Wildfire Gospel (Habitat) (30 page)

“I’ll be worried about you the whole time.”

Zulu laughed. “You’ll be worried about
me
?”

“You’re not Captain Habitat. You can get hurt and injured like all of us.”

“I’m not letting you go in by yourself.”

“I won’t be. I planned to bring Angel. She can spirit out of there if it gets to be too much.”

“I thought she was saving her powers?”

“She’ll be fine.”

“No.”

I did my best to not laugh and walked over to him, leaning my body into his front. “I love when you say no. It almost sounds like you’re serious, but deep down inside I know that you realize, that I would kick your ass if you ever tried to tell me what to do.”

The phone rang. It had been ringing off the hook all day with confused Mixbreeds wondering if there was no longer an MFE to go to. I’d been calming people down all day.

I reached for the phone. Zulu captured my waist. “If you go in, I go in.”

I escaped his arms and turned around. “I had a better position for you.”

He got directly behind me and pressed into the curve of my behind. “Hmmm. Where’s this position?”

I giggled. “You should be in Prime form at the top of the building. I’ll have my phone so you can swoop in to save me if I need you.”

“This is sounding better, but not enough for me to let you go in with just Angel.”

“Well, gee. I better figure out an alternative so my master can approve this,” I mocked.

The phone rang again. I grabbed and placed it next to my ear. “Hello?”

“La La?” The voice flowed out deep and smooth like a jazz song playing on a moonlit night. My whole body seized up into itself. I was stiff and unyielding, my legs blocks, my heart a solid brick in my chest.

“La La?”

“Yes.” My own voice came out as a rushed gasp as if I could breathe again until MeShack had said my name one more time, just once again so I could make damn sure it was him and no one else. Zulu had to feel the changes in my body. He released me and grabbed for the phone, probably thinking it was Dante or Mother Earth. I blocked his hand and moved it away.

Tears fell from my eyes. “MeShee, you really are alive?”

“I love when you call me that. You know that right?”

“Where are you?” I rushed to get a paper and pen. “I can come and get you or—”

“No. I’ll come to you. I just wanted to make sure you were there. People have been talking about a fight at MFE.”

“Yeah. I’ll have to catch you up.” I wiped away the tears from my eyes with shaking fingers. “How do you feel? Do you need anything?”

“I’ve got skin. Everything is perfect.”

“That sounds like something Dad would say.”

“I’ve been around him all day and learning a whole lot.”

“Don’t learn too much,” I tried to joke. In the end I just didn’t want him to get off the phone. I relished in the sound of his voice and the fact that he was truly back and really alive.

“I think it’s too late for that. I’ve seen and done more than I’ve ever wanted to.” His voice held a hint of sadness.

“Is … did cheetah make it?” I dug my nails into my palms, scared to hear the answer. I should’ve been happy that MeShack was alive. It should’ve been enough, but if something happened to cheetah, it would still hurt. MeShack’s beast was just as much a part of him as his skin, heart, brain, and eyes. They were one. For MeShack to walk the earth without him, would be hard and wrong.

“Cheetah made it.”

I released the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Zulu prowled around the desk with his gaze plastered on my face. It was strange, but he seemed to shift into an odd hunt mode.
What?
I mouthed the word at Zulu. He shook his head, yet his eyes turned dark black and his claws exploded from his fingers.

“Say MeShee again,” MeShack whispered.

“What?” I returned my attention back to the phone.

“Just one more time. Say MeShee.”

Sighing, I looked away from Zulu. “MeShee.”

“You know when I make you come, you scream that name?”

I swallowed. Cold power thickened in the air. Zulu’s power. His cords gleamed hot white. I didn’t know if Zulu could hear the conversation or not, but it was definitely smart to move the discussion in another direction.

“When are you coming to MFE?” I asked not sure if that was even a good idea.

“I have some things to do. I’ve come into money. A big duffle bag of it.”

I snorted. “How did you get a duffle bag of money?”

Zulu growled. I looked up at him. He stopped and turned away.

What’s going on with him?

“Was that Zulu?” MeShack laughed. “Tell him I said hi and that I’m hanging out in his old stomping grounds.”

“What?”

“He’ll know what I mean.”

“I want to know what you mean.”

“No, La La. You actually don’t.”

“Why not?”

“I can come to you in four hours.” MeShack shifted the conversation to something else, which only peeked my interests in what he was trying to avoid saying.

“Why four hours?” I chewed on the side of my cheek.

“Graham wants to stop a few places first.”

“I bet he does now that you have a bag of money.” I considered the time. “I won’t even be here. I was planning on going to … wait, no, that’s a good idea.”

“Dear Shango. This doesn’t sound good.”

“How are you with fire now?” I was sure it was an awkward question with him being so newly changed, but I didn’t have the time to be gentle.

“Fire is inside of me. I doubt it affects me at all. Cheetah loves being hot.”

Of course Cheetah would, such an optimistic beast.

I smiled. “Do you know where Flame night club is?”

Zulu didn’t growl this time, but his fangs came out and he clenched and unclenched his fists.

“Yeah. I can meet you at Flame. I’ll just have to get some club wear.”

Club wear?

“Same old MeShack.” I rolled my eyes. “Well Kegan Burrows and the Wildfire Gospel are headquartered there. I’m hoping to see him tonight. I didn’t want Zulu inside the club and around the fire or even to let Kegan know that Zulu’s alive so he’ll be outside in Prime form ready to come in if we need him.”

“Sure. I would love to meet Kegan, the new leader of MFE.”

I shook my head. “So you’ve heard that news too?”

“Yes. I’ve heard a lot. I’ll bring Graham with me.”

“Good. I owe him for putting Ben in the cage.”

“Be nice.”

I sucked my teeth. “Angel will be with me. We should all meet outside and then go in—”

“No, La La. You and Angel go in. I’ll find you. Just hang near the dance floor.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“What are you planning?”

“I never plan things.”

“Whatever. I’ll meet you on the dance floor.”

“I just want one thing from you.”

“I have to give you something now?” I raised one eyebrow.

“Yes.” His voice lowered into a seductive whisper. “Say my name one more time.”

I tapped my finger on the desk. Zulu and my eyes met, which told me he heard everything. I hated the back and forth between them.

“Come on, La La. Please say it.”

“MeShack.”

“No. That’s not the name I want to hear.”

“Stop. You know I’m happy you’re alive, but …”

“What? Zulu wouldn’t like it if you moaned my name?” He chuckled. “That’s fine, La La. If not now, then later.”

I cleared my throat. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay.”

“MeShack?” I didn’t want to hang up, but I had nothing else to say.

“Yes.”

“I’m glad you’re alive.”

“There was no way I could die, especially without being reunited with my mate.”

Oh boy.

I had to clear this up before he met with me in person. “Your mate mark disappeared so you’ll have more than enough time after your Season to find another mate and—”

“La La, I died and with it, everything that made me a Shifter died too. I’m an Umbutu now. There’s no Season. No mark. My eyes are clear now. I can see all of my mistakes laid out before me on the floor. All the fucked up shit I put you through when we were and weren’t together.”

Oh shit.
I buried my face into my hand.
I should have got my ass off the phone when I had a chance. This is just going to open up problems.

“You said my mark on you disappeared,” MeShack continued. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll make a new one, but let’s be clear. That mark would be for everyone else. Your body and heart knows it’s mine. I’ve got the rest of our lives to convince your mind—”

“Alrighty. Let’s just agree to disagree on that.” I cleared my throat. “So we should meet in four hours and then I can talk to you later—”

Loud laughter served as his response. “Okay. Later. I love you.”

I opened my mouth, but didn’t say it back. Sure, I did love him. How could I not? We lived together all of our lives. We laughed, cried, mourned, hustled, and starved together throughout our childhood. We made love more times than I could count, more than any other man in my life had ever had the chance. Before Zulu, college, and anything, it was always MeShack. Back in the day, he was the continuous thing that ran through my mind.

How could I not still love him? If not, as a lover, at least as a longtime friend.

But I didn’t say I love you back.

Maybe it was because I knew saying it would just motivate MeShack more, and he couldn’t be motivated. He needed to understand that regardless of him being alive and surviving the trauma of death, there could be no him and me, again. Not while my heart belonged to Zulu and only him. Maybe I didn’t say I love you because I wasn’t exactly sure what those three words truly meant to me in reference to MeShack. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about it too long once Zulu claimed me.

“La La? Do you love me?”

Maybe I didn’t say I love you to MeShack because … Zulu was shifting into Prime form and my office’s ceiling was slowly opening up for him to fly off and possibly search for and separate MeShack’s heart from his chest. Either way, whatever the reasoning, I did the most mature and womanly thing I could do.

I hung up and stared at my man. “Zulu?”

His chest heaved, up and down, up and down. Fury burst from his pores as his pale skin darkened to black.

“What are you doing?” I tapped at the desk’s surface again.

His wings expanded. “I want to make sure MeShee is okay.”

Yep. He heard it all.

“Why fight him if you have me?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Do I?”

“What does that even mean?” I displayed my arms. “I’m wearing your damn cords on my body. I think that’s enough.”

“You think so?” His hair sank into his skull. His muscles ballooned. His height rose to the Prime’s level.

“Yes.” I gulped down fear. “Please, calm down. This is why you should go into yourself. You’re acting crazy right now. The whole time I was on the phone you looked like you were ready to kill somebody and that was before MeShack started … being MeShack.”

He averted his eyes.
Interesting.
His shifting ceased into a weird middle form, part Zulu and Prime. It was odd to witness.

“MeShack said he was at your old stomping grounds.”

“I heard.” Venom laced those two words.

“What does that mean?”

“It could mean anything.”

“Bullshit.”

He returned his body back to Zulu. My ceiling shut close. It hadn’t been the reaction I expected. MeShack said lots of things to Zulu, but none that put him on edge. And Zulu was definitely on edge. My stomach twisted into worried knots.

“What is he talking about?” I thought about the rest of the phone conversation. Zulu had growled when MeShack brought up the duffle bag of money. “Is the money yours?”

“What money?” His eyes went dead.

That was the only way I could describe it. They peered back at me in this blank way, solid, like no life existed behind them. It made me take a step back and prepare my body for fire. The fact it was my boyfriend didn’t register in my brain. My body just switched to protective mode. Heat rose in the room. We stared at each other, locking in our own stances and I didn’t understand why, just that I wouldn’t back down unless he did. His power drenched the space, making it hard to breath. I made it hotter, just to show him that I wouldn’t be bullied. My dreadlocks lifted and road the waves of our heat and power as they mingled together. Sparks burst in the air. Multicolored ones. Ice blue and flaming orange. My teeth clattered. My heart banged in my chest, rattling my ribcage. My demon fire begged to taste his flesh.

No. That’s my man. No fire for him, but I may put my foot in his ass.

I formed my fingers into fists. “Something’s going on.”

“Is it?”

“We’re standing in my office like two dueling elemental Witches after I just asked you about a bag of money. Yes. Something is going on. And I don’t like not knowing. Do you have something to tell me?”

“I’m not going to lie to you.”

“That’s not an answer and hiding shit is the same as lying.”

His expression faltered, but he fixed it real quick and returned it to that hard look.

“The duffle bag of money is yours,” I declared. “I’m pretty much going to assume that since you’re not saying it isn’t and I can’t think of why you would growl when you heard that MeShack had it, besides the obvious of you not wanting him to have it. But I don’t see you growling and then not explaining the money. That’s not you. I know it. You tell me stuff. You don’t keep secrets. So the other questions would be, why you would have a duffle bag of money in a place that MeShack could get to, and why would he feel it important to say that to me?”

He directed his gaze to the floor. “How much do you think we can survive?”

“We? Do you mean the metaphorical we or the physical?” My patience had run out.

“I mean
we
as in our relationship.”

Anxiety jumbled my insides. “Did you cheat or something?”

He snapped his attention to me. “No. I would never cheat on you.”

A bag of money didn’t represent cheating, but being with MeShack back in the day that was the first violation that came to mind. Any lie from MeShack’s lips resulted in him cheating somehow.