Enemies and Lovers Amongst Us (14 page)

adjourned. The sooner we all leave from where we came, the better,

before any Voyeur Scout who is looking for the new Rogue order

finds us. I’ll let you all know what instructions Maershia will give me

for you as soon as I get them.”

He was the first to leave with his closing sentence. The others

followed his lead and departed a few seconds after that through their

exit doors.

Rotan walked to the back of the lobby, heading for the rear exit,

and couldn’t help but wonder that somehow his mysterious

experience with the werewolf spirit just added another number to the

equation. Maybe it just tipped the scale over to the Voyeur and

humans’ side rather than the new Rogue order in the upcoming war he

knew, and was told, was coming.

Maybe, just maybe, he chose the wrong side to be on.

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Chapter 18

Checking his watch once again, Sam cursed. “Where the hell is

she?”

Jake put down his menu and stared out the window beside him.

The pouring rain hitting the glass just dampened his spirits. They had

been waiting for Triala for almost an hour now. The voice in the back

of his head that said something was wrong got louder with every

minute that passed.

“You think something happened to her?” Jake couldn’t help but

ask.

“God, I hope not.” Sam paused and then slapped his hand on the

table with a quick movement. “Damn, I knew it was a dumb idea that

she went alone to see Thorak, but she is just so stubborn.”

Jake nodded. “You couldn’t stop her, Sam. She wanted to see him

about her vision.”

“Yeah, but we could have gone with her.”

“We had to meet Tom this afternoon.” Jake shook his head.

“She could have waited until the meeting ended and we’d have

gone with her.”

“She didn’t want to wait, remem—” Jake tried to remind Sam, but

didn’t finish his sentence. From the corner of his eyes, he saw

something.

Sam turned, looking in the same direction. “I’ll be damned.”

Triala walked in through the front door of the diner, toting several

colorful shopping bags. From the logo on the ones he could see, he

guessed she had spent a pretty penny and several hours on her

shopping spree.

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103

Jake had never been so happy to see anyone before as he was just

at that moment. He wanted to jump out of his seat, run to her, and

take her in his arms, kissing her feverously for every second they had

been apart. He was about to do just that when she saw them and

headed to their table with a wide smile.

“Mes amours, je suis enfin de retour. J’ai acheté beaucoup de

chose pour vous,”
she said, plopping herself down beside Jake. She leaned in and gave him a super hot French kiss.

He didn’t mind that all. The way her tongue slipped into his

mouth and looped his just sent his cock into a frenzy. Forgetting all

the torment she put him through, he cupped her face and reciprocated

her tongue’s enticing movements.

Much to his dismay, a minute later, she broke the kiss, smiling

into his eyes, then started to open one of her shopping bags.

Wearing a fake smile, Sam grabbed her hand. Jake could see the

fury building in his partner’s eyes when Sam whispered, “Where the

hell have you been?”

“With Thorak,” she whispered back, laughing.

“What’s with all these bags then?” He motioned with his chin.

“For show. I stopped at the mall and quickly bought whatever was

on the front rack of a few stores.” She peeked in one bag and took out

a see-through baby-doll red lace outfit and said in a more pronounced

French accent, “Do you like this?”

Sam’s face split into a smile. “Yes.” He obviously wasn’t putting

on a show now.

“That’s sexy.” Jake couldn’t help the grin that came over his own

face.

“Would you like to see this on me,
mes amours
?” she asked, still

in character.

Jake gazed at Sam, who gave him a look that Jake knew all too

well meant Sam was thinking the same thing he was. Triala had news

for them from Thorak that they could only discuss in private.

Sam nodded. “Hell yes, baby! We can’t wait!”

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Jessica Frost

Jake dipped in and kissed her on the neck and laughed. “Yeah,

baby. How about we see it now?”

She smiled back and tilted her head sideways so he could continue

to kiss her neck. She smelled so damn good. Pushing him away with a

giggle, she started to get up. “
Alors, on y va
. Then let’s go.”

As she stepped forward, heading for the door, she added for all to

hear, “You have some more surprises coming your way today,
mes

amours
.”

Jake’s jaw almost fell open in awe. He wished the sentence was

laced with sexual connotations, but he damn well knew she meant an

entirely different message. His stomach grumbled as he and Sam

followed her out the door. Acid mounted into his esophagus when

worry overtook his thoughts. How bad was the news Triala would

deliver?

* * * *

It seemed hours had passed by the time they reached the motel

even though the diner was only a few blocks away. She preferred to

wait until they arrived at their room to deliver Thorak’s complex

message. None too pleased, they tried to get bits of information out of

her in the car, but to no avail.

The second they closed the door to their room, Sam gazed at her

with a stern look. “So are you finally going to tell us?”

“Yes, but you aren’t going to like it.” She plopped her bags on the

king-size bed.

“We figured that much.” Jake sat beside the bags and grabbed her

hand, guiding her to sit on his lap.

With no hesitation, she did just that. He wrapped his arms around

her and kissed her lips in comfort. She closed her eyes and just

absorbed his warmth and his strength. She might show the world her

tough hide, but it felt good to show her vulnerable side as well

without feeling weak.

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105

Taking a deep breath, she began. “When I told Thorak what

happened to me, he wasn’t too pleased. Actually, he looked worried

and began to pace back and forth, thinking. Then he sat down beside

me and told me something I didn’t know. He said most of the time

when a Voyeur has a vision, the vision comes to the Voyeur. But

there are times, very rarely has it happened, that the Voyeur’s soul

travels through time and space to the very place and time of a vision.

That’s what happened to me. My soul traveled to the place and time

those men were killed.”

“What about the werewolf sensing you?” Sam asked.

“Thorak said powerful werewolves can sense another werewolf’s

soul if they are in close proximity.”

“Could he see you?” Jake asked, rubbing her shoulders.

“Thorak said no.”

“Then he doesn’t know who saw him, only that a Voyeur’s soul

witnessed the slaying?”

“If he knows that a Voyeur’s soul can travel through space and

time, then yes. If not, he probably knows nothing.”

“So you’re safe and we have nothing to worry about.”

“Not necessarily. O nce a werewolf smells another werewolf’s

scent, it burns the scent’s imprint into his or her brain. So if the

werewolf comes in close proximity to me, he will remember my scent

and maybe put two and two together.”

Just when Jake massaged the tight ball in the center of her

shoulder blades, loosening the tension locked there, she closed her

eyes and absorbed his soothing strokes.

She could hear a rustling noise as Sam dragged his feet across the

carpeting. Opening one eye to stare at him while she still tried to

enjoy Jake’s back massage, she asked, “What are you thinking, Sam?”

“That there’s nothing we can do. Just hope the Rogue doesn’t

know anything about werewolves’ souls time traveling. And that he

doesn’t frequent the Raven’s Nest.”

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Jessica Frost

“I’m afraid so.” She nodded, then asked, “How did the meeting go

with Tom?”

“Good. He gave us a sample of pure cocaine, and we’re going to

meet Johnny at the club tonight to check out his clients,” Sam

answered.

Jake’s nimble fingers got her excited when he slid his hands down

her back to her buttocks, squeezing her cheeks. “So then we have a

few hours to kill until the meeting?” she asked purposely as arousal

seeped into her body.

Jake pressed his hot lips on her neck, then asked, “Why don’t you

try on one of the outfits you bought today?”

What a novel idea!
She nodded.

“Yeah, can we see what you bought?” Sam’s brow lifted, his eyes

curious. He moved closer to the bed.

“Now that’s a surprise.” She giggled and took the bags on the bed

before a smiling, mischievous- looking Sam could grab them. She

stood up quickly and darted to the bathroom.

Right before she closed the door behind her, she peeked out. “I’ll

just be a minute.”

Placing the bags on the counter, she laughed in naughtiness.

Maybe she’d make them wait just a little bit longer than a minute.

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107

Chapter 19

Rotan watched Zortal enter with Oscar tailing him. He found it

odd Zortal didn’t come alone. When Zortal called him earlier saying

he wanted to talk to him, he never mentioned Oscar would be

accompanying him.

With a tight smile, he said, “Hi.”

Zortal nodded hello, while Oscar replied, “Hey.”

Crossing his arms, he stared at Zortal. “So do you have any

news?”

“Yes, Maershia sent me a message this afternoon. She said a

Voyeur Scout named Triala Barns was whose spirit you sensed in that

alleyway. Her soul traveled through the vision to the time and place

where you were.”

“Triala Barns,” he repeated, recognizing the name, but didn’t

know from where.

“You know her?” Oscar asked.

“No. But she sounds familiar.”

“Maershia said she is a Voyeur Scout with extremely powerful

visionary capabilities. That was why her spirit was able to travel to

you like it did.”

“When I informed Oscar, he told me one of the Rogue

werewolves, Theo, spotted her at the Raven’s Nest a day ago,” Zortal

stated.

“Yeah, Theo said she was there with two humans.”

Rotan looked at Oscar. “Theo? Theo Overture, you mean?”

“Yeah.”

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Jessica Frost

Rotan rubbed his fingers over his twelve-hour shadow. His

stubble made a brushing sound under the friction. He had encountered

Theo Overture a few times in the past few months. The uneducated

punk didn’t rub him the right way. There was something about him

that just irked him.

“What was she doing there?”

“Don’t know. Probably spying.” Oscar shrugged.

“What did Theo do when he saw her?”

“Nothing. He just called me to let me know she was there. I told

him to keep an eye out if she came back to the joint. If she did, he

should kill her and the guys she was with.”

Zortal added, while looking at Oscar, “You called him before

meeting me to change that order, right?”

“Yup. I told him not to wait until she showed up at the club again,

but to kill her now. As well as her entourage.” He nodded.

Rotan gave him a sideways look. “You’re sure Theo will be able

to do the job?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said with an air of self-assurance.

“We made sure to cast a double spell to cloak his actions so

another Voyeur doesn’t pick up his tracks and what he’s up to.”

“Like how Triala picked up my trail,” Rotan said. He lifted his

finger in the air in thought. “By the way, how did Maershia know it

was the spirit of Triala Barns I sensed before?”

Zortal just stared at him with a blank expression. “She didn’t say.”

Feeling daring, Rotan persisted. “You didn’t ask?”

“Even if I did, she wouldn’t have told me.” He frowned.

“You should have asked anyway,” was at the tip of Rotan’s

tongue, but he decided not to say it and just shut up. Sometimes it was

best to remember his place in the scheme of things. And in this new

group of Rogue hierarchy, his place was nestled between a rock and a

hard place.

Acting dumb, he asked, “So what do we do now?”

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109

“Nothing. Theo is getting rid of our problem as we speak,” Zortal

replied.

Rotan shook his head in affirmation. “All right.” But his gut told

him that it wasn’t that simple and that Theo Overture would fuck

things up one way or another.

* * * *

Spraying O mbre Rose perfume in the air and walking through its

mist, Triala’s skin tingled from the cool contact. She opened the door

to the bathroom with anticipation. Her body and inner soul hungered

for sexual satisfaction as their manly, musky scents seeped into her

nostrils the second she placed her left foot on the navy blue carpeting