Possession (19 page)

“Open the damn door.” The command was not loud, yet she heard the menace behind the words.

Tonia reached for the door, but before her fingers could graze the handle, it flew open and Fallon reached in and pulled her out. The seatbelt fell limply not keeping her locked to her seat. The man had some strong abilities.

At no time did Fallon hurt her, his hand encircled her upper arm in a firm yet gentle hold as he guided her to his Jaguar. She glanced at him sideways not moving her head. His jaw locked tight, lips pressed into a straight line and his eyebrows drawn together. That, combined with the stiff straight upper body, made her wonder if she’d ever met a demon that intimidated her more than her mate did at the moment. She didn’t dare utter a word at this point.

Once they arrived at his car, only a few feet from hers, he opened the passenger side and practically shoved her inside. Tonia banged her head on the door.

“Ouch,” she said, her voice softer than warranted as she rubbed the affected area.

Fallon slammed the door shut and walked around the car. Tonia flinched when he got in water dripping all over his plush interior. He leaned over toward her and without emotion his gaze flickered over her forehead.

“Are you hurt?”

Shocked at his question, her mouth fell open but no words came to mind. Dumbly she shook her head in answer.

The Jaguar came to life when he turned the key and they pulled out onto the main road heading toward the house.

“I had to come, I needed to sign some paperwork,” Tonia began, somehow knowing that no matter what she said he’d be upset, and with good reason. “The captain wasn’t supposed to be there, so I only had a short window of time to get there and out.”

Fallon didn’t reply. He drove for a few miles, his eyes straight ahead, his expression staunch—not wavering.

The longer they rode in silence the harder it became for her to remain silent. She tapped her fingers on her armrest with irritation and took several cleansing breaths waiting for him to speak. Finally she snapped.

“Okay fine, so I fucked up. I can’t just disappear into the sunset like you guys can. I have a life you know?”

The car swerved to the side of the road. Tonia grabbed onto the bar over the window and gritted her teeth as the car’s tires bounced against the sidewalk. They sat for a few moments until finally Fallon turned to face her.

To say his expression was dark would be an epic understatement; the fury his gaze exuded made her wish she could poof out of there.

“At no time will you put my friends and their families in danger. What you did today could have caused the loss of life of all of those that count on us to keep them safe.” His jaw tensed as his gaze skimmed the street.
Always alert.

“I don’t give a shit what your reasons for leaving the house alone today were. You gave me your word you’d remain in the house, that you’d wait for one of us to escort you if you needed to go anywhere. I can’t be mated to someone who I cannot trust.”

When his eyes met hers, the man before her was detached from her emotionally; she didn’t sense any familiarity from him. Whatever progress their relationship had made was gone. Not just a rift, but a canyon seemed to come between them. She not only felt it, it loomed over her, the heaviness of it seeming to oppress the air—making it hard to breath.

“I—I won’t make any excuses. But how did I endanger everyone? I don’t get it?”

His eyes narrowed for a moment, and he took a breath seeming to struggle to control his temper. “You are new to our life, granted, you didn’t ask to become part of it. But in leaving, in hiding your actions from the guards, you compromised our location and potentially could have been seen leaving by a demon. I know you think that everyone comes and goes as they wish, but we take precautions, ensuring not to be followed or seen by anyone. No one is to leave or enter the grounds unless we’re prepared and someone is alerted. Two of the human guards were fired for allowing you to leave.”

“Shit.” Her response was the only word she could think of saying. Whatever he thought she would never compromise the other’s safety. Not purposely. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think…”

“True. You definitely did not think,” he said and cranked the engine, pulling back onto the road. Effectively signaling an end to their conversation.

She shivered from the chill of the air conditioning on her damp clothes. Her gaze slid to Fallon. He was drenched, his expensive clothing probably ruined, yet his appearance remained impeccable, the wet slacks molded to his muscular legs and his sopping thin leather jacket, although most definitely ruined, clung to his well formed arms and chest.

Upon arriving at the house, she noticed that the gates remained closed until a guard walked over to the car and recognized them. The guard, a man the size of a pro-linebacker, studied her with detachment for a moment before moving to allow the car through. No doubt the man blamed her for his co-worker's firings. She didn’t blame him. It was her fault. Her actions had cost highly on so many different levels.

She’d learned her past actions had been so misguided that she feared reconciling what she’d done. As of yet, she wasn’t prepared to deal with the full extent of her past.

Alex’s death and how it turned out, his killer, Captain Goodall, had acted in self-defense. Defending not only himself from death, but also his family from brokenness.

Finally, she’d compromised the security of innocent families who’d come to her home for security and shelter. And, they came there due to her actions in killing the Master demon. In one day she’d gone from hero to an utter mess.

Heaviness weighed on her shoulders like a leaden cape the longer she sat in the car.

They pulled into the garage and Fallon exited the car, he walked directly into the house not once turning to her. He held the side house door open for her. “We will talk when I get up. I need some sleep. Can you manage to stay out of trouble for a few hours?” Not waiting for her response, he went inside, stalking past three women sitting at the kitchen table.

Tonia walked into the kitchen behind him and stopped, feeling like an outcast. She wanted nothing more than to slink away and hide. But her training came in handy and she steeled herself for their anger, holding her head up, ensuring her eyes were flat.

“Hi Tonia,” Wendy exclaimed, coming to her. “You’ll finally get to meet my besties Emma and Rachel. I’m sure soon you’ll be part of our circle since we’re all married to goons like the one that stomped through here dripping water all over the floor.” Her brows scrunched together as she frowned down at the puddles Fallon left. In Wendy-like fashion, her recovery was dizzying. “Anyway come here.” She took a startled Tonia’s hand and pulled her to the table.

Tonia first noticed a tall blonde; the breathtaking woman was regal. Her hair swept back into a graceful ponytail, she wore a turquoise blouse that matched her astonishing bright blue eyes and tan slacks. The woman stood and extended her hand, and of course, it was perfectly manicured. “I’m Rachel Crogan, Roderick’s wife.” Tonia took her hand surprised at the warmth in the woman’s eyes that met hers.

A second woman, this one holding a sleeping baby, nudged Rachel aside. She stood shorter than Rachel, but taller than Wendy. She had dark honey blonde hair that was a profusion of curls. The woman’s eyes could only be described as amber and were huge beauties that filled her demure heart-shaped face. “I’m Emma Fraser, Cyn’s wife. This...” she held up a chubby sleeping baby, “is Bella.” On queue Bella smiled in her sleep. Emma rolled her eyes. “A ham like her father.” Her sparkling eyes glanced to Wendy. “Welcome to the family.”

Tonia felt an instant kinship with the three women in the room. Humbled, she remained standing, meeting each of their gazes before speaking. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t think before leaving this morning. I assure you that at no time did I want to place you or your families in any danger.”

“Oh stop!” Wendy stood, embracing her and pulling her towards the table. “Sit your wet ass down and be quiet. Don’t be upset. Believe me, each of us has done something that has put our men’s knickers in a wad.” The other two women nodded making her feel better.

“Yet, I still feel bad. It’s different when you put yourself in danger, rather than putting everyone else at risk.” Tonia took a deep drink from the wine glass someone placed in front of her.

“I lured all of the Protectors to a demon stronghold where they could have all been killed, several were injured actually.  I took the word of a Master demon and did what he told me,” Emma confessed, looking embarrassed.

Wendy shook her head and gave a nervous giggle. “I ran away from my people, putting not only an important artifact in danger, but the entire Fae race, if the demons would have gotten a hold of it.”

Tonia’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

“I guess I’m the only perfect wife,” Rachel said giving them all an exaggerated look of annoyance by rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Emma and Wendy returned bored looks, their eyes narrowing at her.

“You know,” Wendy said, tapping a finger on her chin, “I wonder what information Rachel is holding back. None of us are clean.”

Emma leaned toward the blonde and practically snarled, “Spill it sister.”

Rachel burst out laughing and took a drink of wine. “Alright, fine. The only thing I did was not that bad. Already pregnant, I flew to Italy— to Julian's home in Rome and demanded he not fire Rod from the Protector force. I also asked that he rescind our bond and tie me to someone else so that Rod could be free.  When Rod arrived, he attacked Julian.”

“Oh my goodness,” Wendy said.

Tonia sunk back in her chair. “Shit, compared to you guys, I’m a saint.”

The women erupted into laughter.

Two teenage boys burst into the room from outside. Both boys seemed to be between fifteen and seventeen. One youth had dark almost black hair and blue eyes, the other a complete contrast with striking bright, white blond hair. He was definitely Roderick’s son. The dark haired boy gave Emma a beseeching look, his face full of sincere pain.

“Mom I’m starving, is there anything to eat?”

The blond boy echoed the look of suffering and pleaded to Rachel. “Yeah Mom, we haven’t eaten since lunch.”

“Lord forbid,” Wendy got up shaking her head. She got up and opened a cabinet and produced a tray full of an assortment of baked products. The boys jetted into action, pouring glasses of milk and grabbing several pastries. Once they filled their plates they headed to the screened in porch with their loot.

Tonia smiled watching them banter with each other as they began eating.

“They’re cute,” she told the women. “What are their names?”

Wendy looked towards the back porch. “The handsome dark one is Malcolm, Cyn and Emma’s son, his nickname is Blue. The gorgeous blond is Brock, he is Rachel and Roderick’s.”

Tonia watched the boys and once again felt guilty at what she'd done.

She pulled away from the table. “I’m going upstairs; maybe Fallon will talk to me when he wakes up. I better get out of these wet clothes. Until then, I need time to think.”

The relief she felt after talking with the other wives lessened as she neared the bedroom door. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her palms became moist.  Tonia took several deep breaths before entering the darkened room. With a quick glance, she assessed that Fallon was fast asleep, his bare torso above the blankets that were shoved down to his waist. He lay on his stomach, his face to the side, and one arm under his pillow. She went past him into the closet to pull out sweats and a T-shirt before heading into the bathroom.

Once inside the bathroom with the door closed behind her, her world seemed to crumble, she felt the walls close in and the air go out of her lungs. Collapsing onto the cold tile floor she blinked away the tears, succeeding at first.  Without prompting, pictures of her past began to crush down on her, each one worse than the one before it. Flashes of Alex and his lack of worry formed.

She remembered how he faced each day head on and not wavering in his stance in the fight against demons. She’d always known that she came second in his life. The faces of her victims, demons she’d killed without thought or mercy, never second-guessing her motivations when it came to them formed next. She didn’t even want to know how many wives were left to raise children alone, or to face a solitary life after she’d killed their husbands.

When she considered the losses she’d caused, pain ripped through her throwing her into a tailspin of despair.
What have I done?

Then, on top of everything else, she’d lost the respect and trust of her new mate, her brave Fallon who put his life on the line every night, defending the weak, never getting any type of recognition or gratitude.

How could she ever face him again? Sobs began tearing through her and she jerked a towel off the rack and shoved her face into it, to muffle her cries. Her body shook as each painful wave ripped through her.  Tonia cried until she lost all control and lay on the floor letting the hurt take over.

Strong arms pulled her from the floor and into a warm embrace that lulled her from the depths of deep despair.

Fallon cradled her, holding her as she continued weeping, painful dry sobs shaking her so hard she shook them both.

“Shhh, it’s all right, we’ll get through this. I’m here.” His smooth accented voice felt like a balm flowing over her. He sat on the floor, his back against the wall as he allowed her to continue to cry.