Deep River Shifters 4 Book Box Set

by Lisa Daniels

  “Potential for what? Something a little more permanent?”

  “Oh God, no! Just thought they might have been sweeter than they were. One wouldn’t get off his phone, just texted through the entire meal and movie. Won’t even answer his calls now because I saw that he was texting a couple other women. I don’t care if he is dating other people, but to ruin a date with the person you are currently with is too rude to overlook.”

  “You didn’t tell him that in person, though, did you?”

  Eva stuck her tongue out. “The next guy was terrible to the waiter and wouldn’t stop gossiping about the other people in our class. Great reminder that first impressions are a terrible gauge to go by. Let’s see, the next question was,” Eva tilted her head to the side and looked at the ceiling of the car, “yes, still on track to finish both, but I may have to take an extra class next semester.”

  “Thinking of trying for a triple major?” Serenity arched an eyebrow at her.

  “No,” Eva gave her a look, “thinking about doing another year or two to get another degree after finishing these two. Don’t want to throw off the schedule.” Serenity laughed as Eva thought about the last question. “And the glasses are actually Philip’s.”

  “He still has a crush on you?”

  “Probably, but only because I never tell him no when it comes to helping him with his work. He only wants to have a resource at his constant beck and call. We both know that is how he sees me, and I don’t think now is the time for you to start saying that I should see if he changes.”

  Serenity held up her hands, “That has never been my thing. I have constantly tried to discourage you from any kind of dating, and I’m not about to change into the person who pressures you into dating just because I’m happy.”

  “Is that what she was like before me?” The voice from the front was rich and deep. Something about it sounded familiar to Eva, but she couldn’t quite place it.

  “Yeah, you would not believe how dead against dating this girl has been for years.”

  “Girl!” Serenity was clearly annoyed by the epithet, but her boyfriend laughed. He said, “If our first interaction was any indication, I think I can easily imagine what she was like.”

  “Well, she didn’t have a great first impression of you. Apart from you being incredibly handsome, she thought you were an egotistical narcissist.”

  “She kind of had the same vibe at our first meeting, but I already knew what she was like thanks to Alaric.”

  Eva frowned and looked at Serenity. Her friend smiled and clarified the remark, “He means Professor Cedrus.”

  “Oh,” Eva nodded, “okay, does he know your professor? Is that how small this town is?”

  The driver responded, “Actually, yes, he’s my cousin.”

  “What?” It was Eva’s turn to be shocked. Turning on her long-time friend, “You didn’t tell me they were related. And here I was thinking that the tinted windows were for you. I mean, it wasn’t entirely logical, but after seeing how Mark hurt himself on the bike that one time it didn’t seem too ridiculous.”

  Serenity’s eyes flicked forward and a smile crept across her face, “Yeah, the windows definitely aren’t for me.”

  Eva looked around, “This seems like a pretty modest car if you are borrowing your cousin’s car.”

  “I’m not, this is mine. But let’s talk more about what Serenity was like and what she had to say about me. I always thought she was pretty honest with me, but maybe she was actually much kinder to my face than she was behind my back.”

  “No, let’s talk about you, dear.” Serenity emphasized the last word almost like it was meant in jest. Eva’s eyes narrowed because her friend was acting really strange. Before she could say anything, Serenity looked at her, “Actually, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but what happened on the plane?” She held up her hands again. “After you tell me, I will leave it up to your sister. I just want to know who tried to ruin my best friend’s trip out to see me after so long.”

  “Why? There’s nothing you can do.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that.” Serenity’s eyes flicked forward and there was a nearly inaudible sigh from the front seat.

  Eva immediately shook her head, “Oh no, you are not sending your boyfriend to beat the guy up. Have you turned into a thug since coming out here? Don’t tell me this guy is a dealer or something.” Eva moved forward, trying to get a better look at the guy behind the wheel.

  Serenity grabbed her arm and pulled Eva back into the seat. “It’s nothing like that, but he can do something if you want.”

  Eva shook her head, “I don’t know exactly what he could do, but I think that Rebekah will be able to do plenty.”

  “Yeah, but she also has a big case coming up. How can she take down that bastard if her attention is divided? You know that she is going to put more into protecting her sister.”

  “If I let someone else handle it, she will be pissed. And I am not going to deal with that again.”

  “I doubt she will mind too much. There is no chance that the guy won’t pay for whatever he did.”

  “Oh, please, no violence.”

  “I swear there will be no violence, just some incredibly efficient lawyers who will make the guy pay. Possibly forever depending on what he did.”

  “I’m not going to get your boyfriend to pay for the costs of that. Or your professor. It would be wrong to use them like that.”

  From the front seat Serenity’s boyfriend spoke up, “Actually, I would not mind at all. It would hardly be the first douchebag I handled this year. Although the last one was on a more personal level, I am more than happy to help if you need it. Especially if your sister is really handling such an important case.”

  Eva glared at Serenity, “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

  Serenity threw her hands up, “I haven’t told him much about you, so stop worrying about it.”

  The driver spoke up, “You are Eva Madison, daughter of Caroline and Douglas Madison. Your sister is Rebekah Madison, continuing your family’s impressive accomplishments so that you can chase your own dreams.”

  Eva frowned and at first her glare deepened as she looked at Serenity. Then she realized how shocked her friend appeared. “How did you know any of that?”

  “You told me that your best friend was named Eva Madison when we started dating. And a few months ago you mentioned that her sister was trying a crime boss. There aren’t many cases out there with mob bosses, so it only took about 10 minutes of research to figure out who she was.”

  Eva sat back and sighed, “I hope this isn’t going to be something that is a topic of discussion while I am here. I hate talking about my family.”

  Serenity patted her arm, “You really don’t need to worry about it. My boyfriend is quite accustomed to that kind of thing, so he’s not about to make you talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  “Oh right, with his cousin, I bet he’s constantly bothered by people wanting stuff because of his relatives.”

  Serenity’s eyes darted forward, “Yeah, that too.”

  “Wait, what do you mean, that too?”

  The car parked and the driver got out and opened the door for Serenity. With a shrug and a smile, Serenity slipped out of the car. “Come on.”

  Her annoyance barely contained, Eva slid out after her friend, “What exactly did you mean by—oh.” Her eyes went wide as she looked up into the smiling face she had seen in so many movies over the years. He had done a lot less work over the last couple of years, but Ryland Cascara did not look like he had aged at all. And he was much more handsome in person. Eva felt the blood rushing to her cheeks as her ability to talk completely disappeared.

  A hand pulled her away from the car, “Come on, Eva, you can be dumbfounded later. The chopper is waiting.”

  Eva turned to look. Sure enough, there was a helicopter waiting just a few feet away, and the pilot was climbing into it. Serenity climbed in. Still shocked by her best friend’s se
cret, Eva could do little more than stand and stare at the chopper. A strong pair of arms picked her up and climbed in. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Eva. I have heard so much about you, but someone thought it best not to tell you about me. She was afraid you would do exactly what you are doing now and figured it would be best to help you get comfortable with me first.”

  Eva’s head turned almost mechanically to look at the man on whom she had had a crush since she was 12 years old as he sat down next to Serenity. He continued talking, “At first I thought she was just being cruel, but now I kind of see her point.” A part of Eva’s mind expected the man in front of her to slip an arm around Serenity like he was claiming his prize—he had done it in so many movies. Instead, Ryland looked down with a sweet expression that was almost imperceptible as he took Serenity’s hand. He looked up at Eva, “So how can I help you with your problem? I promise, there will be no violence.”

  Eva couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of Ryland hurting anyone. She couldn’t stop laughing for a good five minutes. By the time she was done, Eva felt much more relaxed.

  “Well, I hate to ask this of a stranger, but I feel like I’ve known you for more than a decade, so I’m going to trust that your screen persona isn’t completely a lie.” She gave Serenity a look. “Besides, Rebekah should focus on her job right now. I’m already regretting contacting her. And I’m not quite sure how to download stuff from these.” She took the glasses off of her face. “Not sure how I’m going to tell her someone else will take care of it.”

  Ryland smiled, “I think that we can take care of both of your problems. Just sit back and enjoy your time in the Pacific Northwest. If we do our job right, you will be moving here before the end of the month.”

  “And if you do your job wrong?” Eva couldn’t help but ask, even though it was a corny question.

  He shrugged, “I’ll just have to miss Serenity when she comes out to visit you.”

  “That was a bit anticlimactic.” Eva was disappointed that it wasn’t something more dramatic.

  “Well, I can only monopolize her for five years at a time. I’m sure you can wait another five years to see her again.” Ryland’s smile was everything she had ever dreamed of.

  “Damn you, Serenity,” Eva muttered.

  Serenity looked hurt, “What did I do?”

  “You stole my perfect man.” Eva folded her arms across her chest and slumped back in her chair.

  “Are you slouching? What would your parents say?” Ryland’s tone was playful, and Eva could see Serenity rolling her eyes. It was hard to pay attention to her friend with her crush sitting in front of her.

  “Do you really want to hear that lecture? I don’t think that it will be much different than what you heard in your line of work.”

  Ryland laughed, and Eva noticed him squeeze Serenity’s hand as he leaned forward. “So, what happened? Once you tell me, I will take care of it. Of course, I will also need to borrow your glasses to get the footage.”

  “How did you—wait, can you figure out tech, too?” Eva tried to comprehend what was going on.

  “Oh no, I can’t, but I know someone who can. Could probably push the tech a little further in the process.”

  “Oh, right,” Eva laughed, “this part of the country is certainly interesting. I can see why you love it so much.” She looked at her friend.

  “You haven’t even scratched the surface yet.”

  Looking between the couple, Eva sighed and quickly recounted what had happened on the plane. As soon as the incident was relayed, Ryland quickly changed the subject. By the time they landed in Deep River, Eva had almost completely forgotten about the plane ride and her shyness.

  Chapter 2

  A New World

  Once they were off the helicopter, Eva began to look around. “Where are we?”

  “We are at Alaric’s place. It was the only location where we could land within at least 50 miles. It’s a bit out of the way, but much better than fighting Seattle traffic at this time of day,” Ryland explained while Serenity and Eva looked around.

  “Serenity, why do you look so surprised?” Eva gave her friend an inquisitive look.

  “I’ve never been here either. We always meet at school, one of his computer labs, or one of the cafés in town. Professor Cedrus has never invited me here until recently, and even that was only because of a party he is holding for—” she looked over at her boyfriend, “what was it again?”

  “It’s a party to launch something he’s been working on. Couldn’t tell you what, though, because when he starts talking business all I hear is white noise.”

  Eva laughed as Serenity gave Ryland a look. “You know that he is full of amazing ideas. You never even try to understand what he is doing? Hopeless!” She gave him a playful slap on his arm. In response, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him to keep her from any further provocation. Serenity wrinkled her nose at him. “The fact that he isn’t going to be allowed to do much with this project has been a source of constant complaint for him recently. Try to show a little sympathy.”

  “Well, it is either he gets knee deep in this venture or he takes care of the family. I’m very glad to see he is finally stepping up because I don’t really have time for it anymore.” Ryland gave Serenity a smile that was familiar to Eva, and she felt a deep sense of jealousy. She had watched that smile on screen so many times, and now she was seeing it up close and in person. It was a fantasy that she had had for years, but Ryland had been looking at her in that fantasy. Now he was right in front of her, but he was giving that look to Eva’s best friend, someone who probably hadn’t even recognized him when they met. Eva knew by the way Serenity had complained about the stranger who had been so blunt on their walks that her friend had no idea who the guy was. She had even admitted to not having gotten his name when she complained. Eva doubted that her friend would have known who Ryland was because Serenity hadn’t watched a movie since her freshman year in college. Before that, her best friend had only watched foreign films on the rare occasion. The few times when Eva had tried to talk to Serenity about Ryland, or any movie, her best friend had only half-listened. When Eva had tried to educate her through viewing, Serenity had fallen asleep watching one of Ryland’s movies, before his character had made an appearance.

  Life is so unfair, Eva thought as she looked away from the mushy scene in front of her. In the movies, the pair would have kissed, and that was not something she wanted to watch. She started walking toward what she thought was the way down from the roof.

  “Where are you going?” The familiar voice was not nearly as exciting to hear as she would have believed just a few hours before, but it still drew her attention. Eva turned and watched as Ryland adjusted her bag on his shoulder. “It’s this way.” Despite the fact that he was clearly in love with Serenity, the handsome actor’s smile was still contagious. Eva felt her lips tweaking at the sides, and her eyes darted to her friend. Serenity was also smiling at her, and it reminded Eva that this wasn’t a movie—her friend was not into PDA or constant physical contact. Of course, she wasn’t about to go do something like that around Eva and subject herself to merciless mocking for the rest of her life.

  Allowing herself to chuckle at her envy, Eva followed the couple, closing the distance by jogging a little. Even as she strode beside them, she had to keep a slightly faster pace. Serenity had always slowed down a bit when walking with her shorter friend, but now there were two tall people, and their minds were clearly preoccupied with things other than their pace. It didn’t last long because an elevator rose in front of them as they neared the edge of the roof.

  “That’s really neat. All we need now is a room for plotting against some international terrorist and this is basically the setup for about a quarter of your movies.” Eva was looking at the elevator, her head turning to get a better look at the construction.

  Serenity gave her a strange look and Ryland laughed. “Serenity never told me that you watched my movi
es.”

  Eva started walking around the elevator as the couple stepped into it. “Of course not. I doubt she knew who you were when you guys met, despite me gushing over you for a handful of years.” She looked over at the couple as they looked at each other. It was a comedic exchange, and Eva really wanted to enjoy it, even if it did mean she was more closely aligned with the movie sidekick than main character. Having spent so much time with Serenity over the years, it wasn’t like that was much of a surprise—there was nothing about Serenity that suggested she would ever be anything other than the heroine. Eva had always been acutely aware that she was never the one to be noticed when the two were out having fun. She had lost a couple of potential dates because of her friend, too. But this was the first time that it actually hurt. Forcing a smile (after all, it was obvious that Serenity was much happier than she had ever been back east), Eva continued to amuse herself. “Oh, I’m right, aren’t I?” Shaking her head, she let out a few tsks to give them time to look at each other some more. Eva kept her foot in the elevator door, her arms folded across her chest as she watched their reactions.

  Ryland was the first to speak, his eyes slowly turning back to Eva. It was obvious that he was impressed. “Well, I know she didn’t tell you about me, but apparently, you don’t need me to fill you in on those first few encounters. You really know Serenity well, don’t you?” He gave her a conspiratorial smile, causing Eva to lose her train of thought for a few moments. “Of course, you are invited to the party tonight. I can take you out shopping while Serenity goes and gushes over the project. There are a few things I would love to discuss with you.”

  Eva clapped, and stepped into the elevator. “It’s a deal. I’ll tell you anything you want to know about her. You must be a brave man to be taking her on because she will not put up with jealousy. At all.”

  Ryland was giving Serenity a wry look as the door slid closed. For her part, Serenity seemed to be a bit on the defensive. One arm was across her chest, while a hand rested under her chin, and Eva knew that meant she was calculating how best to stop the pair from running off to talk about her. “Eva, you make it sound like I am a man-eater or someone with a world of secrets to hide.”