SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (12 page)

“
I have children. Did you know?
”

Cloud shakes her head and draws back as
he reaches for her face.

“
Hold still, I
’
ll get that out. You remind me
very much of my daughter; always taking the brunt of any disagreement with her
brother.

“
I
’
ve patched up many of her injuries over
the years. She
’
s as tough a fighter as her
dame. My son lives far from here but she still comes by, sometimes just to let
me clean her up.
”

Cooper
’
s love for his daughter comes through in
his voice. He
’
s a very different gryphon when
he talks about his family than when he talks of anything else. The lines of
worry grow deeper, as does his voice and Cloud can
’
t help but smile. The tenderness she
always receives from her adopted parents is as touching as Cooper
’
s and she couldn
’
t miss them more. She leaves him to his
silence as he picks food from her hair.

“
We should go in.
”

Rain patters around them, staining the
concrete tiles and red chairs with dark spots and Cloud starts at a crack of
thunder. She
’
s been oblivious to the
darkening of the sky and the flashes of lightning.

“
Are
you homesick?
”
Cooper asks. The great long
sofa is as comfortable as it looks and Cloud stretches out, her stomach full,
relieved to be away from the storm.

“
More than I ever thought possible,
”
she says. Four days to Soar is both an
eternity and far too soon.

“
Perhaps you worry they won
’
t believe you?
”

“
They will,
”
Cloud
says but her shame can only reflect poorly on the Vancouver Island Eyrie and
her Sire and Dame.

“
They must miss you terribly,
”
Cooper adds.

“
I
hadn
’
t thought
—”

Cooper
’
s phone rings, interrupting her, and he
excuses himself to the other room to answer. As he speaks to the person on the
other end Cloud leans back and closes her eyes, hoping he didn't notice the
guilt gnawing at her resolve. By the time Cooper returns she no longer cares
about him or his secrets.

All she wants to do is go home.

Cloud hasn
’
t bothered to check in.

Soar grips the wheel like it
’
s responsible for his week in human
camper hell. Granted, he
’
d never demanded or arranged
an update but still. She left him there listening to dogs that won
’
t stop barking because they don
’
t like his bigger predator presence.

And the little kids.

And the big kids.

And every time there
’
s a happy couple it only reminds him how
dumping Cloud was the shittiest thing he
’
s
done to anyone in a long time. It
’
s second only to getting her
expelled and right up there with sending her into Calgary. The pair in the
campsite next to his can
’
t screw quietly enough for his
gryphon hearing and all he can think of is Cloud.

Tell me about your day, Soar.

He still whispers his answer to the
question she asked every time she came to his den. Sometimes following a rough
exchange of dominance and urgent sex. Other times they
’
d simply nuzzle each others throats in
gentle surrender before he brought up her leg and took her standing just inside
his den.

Tell me about your day, Soar.

She
’
d
whisper as her breath grew tight and she accepted him; both his presence deep
inside her and the piece of his spirit he would share as he answered her
question.

His answers don
’
t mean the same without her to hear them,
particularly when he
’
s alone in his Cloud scented
campervan. She
’
s never going to care enough
to ask again. If he
’
s learned anything about her
it
’
s that her compassion and
forgiveness are always ready and genuinely offered but he
’
s going to make sure she keeps her
distance until she knows all his crimes against her.

Even then he
’
s certain to be the exception; the one
asshole she
’
ll never forgive.

As he drives west to Calgary he passes
several terrific thunderstorms. One travels directly over the highway, flooding
the road with heavy rain then battering him with wind and hail. The electrical
interference chops apart the weather forecast. Soar gives up on the radio and
turns it off, assuming the parade of severe weather would continue.

No matter.

The skies over Calgary are clear for the
moment so it
’
s safe for a quick fly around.
Lawrence and the guard won
’
t let anyone airborne within a
thousand feet in any direction but Soar doesn
’
t have to get that close to check out
Cooper
’
s penthouse. If there's no
sign of her outside then Soar will head to the bar for a drink and some gossip
from the regulars.

A pretty red-haired female in Cooper
’
s will be noticed by every male in town.

It
’
s
late Friday afternoon and the downtown core still hasn
’
t purged itself of workers so it takes
nearly half an hour to find a large enough parking spot two blocks from Cooper
’
s. Nobody notices Soar
’
s shirtless form step out onto the
sidewalk and down an alley. In this heat, he doesn
’
t stand out. Once out of sight he takes
wing and returns, invisible to human eyes, and climbs the ladder to the roof of
his van.

After waiting for a break in traffic to
allow for the brief drop as his wings take the air, Soar dashes across the
roof, fills his wings and beats higher. He turns to take a path between two
buildings and gains altitude as he passes over the Bow River then circles,
careful to keep both his distance from Cooper
’
s and his eyes on the patio.

He doesn
’
t need to circle long to spot her.

Just as Soar gets high enough to see the
penthouse in the distance he swears as Cooper tucks his shirt in and does his
pants up. Cloud can't tear her gaze from his zipper to look Cooper in the eye.

Soar drops as jealousy weighs him down
and he forgets to move his wings, falling thirty or forty feet before he gets
them going and rises. An older female joins Cooper and Cloud but Soar hardly
notices. Instead he calculates the odds of getting past the two big guards Cloud
can
’
t see on the roof. He
’
d love to drag that stupid female home by
her ear. What the hell is she thinking and how far has she gone with Cooper to
spy on him?

It
’
s Soar
’
s own fault and he keeps watching,
punishing himself with the sight of them drinking wine and talking while they
eat. Cooper slides over to Cloud and takes her leg up on his lap. Cloud
startles as he starts to rub it then moves closer, cupping her cheek in his
hand.

Soar has seen enough. He drops around to
the alley where he took wing and shifts to human form before returning to his
van to retrieve a shirt. The walk to Cooper
’
s is a blur and he doesn
’
t recognize the gryphon in Lawrence
’
s usual place at the door.
That could make things harder. If he
’
s
going to get a swing at Cooper for putting his hands on Cloud he
’
ll have to keep his mouth shut until he
knows where the big, bald bouncer is.

The bar is quieter than usual but Soar
usually frequents it later in the night when any bad gryphon behaviour is
hidden by the crush of bodies. The music is a little quieter and the clientele
is a mix of business people with empty glasses and young women who arrived
early and will look bored until the place fills up.

There are also the gryphon tables. Humans
steer clear of the rough assortment of big
‘
men
’
who never dance and only get
up to use the restroom. For the moment, Soar avoids them as well. If Seth
behind the bar can
’
t tell him anything the
gryphon tables will be his next stop.

“
I
’
m looking for a red-head,
”
Soar says as he takes the seat right in
front of Seth.

“
I
’
m not a pimp,
”
the bartender replies but the answer
comes a little quickly even for Seth.
“
Are you drinking from the
local menu tonight, George?
”

Yeah, Soar bites his tongue. Human place,
human names and the local menu is for gryphons. Since this is a work visit,
Soar knows he better keep it brief, polite, and semi-sober.

Seth leans to look at Soar
’
s shoulder and makes sure the mark of Lev
’
s guard is hidden beneath his short
sleeve. Soar isn
’
t stupid enough to march in
displaying that. As long as he respects the bar as neutral territory he
’
ll get somewhat neutral answers.

“
I guess it
’
s the reserve tonight, Seth,
”
Soar says as he drops a fifty on the
polished wood.
“
My boss
’
s grand-daughter is missing and I
’
m keeping an eye out for her.
”

Seth doesn
’
t answer as he pushes a nearly full glass
of home-made eighty proof
‘
reserve
’
across the bar.

“
You gonna make me say it?
”
Soar asks but Seth only stares in reply.
Christ
.
“
With honey.
”

Seth chuckles as he digs around under the
counter for a little bear shaped bottle and squirts in a couple of tablespoons
before adding a pair of red plastic stir sticks.

“
I think your drink is starting to become
popular. I gotta get a bottle of this sweet stuff every year or two now.
”

Soar toasts Seth and makes his way to the
gryphon tables. The bartender knows something about Cloud, no denying that, but
his reaction is more in line with protecting Cooper
’
s privacy than warning Soar off.

The opportunities for gossip at the
gryphon tables aren
’
t promising. He has a choice
between half-drunk and will-get-his-talons-all-over-anything so he chooses the
latter, God help him. If he sidled in next to anyone other than one of these
two he
’
d be outside fighting within
the hour.