“You wouldn’t have heard her make any,” she said softly. “She did what she thought was best and in the end her death was my fault.”
“How so?”
“My ex killed her because she knew I’d never leave my family,” Cambrie admitted. “My grandmother and her lover were home. I couldn’t see being away from them.” Or so close to them. It was like being burned alive by the sun when they smiled at each other.
Meat sizzled in the skillet, and she took a carrot to the sink to rinse and clean it.
“Did you want her to kill them?” Sydney finally asked as she turned to look at her.
“No.” Her chest clenched in pain, but the sympathy in Sydney’s brown eyes.
“Then, it wasn’t your fault, honey,” Sydney said in a tone throbbing with anger. “I thought my parents deaths were my fault too because I hadn’t been home when my family was attacked, but I came to realize I might have died there too.”
“Was it a home invasion?” she asked with a frown and her heart went out to Sydney because she felt her pain like a crushing weight on her chest.
“Of the worse kind,” she murmured. “Cam, bad things happen in our lives and sometimes to people we love. We have to accept the blame that’s ours and reject that which isn’t. We mourn our dead and live each day that comes as they’d want us to.”
Chapter Thirteen
Cambrie was delighted when Sydney showed her the small dining space. The table was built into the wall and pulled out. Overhead, the skylight opened to shower them in starlight. Sydney lit a few candles to give them a little more light creating a romantic ambience.
“This is fantastic,” she exclaimed and looked up.
“Thanks,” Sydney said. “I helped with all the renovations of the building, which by the way used to be my office. This was my home away from Snowbury. I stayed here a lot until I started working at the club.”
“Why’d you close your office?” She frowned.
“I was doing okay, and I still work a few cases, but my priorities changed. Now, most of the cases are handled by the few employees I still have on staff.”
Cambrie nodded. “I can see using this as a getaway.” She smiled and reached for her fork to take a bite of salad.
“I bet,” Sydney said with a grin and took a sip of her wine.
“But why go work for someone else?” Cambrie pressed.
Sydney studied her. “I enjoy the work, Cam,” she said. “And Sam and I are like sisters. So when she asked me to come to work at the club I agreed. What about you? When are you going to give up dancing?”
“Never. I love dancing, and it keeps me in shape. Besides that, it’s a great way to add spice to a relationship.”
“Seriously, what about the rest of your life?”
Cambrie shrugged. She’d been a teacher before on the verge of accepting a position at a college. She’d also worked in a museum, and she’d see if she could find a job doing one of those things once the situation with Gray Tail was settled.
“I have options I’ll pursue in the future,” Cambrie said. “The steak is excellent. Just never ask me to cook it. I can never get steak tender.”
“Maybe I’ll teach you.”
She grinned. “I’m sure it’ll be fun.”
They finished the rest of the meal mostly in silence, each one lost in her own thoughts. When they finished Cambrie helped carry the dishes to the sink.
“I’ll take care of them,” Sydney told her.
“Are you sure?” Cambrie asked with a frown.
“Why don’t you relax? That is what you had in mind for your night out?”
Cambrie chuckled. “Mostly,” she murmured looking Sydney up and down slowly as she stood in front of the sink.
Sydney lifted her brows. “Mmm.”
“Maybe a dance or two,” Cambrie said. “You mind if I check out your stereo?”
“Not at all.”
Cambrie sauntered into the living area in search of some music. The stereo was situated beneath the TV mounted on the wall with a Bluetooth bar speaker just above it. Cambrie studied the CDs in a tower racing up from the floor. By the time she selected one and put it in, Sydney was there to turn the stereo on for her.
Cambrie gave her a smile as she began swaying to the beat.
She stroked her fingers over the side of her neck as she held Sydney’s gaze. She trailed her fingers over her collarbone before gliding them down between the valley of her breasts and over her stomach before executing a deft turn and swaying to the music.
Cambrie cast a glance over her shoulder to give Sydney a sultry look, and Sydney’s eyes were already starting to glow with arousal. Cambrie smiled as she turned back and lost herself in the music incorporating modern dance moves with belly dancing.
The music changed, slowing to a slow beat and Cambrie turned reaching for the snap of her pants. “Mind if I get rid of these?” She opened the snap and dragged down the zipper before pushing the fabric over her hips revealing sunny yellow panties with a bow in front.
Sydney cleared her throat. “Help yourself.”
Cambrie kicked the pants away. “They’re so confining.”
“I see.”
Cambrie smiled slowly drinking in the slow simmer building in Sydney’s eyes. She crooked a finger at Sydney. “Come dance with me. I want to feel you holding me.”
Sydney went to her closing her arms around Cambrie and pulling her close as they swayed to the music. Warmth exploded through her and Cambrie rested her head on Sydney’s shoulder.
“I love the look on your face when I’m stripping, but I love the feel of your arms around me too.”
Sydney’s hands slid down her back to cup her ass. “I like this too,” she murmured, her breath warm against Cambrie’s ear. “You smell so good. What is that perfume?”
“Love’s Baby Soft,” she said. “My favorite. It was the first perfume I ever got.”
“Your grandmother?”
“Her lover,” she said and stroked her hands beneath Sydney’s shirt, loving the feel of her skin. “My fifteenth birthday and he took me out to lunch. He wanted to make me feel special. Looking back I can’t help remember how kind he was to me. He didn’t care that I was gay. He treated me like any normal kid.”
“Sounds like you had a crush on him.”
“Sometimes, I wanted to be him so my grandmother would spend more time with me, but on the whole I loved him like a father. And he loved me like a daughter. It broke my heart to hear that he was dead too.”
Sydney held her tighter and cupped the back of her head as they danced.
****
Four hours later Sydney woke to the ringing of her cell phone. Cambrie was snuggled against her side with one leg thrown over one of hers, her hand resting on Sydney’s stomach. She laid there reveling in the warm weight loathe to get up.
They had fallen asleep after talking about nothing, but Cambrie’s words came back to haunt her like a refrain from an old song.
“This is a very comfortable bed,” Cambrie said after climbing in. Sydney had watched her stride over from the bathroom in a pink cami top that enhanced the brown of her skin. The panties barely covered her ass making Sydney’s heart beat faster, but she’d promised herself she wouldn’t allow things to turn sexual tonight.
“It’ll do.”
Cambrie laughed and it was a sexy sound that caressed her. “Sydney don’t you ever get tired of the games? Don’t you want to just be yourself with a woman?”
“I thought I was,” she answered.
“I’ve seen the real you,” she contradicted. “In that bar when we were dancing, at the duplex earlier, and even tonight when we danced, I saw glimpses of the woman you hide.”
“I’m not hiding,” she retorted.
“Yes you are,” Cambrie murmured. “You like looking at me, and you’d rather keep me at arm’s length than admit it.”
“You’re imagining things, Cambrie,” she answered. “Now go to sleep.”
&nbs
p; “I can understand why you don’t,” she said. “It hurts a little more each time when a lover rejects you or leaves.”
“I’m not afraid of rejection, and I don’t have abandonment issues,” Sydney told her.
Cambrie snuggled up against her side. “I didn’t say you did.” She kissed her cheek. “I’m just saying you’re afraid, but you don’t have to be with me. Goodnight.”
The insistent ring snapped her back to the moment and Sydney gently disentangled herself from the hold of a woman who was stealing her heart with each breath she took. She hadn’t met anyone like Cambrie in a long time who didn’t want something from her.
In boxers and a t-shirt, she padded barefoot across the wood floor to the dresser.
Snatching up the phone she glanced at the display. Her contact.
Her heart raced with excitement. She’d called him to check if he’d heard anything, but she hadn’t expected him to call. Sydney left the room to perch on the end of the low sofa before dialing him back.
“Do you have something?” Sydney asked calmly.
“It’s open season on your girl,” he said. “The order came from Sorrento, but the order on you came from his partner.”
Sydney blinked and ran a hand through her hair. “There’s a hit on me and the dancer?” Damn it. Her animal snarled at the thought of anyone harming a hair on Cambrie’s head.
But why go after her? There hadn’t been a connection for anyone to assume Cambrie meant anything to her.
“I don’t know why your head is wanted, but you can guess why the dancer is,” he said. “Also, there’s a hit being planned on resisters in the Gray Tail pack. They won’t work with your pack for fear they’re going to stab them in the back considering what’s going on. You’re going to have to finesse this if you want to keep them alive.”
“Who’s leading the resistance?” Sydney demanded. “Arrange a meeting.”
“I’ll get back to you if I can arrange it,” he said. “In case I can’t you also need to beware of the fact that there is a lot of double-dealing going on. The Gray Tail den lands are in the hands of a girl nobody’s seen in a decade.”
“She could be dead.”
“She could be a damned rabbit too, but she’s not. Sorrento wants her blood because without it, they don’t get control of Gray Tail lands. The girl can show up and kick Sorrento and his pack off the property.”
“You know who she is?”
“No,” he muttered. “She’s the relative of a coyote who was killed last night.’ Said chick left the den to meet with someone just yesterday. Likely, it was the elusive rabbit. Once Sorrento finds this out, she’s dead. Rabbits can only run so fast with a pack of hyena assassins on their tails.” The line went dead.
Sydney pushed out a harsh sigh and got to her feet. The partner had a grudge against her and wanted to make those she cared about pay. So who could it be?
An old client?
No. This had to be someone she’d seriously pissed off for them to be going after Mal and Sam too. So who was ballsy enough to go after three dominant coyotes?
Chapter Fourteen
Cambrie woke to an empty bed, the chill of the sheets licking at her warm skin, but she didn’t know what she’d expected. She rolled onto her back and the lingering scent of patchouli curled around her, curling her toes even as it made her heart beat faster.
Why couldn’t she just let this go?
“Why do I have to want her so bad it’s consuming?” Cambrie squeezed her eyes closed and the aromas of rich coffee wafted to her. “I’ve got to beat this. Her damned coffee is more welcoming to her than waking up next to me.”
“Would you like something to eat?”
Low and soft, Sydney’s voice reached her ears and Cambrie turned her head to find the lean form leaning against the doorframe. The jeans she wore were open revealing her boyshorts and a black t-shirt was molded to her body emphasizing her flat stomach. Her hair was messed increasing that sexy vibe she had going.
“Sure, but you don’t have to put yourself out on my account.” She heard the chill in her own voice but Sydney didn’t seem to notice.
“You’re pretty sexy even when you’re sleeping,” Sydney murmured.
“That’s why you couldn’t wait for me to wake up? I was safer with my eyes closed?”
Sydney crossed the room and set her mug on the nightstand next to the silver lamp before sitting on the edge of the bed. “You act like you’re staking a claim.”
There was something dangerous in her voice that should have put Cambrie on edge. Instead it just made her angrier. “You couldn’t handle it if I did.”
“Could you?” Sydney demanded as she closed her fingers around Cambrie’s throat.
The heat of her touch was a brand, and Cambrie had to fight the urge to caress her, to assure her it was okay to open up to her. She would never hurt her.
“Would you really know what to do with me? Would you run if I gave you what you say you wanted, Cam?”
Sydney’s eyes glowed golden and for a split second, Cambrie saw the coyote and her heart beat faster as her breath quickened. The animal was challenging her, daring her to play with it.
She put her hand on Sydney’s wrist not afraid despite the strength she knew the other woman possessed. “Are you willing to find out?” Her whisper was a dare Cambrie doubted Sydney would accept.
Sydney’s grip tightened. “Don’t fuck around on me with those bitches that love watching you, or you’ll find out just how butch I can be.” She pressed a hard kiss to her lips before biting the side of her neck.
“Sydney!” She gasped and pulled back seeing the animal in Sydney’s gold stare. She had just become prey, and Cambrie hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.
“Get cleaned up, breakfast is almost ready, and then we’ll head to your place.” Sydney kissed her again, this time slow and sweet before climbing off the bed.
Cambrie watched her vanish from the room knowing that she had to tell Sydney what she’d overheard a few days ago. There was a chance they could be more than friends if she stayed but not if Sydney thought she’d betrayed her.
She let out a low whine and climbed from the bed. She wanted real love in her life, and she kept telling herself she wasn’t afraid. However, after all that’s happened in her life, maybe she was terrified of having her heart broken one more time.
In the white and gray bathroom, she spied fresh towels on the vanity along with the essentials for personal hygiene. She even found a change of clothes. Probably an ex’s though she hoped the cute pink and white panties and matching pink bra weren’t.
She cleaned up quickly and exited the bathroom to the aroma of steak and bell peppers. Cambrie followed her nose to the kitchen where Sydney was at the stove piling eggs onto an already full plate.
“Aren’t you the domestic goddess,” Cambrie teased as she strode in, the wood cool beneath her bare feet.
“Only when I have a guest which isn’t too often,” she answered and came to put the plate on the bar. Two glasses of orange juice already awaited them along with silverware and napkins.
Cambrie glanced at the steak, potato hash and eggs. “Looks good.” She picked up a fork. “Thanks.” Cambrie cut a piece of steak and took a bite before spearing potatoes. She chewed as she considered how she’d phrase what she’d heard. “This is good.”
Sydney studied her. “Thanks.”
“Sydney, I need to talk to you about something I overheard in the dressing room the other night.”
Sydney continued to eat and watch her. “Leah was back there and I saw Christina coming from back there,” she said finally. “What were they talking about?”
Her tone was bland but there was a curious light in her eyes. Her stomach dropped into her feet.
“I can’t really be sure, but Leah mentioned getting footage of an attack,” she said and dropped her gaze to her meal. “I think someone attacked me to get at you. The death is supposed to be a statement to Samarra and Mallory to
o.”
“What kind of statement?” Her tone was tight now.
“That they can’t protect their own employees let alone the town. What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” Sydney said.
She looked at her and felt rather than saw the deception. “My cousin said someone was trying to force Gray Tail from their land—to take it away. Is this connected to that? Is your pack allies with Gray Tail?”
Sydney shrugged. “We were allies, but their leader decided to break the alliance,” she said softly, but there was frustration in her eyes.
“This Darden person that was mentioned, who is he? Is he the pack leader that Gray Tail allied with? My cousin seemed worried, but she wouldn’t tell me anything.”
Sydney sighed and set her fork aside. “I haven’t been able to get much information, but I know that someone named Sorrento is trying to take over Gray Tail.”
“Sorrento?” she demanded and her fork clattered to the plate. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. He wants to buy the club, but we know he has a partner.”
She shook her head, hands shaking. Cambrie drew in a long slow breath and exhaled it. Patty wasn’t here for her, but she knew she couldn’t run.
This was her chance to have a normal life again. Whatever that meant.
“You know Sorrento? His partner?”
“She’s not his partner,” Cambrie told her softly. Sorrento was devoted to Patty. He’d never make a move without her. Her success was his. The more power she gained the more he gained for if something happened to her, the pack was his. “He never makes a move without Patty. She’s his alpha—the Midnight Howling pack.”
“You know them?” Sydney asked incredulously.
Cambrie shrugged. “I need to talk to my cousin,” she said. “I have to find out what’s going on.” She left the room heading for the bedroom where her cell phone was.
This had gone from Sydney’s mess to a whole other level of complicated. Patty would find out she was here soon and she would become a target simply because Patty would rather kill her to deny Sydney’s pack use of her skills.
Taking It Off for the Coyote Page 8