Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) (19 page)

Garrett and I sat outside on the patio, needing some time to reconnect and recharge. Sasha and Liam could take care of Gabriel and I didn’t want to think about him or how close I’d come to killing him. The sky was darkening with the threat of another storm, so we sat under the awning, squeezed together on one lounge chair, our hands moving restlessly as we held each other.

There was no reason to voice the obvious. Garrett and his nest would be dead if he hadn’t made the decision for them to rest at home. I’d probably be dead along with Sinc and Kaera and Brina if Gabe hadn’t come strolling in to rescue Sinc, not that he’d meant to save the rest of us. We both should have listened to Liam's advice. I trembled when I thought about how much worse this could have been.

Warm breath caressed my ear and my neck. “We were meant to be together for all time, my love. Nothing can change our fate, not even a bomb.”

I smiled at his attempt to get me out of my black mood and turned my body, lowering my head onto his chest and draping my leg over his. “For all time is a very, very long time.”

“I have connections.” He stroked my hair and kissed my head.

“Oh? I think even the fae don’t live forever.”

“The gods do.”

I lifted my head to look into those incredible blue eyes that continued to warm my heart each time he shared them with me. “I’m impressed. When do I get to meet one of your godly buds?’

“I’m a jealous vampire and they’re all very powerful and handsome. I think it best if I just continue to text them.”

I laughed. “And what do you ask them for?”

“World peace.”
I giggled. “And to spend eternity with the most perfect of all females.” His voice brushed over my body like a silken sheet. I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensation.

When I opened them again I pretended to scowl. “Wait a minute. Who’s she? I thought
I
was your mate.”

Now Garr
ett was laughing. He searched my face with an expression of wonder, as if I was a dream to him still. He ran his knuckles gently along my jaw and then down my neck, coming to rest at my pulse. He left his hand there, feeling its slightly quicker rhythm. “You are my entire world.”

My lips brushed across his. “And you’re mine. But what do these gods want from you in return for granting your wish?  Gods can be greedy.”

“That I do all in my power to deserve you.”

“I like these gods.” I smiled.

“So what can I do?”

My smile turned a little evil. “You can start by kissing me. Then we can go from there.”

“The gods will be pleased.” He gave me a solemn look.

“Just worry about pleasing me for now.” I licked his lower lip and watched his fangs extend, a sure sign that he was enjoying himself.

When he kissed me, my body responded by arching against him, trying to close all the space between us. It didn’t matter that the rain had started to fall or that the wind had picked up, blowing the drops in our direction. I was angry and worried and feeling vulnerable and only Garrett’s loving attention would make me feel centered again. Selfish? Maybe, in the light of what Sinc was going through. But she’d be laughing at my misplaced guilt and telling me to go for it, so I did.

Garrett pulled away first, his eyes popping with silver stars and his delicious lips swollen from our kisses. His voice was a little husky. “I know you don’t want to end up catching pneumonia. Perhaps the bedroom? Or a hot
bath? ”

We were both pretty soggy already and I was feeling cold, so I opted for the bath. Luckily my wounds had healed e
nough to take off the bandages. I sat across from him in the giant tub, the hot water soothing me enough to relax and open up to him. “When you were out feeding, I almost killed him. Liam had to pull me away. My eyes turned orange.”

He took a washcloth, soaped it up and moved closer to wash my back. “Your cuts have almost all disappeared, but it'll take longer to get over the shock. The explosion was only hours ago. It’s natural for you to feel rage at the atta
ck on your friends.”

“I hate not having control. Liam was worried."

“Was it hard for you to come back to yourself?” He ran his fingers through my blonde locks to get out the usual knots.

“Not really. I just thought of something funny and my eyes were green again.”

“l could hire a fool, like in medieval times, and he’ll make you laugh.” He teased me with a sweet kiss on the cheek.

“We already have Kyle.” We both giggled. “That was mean. He’s definitely not a fool. He’s more a stand-up comic.”

I was washing his back now, enjoying the feel of his firm muscles under my hands. I ran the soapy cloth over his strong biceps and elbows moving in front of him to wash across his solid chest and abs. He had an athlete’s body, somewhere between a runner and a swimmer. All lean sexy muscle. He took the cloth away and leaned closer. I felt his fangs graze my neck so I tilted my head to the side to let him feed. He bit his wrist so we could share blood together and before long we were pulling up magic and sharing our bodies.

Later that night, when we made love again, I let go of the images that still troubled me and gave all of my energy and devotion to Garrett as he gave his to me. Every moment with him trumped all the other minutes of my life, because between us there was trust and truth and passion. Spending time with couples like Katrina and Quentin, who lived with lies and suspicions and accepted cruelty as the norm, made us cherish all the more the extraordinary bond we shared and the life we were building together.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I ran upstairs as soon as I woke up the next morning. Liam had given Gabriel breakfast and was sitting in the chair across from the bed while our hostage ate off of a tray table, his hands cuffed together. Samson was in the room, growling slightly whenever Gabriel glanced at him. The wolf looked healthy, his cuts had healed and the gash on his forehead was only a pink line, but he had bags under his eyes and they were slightly bloodshot.

“Did you sleep?” I asked.

“No. Would you? That black demon spent the night in here." He pointed at Samson.

I thought back to my captivity under Kennet. “Maybe not. But even you have to admit that your situation here is not unearned. You conspired to kill us, even though you say you were against it. If you’d warned us, we would have found a way to save your mother.”

“I couldn’t take the chance. I didn't know you.”

Liam got up and motioned for me to go outside the room where we could speak privately. A wolf’s hearing is excellent, so we still used our minds.
“I spoke to Aaron last night around midnight. There is an interesting development.”

“What?”

“His pack is claiming that Gabriel was behind everything that happened. They say they found the boys in the cellar of a cabin and that they are all fine. Apparently Gabriel had 'conveniently' left the directions to the cabin in the glove compartment of his truck. They want him back to judge him according to pack law.”

“So they’re tossing him out with the trash. Who did Aaron speak to?”

“Quentin. Aaron also asked to speak to Karl, but was denied.”

“And the bomb?”

“They’re blaming Gabriel.”

“But he wasn’t lying last night. It’s really all Karl and Quentin behind everything.”

“Yes, he was completely truthful.”

“We need to make arrangements for the temporary lab to be driven back here. I’ll ask Aaron if two of his pack can do it, although I’m certain that there will be nothing of value left in it. I’ll call Kyle and Ethan and tell them to meet here tonight at 8 PM. We need to figure out how to proceed. I’ll ask Aaron to join us too.”
Liam smiled at me.
“What?”

“I’m just enjoying your confident air of authority.”

“Are you telling me that I’m being bossy?”

“Taking charge in a crisis is not being bossy.”

“This is the easy stuff. You got our asses moving and out of Los Altos.”
I so needed to talk to him about Kennet, but now wasn’t the time.
“Liam, could we spend some time together, tomorrow maybe? I want to talk about... I need to know…”
Somehow I couldn’t put it into words.

“We’ll go for a walk and we’ll talk. I have things to say as well. Tomorrow will be fine.”

“Does Gabriel know what his family is saying about him?”

“Yes. I told him. He says he’s not really surprised.”

I went back into Gabe’s bedroom with Liam. He was sleeping curled up on the bed, his tray table pushed aside and Samson asleep on the floor by the door.
“We’ll let him sleep. I’m going to visit Sinc. Do you need any extra help?”

“I’ve called in Farrell to watch him for awhile. I’m going to cook for the meeting tonight.”

“Aaron, Kyle and Ethan will thank you.”
My cooking skills included pasta, scrambled eggs and boxes of mac and cheese. Liam spoke softly to Samson in fae, probably telling him to make sure Gabriel stayed in the room, then we both headed downstairs.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Sinc was sitting up and eating what looked like vegetable soup when I got there. She was thinner than ever, but her color was good and the fact that she had an appetite was a great sign. She was hooked up to an IV bag and she noticed me glance at it.

“Pain killer. Very nice, but it makes me sleepy and I knew you were coming, so now it’s just dripping glucose.”

I sat in the chair next to the bed. “How do you feel?”

She tried to smile, but only succeeded in looking anxious. “How do you think I feel knowing that I’ll never wear another pair of Jimmy Choos?”

I smiled at her. “You could still wear one.”

“Yes, but I’d have to pay for two. It goes against my principles.” She smiled back at me. “Well it
would if I had any principles.”

“You have principles,
you just try to keep them a secret from the rest of us.”

She swallowed another mouthful of soup. “How are you feeling? And Brina? I heard she was hurt badly.”

“I’ve healed, thanks to Garrett’s usual vamp blood and first aid skills. Liam says Brina will heal in a week, so it must be pretty bad.”

We took another moment to
look at each other, not sure where to go from here. “So it took you long enough to get here. Everyone else has visited me. Ethan, Kyle, Rob, Liam and Kaera have been by.”

I looked around the room at the balloons and the flowers. Garrett and I had sent her a plush snow leopard and a small box of her favorite Swiss chocolate. The stuffed animal was sitting next to her on the bed. Its eyes were the exact same blue as Sinc’s and so I’d grabbed it to send with Liam when he visited her early this morning. I’d hoped that it would remind her of the fun times
we’d all had hunting together.

“I’ve been busy entertaining a house guest.”

“What are you planning on doing with him?”

“We’re having a meeting tonight at the house.” She turned away, obviously upset that she couldn’t be there. “I’ll make sure you’re kept in the loop.”

“I guess Garrett is pissed off at me, huh.” She looked worried

My chin dropped in shock. “Why do you think that?”

“I was in charge. I should have known something was up when Gabriel rushed me out like that.”

“Kaera and I were there, we just weren’t putting out feelers to see if he was lying. It was our responsibility too.” She didn’t look convinced. “Gabe was trying to save your life
, but by showing up, he ended up saving mine and the sisters' too. Karl told him that if he warned any of us, they’d kill Katrina. He figured he could get you out without repercussions.”

“I can’t believe that any of this has happened. Quentin and Katrina were normal when I lived there. Karl was only around twelve when I left, b
ut he was such a funny kid. He used to like to follow Gabe and me around all the time like a puppy.” Her expression warmed as she remembered. “Gabe and I were crazy about each other when we were kids.”

I kept my thoughts about Gabe to myself. “Ethan wouldn’t let Farrell take you to the hospital without him.”

“He spent most of the night here and then came back for the whole morning. I sent him home a while ago to sleep, but he says he’s coming back tomorrow first thing.”

I wanted to tell her that it was obvious to me that Ethan still loved her, but it wasn’t my place, and if I was wrong it would only cause more hurt. She was watching my face and surprised me by saying, “Ethan and I are done. I know that you're still holding out some hope,
but it's really over. We'll always be close, and I'm grateful for that. He's got the biggest heart, and he's forgiven me, but he'd never be able to completely trust me again, not enough to build back our relationship." I started to protest, but she shook her head. "It's really okay, Jackie. He'll find someone who deserves him."

"I'm so sorry."

"I think I'm fine with it." She shrugged. "We weren't really good for each other. He always let me have my way, because he wanted me to be happy, but I think I need a guy who's going to stand up to me once in a while. Someone who'll challenge me to be more. Now that I've seen my mom and dad again, and Quentin and Katrina, I see what it is to be lost in a troubled relationship. But I still miss him and it still hurts."