“She will find out. She will ask you why you didn’t tell her and the hurt won’t be easily swept away. You know how a chick works on the inside. She’ll let it eat at her and then she’ll run away. You can’t let her hate you. You two are all we have left.”
Tell that to the ones who cursed her.
I was sick and tired of everyone telling me I was the last hope. Even Esau got burned when Jacob screwed him over all the way from birth. Jacob was already pulling Esau back into the womb fighting for first place to the deception of losing his birthright to his brother. The only difference between us and them, I didn’t want it even if I was the first born.
I can’t win. It’s the only way. I let my fist meet the floor. “No.”
“Then she should know about the mountains. And her own realm. It’s her birthright.” Trigger added as an after note. I hated that I confided in him sometimes, but he and Wicker were all I had.
Emma finally stirred making the blanket squirm off her shoulders and revealed too much skin. Her flat stomach appeared even more as she stretched cat-like sending me into action. I pulled her shirt down without thinking about what I was doing or the reaction I’d get. I just knew I wanted to cover her from being seen by the other two.
“Why are you touching me?” she stilled to barely there.
I gave her an eased laugh and let go after I had her covered. “Just protecting your virtue.”
She huffed and stood above me forcing me to follow her legs up and see the heat in her face.
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”
The blood rushed to her cheeks and neck betraying surfaced feelings hidden behind her mad fit face.
“And you’re just plain frustrating.” She blew a breath out, her eyes hard as steel.
“Frustratingly hot? Frustratingly smug? Frustratingly perfect?”
Trigger groaned and left cursing under his breath.
I was avoiding the obvious for various reasons but mostly so she would still see me with a little respect even though I was trying my best to push her away. She needed to be free of me.
As if she knew I was her very own cancer sending her to her own death she said, “You flirt with danger and keep secrets that you know affect what my next move will be and even act as if you already know the outcomes. It would be easier if you’d be more honest with me.”
EMMA
Ames didn't know I’d just heard the conversation between him and Trigger. It must have been the tail end though since all I really gathered was that something was important about the mountains and he was reluctant to tell me. And that us two are all they had left. If he meant to include me in that, I didn’t want to know yet. It might be bad news.
He mused over my last statement no doubt pondering what he wanted to say and/or what he should say but what came out wasn’t what I’d expected. “I flirt with you, but to no avail. I keep my secrets from you, to keep you safe.”
Safe. “Hiding that you have a brother that is evil reincarnated is just wrong. You should have told me that Joshlin was your brother.”
“And what would it have accomplished?” His eyes narrowed but not surprised by my own secret leaking out.
“Well,” I swallowed not sure why it bothered me so, “For one...it might have...well never mind. It would have been nice to know.” I looked away from him in silent protest silencing my knotted stomach to douse the fear of the unknown. Telling me would have never landed me here. I’d have run for my life.
“Are you throwing some kind of female fit?”
Female fit? Who says that to a girl? “Don’t make me madder.”
“Madder is not a word.”
I blew out an exasperated breath and squeezed my shaking fingers.
“You’re super cute when you’re angry. Excuse me, madder.”
“And you’re too smug.”
“Not too much. Just enough to get you riled up though. What will you do about it?”
So he wanted a challenge. I could see he liked the excitement part of flirting with words. “Perhaps you should be in my debt for making amends for what you’ve done.”
A single eyebrow rose on his left brow. “Your demands?”
Oh, well. I could think of some that I would never say, but for the sake of needing him to keep telling more, I turned to humor. “A frappe.”
His face fell a little. “Is that all?”
“You interrupted me. Let me finish.”
I wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t end up with my face flaming red or him teasing me more. So I sat there like a dummy.
“Trouble with that?”
I blew a breath and stood to go. I felt stupid for not having a comeback or having the courage to say what I wanted. Ames just seemed to jumble everything up inside me and confuse every inch of my thoughts.
“Can I help you with the list?”
What would he suggest? Making me a love slave. A girl can hope. I sure didn’t say yes or no, just waited to hear.
Just when I didn’t think my face could get hotter, he was an inch from my face and getting closer. I could see his eyes watching my mouth open to help myself breathe the larger puffs coming faster now. The greenness of his eyes brightened and flitted to my own eyes. He stayed so still not touching any part of me. I felt like I was keeping my cool from where I stood and that he wouldn’t over think me falling apart by the mere idea of him kissing me. Wrong!
His lips hovered just beside my cheek. I closed my eyes more to keep myself from falling forward or backward. It never came though.
“I think my point is proven.”
Oh, I’m gonna—
His hands held my shoulders. “We both lose focus around each other which only proves letting this happen will...”
“...push me over the edge.” Did I say that? Yep! Consider me the brave one.
He seemed to shiver right along with me which only made me feel better. He took a turn to swallow audibly and moved back away from me. I was starting to rethink how much he hated me.
If something in my life was ever difficult, that was it. Maybe, just maybe, Ames didn’t hate me for who I was. Maybe he did like me. But to a naive girl who knew nothing about worldly kind of guys, I could only guess he’d see me as a project, not someone to stick around with in overtime.
Ames swiped the back of his thumb across my cheek petal soft and walked outside running his hand through his hair. I guess he needed air since it was officially sucked out of the room by all one hundred puffs of air I had to use to get through the last two minutes that completely just rocked my world to a screeching halt.
I wasn’t sure what I should do next.
AMES
Something in me just snapped at that moment. I was just intending to rattle her. She went all dreamy eyed when I got close and I couldn’t stop the thrill it shot through me. But when I moved in wanting to just see her eyes widen with the close quartered nearness, I didn’t expect what her tiny exhale of breath would do to me. Like an alpha male dog thing, I was suddenly very aware of how she smelled so sweet and imagining what she might even taste like. I was still sticking with the candy likeness. I wanted her to be mine and mine only.
Emma stretched again and tried to pop her back. “I wish there was a mattress or something softer to sleep on.”
With that one snap, crackle, pop of her spine, I had plan B for the day.
We packed what things we had and headed out to the wild blue yonder. With the intention of driving across the state line into Tennessee, we buckled up for safety and left the cave dwelling for the nocturnals. Emma was safe beside me in the front seat reading through a magazine she picked up at the gas mart. Trigger and Wicker were in the back arguing over who gets the last Milky Way.
It was too good to be true.
At the second red light across the state line, a car snaked in behind us that I recognized easily. Joshlin’s jacksquat bounty hunters, that he thought I knew nothing about, who were a joke compared to what the three of us could do. H
e’d trained them in the pansy arts of fighting and defense, but not tracking. They had that down well.
I averted the scum by weaving into heavy traffic in hopes of warding them off long enough to get off the exit just as he would pass it. The semi truck in front of me went left at just the perfect time allowing me to duck the car fast on the other side of it, leaving me able to exit the ramp and swerve straight into the green light. We disappeared right and followed the traffic wherever it would lead as long as it was far from the inevitable.
We shook the verdangit hunt squad and headed to the motel I intended for us to hide out in allowing a little more comfort than the cave. Upon arriving, her face told me it might have been a mistake.
The musty smell of the small dilapidated reception room, where the dumpy man stood waiting for potential customers, was nasty and unwelcoming. The shirt he wore, a janitor’s uniform, had a nametag that read “Bob”. Bob grunted and asked us how many rooms we wanted.
“Two rooms. One with two beds,” I responded. I didn’t intend to sleep or leave the door of her room.
Emma gasped behind me making the seemingly bored man click his rotund stature up to his full height. She stepped out beside me and Bob pushed his grubby hands over his unshaven face and whistled low.
“I have the honeymoon suite available.” He looked her up and down making me, and her, fully disgusted.
“That is unnecessary. We just need the two rooms and will be on our way,” I said agitated and ready to leave.
“For an additional ten dollars there a bottle of strawberry wine,” Bob smiled showing me he was, in fact, toothless on the top of his mouth. Great!
“Ames,” her voice thinly called for me.
I turned to see her scared face and waited for her fears to be announced to the crowd.
“Where am I staying?”
EMMA
Ames tossed his eyes at both guys, but not at the pot-bellied snaggle-tooth man behind the counter. Deliberating his next thought no doubt he leaned in and told me, “I have one room for you and the other for the three of us.”
“Don’t make me stay in there alone.” The desperation in my voice was evident.
He analyzed my dewy-eyed look and turned back to the man, “Two rooms, two beds in each.”
When I let the breath out that I didn’t know I was holding, Ames’ shoulders tensed up in unison to my breathing. I squeezed his shoulder hoping to send a silent thank you, but only earned a chuckle and a hearty laugh from the two peanut gallery observers behind me. Pulling my hand and keeping it to myself, I resolved to punch them both in the stomach with my undying magical ability if they kept it up. I showed them my intentions with the evil glare I threw them as we turned to leave with our room keys. The hate-you eyes didn’t work as well as the way I flipped my hand up near their blanched white faces.
Ames saw none of this.
Surely I couldn’t be the only one with this power.
Up the stairs and towards the back of the motel entrance, we were garnished with a view of a large concrete wall covered with graffiti. A loud banging sound jolted all four of us to a guarded position as if someone from the other side of the door might come bounding out. When nothing came, we all glanced at one another and continued down the narrow walkway to rooms forty-six and forty-seven. My assumption was that Ames and I were in one room, Wicker and Trigger in the other. I didn’t want to spend a whole night, or nights, with Wicker or Trigger for the simple reason that they had no reason to not turn me in and get whatever other agenda they might want. I trusted Ames’ instincts, but the others didn’t just join up in this little gang without a back-up plan. They were battle ready and I didn’t feel like they would save me from the wolves, or one particular wolf in question, but rather throw me to that wolf and take the reward.
Just saying.
Ames handed a key to Wicker and told him to get cleaned up and meet back in an hour to go eat. I wondered then where all the magical money stemmed from, but then again, I also questioned why we were all magical to begin with. Maybe there was a money tree growing somewhere I didn’t know existed either.
Ames twisted the key in the door and held out a hand for me to enter. Over his shoulder was my one duffle bag of clothes and toiletries for away from home. I entered the room instantly taking in the bleachy smell that tickled my nose, but comforted my heebie-jeebies feeling. It was at least clean. I would check the sheets before we left the room.
Two double beds sat centered across the room with a television, fridge, and remote control on a tiny table between them. The bathroom was directly in front of the door where we still stood in the doorframe.
Feeling self-conscious now about forcing the sleeping arrangements, I didn’t want to give Ames the wrong idea about why I chose it. I forced my feet to move forward and winced when the door clicked shut. A floor length mirror was positioned parallel to the door right outside the bathroom. My eyes went to the reflection just as his did. We stood stark still just staring it seemed for minutes but probably only amounted to seconds.
“Thank you for not making me stay by myself. I don’t think I could sleep knowing it could take any of you (mainly you) more than minutes to get in here if the wrong sorts showed up again.”
“I understand,” his thumb brushed the back of my hand in swirling motion. Where I was tense before, his touch calmed me. He didn’t appear to have anything else to add to his very short answered reply so I tensed right back up when his hand went in his pocket.
That’s all he was going to say?
“I’m going to take a shower if that’s okay with you?” I asked.
He nodded and I saw his Adam’s apple bob. He reached out with my bag without stepping towards me and I took it disappearing in the bathroom before this could get any more awkward.
He was sitting on the bed facing away to the only window and door when I came out. The hairdryer was in the tiny alcove right outside the bathroom, and so was the mirror. He didn’t look up when I emerged in my fresh pair of jeans and tee. I was thankful I had one more clean change of clothes. I vowed to ask him if we could stop off at a local cleaner on the way back from midday lunch/dinner that I prayed was something other than junk food.
I looked him over sitting there and realized he didn’t have any clean clothes himself. When my eyes returned to his face that was turned my way now, he was staring at me. Gah! He caught me surveying him. I had to rectify the situation.
“I just noticed you don’t have a change of clothes,” I pressed my bag to my chest and held it there.
“We will stop off and grab something for me later.”
Yep! They must have a money tree source of some kind.
I dried my hair and slapped on some mascara and lip gloss. Long hair didn’t air dry as fast as short. I’d learned that lesson when I cut my hair all off a few years back and now had it all back. And then some.
Ready, I didn’t know what to do with myself. So I sat on the bed across from him and waited while he texted and heard it beep for a third time in less than a minute.
“Let’s go,” he stood and walked to the door.
We were joined by the other two and piled into the Jeep heading to food. Oh precious food. I was starving! Even sushi sounded halfway decent the way my stomach grumbled.
AMES
After all of us had been well fed, we were all in a better mood. Back in the Jeep, I refused to turn the key until our next move was decided and all said without other ears listening.
“For now, we all agree that we will not return to Joshlin’s area unless last resort. We will head to my cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountain and gather a few things to remain safe.”
“So we are just going to hide out? Forever?” Emma asked expectedly playing with the dials on the dash. I think she was adjusting the air.
Well, yeah! “Do you have another alternative?” I snipped without meaning to. It’s just I didn’t know what else to do to keep her safe except out of the clutches of Joshlin.
&n
bsp; Emma’s stone-faced look told me she hadn’t thought that far ahead, but she thought I had a better plan. Well, she was sadly mistaken. But I wasn’t dumb and I knew Joshlin’s every move.
“I know what he will do next. I know where he will look. I expect them to find us in the city, but I made sure we are protected at the motel. I placed a haze over the rooms.”
“You’re like a witch or something now?” Her hands went in the air and the two morons in the backseat were laughing under their breath. She was so sarcastic. It made me angry and want her more all in one. And that sounded crazier than anything.
“I am capable of many things.” But that is not one of them.
“Oh, that was a blanket answer, Mr. Suave. What else can you do Ames Cahn?” she scoffed all girl-like switching the air even cooler now.
Sure enough, the backseat snickered and mumbled way too inappropriate a conversation for her to hear. I was glad she couldn’t understand them at all.
“So what is your plan, Ames?”
The way she used my name...”As I said earlier. Once I get word that Joshlin is off our trail, we can loosen our strings.”
“And how do you know he’ll lose us?”
Verdangit! She wouldn’t give! “He will not look for us in the cabin.”
“How are you so sure?” She didn’t have to know where it led and who guarded it. That secret was safe with me and would keep her undoubtedly safe as well.
She huffed at my dismissal and stared out the window away from me. Anywhere but me. Some part of me wanted her attention back my way, but another part was glad the interrogation was over.
“Are you planning to turn me in to an icebox action figure, babe?”
“Don’t call me babe and I wouldn’t do anything to you, Trigger.” She turned the knob to even colder to peeve him off.
“Don’t knock it till you tried it.”
“In your dreams,” she blew air into the roof.
Denial (Goblin's Kiss Series Book One) Page 14