“I’ve lost control before?”
“I think you already know the answer to that.” The way he said it wasn’t really accusing. And understanding had modulated his words.
She nodded slowly.
“Right now, we need you to stop doing stupid things like going for a run in the woods… at night…and alone.” He ticked off each offense on three large fingers as he said them. “We’re not going to let any of those animals touch you but, for the love of beads, you sure ain’t making the job easy.”
He’s right
. Kali slumped in her seat. Going to the park had been pretty dumb. Rhane or York or Bailen could have gotten hurt.
And it would have been totally my fault.
“Mind if I give you a piece of advice?”
“Sure.” Nothing he said could have possibly made her feel any more rotten.
“Don’t ever take a laxative and a sleeping pill on the same night.”
While she didn’t laugh, the absurd counsel distracted her from feeling so horrible. “That’s disgusting.”
York slid his soda to Kali’s side of the table to replace the empty glass in front of her. “The pizza should be here soon.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Anything else?”
“Yes.” Kali perked up. “Is Warren a werewolf?”
He chuckled. “No.”
“But I’m pretty sure I saw him turn into a wolf.”
York’s face turned dead serious. “Okay, you caught us. War is the Wolfman. Rhane is Dracula. And I’m really the Easter Bunny.”
“That’s not funny.” She felt her temper start to flare, but his goofy grin disarmed it. She blew out a frustrated sigh. “I know what I saw. And it was Warren changing from a wolf to a boy before I passed out.”
“Trust me.” York’s restrained laughter made Kali wonder what joke she was missing. “He’s not a werewolf. And I certainly ain’t the Easter bunny.”
She rolled her eyes. “You didn’t say Rhane wasn’t Dracula.”
York leaned forward. “You know,” he said in a conspiring whisper, “he’d probably look good in a cape.”
Chapter 52
Piled high with the finest assortment of fresh garden vegetables, the pizza was a mouth-watering sight. Kali’s stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard two booths over. Grabbing the biggest slice, she took a savage bite. She hadn’t realized she was so hungry. York watched her without as much as batting an eye. “What?” she asked.
“I was wondering if I might need to order my own.” He looked at the pan pointedly.
Following his gaze, she gasped. Half of the pizza was gone. “Holy cow.”
“Cow, yes. But I wouldn’t call you holy.”
Though ready to smack him, Kali was beginning to understand York’s humor. She thought back to the desert and the tunnels. “You do that for him too,” she blurted.
His easy smile faded, replaced by a look she couldn’t read. “In the many years I’ve known Rhane, we’ve been in some tight spots, came out without a scratch when we should have died. I’ve seen him shoulder a lot of heavy solo. And never once has he cracked under the pressure. It scares the crap outta me that one day he might.”
Kali surprised herself by grabbing his hand. “Thank you.”
He seemed genuinely confused. “For what?”
“For being such a good friend to him.”
“I remember you too, you know.” York’s smile returned as he squeezed her hand. “You are different. But you are the same, Kalista.”
Before she could pelt him with questions to find out what exactly that meant, his phone buzzed from somewhere beneath the table. He fished through his pockets and found it. The tiny cell disappeared in his giant palm like a magic trick. “York,” he answered.
He sat back suddenly, recoiling his hand from Kali’s as if a serpent had bitten it. Facing the window, he waved sheepishly at someone outside. The mysterious caller did all of the talking. York listened, head down and eyes narrowed in concentration. Kali shoved leftover toppings around her plate, feigning interest in everything except his conversation. She didn’t miss it when he glanced up with a combination of surprise and anger. The expression was gone just as quickly.
“Alright, got it.” He shut the phone and reached for the remaining half of the pizza. Rolling it like a sandwich wrap, he took a huge bite and stood from the table. “Stay put, kiddo. I’m going to get the check.”
#
Bailen was nested as comfortably as possible in the backseat, on top of a rather expensive sport coat. It was a generous sacrifice in the canine’s behalf. No amount of dry cleaning could salvage the material from the layers of blood, fur, and mud that now covered it. In a few days, Bailen would be fine. As for the big picture, well…things had gotten a lot worse. If Reapers had found a way to this continent, Gabriel couldn’t be far behind.
He may even already be here.
Rhane didn’t understand why Builders had released Gabriel after centuries of entombment. Then the creature had immediately targeted Kalista and The Siren’s Heart. There had to be more to it than revenge.
And champion for what?
The Builder had held back so much.
Rhane parked the truck and massaged his temples in a circular motion. He rested his throbbing head on the steering wheel. The headache had gotten worse since leaving Wesley’s office.
My skull is going to explode. Might feel better after
.
He lifted his eyes, squinting into the glare of The Fat Italian’s neon sign, and spotted York. He was grinning like an idiot, holding Kali’s hand. Rhane plucked out his cell and jabbed the first speed dial. After rings one and two, he was impatient. By the fourth, his jaw clenched. York finally answered.
“The pizza here must be magical to have a man risk losing an arm.” On a better day, the big guy’s stunned reaction would have made him laugh. But tonight was not a better day, and Rhane was feeling too much pressure. “Bailen will be fine, but he’s banged up. I need you to take care of something. Leave the table. Call back when you’re out of earshot.”
He watched as York got up with the rest of the pizza and called a few moments later. Straightaway, he asked, “What happened?”
“There were seven of them. They set a trap, a good one. They were herding Kalista, and Bailen ran into the ambush. I need bodies to disappear, York. Three dead Reapers are barely hidden close by the walking trail. The rest are further up. Just follow the smell.”
“Did you harness your skin?”
“No. I can’t.”
“You should have let me help.”
Rhane pressed the phone tightly against one ear, and pushed his head from the opposite direction with the other hand. He vaguely wondered if, once his skull ruptured, the gray matter would match the leather interior of the truck. “I needed you to take care of Kalista, to get her to safety.”
“OK.” York took a second to finish off the pizza. “Do you want to take her now? I’ll go and handle business in the park.”
He glanced to the mirror. “I don’t think she should see Bailen like this.”
“You’re right. She feels bad about what happened tonight. Seeing Bailen will probably make it worse. But Rhane…she needs to know what’s going on.”
He sighed, wondering what York had already told her. “Get her to Hunter’s Valley. I’ll be waiting.”
Thirty seconds didn’t pass before the phone rang again. Rhane was already speeding towards the manor. “Yeah,” he answered.
It was Rion. “People think they erase stuff from computers. But it’s never really gone.” The boy’s excitement buzzed through the receiver. “You might not like what you find there, but I’ve got an address.”
“Tell me everything.”
#
York barreled through the dark countryside, reaching Hunter’s Valley in record time. Only after turning into the long gravel driveway of Holsenbeck Hall did he reduce the speed to within rational limits. Parking almost on the front step, he threw open the driver’s door and was out of the truck before Kali could move. She didn’t have time to protest as he plucked her from the cab. Setting her gently on the ground, he nudged her toward the front door and followed.
There was no need to knock. Rhane seemed to simply appear. As always, he was rocking a black polo and denim jeans in his casual style of sex appeal. Kali took a moment to appreciate every part of him that filled the doorway. Then his arms encircled her and drew her body close. She breathed in his scent: woodsy pine mixed with a recent shower.
He sighed softly. Then it was as if her feet floated across the threshold as he nearly lifted her into the house. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Kali noted the revving engine of York’s departure.
Rhane cupped her face with his palms. His green eyes were full of emotion. “I can’t let you out of my sight for two seconds.”
Reaching up on tiptoe, Kali kissed him on the cheek and let her lips linger. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes said everything he didn’t, mesmerizing her as they glowed from within. Remembering to breathe became an impossible task. Inhale, wait…exhale, she instructed herself mentally. The amount of heat between them was insane. The air rippled with tension. She wanted him so badly.
Forget this stupid age difference and kiss me for crying out loud
.
Sadly, Rhane was not a mind reader. He squeezed her hand. “Don’t apologize.”
Disappointed
. Kali tried not to roll her eyes or close them in longing when he pulled away.
“How was the pizza?”
“Right…pizza,” she repeated woodenly. “It was fabulous.”
“I hope York was on his best behavior tonight. He can be a little off color sometimes.”
Kali shrugged. “He’s really nice. I like him.”
“Good.” Rhane tugged her towards the stairs. “There’s a bottle of aspirin upstairs with my name on it. You’re staying here tonight, but I advise you to keep your hands to yourself.” He flashed a teasing grin, showing off the singular dimple that appeared only when he really smiled.
She couldn’t help smiling back. “Okay.”
Rhane took her to the third level, easily navigating in total darkness. His guidance didn’t keep Kali from stepping on his heels. But he didn’t complain. When they reached the master bedroom, he stopped without notice, and she plowed right into his back.
“Have you always been this clumsy?”
“Maybe you can see in the dark, but we mortals can’t,” she grumbled. “Ever heard of those things called flashlights? They’re pretty common.”
“As you wish.” He released her hand. A few seconds later, soft light brightened the room.
“This is new.” She surveyed the ceiling’s receded fixtures.
“I thought you might like it.”
Rhane stripped away his shirt, revealing rippled abs and tanned flesh in all their glory. It was torture. Eyeing him like a lion would a hunk of dead zebra, Kali let her thoughts devour him, doing shameful things to his body in her mind.
He sat at the edge of the bed, watching her as he pulled off his shoes and socks. “If I could read your mind, I’d probably be blushing right now.”
“You might as well have taken a diabetic into the candy store,” she said with growing contempt. “Even your feet turn me on. How is that possible? When are you going to get over this age thing?”
He rolled his gaze upward as if pretending to think about it. “Probably around the time you become legal.”
“Fine,” she said.
Two can play this game
. “Do you have a shirt I can borrow? I’ve been sweating in this getup and I don’t want to sleep in it.” When Rhane turned away to find one, Kali quickly stripped. She tossed her running shorts at him as soon as he faced her again. The spandex cotton blend smacked him square in his perfectly muscled chest. “Thanks,” she said and took the shirt from his hand.
A black sports bra and matching low rider bikini bottoms wasn’t her most seductive underwear, but it did the trick. Rhane seemed to be at a loss. He cleared his throat. “No problem.”
She let the shirt he had handed her slip to the floor. Reaching up, she undid the clasp of her bra and let it fall away. She bent deliberately to retrieve the shirt, stretching fully as she pulled it overhead. Rhane’s eyes darkened. No longer green, but black in appearance. They burned into her skin, warming everywhere they touched.
He shook his head. His eyes cleared, returning to their striking original color. “Point taken. Now come to bed.”
Feeling only somewhat avenged, Kali sauntered over and slid beneath the soft sheets. She was careful to leave a space between them, but Rhane rolled to his side and pulled her closer. “I won’t mind if you’re the death of me,” he whispered, brushing his lips against her ear. She shivered. And after Rhane’s breathing had fallen into the rhythm of deep slumber, she too slept.
Chapter 53
Late in the night, Kali awoke and realized Rhane was gone. His warmth still lingered on the sheets. Part of her wanted to stay in bed and sleep. The other half was dominated by a curiosity that dragged her in the opposite direction. Sleep won out until she remembered Rhane hadn’t been feeling well earlier. Kali had to make sure he was okay.