9781631052415ShadowedSpiritBeck (2 page)

Back to
business already, unaware of Sadie’s inner struggles, her father nodded and
explained. “Once you’re ready in the morning, the men have questions. You can
rest tonight. Once they’re done in the morning with their questioning, we can
get back in time for the Pronouncement.”

“Is
everyone else there already?”

He
nodded. “Everyone has been staying at the compound since the risk escalated.”

“Daddy,
I’ll come for Amelia’s Pronouncement, but then I’ve got the show. I’m
performing with a group in Vegas and I don’t want to miss it.”

Sadie
didn’t miss the quick look of disapproval in her father’s eyes before he
shifted to a neutral gaze. “You understand this could very likely be one of
your last traveling shows? The prophecy—”

She
didn’t want to hear about the damn prophecy right then. “I know. I plan to
start my dance studio back home at the beginning of next year. I’ve been able
to get renovations approved for the upper floor of the building where Paige’s
bakery is located. And Anton agreed to oversee the project until I get back.”

She was
quite pleased with herself when she saw the surprise in her father’s eyes. She
knew she was the least likely to be organized, neat, and prepared. Her soul sin
was sloth, after all. Until she was mated, her planning skills would leave much
to be desired. Scattered, inattentive, and carefree were much better words to
describe her, but she didn’t care. She was happy. She’d focused on being happy
since she left San Francisco and that whole debacle behind her a few years ago.
That’s all that mattered.

“This
is good news. It’s more than we could’ve hoped that our girls would be so close
even once mated. And, sweet girl,” her father paused. Breaking out of her own
thoughts, Sadie realized her father was speaking. “It’s likely to happen sooner
than later. And we think if you spend some time at the compound, one of the men
may even be your potential mate. It seems each of you girls so far have linked
in with men affiliated with TEU.”

“It’s
all that male testosterone on overload over there,” Sadie joked.

Her
father shrugged, but gave a chuckle along with her. “Very probably could be
that the Goddess has given men with great strength to women who have their own
great strengths . . .
 
and also
their own vulnerabilities that need protecting.”

Sadie’s
back went ramrod straight at the suggestion she couldn’t take care of herself.
She always had, and mating with a man wouldn’t mean she’d need him to take care
of her. He would be her mate and her equal in every sense of the word. Or she’d
boot him out. Nothing said they had to live together. She only needed to mate
to ensure the prophecy was seen through. She’d be damned if she’d trust a man
to see to her safety.

Sadie
had plans, a life she wanted to live and sharing that with a mate was
acceptable, but being controlled by one was not. She’d seen her sisters with
their mates. Mating had changed them, and while they were stronger, it also
seemed they were willing to submit to their mates. Sadie prayed to the Goddess
she didn’t become that way.

Chapter Two

Two
months had passed since Amelia’s Pronouncement. It had been perfection just
like they all had been. Would it be possible for hers to be as nice? Maybe if
she stayed out of the planning for it. Shrugging, she put the thought aside
again. She’d worried this time that it would happen—that she’d find her mate—right
before her chance in Vegas, but none of the men from TEU had tempted her. And
she hadn’t stuck around long enough to see if it might happen over time either.

Rehearsals
started two days after Sadie arrived. Stashing her few belongings she brought
along in the apartment she shared with three roommates, she spent every waking
hour in the practice studio. The show she was performing in was more
provocative than the others she’d been a part of in the past. She knew she was
taking a risk, but being able to say you’d performed on the Vegas strip was a
show dancer’s dream.

Out of
all the talents Sadie had been given, gracefulness was not one of them. While
Layla and Eloise took the more rigid dance classes, Sadie preferred jazz and
funk dancing. Routines that were free flowing and less exacting were more her
style. This show suited her perfectly though it took her some time to get used
to the revealing costumes and the meticulous grooming the costumes required.
Waxing, Goddess help her, was now essential.

The
other girls in the show took her under their wing and they’d spent an
entire—dreadful—day on pampering. Why they’d gotten so excited about this,
Sadie couldn’t understand. She’d suggested throwing in a kick boxing class just
for fun, but the other girls looked at her as if she were crazy. Goddess, they
were just like her over-indulgent sisters with their manicures and hair
stylists. Until now, Sadie had filed her own nails and trimmed her own crazy
curls. Until now, Sadie wouldn’t have tolerated so much time spent on grooming.

She
didn’t quite understand it, but the actual day of pampering hadn’t been quite
as awful as she’d thought it would be. For the first time, she felt a part of a
group of friends. While she’d always been included in activities with her sisters,
it was never really anything she got excited about and she knew if she weren’t
their sister, she wouldn’t likely get an invitation extended. So, this was
different and it felt good.

 
Now she felt almost girly, pretty, in a
very feminine way, and she’d noticed the looks she got as she walked down the
strip in the evenings, but that didn’t matter as much as the fact that now
she’d get to dance on the strip. Everything she’d worked for was culminating in
this show.

Sadie
wouldn’t let the twinge of guilt she held in not being forthcoming with her
family about the show, and exactly where she was, ruin her time in Vegas. They
were all convinced that her family needed to stay close to the Santucci
compound where TEU was located. She had no intention of any such thing. She
wasn’t sitting around like a lady in waiting. She was going to make the most of
her experience before she returned home to open her dance studio. If that meant
being a bit mysterious, so be it.

In all
reality, her mother could find her at any moment given her magic. At this
point, most of her sisters who were now mated could do the same. And if she
really needed to reach out, she could call her mother to her. Everything would
be fine and once she returned, no one would mind the short time she was away.
Sadie shut her thoughts down and began running through her routine in her head,
preparing.

Yanking
on the spandex costume could constitute a workout all by itself. As she
prepared for their first performance tonight, her nerves kicked in. The need to
be perfect and to look her best frustrated her. Because of her soul sin,
anything that called for exact specifications was so not her thing. She just
wanted to dance, to let out her inner dance goddess and create beauty the only
way that ever came easy to her.

“Ten
minutes, girls,” one of the stage crew called out.

Sadie
approached the stage and took her position.

* * * *

The
club was dark, the typical nightclub vibe. Granger was early so he could get a
spot in the back, a dark corner to hide
himself
away. Since
they missed the chance to install any tracking devices on Sadie, TEU relied on
old-fashioned recon to find her. Granger had been sent in to bring her home.

The
mission was simple and he got the added reward of coming to Vegas. He’d scored
at a few blackjack tables while he waited for the club to open and, with some
luck, maybe he’d score tonight with one of these near-naked waitresses coming
by.

The
shadowed worry that had been following him over the past few months hadn’t yet
gone away. Granger couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that trouble was on its
way and now sitting in this club, the shadow clinging to him with a deeper
fervor, he knew it could all come back to Sadie. After all, it had all started
with her. This feeling began the day he’d rescued her.

Granger
adjusted himself and got comfortable in the plush booth, ready for the sweetest
surveillance he’d ever done. If Sadie were here, he’d find her. There was no
missing the hellfire with flaming red curls. He’d seen her through his scope when
doing parameter watches during her sister’s Pronouncements, but had never seen
her as up close and personal until the day of her rescue. Only then, she’d been
a mess. He suspected she’d be more presentable in this little club tonight.

Madden
gave him strict mission orders though.
Hands off the
merchandise.
Granger was to inform Sadie of the latest risks and do what
it took to bring her back to the compound. That man was no fun since he was
mated.

The
music stopped and the stage lights went on. Granger watched as at least a dozen
women filed out onto the stage in tight corsets and tiny panties accented by
heavy snow boots, fingerless mittens, and fuzzy hats. Apparently, someone had
the wrong idea about winter apparel, but who was he to complain when the view
was this spectacular? Granger surveyed the line of women on stage. His eyes
moved back and forth twice before they locked on those blue eyes he remembered.
Instead of sallow and tired, they were vibrant and bright. Her skin that had
been caked with mud and grime was now like porcelain, so clear she could’ve
been a mannequin. He blinked and looked away as a rush of that same anxiousness
washed through him. What the fuck?

When
Granger looked back at the stage, Sadie was in the front line coming down the stairs.
He was certain music was playing and that these women were dancing, but he’d
developed tunnel vision. All he saw was his mate—without any doubt, it was his
mate—with her bright flaming red hair now fringing her face, the hat she once
wore on the floor, and the scarf no longer hiding her breasts. She stood before
him in a shiny silver shelf bra that left nothing to the imagination of these
men sitting around him.

Hell,
no, his mate wasn’t going to parade around like that for all these men to see.
His muscles shifted, his adrenaline surged as he determined the best course of
action. He knew he shouldn’t cause a disruption. He needed to approach this as
he would a mission. Yet every nerve in his body screamed at him to get up, grab
his mate, throw her over his shoulder, and get the hell out of there.

A growl
escaped his throat as he watched Sadie, his eyes never leaving her. Then
despite the fact he was hidden away in a corner booth, her rich ocean blue eyes
landed on him. They grew wide and he saw her breath catch. Oh yes, she
recognized him as her mate too. That’s right, beautiful, you are all mine,
Grander thought as he adjusted himself again. Damn jeans weren’t giving him any
room for comfort now.

Sadie
spun in rhythm with the other dancers, her tiny hips gyrating to the music just
as she’d be doing to him as soon as he could get them the fuck out of here. She
drifted across the room in erotically choreographed movements that would’ve
been fantastic if it wasn’t that his mate was dancing in nearly nothing in a
room full of men.

When
the waitress came over with his drink, Granger asked how long the performance
lasted and was relieved to hear there would be an intermission after only a
half hour. He could wait that long. Then he’d take her and split. They had
something to take care of before he brought her back to the compound. He took
sips of his bourbon and then more deep breaths to calm his nerves. His hands
itched to touch her, to feel those springy curls in his fingers as he kissed
her lush pink lips. Well shit, this line of thinking wasn’t doing him any good.
Maybe he should shoot TEU a text to check in and let them know he’d located
her.

Found her.
In
my sights.
Everything good.
Complication
though.

He’d no
sooner sent the message than the response came.

She’s your mate.

Fuck,
how did they know? He shook his head, feeling like he’d just been set up.

You knew?

The
text took longer this time.

Suspected.
Stay in reserved suite until ready for return. No hurry.

Granger
was closing his phone, shaking his head, when he looked up again to see Sadie
standing right in front of his table, her hips swaying side to side with her
torso bent back. She wasn’t watching him, but she most certainly had to know
what she was doing to him. The damn woman before him now was nothing like the
woman he’d rescued, nor did she look like the simple beauty he’d seen through
his scope on a few occasions. Didn’t her file say her soul sin was sloth?

This
Sadie, the dancer, was stunning. Her makeup was darker, her hair tamed, but
also more full. Her skin glowed throughout her tiny frame, slick with sweat,
and every curve was so subtle, so feminine and dainty, but formed with strong
muscles. She rocked a body a man like him could get lost in. In fact, he had
plans to do just that, especially now knowing they didn’t have to be right back
to the compound as he’d originally been instructed.

Then
she bent forward at her waist, her back to him so now the rounded globes of her
firm ass were right in front of his eyes. Licking his lips, Granger reminded
himself he couldn’t do anything in this room full of people. Sadie tossed her
hair and peeked over her shoulder at him and
she—
wait,
what the fuck? She winked at him. The little minx absolutely knew what she was
doing.

Fuck
Madden for setting him up like this. He could’ve told him what he was getting
into, prepared him somehow for this. Now he was wishing he’d listened more to
the other guys instead of laughing at them and steering clear of all
conversations where women were discussed. He was on his own now.

Let
Sadie have her fun because when he got her behind closed doors, he’d be the one
teasing her. He released the clenching around his mouth to grin at her. Okay,
maybe it could’ve been more a leer, but he gave his best shot at seeming
unthreatening. The problem was that he was feeling destructive, combustible,
and
maddingly
crazy sitting here smelling the scent
of his mate and watching her strip in front of him.

Strip?
What the hell was she thinking? Her fingers toyed with the string—the teeny tiny
string—which held her top on and he knew all too damn well what was coming
next. Fuck to it all. Granger stood, reached out with one large fist, and
grabbed his mate. They were out of here.

So
much for keeping his presence quiet and laying low.
It didn’t matter now anyway.
He, more than anyone, knew that as the absolute truth. Granger had taken out
every last man involved in the terrorist cell hell bent on exposing the
Valendite Breed. Trevor had removed samples from each target and all identities
were confirmed. It was done.
Over.
And now, Granger
didn’t give a shit about protocol, about maintaining low profiles, especially
when his mate was
strutting
her curvy body for all to
see.

* * * *

Sputtering
at the audacity of this cave man, Sadie banged her fists into his back as she
lay slung over his shoulder. She knew he was her mate. She’d known that the
moment she saw him in the audience, but she’d assumed he’d have more sense than
to draw attention to them. What had he been thinking? He was carrying her out
of the building!

“You
crazy cave man,” she shouted at him, and Goddess, she thought she felt the
rumble of a laugh underneath her. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Hell
no, little minx.
I’m laughing at how fucking right the others were, but you got the crazy right.
Never done anything without thinking it through before.
Seems you’re going to change that.”

“Me? I
was just doing my job. You… arg,” she growled, “You just kidnapped me!”

Her
body, already heated from the show, was now growing increasingly hotter. The
heat was congregating in different places though, places she tried not to think
about. Shaking her head, Sadie realized it was her reaction to her mate, and a
moment later she understood that the more she struggled, the more friction
built right where she needed it.