Just as I leaned up to kiss Cody again, the phone vibrated yet again. Now I was worried. I needed to take the call. It had to be an emergency, most likely Kevin. I didn't know anyone else who would call like this.
Cody grabbed my wrist as I started to get up from the couch. "Come on."
"No, I have to take this." I pulled away from him and walked into my bedroom, closing the door behind me for some privacy. I put on some music, playing it softly to keep him from being able to listen in on the conversation if he was a shifter.
I didn't recognize the phone number on the display, but it was the one that had called all three times. "Hello?" I said, keeping my voice professional, even if I was a little anxious.
"You have some nerve rejecting me. How dare you, you silly little wretch." The man's voice held the harsh tone of authority I recognized from some of my clients. They thought that because they had a lot of money, they were superior, but they usually toned it down because they knew that without my assistance they wouldn't get what they wanted.
Still, I couldn't find my voice to reply to the man. How had he gotten my phone number? I had an email address strictly for new contacts, and yet I'd had Cody come to my house, and now this man had my phone number. I lowered myself to the floor, feeling more scared than I had in a while.
"The least you could do is respond. Face up to your consequences, because you will be feeling them. You won't reject me," he hissed the words.
"I—" Before I could say anything in return, the line disconnected, and I stared at it a moment before throwing the phone at my bed. It thumped against the mattress before falling to the floor. "Pompous asshole."
I placed my forehead against my knees, feeling absolutely sick to my stomach. How had I been stupid enough to get back into treasure hunting? I should've learned my lesson and stuck with one of the menial jobs I'd tried out in town. Or I should’ve kept myself from getting so wrapped up in Cody that I ignored my gut. Now I might very well be in danger because of my stupidity.
Chapter Fourteen
Cody
I clenched my hands into fists, but I kept my coyote from listening in on her conversation. Besides, she was playing music in her room, clearly to block me from even trying. How had we gone from the good fortune of her being on track to finding the talisman—and the wonderful, almost magical kissing—to being in separate rooms, with her more concerned about who was calling than being with me?
I heard a soft thump from the other room and stood. I didn't hear voices now, only the sound of the music, and I hesitated a moment. I didn’t want to interrupt her, but if she was upset, I wanted to be there for her.
"Morgana?" I called, loudly enough for her to hear me, but softly enough that if she was still on the phone the other person wouldn't.
She didn't reply.
I waited for a few more moments, then walked to her room and knocked. "Morgana? Is everything all right?"
"Just go. Please." Her voice sounded a little choked, as if she was crying.
I opened the door to the bedroom and saw her sitting on the floor, her cell phone lying near the bed. Something had happened. Maybe whoever had called had given her bad news. I knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm here for you. I won't go anywhere."
She looked up at me like a wild animal, tears staining her cheeks. "No. You have to leave. I..." She looked down at the carpet. "I just need time to think. You can't be here right now. I shouldn't be so emotionally invested in you."
The way she said it made it sound like she didn't want us to be together. But that didn't make a lot of sense, since she'd been just as into making out with me as I had been. What could have changed? I glanced at the cell phone and felt jealousy flare in my chest. She'd loved and lost. But what kind of loss? Maybe she was just trying to push me away because her boyfriend might be back in the picture. Maybe he'd contacted her to try to get back in her good graces.
I rose to my feet, shaking my head. She’d been so reluctant to let me in, and maybe, just maybe, she'd been right to push me aside. It would've saved us both pain if I'd only listened to her wishes, but I'd been too pigheaded. "I should've known. How could we have had something? You're so alone and isolated out here, you just don't know how to let anyone in." I walked toward her bedroom door, but before I could get there, she threw herself in front of me.
"Wait. That's not the deal. I—"
"Save it, Morgana. I shouldn't have come over. Maybe we're just wrong for each other." Even as I said the words, they pained me more than I wanted to admit. I wanted to be with her, but my quick temper was taking over.
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. For a moment, I recognized that the woman I'd admired for her strength and kick-ass nature was weak, and didn't need to be kicked any further. Maybe she was reacting because of the call. Maybe it wasn't what I thought it was. But I couldn't know unless I let her get the words out.
"I'm sorry."
She closed her mouth and lifted her chin a little, the brick wall around her heart slamming back into place. "No, you're right. You shouldn't have come over. It's really just best you leave." She stepped out of my way and crossed her arms over her chest.
My heart dropped into my stomach, and I felt even worse about myself than I'd thought possible. I'd truly hurt her, and now I was really doubting my knee-jerk reaction. She was a treasure hunter who dealt with plenty of dangerous things, more than other people knew existed. How could I know she hadn't gotten a work-related call? Except... I couldn't see her reacting like this when it came to work.
Maybe she'd come around in a day or two. Maybe all she needed was some time. She was still working my job and trying to find the talisman. Besides, I'd done enough.
"Fine. I'll talk to you later, I guess." I turned and walked away. As I got closer to the door, I had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right, but my emotions were raging. I couldn't zero in on what was wrong, let alone find the energy to care. My coyote had tried talking with me about things before that didn’t make sense, and I'd always listened to him. Right now, he needed to shut up and mind his own business. Until I got out of her house and away from her property, I wasn't in the mood to hear it.
Chapter Fifteen
Morgana
I watched Cody stalk off into the darkness. He held his shoulders back, and his haughty stride made me want to punch him in the face. How could he have just blown up at me like that, when he didn't even know what the hell was going on? I couldn't believe that I'd almost let him into my life. That we'd been making out. God, how stupid was I?
I was about to close the door when my raven
krawed
at me in warning. I glanced back outside in time to see a bulky man, all in black, running at me. I slammed it shut just as he got to me, but his momentum and size made the door explode off its hinges. I flew back, sliding across the floor a couple feet, more than a little dazed. But I couldn't just lie down and let him do whatever it was he wanted to do to me. Maybe we could talk this out, and avoid violence.
"What do you want?" I yelled at him as he charged me again like a bull. I leapt out of the way, and he crashed into an end table, shattering the table and the lamp on top of it. I screamed, but I hoped Cody was far enough away that he wouldn't hear me. The last thing I needed was for him to be wrapped up in something this dangerous.
The big guy turned and looked back at me, grunting and shaking off the glass from his black suit. The only part of his face I could see well were his eyes, and what I saw in them was rage and hatred. This wasn't good at all. I looked to the files I'd had about Cody's family's talisman. Usually I locked all my files in my safe, but now I had to make the choice of leaving my house with all my things for some rhino of a man to ransack, or staying and trying to fight him.
My raven flapped her wings, wanting to go. That was the best idea, anyway. Even if I wanted to stay and fight, I couldn't go up against this guy. I was pretty good at defending myself, but a guy like him? I doubted I would even hurt him, much less do enough damage to drive him away from me and my home.
"Answer me! I don't even know what you want!" I leapt over the back of the couch as he barreled toward me again. At this rate, he was going to destroy everything in my house.
"You shouldn't have rejected my boss. He doesn't take that well, especially not from little ladies." He cracked his knuckles and threw my other lamp to the side. "You would've liked working for him, and now it just might be too late. But I'm supposed to bring you to him, so don't act dumb. If you do, I might not be able to save you from yourself and your stupid choices."
I looked toward the window, clenching my fists. There was no way I'd be able to open the door and get out of there without him getting his grubby paws on me. But I really didn't know if I wanted to break through the window again, because if I did, I might be in worse condition than if I just tried to stay and fight him. None of my options were good.
On top of that, I looked at the things smashed to pieces to see that my picture of Ezra, the one we'd taken together in Eastern Europe, had been crumpled beneath the asshole’s feet like it was trash. I wanted to pick it up and clutch it to my chest. Maybe making out with Cody had been the wrong thing to do. I couldn't help but feel like I'd betrayed Ezra. My heart fell into the pit of my stomach, and I wanted to just sob. My life was falling apart.
The thug stalked closer to me, and I took a few steps backward. I'd done all I could to distance myself from the world, and now I was surrounded by people who’d somehow found my personal information, and who I didn't want any part of dealing with. What had I done to deserve this? I'd turned clients down before, and no one had ever come after me because of it. I grabbed a candlestick from a side table and turned back toward the glass door. I swung it back, but before I could hit the pane, I was pulled back by my T-shirt and thrown to the floor.
I stared up at the big man, who had taken the candlestick from me. He lifted it up as if to hit me with it, but instead he threw it to the side. I jerked to my feet in a graceful flow of movement and lunged after the makeshift weapon, but before I could get far, pain exploded in the back of my head. I collapsed to the floor, darkness swallowing my existence.
Chapter Sixteen
Cody
I'd walked far enough into the forest that I could have some distance from her, and she wouldn’t catch sight of me changing from her living room. The idea of her watching me strip just didn't do it for me right now. After that argument, all I wanted to do was punch something, but I’d settle for the next best thing: running as fast and as far as I could, and just burning off all the negative energy I was feeling. Going back there wouldn't help anything. It'd only make our tension flare that much higher, and unfortunately this tension wasn't the kind I'd been hoping for when we'd settled into the evening. My coyote wanted to feel her body pressed up against us, not have her tell us to leave and push us away the way she had. Her scent lingered inside my head, in my nose, and I found it hard not to long to smell it again.
I growled under my breath and kicked a nearby tree. It groaned a little under the assault, but I had a feeling that in the morning I'd be feeling the impact a lot more than the tree would. I patted the trunk, remembering my grandmother's teaching that all things had life in them. If that was true, I shouldn't be taking out my anger on a tree. What the hell was wrong with me?
Leaning up against the tree trunk, I stared up into the branches. My emotions were so off-kilter that I was having a hard time recognizing myself. The full moon wasn’t for a few weeks, so that wasn't the problem. I glanced back into the trees toward town. If I wanted to leave, I should be going. I stripped my shirt off, folded it, and put it in the small duffel bag I'd shoved in my back pocket while I'd been in the house with her.
I’d unbuttoned my jeans, and was just about to push them off, when my sensitive ears picked up a loud crash and a scream. I fastened my pants back up and took off toward the house, cursing myself for leaving her. This was one of the things I'd feared, and it was my fault for flying off the handle in the first place. I was stupid for believing that she was hoping to rekindle a lost love, when she'd been so warm and pliant in my arms. Why would she be there with me one moment and getting back with someone else the next minute? That made no sense.
Of course, it would've been nice if she'd actually talked to me in the first place, but it wasn't her job to assuage my ego and soothe away my surprising jealousy. Now I was afraid I'd made the biggest mistake of my life. The closer I got, the less I heard, until the soft whine of an electric motor and tires squealing down the road ripped through my ears. My heart pounded in my chest so hard I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I bent at the waist and placed my hands on my hips, staring out at the expensive tan car tearing away. I kicked at the gravel in the driveway and watched several pieces go sailing through the air. I'd fucked up big time.
How could I help her if I didn't know the first thing about why she’d been taken? I might have been able to follow the car if I'd already been in coyote form and it hadn't been going so damn fast, but by now it was pretty useless. I examined the tire tracks in the road, following them back to the house. Her front door was wide open, and I frowned, heading toward it. Maybe I could find out something if I went inside and looked around.