“He sure is.”
“Anyway, got to go. I’m only out on break. Later, Zo.” Jerry heads to a beater car with duct tape holding up its bumper. I follow his retreat with my gaze until he pulls out a pack of cigarettes from the glove compartment, then open the kitchen door and slip inside.
The heavenly scent of fried foods and pizza greets me and pushes back the sick urges hovering in my mind. Deep breaths ground me in reality. I press a hand against the wall and take stock of the new-and-improved Black Widow’s back rooms. No shifter guards lurk here either. Only the cooks who’ve worked at the bar for years move around the stoves and counters. I tip my head in greeting, garnering a huge smile and reassuring me the time I spent away didn’t kill the friendships I had before I left. I only need to give them a chance to flourish again. Too bad I won’t have time. The open road is calling my name. I’ll embrace it after I talk to Josh and…after I check on Kade.
The door leading to the main bar area opens, blasting the kitchen with the sounds of laughter and music. The waitress drops off a tray of dirty dishes and snatches another one loaded with greasy bar food without so much as glancing my way. I follow her out, hesitating for a moment at the archway as the hair along the back of my neck rises.
A quick survey of the bar quells the uneasiness. A few shifters I’ve seen around and know to be part of the Winchester pack mingle with the crowd of humans. The scary bouncer who always reminded me of a killer lurks in the shadows, keeping an eye on the crowd. Ilan doesn’t look my way, though. Nobody does except for the man at the bar who wouldn’t be in here if my brother was working.
Vince zeroes in on me the same way a predator tunes in to its prey’s scent. He doesn’t smirk. Doesn’t leer at me. Doesn’t so much as alter his expression. He holds my gaze, challenging me. To run or go over? I’m not sure. Finally, he kicks out the stool next to him and jerks his head toward it, then turns to the man sitting next to him—the same man I bought the bottle of fox piss from days ago. A similar plaid shirt as he had on then stretches over his wide shoulders. He glances back at me, gives me a small nod, then slips off his stool and heads in the opposite direction, leaving Vince’s full attention focused on me.
If I alerted Ilan, he’d haul Vince’s ass out of here on my request, no questions asked. I’m positive any of the shifters who’ve been introduced to me as friends of the Alexander pride would do the same. Heck, I could even call the hearing examiner and tell him Vince is stalking me or harassing me, but Vince hasn’t done anything to deserve those options. Yet.
Without taking my attention off Vince, I step into the alcove between the kitchen and the main barroom, where booster seats and kid chairs await the occasional family stopping by for dinner.
A hand slaps over my mouth with a smart sting that radiates through my head. My body is spun, and my back connects with a hard, living wall.
“Pathetic.” Amusement adds a condescending quality to the demoralizing word. “Had I been someone else, you’d be dead now.”
“Jarah?” I mumble.
The man at my back makes a confirmatory sound anyway, despite my hampered voice. He moves his hand to my shoulder, holding me in place. “Why haven’t you called me?”
“I didn’t know it was a requirement. If so, you can have your money back.”
“Didn’t you spend it already?”
The lie sits on my tongue, but I can’t voice it. The three pretty blue-and-pink boxes sitting in my apartment are proof. “Yes, but I can pay it back.”
“You mean your owner can pay it back.”
“Kade isn’t my owner. He’s my kitty.”
A deep, low chuckle shakes the body pressed to mine. Had the man holding me so close been any other, I might’ve allowed panic to settle in. I’m not strong. Not even close to being strong. I’m more like skin and bones. Not eating well or often will do that to a person. Such is the price to pay for freedom. The shifter at my back doesn’t scare me, however. He should. He’s an assassin…the oldest assassin. I can’t help shake the image of a big teddy bear when I picture Jarah, though.
“It’s telling you assumed I was talking about Kade.”
“Who else would you be talking about?”
Jarah lifting his shoulder in a shrug ripples through me in a sensuous wave that’s more impressive than erotic. The guy’s all muscle. “The male who let you live.”
“And that’d be?”
An awkward moment of silence looms before Jarah huffs. “I have phones that need answering, Zoe Jane.”
“Don’t you have voicemail?”
“Some calls can’t be traced. Important calls, you understand.”
“And you’d trust me to take them?” I can’t help the surprise in my voice. “A near stranger?”
“I know what you are.” Jarah whispers the words into my ear in a breath of sound. “What you’ve done, and what you can become. You should have never been allowed to live.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And that’s the only reason I’m allowing you to live.” Jarah sets me away from him. “Raven and Runes tattoo shop. Be there at one p.m. on Tuesday. Tell Nadia I sent you.”
With a question on my lips, I turn. The spot Jarah occupied is empty. I jerk my head to the kitchen, then the bar. Neither shows me a glimpse of the man who stoked my curiosity, guaranteeing I’ll show up at his tattoo parlor on Tuesday just for the slim chance he’ll reveal more details about his crazy comments about me.
For now, I have another curiosity to appease. I step from the recess of the alcove and pick Vince out of the crowd. Still sitting in the same spot, my childhood friend, teenage lover, and the man who altered the course of my life watches me with a patience I can’t match.
I weave through the tables, avoiding brushing up against anyone. When dealing with shifters—and potentially having to run from them—minimizing whose scent lingers on your clothes is a necessity, especially when you’re not carrying an emergency stash of clothes or a bottle of animal cover scent. My restocked escape pouch is tucked safely in the ’Cuda.
Stopping far enough away so that Vince can’t just reach out and grab me, I glare at him. “What are you doing here?”
Vince pushes the empty stool closer to where I’m standing. “Having a beer. Join me.”
“I’d rather drink alone.”
“So would I, but I’ve been waiting to talk to you. Sit. Drink. Then we can go about our business.”
I bump the stool closer to the bar and step onto the lower rung, hauling myself up. With my legs hanging above the floor, I prop an elbow on the counter and turn to study Vince’s profile. “What happened to wanting to get me naked and—”
“I’m not suicidal.” Vince sips his beer, barely taking a mouthful. “And if I wanted, I could’ve gotten you under me last night, whether you were there willingly or not.”
Without anyone watching my back in those woods, Vince could’ve done more than rape me. I could be dead. Or worse, hauled away and sold off to some trafficking ring. I’ve been around shifters long enough to know some of the bad things that could happen. Though, in all honesty, those things are not all that much different from what could happen to me in the wrong human’s hands.
Sure, I have my gun. Despite my spot-on aim, I can’t guarantee I’d hit my target if I was rushed or disarmed. Shifters move a lot faster than a human can.
Kade didn’t try to stop me last night, though. Of course, he probably didn’t think I’d shoot him. He trusts me. And I betrayed that trust. Both before and after I fucked him.
Ignoring the sour sensation in my gut, I focus on Vince. “Then why didn’t you hurt me last night? Is it the conditions of your parole? Something tells me your uncle can get you out of them if he wanted.”
Vince turns his head to look at me, a slow twist that doesn’t appear human. “We were friends once. Maybe you’ve forgotten how close we were, but I haven't. Besides, I’m not suicidal. You’re now a powerful man’s…pet.”
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“And Kade would be obligated to avenge me.”
Vince’s single nod answers me.
“Why are you here, then? All I have to do is tell him you’re harassing me. Hell, all I have to do is spill the details of what you did, and your head will be rolling.”
“Guilt?” Vince shrugs. “Maturity? The vow I took to protect you? Call it what you want, but I’m looking to right the wrongs of the past. If Kade chooses violence because of what I did as a kid, then I’ll deal with it.”
“You can’t bring my family back to me.”
“But I can ensure you don’t lose anyone else you love.”
My every muscle locks, making each breath I take a fight against myself. Vince snorts and tips back his beer. He sets the bottle on the table. “Glare at me with that death stare you cast so well, but I’m speaking the truth. I want to help you. Maybe make up for what happened. Or at least try. That’s all I can do. Obviously, what I’ve done already hasn’t been enough.”
“What you’ve done already?” I’m half out of my seat. “You haven’t done anything besides k—”
“Look, some things are best left in the past. You have to move on. It’s the only choice. I can’t return what you’ve lost.” Vince talks over me. “I feel bad about that. I really do. I should’ve had better control over that part of me. I’d been dealing with it all my life, but I didn’t, and you were left there…hurt…bleeding. That wasn’t right.”
“So you admit to cutting me?” I choose my words carefully.
“You remember what happened, then?”
“Yes.” The lie slips easily from my lips. Bits and pieces of what really happened that night mix with what I was told happened, leaving most of the events in shadows. The fragments with Vince, however, are clear. I got in the way of his claws. And BJ fell to his death.
“And you don’t blame BJ for what he was going to do?”
My blank stare is the only answer I can give.
Vince sneers, focusing on me through the amusement. Shaking his head, he takes a gulp of beer to stifle his laugh, then sets the bottle down hard. “You don’t remember that detail. Fucking wonderful. BJ gets to hold on to the saint title even in death, while I’m the villain.”
“Remember what?” The question’s dangerous. With a hodgepodge of memories of what happened that night once we left the baby shower, Vince could lie and tell me anything. I wouldn’t be able to discount him. Everything else is foggy except Vince’s face when his claws ripped through my belly and BJ’s scream as he fell, and when I do focus on trying to clear the hazy memories, I hear my shrink’s voice telling me to forget.
“BJ was an addict.” Vince drops his elbows to the bar and holds his beer bottle in front of him. “Thanks to me.”
“He was going to clean up. He even enrolled in the community college for the fall. After the baby was born, I was going to help out at the bar and pay for his tuition while I finished up my senior year in high school.” Our plans involved eventually getting a dog and having another baby or two. We’d have the perfect family. “He loved me that much.”
“Really? Then why didn’t he want to be a part of your baby’s life.” With the opening of the bottle against his cheek, Vince glances at me. “Or yours.”
“You’re lying.” I jump off the stool, knocking it backward. “BJ loved me! He loved our baby!”
“And I love you too. I’m grateful for you. For what you did for me.”
Shaking my head, I back up. “You’re acting crazy. You don’t lo—”
“I do love you.” Vince grasps my wrist and jerks me close, holding me against his side with an unbreakable loop of his arm around my waist. “Now listen to me. My uncle’s coming for your brother’s kids. He wants them. Dead? To sell? To add to his collection of little killers? Fuck if I know. But he wants them, Zoe. He wants them bad.”
I pull back, straining against Vince. “Let me go.”
He firms his hold with a hand over the back of my head, then leans close, his mouth to my ear. “And I want to see him dead. I want to see his head at my feet, and I want to claim everything he has and everything that’s promised to him. The title. The power. Everything.”
A firm yank throws Vince away from me, knocking me off balance. Solid hands steady me, stopping me from tumbling sideways. I look into the face of a man holding me—the same I saw outside, with his dog leading him around. Up close, the family resemblance to Kade is uncanny, with the same cut to his jaw and strong nose. He doesn’t say anything to me or ask if I’m okay. His empty ice-blue eyes don’t focus on me at all. He stares at the space in front of us.
Another man—undoubtedly another pride mate of Kade—is standing over Vince, holding him down with a foot on his chest. “It’s time you leave.”
“This won’t go unavenged.”
“Neither will harassing Zoe.”
Vince props himself on his bent elbows, urging the shifter who tossed Vince away from me to lift his foot. “Then we’ll see who wins.”
“I already know the answer to that.” I ease out of Kade’s pride mate’s hold and step forward, but before I can finish my statement, a hush settles over the room.
Energy dances across my skin, and every inch of me comes alive. The awareness is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, but I know without being told who’s walked into the bar.
I glance over my shoulder. Kade doesn’t meet my gaze. His stare holds Vince in a dangerous standoff.
Kade steps forward and effectively clears the room, the crowd parting around him, instinctively making way for him.
“You won’t win.” Kade delivers the answer I would’ve given had Kade’s arrival not scattered my thoughts. “If it comes down to me versus you, then prepare to greet your goddess.”
Vince pushes to his feet, bringing him eye level with Kade, but he doesn’t step closer to invade Kade’s personal space. Vince doesn’t retreat either, though. He tugs on his shirt, adjusting the bunched material until it lies loosely against his stomach.
Without taking his eyes off Kade, Vince addresses me. “Think about my offer, Zoe. No strings attached. It’s my way to make amends. Otherwise, I’ll stand back and let nature take its course. Shit like this has been happening for thousands of years anyway. It’s almost tradition.”
“Where the strong thrive and the weak die?” Kade takes in Vince’s stance, head to feet, then snorts. “We can make that happen.”
“Yes, Kade Alexander.” Vince grins. “Yes, we can.”
Vince turns his back on Kade, then walks across the room. The crowd doesn’t move for him the way they did for Kade, however. Vince steps around those in his path but he still makes it across. Then he’s gone. The man who held Vince down with his foot loops his arm around a blonde woman’s waist and follows Vince out, and the man who stopped my tumble grips the handle attached to the back of a German shepherd and returns to an empty table near the stage.
After a moment, the live band starts playing, and normality returns, with people facing their dates or drowning their sorrows. And I’m left staring at Kade’s back. I approach him, anticipating his burning gaze on me. Kade doesn’t so much as take his attention off the entrance.
I lift my hand, but drop it without touching Kade’s back. “Vince wanted to talk to me about Josh and Mira’s babies.”
“And I want to talk about you.” Kade looks back at me. “Alone.”
Warmth slips through me, flooding me with lust. The instantaneous reaction is unnatural, but it feels right. Kade can take everything bad away and replace it with heaven. It’s not the first time the thought has surfaced. It’s some kind of power he has over me. One look…and I want.
Pursing my lips, I laugh. The amusement does little to cool the fire Kade’s attention ignites, however. It’s the only thing I can wield to avoid making another bad choice where Kade’s concerned. I hurt him once already. I have no desire to do so again. Better he storm off than me running from him and leaving him with the compulsion to chase
me again. “Aw…does my pretty kitty miss his owner?”
Green and black blend with the golden brown overtaking the whites of Kade’s eyes. Memories of last night and losing myself to Kade’s primal side return. Once more, my common sense slips through my fingers. A small sound of surrender escapes me. I grab the edge of the bar as desire seizes me, hitting me so hard and fast, my inner muscles squeeze on nothingness, and I ache for the things Kade did to me last night.
Kade parts his lips. A groan accompanies the slow swipe of his tongue along his bottom lip as he closes his eyes. When he opens them, normal eyes look back at me, but the primitiveness surrounding him doesn’t ease. The same hunger I feel is there in his expression.
“Yes. I miss you.” He holds his hand out, palm up. “Come to me.”
The command hits me with a force I feel in my soul. I glance from Kade’s open hand to his face and do the only thing I can. I slide my palm against his and step closer until his scent wraps around me and tempts me with heaven.
A spark of victory flashes over his face, there and gone. Kade curls his fingers around my hand and leads me forward.
And I follow…willing and eager.
Sixteen
Kade
Lengthening my strides, I hurry Zoe forward, forcing her into a jog to keep up with me. The office where I’ve spent many nights talking with Zoe’s brother about her is as far from the loud main room as it could be, partly for privacy, partly for protection. The exit only door next to the office triggers an alert to the Shifter Affairs-monitored switchboard. Emergency vehicles staffed by shifter-friendly workers will report immediately to any and all triggers.
Escape is not an option—for Zoe or for me.
“Who were those guys you had guarding me?”
“I didn’t have anyone guarding you.” I punch in the code to unlock the manager’s office, another security upgrade to the newly rebuilt bar. “Uri and Ezra were here for the band, not you.”
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