Cursed by Fate

by Renee Shearer

  But as her neighbor had become more and more aggressive with his advances, and the bodies had started getting closer to where Ariana lived, she had grown increasingly worried and paranoid. The victims were always redheads and they were always tortured.

  Just as she had been.

  She was in the hospital after just having Zoey when the last body was discovered in Grand Ledge, a town only ten miles from her. Ariana had decided it was time to move on, to go someplace her and the girls could blend in. To hide. Ariana had called a moving company to pack up her stuff and had started searching for an apartment. In a week, she was on her way to Chicago with a newborn and a four-year-old. They had been here ever since.

  With no redheads on the news. But now they were back.

  She didn’t know what to do. Stay and fight? Or flee? Ariana had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her these killings were about her. But she had killed him! Hadn’t she? Neither her nor her aunt had gone to check on him. Ariana had just assumed he would bleed out. He had been so still, his breaths raspy. She was kicking herself all over again for not ripping off that stupid ski mask he always wore. At least that way she would know who to look out for… if it was him. But who else could it be? She didn’t think he had a partner.

  Except for a few close friends, she stayed to herself and mostly out of trouble.

  She was tired of running. Of always looking over her shoulder. But could she, in good conscience, stay and possibly have violence so close to her daughters? On the other hand, what kind of life was she giving them?

  On the run from something she couldn’t see but knew was breathing down her neck. Would they also become afraid all the time from watching their mother?

  No. She wouldn’t allow it. It was time to fight. Or at least get some help.

  With that in mind, she opened the bathroom door to see the guys still standing in her room. They were talking quietly amongst themselves, but as soon as she opened the door all heads turned her way. Before she could muster up the courage to ask for their help, Aiden stepped forward.

  Ariana sighed, now what was he going to say to piss her off?

  Easton

  He had nearly groaned when Ariana licked her lips, looking at him with heat in her eyes. His dick had started to stand at attention, the damn thing had finished its rise when she bit her lip. Damn, she was just so gorgeous. The things he wanted to do to her. Easton hoped he would get the chance soon. He had chuckled when Ariana finally realized that she was still in her towel. When she had slammed the bathroom door shut, the guys had all started talking and trying to find a way to convince her to go with them to Momence. Gray was making sure the cabin was well stocked with coffee as none of the guys wanted to find out how Ariana was without it. Probably a little She-Devil.

  “She’ll have to come with us after this!” Jayden gestured to the t.v. set that was still on pause.

  “Maybe. Or maybe it will make her run.” Aiden groaned.

  “How the hell do you know she’s a runner? Ariana is as tough as they come. Fuck, Aiden, her knife is always on her hip!” Roman snapped.

  Seeing that things were escalating quickly, East jumped into the fray.

  “Okay you wankers, just calm down. We cannot make assumptions based on what we have seen from her so far. Ariana was right. Shit really hit the fan as soon as we showed up. We have to give her the benefit of the doubt. Let’s just pitch the idea to her and see how it goes from there.”

  Everyone stopped talking as soon as the bathroom door opened. Eyeing Ariana up and down as she hesitated in the doorway, Easton couldn’t stop his cock from jumping to attention again. Her damp hair was pulled over one shoulder as she ran her fingers through it. He didn’t think she was doing that consciously; it was almost as if she were doing it to help calm herself. Her flame red hair looked stark against the white of her t-shirt. Easton huffed a laugh as he read the words ‘Cleverly disguised as a RESPONSIBLE ADULT’ scrawled across her chest and torso. She had on black skinny jeans that had a few rips and tears, and they hugged her hips and thighs like a glove. Easton licked his lips as he shifted to try and relieve the pressure his slacks had put on his cock. He knew everyone could see how turned on he was; he really didn’t give a shit. They had already talked about it and where all willing to share her if she wanted. God, he hoped she wanted that too.

  Jayden nudged him in the side with his elbow, hard enough to hurt. Shooting Jayden, a dark glare, to which he just grinned back, Easton focused on Ariana again.

  Aiden stepped forward and her eyes turned to ice and her back straightened.

  “What the fuck are you going to say to piss me off now, Aiden?”

  Aiden shrugged. “Probably a lot.”

  Chuckling, Ariana shook her head and strode past all of them to peer out her window. She looked so lost and afraid but determined too. It was a heady combination for Easton, and he couldn’t take it anymore. Since she wasn’t looking at him, East reached into his pants to adjust himself. Ariana chose that moment to look over at him. He groaned internally. Great. Now not only was he the jackass who kept touching her, but he was also the guy who got caught with his dick in his hand. Quickly yanking his hand out, he blushed and cleared his throat.

  “Ariana, we think you should come with us.” When she raised her eyebrows at him and tilted her head to the side, he rushed to clarify, stuttering a bit. “I… I mean we have a safe house, a cabin. Well, Aiden’s cabin, just south of here. We think you and the girls should come with us to keep you all safe.” What the fuck was wrong with him?!

  He usually wasn’t so stupid. He had a PhD, for god’s sake! Easton straightened his spine and continued in a more confident voice. “We just want to keep you girls safe. You are valuable to us in our investigation.”

  “How so?”

  “Umm… what?”

  Ariana spoke slower and clearer. “How am I valuable to your investigation? Are you talking about the drug one?”

  Nodding his head, Easton was going to reply when Aiden jumped in.

  “Yes, we mean that one, and I told our boss that you were.”

  “Why? Why would you do that?” Ariana scowled at Aiden. She really didn’t like him. At least not yet. Easton was confident Aiden could win her over with his charm once the stress died down.

  “Because you need our help woman!” Aiden practically shouted.

  Easton was shocked. Aiden was never one to lose his temper, but he had noticed that every time they were around her, Aiden lost his marbles. The guy is a right tosspot, that’s for sure. Aiden had to know he was being a fool getting on her bad side.

  Ariana sighed and pinched the bridge of her cute little button nose, as if she were losing her patience. Easton glanced at Roman, imploring him with his eyes to step in and get Aiden out of the room. Easton was glad Roman knew him well enough to know the signal. He should. I’ve been with the chap since we were kids.

  “Come on man. Let’s go check in on how Gray is doing.” Roman clapped Aiden on his back nearly knocking him over. Easton chuckled. Roman really was a big bastard. As they left the room, Ariana turned back to the window as if it held all of the answers.

  Easton took a moment to really study her. She was so guarded all of the time, using quips and sarcastic responses to dodge any questions they really threw at her. They knew next to nothing about her, only bits and pieces of her past that she had told them. She was a great mom; they saw that in the way she always thought about her kids first. Easton could see them as a family. All of them. He could see them all going to Avery’s karate tournaments and Zoey’s dance recitals, if she got into that. He frowned. Really, he knew less about the girls than he did Ariana. Then again, this morning was the most amount of time he had spent with little miss Avery and Zoey. Already he loved them both. Avery was passionate and bold, not afraid to speak her mind. Like her mother. Zoey was sweet, happy, and all snuggles. He had spent quite a bit of time with Zoey on his lap, making silly faces just to hear her laugh. He loved
hearing her laughter; it instantly brightened his mood. He wanted to spend the rest of his life hearing her laugh. Easton was ripped from his thoughts when Ariana suddenly whipped around and asked the one question they all dreaded.

  “What was in the box?”

  Nineteen

  Ariana

  Silence greeted her question. Ariana studied the guys, noting that they all had different emotions on their faces. Easton clearly had panic in his wide eyes, his mouth open slightly. Jayden’s face held apprehension, and Mateo looked like someone had just punched him.

  Well, shit. That can’t be good.

  Straightening up, Ariana glared at them, folding her arms under her breasts. “Spill it.”

  Mateo instantly lost his pinched expression and smirked at her. “Oh, I can spill on demand, love,” he practically purred at her.

  Ariana didn’t miss a beat and growled back at him. Letting her dragon bleed into her eyes, she asked again, “What was in the box?” Her voice was deeper and raspier than normal because of her dragon. “You say you want to protect me? Well giving me knowledge is protecting me. Without it, I won’t know where the danger is coming from. How do you expect me to protect the girls?”

  “We’ll do it for you.” Jay’s tone was as serious as she had ever heard.

  “Jay, you cannot fight all of my battles for me. I am a grown ass woman with two little girls. I can take care of myself; I can protect them. Now, tell me before I walk out that door and tell you all to kiss my ass and leave. And never come back.”

  His shoulders drooping, Mateo answered in a quiet voice, “A dead sparrow.”

  Ariana fought to control her panic and keep it off of her face. A sparrow?! Oh, God… It was him! She had never told anyone his pet name for her. She had never seen another person, just him. How had he survived though? She had stabbed him in the neck! No wonder Mateo had looked like someone just punched him in the gut.

  Okay, okay think this through. Ariana took a deep breath What is best for my girls and me?

  Ariana’s first instinct was to flee, but she had just made the decision not to run. So, what other option was there for her? Send her girls by themselves back to her aunt, hoping the monster didn’t keep tabs on her too closely to know she had done that? If he found out they were his daughters… Ariana shuddered. She didn’t even want to think about what he would do. Ariana knew there was no way she could fight him on her own. The only other option for her was to trust these six men to keep her girls safe. They would have to let her fight with them. That was her one condition. She had to see this through. To make sure this time that piece of shit was six feet underground when they were done.

  Nodding to herself, she asked, “Where is this cabin?”

  The guys released relieved sighs and smiled.

  “Momence, Illinois. About an hour and twenty minutes from here.” Easton replied.

  “Are you sure that’s far enough?”

  Jayden nodded. “Capt. owns thirty acres around the cabin. He likes to make sure our animals can run and hunt game when needed. His closet neighbor is over fifty miles away.”

  “Plus, no one but the six of us know about the cabin. Not even our boss. He just knows we have a safe house.” Mateo added.

  Giving one sharp nod, Ariana strolled past them, stopping at the bedroom doorway. “Well, are you coming? I need to speak to the Asshat.”

  “Asshat?” Easton asked, laughing.

  Jay scratched his head and raised an eyebrow. “I think she means Aiden.”

  “That would certainly fit Capt.” Mateo chuckled.

  “I dare you to call him that to his face, Ari.” Jay snickered.

  Ariana smirked. “With pleasure,” she purred as she continued to walk down the hallway.

  Entering the living room, she stopped to take in the scene before her. Zoey was sitting on Roman’s lap pressing her hands to his cheeks as she gave him kisses. Roman wore a broad smile, and it took her breath away. He really was quite handsome and seeing him interact with her youngest melted her heart.

  Avery and Aiden had their heads bent close together doing a puzzle. Ariana snuck a look at the box. It was the one-thousand-piece puzzle her and Avery had been working one for a few months now. They didn’t have much time to complete them, so it usually took Ariana and Avery months to finish one. But Avery loved doing puzzles, and Ariana would do anything for her girls. Aiden was nodding and smiling at Avery as she fit two pieces together. Her heart cracked open a little more.

  Shit. Why did all of these men have to make the same deal with the devil to be so fucking gorgeous.

  “Who else do you make deals with, baby doll?” Mateo whispered in her ear as he walked past, causing Ariana to shudder with pleasure.

  Damn the man and his mind reading.

  Just to see his reaction, she gave him the middle finger in her mind. Mateo roared with laughter, causing everyone else to look at him like he had lost his mind.

  Ariana strode out into the middle of the living room with her hands on her hips and faced Aiden. Aiden didn’t even look at her. Ariana growled, prompting Roman to look up at her then, but Aiden just glanced up then went back to the puzzle. Ariana took a deep breath and decided she had better get some coffee in her. Otherwise, she was likely to throw Aiden through the wall. Giving Aiden one last glare, she headed into the kitchen. The man was insufferable. Telling her what to do one minute then completely ignoring her the next. Ariana sighed. She should be happy that the guys were willing to spend time with her girls. And doing so well even Avery was warming up to them. Though, knowing what she did of Aiden, he probably told Avery he was going to help her with the puzzle whether she liked it or not. Ariana snorted. Yeah, that sounded like him.

  “Why do you always need coffee?” Ariana jumped. She didn’t realize that Jayden had followed her into the kitchen.

  “It keeps my murder count at zero.”

  Jayden laughed a rich and infectious sound. Ariana chuckled with him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. He was staring steadily at her, and she found herself drawn into those ice blue eyes of his. There was something about Jayden that just drew her in, something about all of them really. She felt connected to each one, even Aiden, and wanted them all. Looking into Jayden’s eyes, everything else seemed to fade away. Maybe it was his boyish charm, or because he was always smiling. He made everything else seem small and insignificant, like everything was going to be okay, no matter what.

  Jayden licked his lips and Ariana couldn’t look away. What would he taste like? Would she freak out, like she did the last time someone kissed her? Was she willing to try it again? Flicking her gaze up to his as she licked her own lips, she saw his eyes darken with desire. Ariana couldn’t get the image of him from his fantasy out of her head. She needed to see if she could handle just a kiss. It’s all about baby steps. This was part of her taking back her life. She needed to see if he would be different. If she could handle it.

  Stepping close till there was little space between them, she watched as his body tensed. “Kiss me, please,” she whispered before she lost her nerve.

  “As you wish.”

  Ariana smiled as he leaned down and softly placed his lips against hers. His lips were soft yet firm, molding to her own. He smelled and tasted like honeyed almonds. Pleasure licked up her spine and spread outward through her body, causing her nipples to tighten. Ariana moaned softly, parting her mouth slightly in invitation and placing her hands against his chest. She couldn’t believe this was her reaction. Maybe it was possible for her to have a sexual relationship. Maybe she wasn’t broken after all.

  Jayden

  Oh, fuck! He couldn’t believe he was kissing Ariana. Her lips were heaven against his, pliable and sweet. As she parted her mouth, Jayden took the invitation greedily, sweeping his tongue inside but careful to keep his hands to himself. When Ariana placed hers against his chest, he had to use all of his willpower not to pull her close. His arms were trembling with the effort to stay at his sides
.

  His tiger was going nuts. Pacing and roaring MATE. Wanting to burst free and claim what was his. Jayden told him to shut the fuck up and back off!

  God, she tasted like chocolate and coffee. Dark and sweet. His favorite combination. His body was on fire, his cock straining against his jeans. She groaned softly and pressed herself closer to him, molding her body to his. His heart was racing in his chest, and Jayden couldn’t stand it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss.

  Ariana stiffened at first, then melted against him. Jayden was dizzy from the sensation; from being the first to kiss her and make this strong, independent woman melt. He internally cheered, telling her how proud he was of her in case she was listening in on his thoughts. Jayden needed more contact; he needed to brush his cock against her. To show her how much he desired her. He moved her backwards to press her against the counter, slanting his head to take the kiss even deeper. When her back hit the counter, his dreams ended. She cried out and pushed him away while her chest heaved and she looked at him wildly.

  Jayden cursed himself for being an idiot. Of course, she wouldn’t want to be trapped against the counter. Raising his arms, he took another step back.

  You stupid fucking prick. Now she’ll never come near you again.

  “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you, Sugar. I got carried away. You taste so fucking good.” Slapping his palm against his face, Jaden dragged in a deep breath and forced himself to shut up. Ariana seemed to calm down, and her eyes were no longer wild but soft and curious.

  To his surprise, Ariana smiled gently, raising her hand to touch her lips delicately.

  “It’s… It’s fine. I actually enjoyed it. You didn’t set off any alarms or triggers for me. When we were just kissing anyways. I just have a thing about feeling trapped.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  Jayden let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He couldn’t believe it. She was okay. She wasn’t frightened off. Dropping his hands, he took a step towards her. “So, we can try it again sometime?”