First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles Book 4) (12 page)

“I slept wonderfully.”

“Any dreams?” I had to ask.

“Yes. I actually had some nice ones.”

“About anyone I know?”

“Maybe.” She smiled coyly.

“Whoever was in them was a lucky guy.”

“Yeah, well. I’ll have to tell him you said that.”

I let my arm brush against hers. “You do that.”

I led her outside, and she headed straight for my car. She waited by the passenger door of my black BMW.

“How’d you know it was mine?”

“You said you were parked down here, and it seemed more you than an old Civic or a pickup.” She watched me. She wanted to know what I thought about her analysis of me.

“I like how you don’t hold back, Al. You just say it like it is.”

“So you are really sticking to the Al thing, huh?”

“It fits.”

“Whatever.” She tried to shrug it off, but I saw the smile she attempted to hide.

I opened the passenger door for her, and I made sure she was buckled before walking around to the driver side.

“Are you ready to tell me where we’re going?

I started the car. “Patience, patience.”

She yawned. It was a cute yawn that made me wonder exactly what kind of dreams she was having the night before.

I drove while forcing my eyes to stay on the road. I enjoyed having her in the passenger seat next to me. It felt so completely natural. I came to a stop along the curb of what probably looked like a typical construction site.

“Seriously? Do I seem like the type to like construction work?”

“No, but I think you’ll like this.” I smiled. She said she wanted to know more about me, and she was about to get what she asked for.

“Okay…” She stepped out of the car carefully. She still had no clue what I had planned for her.

A man in a hardhat greeted us as we walked closer to the house. “Levi, you made it.”

I nodded at the familiar face. “Hi, Phil. Of course. I brought another set of hands with me.”

“I can see that.”

“Allie, this is Phil. Phil, Allie.”

“Nice to meet you.” Allie accepted his outstretched hand.

“The pleasure is all mine. We are always looking for new volunteers.”

“Volunteers?” She glanced around, understanding finally setting in.

“Yes. We’ve been doing rebuilding work since the storm, but it seems there is always more work to be done.”

“I’m sure.” By her reaction I guessed she knew he meant Katrina. This was a rebuilding project.

“Do you know how to use a hammer?” I was more curious about her answer than you’d expect.

“I can’t say I’ve ever used one, but I’m game to try.”

“Having fun?” I eyed Allie looking sexier than ever wearing a tool-belt around her slender waist. I offered her a bottle of water.

She accepted the water and opened the top. “Yeah, I actually am. It seems I have a hidden talent for hammering nails, huh?”

“It seems so.” I took a swig of water from my own bottle. We’d been working for hours in the sticky summer heat. “We can head out if you want. I think Hailey wanted to steal you later.”

“Steal me?” She tied her hair up in a bun on the top of her head. The action exposed her neck. The temptation to kiss her there was hard to resist. Everything with Allie was hard to resist.

“Absolutely, today was all mine, remember?”

“Do you do this a lot?” She asked.

“Usually once or twice a month. I did more right after Katrina, but I never really stopped.”

“I’m glad you brought me.”

“See, I’m not all bad.” She needed to believe me. She needed to get to know the real me—at least the part I could show her.

“No, only 90%,” she teased.

“Ouch, this only buys me 10%?” I undid her tool belt and slipped it off.

“What can I say, I have expensive taste.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What happened?” I barked into the phone before Hailey could get more than a few words out. All I’d been told was that there had been an incident involving Allie, Hailey, and some sort of carjacker with a gun. I was hoping it was all some mistake, but by the speed at which Hailey picked up the phone, I knew it wasn’t.

“A guy tried to steal my car, and I took care of it.” Hailey sounded so calm on the surface, but I could feel the anxiety under her voice. She was shaken up by the experience, and not for fear of her own wellbeing. She was worried about Allie. She was also afraid—of me.

“First of all. It’s not your fault. Let’s just get that out of the way so we can talk about the real issue. Is she okay? Was she scared?” This was why I shouldn’t have let her out of my sight. What if she hadn’t been with Hailey? What if the creep had tried to hurt her when she was unprotected?

“She’s okay, but yes she was freaked out. I’m not sure if she was more upset about the guy holding a gun on us or what I did to him though.”

“Clearly she knows about our strength now.” I tried to act calm, but I was anything but. The thought of some scum bag pointing a gun at my Allie made my blood just about boil over.

“That she does.”

“I need to see her.” At least it was dark out. I could be at her hotel in minutes if I flew.

“For once I agree with you.” Hailey sighed. “She could use some comforting and you’re the one to do it.”

“Glad we see eye to eye on this one.” I hung up the phone and made the short flight to the hotel. I landed on Allie’s balcony. I couldn’t be bothered with going around through the front. Even Hailey thought Allie needed me, and I wasn’t going to wait a second longer than I had to.

I retracted my wings and knocked lightly on the glass door. I assumed she’d figure out it was me and not freak out.

She pulled back the curtains and my eyes locked with hers. For the millionth time her green eyes nearly took my breath away. This time her eyes were scared—I hated that look on her face.

She held open the door for me, and I immediately walked in closing the door behind me.

“What are you doing here?” she snapped. I knew it was out of fear and nerves rather than actual anger at my appearance.

She looked sexy yet vulnerable standing there in what I assumed was pajamas. The shorts were wonderfully short and the cami left little to the imagination. No matter how great my imagination was, I wanted to tear away the remaining fabric. But that’s not why I was there. “I heard what happened and wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m fine.” She pressed her lips firmly together. “But it was thoughtful of you to come.”

“Well, I’m glad you decided to let me in tonight, last time you practically slammed the door in my face.” I grinned, hoping to lighten the mood for both of us.

“I guess tonight’s your lucky night.” She seemed to notice her slip of the tongue. “Um, scratch that. Not lucky in that way. Fine, I’m glad you’re here. Tonight was pretty scary. I mean Hailey took care of the situation quickly but I’ve never had someone pull a gun on me before.” She started to shake and all I wanted to do was hold her and make it stop.

Instead I settled for using words. “It’s okay. I promise that guy has been taken care of.” I’d be paying the scum bag a visit myself.

“What do you mean?” She spoke slowly like she was afraid of the answer. She probably should have been.

“He’s been apprehended. Leave it at that.”

“Okay…”

“Come here.” I sat down on the couch and opened my arms for her. I was done holding back. Evidently so was she. Without a moment of hesitation she fell into my arms, leaning her head on my chest.

I gently kissed the top of her head. “It’s normal to be scared. Not everyone is like Hailey and can just let something like that slide. Don’t fight it.”

I just sat there holding her, listening and feeling her every breath. I was soothing her, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever experienced such a satisfying feeling. “Do you want me to stay?”

She hesitated with her answer, and for one small moment I thought she’d say yes.

“No, I’ll be fine.”

“If it makes you feel any better, this hotel is probably the safest place in the city.” The basement was watched 24/7, which meant the whole hotel was. Any unsuspecting criminal who tried to break into the Crescent City Hotel would be in for a rude awakening.

As easily as I could have persuaded her, I let it go. I didn’t want to be pushy. I wanted to be comforting.

“Oh.” She picked her head up off my chest and smiled reassuringly. “It does make me feel better.”

“Call me if you need anything or you just want to talk.” I stood up and walked toward the balcony door before pausing. “Thanks, by the way.”

“For?”

“The image. I was wondering what you slept in. Goodnight, Al.”

As I disappeared into the night I heard the echo of her voice. “Goodnight, Levi.” That whisper stayed with me the whole flight home.

I only stayed home about ten minutes before I left again. I wanted to give our interrogators enough time with the human who had made the mistake of breaking into the wrong car, but it didn’t take long for me to get tired of waiting. Jared was already down at the interrogation rooms with his father. I had to suffer through meetings, and he had to be present for all major security events. His job seemed a lot of a lot more fun than mine. I walked out of my room and found Owen pacing in the hall.

“Are you ready to go?” Owen didn’t need me to tell him where I was going.

“Yes. You should have seen her, man. She’s seriously freaked out.”

“Hailey feels awful.”

“It’s not her fault.”

“No, it was his.” Owen clenched his hand into his fist. He was angry that someone would mess with Hailey. She might have had superhuman strength, but she was still his baby sister.

We made the short flight over to The Society’s less appealing offices that were across the river in Algiers. Being brought into one of these rooms wasn’t a good thing for anyone.

I heard my father’s commanding voice before I saw him. I steadied myself. I was in for questions. Considering the anger I already felt, dealing with my father wasn’t high on my list.

“Dad.” I acknowledged him as soon as we reached the hallway outside the interrogation room.

“Levi.” He nodded at me. “I assume you’ve heard about the incident?”

“Of course I did.”

“Who is she to you?” His eyes locked on mine. “Evidently she’s important.”

“Don’t you know? I assume you’re only here for that reason.”

“I’m here because this is my building. I am still king, Levi.”

“And I hope you stay king a long while.”

He sighed. “I’m not going down this road with you again. We have more important things to worry about.”

“Like what?” I eyed the door, ready to give the guy a piece of my mind.

He looked at Owen. “This conversation doesn’t get repeated.”

“That goes without saying, sir.” Owen was good at kissing my dad’s ass.

“The human wasn’t acting alone.”

“What?” Dad suddenly had my interest.

“Jet broke him. He was hired indirectly by the Blackwells.”

“Blackwells?” I couldn’t have heard him right, although I wasn’t surprised that Jett, Jared’s Dad was able to make him talk. He wasn’t the head of security for nothing.

“Why would the Blackwells have sent anyone after Hailey, especially a weak human?” The Blackwells were a rival Pteron family that had been gunning for the crown for years.

Dad glared. “Are you going to play dumb?”

“Allie? You think they were after Allie?”

“His job was to report back information. Evidently Hailey caught him just after he placed a tracking device.”

“But why Allie? She’s just a human.”

“She stopped being just a human when you took an interest in her.” Dad stared hard at me before turning to Owen. “Do me a favor, find Jett and tell him I need to speak to him as soon as possible.”

Owen nodded at both of us and walked away.

Dad waited until he was out of ear shot to continue. “Let’s cut to the chase. The Blackwells know it’s time for you to find a mate. Suddenly you start spending all your time with her. What conclusion do you think they’re going to come to?”

“Just because I spend time with a girl, doesn’t mean I’m taking her as my mate.” I wasn’t going to admit he was right. Not yet. There was still so much to figure out.

“You can say anything you want, but for once in your life you will not screw up. I’m putting extra security on her, but I assure you they won’t interrupt your courting.”

“Courting?” I rolled my eyes.

“Would you prefer I used a more vulgar term?”

“No. But I need to talk to the guy. If he was after Allie I need to get at him.”

“No.” Dad crossed his arms. “You’re not making this worse. Leave it to the security team.”

“How am I supposed to become King when you won’t let me get involved?”

“The Kings job isn’t to get his hands dirty.”

“Don’t go near her.”

He put a hand on my shoulder. “I won’t go near her if you do what you’re supposed to. I know you don’t approve of everything I do, and you like to fight me every turn, but this isn’t about you and me. This is about The Society, and it’s about the girl. I don’t need to tell you what could happen to her if she got into the Blackwells’ hands.”

I felt my body ready to transform. No one was touching Allie.

“I changed my mind. Go ahead and see the guy. Maybe we can send him back to the Blackwells with a message.” Dad turned on his heels just as the door to the interrogation room opened and Jared walked out. “He’s all ready for you, man.”

“Thanks.” I walked in, completely clear on just what message I’d be sending.

I was beginning to think Allie was a magnet for trouble. Either that or Hailey was looking for ways to get on my bad side. Maybe it was a combination of both.

“You found what?” Owen barked into his phone as he sat in the passenger seat of my car.

I heard his mother clearly on the other end of the phone. “Hailey went to a Were party. I found the invite on her computer. She said she was hanging out with a girlfriend, so she didn’t go alone.”

I gripped the steering wheel tighter. Hailey and Allie had plans. “Allie. She took my Allie to a Were party?” I struggled to contain my anger. She wouldn’t be at the party for long. The Blackwells’ new interest made me even more concerned for her safety.