Betrayed: Days of the Rogue (50 page)

“Maybe.” Eve felt her cheeks warm
with embarrassment.

Caro raised one carefully penciled
brow but let the subject drop. “I’ll change my clothes. You reheat
the food.”

A few minutes later they were
seated at the table eating. Or at least Caro was eating. Eve was
pushing her food about her plate, still thinking about what Damien
had said. Rafe
needed
her, Rafe worked with
wolves…

“It’s a good thing Mr. Chang can’t
see how you’re treating his moo goo guy pan.”

“Hmm?” Eve looked up,
distracted.

“Your dinner. You aren’t eating
anything.” Caro gestured with her fork.

“Oh.” Eve popped a piece of food in
her mouth and chewed slowly. “Caro…you knew Rafe was a doctor
before I did.”

“Right.”

“Why did you bother checking up on
him?”

Caro winked. “Besides the fact that
he’s a gorgeous male specimen?” She shrugged. “He gives off a
certain vibe, like there’s more to him than meets the eye. I wanted
to see what I could find out about him.”

“And what did you find out? I mean,
you discovered he was a doctor but was there anything else? Any
information about exactly what type of work he does?”

Setting her fork down, Caro leaned
back in her chair and eyed Eve speculatively. “What’s up? Why the
sudden interest in the man? I’ve tried to get you to talk about him
for two weeks and you refused. Now you suddenly want to play twenty
questions.”

Eve was tempted to lie but decided
Caro might be able to offer some insight into the situation.
“Damien—the handyman you saw at Rafe’s—stopped by. He mentioned
that Rafe worked with wolves and I was just wondering in what
capacity. I’d always thought Rafe was more of a counsellor than an
animal trainer.”

Caro’s eyes widened and a delighted
grin swept over her face. “I knew it! The minute I saw the man I
knew it.”

“Knew what?” Eve had seldom seen
such genuine emotion on Caro’s face. The woman usually wore a
sophisticated mask, every response preplanned to convey the perfect
image of success and fashion.

Caro leaned forward, elbows on the
table and her chin propped in her hands. “Do you know my favourite
reading material?”

“Um…paranormal romance?” It wasn’t
a big secret since Caro had stashes of the books all over the
apartment but there had to be a purpose behind the question.

“Exactly. I read them, but… I’m
also a believer.”

Eve blinked. “I beg your
pardon?”

“There’s more to this world than
mere humans can see. I’ve known it for years, observed the signs,
had a few brushes with ‘others.’”

“Others?” Eve blinked unsure how to
respond. This was side to Caro she’d never suspected.

“That’s the term we believers use
to talk about the shifters, witches and fairies that share the
world with us.”

“Oh. Right.” Eve barely kept from
rolling her eyes. Shifters really existing? What a ridiculous
idea.

Standing up, Caro placed her hands
on her hips. “You of all people shouldn’t be throwing stones, Eve.”
Caro gave her a meaningful look and Eve started to squirm in her
chair. The other woman didn’t know—couldn’t know—that her temporary
housemate was Fae. Hell, she’d barely figured it out herself and
still forgot about it at times.

Eve studied Caro carefully,
wondering if she really knew something or was just bluffing. And if
she did know about the Fae, what had tipped her off? The woman
didn’t say anything, but a knowing smile graced her lips and her
one brow was raised in a supercilious way.

Not quite willing to concede
defeat, Eve sighed. She wouldn’t admit anything but... “All right.
Let’s suppose that these ‘others’ exist. What does that have to do
with Rafe?”

Caro reached over the table and
tapped the sketch pad that was near Eve’s elbow. “Does the word
‘duh’ mean anything to you?”

She stared at the picture. Caro was
pointing at the wolf. “Rafe? A shifter?”

Sitting down Caro took a sip of her
wine and crossed her ankles, her sophisticated façade sliding back
into place with the ease of practice. “And she finally connects the
dots.”

“No. I don’t believe…” Eve let her
voice trail off thinking of the times she thought she’d heard a
growling sound coming from the man. He was awfully fit. And there
was that time when she’d caught him coming inside naked. And when
he’d rescued her in the woods, hadn’t she had a vision of him and
the wolf phasing into each other? The idea suddenly didn’t seem
quite as implausible as it had a few minutes earlier.

“Yes, you do. Or at least you’re
entertaining the idea.”

Eve squirmed under Caro’s gaze. “I
don’t know… It’s so improbable. I mean someone having extra mental
abilities isn’t that unlikely. Scientists still don’t fully
understand how the human brain functions. But people turning into
animals…” She made a face.

“Okay. Try this. Suppose…just
suppose, Rafe
was
a werewolf.” Caro held up her hand when
Eve would have interrupted and continued talking. “How would you
feel about it? Could you accept that he’s more than he appears to
be on the surface? Would it scare you? Or excite you?”

“I…” Eve didn’t know what to say.
In a fictional story it was all well and good, but contemplating a
real life relationship with someone who was a different species was
rather hard to imagine.

Caro glanced at her watch and stood
up. “I have to go but I want you to think about this while I’m
gone. From what I saw of the two of you together and with the way
you’re moping around my apartment, I think Rafe might just be the
man for you.”

Eve chose to ignore that last
comment. “Where are you going?”

“I’m meeting Dylan. He lives on the
ninth floor.” She picked up a small fuchsia and black shopping bag
from the pile she’d brought home with her. “I bought some lingerie
I want to model for him.”

“You’re off with a different man
every few weeks, but you want me to settle down with someone who
might have to wear a flea collar?” Eve crossed her arms and raised
her eye brow.

“That’s about right.” Caro flashed
a wide smile at her. “Fate. Karma. Following the path destiny has
set out for us…” She waved her hand airily. “I’ve decided mine is
to enjoy the wide variety of male beauty in the world. Yours is to
be with your one and only.” As she walked to the door, she called
over her shoulder. “Don’t fight it, Eve, or it will come back to
bite you. Though personally, I wouldn’t mind a little nibble from
Rafe.”

As the other woman left the
apartment, Eve sighed and rubbed her arm. “I’ve already been
bitten. That’s one of the problems.”

Eve was in bed by the time Caro
came home which was fine since she really didn’t want to discuss
Rafe or her plans anymore. Mostly because she still didn’t have a
plan. She loved Rafe but how did he really feel? And if he
was
a werewolf—which was completely ridiculous—would she be
able to handle it?

Rolling onto her side, she plumped
her pillow. Rafe had left without a word. Even if he was worried
about his clinic, he could have written a quick note. And since
then he’d made no effort to contact her. Mind you, all along he’d
been sort of…ambivalent about a relationship with her. Hot sex was
one thing but he’d never shown an interest in a permanent
relationship. He’d even told her how two Empaths in a relationship
wasn’t a good idea. Her experience with Gordie had confirmed the
fact. And perhaps if he was a werewolf—and that was a big if—then
were there rules preventing him from associating with a
non-werewolf? That might explain his reluctance to have a
relationship with her.

A future between the two of them
seemed more improbable the longer she thought about it.

Eve closed her eyes and tried to
fall asleep but her brain wouldn’t shut down. Damien said Rafe
needed her yet how did Damien know? Had they been in contact with
each other? And if Rafe could share his feelings towards her with
Damien, then why not tell her directly? Was it that hard to pick up
the phone?

She tucked the covers up around her
neck. The bed felt cold and lonely, the same as it had every night
since she’d arrived. If Rafe was sharing the space with her it
wouldn’t seem that way. His broad chest would be pressed to her
back, his hand cupping her breast as they lay spooned together. A
smile spread over her face as she submerged herself in the
scenario, just as she had so many times recently. It was as if Rafe
was actually there. She could feel his love and concern washing
over her, allowing her to relax, knowing he’d take care of her. It
was a feeling that had come over her several times in the past few
weeks, right as she was falling asleep. Sometimes she wondered if
it meant that Rafe was thinking of her; if he’d let his mental wall
slip and was reaching out to her. Whether it was true or not, she
didn’t know, but she liked to imagine that is was.

She sighed and snuggled into the
pillow even more, the movement causing her arm to twinge. That
brought a whole new set of feelings to mind. The wolf attack had
been horrific, even more so than being abducted. Nightmares still
plagued her; dreams so real she’d wake up drenched in sweat, the
pink scars on her arm throbbing. She’d rush to the bathroom and
wash over and over again convinced the beast’s sticky saliva still
covered her. If Rafe was indeed a werewolf, how could she ever bear
to be alone with him knowing he was capable of turning into a
savage beast?

No. She couldn’t do it. The thought
of waking up with a wolf beside her was too frightening to
contemplate.

She rolled onto her back and stared
at the ceiling. But the wolf would be Rafe. Not some real wolf
without any conscience. Rafe wouldn’t hurt her. Hadn’t he rescued
her from Gordie? Held her in his bed when she’d been shaking with
fear from memories of what had happened?

Eve sat up in bed, pulled open the
drawer of her night table and took out a piece of paper. Brandi had
handed it to her that last day in Grassy Hills after telling her
that Rafe had left due to a fire at his clinic. It was Rafe’s
address. The other woman had handed it to her saying it was ‘just
in case’ she needed to contact him. There was no message from Rafe
on it. In fact the writing had a suspiciously feminine appearance
to it, and she’d quickly realized that Brandi was trying to make up
for the fact that Rafe had simply left without a word. It had hurt
and she’d been tempted to throw the address away but some voice
inside had urged her not to.

Frowning Eve stared at the words
before her. The arguments kept going round and round in her head.
What it really came down to was a choice. Go and see Rafe; discover
his feelings and explore the depth of her fear. Or she could stay
in Calgary and her life would continue on as it had always been.
She’d have her art, spend time with Aly and Caro, eventually meet
someone else… It was a safe, sensible decision. However, would the
words ‘what if’ always tease at the back of her mind?

Chapter 53

Rafe stretched his arms over his
head before pushing away from his desk. He’d been at his computer
for hours working on the budget for the clinic. His eyes felt
gritty, his shoulders were tense. Standing up, he went to the
coffee maker and checked the carafe. A small amount of brown liquid
covered the bottom. It had a sludgy appearance and the pot felt
cold. Sighing, he set it down and wandered to the window
instead.

Spring sunshine illuminated the
small green space in front of the building; fresh grass covered the
lawn and a pair of robins were poking about looking for worms. A
few daffodils bobbed in the breeze near the base of a tree while a
scattering of wild violets added splashes of colour to the scene.
Usually he enjoyed spring but this year its cheeriness was directly
at odds with his mood. He didn’t want to be here. The rebuilding
project for his clinic wasn’t capturing his imagination. His spirit
felt numb and confined in the small beige office out of which he
now worked.

Most of the clinic had been gutted
by the fire, but this wing had survived and been deemed
structurally sound. He’d set up a temporary headquarters with an
office area for himself and a few counselling rooms for the
therapists to use. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best he could do
at the moment. Lycan Link had been especially helpful, finding
nearby housing for his rogues and subsidizing their rent.

Leaning his forearm against the
window frame, he looked to the side and studied the charred remains
of the rest of the clinic. The blackened bricks and twisted metal
stood in stark contrast to the blue sky and white puffy clouds.
Investigators were still poking through the rubble, but heavy
machinery was scheduled to begin the demolition process next week
and then construction could begin. The architect had called this
morning saying the blueprints for the new clinic were ready for
approval. He made a face at the lack of emotional response he had
to the news.

Face facts, McRae, he told himself.
You were beginning to tire of the job even before that disastrous
last case. Working in a clinical setting felt too…confining. And
the program he’d designed, while successful, had its limitations,
too. The rogues were being transferred too quickly from clinics
into pack life. They needed a transitional setting; that’s what
he’d envisioned his fishing cabins in Grassy Hills as being. He’d
had great hope for the project, but returning there now would too
difficult. Memories of Eve would greet him at every turn.

A heavy sigh escaped him as the
door to his office opened. Reno strolled into the room and sat down
without waiting for an invitation.

“You’re looking as crappy as the
last time I saw you.” Reno leaned back in the chair and stretched
out his legs. “Given up on sleeping?”