Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (48 page)

“She’s special to you.” Brandi
finished the sentence for him, a sympathetic smile on her face.

“Yeah.” He took step towards the
door, then stopped. “Explain to her why I had to go.”

“I will. I’ll tell her you’ll
contact her as soon as possible.”

“No. Don’t say that. I won’t be
calling her. It’s best if she just thinks we had
an...interlude.”

“And is that what it was?” She
cocked her head and gave him a considering look.

“It has to be. She doesn’t even
know werewolves exist.”

“So tell her.” Brandi folded her
arms and leaned her hip against the table.

He blinked. “A DC is telling me
this.”

She snorted. “There are ways around
the rules. Everyone knows that.”

“Not this time. She’s petrified of
wolves now. And after her experience with Grant, she won’t want
another Fae to touch her.”

“How do you know? Did you ask
her?”

“I know how the mind works. It’s
part of my job.” He inwardly winced. At least he thought he knew
how minds worked, though after the debacle of his last case, how
could he be sure?

“Sure you do.” Brandi rolled her
eyes.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
He stiffened. Wasn’t he feeling bad enough about how things were
ending? Did Brandi have to harp at him now?

“You’re just like all the other
males. Thinking females are poor helpless creatures who can’t
handle any adversity without falling to pieces.” She began to pace
around the room, a flush appearing on her cheeks, stray curls
bobbing.

“I don’t—”

“Yes, you do. Otherwise you’d be in
that bedroom right now, scooping her up and taking her with you.
You’d talk her through whatever fears and misconceptions she
has.”

“I—”

An Enforcer gave a perfunctory
knock on the door and stepped inside. “We’re ready to leave,
sir.”

“I’m coming.” He hefted his duffle
over his shoulder.

“So that’s it? No message?” Brandi
threw out one final challenge.

Rafe didn’t answer. There was
nothing he could say that could explain how he felt.

“Bye, Brandi.”

As he left the room, he heard her
give a frustrated scream just before she slammed the door shut.

Chapter 51

A month later…

Eve stood staring out the window of
Caro’s apartment watching the traffic on the street below. Located
on the tenth floor, Caro’s apartment had a lovely view of the city.
Not quite as good as watching the sun rise over the trees that
flanked the meadow beside Rafe’s place, but still noteworthy.

She smiled sadly, wondering when
she’d stop comparing everything to her time in Grassy Hills. Would
it take two months or half a year or perhaps even longer? At the
moment she doubted she’d ever lose her memory of the events that
took place in the small town. Nightmares still haunted her on
occasion and in the shower each morning, she’d stare at the scars
from the wolf attack and force down the queasy feeling in her
stomach. Someday it would get better, or at least that’s what she
kept telling herself.

And not all the memories were bad.
She grinned recalling a certain interlude in the foyer.

Caro breezed into the room, took
one look at her and snorted in disgust. “Are you going to stay in
that old track suit all day?”

The suit wasn’t that old, and it
was comfortable, but those arguments wouldn’t hold weight with the
fashion driven woman.

“I’m going to be painting today. No
point in wearing good clothes for that.”

“Right. You’ve used that excuse
before. As well as the one that you’re cleaning, that you haven’t
done any laundry, and that you think you’re coming down with a
cold.” Caro shook her head. Face it, Eve. You’re brooding over Rafe
McRae. You should just call the man—”

“No!” Eve seldom raised her voice
to Caro, but this was one topic that was off limits. For the first
two weeks, Caro had left her alone, or offered sympathy over the
ordeal, but that had slowly turned into gentle prompts and then
definite prods to get on with life. For the past two weeks, Caro
had been harping at her, telling her she should call Rafe, but it
wasn’t that simple. He’d left Grassy Hills without a word to her.
There’d been no note giving his contact information, no verbal
message conveyed by Brandi about his plans to see her in the
future. In fact, Brandi had been distinctly uncomfortable when
saying that Rafe was gone and no, he hadn’t indicated when he’d be
in contact. Nor had he tried to get in touch with her since. She
checked her phone and email daily for messages, but there was never
anything there. It was painfully obvious Rafe viewed their time
together as a simple fling, and she wasn’t going to chase after
him.

“If you won’t call the man, then do
something else! Ally’s called at least a dozen times and left
messages and I know you haven’t returned a single one. Go out to
lunch with her! Go shopping. Just do…something!”

Eve shrugged. Nothing sounded
appealing. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Caro huffed her disapproval. “I
don’t have time to argue with you now, but when I get home we’re
going to discuss this.”

Eve turned her back and continued
to study the view rather than reply. After a few moments the sound
of the apartment door closing could be heard, and she allowed
herself to relax.

Dropping down onto the sofa, she
pulled her knees up to her chest and fought back tears. Every day
she had this empty, aching feeling inside her as if a part of her
was missing and nothing seemed to make it go away. She’d tried it
all; painting, reading, going for walks. Even the affinity she’d
developed with the earth was fading. Her forays onto the nature
paths not far from Caro’s apartment had lacked the same
rejuvenating affect she’d experienced in Grassy Hills. Or maybe it
was her attitude.

Face it. She didn’t want to feel
happy or alive. She was in crappy mood and quite happy wallowing in
it, than you very much. Sulking, pining, wasting away; call it what
you will, the end result was the same. When Rafe had said forming a
mental bridge left remnants long after the fact, he hadn’t been
kidding. Almost…almost she could understand Gordie’s obsessive need
to experience the feeling of being connected again and again.

Of course, the idea of being with
anyone besides Rafe filled her with revulsion. No one could compare
to him. The warm, smooth feeling of his mind sliding over hers, his
emotions gently invading and filling the emptiness inside her, each
emotion shared like a physical touch.

Leaning her head against the
cushions, she closed her eyes, reliving every moment she’d spent
with him. Memories of his scent, his touch, the sound of his voice
filled her, and she smiled, retreating into the happy place she’d
created in her mind.

How long she sat like that she had
no idea, but the ringing of the phone startled her out of the
trance-like state she’d fallen into. It was probably Ally again.
Thinking of what Caro had said, she reluctantly answered.

“Hello?”

“Eve?”

“Yes?” It wasn’t Ally. The voice
sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Damien here. I’m in the lobby.
I’ll meet you in the park behind your building in five minutes.” He
hung up before she could think of what to say.

Damien? He was the last person
she’d been expecting to hear from. Surprise, excitement and a hint
of apprehension filled her. Did he have news about Rafe? Or was it
just a friendly visit? No matter what, he was going to be waiting
for her in five minutes!

Jumping to her feet, she glanced in
the mirror that was over the fireplace. God, she was a mess. Her
hair needed trimming, she had no makeup on, and the tracksuit Caro
had scorned fit like a potato sack. She ran to the bathroom and
quickly splashed off her face and brushed her teeth, but that was
all she had time for. Somehow she knew if she wasn’t there within
the timeframe he gave, Damien would disappear.

Racing down the hallway, she jabbed
at the elevator button, and then once inside the car, impatiently
tapped her foot as it lowered her to the ground floor.

Cara’s apartment building was
located across from the Bow River that wove its way through the
centre of Calgary. A parkway with tree-lined trails and parks
flanked the river. It was a fitting place to meet Damien. The man
had a look about him that suited the natural setting.

Eve saw him immediately, leaning
against a tree, one ankle negligently crossed over the other. He
looked much as he had in Grassy Hills when she’d first seen him.
Too thin, a haunted look about his eyes, but compelling none the
less. When he caught sight of her, he straightened. A faint smile
barely curled one corner of his mouth, but it was enough to change
his appearance from merely interesting to devastatingly
appealing.

“Damien! It’s good to see you.” She
hurried towards him and gave him a hug.

Just like the last time she’d
touched him, he hesitated before returning the gesture. At first
the hug was tentative, but then it increased into a genuinely warm
greeting. Eve was secretly pleased with the show of emotion from
the man. He always seemed so…closed off, as if he didn’t dare let
any of his feelings out. When he released her, she stepped back and
grinned.

“Nice place.” He jerked his chin
towards the apartment building.

“Yes. It’s not mine though. Caro,
my friend, is letting me stay with her since I’d sublet my
apartment.”

“I know.” He turned from his
examination of the building to look at her.

“You know?” She cocked her head.
“How?”

“There are ways to find out almost
anything you want to know.” He shrugged. “That’s how I found
you.”

That had been her next question. It
made her slightly uneasy to think he’d been snooping around,
finding information about her, not that she’d made any particular
effort to hide where she was.

To cover her unease, she put her
hands in her pockets and nodded towards the pathway. “Want to
walk?”

He fell into step beside her. She
could feel him studying her out of the corner of his eye.

“You’re looking better than the
last time I saw you.”

She gave a soft laugh. “That must
have been right after I’d been running through the woods escaping
Gordie. Not too hard to improve on that.”

Damien smiled and nodded. “True.
Maybe it’s just that I’ve missed you.”

Her heart gave an extra thump at
that admission. “I’ve missed you, too.”

“Really?” He arched a brow. “Or
just polite conversation?”

“It’s not nice to question my
sincerity,” she chided gently. “But, yes, I’ve missed you. You and
Grassy Hills and Rafe… It was lovely there.” She hadn’t meant to
mention Rafe and winced hoping Damien wouldn’t comment on the fact.
Of course, that was too much to expect.

“Have you heard from him? Rafe,
that is?”

“No.” She tried to sound
unconcerned. “I expect he’s busy. Brandi told me there’d been a
fire at his clinic.”

Damien nodded, and they walked in
silence for a while longer. The wind was cooler now that they were
nearing the river and she hunched her shoulders against the
chill.

“So…what have you been up to?” She
cast a curious look at him.

“Not much.”

“No more handyman work to be
done?”

“No. I’m sort of between jobs.
Trying to decide what I want to do next. That’s one of the reasons
I thought I’d look you up.”

“Oh.” A funny feeling quivered in
her stomach though she wasn’t sure why.

“Let’s sit here.” Damien stopped
suddenly by a bench and sat, pulling her down beside him.

Eve could feel the warmth of his
body beside her, the length of his thigh was pressed to hers. She
studied his profile as he stared off into the distance, marvelling
at the perfection of his features, the way the slight stubble on
his chin added to his rakish good looks. If he knew she was looking
at him, he gave no indication.

A heavy sigh escaped him and he
leaned forward his forearms braced on his knees, his hands loosely
clasped. Staring at the ground, he spoke. “I’m sorry.”

“Pardon?”

Turning his head, he looked at her,
his expression troubled. “Just… I’m sorry.”

“For what?” She angled her body
towards him and he closed his eyes, shaking his head.

“I can’t say. Just know that I’m
sorry.” He looked her in the eye, a hint of desperation about
him.

Eve blinked, not knowing what he
was referring to. There could be no doubting his remorse, though.
“All right.” She replied slowly, feeling her way. “I forgive you.
You’re a good man, Damien and if you did something you feel the
need to apologize for, I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose.” She laid her
hand on his knee. “Or if it was intentional, then it was for a good
reason.”

He gave a soft, rueful laugh.
“That’s what I tried to tell myself. But now…” His voice trailed
off and he shifted his attention to her hand where it rested on his
knee. Slowly he straightened his posture and took her hand. Lacing
their fingers together, he seemed fascinated by the way their
fingers interlocked.

Finally, he spoke. “I was
ma…married once.”

“I remember you telling me that.”
She noted how he stumbled over the word. It was obviously still
difficult for him to talk about.

“You remind me of her.” He looked
at her this time, his gaze flitting over her face. “At first
glance, I thought you
were
her even though your colouring is
different. But when I look at you more closely, I can see the
differences.”

Eve gave a nervous smile, not sure
where the conversation was going or how to respond.

He sighed heavily and looked away
again. “I loved her. More than I thought possible. And when she
died, it was like I died, too. There was no reason to live. When I
wasn’t hoping to die, the only thing that kept me going was my
hatred and the need for revenge.”