip and thinking so loudly I could almost hear the wheels turning. I let the silence grow between us until we turned into the parking lot. I thought about just letting it go all together, but knew Phoebe wouldn’t, so I took a deep breath and spoke.
“Whatcha thinking about so hard over there, Red?”
Probably should’ve mentioned she has flaming red hair. I believe it’s part of the whole phoenix thing, but she’s had it for as long as I’ve known her, so I’m used to it. Oh well, now you know.
She shot me a look I’d seen a hundred times. It was meant to intimidate, but was actually kinda cute.
No, I did not tell her that. Do you think I’m stupid? I taught the girl how to throw a punch.
Her eyes squinted just a bit more before she responded. “You know I hate it when you call me that, Sarge. I was just sitting over here feeling guilty.”
“For what?”
“You’re here, thousands of miles from home, in another country because of me...because I wanted you with me and look what happened. You broke your leg, you’re getting stalked by some crazy she-cat, and now you’re pissed for no reason. That’s not like you. None of this would’ve happened if it hadn’t been for me.”
I saw tears filling her eyes, something that was happening way too much lately, and found my happy place quicker than I could pull the pin on a grenade and yell ‘incoming’! There was no way on God’s green earth I was prepared to deal with tears when my day was already turning to crap. Doing the only thing I knew for sure would work, I teased. “Now, ya know I had to come with y’all. There was no way I was gonna let that mangy haired ol’ king
trot you all the way over here without at least checking out the place first. I mean, I always wanted a lion skin rug in front of the fireplace, but since I didn’t have a fireplace and he was still using his pelt, I had no choice.” I waggled my eyebrows and winked for added effect. Thankfully, she grinned before leaning over the console and hugging my neck.
“Thanks,” Phoebe whispered against my neck.
“For what?”
Leaning back, she looked at me just like when we were kids and said, “For being my big brother.”
And just like that, all the crap from before meant nothing. Family...that was what was important. But I still had to give my little sis a hard time, so I rolled my eyes and scoffed, “It’s a rough job but somebody’s gotta do it.”
Shaking her head and clicking her tongue, I got a punch in the shoulder as she sat back in her seat. Grabbing the door handle, she opened the door and called over her shoulder as she slid off the seat, “Well, hurry it up, Sarge. Let’s get that cast off your leg.”
Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I jumped out of the SUV and kinda jogged, mostly fast walked with a limp to catch up. I’d dodged a bullet and could tell from the way Phoebe was grinning that everything was back to normal...at least for the moment.
We waited longer than usual. The nurse explained to us that the doctor had an emergency come in right before we’d arrived and she was having a hard time stabilizing her patient. I was just about to offer to come back the next day when Dr. Simpson walked out of the huge room at the end of the hall marked ‘Triage’. Her scrubs were covered in blood and she looked as if she had gone a round or two with the Champ. She nodded. I nodded in return and sat back down, wondering if she looked so tired because she’d saved her patient or...
“Was that the doctor?” Phoebe asked, cutting off my thought.
“Yep.”
“Looks like it’s been a rough day.”
Nodding, I started to respond when the nurse called my name.
The rest of the visit was quick and painless. When the doctor came into the room, she was once again the composed professional I was used to, with clean scrubs and glasses in place.
“Looks like you were right, Jax. Your leg has completely healed and in record time.” She was saying all the right things but...
“So what’s the deal, Doc? You’re saying all the ‘good’ words, but somehow it sounds like something’s wrong. It’s real confusing from this side of the bed.”
“Oh no, nothing like that. Sorry, it’s already been a long day. It’s just that I’ve never seen a non-shifter heal that fast, but I looked at your blood tests and you are definitely one hundred percent human. You just must have amazing genes.” She smiled but it felt forced. I decided it was because of her earlier emergency and let it go.
Nodding, I asked, “Am I good to go?”
“You are.” The doctor chuckled, “But I need you back here in the morning for just a bit of physical therapy. Even though you healed quickly, you were still immobile for almost two weeks, and those muscles need a little ‘special exercise’. See you at nine?”
“I don’t thin...”
“He’ll be here if I have to have him hog tied and carried,” Phoebe butted in.
I was ready to argue just as an alarm sounded. The doctor was speeding out the door before I could say anything else. Hollering over her shoulder and the obnoxious sound of the alarm, Dr. Simpson confirmed, “See you in the morning,” disappearing before I could respond.
Phoebe and I walked through the waiting room, making a beeline for the front door. My curiosity got the best of me as I stepped into the late morning sun so I glanced over my shoulder. Whoever the doc had been treating when we’d arrived was obviously feeling better. From the hissing and roaring, the patient was seven kinds of pissed and out for blood. For a split second, I was drawn to action, as if an invisible tether was pulling me back into the building.
Phoebe’s voice broke the spell. “Come on, Jax. Let’s go get some lunch. I’m starving.”
Walking to the SUV, I tried to come up with an excuse not to have lunch with my sister. I loved Phoebe to death, but I needed some ‘me time’. I wanted to grab a sandwich and take a walk, be alone, figure out why I was still so damn cranky. It might’ve been the fact that I’d been trapped inside for almost two weeks and that everywhere I turned during my convalescence someone was under foot. But I was putting my money on the fact that I could not stop thinking about the woman I affectionately called ‘my stalker’. It was the most infuriating thing I’d ever experienced. I wanted nothing to do with her, wished we’d never crossed paths, just wanted to forget she existed and move on, but my brain had other ideas.
We turned into the estate and I’d yet to come up with an excuse I knew my sister would buy. Thankfully, Grant appeared on the porch looking for his wife, just in time.
“What’s up? I thought you were in meetings all day,” Phoebe asked as she exited the vehicle.
“The first one ended early and I cancelled the rest to spend the day with my beautiful wife. How about lunch in the garden?”
Any other time I would’ve gagged and told them to get a room, but this time I could’ve kissed my brother-in-law for butting his big nose into our plans. Of course, Phoebe wanted to include me and I loved her for it, but I cut her off before she could argue.
“You go on with your hubby, Phoebs. I’m beat. It’s been a big morning and my couch is calling my name. Besides y’all will get all lovey dovey and that’s not something I need to see today.” Everyone chuckled and for good measure I added, “We’ll catch up later.” Turning as quickly as I could, I headed towards the carriage house, blocking out the sounds of Grant telling Phoebe not to worry as I felt her watching me leave. She’d just have to understand. And if she didn’t, I’d explain later.
Walking into the house and straight to the kitchen, I made a quick sandwich and grabbed a huge bottle of water before heading out the back door. Avoiding the guards Grant still had posted around my house, I made my way around the ridge, through the gate, and out into the open land, heading straight for the cliffs. For as long as we’d been in Scotland the cliffs along the shoreline had become my hangout. There was something about the wide-open space, the sea air, and the sound of the waves that made the rest of the world go away.
Sitting on a particularly sturdy ledge,
Hey, I gotta be careful. I’m not a little guy.
...I ate my lunch and let the scenery take all my cares away. It was the most peaceful I’d been since my run in with the puma. I wish I understood what it was about that cat or woman or whatever she was that I couldn’t get out of my mind. She was what people called an enigma. I didn’t know her, wasn’t even sure what she looked like, but damn! She was in my brain and apparently, there to stay.
Grant’s security team had seen her skulking about several times since the altercation in my backyard, but no one was able to catch her. As far as I knew, no one had seen her in human form at all unless you count her long blonde hair floating on the wind. It made me think of all the refugees I’d seen in Afghanistan. They’d been forced to do whatever it took to survive. People that had been peaceful and kind were made to fight for the very food they ate or the small piece of thatched roof over their heads. My heart hurt to think that the puma had suffered like that and was still on the run.
But on the run from what?
I laid back on the cool earth and stared at the fluffy white clouds as they floated across the brilliant blue sky. Smiling, I remembered the game Phoebe and I used to play when life as a foster kid got to be too much to handle. We’d see how many different animals we could find in the sky and name them. Whoever won had to make up a story using as many of the cloud animals as they could.
Just about ready to name a rather crazy looking cloud poodle, the sound of a stick cracking under the weight of someone’s foot pulled me from my revelry. Holding my breath, listening for the next move, I counted to almost twenty before I heard the slightest ru
stle of leaves. Someone was close and wanted to come closer, but wanted to do so without being detected.
Sorry about your luck, partner. I can hear you.
Wanting to appear clueless, I kept my eyes to the sky and my breathing controlled. The Marines had trained me well. I needed whoever was behind me to get close enough to have no escape when I made my move. It seemed to take forever before I heard the next movement and even then, it was so subtle I doubted myself, until it happened the second time just a few seconds later. This time it was lighter, gentler, and if I hadn’t been sure it was human feet before, I would’ve sworn it was paws touching the marshy ground of the ledge.
The light steps got closer and closer until I knew whoever was coming towards me had to be out in the open. The trees and foliage only covered so much ground. There was at least a twenty foot semi-circle of rocky terrain surrounding the edge of the rock shelf. The thought had just crossed my mind when a tiny pebble rolled past my ear. I counted to five, took a deep breath, pressed my heels and elbows into the ground, and the second I knew both of my assailant’s feet were on the ground, I pushed with all my strength. Rolling to my stomach and reaching out with my right hand, my fingers closed tightly around the soft, warm skin of an ankle.
The hunter had become the hunted. With one swift pull, my would-be attacker hit the ground, driving the air from her lungs with a loud “Oomph!” I continued the downward motion, pulling her towards me while I rose to my knees. Taking advantage of her breathlessness, I straddled her, pushing my knees into the ground by her waist while grabbing both her wrists and holding them over her head.
Our position brought us face to face, so when she finally opened her eyes, it was my turn to be struck breathless. Those eyes were the same eyes that had haunted my dreams. The same I’d seen in my garden. Those beautiful, hazel eyes danced with more emotions than I could count. The tiny flecks of green and gold swirled faster and brighter the longer we stared at one another. The heat growing between us was disconcerting to say the least, and not something I wanted, especially from the woman who’d caused me so much pain. Instead of giving into whatever the hell craziness was going on, I fell back on my training and began my interrogation.