by Gold, Bella
“What we are?” she asked, looking over at Deacon.
“I assume you're a lion, like your uncle?”
“Not exactly,” she muttered. “My father didn't join in the family tradition. He chose to become a bear, instead.”
“So you're a bear?” I asked, eyes wide. She didn't look like a bear, nor did she feel like one. Instead, she felt like a lion.
“Sort of,” Ava said, adjusting in her seat. “It's complicated, Elias.”
“I understand complicated,” I said, leaning back and relaxing. “Trust me, we're all a bit more complicated than we look.”
“Let's just say – I take after both sides of my family. My father and my uncle.” She'd lowered her voice.
“Wait,” Deacon said, looking as if this was news to him too. “How is that possible? Why didn't I know this?”
“Because I only recently found out myself, Deacon,” she said. “I didn't know it was possible either.”
Raising an eyebrow, I gave Ava a look. We needed to talk, but not around anyone else. Even Deacon didn't know everything about me, but mainly for his own safety. Not that I'd be so open with Ava either, but she was the only one like me I'd ever heard of – a hybrid shifter. And I wanted to learn more.
Because maybe she could offer me some answers to my own past. And more importantly, to my own parent's demise as well.
Chapter Three
AVA
Elias was even more stunning up close. His eyes were greener, more vibrant. His hair less black and more chocolate brown, just a few shades darker than his skin, which looked like a nice, deep tan. Now that I saw him up close, I wondered if he wasn't part Native American.
He had a few tattoos that peeked out from underneath his shirt – tribal symbols, from the looks of them. Unlike most of the men in Deacon's group, he wasn't covered in tats. While he looked gentler in the face than most, there was something about him that came off as intimidating. Maybe it was his height. Maybe it was his cockiness and arrogance. Or the fact that he came right over and sat down like he had – without being invited. That took some balls. And from the looks of it, Elias didn't seem to care at all.
“So what happened to your parents, Elias?” I asked. “Who killed them?”
I asked for purely selfish reasons. There was part of me that hoped his story might help me solve my own. I needed answers and if there was someone out there killing unaffiliated shifters, well, maybe Elias knew who it was. Or at least, maybe have an idea.
“The cartels,” Elias said nonchalantly. “You see, they don't just go after those who've wronged them, they go after their families as well. They know killing a man is one thing, but killing off his family – that hurts a lot more. My grandfather was once part of your uncle's gang here, before the cartels came after him as well.”
I looked over at Deacon. “Is this true?”
“We've heard rumors, but nothing has been verified, Ava – ”
Raising my fists, I pounded them into the table with everything I had inside of me. The resulting crash sounded like a cannon shot and everyone in the bar turned and looked at us, but I didn't care.
“Goddammit, Deacon! So you knew this was a possibility and still denied that my parents could have been murdered? Really? And you didn't think to warn me? Your niece?”
“Listen, Ava – ”
“No, you listen to me, Deacon,” I said, feeling my face flushing a bright red as I spoke. I pointed a finger in his face. “You tell me everything you know. Everything. Because I'm going to kill those assholes or at least make them wish they were dead. I will find out who killed my parents, Deacon.”
Deacon sighed. “Your parents were in a car accident. Elias' family was brutally attacked. The scenes were totally different. Elias himself was shot and left for dead. If they'd wanted to come after you, Ava – you'd be dead already. They would have got you the day your parents died, but what happened was a fluke. They were killed in a car accident.”
“Like you would know,” I said. “You weren't even there afterward.”
“Ava, I'm sorry – ”
Elias stared at me. From underneath the table, I felt his hand touch my leg. My first instinct was to pull away, assuming he was getting handsy. My second thought was what a terrible time to be getting handsy with me. But then I felt it. A slip of paper.
Reaching down, I took it from him and unobtrusively slipped it into my pants pocket, trying not to give anything away to Deacon. Obviously Elias didn't want him seeing whatever it was he'd handed me, so I tried to keep it hidden as well.
“I trusted you, Deacon. I always trusted you. And you didn't warn us about a potential threat? You didn't even care to warn me about it?”
“Because I didn't think you were in danger. What happened with Elias didn't appear to be related to what happened to you. As far as I knew, I wasn't on the cartel's radar. I hadn't pissed them off.”
“But his parents did?”
“His grandfather did, yes. There were some issues outside of our gang with the cartels, a drug deal gone wrong. Nothing I was involved in.”
“Then who the hell was that man who showed up at my door the day my parents died?” I asked, feeling the tears burning in my eyes.
“I don't know,” Deacon said at last. “Or rather, I do know – but I don't know why he was looking for me.”
“Who showed up at her door?” Elias asked, looking between me and my uncle.
When Deacon didn't answer, I did. “A Hispanic man with El Monstruo tattooed on his chest.”
Elias' eyes grew wide as he grabbed onto the table and appeared to stop breathing for a moment. His entire body grew rigid. He pulled his shirt to the side, exposing a scar above his heart and pointed to it.
“That's the man,” he said quietly, meeting my gaze, “who tried to cut out my heart before Deacon stepped in and saved me.”
“I was too late for his parents and grandfather,” Deacon said. “I had no idea they were in danger or I would have been there sooner.”
Chapter Four
“Well then,” I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “it appears I have my answer.”
“What's that?” Elias asked me.
“My parents were killed by this El Monstruo because he was looking to get back at Deacon.”
“Then why didn't he kill you, Ava?” Deacon asked. But this time, it didn't sound like he was fighting with me, more like he was trying to understand it himself.
“That's a mystery,” I said, gritting my teeth. “But I guess we'll never know unless we ask him ourselves.”
“No, Ava,” Deacon said. “We can't do that. Or rather, you can't do that. I don't want you anywhere near that guy. I do not want you on his radar.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want,” I said.
Elias chuckled slightly, but covered it up after I glared at him.
“I'm not the little girl you remember me to be,” I said.
“But you're still not a fighter, Ava. Let me handle it,” Deacon said.
Looking at my aging uncle, I doubted his ability to take on the drug cartel alone. Maybe with the gang at his back – but even then, it was iffy. At best.
“Will they still follow you?” I asked, motioning toward the men in the bar.
“They'd follow me to hell and back,” he said confidently. “But this isn't a war for them to fight.”
“I agree,” Elias said. “It's too dangerous. We need to be in and out. Get the leader out and take out anyone who knows about us. We can't take down the whole cartel and those other men have families – unlike us.”
“We don't have anyone else to lose,” I said. “But they do.”
“Exactly,” Elias said. “They took my entire family from me, so it should be me. I have nothing left to lose.”
“Elias – ” Deacon said, reaching out for the other man's arm.
“No, Deacon,” he said, giving me a knowing look. “You have done enough for me already, and besides, you have Ava. For whatever
reason, they didn't kill her. If you continue after them, they may come back for her and she's an innocent in all of this.”
“So are you,” Deacon said. “You were just a boy, Elias.”
“But now I'm a man,” he said calmly. “And to know that this guy is still out there, killing people and tearing apart families – I won't rest until I tear out his heart like he tried to do mine. Like I said, I have nothing else left to lose. But you do, Deacon. Protect what you hold dear while you still have it to protect.”
Elias' words touched me. His strength, his need for revenge – I understood it all so well because I felt it too. I knew the desire to kill the person who'd taken everything away from you. I still had Deacon, but he was already on the hit list. My involvement wouldn't cause him anymore pain or suffering. I had no one else. Nothing else to lose.
But I couldn't agree to help Elias. At least, not with Deacon at the table.
“I agree, Deacon,” I said, reaching for my uncle's arm. “You need to sit this one out. Retire, head for the mountains or somewhere safe where no one knows your name.”
“You'll come with me, Ava?” he asked me.
“No,” I said, unable to lie. “But I'll promise to be careful. I'll go somewhere, trust me. And no one will know who I am.”
That last part wasn't a lie. I'd make sure to keep myself hidden and I'd be careful. But I wouldn't be hiding from the danger. I'd be walking head first into it. But Deacon didn't need to know that.
He was the only family I had left and I wanted to protect him. Yes, he may have brought this down on us, but I couldn't blame him. All I could do was right the wrongs and find out who killed my family.
And of course, battle it out with Elias over who got to rip that bastard’s heart out once we found him.
Chapter Five
ELIAS
I could tell Ava was as hell bent on revenge as I was, which was why I'd passed her my number. Deacon would never allow her to help me. And honestly, I'd probably not allow her to help me either. But any information she might have could help. Not only that, slipping a pretty girl like her my number could come with some added benefits.
“I'll leave you two alone and let you catch up,” I said, standing up from the table. “It was very nice meeting you, Ava.”
I reached for her hand to kiss it, but she shook my hand instead. Strong, stubborn woman. I liked that. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me, but her smile appeared to be more of a challenge than a friendly expression.
“Nice meeting you too, Elias. And congratulations on your new role,” she said. “I know you have big shoes to fill.”
“That I do,” I said, nodding at Deacon. I admired the hell out of this man. The fact that he felt I was ready for this role meant the world to me, but there was something he wasn't saying. I could see it in his eyes. “Talk to you later, D-man.”
It was a playful jab at him because I knew he didn't like it. He hated being called anything but Deacon and it was something of an inside joke between the two of us.
“Soon, Elias. Very soon.” Deacon looked more serious than usual. “Meet with me before you head out to look for this man, we need to talk.”
He would try to talk me out of it, no doubt. He wouldn't do it here, not in front of Ava. But he would be talking to me, I had no doubts about that. There was no way I was going to let him get hurt by the same man who killed my parents. Deacon was like a second father to me and there was no way I was going to lose him too. And to think they were looking for him – nah, I wouldn't let them get him. And I wouldn't let them get his niece.
Unlike the other two, I truly had nothing to lose. After coming so close to death years ago, I no longer feared it. I'd seen the light right before Deacon jumped in and saved me. He knew if I transformed into my lion form in time, I'd heal from the wounds and survive. It was something nobody had ever really discussed with me before that. My father wasn't fond of what he was, so he kept it from me and didn't tell me much about it. But in that moment, after Deacon had told me to shift, my body healed itself from the inside out while I shifted. And for the first time in m whole life to that point, I felt alive.
Maybe part of me felt like I could never die. But another part of me knew that was a lie. My father was a lion. He died. My mother was – well, my mother was something else entirely – and she'd still died too.
I was their son, and yes, I too could die. But that didn't mean I would.
“Will do, Deacon,” I said calmly. Not that he had to know my true plans.
Whether or not I had time to catch up with him wasn't on the top of my priority list. But his niece, on the other hand – I'd definitely be talking to her.
“Call me,” I mouthed to her when Deacon looked away.
Ava nodded, her face serious.
Never before had getting a girl to call me been so easy. Not that it was ever hard, but Ava seemed like the type who might be hard to get. Not that I'd be pursuing her in that regard. She was, after all, Deacon's niece. And Deacon was like a father to me. I couldn't ruin Deacon's trust by hurting his niece. I wasn't going to let anything in this world break the bond I shared with him.
Not even his gorgeous, feisty niece.
***
The next morning, my phone rang, startling me awake. My adrenaline running, I looked at the clock and saw that it was five after seven. In the morning. I'd only been asleep for a few hours. I looked at my phone and saw that the number was blocked, which wasn't a good sign. I had half a mind to let it go to voicemail, if only to get more sleep, but my mind shifted back to the night before.
It could be Ava.
I answered the phone and smiled when I heard her voice.
“Elias?” she asked before I even had a chance to introduce myself.
“Yes, it's me,” I said, sitting up in bed and scratching my chin.
Stubble was starting to grow in, I'd need to shave that. Yet another cliché about us biker types that I didn't feel the need to live up to.
“This is Ava. From last night?”
As if I could forget her.
“I figured,” I said. “When would be a good time to meet up and talk?”
“Now?” she said, and I could sense the urgency in her voice. “I can meet you for breakfast somewhere.”
“Better we talk alone, in private,” I said. “I can come to you?”
She hesitated and seemed to be weighing the wisdom of a private meeting. Not that I could blame her. She hardly knew me. She had no idea what my intentions were. If it weren't for her relationship to Deacon, well, my intentions might not be the best. But again, I couldn't do that to Deacon.
“If my uncle trusts you to take over his gang – I guess I can trust you in my home,” she said.
For the first time, I noticed a sweet southern drawl in that voice of hers. So adorable and incredibly sexy. Not coming on to Ava would be even harder than I thought, but I needed to behave myself. Bro code. Don't sleep with the beloved niece of the man who raised you. That would get me in a heap of pain, and fast.
“You can trust me, Ava,” I said, hopping out of bed and looking at the ground for my clothes. July in the Midwest was hot as hell and this place lacked air conditioning. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt while we talked. “I'm loyal to Deacon, which means I'm loyal to your family. Your family is as important to me as mine was.”
“Or rather what's left of my family,” she muttered.
Her pain was all too real and I knew exactly what she was going through.
“I'm sorry about your family, Ava,” I said, stopping and running a brush through my hair. “I really am.”
“And I'm sorry to hear about yours, and what happened to you, Elias.”
There was a moment of silence as I hurried and got dressed. “I need an address,” I said.
“I'm staying at a hotel. The Grand Winchester in downtown – ”
“I know exactly where that is,” I said, remembering a few crazy nights I'd had over there. “I'
ll be there in just a few minutes.”
“See you soon,” she said before hanging up.
Yes, see you soon, Ava. I looked in the mirror one last time, noticing the thick, dark stubble on my chin and face. I should shave, but I didn't have time for it. Oh well, some chicks dug the facial hair – not that I should care what Ava was into. But it crossed my mind anyway.
Damn you, Elias. Behave yourself. You don't need to fuck every pretty girl who crosses your path.
But Ava wasn't like any other pretty girl. She was different. Like me. The only other hybrid I'd met. No, we weren't one and the same, but maybe she could answer some questions about what we were and what it meant. And who knew – maybe I could answer some of her questions about the man who killed her parents.
Chapter Six
AVA
I paced the length of my hotel room, looking out the window every time I heard a car door. But he wouldn't be riding in a car, would he? He was a biker. Not saying he never drove a car, but – hell, what did I know about bikers? Not a damn thing, that was for sure.
I yearned for home, but at the same time, this small town felt a lot like my home. My parents were from there, as was Deacon. We moved when I was younger, which was why I had to stay in this dingy hotel room. Truthfully, I wasn't sure I even had a home anymore. I couldn't go back to my old town – the place where my parents died. I couldn't go back to their home. I'd been living with them at the time, trying to save up money to move into my own place since college hadn't work out so well for me.
I just wasn't the college type. Daddy said I reminded him of Deacon in that regard, and when he said it, I remembered that there was pain in his eyes. Like he sensed there was something off about me. I'd always known something was off about me, but I learned to live with it. I was a fighter. My body yearned to move, to punch, to kick – I wasn't meant to sit at a desk all day.
My dream was to one day open my own kickboxing studio, but that day might never come now. I'd lost everything and everyone. I had nothing but this dingy hotel room and a house I'd never be able to return to.